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| 22 Feb 2012, Issue 3326 · USD: 1.47922 EUR: 1.95583 · Sofia: min -4°, max 4° Varna: min -3°, max 7° · |
| BUSINESS POLITICS WORLD SOCIETY SPORTS FORUM |
EC Finally 'Satisfied' with Sofia Waste Disposal Project
 The European Commission had been satisfied with the final bid for the Bulgarian capital Sofia waste disposal project.
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UN Warns of Potential Devastating Floods in Bulgaria
 Parts
of Central and Eastern Europe, particularly Bulgaria and Serbia, are
under the serious threat of destruction and casualties over forthcoming
floods caused by mass snowmelt, according to the UN.
read |
Hushed-Up Indictment Triggers Reshuffle at Bulgaria's Irrigation Co
 Radoslav
Cheglayski has been elected as the new Chairman of the Board of
Directors of Bulgaria's state-owned company Irrigation Systems.
read |
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BULGARIA OPENS GREAT WALL CAR PLANT, HOPES FOR GREAT CHINESE INVESTMENTS
Bulgaria has formally launched of mass production of cars under the Chinese Great Wall badge by Litex Motors near the northern city of Lovech. The car manufacturing plant near Lovech comes to life seventeen years after Bulgaria's last failed attempt to revive its automobile industry. The first car of the Chinese company Great Wall assembled near Bulgaria's Lovech was rolled out in the middle of November 2011. With the opening of its new plant in Bulgaria, Great Wall Motors becomes the first Chinese automaker to assemble cars in the European Union. The joint factory of Litex Motors, a Bulgarian company, and Great Wall, located at the village of Bahovitsa near Lovech was launched Tuesday, February 21, in the presence of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and China's Ambassador to Bulgaria Guo Yezhou, as well as Ms. Wang Feng Ying, General Manager and Executive Director of Great Wall Motor Co. During th opening Bulgaria's PM Borisov declared he had the promise of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao that China will invest (BGN) 1 B (Borisov mentioned the sum of 1 B without specifying the currency) in the region of Lovech, including in a bus manufacturing plant "Yes, we are all glad that Bulgaria will be producing cars. The investments have come from our friends. We've talked to the Prime Minister of China, and I received promises for the investment of 1 B until the end of 2013," Borisov stated at the opening of the plant of Litex Motors and Great Wall near Lovech. He further noted he was glad that Chinese cars for the European market will be produced in Bulgaria. "There is no way I can't be happy that I am the Economy Minister in a moment when the car manufacturing in Bulgaria is restored. Thank you for this emotion," said Traicho Traikov, Bulgaria's Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism. He emphasized his hopes that the Great Wall Motors project will turn out to be a boost for the Chinese investments in Bulgaria. "It's no accident that th Bulgarian government provided BGN 2.4 M for the road to this factory, I hope this wonderful ceremony costs less," Traikov joked, referring to the infrastructure aid granted under Bulgaria's Investment Encouragement Act. Great Wall CEO Wang Feng Ying thanked the Bulgarian government for supporting the Litex Motors project, and declared that Bulgaria will be a starting point from which the Chinese car manufacturer will start entering the European markets. Cars produced by China's Great Wall already hit the Bulgarian market in October last year through a network of twelve representative show rooms across the country. Voleex C10 sedan, Hover H5 SUV and Steed pickup are the three different vehicle models, which Chinese car maker Great Wall Motor Co and Bulgarian company Litex Motors will produce in the town of Lovech, Northern Bulgaria, at very competitive prices. Expectations are for a furore not least because of the cars' low prices. Great Wall Motor Company, one of China's biggest automotive manufacturers, signed a joint venture (JV) deal with Bulgarian diversified holding company Litex Commerce in the presence of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov at the end of 2009. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 50,000 units and assemble four different models – a sports utility vehicle (SUV), a pickup and two passenger car models, which are expected to be sold in European Union countries. The total initial investment is around EUR 97 M, potentially reaching EUR 300 M if the project is successful. The Chinese company has secured 10% of the money, the remainder was forked out by Litex Motors, owned by petrol businessman and owner of Litex football club Grisha Ganchev. The cars are expected to be sold under the Great Wall badge, boosting the firm's output from around 400,000 at present. The project is considered to be nothing short of a coup for Bulgaria, which does not currently produce any passenger vehicles, though it does have a modest but successful automotive components industry. The plant will surely be positioned squarely towards export market and by the time production commences, the automobile market is expected to be experiencing a post-slump upswing. This may also be the last chance for the revival of the local automobile industry after in mid 1990s Rover set up a joint venture with the Bulgarian Daru Group in Varna, which failed because of a weak market strategy, high prices, and a stronger competitor in the face of Skoda. 
