A hundred flickering candles and mountains of flowers block the entrance to Varna's city hall, surrounding a picture of a smiling young man with long hair who has become a symbol of anti-corruption protests that have swept Bulgaria.

Plamen Goranov, a 36-year-old amateur photographer and avid rock climber whose name came from the Bulgarian word for "flame", died Sunday after setting himself on fire in the country's first self-immolation in decades.

The 10-year-old daughter of one of Bulgaria's alleged cocaine-trafficking lords, Evelin "Brendo" Banev, was kidnapped Tuesday morning in Sofia, police said.

The girl was being driven to school when three masked men opened fire on the car, wounding the driver and abducting her, Sofia police said.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden stressed on Monday that Washington is “urging every nation in the world,” mainly European countries, to consider Hizbullah a terrorist organization.

Iran is “using terrorist proxies to spread violence in the region and beyond the region, putting Israelis, Americans, citizens of every continent in danger,” Biden told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the largest pro-Israel lobby in the United States.

Israeli President Shimon Peres will visit Brussels next week to lobby the European Union to list Hizbullah as a terrorist organization, his office said on Friday.

Peres' office said the Israeli president would also meet Bulgarian counterpart Rosen Plevneliev and other leaders of the European bloc during his March 5-12 trip.

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied across Bulgaria on Sunday to denounce poor living standards and corruption plaguing the country, just days after the right-wing government was forced to resign.

More than 10,000 protesters marched in downtown Sofia under the slogan "End to illusions, civil action every day!"

European Union Ambassador to Lebanon Angelina Eichhorst said on Friday that armed groups are moving daily between Lebanon and Syria, considering that the disassociation policy adopted by the government requires actual implementation.

“Armed groups shouldn't be allowed to move between Lebanon and Syria as they are threatening the situation locally,” Eichhorst said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged on Thursday for consensus among rival lawmakers on an electoral draft-law and welcomed Lebanon's commitment to cooperate with Bulgarian authorities on the probe into a deadly attack on Israeli tourists last year.

“In these difficult times, it is important that political forces in Lebanon come together in a spirit of dialogue and consensus to agree a process that respects the constitutional timetable for this year's elections,” Hague said after talks with President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace.

Civil Defense Minister Avi Dichter mocked discussions by the European Union on blacklisting Hizbullah, describing them as a “charade.”

Dichter accused the European countries that reject labeling Hizbullah as a terrorist organization as “unrealistic.”

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announced his government's resignation on Wednesday following days of sometimes violent street protests in the European Union's poorest member.

The move paves the way for early elections, which had been due to be held in July.

Eleven people including five policemen have been injured in the Bulgarian capital Sofia as anti-government protesters fought running battles with riot police and vandalized buildings and vehicles late Monday, officials said.

In the latest wave of anger against the government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov sparked by sharply higher electricity prices, demonstrations were also held in around a dozen other cities across the European Union's poorest member.