A mysterious green cat was spotted few days ago on the streets of the Bulgarian city of Varna.
Now the mystery of the feline’s emerald coat may finally be explained.
Locals believed that the green cat, who was first spotted in the Bulgarian seaside town of Varna, had been attacked and painted the unusual shade by vandals, even setting up a Facebook group to catch the perpetrators.
It has now emerged that the unnamed cat has been sleeping on the top of an abandoned pile of synthetic green paint in a garage.
Gradually, it is believed that the paint slowly covered the entire cat.
The color also appears to show no sign of wearing off as each nap the cat takes just makes the color stronger.
Although widely reported by local and international media, it remains unclear whether the green cat has an owner or is another stray on the Varna streets.
Varna is Bulgaria’s third largest and a well-known holiday resort on the Black Sea coast.
[youtube pHXM8DqqSgs 650]
Ten people are confirmed dead and several others are missing after torrential rain and heavy floods hit eastern Bulgaria, officials say.
Floodwaters in the Black Sea port city of Varna surged up to 3.2ft.
Ten people are confirmed dead and several others are missing after torrential rain and heavy floods hit eastern Bulgaria (photo AP)
Many residents had to be rescued as cars were swept away. Hundreds have been left without electricity or food.
There have been hailstorms and heavy rain in several parts of Bulgaria in recent days. Forecasts say the extreme weather is set to continue.
Forecasters said that the equivalent of a month’s worth of rain fell in the regions of Varna and Burgas over the last 24 hours.
“The tragedy is enormous. I am here on a street in the suburb of Aspruhovo. The street is not here, the houses are not here, there are cars on top of each other,” Varna mayor Ivan Portnih was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Fire-fighters in the town of Kilifarevo in central Bulgaria rescued 11 people from the tops of their houses, police said.
Last month nearby Serbia and Bosnia were hit by the worst flooding since modern records began.
[youtube REgqOXhLcMQ 650]
Bulgarian Metropolitan Kiril of Varna and Pereslavl has been found on the Black Sea beach near Varna, the national radio reported today.
A medical examiner has already established Metropolitan Kiril’s identity.
An investigation is under way and the version of a violent death is not excluded.
Bulgaria’s Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that it was investigating the “cause and circumstances of death”, but had no reasons to believe foul play was involved.
The body was found at about 8 a.m. and was reported to the 112 emergency hotline; the deceased was later identified as Kiril, the prosecution statement said. An autopsy was ordered to establish the cause of death, prosecutors said.
News agency Focus reported, quoting the Varna district prosecutor’s office, that the cause of death was ruled to be drowning.
Bulgarian Metropolitan Kiril of Varna and Pereslavl has been found on the Black Sea beach near Varna
Kiril was wearing a diving mask and a snorkel. According to Bulgarian National Television, which quoted local residents, he was a good swimmer and was often seen swimming on the beach were his body was found.
Bulgaria’s Holy Synod is expected to meet on July 10 to name an interim metropolitan of Varna, while Bulgarian Orthodox Church Patriarch Neofit cancelled a scheduled trip to Rousse, Bulgarian media reported.
Metropolitan Kiril was born on 8 June, 1954. He was named metropolitan in 1989. Since the death of Patriarch Maxim in 2012, Kirill has been the acting chairperson of the Patriarchal Throne.
The death of Kiril would have a significant implication for the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, because it would create another vacancy on the Holy Synod.
Pro tem, Neofit has held on to the diocese of Rousse but a Metropolitan would have to be elected in his place. In June 2013, the Holy Synod accepted the resignation of Simeon, Metropolitan of Western and Central Europe, on the grounds of serious ill-health.
A third vacancy in the church’s governing body creates wider possibilities for changes in the balance of the power in the running of the church. Census results and surveys indicate that a majority of Bulgarians declare themselves to be adherents of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
