site.btaObservances: November 18-19

November 18:

The world:

- National day of Oman;

- National holiday of Latvia. Independence Day (1918).

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1955: Diplomatic relations established with Burma (Union of Myanmar as of May 1989).

1989: Informal movements hold first free rally after November 10 fall of communist regime.

2000: The first private national TV channel, bTV, broadcasts its first news programme. The first guest is Simeon Saxe-Coburg- Gotha.

2001: Georgi Parvanov elected President and Angel Marin elected Vice President in second round of voting.

2004: The first liver transplant surgery in Bulgaria is performed at the Lozenets University Hospital in Sofia. The operation is performed on a seven-month-old baby named Pamela, with her father as the donor.

November 19:

The world:

- World Toilet Day;

- National Day of Monaco: Saint Rainier's Day (1857).

Bulgaria:

- Ground Forces Day.

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1869: The first issue of the Svoboda (Freedom) newspaper is published in Bucharest (old style date: November 7). It is the newspaper of the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee and is edited by Lyuben Karavelov.

1903: The first specialized maternity hospital is inaugurated in Sofia.

1910: Printing workers go on general strike. The action continues until January 23, 1911.

1962: The National Assembly elects Todor Zhivkov as Prime Minister.

2001: A monument to Dimitar Peshev is unveiled in Kyustendil, Southwestern Bulgaria. As Deputy Chair of the National Assembly between 1938 and 1944, Peshev contributed to the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews from deportation to Nazi concentration camps during World War II.

2004: Contracts are signed at the Council of Ministers, under which Czech energy company CEZ acquires a 67% stake in three electricity distribution companies in Western Bulgaria. This is one of the biggest privatization deals in Bulgaria.

2007: A ferry service is launched across the Danube River between Silistra in Bulgaria and Calarasi in Romania.