which state-owned banks lost hundreds of millions of dollars in bad loans. On Tuesday he said authorities were still mystified by the attack as he defended his decision to delay informing the government. He added that making the news public earlier would have risked tipping off the hackers. "I don't deny that I took time (to inform the finance minister). It was a cyber attack and even today we don't know from where it originated," he said.

Voting began Tuesday in North Carolina and Ohio, two of the five states where Republican and Democratic primary contests are being held to choose a nominee for the November US presidential election.

Polls opened in North Carolina and Ohio at 1030 GMT, while polls are set to open in Florida, Illinois and Missouri at 1100 GMT in an event dubbed "Super Tuesday 2."

Among Republicans, Donald Trump is seeking to confirm his status as a front-runner and possibly push one or two of his rivals out of the race. Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton hopes to fend off a resurgent Bernie Sanders and assert her claim as the party's all-but-certain presidential nominee.  AFP