Iceland elects businesswoman Halla Tomasdottir as new president, beating former PM

Copenhagen, Denmark Reuters Halla Tomasdottir, an entrepreneur, has won Iceland’s presidential election and will take over the mostly ceremonial role from incumbent Gudni Johannesson, broadcaster RUV reported on Sunday. Tomasdottir, 55, received 34 per cent of the votes cast in Saturday’s election in the North Atlantic nation, to beat former Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, who […]
Vietnam appoints top policeman as country’s new President

Hanoi, Vietnam Reuters Vietnam’s parliament elected police minister To Lam as the state president on Wednesday, in a move analysts see as a “stepping stone” for Lam to bid later for the position of chief of the ruling Communist Party, the country’s top job. Lam’s election followed the appointment on Monday by Vietnam’s National Assembly […]
Haiti transition council names former senate leader as president
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters Haiti’s transition council on Tuesday named Edgard Leblanc, the former senate president, to head the body instated last week as it seeks to bring security back to the violence-wracked Caribbean nation. Leblanc’s naming follows weeks of political deadlock and in-fighting following the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry while an armed conflict […]
Hungarian President Novak resigns over sex abuse case pardon

Budapest, Hungary Reuters Hungarian President Katalin Novak resigned on Saturday after coming under mounting pressure for pardoning a man convicted of helping to cover up sexual abuse in a children’s home. Novak, a close ally of conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban, resigned a week after her presidential pardon was first reported by local news site […]
Egypt: Reelected to third term, Sisi is authoritarian leader with penchant for bridges

AIDAN LEWIS, of Reuters, reports from Cairo…
Egyptians vote in presidential election overshadowed by Gaza war

Cairo, Egypt Reuters Egyptians began voting on Sunday in a presidential election set to hand Abdel Fattah al-Sisi a third term in power, as the country grapples with an economic crisis and a war on its border with Gaza. If Sisi wins a new six-year term, his immediate priorities would be taming near-record inflation, managing […]
Updated: Ecuador leftist Gonzalez concedes presidential election to rival Noboa

Updated: 12:15pm (AEDT) Quito/Guayaquil, Ecuador Reuters Ecuadorean presidential candidate Luisa Gonzalez on Sunday conceded the presidential election to her rival, business heir Daniel Noboa, congratulating him on his victory. Noboa was tallying more than 52 per cent of the vote, while Gonzalez had about 48 per cent, with nearly 90 per cemt of ballot boxes […]
Lebanon’s top Christian cleric slams failed attempt to elect a president

Beirut, Lebanon Reuters Lebanon’s top Christian cleric said on Sunday the constitution and democratic system had been violated in “cold blood” during a failed attempt to elect a new president last week, and warned that divisions in the nation had widened. Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai spoke in his first sermon since the Iran-backed Shi’ite group […]
Lebanon’s crisis deepens as presidential vote collapses

Beirut, Lebanon Reuters The powerful Hezbollah group and its allies thwarted a bid by their rivals to elect a top IMF official as Lebanon’s president on Wednesday, sharpening sectarian tensions and further dimming prospects for preventing a collapse of the state. Four years since Lebanon went into a financial meltdown that marks its worst crisis […]
Nigeria’s Tinubu gets his turn as president, familiar problems await

Lagos, Nigeria Reuters Bola Tinubu will be sworn in as Nigeria’s president on Monday under the cloud of a disputed election and pressure to quickly improve economic and security conditions, which many complain worsened under his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari. Two of Tinubu’s main opponents in the February election are challenging his victory on the basis […]