Ecuador: Runoff election likely
A banana tycoon who waged an old-fashioned populist campaign and a leftist admirer of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez will head to a Nov. 26 runoff vote after neither scored an outright victory in Sunday’s tight presidential election, partial results showed. With nearly a third of the ballots counted, Alvaro Noboa, Ecuador’s wealthiest man, had 25.7 percent of the vote compared to 23.7 percent for Rafael Correa, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said.
Israel: President faces rape charges
Police recommended Sunday that Israeli President Moshe Katsav be charged with rape, sexual assault and fraud, the most serious charges ever to face an Israeli leader. The investigation began earlier this year after a former employee alleged Katsav forced her to have sex under the threat of dismissal. Reports have said the case against Katsav is based on complaints by five women who allege he made unwanted sexual advances during his tenure as president and before that as a government minister.
Germany: Bombs spur evacuation
Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in Hanover on Sunday as experts disposed of three World War II bombs, police said. The three bombs, thought to be American-made, were dropped in an Allied bombing raid in October 1943. Two were buried in an open area, while the third was close to a house. They were embedded at depths up to 21 feet. A fire service spokesman said one of the bombs had smashed on impact and was harmless. The other two were defused successfully.
Two U.S. soldiers died after they were hit by a train, police said Sunday. The two women, aged 21 and 22, started walking across the tracks at Neckarsteinach station, east of Heidelberg, as a train was approaching late Saturday evening, police said in a statement. The train driver sounded a warning signal and braked, but was unable to avoid a collision. Police said the women had been at a party nearby and apparently were trying to get to a parking lot near the station.
From Herald news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
