BULGARIA SUMO WRESTLER KOTOOSHU SCORES GREAT WIN IN FUKUOKA

Bulgarian sumo wrestler Kotooshu won a crucial match against grand champion, the Yokozuna Asashoryu late Friday.

Kaloyan Mahlyanov aka Kotooshu handed the Mongolian his first defeat during the 14th round of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament in Fukuoka. There is only one round remaining before the winners are announced.

The victory is a sweet revenge for the Bulgarian who suffered a crushing defeat during his playoff with the Ulan Bator champion in September

Currently, Kotooshu ranks 6th in the tournament, with 10 wins and 4 losses.

In the last round the Bulgarian will face the Ozeki Harumafuji with 8 wins and 6 losses.

BULGARIA PM BORISOV SCORES TWICE IN ANTI-AIDS CHARITY MATCH

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, scored two goals in a anti-AIDS charity football match in Sofia Sunday.

Borisov led the team of celebrities, including Sports Minister, Svilen Neykov, and Health Minister, Bozhidar Nanev, which beat the team of journalists 4:3.

The journalists had the lead twice with Borisov equalizing twice; then at the beginning of the second half he invited two random guys from the audience to play for his team, with each of them scoring once.

Borisov admitted after the match the journalists’ team had been better, and his wouldn’t have won had it not been for the two young replacements.

The game was organized by the Ministry of Physical Education and Sport, and the Health Ministry with the support of the UN UNAIDS program, and is part of the national anti-AIDS campaign.

BULGARIAN MARITSA IZTOK 2, BULGARGAZ TOP MANAGEMENT CHANGED

The Board of Directors of Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) have announced a reshuffle of the top management of subsidiaries Bulgargaz and Maritsa Iztok 2.

Two new members – Boris Todorov and Georgi Gegov - have been elected to the Board of Directors, along with Dimitar Gogov, who has been until now the CEO of Bulgargaz.

The BEH board have also decided to make changes to the senior management at Maritsa Iztok 2, appointing Jivko Dinchev, Ilko Jeliazkov and Georgi Hristozov as new members. Hristozov was, until now, CEO at Maritsa Iztok (Maritsa East 2).

Two serving members of the board of management of the thermal power plant, Evgeny Stoikov and Georgi Hadjiyski, were removed from their positions.

Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD (BEH EAD) was incorporated on 18.09.2008. It is a shareholding company with 100% state owned participation.

The Holding includes Mini Maritsa Iztok, Maritsa East 2 TPP, Kozloduy NPP, NEK, Electricity System Operator, Bulgargaz, Bulgartransgaz and Bulgartel.

BEH assets amount to BGN 10,7 B, group total revenue for the nine months of 2009 amounted to BGN 3.6 B, and the group employs some 22 000 people.

BULGARIA PM: THERE ARE 'SWEETER' EC PORTFOLIOS

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, stated Saturday that the portfolio of the new Bulgarian EU Commissioner is a good one and important in the area of international policies.

Borisov spoke in response to accusations coming from the Bulgarian socialists and their leader and former PM, Sergey Stanishev, that Bulgaria had been given the second-rate EC portfolio of Commissioner on International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.

According to Borisov, the portfolio is an important activity with very serious responsibilities and becomes crucial in time of disasters and emergencies.

“To respond to Stanishev, who left me with a country ranking first in the EU by its corruption does not even make sense and I apologize that I have to offer such primitive explanations over the level of his questions,” Borisov is quoted as saying during the official ceremony to inaugurate Bulgaria’s newest road Banya – Trakiya highway.

The PM jokingly pointed out that if the portfolio was a bad one, the leader of the ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms, (DPS), Ahmed Dogan, would not have given the controversial and now dismantled Bulgarian Ministry of Disasters and Emergency Situations to one of his closest associates – Emel Etem.

“Yes, there are much sweeter portfolios at the EC. But this is what they decided; this is what they gave us. I think they had in mind Jeleva is a Foreign Minister and her diplomatic ties and connections would be very helpful,” Borisov said.

The PM further informed, the Foreign Minister to replace Jeleva would be named after she officially takes office as EU Commissioner.

ACTUAL NUMBER OF HIV-POSITIVE BULGARIANS ESTIMATED AT 4 000

Dr Tonka Varleva, head of Bulgaria’s Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS program, said Sunday that the real number of HIV-positive people in the country was about 4 000.

