From May 15 to 18, the World Table Tennis Cup WTT Youth Contender 2025 was held in the city of Panagyurishte, which brought together over 150 competitors from 40 countries. The Ruse participation was worthily represented by Anita Petkova, Vladimir Raykov and Stelan Lavchiev - competitors of the "Dunav Ruse" Table Tennis Sports Club and graduates of the "Major Atanas Uzunov" Sports School.

Anita Petkova, part of the Bulgarian national team under 19, took part in the under 17 and under 19 categories for girls, as well as in the mixed doubles tournament. In the under 17 girls, she passed the group stage without a hitch and in the main draw recorded a victory over the strong Romanian Andreea Baiasu. In the battle for a place in the eight, Petkova lost to the representative of Korea Kim Eunseo.

In the under 19 category, Anita was one step away from two prestigious victories. Against the current European doubles champion Bianca Mei-Rosu from Romania, the player from Ruse showed character, led in the games, but lost after a reversal. In her second match against Shriya Anand from India, Anita led 2:0 in the game, but after a contested game, she allowed a reversal and lost 2:3.

In mixed doubles, Anita partnered with Stefan Dimitrov. The two were eliminated in the main draw after losing to the Ukrainian tandem.

Vladimir Raykov participated in the U-13 and U-15 categories. In the U-13 category, he managed to pass the group stage with better game indicators. In the main draw, the draw assigned a Ruse derby against his teammate Stelan Lavchiev. Raykov won dramatically with 3:2, but then lost to Filip Nagy (Slovakia). In the U-15 category, he failed to overcome the group stage, despite his efforts against rivals from Chinese Taipei and Slovakia.

Stellan Lavchiev participated in the under-11 and under-13 categories. In the latter, he was in a group with the leader in the rankings Koh Wei Yeow (Malaysia) and a player from Kazakhstan, whom he defeated, but lost to Raykov. In the under-11 category, Lavchiev showed a high level and reached the quarterfinals. After three wins in the group and a loss to the Ukrainian David Drobov, who later became second, Stellan was stopped by the future champion Mark Voronoi (Ukraine).

Participation in the prestigious tournament was an important stage in Anita Petkova's preparation for the upcoming European Championship, as well as a valuable "clock check" for the young Ruse table tennis hopefuls.

The eighth edition of the International Culinary Competition "Like the Chefs" was held today at the Danube Plaza Hotel. The delicious competition is part of the XX edition of the Weekend Tourism Tourism Exhibition and the XVII Festival of Tourist Entertainment and Animations and is organized by the "Ivan P. Pavlov" Vocational High School of Tourism, the Municipality of Ruse, the Art Public Organization and the Union of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs in the city. This year, 12 students from 7 Ruse schools participated in the competition, as well as young chefs in training from Romania and Moldova.

"I thank these young people for the courage to participate and be inspired by the food that carries history and is what makes tourists return. Your preparation leaves no doubt in anyone present that you are the future culinary stars," said Deputy Mayor Zlatomira Stefanova. She expressed special thanks to the organizers for the desire with which they build on the competition every year. Zlatomira Stefanova presented a plaque of the Municipality of Ruse to the director of the Vocational High School of Tourism Reneta Valeva, expressing gratitude for the joint work and the ongoing 19-year partnership with the Municipality in conducting the “Weekend Tourism”.

According to the competition regulations, the participants were divided into pairs, with each team consisting of a representative of a Ruse school, partnering with a student from the Vocational High School of Tourism, Romania and Moldova. They were evaluated by a jury chaired by Chef Svetlomir Petrov – head chef of “Dunav Plaza”, Chef Momchil Kirilov – representative of “Fitness Chef” – Ruse, and Hristiana Simeonova – teacher of professional training at the Vocational High School of Tourism “Ivan P. Pavlov”. The task of the participants was to prepare desserts.

In third place were Gabriela Nacheva /Secondary School “Yordan Yovkov” and Ilyada Feim with their “Spoon full”. Second place went to Yanimira Rankova /Secondary School "St. Constantine - Cyril the Philosopher"/ and Hadzhiu Irina with the masterfully prepared puff pastry tart with white chocolate cream and fruit coulis. The grand prize was won by Viktor Pasev /Secondary School "Friedrich Schiller"/ and Ivo Yonkov. They enchanted the jury with their interpretation of a mini Pavlova with strawberries, raspberries and vanilla cream.

The Ruse Municipality Award was presented by Zlatomira Stefanova to Ognyan Ivanov /Secondary School "Vasil Levski"/ and Edis Veysalov. The best dessert according to the Union of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs was prepared by Kiril Kolev and Alina Gabriela, who were awarded by the chairwoman of the organization Maya Rusanova.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the major renovation of the "Vazrazhdane" Home for the Elderly was held today by Mayor Pencho Milkov and Minister of Labor and Social Policy Borislav Gutsanov. The official ceremony took place in the yard of the home and was attended by deputy mayors Dimitar Nedev, Encho Enchev, Borislav Rachev and Nikola Lazarov, as well as employees of social services in the municipality, social service providers, representatives of the company performing the construction activities and pensioners living in the home. The director of the "Vazrazhdane" Home for the Elderly, Ani Venkova, announced that during the renovation, the elderly will not be moved out of the building and their daily lives will not be disrupted.

“After months of hard work preparing the project, the long-awaited renovation is already beginning. Our dear elderly fellow citizens deserve to live in an accessible and modern environment. I believe that the renovated building will become a real home, filled with warmth and understanding, in which every day will bring reasons for smiles and shared joy,” said the mayor. He addressed the builders with a wish for quality work and emphasized that their work will be monitored by hundreds of eyes that will control how conscientiously the workers work.

