Lula’s favourite faces runoff for Brazil presidency

BRASILIA - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s favoured successor, Dilma Rousseff of the workers’ party, fell short of an expected absolute majority in Sunday’s presidential elections.

Paraguayan president hospitalised

Asuncion (Paraguay), Oct 4 (IANS/EFE) Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, who has lymphatic cancer, was urgently transported from capital city Asuncion to a hospital in Brazil, after doctors detected a blood clot in a vein near his heart, officials said.

Former Fiji leader bailed on emergency charge

WELLINGTON - Former Fiji prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry, who is of Indian origin, was granted bail when he appeared in court Monday after being arrested by the country’s military regime and charged with breaching public emergency regulations which bar public meetings, according to reports from the capital Suva.

APNewsBreak: House Judiciary Chairman Conyers’ driver’s license suspended when check bounces

APNewsBreak: Conyers temporarily loses license

Brazil’s leading presidential candidate Rousseff is forced into runoff vote against centrist

Brazil’s Rousseff facing runoff presidential vote

Rousseff leads in first official results in Brazil

BRASILIA - Dilma Rousseff, the anointed successor of outgoing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was ahead in the first official results of Sunday’s presidential election - but not far enough to avoid a run-off vote.

Ruling party’s Rousseff has wide lead in Brazil election but runoff likely, early results show

Rousseff leads in Brazil vote, but runoff likely

Brazil exit poll: Ruling-party candidate Rousseff with wide lead, but runoff vote possible

Brazil exit poll: Rousseff with wide lead in vote

Calm marks election in Brazil to choose Lula’s successor

RIO DE JANEIRO - Voting ended without major incident in Brazil Sunday in a general election to chose from among nine candidates a successor to hugely popular President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Brazil TV exit poll shows ruling-party candidate with wide lead, but runoff vote possible

Brazil TV exit poll shows Rousseff with wide lead

Spanish PM suffers setback in local election as hand-picked candidate loses

Local election setback for Spain PM

MADRID — Spain’s beleaguered prime minister suffered an embarrassing setback in a local election race Sunday, and a poll showed his party trailing ever further behind the opposition conservatives at the national level.

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel says he’s preparing to run for mayor of Chicago

Emanuel says he’s preparing run for Chicago mayor

Barred from entering Israel, detained Nobel laureate turns to country’s Supreme Court for help

Irish Nobel laureate challenges Israeli detention

Growing Arab support to halt peace talks

CAIRO - Despite US efforts to save direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Egyptian and Arab League officials Sunday offered support for the Palestinian decision to pull out if Israel remains unwilling to stop construction in West Bank settlements.

Egypt, Jordan back Palestinian refusal to negotiate as long as Israel builds settlements

Egypt, Jordan back Palestinians on settlements

Ethnic divide in Guinea widens: Exercise in democracy turns into racial contest

Ethnic divide in Guinea widens, threatens election

BJP sends legal notice over cyber theft, Congress to give ‘befitting reply’ (Second Lead)

NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday said it has sent a legal notice to the Congress party over the alleged theft of its online identity, but the Congress termed the accusation “sensationalism and distortion” and said it will give a befitting reply.

Turkish ship, scene of violence in flotilla raid, is setting for anti-Israel movie

Flotilla ship is setting for anti-Israel movie

Tibetan exiles vote to nominate PM, MPs

DHARAMSALA - Hundreds of thousands of Tibetan exiles across the world Sunday exercised their franchise to nominate candidates for the post of Kalon Tripa or prime minister and members of the parliament-in-exile.

Will give befitting reply to BJP legal notice: Congress

NEW DELHI - The Congress Sunday warned of a befitting reply if and when a legal notice is sent by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the alleged theft of the saffron party’s online identity, saying that it was sensationalism and distortion.

Syria says any indirect peace talks with Israel must be mediated by Turkey

Syria wants Turkey to mediate talks with Israel

Brazilians vote to elect Lula’s successor

RIO DE JANEIRO - Polls opened Sunday in Brazil in a general election that is set to name the successor of hugely popular President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Meira Kumar to attend Geneva meet

NEW DELHI - An Indian parliamentary delegation led by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar will attend the 123rd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in Geneva from Monday, a statement said Sunday.