BULGARIA'S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AT 11.4% IN Q4 2011 In the fourth quarter of 2011 the economically active population in Bulgaria, aged 15 – 64, was 3 292.1 thousand people. Data comes from the results from the Labor Force Survey, carried out and released by the National Statistical Institute, NSI. The total activity rate was 66.3% and in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2010 was by 0.3% lower. In the fourth quarter of 2011, the number of unemployed was 380.9 thousand and the unemployment rate - 11.4%. In comparison with the same quarter of 2010 the unemployment rate increased for men (by 0.7%) and decreased for women (by 0.4%) and in the fourth quarter of 2011 male unemployment (12.8%) was by 2.9% higher than female unemployment (9.9%). The young unemployed (15 - 24 years of age) were 72.9 thousand, and the youth unemployment rate reached 28.9%. The rate was 29.8% for men and 27.5% for women respectively. The number of long-term unemployed was 212.3 thousand, which was 55.7% of all unemployed and compared to the fourth quarter of 2010 their number rose by 6.3%. The long-term unemployment rate went up by 0.5% and reached 6.4% in the fourth quarter of 2011. The rate increased for men (by 1.3%) and decreased for women (by 0.4%), and reached 7.5% for men and 5.1% for women. In the fourth quarter of 2011, 310.2 thousand (81.4%) of all unemployed persons had previous employment experience, and 70.7 thousand (18.6%) were looking for their first job. In the fourth quarter of 2011, the employment rate for population aged 15 - 64 was 58.7% - respectively 60.6% for men and 56.8% for women. Compared to the same period of 2010, the employment rate (15 - 64 years) fell by 0.3%, as a decrease was observed only for men - by 1.1%. Between the fourth quarters of 2010 and 2011, the employment rate for population aged 20 - 64 years (an Europe 2020 indicator) went down by 0.6% and reached 64.1% - 66.1% for men and 62.0% for women respectively. In the fourth quarter of 2011, the employment rate for the age group 55 - 64 years was 43.8% and compared to the same quarter of 2010 rose by 0.9%, which was entirely due to the increase of female employment - by 2.1%. The employment rate for this age group was 47.9% for men and 40.1% for women respectively. In the fourth quarter of 2011, the inactive population aged 15 - 64 was 1 671.7 thousand people or 33.7% of the population in the same age group. Out of the total inactive population, 753.1 thousand were men and 918.6 thousand - women, and the inactivity rate by gender was 30.4% and 37.0% respectively. Discouraged persons aged 15 - 64 were 225.4 thousand (124.8 thousand men and 100.6 thousand women), and as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010 their number remained almost the same. In the fourth quarter of 2011, the total number of employed persons aged 15 years and over was 2 955.2 thousand, accounting 45.7% of population in the same age group. In comparison with the same quarter of 2010 their number decreased by 68.5 thousand (2.3%), and their share of the population by 0.6% respectively. Out of the total number of employed 1 529.8 thousand were men and 1 425.5 thousand were women. Over a year, the number of employed men went down by 3.2% and that of women by 1.2%. In the fourth quarter of 2011 the number of employed persons with college degrees was 807.6 thousand (27.3% of employed), 1 807.4 thousand (61.2%) had completed high school, and 340.2 thousand (11.5%) had middle or elementary school education. In all three groups by level of education the number of employed was lower than in the fourth quarter of 2010. The decrease in employment between fourth quarters of 2010 and 2011 affected more persons running their own businesses and other independent workers. Self-employed persons (incl. employers and unpaid family workers) declined by 38.7 thousand (10.2%) over that period and employees by 29.8 thousand (1.1%) respectively. In the fourth quarter of 2011 the employers represented 3.4% of the total employment, 7.3% were self-employed without employees, 88.4% were employees and 0.9% were unpaid family workers. Among employees 1 895.1 thousand (72.5%) worked in private sector and 717.8 thousand (27.5%) in public sector. Women had a larger proportion than men in the public sector, and accounted for 58.5% of public employees, while in private sector the majority of employees (53.9%) were men. In the fourth quarter of 2011, 1 813.2 thousand (61.4%) of all employed persons worked in service sector, 950.5 thousand (32.2%) - in the industry sector, and 191.6 thousand (6.5%). - in agriculture, forestry and fishing. The employed in services and industry decreased by 1.5% and 4.2% respectively, as compared with the same quarter of 2010, while those in agriculture, forestry and fishing remained virtually unchanged. POVERTY IN BULGARIA UP 2% FEB 2011 Y/Y Poverty in Bulgaria has increased by 2% in February 2011, compared to February 2010. The unemployment rate hike and slumping income are affecting people leaving in the cities the most, and they become more and more impoverished. The data comes from a joint research of the Open Society Institute and the World Bank, cited Tuesday by the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR. The global economic crisis in 2009-2010 had hit Bulgarian households mainly through the shrinking labor market with increased unemployment and reduced work hours. Despite the crisis triggering a significant decrease of the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, Bulgaria had managed to counter the worst effects for living standards by its adequate social protection policy, according to the World Bank report. The poll was conducted among 2 400 households, with the majority saying that they felt the crisis mainly through employment and income. Families have been forced to tighten belts and limit their expenses for heating and electricity, food, education and savings. Bulgarians have attempted to compensate for the reduced income mainly by working harder and longer hours, but only those with higher education have been successful with this strategy. The report notes no changes in the poverty profile over the crisis – households at most risk of poverty are those where the head of the family is unemployed; those with low education, single mothers and families with many children. EUROZONE AGREES ON 2ND GREEK BAILOUT Eurozone finance ministers sealed a deal Tuesday morning for a second bailout for Greece, including EUR 130 B in new financing. "It's clear that the Greek economy cannot (continue to be) financed by cheap debt, but needs to lean on new investment both Greek and foreign," Olli Rehn, vice president of the European Commission, commented at a press conference, as cited by CNN. "This should give Greece enough space to improve its competitiveness," added Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund. If Tuesday's deal had not been reached, Greece would have defaulted in late March. As news of the accord emerged from the all-night meeting, the Euro increased its value, reaching USD 1.328 in minutes. The previous bailout was agreed in principle by EU leaders in October, conditional on Greece adopting further measures to cut its deficit and restructure its economy. On Sunday, Greek MPs approved extra cutbacks, but parties had to expel more than 40 deputies for failing to back the bill. Thousands protested in Athens, where there were widespread clashes and buildings were set on fire. Violent protests were reported in cities across the country. BARROSO: 2ND BAILOUT PREVENTS UNCONTROLLED GREEK DEFAULT EC President Jose Manuel Barroso has praised the agreement in the Eurogroup on the second financial assistance program for Greece, which is worth EUR 130 B, and was reached late on Monday. "The agreement reached in the Eurogroup on a second financial assistance program for Greece is an essential step forward for the country and for the euro area as a whole, Barroso declared Tuesday, at a press point following his meeting with Edmund Stoiber, Chairman of the High-Level Group on Administrative Burden Reduction. "Together with the agreement reached with the private sector for a bond exchange offer, in which I am very confident a high number of private sector