EL SALVADOR
Former Marxist rebel becomes president
SAN SALVADOR — A journalist from a party of former Marxist guerrillas became El Salvador's first leftist president Monday, promising to remain friendly with the United States while immediately restoring ties with Cuba.
Mauricio Funes brought to power the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front that fought for 12 years to overthrow U.S.-backed governments until laying down arms in 1992.
But he sought to ease fears of radicalism by comparing himself with President Obama as well as Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a leftist who has maintained warm ties with leaders across the political spectrum.
"We turned to the strong examples of Obama and Lula as proof that progressive leaders — instead of being a threat — can be a new, safe alternative for their people," Funes said in his inaugural address.
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Funes, 49, announced he was restoring ties with "the sister nation of Cuba," leaving the United States as the last country in the Western Hemisphere with no formal relations with the communist-governed island. Today, the 34 countries in the Organization of American States meet in Honduras to consider ending Cuba's 50-year-old suspension from the group.
CANADA
Eating raw seal heart is termed instructive
KUUJJUAQ — Canada's governor general said Monday that sensational images of her eating a raw seal heart promoted a better understanding of the country's northern region and its sealing industry.
Michaelle Jean, the representative of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as Canada's head of state, gutted the seal and swallowed a slice of the mammal's heart last week. Her actions came after the European Union voted last month to impose a ban on seal products on grounds that the seal hunt is cruel.
The photos raised eyebrows around the world, but Jean argued Monday that the display drew attention to Canada's isolated northern Inuit communities, who rely on the hunt for their incomes.
EU governments are to sign the ban into law on June 25 after the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to impose the measure.
The rule offers narrow exemptions so Inuit communities from Canada, Greenland and elsewhere can continue traditional hunts, but it bars them from large-scale trading of their pelts and other seal goods in Europe.
SOUTH AFRICA
Fire is linked to deaths of 36 illegal miners
JOHANNESBURG — An underground fire in an abandoned shaft has apparently killed 36 illegal miners, South Africa's Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited said Monday.
In a statement, the company said the bodies were brought to the surface by other illegal miners over the weekend.
Harmony said it was unclear if other illegal miners had died at the Eland shaft in central South Africa. It said it would not send its own workers in to search because "the abandoned mining areas where the criminal miners have been active are extremely dangerous."
ITALY
'Romeo' weds 'Juliet' under legendary balcony
ROME — An Italian soccer player is the first person to marry under the balcony where, legend has it, Romeo wooed Juliet.
Verona Mayor Flavio Tosi conducted Monday's wedding of Luca Ceccarelli, who plays for Hellas Verona, and his Juliet — girlfriend Irene Lanforti — in the 14th-century Casa di Giulietta, or House of Juliet.
The idea is part of a campaign by Verona, where William Shakespeare set his tale of star-crossed lovers, to foster its image as a romantic city.
The House of Juliet is one of the top tourist spots in a city that draws about 1.2 million visitors annually.
ZIMBABWE
UN agencies call for more humanitarian aid
HARARE — Zimbabwe's humanitarian situation has deteriorated sharply since the end of last year, U.N. agencies said Monday as they called for more aid for the troubled southern African country.
In a joint statement, the agencies appealed for $718 million for 2009 to provide food, clean water, AIDS medicines and other aid — up from an estimate of $550 million in November.
They said donor response has been "below average," with just $246 million provided by May 26.
Basic social services have collapsed amid economic crisis and political violence.
RUSSIA
Medal honors parents with outsized families
MOSCOW — Russia has a long tradition of honoring its soldiers, scholars and scientists for outsized achievements. On Monday, it honored parents with outsized families with the "Order of Parental Glory" — part of a campaign to halt a dramatic population decline.
President Dmitry Medvedev gave couples with four, nine, 11 and as many as 16 children a hero's welcome in a gilded Kremlin reception hall, holding them up as examples to a nation full of families like his own — mom, dad and only child.
The government has instituted financial rewards for parents starting with their second child. The Parental Glory medal comes with an award of $1,630.
The Associated Press
