Speculation rife of year-end general election in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Speculation in rife in Malaysia that a general election could still be held before the end of the year.Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said he is confident that the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition would recapture its two-thirds majority in parliament if the ballot is held now.As Malaysia's largest political party UMNO gets ready to hold its annual congress on Wednesday,...

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BJP asks Ram Jethmalani why he shouldn't be expelled from party

NEW DELHI: Moving a step forward on his suspension, BJP on Monday issued a show-cause notice to its Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani asking him to explain why he should not be expelled from the party for "anti-party" activities and indiscipline. "The parliamentary board confirmed the decision of national president Nitin Gadkari to immediately suspend Ram Jethmalani for his indiscipline and anti-party...

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk...

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President Obama Prepares for Cabinet Shuffle

Nov 26, 2012 6:45am Carolyn Kaster/AP PhotoAs President Obama prepares for his second term, preparations have begun for the traditional shuffling of the Cabinet.Top priority for the president: filling slots for those top officials heading — if not running — for the door: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner.To replace Clinton,...

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Gaza damage to cost US$1.2b: Hamas spokesman

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Israel's eight-day bombardment of the Gaza Strip has caused more than US$1.2 billion in direct and indirect damages, a spokesman for the Hamas government said on Sunday."The total cost of damages caused by the Israeli aggression is US$1.245 billion (960 million euros)," Taher al-Nunu told reporters in Gaza City.He said direct damage caused by more than...

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Cellphones reshape prostitution in India, complicate efforts to prevent AIDS

MUMBAI: Millions once bought sex in the narrow alleys of Kamathipura, a vast red-light district here. However, sex workers with inexpensive mobile phones are luring customers elsewhere, and that is endangering the astonishing progress India has made against AIDS. Indeed, the recent closings of hundreds of ancient brothels, while something of an economic victory for sex workers, may one day cost them,...

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk...

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New Congress: Fewer Moderates Make Deals Harder

When the next Congress cranks up in January, there will be more women, many new faces and 11 fewer tea party-backed House Republicans from the class of 2010 who sought a second term.Overriding those changes, though, is a thinning of pragmatic, centrist veterans in both parties. Among those leaving are some of the Senate's most pragmatic lawmakers, nearly half the House's centrist...

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Crisis over president's powers exposes Egypt divisions

CAIRO (Reuters) - Youths clashed with police in Cairo on Saturday as protests at new powers assumed by President Mohamed Mursi stretched into a second day, confronting Egypt with a crisis that has exposed the split between newly empowered Islamists and their opponents. A handful of hardcore activists hurling rocks battled riot police in the streets near Tahrir Square, where several thousand...

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Egypt judges furious over Morsi's 'unprecedented attack'

CAIRO: Egyptian judges on Saturday slammed a decree by President Mohamed Morsi granting him sweeping powers as "an unprecedented attack" on the judiciary, and courts across two provinces announced a strike.The constitutional declaration is "an unprecedented attack on the independence of the judiciary and its rulings," the Supreme Judicial Council said after an emergency meeting.The council,...

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