bondholders will participate, this overall package opens the way for Greece to construct a new and more sustainable economy, better able to generate growth and jobs. It also closes the door on a scenario of an uncontrolled default, with all its grave economic and social implications. That would be - to use the word of the Greek Prime Minister - chaos for Greece and for the Greek people," the EC President said. "I am profoundly aware of the heavy burden that the Greek people are having to bear and I recognize the tremendous efforts made over the past two years, in extremely challenges circumstances. Nevertheless, as recognized by the Greek authorities themselves, not only the Government but also the Parliament, the measures being taken are essential and in many cases long overdue. There is no alternative to fiscal consolidation and to structural reform in Greece if Greece wants to regain competitiveness so it can generate again growth and jobs. I think that this message has to be clear. And the best way of showing our solidarity to Greece is to speak the truth," he added. In his words, the second bailout will intensify the many ambitious structural reforms underway, which are helping to build a more modern and citizen-friendly public administration, a fairer and more effective tax system and a more friendly business environment in which employment can flourish: "In sum: a more competitive Greek economy." The Commission will in parallel continue to provide immediate and proactive support, through a reinforcement of the Task Force for Greece established last summer, the full mobilization of cohesion funding and through the Youth Unemployment Action Team, which will be on the ground in Athens next week, the EC chief promised. Barroso stressed the fact that the rest of the euro area has at the end agreed with the bailout program. "I know that in some governments it is sometimes difficult to get the necessary support from their parliaments but I want to congratulate the finance ministers for their work because it was the right decision for Greece but also for the euro area. It is a welcome signal that our common goal is for a stable and prosperous Greece with a secure future in the euro," he said. BULGARIA RENEWS ELECTRICITY EXPORTS Bulgaria renewed its electricity exports early on Tuesday after it recently stopped them due to the severe winter conditions in the country and worries of blackouts. Bulgaria started exporting electricity as of 1 am on Tuesday, the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism has announced. The Galabovo Thermal Power Plant that was experiencing difficulties is working properly once again. On February 10, Bulgaria's government discontinued all electricity exports in order to make up for the increased domestic electricity consumption caused by the freezing temperatures over the past couple of weeks. Bulgaria traditionally exports electricity to Greece and Macedonia; in 2011, electricity exports to Turkey were resumed after an 8-year pause. LUKOIL BULGARIA TO PRESENT DETAILED REPORT ON FUEL PRICING POLICY Triggered by numerous queries, fuel distributor Lukoil Bulgaria has vowed to present a report with detailed information about the fluctuation of fuel prices over the past 5 years, the pricing principles and the factors influencing fuel prices on the local and international markets. According to a Tuesday statement of Lukoil Bulgaria's press office, the report is to be ready by February 23. The fuel retailer says it will contact the media to specify the manner of distribuition of the materials. On Monday Bulgaria was hit by the news that fuel prices had climbed to a new record high. Bulgaria's Lukoil Neftochim refinery increased prices of the most common type of gasoline, A95, by 1.7% and prices of diesel by 1.41%. On February 16, wholesale prices of gasoline and diesel went up by BGN 0.04 and BGN 0.03, respectively, causing a similar spike in retail prices of the commodities. As a result, diesel reached the record BGN 2.70 per liter, while unleaded gasoline settled at BGN 2.57 per liter. February 2012's rates broke the 2008 record of BGN 2.67 per liter of diesel and BGN 2.54 per liter of gasoline A95. Representatives of major filling station chains commented that the price spike in Bulgaria reflected fluctuations on international markets triggered by the escalation of a dispute over Iran's nuclear program. 
BULGARIAN AMBASSADOR TO US NOT BOTHERED BY CHEVRON SPONSORSHIP Bulgaria's Ambassador to the US Elena Poptodorova has declared she sees nothing wrong in the fact that Chevron is among the sponsors of a reception on the occasion of Bulgaria's national day, March 3. On Monday, the Bulgarian nationalist VMRO party expressed its outrage with the US company's sponsorship of the event scheduled to take place in Washington DC, pointing out that Chevron has been suspected of trying to make a lobbying impact on Bulgaria's political process. In the summer of 2011, the Bulgarian cabinet granted the US energy giant a permit to explore for shale gas in a large segment of north-eastern Bulgaria. However, the permit was revoked in January following a wave of protests organized by environmentalists and citizens across the country. Poptodorova commented that business sponsorships of such events are a common practice across the world. "If these big companies have decided to establish long-term business relations with the country, that means Bulgaria is a good place for investments," the Bulgarian envoy told Darik radio. On January 18, the Cabinet imposed an indefinite ban on hydraulic fracturing, a method which involves injecting a mix of water, sand and chemicals at very high pressure deep underground to crack rock and release oil and gas. EC FINALLY 'SATISFIED' WITH SOFIA WASTE DISPOSAL PROJECT The European Commission had been satisfied with the final bid for the Bulgarian capital Sofia waste disposal project. The EC had examined the bid in detail and had approved it, their press center informs Tuesday. The latest project is based on a better concept, which, first and foremost, will allow an increase of the volume of recycled waste over its more effective treatment at a bio-processing plant. Secondly – the new project avoids long-distance transport of waste since it plans for the energy from residual waste (after sorting) to be utilized by the Thermal Power Plant, TPP, Sofia. At the moment, TPP Sofia is conducting a feasibility study so that the plant can be furnished with the necessary technical and environmental equipment for waste incineration. This will be the first step to an additional project that also provides co-funding from the European Union at the end of the current financial period or at the beginning of the next. The Commission is satisfied that with the second stage of the project the capital city will be able to bring waste management in line with European standards. At the beginning of the month, the Sofia city council announced a new public procurement for the construction of a waste processing plant. A first procurement announcement was scrapped in December after recommendations for change by the European Commission, which argued for the introduction of new technical parameters. The first tender was won by the HUT-Stanilov consortium between Bulgarian company Stanilov and German Heilit, which entered with a bid of BGN 208.8 M This is close to the latest tentative price announced by the Sofia Municipal Council - BGN 208.3 M. According to the procurement offer, the waste plant will have to be designed and constructed for 19 months, after which it undergo tests for a year. In October 2011, EC surprisingly dropped plans to pursue court action against Bulgaria for failing to properly implement EU waste law, citing progress in preparations for a recycling plant. MEPS CALL FOR BOYCOTT OF DUTCH GOODS OVER XENOPHOBIC SITE Romanian MEP Sebastian Bodu and his Polish colleague Jacek Saryusz –Wolski have called for a boycott of Dutch products in Central and Eastern Europe, stating that the Dutch government tolerates the xenophobic website created by the Freedom Party. "We, as citizens of Member States from Eastern Europe, consider that the attitude of the PVV (Dutch Party of Liberty), a supporter of the current government, as insulting and threatening," the