Indian Mujahideen hand becomes clearer in Hyderabad blasts

NEW DELHI: As investigators trawl the devastated spots in Hyderabad's Dilsukhnagar for clues to Thursday's twin blasts, a debate has begun in the home ministry over whether the terror attack could have been prevented.

According to reports reaching here, there is no breakthrough yet for the investigators. "We are still groping in the dark," a senior home ministry official familiar with the details of the probe said. However, there was relief after it turned out that some of the CCTV cameras in the ill-fated locality were functional at the time of the explosions on Thursday evening and, therefore, might be holding pointers.

Senior sources disputed reports that the wires of CCTV cameras had been snapped four days ago.

The MHA had fewer doubts on Friday about the involvement of Indian Mujahideen in the attack. The bombs carried the signature of IM. Both the devices were packed with ammonium nitrate and shrapnel with a timer mechanism: the staple of IM bomb-makers. The use of cycles to strap bombs has also been an IM trademark since November 2007 when they attacked courts in UP.

Both bombs were designed to ensure that the impact of explosions was concentrated on one side: again a stock in trade for IM which has used boat-shaped devices earlier in order to maximize casualties.

Faced with allegations of intelligence failure in Parliament, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde pointed out that the Centre has issued a series of alerts to authorities in Hyderabad about a possible terrorist reprisal against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

The first advisory went out on Saturday, alerting states against the threat of United Jehad Council to launch a fresh terror campaign against India to avenge Guru's hanging. The message was amplified by Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed.

Although the first alert was general in nature, intelligence agencies, acting on basis of intercepts, refined it to caution that Hyderabad, along with Mumbai, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Hubli and certain places in Gujarat and Maharashtra, could be on the hit list of terrorists desperate to make good their threat.

This message highlighting the threat to Hyderabad was sent on February 19. The following day, Intelligence Bureau asked the states to step up vigil at places which were known to be on the radar of terrorists and had been recced.

Centre's concern, prompted by clear inputs according to Shinde, that a terrorist strike could be in the works manifested itself again on February 20, when it repeated that Hyderabad could be among the likely targets along with other places.

The same anxiety led the government to sound the same alert anew on Thursday morning just eight hours before the bombs went off in Hyderabad, killing at least 16 and maiming many more.

Dilsukhnagar fitted the bill, having been surveyed by an IM module as recently as last year. Delhi Police had on the basis of testimonies of two alleged IM terrorists, Syed Maqbool and Imran, told Andhra authorities that the locality was recceed as recently in July last year.

Sources in the home ministry said that the emphasis on the sites which had already been reconnoitered reflected the assessment that the terrorists were under pressure to do something spectacular sooner than later and, hence, focussed on locales they were already familiar with.

Centre refrained from blaming the state government, with Shinde saying in Rajya Sabha that the calm professionalism of AP cops was worth emulating. But many in his own ministry wondered whether cops could have prevented the carnage by upping their guard in response to a series of advisories. There was also puzzlement about the reasons why they failed to do so despite the fact that terrorists had targeted the same spot in 2007.

The last attempt failed only because the device planted by IM terrorists failed to go off, sparing the locality the devastation caused by the bombs the same module led by Riyaz Bhatkal had planted at Gokul Chat Bhandar and Lumbini Park.

According to sources, one possible explanation could be the fatigue among cops over having to deal with the same kind of alerts over and over again. They said the counter-terror advisories issued in the wake of Guru's hanging were not different from those which were sent after Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab was sent to the gallows in November.

The alerts issued after Kasab's execution had mentioned Hyderabad along with Bangalore and Coimbatore among the vulnerable spots. Speaking in Rajya Sabha, Shinde emphasized that the Centre had strong reasons to hoist the caution sign higher after February 19 and afterwards. If this was the case, the authorities clearly failed to impress the urgency upon the men at ground zero

Sources said that the routine of having to respond to the same kind of cues repeatedly could not but lead to a dulling of response: a vulnerability which could be exploited by a terrorist group set on a particular target as has been the case with IM and Dilsukhnagar. The predominantly Hindu locality with a history of communal tension has been consistently targeted by terrorists since 1999 when they unsuccessfully planted a bomb there.

The terrorists returned again in 2002 when a bomb claimed two lives. Residents were lucky in 2007 when the bomb planted there did not go off, but the determined group had had their way on Thursday.

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FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.

The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent dose of anti-tumor poison.

