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The weather service has put the whole country under a yellow heat warning for Monday 29 June, with lowland temperatures of up to 38°C, as the record European heatwave edges into the Balkans.
Presiyan Mihov reclaimed his European title in Scotland as Bulgaria left the first sumo championships ever staged in Great Britain with three medals, all decided against Ukrainian opposition.
Nikola Tsolov, 19, took his fourth Formula 2 win of the season at the Red Bull Ring, cutting Gabriele Mini's championship lead to two points. The next round is at Silverstone on 4 and 5 July.
A Market Links poll puts confidence in the Radev cabinet at around 45%, down five points, but the figures were taken before anyone had seen the 2026 draft budget.
Born on this day in 1880 in Kruševo, Nikola Kirov Traykov was a teacher, a revolutionary, and a writer who fought in the Ilinden uprising. He is also the kind of figure Bulgaria and North Macedonia have spent a century arguing over, which is part of why he is worth knowing.
The Council of the EU has formally placed Bulgaria under an excessive deficit procedure, capping spending growth all the way to 2029. The corrective measures land in the budgets due this autumn.
Born in June 1978, Emanuil A. Vidinski is one of contemporary Bulgaria's busier literary figures: short-story writer, novelist, editor, and a former member of an ethno-rock poetry band. Better still for a British reader, some of his work exists in English.
The weightlifting gold medallist joins Eurovision winner Dara as a goodwill ambassador in a campaign that wants the world to see Bulgaria as more than a cut-price beach.
Customs officers at Kapitan Andreevo seized 73 combat pistols from a Turkish truck bound for the Netherlands, a haul caught at the EU's busiest land frontier and, since 2025, its Schengen external edge.
The 26th of June is a quiet date with two small doors into Bulgaria: a northern town marking its own day, and a battle that the records file under 1877, from the war that brought the modern country into being.
A pack goes up by about 13 euro cents on 1 August, with two more rises to follow by 2028, as the government leans on tobacco duty to help plug a stretched budget.
Dimitar Peshev was born on this day in 1894. In March 1943 he led the parliamentary revolt that stopped the deportation of Bulgaria's 48,000 Jews to the death camps. It is one of the most important, and most complicated, stories the country has to tell.
Finance Minister Galab Donev's draft 2026 budget sets a 5.7% deficit, raises vignette fees by 30%, widens the tolls, and brings mandatory e-invoicing for businesses from 2027, with a pledge to get the gap down to 3% by 2028.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev says reports of a freeze on Bulgaria's minimum wage until 2028 are premature, with the wage and the social-security floors that track it heading back to the negotiating table in August.
Forget the database footnote that wants to make today about a warship. The 24th of June is one of the warmest days in the Bulgarian folk calendar: Enyovden, the midsummer herb-gatherer's holiday, and the name day for what feels like half your address book.
EU lawmakers were due to vote on the digital euro on 23 June. Bulgaria joined the eurozone in January, so this is no longer somebody else's money. Here is what it would mean for British expats, and why there is nothing to do yet.
Bulgaria's free lev-to-euro exchange at banks and post offices ends on 30 June. After that, fees are allowed, and only the central bank keeps doing it for nothing. Here is what British expats should do with that drawer of leftover cash.
Ask a Brit in Bulgaria to name a famous Bulgarian Olympian and you usually get a long pause. Here is the answer worth keeping in your back pocket: Maria Grozdeva, born in Sofia on this day in 1972, and one of the most decorated athletes the country has ever produced.
Ivan Shishmanov, born on 22 June 1862, was the rare scholar who helped invent a country's idea of itself: folklorist, education minister, and the man Bulgaria sent as its envoy to Ukraine in 1918. Here's why his name is still on a Sofia street.
New NSI figures show double-digit growth across most of the economy. If you are renovating, employing staff or paying for help on a sterling pension, the number matters more than it looks.
Bulgaria's governing coalition wants additional properties taxed at progressively higher rates while a primary residence stays put. It is a proposal, not law, and the reporting says little will change before 2027.
Wholesale prices for cherries, tomatoes and onions slid over the past week, according to Bulgaria's State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Markets, though flour, potatoes and beans went the other way. These are trade prices, not shelf prices, but they tend to point the same direction.
Today's date carries one of the heavier facts in modern Bulgarian history: the country's last genuinely free, openly partisan election before the dictatorships, held on 21 June 1931. There are also two tree-named name days to mark. Here's what's worth knowing if you live here.