MEPs have stated in a letter. Bodu and Saryusz-Wolski have pointed out that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has refused to distance himself from the anti-immigrants website promoted by the PVV and by the policy of the party in general. "Where diplomacy fails, it is the right of the citizens to intervene directly, by democratic means, like it is the consumer's right to choose. A signal of unity must be sent to the Dutch Government and to the radical Party whose extremist actions are tolerated," the MEPs have declared, explaining their call for a boycott of Dutch products. According to them, "a boycott of Dutch products coming from 100 million consumers is the right answer to the extremism promoted by the PVV." Recently, all Bulgarian MEPs also expressed their outrage with the Dutch website. In a statement, the MEPs accused PVV of trying to discriminate against European citizens. The site, titled "Complaints about Central and Eastern Europeans," boasts slogans such as "Do you have problems with people from Central and Eastern Europe?" and "Have you lost your job because of a Pole, a Bulgarian, a Romanian? We want to know." It also displays media headlines reporting how Eastern Europeans commit more and more crime. VAN ROMPUY TO GET 2ND TERM AS EU COUNCIL PRESIDENT - REPORT European Council President Herman Van Rompuy will get a second 2.5-year term at the summit of EU leaders on March 1-2, reports say. The term of European Council President Herman Van Rompuy is due to be extended for two and a half years at the summit of EU leaders on 1 and 2 March as no alternative candidates have come to the fore and no blocking minority has been formed, Europolitics reported citing diplomatic sources. Herman Van Rompuy born 31 October 1947) is the first long-term and full-time President of the European Council under the EU Treaty of Lisbon, which is an unelected position. A Belgian politician of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party, Van Rompuy served as the 49th prime minister of Belgium from 30 December 2008 until his predecessor (Yves Leterme) succeeded him on 25 November 2009. On 19 November 2009, Van Rompuy was elected by the members of the European Council as the first full time President of the European Council under the Treaty of Lisbon.[5] He was appointed to chair the institution for the period starting from 1 December 2009 until 31 May 2012, though he only took up his position officially on 1 January 2010. BULGARIA LAST IN EU BY MONTHLY MINIMUM WAGE In January 2012, Bulgaria was once again last in the EU by the monthly minimum wage, which stood at EUR 138. The data was published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. On the opposite end of the ranking is Luxemburg with EUR 1 801. When adjusted for differences in purchasing power, the disparities between the Member States are reduced from a range of one to thirteen (in EUR) to a range of one to five in purchasing power standard (PPS). At the opposite ends of the scale were again Luxembourg (1 495 PPS per month) and Bulgaria (272 PPS), according to Eurostat. In May 2012, the monthly minimum age in Bulgaria is supposed to go up by EUR 10 to a total of EUR 148 (or BGN 290). 20 of the EU's 27 Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom), Croatia and Turkey had national legislation setting a minimum wage by statute or by national intersectoral agreement. The 20 Member States concerned together with Croatia, Turkey and the United States can be divided into three groups based on the level of minimum wage on January 1, 2012. The first group includes the eleven countries with the lowest minimum wages, between 100 EUR and 400 EUR a month: Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Turkey and Croatia. The second group comprises five Member States (Portugal, Malta, Spain, Slovenia and Greece) and the United States with an intermediate level of minimum wages, from just over 550 EUR to just below 1 000 EUR a month. The third group comprises six Member States (the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland and Luxembourg) in which the minimum wage was above 1 200 EUR per month. However, it should be noted that for non-EA countries (9 countries in the first group as well as the United Kingdom and the United States) the levels and ranking of minimum wages expressed in euro are affected both by the values of the minimum wages in national currencies and by exchange rates. Adjusting for differences in price levels reduces the variation between countries: while the minimum wage in euros ranged from 138 EUR to 1 801 EUR in January 2012 (a factor of about 1:13), the minimum wage in PPS ranged from 272 to 1 495 (a factor of about 1:5). The countries in groups 1 and 2 with relatively lower minimum wages in euros also have lower price levels and therefore higher minimum wages when expressed in PPS. On the other hand, countries in group 3 with higher minimum wages in euros have higher price levels, and their minimum wages in PPS are relatively lower. In addition, as a consequence, the limits between the three groups are partly smoothed out when looking at minimum wages expressed in PPS. Comparing the ranking of the monthly minimum wages in euros with those in PPS, the most remarkable changes are for Ireland, Hungary and Croatia, all moving by three positions. Several other countries change their position, but only by 1 rank (Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Spain, France, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Turkey). In 2010, the minimum wage level is between 30 % and 50 % of average gross monthly earnings in industry, construction and services (except activities of households as employers and extra-territorial organizations and bodies) Looking at the minimum wage in relation to average gross monthly earnings in industry, construction and services (except activities of households as employers and extra-territorial organizations and bodies), the highest value is reported for Turkey, followed by France (2009), Slovenia, Malta and Luxembourg. In these five countries the minimum wage is above 45 % of the gross monthly earnings. At the lower end of the scale the Czech Republic, Romania and the United States report minimum wages below 35% of the average gross monthly earnings. BULGARIA'S RULERS SEAL SACKING OF DISCREDITED HEALTH CHIEF Bulgaria's ruling center-right party GERB has approved the resignation of discredited Bulgarian National Health Insurance Fund (NZOK) Director, Neli Nesheva The "Nesheva" scandal flared after Members of the Parliament from the right-wing Blue Coalition released for the media documents showing that all while NZOK is in shambles, its employees have received in 2011 over BGN 2 M in bonuses, of which BGN 30 000 went to its Head. Nesheva, who admitted to receiving over BGN 12 000 of bonuses last year and - though claiming the money was well deserved - quit office on Friday under public, opposition, and Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov's pressure. On Tuesday, she fulfilled her promise to donate her bonuses signing a contract with a representative of "Children and Youth" Association in the presence of two attorneys. The decision of the GERB party MPs made Tuesday to okay Nesheva's resignation was unanimous; it emphasized her own desire to quit after the bonus scandal and the public tensions it caused. At the same time, the GERB party has given a high assessment to Nesheva's work as head of the National Health Insurance Fund by saying that she facilitated the institution's "stabilization." Because of that, they recommend that Bulgarian PM Borisov give her a chance to "develop in the government of the country and especially in the healthcare sector." "Neli Nesheva has been working well but a single action can damage everything," Bulgarian PM Borisov commented on the demands for her resignation, as cited by BGNES. "A spoonful of tar in the honey jar is enough to spoil the honey's taste," the PM stated apparently considering Nesheva's bonus scandal to be the only issue in Bulgaria's healthcare sector. Meanwhile, the National Association of Private Hospitals and the National Alliance of People with Rare Diseases joined Tuesday a number of others voicing support for Nesheva. In the last few days, the