These are some of the top headlines in Bulgarian newspapers on April 24 2008. The Sofia Echo has not verified these stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy.

Politics

- Bulgarian daily Sega reports that the proposed Agriculture Minister Veleri Tsvetkanov is part of the management of a company that is owned by the son of the deputy chief of the National Road Infrastructure fund, Hasan Hasan. According to Sega, the company has worked as a sub-contractor for construction company Stroiproekt, which has commissioned projects funded under PHARE and SAPARD, among others.

- According to Bulgarian daily Dnevnik, President Georgi Purvanov only knew the new ministers that are members of the Bulgarian Socialist Party. Purvanov said he was involved in the choice of the new ministers.

Society

- Dnevnik reported that an Islamic cleric accused the head of the City Court in Sofia, Svetlin Mihailov, of having taken 300 000 leva in bribes to legalise the election of Mustafa Hadzji as head-mufti.

- Bulgarian daily Standart reported that E.ON has overcharged electricity bills by a total of 35 million leva to compensate for stolen electricity. Seven per cent of electricity is stolen, Standart reported, and is simply charged to the bills of subscribers.

- According to Sega, prices for foodstuffs in Bulgaria increased faster than anywhere else in the European Union. Close to one million households live in misery, Sega said.

- Bulgarian daily Novinar said that pimps in the Bulgarian Black Sea region reportedly earned one million euro a year. A single prostitute in Slanchev Bryag allegedly earned between 12 000 and 18 000 euro a month.

Economy

- According to Dnevnik, the economic crisis is threatening businesses. The turn-over of Bulgarian companies was expected to lower, Dnevnik said.

K&K Electronics, one of the larger import and export companies in electronics in Bulgaria and owners of Technomarket, have announced they want to expand the Technomarket and Domo brands in the Balkan region. The company said it intended to become a leading electronics firm in the region, Dnevnik said.

- Sega reported that 20 per cent of cars in Bulgaria are not insured. Insurance companies are pressuring road police to step up controls, Sega said.

- Standart reported that three people paid one million leva in income taxes each during 2007. Two-hundred and fifty thousand declarations still have to be handed in. The deadline is the end of this month.