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fewer forces.
• ___
Egypt starts voting on new president as former military chief hopes for landslide election win
• CAIRO (AP) -- Egyptians were choosing a new president on Monday in an election likely to be won by the man who nearly a year ago ousted the nation's first freely elected president, the Islamist Mohammed Morsi.
• Retired military chief Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is practically assured of a victory in the vote, which is being held over two days, Monday and Tuesday.
• The country's most powerful figure since Morsi's ouster 10 months ago, el-Sissi will be looking for a strong turnout -- and a landslide win -- to show the world that his removal of Morsi was the will of the people.
• "The Egyptians are coming out to write their history and chart their future," el-Sissi told reporters after he cast his ballot at a school in the upscale district of Heliopolis. The 59-year-old career soldier, in a suit and tie, was mobbed by supporters and reporters as he arrived at the school.
• The only other candidate in the race is leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who finished third in the 2012 presidential election.
• ___
US marks Memorial Day weekend with somber ceremonies, flag planting; Obama goes to Afghanistan
• NEW YORK (AP) -- The U.S. Marine Corps' chaplain, speaking to a congregation that has tied gold ribbons on the church's fence in honor of fallen soldiers since the Iraq War began, lauded the sacrifice of veterans around the world as President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan for Memorial Day.
• "What they have done has allowed us to be here," Rear Admiral Margaret Kibben told the roughly 200 worshippers Sunday at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan, including active duty servicemen and women in town for the annual Fleet Week celebration.
• Memorial Day, she said, was a time to remind ourselves of the meaning of sacrifice and to put personal struggles and difficulties in perspective.
• Across the nation, citizens were marking Memorial Day with somber ceremonies, flag planting at cemeteries, parades and even barbecues -- an American pastime that Petty Officer 1st Class Brian McNeal said should be enjoyed this weekend.
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