Bulgarian Doctors Union, the Bulgarian Industrial Chamber, the Union of Multi-profile Hospitals, and the Parliamentary Committee on Health have declared their backing for her, and insisted that changes in NZOK leadership will unnecessarily shake the system. They praise the NZOK Director for reinstating regular payments in the system, for the new medication policy which includes the possibility to negotiate discounts and the new methodology of payments to hospitals, which have increased transparency and reduced the lobbyist pressure. Her supporters say the scandal was stirred on purpose by the pharmaceutical cartels in Bulgaria. HUSHED-UP INDICTMENT TRIGGERS RESHUFFLE AT BULGARIA'S IRRIGATION CO Radoslav Cheglayski has been elected as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bulgaria's state-owned company Irrigation Systems. He was elected Tuesday by a unanimous vote at an open session of the three-member Board of Directors at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food attended by Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov. Lyudmil Denev, Chief Engineer of the company, was appointed member of the Board of Directors. Georgi Harizanov was removed from the post of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Irrigation Systems late on Monday after reports by Trud daily that he was standing trial for issuing a death threat in 2008 and was also being investigated for embezzling USD 50 000 from a Sofia-based company back in 2001. Speaking at a Monday press conference on the matter, Naydenov explained that Harizanov had been suspended from his duties because he had kept silent about the charges, not because he was presumed guilty. The Agriculture Minister noted that Harizanov would be reinstated to his position if he was cleared of the indictment charges. "They have actually targeted me, but this will not stop me," Naydenov remarked, suggesting that the renewed legal action against the former Chair of the Board of Directors was part of a campaign to discredit him. The Agriculture Minister reiterated his high estimate for the work of Harizanov, who had helped Irrigation Systems get back on its feet, had brought back the salaries to 2000 employees of the company and had taken care of the crisis management in the aftermath of the floods in early February. Commenting on Harizanov's background, he said that the university degree was not mandatory for the members of a company's Board of Directors. On Friday, it emerged that Georgi Harizanov had not completed his university studies, which prompted Naydenov to compare him to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. The Irrigation Systems company gained media prominence due to the debates surrounding the ownership of dams in Bulgaria. The issue surfaced after a dam wall collapsed on February 06, causing a deadly flood in the southern Bulgarian village of Biser. BULGARIAN HEALTH INSURANCE HEAD DONATES SCANDALOUS BONUS The discredited Bulgarian National Health Insurance Fund, NZOK, Director, Neli Nesheva, had fulfilled her promise to donate her scandalous bonus for charity. The information was reported by NZOK's press office Tuesday. The "Nesheva" scandal flared after Members of the Parliament from the right-wing Blue Coalition released for the media documents showing that all while NZOK is in shambles, its employees have received in 2011 over BGN 2 M in bonuses, of which BGN 30 000 went to its Head. Nesheva, who admitted to receiving over BGN 12 000 of bonuses last year and - though claiming the money was well deserved - quit office on Friday under public, opposition, and Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov's pressure. On Tuesday, she fulfilled her promise by signing a contract with a representative of "Children and Youth" Association in the presence of two attorneys. The donor had voiced the will to support the operations of the Center for Homeless Children with the funds being used for food, clothing, medical services, education and access to sports facilities of these children. Meanwhile, the National Association of Private Hospitals and the National Alliance of People with Rare Diseases joined Tuesday a number of others voicing support for Nesheva. In the last few days, the Bulgarian Doctors Union, the Bulgarian Industrial Chamber, the Union of Multi-profile Hospitals, and the Parliamentary Committee on Health have declared their backing for her, and insisted that changes in NZOK leadership will unnecessarily shake the system. They praise the NZOK Director for reinstating regular payments in the system, for the new medication policy which includes the possibility to negotiate discounts and the new methodology of payments to hospitals, which have increased transparency and reduced the lobbyist pressure. Her supporters say the scandal was stirred on purpose by the pharmaceutical cartels in Bulgaria. Also on Tuesday, the parliamentary group of ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, is set to decide on Nesheva's fate. TOP COP CONFIRMS: BULGARIAN HEALTH INSURANCE HEAD HAS TO GO A political decision has been made for the Bulgarian GERB to accept the resignation of Neli Nesheva, head of the country's National Health Insurance Fund, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov stated. Tsvetanov's comment was provoked by the support declared by various health organizations for Nesheva after she resigned on Friday. Her resignation is to be voted later on Tuesday by ruling centrist-right GERB's parliamentary group. Nesheva admitted to receiving over BGN 12 000 of bonuses last year and quit office on Friday under public, opposition, and Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov's pressure. In the last few days, the Bulgarian Doctors Union, the Bulgarian Industrial Chamber, the Union of Multi-profile Hospitals, and the Parliamentary Committee on Health have declared their support for Nesheva, and insisted that changes in NZOK leadership will unnecessarily shake the system. On Tuesday, Tsvetan Tsvetanov also commented on the ousting of Deputy Health Minister Gergana Pavlova. "We discussed this topic with the Prime Minister last night and I do believe that it was the right decision," he said. It is believed that the Deputy Health Minister had been in the bottom of the problem with high medication prices in the country. On Monday, it was revealed that Bulgaria's parliamentary health commission was about to launch a probe into local pharmaceutical company Sopharma over suspicions of monopoly. Hospitals have been forced to conduct their own tenders for medications over amendments in Decree 34, which were imposed after Pavlova's appointment, according to the Monitor daily. BULGARIAN PM SACKS DEPUTY HEALTH MINISTER Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, had released from her duties Tuesday Deputy Health Minister, Gergana Pavlova. The news was reported by the Council of Ministries press office, saying that the PM's decision was based on his own grounds. Pavlova was in charge of the medications policy of the institution. Gergana Pavlova, 38, has a degree in economy and had been working at the Health Ministry since 2010. She was appointed at the time when Anna-Maria Borisova was Health Minister. Before that she had worked for the pharmaceutical companies Sanita Trading and Sopharma Trading and for the international consultancy company "IMS Health." The Bulgarian daily Monitor writes that the Deputy Health Minister had been in the bottom of the problem with high medication prices in the country, citing an investigative report of TV7 for the monopoly of Sopharma in supplying medications to hospitals. Hospitals have been forced to conduct their own tenders for medications over amendments in Decree 34, which were imposed after Pavlova's appointment, Monitor writes. Pavlova's dismissal comes on the heels of the resignation of the discredited National Health Insurance Fund, NZOK, Director, Neli Nesheva, whose fate is being decided on Tuesday by the parliamentary group of ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB. BULGARIA'S GERB VOWS SUPPORT OF PROBE OF COMMUNIST ERA FILES The ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, is endorsing the Chairman of the so-called Files Commission, Evtim Kostadinov, for a second term. The