Spain requested a bail-out of up to €100 billion ($125 billion) from the European Union to recapitalise its banks. Several questions were left unanswered, including the exact amount of aid the country will need and how the funds will be distributed. Mariano Rajoy, the prime minister, faced angry questions from opposition politicians in parliament, but blamed the previous Socialist government for not helping the banks when it was in power. Angela Merkel welcomed Spain's request for a bail-out but stressed it would come with strings attached, as she warned Europe that stopping public-sector reform would be "disastrous." In a speech to members of her party, the German chancellor reaffirmed her opposition to Eurobonds as a way out of the crisis. In France the Socialist Party of François Hollande, the newly elected president, was on course to obtain a solid majority in the National Assembly, after securing nearly 40% of the vote, with its Green allies, in the first round of voting in parliamentary elections. The centre-right UMP got 34%. Turnout was 57%, a record low. The second round takes place on June 17th. Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, signed a bill to raise fines for taking part in protests without a permit to $9,000, which is close to the average annual Russian salary. Organisers could face penalties of up to $30,000. The authorities raided the homes of opposition leaders, supposedly looking for evidence in connection with violence at an opposition rally. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Moscow in the biggest anti-Putin demonstration so far this year. Out on strikes Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, called for an end to NATO air strikes in residential areas, after 18 people - most of them women and children - were killed in an operation to capture a Taliban leader. NATO uses jets to flush out militants who hide among civilians, but anger has been mounting over the deaths of non-combatants. A state of emergency was declared in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine. Violence has erupted between Muslims and Buddhists after the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman last month. Hundreds of homes have been burned and at least 21 people have died. The army was sent to quell the unrest. A UN official arrived soon afterwards to hold talks with locals. Thein Sein, the president, warned that the violence could threaten Myanmar's nascent democratic reforms. China was set to launch the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft, which will carry three crew members to China's orbiting laboratory. If it is successful China will be only the third country, after America and Russia, to make a manned docking in space. Japan's prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, called for two nuclear reactors to be restarted to help the economy. Japan faces a severe shortage of power over the peak summer period without its nuclear reactors, all 54 of which were deactivated after the Fukushima disaster last year. Foot-in-mouth outbreak Barack Obama and Mitt Romney continued to trade barbs on the campaign trail over the president's statement that the "private sector is doing just fine." Mr Romney also gave a big speech on health care, in which he reiterated his plans to make the system more like a "consumer market." The Supreme Court will rule on Mr Obama's health-care act by the end of the month. Primary elections were held to decide the parties" candidates for Senate races in Virginia, Maine, Nevada and North Dakota, four states which could determine who controls the upper chamber in November. Also in North Dakota, a ballot initiative that would have made the state the first to eliminate property taxes was soundly defeated. John Bryson, America's commerce secretary, was put on medical leave after reportedly suffering a seizure while driving and hitting two cars. Rebecca Blank, a former economic adviser to Bill Clinton, becomes acting secretary. Swirling tides Multiple bombings in Iraq targeting Shia pilgrims killed at least 80 people in cities across the country. It was the deadliest day in the country since American troops withdrew at the end of last year. Libya postponed its first free elections because it needs at least another six weeks to organise them. It also arrested lawyers from the International Criminal Court who allegedly shared forbidden information with Saif al-Islam, the son of Muammar Qaddafi. Mr Islam is being held by a local militia. The African Union moved its summit scheduled for July to Ethiopia after Malawi, the planned host, refused entry to Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president, who has been indicted by the ICC. West African countries agreed to seek a UN Security Council mandate to intervene militarily in Mali, where a joint Islamist and ethnic rebel force took over the north of the country earlier this year. A navy official in Iran said plans were being drawn up to build a nuclear-powered submarine. Such a vessel would require uranium fuel enriched to a similar level to that used in nuclear bombs. The announcement came a week ahead of Iran's next round of talks with international negotiators about its nuclear programme. Talk the talk, walk the walk In his longest public appearance for more than a month, Hugo Chávez formally registered his candidacy for Venezuela's presidential election in October, and gave a speech to supporters for almost three hours. Mr Chávez has been seriously ill with cancer. His main opponent, Henrique Capriles, earlier led hundreds of thousands of supporters on a 10km (six-mile) walk to register his candidacy. Some 15m Mexicans watched the second and final televised debate between candidates in next month's presidential election. None of his rivals appeared to damage the front-runner, Enrique Peña Nieto of the formerly ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party. The government of the Falkland Islands announced that it will hold a referendum on the territory's political status in 2013. A large majority of the islanders are likely to reaffirm their ties to Britain and rebuff Argentina's call for talks on sovereignty.