It was a calm Sunday night in Tetovo region, MIA's correspondent reported.

 

According to Tetovo Interior department, the shots ceased around 22:00h last night. Before that series of riffle and sporadic gunfire were registered coming from the city districts, the vicinity of the Tetovo medical center, the textile school "Gjoce Stojcevski", the Tetovo-teke and the larger residential complexes. Shots were also heard from the villages of Celopek, Sinicane, Odri, Slationo and Lisec.

 

According to Tetovo police reports, the shots were not aimed at direct targets.

 

 

 

According to the provisions from the Macedonian Constitution, the Speaker of the previous parliamentary composition, Stojan Andov has scheduled the constitutive session of the Macedonian Parliament for October 3.

 

The agenda includes the following items: election of president and members of the Assembly Committee for Verification, verification of the mandates of the members of parliament, election of president and members of the Assembly Committee on Election and Appointment Issues as well as election of Speaker of the Macedonian Parliament.

 

Until the new speaker of the Macedonian Parliament is elected, the oldest member of the parliament will chair the sessions.

 

 

Vladimir Nikolov and Plamen Kohstantinov were the best players for our win vs Russia at the start of the World Championship.

 

Bulgarian men's national volleyball team performed the first highlight of the 15th World Championship in Argentina when steamrollered the favourite Russia 3-0. The win over the World Cup holder team of Russia followed after a very inspired play in front of 3100 spectators in "Luna Park" hall in Buenos Aires and lasted only 80 minutes. Vladimir Nikolov scored 20 points and Plamen Konstantinov - 10, while Russia's best player Roman Yakovlev scored only 9 points.

 

 

 

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sept 29 - An invigorated and creative Bulgarian side pulled off the upset of the first day of Pool Play at the Men's Volleyball World Championship when they defeated Russia, winner of the 2002 World League in straight sets.

In the other late match Poland beat Canada 3-1 in the city of Santa Fe.

The Russians lacked their usual solid defense, allowing the Bulgarians to duck and weave their way to victory, often leaving their opponents flat footed in the Pool C contest that lasted just one hour 14 minutes.

The Bulgarians scored a total of 78 points to Russia's 68. Bulgaria's Vladimir Nikolov was top scorer with 20 points.

"It was a good start, but it will be more important how we finish," said Bulgarian coach Assen Galabinov.

Bulgaria now faces Tunisia on Monday while Russia plays France, who earlier on Sunday beat Tunisia 3-1.

Other winner on Sunday in the first round of Pool Play were Portugal in Pool A, who beat China 3-1, Cuba, who dismissed Czech Republic 3-1 in Pool F, Olympic champions Yugoslavia who took care of Spain 3-1 in Pool D, while Brazil had no problems with their 3-0 victory over Venezuela.

 

 

 

Svinarov enraged the gathering presenting a piece of a destroyed missile.

 

Ministers were hooted at a pro-NATO concert in Sofia. Over 10,000 people came to Alexander Nevsky Square despite the cold on Friday night. Around 8.00 p.m., PM Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Ministers Svinarov, Passy, Parliamentary Chairman Ognian Gerdjikov and Sofia Mayor Stephan Sofianski got on the stage. The crowd hooted Svinarov when the latter handed in to Gerdjikov a piece of the last destroyed missile SS-23. People chanted "Resign!" and "Scoundrels!" Embarrassed, Gerdjikov took the souvenir and hurried down. Most of the attending crowd were pupils. The hoots stopped when the organizers of the concert "Bulgaria: Pro!" let the two huge columns of balloons fly: the first one was a combination of the colours of Bulgarian tricolour banner and the other one was blue - the colour of the NATO flag. An hour and a half later President Georgi Parvanov and his wife Zorka came to the square. The head of state arrived immediately after seeing off his Portuguese counterpart Jorge Sampaio.

 

 

Georgi Nikolov

 

The handing of food on Tuesday will coincide with the national rally "One People against One Mafia", organized by the National Association BAPU (Bulgarian National Popular Union). A day earlier, the organizers of the rally will take to the Parliament 240 sheep and a goat. "We are to ask the MPs to empty one of the halls in the building of the National Assembly to shelter the flock," Minchev said.

 

 

Team of "Standart"

 

Save for Kalina, wedding march is to be performed for 55 Sofia girls. A rocker from the BSP Politburo to outshine the Royal wedding.

This fall will be under the sign of the long-awaited Royal marriage of Princess Kalina and Kitin Munos on October 26. BSP rocker Kamen Penkov is already throwing the gauntlet to Simeon. His 22-year-old daughter Donika is to marry Svetlozar, employee at the Security National Service. IM Chief Secretary Gen. Boyko Borissov is expected among the guests and he was invited to the Royal wedding as well. The wedding march will be performed in October to Deputy Minister of Economy Milen Keremedchiev. He is marrying his girlfriend of many years Kalina Radeva, daughter of writer Nikola Radev, chairing the Union of Bulgarian Writers. Immediately after it transpired that Princess Kalina was to marry for sure on October 26, many brides hurried to book the same day for their weddings. For now, 55 brides in Sofia are to be married on the same day.

 

 

 

Consultancy Contract for Sale of DSK Bank to Be Signed with JPMorgan Within Week.

