Bulgaria

Bulgaria sees its population decline by 11.5% in a decade

Bulgaria’s population has declined by 11.5% in the past decade, according to first results from the 2021 census. The National Statistical Institute said that the nation has shrunk by 844,000…

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Bulgaria detects first cases of Omicron coronavirus variant

Bulgaria has detected its first 12 cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the Balkan country's chief health inspector Angel Kunchev said. "We have confirmed the new variant in…

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Bulgaria hikes natural gas price by 30.4%

SOFIA, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's energy regulator said on Saturday it has approved a 30.4% increase of the wholesale natural gas price for this month, following a request by…

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Bulgaria offers cash reward to boost vaccination rates among pensioners

SOFIA, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said on Thursday that elderly people who get a COVID-19 shot will be eligible for a cash reward as part…

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Bulgaria’s PP party expects to forge coalition government soon

Bulgaria's largest political party, We Continue The Change (PP), expects to forge a coalition government with three other parties soon and put an end to a political deadlock, PP leader…

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Bulgaria’s PP party expects to forge coalition government soon

SOFIA, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's largest political party, We Continue The Change (PP), expects to forge a coalition government with three other parties soon and put an end to…

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Investigators say human error likely cause of deadly Bulgaria bus crash

FIA, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Bulgarian investigators said on Thursday that human error was the most likely cause of a bus crash that killed more than 40 people. The bus…

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UPDATED – Flaming bus crash in Bulgaria kills 45 North Macedonian tourists

SOFIA (Reuters) -At least 45 people, including 12 children, died as a bus carrying mostly North Macedonian tourists crashed in flames on a highway in western Bulgaria on Tuesday, officials…

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Bulgarian President Radev wins second term on anti-corruption ticket

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev won a second term in office by a wide margin on Sunday as voters in the European Union's poorest country backed his strong anti-corruption message, exit…

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Tired of rampant graft, Bulgarians vote in presidential election

SOFIA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Bulgarians are voting on Sunday to choose the country's next president in a run-off election, weary of widespread corruption in the European Union's poorest member…

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EU urges Bulgaria to speed up coronavirus vaccinations

Bulgaria needs to speed up vaccinations against the coronavirus to limit the health risks for its people and for other countries, the EU internal market commissioner in charge of vaccine…

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Deaths 50% above normal in Bulgaria, EU’s least vaccinated country -Eurostat

More than 50% more people died in Bulgaria than usual during September, official data showed, making the European Union's least vaccinated country its hardest-hit during a resurgence of coronavirus cases over the…

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Update: Petkov scores high in Bulgarians vote in third election this year

Update Entrepreneur and political newcomer Kiril Petkov scored unexpectedly strongly in Bulgaria’s election on Sunday, according to exit polls that suggested he was running close to winning the vote and…

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Fire at hospital in Bulgaria kills three COVID-19 patients

SOFIA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Three men died when a fire broke out in a COVID-19 ward of a hospital in the southern Bulgarian city of Sliven early on Sunday,…

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Morgues fill up in Romania and Bulgaria amid low Covid vaccine uptake

Romania and Bulgaria are recording the EU’s highest daily death rates from Covid-19, after superstition, misinformation and entrenched mistrust in governments and institutions combined to leave them the least vaccinated…

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Bulgaria’s GERB with strong lead for Nov. 14 election, opinion poll shows

SOFIA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party kept a substantial lead over its rivals before Sunday's parliamentary election that will be the country's third this year, an opinion…

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Bulgaria’s daily COVID-19 deaths rise to record high

Bulgaria reported a record number of daily coronavirus deaths on Tuesday as the European Union's least vaccinated country grapples with a fourth wave of the pandemic, official data showed. New…

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Bulgaria reports African swine fever outbreak at industrial farm

SOFIA, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Bulgarian veterinary authorities on Monday reported a new outbreak of African swine fever at an industrial farm that has a total of 180 pigs in…

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Bulgaria hits record high daily coronavirus cases, hospitals stretched

Bulgaria's tally of coronavirus infections has risen by 6,813 in the past 24 hours, a record daily increase as the European Union's least vaccinated country grapples with a fourth wave…

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U.S. considering adding Israel, Romania, Bulgaria to visa waiver program

