Twenty-two stories in seven days: the euro's first exchange fees, a manhunt near Varna, Canada gate-crashing Eurovision, and a museum with more than a million things in it. Here is the whole week, 29 June to 5 July 2026, in one place. If you would rather have it land in your inbox as a single email every Sunday, our free newsletter does exactly that (there is a sign-up box at the foot of every page).
Money and the euro
- Swap Your Leva Today, or Pay to Do It Tomorrow: from 1 July, banks and Bulgarian Post charge to change leftover leva into euros, and only the central bank keeps doing it free.
- The 936-Euro Manager: Minimum Insurance Floors Jump From 1 August: draft social insurance thresholds rise by 12% to 70%, with company managers facing the sharpest increases.
- The Taxman Is on the Beach: the National Revenue Agency logged 70 violations in the first three days of its summer campaign on the southern Black Sea coast.
The state and defence
- One App for Your ID, Taxes and Driving Licence: a state-run digital wallet bill lands in parliament, chasing a hard end-of-2026 EU deadline.
- NATO's Top Commander Comes to Sofia With Praise: warm words for Bulgaria's eastern-flank role, alongside a plan to reach 5% of GDP on defence by 2035.
Crime and safety
- The Search for 11-Year-Old Natalia Enters a Fourth Day: drones and thermal cameras comb the villages near Provadia after she was taken from Konstantinovo on 30 June.
- Nine in Ten Bulgarians Call Drugs a Serious Problem: a Trend survey finds most people also believe narcotics are easy to get where they live.
- Bulgaria Pulls Six Tonnes of Fake Butter: "Deutsche Markenbutter" that lab tests found was over 95% non-dairy fat, lard included, with two companies fined more than 300,000 euros.
Travel, property and culture
- Europe's Short-Let Boom Keeps Climbing: EU short-stay bookings rose almost 10%, with Bulgaria along for the ride and a tighter compliance regime attached.
- Canada Joins Eurovision for 2027: the first new country since Australia in 2015, at a contest Bulgaria is hosting.
- Bulgaria's Military History Museum Turns 110: a collection now past a million artefacts, traced back to a single order signed in 1916.
Weather
- A Yellow Heat Warning, Up to 38°C: the whole country under a heat code on Monday 29 June as the European heatwave edged into the Balkans.
- Overnight Storms, Then the Sun Takes the Weekend: rain, thunder and possible hail across the north before a clear, mostly sunny Sunday.
Sport
- Bulgaria Leaves Stirling with Sumo Gold and Two Silvers: three medals at the first sumo championships ever staged in Great Britain, all decided against Ukrainian opponents.
On This Day in Bulgaria
Our daily history series ran every morning this week:
- 29 June: Petrovden name days and the death of Angel Wagenstein
- 30 June: the composer who helped build Bulgaria's music schools
- 1 July: popfolk star Anelia born in Stara Zagora
- 2 July: the short life of VMRO revolutionary Asen Cholakov
- 3 July: chess grandmaster Dejan Bojkov is born
- 4 July: the Battle of Anchialus and a bad day for Khan Telets
- 5 July: the Sunday in 2009 that started the Borissov era
Close to home
- Kabiyuk's Rescue Plan, Rising Wages and a Farewell at Shumen's Theatre: our weekly Shumen round-up, with a move to shield the indebted stud farm, wages up 12.9%, and news from Novi Pazar and Varna.
Want next week in your inbox?
That is twenty-two stories, gathered in one place. If you would rather not go hunting for them, the Shumen.UK newsletter sends the whole week as one email every Sunday. It is free, it is once a week, and you can sign up from the box at the bottom of any page on the site.