NORTH AFRICA

MUBARAK WINS RE-ELECTION IN EGYPT

CAIRO, Egypt – President Mubarak swept Egypt’s first contested race for his job, according to preliminary results yesterday. The election commission insisted Wednesday’s ballot was a success, though there were widespread reports of irregularities, and voter turnout was perhaps as low as 30%. The commission also dismissed calls by the runner-up for a repeat of the vote.

A State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, noted some “issues” in the balloting – monitors allowed in only at the last minute and campaign ads present at some polling sites. Still, he called it a “positive first step.”

Mr. Mubarak took 78-80% of the vote, according to a preliminary count, an election commission official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to announce results. Final results were expected Friday or Saturday. Mr. Mubarak’s top opponent, Ayman Nour of the opposition al-Ghad party, took 12%.

– Associated Press

EAST ASIA

KOIZUMI AHEAD BEFORE SUNDAY ELECTION

TOKYO – Championing economic reforms to keep the recovery going, Prime Minister Koizumi ruling Liberal Democratic Party appears set to secure a majority in Sunday’s vote for the 480-seat lower house of parliament, according to recent polls.

Opinion surveys show that Mr. Koizumi is still by far the person most Japanese want as prime minister. If the polls prove accurate, the Liberal Democrats may win so many seats they won’t even need a coalition partner to maintain the grip on power they have held almost without interruption for half a century.

– Associated Press

CHINESE PRESIDENT RESTORES STANDING OF REFORMER

BEIJING – President Hu has agreed to restore the standing of the reform-minded Communist leader whose death triggered the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations, a surprising reversal of party dogma that could prompt new calls for democratic change in China, according to people informed of the decision.

Mr. Hu has approved plans for a series of events honoring the late party chief Hu Yaobang on the 90th anniversary of his birth on November 20, the sources said. The activities would end more than a decade of official silence about a party leader who was sacked by hard-liners in 1987 but remained a hero to the party’s reformist wing.

– The Washington Post

MIDDLE EAST

GAZA CROSSING CLOSED

RAFAH CROSSING, Gaza Strip – Israel yesterday closed the vital Gaza-Egypt border crossing just days before completing its military pullout from the coastal strip.

Palestinian Arabs derided the move as a unilateral Israeli action that blocks their main gateway to the outside world. But the Israelis said its purpose was just the opposite: to give time to build a new terminal that will increase Palestinians’ freedom of movement. Officials close to negotiations on the withdrawal process also said a breakthrough of sorts had emerged as Israel for the first time has agreed in principle to allow foreign inspectors at the border to ensure security without Israeli interference.

– Associated Press

SOUTH ASIA

PASSENGERS STAMPEDE FOLLOWING BOMB SCARE; 1 KILLED

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Panicked travelers stampeded off a Saudi Air plane carrying 430 passengers and 22 crew members during a bomb-scare evacuation yesterday at Sri Lanka’s international airport, with one person killed and dozens injured.

Authorities said there was no initial indication that Tamil Tiger rebels were involved, though the apparent hoax came after the guerrillas rejected the Colombo airport as a possible site for crucial cease-fire talks.

A woman died after hitting her head when she slid down the escape shoot, said airport duty manager D. Atthanayake and a hospital official. Authorities searching the plane found no explosives.

– Associated Press

CARIBBEAN

CUBANS FLEEING ISLAND IN RECORD NUMBERS

HAVANA – The number of Cubans leaving the island illegally by sea is at its highest since the 1994 rafters’ crisis, the top American diplomat in Havana said yesterday, adding that Cuba should give America access to state-run press to better communicate legal emigration options.

The U.S. Coast Guard has interdicted about 2,400 Cubans at sea so far this fiscal year ending September 30, more than double the number from the previous fiscal year, James C. Cason, the outgoing chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, said in a statement.

– Associated Press