site.btaToday's Observances: March 5

March 5 
The world: 

- France celebrates National Grandmothers' Day. 

On this date in Bulgarian history: 

1879: First vote by secret ballot in the Bulgarian Parliament. 

1900: First mass rally is held in Varna against the restoration of tithing. 

1927: "Rabotnichesko Delo", the mouthpiece of the legal Bulgarian Workers' Party, is launched. Renamed "Douma" on April 4, 1990. 

1973: Diplomatic relations established with Niger. 

1991: The national currency, the lev, is officially proclaimed nonconvertible as Bulgaria joins Art.14 of the Statute of the International Monetary Fund. 

2001: Balkan Airlines loses air carrier's licence.