JERUSALEM - Israel is "prepared to escalate" its response to a flare-up of violence along its border with the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says. His warning came after more than 12 hours of violence along Israel's border with Gaza, sparked when militants fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli jeep east of Gaza City, injuring four soldiers, one of them severely. Retaliatory Israeli air strikes and shelling during the night killed six Palestinians - four civilians and two militants. AFP
QUITO - Ecuador President Rafael Correa will run for a third term in February elections - a contest in which he is expected to be the runaway favourite. The leftist Correa, who has led the Andean nation of 14 million people since 2007, is far ahead in opinion polls, winning 56 per cent of support among likely voters. Far behind are right-wing banker Guillermo Lasso at 22 per cent and former president Lucio Gutierrez at 23 per cent. AFP