Enrico Letta, the deputy secretary of Italy's Democratic Party, was appointed as prime minister on April 24 by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, Corriere della Sera reported.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on April 23 declared a 90-day state of emergency in the country’s electricity sector, Xinhua reported.

A prominent leader of the Hazara Democratic Party in Pakistan survived a suicide attack in Quetta on April 23 that killed six people, Reuters reported.

Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, a Lebanese Salafist cleric, is urging his followers to join Syrian rebels in their fight against troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al Assad and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Al Arabiya reported April 23.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has rejected Education Minister Mohammed Tamim's resignation, which came April 23 in protest of the army's intervention in public protests near Kirkuk, AIN reported, citing Iraqia Sat Channel.

Peace talks between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army, or ELN, will begin in the second week of May, El Espectador reported April 22.

The European Commission on April 22 recommended that negotiations begin with Serbia on accession to the European Union, Reuters reported.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro shuffled his Cabinet, placing allies of former President Hugo Chavez in key positions of responsibility, AP reported April 22.