Indices on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange shared the fate of major bourses in the United States, Europe and around the region as the global financial crisis took its toll. In the issue of The Sofia Echo published on October 10 2008, Alex Bivol tracks the numbers.

The murder in Zagreb of lawyer Ivana Hodak led to the dismissals of the ministers of interior and justice and the chief of police, and highlighted questions about Croatia's capacity to fight organised crime. In its regular coverage of South Eastern Europe, the newspaper has the details of the controversy that followed the Hodak killing.

In the business section, Nick Iliev explains the forthcoming change in Bulgaria that will see online voting on decisions at general shareholders' meetings from 2009. Elsewhere in the business section, the newspaper tunes into the Bulgarian Telecommunication Company saga and Petar Kostadinov delves into the national health strategy approved by the Cabinet for the next few years.

The Sofia Echo has an extensive interview with British author Misha Glenny, who was in the country for the launch of the Bulgarian-language edition of his latest book, McMafia, and the newspaper has a special feature on Spain in Bulgaria in honour of the country's national day.

As ever, the newspaper includes popular favourites such as venue and restaurant reviews, listings of what's on at the movies, on television and in the world of theatre and arts and our weekly social pages.

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