Commonwealth update

Nigeria suddenly drops its widely respected woman finance minister as former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida says he will stand for the presidency. The UK has its first Lord Speaker and after centuries the Lord Chancellor no longer conducts the House of Lords from the Woolsack. India builds the world's highest bridge and reopens a direct Himalayan road trade route to China. Seven bombs hit railway trains in the Mumbai rush hour. After elections Fiji has a multiparty coalition. Zimbabwe knocks three noughts off its currency, but Mugabe still rejects offer of help from Kofi Annan. The first Maori Queen is laid to rest on a mountain after her 40-year rule ends. And Vanuatu is rated the happiest place on the planet.