MEXICAN PRESIDENT CALDERON HANDS POWER TO PENA NIETO
MEXICO CITY: Mexico’s incoming president Enrique Pena Nieto took the reins of power on Saturday, inheriting a country full of economic promise but beset by a brutal drug war.

Outgoing President Felipe Calderon handed power to Pena Nieto in a symbolic ceremony just after midnight, hours before the new leader takes the formal oath of office before congress and delivers a speech at the national palace. In a short ceremony at the palace, Calderon and Pena Nieto stood stone-faced, side by side before the incumbent handed a Mexican flag to his successor, who then handed the green-white-red banner to a soldier.

KUWAIT GOES TO POLLS AS OPPOSITION BOYCOTTS
KUWAIT CITY: Kuwaitis cast ballots on Saturday to elect a second parliament in 10 months, but early turnout was low as voters appeared to heed an opposition call to shun the poll over a disputed electoral law. The vote comes nearly two months after Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah scrapped the pro-government parliament following a court ruling that annulled an assembly elected in February. The opposition has staged several protests and gatherings against the government for unilaterally amending the electoral law, saying the move amounted to a coup against the constitution.

CHINA UNEARTHS ANCIENT PALACE RUINS
BEIJING: China has unearthed the ruins of an ancient palace near the tomb of the country’s first emperor that was already famed for its terracotta soldiers, state media said on Saturday. The discovery is the latest at the mausoleum, which dates back more than two millennia and became one of the greatest modern archaeological finds after a peasant digging a well stumbled upon the life-size warriors in 1974. The palace “is the largest complex ever found at the cemetery”, the Xinhua news agency said, citing Sun Weigang, a researcher at the archeology institute of northern Shaanxi province, where the site is located. Qin Shihuang, a ruler during the Qin dynasty (221-207 BC), presided over China’s unification and declared himself its first emperor. Based on its foundations, the palace is believed to extend 690 by 250 meters (2,300 by 820 feet), nearly a quarter of the size of Beijing’s iconic Forbidden City. AFP