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| 2 Feb 2012, Issue 3312 · USD: 1.4845 EUR: 1.95583 · Sofia: min -9°, max -6° Varna: min -4°, max 1° · |
| BUSINESS POLITICS WORLD SOCIETY SPORTS FORUM |
Bulgaria Reports New Record Low as Cold Spell Peaks
 Temperatures
in the town of Sevlievo, northern Bulgaria, plunged Wednesday morning
to minus 31,4 C, a record low, which made the region one of the hardest
hit by the severe cold spell in Eastern Europe.
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Bank Drain Ghosts Haunt Bulgaria Again
 Foreign
banks are pulling funds from their subsidiaries in Bulgaria as lending
growth in the country stalls, shows preliminary data of BIS, the central
bank of central banks, as cited by local media.
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Bulgaria Anti-Mafia Court Pressures Media
 The
governing body of Bulgaria's newly established specialized criminal
court has asked print and electronic media to submit to it materials
covering the activity of the institution for 'verification' before
making them public.
read |
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BULGARIA EX VP ENTERS COURT BATTLE TO PROVE LEGITIMACY
The legitimacy of Bulgaria's former vice president can be proven with a written document only, the country's top court has demanded, fueling the raging controversy. A three-member panel of the Supreme Administrative Court ruled on Wednesday that the presidency should provide a written document, stating whether former Vice President Angel Marin has been authorized for his second mandate or not. It has recently emerged that former President Georgi Parvanov failed to issue a decree authorizing the second mandate of the Vice President from 2007 to 2012. This has led many to state that Marin's decrees to pardon prisoners, grant and strip of citizenship can be challenged in court as invalid and in violation of the Constitution. Meanwhile it became clear that Angel Marin pardoned mainly murderers and culprits of other grave crimes during his two terms in office. The country's new President Rosen Plevneliev tried to play down the scandal, but now the top court has forced him into producing irrefutable proofs. The issue of Marin's alleged illegitimacy was taken to the court room by no other than Interpol-sought Russian mafia thug Konstantin Tsiganov, who is believed to be the head of the Russian crime group Uralmash. Tsiganov is said to be the head of the Russian crime group Uralmash and has been wanted by the Russian authorities since 2003 and by the Interpol since 2006. He was granted Bulgarian citizenship in 2001. Ten years later, he was expelled from Bulgaria, stripped of Bulgarian citizenship and banned from re-entering the country for 10 years. Earlier this year the anti-government Galeria weekly released an article, featuring a photo of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov playing football with the Russian mafioso. The article informed that the match had taken place on August 27, 2008, when Boyko Borisov was mayor of Sofia. The publication triggered a heated debate in parliament and questioned, yet again, the prime minister's integrity and the transparency of his links to allegedly underworld figures. 
DEADLY COLD SNAP MOVES FROM EAST TO WEST EUROPE The deadly cold snap, which claimed at least 60 lives in Eastern Europe, has begun to move west, causing traffic disruptions in Switzerland and Italy. In central Italy, heavy goods lorries were barred from motorways and several top-flight football matches have fallen victim to the wintry conditions. German media reported that ice and sub-zero temperatures had led to the deaths of two women: a pedestrian froze after falling into a drainage ditch and a driver was killed when she lost control of her car on an icy road. The freeze that has swept south through the continent has caused at least 70 deaths, mainly in Ukraine and Poland. Bulgaria and the southern parts of the continent have not been spared. Temperatures in the town of Sevlievo, northern Bulgaria, plunged Wednesday morning to minus 31.4 C, a record low, which made the region one of the hardest hit by the severe cold spell in Eastern Europe. On Wednesday, due to heavy snow cover and clear skies, 16 towns in Bulgaria recorded their coldest temperature since records started 100 years ago. In the northeastern town of Knezha, the national weather service reported a low of minus 29 degrees, an absolute all time record, registered for the second day in a row. At most locations temperatures were below 20, including the capital Sofia. All Bulgarian regions, except the coastal region of Burgas, are under code orange over extremely low temperatures, the National Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) announced. Cold weather and heavy snow are believed to have caused the death of at least five Bulgarians in the country's mountainous region since the beginning of the new year. Highs will remain unusually low throughout the week, hovering about 10 degrees below zero. Eastern Europe shivered this week in the coldest conditions seen this winter, with below-freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall leading to deaths, frostbite and widespread travel disruption. The cold snap, according to forecasters, is due to an area of high pressure that has extended across Europe from Siberia and is expected to reach its peak at the weekend. COLD WAVE FREEZES BULGARIAN DANUBE, GROUNDS SHIPS A cold snap, combined with an exceptionally dry summer and fall, has led the Bulgarian section of the great Danube river to start freezing over, obstructing traffic. Around 10% of the river's surface at Bulgarian Danube cities of Ruse and Silistra is reported covered with floating ice Wednesday. The banks and port facilities in both cities are also reported to be sheathed with ice. Vessels and pontoons are starting to be hauled aground due to the ice. Wednesday morning, -19.8 degrees C were measured at Ruse, a record low for the date. BANK DRAIN GHOSTS HAUNT BULGARIA AGAIN Foreign banks are pulling funds from their subsidiaries in Bulgaria as lending growth in the country stalls, shows preliminary