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Nurgyul Salimova, Bulgaria's highest-ranked female chess player, has warned she doesn't know whether she'll be allowed to compete internationally after 1 July as a dispute between rival Bulgarian chess federations threatens sanctions from the sport's world governing body.
Fentanyl-related deaths in Bulgaria began rising in late 2024, but officials have focused on arresting users and low-level dealers rather than building prevention, harm reduction or youth treatment capacity, according to frontline addiction workers.
On this date in 1965, Bulgaria played Israel in a World Cup qualifier at Vasil Levski Stadium. The match ended 2-1 to Bulgaria, a footnote in the wider story of how a tiny Balkan nation briefly became a footballing force.
Bulgaria's calendar today marks the death of a man who hurled a bomb at a Greek café in Ottoman Thessaloniki, survived a death sentence, endured exile in the Sahara, and died penniless in Sofia. Here's the story British expats rarely encounter outside specialist histories of the Macedonian struggle.
Bulgarian National Television has released the complete broadcast schedule for the FIFA World Cup, which kicks off tonight with Mexico vs South Africa at 22:00 on BNT 1 and BNT 3. The tournament runs through 19 July with 104 matches spanning group stages, knockouts, and the final.
On 11 June 1975, Bulgaria defeated Malta 2-0 at Vasil Levski Stadium in a European Championship qualifier that nobody under fifty remembers, but which sits in the official record as one of those quiet victories that built the team's reputation. Here's why it matters if you live here now.
Bulgaria held its first free election since 1931 on this date in 1990, ending the one-party era. Here's what the day meant then, what the controversy still means now, and why you'll see Antonina name days celebrated quietly.
On 9 June 1923, army officers staged a midnight coup that ended Bulgaria's agrarian government and kicked off a summer of violence. Here's why this date still casts a shadow over the country's modern politics.
On 8 June 1997, Bulgaria played Luxembourg in a World Cup qualifier at the Vasil Levski Stadium. The final score was 4-0, which sounds respectable until you remember Luxembourg's population is smaller than Plovdiv's and they'd conceded seven to the Czech Republic three days earlier.
Nikola Tsolov secured his third Formula 2 victory of the 2026 season after winning Monaco's feature race on Saturday, extending a streak that now includes wins at the Principality across three consecutive years.
Bulgaria's calendar today gives you a parliamentary election from 1908 and the most photogenic festival of the year. Here's what's worth knowing if you live here.
The German hypermarket chain has rolled out monthly rental spaces at five Sofia branches, with demand in dense residential districts exceeding expectations and the 46-space Iztok lot reportedly gone within hours of launch.
Two drivers face intentional homicide charges after allegedly organising an illegal race on Chelopeshko Shose, slamming into a public bus at speeds exceeding 150 km/h. One car burst into flames, firefighters prevented worse, and a third victim later died in hospital.
On 6 June 1979, at the Vasil Levski Stadium in Sofia, England beat Bulgaria 3-0 in a European Championship qualifier, a comfortable away win on the road to Euro 1980 and a chastening night for a Bulgarian side already well past its 1960s peak.
Finance Minister Galab Donev confirmed European Commission projections showing Bulgaria's budget deficit reaching 4.1% of GDP this year, while defending the government's eurozone entry data as accurate despite acknowledging what he called 'accounting tricks'.
A 30-year-old Shumen native arrested under a UK warrant, two children crashed a stolen car in Varbitsa, 43 packs of untaxed cigarettes seized on a routine stop, and storms brought down trees across the region. Four separate incidents, no immediate British angle, but these are the stories from your corner of Bulgaria this week.
The European Commission has advanced infringement proceedings against Bulgaria for failing to grant legal aid to suspects, not just accused persons, under EU law. Bulgaria now has two months to respond or face the European Court of Justice.
Four years ago today, Bulgaria beat Georgia 5-2 in their best attacking performance in nearly a decade. Here's why that match still matters, and what it tells you about Bulgarian football if you're trying to understand the sport here.
A 42-year-old man in Shumen city arrested with nearly 200 doses of narcotics for distribution, fourth-graders sitting their national maths exam, and a Varna court upholds permanent detention for a man who deliberately drove his car into a neighbour. Plus: fake driving licences, untaxed vape liquid, and a healthy-living campaign for kindergartens.
Dozens of schools, airports and media outlets evacuated on 4 June after mass email hoax. Police say messages originated from Italy, no explosives found.
