Bulgaria refusing to extradite parent of Pa. boy

ERIE, Pa. - Federal prosecutors in northwestern Pennsylvania say Bulgarian authorities have refused to extradite a man accused of kidnapping his 13-year-old son.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Trabold, of Erie, says he's not sure what the government will do next in the case of 34-year-old Chad Zachary Hower.

Hower, who used to live in Edinboro and Titusville in northwestern Pennsylvania, says he has a valid court order from Knox County, Tenn. giving him custody of the boy and permission to travel abroad with him.

Prosecutors are siding with the boy's mother, who claims Hower violated her parental rights by leaving the country with the boy in November 2006.

Trabold says Hower could be charged and extradited if he enters another country that recognizes the federal charges.

:Article Source:philly.com

Postcard from Europe: The quintessential Bulgarian

For about 20 years, I've been producing radio programming dealing with Bulgaria's image abroad. And the conclusion I've come to is that this image is usually rather blurred and not very precise. So let me sum up how the average Bulgarian is perceived by the foreign media.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Alexander Andreev heads DW's Bulgarian desk
A Bulgarian is usually from Sofia. Well, sometimes he might be from Bucharest - many foreigners still seem to confuse Romania and Bulgaria. He is poor - but possesses plenty of criminal energy. He's also friendly and loves Europe - although he's often seen as a threat to European jobs.

He's well-educated and well-versed in foreign languages, but nonetheless somewhat provincial. The average Bulgarian likes company, food, and drink, but has problems with the EU's regulations concerning diet. And he's good at soccer, although a bit unreliable. In short, he's an interesting fellow that you'd want to know more about.

So why don't you go to Bulgaria to meet him? If you do, here's my list of things to keep in mind if you decide to visit my country.

Keep your travel plans flexible, and don't expect your schedule to be written in stone.

Have a glass of schnapps or grappa with your starters.

Pat your friends on the shoulder rather than shaking their hands.

When you cross a street, keep your eyes open and don't rely on traffic lights.

Don't forget that there's a different alphabet: Cyrillic.

And avoid misunderstandings by internalizing Bulgarian body language. If someone shakes their head, it means "yes" while a nod means "no."


:Article Source:dw-world.de

Legal Alien: The card game

Angel Djambanski does not believe that Bulgarian identity cards should feature the English language. Djambanski, of whom you may not have heard, is a member of VMRO, the nationalist party that in recent years has been pushed further into obscurity by the somewhat more virulent brand of ultra-nationalism offered by Ataka. But now that Ataka has gone all cow-eyed over Boiko Borissov, VMRO is fighting for attention, and as a populist issue has picked, of all things, the humble lichna karta.

Bulgarian identity documents, Djambanski said, should feature only Bulgarian. Having English on them had a "colonial twang" (surely that would be the case if the second language was Turkish? Oh, never mind, I have long since learnt never to expect too much in the way of logic from loony right-wingers). He conceded that he did not mind transliteration, but did not want it to be English.

In any case, Bulgaria was alone in the European Union in having a foreign language on its identity documents, he said, clearly emboldened by not having wasted any time on research before making that statement.

Let me help. Leaving aside those EU countries that have no national identity document (Denmark, the UK), those that do but do not require them to be carried at all times (Sweden), most EU countries’ cards are multilingual.

Romanian cards have three languages, the additional two being English and French; Greece, two, the other one being English; Poland, two, the other one – English; Germany, three, with English and French; the Netherlands, two, with English.

Yes, there is France, solely with French; but then there is Belgium, with four, including English; no wonder Belgium produced the first European Council President.

Those are the facts, but what about the principle? As Bernard Levin wrote of Lord Longford, in paraphrase: "Everybody asks the wrong question, viz, is he barmy? The question is not worth asking. Of course he is barmy. What we should be discussing is, is he right?"

Practically, no. Bulgarian identity documents are now accepted as travel documents within the EU, and it would hardly be practical to expect officials in other EU states all to be able to read Cyrillic script and understand Bulgarian (the nearest equivalent, Greece, presumably uses English on its cards because it does not expect everyone outside its borders to understand Greek).

Then again, the problem is not just translation; it is also transliteration. My wife’s Bulgarian national passport says that she is someone called Mrs Levieva-Soyar (the result of a transliteration into Bulgarian and back into English; it would have been simpler to just type in what she had written on the application form); the result is that when we travel together, we boast passports with substantially different spellings of the latter half of our double-barrelled surname.

Perhaps Djambanski would prefer South Africa’s compromise solution in issuing driving licences. The country has 11 official languages, and a number of other languages that the language board should "promote and have respect for" – these, if you must know, include German, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Portuguese, Tamil, Telegu and Urdu; and Arabic, Hebrew and Sanskrit.