data of BIS, the central bank of central banks, as cited by local media. The total exposure of foreign banks to Bulgaria totaled USD 2.3 B during the third qurater of last year and about half of it - USD 1 B - was withdrawn by Greek banks, Sega daily reported, citing preliminary data from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Greek financial institutions have pulled out from Bulgaria over USD 1.8 B for half а year, reducing their funds in Bulgarian subsidiaries down to USD 14.2 B at the end of September, the daily claims, citing data from the second and third quarters of last year. With large parts of Bulgaria's banking sector in Greek hands, the daily voices concerns that local subsidiaries can be drained of money, putting the country's economies at risk. Meanwhile Bulgaria's bank system reported a 5.7% decrease in profits in December to BGN 586 M from the same period a year ago. Total assets rose 4.2% in 2011 to BGN 76.8 B, according to central bank data. Bad loans edged up to 14.93% in December in comparison with the same period a year ago. Half a month ago EBRD chief economist Erik Berglof started to drum support for a new Vienna Initiative in a bid to stop an outflow of capital from emerging Europe. "What I took away from this meeting was a remarkable consensus," Erik Berglof, chief economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said at a Euromoney conference in Vienna on Tuesday. "Now it's to sit down and work out the details together with the private sector." Berglof warned that west European countries' scramble to protect themselves from the debt crisis while banks shrink their balance sheets risked a double blow to the region. He said he hopes to contain the urge of many banks to sell or reduce assets to hit the new capital adequacy targets. "We shouldn't have same expectations in terms of exposure commitment that we had (in 2009). There is an adjustment that needs to happen. We just have to make sure it happens in a more managed, gradual way. That is my hope." The EBRD and other agencies have also been working with emerging economies on the outskirts of Europe, such as Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia, which are most at risk of a slow-down in the wake of Greece's financial crisis. Greek banks hold nearly a 30% of the Bulgarian banking market, a 20% share of the bank loans and one-third of all deposits. Some of the biggest lenders in Bulgaria are managed by Italy's UniCredit, Greece's National Bank of Greece, Hungary's OTP and Austria's Raiffeisen. Other Greek banks present in Bulgaria include EFG Eurobank, Piraeus, Emporiki and Alpha Bank. Experts have warned that Bulgaria, the European Union member boasting one of the the bloc's smallest budget deficit, risks seeing its banks sucked under by the fiscal sins of neighboring Greece. Bulgaria's central bank and finance minister however have repeatedly tried to assuage fears over funds outflow from Greek bank subsidiaries in the country to headquarters in Greece, saying this is part of the free movement of capital. BULGARIA SCORES PERFECT PERFORMANCE ON 2011 BUDGET, LOWER DEFICIT The Bulgarian government has fulfilled its revenue and spending plans for 2011 at close to 100%, and recorded a budget deficit lower than expected, announced the Ministry of Finance Wednesday. The report has confirmed that the state budget deficit for 2011 has been 2.1% of GDP for the year, lower than the 2.5% previewed in the state budget for 2011. The Ministry of Finance has announced it has fulfilled its revenue plans for last year at 96.8%, meaning hit has gathered BGN 25.4 B in revenue, or 33.3% of GDP. The government has spent close to BGN 27 B, which amounts to 95.8% of its spending plans for 2011. According to the Ministry of Finance, Bulgaria's fiscal reserve at December 31, 2011, amounted to BGN 5 B. State budget deficit for 2010 was 4%, and the 1.9% percentage points' rise of Bulgaria's nominal budget positioning for 2011 amounts to BGN 1.24 B. BULGARIA TO PAY DEBT ON BURGAS-ALEXANDROUPOLIS IN 2012 Bulgaria plans to pay its debt on the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline in 2012, said Plamen Grozdanov, Bulgarian Ambassador to Moscow. In an interview for Russian news agency Interfax, he explained that the Bulgarian government had agreed to allocate BGN 12.8 M for the payment of its financial obligations as a participant in the oil pipeline project. Grozdanov specified that the sum had been accrued since 2009. So far, unpaid installments to Trans-Balkan Pipeline, the company in charge of the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, amount to a total of EUR 6380 788. The Russian shareholder in the project owed EUR 3 344 970, 20, while the Greek shareholder owed EUR 1 541 309,80 for 2009. In 2011, Bulgaria's debt to Trans Balkan Pipeline grew by EUR 171 500. The Bulgarian Ambassador assured that the proceeds for the settlement of the debt had been earmarked under Budget 2012 by the Finance Ministry. In the beginning of December 2011, Bulgaria decided to quit the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project on the grounds that it is not economically viable. At that point, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Finance Minister assured that Bulgaria would not have to pay damages over the withdrawal. GAZPROM TABLES USD 31 B PROFITS Q1-Q3 2011 Russian natural gas giant Gazprom announced it has pocketed a net profit of RUB 940.8 B for the first 9 months of last year. The profit, worth some USD 31.05 B, is 40% more than that for the same period in 2010. Gazprom has recorded a 32% increase in sales in the January-September 2011 period, predominantly in countries from the former USSR. Due to fluctuations in the exchange rates, income from those countries has risen with 58%, compared to a 33% rise in sales. The total amount of natural gas sold by Gazprom Q1-Q3 in 2011 is 371.8 B cubic meters. At the same time, operational costs by the company have risen with 23% to USD 70 M, while the proportion of debt has risen to 20%, USD 34.5 M. Using a long-term contract, Gazprom delivers more than 90% of the natural gas consumed in Bulgaria. 
