Romania

Bulgarians will spend around BGN 300 M for travels during the Easter holidays show estimates of the Institute for Analysis of Tourism. 

The turnover of shops and restaurants would increase by around BGN 400 M, shows data of the National Revenue Agency, quoted by bTV TV channel. 

Romanian PM says his country is loyal U.S. ally

BUCHAREST -- Victor Ponta has offered guarantees to the U.S. and NATO that Romania was "a loyal ally they can rely on militarily and politically in the Ukraine crisis."

Vacations in Bulgaria are still most preferred by Romanians, writes the Romanian daily Adevarul. 

The main attractions are the cheap, traditional and pleasant holidays. “This is why the trend to go to the all inclusive paradise – the Bulgarian coast – continues this year,” says the newspaper. 

KRAGUJEVAC - Serbia triumphed against Russia 14-7 (3-1, 4-2, 3-3, 4-1) in the Men's Water Polo World League 2014 Europe Group A Round 6 preliminaries in Kragujevac late on Tuesday and secured their spot in the Super Final that will be played in Dubai on June 16-21.

Victor Spirescu, the first Romanian to arrive in Britain on January 1 after the lifting of remaining work restrictions on Romanians, is now promoting a new pro-EU party in Britain founded by UK-resident Romanians, the UK's Channel 4 TV reports.

Almost 85 per cent of Romanians will spend Easter at home with family or friends, while the average budget allotted to this important celebration will be 359 lei (79 euro), a study published on Monday reveals.

The money spent over Easter is likely to be the much same as last year, according to a poll by MEDNET Marketing research center.

Region taking stand against corruption in football

After years riddled with scandal, officials are taking steps to end corruption and crime in football.

Turkish football team Fenerbahce was banned from European competitions by UEFA in July 2011 after the club was found to be connected with a match-fixing scheme. [AFP]

“Romania is extremely concerned over developments in neighboring Ukraine, which have a serious impact on international security. In such a context, we have concrete expectations of a redeployment and an eastward repositioning of NATO's naval, air and ground forces," Romanian Foreign Minister, Titus Corlatean, said on Thursday.

The most beautiful women in the world live in Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Russia, and Colombia, according to a recent survey.

Bulgarian women are among the leaders in the Targetmap.com rating divided into five categories according to female attractiveness with 15 out of 17 points. Central and Western Europeans as well as Americans have been voted less attractive.

Greece's largest toy seller Jumbo reported a 7.6 percent rise in sales for the nine months to March on Wednesday thanks to double-digit growth in Cyprus and Bulgaria.

The figure is higher than the company's outlook for an increase in sales of between four and six percent in the 12 months to June 2014.