These are some of the top headlines in Bulgarian newspapers on April 8 2008. The Sofia Echo has not verified these stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy.

Politics

- Two people were shot dead in public in less then 24 hours in Sofia, Dnevnik daily said. Georgi Stoev, known for his books on criminal groups, was shot around noon on April 7 at one of the most crowded places in Sofia, in front of Pliska hotel. Borislav Georgiev, executive director of one of the companies owned by major businessman Hristo Kovachki, was shot dead with two bullets in the head on April 6.

Social

- Varna regional court sentenced Varna municipality to pay 850 leva compensation to a pensioner, who was bitten by a stray dog, Sega daily said. Varna mayor Kiril Iordanov often says that the municipality had resolved the stray dogs problem in the city.

- Sofia city hall and the municipal company Parking and Garages might be fined 5000 to 100 000 leva because of the parking in blue zones, Monitor quoted lawyers as saying. The company allowed residents of the blue zones areas to park their vehicles for free if they expose on the windscreen documents, proving that they lived there. The documents required, however, contained personal data protected by law.

Economic

- Residential loans keep on growing, Sega said. Monthly instalments paid by some clients have risen by 60 to 120 leva.

- Local pharmaceutical company Sopharma announced the opening of a new plant for the production of pharmaceutical substances of plant origin, Dnevnik said. It was a unique plant for procession of plants to medicines, the newspaper said.

- Young farmers, who receive 25 000 euro for the development of their farms, could count on additional subsidies by the end of 2009 under the rural regions development programme, Dnevnik said. They could receive a grant worth 65 per cent of the value of the equipment they buy, instead of the 50 per cent grant provided so far.