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10 April 2012, Issue 3361
by Novinite.com
Bulgaria's Daily Newspaper since 2001
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| BUSINESS POLITICS WORLD SOCIETY SPORTS FORUM |
IREX: Political, Corporate Pressure Mar Bulgarian Media
 In 2011, the content crisis in the Bulgarian media, which started with the financial crisis in 2008–2009, reached new depths and is already affecting Bulgarian citizens' access to quality media coverage of political, social, and economic developments in the country. read |
Bulgarian PM Hints of Large Conventional Gas Deposits
 Exploration, research and surveys in Bulgaria have shown that the country has sufficient reserves and deposits of what it needs to solve the issue with skyrocketing gasoline prices, and it is not shale gas. read |
Bulgaria Has 2 Million-strong Diaspora - Foreign Service
 Bulgarians living abroad are 2 036 092, according to official information of Bulgarian diplomatic representations across the globe. read |
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BULGARIA'S SOFIA SEES 3RD GANGLAND MURDER IN 15 DAYS
A 53-year-old man, Vasil Lazov, who was a car insurer with a criminal record, was shot dead in Bulgaria's capital Sofia in broad daylight on Monday. Lazov, a native of Sofia, was gunned down at about 1:40 pm on Monday in the Vitosha quarter in Sofia, not far from his home, the Interior Ministry announced. Lazov was killed near his car on the Byala Ruzha Street. read more 
BULGARIA 2012 GROWTH FORECAST UNANIMOUSLY CAPPED AT 1.5% Bulgarian analysts and institutions have cut their growth forecast for 2012 to just below 1.5% instead of the previously forecast 2-3%, citing slumping exports and stagnant domestic demand. Exports to the European Union, the main driver of Bulgaria's economy, declined in the last quarter of 2011 because of the euro-area's debt crisis. Their growth in 2012 has been set at just 0.1%. read more BULGARIA'S RUSE RECEIVES FIRST AUSTRIA-TURKEY CONTAINER BLOCK TRAIN The freight train station at the Bulgarian Danube city of Ruse has received its first ever container block train, also known as a unit train, which will be transporting goods from Austria to Turkey. The container block trains, also known as unit trains, are still a new means of freight transportation in Bulgaria, with the first ever such train for the country having been received only in September 2011, at the new intermodal transport terminal in Bulgaria's capital Sofia. read more BULGARIAN JAN-FEB EXPORTS OUTSIDE EU DOWN 2.6% Y/Y In the period January - February 2012, Bulgarian exports to third countries decreased by 2.6% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year and amounted to BGN 2.3 B. The data was released Monday by the National Statistics Institute, NSI. read more ALPHA BANK REFUTES REPORTS OF SELLING EASTERN EUROPEAN UNITS The Greek Alpha Bank has refuted the reports that it plans to sell 30% in its Eastern European units to European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Alpha Bank Bulgaria announced that in a statement Monday in response to an inquiry of the Greek Capital Market Commission motivated by the reports that emerged in international media Sunday about the potential capital partnership between Alpha Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. read more BULGARIA EUROBOND FLOAT WARY OF TURBULENT SUMMER WATERS Bulgaria's government, which plans to issue eurobonds worth up to EUR 1 B in the second quarter, may be forced to struggle with volatile markets if it misses out on the current benign conditions, analysts have warned. The sale procedure can be arranged in a matter of two or three months, so it can take place not the beginning of June, as forecast by the finance minister, but in July, according to Georgi Angelov, Senior Economist at the Open Society Institute Sofia. read more BULGARIAN PM HINTS OF LARGE CONVENTIONAL GAS DEPOSITS Exploration, research and surveys in Bulgaria have shown that the country has sufficient reserves and deposits of what it needs to solve the issue with skyrocketing gasoline prices, and it is not shale gas. The statement was made in a nearly sensational manner by Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, speaking in a Monday morning interview for the largest private TV channel bTV and commenting on high oil and fuel prices. read more 
