DAILY NEWS BRIEF: Monday

France: Sarkozy and Royal to run-off for presidency

Nicolas Sarkozy secured a commanding lead in the opening round of France's presidential election today and will face rival Segolene Royal in a run-off on May 6.

Sarkozy was credited with 31 per cent of the vote while Royal was on 25.64 per cent.

The two will hold a potentially decisive head-to-head television debate on May 2.

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Nigeria: Monitors reject and opposition vote

Both the opposition and foreign observers have rejected Nigeria's election and called the vote the worst in the country's history.

"We are going to call for a rerun of elections. You cannot use the result from half of the country to announce a new president," chairman of the Transition Monitoring Group said.

Definitive results are expected tomorrow.

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Australia: Families of lost yachties continue search

The families of three men who disappeared from a yacht off the north Queensland coast have refused to give up hope.

They will launch their own search for the missing men today.

Police yesterday called off the search and rescue operations and said there was no hope they would be found alive.

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- REUTERS / NZ HERALD STAFF