 

Washington D.C., September 29 (BTA special correspondent Dimiter Anestev) - A consultancy contract on the privatization of DSK Bank will be signed within a week with JPMorgan, Bulgarian Finance Minister Milen Velchev said. Velchev spoke to Bulgarian reporters who are here to cover his participation in the annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank.

 

Velchev said he had had a meeting with the JPMorgan director for Central and Eastern Europe.

 

Within a month the consultant will be ready with the information memorandum for DSK Bank and Velchev hopes that the indicative offers of prospective buyers will be submitted before the end of the year so that the bidders can be shortlisted soon after that.

 

A revaluation of the Bank's immovable property will be done by the end of November, and the expected result is extraordinary profit of over 30 million leva.

 

Interest in a DSK Bank deal is expected from OTP, which is the Hungarian counterpart of DSK Bank, the Austrian Erste Bank, the Belgian KPC, the Italian Intesa, Societe Generale of France and one more French bank.

 

In Washington the Finance Minister also met with representatives of the European Investment Bank, of Nomura International, UBS Warburg and Credit Suisse First Boston.

 

 

 

Gap Between Bulgarian and EU Income Remains Despite Encouraging Economic Progress, Finance Minister Velchev Says.

 

Washington D.C., September 29 (BTA special correspondent Dimiter Anestev) - Despite the encouraging economic progress, the Bulgarian government is fully aware of the sensitive spots and challenges of the course of the ongoing reform, Finance Minister Milen Velchev said at the opening of the annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank here.

 

The gap between incomes in Bulgaria and the EU countries remains, unemployment in Bulgaria is still high and the progress of the structural reforms in some fields, including the energy industry and transport, remains unsatisfactory, Velchev said.

 

His brief address focused on the tangible progress Bulgaria has accomplished within the context of the IMF- and World Bank-supported programmes.

 

The country has achieved and is maintaining macroeconomic stability.

 

After 1997 the GDP increased by 20% in real terms and inflation was brought down to one-digit figures. The external debt of the country has been reduced from over 100% of the GDP to under 60%. All this has been thanks to a currency board arrangement supported by a sensible fiscal policy and strict policy on incomes in the state-financed sector, Velchev said.

 

Bulgaria hopes that the European Commission will upgrade its assessment of the development of the Bulgarian economy, said the Finance Minister.

 

Lending to the private sector this year is expected to be double the 2001 figure. Over 80% of the assets in the banking sector are in private hands and the Bulgarian banking system is closely monitored, Velchev also said.

 

 

 

Two Transit Centres for Refugees Must Be Built by 2004-05, Experts Say.

 

Sofia, September 29 (BTA) - Two transit centres for refugees who have applied for recognition of their refugee status, has to be built in Bulgaria by 2004-05, said Daniela Veleva of the State Agency for Refugees.

 

Veleva was among the participants in a working meeting held in the Black Sea town of Sozopol over the weekend and organized by the Bulgarian office of UNHCR with local government representatives, Border Police and the mass media.

 

One centre should be at Sofia Airport and the other at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing on the border with Turkey, as most of the foreigners enter the country at these two points.

 

An existing transit centre in the town of Ljubimets does not have enough capacity and will operate only until the two other are built.

 

Another centre which was meant to be built in Tsarevo, on the Southern Black Sea coast, was designed for emergency situations where a large number of refugees enter the country for a short period of time, Vladimir Kouzmanov of the Refugees Agency said.

 

Under the effective rules, an emergency situation would be when 500 refugees enter the country for each of ten days in a row.

 

Bulgaria is on the migration routes from the Middle East and the other parts of Asia, and must be well prepared for that, said Veleva. According to Col. Stoyan Stoyanov of the Elhovo division of the Border Police, the biggest problem are people whose refugee status applications have been turned down and they remain in the country illegally. Expulsion is a complex and expensive procedure, and very often the true identity of the alien cannot be establish because they use false names.

 

Two registration centres for refugees operate in the village of Banya near Nova Zagora and in the Sofia district of Ovcha Koupel. They can accommodate 60 and 350 refugees respectively.

 

The Ovcha Koupel facility also has a refugees integration centre which works mostly with women, said Marinela Radeva of the Refugees Agency. This year it has trained 44 women to become hair stylists and another 44 to be beauticians, and has organized Bulgarian language courses for 192 refugees, most of them children. There is also a day care centre for children aged 4 to 7.

 

Refugee status is granted for a period of five years and after that the refugee can apply for Bulgarian citizenship.

 

Refugees have equal rights with all Bulgarian citizens. The humanitarian protection that Bulgaria provides for these people allow them to stay legally in the country.

 

Refugees whose status applications are in the process of being reviewed, are entitled to a monthly allowance of 40 leva, or 1.33 leva per day, said the refugees Agency. The Agency also pays 5.10 leva a month for medical insurance, takes care of the accommodation and medical services.

 

The new law on refugees becomes effective as of December 1 to shorten to 40 days the procedure for reviewing a refugee status application. This will save money for the government because approximately 90% of the applicants do not really fear for their life in their country of origin and are brought here by economic reasons.

 

A total of 2.301 people of 301 countries sought protection in Bulgaria between January 1 and August 31. 57 got refugee status and 542 humanitarian protection.