The heatwave rolling into Bulgaria marks the beginning of summer but also seems to have led to a significant drop in the intensity of political battle. It's a little over a fortnight until the July 11 elections, and campaigning is waning. Today's big news stories are:
Supreme Judicial Council appoints new head to Specialized Prosecution
Amid protests in front of the Supreme Judicial Council building, the Prosecutorial College unanimously elected a new chief of the Specialized Prosecutor's office. There was only one candidate for the post - Valentina Madjarova, so it was no surprise she won.
Madjarova became known for terminating the investigation into Apartmentgate, during which she found no evidence of violations by Boyko Borissov's former right-hand man in GERB Tsvetan Tsvetanov.
Avtomagistrali's management refuses to step down
On June 18, caretaker Minister of Regional Development Violeta Komitova requested the dismissal of the directors of state-owned Avtomagistrali and the appointment of new ones. Now, the Sofia City Court issued an order to suspend the change in leadership because of appeals from the current directors of the company - Alexander Filev, Ivan Kolarov, and Stoyan Belichev. So, for a whole month now, the state, the sole owner of Avtomagistrali, has been unable to take control of the company and check how billions in public funds are being spent.
Tour operator's money woes might lead to mass cancelations in Greece
Greek tour operator Muzenidis Travel is in financial trouble and has announced that it is temporarily ceasing operations, thus jeopardizing the holidays of 150,000 Bulgarian tourists in Greece. Initially, the company announced that it had canceled all hotel reservations until June 26, but on Tuesday it extended this period until July 31. During this period, the tour operator will seek financing and will liquidate assets to cover its liabilities. Nearly 70% of Bulgarians' organized trips to Greece are made through the Thessaloniki-based tour operator Muzenidis Travel.
The heatwave rolling into Bulgaria marks the beginning of summer but also seems to have led to a significant drop in the intensity of political battle. It's a little over a fortnight until the July 11 elections, and campaigning is waning. Today's big news stories are:
