Plovdiv

Former Olympic Weightlifting champion Milen Dobrev has been found dead in his home.

According to information released by local police, there have been no signs of violence on the body of the 35-year old athlete.
His parents have discovered the dead body as they went to his apartment Saturday.

Hundreds of towns in southern Bulgaria remain without electricity supplies and with severe problems with road infrastructure after the prolific snowfalls.

The state of emergency issued in the municipalities of Smolyan, Kardzhali, Haskovo, Pazardzhik and Plovdiv remains in force, the Bulgarian National television reported.

Societe Generale Expressbank and the ?Regional Urban Development Fund" AD have granted an 8-year investment loan of over EUR 14 M to Plovdiv-based bread and bakery products manufacturer Simid Agro EOOD under the Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA) initiative.

The US has decided on monitoring air quality around its embassies across the world.

The statement was made by the US State Secretary John Kerry on Monday.

This is the first time in the history of INDEX when the event will take place in Eastern Europe, and is deemed to be of strategic importance for the development of the tourist sector in Plovdiv.

Code orange has been issued for Bulgaria's Smolyan municipality on Friday on account of the heavy rains and expected thunderstorms.

The other twenty seven areas of the country have been warned with a yellow code due to the heavy rains and possible snow storms.

A Bulgarian court of appeal on Tuesday granted a defence request to postpone hearings in the case of 13 Bulgarian Muslim clerics sentenced for preaching radical Islam.

The lawyers of the defendants have asked the Appeals Court in the city of Plovdiv, in southern Bulgaria, to allow new evidence, according to BGNES news outlet.

Bulgarian telecommunications opeartor Max has successfully demonstrated high definition voice and video services over its commercially available 4G LTE network, the first of its kind in Bulgaria.

Max announced Monday that it would extend its product range to include high quality voice products.

The US company Sensata, which is a leading supplier of sensors and controls, is constructing its second manufacturing plant in Bulgaria.

The mayor of Maritsa municipality Dimitar Ivanov explained that the first stage of the plant will become operational in June and will employ 1500 people, the news website Dnevnik reports.

Bulgaria's Minister of Youth and Sports Krasen Kralev announced that the state will provide BGN 1.1 M for hosting the UEFA European U-17 Championship in 2015.

Kralev said that the programme has been approved and a contract will be signed soon, the news website Dnevnik reports.