Wednesday, April 3, 2013


Najib Razak Malaysian PM dissolves parliament

3042013
Najib Razak Malaysian PM dissolves parliament ahead of general elections.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose National Front (BN) coalition has been in power for over 50 years, announced in a televised address that he has obtained royal approval from Malaysia’s constitutional monarch to dissolve parliament.
Razak will now face opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in what is anticipated to be a closely contested race later this month. The prime minister was constitutionally required to call for a general election in April, when the National Front’s five-year mandate expired.>

Cypriot finance minister Michalis Sarris resigns

3 04 2013

Cyprus finance minister Michalis Sarris has resigned. He was previously the head of one of the failed banks whose past management is now under investigation.Sarris stepped down on Tuesday, the same day a committee to investigate the collapse of the country’s banking industry was set up.
Sarris, the president of the closed Laiki Bank until last August, said he resigned of his own free will to make the committee’s work easier.However  some experts think he was driven to resign by discord with President Nicos Anastasiades. So With the Sarris resignation, a cabinet reshuffle is expected within a few days.




Julian Assange’s bright chances to be in the Australian Senate

3 04 2013
Julian Assange’s chances to snatch a seat in the Australian Senate are pretty high, his campaign manager Greg Barns told International media , adding that the WikiLeaks founder would force the country’s government run their policies more honestly if that happens.
Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK for the past nine months, but that hasn’t dampened his political aspirations.
The whistle blower has just appointed high-profile campaigner Greg Barns to manage his bid for the Australian Senate in September’s election.
Barns, a former Australian Republican Movement head and barrister, says his employer enjoys wide public support in his homeland, with the possible success in the vote increasing his chances of returning home to Australia. Media agencies




3 04 2013
Meshaal reelected Hamas leader
Islamist Palestinian group Hamas has reelected Khaled Meshaal as its leader. This group controls the Gaza Strip.Meshaal has led Hamas since 2004, when the Israeli military assassinated its former leader.Meshaal lived in exile after surviving an assassination attempt by Israel in 1997. He lived in Qatar and represented Hamas in negotiations with Arab nations. He also raised funds for the group.
Meshaal appear  to be positive about reconciliation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who leads the West Bank. Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas in 2007.




3 04 2013
Israel launches air strikes on Gaza
Israel has launched air strikes on the Palestinian territory of Gaza for the first time since a truce with the Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas last November.
Occupation planes bombarded an open area in northern Gaza, there were no wounded,” a statement from the Hamas Interior Ministry said.
Gaza-based documentary film-maker Harry Fear reports there had been 3 separate strikes at five to midnight on Tuesday.
According to Haaretz, the strikes hit near the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, after two mortar shells were fired from Gaza towards western Negev earlier that day.
Israel Defense Forces confirmed they had launched an airstrike on a Gaza target Tuesday night, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The Israeli military carried out the strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday, targeting bases of militants in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. No one was injured in the raids.
The Israeli military said the air strikes were retaliation for rockets launched from Gaza at Israel on Tuesday. No one has claimed responsibility for the rocket salvo, which caused no injuries.
The Israeli raids followed a major Palestinian rally on Tuesday to protest the death of a Palestinian inmate at an Israeli prison. Some protesters crashed with the Israeli military.
The air strikes have raised fears of heightened tension which could shatter the truce between Israel and Hamas.Two neigbours  agreed to a ceasefire in November after fighting which left more than 160 people dead.




3 04 2013

France makes abortion procedures free

As of this April, the French government will now cover 100 per cent of the cost for all abortion procedures. The new provision, a campaign promise made by President François Hollande in 2012, also doubles government funds to hospitals and clinics that provide abortions in order to encourage more facilities to offer the procedure. The legislation will also make contraception free of charge for 15- to 18-year-olds.




3 04 2013

Serbia, Kosovo fail to reach agreement on normalized relations

In what could be a blow to Serbia’s bid for EU membership, Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and his Kosovo counterpart, Hashim Thaci, were unable to reach an agreement on resolving the status of Kosovo’s north, where a Serb majority rejects the government’s authority. Both leaders will now return home to consult with colleagues on their next steps. The 12-hour negotiating session in Brussels was the last time all sides would formally meet for the EU-brokered talks.






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