At the same time he suggests that Greece should follow the example of Bulgaria in terms of stabilizing its deficit.

In his interview with the German edition of Financial Times, Mr. Plevneliev claimed that his country has not merely laid off 100,000 people in the construction sector and another 15,000 in the public sector, but proceeded with rapid and wide-range privatizations that helped the country lower its debt totaling 100% of the GDP to 16% within a decade.

Moreover, the Bulgarian President expressed his admiration for the views of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel on fiscal stability, and proposed to implement these views throughout Europe. He also supported the leading role of Germany in Europe.

The interview was presented yesterday in a local channel of Bulgaria and was shot last November during the shooting of a new documentary film from Theo Angelopoulos about the ongoing crisis in Greece.

In the interview Angelopoulos told Bulgarian writer Ivan Kulekov: “While my movies were being presented in Sofia, the cinemas were packed with people. Bulgarian people wanted to explore humanity through realistic films”.

Moreover, Angelopoulos stated that the times are a reflection of us and believed that the difficult times in Greece will worsen, because there is not only the economic crisis that hit Greece, there is also a political crisis and a crisis of values in Greece.

After a question posed by Ivan Kulekov concerning the coherence of Germany as a nation compared to Greece, Theo made it clear: “Germans’ coherence and their actions’ planning differs from the analogous conditions in Greece. Germans’ temperament is not similar to Greeks’ one. I admire the self-discipline that Germans demonstrate in their life. Nevertheless, I prefer the Balkan craziness that exists in Greece”.

Bulgarian TV said the last goodbye to Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos through the presentation of this interview and praised the work of the Greek filmmaker that will surely influence further generations in the Balkan region.

The Bulgarian club supporters complained that the Greek police would not let them out of the bus, while they used tear gas against them and hit them with truncheons during a fight.

Some days earlier the Iraklis administration had rejected CSKA’s proposal to organize a fan excursion to watch the game in Thessaloniki mainly for two reasons, as explained by Blue Arena.

The first one is that the Bulgarian club had not officially purchased any tickets for the volleyball game, which roused suspicions concerning the CSKA supporters’ intentions, as the fans had already formally announced their excursion to Greece in most of the country’s sports websites.

The second reason given by Greek police concerned the violent episodes CSKA Sofia fans had caused in November 2008, in a Champions League volleyball game between the two teams.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry announced that it will send a letter of protest demanding Greek authorities give thorough information about the investigation into the recent clash with CSKA Sofia fans, and clarify the circumstances surrounding the incident.

That is what chief commissary with Border Police DG Zaharin Penov said in an interview for FOCUS News Agency.

In his words the drop in the passenger’s flow is due to bad weather conditions in the days before Christmas. During the Christmas holidays the most intensive traffic was reported through Kulata-Promachonas crossing.

(source: FOCUS News Agency)

According to the local mountain rescue service, “The town was quite crowded. All ski runs were open and safe”.

“We chose Bansko, because the prices are good and we’ve been offered a discount. Such a modern center like Bansko is the dream of every skier. The conditions are perfect,” a Greek tourist told the Standart newspaper.

Bansko expects many guests from Russia, Romania, Serbia and FYROM, who traditionally come to the mountain resort to welcome the New Year.

It is believed that this has been the first real Christian community, which was so just and fair that it triggered the envy of the Judea. They slandered the archdeacon and he was tried by the Sanhedrin (high priests) for blasphemy against Moses and God and speaking against the Temple and the Law. Stephen was stoned to death (c. A.D. 34–35) by an infuriated mob.

Saint Stephen’s name is derived from the Greek Stephanos, meaning “crown.” Traditionally, Saint Stephen is invested with a crown of martyrdom for Christianity; he is often depicted in art with three stones and the martyrs’ palm. In Eastern Christian iconography, he is shown as a young beardless man with a tonsure, wearing a deacon’s vestments, and often holding a miniature church building or a censer.

In 415 CE Christian pilgrims discovered Stephen’s relics, after which they were solemnly transferred to a church built in his honor in Jerusalem.

Two bilateral documents will be signed regarding the rules for joint police teams in border regions in Bulgaria and Greece; also, rules will be established for setting up joint patrolling teams in Bulgaria’s Bansko resort.

A news briefing is set to take place after the meeting.

The four men were busted while excavating illegally at the mound, which does not lie far from the Bulgarian crossing on the Turkish border of Lesovo.

The four treasure hunters are aged between 37 and 73 and had gone as deep as 11 meters underground, using shovels, pickaxes, buckets, pulleys, a rope ladder, and two metal detectors, the police said, cited by BNR.

The four men admitted to entering the country several hours before the arrest in order to dig up the archaeological site. All of them are now facing charges of treasure hunting.

“The foreign ministry received an official notice from Bulgaria about the country’s decision to terminate the intergovernmental agreement with Russia and Greece about the cooperating for the construction and exploitation of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline dated March 15, 2007,” the press office of the ministry announced.

Earlier, Bulgarian Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov said that the government decided to give up on the project since it was unable to meet the financial conditions in the agreement reached in 2007.

Bulgaria proposes Russia and Greece for the tripartite agreement to be terminated at mutual consent. Otherwise Bulgaria will withdraw in 12 months.

(source:FOCUS Information Agency)