Bulgaria’s boxer Rami Kiwan achieved the biggest success of his career at the European Boxing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. He defeated Russia’s Dzhambulat Bizhamov 3:2 in the men’s 75 kg final. At the beginning of April, the 23-year-old Bulgarian won an Olympic quota in the 71 kg category. Rami was losing after the first round, but managed to win the second round, despite receiving a cut. In the decisive third round, Kiwan was equal to Bizhamov. The fight had to be reviewed by the ringside observer, who awarded him the victory.

Two other Bulgarians also competed for the gold medals. In the 60 kg category, Radoslav Rosenov lost to Vsevolod Shumkov (Russia) 0:5. In the 57 kg category, Javier Ibanez lost to Eduard Savin (Russia) 1:4. Bulgaria won 2 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze medals at theEuropean Boxing Championships.

• Svetlana Kamenova wins gold in European Boxing Championships

  
  

Two world-famous Bulgarian musicians - violinist Mario Hossen and opera singer Krassimira Stoyanova, will partner this evening in Varna with the chamber ensemble "The Virtuosi of La Scala". The concert is to close the "European Music Festival" and is the first of the accompanying program of the international music festival "Varna Summer" 2024.

The program of the concert will have an Easter spirit and will present some of the famous examples of the Italian and German Baroque. Mario Hossen will perform Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" and will also be a conductor. Soprano Krassimira Stoyanova will sing famous arias from works by Bach and Handel.

"Working with such exceptional professionals is a creative experience. It is easy to work with people who are familiar with the musical language, with the aesthetics of the musical message", Mario Hossen told BNR’s Radio Varna.

On Monday, it will be sunny over the western regions of Bulgaria, while there will be considerable cloudiness with rain showers in the eastern part of the country. In the afternoon, rainfalls can be expected in the central parts of Bulgaria. The wind will pick up, bringing cooler air with it. The lowest temperatures will be between 6° and 11°C, in Sofia - about 7°, and the maximum will be about 16°-17°C in eastern Bulgaria to 26°C in the southwestern regions; in Sofia - about 20°C.

It will be mostly cloudy at the Black Sea coast with precipitation, more significant along the southern parts of the coast. The highest temperatures will be about 15°-19°C and the sea water temperature – about 14°-15°.

In the mountains of western Bulgaria it will be sunny; in the afternoon with cumulus clouds, but no precipitation. In Strandzha and Sakar it will be mostly cloudy with rain showers. Over the massifs of the rest of the country in the afternoon, cumulus clouds will develop and short-term rainfalls can be expected. There will be moderate to strong northeasterly wind. The highest temperature at 1200 m will be about 13°C; at 2000 m - about 5°C.

Big global brands should stop their advertisements in pro-Kremlin media in the Balkans and especially in Bulgaria and Serbia - this is what a group of MEPs call for in a letter, BNR correspondent in Brussels Angelina Piskova reported, quoting "Politico". The document was signed by sixteen people, including Andrey Kovachev from the group of the European People's Party.

"Anti-democratic narratives by malicious forces are a serious threat to our democracy, especially in this crucial election year," the Bulgarian MEP told Politico.

EU officials and experts are warning of a growing wave of fake news online and attempts from abroad to influence the vote in June's European elections.

The authors of the letter are MEPs from the EPP, "Renew Europe", socialists and moderate greens.

Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev will not receive a salary in his capacity as Foreign Minister. He is giving up the remuneration of 4650 euros and will only receive one salary of 5621 euros as Prime Minister.

At Dimitar Glavchev's suggestion, President Rumen Radev dismissed the current caretaker foreign minister and signed a decree authorizing Glavchev to combine the two roles.

• Caretaker PM Dimitar Glavchev to double up as caretaker foreign minister

Boryana Kaleyn finished third in the hoop final at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup in Tashkent. Yesterday she also won a bronze in the all-around event.

In the clubs final, Boryana Kaleyn took fourth place, in balls she was fifth and with the ribbon she placed seventh.

In her only final, Bulgaria's other representative Nikol Todorova made serious mistakes and ended up in eighth place.

