|
Enter content here
The 70 detainees of the specialized investigation in Sofia will enjoy new luxurious cells, harmonized with the European standards. Yesterday morning, the detainees were transported to the nice cells in the Sofia prison. An escort of 22 policemen from the 'Sigma' group and 7 police cars accompanied them during their travelling. (PY)
Former world champion Anatoly Karpov of Russia (L) studies the board for his next move during a match with Kiril Georgiev of Bulgaria on the third day of the UAE Chess Grand Prix in Dubai, April 5, 2002. REUTERS/Anwar Mirza
SITUATION IN CRISIS REGIONS.
MIA
It is relatively peaceful in Tetovo and its area Friday morning and no shootings were registered, MIA's correspondent reports.
During the night, the cease-fire was violated with occasional volleys of fire and and sporadic shots from infantry weaponry in Tetovo, as well as from surrounding villages.
According to police sources, shootings were registered from the residential complex 82, as well as from other districts in the southeastern part of the town of Tetovo, as well as from the Southeast European University and Rasadiste locality.
Volleys of fire and sporadic shots were heard during Thursday night in the villages of Dobroste, Gajre, Odri, Prsovce, Prvce, Gorno Orasje, and more than 30 shots were registered from the village of Dolno Orasje.
There were no violations of public peace in Kumanovo - Lipkovo region overnight, MIA's correspondent reported.
Only one shot was registered in the village of Vaksince.
Patrolling of the ethnically mixed police teams continues according to the plan in the villages of Vaksince, Lojane and Slupcane.
In Tetovo and its area, 10 sporadic as well as five volleys of fire were registered Thursday night.
As the Media Activity Center at the governmental Coordinate Crises Management Body announced, there were no registered violations of the public peace and order t in Kumanovo - Lipkovo crisis region.
PRIME MINISTER GEORGIEVSKI RECEIVES GREEK MINISTER PASCHALIDIS.
MIA
At today's meeting, Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski and Greek Minister of Macedonia and Thrace Georgios Paschalidis expressed their satisfaction from the development of the political relations between the two countries, which present a base for good economic cooperation.
At the meeting, Paschalidis expressed the support of the Greek Government for the efforts of the Macedonian Government for stabilisation of the situation in the country, emphasising the significance of the Balkan Reconstruction Plan, which increases the possibilities for cooperation between the two countries and is an incentive for progress and development of all countries in the region.
Georgievski emphasized the significance of the good cooperation between the two countries, and expressed readiness for inclusion of Macedonia in all projects that are of common interest, pointing out the possibility for participation of Greek investors in realization of several projects.
The project for salvation of the Dojran Lake was also emphasized, as well as the building of the highway and other roads that would furthermore link both countries.
Svinarov: New Tender for Air-Bases is Not Envisaged.
Standartnews
Pavlina Zhivkova
I find no reasons to reconsider both the offers and the Defence Ministry's decision about the bidding on modernization of the military airports in Kroumovo and Graf Ignatievo, Defence Minister Nikolay Svinarov said yesterday, questioned about the protest notes of Germany and France. The embassies of the two countries sent notes to BG Defence Ministry, insisting on reconsideration of the decision on the positioning of the companies at the bidding. The German-French consortium 'Tales' won the tender on modernization of the military air-bases in Graf Ignatievo and Kroumovo last year. All of a sudden, the new government nulled the bidding. The offers were looked over, so the Canadian-American 'Intelcan' company, ranking second at the previous tender, was selected first. The governmental decision was promulgated on March 22. 'Tales' immediately declared that 'Intelcan' lacked recommendations and had never executed procurements of the kind.
Total Collapse of the Party Credit Ratings.
Standartnews
The political scientists, who took part in the discussion 'The King's Factor a Year Later' at the National Palace of Culture, were unanimous that at future elections no political force would get a majority. The discussion was organized by the Center for Liberal Strategies, bTV and '24 Hours' daily. Politicians, political scientists and sociologists took part in the direct discussion. It is not the BSP and UDF that make attempts to destabilize the country, it is rich people, whose interests were affected by the changes in the customs, Emil Koshlukov said. To Evgenii Daynov, on the contrary - a year after Simeon entered the political life of this country, the system has ground out the NMS.