BULGARIA WITH RECORD HIGH ELECTRICITY USE OVER POLAR COLD Bulgaria has registered a new record of electricity consumption over the freezing cold that has gripped the country, the Electric Energy System Operator, EESO, reported Wednesday. On January 31, at the 20th hour, the maximum load was recorded in Bulgaria's electric power system – 7 354 MW, which exceeds the previous record of 7 270 MW, registered on January 26, 2010. Because of the chilly weather, on Tuesday Bulgarians consumed 153 315 000 kWh of electricity - this was 6% more, compared to Monday. A new record is in the forecast for Wednesday, when the consumption is projected to reach 154 million kWh. The tendency to increase the minimum load in the EESO, which in the early hours of February 1 was 5700 MW, continues. Estimates for the maximum load for the first day of the month are 7300 MW. EESO assure there is sufficient capacity to meet the high load, despite the freezing temperatures lasting for a third day. Additional cold reserve is included - three blocks from the Thermal Power Plant, TPP, "Varna" while TPP "Maritza 3" in Dimitrovgrad is also working and there are sufficient water supplies, EESO announced Wednesday. BULGARIA FORMALLY CLOSES DOWN TOBACCO AGENCY The Tobacco Fund, Bulgaria's state unit in charge of subsidies for tobacco growers, was officially disbanded at a cabinet sitting Wednesday. The entity had been rendered obsolete by EU requirements, which mandated that tobacco funds be integrated in the state's overall policy for subsidizing agriculture. In line with that, starting 2011 tobacco money passed under the authority of the Agriculture Fund entity at Bulgaria's Ministry of Agriculture and Foods. "The Tobacco Fund is being closed down, for it is no longer serving its purpose," commented Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture. Bulgaria's liberal party Movement for Rights of Freedoms, strongly linked with the country's sizable ethnic Turkish minority, who form the better part of tobacco growers in Bulgaria, has traditionally been opposing plans to shut down the Fund. With Wednesday's closing down of the agency, all rules referring to quotas, price regulations, etc. in tobacco growing are also suspended. In the future, Bulgarian tobacco growers will be subsidized according to the general regime for agricultural producers. Bulgaria's state budget for 2012 foresees BGN 73 M for the support of the tobacco growing industry. BULGARIA LINES NEW ENVOYS TO RUSSIA, SPAIN, MOROCCO, SYRIA, PAKISTAN Five new ambassadors for Bulgaria's diplomatic service have been formally proposed by the Bulgarian cabinet to President Rosen Plevneliev for approval. This includes brand new envoys to Russia, Spain and Morocco, as well as the promotion of interim ambassadors in Syria and Pakistan to full ambassadors. Boyko Kotsev, who has up to now being permanent representative of Bulgaria to the EU, has been proposed to the ambassador seat in Moscow. "Kotsev has been working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for years, and is well acquainted with the EU-Russian relations," commented Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Minister Nikolay Mladenov. On his part, current Bulgarian consul in Valencia Kostadin Kodzhabashev, also a career diplomat, has been proposed for ambassador to Spain. Bulgaria's current ambassadors Russia and Spain are among the large number of Bulgarian diplomats exposed in 2011 as former agents of the communist State Security, and are expected to be recalled by force of a controversial legal amendment. Boryana Simeonova, who since 1998 has been head of protocol at Bulgaria's Council of Ministers, had been proposed for ambassador to Morocco. Dimitar Mihaylov and Rumen Pironchev, Bulgarian interim ambassadors in Damascus and Islamabad respectively, are expected to be appointed as permanent envoys. During Wednesday's press conference, Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Minister Nikolay Mladenov refused to elaborate on the precise agenda for this weekend's visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. US STATE SECRETARY DONATES FIGHTER JETS DURING BULGARIAN TRIP During her visit to Bulgaria, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is to extend an official offer to the Bulgarian government for the acquiring from the American army of several secondhand fighter jets F-16. The proposal would be for Bulgaria to receive them as a gift, according to a report of the Bulgarian "Trud" (Labor) daily. Bulgaria will, however, have to find the money for repairs and for putting them into use. The US will offer 4Block-25 craft, manufactured about 20 years ago, which are part of the frozen reserves of the American army. "Trud" is citing experts saying that in order to make them usable, Bulgaria will have to shell about BGN 15-20 M on average for each of them. They also stress that the US Administration aims at expanding the market for such equipment on the Balkans. In addition to the said amount, there would be a need to build a logistics base and train maintenance personnel. For several years now, Bulgarian pilots are training with the US Air Force, precisely on these fighter jets. During her official visit to Bulgaria Clinton will also meet with Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, and President, Rosen Plevneliev. Ministers of the cabinet will be present during the talks. Hillary Clinton has already been to Bulgaria in her capacity of First Lady, when husband Bill Clinton was US President. The visit to Sofia took place in October 1998, when she participated in the conference "Women of the 21st century." The visit comes on the invitation of Nikolay Mladenov back in October 2010 during his visit to the US when the Bulgarian government's anti-corruption measures were discussed. Mladenov informs that other topics of the agenda include alleviating US visa regime for Bulgarian citizens, Bulgaria recognizing years of service for Bulgarians, who have worked in the US; strategic partnership between Bulgaria and the US in the security sector, in NATO, and in the NATO mission in Afghanistan, partnership on the Balkans, and the situation in the Middle East. BULGARIAN GOVT TO PAY DAMAGES FOR 18 CASES OF SLOW JUSTICE The Bulgarian government will conclude friendly settlements on 10 cases brought against the State before the European Court of Human Rights. The decision is to be voted during Thursday's session of the Cabinet. The applications are a part of the total of around 700 cases brought before the Strasbourg-based Court over slow and inefficient justice in the country. The civil proceedings challenged in