Presidential poll
Port-au-Prince: René Préval, the former President of Haiti, had a big lead in several voting districts in the capital, according to preliminary results yesterday, one day after the presidential election. The results still have to be verified, officials said. (AFP)
Contentious dig
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Jerusalem: Muslims are incensed that Israeli developers and archaeologists are continuing to remove remains from a Muslim cemetery to make room for a Museum of Tolerance that will be built by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre. (AP)
Deadly avalanche
Kabul: An avalanche in the village of Deh Murda, northern Afghanistan, caused the deaths of 19 people last week, a provincial governor said. The toll included 15 children, who died of exposure to the cold after the avalanche buried their homes. (AP)
Blair ‘Hitler’ gibe
Caracas: President Chávez of Venezuela called Tony Blair a “pawn of imperialism” after the Prime Minister said that Venezuela should abide by international laws. Señor Chávez called Mr Blair “Hitler’s main ally”, a likely reference to President Bush. (AP)
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Election hit by violence
Kathmandu: An attack by Maoist rebels and the shooting of protesters by soldiers marred the first elections in Nepal in seven years, as few voters turned out yesterday for a poll regarded as a crucial test of the rule of King Gyanendra. At least six people died.
The Election Commission said that only 8 per cent of voters had cast ballots in Kathmandu, the capital, by midday. Results were not expected until today. (AP)
Scales of justice
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Spokane: Mitchell Rupe, a former death row inmate who was deemed too heavy to be hanged, has died in prison. Rupe killed two people in 1981. In 1994 a judge said that at 28st 8lb (181kg), he was too heavy to hang because of the risk of decapitation. (AP)
A real eye-opener
Arkadelphia: A retired nurse saved her brother’s chicken by administering mouth-to-beak resuscitation after the fowl was found floating face down in a pond in Arkansas. Marian Morris said: “I breathed into its beak and its dad-gum eyes popped open.” (AP)