The Honduran interim government defied international pressure on Wednesday and vowed there was “no chance at all” of ousted President Manuel Zelaya returning to office.
World leaders from U.S. President Barack Obama to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have told the new rulers of the Central American country to restore Zelaya, a leftist who was toppled by the army on Sunday and sent into exile after a dispute over presidential term limits.

Dutch voters, after rejecting a draft constitution for Europe four years ago, delivered a solid bloc for anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders to take to Europe’s parliament, exit polls showed Thursday.
Underscoring skepticism over further European integration, Wilders’ right-wing Freedom Party appeared set to win four out of 25 contested seats in elections for the European Parliament being held over the next four days.
Wilders, who says the Koran incites violence, said he would stop Turkey’s bid to join the bloc, an issue that causes deep fissures among the 27 European Union member …

As one of the Australian government’s most senior ministers, Joel Fitzgibbon has overseen some important policy shifts in just over 18 months in office.
There was a new defence policy paper; a radical reform program for an at-times resentful defence department; and there were big changes in Australia’s role in two major conflicts, in Iraq and in Afghanistan.

Tsakhia Elbegdorj won the presidency in with a narrow election win over incumbent Nambaryn Enkhbayar in May 24 2009. He was set to take office later in the month.
Standing for the opposition Democratic Party, Elbegdorj won just over 51% of the vote, to 47% for Enkhbayar, whose ruling Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) said it accepted the result as fair.

ROME — Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday that he had used a state plane to ferry personal guests to his private villa — but that there was nothing improper as he and other government officials were flying on the jet.
Rome prosecutors earlier in the week launched an investigation into whether the premier allegedly abused his powers by arranging for partygoers — including a dancer and singer — to use government aircraft and for official security escorts to travel to his villa on the island of Sardinia.

Mauritania’s military rulers and opposition leaders have signed an agreement to end a political crisis following a coup last August.
Under the deal, former junta leader General Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz is suspending his campaign in presidential polls that had been set for 6 June.
The vote is now due to take place in July, and the opposition is expected to contest it.

Moldova — Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin failed on Wednesday to secure the parliament’s election of a compliant ally as his successor who would have allowed him to continue running the country behind the scenes.
Voronin’s plan to win parliamentary support for fellow Communist Zinaida Greceanii came unstuck when opposition parties torpedoed the ballot with a boycott that denied her, by just one vote, the required tally of votes for election.
The outcome triggers new parliamentary elections, though Voronin took no immediate steps to dissolve the chamber.