the ten applications lasted between 5 and 13 years despite the fact that they were not complicated. The Bulgarian government has acknowledges the failures and will pay the sums awarded to the applicants for non-monetary damages, as well as EUR 34 000 for costs and expenses. The government will also vote on unilateral declarations on 8 other applications lodged against the state with the European Court of Human Rights. The eight applicants will be awarded a total of EUR 21 000. Unilateral declarations are adopted by a government when the attempts to reach a friendly settlement have failed because the applicant is dissatisfied with the amount of compensation proposed. The State Party's acknowledgement of a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights through a unilateral declaration enables the Court to terminate the case. The civil proceedings challenged in the said eight applications lasted between 6 and 13 years. BULGARIA ANTI-MAFIA COURT PRESSURES MEDIA The governing body of Bulgaria's newly established specialized criminal court has asked print and electronic media to submit to it materials covering the activity of the institution for 'verification' before making them public. "We would like you to cooperate with us on obtaining feedback for the coordination of the accuracy of the information released by us by sending us titles of articles and publications related to the activity of the specialized criminal court before they are published," the court said in a media statement on Wednesday. The magistrates at the specialized criminal court call on the media to stop referring to the court by any other name, for instance "anti-mafia court", which is the most popular substitution. They also underscore that the official policy of the court does not presuppose judges giving interviews after the pronouncement of verdicts or making any comments on them. The statement goes on to say that any additional information on a concrete case can be sought and received in writing after a request submitted to the judge hearing the case. On Wednesday, the specialized criminal court, which became operational on January 03, closed its first trial with a plea bargain sealed between four of the defendants and the prosecution. The case had been opened on January 16, 2012 on charges of organizing and commanding a crime ring specialized in drug dealing and other offenses resulting in undue pecuniary gain. The anti-mafia court was initially supposed to try high-profile organized crime and corruption cases but was later designed to focus primarily on organized crime such as murder, smuggling, and abduction, drug trafficking, and bribery. The Court has already taken up about 80 cases on organized crime charges from regular courts across Bulgaria, according to the heads of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office and the Appellate Specialized Prosecutor's Office Borislav Sarafov and Svetozar Kostov. BULGARIAN JUDGES: POLICE SPEC OP STIRS AGGRESSON AGAINST JUDICIARY The Union of Judges in Bulgaria has sent an open letter of protest against the Ministry of Interior, for publicizing codenames of a special operation irreverently referring to the name of a judge. Last Thursday, Sofia police carried out a much-vaunted special operation against a group of extortionists, codenamed with the acronym RALICA (or RALITSA), a popular Bulgarian female given name. As it turns out, Sofia City Court Judge Ralitsa Manolova had presided a court sitting that decided that the detention under which one of the arrested suspects had been placed should be transformed into house arrest. According to the Ministry of Interior press release last Thursday, as an abbreviation, in Bulgarian the acronym translates to "Racketeering, Greed, Hypocrisy, Extortion, Cynicism and Anarchy". "The so-called RALICA operation gives a clear signal to Bulgarian judges that if they take a decision that the Ministry of Interior does not like, they will have to face a personal aggressive and manipulative attack," reads the Union of Judges letter. "Such an approach grossly infringes upon the independence of the court and judges in Bulgaria and puts under question the fair trial against any citizen who has been charged with a crime," add the judges. The Union of Judges in Bulgaria's position also recalls that the control and execution of house arrests in Bulgaria is in the authority of the Ministry of Interior, and it is the institution that must report and be held responsible if a detainee escapes this measure. The letter also reminds that in July 2011, Bulgarian Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov warned that the police will start naming so-called "special operations" with the names of judges who have let detainees out of arrest. The judges express their outrage at the practice, saying it creates a possible dangerous precedent, and warns that any subduing of the judiciary will severely affect freedom and the rule of law in Bulgaria. KAUFLAND BULGARIA PROTESTS FINE FOR UNLABELLED, SUBSTANDARD EGGS The Kaufland chain of stores has refuted accusations of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency that it is selling substandard eggs, for which it was fined with BGN 10 000 two days ago. An inspection at Kaufland conducted a few days ago found that the chain was selling cartons of mixed eggs, both labeled and unlabelled. Some of the eggs in the cartons imported from Poland had red dots indicating that they were from hens kept in cramped cages. The sale of eggs with red dots, which do not meet the EU minimum standards for the protection of laying hens, is forbidden in Bulgaria. Asked to comment on the matter, Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov said on Monday that the Polish farm obviously had some cages which were in line with EU requirements and some which were not. He assured that the eggs were safe but were sold in breach of EU animal welfare standards and of fair competition rules because they were cheaper by around EUR 0.02. "The batch of eggs sold at Kaufland, which attracted widespread media coverage on January 30, 2012, is accompanied by all the necessary documents. The paperwork confirms that the eggs meet EU welfare standards for laying hens," the hypermarket chain said in a statement Wednesday. Kaufland Bulgaria insisted that they could provide a document issued by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency certifying the compliance of the product with the standards at the point of reception at the main warehouse of the chain. The retail chain suggested that the inspection had been launched on a tip-off by a contractor of