Mayoral runs

· PRESIDENT Georgi Purvanov has scheduled municipal mayoral elections for October 29 for Sofia, Sevlievo, Rousse, Denvya, Panagyurishte, Peshtera, Mizia and Razgrad, his press office announced.
The President has also scheduled elections for village mayors in Golyamo Vranovo in the municipality of Slivo Pole, Pernik-East in the municipality of Pernik, Irechekovo in the municipality of Straldzha.
 
Olympic hopes

· ACTING President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) Irena Krusteva and acting mayor of Sofia Minko Gerdjikov initiated Sofia's formal bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Krusteva and Gerdjikov signed the International Olympic Committee's candidature acceptance procedure before outgoing Youth and Sports Minister Vassil Ivanov-Luciano, who chairs the Sofia Bid Committee, and BOC Secretary General, Professor Belcho Ivanov.
The original document has been sent to IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, while the candidature acceptance fee of $150 000 has been paid via bank transfer. The money was provided by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Off to Skopje

· PRESIDENT Georgi Purvanov issued a decree dismissing Alexandar Yordanov Alexandrov from the ambassadorship to Macedonia and replacing him with General Miho Mihov. 
Mihov was born on February 1 1949 in the village of Sennik, Gabrovo district. He is married with two children.

Passi speaks out

· OUTGOING Foreign Minister Solomon Passi said on August 10 that he would brief several institutions on the questioning he underwentt the Military Prosecution Office concerning a controversial deal involving his ministry.
Passi said he would provide details of his talks to the President, the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament and the Supreme Judicial Council.
The deal involved a satellite telecommunication link between the Foreign Ministry and Bulgarian embassies throughout the world developed by the Israeli Transat company.
"Politically speaking, this scandal was provoked at the worst possible time and it all began with espionage," Passi said.
"This is a comical allegation, which will not stand up to investigation," he said. "A political motive is showing through this scandal, so it might morph into a sex scandal or a financial abuse scandal. The way I am asked questions shows there is a clear political will to prove guilt at any cost."
Passi declined to specify who was behind the scandal, saying that "these people are not particularly enthusiastic about Bulgaria's NATO and EU membership and their interests have been harmed".
The fact that the foreign minister of a NATO member state has been wrongly implicated in "a spying scandal" proves that judicial reform is urgently needed, Passi said, adding that he did not need a lawyer because he worked in the country's interests.