The ruling centre-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, is pushing for new amendments to the election law that may benefit in next year's general election.
The amendment envisions the winning party in an election having an advantage of 5 per cent or more ahead of the runner-up in terms of seats.
A similar piece of legislation exists in Greece, where the largest party receives a bonus of 50 seats, as a way to enhance the likelihood of a majority government.
The controversial move will probably benefit GERB, as recent polls suggest it may have a 5 to 6 per cent advantage ahead of the left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party.
Recent polls suggest that the GERB, the Socialist Party, the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms and a formation of the former EU Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, Bulgaria for Citizens, are the the only parties with realistic chances of winning seats in the 2013 general elections.
But is the gorgeous actress having sex occasionally with her former That 70s Show co-star? That's a different question.
According to an Us Weekly source, Kunis and Kutcher have been spotted around Los Angeles several times over the past few weeks and the reason why can be traced back to the title of a recent Kunis film.
"They're not exclusive, but they are hanging out and seeing where it's going," the insider says of Mila and Ashton, friends with obvious, naked benefits.
Kutcher, of course, was married to Demi Moore for six years, while Kunis was actually in a longer term relationship with Macaulay Culkin until earlier this year.
Both are now single and both possess boots that are available for knocking.
"They've been hot for each other for years," a second source tells the magazine. "It stretches back to when they were friends on their show!"
The kitchen is a room where people live on a regular basis to cook, eat, share cups of tea or coffee, and family discussions. This means that the type of flooring in this room must be resilient enough to endure the heavy pedestrian traffic. And apart from being durable, it must be very safe, especially in families with children and the elderly. Floors should also be comfortable enough, because there is a tendency to stand around for a long time or cook, or socialize in the kitchen.
When considering kitchen flooring, you must also change the style and costs used for installation to be considered. No matter how sturdy and comfortable, you want your kitchen to be, do not press the issue of appearance in the background. With comfort, durability and style need not cost a fortune when it comes to your kitchen floor. There are different types of flooring options that can be for the kitchen to be considered.
There is a kitchen laminate, which is a perfect combination of good looks made of solid wood and low cost, low maintenance advantages of laminate. , A fantastic kitchen floor, do not be high maintenance. The laminate kitchen can be an attractive, clean and cozy kitchen with very little maintenance at all times. There are different types of this type of flooring and they come in different shades. You can choose to select the higher forms of laminate or high demands on the floor for the sake of sustainability.
There are also vinyl linoleum flooring kitchen, a new technological development in the flooring and engineered oak flooring. Vinyl linoleum is a durable and stylish form of land and perhaps the best ever practical kitchen floors available. Because it is resistant to dirt and it is very easy to clean. There are different areas of styles are available, wood, tile, and vinyl-containing layer effects. These are all available at very low and affordable prices.
Kitchens in solid wood flooring is another option, taking into account when it comes to kitchen flooring can. If you are interested in seeing the creation of a traditional kitchen, then you should think about going to the solid wood flooring. Solid wood, creates a distinctive impression, and an exceptional quality of the kitchen floor. There are many types and shades of colors that you want the perfect kitchen can produce. This kind of beautiful and original hard wood would last a very long time with proper care.
There are also bamboo flooring kitchen, which is something new out of the floor system in the western world. That this type of flooring makes it very unusual and unique in their own way. Bamboo kitchen flooring is actually ideal, because it is easy to clean and durable. It can also be very environmentally friendly and available in different attractive colors that look larger than it really is your kitchen.
'I'm not complaining about any box that I'm in, because I can write whatever I want,' late writer/director tells MTV News in 2009. By Kara Warner with reporting by Josh Horowitz
Nora Ephron in 2009 Photo:
No matter how it happens, when or where, it is always sad to hear of the passing of a celebrated, talented and respected public figure like Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, director and playwright Nora Ephron, who died of pneumonia at age 71 on Tuesday (June 26).
Ephron is best known for writing and/or directing some of Hollywood's most famous and successful romantic comedies like "When Harry Met Sally ... ," "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail." Her final film as writer and director was 2009's "Julie & Julia," and during the promotion for that film, which starred Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, Ephron revealed to MTV News that although she was happy to be known for her romantic comedies, she also dabbled in a few politically charged subjects that had yet to be made into feature films.
"You should see my closet, it's full of political scripts," Ephron revealed, adding that while she'd love to see one of her many political scripts turned into a film, she wasn't holding out hope that Hollywood would let her take a turn from romantic comedies to political dramedies.
"Forget it," Ephron said of wanting to direct one of her political scripts. "I mean yes, but the [movies] you get made are not necessarily all the things you write."
When asked if she felt at all limited by being most well-known for her expertise in the rom-com genre, Ephron said she felt nothing but gratitude for how much her successful romantic comedies have done in providing her with the freedom to explore other unrelated subjects.
"I'm not complaining about any box that I'm in, because I can write whatever I want," Ephron said with sincerity. "Fortunately, I'm not just in the movie business, so I don't feel that the only way I can express myself is by the movies I make."
Share your condolences for Ephron's family and friends in the comments below.
NEW YORK (AP) ? T-Mobile USA, the country's fourth-largest cellphone carrier, on Wednesday said that its CEO has resigned and its chief operating officer is filling in while the company searches for a replacement.
T-Mobile, which is based in Bellevue, Wash., is struggling to compete against its largest rivals. Departing CEO Philipp Humm took the reins in November 2010, with a mission to reverse the slow slide of the business without help from the German parent company, Deutsche Telekom AG.
