ARCHIVE - 22 December 2010

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Business

Outbound Sofia Airport Flights Take Off from Plovdiv
Bulgarian State Railways Hope to Become Profitable by 2015
Bulgaria Hopes to Export Electricity to Lebanon
Bulgarian Railways Pay Tuvasas BGN 64.5 M for Sleeping Cars
Ryanair Takes off from Bulgaria's Plovdiv to Barcelona
Inclement Weather Disrupts Christmas Air Travel in Europe
Retirement Funds 'Nationalization' Enters Bulgarian Constitutional Court
Bulgarian Customs Boast Decent Revenues in 2010
Doubletree by Hilton Varna Becomes Hilton's 200th Hotel in Europe

Politics

Bulgarian PM to Fly Commercial for Rousseff's Inauguration because of FinMin's Stinginess
Borisov Cabinet Reaches Out to Bulgarians in Lebanon
UK Appoints Jonathan Allen New Ambassador to Bulgaria
Bulgaria, Borisov Play 'Good Student' on Schengen unlike Romania
BNB Stops Buying Estonian Currency
Mladenov Convinced Bulgaria Will Join Schengen by 2011 End
EC Backs Bulgaria's Schengen Entry
EC, Belgian Presidency: Croatia Set to Join EU in 2013
Bulgaria Defies France, Germany, Sticks to March 2011 Schengen Bid
Bulgarian Interior Head Major No Show in Parliament
Bulgarian Right Wing: Experts in Baby Death Case Were Pressured
MPs Help Bulgaria's Burgas in Avoiding Parliamentary Vote
President: Bulgaria Needs Manager, Not Sheriff

Society

Top-Ranking Figure Arrested in Special Operation in Sofia
Sofia City Hall Staff Sanctioned over Chain Accident
50-Car Chain Crash Jams Traffic in Foggy Sofia
Bulgaria on Alert over High Dust Levels
Thick Fog Cancels Sofia International Airport Flights
Bulgaria Introduces Mandatory Breast, Prostate Cancer Tests
Smoking Ban Widely Ignored in Bulgaria

Sports

Bulgaria-Led Trentino Grab Second Consecutive World Cup

Crime

New Charges Pressed against Bulgaria's Yambol Mayor
Arson Suspected in Bulgarian Night Club Fire

Views on BG

Euronews: Romania, Bulgaria See Schengen Window Recede
FT: Bulgaria, Romania Suffers EU Open Borders Blow
BBC: Romania, Bulgaria Blocked from Joining Schengen Zone

Special Topic

GE Executive Cristian Colteanu: Regional Approach Can Be Game Changer for Bulgaria
US Atlantic Council VP Damon Wilson: NATO Needs Unified Political Front in Afghanistan

Business

Outbound Sofia Airport Flights Take Off from Plovdiv

Several major outbound flights of Bulgaria Air that were originally supposed to take off from the Sofia International Airport will set off from the southern city of Plovdiv.

Business | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 16:19

Bulgarian State Railways Hope to Become Profitable by 2015

Bulgarian state railway company BDZ expects to start making profit in 2015 as a result of a program of wide-ranging measures, its management announced.

Business | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 15:52

Bulgaria Hopes to Export Electricity to Lebanon

Bulgaria is looking at opportunities to export electricity to Lebanon, according to the Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism, Traicho Traikov.

Business | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 15:34

Bulgarian Railways Pay Tuvasas BGN 64.5 M for Sleeping Cars

The Bulgarian State Railways company BDZ has made a BGN 64.5 M deal for the purchase of 30 new sleeping cars from Turkish company Tuvasas.

Business | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 15:12

Ryanair Takes off from Bulgaria's Plovdiv to Barcelona

The world's largest low-cost airline, Irish company Ryanair, is expected to announce on Wednesday a new regular line from the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv to Barcelona, Spain.