This figure is according to estimates of the system for scientific assessment of the HIV epidemics, developed by UNAIDS Program.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS data speak of 1 071 confirmed HIV cases in Bulgaria.

Dr. Varleva said a total of 133 new HIV cases were registered in Bulgaria since January 2009, including 102 men and 31 women. Their number for the same period of 2008 was 112.

She announced that 60% of all new HIV cases in the country were in Sofia – 51, and Plovdiv – 20. There are 10 new cases in Varna and 17 in Pazardzhik. 5 other cases have been discovered in the rest of the country.

According to Dr. Varleva, some countries in the region have actual HIV epidemics since their infected people are over 1% of their populations.

She said among the new Bulgarian cases there were one 16- and three 18-year-olds, all of whom did not go to school and were drug addicts. There is also one case of a baby born with HIV by a HIV-positive mother, and of four HIV-positive pregnant women.

Varleva said the Ministry of Health and the HIV prevention program were staging a national information campaign starting December 1, for the sixth year in a row.

In her words, the main ways that HIV is transferred in Bulgaria is among intravenous drug users and sexual intercourse through homo- or bi-sexual men.

44 724 people were tested in the 19 cabinets for free and anonymous HIV testing around the country in 2009 so far, compared to 31 021 for all of 2009. 3019 Bulgarian prisoners were also tested for HIV.

Dr. Varleva said that HIV-positive men in Bulgaria lived an average of 31 years, and HIV-positive women – 32.

33 million people are HIV positive around the world; 3 million get infected every year.

Bulgaria’s Health Minister, Bozhidar Nanev, announced that the Health Ministry was going to provide treatment for all HIV positive persons in Bulgaria in 2010. It is also working ona new package of anti-HIV measures.

Minister Nanev urged everybody to do a AIDS/HIV test, and added that HIV-positive people could still have a very good quality of life with the contemporary medical means of treatment.

On Sunday he formally presented the keys to 15 news cars to the anti-AIDS program and several Bulgarian NGOs working in the field of HIV prevention and treatment.

EC RELEASES FULL LIST OF NEW COMMISSIONER DESIGNATES

The EC released Wednesday the full name list of nominees of the 27 member states for the positions at the new Commission.

EC President Jose Manuel Barroso is said to go ahead with the allocation of the various portfolios, and the hearing at the European Parliament is going to take place in January.

"I am pleased to have received nominations from all Member States. Now it is my job to allocate the right portfolios to the right people. I look forward to present a strong Commission team to the European Parliament," Barroso is quoted as saying.

The full list of nominations is as follows:

Commissioners designate for the next Commission

Austria - Johannes Hahn

Belgium - Karel De Gucht

Bulgaria - Rumiana Jeleva

Cyprus - Androulla Vassiliou

Czech Republic - Štefan Füle

Denmark - Connie Hedegaard

Estonia - Siim Kallas

Finland - Olli Rehn

France - Michel Barnier

Germany - Günther H. Oettinger

Greece - Maria Damanaki

Hungary - László Andor

Ireland - Máire Geoghegan Quinn

Italy - Antonio Tajani

Latvia - Andris Piebalgs

Lithuania - Algirdas Šemeta

Luxembourg - Viviane Reding

Malta - John Dalli

The Netherlands - Neelie Kroes

Poland - Janusz Lewandowski

Romania - Dacian Cioloş

Slovakia - Maroš Šefčovič

Slovenia - Janez Potočnik

Spain - Joaquín Almunia

Sweden - Cecilia Malmström

BULGARIAN ARMY SCRAPS RUSSIAN ARMS, GOES WESTERN

The Bulgarian Army is entering a phase in which it will get rid of its Russian-made weaponry, and will gradually replace it with Western arms.

This has been announced by Valeri Ratchev, head of the cabinet of Defense Minister, Nikolay Mladenov, during a conference on security and defense in the Military Academy in Sofia.

Ratchev said the replacement of Russian arms would start from the small detachments such as the Bulgarian contingents who participate in international missions abroad. However, he did not make it clear whether the Defense Ministry was planning to scrap the AK 47 “Kalashnikov” as well.

In addition to the Russian-made arms, the Bulgarian armed forces also have German transport vehicles, Italian transport planes, Belgian frigates, helicopters from Eurocopter, and several US-made hammer and armed vehicles.

Ratchev said the Defense Ministry was to focus on the economic efficiency of its military orders.