Republican John McCain appeared to have picked up the consolation prize of Missouri Wednesday after the heartland state became the last to tot up all of its ballots in the US presidential election.

PRISTINA, Serbia, Nov 18, 2007 (AFP) - Former Kosovo guerilla leader Hashim Thaci, whose party favours speedy independence, claimed victory Sunday in crucial parliamentary elections.

'I thank all of those who helped our victory and the victory of Kosovo,' Thaci told a celebration of his Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), which an unofficial tally showed had won 35 percent of the vote.

WARSAW, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - The pro-businnes Civic Platform (PO) party was leading on 41.64 percent of the vote with 90 percent of the ballots in Poland's snap general election counted, the national electoral commission said Monday.

The result will put the opposition PO in line to receive 208 seats in the 460-seat Sejm, the lower house of parliament.

The ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his identical twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski, was in second place with just over 32 percent, giving it 164 seats.

WARSAW, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - The opposition liberal party Civic Platform (PO) was leading with 41 percent of the vote with nearly three quarters of the ballots in Poland's general election counted, the central election commission said Monday.

The result will put the PO in line to receive 205 seats in the 460-seat Sejm, the lower house of parliament.

The ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his identical twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski, was in second place with just over 32 percent, giving it 166 seats.

ANKARA, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - A majority of Turks who voted Sunday approved constitutional reforms to elect the country's president by popular vote, according to results announced by the High Electoral Board.

The board said that with 97.5 percent of ballot boxes opened, 69.4 percent of voters approved the reforms package, while 30.5 percent voted against.

Turnout was 64.8 percent, the board added.

ANKARA, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - Nearly 72 percent of Turks who voted Sunday said 'yes' to constitutional reforms that provide for the election of the president by popular vote, according to partial results announced by the High Electoral Board.

The board said the results came from 45.4 percent of ballot boxes opened.

Voter turnout was a mere 28.1 percent, the board said, the same percentage as 'no' votes against the reform package, which was drawn up by the ruling Justice and Development Party.

BASEL, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Swiss drugs giant Novartis on Thursday announced a seven percent rise in net profits in the first nine months of the year, but third quarter profits fell 12 percent on competitors' sales of generic drugs.

Over nine months, net profits rose to 5.609 billion US dollars (3.9 billion euros), operating income was up nine percent to 6.474 billion dollars and net sales were up 13 percent to 28.141 billion dollars.

But in the third quarter, net profits dropped 12 percent to 1.574 billion dollars, well below forecast.

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - The National Bank of Kuwait, the Gulf emirate's largest bank, on Wednesday announced a 16 percent rise in net profits for the first nine months of the year.

NBK said it posted a record profit of 787.5 million dollars on September 30 compared with 679 million dollars in the same period of 2006.

Returns on equity were 32.2 percent, while returns on assets stood at 3.33 percent, the bank said in a statement.

SAN JOSE, Oct 7, 2007 (AFP) - Costa Rica's president Oscar Arias declared victory Sunday in his drive to join a free trade deal with the United States, announcing on television that voters had backed it in a referendum.

'The people of Costa Rica have said yes to the free trade agreement, and that for me is a sacred wish,' Arias said in a televised address to the nation after Costa Ricans voted in their tens of thousands on the measure.

SAN JOSE, Oct 7, 2007 (AFP) - Voters in Costa Rica narrowly backed a free trade deal with the United States, according to partial official referendum results released by electoral authorities on Sunday.

Out of 73 percent of votes counted, just over 50 percent of voters said yes to the agreement against 47.5 percent who voted no, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said. Turnout was around 60 percent.

SEOUL, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - An inter-Korean summit derided beforehand by critics as a political ploy ended Thursday with some significant achievements, analysts say.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Il and South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun, in a closing statement, declared their commitment to a nuclear-free peninsula and pledged to work for a peace treaty to bridge the world's last Cold War divide.

KIEV, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) - Ukraine's pro-Western party of reformer Yulia Tymoshenko was leading in ballot tallies Monday after parliamentary elections, winning 34.09 percent with 20.83 percent of all ballots counted.

The Regions party, led by Tymoshenko's bitter rival Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, is second with 28.83 percent of the ballots counted so far, the electoral commission said.

President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party, allied to Tymoshenko's Bloc, was trailing third with 16.52 percent of the vote.

ANTANANARIVO, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - Madagascar's President Marc Ravalomanana's party won a landslide victory in the Indian Ocean island's parliamentary elections, according to official results published Friday.

The TIM (I Love Madagascar) party secured 106 out of the 127 seats that were up for grabs in the single ballot polls held on September 23, the interior ministry said.

The results mean that the presidential party tightens its grip on parliament, where it held 108 out of 160 seats before the chamber was downsized in a constitutional reform earlier this year.