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the United States is considering adding four countries to its visa waiver program that allows citizens to come to America without a visa…

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Police detain 11 across Europe in mafia probe

Police in Germany, Italy and Bulgaria detained 11 people and raided 46 residential and commercial buildings in an investigation into tax fraud by the Italian mafia involving the trade in…

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Bulgaria makes COVID ‘health pass’ obligatory for leisure activities

Bulgaria will make a COVID-19 "Green Certificate" mandatory for indoor access to restaurants, cinemas, gyms and shopping malls, the health minister said, as the country struggles with a rising number…

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Bulgaria submits recovery plan to EU Commission

SOFIA, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Bulgaria will submit its recovery plan to the European Commission on Friday to allow access to billions of euros of pandemic aid, interim Prime Minister…

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EU top diplomat says Bulgaria should be more flexible on EU expansion to Western Balkans

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that Bulgaria should be more flexible on EU expansion to Western Balkans. Bulgaria is against North Macedonia, already a NATO member, joining…

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Bulgarian police detain 3 foreigners after sensitive data goes missing at arms plant

Three senior foreign employees of Bulgaria's biggest weapons maker Arsenal have been arrested on suspicion of being involved in the disappearance of sensitive products and documents from the company's plant,…

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Bulgaria centre-right party endorses university rector for president

SOFIA, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party on Friday endorsed a university rector to run for president in a contest to be held in tandem with a parliamentary…

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New centrist faction to run in Bulgaria’s third election this year

Popular former interim economy and finance ministers have set up a centrist political faction to compete in Bulgaria's third parliamentary election this year on pledges to tackle widespread corruption and…

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UPDATED: Bulgaria reappoints caretaker PM ahead of third election of 2021

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev reappointed caretaker premier Stefan Yanev on Thursday to lead an interim government until the country holds its third set of parliamentary elections this year on Nov.…

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Bulgarian president calls November 14 snap polls

President Rumen Radev has called Bulgaria's third parliamentary election this year for Nov. 14 after inconclusive polls in April and July failed to produce a government, the president's media office…

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Bulgaria’s parliament approves 2021 budget changes ahead of polls

SOFIA, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's parliament approved on Saturday changes to the 2021 state budget aimed at shielding the country from an upsurge in coronavirus cases and woo struggling…

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Bulgaria, EU’s least vaccinated nation, faces deadly surge

Bulgaria has one of the highest coronavirus death rates in the 27-nation European Union and is facing a new, rapid surge of infections due to the more infectious delta variant.…

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Bulgaria imposes new restrictions to curb surge in COVID cases

Restaurants and bars in Bulgaria will have to close at 10 p.m. from Sept. 7, while indoor sports competitions will be held without spectators, the health minister said on Thursday,…

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UPDATED: Bulgaria to hold presidential election on Nov.14

Bulgaria will hold a presidential election on Nov. 14, lawmakers decided on Thursday, as the politically fractured country also gears up for a snap parliamentary election likely to take place…

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Bulgaria’s Socialists try to form unlikely government

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev asked the Socialist party on Friday to try to form a government, despite a slim chance of success, in a bid to avoid a third general…

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New election likely after Bulgaria’s GERB party fails to form government

Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party on Friday became the second political party to give up trying to form a new government since last month's inconclusive parliamentary poll, bringing the Balkan country…

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€2.7 billion to support the Covid-19 recovery in Spain, Bulgaria, Italy, Hungary and Germany

The Commission has approved the modification of six Operational Programmes (OP) for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) in Spain, Bulgaria, Italy, Hungary and Germany under REACT-EU for a total of €2.7…

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Elections loom as Bulgarian lawmakers allow anti-elite party to withdraw proposed govt

Bulgarian lawmakers voted on Thursday to allow the anti-establishment There Is Such a People (ITN) party to withdraw its proposed government, bringing the European Union's poorest country closer to its…

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Bulgaria’s interim government offers to revamp budget and raise pensions

Bulgaria's interim government proposes to amend the 2021 fiscal budget and use surplus revenue to boost state pensions and prepare the Balkan country for any upsurge in the COVID-19 pandemic,…

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Bulgaria faces instability as poll suggests razor-thin win for GERB

Bulgaria faced prolonged political instability on Monday after a national election appeared to result in a razor-thin victory for the anti-establishment There Is Such a People (ITN) and no clear…