Driving licences automatically feature English, for the convenience of officials when they are used abroad. The user then has the option of specifying which other language may be featured, or can allow the computer to choose, randomly. When I got my new-style driving licence issued in 2001, I decided that rather than make a choice, I would try pot luck. The result is that I have a driving licence in English and, of all things, Portuguese (in hindsight, I would have preferred Zulu or Xhosa, much more of a conversation piece when living in Europe).

So if Djambanski really does not want English as the standard alternative, he need only advocate a computer programmed with (a) all other EU languages (b, and just for fun) all other languages. Or, unless he can find something sensible to say, he needs to learn something that is true in any language – that silence is golden.


:Article Source:sofiaecho.com

US Senator Lugar to Help Bulgaria over Visa-Free Travel

Bulgaria Foreign Affairs Minister Rumiana Jeleva has met with Richard Lugar, the Vice Chair of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, during her trip to Washington.

Jeleva met Senator Lugar Tuesday and the meeting was said to have paid particular attention to the inclusion of Bulgaria in the program for visa-free travel to the United States. Jeleva pointed out that Bulgaria is not a major source of immigration to the US and that it is actively working to meet the criteria for inclusion in the program, including by issuing new biometric passports.

Lugar stated that he is committed to working both with his Republican colleagues in Congress and with the US administration to include Bulgaria in the program.

Jeleva and Lugar also discussed issues of energy security with a both regional and global dimension. Both sides agreed that energy issues are at the heart of security and that they need to work to diversify the sources and the delivery of energy resources, including the Nabucco natural gas pipeline with which Iraqi natural gas could be delivered to Europe.

Jeleva concluded by inviting Lugar to visit Bulgaria, an invitation which was accepted with ‘satisfaction’.

:Article Source:novinite.com

Bulgaria Air buys Balkan's assets

National flag carrier Bulgaria Air set up a joint venture with the Bulgarian branch of Amadeus, the Spanish leading provider of IT solutions to the tourism and travel industry. In this way Bulgaria Air acquired the remaining assets of former flag carrier Balkan for EUR 1.5 million.

Assets
Balkan owned a share in the Bulgarian branch of Amadeus reservation system. After Balkan's bankruptcy its stock was sold to Spain's Amadeus, a subsidiary of Amadeus IT Group, in 2004. At the end of 2007 Bulgaria Air was acquired by Chimimport, which became sole owner. In the next years Chimimport bought most of Balkan's properties in Bulgaria and abroad.

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Benefits
With the purchase of 45% of Amadeus's stock, Bulgaria Air wins stronger positions on the international market, the company said. It is crucial for carriers nowadays to offer the closed cycle of air tickets and hotel reservations. Step by step we are taking back what was lost with Balkan's liquidation, Bulgaria Air CEO Dimitar Pavlov told the Pari daily. The company also offers flights and hotels in the USA due to a contract with Spanish air company Iberia, which flies to the United States. Using Iberia's terminal is comfortable for passengers and pushes the Bulgarian company ahead of its European competitors. Both sides gain from this operation, Denka Guneva, head of Amadeus's Bulgarian branch, said.

Operations
Amadeus to close cycle of travel services
- Amadeus Bulgaria booked a BGN 1.37 million profit for 2008.
- Amadeus IT Group was set up in 1987 by Iberia, Air France, Lufthansa and SAS.
- Currently it is the leading global distribution system and the biggest processor of travel bookings in the world.
- It provides air tickets and hotel reservations in more than 130 countries.
- Amadeus offers low-cost ticket reservation.
- The Bulgarian office of the company was registered in 1999.
-Amadeus works with over 200 travel agencies in Bulgaria.


:Article Source:pari.bg

Latest travel situation in Bulgaria

Sofia. Most roads in Bulgaria are dry, except for the high and sunless places in the southern municipality of Smolyan. Fog restricts visibility to 30 meters in the northeastern municipality of Tutrakan, to 50 meters in the northern municipality of Gulyantsi, to 100 meters in the coastal municipality of Varna and southern municipality of Svilengrad, to 150 meters in the southern municipalities of Plovdiv, Harmanli and Radnevo, to 200 meters in the southwestern municipalities of Blagoevgrad and Kyustendil, Road Infrastructure Agency told FOCUS News Agency.
The following passes are closed: Tvarditsa-Elena, Etropole-Zlatitsa and Varbitsa.
The road between the peak of Shipka and peak of Buzludzha is closed.
Vehicles heavier than 10 tons and with trailers and semi-trailers are banned from traveling through the pass of Shipka till March 30, 2010.
The road between the western villages of Yabalkovo and Kopilovtsi is closed.
The traffic between the town of Kyustendil and the western village of Gyueshevo is hampered close to the village of Garlyano.
There are construction works underway on Polski Trambesh-Svishtov, Rudozem-Smolyan, Montana-Lom, Varna-Dobrich roads and between 73rd and 89th km of Maritsa highway.
Trucks heavier than 10 tons are prohibited from traveling through Vladaya residential quarter from the town of Pernik to Sofia every day between 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and between 4:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.


