Armenia's new president, Serzh Sarkisyan, has pledged to heal rifts with opponents who criticized his election as fraudulent.

After winning the presidential elections in Cyprus, communist-leader Demetris Christofias says he will try to restart unification talks on the divided island. Nathan Morley reports for VOA from Nicosia.

New South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office Monday with a promise to boost prosperity not only in his own country but in communist North Korea as well provided the communist state abandons its nuclear weapons.

Raul Castro, Cuba's first new president in nearly half a century, crushed hopes that a new generation might begin shaping the country's future by surrounding himself with elderly military men and promising to defer to his ailing brother Fidel and the Communist Party's old guard on every major matter.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has sent congratulations to the new president of Cyprus, Demitris Christofanis.