theirs. Kaufland Bulgaria assured that the unlabelled eggs had been pulled from store shelves and would be destroyed. "We expect that control organs, the media and citizens will show understanding that egg-labeling is a technological process which involves technological process errors," the hypermarket network stated, protesting the deliberate attempt to tarnish its image. BULGARIAN PRESIDENT REMEMBERS VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM Freedom and democracy must fought for and protected, said Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev at the Memorial for the Victims of Communism in Sofia. Wednesday Bulgaria is marking for the second time the official Day of Gratitude and Homage to the Victims of the Communist Regime. "Freedom and democracy ought not only be used, but also fought for, including in hard times," said Plevneliev upon laying a wreath at the monument. "Getting to grips with our recent history is a necessary condition for taking in earnest the values on which our society is founded," added the Bulgarian President. "The deaths of those Bulgarians who fell at the hands of the communist regime is one of the most vivid symbols of repression against the Bulgarian people," stated Plevneliev. February 1 was chosen for commemoration because on this date in 1945, the so-called People's Tribunal sentenced to death 3 regents, 67 members of the parliament, 22 ministers, 40 generals and colonels of the royal army and a number of other public figures. The sentences were executed on that same day. "In the history not only of Bulgaria, but also of many other European countries, the 20th century has been marked by ideologically motivated violence. We must do more to remember the victims who fell," said the Bulgarian President. Members of the diplomatic corps in Bulgaria, cabinet representatives and MPs were also present at the ceremony at Bulgaria's Memorial for the Victims of Communism Wednesday. BULGARIAN ISPS RISE AGAINST ACTA The ACTA agreement will breach users' rights and change the course of internet evolution, argued a branch union of Bulgarian ISPs Wednesday. "ACTA aims at obliterating anonymity and entirely transform the structure of the global network," said the Bulgarian Union of Independent Internet Providers. In addition, Bulgarian ISPs argue that the agreement will breach privacy of users and will go as far as reverse the presumption of innocence. Last Thursday, Bulgaria became one of 21 EU member states who joined countries such as the USA, Japan, Canada, Australia, South Korea and Switzerland as signatories to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The intergovernmental treaty stipulates that downloading content such as music and movies from sites not sanctioned by rights owners, such as torrent trackers, is similar to product counterfeiting. ACTA further will have such actions be subjected to criminal, and not civil proceedings, as has been up to now. The document has been drafted and signed under much secrecy, which has added to the ire of users worldwide. "With the introduction of ACTA, ISPs will be obliged to survey their users' traffic and to give to the authorities information about who does what," said Bulgarian Union of Independent Internet Providers representative Strahil Dobrev. "At the present moment, only the police, by means of a court decision, can make us do that. This will be totally changed if ACTA is implemented," clarified Dobrev. ISPs argued that this could lead not only to breach of privacy rights, but also for random but significant punishments for users for downloading content as harmless as pictures. BULGARIA REPORTS NEW RECORD LOW AS COLD SPELL PEAKS Temperatures in the town of Sevlievo, northern Bulgaria, plunged Wednesday morning to minus 31,4 C, a record low, which made the region one of the hardest hit by the severe cold spell in Eastern Europe. On Wednesday, due to heavy snow cover and clear skies, 16 towns in Bulgaria recorded their coldest temperature since records started 100 years ago. In the northeastern town of Knezha, the national weather service reported a low of minus 29 degrees, an absolute all time record, registered for the second day in a row. Fourteen more towns and cities recorded record lows on Wednesday, including Chirpan (minus 24.8), Montana, Oryahovo, Svishtov, Lovech and Veliko Tarnovo. At most locations temperatures were below 20, including the capital Sofia. All Bulgarian regions, except the coastal region of Burgas, are under code orange over extremely low temperatures, the National Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) announced. Cold weather and heavy snow are believed to have caused the death of at least five Bulgarians in the country's mountainous region since the beginning of the new year. Highs will remain unusually low throughout the week, hovering about 10 degrees below zero. Eastern Europe shivered this week in the coldest conditions seen this winter, with below-freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall leading to deaths, frostbite and widespread travel disruption. Ukraine and Poland are among the worst affected countries, with lows in Kiev and Warsaw of -17 and -16 degrees Celsius (1 and 3 degrees Fahrenheit) respectively, far lower than the average for this time of year. LIGHT EARTHQUAKE REGISTERED IN SOUTHERN BULGARIA A light earthquake was registered Wednesday in southern Bulgaria. The information was reported by the European Seismology Center. The quake was of a 2.8 points magnitude on the Richter scale with an epicenter located 2 kilometers north of the town of Parvomay and 39 km east of the city of Plovdiv, at a depth of 2 km. It was recorded at 7:53 am. There are no reports of injuries and material damages. BULGARIA CELEBRATES VINE AND WINE DAY The Bulgarian Orthodox Church honors on Wednesday, February 1, the Day of Saint Trifon, the patron of vine-growers, wine-producers and tavern-keepers. The holiday is widely known in Bulgaria as Trifon Zarezan - from the Bulgarian verb "zariazvam" meaning to prune vines. Saint Trifon was born in 225 AD in the village of Kossada in Phrygia in Asia Minor. His parents were righteous people, who, from very early age, thought him love and devotion to God. Their efforts soon proved successful because Trifon began accomplishing miracles since childhood. He became famous at the age of 17 when he cured the daughter of the Roman Emperor Gordian. Unfortunately, Gordian was succeeded by Decius, who prosecuted Christians, and in 250 AD Trifon was arrested, tortured and decapitated. In Bulgaria, the day of Saint Trifon was initially celebrated on February 14. Under the