Business | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 09:31

Inclement Weather Disrupts Christmas Air Travel in Europe

Thousands of passengers, many of whom Christmas travelers, are stranded at airports around Europe as snow, ice, fog and low temperatures continue to disrupt the air traffic.

Business | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 09:11

Retirement Funds 'Nationalization' Enters Bulgarian Constitutional Court

Some texts of the Social Security Act will be challenged in the Bulgarian Constitutional Court, the right-wing Blue Coalition announced Wednesday.

Business » Finance | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 18:07

Bulgarian Customs Boast Decent Revenues in 2010

Bulgaria's Customs Agency will raise a total of BGN 6.6 B in 2010, according to preliminary data released Wednesday.

Business » Finance | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 17:29

Doubletree by Hilton Varna Becomes Hilton's 200th Hotel in Europe

Hilton Worldwide has formally announced the opening of its 200th hotel in Europe – the Doubletree by Hilton Varna – which is located in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Golden Sands.

Business » Tourism | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 08:41

Politics

Bulgarian PM to Fly Commercial for Rousseff's Inauguration because of FinMin's Stinginess

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov will take a commercial flight to Brazil for Dilma Rousseff's inauguration because of the "stinginess" of Finance Minister Djankov.

Politics » Diplomacy | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 20:54

Borisov Cabinet Reaches Out to Bulgarians in Lebanon

The Bulgarian Cabinet will help the Bulgarian community in Lebanon to open a school of its own in Beirut.

Politics » Diplomacy | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 18:50

UK Appoints Jonathan Allen New Ambassador to Bulgaria

Jonathan Allen has been appointed Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria, the United Kingdom Foreign Office announced.

Politics » Diplomacy | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 09:09

Bulgaria, Borisov Play 'Good Student' on Schengen unlike Romania

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has sought to distance Bulgaria from Romania's negative reaction on France and Germany's opposition to the Schengen accession of the two newest EU members.

Politics » Bulgaria in EU | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 20:19

BNB Stops Buying Estonian Currency

The Bulgarian National Bank has announced that it will discontinue buying Estonian kroon as of January 1, 2011.

Politics » Bulgaria in EU | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 19:46

Mladenov Convinced Bulgaria Will Join Schengen by 2011 End

Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov has stated that Bulgaria will be "technically" ready to join the Schengen Area by March 2011.

Politics » Bulgaria in EU | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 19:26

EC Backs Bulgaria's Schengen Entry

The European Commission has confirmed its position against tying Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen zone entry with additional clauses and with the post-accession progress monitoring known as the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.

Politics » Bulgaria in EU | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 18:49

EC, Belgian Presidency: Croatia Set to Join EU in 2013

Croatia has completed three more chapters of its EU accession negotiations, and is likely to wrap up the entire process by June 2011.

Politics » Bulgaria in EU | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 16:53

Bulgaria Defies France, Germany, Sticks to March 2011 Schengen Bid

EU newcomer Bulgaria has made it clear it will aim to accede to the Schengen zone in March 2011 even though France and Germany decided to block the country from joining the Europe's passport-free travel zone.

Politics » Bulgaria in EU | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 12:39

Bulgarian Interior Head Major No Show in Parliament

Bulgaria's Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov caused an uproar in Parliament as opposition MPs demanded that he showed up to give explanation over a controversial tapping case.

Politics » Domestic | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 20:36

Bulgarian Right Wing: Experts in Baby Death Case Were Pressured

The expert opinion on the death of the prematurely-born baby has been ready on December 18, but was concealed for three days, according to the right-wing Blue Coalition.

Politics » Domestic | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 13:53

MPs Help Bulgaria's Burgas in Avoiding Parliamentary Vote

The Members of the Bulgarian Parliament solved Wednesday the case with Bozhidar Dimitrov, the country's Minister without Portfolio for Bulgarians Abroad, who resigned from the post, but decided not to return to the Parliament.

Politics » Domestic | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 12:01

President: Bulgaria Needs Manager, Not Sheriff

Bulgaria has a very weak Prime Minister without any management skills, according to President, Georgi Parvanov.

