Journalist Ruja Raicheva called out Borisov for basically pretending to pull the budget when he just promised some quick edits instead. The guy clearly hates it when crowds turn against him, and opposition parties either backed his move or stayed completely silent. Raicheva thinks officials are trying to hide a massive problem right as the country switches to its first euro-based spending plan.
Professor Rosen Stoyanov pointed out that the three-way talks between government, unions, and business groups fell apart because that whole process was never actually required by law. Miroslav Sevljevski said Bulgarian voters spent years getting used to tax cuts and belt-tightening, and the current crew tried flipping that script by raising...
Former finance guy Lyubomir Datsov called out the whole 10-day budget revision fantasy, pointing out that hundreds of staffers spend eight months crunching numbers for these things. He basically said the government wants to balance opposite economic and political priorities, which means the entire plan needs a total redo instead of quick patches.
Datsov warned that pushing government spending from 38% to 46% of GDP will cause the whole structure to collapse under its own weight. Bulgaria's facing a revenue shortfall between 3.5 and 4.7 billion euros because projections got pumped up to match last year's numbers. The country needs massive overhauls across pensions, healthcare, and education rather than surface-level tweaks, but those...
Varna's mayor walked back into city hall after spending nearly five months locked up, and the guy wasted zero time calling out what he sees as coordinated attacks against the fundraiser that covered his release costs. Kotsev told reporters his family took the worst of it during the whole mess, dropping that his wife's birthday landed on his first day back at the office.
The mayor plans to shake up how things run at city hall, saying the political vibe has been trash for the past year and a half. He wants everyone from different parties to actually talk to each other like adults. When pressed about presidential ambitions, he shut that down hard, and he confirmed people tried pressuring him to switch political teams while he was dealing...
Ninova ripped into Bulgaria's spending proposal, accusing officials of lying about having zero other options. The plan raises insurance payments for ordinary workers while boosting politicians' paychecks and funding questionable construction like an 8-kilometer road segment with a 2-billion-leva price tag.
The opposition leader is calling for ongoing demonstrations to force out the current leadership, warning that national obligations will approach 50 billion euros down the line. Borisov seemed to halt proceedings after street protests erupted, though what he actually did stays murky. Unions added to the confusion by backing the figures initially before switching to protest mode.
Water bills face a 13-percent hike even as...
Bulgaria's government is trying to get its budget process back on track after protests made them hit pause last week. Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov met with business groups and labor unions, and they apparently found some middle ground on the numbers.
The next big powwow happens with all four sides at the table, and that's when they'll drop the revised figures they agreed on. After that, parliament's budget crew gets the updated plan so they can do another round of votes on healthcare and pension budgets, plus tweaks to the main government spending bill.
Bulgaria's defense chief, Atanas Zapryanov, is heading to Brussels for some EU military meetings. The agenda covers sending more ammo and gear to Ukraine's troops, plus they're gonna talk about ramping up Europe's weapons manufacturing through a couple of funding programs. Ministers will also hash out how to deal with Russia's sketchy fleet operations.
The second half of the meetup focuses on getting Europe's defense sector ready for whatever comes next. They're planning to discuss ways to boost weapons production across the continent and figure out how to fix gaps in military equipment. The group will also get updates on a roadmap that runs through 2030, and they'll hear about new plans for moving troops and equipment around Europe...
Cross River's current governor threw a whole appreciation night for four dudes who ran the state before him, and they basically gushed about how he's actually bringing everyone together instead of causing beef. The ceremony went down at the carnival kickoff, where Bassey Otu handed out awards to the ex-governors for their past work.
The old-timers gave him props for keeping good traditions alive and not scrapping everything previous administrations built. One of them pointed out that most governors just trash what came before, but Otu seems focused on continuity. Another former leader mentioned how rare it is to see someone pull political rivals together without making it weird.
Otu talked up what each predecessor accomplished, from...
A village in Delta State is beefing with the government after some real estate company allegedly tried grabbing their farmland without sorting out payment or negotiations first. Issele-Azagba community leaders told reporters that Cubana Millennium Estate rolled onto almost 1.3 kilometers of their ancestral property even though the deputy governor already told everyone to stay off disputed areas until border committees finish their work.
The community president said they reached out to their local government chairman multiple times, but he ghosted all their calls and messages. They accused neighboring communities of selling chunks of their land while officials sit around doing nothing. Village reps made it clear they want development...
Six dudes wearing veils rolled up to Tudun-Fulani village in Niger State and tried snatching a woman named Hadiza Alh. Mande from her house. She bolted when they showed up, but they shot her while she was running away. Police and local vigilantes got there pretty quick after people called for help, and they rushed her to General Hospital in Bangi, where doctors say she's getting better.
The attackers bounced before security forces could grab them, but cops are apparently hunting them down. Authorities want everyone in the area keeping their eyes open for sketchy activity and reporting anything weird to help shut down bandit operations.
