Desperate Bulgarian man sets himself ablaze to protest poverty

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) - A Bulgarian man set himself on fire on Wednesday to protest poverty in his country, becoming the sixth citizen to do that in a month.

The dramatic self-immolations have continued, despite an appeal by Bulgaria's influential Orthodox Church that such desperate actions must stop. They also have been part of nationwide protests that recently brought down the country's centre-right government as punishment for its inability to fight poverty and injustice.

On Wednesday morning, in the northern village of Sitovo, a 40-year-old unemployed man doused himself with gasoline and tried to commit suicide, said Dr. Daniela Kostadinova, head of the hospital where the victim was taken in critical condition.

The unidentified man said he could no longer afford to even buy bread for his one child and that he "could not stand it anymore," the doctor said on Bulgarian National radio.