World Briefs: Sarkozy wins poll boost in race for presidency

President Mauricio Funes‘ Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front dropped to 31 seats from 35. A coalition led by former conservative President Elias Saca won 11 seats, while the remaining nine seats went to four small parties.

Mr. Funes is the first leftist to be elected El Salvador’s president since its civil war ended in 1992.

Observers said the results of Sunday’s vote was a setback for Mr. Funes.

KYRGYZSTAN

Panetta seeks to boost support for base

BISHKEK — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta met with Kyrgyzstan’s leaders to stress that America needs the continued use of the U.S. air base there beyond the end of its contract in 2014, largely as a transit center to bring troops home from Afghanistan.

A senior U.S. official traveling with Mr. Panetta to Kyrgyzstan said the U.S. believes there may be some “wiggle room” for additional negotiations for a longer-term contract.

The official said the defense chief on Tuesday stressed the importance of the transit center for both countries, for regional security as well as the possible transition to a lucrative commercial hub in the future.

Mr. Panetta met with Taalaybek Omuraliev, Kyrgyzstan’s defense minister, and Busurmankul Tabaldiev, the secretary of the Defense Council.

Mr. Tabaldiev told Mr. Panetta that while Kyrgyzstan “has shown readiness” to support the U.S. and transit center after 2014, he said that after 2014 “there should be no military mission.”

ETHIOPIA

Official: Gunmen kill 19 in bus attack

ADDIS ABABA — An Ethiopian official said Tuesday unknown gunmen in the country’s southwest killed 19 people in an attack on a public bus.

The president of Ethiopia’s Gambella region said eight people were wounded.

Omod Obang Olum said the victims were Ethiopian residents traveling in a public bus that was ambushed near a town called Bonga by attackers with machine guns.

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