Former rebel becomes Uruguay president

Polls following Sunday’s presidential election in Uruguay showed Jose Mujica (photo, from bbc.co.uk), a blunt-talking former senator and one time leftist guerrilla fighter, leading with more than 51 per cent of the vote.

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Minaret ban won in Switzerland

A referendum proposal to ban the building of minarets has been supported by Swiss voters, official results show. (photo, from bbc.co.uk)

More than 57% of voters and 22 out of 26 cantons (or provinces) voted in favour of the ban.

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Oprah’s show to end in 2011

After more than two decades on air, the Oprah Winfrey Show is to close in 2011, said the production company behind the programme.

Winfrey (photo, from bbc.co.uk) is one of the most influential women in the US. She has hosted the show since 1986.

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US will miss Guantanamo closing deadline

The Obama administration will miss the January 2010 deadline set for closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba (photo, from aljazeera.net), admitted the US president.

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Woman stoned to death in Somalia

For committing what a judge has said was adultery, a Somali woman has been stoned to death.

On Tuesday, the 20-year-old divorcee was executed. She had previously confessed to having had sex with a 29-year-old unmarried man.

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Belgian PM becomes EU first president

Herman van Rompuy, the Belgian Prime Minister, has been chosen by EU leaders to be the first permanent European Council President. (photo, from bbc.co.uk)

His job was created by the Lisbon Treaty, as well as foreign affairs supremo. The latter has gone to the EU Trade Commissioner, Baroness Catherine Ashton from the UK.

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Karzai declared elected president

Poll officials scrapped the planned second round of the Afghan presidential election, and declared Hamid Karzai (right on the photo, from aljazeera.net) the elected president.

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Uighurs from Guantanamo arrive in Palau

The Pacific island of Palau has welcomed six Chinese Uighur prisoners from the US detention centre at Guantanmo Bay, officials say. (photo, from bbc.co.uk)

They have “arrived to freedom”, said lawyers for three of them early on Sunday.

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MDC boycott criticised by Mugabe

Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe’s prime minister and leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has announced its decision to boycott the country’s unity cabinet. (photo, from aljazeera.net)

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Karzai rival withdraws from run-off

“I will not participate in the election,” Dr Abdullah told supporters. (photo, from aljazeera.net)

Hamid Karzai’s rival announced his withdrawal from the second round of the Afghan presidential election, arguing that his demands for ensuring a fraud-free election had not been met.

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