Italy's centre left voted to choose the candidate who will be the leading contender to succeed Mario Monti as prime minister after a election in March and take charge of steering the country through a deep recession.
Italy's center-left coalition, led by Pier Luigi Bersani, has a comfortable lead less than two months before the election, and outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti's bloc may win up to 15 percent, a poll said.
President Barack Obama nominated former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to head the CIA, potentially setting up a Senate confirmation battle on two fronts and establishing a tough tone to start his second term.