(PY)
Doctors Catch up with Customs Officers in Accepting Dirty Grafts.
Standartnews
Only unemployment and poverty in Bulgaria are more terrifying than corruption.
Yuliana Uzanicheva
Doctors along with customs officers and policemen are the most corrupt state employees in this country, show the data of Vitosha Research opinion-poll, promulgated yesterday. Some 20 percent of police officers take bribes. Nineteen percent of the customs officers and 17.96 percent of the doctors are pleased to take some money in addition to their salaries. To the poll, the municipal clerks are the most uncorrupted - of them only 2.05% are given to taking bribes. According to the results from the opinion-poll, in Bulgaria 200,000 corrupt deals are sealed monthly. In this respect, however, the situation in the other countries in Southeastern Europe is worse as compared with us. To Alexander Stoianov from Vitosha Research, the Bulgarians disapprove bribes by definition, but resorted to them in case of necessity. To the latest comparative data from the regional monitoring of corruption in the states in Southeastern Europe, the problem with corruption in Bulgaria ranks third, after unemployment and poverty.
Teodossii Spassov in BNR Managers' Board.
Antoaneta Peteva
Teodossii Spassov, the best Bulgarian player on shepherd's pipe entered the Managers' Board of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), after six members of the Council for E-Media voted for him. The famous musician replaced Bozhana Dimitrova, charged with collaborating to the former State Security Service. At yesterday's sitting of the media council Margarita Pesheva, Toma Ivanov, Ani Hadzhieva, Georgy Lozanov, Stephan Dimitrov and Yuliana Toncheva voted for him. At the sitting, the media supervisors considered budget '2002, too. They will apply for a 300,000 levs itemized aid to monitor the media all over the country.
(PY)
Do Reduce Taxes!
Standartnews
IMF advises are not always right, Stanley Fischer said.
Victoria Seraphimova
The changes in the tax policy in line with the employment, will help to solve the problems with the high rate of unemployment, since the taxes on the pay-roll wages are too high, Fischer said further. Though he specified that his recommendation concerns a long-term period. Stanley Fischer recommended further that at that stage Bulgaria shouldn't exit from the Currency Board - which provides the macro-economic stability. To him, the fiscal policy should be strictly observed and low budget deficit is to be achieved. The new Premier's advisor recommended to the government not to accept at any cost the advises of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), because they were not always the right ones. You should elaborate analyses of your own of what you want to embark on, he stressed. To Finance Minister Milen Velchev, Stanley Fischer would turn to be of much use for the financial sphere development in this country.
ROMANIA-CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF-VISIT.
BTA
Sofia, April 5 (BTA) - General Miho Mihov, Chief of the Bulgarian General Staff, will make a working visit to Constanta on April 8 at the invitation of Army General Mihail Popescu, Chief of the Romanian General Staff, the Defence Ministry's press office said.
The two will discuss amendments to the two countries' laws on defence and armed forces, the process of military reform, and NATO assessments of the level of preparedness of Sofia and Bucharest to join the Alliance.
The two chiefs of general staff will coordinate their efforts so that the exercises codenamed Blue Danube be planned annually in NATO's register, with a larger number of NATO members and partners participating.
The two will also talk about ways to speed up information exchange and to form a single Air Sovereignty Operations Centre (ASOC), as well as to increase academic exchanges between military educational establishments in Bulgaria and Romania.
Gen. Mihov and Gen. Popescu will talk about the forthcoming signing of an agreement on naval cooperation and on the protection of strategic sites along the common border from terrorist acts, the Defence Ministry said.
HISTORY-CONFERENCE-ATHENS.
