N.B. This is meant to be a collection of fun & interesting news items about Bulgaria.
As such, a little bias may materialize, despite one's noble attempts to be apolitical.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, December 29, 1998
(BBC World Service)
TARACLIA BULGARIANS DEFYING MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT Regional government leaders in Taraclia in southern Moldova say they are determined to hold a referendum to extend local autonomy, in spite of a ruling by the country's Supreme Court that it would be illegal.
Under Moldova's recently-enacted county division, the Taraclia region -- where the majority of the population are ethnic Bulgarians -- is due to be absorbed into a new county, centred on Cahul .
In October the Bulgarian ambassador sparked a diplomatic row when he said that ethnic Bulgarians should resist any move by the Moldovan authorities to limit their powers of self-government.
Thursday, December 10, 1998
(BBC World Service)
BULGARIA ABOLISHES DEATH PENALTY The Bulgarian parliament has voted through legislation abolishing the death penalty, which was suspended eight years ago.
Bulgaria is reforming its legislation to meet European Union standards, but the justice minister Vassil Gotzev said the move was not to please Europe, but to show that Bulgaria had made, what he called, a choice of civilisation.
Sunday, November 8, 1998
(BBC World Service)
PRINCE OF WALES DUET WITH BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER The heir to the British throne, the Prince of Wales, has visited a Romany housing project in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv, where he was guest of honour at a gipsy wedding.
Later, Prince Charles was invited by the Bulgarian President, Petar Stoyanov, to join him in singing a number by the leading British pop group of the nineteen-sixties, the Beatles.
The President, a keen Beatles fan, began the classic track "All You Need Is Love" -- and after some persuading, the Prince, who has hardly ever sung in public, joined in.
Prince Charles leaves Bulgaria for Macedonia on Sunday as he continues his tour of Central Europe.
April 9, 1998
(Radio Free Europe)
MARKOV GIVES UP HUNT FOR BROTHER'S KILLER Nikolai Markov, the brother of slain Bulgarian exile Georgi Markov, said he is giving up efforts to find those responsible for the 1978 murder in London of his brother, Reuters reported on 8 April. Georgi Markov, who at the time was working for the BBC and freelancing for RFE/RL, died four days after a poison pellet was injected into his leg at a bus stop. His family believes he was killed on orders from Sofia with help from the KGB. Nikolai Markov said he thinks former Communist leader Todor Zhivkov personally ordered the assassination. Zhivkov denies the charge. PB
23 September 1997
(Radio Free Europe)
FREEMASONRY RELEGALIZED IN BULGARIA Freemasonry has been legalized again in Bulgaria after a 57-year ban imposed by the then fascist government, the Grand Master of the Bulgarian Lodge Ivan Stavrev said on 22 September. Citing Bulgarian media, AFP reported that a recent closed-door ceremony brought together some 200 Bulgarian freemasons.
January 25,1996
(Radio Free Europe)
WAS MAXWELL THE "KING OF BULGARIA Bulgarian newspapers on 24 January reported on an article in The Guardian the previous day entitled "King of Bulgaria," which deals with the connections between late media tycoon Robert Maxwell and former Bulgarian Communist leaders. The article, based on the Maxwell biography "Foreign Body" by Russell Davies, says Maxwell, former Bulgarian Communist Dictator Todor Zhivkov, former Prime Minister Andrey Lukanov, and former Communist Party Politburo member Ognyan Doynov had developed "perfect channels" to transfer some $2 billion in foreign currency out of Bulgaria. Maxwell reportedly helped the Communist leaders to launder money, mainly through joint ventures set up in the West with Bulgarian capital. -- Stefan Krause
