Government Reform

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga struck a deal on a power-sharing Cabinet after secret one-on-one talks to end a six-week impasse, sources close to the talks said. The formation of a coalition Cabinet is the crux of a deal to end the east African nation's postelection crisis. More than 1,200 people died and 300,000 were displaced in the country's bloodiest period since independence in 1963. There were no immediate details about the makeup or size of the Cabinet.

In his remaining months in office, outgoing Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez hopes he can leave a long-lasting mark on the Legislature with new term limits, a ban on fundraising during key periods and a new way of drawing state voting districts. He and the Assembly's minority leader, Mike Villines (R-Clovis), are discussing a constitutional amendment package that could be placed on the November ballot by the Legislature if two-thirds of lawmakers agree.

Myanmar's ruling generals announced Thursday that a new constitution viewed by critics as a pro-government sham had been overwhelming approved by voters. The commission in charge of the Saturday referendum said 92.4% of voters approved the constitution, state-run media reported. The pro-democracy opposition says the new constitution will enshrine military rule.

A Bush administration plan to issue new orders realigning the chain of command over U.S. spy services has triggered turf-related skirmishes across the intelligence community. The changes could erode the CIA's standing as the nation's lead spy service abroad by requiring agency station chiefs in certain countries to cede authority to officials from other U.S. spy agencies, officials said.

Voters in eastern Bolivia overwhelmingly endorsed plans for more autonomy for their regions in two referendums fiercely opposed by leftist President Evo Morales. Hundreds of people celebrated in the capitals of Beni and Pando provinces, waving flags and shouting slogans. The referendums in the sparsely populated Beni and Pando regions follow an overwhelming "yes" vote for autonomy in the nation's wealthiest province, Santa Cruz.

Nepal's deposed king left this city's main palace Wednesday night to begin life as a civilian in the newly declared republic. Former King Gyanendra said he handed in his royal scepter and crown of peacock feathers, yak hair and jewels to the Nepalese government as he left his home in the capital for one of his former summer palaces on a forested hill on its outskirts.

A new reform group is proposing several fixes to Sacramento's red-ink budget writing. And one fix doesn't require a vote of the people or even legislators. It requires only intellectually honest and civil discourse. "Just a personal observation," says former Washington insider Leon Panetta, co-chairman of the group called California Forward. "Part of the problem across the street [at the Capitol] is that they don't spend a lot of time talking to each other."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's main coalition partner decided to support a bill to dissolve parliament, which could paralyze the government and force early elections. Defense Minister Ehud Barak, head of the Labor Party, said he was "very satisfied with the decision" by his faction to vote in favor of the motion, scheduled to take place Wednesday. Olmert has vowed to stay in office and continue to lead his Kadima party unless indicted in a corruption investigation that has prompted calls for his resignation.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on Thursday cleared the way for a government led by former communist rebels by announcing his resignation. For months Koirala had refused to step down and make way for a new government, but he finally announced his plans at Nepal's constituent assembly, elected in April to rewrite the constitution and govern the Himalayan nation.

Ali Bassem plans to start saving for a new car now that the extra money is rolling in. The Baghdad University architecture professor regards his 75% salary increase as a fitting reward for having stayed in Iraq while so many other people of means fled. The extra dinars in his paycheck, Bassem said, are proof of a tentative step forward from the darkness and violence. They mean that years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, "the government is beginning to take root and establish itself," he said.