Assembly of first Bulgarian F-16 fighter begins
The assembly of the first Bulgarian F-16C/D Block 70 fighter has begun, according to a statement from the manufacturer, American military industrial giant Lockheed Martin.
"Bulgaria will receive a proven state-of-the-art system that will ensure decades of compatibility with NATO," the company pledged, as quoted by BTA. All Bulgarian fighters will be produced at the production plant in Greenville, South Carolina. The factory also assembles fighters for Bahrain and Slovakia.
EC: report: "Too many children leave school early"
Children in Bulgaria continue to leave the educational system prematurely and at levels above the average for the European Union. In addition, Bulgarian students study fewer days per year than their peers in Europe. Those are some of the conclusions in the report of the Review of Education and Training prepared by the European Commission.
The report does reveal, however, that the percentage of early school leavers is slowly decreasing. In 2021 it was 12.2% (compared to 12.8% in 2020 and 14% in 2019), but this is still above the EU average of 9.7%. The difference between urban and rural areas is significant, at 6.8% and 23.7% respectively.
Bulgarian VCs and startups ahead of EU in gender equality
There are more female general partners in Bulgarian venture capital firms than the European average - 27% compared to 15%. The contrast with neighboring Romania, where there are no female general partners in VC firms, could not be greater.
In 2021, Bulgarian startups with female founders received 5% of all investments in local startups, compared to 1.8% in Europe and 3% in Romania. Businesses with a combined team also raised 5% of investments, with the remaining 90% of all funds flowing into all-male managed businesses. In Romania, combined teams attracted 18%, bringing the share of male-led startups down to 79%.
Assembly of first Bulgarian F-16 fighter begins
The assembly of the first Bulgarian F-16C/D Block 70 fighter has begun, according to a statement from the manufacturer, American military industrial giant Lockheed Martin.
