IN MALAYSIAN GENERAL ELECTION 13, BARISAN NASIONAL WINS
There are two Malaysias. One from the Malay heartland that swung back
to Barisan Nasional (BN) on Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1 Malaysia
campaign to retake Kedah and run the country despite a smaller federal
majority in Election 2013.
The other is a multiracial Malaysia that gave more votes, federal and
state seats to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) especially in cities and towns,
reflecting the growing rural-urban divide of a fast-developing nation.
The record 80 per cent turnout from the 12.9 million voters eligible
to cast their ballots in yesterday’s general election and close results
in BN victories reveal hardcore support for either coalitions, firming
the idea of a two-party system in Malaysia.
ISRAEL LOUNCES ‘AIRSTRIKES’ IN SYRIA
Israel carried out an air strike near Damascus airport overnight, targeting Iranian missiles destined for Lebanon's Shia Muslim Hizbollah movement, a senior Israeli source has said.
"The attack was very close to the airport, the target was Iranian
missiles which were destined for Hizbollah," the anonymous source said.
The warplanes struck areas in and around the Syrian capital Sunday, setting
off a series of explosions as they targeted a shipment of highly accurate,
Iranian-made guided missiles believed to be on their way to Hizbollah.
The attack, the second in three days, signaled a sharp escalation of Israel's
involvement in Syria's bloody civil war.
Source: Al Jazeera
COMPETING PARTIES IN DEAD HEAT FOR MALAYSIAN 2013 ELECTION
KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 — Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) are
almost evenly tied to win Election 2013 with the economy the main issue
ahead of the May 5 general elections, according to a survey by the
Merdeka Center for Opinion Research.
The respected pollster found that 42 per cent of the voters surveyed
agreed that PR should be given a chance to govern the country against 41
per cent who felt only BN should govern Malaysia.
- It added that four per cent of the voters refused to respond while 13 per cent of the voters said they “did not know”.
- “Based on the survey results and the assumption that the election is free and fair, we estimate that neither Barisan Nasional nor Pakatan Rakyat were in the lead as at 9:30pm on May 2, 2013,” Merdeka Center said in a statement this evening.
- The survey was carried out by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research between 9:00am on April 28 and 9.30pm on May 2, involving 1,600 registered voters comprising 59 per cent Malay, 32 per cent Chinese and nine per cent Indian respondents who were interviewed by telephone in the poll.
- BN leaders have expressed confidence of doing better than Election 2008, saying their election machinery has been working hard to canvass votes in both rural and urban areas to ensure its unbroken rule since independence in 1957.
The BN also believes it can snare 142 seats, counting on what its
officials say was a swing towards the coalition in the last 24 hours in
its traditional vote bank of Sabah and Sarawak.
Leaders from both coalitions have been racing across the country in
the past two weeks to speak at rallies, exhorting party workers to
campaign harder and persuading fence sitters for their votes.
Source: The Malaysian Insider
DESPITE HUGE RALLYS TURNOUT, VOTES NOT GUARANTEED?
PETALING JAYA, Malaysia — Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
admitted today that the huge turnouts at Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) rallies
may not necessarily translate to votes.
The PKR de facto leader, however, said the large numbers could
reflect some “measure of enthusiasm” that can be taken as a positive
sign for the federal opposition pact ahead of the May 5 polls.
“Not necessarily, you are right there,” replied Anwar when asked if
he felt the crowd size at PR’s nightly ceramahs could indicate growing
support for the bloc.
“But the size of the crowd, it is clearly resounding. It will reflect
some measures of enthusiasm because we don’t provide buses, we don’t
provide free food, we don’t provide RM20 allowance and some others do,”
he added.
US SUSPECTS SYRIA USED CHEMICAL WEAPONS
The US has said that Syria has likely used chemical weapons against rebel forces on a "small scale," but emphasised intelligence services were still not 100 percent sure.
US spy agencies have investigated reports from Syrian opposition groups that President Bashar al-Assad's forces have used sarin gas on at least two occasions during the two-year-old conflict.
"Our intelligence community does assess with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria," Caitlin Hayden, a US National Security Council spokesperson, said on Thursday.
The assessment, which she said was based in part on "physiological samples", points to the possible use of sarin, a man-made nerve agent used in two attacks in Japan in the 1990s.
It can cause convulsions, respiratory failure and death.
Hayden however warned the chain of custody of the weapons was "not clear, so we cannot confirm how the exposure occurred and under what conditions".
