- Dubois destroys Joshua to retain IBF world heavyweight crown
- Guardiola says critics want Man City wiped 'from face of the Earth'
- Biden says 'Quad' is 'here to stay' despite challenges
- Dubois knocks out Joshua to retain IBF world heavyweight crown
- Vinicius helps 'faster' Madrid overturn stubborn Espanyol
- Zelensky to press US on long-range missile strikes inside Russia
- PSG drop first points in draw at Reims
- Vinicius, Mbappe on target as Madrid crush plucky Espanyol
- Jeeno leads Ko by two at LPGA Queen City Championship
- Bottega Veneta goes for 'E.T.' chic as Madonna pops into D&G
- Messi, Miami frustrated by New York late leveler
- Musk's X platform takes first step toward lifting Brazil ban
- 'Business as usual' for Australia match-winner Carey amid boos
- Israeli jets pound Lebanon after deadly Beirut strike
- Ten Hag bemoans Man Utd's lack of killer instinct in Palace stalemate
- France's Macron appoints new government in shift to right
- Cheika proud of Leicester grit after winning start as boss
- Profligate Man Utd pay price in 0-0 draw at Palace
- Kane, Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Man Utd held at Palace
- LIV champion Rahm out of LIV Team semis with severe flu
- Slot surprised by tearful Nunez's moment of magic
- Title rivals Norris, Verstappen on 'cool' front row for Singapore GP
- Biden talks China with 'Quad' leaders in hometown summit
- Juve and Napoli play out goalless draw in early Serie A title tussle
- Alcaraz fears tennis tour grind will 'kill us'
- Carey sparks recovery as Australia thrash England in 2nd ODI
- Leclerc, Sainz lament 'disappointing' Saturday in Singapore
- Bottega Veneta holds investors' aces as Madonna pops into D&G
- Beirut digs for victims at building flattened in Israeli strike
- Verstappen stages protest over 'ridiculous' swearing punishment
- Bayern boss Kompany lauds 'special talent' Olise
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Spurs bounce back
- Heavy fire over Israel-Lebanon border after deadly Beirut strike
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win despite Hogg scuffle
- Myanmar flood death toll jumps to 384
- Chelsea owners 'happy' with win at West Ham amid rift report
- Kane and Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win
- Norris pips Verstappen to dramatic Singapore pole after Sainz crash
- Carey takes Australia to 270 in 2nd ODI against England after collapse
- Two Hezbollah leaders killed in Israel's Beirut strike
- Hungary Danube waters reach decade high after Storm Boris
- Bagnaia cuts Martin's MotoGP lead with Emilia-Romagna sprint win
- Jackson double fires Chelsea to victory at woeful West Ham
- Fiji beat Japan to lift Pacific Nations Cup
- Kasatkina to face Haddad Maia in Korea Open final
- S.Africa snowfall closes roads, strands motorists overnight
- Lawyers of women alleging Al-Fayed sex abuse receive over 150 new enquiries
- President Museveni's son backs Ugandan strongman for 7th term
Colombians vote for Congress, short-list presidential contenders
Colombians vote Sunday to draw up a shortlist of presidential candidates for elections in May while also electing the 296 members of its Congress.
Nearly 39 million of Colombia's 50 million inhabitants are eligible to vote in a complex but critical election that comes with the president and legislature both at rock-bottom levels of public opinion.
In a country with a history of political violence and voter turnout traditionally below 50 percent, outgoing President Ivan Duque has promised safety "guarantees" for the non-compulsory vote.
On one part of the ballot, voters will determine the composition of the Senate and House of Representatives, currently in the hands of right-wing parties.
But all eyes will really be on the outcome of the presidential primary -- called inter-party "consultations" -- happening alongside the legislative vote.
In a country that has always been ruled by the political right, polls show that former guerrilla, ex-Bogota mayor and senator Gustavo Petro, 61, stands a real chance of becoming Colombia's first-ever leftist leader.
Also in the running is former FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt, who said in January she would vie to represent centrist parties as an alternative to both the ruling right and Petro.
The process must yield three presidential contenders from 15 candidates vying to represent groups of politically-aligned parties -- one each for the left, right and center.
Three others have already been chosen by their respective groupings.
Six finalists will face off in a first round of presidential elections on May 29, which will be followed by a runoff on June 19 if no one wins am outright majority.
- First leftist president? -
Petro enjoys polled support of about 45 percent -- more than any other candidate in a country traditionally distrustful of the left.
That distrust is widely associated with the now defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and other rebel groups that fought the government in a near six-decade civil conflict.
"When the government is unpopular, there is alternation and the opposition wins, but in Colombia, this is new: the left has never really been in a position to win an election," said analyst Yann Basset of the Rosario University in Bogota.
In 2018, Petro lost the presidential race to Duque, who is leaving office as his country's most unpopular president in history following a year marked by social unrest and a violent police crackdown that drew international condemnation.
The political right he represents is divided and weakened by the absence of popular former president Alvaro Uribe, who had to resign from the senate under a cloud of alleged bribery and witness tampering. It has no clear frontrunner.
For Betancourt, it is her second presidential run: she was abducted 20 years ago while campaigning and held captive in the jungle for more than six years.
Colombian presidents serve only one four-year term.
- Economy dominates -
Duque's successor faces a multitude of challenges, not least of which is a new cycle of murders and kidnappings as violence has surged despite a 2016 peace deal that disarmed the FARC and officially ended the civil war.
The new president will also contend with an economy hard hit by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
"What dominates the agenda today is how we will get out of the economic and social crisis," said Basset.
Congress, for its part, enters Sunday's election with an 86 percent disapproval rating, according to the Invamer polling agency, due to multiple corruption scandals.
Despite the peace pact, fighters of the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) still battle dissidents of the disbanded FARC, paramilitary forces and drug cartels for territory, resources and smuggling routes.
Colombia is the world's largest cocaine exporter.
The right-wing government in Bogota accuses its populist socialist counterparts in Venezuela of supporting and providing refuge for far left guerrillas.
K.Thomson--BTB