The OECD has lowered Bulgaria's GDP growth expectations to 2.5% in 2026 and 2.3% in 2027, warning that inflation will remain elevated at 4.3% this year before easing to 3.4% next year, driven by energy price pressures linked to Middle East tensions.
Bulgaria's calendar today gives you a World Cup qualifier that still stings slightly, one forename celebrating, and an ordinary Thursday where the banks are open and the roads are clear. Here's what you need to know if you live here.
Global hip-hop star ASAP Rocky will perform at Arena Sofia on 9 October 2026, marking his first concert in Bulgaria. Tickets reportedly start at €66, with early access opening this week for Fest Club members.
A kitchen fire at a Sunny Beach restaurant prompted a multi-team emergency response on Wednesday morning. All staff and customers escaped unharmed, and nearby hotel guests were evacuated as a precaution.
Rumen Radev contradicts his governing coalition's proposals in parliament, insisting no pension cuts or F-16 missile purchases will proceed despite his own MPs tabling them.
3 June 1893: the day Bulgaria gained a composer who would shape the country's operetta tradition, write four symphonies, and teach generations at the State Music Academy. Here's what you need to know about the man whose marching songs once soundtracked the post-war years, and why his name still anchors Sofia's classical-music landscape.
The energy regulator has capped household price increases well below the 30% average demanded by suppliers, keeping Bulgarian energy costs among Europe's lowest despite mounting market pressures.
New pensions granted after July 1 will no longer include the €30 COVID top-up. Current pensioners keep their supplement, but the policy has triggered a political row over fiscal priorities and who carries the burden.
Sirens sounded across the country at noon on Monday as Bulgaria marked Botev Day and the 150th anniversary of Hristo Botev's death near Okolchitsa Peak. More than 1,800 people completed the annual pilgrimage march retracing his detachment's final route from Kozloduy to Okolchitsa, where historical reenactments and solemn ceremonies took place throughout the day.
2 June is Bulgaria's most solemn national remembrance day. Sirens sound at noon, the entire country stops, and every Bulgarian old enough to have been through primary school can recite at least one Botev poem from memory. Here's what British expats need to know.
Thunderstorms are forecast across most of Bulgaria on Tuesday, including Shumen and the Black Sea coast. A 22-year-old driver from Smyadovo was caught after a high-speed chase through central Shumen, racking up nearly 30 penalty points. Shumen's children celebrated their day with concerts, competitions, and a theatrical costume contest, while medical students got a close look at Bulgarian Army equipment.
Progressive Bulgaria MP Vladimir Nikolov says major supermarkets have agreed to cut prices by around 15% under a government-backed scheme, though the detail and enforcement remain unclear.
British expats in Bulgaria have four weeks left to exchange leftover leva into euros at banks and post offices without charge. From 1 July, fees are expected.
Official meteorologists predict above-average temperatures, afternoon thunderstorms in the first fortnight, and a hotter, more settled pattern through the solstice.
Bulgaria's calendar today gives you a 1977 friendly match that left no mark on the national memory, two forenames celebrating, and the municipal day for a city that once minted the country's renegade governors. Here's what's worth knowing if you live here.
Rumen Radev has replaced senior officials across security, customs, energy, agriculture and registry agencies in less than a month. The overhaul follows a rare absolute majority and fits a pattern, but the scale is unusual even by Bulgarian standards.
Bulgaria's largest open-air book event opens on 1 June in the park outside the National Palace of Culture, running until 7 June with free entry and a parallel children's literature festival featuring British mythologist Thiago de Moraes.
Bulgaria won the senior women's team title at the 2026 European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Varna, while Stiliyana Nikolova secured her third consecutive European podium finish with individual all-around silver.
Saturday afternoon brings scattered thunderstorms across Bulgaria, Shumen's rally team takes the lead in Dryanovo, a legal row erupts in Nikola Kozlevo's council chamber, an animal rights protest assembles at the courthouse, and the Vasiliy Drumev Theatre unveils its new children's show. Five short stories from the city and the region.
Bulgaria's calendar today marks the death of a cellist-composer who spent half his career in America, won competitions across three continents, and taught at Florida State until his death in Tallahassee in 2005. Here's why his name matters if you live in a country where classical music still carries real weight.
The European Commission is set to launch an excessive deficit procedure against Bulgaria within days, with the country's budget deficit forecast to hit 4.1% of GDP this year and 4.3% in 2027. The move comes barely five months after Bulgaria adopted the euro.