Minister Gutsanov recalled that the Municipality of Ruse won the project, which will be implemented with funding of 6.5 million leva from the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan. "In a few months, this home will be transformed and will become more comfortable, and through the implementation of energy efficiency measures, there will be less maintenance costs. I congratulate the mayor and his team, because in addition to this project, they will also implement two more related to the care of elderly people with disabilities," said the minister. He warned the contractor that the Labor Inspectorate will strictly monitor whether all labor rules are being followed. "We will transform 81 homes for the elderly throughout the country. About 385 million leva are the funds that have been allocated for this under the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan," summarized Gutsanov.

A symbolic first sod for the start of construction activities was laid by Mayor Milkov, Minister Gutsanov and Deputy Mayors Nedev, Enchev and Rachev. The celebration ended with a musical greeting from residents of the home, who performed an original poem and song.

The renovation of the building includes a major transformation of the rooms on 4 floors. There will be separate rooms with their own bathroom, and the bathrooms will be adapted for wheelchairs. Medical offices are planned on three floors, each floor will have an office for orderlies, a hygienist, a tap and a sink for the common dining room of the residents of the floor. There will be a library with a reading room, a living room for quiet activities, an interest club and a kinesitherapy room on the floors. The existing railings will be replaced with new ones with a higher height. It is also planned to replace the elevators; furnish and furnish the premises; reconstruct the facades - install a thermal insulation system; replace old window frames and doors; repair of installations - plumbing, electrical, HVAC, etc.; park development and landscaping activities in the yard. The repair is planned to be completed on June 30, 2026.

The second international conference on social innovation in the Danube region entitled “Building bridges of care: transnational cooperation for sustainable home care in the Danube region” was held in Ruse on 15-16 May. The event was organized in partnership between the Municipality of Ruse, the University of Ruse “Angel Kanchev” and the international consortium of the CARING COMMUNITIES project, funded by the European Union’s Danube Programme.

The conference was held in the Siemens Hall of the University of Ruse and brought together 25 partners from nine countries, committed to improving home care systems and developing community-based social services. The main topics were the opportunities for transnational cooperation and the role of digitalization in the provision of social services.

The day before the forum, on 14 May, the international delegation visited the Day Centre for Adults with Severe Multiple Disabilities in Ruse to learn about good local practices.

The CARING COMMUNITIES project aims to build a network of stakeholders working together to improve home care in the Danube region through exchange of experiences, research support and social entrepreneurship. Through a combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches, the consortium develops innovation platforms for transnational cooperation, while testing analytical tools to measure and multiply social impact.

The Danube Social Innovation Conferences, held annually since 2024, aim to expand the network of “communities of care” and to strengthen the interaction between public institutions, academia and the non-governmental sector for the sustainable development of social services.

Today, an official ceremony was held to resume construction activities on the sports hall with a swimming pool at "Vasil Levski" Secondary School. The Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Ivanov, the Minister of Youth and Sports Ivan Peshev and the Mayor of Ruse Municipality Pencho Milkov launched the resumption of construction. The ceremony took place at the construction site in the presence of Deputy Mayors Encho Enchev, Zdravka Velikova and Borislav Rachev, the Director of the Municipal Enterprise "Sports Properties" Lachezar Ivanov, the Head of the Department "Infrastructure and Investor Control" in the Municipality of Alpay Gavaz, the Director of the Secondary School "V. Levski" Maria Ivanova-Todorova, the managers of the contractor company "Polis - Construction" Teodor Serafimov and Rosen Milanov, students and teachers. The guests were welcomed according to an old Bulgarian custom with bread and salt, and they welcomed the hosts and the builders.

Minister Ivanov said that this facility is proof of how the state and the municipality can work together in preparing the younger generation. "I wish this undertaking success and I hope that it will be completed on time and with the necessary quality. I hope that we will soon start the competitions here and I hope that athletes with high sportsmanship will emerge from this hall. Congratulations to the mayor and his team and to the school team, who have come this long way," said Ivanov.

Minister Peshev also congratulated the mayor's team. "The municipality of Ruse is one of the few in the country that allocates so much money for the development of sports and sports infrastructure - 3% of the income is allocated for sports. The facility is proof of the sports ambitions of the regional city and I hope that very soon the citizens and students will be able to play sports here to the fullest," added Peshev.

Mayor Pencho Milkov stressed that the resumption of construction is an emotional moment for him, because a third of the city's residents can already see the construction of the modern hall in which they will be able to play sports, use the pool, the fitness center and the spa center. "This building is a message to all our fellow citizens to play sports and improve themselves. I wish the contractor success in completing its work qualitatively and on time. I categorically state that the Municipality will be a very stable controller of the site and a partner, in case additional assistance from the local authorities is needed. The visit of the two ministers today is a sign that the Municipality receives support from the state, which makes us stronger and more confident," said Milkov.

The school principal Maria Ivanova-Todorova also welcomed those present, expressing the impatience of parents and children to start playing sports. She thanked the administration for managing to resume construction despite the difficulties.

We recall that in 2018 Ruse Municipality commissioned the development of a technical investment project for a sports hall with a hot connection. In 2020, construction began, but was suspended in 2022 due to the bankruptcy of the contractor company. The building will have a handball playing field and stands for 600 seats, as well as a swimming complex with a training pool. One third of the funding is provided by the state and two thirds are from the Municipality. According to the project, the site is expected to be ready within 3 years.