BULGARIA TO COMPLETE NORTHEASTERN GAS PIPELINE IN 2013 Bulgaria is to start building a natural gas supply pipeline to the northeastern city of Silistra in the fall of 2012, Kiril Temelkov, CEO of state company Bulgartransgaz, announced Monday. The future extension of the major Bulgarian gas pipeline ring will start from the northeastern city of Dobrich, and will bring Russian natural gas to Silistra on the Danube, and several small-town municipalities in the districts of Dobrich and Silistra such as Tervel, Dulovo, Alfatar, and Kaynardzha. read more BULGARIAN PM CALLS ON WORKERS TO RALLY AT OWNER'S HOME The State cannot force bankrupt company owners to do what it is deemed right, otherwise it would turn into a police State, according to Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov. Speaking in a Monday morning interview for the largest private TV channel bTV, the PM pointed out Bulgaria is a democratic country, applying the rule of law. read more BULGARIA'S TOURIST TAX RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL The tourist tax that was introduced in Bulgaria in April 2011 is unconstitutional, the Bulgarian Constitutional Court has ruled. The Court made the ruling on April 5 but it was not made public until Monday, April 9, when it was announced on the institution's website. read more BULGARIAN DEPUTY MINISTER PREDICTS 5-6% MORE TOURISTS IN SUMMER 2012 A successful tourist season could bring revenues of over BGN 3 B for Bulgaria against a 5-6% increase in number of tourists, according to Ivo Marinov, Deputy Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism. Marinov attended Monday the signing of five contracts worth a total of BGN 20.5 M between the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism and the Managing Authority of Operational Program "Regional Development" for the development of tourism. read more BULGARIAN RESORTS TO WELCOME MOSTLY ROMANIANS DURING EASTER HOLIDAYS Bulgarian resorts will welcome guests mostly from Romania and Serbia during the forthcoming Easter holidays, according to statistics of hotel owners. The Union of Hotel Owners in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Sunny Beach has said that the first foreign guests are due to arrive at the end of this week. read more BULGARIAN PM: HOME ROBBERIES ARE NOT PRIORITY OF CABINET Bulgaria cannot solve the problem with increasing petty and household crime in villages without increasing the number of police officers, and there is no funding for such move. The statement was made by Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, speaking in a Monday morning interview for the largest private TV channel bTV. read more BULGARIAN VICE PRESIDENT GRANTED ZERO PARDONS SO FAR Vice President Margarita Popova has not granted a single pardon since the beginning of her term in office. According to statistics provided in the first public report on the activity of the Pardons Committee, the unit reviewed a total of 200 applications in the period February 23 – March 31, 187 of which were rejected. read more 4 'DEMOCRATS FOR STRONG BULGARIA' DEFECT TO EX EU COMMISSIONER Daniel Mitov, Petar Nikolov, Proshko Proshkov and Hristo Angelichin are officially withdrawing from the right-wing Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) party. According to unofficial reports cited by news portal mediapool.bg, the four are joining the "Bulgaria for Citizens" movement of former EU Commissioner Meglena Kuneva. read more IREX: POLITICAL, CORPORATE PRESSURE MAR BULGARIAN MEDIA In 2011, the content crisis in the Bulgarian media, which started with the financial crisis in 2008–2009, reached new depths and is already affecting Bulgarian citizens' access to quality media coverage of political, social, and economic developments in the country. The conclusion comes from a report of the American organization IREX, which measures Media Sustainability Index (MSI) in 80 countries. By "sustainability" IREX refers to the ability of media to play its vital role as the "fourth estate." read more BULGARIA HAS 2 MILLION-STRONG DIASPORA - FOREIGN SERVICE Bulgarians living abroad are 2 036 092, according to official information of Bulgarian diplomatic representations across the globe. The data had been provided to the Association of Bulgarians with Experience and Education Abroad, the largest, private TV channel bTV reported Monday. read more BULGARIA'S GERB VOWS 1 000 JOB OPENINGS FOR YOUNG ROMA By the year 2020, Roma will have a 23% share of Bulgaria's labor market, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov. Speaking at a national round table on Roma problems, Tsvetanov, who is also the