Communist regime, the Holiday was largely known as the "Day of the Vine-Grower". In 1968, when the Bulgarian Orthodox Church introduced the Gregorian calendar, the Church began honoring Saint Trifon on February 1, while February 14 remained the vine-growers' Day. Many Bulgarians still continue to celebrate Trifon Zarezan on February 14 - one of the very few holidays to be still honored according to the old calendar. In recent years, Trifon Zarezan coincides with Saint Valentine's Day - a holiday largely unknown in Bulgaria during the Communism, but acquiring greater and greater popularity. Bulgarians celebrate Trifon Zarezan with folkloric rituals in vineyard villages throughout the country. The men set out to prune the vines while the women bake festive bread loaves and prepare roast chicken stuffed with rice. Each vine-grower leaves for the vineyard with the bread and the chicken in a new, colorful woven bag and with a vessel (buklitsa) filled with red wine. Before the pruning begins, men turn to the sun and make the sign of the cross three times. After the first three twigs are cut, they wash them with the red wine, holy water and wood ashes that they had kept since Christmas Eve. At the end of the day, everyone gathers together to eat, drink wine, sing and dance. The man who harvested most grapes in the year is appointed "King". He and his subjects must traditionally get drunk to ensure a good harvest the following year. There are many different folklore versions of the way this Day is celebrated in different parts of the country as well as many different legends about who Trifon was. However, ethnographers are unanimous that the celebrations are rooted in the ancient Dionysus festivities, celebrating Dionysus - the God of Wine, who was known to have thought people everywhere he went how to grow vines and make wine. The celebrations were accompanied by rampant outdoor games and parties. 'SOUL TRAIN" ICONIC CREATOR COMMITS SUICIDE The creator of the long-running US TV show Soul Train has shot himself at his Los Angeles home, police said. Don Cornelius, 75, was pronounced dead on Wednesday morning after police answered reports of gunshots at his home around 04:00 (12:00 GMT). Gladys Knight, who performed on the pilot of the show more than four decades ago, said Cornelius "opened up so many avenues for African-American artists." In an interview with CNN Wednesday, Knight said he appeared in ill health when she saw him recently. "Last time I saw him, he was pretty sick," Knight said. "He had lost a lot of weight, but he still had that thing about him." Singer Aretha Franklin called his death "so sad, stunning and downright shocking." "Don Cornelius single-handedly brought about a melding and unity of brother and sisterhood among young adults worldwide and globally with the unforgettable creation of 'Soul Train,'" Franklin said. Soul Train began in Chicago in 1970 but aired nationally from 1971 to 2006, showcasing artists such as Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Barry White. Cornelius stepped down as host of the hit show in 1993. "I'm... trying to avoid saying there was no television for black folks, which they knew was for them," Cornelius said of the show in 2006. Initially, the show was seen by some as a black answer to American Bandstand, a music show presented by Dick Clark. American Bandstand sometimes featured very mainstream African-American artists, but Soul Train created a platform for black artists who might not have had the opportunity to appear on American Bandstand. But Soul Train remained popular long after black musicians became part of mainstream music and culture in the US. "I figured as long as the music stayed hot and important and good, that there would always be a reason for Soul Train," Cornelius added. Soul Train eventually grew into a franchise that included the Soul Train Music Awards, the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards and the Soul Train Christmas Starfest. Cornelius was awarded a place in the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 1995 and has a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. 'Soul Train' aired until 2006, making it the longest running U.S. series in first run syndication. Cornelius sold the franchise in 2008. Paying tribute to him, music producer Quincy Jones said: "Don was a visionary pioneer and a giant in our business. Quincy Jones said that he was "deeply saddened" at the sudden passing of his friend, colleague and business partner. "Before MTV there was 'Soul Train,' that will be the great legacy of Don Cornelius," he said. "His contributions to television, music and our culture as a whole will never be matched." Long-time friend Rev. Al Sharpton expressed shock and grief over the news of the death. "He brought soul music and dance to the world in a way that it had never been shown and he was a cultural game changer on a global level," he said in a statement. BULGARIAN 'THREATENED' PRINCESS DIANA BUTLER, GRANTED BAIL The former butler of late Princess Diana has accused a Bulgarian man of warning his wife had been kidnapped and threatening to torch his flower shop. Former Royal butler Paul Burrell told the Chester Crown Court on Tuesday how Bulgarian Slav Mitev, 50, phoneed him and warned him that his wife had been kidnapped, BBC reported. The jury found Mitev, of Wood Green, London, guilty of putting somebody in fear of violence. The case was adjourned for sentence and further psychiatric reports, since the Bulgarian was found unfit to plead due to his mental state. Mitev, a Bulgarian national, was granted conditional bail and ordered not to contact Burrell or his family or enter Cheshire. He was also ordered to keep attending doctor's appointments. "It's a very sad case and has had a very upsetting effect upon Mr Burrell. The defendant quite irrationally seems to blame Mr Burrell for various matters which are not his fault," Judge Edwards said, as cited by BBC. At the start of the trial Burrell, 53, explained how he received a number of phone calls to his shop in Farndon last June. In one call, Mitev threatened to set fire to his shop, where Burrell lived at the time. The former butler for Diana Princess of Wales said: "The caller said 'have you got a pen because I want you to write this down. I am going to use an incendiary device. Do you know how much shattered glass there will be in your shop?"' Asked by Gordon Hennell, prosecuting, if he took the call seriously Burrell responded: "I certainly did." Burrell said that 10 years ago his previous flower shop suffered an arson attack. He added: "I was very nervous at that point and thinking 