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European Parliament recommends Romania, Bulgaria for full Schengen membership

The European Parliament adopted, with 505 votes against 134 and 54 abstentions, a report in which it reiterates that Romania and Bulgaria must be fully integrated into the Schengen area…

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UPDATED: Bulgaria’s centre-right GERB just ahead in election, unlikely to form government

The centre-right GERB party of former prime minister Boyko Borissov has a narrow lead in Bulgaria's parliamentary election, partial official results showed on Monday, but it is unlikely to be…

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Bulgaria’s centre-right GERB party seen narrowly leading in general election-exit polls

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's centrе-right GERB party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov was seen winning Sunday's national election with around 22-23% of the vote, exit polls by Gallup International…

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Bulgarians vote in second national election in 3 months amid anger over corruption

Bulgarians vote in a parliamentary election on Sunday that will decide whether protest parties can form the next government after a decade of political dominance by long-serving premier Boyko Borissov.…

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Bulgaria’s new anti-establishment party nearly tied with GERB in polls before Sunday vote

Bulgaria's new anti-establishment party There Is Such a People (ITN) is almost tied for support with the centre-right GERB, which has been in power for most of the past decade,…

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Bulgaria considers incentives to boost COVID-19 vaccinations

Bulgaria is considering offering incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, interim Prime Minister Stefan Yanev said. Bulgaria is one of the few countries where people can choose…

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Bulgaria sticks to plans to adopt the euro from Jan 1, 2024

Bulgaria is sticking to its target to adopt the euro currency from January 1, 2024 and plans to start payments in euros without any transitional period once it joins the…

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Bulgarian organized-crime police probing 14 illegal kidney transplants

Bulgarian organized-crime investigators are probing 14 cases of foreign nationals receiving kidney transplants in violation of law stipulating that donors must be family members, the interior minister said on Thursday.…

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Bulgaria’s new ITN party neck-and-neck with GERB before July election

Bulgaria's new anti-establishment party There Is Such a People (ITN) stood neck-and-neck with centre-right GERB, which has been in power for most of the past decade, ahead of a snap…

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Bulgaria’s GERB party keeps slim lead before July election

Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party has a slim lead over the anti-establishment ITN before a July 11 election, an opinion poll showed this week. It maintained its lead despite a drop…

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Bulgaria to ease rules for mask wearing indoors

Bulgaria plans to lift the compulsory wearing of face masks in gyms, hairdressing salons, small shops and offices where all workers are vaccinated as coronavirus infections decrease, a deputy health…

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Sobolev penalty gives Russia 1-0 win over Bulgaria in Euro build-up

Substitute Aleksandr Sobolev's late penalty earned Russia a 1-0 win over Bulgaria in their final warm-up friendly before the European Championship kicks off next Friday. Sobolev coolly directed his penalty…

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Bulgaria to set up its own ‘blacklist’ after U.S. graft sanctions

Bulgaria will set up its own "blacklist" of companies and people associated with three Bulgarians and 64 entities that the United States has imposed sanctions on over alleged corruption, preventing…

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Bulgaria launches $1.55 bln guarantee scheme to support small businesses

Bulgaria will launch a new 2.5 billion levs ($1.55 billion) guarantee scheme to help small and medium businesses get bank loans and speed up its economic recovery, interim Economy Minister…

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Bulgarians welcome U.S. corruption sanctions, EU nods approval

Leading Bulgarian politicians welcomed U.S. sanctions on three Bulgarians and 64 companies linked to them over alleged corruption on Thursday, while the European Union signalled its approval by saying it…

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U.S. blacklists 3 Bulgarians, 64 companies over corruption

The United States imposed sanctions on three Bulgarians and 64 companies linked to them over alleged corruption, including an oligarch accused of planning to create a conduit for Russian political…

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Gas pipeline link between Bulgaria and Greece delayed until June 2022

A gas pipeline between Greece and Bulgaria aimed at helping Sofia wean off Russian gas has hit another delay and will not become operational until June 2022, the head of…

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Bulgaria’s GERB party keeps small lead ahead of July snap poll

Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party has kept a small lead over the anti-elitist ITN grouping ahead of a July 11 snap parliamentary election despite waning popularity over its failure to uproot…

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