No single topic dominates Wednesday’s print media. The top news in online media and TV morning shows is that a businessman has been shot dead in Plovdiv (South Central Bulgaria), as well as that Greece will return the remains of Bulgaria’s Tsar Samuel to Sofia.
HOME AFFAIRS
Segabg.com reports that Iliyan Filipov, owner of the largest transportation company in Bulgaria – PIMK – and the Botev Plovdiv football club, has been killed in Plovdiv’s Hristo Smirnenski borough. According to unconfirmed reports, he was shot in the head. The prosecution service and the Interior Ministry said that Filipov died from a gunshot wound but declined to provide details. He was killed on the grounds of one of the properties he owned. The Ministry declined to say whether there were any witnesses. The investigation is proceeding on the grounds of murder. The Interior Ministry reported that around 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday, an alert was received about a man who had been shot in Plovdiv (South Central Bulgaria). Police and emergency medical teams were dispatched to the scene. The area was cordoned off, and medical personnel pronounced him dead. The entire city has been cordoned off by teams from the Plovdiv Regional Directorate of the Interior and National Police. The police had not received any reports of threats against Filipov.
Mediapool.bg reports that last spring, Filipov entered into an open conflict with another well-known Plovdiv businessman, Ivan Petleshkov. The victim claimed that Petleshkov, with whom he had been a business partner in the past, controlled the police and wielded influence in the municipality. Another businessman from the city, Vassil Bosneshki, wrote on social media that he had information about an assassination plot against him being orchestrated by Petleshkov. At that time, the Interior Ministry and the prosecution service were conducting an investigation into the disappearance of two people who were believed to be connected to the disappearance of a shipment of 160 kilogrammes of cocaine. As part of that investigation, Filipov’s transportation company was searched. At the time, he explained that he was cooperating fully with the investigators, and it later became clear that two of those convicted in the case against the Naglite kidnapping gang had been arrested in connection with the case.
Bulgarian National Television’s morning show quoted Plovdiv District Prosecutor Vanya Hristeva as saying at a briefing that the prosecution is monitoring pre-trial proceedings for the murder of a well-known local businessman, I. F. The investigation began early on Wednesday, immediately after an alert was submitted at the 112 emergency hotline. “We are working on all possible scenarios,” she said, and confirmed that the victim died of a gunshot wound.
bTV’s morning show reported that based on information provided during the briefing, Filipov had not informed the police of any threats to his life.
Former Plovdiv mayor Zdravko Dimitrov told Nova TV’s morning show that there had been no indication that Filipov was worried. Dimitrov recounted that the two had last seen each other at a football game at the Hristo Botev Stadium in Plovdiv. Filipov was in a good mood, and the two discussed future meetings and projects. They were supposed to meet again at the match between Bulgaria and Estonia, but Dimitrov decided not to attend and to watch the game on television instead. Asked about Filipov’s public conflicts, including those with businessman Ivan Petleshkov, Dimitrov said that he knows both of them but has no information about their relationship or disputes. “If they ever argued, I was not there to see it. I do not know. I know one of them, and I know the other. While I was mayor, I never had any problems with them,” Dimitrov said.
POLITICS
bTV’s morning show presented the results of a Market Links opinion poll on the October 25 presidential election. The presidential ticket of Iliana Iotova and Kiril Valchev currently holds a significant lead over the ticket of Andrey Gurov and Georgi Kandev, the data show; both pairs are backed by nomination committees. If the election were held today, Iotova-Valchev would garner 41.4% of the votes, followed by Gurov-Kandev with 21.9% and Kostadin Kostadinov and Petar Volgin of Vazrazhdane with 6.4%. Of those surveyed, 64% said they would vote in the presidential election and of them, 20% are yet to decide who to vote for. Voter turnout is expected to exceed 40%. The survey also shows that confidence in the Government is steadily, albeit gradually, declining – from 50% in May, it now stands at 39%. Distrust has risen from 24% to 40%. Citizens believe the country is not moving in the right direction, with economic problems being the greatest cause for concern. The nationally representative survey by Market Links was conducted among 1,006 adult Bulgarians between September 22 and 29 using a combination of in-person interviews and an online survey; it was funded by bTV.
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Mediapool.bg reveals a letter from the Rector of the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Geodesy, Assoc. Prof. Gichka Kutova-Kamenova, in which she orders all PhD students at the university to attend an event with the participation of President Iliana Iotova, Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev, and former deputy prime minister and current MP of GERB Tomislav Donchev. The forum, which will focus on artificial intelligence and will take place on October 1, will be unveiled by Iotova, who is currently running for president. A copy of the Rector’s letter was published on the Club Z website; it shows that the Rector orders all PhD students to attend both panels of the forum, the first with the participation of official guests and the second, with lecturers and researchers from the university.
