A general election in Finland produced a surprise result when True Finns, a hitherto obscure eurosceptic party, took almost 20 per cent of the vote -- sufficient to enable it to become part of a coalition government and influence policy against bail-outs for EU countries such as Portugal in economic difficulties.
In Cuba, the Communist Party conference made Raul Castro first secretary as well as president, in a vote of confidence in his policies which included a limit of five-year terms of office for all ministers in order to encourage new talent. An obviously fragile Fidel Castro made what may have been a farewell appearance and was given a long standing ovation.
Street demonstrations calling for political reforms continued in many parts of Syria, including the capital Damascus; on Friday almost one hundred protestors were killed by the security services. In a long-delayed decision President Assad revoked the half-century-old state of emergency legislation.
The Nigerian election was won convincingly by the incumbent president, Goodluck Johnson, but the continuing division between the country's mainly Muslim North and predominately Christian South was apparent as riots and killings in the North followed Mr Johnson's victory.
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