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French Election First Round Result: Hollande (Socialist Party) - 28%; Sarkozy (the conservative UMP) - 26%; Le Pen (National Front)- 19%; Melenchon (Communist candidate) - 11%.

Explosions reported as standoff between French police and terror suspect escalates

TOULOUSE, France – Riot police surrounded an apartment building into the night on Wednesday, laying siege to a gunman who boasted of bringing France "to its knees" by carrying out an Al Qaeda-linked terror spree that killed seven people.

Hundreds of heavily armed police, some in body armor, cordoned off the five-story building in Toulouse where the 24-year-old suspect, Mohamed Merah, had been holed up since the pre-dawn hours.

Myanmar opposition granted as legal political party

YANGON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, was granted re-registration as a legal political party, according to an announcement of the Union Election Commission published on official media Tuesday.

As a political comeback, the NLD registered with 21 members including U Tin Oo, Aung San Suu Kyi, U Win Tin, U Nyan Win, U Han Thar Myint, Dr. Daw May Win Myint, Daw Nan Khin Htway Myint and Daw Khin Htay Kywe, according to local sources.

Dutch Pirate Party Joins Election Race

Following in the footsteps of the Swedes and Germans, the Dutch Pirate Party has decided to join the national elections being held this spring. The Pirate Party booked a surprising victory by scooping two seats in the European Parliament last year, but has yet to score its first elected seat in a national Parliament.

Debate opens on sex life of France's disabled. Belgian law often leaves the sale of sex in a legal gray area, allowing for some sexual services for people with severe disabilities. In neighboring France, however, a tense debate on the topic is just beginning.

During his visit to the the Swedish capital Stockholm, Wikileaks spokesman Julian Assange has struck a deal with the local Pirate Party. The party, which participates in the national elections next month, will host several new Wikileaks servers to protect freedom of press and help the whistleblower site to carry out its operation.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared his intent to hold a roundtable on “Internet Regulation” prior to the next G8 Summit, which is scheduled for May 26-27 in Deauville, France.

Over the past several days, two political parties have been holding their national conventions. One party holds all conventions online, with online voting and no overhead (other than cost of getting online) for party members who wish to participate. The other party regularly holds conventions in upscale hotels and has recently adopted a mandatory fee for any party member who wishes to be a delegate. One of these parties has only been around for 6 years, the other for 40 and is proving that age does not always equal wisdom.

A flood of top-end properties are hitting the market as businessmen seek to leave France before stiff tax hikes hit, real estate agents and financial advisors say. "It's nearly a general panic. Some 400 to 500 residences worth more than one million euros ($1.3 million) have come onto the Paris market

Bugeon said he was seeing start-up entrepreneurs looking to move their headquarters out of France and taking their families with them.