'Earth Hour' Every Few Weeks In Bulgaria

This of course happens every few weeks in towns and villages in Bulgaria. Power cuts and electricity switched off are common place here and not must for one hour either. This can last all day or longer. This of course is not in aid of a greener world. So the one hour power cut is not a novelty at all in Bulgaria.

The WWF has announced that 49 Bulgarian cities are set to take part in Earth Hour 2010 on Saturday evening at 20:30.

Bulgaria will take part in Earth Hour 2010, which is the country’s third participation in the event.

The WWF also announced that 125 countries and 4000-5000 cities worldwide will join in by switching off electrical appliances for one hour on Saturday evening, the action being a mainly symbolical global call to action to every individual, business and every community throughout the world to save energy and help prevent the deterioration of the global climate.

The idea behind it is for people to gather, to spend some time with friends in "peace and quiet", and have time to reflect on "themselves and their lives", the WWF continued..

The idea for Earth Hour originated in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, when 2,2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change.

The Australian initiative proved highly popular around the world and a year later Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries joining in.

Source: http://www.novinite.com

1000's Of Fake Driving Licences In Bulgaria - Accidents Galore the Result

Bulgaria's transport minister said the country's high accident rate is because of tens of thousands of people who obtain drivers licenses on the black market.

Speaking on bTV Tuesday, Alexander Tsvetkov said for as little as $200, citizens can buy a fake license without any exam or road test, the Sofia Echo reported.

He said the estimate of as many as 20,000 people buying fake licenses each year is "very modest" and the real number he is aware of is "truly alarming."

"In the European Union, Bulgaria leads when it comes to fatalities in traffic accidents," the minister said.

Tsvetkov said previous governments had done nothing to combat the corruption.

"As of summer 2009, however, we have initiated radical changes and I can say that in the future this problem will be fixed," he said. "Some amendments to legislation have already been enacted, and the black market will be stopped."

Source: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/International/2010/03/16/Minister-Bulgaria-awash-in-fake-licenses/UPI-67451268758431/

Bulgarian Doctors Sick For A Change

The Doctors in Bulgaria are sick of not being paid what is due to them. The talking is over and the action has started, who suffers? The sick and the needy of course. With the opposition who supports their cause (if they were in power they wouldn't of course!) Is there an end? Or is it to escalate?

Doctors in two Bulgarian towns began a strike Monday that was set to expand nationally over non-payment of fees by the federal health ministry.

The National Association of General Practitioners warned of the strike during the weekend, saying its members hadn't been paid for their work in January, the Sofia Echo reported.

The strike is scheduled to expand to the capital Sofia and other cities by Tuesday, Mediapool.bg reported.

The doctors are also calling for healthcare reform to streamline the process of obtaining permission to refer patients for further treatment, the report said.

The union said anyone requiring medical care should visit a hospital emergency department, but they would have to pay cash for treatment,

Source: http://www.upi.com