Bulgaria

Bulgaria said on Sept.8 it had refused permission for Russian aircraft to cross its airspace last week as concern grows among NATO members that Moscow is boosting military aid to Syria's Bashar al-Assad.

One of the leading Italian fashion houses - Armani is considering to open a factory for male ready-to-wear clothing in Bulgaria.

This became clear at a meeting between the executive director of the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency, Marieta Zaharieva, and representatives of the company in Milan.

Gabriela Yordanova, 12, will sing for Bulgaria at the Junior Eurovision song contest this November.

Yordanova was picked on Tuesday evening by both the jury and viewers who voted by sending text messages.

Bulgaria came second in last year's junior contest, but the winner Italy declined to host the 2015 edition and Sofia was offered the opportunity to organize it.

Russia was informed over the weekend of Bulgaria's decision not to give clearance to Russian planes loaded with humanitarian aid for Syria, Moscow's Embassy in Sofia has said.

"An official notice arrived to us back in the weekend," Interfax quotes Evgeniya Suslova, press officer at the Russian Embassy, as saying.

Bulgaria's industrial production index dipped by a preliminary 0.7% month-on-month in July, the country's statistical office NSI said on Tuesday, citing seasonally adjusted figures.

The industrial production index rose by 3.4% on the year in July 2015 adjusted for the number of working days, the NSI said in a monthly statistical report.

The Bulgarian authorities have been informed that the Syria-bound Russian cargo aircraft seeking clearance to overfly Bulgaria's territory could have possibly been transporting weapons, Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev said on Tuesday.

Bulgaria's decision to close the country's airspace to Russian military transport aircraft said to be carrying humanitarian aid to Syria has drawn a harsh response from Russian lawmakers on Tuesday.

Bulgaria on Tuesday confirmed it has denied a request by Moscow to allow Russian military transport planes to overfly Bulgarian territory en route to Syria in the period 1-24 September 2015.

Bulgaria has rejected a request to allow Russian cargo aircraft said to be carrying humanitarian aid to Syria to overfly its territory, TASS reported on Tuesday.

Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Ministers Rumyana Bachvarova, Meglena Kuneva and Ivaylo Kalfin and Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov presented on Tuesday the country's stance on the unprecedented refugee crisis facing Europe.

Earlier on Tuesday, the four ministers had discussed the issue with Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, daily Dnevnik informs.