At least 11,000 deaths have been confirmed in Turkey and Syria as a result of Monday's earthquake with numbers growing daily and uncertainty over the true death toll in Syria.
Former Energy Minister probed over gas violation
Alexander Nikolov, former Energy Minister in Prime Minister Kiril Petkov's cabinet, is one of several high officials facing a probe over allegedly causing BGN 88 million in damages to the state gas supplier.
One of Nikolov's deputies, Danail Nikolov, as well as the former head of national gas distributor Bulgargaz, Lyudmil Yotsov, are also believed to be under investigation.
The investigators did not provide any justification for the accusations which relate to the period in which Gazprom unilaterally changed the payment method to rubles.
Investigators claim the case is particularly serious because the activity of Bulgargaz as a public supplier, and the provision of reliability and security of supplies, were threatened.
Bulgaria's population to shrink
More Bulgarians plan to leave the country in the coming years, according to a study by the National Statistical Institute.
The survey says that 12% of the population intend to settle outside of Bulgaria, with the share increasing compared to the same study a decade ago. A higher proportion of young people between the ages of 20 and 29 would like to go abroad, with a quarter of them planning to settle elsewhere permanently.
Overall figures show that 20% of Bulgarians may leave, including labor migrants who go abroad on a seasonal basis.
BMW sells more EV's
About 9% of BMW's sales in Bulgaria are electric cars in 2022. The German brand sold 1,080 new cars in the country last year, a 8% rise from 2021.
Another brand of the BMW Group, MINI, reported a drop of 16% to 81 vehicles, while the highest growth was for BMW Motorrad motorcycles: 54% to 186.
According to the BMW group, the potential before the market was even greater, but the delayed production of cars due to disrupted global supply chains had a negative effect.
At least 11,000 deaths have been confirmed in Turkey and Syria as a result of Monday's earthquake with numbers growing daily and uncertainty over the true death toll in Syria.