After the elections, GERB will not negotiate for a new government with the co-chairmen of "We Continue the Change" Kiril Petkov and Asen Vassilev, as well as with the former prime minister Nikolay Denkov, but would accept some of the parties in the PP-DB coalition as future partners. This was what party leader Boyko Borissov told journalists. According to him, only "Democratic Bulgaria" behaves reasonably.

"Of course, I will work with PP and DB, but not according to theirs, but with the power of GERB in governance - with our prime ministers, with our ministers." Boyko Borisov said.

DPS, according to the leader of GERB, is the formation which one can have normal talks with. He did not give a definitive answer to the question of whether his party was ready to form an independent government after the early vote.

• Entering into joint government with GERB-SDS was a big mistake, Kiril Petkov says

The co-chairman of PP-DB Kiril Petkov defined entering into a joint government with GERB-SDS as a "big mistake". "We did not realize how dependent Borisov was on Peevski," he told BNR.

The goal for the PP-DB is to shed light on GERB leader’s dependence on the DPS co-chairman and the fact that Boyko Borisov cannot make decisions on his own, Kiril Petkov also said. According to him, the coalition he represents will sit at the negotiating table after the elections only if this dependence was broken.

Kiril Petkov denied that he patronized a smuggling channel in the customs, as well as accusations that together with Lena Borislavova (head of his political cabinet 2021-2022) as members of an NGO, falsified documents regarding sea beaches. "Apparently they cannot follow the real ideas of what Bulgaria should look like and they want to push us into the mud. The good thing is that the beaches of Karol, Karadere and Irakli have been preserved together with a 500 m strip behind them", he commented.

Voters in the EU countries will be able to vote for candidates for both the Bulgarian and the European Parliament, while those outside the EU will only elect MPs for the Bulgarian National Assembly as in the polling stations there will be voting machines and paper ballots available, CEC Chair Kamelia Neykova told BNR.

On June 9 this year the Bulgarians will simultaneously elect their representatives in the National Assembly and European Parliament.

"In stations in our diplomatic representations and in consulates in countries outside the European Union, it will be possible to vote for National Assembly and for European Parliament, if the voter has a current address in the EU as of March 9," Kamelia Neikova added.

In the 2 in 1 vote, Bulgarian citizens will be able to choose between 22 parties and 11 coalitions.

• Bulgaria to open polling stations in 60 countries for 2-in-1 elections

Bulgarian Svetlana Kamenova won the title at the European Boxing Championships in Belgrade in the category of up to 57 kg. The boxer, who in less than three months will participate in the Olympics in Paris, won the final against Russian Daria Abramova.

Bulgarian Zlatislava Chukanova won a silver medal from the European Championships in the 50kg category after losing the final against Ireland's Shannon Sweeney.

Bulgaria’s female boxers finished the competition with a total of five medals, including the bronze medals of Sevda Asenova (48 kg), Venelina Poptoleva (52 kg) and Aslihan Mehmedova (63 kg).

At a meeting between the Bulgarian and Turkish energy ministers in Istanbul,the Bulgarian side expressed desire to revise the agreement between "Bulgargaz" and "Botas" for the supply of gas. Turkey showed understanding and readiness for continued cooperation, the Ministry of Energy has announced.

A week ago, the National Assembly assigned the caretaker minister Vladimir Malinov to take steps to renegotiate the agreement, according to which Bulgaria owes nearly 500,000 dollars to the Turkish company every day for capacity that is not being used.

Vladimir Malinov and Alparslan Bayraktar have agreed to continue their cooperation to ensure the diversification and security of energy supplies. The two have tasked the management of "Bulgargaz" and "Botas" to work on the agreement.

The ministers also discussed the possibility of increasing the connectivity between the electricity and gas transmission systems of Bulgaria and Turkey.

• Parliament tasks the Minister of Energy with renegotiating the agreement between Bulgartransgaz and Botas

The Wilson Gallery and Museum in the British town of Cheltenham displays a unique collection of paintings by a Bulgarian emigrant who lived and worked in the the UK for many years. The exhibition features works by iconic artists including Amedeo Modigliani, Vanessa Bell, Pablo Picasso, Duncan Grant, etc, Dnevnik newspaper reported.

The valuable art collection is owned by the Bulgarian Mattei Radev. In 1950, he fled from the totalitarian regime in Bulgaria and, after a perilous journey, settled in London, where he worked as a hospital orderly. There Mattei met surgeon and gay rights activist Patrick Trevor-Roper, who introduced the Bulgarian to English high society.

