Cameron: Labour has lost its mandate to govern

London, England (News Today) - If the predictions are borne out by results, the UK is heading for a "hung parliament" in which no single party controls an overall majority.

The leader of the largest party traditionally gets the first chance to form the government and become prime minister. But if no party has a majority, the sitting prime minister has the right to stay in office and try to win a confidence motion in parliament.

"The sitting prime minister and the incumbent government are given the first chance to create a majority that commands the confidence of the House of Commons, and if they fail to do that it passes to the leader of the opposition," top Labour politician Peter Mandelson told CNN.

Several high-profile incumbents lost their seats overnight, including former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, of Labour; Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson, leader of the Democratic Unionist party; and Liberal Democrat Lembit Opik, who had been in parliament for 13 years.

All had been implicated in last year's parliamentary expenses scandal. Robinson's loss could hurt the Conservatives, robbing them of a potential supporter in the Commons should the party need to form a coalition.

The Green Party, which favors environmental and social justice policies, gained its first-ever member of parliament when Caroline Lucas was elected in Brighton, in southern England.

There were some scenes of voter anger across the country over long lines to cast ballots or polling stations running out of ballot papers, but it was not immediately clear how widespread problems were.

Anger at polling stations

"We will be doing a serious and thorough review of this and making recommendations to parliament and the government," Electoral Commission Chairwoman Jenny Watson said.

The United Kingdom's system of voting is "Victorian, antiquated, left over from an era when less people had to vote" and not designed to cope with mass participation, she said, adding that the system is now "at breaking point."

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg expressed his anger after hundreds of voters were turned away from a polling station in his Sheffield constituency.

"I share the bitter dismay of many of my constituents who weren't able to exercise their democratic right to vote at this election," he said. "It is not right that hundreds found themselves unable to vote -- and that is something should never ever happen again in our democracy."

Clearly disappointed by his party's showing as results filtered in, he added: "This has obviously been a disappointing night for the lib-dems -- we haven't achieved what we hoped. But I think we conducted a positive campaign full of optimism."

It's very unusual for no party to get an absolute majority of seats in the Commons. The last time it happened, in 1974, voters were back at the polls within months.

After the election there will be 650 seats in the Commons, four more than in the previous parliament. Voters chose representatives for only 649 seats, however, because the death of a candidate in northern England postponed that election to May 27, local officials said.

Under the British electoral system, the candidate who receives the most votes in a constituency wins. The system, known as "first past the post," is praised for its simplicity and the strong ties it forms between voters and representatives, but critics dislike its failure to provide proportional representation.

Source : CNN

Read More

Britain faces potentially historic vote

London, England (News Today) - British voters go to the polls Thursday to determine the fate of Gordon Brown's Labour government, which has run the United Kingdom for the past 13 years.

The casting of ballots across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland caps a hectic month-long election campaign marked by first-ever televised debates between the leaders of the three main parties: Brown, David Cameron of the Conservative Party, and Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats.

Brown has stood at the center of British government since Labour ended 18 years of Conservative rule in 1997 -- as the powerful chancellor, or finance minister, under Tony Blair for a decade, and then as prime minister since 2007.

He's also the man who made the only gaffe that got any attention during the campaign. Not realizing he was still wearing a live microphone in his car as he was driven away from meeting a retired widow in northern England, he said the conversation was a "disaster."

"Should never have put me with that woman -- whose idea was that?" he said to an unidentified aide. "She was just a sort of bigoted woman."

Brown apologized repeatedly for the remark made eight days before the election, first on a live radio show shortly after he said it, and later at the home of the woman, Gillian Duffy.

British law prevents the media from reporting how the parties have fared in opinion polls during the campaign or from detailing the parties' positions on the issues. But online media are not required to remove such reporting from their archives.

The law restricts reporting on polling day to uncontroversial details such as where and when party leaders voted, and what the weather was when they did.

Polling stations are open from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. local time (2 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.) Many smaller parties also are competing, including nationalist parties such as the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru in Wales, and unionist and republican parties in Northern Ireland.

The far-right British National Party is hoping to win its first-ever seats in the House of Commons, after having won races for European Parliament seats last year. The United Kingdom Independence Party is also fielding candidates, as is the venerable if satirical Monster Raving Loony Party, whose candidates have been known to say, "Vote for insanity! You know it makes sense!"

