SOUTH AMERICA

RUNOFF EXPECTED IN CHILEAN ELECTIONS

SANTIAGO, Chile – A socialist physician held a strong lead in Chile’s presidential election yesterday, according to early returns, but she appeared set to fall short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff and become the country’s first female president. With 12.7% of ballots counted, Michelle Bachelet, who was imprisoned during former General Pinochet’s rule, had 44.8% of the vote. Her two right-wing rivals trailed her by more than 20 percentage points, according to the first official returns announced by the government. If she wins, Ms. Bachelet would be Latin America’s fourth elected female leader, representing the popular center-left coalition in power since 1990.

– Associated Press

NORTH AFRICA

QAEDA: ALL MUSLIMS MUST TAKE UP ARMS

CAIRO, Egypt – In a tape that surfaced yesterday, Osama bin Laden’s deputy urged all Muslims to take up arms, saying a refusal to join the fight against “the Cross and Zionism” was a “malignant illness” that would lead to the defeat of militant Islam. Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahri said the global Islamic community had “no hope for victory” until all Muslims signed on to the Al Qaeda-led jihad.

– Associated Press

PERSIAN GULF

IRAN OFFERS U.S. A SHARE IN NUCLEAR PLANTS

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran opened the door yesterday for American help in building a nuclear power plant – a move designed to ease American suspicions that Tehran is using its nuclear program as a cover to build atomic weapons. The offer, which did not seem likely to win acceptance in Washington, was issued as Israel said it had not ruled out a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. “America can take part in international bidding for the construction of Iran’s nuclear power plant if they observe the basic standards and quality,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi, said in a news conference.

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

EXPLOSIONS ROCK FUEL DEPOT

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, England – Explosions ripped through a major fuel depot north of London yesterday, injuring dozens of people, blowing doors off nearby homes, and sending fireballs and massive clouds of black smoke into the sky. Police said the blasts appeared to be accidental, though they occurred just four days after an Al Qaeda videotape appeared on the Internet calling for attacks on facilities carrying oil “stolen” from Muslims in the Middle East. The powerful explosions, felt throughout a large swath of southeast England, also rattled nerves in a country still jittery after July’s terrorist attack on London’s subway and bus system, which killed 52 people and four suicide bombers.

– Associated Press

MIDDLE EAST

DEFENSE MINISTER LEAVES LIKUD, JOINS SHARON’S PARTY

JERUSALEM – Israel’s defense minister quit the Likud Party yesterday to join Prime Minister Sharon’s new centrist faction, saying his former party had been hijacked by “rightwing extremists.” The defection of Shaul Mofaz, one of the most prominent Likud leaders, further marginalized the increasingly hard-line party and gave Mr. Sharon added momentum as he prepared to campaign for March 28 elections. Mr. Mofaz’s decision came after weekend polls showed him badly trailing the former prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom in the race to become Likud’s candidate for prime minister, but he insisted the party’s direction, and not the polls, were what influenced his decision.

– Associated Press