Sofia - Bulgarian retail prices went u

Mogila, Bulgaria  - When a Roma from a southern Bulgarian clan is looking for a bride, he goes to the traditional gathering which his folk stage in Stara Zagora each year in late winter or early spring - though as of recently some brides want to dance more than to marry.

Gypsy families from the clan have for centuries presented their daughters for marriage at the so-called bride market in Mogila, a village 220 kilometres south-east of Sofia, on the first Saturday after Easter fasting begins.

Sofia - Traffic in Sofia plunged into chaos Tuesday as a garbage-removal company, in a dispute with city authorities, ordered its workers not to clean piles of garbage or clear fresh snow.

Sofia authorities on Monday decided to sever its contract with the private company Novera to remove garbage. While the deal was set to expire on April 1, Novera had already stopped working last Saturday, saying it was not being paid.

Bansko, Bulgaria  - Lindsey Vonn of the United States moved closer to winning the overall alpine ski women's World Cup title with a third successive super-g victory Sunday.

The 24-year-old title-holder clocked 1 minute 14.49 seconds at the Bulgarian resort of Bansko, 0.58 seconds ahead of Fabienne Suter of Switzerland and 0.91 seconds up on Tina Maze of Slovenia.

Suter moves ahead in the super-g standings with one race remaining, 15 points ahead of Vonn, while previous leader Nadia Fanchina of Italy slipped to third after finishing seventh.

Bansko, Bulgaria - World champion Lindsey Vonn on Saturday won the crystal globe in the downhill discipline after finishing 12 in the World Cup event in Bansko in Bulgaria.

Andrea Fischbacher won her first-ever World Cup downhill race, finally putting an end to a near 12-year wait for Austria to win a women's World Cup downhill race.

Fischbacher, who is related to Austrian ski legend Hermann Maier, beat Slovenian Tina Maze and Switzerland's Fabienne Suter into second and third place respectively.

Bansko, Bulgaria  - Fabienne Suter of Switzerland claimed her first alpine ski World Cup victory of the season with a downhill win in Bansko, Bulgaria on Friday, while Lindsey Vonn of the United States was again on the podium to increase her overall lead.

Suter posted 1 minute 45.68 seconds for a comfortable 1.15-second advantage over Austrian Andrea Fischbacher. Vonn shared third place with Nadia Fanchini of Italy, both 1.24 seconds back.