'my goodness it's going to happen again'." Another call by Mitev referred to his wife Maria. Burrell said: "I do remember this call because it was the most terrible. It started by him saying, 'Maria, Maria?' "I said 'Maria is my wife's name'. And I said to him, 'you know that Maria isn't here'. I said 'she is in America'. He said, 'no she's not. Can't you hear her?' "And what I could hear in the background was a woman sobbing and someone crying saying 'please help me, help me please'." Burrell added: "I can honestly say that I was sick to my stomach." He phoned his wife who was at their property in the United States, to check she was alright. BULGARIAN POLICE REARREST SOFIA SERIAL ARSON SUSPECT The man who was declared by the Bulgarian police to be a serial arsonist, Yuliyan Kovachki, had been arrested again. The news was reported Wednesday by the largest private TV channel bTV. This time the man was arrested because he acted violent in a bar in the capital's "Mladost" residential district. The reason for his hooligan act is still investigated. After being taken in the seventh police precinct, he again showed his temper and broke to pieces the furnishings of the cell in which he had been held. On December 27, the Sofia Appellate Court released Kovachki on own recognizance. He was allegedly responsible for about a dozen of car arsons that took place in Mladost. On December 18, the Sofia City Court ruled to keep him in permanent custody, on the grounds there is reasonable doubt he had committed the arsons and because he has a criminal record. Yuliyan Kovachki, 29, was arrested on December 15 – it was revealed that he knew the majority of his victims and committed the arsons over anger from being unemployed in the last two years. He admitted to 12 arson cases, and has been indicted on 12 counts of arson. In Court, however, he claimed innocence. He told magistrates that the cars began burning on their own when he was walking near them, In addition to being unemployed, it was reported that he was an orphan and often abused alcohol. He has a criminal record for theft and hooliganism. Kovachki further failed the lie detector test after being arrested in connection with the arsons. The appellate magistrates decided that there was not enough evidence to keep the suspect behind bars and ruled for him to be released on own recognizance. The judge stated that witness testimony did not prove the crime had been committed by Kovachki. Among other motives were the facts that traces of flammable substances have not been established on the defendant's clothes; the psychologists could not be questioned as experts, and the lie detector test is not admissible court evidence. Kovachki, allegedly, committed the arsons under the influence of alcohol and had been involved in setting vehicles and buildings on fire to counter his anger and dissatisfaction with life. Though subsiding, there had been over 60 arson incidents in Sofia in the last two months and over 30 others outside the capital. Police say that the arsons were committed by several groups with different motives and some have been copycat criminal actions. Others believe the arsons were set on purpose by an unknown, but powerful mastermind in order to destabilize the cabinet of the ruling GERB. SOFIA COURT ORDERS RE-ARREST OF SUSPECT UNDER EAW Stefan Klenovski, who was placed under house arrest Tuesday, has been re-arrested, according to his father, Ivan Klenovski. In a Wednesday interview for private TV channel NTV, he explained that his son's lawyer, Ivan Kotsev, had called late on Tuesday to say that Stefan Klenvoski had been issued a new remand measure, detention for up to 72 hours. "At this stage we know no details, we are just waiting," Ivan Klenovski said on TV. The Sofia District Police Directorate confirmed the new remand measure and explained that it had been issued in connection with other charges. Stefan Klenovski's arrest on the evening of January 27 was accompanied by accusations of his family of police brutality, which Valeri Yordanov, head of the Sofia District Police Department refuted outright. However, CCTV footage of the arrest, which took place at a children's establishment in a shopping center in Sofia, shows the detainee being given slaps in the face at a point when he has already been rendered powerless. Klenovski's wife, Ilyana, complained to journalists that her husband had been beaten and cursed during the arrest in front of many children, including their 7-year-old son who had been celebrating his birthday. On Wednesday, Ivan Kotsev told journalists that his client had not even been able to reach home but had been returned to a police precinct. The lawyer explained that the new charges were over the fake ID card and drivers' license Klenovski had had on him at the time of the arrest. Klenovski's defender stressed the absurdity of the actions against his client and assured he had had no plans to go into hiding. Klenovski had a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued for him in connection with a 2011 police operation codenamed Shock held against a crime ring specialized in debit and credit card fraud and money laundering. The Sofia City Court placed him under house arrest on Tuesday. The remand measure was issued by Miroslava Todorova, Chair of the Bulgarian Judges Association (BJA), who was recently accused by Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov of patronizing organized crime and of incompetence. Todorova explained the remand measure with the facts that Klenovski was the father of four, had a job and no prior convictions. The judge, who is likely to file a libel lawsuit against Tsvetan Tsvetanov over the defamatory remarks, said that it was up to the Interior Ministry to oversee the implementation of the remand measure, which was why she had no doubts that Klenovski would go into hiding. PERSONAL LIFE ONLINE? Do you have a Twitter account? - Yes, I do. Do you have a Facebook account? - Of course! Do you have a You Tube account? - Sure! Do you have a personal life? - Actually I don't. You should send me the link! HALF OF SYRIA WRESTED FROM ASSAD'S CONTROL - REPORT Close to 50% of Syria's territory is no longer under the control of President Bashar Al-Assad, according to Free Syrian Army commander Riad al-Asaad. Colonel al-Asaad, formerly of the official Syrian army, defected in July 2011 to join the pro-democracy rebels requesting an ousting of President Assad. Wednesday Israeli edition Yedioth Ahronoth quotes al-Asaad saying that close to half of Syria is not under government control. The colonel however is reported saying that rebel forces will