Bulgaria Apartment

Automobile theft is also a frequent problem, with four-wheel drive vehicles and late model European sedans the most popular targets.  Very few vehicles are recovered.  Thieves also sometimes smash vehicle windows to steal valuables left in sight.  Break-ins at residential apartments occur frequently.  Persons who plan to reside in Bulgaria on a long-term basis should take measures to protect their dwellings.  Long-term residents should consider installation of window grills, steel doors with well-functioning locks, and an alarm system that alerts an armed response team.  Potential travelers should also be cautious about making credit card charges over the Internet as recent experience has shown that some offers come from scam artists posing as legitimate businesses.  Travelers sho ... [Read More]

Bulgaria

Romani activists and NGOs continued to criticize the Government's lack of progress in implementing the Program for Social Integration of Roma, which was unveiled in 1999; however, there were projects that sought to improve economic and educational opportunities for Roma, as well as to address the problem of ineffectual political leadership among the Roma. One program was the Ethnic Integration and Conflict Resolution project in Vidin, Kyustendil, and Lom, which provided limited funds to small enterprises that employed Roma, undertook activities to reduce Romani drop-out rates, provided tutoring for university enrollment exams, and created an Institute for Roma Leaders where young Roma could develop leadership and conciliation skills. The Government and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development continued to fund the construction of new apartments in Sofia for Roma who were displaced in 2001, and additional construction was carried out in Plovdiv. ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

Many Embassy personnel live in the Iztok neighborhood, east of the downtown area, in apartments, which are leased from the Bulgarian Bureau for Services to the Diplomatic Corps. Couples with children are usually assigned houses, which are located in suburbs on the lower slopes of Mount Vitosha, beyond the southern ring road. Winter weather and road conditions make compact four-wheel-drive vehicles advisable for those living in the suburbs. A few downtown apartment units are in the housing pool, but parking is often not available in the same building; Iztok apartments and most of the houses  have indoor garage spaces. FurnishingsLast Updated:  12/2/2003 11:24 AM  ... [Read More]

Bulgaria

In May 2003, police reportedly prevented the registered International Baptist Church in Sofia from using a privately rented apartment for Bible studies and language classes. The church was forced to abandon its lease and conducted its meetings in various private homes. ... [Read More]

Bulgarian Youth Town Hall

So I think what we have to do is to continue to work with the nations that used to be part of the former Yugoslavia. Where they were held together by pressure and force and the strong personality of Tito and that all came apart and they all went their separate ways. We have to allow each of these countries to root itself in solid democratic institutions, build their economies. If their economies are not built up, there will always be instability. People want jobs, they want a better life, they don’t want instability, they want jobs. They want to be able to provide for their families, educate their children and have healthcare, a good apartment or a good home, that’s what everybody wants. And if we can achieve that economic growth in a concept, a theory of political democracy, then the Balkans can become stable. But we have a long way to go and the United States is prepared to be committed in the Balkans in the political ways, and to some extent in the military ways, a ... [Read More]

U.S. Government Assistance

Three subjects from the West African nation of Benin were arrested in Chicago on September 19, 2003, for accepting a parcel containing nearly 500 grams of heroin. The parcel was shipped from Bangkok, Thailand to a business in Chicago. An employee of the business accepted the parcel and delivered it to a nearby apartment. Agents raided the apartment, arrested two individuals and seized approximately 470 grams of heroin and $8,000 in U.S. currency (USC). As the search of the apartment was being conducted, a third individual involved in this conspiracy arrived at the apartment and was arrested. ... [Read More]

Europe and Central Asia

Corruption. Corruption has been the most significant problem within Georgia's law enforcement agencies. Georgia's anti- corruption efforts continue to be hampered by the widespread tolerance of corruption within Georgian society. During 2001 the Government of Georgia formed a commission to reform the law enforcement agencies (so-called "power ministries"). The commission developed a strategy for reorganization that was forwarded to the Georgian National Security Council; however, no significant changes were made. In any case, none of these proposed measures can truly ameliorate the situation given the low wages of officials and poor standard of behavior from those in charge that nourish wide-scale, low level corruption. The new hope of eradicating corruption within the system emerged with the appointment of a new Minister of Internal Affairs, who has publicly and repeatedly announced his commitment to combating corruption and the trafficking ... [Read More]

State Department Terrorism Report: Europe, Eurasia Overview - US Department of State

On the morning of March 11, 2004, terrorists detonated bombs on commuter trains, including five near Atocha, the city’s biggest train station. Police discovered that extremists associated with the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM), most of them North African residents of Spain, had carried out the attacks. On April 2, authorities located an explosive device under the high-speed railway connecting Madrid and Seville that failed to detonate. On April 3, seven suspects sought by police in connection with the March 11 bombings detonated explosives in an apartment in a Madrid suburb in order to avoid arrest. All seven suspects and one police officer were killed in the explosion. Authorities are holding approximately two dozen individuals in connection with the March 11 bombings. Those charged in the case are pending trial on charges of murder and belonging to a terrorist organization. ... [Read More]

2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Turkmenistan

On April 30, Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center reported Radio Liberty correspondent Mukhametgeldy Berdyyew was brutally beaten by the MNB after he filed a lawsuit against President Niyazov, charging that the President had plagiarized large segments of the Rukhnama. His apartment was ransacked, as was that of his son. The incidents took place in Moscow. ...

During the year, the Government continued to demolish large numbers of private homes to make way for new construction in Ashgabat, including those to which residents had valid legal title, as part of an urban renewal program. Affected areas in the Ashgabat suburbs included Archabil, Bagir village, and Keshi. In some of the worst cases, the Government required evicted families to pay for removal of the rubble of their destroyed homes, reportedly gave persons as little as 12 hours to collect their belongings and vacate, and did not provide homeowners with alternate accommodations or compensation. Others were given 2 weeks notice to vacate and offered apartments or plots of land in compensation; however, such plots were often undeveloped and/or nonirrigated, resulting in the loss of livelihood for many. The Government justified the demolitions in some cases by asserting previous authorities gave land away illegally; therefore, those plots had to be returned to the state. In July, demoliti ... [Read More]