Black Sea

First Investment Bank, the main creditor of the Burgas Shipyards AD, has expressed interest in handing over management of the company to a German investor.

Blagoy Ragin, Chair of the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association (BHRA), has rejected claims of an outflow of Ukrainian tourists from Bulgaria.

About 20 Ukrainians, residing in Bulgaria, staged a peaceful protest against Russia's invasion in Crimea, in the Black Sea city of Varna. 

The protestors were carrying Ukrainians carried the Ukrainian flag, blue and yellow balloons and signs saying “Russia is an aggressor”, reported Bulgaria's public TV channel BNT. 

Rallies in support of Russia will be held in two Bulgarian cities on Friday evening. 

Both are organised via the social network Facebook.

Joint naval exercises with Bulgarian, Romanian and US vessels are to take place in the Black Sea on March 11.

The naval forces of all three nations have stated no connection between the upcoming drill and the tensions on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, where the Russian Black Sea Fleet is based, the Bulgarian National Radio has reported.

By Henry Kissinger – US Secretary of State (1973-1977)

From The Washington Post

A US warship was allowed on Wednesday to pass through the Turkey-controlled Black Sea straits.

The ship, which enters the Black Sea amid escalating tensions on the Crimean Peninsula, is expected to travel through the straits within the next few days, as Turkish newspaper Zaman has reported.

Bulgarian Black Sea coast hotel owners have recorded an increase of Romanian tourists 2 months before Easter.

Many Romanian tourists prefer Bulgaria's north Black Sea coast resort of Balchik. Hotels there are almost full for the holidays with price rates remaining unchanged since last summer.