Bulgarian government resigns after weeks of street protests

SOFIA, Bulgaria's government resigned on Thursday after less than a year in power, following weeks of street protests over its economic policies and its perceived failure to tackle corruption.

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced the decision in a televised address just minutes before parliament was due to vote on a no-confidence motion. The resignation comes less than three weeks before Bulgaria is

due to join the euro zone on January 1.

"Our coalition met, we discussed the current situation, the challenges we face and the decisions we must responsibly make," Zhelyazkov said, confirming that the government would step down.

Thousands of Bulgarians rallied on Wednesday evening in Sofia and dozens of other towns and cities, the latest in a wave of demonstrations highlighting public anger over endemic graft and successive governments' inability to
root it out. ---More...