Cancer researchers say the drug is an important step forward because it delivers more medication while reducing the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy.

"This antibody goes seeking out the tumor cells, gets internalized and then explodes them from within. So it's very kind and gentle on the patients — there's no hair loss, no nausea, no vomiting," said Dr. Melody Cobleigh of Rush University Medical Center. "It's a revolutionary way of treating cancer."

Cobleigh helped conduct the key studies of the drug at the Chicago facility.

The FDA approved the new treatment for about 20 percent of breast cancer patients with a form of the disease that is typically more aggressive and less responsive to hormone therapy. These patients have tumors that overproduce a protein known as HER-2. Breast cancer is the second most deadly form of cancer in U.S. women, and is expected to kill more than 39,000 Americans this year, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The approval will help Roche's Genentech unit build on the blockbuster success of Herceptin, which has long dominated the breast cancer marketplace. The drug had sales of roughly $6 billion last year.

Genentech said Friday that Kadcyla will cost $9,800 per month, compared to $4,500 per month for regular Herceptin. The company estimates a full course of Kadcyla, about nine months of medicine, will cost $94,000.

FDA scientists said they approved the drug based on company studies showing Kadcyla delayed the progression of breast cancer by several months. Researchers reported last year that patients treated with the drug lived 9.6 months before death or the spread of their disease, compared with a little more than six months for patients treated with two other standard drugs, Tykerb and Xeloda.

Overall, patients taking Kadcyla lived about 2.6 years, compared with 2 years for patients taking the other drugs.

FDA specifically approved the drug for patients with advanced breast cancer who have already been treated with Herceptin and taxane, a widely used chemotherapy drug.

Kadcyla will carry a boxed warning, the most severe type, alerting doctors and patients that the drug can cause liver toxicity, heart problems and potentially death. The drug can also cause severe birth defects and should not be used by pregnant women.

Kadcyla was co-developed by South San Francisco-based Genentech and ImmunoGen Inc., of Waltham, Mass. ImmunoGen developed the technology that binds the drug ingredients together and is scheduled to receive a $10.5 million payment from Genentech on the FDA decision. The company will also receive additional royalties on the drug's sales.

Shares of ImmunoGen Inc. slipped 8 cents to $14.22 in afternoon trading. They have traded in a 52-wek range of $10.85 to $18.10.

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Jodi Arias' Friends Believe in Her Innocence

Accused murderer Jodi Arias believes she should be punished, but hopes she will not be sentenced to death, two of her closest friends told ABC News in an exclusive interview.

Ann Campbell and Donavan Bering have been a constant presence for Arias wth at least one of them sitting in the Phoenix, Ariz., courtroom along with Arias' family for almost every day of her murder trial. They befriended Arias after she first arrived in jail and believe in her innocence.

Arias admits killing her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander and lying for nearly two years about it, but insists she killed Alexander in self defense. She could face the death penalty if convicted of murder.

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Nevertheless, she is aware of the seriousness of her lies and deceitful behavior.

The women told ABC News that they understand that Arias needs to be punished and Arias understands that too.

"She does know that, you know, she does need to pay for the crime," Campbell said. "But I don't want her to die, and I know that she has so much to give back."

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The lies that Arias admits she told to police and her family have been devastating to her, Bering said.

""She said to me, 'I wish I didn't have to have lied. That destroyed me,'" Donovan said earlier this week. "Because now when it's so important for her to be believed, she has that doubt. But as she told me on the phone yesterday, she goes, 'I have nothing to lose.' So all she can do is go out there and tell the truth."

During Arias' nine days on the stand she has described in detail the oral, anal and phone sex that she and Alexander allegedly engaged in, despite being Mormons and trying to practice chastity. She also spelled out in excruciating detail what she claimed was Alexander's growing demands for sex, loyalty and subservience along with an increasingly violent temper.

Besides her two friends, Arias' mother and sometimes her father have been sitting in the front row of the courtroom during the testimony. It's been humiliating, Bering said.

"She's horrified. There's not one ounce of her life that's not out there, that's not open to the public. She's ashamed," she said.

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French, Malian forces fight Islamist rebels in Gao

GAO, Mali (Reuters) - French and Malian troops fought Islamists on the streets of Gao and a car bomb exploded in Kidal on Thursday, as fighting showed little sign of abating weeks before France plans to start withdrawing some forces.

