site.btaToday's Observances: February 23

The world:

- National Day of Brunei. Independence Day (1984);

- National Day of Guyana. Republic Day (1970).

On this date in Bulgarian history:
  
1871: Orthodox Church opens first Convention of Clergy and Laity in Constantinople (until July 24, 1871).

1902: American Protestant missionary Ellen Stone and her Bulgarian fellow missionary Katerina Cilka are released after being abducted on September 3 (August 21 old style) 1901 by Yane Sandanski and Hristo Chernopeev of Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, who demand about 100,000 US dollars in ransom. 

1963: Bulgarian Television joins Intervision (est. 1960), Eastern Europe network for television programme exchanges, operating under umbrella organization OIRT (International Radio and Television Organization).

1971: Ground broken for Sofia's new Central Railway Station.

1994: First mobile radio telephone network formally unveiled; launched late in 1993. 

2007: In Washington, DC, Bulgaria and the US sign Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income.