Senegal: Third-place Niasse backs Sall in Senegal vote

Senegal opposition candidate Macky Sall has won a major boost in his bid to oust President Abdoulaye Wade in a run-off vote, securing the endorsement of the man who came third in the first round. The west African nation's main opposition movement has also called on its supporters and other failed candidates to rally behind Sall, who will challenge the 85-year-old Wade in the second round election on March 18 or 25. Wade, who has been in power for 12 years, garnered 34.8 per cent of the vote in the first round, but fell humiliatingly short of the majority needed to avoid a run-off.