Reuters reporters in Gao in the country's desert north said French and Malian forces fired at the mayor's office with heavy machineguns after Islamists were reported to have infiltrated the Niger River town during a night of explosions and gunfire.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a news conference in Brussels that Gao was back under control after clashes earlier in the day.

"Malian troops supported by French soldiers killed five jihadists and the situation is back to normal," he said.

In Kidal, a remote far north town where the French are hunting Islamists, residents said a car bomb killed two. A French defense ministry source reported no French casualties.

French troops dispatched to root out rebels with links to al Qaeda swiftly retook northern towns last month. But they now risk being bogged down in a guerrilla conflict as they try to help Mali's weak army counter bombings and raids.

"There was an infiltration by Islamists overnight and there is shooting all over the place," Sadou Harouna Diallo, Gao's mayor, told Reuters by telephone earlier in the day, saying he was not in his office at the time.

Gao is a French hub for operations in the Kidal region, about 300 km (190 miles) northeast, where many Islamist leaders are thought to have retreated and foreign hostages may be held.

"They are black and two were disguised as women," a Malian soldier in Gao who gave his name only as Sergeant Assak told Reuters during a pause in heavy gunfire around Independence Square.

Six Malian military pickups were deployed in the square and opened fire on the mayor's office with the heavy machineguns. Two injured soldiers were taken away in an ambulance.

French troops in armored vehicles later joined the battle as it spilled out into the warren of sandy streets, where, two weeks ago, they also fought for hours against Islamists who had infiltrated the town via the nearby river.

Helicopters clattered over the mayor's office, while a nearby local government office and petrol station was on fire.

A Gao resident said he heard an explosion and then saw a Malian military vehicle on fire in a nearby street.

Paris has said it plans to start withdrawing some of its 4,000 troops from Mali next month. But rebels have fought back against Mali's weak and divided army, and African forces due to take over the French role are not yet in place.

Islamists abandoned the main towns they held but French and Malian forces have said there are pockets of Islamist resistance across the north, which is about the size of France.

CAR BOMB

Residents reported a bomb in the east of Kidal on Thursday.

"It was a car bomb that exploded in a garage," said one resident who went to the scene but asked not to be named.

"The driver and another man were killed. Two other people were injured," he added.

A French defense ministry official confirmed there had been a car bomb but said it did not appear that French troops, based at the town's airport, had been targeted.

Earlier this week, a French soldier was killed in heavy fighting north of Kidal, where French and Chadian troops are hunting Islamists in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains, which border Algeria.

Operations there are further complicated by the presence of separatist Tuareg rebels, whose rebellion triggered the fighting in northern Mali last year but were sidelined by the better-armed Islamists.

Having dispatched its forces to prevent an Islamist advance south in January, Paris is eager not to become bogged down in a long-term conflict in Mali. But their Malian and African allies have urged French troops not to pull out too soon.

(Additional reporting by Emanuel Braun in Gao, Adama Diarra in Bamako, David Lewis and John Irish in Dakar and Adrian Croft in Brussels; Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Jason Webb and Roger Atwood)

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Massive winter storm blankets central US

CHICAGO: A massive winter storm blanketed much of the central United States Thursday and looked set to keep dumping heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain for days as it makes its way slowly towards the east coast.

The National Weather service reported that as much as 38 centimetres of snow had fallen in parts of Colorado and New Mexico by Thursday morning and warned that many areas would get at least 30 centimetres by the time the slow-moving storm passed.

Those living on the southern end of the storm were faced with a dangerous mix of freezing rain and sleet and Arkansas was on an ice storm warning.

"Heavy snow along with some blowing and drifting snow will result in very poor visibility at times and cause snow packed and treacherous driving conditions," the weather service warned.

"The most significant ice accumulations are expected on trees, power lines and untreated highways."

The governor of Missouri declared a state of emergency as the storm lashed the midwestern state with a dangerous mix of ice and as much as 25 centimetres of snow overnight.

"Missouri stands ready to help communities in need and to deploy the resources to keep folks safe," Governor Jay Nixon said. "I urge all Missourians to keep a close eye on the weather and avoid unnecessary travel."

The state of Kansas shuttered government offices Thursday to keep non-essential workers off the treacherous roads and scores of business owners and school officials followed suit.

The blizzard was so intense in some areas that snow plows were getting stuck and ambulances had trouble getting patients to hospitals.

"The roads throughout Wichita (Kansas) are snow-packed and many are impassible," the Sedgwick county emergency management office warned on its website. "Please stay home and off the roads unless absolutely necessary."

