Plovdiv

The crumbling oval skeleton of the House of the Bulgarian Communist Party perches like a deserted flying saucer atop Mount Buzludzha, visible from miles around.

Several thousand Bulgarians demonstrated across the country on Saturday against plans for shale gas exploration by US company Chevron that they say could harm the environment.

KATUNITSA, Bulgaria (Reuters) - Nothing in the cool autumn morning suggests the sleepy village of Katunitsa would have been the flashpoint for Bulgaria's worst outbreak of civil unrest for more than a decade.

TOMS RIVER, New Jersey (Reuters) - A sudden evacuation, sleeping on cots in a school auditorium, and the threat to life and property that a hurricane brings.

Some of Bulgaria's most popular football clubs have ties with mafia bosses, who use them to launder money, according to a US diplomatic document revealed by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.

Bulgarian tax officials and prosecutors climbed into a helicopter Wednesday in a novel search for tax evaders and their sumptuous holiday residences, the government said.

LONDON (Reuters) - Unlike Roger Federer the previous day, Serena Williams proved shock-proof on Wimbledon's Center Court on Thursday as she reached the women's singles final for the sixth time.

WIMBLEDON NOTEBOOK LONDON - Not since the Maleeva sisters - Manuela, Katerina, and Magdalena - has Bulgaria had much to boast about on the tennis court. The country of some 7.5 million turns out players more by happenstance than design. These days, Bulgaria has Grigor Dimitrov, a 19-year-old up-and-comer on the men's side, along with Tsvetana Pironkova, the 22-year-old righthander who yesterday advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals with her 6-2, 6-3 upset of world No. 2 Venus Williams. ``Tennis is really a popular sport in our country,'' explained Pironkova, who grew up in Plovdiv, second in population to Sofia. ``Lots of kids are playing. Lot of kids are trying to get in the big [sic] tennis. But so far, right now, the rankings in the top 100 is just me. We have a few other players who are around 200. We have one star, [Dimitrov] - he won the boys' singles here, I think, two years ago. He has a good future. I really wish him the best.'' The 5-foot-11-inch Pironkova, who never before ad

Five-time champion Venus Williams suffered a shock 6-2, 6-3 defeat against unseeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

Five-time champion Venus Williams suffered a shock 6-2, 6-3 defeat against unseeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

Bulgarian police in the central city of Plovdiv have seized just over 50 kilogrammes (110 pounds) of heroin, hidden in cans of sauerkraut, prosecutors said Thursday.

This year's grape harvest in Bulgaria proved to be a bumper one but independent grape growers around the country say they will be in no mood to celebrate.

Bulgaria will develop cultural sites including the Valley of the Thracian Kings with its ancient treasure-filled burial tombs to boost its tourist appeal, traditionally focused on ski and seaside resorts, ministers said Wednesday.

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Macedonian authorities detained Sunday the captain of a tourist boat that sank in a popular lake, killing 15 Bulgarians, as survivors charged that the vessel lacked life jackets.

Bulgaria on Sunday mourned its 15 citizens who drowned when their pleasure boat sank on Macedonia's popular Lake Ohrid, gathering at churches around the country and cancelling a national holiday.

Angel Gadzhev. Name: Angel Gadzhev, musician

Bulgarian winemakers are hoping that a move upmarket will win them new customers in Europe and as experts warn that sales to Russia, traditionally their biggest market, are in decline.

Bulgarian winemakers are hoping that a move upmarket will win them new customers in Europe and as experts warn that sales to Russia, traditionally their biggest market, are in decline.