LONDON, Sept 24, 2007 (AFP) - British energy giant BP's third-quarter revenues are set to be 'dreadful,' the company's chief executive Tony Hayward told a meeting of BP employees in Houston, the Financial Times reported in an early edition of its Tuesday paper.

Citing a summary of the 'town hall'-style meeting put together by a BP manager and sent to colleagues that it had obtained, the business daily said that Hayward told BP workers that the company's financial performance was at its worst since 1992-93.

ANTANANARIVO, Sept 24, 2007 (AFP) - Madagascar's ruling party has won all seats in the capital Antananarivo in legislative polls held at the weekend, the interior ministry said Monday.

President Marc Ravalomanana's TIM (I love Madagascar) party won in all six constituencies, setting it on a path to retain a majority in the Indian Ocean island's 127-member parliament.

Turnout was however low in the capital during Sunday's election, with the highest participation at around 32 percent, according to provisional results.

NICOSIA, Aug 28, 2007 (AFP) - Cash-strapped state carrier Cyprus Airways announced on Tuesday it had slashed its net loss for the first half of 2007 by more than two thirds after implementing a radical survival plan.

It said net losses for the six months were 6.82 million pounds (11.68 million euros) compared with 23.32 million (39.96 million euros) for the same period last year.

The company said the 2007 results do not include information from charter wing Eurocypria as it was sold to the government for 13.4 million pounds in November.

FREETOWN, Aug 20, 2007 (AFP) - Sierra Leone is heading for a second round of presidential elections between opposition leader Ernest Koroma and Vice President Solomon Berewa, according to results released Monday.

With 93 percent of ballots counted, Koroma of the All People's Congress (APC) has garnered 44 percent while Berewa of the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) has 38 percent, according to the National Electoral Commission.

BANGKOK, Aug 20, 2007 (AFP) - A healthy majority of Thai voters approved a new army-backed constitution in a referendum, final results showed Monday, but strong regional divides split the nation and turnout was lower than expected.

With all votes counted, the charter was approved by 57.81 percent of voters, the head of the military-installed Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA), Noranit Setabutr, said as he confirmed the final outcome on national radio.

Both the margin of victory and the turnout of 57.61 percent were lower than the ruling junta had predicted last week.

BANGKOK, Aug 20, 2007 (AFP) - Nearly 58 percent of Thai voters approved a new army-backed constitution, final results showed Monday, but turnout for the referendum was lower than expected.

With all the votes counted, turnout was estimated at 58 percent, compared to about 70 percent in the last two general elections, said election commission spokesman Suthiphon Thaweechaiyagarn.

BANGKOK, Aug 20, 2007 (AFP) - More than 58 percent of Thai voters approved a new army-backed constitution, preliminary returns showed Monday, with turnout for the referendum lower than in recent general elections.

With all of the votes counted but not yet confirmed, turnout was estimated at 56 percent, compared to about 70 percent in the last two general elections, said election commission spokesman Suthiphon Thaweechaiyagarn.

BAMAKO, Aug 11, 2007 (AFP) - Mali's ruling coalition strengthened its hold on parliament as a result of elections last month, winning 113 of the available 147 seats, official results released by the constitutional court show.

The Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ADP), a 40-party coalition which backs President Amadou Toumani Toure, had held 97 seats in the outgoing national assembly which officially ended its mandate Friday.

BRAZZAVILLE, Aug 10, 2007 (AFP) - Congo's ruling coalition was Friday declared the winner of legislative elections, despite opposition charges of electoral fraud.

The Congolese Labour Party of President Denis Sassou Nguesso and its allies won an outright majority, grabbing 124 of the 137 seats in parliament after a count of ballots cast in two rounds, on June 24 and August 5, Territory Administration Minister Francois Ibovi said.

The opposition has only 11 seats in the new parliament.

BERLIN, Aug 9, 2007 (AFP) - German Telecommunication giant Deutsche Telekom said Thursday it was on track to meet its forecast for the year thanks to robust growth in international revenues despite a punishing second quarter.

Net profit in the quarter ending June 30 dropped 40.3 percent to 608 million euros (836 million dollars) compared to the same period last year.

However underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) climbed 1.3 percent to 4.8 billion euros as net revenue rose 2.9 percent to reach 15.58 billion euros.

BEIRUT, Aug 5, 2007 (AFP) - Lebanon's Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun claimed victory for his faction in key parliamentary by-elections on Sunday, but the ruling majority refused to concede defeat claiming voter fraud.

In a televised speech Aoun said that his party's candidate, Camille Khoury, beat former president Amin Gemayel, a prominent leader of the anti-Syrian ruling majority in the polls in the Metn region, a mountainous Christian heartland northeast of the capital.

BEIRUT, Aug 5, 2007 (AFP) - Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun claimed victory for his faction in parliamentary by-elections on Sunday, dealing a blow to the Western-backed ruling majority.