Rumen Radev now enjoys 56% public trust according to a Market Links survey for bTV, making him the only political figure with a positive approval balance. Parliament's standing has tripled in a month, but the public wants prosecutions, not promises.
Bulgaria's calendar today marks three years since the death of one of the country's most accomplished character actors, plus four name days and the municipal celebration for the town that powers half the nation's lights. Here's what you need to know if you live here.
Moscow said it sees no sign Bulgaria's new government wants to restore dialogue. Shumen's road police ran checks on drink-driving and technical standards. A documentary film about getting older in Bulgaria screens next week, and work has begun on a new roundabout and a multi-million euro Arena Shumen refurbishment. The city's oldest chitalishte marks its 170th anniversary with a concert.
A 61-year-old passenger shot himself at the Bulgarian border crossing in Ruse after officers spotted what appeared to be a weapon in his bag. A border police officer was injured in the struggle that followed.
Bulgaria's calendar today gives you an interwar election that ushered in a brief moment of stability before the Great Depression hit, plus one northern town holding its municipal day. Here's what you need to know if you live here.
Progressive Bulgaria proposes locking parliamentary pay at one level, severing the link to average wages and requiring future increases to pass through the annual budget. The party also plans procedural reforms it says will restore order to a National Assembly critics describe as dysfunctional.
After three years sat ready with plans, permits and funding in place, construction on the Ruse to Byala motorway section officially started this week. Regional Development Minister Ivan Shishkov says the era of political announcements without follow-through is over.
Customs officers seized more than 1,000 shipments containing narcotics hidden in everyday consumer goods during a 12-day operation, with some parcels allegedly ordered by minors and parents unaware of the contents.
Today marks the anniversary of the 2009 Yambol bus crash, one of the deadliest road accidents in modern Bulgarian history. Eighteen people died on Ascension Day when a bus with 23% brake force ploughed into pilgrims. Here's what happened, and why the case still haunts Bulgarian road-safety debates.
Shumen municipality wants faster traffic on the road to Mătnitsa, old heating stoves will come out from 15 June, a sculptor's portrait collection opens at the new Eleonora gallery, schoolchildren from the village of Madara get a STEM centre, and the appeals court has released a suspect in a March death case on bail.
The 2026 harvest is expected to fall 45 million tons short worldwide, marking the first time in years that consumption will outstrip production. Bulgaria's projected output of 6 to 6.5 million tons should still cover domestic needs and leave room for exports, according to commodity exchange officials.
Eurostat data for 2025 show Bulgaria's poverty risk rate fell from 21.7% to 21.2%, enough to move it off the highest spot it held in 2024. Lithuania and Latvia now lead, while Bulgaria remains among the EU's most socially vulnerable member states.
Selling abandoned rural homes for a symbolic euro sounds appealing, and economists say it could help reverse Bulgaria's demographic collapse in places like the Rhodope Mountains and Northwestern Bulgaria. The catch: buyers commit to €20,000 to €60,000 in renovations, and without reliable infrastructure, even restored villages struggle to keep anyone living there. The scheme is currently only a proposal, not an operational programme.
GERB has tabled amendments to the Child Protection Act that would bar children under 16 from social media platforms and ban mobile phones in schools altogether. Age verification technology and parental-consent mechanisms form the core of the proposals, though enforcement details remain unspecified.
New regulations will require all passenger cars and light commercial vehicles to carry at least 1 kilogram of powder extinguishing agent, with certification checks added to annual inspections. The Interior Ministry has published draft rules for consultation.
Bulgaria's calendar today gives you a parliamentary election from 1884 that triggered internal party warfare, plus one small town west of Sofia celebrating its municipal day. Here's what you actually need to know if you live here, and why this particular Wednesday in late May matters more than you'd think.
A 64-year-old woman missing since 24 May was found safe in village Velino. Police arrested two men for drink-driving, one with 1.86 promille. Planned power cuts affect parts of the city and surrounding villages on 26 May, while work continues on tightening parking rules at the DKC1 car park.
New transparency rules from 7 June mean any employee can request written salary data by position and gender. Employers get two months to respond, and larger firms face annual reporting from 2027.
We spend a lot of time explaining Bulgarian customs to British expats. Today, we flip the script. To our wonderful Bulgarian friends, neighbours and partners: here is what is really going on inside the British head.