Source: Al Jazeera
FAME MAY LEAD TO A SHORTER LIFE?
A glittering career in the public eye may come at the cost of a
shorter life, according to an analysis of newspaper obituaries.
The study found that performers and sports stars tend to die a few
years younger than people successful in other careers, BBC reported.
Though the researchers said the study does not provide any conclusive
answers, but it asked interesting questions about the cost of fame.
According to the study published in QJM: An 
International Journal of
Medicine, experts in Australia looked at 1,000 obituaries in the New
York Times between 2009 and 2011.
International Journal of
Medicine, experts in Australia looked at 1,000 obituaries in the New
York Times between 2009 and 2011.
They showed that actors, singers and musicians, as well those who made a
career in sport died the youngest — at an average age of 77.
Writers, composers and artists died at 79 while academics, including
historians and economists, survived until 82. Those in business or
politics lived upto 83.
- The researchers, at the University of Queensland and the University of New South Wales, said cancer, particularly tumours in the lungs, was more common in performers.
- Professor Richard Epstein said that, whatever the reason, the findings should be considered as a “health warning to young people aspiring to become stars”.
- Honey Langcaster-James, a psychologist who specialises in celebrity behaviour, said so few people achieved star status that it made it difficult to scientifically study the effect on people’s lives.
- “The results are interesting of themselves as they suggest an inherent hazard of a public career and that all that glitters is not necessarily gold. They may be paying a high price for their career,” she said.
- However, she said it was not easy to come up with a scientific explanation.
- On the one hand she said such a career “has unique stressors” such as “the pressure to live up to a public image, which can lead to risky behaviours”.
- Yet she suspected that “particular personal characteristics predispose people to wanting a career in the public arena”, which may also lead to lifestyle choices affecting health.
Source: IANS
DESPERATE SEARCH FOR CHINA QUAKE SURVIVORS
Thousands of rescuers are fighting to thwart a rising death toll as they search earthquake-shattered villages in southwest China for survivors.
Rescue teams battled landslides and collapsed roads to reach isolated parts of Sichuan province on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, in images aired on state broadcaster CCTV.
At least 180 people have so far been confirmed dead, with 6,000 injured in Saturday's 6.6 magnitude quake.
Soldiers searched through the night and day for survivors in villages where houses had been destroyed and treated some of the injured.
source: Al Jazeera...more...
PAKISTAN COURT ORDERS FORMER PRESIDENT MUSHARRAF’S ARREST
NEW DELHI, Pakistan - Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's legal team was unable to file an appeal in the supreme court against an order for his arrest as lawyers were unable to complete certain formalities before the court closed for the day.
Musharraf's lawyers Ibrahim Satti and Kamar Afzal went to the apex court to file the appeal but could not complete some formalities before the court closed for the day.
A court in Islamabad cancels former military ruler's bail application in connection with detention of judges in 2007.
Source: Al Jazeera
PHILIPPINE CHURCH SHOULD NOT ENDORSE POLITICAL CANDIDATES
MANILA, Philippines - An archbishop said neither the
Church nor lay groups should endorse candidates in the May 13 elections,
but said those who supported the law on Reproductive Health should be
rejected by voters.
“The Church must guide and
not dictate. The Church must unite and not contribute to the division.
The Church must pray and not add to the confusion. The Church must heal
and not inflict hurts.
The Church must be in the world but not belong to
it,” Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan in Central Luzon
said in a pastoral letter.
The Church must be in the world but not belong to
it,” Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan in Central Luzon
said in a pastoral letter.
Villegas pointed out that
when the Church endorses candidates in elections, its spiritual mission
will be compromised and religion will be “reduced” to a mere political
contest.
“We will be lonesome widows after the elections for marrying partisan politics during the campaign,” the prelate said.
“The Church should not be perceived as winning or losing an election. The Church must be beyond such,” Villegas said. “Religions that waltz with politics will die by politics.”
He explained that if the Church endorses a
candidate, the latter may win the elections but it is the Church which
“always ends up loser” because its mission will be tarnished with the
“stain of the mundane.”
“The Church should not be perceived as winning or losing an election. The Church must be beyond such,” Villegas said. “Religions that waltz with politics will die by politics.”
Instead of
endorsing certain candidates, Villegas said he prefers that Church and
lay Catholic leaders observe certain parameters that they can endorse to
parishioner when choosing a candidate.
Source: Gulfnews...More..
VISITORS GEOFLAGS SINCE AUGUST 26, 2009