But revenue continued to decline every quarter of Humm's tenure. In March 2011, he seemingly found a way out of T-Mobile's difficult position by striking a deal to have AT&T Inc. buy the company for $39 billion. However, the takeover was scuttled by federal regulators, who feared that it would reduce competition in the industry and raise prices for consumers.
Humm was an executive with at Deutsche Telekom before taking the U.S. job. The company said he has left to "pursue a career outside of Deutsche Telekom" and rejoin his family in Germany.
Now, the company needs "somebody who can convert initiatives into market-successes," said Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann, in a statement.
COO Jim Alling is taking over Humm's duties in the interim.
T-Mobile's long-term prospects have improved slightly this year. It's still the only nationwide U.S. cellphone carrier that doesn't sell the iPhone, which means it's losing high-paying smartphone users to rivals. But thanks to a "breakup gift" from AT&T, it now has room on the airwaves to initiate a revamp of its network that will result in it becoming compatible with the iPhone.
On Tuesday, T-Mobile said it had agreed to buy some spectrum from Verizon Wireless and swap other spectrum holdings, further improving its ability to offer wireless data service. However, the deal is conditioned on regulatory approval of Verizon's deals with other companies.
Humm was the managing director of Deutsche Telekom's German wireless arm from 2005 and 2008. He resigned then to take responsibility for the loss of 17 million subscriber records to theft in 2006, and the company's subsequent handling of the breach. The company said in 2008 that there was no sign the data had been misused.
Concerns over cost of dengue vaccine lessened with new studyPublic release date: 27-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Johanna Harvey johanna.harvey@sabin.org 202-621-1691 Sabin Vaccine Institute
New study published in Vaccine indicates cost of production could be as low as $0.20 per dose
Research funded by the Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI) involving an economic analysis of producing a tetravalent dengue vaccine shows that the cost could be as low as $0.20 per dose with an annual production level of 60 million doses packaged in ten-dose vials. The study used data on a vaccine developed by US NIH and the facilities of the Instituto Butantan in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
These findings, published in the July 6, 2012 edition of Vaccine, should provide confidence to ministries of health that they can aggressively plan for the inclusion of dengue vaccine in their immunization programs, as the vaccine should be available at a cost that even middle-income and developing countries can afford.
"The cost of a vaccine is one of the most important factors affecting its adoption and uptake," says Richard Mahoney of the DVI and one of the report's authors. "Our goal with this study was to determine the baseline expenses for the vaccine's production. We believe the results should help pave the way for the rapid introduction and distribution of a dengue vaccine once licensed."
The report notes that the cost of production is only one component determining the price of a vaccine, and does not take into account costs for prior research and development, obtaining regulatory approval, marketing and distribution, start-up expenses and other factors. The price of a dengue vaccine is likely to be much higher initially when demand may be low.
"With dengue vaccines, we have a unique opportunity to get ahead of the disease rather than being forced to react and play catch-up," says Dr. Ciro A. de Quadros, executive vice president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute. "We know that a vaccine is coming as early as 2015, and countries should be encouraged by this new data as they lay the foundations for its adoption."
Dengue fever is endemic in more than 100 countries and is the most prevalent mosquito-borne viral disease. It is estimated that as many as three billion people two-fifths of the world's population are at risk of dengue infection. The Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI) is a consortium of organizations working to lay the groundwork for dengue vaccine introduction so that once licensed, vaccines to prevent dengue will be swiftly introduced by countries most in need.
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To access the full report, visit http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X12003027.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Concerns over cost of dengue vaccine lessened with new studyPublic release date: 27-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Johanna Harvey johanna.harvey@sabin.org 202-621-1691 Sabin Vaccine Institute
New study published in Vaccine indicates cost of production could be as low as $0.20 per dose
Research funded by the Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI) involving an economic analysis of producing a tetravalent dengue vaccine shows that the cost could be as low as $0.20 per dose with an annual production level of 60 million doses packaged in ten-dose vials. The study used data on a vaccine developed by US NIH and the facilities of the Instituto Butantan in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
These findings, published in the July 6, 2012 edition of Vaccine, should provide confidence to ministries of health that they can aggressively plan for the inclusion of dengue vaccine in their immunization programs, as the vaccine should be available at a cost that even middle-income and developing countries can afford.
"The cost of a vaccine is one of the most important factors affecting its adoption and uptake," says Richard Mahoney of the DVI and one of the report's authors. "Our goal with this study was to determine the baseline expenses for the vaccine's production. We believe the results should help pave the way for the rapid introduction and distribution of a dengue vaccine once licensed."
The report notes that the cost of production is only one component determining the price of a vaccine, and does not take into account costs for prior research and development, obtaining regulatory approval, marketing and distribution, start-up expenses and other factors. The price of a dengue vaccine is likely to be much higher initially when demand may be low.
"With dengue vaccines, we have a unique opportunity to get ahead of the disease rather than being forced to react and play catch-up," says Dr. Ciro A. de Quadros, executive vice president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute. "We know that a vaccine is coming as early as 2015, and countries should be encouraged by this new data as they lay the foundations for its adoption."
Dengue fever is endemic in more than 100 countries and is the most prevalent mosquito-borne viral disease. It is estimated that as many as three billion people two-fifths of the world's population are at risk of dengue infection. The Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI) is a consortium of organizations working to lay the groundwork for dengue vaccine introduction so that once licensed, vaccines to prevent dengue will be swiftly introduced by countries most in need.
###
To access the full report, visit http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X12003027.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Public release date: 27-Jun-2012
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