Berlin: German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz reached an agreement with the Greens this week on a massive increase in state borrowing just days ahead of a parliamentary vote next week. This should ensure the package’s approval in the lower house of Germany’s parliament on Tuesday and by the upper house on Friday. Of the promised infrastructure […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: Producer prices in Bulgaria this week saw significant growth at the beginning of 2025, positioning the country among the fastest-growing in the European Union. According to Eurostat data, Bulgaria recorded the second-highest increase in producer prices within the EU in January 2025. Producer prices across the euro area and the EU increased more […]
Read MoreBerlin: US President Donald Trump this week sparked a tariff war with the US’ three largest trading partners, slapping 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and doubling an already imposed import tariff on China to 20%. On Thursday, he backtracked and postponed the tariffs on multiple imports from Mexico and some from Canada, but emphasised […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: In a post on X this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had had a meaningful conversation with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov and had “expressed gratitude for Bulgaria’s unwavering support for Ukraine”. “We deeply appreciate the solidarity of the Bulgarian people,” said Zelenskyy, who is attending the special European Council […]
Read MoreCelina Ali Islamabad: Pakistan’s trade future is receiving a vote of confidence from German trade leader Dr. Michael Arretz, Managing Director of the German Importers Association, who is demonstrating this through significant investments and initiatives. Dr. Arretz is currently in Pakistan, actively training local textile manufacturers, investing in the “Green Pakistan” project, and working to […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: Bulgaria’s Interior Minister, Daniel Mitov, said this week that the country’s border with Türkiye is among the best-protected external European Union frontiers, based on the statistical data. The Minister said that the Interior Ministry is managing quite well the increasing amounts of drugs being seized and human traffickers arrested along Bulgaria’s Schengen borders, […]
Read MoreCelina Ali Islamabad: In a significant step toward advancing climate action, prominent government leaders from Pakistan and Germany convened at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC&EC) for a high-level bilateral meeting. The discussions focused on strengthening Pakistan’s carbon market rules and regulations, policies, integrity, and infrastructure, with an emphasis on leveraging climate […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: Bulgaria had the lowest percentage in the European Union of internet users who made online purchases in 2024, EU statistics agency Eurostat said this week. Online shopping in the EU continues to expand, according to the latest annual survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals, Eurostat said. In 2024, 77 per […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: Customs officers from the district of Rousse in Bulgaria have stopped an attempt to smuggle 1620kg of refrigerant at the border with Romania. The truck, driven by a Bulgarian national, was stopped on the ring road of the city Vidin on the approach to the Vidin to Calafat bridge crossing to Romania. Also […]
Read MoreMunich: Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany on Saturday accused Vice President JD Vance of unacceptably interfering in his country’s imminent elections on behalf of a party that has played down the atrocities committed by the Nazis 80 years ago. A day after Mr. Vance stunned the Munich Security Conference by telling German leaders to drop […]
Read MoreCelina Ali Islamabad: Pakistan this week sought technical support from Germany to develop its climate action plans and accelerate the transition to clean energy sources, according to Coordinator to the Prime Minister for Climate Change, Romina Khurshid Alam. During a meeting with a three-member delegation from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, led […]
Read MoreSofia: The newly elected government in Sofia this week reaffirmed its commitment to the country’s entry into the eurozone in 2026 and promised to keep a tight lid on budget spending. PM Rosen Zhelyazkov announced that the 2025 budget will set a deficit of no more than 3%, which would meet the Maastricht criteria, amid […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: Bulgaria has made progress in meeting the convergence criteria for joining the eurozone, according to European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde. Speaking at a news conference, she noted that the assessment primarily falls under the European Commission’s jurisdiction but emphasized that the process in Bulgaria is advancing. Lagarde highlighted that the ECB’s […]