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Telegraph has an interview with Ivaylo Dinev, a researcher from the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) in Berlin, on the political moves of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Commenting on why Vucic has mentioned Bulgaria twice in connection with his resignation – first by comparing himself to Rumen Radev as a president who resigned to run for prime minister, and then in relation with the economic situation in the country, Dinev said that was a strategic move. “On the one hand, Vucic is trying to draw biographical parallels with political leaders from EU Member States – where this transition from the presidency to the prime minister’s office has already occurred in Bulgaria – in order to deflect criticism that he is attempting to remain in power by various means and to reject comparisons with Vladimir Putin.” Bulgaria is often portrayed negatively in the rhetoric of Serbia’s ruling party. “During the protests, a documentary was even aired in which Bulgarian professors were accused of interfering in Serbia’s domestic politics and of attempting to overthrow the government. This is no coincidence, but it does not apply only to Bulgaria – similar accusations were leveled at other neighbouring countries as well. This is an attempt to portray the protests negatively as ‘colour revolutions’ led or supported by foreign interests. In this sense, Vucic and his inner circle rely heavily on nationalist rhetoric to consolidate support among the segment of the population that voted for him. The truth, however, is that Serbia’s path to the European Union also depends on developing good-neighbourly relations and curbing nationalism. Both Bulgaria and Serbia stand to gain from this,” Dinev believes.
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On Bulgarian National Radio, Conservative Society Foundation Chairman Krystian Szkwarek commented that Tuesday’s news that Greece will return Tsar Samuel’s remains to Bulgaria is the most significant cultural and historical event in modern Bulgaria’s history. “In Bulgaria, I cannot recall anything that has happened in recent years that has united the elite – and, to a large extent, society as well, which increasingly reflects, to a greater or lesser extent, the divisions within the elite,” he said. In his view, what Bulgaria will offer Greece in exchange are not artifacts considered to have any great historical or cultural value. “People are always wary of the cunning Greeks, who have tricked us into trading ‘a horse for a hen.’ There is no way Samuel’s bones could be a ‘hen.’ This is truly the greatest cultural and historical treasure we have received in the last 130 years in this country,” Szkwarek argued. According to him, Bulgarians are unable to fully rejoice in anything. That is why it is important to share every detail on the subject. “We should not rejoice that this is a national catastrophe for the Republic of North Macedonia [since it claims Samuel is a Macedonian historical figure]; rather, we should rejoice that this is a national catastrophe for Macedonism as an ideology. This is an ideology built entirely on anti-Bulgarian sentiments and historical distortions. The collapse and national catastrophe of Macedonism is what should make us happy. And I believe that this will certainly happen,” he stated.
Bulgarian National Television’s morning show focused on the upcoming return of Tsar Samuel’s remains to Bulgaria. Experts commented on the route of the return on October 3, the life of Bulgaria’s ruler from 997 to 1014, the discovery of his resting place in 1969, and where his new resting place in Sofia will be.
bTV’s morning show, too, invited experts in history and archaeology to talk about the return of Tsar Samuel’s remains to Sofia after 57 years of diplomatic efforts to that end. The remains have been stored in Thessaloniki’s Museum of Byzantine Culture for nearly 60 years.
ECONOMY
Capital.bg presents the findings of the World Bank in a report evaluating Bulgaria’s National Strategy for Demographic Development. According to the report, Bulgaria’s population is aging, shrinking, and becoming increasingly urbanized. Therefore, the systems that serve it must adapt in line with these processes. Without a comprehensive transformation involving all government bodies and levels of governance, in cooperation with the private sector, as well as with civil society and nongovernmental organizations, long-term demographic trends will significantly increase pressure on the national and municipal budgets, as well as on the long-term care and health care systems, while at the same time reducing the economic viability of certain critical infrastructure facilities (such as schools in rural areas). The international institution notes that the country’s population is among the fastest-declining in the world. In the last ten years alone, it has shrunk by more than 10%, according to data from the National Statistical Institute, and forecasts indicate that it will continue to decline – from 8.9 million people in 1988 to an expected 5.4 million people in 2050.
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24 Chasa has interviews with three Bulgarian MEPs of GERB/European People’s Party – Andrey Kovatchev, Andrey Novakov, and Emil Radev – about EU funding for Bulgaria, the restrictions expected to be introduced on social media use for children, and the control over the smuggling of weapons in Europe.
