Iceland president wins record 5th term

REYKJAVIK — Iceland’s President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson is set for a record fifth term in office after facing down a challenge from a well-known television reporter who had a new baby on the campaign trail. With about half the votes counted from Saturday’s poll, the socialist Grimsson was seen winning 52 percent, while his main rival Thora Arnorsdottir was running second with 33 percent and has conceded defeat. Grimsson, a 69-year-old former university professor, has held the largely ceremonial post since 1996 but has courted controversy for taking a more political approach to the role. His challenger, a political novice, had been seen as a fresh face at a time when many Icelanders clamored for a new breed of politicians following the country’s devastating economic crash in 2008. — AFP