Kyrgyzstan's Moscow-backed Prime Minister claimed victory yesterday in a presidential election tainted by charges of voting abuses and protests by defeated challengers from the restive south of the former Soviet republic.

Herman Cain denies reports that he made unwanted advances on two women in 1990s

Human rights groups and NGOs have accused HSBC bank of colluding in a campaign of intimidation which they say is being waged against them by Egypt’s ruling military council.

Countries that persecuted homosexuals and refused to "adhere to proper human rights" faced losing British aid, David Cameron warned yesterday.

There are serious concerns over the prospects for fair elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after a confidential report suggested that the register of voters has been manipulated to favour the incumbent, Joseph Kabila.

A spectre is haunting England – the spectre of community organising. Barack Obama spent his politically formative years working in Chicago as a community organiser. That phrase is clearly understood in America, but less so over here. It refers to a tradition pioneered by Chicagoan Saul Alinsky – and it has migrated across the Atlantic.

There were angry scenes in a Cairo courtroom yesterday when two policemen were jailed for their role in a case which helped spark the Egyptian uprising.

Tunisia's moderate Islamist party, set to win the first democratic election born of the Arab Spring, reached out yesterday to centre-leftists, vowing to uphold liberal values and form a coalition government with secular parties.

Manfred Gerlach served from 6 December 1989 until March 1990 as the head of state of East Germany, the German Democratic Republic (GDR). He had replaced the last Communist to hold the post, Egon Krenz, who had only held it from 24 October.

From rich recluse to political force, Bidzina Ivanishvili has vowed to oust the President

Out of America: A plan to import tar-sand oil from Canada will bring jobs and energy security, but environmentalists say the president must block it

World View: A sense of injustice is growing. Elite politicians and notorious wrongdoers appear immune as ordinary Greeks reel from wage and job cuts

"Today, I'm going to the hairdresser and the hammam [steam baths]. I have new clothes – just like for a big celebration," says Jannet, in Tunis. "I won't be able to sleep and tomorrow I'll go to the polling station at 7am, first thing." At that thought, the 57-year-old starts crying, tears of joy: "I'm so proud, so excited" she says. "And so relieved the fear is over."