Salad scares and price plunges

For fourteen Germans, the last cucumber they ate proved to be the carrier of a killer.

A few days after the news of the escherichia coli-infected Spanish cucumbers hit the Bulgarian media, the sale price of cucumbers has halved. Merchants from the Kirkovski market in the capital, however, claim that this is not because of the disease's outbreak in Germany, but because of the season.

Indeed, the prices of closely-held to the heart of the Bulgarian vegetables plummets during the summer and with more and more produce, the fall in prices at this time of the year is to be expected. According to the traders in the market, the customers are more interested in the price of the cucumbers that they are buying than "the health scares from the media."

The news about the dangerous cucumbers, however, proved to be worrying enough for some fast food companies. According to Petar Bonchev, the owner of a fast food franchise restaurant in Sofia, an email was sent out from the headquarters of the company, ordering all cucumbers stocks to be disposed of and for the vegetable to be taken off the menu until it is deemed safe for consumption.

Specialists say, however, that even an infected cucumber can be made perfectly safe, providing it is cleaned carefully and peeled. According to Professor Donka Baykova, a food and diet specialist, rinsing the vegetables thoroughly with running hot water is enough to wash the bacteria away. She adds that if people are still reluctant to include cucumbers in their diet, courgettes and members of the lettuce family have a similar mineral and chemical content and can be used as replacements.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister - a criminal?

The Prime Minister Boyko Borisov

Wikileaks has published an alleged report by the former US Ambassador in Bulgaria John Beyrle from 2006 in which the current Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is described as a promising leader with a shady past.

According to the document, Borisov been linked to drug trafficking, illegal deals, involving the Russian petrol magnate LUKoil and oil-siphoning scandals. He is also alleged to have close ties to "influential Mafia leaders"and to have "used his former position as head of Bulgarian law enforcement to arrange cover for criminal deals, and his common-law wife, Tsvetelina Borislavova, manages a large Bulgarian bank that has been accused of laundering money for organized criminal groups, as well as for Borisov's own illegal transactions."

The report goes on to reveal the PM's relationship with the Bulgarian branch of LUKoil: "Borisov has close financial and political ties to LUKoil Bulgaria Director Valentin Zlatev, a vastly influential kingmaker and behind-the-scenes power broker."

In a statement, made in front of Bulgarian journalists in The Hague, Borisov said that he doesn't read Wikileaks and that the allegations for close ties with LUKoil are speculations. He added that he has been to the US embassy a number of times, but cannot recall a visit to the Russian embassy in the last 5-6 years.


The Wikileaks report in full: https://www.balkanleaks.eu/06sofia647.html

The Mayor of Sofia: "The responsibility for the clash lies with the protestors"

Yordanka Fandakova - the Mayor of Sofia

"They crossed the boundaries that were set and approved for the protest" said Yordanka Fandakova, the Mayor of Sofia, during a session of the City Council.

Fandakova criticised the protesters' actions: "All political parties in the Sofia City Council stand united in condemning all this. Bulgaria is a state, governed by law, and we shall act accordingly".

In the light of the forthcoming presidential and local elections, however, she said that provocations can occur during the course of an election campaign. The Mayor added that it will be down to the Interior Ministry and the Police Force's investigators to determine whose fault the incident was and to prevent future disturbances.

Source: Focus News Agency

A Bulgarian far right party may be banned

Far right party leader Volen Siderov

The Bulgarian far right party Ataka may be banned for inciting religious hatred and hatred on ethnic grounds, said the Chief Prosecutor for Sofia, Nikolai Kokinov.

The leader the party, Volen Siderov, and the independent MP Korman Ismailov got into a fight this morning during the weekly program of the Bulgarian National Radio Nedelia150 (Sunday 150). Before the fray began, the two politicians were exchanging provocative statements.

"You are promoters of radical Islam. You are promoters of extremism. You are dangerous for the whole of Europe." were the words Siderov directed to Korman Ismailov.

They were both guests of the show in order to discuss a clash between Ataka MPs and supporters and Muslims, which happened during the Friday prayer in front of the main mosque in Sofia - Banya Bashi.

According to Focus News Agency, the far right party had staged a protest against the use of loudspeakers by the mosque when its supporters started insulting the Muslims, calling them "janissaries" and "dupes". This led to a fight between the Muslims and the protesters. Twelve people were injured, including five policemen.

Ataka is known for its anti-Turks, gypsies and Muslims platform and hatred-filled statements and protests against these groups have taken place in the past. Never before, however, were people hurt as a result.

Prosecutors are currently gathering evidence and if the party is found guilty, it will be outlawed.

Online gambling in need of regulation

Bulgaria has yet to develop its laws on gambling websites in order to crack down on scams.The judiciary is unable to punish the majority of online fraudsters, members of the State Attorney announced at a press conference in the Palace of Justice earlier today.

Due to the increase of online betting in recent years, people are becoming more and more vulnerable to spurious sites. This is largely due to the inability of users to check the authenticity of a website that has been set up in another country.

According to Stelliana Kojouharova, the speaker of the Attorney General, in most cases the state hasn't got the authority to punish con artists simply because there is a gap in the legislation: "We cannot influence this practice in any way, because the laws are not in place. They are not in place in Bulgaria, but equally, they are not in place in Europe. This is a problem which needs to be discussed and solved not only here, but in all member states."

She did not comment, however, on when this is likely to happen.