TRANSPORT RESIGNATION REJECTED
Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev did not accept the resignation of Transport and Communications Minister Petar Moutafchiev over the February 28 fire on the Sofia-Kardam train, the Government press service said on March 11. The accident claimed the lives of nine people. Stanishev said that Moutafchiev’s actions were “sufficient for the situation” and the measures he took were “professional and responsible”. However, Bulgarian State Railways chief executive Oleg Petkov, along with five other top managers from the company, was fired for not ensuring that passenger safety standards were observed properly. The investigation into the cause of the fire is still continuing and is expected to last for about two months, Prosecutor-General Boris Velchev said on March 5.

HILD’S PLEA REJECTED
The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) rejected both complaints filed by Hild Bulgaria against a decision by the Consumer Protection Committee to ban the publication of two of Hild’s adverts: a TV spot and a flyer. SAC said that Hild had presented insufficient evidence to show that its interests had been damaged by the ban. Hild Bulgaria offers pensioners the option of transferring their properties to Hild in exchange for a lifelong monthly allowance and cash in the bank. The campaign made Hild the prime target of the Financial Supervision Commission.

SLANDER CAMPAIGN
Ivan Yuhnovski, chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), resigned on March 12. “The slander campaign that has gone on for weeks in the media against me as a scientist, a human being and a manager, has made me the target of attacks against BAS,” Yuhnovski said, as quoted by Bulgarian-language Dnevnik daily. Yuhnovski turned 70 in 2007 and, according to the law regarding BAS, he could no longer occupy a permanent position. In December 2007, the general assembly of BAS amended the institution’s statute, allowing the academy’s honorary members, such as Yuhnovski, to occupy executive posts regardless of age.

STOLEN PAINTINGS FOUND
The two painting that were stolen from the National Palace of Culture on March 9 were found two days later. The alleged thief, identified as a 26-year-old man, was caught after police received a tip-off that the paintings had been pawned for a grand total of 50 leva.