ELECTIONS

The lifting of a travel ban on seven Americans in Egypt eases some of the nascent tension between Cairo and the Washington D.C. This has been the worst diplomatic crisis between the two nations in three decades, aggravated by a recent context of unease in diplomatic relations between Egypt and the West.

On the eve of presidential elections, Vladimir Putin is claiming that his opponents might use murder and ballot stuffing to tarnish the vote.

At least 100 people a day are now crossing the border, with up to 3,000 fleeing since elections in November.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican known for being a moderate in a polarized congress, announced Tuesday that she isn't running for re-election in November.

Mitt Romney may have won two state primaries Tuesday night, but Rick Santorum is a winner just for putting up a strong fight in Michigan.

A senior Muslim Brotherhood member and the head of the foreign affairs committee in the Egyptian parliament said on Monday that the popular political uprising that swept across the Middle East last year, overthrowing many dictatorial regimes including that of Egypt, is headed to Iran.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum were virtually tied at about 40 percent each with 10 percent of the vote counted in the Republican presidential primary in Michigan on Tuesday, according to early vote counts broadcast on television networks.

The results of Michigan's primary Tuesday night could be a game-changer in the Republican presidential race, where Rick Santorum's surging poll numbers threaten Mitt Romney's chances in his home state.

There are very few things Rick Santorum and Democrats have in common, but both want liberals and independents to vote for the GOP hopeful in the Michigan primary tonight. Both just want it for very different reasons.

The dramatic spike in state-sponsored killings likely represent an attempt by the authorities to crush dissent ahead of parliamentary elections early next month.

According to the rights group, lawyers, teachers, students and journalists are all being arrested as the country prepares for elections on Friday.

Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi has travelled abroad for routine medical checks six months after undergoing surgery in the United States, a spokesman for the party said on Tuesday.

Michigan and Arizona Republican primary will be held Tuesday.

Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade who is looking for a third term in office will have to face a runoff in March. Wade could get lead over his rivals in a tight presidential race, but failed to get outright majority in the Sunday presidential elections. The 85 year old Wade could garner only 32 percent of the votes.

With less than a week until presidential elections in Russia, the validity of the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is being called into question.

As Syrians head to the polls, the European Union imposed a new set of sanctions on Monday in an attempt to get President Bashar al-Assad to call off his assault on the city of Homs and on opposition protestors.

Chinese Internet users taking advantage of temporary access to Google Inc's social networking site, Google+, have flooded U.S. President Barack Obama's page on the site with calls for greater freedom in the world's most populous country.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's referendum for a new constitution allegedly contrived with the predominant aim of staying in power until 2028 was referred to as a sick joke by his opponents in the wake of bloodshed that coincided with the vote.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela was discharged from hospital on Sunday after a keyhole abdominal examination showed there was nothing seriously wrong with the 93-year-old anti-apartheid leader, the government said.

Italian judges on Saturday concluded former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's trial on charges of bribing British lawyer David Mills, saying the statute of limitations had run out and a verdict could not be reached. The case surrounding Mills was one of the most prominent of the scandals centered on Berlusconi.

It was an ordinary blue felt pen, and not a bullet, that killed Mohamed Nasheed's term as the first democratically elected president of the Maldives.