Norway

The European Union has pledged over EUR 3 B to help the Syrians living inside the country as well as the refugees and the neighbouring countries hosting them in 2016.  

"Europe has forgotten that history is fundamentally tragic," said Manuel Valls, the French prime minister. "If Europe can't protect its own borders, it's the very idea of Europe that could be thrown into doubt. It could disappear - not Europe itself, not our values, but the European project, the concept we have of Europe, that the founding fathers had of Europe."

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is to take part in the Supporting Syria and the Region conference in London on Thursday, his press office has said.

Borisov is also to meet members of the Bulgarian community during his visit which is set to go on for two days (February 03-04).

The EU Parliament is set to discuss migration and to explore options to preserve the Schengen area amidst tensions among member states over the influx of migrants.

After the mass harassment scandal at Cologne central train station on New Year's Eve, several European governments are offering asylum-seekers lessons in civilized flirting so "the men" learn to respect women.

Male refugees are advised to "be funny" and "make eye contact" with women, but they are warned "not to stare." 

Spanish paraglider Horacio Llorens has fullfilled his lifetime ambition to paraglide through the Aurora Borealis.

He is one of the top acro-paragliders in the world and for many years he had been trying to make his dream true and flight through the elusive northern lights.

Bulgaria ranks 69th in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International released on Wednesday.

Bulgaria retained its ranking from 2014, but its score slightly declined from 43 to 41.

Sharing the 69th position with Jamaica, Bulgaria is the most corrupt country among the member states of the EU.

The European Commission said Jan. 26 that it may eventually allow member states of the passport-free Schengen zone to reintroduce border checks for up to two years to cope with the migration crisis.

At a meeting in Amsterdam on Jan. 25 EU interior ministers had asked the Commission - the executive arm of the 28-nation European Union - about the possibility of extending the checks.

A forum on combating human trafficking is taking place in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia on Tuesday.

The meeting entitled "Preparation of a strategy on countering human trafficking" began at 9:30 EET in the Musala hall of Hilton hotel.

Bulgaria has climbed 9 spots over the past year in the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index in 2015 compared to the year before.