These are some of the top headlines in Bulgarian newspapers on April 7 2008. The Sofia Echo has not verified these stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy.

Politics

- President Georgi Purvanov finally took a stand on the corruption row in the Interior Ministry, centered on minister Roumen Petkov, Dnevnik daily said. Purvanov said that he knew Petkov well and that the minister had the qualities and the will to reform the ministry.

Social

- Bulgarians were paying most for medicines compared to other European Union citizens, although drug prices in Bulgaria were the lowest, Dnevnik quoted a study of the Association of Research-based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Bulgaria as saying. The reason was that Bulgaria was the only EU member that covered less then half of the prices of prescription medicines. Drug market over-regulation in Bulgaria, which includes the requirement that prices in Bulgaria have to be lower than in eight other referent EU members, would probably lead to the stop of imports 220 drugs, Dnevnik quoted the association as saying.

- Sofia city hall would make an effort to give on concession the city's central bathhouse, Dnevnik said. The building would become a spa centre.

Economic

- An increasing number of Russian tourists would prefer to spend their vacation in Bulgaria in the next couple of years, Novinar daily quoted the chief secretary of the union of investors in tourism Sonya Koltouklieva as saying. Russians, who own a second home in Bulgaria, had an advantage when receiving visa for Bulgaria. This offered another factor contributing to the growth of the property market in Bulgaria, Koltouklieva said.

- Only two bidders made offers for the port of Lom on the Danube River, Dnevnik said. The bidders were a consortium between the companies Brikel and Portovi Flot 99, owned by businessman Hristo Kovachki, and Kremikovtzi Trade, allegedly owned by another of Bulgaria's influential businessmen, Vassil Bozhkov. The winner would be announced in the end of April 2008.

- Kuwaiti consortium MAK/ADMAK, constructor of the new runway of Sofia Airport, filed two claims worth $50 million against the airport in the International Court of Arbitration in Paris, Dnevnik said. According to MAK/ADMAK, the state-owned operator Sofia Airport delayed its review of the consortium's work, which caused MAK/ADMAK to miss the construction deadline.