Entire Icelandic government resigns

The Icelandic prime minister, Geir Haarde, today announced the immediate resignation of his government in the wake of the country's dire economic crisis. "I'm here to announce that I and the leader of the Social Democrats have decided that we will not continue with the coalition," Mr Haarde told reporters. The statement came just days after Mr Haarde announced early elections on May 9, in which he will not run due to health reasons. A new election date was set after months of public protests calling for the government's resignation over its handling of the economic crisis. The government coalition, made up of Mr Haarde's Independence Party and the Social Democrats since May 2007, had been in talks since the weekend with the Social Democrats demanding that it take over the post of prime minister. *AFP