ELECTIONS

The blame game has already begun regarding Senator Richard Lugar?s anticipated loss in Tuesday?s Indiana Republican primary.

Samaras? party ?won? Sunday?s election, but with only about 18.9 percent of the total electorate, meaning he had to form an alliance with one or two other parties to create a viable new government.

Socialist Francois Hollande will lead France after Nicolas Sarkozy got ousted by voters fed up with austerity. In Greece, the far-left and far-right have made big gains. But it may not be time just yet to start worrying about the fate of the euro zone.

About 150 people were injured when gas-filled balloons exploded during a rally for the Republican Party in the capital city of Yerevan

Gary Johnson became the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee with an overwhelming majority on Saturday.

Seven political parties gained at least 6 percent of the vote in Sunday?s election in Greece, with the top vote-getter, the conservative New Democracy, winning about 18.9 percent.

Gold eased on Monday after elections results in France and Greece that reflected strong anti-austerity feeling raised concerns over the euro zone's ability to battle its debt crisis, knocking the euro to a three-month low against the dollar.

During his victory speech, the new French president explicitly disavowed austerity.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc is adding to its shareholdings of two U.S. companies amid a market dip, billionaire investor Warren Buffett said on Monday.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Monday as elections in France and Greece stirred up new uncertainties about how the region will tackle its ongoing debt crisis.

Futures on major US stock indices point to a lower opening Monday after key elections in Europe showed that voters rejected pro-austerity governments.

Asian stock markets plunged Monday as weaker-than-expected US employment report and election results from Europe weighed on investor sentiment.

Oil prices fell Monday to add to the sharp decline in the previous session as French and Greek election results raised doubts about those countries' commitment to the austerity measures to sort out Eurozone debt crisis.

Greece?s socialist-party leader, Evangelos Venizelos, whose Pasok organization was battered in snap parliamentary elections on Sunday, has nonetheless called for a wide coalition of parties to support both the country's membership in the euro zone and the terms of its EU-IMF bailouts.

Nicolas Sarkozy delivered a concession speech Sunday night, following his loss to Socialist candidate Francois Hollande in France?s presidential election. I bear the full responsibility for this defeat, Sarkozy said.

Russian riot police beat protesters about the head with batons and detained 250 Sunday after clashes broke out at a Moscow rally by thousands of people against Vladimir Putin on the eve of his return to the presidency.

Le Monde, the French newspaper, has declared Socialist candidate Francois Hollande the winner of the second and decisive round of the country's presidential election with 51.9 percent of the vote, while saying the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy gained 48.1 percent.

Exit polls indicate that Greece's two principal parties, the conservative New Democracy (ND) and Socialist PASOK, have incurred big losses in popularity, suggesting that a formation of a coalition government dedicated to maintaining austerity is in great jeopardy.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives stood neck-and-neck with the rival Social Democrats (SPD) in an election in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, projections showed on Sunday, pointing to weeks of tough coalition talks to form a government.

Golden Dawn, which seeks to deport illegal immigrants from Greece, needed at least 5 percent of the electorate, in order to have representation in parliament.

Sarkozy is convinced that the polls are wrong and he can win a second term.