When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Bulgaria

FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

From Bulgaria To Turkey, Zelensky Tries To Secure NATO's Eastern Flank

Ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is on a diplomatic tour of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Turkey. Two of those countries, Bulgaria and Turkey, may prove to be particularly important for Ukraine's future.

-Analysis-

MOSCOW — Ahead of the upcoming crucial NATO summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky embarked on a special foreign tour, with visits to Bulgaria, Slovakia the Czech Republic, and Turkey.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

The reasons behind this choice of countries may not be apparent at first glance.

Since Feb. 24, 2022, the Ukrainian leader has mostly traveled abroad to persuade allies to provide additional weapons to Kyiv, including air defense systems, armored vehicles, more ammunition, long-range missiles and combat aircraft. Initially, Ukraine's allies were reluctant and declined these requests. But with persistent persuasion, often alongside a personal visit by the Ukrainian leader, they eventually agreed.

Watch VideoShow less

Bowl Of Cool: The Best Summer Soups From Around The World

If you love soups in the winter, you can feel like you're missing out in the summer. But don't fear! Here's a roundup of the best soups from around the world for warm weather.

A bowl of warm soup on cold winter days always seems like food for the soul. So for soup lovers out there, the arrival of summer may feel a little depressing.

But fear not! Cold soups are still a great option when the weather is warm. From light, refreshing soups to rich and creamy ones, here’s a list of cold soups around the world that will fulfill your winter cravings and help you cool off on a summer afternoon.

Keep reading...Show less

Why Poland Still Doesn't Have Nuclear Power

Poland has announced plans to build its first nuclear power plant with the help of a U.S. firm. But it's not the first time the country has tried to build such a plant. So, will it actually happen this time?

-Analysis-

WARSAWPoland is surrounded by numerous nuclear power plants in the neighborhood: in Germany, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Hungary, Belarus, Bulgaria, Finland and Sweden. But we don't have our own. There are more than 500 reactors in operation worldwide, and another 55 are under construction. Most are slugging along, and their prices have risen well above the original construction costs.

The best example is Britain's Hinkley Point C power plant. The UK owns the most expensive nuclear power plant in the world. But the work is still going on, as the construction has been delayed.

The construction of a Polish nuclear power plant seemed to be underway in the 1980s, when the country was to join the ranks of nuclear-powered countries. We were to have not one but two power plants — one in Pomerania in Żarnowiec in the north of the country and another in the village of Klempicz, near the city of Poznań in the west. But the government abandoned these plans in 1990. The reasons were a lack of money, the collapsing USSR, and a lack of enthusiasm following the Chernobyl disaster.

Keep reading...Show less

Bulgaria And Hungary: Risks Of A Pro-Russian Alliance Inside The EU

Bulgaria had sworn off Russian gas imports, but then its government collapsed. Now pro-Russian politicians are in power, which for the European Union means there is much more at stake than just energy supply.

The letter Z, a symbol of support for Putin’s war in Ukraine, has appeared on Bulgarian government buildings in Sofia. Last week, demonstrators fixed a Z in black tape to the entrance of the Ministry of Energy’s headquarters.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

They were protesting their government’s announcement that it would reopen negotiations with Russia about importing gas – although Bulgaria had declared public support for Kyiv and subsequently stopped all Russian imports. “Putin’s gas is a trap,” one of the placards reads.

These scenes have been growing more common in the Bulgarian capital since the reformist government led by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov was ousted last month in a no-confidence vote. Petkov had pledged to tackle corruption and taken a strong stance against Russia's invasion. But his coalition government fell after just seven months in office when an ally quit.

Keep reading...Show less
Son Of A Gunnar
Carl Johan-Karlsson

A Nomad's Christmas Brood: On Crypto, COVID And The Speed Of Time

Our roving Swedish reporter's darkish holiday dispatch from Sofia, Bulgaria.

SOFIA — It was the Scottish poet Alexander Smith who called Christmas the day that holds all time together.

