The town of Panagyurishte in central Bulgaria is the focal point Tuesday of commemorations of the 136th anniversary of the 1876 April Uprising for the liberation of Bulgaria.

President Rosen Plevneliev, Parliament Chair Tsetska Tsacheva and other high-ranking statesperson are set to visit Panagyurishte, one of the centers of the Uprising, to take part in the official celebrations Tuesday evening.

Sofia, April 13 (Sofia)

    HOME SCENE

    GERB will provoke early elections, political scientist Yurii Aslanov predicts in a "168 Chassa" interview. Bulgaria is on the verge of bankruptcy, he says. In two or three months there will be no money to pay people their pensions and GERB will provoke early elections to cover up the bankruptcy. Any government that succeeds the incumbent one will have to go soon because the prospects are bad. "Things are going from bad to worse. That is why I cannot understand why everybody is eyeing the power and do not realize that the next cabinet will be a very short-lived one," Aslanov says.

Sofia, April 12 (BTA)

THE HOME SCENE

"Pension Increase on Eve of 2013 General Elections" caps a leading report in "Troud". Citing Finance Minister Simeon Djankov, the report says that pensions will be adjusted following a new rule, e.g. an index of 50 per cent the inflation rate from previous year and 50 per cent of labour productivity growth.

A Bulgarian tour features for the first time in the National Geographic Traveler magazine's annual "50 Tours of a Lifetime".

Culled from thousands of tours worldwide, the proposed trips are an antidote to the average - all offered by outfitters with solid reputations in the industry, the journalists from the magazine said.

Sofia, April 11 (BTA)

ENERGY, ECONOMY

"Sega" writes that some of the district heating companies want the Energy Act to be amended so as to make a resident or a company renting an office in a centrally heated building their customers for good. A statement to this effect by Dian Chervenkondev MP of GERB, member of the Economic Committee, is quoted on the front pages of "Klassa", "Douma", "Novinar" and Capital Daily". At present there are the options for individual users to remove their radiators, or for the residents of a building to give up central heating altogether by a decision of two thirds of all owners. "Sega" says the district heating companies want the latter option scrapped.

Sofia, April 10 (BTA) 

THE HOME SCENE

Bulgarians most often complain to Strasbourg about delayed lawsuits, lawyer Mihail Ekimdjiev says in an interview for "Novinar". Ekimdjiev has won the most cases against Bulgaria, representing Bulgarians at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. He describes the Court's specific practice as such: while judgment for common lawsuits (such as restitution, privatization, etc.) may take from five to seven years, the pilot cases, where the European Court examines complaints about delayed justice, are examined through a relatively simple procedure.

Sofia, April 9 (BTA)

"24 Chassa" frontpages the news that Plovdiv Mayor Ivan Totev is prepared to take 10,000 stray dogs from Sofia, neuter them and send them back at a price of 110 leva apiece. Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova thanked her colleague but is not willing to go along with the idea because she expects the Agriculture Minister to allow cheaper dog pounds and hopes to cope with the problem on her own.

At least seventy three cities and towns across Bulgaria will turn off the lights at their main buildings to join the Earth Hour initiative, the environment group WWF announced.

Earth Hour will be held in Bulgaria on Saturday, March 30, between 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm, when electric lights will be shut down as a reminder about climate change and the need to reduce our imprint. Street lighting will be kept on for safety reasons.