Voters in 650 constituencies across the country choose lawmakers to represent them in the House of Commons. The candidate who gets the most votes in a constituency wins. It's not necessary to win an absolute majority of votes in a constituency to win the seat.

The leader of the party with the most seats in the Commons traditionally gets the first chance to form a government.

Due to the structure of the British voting system, one party normally wins a majority of seats, even though there are three national parties.

The last time no one party captured more than half of the seats in the Commons was in 1974. That government proved unstable, and voters were back at the polls within months.

Source : CNN

Read More

Thai Red Shirts 'reach deal to end protests'

Bangkok, Thailand (News Terupdate) - Anti-government protesters who have been blocking off central Bangkok appear to have reached a deal with the government, their leaders told demonstrators Tuesday.

Leaders of the protest movement told supporters they are prepared to accept a five-point deal being offered by the government, including a call for new elections in November.

But they will not end their demonstrations until the prime minister announces when he will dissolve parliament, they said.

The crowd erupted in a roar of approval when their leaders told them of the deal, which seems to remove the threat of a violent crackdown on the protesters.

Are you in Thailand? Share your images, video

Thousands of anti-government protesters have brought the center of Thailand's capital to a standstill for weeks as they seek to unseat Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government, which they say is illegitimate and undemocratic -- accusations Abhisit has called "unfounded."

iReport: Behind Red Shirt lines

The demonstrators -- known as "Red Shirts" because of their clothing -- support Thaksin Shinawatra, who was prime minister from 2001 to 2006, before he was ousted in a bloodless coup.

Explainer: What are the protests about?

More than two dozen civilians and military personnel have died since protesters began occupying key tourism and shopping areas in Thailand's capital.

Thai security forces fired on crowds of anti-government protesters just outside Bangkok last week as tensions flared in the latest round of confrontations between the two groups.

The Erawan rescue agency said eight protesters were injured in the clashes. One soldier was killed by friendly fire, police said.

Riot police and government troops had massed along a major highway to stop the progress of an anti-government convoy headed toward a location where demonstrators have gathered in the past.

The British and United States governments have issued warnings to their citizens about travel to Thailand in light of the protests.

Source : CNN

Read More

Is It Govt's Way to Save Sri Mulyani from The Legal Process?

Jakarta,Indonesia (News Today) - A political observer from state Universty of Indonesia, Arbi Sanit, said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani’s resignation was the result of political engineering by the government to save her from the legal process over the Bank Century case.

"This is a form of political compromise between the government and its coalition members. The move was made mainly to accomodate the Golkar Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) that do not like Sri Mulyani," he said here on Wednesday commenting on Mulyani’s appointment as a World Bank managing director.

Arbi said it was a solution to the political deadlock in Indonesia as a result of the Bank Century bailout case that he believed would not stop unless Mulyani resigned. He said the dislike of Golkar and PKS towards Mulyani was proven by their recent move to boycott Mulyani at the House of Representatives sessions.

However, he said it was the PDIP (Indonesia Democratic Party Struggle) and Hanura (People’s Conscience Party) that were consistent in the boycott while Golkar and PKS were not.

"To me, it is the result of a compromise at the expense of Sri Mulyani," he said.

According to him, this way all elite members would be safe. He said the decision to appoint her was certainly made without consideration to the people’s wish for the settlement of the Bank Century case and the accountability of those involved.

"This move is only for saving the political elite. The government has accomodated the wish of political parties. With Mulyani’s resignation the Bank Century case is over," he said.

Arbi Sanit also suspected the US government had also played a role with regard to Mulyani’s appointment to the World Bank through its embassy here.

"The US certainly had an interest in a stable Indonesia and it certainly has had a role with regard to Mulyani’s appointment because the US is one of the bank’s biggest contributors," he said.

A constitutional court observer, Irmanputra Sidin, meanwhile said he saw nothing wrong in Mulyani’s resignation. He said based on the constitution the President had the prerogative right to do anything including replacing a cabinet minister as well as engineering Mulyani’s resignation.

"The President has the prerogative right to appoint a minister or fire a minister. So it is not wrong even if his decision is an act of engineering for political reasons," he said.

He said Mulyani’s move was humane (rather than defending her position and being pummeled).

"I think in the current system, even an angel would be unwilling to take on the responsibility of managing the country and unless a change is made on the system that guarantees the rights and obligations of all people, this kind of situation will remain. President Yudhoyono must use the current momentum to put the country in order," he said.

