Bulgaria Lags in Absorbing EU Funds, Risking Losses and Growing Debt
Bulgaria is falling behind in its utilization of European Union funds
A miner from the western town of Bobovdol has become the next Bulgarian setting himself on fire.
Simeon Simeonov, 59, has poured gasoline on his body before the very eyes of his son. Before the desperate act he had called his wife telling her he felt useless for not being able to help his family.
The woman has become alarmed and had sent the son to check on Simeon. He arrived seconds after the flames burst and was able to extinguish them.
Simeon is in Sofia's emergency "Pirogov" hospital with 30% burns on his body. He is in critical condition and his live is in danger.
Strahil Strahilov, 39, has committed suicide in the western city of Kyustendil by jumping from the balcony of his 5th-floor apartment. He has been unemployed for a while and has committed the act while his toddler son was inside the apartment. Neighbors, stunned by the tragedy, are quoted saying Strahil's mother was working abroad to help the family.
Several days ago, police in the second largest city of Plovdiv found the charred body of a woman in a local park. The main lead is that she was killed first and then set on fire, but suicide has not been ruled out.
The incidents follow weeks of massive protests against poverty and corruption in the Balkan country.
The life of the 52-year-old Bulgarian man who set himself ablaze in downtown Sofia last Wednesday remains in danger, according to medics.
52-year-old blacksmith Dimitar Dimitrov set himself of fire in front of the Presidential building in Sofia. Security guards extinguished the flames and he was taken to hospital with 25% burns.
Three men passed away over the past month after setting themselves on fire during massive anti-stagnation protests in the Balkan country.
53-year-old Ventsislav Vasilev, who set himself on fire in Radnevo on February 26, having explained he has long lived in great poverty, passed away on March 10.
On March 3, Plamen Goranov, 36, died in Varna, after having set himself on fire on February 20, as an extreme act of political protest. Goranov, who protested against the corrupt authorities in the Black Sea city, became a symbol of the nationwide rallies, with media describing him as "the Bulgarian Jan Palach."
On February 19, 26-year-old Traian Marechkov set himself on fire and died soon after in Veliko Tarnovo, having explained he is too despaired to live on.
On March President Rosen Plevneliev installed a caretaker Cabinet after last month's resignation of the center-right GERB government that was triggered by the massive protests.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church today commemorates St. Athanasius the Great, recognized as the "father of Orthodox theology"
Transport Minister Grozdan Karadjov has officially accepted the resignations of Engineer Stoyan Stoyanov, head of the National Company "Railway Infrastructure" (NRIC), and Christian Krastev, manager of BDZ-Freight Transport
Bulgaria has decided to temporarily halt the import of meat and animals from Brandenburg, Germany, following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the region
Since November, the number of violations in the Low-Emission Zone in central Sofia has reduced nearly tenfold
Thirteen-year-old Nikolay from the village of Konare, Stara Zagora region, has been missing for a month
On January 17, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church honors St. Anthony the Great, a revered figure known for his ascetic life
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