not try to claim more, fearing that the government might deploy heavily armed units. Over the weekend, heavy fighting was reported in suburbs of capital Damascus, which until recently was not part of the rebelling territories. At the same time, calls for international intervention under the auspices of the UN has intensified. The UN Security Council is holding a session on violence in Syria and mulling a resolution calling for President Assad to step down. Russian UN envoy Vitaly Churkin has however said that Russia will not be supportive of a UN resolution that could exacerbate the conflict. This has dispelled initial impressions that Russia might be softening its stance seen as supportive of the Assad regime and explicitly opposing international intervention. WILL HILLARY CLINTON LOBBY FOR CHEVRON, SHALE GAS IN BULGARIA? The unexpected, much discussed visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Bulgaria over the coming weekend is set to bring to the table a string of burning global and bilateral issues. High on the agenda are developments in Syria, where violence seems to have escalated to a boil, as the embattled Bashar Al-Assad regime struggles to keep power, as well as the latest tensions around the Iranian nuclear program. Syria and Iran have been close partners for decades in the most recent history; both have had a poor record with relations with the West, and a much nicer time with Russia. Bulgaria's position on both Syria and Iran has not been clearly stated yet, and it will be of great interest to the country's American partners to finally learn about it. Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikolay Mladenov, on his part, has stated he will put another, less universal issue (still one important to Bulgaria), namely the creation of a visa-free regime with the USA. Wednesday Mladenov refused to specify the agenda for the meeting, saying it will be "very broad" and include all issues of importance between the two partners. Clinton's visit, however, is highly timely on another count, being announced just days after the Bulgarian Parliament passed a decision for an all-out ban on shale gas exploration and production in the country. Over the summer of 2011, the Bulgarian cabinet had granted US energy giant Chevron a permit to explore for shale gas in a large segment of north-eastern Bulgaria. But environmentalists and ordinary citizens stated large protests against the technology, which they view as environmentally hazardous, as undisclosed chemicals are pumped into the ground at exceeding pressures to release natural gas. This, they argue, is extremely dangerous for groundwater, especially in a region with traditionally strong agriculture as north-eastern Bulgaria's Dobrudzha. The exploration for shale gas has been thoroughly banned in France, suspended in parts of the UK – and in a number of US states - over similar warnings, in spite of the fact that shale gas production revolutionized the gas market in the States in the last few years, making it from a net important to self-sufficient. Protests in Bulgaria led to an unexpected reversal of the permit decision of Bulgaria's center-right GERB cabinet, which notwithstanding has a comfortable number of MPs in Parliament, when Parliament voted the shale gas ban. The relationship between Hillary Clinton's visit and the interests of US corporation Chevron to Bulgaria might be purely speculative, but according to the US Department of State's official release, the issue of "energy security" will be put on the agenda. And then, there is another important factor in the picture – the undiplomatic behavior of US ambassador to Sofia James Warlick, who himself was the person who first presented Cheveron's interest in Bulgarian shale gas back in 2010. Since then, Warlick has led a consistent campaign of pushing Chevron in the center of public attention which unfortunately culminated in a crescendo around the January 18 shale gas ban. The US ambassador made key TV appearances before and after that date, arguing that it is plain sillines to give up such a lucrative proposal that might satisfy Bulgaria's natural gas needs for decades on. This rhetoric was quickly picked up by Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov and cabinet ministers, who suggested that the Parliament ban on shale gas was all too hasty. Minister of Economy and Energy Traicho Traikov went even as far as to suggest that environmentalist groups opposing shale gas might have been financed by Russian gas giant Gazprom, a ludicrous lead taken up by President Rosen Plevneliev in his Monday interview for Financial Times Deuschland. Gazprom is to account for more than 90% of natural gas supply for Bulgaria, with which it has cherished longterm contracts. At the same time, Gazprom is using conventional gas extraction methods, and has spoken out against shale gas on environmental grounds, which analysts have dismissed as being motivated by competition with US companies. Gazprom interests and arguably hypocritical warnings aside, evidence of the hazards of shale gas exploration and production is overwhelming, mandating at least the use of special caution. Then there is the issue of using energy corporations as tools of global influence on the part of not only Russia, but also the USA. True, Chevron, unlike Gazprom, is not a state-owned company, but this does not disqualify it as an effective purveyor of American interests abroad. Ambassador Warlick's staunch preaching of the company's interests – at times patronizing and disrespectful of the very laws in Bulgaria – is but an instance substantiating that claim. A simple Google search will let you know that former US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice had served on Chevron's board of directors, and even for a short time had a Chevron tanker named after her, before assuming office (that is, if you did not already know that). Current Secretary of State Clinton does not have a record of close ties with Chevron. In August 2009, she inaugurated a large-scale investment partnership between Chevron and USAID in Angola. Saturday and Sunday she will not do an analogous thing in Bulgaria. But she definitely has the means to sway the opinions of Bulgaria's inconsistent and slapdash rulers back in favor of shale gas. It is yet to be seen whether Bulgarians, under the pretence of throwing off dependence on Russian Gazprom, will choose a similar dependence on US Chevron, and let foreign corporate and geostrategic interests ruin their nature. |
Will Hillary Clinton Lobby for Chevron, Shale Gas in Bulgaria?
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