information was reported by Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, during a conference where the Commission accounted for its work in their first 5-year term. GERB is also supporting Ekaterina Boncheva for another five years as member of the Commission. The Files Commission is a panel in charge of investigating the Communist era secret files and of exposing people at senior positions as agents of collaborators of the former Communist State Security, DS. Kostadinov was nominated in 2007 by the now opposition left wing, while Boncheva by the Bulgarian People's Union, which no longer has parliamentary seats. The ruling GERB, however, seriously praise their objectivity and hard work. "Kostadinov was nominated by the former majority, but he had been unwavering in providing the truth to the public," Tsvetanov said, adding that the consultations for the future team of the Commission have already begun in order to secure a smooth transition. The names of the two other members to be nominated by GERB are yet unknown. It is expected that Valery Katsunov, who in 2007 was the choice of the right wing, Orhan Ismailov – of the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DPS, and Apostol Dimitrov – of the left wing will also keep their posts. The Parliament is the one making the final decision, but no party can have a majority in the Commission. The participants in the forum strongly criticized the decision of a team of magistrates from the Supreme Administrative Court to ask the Constitutional Court to revoke the text allowing the exposure of people who only have the so-called DS allegiance cards without any other documents attached to them. Tsvetanov says this is an attempt to conceal the truth and vowed that GERB will demand full disclosure of all available data, including on the so-called "credit millionaires," bankers, and college presidents. Kostadinov reminded that many documents, precisely of figures that were important for DS, have been destroyed. One of the crucial changes requested by the Files Commission is the right to reexamine institutions which have already been checked when there are reshuffles in their top management. Under current legislation, new senior officials at already probed institutions cannot be subject to a probe. The probe is mandatory for Members of the Parliament and cabinet ministers, but not for other high-ranking individuals. The other requested change is to give the Commission the authority to not only probe the credit millionaires, but expose their names since the latter is not allowed under current legislation. The Commission further wants to have all people who held public posts since the beginning of the Transition Period in 1989, after the fall of Communism, to be checked because currently some are checked only for posts held after 2006, when the Act for Access and Publication of Documents and Reporting of Association of Bulgarian Citizens with DS and Intelligence Services of the Bulgarian Army was passed. "The ruling party will provide the needed support for the second-term of the Commission. The opening of these files should have happened a long time ago, as early as the beginning of the 90s of the past century, but it was blocked many times. It the truth had been revealed earlier, Bulgaria would not have had a DS agent known by the alias Gotse as two-term President," Tsvetanov said, aiming at Georgi Parvanov, who left office in January. The blacklist of former state security agents and collaborators already features now-ex President and former Socialist leader, Georgi Parvanov, former constitutional judges, supreme magistrates, investigators, members of parliament, prominent and well-known former and current Bulgarian journalists, as well as ambassadors and diplomats abroad. Recent revelations that eleven out of a total of fifteen Bulgarian Metropolitan bishops were former DS agents stirred huge outrage in Bulgaria. BULGARIA TO APPOINT NEW IRRIGATION SYSTEMS HEAD AMID SCANDAL The Board of Directors of Bulgaria's state-owned Irrigation Systems will choose a new Chair on Tuesday after Georgi Harizanov was temporarily removed due to a criminal investigation against him. Harizanov is accused of embezzling USD 50 000 from a Sofia-based company back in 2001. "Since this situation would create further tension within Irrigation Systems, we met with the Prime Minister and Harizanov himself proposed to be removed. Harizanov told me that he passed a lie detector test in 2001," Bulgaria's Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov told bTV early on Tuesday. Naydenov added he was baffled by the fact Harizanov received a bill of indictment 11 years after the alleged crime. He refused having known anything about the 2001 case. On Friday, it emerged that the embattled official has not completed a bachelor's degree and is currently a student, which prompted Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov to defend him, saying "May Harizanov have Bill gates' fate." The Irrigation Systems company gained media prominence due to the debates surrounding the ownership of dams in Bulgaria. The issue surfaced after a dam wall collapsed on February 06, causing a deadly flood in the southern Bulgarian village of Biser. BULGARIAN RIGHT WING DEMANDS OUSTING OF HEALTH MINISTER Bulgaria's right-wing Union of Democratic Forces, UDF, demands the resignation of Health Minister, Stefan Konstantinov, over the scandalous bonuses within the system of his institution. The news was reported Tuesday by UDF Member of the Parliament, Vanio Sharkov. According to the party, Konstantinov had lied that 90% of the bonuses for 2011 went to people from ER care and thus mislead all Bulgarians in an attempt to conceal the truth about the real destribution of the BGN 2.5 M. "The Health Minister lied and placed responsibility for the bonuses on those from emergency rooms, on the people, who work in the most difficult conditions in the entire healthcare system and get the most miserable pay; on those who silently suffer unjust criticism over the failures of the lacking healthcare reform," Sharkov says. The right wing further announced that they have information about a probe of the European Commission of Deputy Health Minister, Gergana Pavlova, who was dismissed earlier in the day by Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, over instituting a monopoly for a leading Bulgarian pharmaceutical company. MPs from UDF and the other party in the right-wing Blue Coalition – Democrats for Strong Bulgaria, DSB, declared they have sent letters to the Commissions for Consumers Protection and for Competition Protection to probe how prices of medications paid by the National Health Insurance Fund, NZOK, were formed in the last five years, and if the companies "Sopharma" and Sopharma Trading" have monopoly in public tenders for the supply of medications to hospitals. The Blue Coalition firmly rejects claims they have lobbyist interest in the medications trade. UDF Chairman, Martin Dimitrov, stated that under the Access to Public Information Act the party will request information on bonuses given at other institutions – the Ministries of Economy, of Culture, of Social Policy and Labor, and of Regional Development. He vowed to take the matter to Court if the right wing is denied access to such information. BULGARIAN CUSTOMS AGENCY HEAD FACES FINE FOR INADVERTENT DISCLOSURE OF CLASSIFIED DATA The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office has submitted a proposal with the Sofia City Court for granting Customs Agency head Vanyo Tanov an exemption from criminal liability and imposing an administrative penalty for the unauthorized disclosure of classified information. The case against Tanov was opened on a tip-off from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) that the Customs Agency Director had revealed the location of the country's wartime fuel stocks in an interview for the morning broadcast of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) on September 01, 2011. The socialists sent a letter to Chief Prosecutor Boris Velchev, alerting him to the following words of Tanov: "Speaking about the reserve, it must also be noted that Lukoil Neftochim and Lukoil Bulgaria are under obligation to maintain a certain volume of wartime stocks which is about 