Power cuts, chess champions, and a budget squeeze

Electricity supply will be interrupted today (15 June) between 8.30am and 5pm in parts of Divdyadovo, including Veliki Preslav Boulevard (numbers 79–140) and several side streets, due to operational switching work. Further cuts are scheduled through to 19 June in Pliska (8.30am–4.30pm) and the village of Mengishevo (9am–4pm) for maintenance and construction work. Residents in the affected streets should expect intermittent supply during those windows.

Shumen Chess Club hosted the Chess Spring tournament on Saturday, part of the national Chess Seasons series. Competitors aged under 16 travelled from Plovdiv, Varna, Ruse, Yambol, Razgrad, Pleven and elsewhere. Valentin Todorov (Plovdiv) won the under-8 group; Dzhihan Veynur (Shumen) took the under-10 title; Ivan Pisev (Shumen) dominated the under-13 bracket; and Norayir Shahbazyan (Shumen) claimed first place in the under-16 category. The top five in each age group received prizes.

Traffic police are running a coordinated ROADPOL operation across Shumen region until 21 June, testing drivers for alcohol and drugs. The campaign is part of a Europe-wide effort to reduce accidents caused by impaired driving, which officials say account for a serious proportion of road incidents in Bulgaria.

The Shumen Labour Office lists more than 100 vacancies, led by 33 HGV driver positions (category CE) for domestic and international routes. Other openings include machine operators, builders, packers, teachers, healthcare staff (doctors, nurses, physiotherapists), accountants, electricians, mechanics and warehouse workers. Several roles are reserved for people with disabilities under Bulgarian employment law. Poultry farms in Panayot Volovo are also recruiting workers for incubator and general duties.

Firefighters attended 10 incidents over 72 hours, including a Ford Focus that caught fire in Shumen's Industrial Park on 12 June (cause under investigation), a single-vehicle rollover in Mirovtsi, and a grass fire in Pamukchii sparked by a strimmer. Crews also assisted ambulance staff twice, helping to carry patients from their homes to waiting ambulances in the city.

A 54-year-old man from Vekhtovo was detained after allegedly threatening his partner and her son, while a 62-year-old man in Pristoye was arrested on suspicion of systematic psychological harassment and stalking. Both men are being held in police custody; pre-trial proceedings have been opened in each case.

Prime Minister Rumen Radev told journalists the cabinet expects to present a regular state budget by the end of June but warned that Bulgaria cannot meet the 3% deficit ceiling without additional borrowing. He said earlier administrations had exhausted one-off revenue measures, including bank-sector taxes and state dividend extraction, leaving little fiscal headroom. Radev argued that short-term accounting practices used by previous governments have reached their limit and the state must now focus on improving revenue collection and cutting expenditure.