Chairman of the National Council for Partnership on Ethnic and Integration Issues, reported that according to the latest Census, 325 343 Roma live in Bulgaria, which is nearly 5% of the country's population. read more BULGARIAN POSTS - CHEAP FOR EUROPEANS, COSTLY FOR BULGARIANS Bulgaria holds the dubious honor of having the highest prices of postage in Europe when compared to the relative purchasing power of the population, a BBC survey has shown. Posting a letter in Bulgaria only costs BGN 0.85 (USD 0.68) but to most Bulgarians, that's a lot, BBC has commented as it compared the price of postage in different European countries. read more SOFIA DEPUTY MAYOR RESIGNS OVER STRAY DOG ATTACKS Mariya Boyadzhiyska, a Deputy Mayor of the Bulgarian capital Sofia, has resigned over the failure of the Sofia Municipality to cope with the growing stray dog problem. Boyadzhiyska, who is in charge of the environment at the municipal administration, announced her resignation Monday night amidst a rising number of reports about attacks by stray dogs. read more BULGARIAN HOMETOWN NAMES STREET AFTER PROF. KILLED BY STRAY DOGS Bulgaria's western city of Pernik is going to name a street after one of its most prominent sons, Professor, Botio Tachkov, who died Sunday, after being brutally attacked by a large pack of stray dogs in Sofia at the end of March. The street will be located in Pernik's "Varosh" district where Tachkov was born and grew up, the Bulgarian Standard daily reports. read more BULGARIAN AGRIMIN UNDER FIRE OVER STRAY DOGS ISSUE Over fifty animal right NGOs have signed a petition demanding the resignation of Agriculture Minister, Miroslav Naydenov, over long-lasting inactivity and failure to resolve the stray dogs' problem by applying the law. The organizations, which are not only Bulgarian, but also Dutch, German and Swiss, have sent the open letter to Naydenov, to President, Rosen Plevneliev, Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, Ombudsman, Konstantin Penchev, Mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova, and to the EU Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner, John Dalli. read more LATE BULGARIAN PROFESSOR WOULD NOT WANT KILLING STRAY DOGS Professor Botio Tachkov, a renowned economist, who was brutally attacked by a large pack of stray dogs in Sofia and died as result, had been a devoted lover of animals and nature. The statement was made by his niece Mariyana Kirilova, speaking Monday in an interview for the largest private TV channel bTV. The niece was adamant that her uncle would never have wanted to become grounds for a campaign for mass killing of stray dogs. read more BULGARIAN ORTHODOX MARK BEGINNING OF HOLY WEEK Bulgarian Orthodox Christians mark on April 9 Holy Monday – the first day from the most important week – the Holy Week. Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter. It includes the religious holidays of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) and Good Friday, and lasts from Palm Sunday (or in the Eastern Orthodox, Lazarus Saturday) until Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is the first day of the new season of The Great Fifty Days. read more BULGARIA'S PLOVDIV BOASTS BLUE FOUNTAIN WATER The water in the downtown fountain in the Southern Bulgarian city of Plovdiv has been painted in blue. The idea has been initiated by the Plovdiv Mayor Ivan Totev who is said to have seen it in Romania, Darik Plovdiv reported. read more EASTER TO BRING SUNSHINE, SHOWERS IN BULGARIA Temperatures in Bulgaria during the Easter holidays are forecast to reach 22-23C, but the sunshine delight will be coupled with shower spells as a Mediterranean cyclone will sweep through the country. On Tuesday the mercury will zoom up to 16 degrees Celsius in the western parts in the country, but the mornings will be very cold – 2-3 degrees Celsius below zero. read more BULGARIAN SUMO STAR KOTOOSHU PROUDLY POSES WITH SON Top sumo wrestler, Bulgarian Kaloyan Mahlyanov, aka Kotooshu, has revealed to the public for the first time his four-month-old son, named Cyril. The memorable and happy event took place in Yasukuni, a Shinto shrine located in central Tokyo and was witnessed by a huge audience of 13 000, as well as a group of the strongest rikishis (wrestlers), who staged a ceremonial performance there. read more EX MIDFIELDER ILIAN ILIEV TAKES OVER LEVSKI SOFIA IN SUMMER Ilian Iliev, former international football midfielder and current manager of Beroe Stara Zagora, will become the new coach of Bulgarian