Elections: International

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday hailed Sudan's new election law, which paves the way for the first free ballot in 23 years in Africa's biggest state.

ROME - Thousands of protesters gathered Tuesday in a historic Rome square to denounce the policies of Premier Silvio Berlusconi in the first major opposition demonstration since the conservative leader won April elections.

TOYAKO, Japan - World leaders are rejecting the legitimacy of Robert Mugabe's election in Zimbabwe and have called for officials in that country to work for a prompt, peaceful resolution of the political crisis.

TOYAKO, Japan (Reuters) - The Group of Eight agreed on Tuesday to impose targeted sanctions against leading Zimbabwean officials after a violent election last month that extended President Robert Mugabe's 28-year rule.

BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - The Shi'ite Mehdi Army militia is finished as a fighting force in Iraq's oil rich Basra province and upcoming provincial elections should pass without violence, the province's governor said on Tuesday.

TOYAKO, Japan - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday that his meeting with President Bush at a summit of the Group of Eight industrial powers resulted in no progress toward bridging deep disagreements between the former Cold War foes.

VIENNA, Austria - Austria's governing coalition crumbled Monday after months of acrimony, and new elections are expected as early as September.

TOYAKO, Japan (Reuters) - Major industrial powers told African leaders on Monday that they would call for more sanctions against Zimbabwe unless quick progress was made to deal with a presidential election the West sees as illegitimate, a senior Canadian official said.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Democrats in Hong Kong urged Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to speed up implementation of direct elections on Sunday, during his first visit to the city since taking charge of its affairs as a state leader.

HONG KONG - One of Hong Kong's most prominent democracy advocates said Sunday she will not seek re-election after her term in the territory's legislature ends this year.

YANGON, Myanmar - The overwhelming election victory by Aung San Suu Kyi's party in 1990 has been nullified by the approval of a military-backed constitution and her National League for Democracy party should prepare for a new vote in 2010, Myanmar's state-run newspaper said Sunday.

ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - Private television was back on the air, alcohol on sale and restaurants open after the end of Mongolia's emergency rule, but a week after a disputed election the country's political problems were still far from resolved.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A key regional party in India said on Saturday it backed the government over a controversial nuclear energy agreement with the United States, easing concerns the pact could trigger early elections.

YEREVAN (Reuters) - Thousands of opposition supporters marched through the Armenian capital on Friday and vowed to hold a month-long series of protests to demand the resignation of President Serzh Sarksyan and new elections.

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel took a tough stance against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, condemning his re-election last week as illegitimate and vowing in an interview with The Associated Press that the European Union would seek "all possible sanctions" against the country's government and leader.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Facing the likely withdrawal of left allies, India's government moved closer on Friday to clinching political support it needs to avoid early elections and to force through a nuclear energy deal with the United States.

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia - Police and soldiers in riot gear patrolled downtown sections of Mongolia's capital Friday, the final day of a four-day state of emergency declared following post-election riots that left five people dead and 220 hurt.

HARARE (Reuters) - More than 200 victims of Zimbabwe's election violence are seeking refuge in the U.S. embassy in Harare, an embassy spokesman said on Thursday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's cabinet wants to ban parties from using pictures of figures who are not running for office at campaign rallies for local elections, the government's spokesman said on Thursday.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said on Wednesday that conditions were not yet right for talks with President Robert Mugabe on forming a unity government to end the violent crisis in the ruined state.

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - African efforts to encourage a deal between Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and his opponents showed no results Tuesday, while Mugabe's spokesman defiantly said his boss has no plans to step down and told Western critics they can "go hang."

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Zimbabwe's opposition took a hard line Tuesday on possible negotiations with President Robert Mugabe's government, saying Mugabe had closed the door by going ahead with a sham election.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe will not step down and Western critics who called the country's recent election a sham can "go hang," the longtime ruler's spokesman said Tuesday.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said Monday that a sodomy accusation brought by a male aide is part of a political conspiracy to keep him from running for Parliament, a key step in his goal to become prime minister.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe deepened his feud with the courts on Monday by going ahead with plans for a referendum aimed at rerunning the 2006 election in which he won a second term.

HARGEISA, Somalia (Reuters) - The breakaway state of Somaliland hopes next year's presidential elections will lead to international recognition of the northern Somali enclave as an independent country, officials said on Sunday.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Robert Mugabe's mother told him when he was a child that he had been chosen by God to be a great leader. No wonder he thinks only divine power — not elections, not foreign critics, not a crumbling economy or a much younger opposition leader — can unseat him.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is heading for a landslide victory in a one-candidate election boycotted by the opposition and is expected to be sworn in on Sunday, government sources said.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said he wants to repeat the 2006 presidential election that gave him a second term, in a combative response to a court ruling that said the vote was tainted by corruption.

BOGOTA, Colombia - President Alvaro Uribe has thrown Colombia into political turmoil after a Supreme Court decision questioned the legitimacy of his 2006 re-election, asking that voters have an opportunity to redo the vote.