At least 12 people are known to have died and an unknown number of others are missing after heavy rain and flooding hit parts of north-eastern Bulgaria.

A cold spell and snowstorms have swept across parts of central and eastern Europe, disrupting power supplies, travel and schools. Four people have died in Bulgaria over the past few days.

A Bulgarian political party has entered a donkey to run for mayor in the country's elections.

SPLISH, Splash, Splat by Rob Scotton (HarperCollins; €8.35) is another feast of fun from this brilliant artist/writer.

Cork City will be missing young star Craig Duggan for their Premier Division clash with Drogheda United in Louth on Friday night (7.45pm).

JAILED football fan Michael Shields’s father last night hit out at the British Government for leading his family “a merry dance” by refusing to pardon his son.

TOPFLIGHT has launched a new preliminary winter ski brochure. The company is offering low booking deposits from €50 per person, free child places, insurance, boots and lift passes.

THE Malév summer timetable features three new cities and additional services on established routes.

The Russia-Ukraine natural gas dispute hit Europe with the force of a winter storm, cutting or limiting supplies to at least a dozen nations.

One of the world’s most dangerous nuclear power plants mothballed after international protests may be re-opened because of the Russian gas row it emerged today.

DARREN O’NEILL has stepped up his preparations as he bids for a place in the Irish team for the European boxing championships following the news that the trials will start on October 3.

A SALES war among a proliferation of rifle ranges in Bulgaria is attracting increasing numbers of Irish criminal gangs for target practice, as reported in yesterday’s Irish Examiner.

ROSSLARE Port is being used as a gateway for people trafficking, according to an undercover investigation.

A suspected child trafficker shown in a BBC television report been arrested by Bulgarian police in the Black Sea city of Varna.

MIDLETON-based Discover Travel has launched its largest brochure for south-east Asia, updated to include Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

A 17-year-old Irish boy has been killed in a jet-ski accident in Bulgaria while on holiday with his parents and brother.

Dozens of dead dolphins have been found on Bulgaria’s northern Black Sea coastline, authorities said today.

An independent union of Bulgarian judges today protested against British criticism of a Bulgarian trial in which a Liverpool football fan was convicted of attempted murder.

A TEENAGE Liverpool FC fan was jailed for 15 years yesterday for the attempted murder of a Bulgarian barman, despite another man “admitting” his own guilt.

Two Liverpool FC fans went on trial in Bulgaria today accused of attacking and injuring a Bulgarian man in a bar brawl, court officials said.

At least 10 people have been killed and two are missing as storms and floods hit large areas of the eastern Balkans, leaving thousands of people stranded.