- AFP/fa

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Hyderabad blasts: Dilsukhnagar has been on Indian Mujahideen radar since 1999

NEW DELHI: The twin blasts at Hyderabad are suspected to be the handiwork of Indian Mujahideen(IM) commander Riyaz Bhatkal. Although intelligence agencies are in no rush to jump to a judgment, their suspicion of IM's role is derived from the fact that the terror outfit had targeted precisely the same spot — near the foot overbridge in Dilsukhnagar — on August 25, 2007 when IM carried out serial blasts in Hyderabad.

While the bombs that Bhatkal and his team, essential IM's Pune module, set off at Gokul Chat Bhandar and Lumbini Park killed 42 people, Dilsukhnagar escaped the mayhem because the device planted there malfunctioned. Residents of the locality, however, ran out of luck on Thursday.

During their interrogation in 2008 in connection with their involvement in the serial attack on Hyderabad the year before, two members of IM — a Indian proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba which was launched to cloak Pakistan's involvement in the terror campaign against India — confirmed that Bhatkal was the mastermind.

Speaking to reporters after the twin blasts on Thursday, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde seemed to reflect the principal assumption of the agencies about Bhatkal and his IM gang being the chief suspects when he said the latest attack was similar to the 2007 serial attacks in the city.

The suspicion is derived also from the testimony of the three alleged IM terrorists to Delhi Police in October 2012. Imran, Tabrez and Maqbool told the special cell that they had been assigned by Bhatkal to do a recce of Dilsukhnagar and other communally sensitive areas in Hyderabad.

The motivation for the terror strike is suspected to be the call given by Hafiz Saeed — Lashkar chief and principal mentor of IM terrorists — to avenge the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. United Jehad Council, with Lashkar as one of its main constituents, had on February 13 — four days after Guru was sent to the gallows — vowed to retaliate against the execution.

Intelligence agencies did not treat it as rhetoric, and did sound a countrywide alert on Tuesday, although Shinde acknowledged that the warning was general in nature.

Dilsukhnagar, a Hindu-dominated locality with a history of communal tension, has been on the terrorists' radar for long; at least since 1999 when a bomb was planted near a Hanuman temple. The device was detected in time by police.

The timing was significant, just an year after intelligence agencies zeroed in on Abdul Saleem Junaid. A Pakistani, Junaid was launched into India by Lashkar commander Azam Cheema. While Junaid, who was designated as the head of Lashkar in India, was supposed to be based in Delhi, he found Hyderabad more hospitable and settled down there after marrying a local girl.

The cover of a regular couple proved useful for setting up several sleeper cells, at least a few comprising Pakistanis.

The terror group targeted Dilsukhnagar again in 2002, planting a bomb near the Saibaba temple killing two persons.

The choice of Dilsukhnagar is no accident and fits in the pattern of IM attacks. The terror module has so chosen the day and timing of its attacks as to ensure that the majority community bore the brunt: something which dates to the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai and which is meant to exacerbate communal tension.

Shine, along with home secretary R K Singh, are leaving for Hyderabad on Friday morning for an on-the-spot assessment. There is also going to be a probe into whether Delhi Police shared the specific information about Bhatkal persisting with his plans against Dilsukhnagar with their counterparts in Hyderabad and, in case they did, what did the latter do to fend off the attempt.

Hyderabad being the hub of both National Security Guards and National Investigation Agency can help with the probe.

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Flu shot did poor job against worst bug in seniors

ATLANTA (AP) — For those 65 and older, this season's flu shot is only 9 percent effective against the most common and dangerous flu bug, according to a startling new government report.

Flu vaccine tends to protect younger people better than older ones and never works as well as other kinds of vaccines. But experts say the preliminary results for seniors are disappointing and highlight the need for a better vaccine.

For all age groups, the vaccine's effectiveness is moderate at 56 percent, which is nearly as well as other flu seasons, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

For those 65 and older, it is 27 percent effective against the three strains in the vaccine, the lowest in about a decade but not far below from what's expected. But the vaccine did a particularly poor job of protecting older people against the harshest flu strain, which is causing most of the illnesses this year. CDC officials say it's not clear why.

Vaccinations are now recommended for anyone over 6 months, and health officials stress that some vaccine protection is better than none at all. While it's likely that older people who were vaccinated are still getting sick, many of them may be getting less severe symptoms.

"Year in and year out, the vaccine is the best protection we have," said CDC flu expert Dr. Joseph Bresee.

