Stefan Yanev

President Rumen Radev held a working meeting with several members of the caretaker government to discuss the COVID situation and a possible new wave in infections.

Two forest rangers died and a third suffered bad burns on Wednesday while fighting a large fire near the southern village of Petrovo, the Interior Ministry said. In another fire in the southern village of Starosel, people were evacuated after grass fire destroyed six houses.

Bulgarian politicians on Saturday commented on the designation of Plamen Nikolov by the largest parliamentary party, There Is Such a People (TISP). On Friday, Nikolov received a cabinet-forming mandate from President Rumen Radev.

Former chairman of the State Agency for National Security (SANS) Dimitar Georgiev has been detained for poaching, BNR reports.

Police arrested him near the Blagoevgrad village of Sushitsa after a report of illegal hunting in the area.

"I could be prime minister in a regular cabinet, but not at any cost," Prime Minister Stefan Yanev told BTV.

He clarified that so far no such talks have been held with him.

"If such an invitation arrives, it must be based on priorities, visions, a program and a coalition that will nominate a government," Yanev added.

The Bulgarians want to see a substantive judicial reform, not just something to report abroad, said the caretaker Prime Minister.

The public's sense of justice, which is upheld by the judiciary, must be restored.

"This involves a much broader range of issues," including the new parliament, he said.

Caretaker Prime Minister Stefan Yanev held meeting with the Ambassador of Slovenia Andrzej Franges. 

During the meeting Yanev stated that some of our European partners are taking sides, tolerating the Republic of Northern Macedonia, respectively - accusing Bulgaria without real and well-founded reasons. 

Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev spoke on the phone with caretaker Prime Minister Stefan Yanev and the Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission Kamelia Neykova.

During the calls he confirmed the commitment of the Prosecutor's Office for active interaction between all responsible institutions to ensure the conduct of fair and transparent elections.

All 1,637 voting machines needed for the elections have been delivered, caretaker Prime Minister Stefan Yanev said before the start of the weekly government meeting on June 30.

The Movement for Rights Freedoms, focused on the ethnic Turkish community and embroiled in controversies over decades, also experienced a drop in trust by its voting base.

Meanwhile the pro-EU alliance Democratic Bulgaria and newly formed "Stand Up.BG! Mobsters Out!", which both gained momentum during the 2020 protests, surprised analysts with an even bigger take than expected.