France

France's Ambassador to Bulgaria on Saturday officially kicked off the European Championship Pétanque Men 2015 taking place in the Black Sea resort of Albena until Sunday.

Teams from France, Belgium, Spain and Italy - the best on the continent- will compete in this year's European tournament alongside professionals and amateurs from 36 countries.

The annual Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition received a record 2700 entries by astrophotographers from 59 countries around the world and the judges faced their toughest challenge in choosing just 138 shortlisted images and narrowing those down to only 32 winning images.

Tourist arrivals and overnight stays rose by 8.7 % and 5.5% respectively in 2014, compared with the previous year, according to Hellenic Statistical Authority.

Total room occupancy in hotels (except campings) rose to 47.3% in 2014 from 45.2% in 2013.

Around 5,000 Romanian students go abroad to study each year, mostly in Western Europe, lured by better educational standards as well as the hope of better jobs and salaries after finishing their studies, according to estimates.

A study by the League of Romanian Students Studying Abroad, LSRS, say that the main destinations are the UK, France, Germany, Denmark and Holland.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should be involved in any Syrian peace talks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sep. 24 amid mounting pressure to end the four-year conflict.

"We have to speak with many actors, this includes al-Assad, but others as well," Merkel told a press conference after an EU summit on the migration crisis sparked by the Syrian war.

Russia faced mounting calls on Sept.24 to explain its intentions in the Syrian conflict as European diplomats met after Germany's leader said President Bashar al-Assad should be involved in any peace talks.

Bulgaria's top ranking male tennis player Grigor Dimitrov will face Gael Monfils from France in an exhibition match, which is scheduled to take place at the Arena Armeec hall in Sofia on November 28.

The encounter will occur at the end of the season and will most likely be in a three-set format, daily Dnevnik informs.

Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn resigned on Sept.23 over a pollution cheating scandal that has sparked a US criminal investigation and worldwide legal action with unfathomable financial consequences for the auto giant.

European Council President Donald Tusk pointed to the Priority Actions for the migrant crisis proposed by the European Commission following the informal meeting of EU leaders.

He asked EU institutions and governments to work speedily on the following issues:

Bulgarian authorities have ordered Montupet EOOD, part of France-based Montupet SA group, to suspend part of the operations of its aluminium casting plant in Ruse suspected as a source of excessive air pollution.