Costa Rica Elects First Female President

(AP) - Nobel Peace laureate and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias said today that he has swine flu, showing that not even a head of state is safe from the virus that has caused worldwide concern but relatively few deaths. The 69-year-old Arias said he is quarantined at home and being treated with anti-flu medicine. More»

Interim gov't may hold Zelaya-free election in effort to end political crisis

(NEWSER) - The interim government installed by the military coup in Honduras is considering holding an early election to defuse the country's political crisis, Reuters reports. Roberto Michelletti, who heads up the caretaker government, says he is "in total agreement" with moving forward November's presidential election, in which ousted president Manuel Zelaya will not be allowed to stand. More»

Correa is country's first incumbent to be reelected in 37 years

(NEWSER) - Voters reelected Rafael Correa as president of Ecuador yesterday, making the US-educated leftist the first incumbent to win reelection since 1972. "We have made history," said Correa at his victory rally. After his three predecessors were all thrown out of office amid anti-government protests, Correa has brought a sea change to the South American nation, reports CNN. More»

Left takes power for first time since 12-year civil war

(AP) - A leftist television journalist has won El Salvador's presidential election, bringing a party of former guerrillas to power for the first time since the bloody civil war and ending 2 decades of conservative rule. Mauricio Funes, a moderate plucked from outside the ranks of the rebel-group-turned-political-party FMLN, became the latest leftist to rise to power in Latin America at a time of uncertainty over how Barack Obama will approach the region. More»

He could resign by leaving name off ballot next year

(NEWSER) - National parliamentary elections—which could mark a formal end to Fidel Castro's rule—will be held on Jan. 20, the AP reports. The ailing Castro must be re-elected to Cuba's National Assembly to regain his position as president. If he withholds his name from the ballot, "he is effectively resigning," said one analyst. More»