Maldives opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed has called for fresh presidential polls under a caretaker leader, after police halted the vote. He said President Mohamed Waheed Hassan should resign to let the parliamentary speaker oversee the elections. On Saturday, police prevented ballot papers from being sent out, saying two candidates had failed to approve the registry of voters.

When Hong Kong reverted to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, expectations were high—in Beijing and among the pro-mainland forces in Hong Kong—that identification with the Chinese nation would slowly but surely strengthen among the local population, especially among the younger generations, eventually solving the problem of Hong Kong’s full integration into China. Once the colonial education system ceased poisoning young minds, it was thought, future generations would embrace the worldview and politics favored in Beijing.

For a second consecutive year, no leader has been deemed worthy of the $5 million Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. The foundation's prize committee announced Monday that it had decided not to award the prize -- the fourth time there has been no winner in its seven-year history.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that Washington's will consider resuming military aid to Egypt "on the basis of performance" that encourages democracy through elections. The US suspended some of its $1.5bn in annual military aid on Wednesday, but Kerry said on Thursday the deliveries could resume if Cairo moves to restore civilian rule.

Contrary to popular belief and stunning Google image search results, the Maldives isn't an island paradise. The network of nearly 1,200 islands off India's coast is hard to get to, even more difficult to govern, and, as it turns out, nearly impossible to hold an election in without everyone accusing everyone else of corruption.

Sri Lankans in the north vote on Saturday in provincial elections for the first time in 25 years. During the country's long civil war, the region served as the base for separatist rebels belonging to the Tamil Tigers.

In March of 2011 and just hours before the United Nations Security Council vote, Libyan dictator Muammar Ghaddafi promised citizens of Benghazi--his own countrymen--that he was “coming tonight” and that would show them “no mercy and no pity.” Gaddafi’s brazen statement telegraphed an impending attack with a high possibility massive civilian casualties.

In the former Soviet Union, when officials thought a citizen was stirring up trouble, they simply shipped him off to the Gulag. Today, authoritarian leaders have become more subtle about reining in those who would challenge the government – especially nongovernmental organizations promoting democracy and greater civil rights.