France

Bulgaria has descended three spots in Fraser Institute's annual Economic Freedom of the World report, ranking 42nd among 157 countries and territories - at par with the Czech Republic, Sweden and Jamaica.

This year's edition of the report is based on 2013 statistics, the most recent year for which data is available. In last year's issue of the report Bulgaria ranked 39th.

Singer Elly Paspala and the Underground Youth Orchestra wil perform “I Love Athens” at the Athens International Airport on Wednesday, September 16, aimed at connecting the capital of Athens with the capital of France through the adaptation of the Cole Porter classic, “I Love Paris.”

Romanian Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea said on Monday that Bucharest will reject the European Commission's plan for national quotas for refugees.

"I have a clear mandate from the president and from the prime minister to politely refuse the EC request," Oprea said before leaving for Brussels, where EU interior ministers will hold a meeting on the refugee crisis.

A spot just northwest of Milan has to be the epicenter of the most exciting plates on earth these days. Since its opening on May 1, the Milan Expo 2015 has been hosting the most notable chefs, as well as humble cooks from all over the world to display their culinary creations or traditional dishes of national or regional pride.

The Turkish national basketball team has been handed a heavy defeat by host France at Eurobasket 2015, bidding farewell to its dreams of a podium finish, or at least an Olympic berth.

Roared on by a record-breaking indoor crowd in Liile on Sept. 12, France thrived on home support as it thumped Turkey 76-53 to reach the quarterfinals.

Bulgarian migrants working in Turkey sent some USD 830 M (EUR 732 M) back home in 2014, much more than the sum flowing from the next "top 11" countries in the list combined, data from the TIME magazine shows.

The amount of roughly BGN 1.430 B is equal to about 1.7% of the country's GDP.  

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Sept. 11 suspended an honorary consul in Turkey for selling boats to migrants.
 
"The minister has just ordered her suspension," the foreign ministry told AFP following a television report showing the woman in her sailing goods shop in the Turkish resort town of Bodrum. 
 

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told an international conference Sept. 11 that Russia remained a threat to the "entire democratic world" but that he held out hope a new truce with pro-Moscow insurgents would hold.

A tough test awaits Turkey on Sept. 12 at Eurobasket 2015 when it takes on title favorite France, led by all-time Eurobasket top scorer Tony Parker, for a quarterfinal berth.

The "12 Giant Men" finished Group B fourth after a 111-102 victory in overtime against Iceland on Sept. 10 to set up the Round of 16 clash with France in Lille.

According to the preliminary figures of the National Statistical Institute (NSI), which were released on Friday, Bulgarian exports to the EU and third countries increased in the first half of 2015.

Between January and June, Bulgarian exports to the EU amounted to BGN 14.2 B, which represented an increase of 12.4 % compared to the same period last year.