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A man boarded the stage and pointed a gas pistol at the head of a leading Bulgarian politician in front of a stunned party conference. Angry parliamentarians then pounced on the would-be assassin, beating him to a bloody pulp.

Ahmed Dogan, the leader of the Turkish minority MRF party, known as the kingmaker of Bulgarian politics, was delivering an emotional speech in which he was about to announce that he was stepping down as chief of the party he founded in 1990.

Local video footage then shows a tall, heavily-built man wearing a laminated badge, later named as Oktai Enimehmedov, running into view, before holding the pistol an inch away from Dogan’s face. Dogan flinches, Enimehmedov does not fire a round, and the politician rapidly regains his composure and pushes away the assailant’s hand. Security personnel then run onto the stage, and overwhelm the failed assassin. What follow are unedifying scenes of a swarm of furious politicians repeatedly kicking and punching Enimehmedov on the ground as blood streams from his head.

It is not clear if Enimehmedov planned to shoot, as he appeared to have sufficient time to pull the trigger before Dogan even noticed him, although it is also possible that his gun jammed at the key moment.

“Such an act is unacceptable in a democratic country. In the name of all Bulgarians, I want to convey the outrage caused by this act of violence,” said President Rossen Plevneliev, who urged the authorities to investigate who, if anyone, was behind the attack.

25-year-old Enimehmedov, an ethnic Turk who has previous assault and drugs convictions, was also found to have been carrying a knife. What seemed to be his conference pass was actually obtained at a previous party event.

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Twenty-five more bodies have been found at the gas complex in Algeria where a clearing up operation continues. It is unclear if all were hostages. Earlier it was reported there were a possible further 25 burned bodies of hostages found inside the plant.

It comes as Al-Qaeda linked commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar claimed responsibly for the deadly hostage drama at the gas plant.

Belmokhtar expressed readiness to negotiate with both Algerian and Western states, provided they cease their bombing campaign in Mali.

The news that more bodies were found at the plant came just hours after the Algerian Interior Ministry warned that the death toll of foreign and Algerian workers taken hostage during the siege may increase.

On Saturday night, following Algerian forces’ deadly ‘final assault,’ the number killed was put at 23 hostages and 32 captors.

In total, special forces freed “685 Algerian workers and 107 foreigners,” the Interior Ministry said.

So far, Algerian authorities have not announced the nationalities of any of the 23 dead hostages. British, US, Norwegian and Japanese nationals have been reported missing.

Though the hostage crisis in eastern Algeria has ended, the scene at the plant remains chaotic as rescuers struggle to find those reported missing. For now, the fates of nearly 30 people from the UK, the US, Norway Japan and Malaysia remain unclear.

The UK Prime Minister confirmed Sunday that three British hostages had been killed, and that another three British nationals are also “believed dead.”

The UK Foreign Office has confirmed that some UK residents returned home overnight.

Shortly after Cameron’s statement, Foreign Secretary William Hague confirmed that 22 British citizens who survived that hostage drama had flown home on charter flights organized by the government or by oil company BP.

A Japanese engineering firm said Sunday that of the 17 Japanese nationals working at the plant, 10 are still missing and seven have been confirmed as safe.

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The French usually can be counted on to deliver sexy comedy, gritty drama, and historical biographies with wit, style and flair respectively.  The current French language film (with English subtitles) delighted audiences of the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) with France’s Official Foreign Language Oscar Submission “The Intouchables”.

This classy little comedy tale of Philippe, a super-rich quadriplegic (Francois Cluzet) and a young man, who goes by the name of Driss (Omar Sy) whom Philippe hires from the Parisian projects to become his caretaker, is funny, clever, poignant, and a delight, thanks mainly, to its two stars: Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy.  Co-directed and written by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, the comedy with a message, works because of Cluzet’s decision to not play his character as an embittered wheelchair-bound man as a result of a paragliding accident.  Instead, his cheery outlook and zest for life’s adventures hasn’t diminished a wit.  He still likes life in the fast lane and its pleasures.  It’s just that those pleasures are now few and far between.

All that changes, however, when Philippe, on a whim hires Driss.   It’s Driss’ cheeky insouciance and off beat interview manner that convinces Philippe that Driss is the caretaker he wants to try for six months.  Never mind that Driss is a petty criminal and hasn’t a clue or the training required to be a caretaker to a quadriplegic.  Details like these have never been an obstacle in French comedies in the past, and they aren’t in this one either – but they do make for some very funny moments throughout the film.

Yvonne the personal advisor to Philippe is wonderfully played by Anne Le Ny.  Yvonne has a long-time understanding of Philippe’s high expectations, and especially his love for the “rush” of adventure, and waits to see just how long this young confidence man from the projects will last.  Driss also, would like the temp arrangement to last.  He has an ailing mother, and several siblings to support.  Besides, he has eyes for the sexy Magalie (alluringly played by Audrey Fleuret), who also works for Philippe.

All of the supporting characters are solid, as well, in this wildly imaginative and clever script, and the action scenes are “white knuckles” all the way.  Alas, “The Intouchables” didn’t make the short list of the Academy’s Best Foreign Language Film hopefuls.  But that shouldn’t disqualify a very entertaining and gorgeously photographed and cleverly directed film from being on one’s list of must see films this year.