A 5.6 magnitude earthquake shook Bulgaria's capital Sofia early on Tuesday, causing residents to rush into the streets, the civil defence office said.

The quake, which occurred at 3 a.m. local time, shook apartment buildings and rattled windows but caused no casualties or damage, Nikolay Nikolov, an official from the office was quoted as saying by the national radio, citing initial reports.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the temblor was cantered about 14 miles (24 km) west of Sofia and occurred at a relatively shallow depth of 5.8 miles (9.4 km).

Bulgaria's parliament has adopted a total ban on smoking in indoor public places, after earlier attempts failed due to strong opposition from restaurant owners.

The ban, which was approved yesterday and comes into force on June 1, has stirred discontent among many Bulgarians, at least 40 percent of whom are believed to smoke.

Bulgaria's smoky restaurants and cafes are at the heart of the social life in this traditional, tobacco-growing country of 7.3 million people.

Czech power utility CEZ opened a 5.0 megawatt solar energy park in northern Bulgaria, its first investment in renewable energy in the Balkan country, the company said on Thursday.

CEZ, which controls power distribution in western Bulgaria and thermal power plant in the Black Sea city of Varna, said it plans to invest a total of 40 million euros ($51.73 million) in green energy projects in the country.

Vermont will be the first state to outlaw a controversial oil and gas drilling method known as fracking when Governor Peter Shumlin signs a bill banning the practice, a largely symbolic move given the state's apparent lack of energy reserves.

Hydraulic fracturing has helped companies tap potentially decades of gas supply and huge amounts of oil from previously inaccessible shale formations dotted across the United States in recent years.

The Czech Environment Ministry is planning to put up to a two-year moratorium on granting licenses for shale gas exploration until new legislation is put in place, the ministry said.

During the moratorium, the ministry would look at preparing geological and mining legislation that is clear for potential exploration companies.

"Existing Czech legislation is not prepared for such technically complicated research like there is in the case of shale gas," the ministry said on its website.

European farmers are likely to fall behind in the competitive world grain market as EU consumer hostility to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) drives away research and prevents cultivation of high-yield and pest-resistant crops.

The European Union has approved only one GMO grain for cultivation - Monsanto's insect-resistant MON810 maize (corn). Fierce opposition has led Germany, Austria, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg and Bulgaria to ban it.

European farmers are likely to fall behind in the competitive world grain market as EU consumer hostility to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) drives away research and prevents cultivation of high-yield and pest-resistant crops.

The European Union has approved only one GMO grain for cultivation - Monsanto's insect-resistant MON810 maize (corn). Fierce opposition has led Germany, Austria, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg and Bulgaria to ban it.

Bulgaria has given investors in a trans-Balkan oil pipeline aimed at transporting Russian crude through Bulgaria to Greece more time to improve their environment plans, the environment ministry said on Monday.

The company which manages the 300-km Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project has been given one more month by the end of September to resubmit their environment assessment impact study.

Bulgaria plans to put limits on new renewable energy assets to avoid a spike in sensitive energy prices and a collapse of its aging power grid, Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov said on Friday.

Traikov said the Balkan country can add up to 2,000 megawatts of new solar, wind and hydro power plants by 2020 without jeopardizing the security of power supply and keeping the energy prices a

To develop projects using Suzlon wind turbines

NEW DELHI: Suzlon on Wednesday announced that its European division, Suzlon Wind Energy, had entered into a joint venture with Volkswind Bulgaria to power the company's access and growth into the Bulgarian market.