8 million liters". The Customs Agency head was charged with inadvertently disclosing information constituting a state secret. The prosecuting authority suggested on Tuesday that Tanov should be exempt from criminal liability and should be fined for the offence because he had not planned to make the sensitive information public. Without the proposal for an administrative penalty, the Customs Agency head would have faced up to two years of imprisonment or probation. Under the proposal of the prosecuting authority, which cites Article 78a of the Penal Code, Tanov will be fined with BGN 1000 - 5000. After Tanov was charged with disclosure of state secret and BSP insisted that he should be removed from office and be denied access to classified information, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov declared his unwavering support for the Customs Agency Director. MARGINAL BULGARIAN CONSERVATIVE RISES AGAINST IRAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM Yane Yanev, the controversial leader of Bulgaria's marginal conservative Law, Order and Justice party, has filed a declaration condemning Iran's nuclear program. The declaration filed in Bulgaria's Parliament confirms the conclusions made by the European Council and the EU Foreign Affairs Council and describes Iran's nuclear program as "one of the most serious threats for global peace," the BGNES news agency has reported. "With this declaration, Bulgaria has the chance to prove that it is a predictable partner and express its solidarity to the international community's efforts to preserve the established legislative order and the international agreements," the conservative party has said in a statement. Yanev's party demands that Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov hand a diplomatic note to the Iranian Ambassador in Sofia presenting the declaration as Bulgaria's official position. Meanwhile, senior United Nations nuclear inspectors have arrived in Tehran for two days of talks on Iran's disputed nuclear program, the second U.N. visit in three weeks. SOFIA MUNICIPALITY TO PRIORITIZE ENERGY EFFICIENCY INVESTMENTS Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova has highlighted that the capital's energy grid needs investments against the backdrop of affordable prices of electricity for the citizens. Speaking on Tuesday at the opening of a round table titled "Sofia's Critical Energy Infrastructure: Current Condition and Opportunities for Development", she said that the most important task of the Sofia Municipality was to guarantee the security of the citizens. Fandakova noted that the capital's energy infrastructure was outdated and needed investments to avoid lagging behind. "The current condition of the grid is poor because it has not seen investments for years on end. This situation must be remedied and with the support of the business sector we could focus efforts on fast-tracking the process," the Mayor of Sofia stated. She explained that the Sofia Municipality had started making energy efficiency investments at kindergartens, schools and administrative buildings. BULGARIA HAS EUROPE'S 2ND HIGHEST SHARE OF FEMALES AMONG SENIOR EXECUTIVES Bulgaria has Europe's second highest female representation amongst senior executives – 43%. The Balkan country is second only to Lithuania that has 44%. Mercer has revealed the ratio of senior executives and managers that were female, averages 29% in countries across Europe compared to 71% of men, HR Magazine informs. The nine countries showing the best representation of women in senior positions are ex-communist states, as Bulgaria and Lithuania are followed by Russia (40%), Estonia and Kazakhstan (37%), Serbia (36%), Ukraine (35%) and Romania (34%). In Western Europe, the countries with the greatest proportion of women in the executive suite amongst the sample group are Greece and Ireland (33%) followed by Sweden (30%) and Belgium (29%). Spain, UK and France all have 28% female representation. In the Middle East, women make up 26% of the executive workforce in Turkey, 23% in Morocco, 17% in the UAE, 16% in Egypt, 7% in Qatar and in Saudi Arabia there is no noted female participation at all. BULGARIAN MAN CRITICAL OVER FALLEN ICICLE INJURIES Doctors from the ER of the Neurosurgery Ward of the Sofia emergency hospital "Pirogov" are fighting for the life of 38-year-old man, who had been injured by a fallen icicle. The incident happened in the very heart of downtown Sofia, on "Maria Louisa" boulevard. The man has a broken skull, contusion and bleeding in the brain. After he was listed in the hospital, an emergency team of neurosurgeons, led by Nikolay Gabrovski, had performed surgery on him, the press center of the hospital reports Tuesday. "There is a real risk for the patient's life; he is now placed in a state of artificial coma. The next three days are critical for his survival, "said Professor Gabrovski. The news comes amidst a staggering number of reports and complaints about piles of snow and thrash on the streets of the capital in the after math of heavy snowfall from the beginning of the month. UN WARNS OF POTENTIAL DEVASTATING FLOODS IN BULGARIA Parts of Central and Eastern Europe, particularly Bulgaria and Serbia, are under the serious threat of destruction and casualties over forthcoming floods caused by mass snowmelt, according to the UN. The warning was issued Tuesday by The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNISDR. The full UNISDR alert reads as follows: "UNISDR today said the European Flood Alert System could soon be put to its greatest test since widespread flooding ten years ago led to its creation by the European Commission. The UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, said she was particularly concerned about the consequences for those countries bordering the Danube where the ice is now starting to break up in the first signs of a spring thaw. "This severe winter in which hundreds of people have died has highlighted several weaknesses in our built environment and our ability to prepare for worst-case scenarios. Vulnerable communities across Europe have been cut off from transport, schools, health facilities and electricity in many cases. "The thaw is now setting in along the Danube. While thousands of people remain snowbound from Serbia to Bulgaria, there are warning signs that destructive floods will add to the loss of life and economic assets particularly in places where there is an absence of flood management infrastructure such as dams and dikes. "We do need to plan better. The unpredictability of severe weather events leads to high human and financial costs. More focus on winterisation planning will be a wise investment in the coming years." She praised the decision of Bulgaria to inspect over 500 dams throughout the country and to release the water from some dams and reservoirs as a measure designed to contain the floodwaters when they come. The European Flood Alert System (EFAS) was launched by the European Commission following the devastating Elbe and Danube floods in 2002, a year when 20 European countries experienced severe flooding. Worldwide, on average 106 million people were affected annually by floods over the last ten years." Damage from the flood in the southern Bulgarian village of Biser on February 6 is estimated at over BGN 3 M – 55 houses have been destroyed in Biser and the nearby village of Leshnikovo after the cracked wall of the Ivanovo dam broke and submerged adjacent areas. The amount, however, does not include the damage to the infrastructure, such as the railroad, the roads and the bridges, which will make the amount many times higher. The floods in southeastern Bulgaria took ten victims. The cabinet declared February 8 a national day of mourning for the victims. STUDY FINDS MAJORITY OF BULGARIANS 'HEALTH ILLITERATE' The majority of Bulgarians, 61%, are ignorant when it comes to their health, according to a study of the Public Health Department of the Sofia Medical University. Those with higher health culture or the so-called health literate have college degrees and/or reside in the country's largest cities. People aged 55 or over have twice more difficulty to understand what doctors are telling them, compared to young Bulgarians – between the ages of 15 and 24. Meanwhile, the high social status and education determine a higher health culture with 71% of the people in these groups being health literate. Experts point out that health literacy in Bulgaria is an untapped resource, which can lead to economic profits and to the increased quality of medical help. According to the study, which was conducted in 8 EU Member States, Bulgaria ranked last among them in health culture. 