The state's “I Choose Bulgaria” scheme has brought back nearly 1,850 professionals so far, and more of them returned from the United Kingdom than from anywhere else.
Varna's mayor has signed the first of twelve demolition orders against the Forest Club complex at Baba Alino, after inspectors found the buildings were put up on tolerance certificates that pointed to entirely different plots.
Bulgaria's calendar today gives you a character actor born in a Danubian village in 1944, a Soviet-era theatre career that spanned five companies, and three quietly elegant name days. Here's what you need to know if you live here.
Ofitserski Beach closed to swimmers following routine water quality checks. The Regional Health Inspectorate detected fecal contamination markers and imposed a temporary ban while follow-up testing continues.
Bulgaria's calendar today marks the 1870 birth of a historian whose ideas were so far outside academic consensus that his books were banned, his professorship applications rejected twice, and his entire career played out in exile. Here's the story of the scholar Sofia University wouldn't touch.
Bulgaria's calendar today marks the birth in 1963 of the country's most unusual political trajectory: a MiG-29 pilot who became president, resigned a year early, formed a party from scratch, and swept into office as prime minister with an absolute majority. Here's the arc, and what it means for British expats who've been watching the circus.
St. Anna Hospital, Eastern Bulgaria's largest medical facility, says it risks operational disruption just as Black Sea coast patient numbers double, with €14 million in liabilities and a €400,000 municipal payment still outstanding.
On 17 June 2001, Bulgaria did something no other post-communist country had managed: it voted the former royal family back into power, democratically. Here's why it still matters a quarter-century on.
A comparative study shows Bulgaria's parliamentarians receive the highest salary multiple relative to the national minimum wage of any European country, despite the country ranking among the EU's poorest by income.
Bancho Banov, born on 16 May 1925, was a Bulgarian actor and screenwriter who trained as a military medic before spending four decades in front of cameras and behind typewriters. Here's the story of a quiet multi-hyphenate who wrote better roles than most people get handed.
Sofia has outlined plans to triple military spending over the next decade, reaching 3.5% of GDP by 2035. The catch: Bulgaria is betting on continued EU financing, which may not survive beyond 2030.
Official figures show zero monthly movement in consumer prices, though petrol, healthcare and restaurant bills continued to climb on the year. Lidl receipts and Toplofikatsia bills tell different stories.
Planned power cuts across Shumen this week, a local chess tournament draws national attention, traffic police step up drink and drug checks, over 100 jobs on offer, and a string of emergency calls keep firefighters busy. In Sofia, the government warns it must borrow to meet the 3% deficit target by the end of June.
Lifeguards patrol all week through peak season, but jellyfish blooms arrive fast and the useful intel lives on railings, not apps.
Special police units sealed off parts of the Botunets neighbourhood in a major operation targeting the so-called Kalashniks group, with weapons and lists linked to exploitation among the seized evidence.
Today's calendar offers a 1969 World Cup qualifier win, three Bulgarian forenames that barely anyone under forty actually uses, and no municipal festivities at all. Here's what you actually need to know if you live here.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church marked the Second Sunday after Pentecost on 14 June with services honouring all Bulgarian saints across the country. GERB leader Boyko Borissov travelled to Shumen for a party training event and called for a 100-day grace period for the new government. The city also mourned actor Yordan Zidarov, who died aged 78.
A standard espresso in central Sofia runs €3.50 to €4.00 or more, above what you'd pay in Italy or Cologne. The pricing pattern holds across Bulgaria's tourist zones, and income levels don't explain it. These comparisons are based on a single source and have not been independently verified.
Brussels is preparing to force member states to tax electricity below gas rates as part of a broader push to cut energy costs and accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels. The reform requires Council approval and could be formally presented on 22 July.
On 14 June 1913, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck central Bulgaria at 11:28 in the morning, destroying 80% of Veliko Tarnovo and killing at least 36 people. Here's what happened, and why it still matters if you walk the cobbled streets of the old capital today.
The National Statistical Institute confirmed the figure this week: household spending and investment activity drove the expansion, and while industry contracted on weaker exports, services now account for three-quarters of gross value added. Unemployment stayed low, employment held at 3.5 million, and the Bulgarian economy generated €23.8 billion in Q1 at current prices.
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.