:Article Source:focus-fen.net

The column that saves you money: Going on the piste's never been cheaper

Skiing holidays aren't cheap. But with tour operators scrabbling for your custom there's never been a better time to grab a bargain. Here we seek out some great deals and cost-cutting ideas. BEFORE YOU GO

Buy your kit in the UK - the weak pound means it's cheaper than abroad. Matalan has thermals for £5 and ski jackets for £28, while Uniqlo sells fleeces for £6.99 and tops for £5.99. Better still, borrow it.
Warm feeling: Get kitted out in the UK - the weak pound means it's cheaper now

Don't forget travel insurance. Many resorts require proof that you're insured before you can buy a ski pass.

If you have an accident on the mountain, it can cost £4,000 for an air ambulance in Europe and £8,000 in the U.S. A broken leg can cost £7,000 to fix in Europe and up to £16,000 in the U.S.


More...How to stretch your budget this Christmas (thisismoney.co.uk)
Promise of a bargain Christmas dinner turns cold (thisismoney.co.uk)

Direct Travel charges from £26 for a week's skiing in Europe for a couple and dependent children under 19.

Or open Abbey's Reward packaged bank account before December 13 for three months at £5 a month and get free travel insurance.
Close it after three months when it reverts to a monthly fee of £10 a month (as long as you've been on holiday).
Members of the Ski Club Of Great Britain (£85 for families, £20 for those under 24 and £55 for singles) can save £70 on the Eurostar Ski Train to the French Alps (making a ticket cost from £120) as well as other discounts.
WHERE TO GO This winter's Post Office survey shows Eastern Europe is the best value, with Romania beating Bulgaria, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Ski and boot hire, lift-passes, meals and drinks come to £196 on average for a week in Romania compared with Italy, the cheapest mainstream destination, which costs £290.

Destination: Bulgaria and other Eastern European countries are the best value

Neilson Holidays offers seven nights half-board in Romania, including flights, transfers, ski-school, lift-pass and equipment, starting at £405.
HomeAway Holiday-Rentals has apartments in Bansko, Bulgaria starting at £123 self-catering.
In Western Europe, resorts in the Pyrenees and the Italian Dolomites are cheaper than the Alps.

Or opt for lesser-known spots which are cheaper than their famous neighbours, such as Kirchberg rather than Kitzbuhl in Austria, and Nendaz, which is linked to swish Verbier in Switzerland.
FREEBIES AND SPECIAL OFFERS Holiday group TUI, which includes Crystal, First Choice and Thomson, is giving free lessons for beginners in 13 alpine resorts for one week in January or March, free lift-passes in a wide range of resorts for children or for the family in Chamrousse, France.
Neilson also offers a variety of two-for-one deals on equipment and skiing lessons in Norway, Andorra and Livigno in Italy. Skibeat offers free creche and afternoon childcare in a number of French ski resorts.

Ski Republic has ski hire shops in 29 top French resorts. Book online beforehand and pay around £60 (e64.50) for skis and boots for six days on a two-for-one deal.
GETTING THERE The cheapest way for a family or group to travel is by ferry. SeaFrance crossings cost from £19 per car each way.
It estimates driving to Chamonix in France (about eight hours from Calais) will cost £116 in petrol and £55 in tolls, totalling £209.
Snow worries! It might not be as expensive a holiday as you think

The Snow Express coach service to the Alps is £135 per person, which can be more expensive than flying, but the price stays the same at peak times such as half-term, Easter and Christmas/New Year.
Swiss, new airline Baboo and Air France carry skis or boards for free. Most other airlines charge for equipment, ranging from £40 per flight with Ryanair and £18.50 with easyJet when pre-paid online.

WHEN TO GO
Low-season prices apply for a week in December and the last weeks of April - but make sure you have a snow guarantee.
For instance, a family of four travelling to Les Gets in France can have a fully catered week in a chalet through Ski Famille for £1,650 (£412.50 each) on December 13.
January and late March are midseason, while Christmas, Easter and February half-term are by far the most expensive.
Expect to pay double the lowseason price.
WATCH OUT FOR... Transfers from the airport to ski resorts being included in your deal, otherwise the extra cost can be exorbitant - the bus from Geneva to Courchevel is e75 one way.
Eat in towns or villages in the valley - mountain restaurants are pricey. If you're self-catering, buy food in the nearest big town.



