site.btaToday's Observances: January 27-28

January 27

The world:

- International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Designated by UN General Assembly in 2005, commemorates liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp by Soviet troops on January 27, 1945;

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1885: Law establishing Bulgarian National Bank (passed by Parliament on January 18, 1885) is endorsed by Prince Alexander I of Battenberg.

1898: Prince Ferdinand I issues order establishing Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) as service with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Public Worship.

1977: Diplomatic relations with Spain are restored and upgraded to embassy level (established May 8, 1910 at legation level, severed April 25, 1946, restored August 6, 1947, and again severed December 1950).

1999: Parliament ratifies Statute of The Hague Conference on Private International Law, adopted at The Hague on October 31, 1951.

2013: National referendum held on whether to build new nuclear power plant in Bulgaria. Out of 20.22 per cent of eligible voters, 60.6 per cent vote "yes" and 37.96 per cent vote "no".

January 28

The world:

- Data Privacy Day (known in Europe as Data Protection Day) (since 2006).

- International Day of Mobilization against Nuclear War (since 1986).

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1925: The University of Forestry is established as a Department of Silviculture at the Faculty of Agronomy of the St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia.

1948: The State Higher Theatre School, now the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts, is established.

1992: Bulgaria recognizes independence of Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1998: First line of Sofia's underground railway goes into operation.

2000: Parliament passes an Act to Ratify the Agreement between Bulgaria and NATO on Bulgaria's participation in KFOR.

2004: Parliament ratifies the European Convention on the International Validity of Criminal Judgments.