These are some of the top stories in Bulgarian newspapers on September 19 2008. The Sofia Echo has not verified these stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy.

Politics

- The ruling coalition left itself a loophole to spend additional 300 million leva from the budget surplus, Dnevnik daily said. As a result the amount of the surplus to be spent on social sector and investment could reach 1.5 billion leva.

Social

- The Commission for Protection of Competition could fine Sofia heating company Toplofikatsiya up to 300 000 leva for monopoly abuse, Dnevnik said. Toplofikatsiya started cutting off hot water and heating supply in buildings where more than half of the residents had not paid their bills.

- A day after Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev got stuck on a lift in the ski resort Kartala-Bodrost, the state finally admitted that the facility was built illegally, Sega daily said.

Economy

- International audits Grant Thornton and Deloitte Bulgaria reported they had doubts about fraud related to 101 projects under the European Union pre-accession Sapard programme, Dnevnik said. The two auditors inspected 3270 approved projects over the past two months.

- A construction project worth $61.15 million will be carried out Novo Selo firing ground by one US, one Italian and 11 Bulgarian companies. Both Bulgarian and WE military will use the development.

- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin assured his Bulgarian counterpart Sergei Stanishev that the preconditions for the construction of South Stream gas pipeline were good. Russia had just finished negotiations with the middle Asian partners for gas supply, Putin said as quoted by Monitor daily.