Explore more:Places: Bulgaria, France, Italy, Slovenia, Norway, Austria, Andorra, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Romania, Europe


:Article Source:dailymail.co.uk

Turkey Tourist Stand Blocks Bulgaria at World Expo in London

Bulgarian tourism business representatives declared they were pleased with the appearance of the country’s stand at the 30th World Travel Market (WTM) tourism expo.

Bulgaria’s stand, positioned in the sector devoted to Asia and the Mediterranean, was however overshadowed by that of neighboring Turkey.

The entrance to the Bulgarian stand was obscured by a massive 6-meter wall built as part of Turkey’s tourist stand. Trade representatives attending the exhibition declared themselves infuriated.

“We shall write a protest letter to the organizers of WTM,” Ivo Marinov, Bulgaria’s deputy Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, told Pari daily.

This year, the WTM is hosted in London. The international event runs from November 9-12.

:Article Source:novinite.com

Remembering Bulgaria's 'Palace Revolution'

In the summer of 1989, Ekaterina Boncheva, a young Bulgarian journalist, was hoping to travel with her husband, Dimitar, to visit relatives in West Germany.

There was just one problem. Their international travel documents -- the passports every citizen in communist Bulgaria required to travel outside the country -- had expired. But her sister-in-law in Germany assured them it wouldn't be a problem. Change was in the air, she said. Everything suddenly seemed carefree.

So Boncheva and her husband proceeded with their plans, despite their out-of-date documents and deep misgivings.

In the end, the trip to Germany was trouble-free. But Boncheva remembers the nervousness they felt when the time came to return to Sofia.

The German authorities had looked the other way. But Bulgaria's hard-line passport agents might have been far less forgiving. "Before returning to Bulgaria, my husband urged me to destroy all the written evidence of any contacts we had in Germany, like the phone number of my aunt and other people we saw there," Boncheva said.

The couple nervously ripped up any papers linked to their relatives in Germany, fearing the repercussions for traveling with illegal documents would be made worse if they were seen as consorting with people in the West.

But when they arrived in Sofia, Boncheva says she was amazed and relieved to see that their fears had come to nothing. "When we got back, there were no consequences, absolutely none. As far as I remember, I didn't even need to go back [to the police] to return my passport," she said.

Ekaterina Boncheva
Bulgaria had spent 45 years under communist rule. But dissatisfaction was mounting with the country's longtime leader, communist dictator Todor Zhivkov, who had established himself as one of the most hard-line Eastern Bloc leaders and a firm ally of the Soviet Union.

Growing unrest in Bulgaria was reflected in public protests elsewhere in the Soviet Bloc -- Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany.

First Berlin, Then Sofia

On November 9, Boncheva and her husband were moving their portable radio from room to room, trying to get a good signal, when they finally settled down to bed and suddenly heard the news that the Berlin Wall had fallen.

The couple was “in our bedroom, on the bed, listening to the broadcast. We learned about the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9th from Radio Free Europe. In Bulgaria, there was no official information about it," Boncheva said.

But a bigger surprise was still in store. Just one day later, on November 10, Zhivkov was overthrown in a so-called "palace revolution" orchestrated by members of the dictator's own Communist Party.

"I was at Sofia University, in the history department,” she recalls. “And in one of the halls -- the largest lecture hall at the university, room 62 -- one of the head professors in the department had written on the blackboard, 'Dear colleagues, as of 2 p.m. today there will be no lectures, because national holidays are meant not for study, but for celebration.'”

“Obviously information had leaked that something was happening,” Boncheva continued. “On the 6 p.m. newscast on state radio, they said the Bulgarian Communist Party had organized an internal coup, and that Todor Zhivkov had been overthrown. It was a very short announcement, without any further explanation."

Boncheva gathered with a large crowd of friends that night to eagerly parse the bits of information beginning to come out. What was happening? What did it mean for Bulgaria, and for them?

In some ways, she says, the news only began to seem real when she received a parcel in the mail from a cousin who had fled Bulgaria for the United States. It was the November 11th issue of the "Los Angeles Times," and it featured a photograph of Zhivkov, under the headline "Longtime Bulgarian Leader Resigns."

'This Time Is Ours'

The spirit of the moment was captured in a protest song, "45 Years Are Enough," which wished for a new era in which the people, and not the regime, would determine the destiny of the country.