The chairman of the ruling Democrat Party faction in the House of Representatives, Anas Urbaningrum, expressed regret over Mulyani’s resignation but he also appreciated it to cool down political conditions in the country.

"Her resignation is actually regrettable but it also needs to be appreciated as Mulyani thereby shows an upright and selfless attitude," he said.

Source : Kompas.com

Read More

UK sorry for pope-brand condom proposal memo

(News Terupdate) - The British government has apologized to Pope Benedict XVI for a Foreign Office memo suggesting that he could launch Benedict-brand condoms or bless a gay marriage when he visits the United Kingdom later this year.

Many of the ideas in the document are "clearly ill-judged, naive and disrespectful," the Foreign Office said in a statement Sunday.

The writer of the memo "has been transferred to other duties. He has been told orally and in writing that this was a serious error of judgment," the Foreign Office said.

The Vatican is steadfastly opposed to the use of condoms for any reason and to gay marriage.

The memo also includes suggestions that the pope ordain a female priest or launch an abortion clinic -- both of which are forbidden by Roman Catholic doctrine.

The document was leaked to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. The Foreign Office confirmed to CNN that it is genuine.

It contains a number of references to the child abuse scandal sweeping the Catholic Church, such as proposals for the pope to launch a child-abuse hotline and to announce he's "sacking dodgy bishops."

Vatican says sex abuse lawsuit lacks merit

The Vatican had little reaction.

"The UK government has already clarified the matter and I have nothing to add," spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

But Jack Valero, a spokesman for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, called the memo a "joke that's gone out of control."

"It was somebody trying to be funny in an offensive sort of way," he said, adding it was "not important" and that "Catholics are used to forgiveness."

Benedict is making a four-day state visit to England and Scotland in September.

There was a small protest against the planned visit at Westminster Cathedral in London last month. About 50 demonstrators called for the pope to resign over allegations he "protected" child abusers.

Richard Dawkins, the British scientist and noted atheist, has threatened to try to have the pope arrested when he visits the UK.

Benedict said Sunday he wanted to "thank above all thank and encourage all of those who are dedicated to the prevention" of violence against and exploitation of children.

Source : CNN

Read More

11 alleged pirates arrive in U.S. for prosecution

WASHINGTON (News Terupdate) - Eleven suspected pirates have arrived in the United States to face criminal prosecution for alleged attacks on U.S. Navy ships near Somalia, a federal government source said Friday.

U.S. authorities flew the suspects from East Africa to Norfolk, Virginia, to face prosecution in federal court, according to multiple federal law enforcement sources familiar with the operation.

The accused pirates have been indicted on a series of charges, and the suspects were expected to appear before a federal magistrate in Norfolk on Friday, the officials told CNN.

Five of the accused pirates were captured after the USS Nicholas was attacked by a pirate ship on March 31.

Six others were captured in a separate incident April 10 after a pirate ship fired on the USS Ashland.

The 11 have been charged with piracy under the law of nations, attack to plunder a vessel, assault with a dangerous weapon in the special maritime jurisdiction, conspiracy to use firearms during a crime of violence, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence, according to court filings.

The five involved with the Nicholas incident were identified as Mohammed Modin Hasan, Gabul Abdullahi Ali, Abdi Wali Dire, Abdi Mohammed Gurewardher, and Abdi Mohammed Umar.

Read indictment in USS Nicholas case

The six involved with the Ashland were identified as Maxamad Cali Saciid, also know as Mohammed Said, Mohammed Abdi Jama, Jaamac Ciidle, Abdicasiis Cabaase, Abdirasaq Abshir, and Mahamed Farraah Hassan.

Read indictment in USS Ashland case

"The U.S. Marshals Service will be taking custody of the defendants following their initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, and they will be housed locally through the court proceedings," the Marshals Service said in a written statement. The service refused any other comment on the operation to bring the pirates to U.S. soil.

The FBI and Justice Department had no comment.

The cases will be prosecuted in Norfolk, which is in the Eastern District of Virginia. Some officials from Alexandria, where the district court is based, were already in Norfolk standing by for the pirates' arrival, officials said.

The United States, the European Union and others have beefed up their security presence in waters near Somalia after a rash of attacks by pirates in the past two years.

Source : CNN

Read More