Top news: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez secured a fourth term in office on Sunday, despite a battle with cancer and a formidable challenge from opponent Henrique Capriles Radonski. The country's electoral council has announced that Chavez won 54 percent of the vote while Capriles received 45 percent, with more than 80 percent of registered voters casting ballots. The Venezuelan leader will begin his new six-year term in January.
During a victory speech from the presidential palace in Caracas, Chavez waived a replica of independence hero Simon Bolivar's sword and promised to continue his socialist revolution. "Venezuela will continue along the path of democratic and Bolivarian socialism of the 21st century," he declared. In an apparent acknowledgement of campaign criticism over the blackouts, crime, and inflation afflicting the country, Chavez pledged to "be a better president."
Capriles, for his part, congratulated Chavez but urged him to recognize the significance of the electoral results. "There's a country that is divided and to be a good president means to work for all Venezuelans," he argued.
Syria: Turkey continued to fire artillery shells into Syria over the weekend in retaliation for a Syrian shell that killed Turkish civilians last week. Syrian security forces are clashing with rebel fighters across the country, from Aleppo to Syria's borders with Jordan and Lebanon.
Middle East
- Israel conducted airstrikes in Gaza after Palestinian militants fired rockets and mortar shells into Israel in response to an earlier Israeli strike.
- The Libyan Parliament dismissed Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Shagour after he failed to form a cabinet.
- Kuwait's ruler dissolved the country's deadlocked Parliament.
Asia
- South Korea and the United States struck a deal that will enable Seoul to increase the range and payload of its ballistic missiles.
- The Philippine government announced a peace agreement with a rebel group in the southern island of Mindanao.
- Authorities in the Maldives arrested former President Mohamed Nasheed.
Europe
- John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka received the Nobel Prize in medicine for their research on stem cells.
- Eurozone finance ministers are officially launching a permanent bailout fund known as the European Stability Mechanism.
- Georgia's new leader Bidzina Ivanishvili unveiled his cabinet.
Africa
- Nigerian security forces killed 30 suspected members of the militant group Boko Haram in a raid.
- Ivory Coast reopened its borders with Ghana after a cross-border attack.
- African Union and Somali troops captured the town of Wanla Weyn from the Islamist group al-Shabab.
Americas
- SpaceX sent its first NASA-contracted cargo ship to the International Space Station.
- A new House Intelligence Committee report will urge American companies not to do business with China's top technology firms.
- The Islamist cleric Abu Hamza appeared in a U.S. court after his extradition from the United Kingdom.
JUAN BARRETO/AFP/Getty Images
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