Bulgaria's Deputy PM Simeonov Resigns under Street Pressure
Bulgaria's deputy prime minister Valeri Simeonov submitted his resignation on Friday evening, saying an ongoing public campaign against him jeopardises the stability of the coalition government. For nearly a month the parents of children with disabilities have been protesting daily in front of the government building in Sofia with demands that Simeonov step down after he described them as "screaming women with supposedly sick children". His words infuriated mothers of children with disabilities, who have been pressing for changes to several laws providing support for the integration of their children. The two biggest opposition parties - the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms - have threatened to boycott the parliamentary sessions if Simeonov does not resign.