Lithuania: Ex-Soviet republic approves joining EU

Lithuanians voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the European Union in a national referendum that ended Sunday, becoming the first ex-Soviet republic to approve membership in the expanding bloc.

Lithuania’s staunchly pro-EU leaders called the referendum a turning point in the history of the Baltic Sea country of 3.5 million, bounced for so many centuries between one regional power to another.

With 1,969 of the country’s 2,040 districts counted, or 97 percent, election officials said unofficial returns showed 91 percent voted in favor of joining, while 9 percent voted “no.”

More than 64 percent of the nation’s 2.7 million registered voters cast ballots — exceeding the required 50 percent minimum.

Serbia-Montenegro: Presidential winner seeks independence

Filip Vujanovic, a former prime minister who favors independence from Serbia, won a landslide victory in Montenegro’s presidential election Sunday, according to unofficial results.

In the third attempt in six months, the vote finally succeeded in picking a president for the Adriatic Sea republic. Vujanovic had garnered the most votes in two earlier ballots, but each time the election was voided because it failed to reach the 50 percent turnout required in Montenegro law.

Before this vote, Parliament eliminated the turnout requirement.

Vujanovic, the parliament speaker and member of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, won about 63 percent of the vote. Miodrag Zivkovic from the radically pro-independence Liberal Alliance, won 31 percent, and Dragan Hajdukovic, an independent candidate, was third with 4 percent.

Indonesia: Trial begins for suspect in deadly Bali bombings

The first suspect in last year’s deadly nightclub bombings goes on trial today, a case seen as a test of Indonesia’s willingness to crack down on radical Islamic groups in the world’s largest Muslim nation.

Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, a 40-year-old mechanic, was accused of buying the minivan and materials used to make the bombs that ripped through two crowded nightclubs in the island’s tourist district on Oct. 12. Most of the 202 people killed were foreigners.

He and 32 other suspects could be sentenced to death if they are convicted under new antiterror laws enacted after the explosions.

The suspects allegedly worked for Jemaah Islamiyah, an al-Qaida linked regional Islamic group, which is headed by radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir and wants to establish an Islamic state in Southeast Asia. The group also has been blamed for thwarted attacks on the U.S. and Australian embassies in Singapore and other terrorist acts.

Iceland: Conservative maintains leadership in close vote

Europe’s longest-serving prime minister maintained power Sunday as his conservative party won a narrow re-election victory in Iceland after a strong challenge from a left-leaning party headed by a former Reykjavik mayor.

In the tightest vote in years on this sparsely populated volcanic island, Prime Minister David Oddsson’s conservative Independence Party came out on top, according to final results broadcast by state television. Oddsson’s main challenger, Ingiborg Solrun Gisladottir — who had hoped to become her country’s first female prime minister — failed to win a seat in parliament.

But her Social Alliance party, which advocates more social spending to narrow the gap between rich and poor and joining the 15-nation European Union, saw a voter swing in its direction.

Almost 88 percent of the 211,000-strong electorate cast votes, according to figures broadcast.