major football club Levski Sofia at the end of the season in the summer. Levski Sofia previous coach Nikolay Kostov resigned at the end of March after his side suffered a surprising and humiliating 1-0 home loss by lowly Minyor Pernik, the club's first league defeat. read more BULGARIAN MAN WOUNDED IN STRAY DOGS SHOOTING A Bulgarian man had shot and wounded his neighbor in the village of Gramada in the northwestern Vidin region after opening fire at stray dogs. The news was reported Monday by the Vidin Regional Police Directorate. read more SELENA GOMEZ, ETHAN HAWKE TO SHOOT 'THE GETAWAY' IN BULGARIA US teen pop star and actor Selena Gomez will be coming to Bulgaria to shoot a movie called "The Getaway", Gomez herself revealed in a YouTube video. Gomez will be starring in the new film project together with another popular Hollywood actor, Ethan Hawke. However, it is unclear whether the movie under the working tile "The Getaway" will be a remake of the 1972 film. read more SOFIA JOINS GLOBAL PILLOW FIGHT DAY A small-scale war was waged in Sofia's fashion street late on Saturday, but instead of police officers and protestors, warriors bearing pillows faced off. Even though most citizens of the capital seemed not aware of the event, some 110 revelers gathered at Vitosha Boulevard for every-man-for-yourself pillow fight. read more BULGARIA EYES FOREIGN INVESTMENT AS SKILLED MANPOWER DECREASES Click here to read the story: www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=138346 BULGARIANS BEST AT... A: Bulgarians are true survivors – every time they miraculously manage to find their way out of the most difficult situations! B: Well, they also excel at finding their way into the most difficult situations.... read more GUENTER GRASS BARRED FROM ISRAEL Nobel laureate writer Guenter Grass of Germany has been declared "persona non grata" in Israel over a controversial poem. In one section of the poem, entitled 'What Must Be Said' and published in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Grass attacks Israel's nuclear program. read more N KOREA PARADES LAUNCH PAD FOR WORLD MEDIA As North Korea presses forward with a controversial rocket launch and amid reports it is also planning a nuclear test, foreign journalists were granted a rare glimpse Sunday of the reclusive country's preparations. CNN was part of a group taken to the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in Tongchang-ri, in the northwest part of the country. read more GREEK SUICIDE PENSIONER CREMATED IN BULGARIA The body of the 77-year-old retired Greek pharmacist Dimitris Christoulas, who committed suicide at a central Athens square last Wednesday, will be cremated in Bulgaria. His daughter, Penny Christoulas, told CNN that her father would be cremated rather than buried, as was his wish. read more IRAN BLOCKS 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS WEBSITE - REPORT Iran has reportedly blocked the website for the 2012 London Olympics. Users in Iran complained on Twitter that they could not visit the london2012.com portal but were instead redirected to peyvandha.ir, a website offering news from official local news agencies, the BBC News announced. read more LIKELY BOKO HARAM GUNMEN ASSAULT TOWNS IN NORTHEAST NIGERIA Gunmen in Nigeria have killed at least four people, including a six-year-old girl, in separate attacks in towns in the country's northeast. The attacks on Monday, suspected to be linked to the radical group Boko Haram, are the most recent in a series of incidents in Nigeria's restive northeastern region, Al Jazeera reported. read more EX KGB HEAD BEATS HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST FOR SOUTH OSSETIA PRESIDENCY Former South Ossetian KGB head Leonid Tibilov has been elected new president of the breakaway republic in a vote condemned by Georgia and welcomed by Russian lawmakers. Tibilov, 60, won over 54% of the vote in the Sunday runoff against human rights ombudsman David Sanakoev, 42, who gained almost 43%. Less than 1 percent of South Ossetians voted against both candidates, RIA Novosti reported. read more IT'S A DOG'S LIFE IN BULGARIA Botio Tachkov, 88, died Sunday, after being brutally attacked by a large pack of stray dogs in Sofia. Before the tragedy made headlines, very few of his neighbors were aware that the quiet and pleasant elderly man had been one of the most prominent Bulgarians in the US, with a brilliant Columbia University, Wall Street and State Department career. read more |
It's a Dog's Life in Bulgaria
