Nicaragua pres Ortega poised to win third term

Left-leaning Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega looked poised to win re-election late Sunday after leading the polls in a three-man race.

Thousands of pro- and anti-government protesters took to the streets of Nicaragua's capital Saturday, protesting and backing President Daniel Ortega's bid to remain in power.Chanting "Democracy yes, dictatorship no!" Ortega opponents numbered at 50,000 by organizers marched peacefully in Managua against his controversial re-election plans, even as thousands of the president's supporters gathered for their own demonstration.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Police in Nicaragua have detained a former U.S. school teacher who was on the FBI's 10 most-wanted fugitives as a suspect in a child pornography investigation, authorities confirmed Monday. Eric Justin Toth was detained Saturday in Esteli, a city near Nicaragua's border with Honduras, and will be immediately deported to the United States, said National Police chief Aminta Granera.

Opposition lawmakers have arrived at Nicaragua's legislature under heavy police escort as the body convened for the first time in two days amid protests by supporters of President Daniel Ortega.Protestors have rallied outside the National Assembly for days seeking to stop opposition right-wing representatives from repealing a decree Ortega issued that lengthens the terms of some 25 top magistrates and civil servants.Tension has risen in Nicaragua since a Supreme Court ruling last November cleared the way for Ortega to seek re-election in 2011.

China, Russia, Brazil and Japan are among six countries interested in funding a new $30-billion canal in Nicaragua linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the project coordinator said Wednesday.On Tuesday, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega submitted a draft bill to the legislature that details six possible routes for the proposed waterway, one of which would pass through the San Juan river that forms a common border with neighboring Costa Rica.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega opened to the door to the possibility of his country going back to international bodies in an attempt to get a $17 billion payout from the United States.

Nicaraguan police have seized a large cache of weapons and explosives from suspected members of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel after a police car chase outside Managua, a spokeswoman said.The weapons included 61 automatic rifles, mostly AK-47's and four M-16s, two grenade launchers, 10 hand grenades, 20 sticks of dynamite and more than 19,000 rounds of ammunition, Vilma Reyes told a press briefing.They were found inside a car the suspected drug traffickers fled from after being chased by police on the Panamerican highway, outside Managua, she added.

Three opposition lawmakers were injured in Nicaragua when a pro-government mob prevented the country's National Assembly from holding a vote to overturn a decree issued by leftist President Daniel Ortega.Tension has risen in Nicaragua since a Supreme Court ruling last November cleared the way for Ortega to seek re-election in 2011.Three members of the right-wing opposition were hurt when they tried to enter the legislative building to debate a measure that would overturn a decree extending the period of service of some 25 top magistrates and civil servants.