Issue 217

One of the most dynamic industries in the history of the world, IT, is going through yet another period of transformation. The shift caused by changes in the global economy and the ongoing political turmoil, the introduction of artificial intelligence in all spheres of life and the continuing development of technologies have visibly disturbed the landscape. What does it look like in Bulgaria – one of the most prospective locations for development in the global IT industry?

Excellent organization, flawless work processes, timely reaction and visible results: these are just some of the reasons why Sky Prime is one of the hot names in the Bulgarian market right now.

Prehistoric goddesses dancing in dark caves. Thick forests climbing up forbidding mountains, moist from the breath of hidden waterfalls. Intriguing museums where ancient gold treasures share space with... a nuclear power plant model. Red rocks frozen in phantasmagorical shapes, with macabre stories to add. Winding rivers passing by abandoned Communist-era monuments and factories, and picturesque monasteries. Towns that have seen better times, but still strive to reinvent themselves. Roman ruins amid drab modern houses.

"A success by all means," an advisor to the interior minister proclaimed, adding as many as 98 percent of smartphone owners in Bulgaria got a test message from the system. Trouble is, very few of them realised they did, owing to, according to Interior Ministry sources, most smartphones' settings switching off test alerts by default.

1. What do Bulgarians celebrate on 1 November?

A. Cyrillic Alphabet Day

B. Libration from the Ottomans

C. National Enlighteners Day

2. Which church has preserved medieval murals?

A. Boyana Church

B. Alexander Nevsky cathedral

C. Bishop's Basilica of Philippopolis

3. Bulgaria's pumpkin pie is called...

A. Patatnik

B. Tikvenik

Under Communism, there was hardly a place in Bulgaria without a monument to Lenin, or at least a street, a school, or a kindergarten named after him. Sofia, the capital, had a tall statue of him in front of the Largo, where the main institutions of the People's Republic of Bulgaria were situated.

The US president himself, and also anyone from David Cameron to Viktor Orban used to come and learn at our border: zero migration. The Balkan route used to be closed.

Boyko Borisov, GERB chairman, on Bulgaria's security during his terms as prime minister

We are liberals, to the incredulity of those who want to smear us.

Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of the Vazrazhdane pro-Russian party

Аbout 15 years ago a spec of land off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast made it into the international news: archaeologists digging in the remains of a 5th century church on St Ivan Isle declared to have found authentic relics of... St John the Baptist.

A bridge spanning over a turbulent whitewater river, which was constructed in such an incredible location that it was quick to gain notoriety for being otherworldly, a structure no human hand was able to accomplish without assistance from supernatural forces. Predictably, legends and myths about the bridge proliferated through the centuries, and some remain to this day. So does the bridge.