1ST JAPANESE PLAYER ENTERS BULGARIAN FOOTBALL 22-year-old Taisuke Akiyoshi has become the first Japanese player to sign a contract with a Bulgarian A Professional Football League club. After a successful trial period Akiyoshi signed a two-and-a-half year contract at Slavia Sofia, "Good morning," said Akiyoshi in Bulgarian as he was presented to the media. He added he hoped to become a first-team regular and help Slavia with his goals. "I will try to get used to the Bulgarian lifestyle," the player stated. Ventsislav Stefanov, Slavia Sofia's flamboyant boss, said he hoped Akyioshi would bring some "Japanese qualities" to his side. "People from that distant land are extremely disciplined and he will be an example of how to be industrious," Stefanov pointed out, adding that some of his boys display a wrong attitude by thinking they are "big stars." Football players in Bulgaria are widely believed to have a rather bohemian lifestyle. BULGARIA'S ROAD KILLERS GET PLEA BARGAINS OVER CROWDED PRISONS - PROSECUTOR Prosecutors are not seeking harsher penalties for road killers and agree to plea bargains because Bulgarian prisons are overcrowded, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Valeri Parvanov said Tuesday in an interview for the Bulgarian National Television (BNT). "How can I make this clear? The current capacity of Bulgarian prisons is 4000, while the offenders serving prison terms are 11 000. How many inmates do you believe there should be?," he said in a phone call during the morning broadcast of BNT. "Children die in other circumstances too, and there are other parents in your situation," Parvanov told Neli Petrova, the mother of a 20-year-old girl who got run over at a zebra crossing in the Black Sea city of Varna. Petrova, who participated in the discussion from BNT's studio, called Parvanov's statement "impudent". Meanwhile, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov also called during the broadcast to comment on Parvanov's words. "Through the laws that were passed in the past 20 years we went to the other extreme. Rather than protecting road traffic victims, we introduced a liberalized regime which benefits the people who commit these road killings. What is more, I cannot accept this incomprehension on the part of the representatives of these institutions, which are supposed to administer justice and to always uphold the best interest of the community. Drivers who use alcohol or drugs must be punished in accordance with the law, regardless of the spare capacity of penitentiary facilities," the Interior Minister stated. Tsvetanov reminded that it was a responsibility of the state to provide correctional facilities with sufficient capacity which meet EU requirements. Yavor Notev, a lawyer and an MP from nationalist party Ataka, said that the plea bargain had been introduced in order to fast-track trials. "Society, however, is obviously unprepared for this instrument," he added. Vladimir Todorov, Chair of the Bulgarian Association of Road Traffic Victims thanked Tsvetanov for the support. "From what I heard from Parvanov, I was left with the impression that we are protecting personal interests. Let me draw attention to the fact that after the tragedy in Simeonovgrad (a car crash which killed 6 young people in end-April 2011) over 27 000 signatures were collected in favor of legal amendments similar to the ones that have been proposed in Parliament. Nearly every Bulgarian family has had a road traffic victim," Todorov noted. Meanwhile, Trifon Trifonov, the father of one of the victims of the hellish crash in Simeonovgrad, presented statistics from the Sofia City Court for 2011 during the morning broadcast of bTV. "Out of a total of 30 fatal car accidents, 18 cases were closed with plea bargains. Of the remaining 11 trials, 6 ended with suspended sentences, one with a probation and the other ones were acquittals. This means that there are no custodial sentences in Bulgaria. The only non-suspended sentence was handed recently to Yosko," Trifonov argued. Yosif Yosifov, aka Yosko, who caused a DUI car crash which killed two and sent two others to hospital with serious injuries, was sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment on February 10. BULGARIAN COMPOSERS SUE RUSSIAN STAR KIRKOROV OVER COPYRIGHT Four Bulgarian composers have filed a suit against popular Russian singer Philipp Kirkorov over alleged intellectual property infringements. The four composers in question – Alexander Saveliev, Dimitar Penev, Ivan Peev, and Nayden Andreev – have authorized a NGO, the "European Society for Human Rights Protection – Bulgaria" to represent them in claiming copyright damages from Kirkorov. The NGO announced Tuesday that it has filed a suit with the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office against the star Russian singer. The Bulgarian composers claim that Bulgarian pop songs have been performed, reproduced, distributed, and broadcast online and in the music stores in Bulgaria, Russia, and the EU by Filip Kirkorov without the consent of their authors as required under Bulgaria's Copyright Act, explained Chavdar Gogov, a representative of the NGO. In his word, the Russian star Kirkorov has been committing the alleged intellectual property crimes for years, causing massive damages to the respective authors. Under Bulgarian law, the alleged crimes could get the perpetrator between 2 and 8 years in jail, and a fine of between BGN 10 000 and BGN 50 000. The NGO reminds that the current case is not the first time that Bulgarian composers have blamed Kirkorov for stealing their songs and making millions out of them without paying any dues. Philipp Kirkorov is very popular in Bulgaria, too. Even though his family later moved to Russia, he was born on April 30, 1967 in Varna, Bulgaria. His father is a Bulgarian singer of Armenian descent Bedros Kirkorov.[1][2] His mother, Victoria (née Likhacheva), is Russian. YEMEN HOLDS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WITH 1 RUNNER Yemenis go to the polls Tuesday as the country holds a presidential election for the first time in 33 years, the only candidate being Ali Abdullah Saleh's deputy, Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Hadi was selected as the sole candidate by a consensus of President Saleh's ruling party and the opposition coalition. The predetermined outcome of Tuesday's election has triggered predictions for a low voter turnout. Hadi will lead Yemen during a two-year transition that's expected to end with a new parliament and constitution. The vote would make Saleh the fourth Arab strongman to leave office in a year after revolts in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE PROKHOROV SET TO FOUND OWN PARTY Russian presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov has made it clear he will form his own political party that would be "larger" than the ruling United Russia party. "I have decided to form an independent right party and currently in the course of the pre-election campaign I'm beginning to form a new political force," Prokhorov wrote in his LiveJournal account, as cited by RIA Novosti. Prokhorov, one of Russia's richest businessmen, is the only independent candidate to run in the March 4 presidential election. Since entering politics in May last year, he has had to face off allegations that he is a Kremlin project designed to split the opposition. "This force will embrace the whole country. The party's branches will be opening across Russia right after the day of the elections," said the tycoon with an estimated fortune of billion. Prokhorov said he still does not know how the mooted party will be called but it will definitely enlist millions of people. "Those willing to vote for me exceed the number of the United Russia party. There are more of us then them!" Prokhorov concluded. |
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