By defying history to pull off a spectacular election victory David Cameron may yet have set in train events that will soon consign the United Kingdom itself to the history books.

Acting prime minister Ehud Olmert, the front-runner in March 28 Israeli parliament elections, today said he will change Israel’s borders in coming years.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said today he is following Ariel Sharon’s health crisis “with great worry”, but that it would not derail Palestinian parliament elections.

The opposition Congress party and its allies scored unexpectedly strong gains in India’s Parliament elections as the nail-biting finale to the polls seemed to be heading for an upset.

Police armed with video cameras and soldiers with automatic rifles were among a million security forces on alert in 16 Indian states for today’s voting in the fifth and final phase of three-week Parliament elections in the world’s largest democracy.