Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization

Bulgaria marks on July 20 Ilinden - the Day of St. Elijah or Iliya and the Name Day of Iliya, Iliyan and Iliyana.

Elijah or Iliya was a prophet in Israel in the 9th century BC. According to the Books of Kings, Elijah raised the dead, brought fire down from the sky, and ascended into heaven in a chariot.

Macedonia can't exist without Bulgaria, and Bulgaria can't exist without Macedonia - they are two parts of one whole'', said the historian prof. Plamen Pavlov for Radio Focus. He commented that we are witnesses of tides in the relations between the two countries, as well as passiveness from the Bulgarian side.

A series of events was held on Monday to mark the Day of Macedonia and the Fallen Bulgarian Heroes on Monday, held for the first time under the patronage of defence minister and deputy prime minister Krasimir Karakachanov.

A Gallup International Poll Shows that 52% of the Bulgarians take very seriously what's happening in Macedonia, quoted by BNR.
Barely 1/10 of the polled say the events to the South-West are not important for this country.

The southwestern town of Petrich marked Bulgaria's national holiday on Thursday with a procession on the occasion of the 138thanniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.

The procession was the first of its kind and was organised under the initiative of the youth formation of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation (VMRO).

The Bulgarian government approved Boris Vangelov as chairperson of the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad.

This emerged after the regular meeting of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, the government's press service reports.

Vangelov holds Master's degrees in History and Geography and Law from the Veliko Tarnovo University St. Cyril and St. Methodius.

A long-awaited book by Temelko Neshkov portraying the sufferings of ethnic Bulgarians in the territory of the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia after WWII has left the printing press.

Bulgaria's center-right party GERB, the winner in the early elections on October 05, and the nationalist coalition Patriotic Front have agreed on forming a new government, Wednesday.