"The time is ours," protesters sang before the first democratic elections. "It's time for hope and humaneness."

As the slogan of the opposition movement, "The time is ours" became one of the most memorable mottoes of the democratic movement in Bulgaria.

By June the next year, the country held its first free elections; a new constitution followed a year later, establishing Bulgaria as a democratic, parliamentary republic. Zhivkov died in August, 1998.

By 2007, Bulgaria was a member of both NATO and the European Union.

But the transition has not been flawless. Bulgaria remains bogged down by rampant corruption and economic difficulties. Twenty years later, Boncheva asks herself whether the regime really fell on November 10, 1989. More and more often, she thinks the answer is no. Traces of Zhivkov's intolerance for dissent and taste for nationalist policy can sometimes still be felt today.

Remnants Of The Regime

Part of the reason, says Boncheva, is that many members of the one-time communist elite, or their children, continue to hold positions of power. Former Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and current Prosecutor-General Boris Velchev are both descendants of former Politburo members. Even Irina Bokova, the head of UNESCO, the UN's cultural agency, is the daughter of a prominent communist functionary and one-time editor of the central Communist Party newspaper.

The country has attempted to reckon with its communist past; Boncheva herself serves on the government lustration committee tasked with opening the country's communist-era secret police files. But Boncheva says the country still has a way to go.

And then there is Bulgaria's continued allegiance with Russia. If Sofia aligns itself politically with the Western clubs where it is now a member, economically, the struggling country is still reliant on its powerful eastern neighbor for energy and investments -- a fact that Boncheva says is dangerous for Bulgaria.

"The developments during these past 20 years have convinced me of one thing for certain. They confirmed the fact that Bulgaria, during the 45 years of the communist regime, was actually the closest satellite of the former Soviet Union,” she said. “Because the transition that is still under way shows that the dependence of our country on the former Soviet Union is too strong. We were so closely bound to them that we can't shake off this dependence."

A result, Boncheva says, is that Bulgarian civil society is not as fully developed as that of the Czechs, Poles, and Slovaks. She says wistfully that it sometimes seems as though Bulgarians are unable to figure out what to do with their freedom. Her country's transition, she says, may simply need another 20 years.

"I think that after a whole generation, including mine, moves on to a more different world, and young people unencumbered by any political or ideological or financial relationships take over the governing of the country -- it's a matter of time. I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic. I'm just a realist,” Boncheva said.

“I think all of us should contribute even just a little -- and only if you want to -- in terms of efforts and actions, if we want to become a truly democratic state.” she said. “Because the mere creation of democratic institutions doesn't mean the society is democratic. It all depends on the people.


:Article Source:rferl.org

Bulgaria supports Macedonia to join EU, NATO: PM

SOFIA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria supports and will keep on doing this for Macedonia's bid to join the European Union and NATO, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said here Monday after meeting with his visiting Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski.

At a joint press conference, the Bulgarian prime minister also pointed out that the support was not unconditional, but based on clear principles and obligations.

There are EU criteria, which should be fulfilled, and one of them is good neighborly relations, Borisov noted. So the Bulgarian side insists on no tolerance of the language of hatred, nor of groups that create problems in Bulgaria, and a refusal to allow state media to incite hatred.

Apart from neighbors, Bulgaria and Macedonia are also sister nations, which should help each other wherever necessary. For this reason, Bulgaria categorically supported the lifting of visa requirements for Macedonian nationals and this would be a fact as of Dec. 19, Borisov added.

The Bulgarian prime minister said the two sides concluded that the two countries should look for the details and events uniting rather than dividing them.

Macedonian Prime Minister Gruevski said his country keeps on fulfilling all requirements for the country's accession to the EU.

"When all the countries in the Balkans become members of the EU, citizens from our region will be able to travel and work wherever they want," said Gruevski, defining that as a huge step forward.

He underlined that history issues should be left to historians, while the statesmen should focus on the present and future, to work in support of the further Europeanization of both countries and towards a better living standard for all citizens.

:Article Source:xinhuanet.com

US Senator Supports Visa Lift for Bulgarians

Following the statement of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in support of the lift of entry visas for Bulgarian citizens, US Senator for Indiana Richard G. Lugar, Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee of the US Senate, also said the Bulgarians should be allowed to travel visa-free to the United States.
In a statement before journalists, Senator Lugar said that the efforts in that direction should be encouraged.
However, Mrs. Clinton was quite explicit in that Bulgaria, which is a reliable partner to the USA, could enter the visa-free travel program only after meeting all of the unified criteria that are valid for all applicants.
"We shall offer help to your country to meet the visa lift criteria," Mrs. Clinton said after talks with Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Rumyana Zheleva.
On his part, Mrs. Zheleva said the issue is quite complicated and it could be solved in our favor only with the help of a strong lobby. One of the goals of Mrs. Zheleva's visit to the USA was to establish contacts which to help in this direction. Yesterday, Mrs. Zheleva was scheduled to discuss the visa lift issue with influential congressman - democrat Mr. Robert Wexler.


