Update on Australia leadership contest

茱莉婭·吉拉德取代陸克文成為澳大利亞總理

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has won the much-anticipated Labor leadership ballot against former PM Kevin Rudd.

Gillard won decisively by 73 votes to 29.

Gillard had been widely expected to win this morning's vote, after last-minute lobbying by Mr Rudd's camp at the weekend failed to win over undecided MPs.

Kevin Rudd shocked many last week with his surprise resignation as Australia's foreign minister.

Syria votes on new constitution referendum amid unrest

敘利亞舉行新憲法公投

The Syrian government has held a referendum on a new constitution.

The new draft constitution is designed to try to give some political pluralism to a country that is dominated politically by the Ba'ath party.

If the draft constitution is approved, it would bring in a presidential limit of two seven-year terms.

But the limit will not be enforced retroactively, meaning Bashar al-Assad could stay in power until 2028.

Russians stage rival presidential activities

Supporters of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have taken to the streets in protest against those who are demonstrating against the Russian Prime Minister ahead of the March 4th presidential election.

Putin supporters in Moscow have been passing out ribbons with Russia's national flag and red wallets to passers-by.

At the same time, thousands of protesters have linked up in central Moscow, joining hands to form a 16-kilometre human chain to protest potential election fraud in upcoming presidential vote.

Similar rival activities have been taking place in a number of other Russian cities.

Senegal presidential election ends in calm despite clash fears

塞內加爾總統選舉投票平靜結束

Despite fears of an escalation of violence, the Presidential election in Senegal appears to have gone off without major incident.

The turnout for the vote in the West African country is said to be high.

The controversial vote is being overseen by observers from West Africa and the European Union.

Incumbent President Abdoulaye, who is seeking a 3rd term in office, is running against 13 challengers.

Karzai calls for calm after days of deadly protests

卡爾扎伊呼吁民眾保持冷靜

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has issued a new call for calm.

The live speech on Television on Sunday comes amid 5-days of deadly protests across the country in response to the burning of the Koran at the US airbase near Kabul.

Around 30 people have been killed, including four US soldiers, since the incident came to light last Tuesday.

The burning of the copies of the Koran at the Bagram Airbase last week, which was done as part of the normal trash incineration at the military base near Kabul, has drawn apologies from the top levels of the US government.

Egyptian court adjourned trial of activists

埃及法庭延期審判人權活動人士

An Egyptian court has adjourned the trial of 16 Americans and 27 other employees of non-profit organizations until the end of April, which will mark the opening session of the case.

The NGO staffers are being accused of receiving illegal funds from abroad and carrying out political activities not connected to their civil society work.　

The case has severely strained US-Egyptian ties, with the American side threatening to cut off the 1.5-billion dollars worth of aid it gives the country every year.

Among the Americans on trial is the son of current US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

S. Africa's former president Mandela discharged from hospital

南非前總統曼德拉出院

Former South African president Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital, with doctors declared nothing "seriously wrong" with his health.

Mandela underwent a diagnostic procedure to check on long-standing abdominal complaints.

The procedure on the 93-year old was day surgery.

Current South African President Jacob Zuma says doctors have assured him that Mandela is in good health.

The health of South Africa's anti-Aparthied crusader is a closely watched subject in the country.

China denies shooting at Vietnamese boat

China's coast guard is denying reports that it shot at a Vietnamese boat in the South China Sea.

China Marine Surveillance says reports that its patrols shot and damaged a Vietnamese fishing boat near the Xisha Islands are untrue.

A report by the Kyodo News Agency out of Japan is quoting a Vietnamese official as saying a Vietnamese fishing boat was shot and damaged by Chinese patrol ships in the area of the Xisha Islands.

Subway to cross under Yangtze

Tunneling on a subway line under the Yangtze River has now been completed Wuhan.

Officials in Hubei's capital expect the section of the subway to open to passengers sometime this year.

The 28-kilometer Line 2 in Wuhan will link Wuchang and Hankou districts, and is expected to help ease the vehicle traffic on the bridges linking the two sides of Wuhan over the Yangtze River.

The new subway line in Wuhan is expected to carry about 600-thousand passengers every day by 2015.