Government

Russians from a broad spectrum of political movements protested in several cities Saturday, unified by their discontent over how Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has struggled to gird the country against the global financial crisis. In the Far East port city of Vladivostok, more than 2,000 demonstrators marched along downtown streets chanting, "Putin, resign!"

The special prosecutor's office of Colombia said Thursday that it was investigating the deaths of 10 people linked to the slaying of a mayor in 2003, weeks after he had complained of being a marked man to President Alvaro Uribe. A spokesman for Prosecutor Mario Iguaran confirmed the investigation, in a statement that came three days after the death of Grey del Carmen Tirado. She was the latest in a string of victims tied to the trial of former Sucre Gov.

As the Sri Lankan military tightens the noose around Tamil Tiger guerrillas, squeezing them into an increasingly tight pocket on the island's northeast coast, the government appears closer to winning the war than at almost any time since fighting began a quarter-century ago. Yet after the battle ends, it may prove nearly as difficult to win the peace, according to some analysts.

Shifts in the way news is reported in Washington mean that average citizens find information about the government harder to come by, while an "elite" specialty audience has access to more information than ever, a study to be released today has found.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's long-shot effort to form a majority bloc in parliament and become Israel's next prime minister appeared to be fading Thursday, despite final returns upholding her centrist party's narrow first-place finish in national elections. After a second day of postelection lobbying, Livni had failed to win the support of any other party to thwart a rival leadership bid by conservative opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

It was Day One for Zimbabwe's new government of national unity Friday, and already the paralysis had set in: The swearing-in ceremony that was supposed to usher in a new era of hope was delayed for hours by bitter squabbling. And in a sign that hard-liners in President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party remain bitterly opposed to the new prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, security forces arrested senior Tsvangirai ally Roy Bennett and charged him with treason.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that U.S. officials and allies were scrambling to prepare for the possible departure from power of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, a development she said threatened to increase turbulence in one of the world's most heavily armed regions. Arriving in Seoul for security talks, Clinton said persistent signs in the secretive Pyongyang government suggested that a change of leadership might be at hand.

There was relief in the governor's face, and there were warm embraces between lawmakers who narrowly averted disaster. But beyond the state Capitol, among Californians embarrassed by the spectacle of elected officials who'd become the butt of late-night jokes, there was a question. How can we stop this from ever happening again?

Thais took their politics back into the streets of Bangkok on Tuesday, with a sea of red-shirted protesters surrounding government headquarters and demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva step down. Abhisit defied the demonstrators by slipping into his office under heavy protection early this morning, according to news reports. He exited a short time later to attend an official ceremony in another part of the capital, the reports said.

At 10 Downing Street, a rare appearance by ailing former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was postponed. And at the House of Commons, even the weekly heckling session was canceled. On Wednesday, Britain came together in mourning over the death of a 6-year-old, the son of opposition leader David Cameron who died suddenly after a lifelong struggle with cerebral palsy and a rare epileptic disorder. Ivan Cameron was the eldest of the three children of the affable Cameron and his wife, Samantha.