BNR

Former Justice Minister Hristo Ivanov's new Yes, Bulgaria movement will run in the early election due this spring, its founder has said.

Ivanov, who is due to hold a constituent assembly of the movement and turn it into a party in January, has highlighted the new organization's lack of ties to business circles that distinguish it from other political actors.

A tram derailment has the Bulgarian capital Sofia, not far from the city center.

There is no information about injured passengers so far, public broadcaster BNR has said.

It is not yet clear what caused the incident at the junction of Aleksandar Stamboliyski and Konstantin Velichkov Blvds.

Two hours on from the derailment, movement has been restored.

After a three-day strike by Lufthansa pilots, the German company is already operating, said public broadcaster BNR on November 26.

Sofia Airport confirmed that earlier this morning, two airplanes of Lufthansa left Sofia to Munich and Frankfurt.

A protest is due in the southern Bulgarian town of Yambol on Saturday over the accommodation of migrants in the area, public broadcaster BNR reports.

A torch-lit rally will be held over plans to set up a temporary center in the nearby village of Boyanovo between 18:00 and 21:00 local time (EET), the radio quotes Krasimira Koleva, one of the organizers, as saying.

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has sent a letter to Bulgarian President-elect Rumen Radev praising his country's central role in decision-making within the European Union, public broadcaster BNR reports.

Juncker has congratulated Radev on his election on Sunday.

Bulgarian Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova has said the government does not plan to set up new accommodation centers for migrants.

While on a visit to the border areas between Bulgaria and Turkey, she has voiced the cabinet's confidence the existing infrastructure will help address the current inflow of migrants.

Police have detained 22 irregular migrants from Afghanistan in a van following a pursuit near Zlatograd crossing on Bulgaria's border with Greece, public broadcaster BNR reported on Tuesday.

The driver has also been arrested.

The migrants - five men, five women and 12 children - were discovered in the back of the van after police made the vehicle pull over.

Twelve new containers for old clothes and textile items have been placed in the streets of Sofia this week as part of a nationwide campaign launched by the Bulgarian Red Cross (BRC).

"This is an idea we've borrowed from our partners in Germany, Austria and Switzerland," BRC Chairman Hristo Grigorov has told public radio broadcaster BNR.

Tsvetelin Tsvetanov, chairman of Bulgaria's Road Transport Administration Executive Agency, has been detained by police in Sofia as part of a country-wide operation against suspected wrongdoing in licensing procedures at the agency, public radio broadcaster BNR reported on Wednesday.

The EU is working toward a "good deal" with Turkey by using a "constructive approach" in dialogue among member states, Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders has said.