Asif Ali Zardari with his daughters  during celebration dinner at prime minister residence in Islamabad, 06 Sep 2008

 PAKISTAN ELECTION: The widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has won an easy victory in Pakistan's presidential election, but could soon face difficult decisions about the country's growing insurgency.
Pakistani lawmakers elected Pakistan People's Party leader Asif Ali Zardari as president Saturday giving him more than two-thirds of the votes cast.
Officials say Mr. Zardari will be sworn-in early this week, and already the United States says it looks forward to working with him on counter-terrorism issues.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday she is impressed by Mr. Zardari's emphasis on fighting terrorism.

THAILAND PROTESTS:

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej gestures during a news conference on imposing of the state of emergency in Bangkok, 02 Sep 2008

Thailand's embattled prime minister says there is no chance of a coup against his government while he is out of the country later this month.
In his weekly television address today (Sunday), Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said he would address the UN General Assembly in New York even though the last Thai leader who went did not return.
Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was deposed in a military coup just hours before he addressed the General Assembly in 2006.

Protesters march in Hong Kong to denounce China's timetable for full democracy, 29 Dec 2007

HONG KONG ELECTION: Hong Kong residents voting today (Sunday) for a new legislature are expected to favor parties backed by Beijing.
Pro-democracy parties currently hold enough seats in the legislature to form a bloc strong enough to veto legislation seen as too favorable to China's central government.
But democratic reforms have lost their importance as more people in Hong Kong worry about wages, inflation and economic hardship.

BURMA: Burma's police chief has denied reports that democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is on a hunger strike.
Khin Yi told reporters today (Sunday) that her lawyer (Kyi Win) has been allowed to visit the Nobel peace laureate three times recently and her doctor (Tin Myo Win) has given her a check-up.  He said officials have not heard anything about Aung San Suu Kyi being on a hunger strike.
Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi say she has been refusing food deliveries since August 15th.
They say she may be on a hunger strike to protest the military government's refusal to speak with her about democratic reforms.

An old Angolan woman casts her ballot in the popular neighborhood of Samba, 05 Sep 2008

ANGOLA ELECTIONS: Angola's ruling party is headed to a landslide victory in the chaotic parliamentary elections held Friday and extended into Saturday.
WIth more than half of the ballots counted, the ruling MPLA has about 82 percent of the vote.
UNITA, Angola's main opposition party, has slightly more than 10 percent.
UNITA has asked the constitutional court to throw out the vote in the capital, Luanda.  UNITA leader Isaias Samakuva says the electoral system practically collapsed during the vote.