In a televised speech Aoun said that his party's candidate, Camille Khoury, beat former president Amine Gemayel, a prominent leader of the anti-Syrian ruling majority in the polls in the Metn region, a mountainous Christian heartland northeast of the capital.

However, several members of Gemayel's entourage claimed that their camp was leading in the polls.

FRANKFURT, July 31, 2007 (AFP) - Deutsche Borse, operator of the Frankfurt stock exchange, said on Tuesday that its second quarter results amounted to its best quarter ever.

Net profit was up 13 percent to 210.7 million euros (288.3 million dollars), the group said in a statement. That number was below the expectations of financial analysts questioned by Thomson financial news agency who counted on an average of 215.5 million.

MANAMA, July 31, 2007 (AFP) - Bahrain-based investment group Investcorp on Tuesday announced record net profits of 302.3 million dollars in the fiscal year ending June 30.

This represented an increase of 131 percent over the previous fiscal year, the company said in a statement.

Launched in 1982, Investcorp specialises in buying up and restructuring ailing European and North American firms. Its portfolio includes investments in more than 50 businesses around the world.

ANKARA, July 30, 2007 (AFP) - Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) got a solid majority of 341 seats in the 550-member parliament in the July 22 early legislative elections to rule for a second term, according to official final results released Monday.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) was second with 112 seats, while the right-wing Nationalist Action Party (MHP) came third with 70 seats, the chairman of the Higher Electoral Board, Muammer Aydin, told reporters here.

TOKYO, July 29, 2007 (AFP) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition suffered heavy losses in elections Sunday, losing its majority in the upper house of parliament, exit polls said.

Public broadcaster NHK said Abe's coalition had probably lost around half of the seats it was defending and that the left-centre opposition would likely take control of the upper house.

NHK projected that the coalition won anywhere between 31 and 43 seats out of the 76 it was defending.

DUBAI, July 28, 2007 (AFP) - Dubai Islamic Bank said on Saturday its net profit rose 113 percent in the first half of the year to 1.5 billion dirhams (408.7 million dollars) because of diversification.

The bank said its assets rose by 51 percent on an annual basis, to stand at 75.5 billion dirhams (20.5 billion dollars) at the end of June.

ANKARA, July 26, 2007 (AFP) - Turkish officials Thursday delayed the announcement of official results from Sunday`s legilsative elections in which the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) won a major victory.

The chairman of the Higher Electoral Board, Muammer Aydin, said they had given candidates a three-day period to raise objections to the results.

The board will also decide how to handle the parliamentary seat won by a candidate who died in a road accident in Ankara earlier Thursday, he added.

NICOSIA, July 25, 2007 (AFP) - Bank of Cyprus, the island`s largest financial institution, on Wednesday posted a 58 percent rise in post-tax profits in the first six months of 2007, compared to the same period of last year.

From January to June, the bank recorded net profits of 134 million Cyprus pounds (230 million euros), up from 85 million pounds (146 million euros) during January-June 2006.

BAMAKO, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - Mali`s governing coalition strengthened its grip on parliament after weekend legislative elections, according to provisional results published Tuesday.

The Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ADP), a 40-party coalition which backs President Amadou Toumani Toure, took 128 of the 147 seats.

Toure`s bloc held 97 seats in the outgoing parliament.

The ADP won all 13 seats contested in a first-round vote on July 1, and a further 115 in Sunday`s second round.

BAMAKO, July 23, 2007 (AFP) - A widely predicted election victory for Mali`s ruling coalition looked to be on track Monday after a partial count showed it would likely retain control of the 147-seat parliament.

The Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ADP), a 40-party coalition which backs President Amadou Toumani Toure, had taken 35 of the 42 seats tallied so far, according to official figures released after Sunday`s poll.

The ADP had already grabbed all 13 seats put to the ballot in a first-round of the elections on July 1.

ANKARA, July 22, 2007 (AFP) - Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) garnered 46.4 percent of the vote in Sunday's snap polls to win a second term, according to unofficial final results.

The tally, carried by the Anatolia news agency after all votes were counted on Monday, will give Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan 340 of the 550 seats in the single chamber parliament.

ANKARA, July 22, 2007 (AFP) - Turkey`s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was leading with 47.6 percent in Sunday`s general elections, with 80 percent of votes counted, according to results carried on CNN Turk television.

The main opposition Republican People`s Party (CHP) was second with 20.1 percent and the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) third with 14.4 percent, it said.

ANKARA, July 22, 2007 (AFP) - Turkey`s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is leading with 50.1 percent of the vote in Sunday`s general elections, with almost 35 percent of the vote counted, the CNN Turk news channel reported.

The main opposition Republican People`s Party (CHP) is second with 16.6 percent and the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) third with 14.4 percent, it said.

The AKP`s lead could decrease as counting progresses, since most of the initial results came from the rural east where the party is stronger compared to the more urban west, analysts said.