A Georgian opposition leader said on Monday tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili would not be nominated as the single opposition candidate in the January 5 early elections.

Syria's president told French envoys on Sunday that the Lebanese should find a compromise candidate for president and hold elections without foreign interference.

Social Democrat Alvaro Colom was elected Guatemala's new president, according to official poll results released here by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

Alvaro Colom a soft-spoken textile businessman, had an unassailable lead of 5.4 percentage points over Gen Otto Perez Molina, the former head of army intelligence with more than 95 percent of votes counted.

Michigan conservative activists Gerald and Sonja "Smokie" Wall have announced their endorsement of Governor Mitt Romney for the 2008 Presidential election. The former Michigan Brownback Campaign leaders have joined Governor Romney's team following Senator Brownback's announcement that he would no longer seek the Republican Party nomination.

President Nestor Kirchner and first lady Cristina Fernandez are to become the most powerful political dynasty after Juan and Evita Peron as the current first lade was elected a president.

The American satirist Stephen Colbert has announced that he will run for the Presidency of the United States. He made his announcement on his mock news show The Colbert Report.

Pakistani legislators have cast their votes for president in a controversial election, and President Pervez Musharraf is the victor, as expected. But the Supreme Court could later overturn the result, and its decision will not be known for more than a week.

Pakistan's Supreme Court has ruled that tomorrow's presidential vote can go ahead. But the winner will not be announced by the Election Commission until the Court decides on legal challenges against the election.

Pakistan's Supreme Court has dismissed a series of challenges to President Pervez Musharraf's re-election bid, paving the way for Mr. Musharraf to run in the October presidential election while still holding his post as chief of the military. Opposition parties had argued that General Musharraf should not be allowed to run for president while in uniform.

Lebanon's parliament has postponed a session to elect a new president until October 23. A parliamentary official made the announcement in the chamber, after pro-Syrian opposition members boycotted Tuesday's session, preventing the legislature from mustering a two-thirds quorum required for a vote.

Lebanese opposition group Hezbollah and its allies say they will boycott a parliamentary session called for Tuesday to elect a new president.