:Article Source:standartnews.com

Bulgaria Star Berbatov Ready to Break National Goal Record

Bulgaria and Manchester United star Dimitar Berbatov announced Sunday that he is fit and ready to break the national team’s goal scoring record on Wednesday against Malta.

Berbatov has a scored 46 goals for Bulgaria needs one more to draw level with all time great Hristo Bonev.

After training in Sofia on Sunday Berbatov said “I of course am thinking about it. But sometimes you can play a practical joke on yourself - you think one goal, one goal and then you wait for that goal until the end of your career. I hope with the boys help the record will fall.”

He added that he is now fit after missing Bulgaria’s 0-0 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk on Friday; “"I'm fine, everything is OK. I just got kicked in the knee in the game with Blackburn, No problem, ill go and play in Malta."

Bulgaria travel to play in Malta on Wednesday and Berbatov concluded by saying that after already scoring 5 goals against the island team he hoped to perform well.

:Article Source:novinite.com

Bulgaria Persuades the USA to Waive Visas

When America is mentioned, the average Bulgaria thinks both of the country of unlimited opportunities and the visas Bulgarians need in order to travel there. So, this is also one of the topics Bulgaria?s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rumiana Zheleva will discuss with US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton during her three-day official visit that starts Sunday. The Bulgarian minister will most probably inform about the steps Bulgaria has taken towards the implementation of requirements for being included in the visa waiver programme. Bulgaria has encountered two problems. Firstly, for the time being it cannot issue ID documents with biometric data. Secondly, the percentage of US visa denials is higher than the 3% barrier envisaged in the US legislation. Although Bulgaria still has a way to go before meeting the requirements, the country hopes that the visa waiver programme will continue, according to diplomatic sources.

:Article Source:standartnews.com

Pop-up Hotels "Future of Europe's Tourism

Pop-up hotels, in which pre-built units are incorporated into a steel frame that can easily be demolished, could be the future for European tourism, a travel trends report said.

With the housing market down and foreclosures way up, new pop-up hotels could provide affordable yet quality accommodation, said the Global Trends Report by market analysis company Euromonitor International, ordered by the World Travel Market exhibition.

The company added that construction time for pop-up hotels was reduced by almost 50% compared with traditional methods.


:Article Source:novinite.com

Yambol rent a car for Chistmas and New Year

Known as the City of Lights, Sofia is a destination every traveler must visit at least once. With cheap car rental pick up locations at numerous locations throughout the city and the country, renting a car with Val & Kar is the best way to travel. We offer a variety of inexpensive car rental types so you can be sure that you have found the vehicle that is right for you. Val & Kar for its trend setting fashion, art, cultural ambiance and distinct charm, Sofia is one of the top cities in Bulgaria to visit. Get your vacation started with a cheap flight to Bulgaria here. Rent a car with Val & Kar and see it all!


:Article Source:ibox.bg

Tom Hall of Lonely Planet answers your questions about worldwide travel

Q: My partner and I are looking to travel for two or so weeks round the end of August. We have found cheap flights to Dubrovnik and back from Istanbul. Can you suggest the best way to get between the two cities? We would like to travel by train as much as possible and avoid back-tracking. In particular, we would like to visit historic cities but also get off the beaten track. Are there spectacular train journeys or hidden gems we should include?


Mark Bonthrone, Edinburgh


A: Going inland on any route through the western Balkans guarantees spectacular mountain scenery. But take a few days round Dubrovnik touring the town, beaches and an island or two. Then head into Bosnia to Sarajevo, a fascinating city, via Mostar, pictured, from which day tours take in the Kravice waterfalls and the Dervish monastery at Blagaj. Also consider stopping in Visegrad en route to Belgrade, Serbia, or Sofia, Bulgaria: you could still take in Mostar and Sarajevo, before heading back to follow the coast to Kotor in Montenegro via the walled port town of Herceg Novi. Most of Montenegro is a hidden gem. The country has great trekking and rafting and scenic drives as well as great beaches at Ulcinj – don't miss the journey here from Virzapar – and Sveti Stefan. Going this way takes you to Thessaloniki, from which there's a night train to Istanbul. Get to north-eastern Greece via Albania – Tirana has the most frequent bus services. Travelling via Skopje, Macedonia, is another option. You'll mostly be on buses for all but the long-distance journeys mentioned above, but try to ride on Montenegro's rail line heading into the mountains from Bar. Balkanology (balkanology.com) is an excellent guide to the region.

