These are some of the top headlines in Bulgarian newspapers on April 11 2008. The Sofia Echo has not verified these stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy.

Politics

- The resignation of Interior Minister Roumen Petkov on April 13, almost a month into the row surrounding the Interior Ministry, will trigger a serious re-shuffle of the Cabinet, Dnevnik daily reported. The re-shuffle might create a new portfolio, energy, and several other Cabinet members, including Defense Minister Vesselin Bliznakov and State Administration Minister Nikolai Vassilev, are touted for the exit, Sega daily said. Talks in the ruling coalition on the re-shuffle are expected to be finished by Easter Sunday, April 27.

- Three names are being speculated about in Socialist circles as potential replacements for Petkov, Standart daily reported. Members of Parliament Georgi Yuroukov and Mladen Chervenyakov, as well as Bulgaria's ambassador to the EU Boiko Kotsev. Petkov's standing in the Socialist party is unlikely to be shaken by the row, Standart said, and he could once again be appointed the head of the party's electoral campaign. The next elections for Parliament are scheduled for summer 2009.

- Former Sofia mayor Stefan Sofianski has called on all rightist opposition parties to join a coalition before the next parliamentary elections, but ruled out any talks with the GERB party founded by current mayor Boiko Borissov, Monitor daily reported.

Social

- A marketing agency will be hired to draft a ranking of Bulgarian universities, Dnevnik daily said, quoting Education Minister Daniel Vulchev. The study will be part of the new framework for assessing the efficiency of Bulgarian universities.

Economy

- Bulgaria's summer tourist season might start off without any concessions in place, because it is unclear who has to call the tenders and whether any tenders can be called in time for this summer, Dnevnik daily reported.

- The European Commission has asked Bulgaria's Transport Ministry to speed up works on the Danube Bridge 2 between Vidin and Calafat in order for the bridge to be completed by end-2010, Dnevnik said. Construction of the bridge is four months behind schedule.

- Bulgarian Stock Exchange lost 6.6 billion leva, nearly a quarter of its market capitalisation, since the start of the year, Standart daily said. The global credit crunch has prompted investors to withdraw their money from the Bulgarian bourse, the daily said.