Sofia

Over half a million BGN pensions are "suspended". According to the National Social Security Institute, the pensions of 4794 pensioners for over BGN 620 thousand were closed due to unpaid electricity, water, and heating bills, debts to tax or banks, NOVA reported.

Pensions are the highest in Sofia, with Pernik second in terms of senior debtors. The debtors in Plovdiv follow.

Traffic on the Struma motorway in the direction to Sofia is expected to be allowed partially from today, the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) said on August 23. The traffic will be reopened for cars. First, it will be examined how much weight the fire-damaged viaduct near Dupnica can withstand.

Two teams of the Mountain Rescue Service (MRS) were able to reach the Ukrainian tourist who got injured near Malyovitsa Peak, Ivan Dragushinov of MRS told Focus Radio. 

Bulgaria's Irini Jambonas Wins Best Actress Award at Sarajevo Film Festival, BTA reported.

"The load capacity of the lane towards Sofia will be tested today. The preliminary results of the tests are very encouraging. We are ready to launch the lane towards Sofia by the end of the day." This was announced by eng. Georgi Terziyski, Chairman of the Board of Directors of RIA, NOVA reported.

Аs of August, Europe's largest international bus service provider, FlixBus, is adding new routes to its network and doubling the number of countries that can be reached directly from Bulgaria.

The first electric scooters in Sofia are already operational today. There are more than 150 scooters in various locations in the city, and anyone who wants to use them can do so for a starting fee of BGN 1.50 and BGN 0.30 per minute. This was explained by the CEO of the company that manages the electric scooters:

Between BGN 100 and BGN 270 cost the heating and hot water of the citizens of Sofia for the past heating season, which is more expensive compared to the previous winter. This is indicated by the data from the balancing accounts of the clients of the private equity firm "TEHEM", announced its manager Milena Stoyanova, quoted by BNR.

Tightened security measures are in place at the airports in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Bourgas after yesterday's false bomb threats.

A new service for the sharing of electric scooters is presented in Sofia. It is in support of the growing interest in alternative methods of transportation in the city and is part of the strategy to improve air quality.