King refuses to accept Belgian PM's resignation

King Albert II of Belgium has refused to accept Prime Minister Yves Leterme's resignation and has asked three senior politicians to seek a way out of the country's political deadlock. Mr Leterme submitted his government's resignation on Monday after less than four months in office, plunging Belgium into a new crisis and rekindling speculation that the 177-year-old nation could break apart. Mr Leterme went to the king after a mid-July deadline passed to broker a deal between French and Dutch speakers on devolving more powers to the regions. The palace says the monarch had asked two senior French-speaking politicians and the premier of Belgium's small German-speaking community to establish how to start reform talks in a credible manner. Francois Xavier de Donnea, Raymond Langendries and Karl-Heinz Lambertz accepted the mission... [read full story]