BTA
Athens, April 5 (BTA exclusive by Petko Azmanov) - An international conference on history teaching in Southeast Europe has gathered here over 100 lecturers, experts and scholars from 11 countries in the region. The two-day forum is organized by the Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe and is sponsored by the British Foreign Office.
The participants will discuss the results from the 14 seminars on teaching sensitive and controversial issues in the history of Southeast Europe, the role of the teachers in overcoming outdated views about past events on the Balkans and incorporating regional perspective in the analysis of historic events.
The Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe is a nongovernmental organization established in October 1998 by private citizens from within the region. It aims to foster democratic, pluralist societies and market economies that operate within the framework of the law. Programs in the fields of education, the environment, market institutions and economic, social and cultural co-operation are of particular interest to the Center.
The goal of the Southeast European Joint History Project has been to revise ethnocentric history textbooks, avoid the reinforcement of stereotypes and offer alternative methods for the teaching of controversial issues. According to the organizers, such stereotype-free history can be used as a solid basis for reconciliation and tolerance in the region.
Delicate Lady Dresses the Hunters.
Standartnews
Nevena Mircheva
She is young, beautiful, stylish. She looks delicate, but only at first sight.
Otherwise she's a self-confident and strong young lady. This is Veska Tzvetanova - singled to be the businesslady of 2001 in the competition of the 'We, The Women' newspaper. She won among 14 rivals - managers, firm owners, school directors and directors of health institutions from the whole country. On Wednesday evening first lady of the state Zorka Parvanova handed Tzvetanova the honorary statuette. The businesslady received many presents from the first lady in 'M-Tel' - Rumyana Kyuchukova. The new queen of business rules more them 230 workers in the owned by her two factories for production of hunting garment in Montana and Gotze Delchev. The passion of her husband Nikolay, her fellow-student from the faculty of law, is hunting and this fated their future. Four years ago they started making hunting garment through licence of an American firm. Their firm 'Apolo' already dominates on market abroad. Their hunting garment is sold in Italy, Great Britain, Spain, France and Eastern Europe. Last year 'Apolo' was singled to be one of the three best European companies for production of hunting garment. The firm is a distributor of weapons and ammunition, too. The famous producers 'Swarowsky' and 'Winchester' have charged it with the sale of their products in Bulgaria. Her present ambition is to make popular the American models of hunting suits by 'Gortex', made of a waterproof material, in Bulgaria and Europe.
(PY)
It Dawned on Our Partners - Parties Are Indispensable.
INTERVIEW Standartnews: Emel Etem
If the cabinet needs a vice-premier or ministers, the MRF are ready to nominate, says Emel Etem, deputy chairwoman of the MRF.
Velislava Krasteva
- Mrs Etem, Simeon Saxe-Coburg will be elected the party leader tomorrow. Does it mean that he perceived parties as the lesser of two evils?
- There was a time when Mr Saxe-Coburg tried to develop the idea that it was possible to live and rule without political parties. But in Bulgaria it is simply impossible and the world practices are the same. All the people who thought parties were evil were convinced that the political parties are indispensable.
- Does the MRF find the ruling stable?
- I wouldn't say that there are any destabilization despite the attempts of the left-wing and right-wing opposition to suggest that the cabinet is weak and unable to rule. It is a normal reaction for the Bulgarian opposition. But the opposition should train themselves to become constructive and responsible. All of us were united by the idea that we have to make Bulgaria a normal country member of the EU and NATO. The attempts to form Shadow cabinets or provoke early elections show that these political forces are not mature enough to be even in opposition. And they are aspiring for the power once again.
- Do you hint at the BSP as well?
- Yes, I do.
- Will you ask for expanding your participation in the cabinet?
- The only thing we want is a real integration of the minorities, rather than a pro forma one. The MRF are very responsible concerning their participation on all levels - in the legislation, the local authorities and in the cabinet during the recent 9 months. We are ready to consider this issue if our partners need more cadres in the executive power on all levels and even a vice-premier. But I do not see any necessity for reshuffling or replacing ministers. To this day, no fatal or grave blunders were made.
(Abr) |
