Thracian ghosts

· ARCHAEOLOGISTS, led by professor Daniela Agre, have found a Thracian king’s grave dated from the fourth century BC, National Museum of History Director Bozhidar Dimitrov said on July 24.
The find was uncovered near the village of Zlatinitsa in the southern area of Yambol.
“A gold wreath and many gold, silver and bronze utensils, gold and silver ornaments and horse tacks were buried as gifts for the deceased,” said Dimitrov.
Work on the site continues, he said, adding that a new find comes up every 10 minutes.
Scholars also found a silver knee protector with images of Thracian mythology for use in parades, two silver rhythons and Greek ceramic vessels.
The work is part of research carried out by experts in Thracian archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and students. The valuable finds were handed over to the Institute of Archaeology and the National Museum of History.

Turning green

· UNIVERSITY Botanic Gardens (UBG) will work under a joint educational project with Italian and Austrian botanic gardens and Britain’s Royal Botanic Gardens.
UBG Director Krassimir Kossev made the announcement at an academic ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Botanic Gardens in Balchik.
The 70 000 euro two-year project includes educational programmes that will look at the role of botanic gardens in preserving biodiversity.
“It has been a great challenge for the Botanic Gardens to continue its mission to educate,” Kossev said. The gardens now boast more than 2000 plant species of 800 families. It exchanges seeds and planting stock with 270 botanic gardens around the world.
The Botanic Gardens was designated a protected area in 2004 and a rescue centre for rare and protected species under the Washington Convention.
A garden accessible to disabled people with 22 000 plants opened as part of the celebration.
President Georgi Purvanov sent greetings, acknowledging the efforts of the staff who were instrumental in turning the gardens into a landmark of the Balkans and a symbol of the town.

Ambassador hits France

· BULGARIA’S newly appointed ambassador to France Irina Bokova has presented her letters of credence to president Jacques Chirac, the Foreign Ministry said.
Bokova and Chirac discussed the State and prospects of bilateral relations.
The agenda included Bulgaria’s accession to the EU and the ratification of the country’s Accession Treaty by EU member states.
Ambassador Bokova renewed an invitation by Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov to the French president to visit Bulgaria.
Bokova conveyed the Bulgarian State’s gratitude for France’s categorical position on finding a favourable solution in the case of the Bulgarian nurses in Libya, as well as on the French initiative to prepare an EU plan to provide humanitarian assistance to sick children.

Meeting the Armenians

· PRESIDENT Georgi Purvanov had a working meeting with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharyan, the President’s press secretariat said.
The “no neckties” meeting took place during Kocharyan’s informal visit to Bulgaria and was held in the Evksinograd Residence.
The two presidents expressed satisfaction with political dialogue between their countries over the past years.
“The European and Euro-Atlantic orientation of Bulgaria and Armenia has turned into an important pillar of bilateral relations,” Purvanov said.
He and Kocharyan exchanged views about opportunities to activate trade and economic relations, which both felt had not reached the level of their political dialogue.  One of the reasons for the lack of economic relations, according to the presidents was the lack of a through air service between the Bulgarian and Armenian capitals. They said they were ready to encourage their respective executive branches to resolve the issue.
Purvanov and Kocharyan discussed the two countries’ relations in culture, education and science. The Bulgarian head of state underscored the need to open cultural and information centres in Sofia and Yerevan on a reciprocal basis.

Olympic dreams

· SOFIA is the second city that has filed its bid to play host to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) said. The documents were sent by fax and mail to the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne in July.
BOC and the Sofia mayor’s office should confirm the bid by August 16, the deadline for sending the required deposit of
$150 000. 

After the deluge

· THE European Commission began assessing on July 25 the damage wrought by natural calamities in Bulgaria.
The mission comes as a result of a July 12 letter by outgoing Finance Minister Milen Velchev requesting financial assistance by the EU solidarity fund, the Finance Ministry said.
In his letter to the EC Velchev said that floods have caused losses to the country amounting to 75 million euro.
“According to most recent data, losses are assessed at 250 million leva,” said Boryana Pencheva, Director of EU funds management directorate with the Finance Ministry, at a meeting with the mission.
Bridget Czarnota, head of unit Bulgaria at DG Enlargement, said there were three possible sources of financing: the solidarity fund, the crisis management fund of the Environment DG or the pre-accession instruments, the PHARE, ISPA and the SAPARD programmes.
The mission will stay in Bulgaria until July 29. Experts will be accompanied by representatives of the Civil Protection Agency and the Finance Ministry. They will be divided into two teams that will visit the worst-hit areas and will draft a detailed report. Some 3.2 million people live in these areas and two million of them have been directly affected by floods. Nearly 50 per cent of Bulgarian municipalities have sustained damage.

Owning the sky

· NATO will carry out an air force exercise in Bulgaria from August 24 to September 5, the Defence Ministry Press Centre said.
The Cooperative Key 2005 exercise is a combination of an air defence exercise, a command post exercise and a live exercise.
The event will be held under the direction of the Air headquarters in Izmir, and will mainly use Kroumovo and Graf Ignatievo airports.
NATO member-countries, such as Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and USA will participate. Azerbaijan, Croatia, Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Switzerland and Ukraine have been invited as partners. Albania as well as Mediterranean Dialogue members Jordan and Mauritania, will participate as observer countries.
The Press and Information Centre will be based in the Graf Ignatievo air base. 

Nobel laureate honoured

· POSTAGE stamps on envelopes commemorating the centenary of the birth of Elias Canetti, Nobel Prize winner for literature, have been cancelled with a special cachet in his native town of Rousse.
Associate Professor Penka Angelova, President of the Elias Canetti International Society, said that the stamp is the first one in the world released to commemorate Canetti. Its circulation is 20 000, and that of the envelopes is 1330.
Literary readings have been organised in Rousse to mark the centenary of Canetti’s birth. “Similar literary meetings are organised in Berlin, Frankfurt-on-Main and other European cities,” Angelova said.
2005 has been declared International Year of Elias Canetti.
Canetti, who spent his life in London, Vienna and Zurich, was born in Rousse in 1905.
Canetti was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1981 for his writings marked by a broad outlook, a wealth of ideas and artistic power. He wrote novels, plays, essays, travel notes and memoirs in which he described his childhood in Rousse.

Signing online

· THE first licensed issuer of e-signatures in Bulgaria, Informacianno Obslujvane AD cut the price of its universal electronic signatures from 180 leva to 130 leva. The universal signature entitles legal entities to exchange documentation with the State administration and employ the services of e-government.
The prices of other types of electronic certificates was decreased by between 15 per cent and 38 per cent. The e-signature for individuals will thus cost  120 leva, down from the current 155 leva.
“Corporate entities show extremely high interest in our electronic signatures which was in fact the reason for the price reduction,” CEO Alexander Vitanov said. The number of corporate purchases of e-signature quadrupled in the first half of 2005 as compared to a year earlier.