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Trud has an analysis by Associate Professor Lyuboslav Kostov of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) on the excess profit tax that the Finance Ministry proposes to be introduced in 2027 in several sectors (for banks, insurers, food retail chains, mobile operators, and fast loans). According to him, it is a lie that this tax would lead to an increase of prices. “When someone touches the billions in profit of a handful of monopolists and cartels, they immediately activate the mantra for an ‘attack against the business community.’ This is exactly how the Finance Ministry’s proposal is being presented,” the expert argues. It is another complete lie that such a tax is something unseen before – the mechanism is based on an EU regulation of 2022, which introduced for the first time solidarity contributions from excess profits in the energy sector. This regulation has been working in Bulgaria’s energy sector for a long time. Taking excess profits from banks has been applied in the country for two years now. Also, this mechanism has been used across the world, for example in Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Czechia, and Hungary for banks and gambling companies. A tax on excess profit is an anti-inflation measure, he argues.
On Nova TV’s morning show, financial analyst Preslav Raykov said that the Government’s proposed package of new tax measures to reduce the budget deficit to 3% will not all have a significant effect on the excessive deficit, which has been caused by ever-increasing social spending. Former labour minister Hristina Hristova focused on the benefits of tax concessions for parents. Professor Viktor Yotsov of Sofia University expressed the view that the deficit is structural and cannot be resolved through one-time taxes on businesses. Regarding the proposal to introduce a tax on excess profits in the banking, insurance, and energy sectors, the experts expressed concern for end consumers. “The problem is rather that the burden will be shifted to consumers, especially in the case of banks – this will result in higher fees and interest rates,” explained Yotsov. Raykov urged the Government to stop focusing solely on expenditures and start thinking about generating revenue. According to him, taxing profits sends the wrong signal to the market and could set a dangerous precedent that would scare off investors in the future.
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Trud’s front-page article presents data on healthcare from a Trend poll, conducted between September 10 and 16 among 1,000 adult Bulgarians. The findings show that the three biggest problems for patients are out-of-pocket payments for healthcare, the shortage of medical professionals, and the underfunding of healthcare services by the National Health Insurance Fund. According to medical professionals who participated in the survey, the main problems are the shortage of nurses, low wages, and the lack of a long-term health policy. More than 60% of medical professionals rate the current state of the system as very good or somewhat good. When asked which three changes should be priorities for the healthcare system over the next 3 to 5 years, 39% cited policies to retain young doctors in the country, 38% cited greater control over the spending of public funds, and 35% cited better pay for medical professionals.
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24 Chasa reports that experts have proposed to the Health Minister that the practice of large-scale flu holidays be discontinued for all schools across Bulgaria. Until now, at the start of the flu season, the Regional Health Inspectorates (RHIs) monitored flu incidence by region and, when certain thresholds were reached, proposed to the Chief State Health Inspector that temporary measures be implemented. Following his approval, the heads of the respective RHI offices issued orders to implement these measures at the regional level. These restrictions typically included declaring flu-related school closures, strengthening screening and disinfection protocols in preschools, limiting visitors to hospitals, suspending non-urgent surgeries, and curtailing some activities at primary care physicians’ offices. It is proposed that this be replaced by a new approach. Starting as early as September, clear behavioral recommendations will be issued to the public. These will emphasize personal hygiene, disinfection, social distancing, wearing masks when symptomatic, and self-isolation for those who are sick. For their part, RHIs and hospitals will be required to activate their influenza pandemic preparedness plans, which include monitoring the situation, reorganizing operations, and making additional beds available as needed. The proposed new procedure applies to the usual annual flu outbreaks. The Health Act retains the option that, in exceptional situations – such as the outbreak of an epidemic caused by a severe strain affecting children – the Chief State Health Inspector may make a decision at the national level and implement anti-epidemic measures and flu-related school closures for all students. This is the approach taken in most modern countries. Experts justify their proposal by noting that, so far, the procedures have actually been reactive. Restrictions are usually imposed only when the epidemic is at its peak and a large percentage of children have already been infected, while others have already recovered.
On bTV’s morning show, GPs expressed concern that there will not be enough flu vaccines for them to administer. October and November are the best months for patients’ immunization against influenza, and the first batches of the vaccine are expected around mid-October. The Health Ministry will provide 770,000 doses of flu vaccine. Of these, 180,000 doses are intended for the open market. Free vaccination will cover just over 98,000 children under the age of 7 and about 490,000 people aged over 65. An additional 50,000 doses are earmarked for people over 75 years of age.
Media Review: September 30 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-09-30 10:30:52
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BULGARIA NEWS – NEWS AGENCY 2009–2026 2026-09-30 10:30:52
