Riots sparked by local elections have left around 400 people dead in the city of Jos, central Nigeria. While Western media blame the conflict on a rift between Christians and Muslims, one of our Nigerian Observers says it all boils down to economics. Read more...

When an ethnic Turk was elected leader of the Green Party in Germany on Saturday, the international press immediately christened him "The German Obama". But a German with Turkish parents tells us, "I hadn't even thought about comparing them". Read more...

Israel went to the polls Tuesday for its municipal elections. One of our Israeli Observers gave his perspective on the vote. Read more...

After the financial crisis hit Western Europe, it snowballed towards the east, forcing heavily indebted states like Ukraine to take strict measures to avoid economic collapse. Read more...

A Peronist local election candidate is organising a tombola to fund his campaign. First prize: breast implants. Read more...

Canadian web users are in hysterics about prime minister Stephen Harper's latest slip-up, just two weeks before the national party elections. The news is out that in 2003 he copied, almost word for word, a speech on Iraq from former Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Read more and watch the speech.

Known as Europe's last dictatorship, Lukashenko's Belarus was promised better relations with the West if they could demonstrate fair elections on Sunday. They didn't, and YouTubers say they've got the proof. Read more and see the videos.

Language gaps and cultural misunderstandings are an integral part of daily life for Canadians dealing with their fellow countrymen from the other side of the French - British divide. This rather amusing sketch about the issue is also a serious warning about the future of Canadian culture, which according to the clip, faces near-extinction. Read more...

Ed Mazza is the Observer's regional editor for the United States. He'll be following the 2008 election online and posting daily roundups of the latest from the campaigns and the blogosphere. Read his blog review...

Haditha, Iraq, 16 March 2008. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Erin A. Kirk.

The sudden outbreak of war between Russia and Georgia last Friday was a glaring opportunity for the American presidential candidates to prove their worth in foreign policy. Despite it being one of McCain's strong points, both a Democrat and a Republican tell us that it was Obama who came out on top this time. Read why...