Politics » Domestic | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 11:13

Society

Top-Ranking Figure Arrested in Special Operation in Sofia

A high-ranking public figure suspected of shocking crimes has been busted by Bulgarian anti-mafia units in a special operation in Sofia, a senior government official wishing to remain anonymous revealed specially for the readers of Novinite.

Society | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 18:59

Sofia City Hall Staff Sanctioned over Chain Accident

The employees from the Sofia City Hall Inspectorate who were doing a check of the road condition on Sofia's "Brussels" Blvd have been sanctioned.

Society | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 13:11

50-Car Chain Crash Jams Traffic in Foggy Sofia

A chain crash involving a total of fifty cars at a central Sofia's boulevard caused a major traffic jam early in the morning on Wednesday.

Society | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 10:02

Bulgaria on Alert over High Dust Levels

Dust levels in the air in the capital Sofia, the town of Pernik, twenty kilometres south of Sofia, and the town of Kardzhali, Southern Bulgaria, have hit record highs over the last twenty days, the executive environmental agency said on Wednesday.

Society » Environment | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 13:18

Thick Fog Cancels Sofia International Airport Flights

Much of Western and Southern Bulgaria has been gripped by thick fog leading many of the flights of the Sofia International Airport to be canceled.

Society » Environment | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 08:16

Bulgaria Introduces Mandatory Breast, Prostate Cancer Tests

Mandatory tests for breast and prostate cancer are going to be introduced in Bulgaria in 2011, the Health Ministry announced Wednesday.

Society » Health | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 15:19

Smoking Ban Widely Ignored in Bulgaria

Even though a smoking ban in public places came into force in Bulgaria five days ago, reporters' checks across the country have shown that it is being widely ignored.

Society » Health | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 11:33

Sports

Bulgaria-Led Trentino Grab Second Consecutive World Cup

Italy's volleyball club Trentino BetClic, led by Bulgarian Radostin Stoychev and including two Bulgarian players, claimed a second consecutive Men's Club World Championship crown after defeating Poland's PGE Skra Belchatow in the final in Doha.

Sports | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 11:03

Crime

New Charges Pressed against Bulgaria's Yambol Mayor

The Regional Prosecutor's Office in the southern Bulgaria city of Yambol pressed Wednesday a new charge against Mayor, Georgi Slavov.

Crime | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 14:42

Arson Suspected in Bulgarian Night Club Fire

The night club "Hysteria" in Bulgaria's second largest city of Plovdiv was set on fire early Wednesday, the police reported.

Crime | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 12:39

Views on BG

Euronews: Romania, Bulgaria See Schengen Window Recede

Europe's passport-free Schengen travel area will not open up to Bulgaria and Romania as soon as they had hoped.

Views on BG | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 10:42

FT: Bulgaria, Romania Suffers EU Open Borders Blow

Germany and France on Tuesday blocked the extension of the European Union's Schengen border-free area to include Romania and Bulgaria, snubbing them and their political allies in the former Eastern bloc.

Views on BG | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 09:41

BBC: Romania, Bulgaria Blocked from Joining Schengen Zone

France and Germany have decided to block Bulgaria and Romania from joining the Europe's passport-free travel zone.

Views on BG | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 09:20

Special Topic

GE Executive Cristian Colteanu: Regional Approach Can Be Game Changer for Bulgaria

Exclusive interview with Cristian Colteanu, General Electric (GE) Regional Executive for Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova for the Bulgaria-US Survey of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency).

Bulgaria-US Survey » Business | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 23:31

US Atlantic Council VP Damon Wilson: NATO Needs Unified Political Front in Afghanistan

Exclusive interview with Damon Wilson, Vice President of the US Atlantic Council, for the Bulgaria-US Survey of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency)

Bulgaria-US Survey » Diplomacy | December 22, 2010, Wednesday // 23:04
Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. News Bulgaria