Workers Strike, Rally Against Socialists

Bulgarian workers went on strike, stepping up the pressure in more than three weeks of anti-government protests brought on by an economic crisis. Opponents of the Socialist Party staged the nationwide strike a day after President Petar Stoyanov allowed the Socialists to form a new government. As many as 50,000 people rallied throughout the nation, and thousands of students held a march in Sofia, the capital. It was unclear how many workers went on strike. Protesters want the Socialists to give up power and allow early elections. The previous Socialist government resigned last month.