Q: I will be taking my children (eight and 11) to Israel and the Palestinian Territories for two weeks at Easter. We will fly into Tel Aviv on a Friday afternoon and wanted to take a bus straight to Jerusalem but I understand that as this will be Shabbat, public transport stops and life generally grinds to a halt for 24 hours. Is it better to just stay in Tel Aviv for that time or is there a way to get to Jerusalem without hiring a car? Also, I'd be interested to know where you think we should visit. We want to see the main historical sights and learn a little about life for both Israelis and Palestinians but also fit in some child-friendly activities. Finally, I've heard that hotels are jam-packed at Easter. Will we need to pre-book everywhere?

:Article Source:guardian.co.uk

Russian tourists avoid Bulgaria

Winter tourism in Bulgaria depends primarily on Russian and British tourists, but due to regulation problems attributed mainly to the issuing of visas to Russians, the country's winter tourist season could be facing hard times, Donka Sokolova, head of the Association of Bulgarian Travel Agents, told Focus news agency on November 16 2009.

The Bulgarian tourist sector says that 75 per cent of its revenue is attributed to the summer season, 10 per cent to the winter season and the remaining 15 per cent from "cultural tourism". As far as the winter season is concerned, it relies predominantly on British and Russian tourists, but citizens from the latter destination are required to obtain an entry visa to Bulgaria, which has been increased by 12 euro.

"We met foreign ministry officials and hope Bulgarian tourist agencies will have visas issued in the Bulgarian consulates," Focus news quoted Sokolova as saying.

"An hour ago, however, I was told that five charter flights from Russia to Bulgaria, which were due at Christmas and New Year’s Eve, have been cancelled," Sokolova said.

Sokolova believes that if appropriate measures are taken, the potential Russian decline could be offset by an increase of British tourists.

In 2008, overall net revenues from the Bulgarian tourism amounted to 1450 billion euro, the report says.

:Article Source:sofiaecho.com

Malaysia in Lonely Planet’s top 10

Malaysia has made it to popular travel guidebook Lonely Planet’s 10 best-value destinations for 2010. Other Asian countries in the list are Thailand and India.
Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2010 – the publisher’s fifth annual collection of the world’s best journeys, destinations and experiences for the coming year – was released on Nov 2 in the US followed by Europe the same week, with additional worldwide publication dates to follow throughout the month.

The guidebook presents the top 10 countries, regions, and cities to visit in 2010, chosen by Lonely Planet’s global team. Also included are a 2010 travel planner and 17 travel lists, including 2010’s best-value destinations and top 10 airports.

Besides Malaysia, those in the 10 best-value destinations for 2010 are Iceland, Thailand, London, South Africa, Mexico, India, Bulgaria, Kenya and Las Vegas (destinations not ranked).

:Article Source:thesundaily.com

Tories to make MPs work longer hours and take shorter holidays

MPs would be forced to work a longer week in Parliament and give up part of their summer break under plans being considered by senior Tories.

Parliament could return early from the summer recess, in September, as David Cameron seeks to get his reforms off to a flying start if the Conservatives win the next election. Some shadow Cabinet members are even talking of the Commons sitting in August.

Shadow Commons leader Sir George Young has also proposed shifting Prime Minister's Questions from Wednesday lunchtime to Thursday evening so people can watch it after work. Such a move would make some MPs stay longer at Westminster.

The Tory plans are being discussed as Cabinet minister Harriet Harman today seeks to persuade MPs to vote to close down the Commons early for Christmas. The Commons Leader has proposed that the House rise on 16 December and return on 5 January. But the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have vowed to oppose the early rising which they say shows the Government has run out of steam.

A Tory party source played down the likelihood of an August sitting but made clear that the House could return in September.

:Article Source:thisislondon.co.uk

Charter flights help increase tourists

A number of improvements have been made in the Bulgarian winter resorts
If all new charter flights to Sofia airport announced so far are fulfilled, the number of passengers at the airport will increase by 45,000. That emerged at a conference on Bulgaria at the World Travel Market (WTM) tourism exhibition in London.

Deputy minister of economy, energy and tourism Ivo Marinov said that seven carriers have ordered 260 charters, exceeding last year's number by 57. The British Flybe and Hungarian International will fly to Bulgaria. A new line was opened from Katunice, Poland. Four new flights, a Czech and three Russian ones, have been scheduled to Plovdiv from Dublin. That will increase the number of tourists at Pamporovo ski resort during the winter, the deputy minister added.

