Expats

Bulgaria bans smoking in indoor public spaces [May 17, 2012] SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's parliament voted on Thursday to ban smoking in all indoor public spaces from June 1 in an attempt to persuade one of Europe's heaviest smoking nations to kick the habit. The European Union's poorest member state has joined a growing list of nations to ban smoking in bars and restaurants. It also agreed to forbid smoking outside nurseries and schools and at stadiums ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria arrests 30 in border corruption sweep [May 03, 2012] SOFIA (Reuters) - More than 30 Bulgarian customs officers were arrested on suspicion of corruption on Thursday as the Balkan country attempts to clean up its borders and show it is fit to join the European Union's passport-free zone. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria arrests 30 in border corruption sweep [May 03, 2012] SOFIA (Reuters) - More than 30 Bulgarian customs officers were arrested on suspicion of corruption on Thursday as the Balkan country attempts to clean up its borders and show it is fit to join the European Union's passport-free zone. Bulgaria and its neighbour Romania, the European Union's newest and poorest member states, have to convince all members their governments and border controls meet ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria captain Petrov to retire: media report [Mar 31, 2012] SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria captain Stiliyan Petrov, the Balkan country's most capped player, has decided to end his soccer career after being diagnosed with acute leukaemia, Bulgarian media reported on Saturday. "Football is over, this is the end," the Aston Villa midfielder was quoted as saying in the Bulgarian sports daily Tema Sport on Saturday. "I am now beginning to fight for my life and I ... [via YahooNews] More >>

UPDATE 1-Bulgaria delays Belene nuclear project [Mar 16, 2012] * Belene cannot be built without Western investors -PM * Final decision on 2,000 MW project likely to be delayed (Adds more quotes, details) SOFIA, March 16 (Reuters) - Bulgaria will abandonplans to build ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Mladenov returns to CSKA Sofia again [Mar 06, 2012] SOFIA (Reuters) - Former Bulgaria coach Stoycho Mladenov is to return for a third stint as coach of CSKA Sofia, the Bulgarian club said on Monday. "Mladenov is a coach who won the title in his previous spells at CSKA and we hope he'll continue to be as successful," CSKA's majority holder Dimitar Borisov told reporters. "Last time he won it by a 16-point margin." Mladenov will replace Dimitar ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Berbatov softens stance on Bulgaria comeback [Feb 08, 2012] SOFIA (Reuters) - Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov edged a step closer to ending his self-imposed international exile on Tuesday, saying he would be open to an approach from the Bulgaria national team's new coach. The 31-year-old, who is the Balkan country's all-time leading scorer with 48 goals, quit Bulgaria in 2010 and has repeated several times since then that he had no intention ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Cold kills 33 more in Europe, dam breaks in Bulgaria [Feb 06, 2012] SOFIA (Reuters) - Europe's bitterly cold weather killed another 33 people on Monday and melting snow caused a dam wall to break and flood an entire village in Bulgaria. Gas supplies to the European Union from Russia improved at the weekend but have not fully recovered, the European Commission said, as Italy convened a crisis committee to handle what it called critical shortages of Russian gas ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Hopman referee steps in to part angry Fish and Dimitrov [Jan 06, 2012] PERTH (Reuters) - American Mardy Fish and Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov had to be separated by the match referee when they squared up to each other during a changeover in a bad-tempered Hopman Cup encounter on Friday. The pair traded insults throughout their singles match and the mixed doubles before the tie between the two bottom teams in Group A ended with a 2-1 win for Bulgaria over the ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Report: Stoichkov set to take over as Litex coach [Jan 01, 2012] SOFIA, Bulgaria (Reuters) -- Hristo Stoichkov is poised to replace Atanas Dzhambazki as coach of Bulgarian champions Litex Lovech, state news agency (BTA) reported on Sunday. [via YahooNews] More >>

Report: Stoichkov set to coach Bulgarian champs [Jan 01, 2012] SOFIA, Bulgaria (Reuters) -- Hristo Stoichkov is poised to replace Atanas Dzhambazki as coach of Bulgarian champions Litex Lovech, state news agency (BTA) reported on Sunday. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria to ban smoking in indoor public spaces [Dec 15, 2011] SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria, where more than a third of adults smoke, plans to ban smoking in indoor public spaces from June 1, 2012, the government said on Wednesday. The ban, which has to be approved by parliament, would also forbid smoking outside of nurseries, kindergartens and schools. The European Union poorest member is the country with the second highest tobacco consumption in the bloc ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Transneft weighs options for Caspian JV oil routes [Dec 14, 2011] * Bulgaria opted to go out from trans-Balkan project * Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline deemed too expensive MOSCOW, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Russian oil pipelinemonopoly Transneft is looking for new routes to shipoil ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria sneaked into France for famous 1993 win [Nov 20, 2011] SOFIA, Nov 17 (Reuters) An illegal border crossing helped secure Bulgaria's famous 2-1 win over France in 1993 which set up their impressive run to the World Cup semi-finals in the United States the following year. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Plevneliev wins presidency [Oct 31, 2011] SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's ruling GERB party candidate, Rosen Plevneliev, won a presidential run-off against his Socialist opponent, preliminary official results showed on Monday, strengthening his party's grip on power before a parliamentary poll. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria ruling party set to win presidency-exit polls [Oct 30, 2011] SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's ruling GERB party candidate, Rosen Plevneliev, is set to win a presidential election run-off on Sunday with about 55 percent support, two exit polls showed. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria votes to give fresh backing to PM [Oct 23, 2011] SOFIA (Reuters) - Ruling party candidate Rosen Plevneliev is set to lead in the first round of Bulgaria's presidential election on Sunday, but probably will need a run-off to secure the position after a campaign marred by protests and violence. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria votes to give fresh backing to PM [Oct 23, 2011] SOFIA (Reuters) - Ruling party candidate Rosen Plevneliev is set to lead in the first round of Bulgaria's presidential election Sunday, but will probably need a run-off to secure the position after a campaign marred by protests and violence. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria PM Borisov set to tighten grip after polls [Oct 20, 2011] SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boiko Borisov is set to tighten his grip on power in the European Union's poorest member in presidential and local elections on Sunday, after a campaign marred by protests and violence. [via YahooNews] More >>

Berbatov snubs calls for Bulgaria return [Oct 19, 2011] BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has refused to come out of international retirement after several hundred Bulgarian fans made the trip to Romania to urge him to change his mind. [via YahooNews] More >>