ELECTIONS

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos is expected to meet with President Karolos Papoulias later Wednesday to dissolve parliament and set a date for watershed elections, which are set to test Greek resolve for punishing austerity measures.

Venezuelan politics has almost willingly let President Hugo Chavez's terminal illness hijack the ongoing presidential election campaign, which would have otherwise been its best chance to reassess his 13-year-long governance and revolutionary brand of socialism.

The president, seeking to bolster his message of economic fairness, is advocating a plan that would raise income taxes on Americans earning more than $1 million to a minimum of 30 percent.

A court suspended the country's two-week-old constitution-drafting body Tuesday after complaints that the process to select members was too exclusive.

Malaysian government took a significant move towards reinforcing the human rights and political reforms in the country, by introducing a legislation that would end indefinite detainments without trial.The Security Offenses (Special Measures) Bill will repeal and replace the Internal Security Act of 1960, which gave the government power to arrest anyone suspected as national security threat and detain him without trial for an indefinite period.

The 48-hour strike comes in spite of pleas from business leaders and politicians not to disrupt Greece's vital tourism sector, an industry that employs 1 in 5 workers.

Pakistan's foreign minister might lose her portfolio for contradicting Pakistani President Yusuf Raza Gilani's remarks on US-Pak ties. The speculation was sparked by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's statement at an interaction with the journalists in Lahore, in which he said that fresh team would carry forward diplomatic talks with India, to discuss bilateral issues including Kashmir.

The candidates for Egypt's first free presidential elections in decades are set, the deadline having expired at 2 p.m. Cairo time on Sunday, and the final list is a microcosm of the current political and social divisions in post-revolution Egypt.

Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren raised more than twice as much between January and March as her opponent, incumbent Republican Scott Brown.

James O'Keefe released a video on Monday showing just how easy it is to commit voter fraud in Washington, D.C. But critics argue that stronger ID requirements at the ballot box would be detrimental to the democratic process.

Former KGB chief Leonid Tibilov was named the president of South Ossetia, a breakaway republic within the nation of Georgia, on Sunday.

Nigerian rebels Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the Easter day bombing that killed up to three dozen people in the northern city of Kaduna.

Mali's ousted president penned a resignation letter Sunday and in the presence of reporters handed it to an emissary to deliver to the country's new leaders.

Tullow Oil PLC recently announced an oil discovery in Kenya. Here is an economic analysis of what the discovery could mean for the future of the country.

Captain Amadou Sanogo, who led the coup in Mali and a junior officer in the military, has agreed to handover power to a civilian government, state local television reports. The move came after intense pressure from the international community, which outrightly denounced the coup in March. They also rejected the declaration of independence announced by the Tuareg rebel leaders.

Omar Suleiman, Egypt's vice president under Hosni Mubarak from Jan. 29 to Feb. 11 last year, has declared his intention to run as a candidate in the country's presidential election this spring.

On April 5, the famous blonde doll, Barbie, announced that she will be running for President in 2012. It's official, dolls, she announced on her Tumblr. Welcome to my official glam-paign headquarters.

Friday's job report for March showed 121,000 hires -- the first figures in five months showing job growth under 200,000.

Russia, the world's ninth largest economy, cut its 2012 GDP forecast to 3.4 percent from 3.7 percent as investment growth is expected to decline, its economy minister said Friday.

Moscow trendsetters look set for a gloomy and conservative autumn/winter 2012/13 season if Russian Fashion Week has been any judge of the trends for menswear and womenswear.

Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika died following a heart attack on Thursday, according to government officials.