NETANYAHU CLAIMS ISRAEL ELECTION WIN DESPITE GRAFT CHARGES
AFP, Jerusalem

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerged victorious Tuesday after Israel’s third election in a year despite a looming corruption trial, dismaying the Palestinians who were angered by his hardline campaign pledges. Monday’s election left the veteran right-winger in prime position to form a government and end a year of political deadlock, after similar votes in April and September proved inconclusive. The central election committee said it had counted 90 percent of the vote, with breakdowns of the result in the media showing Netanyahu’s Likud party with 36 seats in Israel’s 120-member parliament.

POPE ‘TESTS NEGATIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS’
AFP, Vatican City

Pope Francis, who is suffering from a cold, has tested negative for the coronavirus, an Italian newspaper reported Tuesday, as Italy battles Europe’s worst outbreak. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni did not respond to a request for comment on the report in the Messaggero newspaper. Francis cancelled a Lent retreat for the first time in his papacy this weekend, after axing all public meetings at the end of last week over the cold.

CHILE CAPITAL ROCKED BY VIOLENT ANTI-GOVT RALLIES
AFP, Santiago

Chile’s capital has been rocked by its worst anti-government violence in weeks after stone-throwing protesters clashed with police in running battles across the city. Demonstrators returned to Santiago’s Plaza Italia on Monday to rally against economic inequality and condemn the government of right-wing billionaire president Sebastian Pinera.

KIM WATCHES N KOREA MILITARY DRILL ALONGSIDE MASKED OFFICERS
AP, Seoul

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised an earlier live-fire rocket artillery exercise to confirm his military’s combat readiness and “further kindle the flames of training revolution,” state media said Tuesday. The report by the Korean Central News Agency came a day after South Korea’s military detected what appeared to be two short-range ballistic launches of projectiles that landed in the North’s eastern sea.