These are some of the top stories in Bulgarian newspapers on October 3 2008. The Sofia Echo has not verified these stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy.

Politics

- The row surrounding the State Agency for National Security (SANS) continues to occupy the attention of most dailies. All newspapers reports about the meeting SANS' head Petko Sertov had with editors-in-chief of national media at SANS headquarters on October 2, at which Sertov denied SANS had journalists under surveillance “on purpose”. Monitor daily reports on the scandal that resulted from Sertov's unwillingness to report personally to Parliament on the issue, by sending a written response.

- Sega daily, among others, reports about the sentences issued against five police officers from Blagoevgrad police department in southern Bulgaria. They were sentenced to 82 years in total for the death of Angel Dimitrov (also known as Chorata) who died in police custody in 2005.

- Monitor daily reports about the development of another high-profile court case against Ivan Ivanov, a former top official from Interior Ministry. He received a year and five months suspended sentence with a three-year probation period. Ivanov was charged with abuse of power and compiling a fake document. He is currently investigated for leaking classified information from the ministry.
 
Social

- Duma daily reports about the healthcare strategy approved by the Government on October 2. According to the daily, the strategy envisages the lifting of the ban on the privatisation of hospitals.

- Trud daily reports about the latest survey by the National Centre for the Research Public Opinion, which shows Parliament has seen its public support rise by five per cent and support for the Government was up by two per cent. Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov is still the most popular politician, followed by President Georgi Purvanov.    

Economy

- Dnevnik daily leads on its front page with the story on the tender for building sections of Trakiya highway, linking Sofia to Bourgas on the Black Sea. The bids were opened on October 2 and saw eight candidates for the construction of the 36km Nova Zagora-Yambol section - five foreign companies and three domestic ones.

- Sega daily leads on a story on the budget surplus. According to the daily the surplus increases by  400 million leva a month and stood at the record-setting 4.6 billion leva as of August 31, up from 4.2 billion leva a month earlier.