Second International

Romania's new Prime Minister has worked his way up from a low-ranking post in the Social Democrats to the top, while shrugging off various controversies and scandals on the way.

The country's ruling Social Democrats boast of their shift to directly electing their leader and of other 'democratic' changes - but a closer look reveals that most of the changes are fairly cosmetic.

German police on Monday evacuated the headquarters of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Berlin after a suspicious object was found in the mailroom, a party spokesman said.

With more than half of the results of Thursday's UK general election now in, David Cameron's Tories appear set to have won 329 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, according to a BBC forecast.

The result would allow Cameron to ditch his Liberal Democrat coalition partner of the past five years and govern alone, Bloomberg said in its coverage of the news.

Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives looked on course May 8 for a surprise victory in Britain's general election which could redefine the country's future in Europe and herald more austerity cuts.

Opposition leader Ed Miliband insisted he was ready to be Britain's next prime minister as he launched a manifesto April 13 designed to boost his party's reputation on the economy.

German Bund yields fell back towards record lows on Friday, as the European Central Bank's bond-buying programme offset the improving appetite for riskier assets following a Greek debt repayment and the impact of stronger U.S. jobs data.

A leading union activist in Serbia said trade unions would call a general protest for Thursday, when parliament is due to adopt a controversial new Labour law.

BELGRADE - Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic stated on Friday that the future government will file the new draft laws on labour, bankruptcy and privatisation to the parliament for adoption.