Read MoreTaxila: Frank Zak, a 49-year-old cyclist from Germany, is currently on a global cycling expedition, making his way through Pakistan. According to Zak, his journey is an effort to experience diverse cultures up close and spread a message of global peace. Zak began his journey from Germany on August 30, 2020, traversing multiple countries before […]
Read MoreVanessa Wachtmeister Berlin: At the age of 33, I sometimes feel like I’ve already lived a thousand lives. I’m originally from Los Angeles, and over the last decade, I’ve done everything from teaching English in China to serving as an emergency aid worker in Turkey during the war in Syria. After I completed my master’s […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: In 2024, Bulgaria secured approximately 32 billion leva in EU funding. A significant portion of these funds has been directed toward large-scale infrastructure ventures, making a visible impact across the country. Sofia received the largest portion, totalling 6.2 billion leva. Significant investments include expanding the Sofia Metro and other critical infrastructure upgrades. Plovdiv […]
Read MoreBerlin: Christian Wagner, spokesperson for German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, has some advice for Germans living abroad: If you want to make sure that your vote counts in the Bundestag election on February 23, get your election documents now, because getting the ballot paper with the party candidates in time, filling it out and sending […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: The Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivan Kondov, said this week that Bulgaria has made significant progress in meeting the needed requirements for inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program. Among the technical requirements for inclusion in this program is maintaining a tourist visa refusal rate for Bulgarians under three per cent. While […]
Read MoreAbdullah Jan Islamabad: Pakistani authorities this week announced the arrest of a suspected human smuggler from Azad Kashmir, accusing him of involvement in last year’s Greece boat tragedy that killed five nationals and charging him with sending one victim abroad after taking Rs 4.5 million ($16,200). The incident occurred in December when a wooden vessel […]
Read MoreBerlin: Germany’s Foreign Ministry this week launched a new digital platform for visa applications, with its Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock hailing it as “a real administrative revolution” in a press release. The digital portal, available here, aims to ease access to necessary documents for those wanting to work, study or join their family in Germany. […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: Sales of luxury and superluxury cars in Bulgaria reached a new record in 2024, according to data on new car registrations quoted by Dnevnik news outlet this week. Although Bulgaria remains the EU’s poorest country, Bulgarians purchased cars costing as much as €2.5mn, such as the limited edition Mercedes AMG One. Four Bulgarians […]
Read MoreSofia: In the summer, the beach of Shabla, a small town in northeastern Bulgaria, hosts families and tourists eager to spend time in a quiet natural place overlooking the Black Sea. A few kilometres away, right near the border with Romania, the town of Durankulak features a Neolithic archaeological site and a lake that provides […]
Read MoreAbdullah Jan Islamabad: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) this week arrested five suspects including a notorious human trafficker allegedly involved in the Greece boat tragedy. The operation was carried out by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Gujrat, Gujranwala, Sialkot, and Mandi Bahauddin. According to FIA Director Abdul Qadir Qamar, one of the arrested smugglers, […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: The ancient rock city of Perperikon has recently received international recognition, with its latest accolade coming from the renowned US tourism website, Islands.com. In an article published on December 20, 2024, the site compared Bulgaria’s Perperikon to Peru’s Machu Picchu, dubbing it the “European Machu Picchu.” This follows the site’s inclusion in The […]
Read MoreCelina Ali Islamabad: An investigation committee probing the recent Greece boat tragedy revealed the involvement of 31 officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The committee decided to place the names of FIA officers, including inspectors, sub-inspectors, and constables in the Passport Control List (PCL). According to sources, 19 FIA officers from Faisalabad Airport, three […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: Bulgaria would benefit to the tune of BGN1.63bn (€830mn) annually as a result of full accession in the Schengen border-free area, according to the Bulgarian Economic Research Institute (ERI). Bulgaria and Romania have been accepted into Schengen but only via sea and air, while the removal of their land borders was vetoed by […]
Read MoreNewswire Athens: The smart traffic cameras aim to curb violations, reduce accidents, and boost overall road safety in Greece. Greece has announced the rollout of an ambitious nationwide smart traffic camera system, in a bid to further enhance road safety and reduce traffic violations in a country notorious for its dangerous drivers and roads. The […]
