SOFIA: Bulgaria's President Rosen Plevneliev has convened the national security council while Parliament is meeting to approve urgent legislation to make it possible to lower electricity prices, an issue at the root of continuing street protests and demands for radical political reforms. Protests in the capital, Sofia, and other major cities continued Tuesday. The demonstrations started two weeks ago against high utility bills and widespread poverty, and gradually grew into a civil unrest challenging the established order.

Last week, clashes between police and protesters left two dozen people injured and prompted Prime Minister Boiko Borisov to announce that his center-right government was stepping down to enable elections, expected to be held in early May.

The proposed legislation would give ordinary citizens a voice on the nation's energy regulator.