In the World

ARMENIA

Voters vote on shifting nation's power structure

Armenia held a referendum Sunday on proposed constitutional changes that would give more powers to the prime minister and parliament at the expense of the president, who would become largely a figurehead.

The opposition has seen the reform as an attempt by President Serzh Sargsyan to extend his rule. Sargsyan has denied that, saying he has no intention of shifting into the prime minister's seat after his second term ends in 2018.

Presidents in Armenia can serve for a maximum of two five-year terms.

Sargsyan's government has promoted the constitutional changes as a step toward strengthening democracy in the former Soviet state by providing for a greater balance of powers and a stronger judicial branch. Judges would no longer be appointed by the president, but by parliament.

Under the proposed changes, the president would have largely symbolic powers and would be elected by parliament. Sunday's referendum took place two months after it was approved by Armenia's parliament. Referendum results were expected Monday. - AP
INDONESIA

14 killed in train-bus crash

A commuter train slammed into a passenger minibus Sunday at a railroad crossing in Indonesia's capital, killing at least 14 people and seriously injuring 10 others. The bus driver allegedly ignored warning signals when he crossed the rail tracks and was rammed by the train in Jakarta, said a local police chief. He said 13 people in the minibus were killed instantly and another died in a hospital. He said passengers in the train's eight cars were not hurt, and all rail signals were working at the time. - AP
AZERBAIJAN

Oil workers mourned

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev declared a day of mourning Sunday for 29 missing oil workers now feared dead two days after a fire damaged a Caspian Sea oil platform. Aliyev also appointed a state commission, led by First Deputy Prime Minister Yaqub Eyyubov, to investigate the deadliest incident in the country's oil industry. High winds led to a gas explosion at the Guneshli platform, 68 miles off the Azeri coast, at Friday. One worker died and 29 were missing after one of two lifeboats evacuating personnel capsized in the winds, State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan, or Socar, said. Thirty-three people were rescued. - Bloomberg