Drivers heading through the Blagoevgrad region had better brace themselves for some highway chaos. The Road Infrastructure Agency says a chunk of the Struma highway between the 132nd and 145th kilometer marks is getting patched up, and that means single-lane traffic with speeds capped at 90 km/h. The roadwork is hitting different sections on different days through early next week.
Officials are basically like Sorry, not sorry about the whole thing, but they need to fix the pavement before winter gets real. They're asking people to chill out behind the wheel, stick to speed limits, and maybe not try any sketchy passing maneuvers that could wreck everyone's day.
Interior Minister Daniel Mitov is facing lawmakers today to explain how police handled the massive budget protests in Sofia—both during and after the demonstrations.
Mitov will walk deputies through how security was set up for the protest and the marches that followed. He's also expected to answer questions about how police dealt with organized provocateurs and football hooligans who showed up, plus he'll have to explain when and why officers used force and special equipment against protesters.
The protests turned violent, with masked youth in black hurling bombs, stones, and bottles. The DPS-New Beginning headquarters and a GERB office both got damaged in the chaos. Police ended up arresting 71 people in total.
Unions and employers are sitting down today to hash out the details of the new budget process. The Finance Ministry has called everyone back for another meeting on Friday.
Yesterday, parliament unanimously voted to pull the draft budget—a move that came after Monday's massive protests. The government proposed hitting pause on the whole thing, and then brought unions and business leaders to the Finance Ministry for talks. Turns out most of what business has been asking for is getting addressed.
The big news: that planned 2-percentage-point hike in pension contributions? Scrapped. And the ceiling on social security income probably won't jump as much as originally planned, either. Making those changes will cost the budget close to 1.5...
The forecast calls for overcast skies and fog across most of the country, with rain hitting the extreme west and northeast overnight. Temps will drop to between 2 and 7 degrees, with Sofia sitting around 3 degrees and the Black Sea coast staying warmer at 5 to 10 degrees. Daytime highs will range from 6 degrees out west to 15 in the eastern areas, where moderate southerly winds are expected, and Sofia will hit around 8 degrees.
Rain will start rolling in by evening, hitting the southwestern parts first. The Black Sea region will get some sun breaks, with temps reaching 13 to 16 degrees and moderate southeastern winds. Mountain areas will stay mostly cloudy with similar wind patterns, and rain will reach the southwestern massifs later...
Nassau Cruise Port just dropped $50,000 to help Caribbean maritime students, with half going toward general education funding and the other half specifically for kids who got wrecked by Hurricane Melissa. The company launched a new scholarship named after their CEO, Mike Maura Jr., and this marks the fourth year they've backed the American Caribbean Maritime Foundation since teaming up in 2021.
Maura pointed out that the Caribbean handles about 30% of global container shipping and gets over 40% of worldwide cruise traffic, but locals are barely represented in maritime careers like engineering and port operations. The port has already funded students from the Bahamas and Jamaica through maritime programs, with two Jamaican students...
A 48-year-old guy from Diego Martin got hit with seven charges after cops say he posted death threats on Senator Amery Browne's Facebook page. The dude allegedly wrote stuff about shooting the senator in public and sending people after his kids, plus he dropped a racial slur in there.
Browne filed a police report after finding the sketchy comments under his posts, and he said this was the worst threat he's dealt with since getting into politics back in 2007. The suspect actually walked into West End Police Station on his own and turned himself in to officers.
Investigators checked out two Facebook profiles they think belong to the guy, and one of them had barely any activity, with just 40 friends and no posts since October.
Caribbean Airlines is axing four routes and shutting down its Barbados hub operations after deciding the flights weren't making enough money. The carrier confirmed it's dropping service to Tortola and San Juan starting mid-January, and the Barbados-based planes and crew are getting moved back to Trinidad while still flying through Barbados as a stopover point. Acting CEO Nirmala Ramai said the cuts are part of a bigger efficiency push to keep the airline competitive.
This follows last month's announcement that Caribbean Airlines had already killed its Fort Lauderdale connections to Montego Bay and Kingston because nobody was booking those flights. Passengers with tickets for the canceled routes are getting full refunds processed either...
Sandra Graham just got tapped to run the Jamaican Women Pinnacle Awards Committee for the next two years, and she's bringing over 40 years of government communications experience to the gig. The veteran consultant previously worked as press secretary for two Jamaican prime ministers, and she'll be leading a seven-member panel that picks who gets honored at the national ceremony.
The committee includes people from different sectors, like Flow Foundation's executive director, Rhys Campbell, plus reps from JPS Company and Sixt Rent A Car Jamaica. Their job is basically to keep the whole selection process transparent and figure out which Jamaican women deserve recognition for their contributions in business, science, culture, and community...
Uganda's election season started out weirdly chill in September when eight presidential candidates got nominated, with President Yoweri Museveni facing off against Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) and six others. The Electoral Commission was hyped about the peaceful vibes, but that lasted about five seconds before things went sideways in November with police blocking NUP rallies and deploying tear gas against Kyagulanyi's supporters in Kawempe.
The whole thing blew up when cops shot and killed NUP supporter Meshach Okello after a rally in Iganga district, plus three other people got hospitalized with serious injuries. Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke claims they're investigating and that officers were briefed against being overzealous...
