Interior Ministry

It may be located in the Technopolis cultural complex, at the heart of Athens's trendy Gazi neighborhood, but there is a pregnant silence in the dimly lit basement studio of Athena 9.84 radio station. Then at 4 p.m. this small underground space fills with melodies, words and flavors from around the world.

The prosecuting authority has requested a penalty of eight years of imprisonment for Orlin Todorov, former head of the ani-mafia unit in Bulgaria's Veliko Tarnovo

The trial is underway at the Veliko Tarnovo District Court.

BELGRADE - Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic laid a wreath on Sunday at the memorial to Jakov Nenadovic, one of the leaders of the First Serbian Uprising and the minister of internal affairs of Serbia at the beginning of the 19th century, on the occasion of the Day of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Police Day.

A light jet with two Serbian nationals on board crash landed Saturday afternoon near the city of Shumen.

The agricultural aircraft was dropping vaccines against the fox strain of rabies, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

BELGRADE - There are citizens in Serbia whose civil rights have been seriously violated, but despite the protector of citizens giving a warning about this situation, nothing has been done to have it corrected, Serbia’s Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic says in his 2013 report.

The European Commission temporarily suspended payments to Bulgaria on the Operational Programme for Regional Development, report the Bulgarian-language media. 

The letter from the EC, notifying the Bulgarian authorities on this, has been sent on Tuesday afternoon, according to Shirin Wheeler, spokesperson of the European Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn. 

Four people suspected of recruiting militants to fight in Syria have been arrested in the Paris region, officials revealed.

"There are people who recruit jihadists. There are as I'm speaking arrests being made. We are acting everywhere. There will be no respite in the fight against terrorists", French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve was quoted by BBC as saying.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev appointed Lt Gen Angel Antonov head of the National Security Service (NSO) on Monday.

By a decree Plevneliev dismissed Todor Kodzheykov and his deputy Kalin Ivanov from office, the president's press service has reported.

The head of state also appointed Col Yulian Haralampiev and Col Krasimir Stanchev to be Antonov's deputies.

Bulgarian authorities have intercepted crimes which would have incurred damage worth BGN 145 M to the state budget, according to Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev.

A large part of the tax inspections have been wrapped up and the damage is still being estimated, Yovchev said Friday in an interview for Trud daily.

Sofia City Court adjourned Friday the trial against former Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov over allowing illegal surveillance while he was in office.

It was the third time in a week Tsvetanov was to appear before court on three separate cases.