Conditions
A number of improvements have been made in the Bulgarian winter resorts. A snowmaking system will provide artificial snow at Pamporovo ski complex, thus guaranteeing 100% coverage of the runs. Bansko has made considerable investments to improve infrastructure. The equipment at Chepelare has been renewed.

Advertising
The WTM exhibition showed that Bulgaria's marketing and advertising performance in London was not developed well. A travel agency is needed to advertise this country as an attractive destination. When the crisis is over, tourists will be interested in cultural, spa, eco and rural tourism, which corresponds with the government's plans for the development of the industry, Marinov commented.


:Article Source:pari.bg

Time to play England's 2018 trump card

It used to be said that what was good for General Motors would be good for America. This was not a statement of corporate arrogance but more of an observation that the world's largest company and the world's largest economy had mutual interests.

Until recently I thought a similar goose/gander connection existed between the Premier League and England's bid to stage the 2018 World Cup. A symbiotic win-win if ever there was one.

O to live in such simple times! These days, GM is more likely to bankrupt America than sustain it and the Premier League's commitment to the Football Association-led World Cup campaign is looking increasingly half-hearted.

That is a crying shame because England has everything it takes to stage a superb tournament, as will be demonstrated when the 15 cities hoping to host World Cup football in 2018 come to Wembley on Thursday to deliver their applications.

I had hoped to write only about that this week but to not mention Tuesday's shenanigans at bid HQ would be to ignore that big grey thing, with clumpy feet and a ridiculous schnozzle, lurking in the corner of the room.

I refuse to spend too long on the squabbles of English football's numerous chiefs, though, and not just because I wrote about them last week. The main reason is that they are depressingly trivial: x doesn't like y, y doesn't like z, nobody likes z, but nobody can really remember why.

In case you have no idea what I am on about, Sir Dave Richards, the chairman of the Premier League (among other titles), has chosen this week, the week the 2018 bid team hoped to talk about how many excellent potential venues this country has and the enormous passion for football we share, to resign from the bid's main board.

This week as opposed to two weeks ago, when that board was restructured to streamline the decision-making process, bring in the key powerbrokers and show a united front to the rest of the world, particularly the 24 members of Fifa's executive committee who will vote on which country gets the World Cup next December.

Richards must have missed that memo. Why else would such a loyal servant of English football destabilise an already wobbly situation a fortnight away from the bid's "first interview", the draw for the 2010 World Cup in Cape Town?

Let's hope the bid team insider I spoke to earlier this week is right when he asked me if I had met Richards. "No? Well, him leaving actually makes our job a lot easier," he said.

He's probably right. But then Karren Brady, one of board members who did step down at the correct time, is also probably right when she admitted the bid was beginning to look like a "shambles".

Ho hum, perhaps we did not like being frontrunners. Coming hard on the rails worked for London 2012, after all. Might be an idea to stop yanking on the reins now, though, hey?

So with that in mind, let's turn our attention to the pitches and places we hope will persuade Fifa's sphinx-like electorate to bring football back home.

:Article Source:bbc.co.uk

Latest travel situation in Bulgaria

Sofia. Most roads in Bulgaria are dry. There are wet and icy sections through the Passes of Shipka, Petrohan and in the municipalities of Pazardzhik and Smolyan. The Passes of Tvarditsa-Elena and Etropole-Zlatitsa are still closed. Trucks that are heavier than 10 tons and have trailers and semi-trailers are banned from traveling through the Pass of Shipka until 30 March 2010.
Trucks with trailers and semi-trailers are prohibited from traveling through the Passes of Petrohan, Rozhen, Pamporovo, Prevala and along the roads Batak-Dospat, Velingrad-Yundola, Sarnitsa-Batak.
It is foggy on Hemus highway close to the Pass of Vitinya. There the visibility is restricted to 30-40 meters.
Because of the snow trucks with trailers and semi-trailers were banned from travelling on Simitli-Predela-Razlog road. The ban was canceled on Wednesday morning, but the Road Infrastructure Agency warns of sections where the road surface is covered with snow.
:Article Source:focus-fen.net

Kyustendil: Preferences for motor vehicles in Bulgaria direction at Gyueshevo border checkpoint

Sofia. Motor vehicles that travel in Bulgaria direction will have the right of way in passing through Gyueshevo border checkpoint after traffic along Gyueshevo border checkpoint – Kyustendil road has been restored, the press office of Customs Agency announced.
Traffic on the road Gyueshevo border checkpoint - Kyustendil was restored by 6.15pm and construction-rehabilitation works completed. There is speed limiting signs.

:Article Source:focus-fen.net