To be sure, the preliminary data for seniors is less than definitive. It is based on fewer than 300 people scattered among five states.

But it will no doubt surprise many people that the effectiveness is that low, said Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota infectious disease expert who has tried to draw attention to the need for a more effective flu vaccine.

Among infectious diseases, flu is considered one of the nation's leading killers. On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the CDC.

This flu season started in early December, a month earlier than usual, and peaked by the end of year. Older people are most vulnerable to flu and its complications, and the nation has seen some of the highest hospitalization rates for people 65 and older in a decade.

Flu viruses tend to mutate more quickly than others, and it's not unusual for multiple strains to be spreading at the same time. A new vaccine is formulated each year targeting the three strains expected to be the major threats. But that involves guesswork.

Because of these challenges, scientists tend to set a lower bar for flu vaccine. While childhood vaccines against diseases like measles are expected to be 90 or 95 percent effective, a flu vaccine that's 60 to 70 percent effective in the U.S. is considered pretty good.

By that standard, this year's vaccine is OK. The 56 percent effectiveness figure means people have a 56 percent lower chance of winding up at the doctor for treatment of flu symptoms.

For seniors, a flu vaccine is considered pretty good if it's in the 30 to 40 percent range, said Dr. Arnold Monto, a University of Michigan flu expert.

Older people have weaker immune systems that don't respond as well to flu shots. That's why a high-dose version was recently made available for those 65 and older. The new study was too small to show whether that made a difference this year.

The CDC estimates are based on about 2,700 people who got sick in December and January. The researchers traced back to see who had gotten flu shots and who hadn't. An earlier study put the vaccine's overall effectiveness slightly higher, at 62 percent.

The CDC's Bresee said there's a danger in providing preliminary results because it may result in people doubting — or skipping — flu shots. But the data was released to warn older people who got shots that they may still get sick and shouldn't ignore any serious flu-like symptoms, he said.

The new data highlights an evolution in how experts are evaluating flu vaccine effectiveness. For years, it was believed that if the viruses in the vaccine matched the ones spreading around the country, then the vaccine would be effective. This year's shot was a good match to the bugs going around this winter, including the harsher H3N2 that tends to make people sicker.

But the season proved to be a moderately severe one, with many illnesses occurring in people who'd been vaccinated.

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Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

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Las Vegas Strip Shooting Leads to 3 Dead

A drive-by shooting on the Las Vegas strip early this morning by the occupants of a Range Rover SUV, who shot at the occupants of a Maserati, caused a multi-car accident and car explosion that left three dead.

Police said that they believe a group of men riding in a black Range Rover Sport SUV pulled up alongside a Maserati around 4:20 a.m. today and fired shots into the car, striking the driver and passenger, according to Officer Jose Hernandez of the Las Vegas Metropolitan police department.

The Maserati then swerved through an intersection, hitting at least four other cars. One car that was struck, a taxi with a driver and passenger in it, caught on fire and burst into flames, trapping both occupants, Hernandez said.

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The SUV then fled the scene, according to cops.

The driver of the Maserati died from his gunshot wounds at University Medical Center shortly after the shooting, according to Sgt. John Sheahan.

The driver and passenger of the taxi both died in the car fire.

At least three individuals, including the passenger of the Maserati, were injured during the shooting and car crashes and are being treated at UMC hospital.

Police are scouring surveillance video from the area, including from the strip's major casinos, to try and identify the Range Rover and its occupants, according to police.

They do not yet know why the Range Rovers' occupants fired shots at the Maserati or whether the cars had local plates or were from out of state.

No bystanders were hit by gunfire, Hernandez said.

"We're currently looking for a black Range Rover Sport, with large black rims and some sort of dealership advertising or advertisement plates," Hernandez said. "This is an armed and dangerous vehicle."

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority had no immediate comment about the safety of tourists in the wake of the shooting today.

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Bulgarian government resigns amid growing protests

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's government resigned on Wednesday after mass protests against high power prices and falling living standards, joining a long list of European administrations felled by austerity during four years of debt crisis.

Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, an ex-bodyguard who took power in 2009 on pledges to root out graft and raise incomes in the European Union's poorest member, faces a tough task of propping up eroding support ahead of an expected early election.

Wage and pension freezes and tax hikes have bitten deep in a country where earnings are less than half the EU average and tens of thousands of Bulgarians have rallied in protests that have turned violent, chanting "Mafia" and "Resign".

