Ottawa

Liberals keep power by one vote

The Liberal Party government of Prime Minister Paul Martin narrowly survived Thursday after the speaker of the House of Commons broke a tie vote, averting an early election sought by the opposition Conservatives.

The tie was secured by votes from a maverick independent and from a glamorous heiress, Belinda Stronach, who had switched parties Tuesday. Stronach cast her vote for Martin’s government as her former boyfriend, Conservative strategist Peter MacKay, sat grim-faced across the aisle.

The outcome remained in suspense until the last moment.

“It couldn’t have gotten any closer,” a relieved Martin said. “We must now move forward in a spirit of cooperation,” he said, asking the opposition to join him in a “renewed effort” to make Parliament work.

The vote followed a month-long political drama that has taken on soap-opera dimensions with tales of scandal, a broken heart, secret tape recordings and allegations of political betrayal.

El Salvador

First hurricane of season threat to Central America

Salvadoran officials evacuated thousands of people and closed schools Thursday as the eastern Pacific’s first hurricane of the season threatened the impoverished Central American nation and neighboring Guatemala.

Both countries declared emergencies as the storm gained force and headed for their coastlines, carrying heavy rains that forecasters warned could cause flooding. Already the rain was washing out roads in the two countries late Thursday.

El Salvador’s president, Tony Saca, appealed to residents to obey evacuation requests as the country faced what was believed to be its first hurricane. “We understand that they are guarding their belongings, but lives are worth more than anything,” he told Radio La Chevere.

About 14,000 people were evacuated from low-lying coastal areas as rivers rose.

Late Thursday, Adrian was swirling just off the Salvadoran coast, slightly west of Puerto La Libertad, the beach resort and seafood center closest to the capital San Salvador. Streets were deserted as rains sprayed across an increasingly agitated surf and waves pounded at the pier.

“You can feel the concern because we have never had anything like this,” said Marco Antonio Hernandez, a seafood vendor.

Colombia

Marxist rebels kill at least 13 police officers

Colombian rebels ambushed a police convoy and fought government forces along the border with Ecuador in separate attacks Thursday, killing at least 13 police, authorities said.

The latest violence came as the air force announced Thursday that its warplanes had bombed a column of leftist guerrillas trudging through southern jungles over the weekend, killing at least 16 insurgents.

The convoy was traveling on a remote jungle road in Choco state, a strategic corridor for arms and drug trafficking through Panama, when hit with a hail of gunfire and explosions, said Choco Deputy Governor Freddy Lloreda.

Lloreda blamed the attack on guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which has been battling to topple the government here for 40 years. The group funds itself through drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion.

At least 10 police were killed and three wounded in the ambush near Tado, some 220 miles northwest of Bogota, Lloreda said. Only three police survived.

Elsewhere, FARC rebels killed three police officers in fighting along the border with Ecuador.

Chile

Five soldiers dead, 65 missing in snowstorm

Five Chilean soldiers froze to death and 65 were missing after a fierce snowstorm pounded the Andes mountains, and more bad weather Thursday hampered rescue efforts, the army’s top commander said.

Angry relatives complained that the soldiers, mostly young draftees, had been sent into difficult circumstances without adequate training.

Thirty soldiers were located alive Thursday, reducing the number missing to 65, said army spokesman Col. Carlos Mezano.

The entire group was returning from a mountain drill Wednesday in the Los Barros region, about 300 miles southeast of Santiago, when the storm hit, Gen. Emilio Cheyre said. Visibility was reduced to near zero as several feet of snow accumulated.

The army sent military mountain patrols with air support to search for the missing soldiers, but planes and helicopters were grounded Thursday due to bad weather. With snow blocking most roads in the area, army trucks and ambulances were waiting for workers using heavy machinery to clear the main route.