Special assembly session November to discuss scams: Yeddyurappa

BANGALORE - A three-day special session of the Karnataka legislature will be held in the first week of November to discuss all issues, including a series of scams that have been rocking the state over the past 10 years, Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa said Sunday.

Jharkhand development spending has dipped: Official

RANCHI - Jharkhand Chief Secretary A.K. Singh Sunday expressed concern over low expenditure on development in the last six months, inviting criticism from a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader.

Military cooperation can transform India-Pakistan ties: Tharoor

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Military collaboration could transform the relationship between India and Pakistan, former minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor said at the Kovalam Literary Festival here Sunday.

US envoy visits Egypt to save Middle East talks

CAIRO - The US’ special envoy to the Middle East sounded a cautious discord Sunday after he met with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak, saying that he has faced “difficulties and obstacles” in his bid to sustain peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

Nepal group takes up missing Naga leader’s cause

KATHMANDU - Nepal’s biggest organisation of indigenous peoples has taken up the cause of a rebel leader from India’s Nagaland state who reportedly went missing last week after arriving at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport from Bangkok.

Benazir’s return from abroad not result of ‘deal’ but ‘political dialogue’: Faisal Abidi

ISLAMABAD - Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s mandatory stay abroad until the 2008 general elections cannot be called a ‘deal’ as claimed by the former President Pervez Musharraf, as it was the result of a political dialogue between the two leaders, PPP Senator Faisal Raza Abidi has said.

BJP, Congress claim victory ahead of Chhattisgarh by-poll results

RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress Sunday claimed victory in a crucial assembly by-poll, a day before the results are announced.

Ex-Fiji PM Mahendra Chaudhry arrested by military regime

SUVA - Former Fijian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry has been arrested for allegedly breaching the military government’s emergency regulations.

Libya releases South Korean pastor after president’s brother meets with Gadhafi, SKorea says

SKorea: Libya releases South Korean pastor

Former Fiji leader arrested by military regime

WELLINGTON - Former Fiji prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry has been arrested and charged with breaching public emergency regulations which bar public meetings, according to reports from the capital Suva Sunday.

Gillard assures Oz troops in Afghanistan committed to Oruzgan mission

CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has assured the Australian troops in Afghanistan of her commitment to the Oruzgan mission during a surprise visit to the war-torn country.

BJP issues notice to Congress after www.bjp.com directed to AICC website

NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has served a legal notice to the Congress party over its website www.bjp.com being directed to the official website of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).

BJP serves cyber fraud notice to Congress

NEW DELHI - It is a minor political war in cyber space. An angry Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that the Congress party “bought” a website mimicking the BJP’s own which re-directed all hits to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) site. The BJP has served a legal notice, an official said Sunday.

When the PM’s silence spoke volumes (Capital Buzz)

NEW DELHI - At a Rashtrapati Bhavan event, Sports Minister M S Gill remonstrated to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about how, contrary to the “negative media campaign”, chefs de mission of various countries were praising the facilities at the Commonwealth Games and had no complaints about anything. The prime minister gave a patient ear to Gill and, after he finished speaking, quietly turned away - without a comment.

How Margaret Thatcher helped catch the Yorkshire Ripper

LONDON - Former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher took over the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper personally during her tenure, it has emerged.

Louisiana Secretary Of State Jay Dardenne Takes Lead

Israeli police kill Palestinian laborer who entered volatile east Jerusalem illegally

Israeli police kill Palestinian laborer

JERUSALEM — Israeli police have killed a Palestinian laborer who entered east Jerusalem illegally, igniting new tensions in the volatile sector of the city.

Nawaz Sharif ‘brainless’, says Musharraf

ISLAMABAD - Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who launched his own party in London Friday to contest the 2013 elections in Pakistan, says former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is “totally brainless” and had failed to deliver on the two occasions he was elected.

‘Brainless’ Nawaz will ruin Pak if re-elected as PM: Musharraf

LONDON - In his first public meeting in Birmingham after announcing the creation of his All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) party, former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf called former prime minister Nawaz Sharif ‘brainless,’ and the PML-N a family party.