Moves by Borisov on Tuesday to blame foreign utility companies for the rise in the cost of heating homes was to no avail and an eleventh day of marches saw 15 people hospitalized and 25 arrested in clashes with police.

"My decision to resign will not be changed under any circumstances. I do not build roads so that blood is shed on them," said Borisov, who began his career guarding the Black Sea state's communist dictator Todor Zhivkov.

A karate black belt, Borisov has cultivated a Putin-like "can-do" image since he entered politics as Sofia mayor in 2005 and would connect with voters by showing up on the capital's rutted streets to oversee the repair of pot-holes.

But critics say he has often skirted due process, sometimes to the benefit of those close to him, and his swift policy U-turns have wounded the public's trust.

The spark for the protests was high electricity bills, after the government raised prices by 13 percent last July. But it quickly spilled over into wider frustration with Borisov and political elites with perceived links to shadowy businesses.

"He made my day," said student Borislav Hadzhiev in central Sofia, commenting on Borisov's resignation. "The truth is that we're living in an extremely poor country."

POLLS, PRICES

The prime minister's final desperate moves on Tuesday included cutting power prices and risking a diplomatic row with the Czech Republic by punishing companies including CEZ, moves which conflicted with EU norms on protection of investors and due process.

CEZ officials were hopeful on Wednesday that it would be able to avoid losing its distribution license after all and officials from the Bulgarian regulator said the company would not be punished if it dealt with breaches of procedure.

But shares in what is central Europe's largest publicly-listed company fell another 1 percent on Wednesday.

If pushed through, the fines for CEZ and two other foreign-owned firms will not encourage other investors in Bulgaria, who already have to navigate complicated bureaucracy and widespread corruption and organized crime to take advantage of Bulgaria's 10-percent flat tax rate.

Financial markets reacted negatively to the turbulence on Wednesday. The cost of insuring Bulgaria's debt rose to a three-month high and debt yields rose some 15 basis points, though the country's low deficit of 0.5 percent of gross domestic product means there is little risk to the lev currency's peg against the euro.

Borisov's interior minister indicated that elections originally planned for July would probably be pulled forward by saying that his rightist GERB party would not take part in talks to form a new government.

MILLIONS GONE

GERB's woes have echoes in another ex-communist EU member, Slovenia, where demonstrators have taken to the streets and added pressure to a crumbling conservative government.

A small crowd gathered in support of Borisov outside Sofia's parliament, which is expected to approve his resignation on Thursday, while bigger demonstrations against the premier were expected in the evening.

Unemployment in the country of 7.3 million is far from the highs hit in the decade after the end of communism but remains at 11.9 percent. Average salaries are stuck at around 800 levs ($550) a month and millions have emigrated, leaving swathes of the country depopulated and little hope for those who remain.

GERB's popularity has held up well and it still led in the latest polls before protests grew in size last weekend, but analysts say the opposition Socialists should draw strength from the demonstrations.

The leftists, successors to Bulgaria's communist party, have proposed tax cuts and wage hikes and are likely to raise questions about public finances if elected.

(Additional reporting by Angel Krasimirov; editing by Patrick Graham)

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EU nears national budget oversight

BRUSSELS: The EU moved closer Wednesday to centralised oversight on national budgets, negotiators said, an increasingly sensitive topic as Brussels readies to issue new economic forecasts with France in the firing line over puny growth and a probable deficit overshoot.

Long-contested tweaks to a package of laws designed to harmonise economic governance especially across the eurozone met with a breakthrough, participants said.

The talks included European Parliament, the European Commission and the current Irish chair of the council of European Union governments.

The idea is that national spending decisions not only are proofed by Brussels before parliamentary approval is sought, but also that priority -- and leeway if excessive deficits return -- is given to spending towards growth and jobs, the new EU mantra amid dogged recession.

The deal has still to pass a full vote in the EU legislature, but talks co-sponsor, Portuguese Socialist MEP Elisa Ferreira, said that with austerity "not delivering ... we need to adapt the medicine."

She underlined: "We need to rebalance our short-term objectives to better address growth and the vicious spiral of high debt-financing interest rates.

"Countries now making superhuman sacrifices need to know that their efforts are recognised and will be rewarded."

EU economy and euro commissioner Olli Rehn, whose forecasts on Friday morning will mainly be watched for their likely effect on French leaders' promises to meet treaty-agreed deficit targets, also hailed the agreement.

-AFP/ac

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