With the help of the British surgeon, Mattei Radev was hired at the "Robert Wellington" gallery. There, he learned how to make picture frames, working with some of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.

What is now knows as the Radev Collection was started by British collectors and critics Eddie Sackville-West and Eardley Knollys. In 1991, Knolys left it to Mattei who added to the collection himself, and at one point the collection comprised 800 paintings.

Paintings that were once his property are currently on display at The Wilson gallery in Cheltenham. The exhibition will be open to visitors until the beginning of September 2024. You can find more information about the exhibition on the  website: https://www.cheltenhammuseum.org.uk/event/radev. 

An egg-painting workshops is opening today in the garden of the former Knyazheski palace, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences’ National Ethnographic Museum has announced. The Museum is co-organizer of the event, alongside Sofia municipality.  

During the workshop, museum experts will demonstrate the traditional egg-dyeing technique and will tell the children about the ritual Easter practices, the role of the red egg in legends and customs, and about the patterns on the painted eggs and what they symbolize.

The participants will be able to paint their own eggs, and for the youngest children there will be games.  

A record number of contestants from 8 countries are to take part in today’s Kodzha Kaya mountain marathon. Its 6^th edition of hosted by Bilka village in the Eastern portion of the Balkan range.

By a tradition the marathon begins at dawn and must end by sundown. A total of 740 participants have been registered, among them some of Bulgaria’s top mountain runners.

The 75-kilometre route has an elevation of 4,300 m., making it extremely difficult, with around 40% of all runners dropping out.

The other distances are 42, 30 and 14 kms. The marathon also includes accompanying events – a speed climb to Kodzha Kaya peak (597 m.), a tourist hike and running for children.

On Sunday the weather will be predominantly sunny, with cumulus clouds forming in the East in the afternoon though there is a slim chance of rain. There will be a light to moderate wind from the East-Northeast. Minimum temperatures 5-10° C., for Sofia around 7° C. Daytime highs will reach 20-25° C., for Sofia around 22° C.

Over the mountains the weather will be predominantly sunny, with cumulus clouds in the afternoon but slim chances of rain. There will be a moderate wind from the East-Northeast. Maximum temperature at an altitude of 1,200 m. around 14° C., at 2,000 m. around 7° C.

Over the Black Sea coast the weather will be predominantly sunny, with cumulus clouds in the afternoon and isolated showers. There will be a moderate wind from the East-Northeast. Maximum temperatures 17-21° C., temperature of the sea water 14-15° C., sea state 2-3.

Boryana Kaleyn won a bronze medal in the all-around at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup in Tashkent. The other Bulgarian competitor Nikol Todorova came 13^th in her debut appearance at a competition of such rank.

The title went to world champion Darja Varfolomeev, Germany, and the silver – to Takhmina Ikromova, Uzbekistan.

Boryana Kaleyn will be taking part in the four finals in the individual apparatuses; Nikol Todorova will only be competing in the hoop. 

200 million Leva (over EUR 102 million) of new debt is expected to be taken out on 13 May this year, according to the Bulgarian National Bank website. This is the date on which an auction has been announced for 6-month treasury bonds with an annual interest rate of 3.25%.

This is the second issue for the year to be auctioned off on the domestic debt market. Three-year bonds worth 200 million Leva were offered in mid-April, which reached a weighted average yield of the issue of 3.01%.

In 2024, Bulgaria has not entered the international markets.

According to the budget, a new debt of 11.7 billion Leva (almost EUR 5.99 billion) can be taken out for the entirety of the year. The country’s indebtedness must not exceed 48 billion Leva (EUR 24.54).

As the active season is set to begin, the Ministry of Tourism started checks into unfair practices in organized tourist travel.

Two of the tour operators checked so far have not provided a certificate for carrying our tour operator activity and a valid tour operators liability insurance, another tour operator – vouchers issued to the tourist.

No violations were ascertained during the inspection of 8 buses travelling to Turkey yesterday, or of the tour guides. The unannounced inspections will continue in the coming months. Representatives of the tourist industry demanded more regulation and control against illegal practices and the grey sector in tourism.