Blagoevgrad

Many Macedonians in possession of Bulgarian passports are facing fines for having voted in the 2014 European Parliament elections.

The Macedonians holding dual citizenship voted in Bulgarian diplomatic missions in Macedonia, including at the Bulgarian embassy in Skopje, without being eligible to do so.

People working in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia earn on average double the remuneration paid to their counterparts in the towns of Vidin and Blagoevgrad.

This is shown by the figures of the National Statistical Institute (NSI) for the third quarter of the year, daily Trud informs.

During this period, the average wage was the highest in Sofia, where it stood at BGN 1193.

Half of Bulgaria's regional centers will elect their mayors in run-offs on November 1 after the candidates failed to win majority at the first round of the local elections held on October 25.

In Plovdiv, Ivan Totev, the incumbent mayor and candidate of the largest ruling party GERB, will face Slavcho Atanasov, former mayor and candidate of the Patriotic Front (PF).

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who is in Brussels for a leaders' meeting over the refugee crisis in the countries along the Western Balkans migratory route, congratulated his party, the coalition partners and the opposition for their results in the local elections held in Bulgaria on Sunday.

The exit polls of Alpha Research polling agency suggest that the cities of Varna, Kardzhali and Blagoevgrad have reelected their incumbent mayors at the local elections held in Bulgaria on Sunday.

According to the exit polls as of 18 o'clock EET, Ivan Portnih, the incumbent mayor of Varna and candidate of the largest ruling party GERB, won the elections with 57.9 % of the votes.

Lot 2 of Bulgaria's Struma motorway running between the towns of Dupnitsa and Blagoevgrad is expected to be launched on Thursday.

The new section of the motorway has a length of 37.5 kilometres and the cost exceeded BGN 358 M, daily Dnevnik informs.

Twice Upon a Time in the West, a Bulgarian thriller featuring Italian star Claudia Cardinale, is to have its first run at the Sofia Opera on Wednesday.

Lot 4 of Struma motorway between the Bulgarian town of Sandanski and the Kulata border checkpoint at the frontier with Greece will be officially launched on Thursday.

The project has been co-funded under the Transport Operational Programme 2007-2013.

The traffic on lot 2 of the Struma motorway between the Bulgarian towns of Dupnitsa and Blagoevgrad, will be launched by the end of October.

This was announced by Bulgarian Regional Minister Lilyana Pavlova, who inspected the construction works on the section of the motorway on Sunday.

The second edition of the 3D Art Festival took place in Bulgaria's southern town of Blagoevgrad. Artists will be showcasing their works in urban conditions.