While that is obviously true in the Gregorian sense, Smith likely had in mind something more cosmic; perhaps that simultaneous longing for the past and future that only deep nostalgia can serve up. Yet for those of us who’ve spent our adult lives hopscotching around the world, Christmas memories tend to be an incoherent blend of vacated offices and hotel rooms and awkward well-wishing with dressed-up strangers.

Watch VideoShow less
Coronavirus
Carl-Johan Karlsson

Keep Calm And Travel On? Why We Can't Return To Global Shutdowns

The Omicron variant has sparked a new wave of COVID-19 travel restrictions, but the chances of returning to worldwide shutdowns are slim for a series of reasons.

SOFIA — Two weeks ago, I was swabbing my nose in a minuscule London hotel room, trying to navigate the faulty app that came with my COVID-19 home-test kit. Home ... as in, I need this damn test to be able to fly home.

After re-installing the app and re-reading the instructions, I called the phone number for the support line and got a friendly female voice with a Cockney accent. I asked if they'd had similar glitches in the past. “We get a lot of calls,” she said. “Bit of a pain, innit?

Watch VideoShow less
In The News
Jane Herbelin, Bertrand Hauger and Anne-Sophie Goninet

COVID Spikes In EU, Bulgaria Bus Crash, Uber Weed

👋 Tere!*

Welcome to Tuesday, where EU countries face a sharp rise in COVID cases and conflict, at least 25 die in a Bulgarian bus crash, and Uber starts delivering weed. Bogota-based daily El Espectador takes us through the return of gang violence taking over the streets of Medellín, Colombia, which became notorious during the 1970s thanks to drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.

[*Estonian]

Watch VideoShow less
Coronavirus
Carl-Johan Karlsson

Endemic Times, Get Ready For Our Forever COVID Future

As the 5 million death toll has been passed, signs abound that the virus is not going away any time soon. We need to accept that we can return to normalcy even without eradicating COVID — though we must do it right and keep re-learning the right lessons.

-Analysis-

Heading toward Year 2, the stream of COVID headlines continues to flow: vaccine hesitancy and breakthrough infections, lurking new variants, overrun hospitals and, yes, yet another lockdown somewhere in the world. The grim milestone this week of five million deaths adds to the creeping feeling that, unprecedented scientific breakthroughs aside, we are simply outmatched in our collective battle against the pandemic.

There is a growing consensus among experts that the virus, the whole of humanity's microscopic nemesis, is here to stay.

Watch VideoShow less
Coronavirus
Carl-Johan Karlsson

COVID Chaos In Bulgaria: One Reporter Is Tired Of Asking “Why”

With much attention now focused on rising COVID-19 cases in the UK and Moscow's new lockdown, a hidden story is in Bulgaria, which claims both Europe's highest death rate and lowest vaccination rate. By now, this reporter knows the drill…

SOFIA — I suspected, while Google translating the Bulgarian news Wednesday morning, that I might be the last person in Sofia with an internet connection to have found out about the new COVID rules.Following reports of 4,979 new COVID-19 cases and 214 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday, the Bulgarian government had announced that proof of vaccine or negative PCR tests will be required for access to restaurants, theaters, cinemas, gyms, clubs and shopping malls. Starting tomorrow.

Watch VideoShow less
food / travel
Bertrand Hauger

Save The Last Bulgarian Dance

In the lobby of my hotel on the shores of the Black Sea, locals in full folkloric attire were dancing to traditional tunes. It felt strangely familiar, having had my own experiences preserving the music and folklore of my local traditions.

blog

Head Over Heels

Photography works in mysterious ways. This frozen moment of some graceful Bulgarian folk dancers in Varna somehow looks terribly clumsy.

Watch VideoShow less
blog

Soviet Tenacity

The Georgi Dimitrov mausoleum in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, was built in 1949 to contain the embalmed body of the country's first communist leader.

After the fall of the USSR, some members of the government started thinking the monument was an embarrassing nod to Bulgaria's totalitarian past, and in 1999, they decided to blow it up. But though the mausoleum had been built in only 6 days, it took four attempts to destroy it.

EXPLORE OTHER TOPICS
chinaitalyusafrancegermany