Georgia ruling party concedes poll defeat

Opposition Georgian Dream coalition has won majority of parliamentary seats, President Mikhail Saakashvili says.

President Saakashvili has led the country since his 2003 'Rose Revolution' [Reuters]

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has conceded defeat in parliamentary polls that appear set to hand a shock victory to the opposition Georgian Dream coalition. "It is clear that the [opposition] Georgian Dream has won a majority," Saakashvili said in a televised speech on Tuesday. Bidzina Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream opposition coalition was leading Saakashvili's ruling United National Movement (UNM) by 53.19 per cent to 41.51 per cent after a quarter of electoral precincts declared results on Tuesday in the proportional ballot that will decide just over half of parliamentary seats. A complex electoral system means that the ruling party could still take a large number of seats, however. First-past-the-post votes in 73 constituencies will make up the remainder of the 150-seat parliament, and the opposition was ahead in partial counts from seven out of 10 such constituencies in its stronghold Tbilisi.

Kosovo declared 'fully independent'

 

Kosovan Prime Minister Hashim Thaci (r) called the

 decision a 'historic turnaround' for the state

   
     Western powers overseeing Kosovo have announced the end of their supervision of the tiny Balkan nation. Kosovo had been overseen by a group made up of 23 EU countries, the US and Turkey since 2008, when it unilaterally declared independence from Serbia. US President Barack Obama said Monday marked a "historic milestone" for Kosovo, which he said had made "significant progress". But Serbia dismissed the sovereignty announcement as meaningless. It does not recognise the secession of Kosovo and regards it as part of Serbia.

Spain gears up for bank bailout by eurozone partners

 

     Up to 60bn euros (£48bn; $78bn) will be needed to bail out Spain's banks, according to the country's second biggest lender, BBVA. The results of independent stress tests of the Spanish banking sector will be published on 28 September. But previews are already being sent to the country's financial institutions.

     The BBC has been told that the Spanish government has already put in place economic reform plans that would allow it to apply for a bailout immediately. Spain's conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has in the past insisted Madrid would not become the fourth European capital in recent years to apply for such a bailout, but sources indicate such a programme is now likely.

Russian army battles fighters in Caucasus

At least 12 killed in fighting between army and Islamist fighters in volatile region.

Russian Army battles fighters in Causacus
At least 12 killed betwee Army and Islamist fighters in Volatile Region

     Russian security forces have killed 12 people including leading Islamist fighters in the North Caucasus republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Chechnya, officials and local media said. Two law-enforcement officials were also killed in the fighting, they said on Thursday.

     Russia is fighting an Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus where fighters carry out almost daily attacks more than a decade after federal forces ousted a separatist government in Chechnya.
Fighters in the North Caucasus say they are fighting for an Islamic state in the strip of provinces along Russia's southernborder.

Protesters Set Fire to German Embassy in Sudan

Protesters Set Fire to German Embassy in Sudan

 

AFP

Angry protesters in the Sudanese capital Khartoum attacked the German Embassy on Friday, setting fire to parts of the building. They also tore down the German flag and raised an Islamist banner. The violence was part of a wave of protests against an anti-Islam film across the Muslim world.

     Following Friday prayers, thousands of protesters in the Sudanese capital Khartoum attacked the embassies of Germany and Britain, outraged by a film that insults the Prophet Muhammad.

Witnesses said that protesters threw rocks at the embassies, which are close to each other, and tried to storm their main entrances. Some demonstrators managed to get past security forces and enter the German Embassy.

Euro v US Dollar

7 September 2012 Last updated at 07:16 ET

ECB plan pushes euro to two-month high against dollar

Last Updated at 07 Sep 2012, 11:56 ET *Chart shows local time

€1 buys	change	%
1.2789	+ +0.02	+ +1.25

The euro has strengthened to a two-month high against the US dollar, as the European Central Bank's bond-buying plans continued to please the markets.

The euro rose 0.3% to $1.2673 in early trading on Friday.
It also hit a two-month peak against the Japanese yen and a one-month peak against the Swiss franc.
Yields on Spanish and Italian 10-year bonds fell further, easing implied borrowing costs for the debt-laden countries.