Premier asked to stay on in Belgian political crisis

Belgian Prime Minister Wilfried Martens offered his resignation to King Baudouin Thursday but was asked to continue seeking a solution to a political crisis related to the country's language issue.

The Senate Wednesday failed to approve a key government-sponsored article that would give more autonomy to Dutch- and French-speaking regions. Six Dutch-speaking Social Christian senators voted against it, because they felt it contained insufficient future guarantees for the Dutch-speaking minority of Brussels.