Read MoreNewswire Karachi: Bulgarian Ambassador Irena Gancheva called on Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in Karachi this week. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations, economic and cultural cooperation and matters of mutual interest. On the occasion, Sindh Chief Minister apprised the Ambassador that Sindh government wants to enhance cooperation with Bulgaria in the […]
Read MoreAthens: Greece has decided to withdraw from the World Expo scheduled for next year in Osaka, Japan, the organizer said this week, with the European country citing fiscal constraints. It is the eighth country to drop out after initially planning to participate in the expo, to be hosted by the commercial hub of western Japan, […]
Read MoreTasos Kokkinidis Athens: A recent analysis of fossils recovered in the 1990s in the village of Nikiti in northern Greece supports the controversial theory that apes, the ancestors of humans, evolved in Southeastern Europe instead of Africa. The 8 or 9-million-year-old fossils had first been linked to the extinct ape called Ouranopithecus. However, a team […]
Read MoreAthens: High above the sparkling surface of the Athens coastline, the cranes for building the 50-floor luxury tower centerpiece of Greece’s future “smart city” look out over the Saronic Gulf. At their feet, construction machinery stirs up dust. Its backers say the 8 billion euro (US$8.43 billion) project financed by private funds is a symbol […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: A Bulgarian-led initiative to bring down electricity prices by improving energy interconnection in the region of southeastern Europe was backed by eight countries at COP29 in Baku. The project was announced by Bulgarian energy minister Vladimir Malinov, in the presence of the President of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, and the Prime Minister of the […]
Read MoreCelina Ali Islamabad: Greece emerged as the sixth most popular Schengen Area country for visa applications in 2023, according to data from SchengenVisaInfo. The country received 627,008 visa requests, accounting for over 6% of all Schengen visa applications submitted this year. The majority of these applications originated from Turkish citizens, totaling 254,377 (40.5%), followed by […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: Bulgaria has approved humanitarian aid amounting to 929,019 leva to support Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Armenia. This assistance will be offered as voluntary contributions through international organizations, as confirmed by a recent government decision. The funds are designated for several prominent humanitarian agencies, including the United Nations Office for the Coordination […]
Read MoreNewswire Athens: “Eighty-four years later, our country is a pillar of stability in a prolonged troubled neighbourhood, a reliable factor for peace, supported by strong Armed Forces that ensure our deterrent power. A prerequisite for this responsible patriotism—healthy patriotism—is dynamic and sustainable economic growth. We need an economy that guarantees a prosperous, safer, and fairer […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: Bulgaria celebrated its National Awakeners’ Day on November 1. Every year on this day, the nation honours its teachers, writers, enlighteners and freedom-fighters who have preserved the spiritual and moral values of the Bulgarians. Hundreds of champions of the Bulgarians’ national self-awareness and pride are remembered on Awakeners’ Day. Having lived manly in […]
Read MoreNewswire Athens: A badly damaged tablet from 5079 BC discovered in Greece may shatter archaeological consensus about the earliest human writings. Archaeologists believe that the first writing wasn’t developed until 3,000 to 4,000 BC in Sumeria, which is modern-day Iraq. However, academics have been debating whether the Dispilio Tablet’s markings are forms of written communication […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: Authorities in Bulgaria say they have seized a large quantity of counterfeit banknotes after dismantling an operation for their production in the northern town of Shumen. Law enforcement agents on Tuesday said the fake bills, made in 50 Bulgarian lev, $50, and €500 denominations, had been released into circulation, passing through several banks […]
Read MoreNewswire Athens: A first round of dialogue with all national social partners is under way, with the main topic of discussion being how much and how the minimum wage will increase after 2027, Labor Minister Niki Kerameus said on Saturday in an interview with Mega TV. Kerameus noted that the prime minister has already unveiled […]
Read MoreNewswire Sofia: Bulgaria is the 21st safest country out of 38 countries in Europe, ranking between Poland and Spain. This country gets 1.643 points measured by the Global Peace Index (GPI) in the ranking of the NGO World Population Review. The Global Peace Index measures a country’s level of Negative Peace using three domains of […]
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