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Polling opened on Thursday in 45 districts of Nepal for the last phase of the historic provincial and parliamentary elections that many hope will bring the much-needed political stability to the Himalayan nation. More than 12.2 million voters are eligible to exercise their voting rights in the second phase of the polls. The voting is taking place for 128 constituencies of Parliament’s House of Representatives and 256 seats of Provincial Assemblies in 45 districts. In total 4,482 candidates, including Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, will be trying their fate in the final phase. For the House of Representatives, 1,663 candidates are contesting and 2,819 candidates are trying for the Provincial Assemblies. As many as 15,344 polling centres have been set out for the polling that started early today amid tight security and will continue till 5 pm. Vote counting is expected to start later today. The first phase of the polls in the land-locked cou...

President Vladimir V. Putin announced on Wednesday that he would seek a fourth term as president of Russia in a March election that he is expected to win handily. A full, sixyear term until 2024 would make his 24year tenure including his years as prime minister — the longest by a Russian leader since Joseph Stalin sat in the Kremlin for 29 years. It is widely believed that Mr. Putin wants to use what should be his last term, barring further constitutional changes, to cement his place as one of the more important historical figures ever to rule Russia. It has been a somewhat improbable run for Mr. Putin, 65, who spent the bulk of his early career as a middlelevel K.G.B. agent in East Germany. Calling the collapse of the Soviet Union one of the greatest catastrophes of the 20th century, he has built his formidable popularity on the idea that Russia should restore its natural destiny as a superpower, an equal to the United States in military might and global influence. ...

The Government Accountability Office will investigate President Donald Trump's voting commission after a request by Democratic senators. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet published the letter he received from GAO confirming the investigation, which the Democrat asked for with colleagues Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. The three lawmakers wrote to the government watchdog last week asking them to look into federal funds used to support the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, the body's work on voter participation, what information and methodology the commission is using for its conclusions, how it is protecting any voter information collected and how it is following regulations. In its response this week, GAO said the work was "within the scope of its authority" and would begin in about five months, based on agency staffing. Trump ordered the creation of the commission after pledging to work to preserve...