divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/13396?ns=guardianpageName=World+news%3A+Canada%27s+PM+clings+on+to+power+as+parliament+suspendedch=World+newsc3=The+Guardianc4=Canada+%28News%29%2CWorld+newsc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CNorth+America+Travelc6=Suzanne+Goldenbergc7=2008_12_05c8=1129183c9=articlec10=GUc11=World+newsc12=Canadac13=c14=h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FCanada" width="1" height="1" //divpCanada's prime minister managed to head off the fall of his conservative minority government and cling to power yesterday after engineering the suspension of parliament./ppThe extraordinary decision by Canada's governor general, Michaeuml;lle Jean, to grant Stephen Harper's request to suspend parliament saved him from a confidence vote set for Monday that he was almost certain to lose. It also spares Canadians from going to the polls again, just weeks after elections in October./ppBut the reprieve for Harper takes Canada into uncharted constitutional territory and creates a political vacuum at a time of global economic crisis. It is also temporary. Parliament will resume in the new year and the government is due to introduce its budget on January 27./ppIn attempt to shore up his political prospects in the interim, Harper told reporters in Ottawa yesterday that his budget would include measures to help the economy, and that he would try to regain the confidence of the opposition. "Obviously we have to do some trust-building," he said./ppYesterday's decision brought angry protests from the opposition Liberal and New Democratic parties, which had called on Jean to refuse the prime minister's request to prorogue parliament. They accused her of disregarding the will of the majority in parliament. /ppCanada's crisis was provoked last week when Harper introduced an economic plan that included no stimulus measures but called for a three-year ban on strikes by civil servants and the abolition of public financing for political parties. The Liberal party leader, Steacute;phane Dion, accusing Harper of seeking to politicise the economic crisis, formed a coalition with the leftwing New Democratic party. The two also secured support from the separatist Bloc Queacute;beacute;cois to bring down the government. /ppAlthough Harper retreated on both measures, the opposition refused to back off, raising a political skirmish to yesterday's crisis proportions./ppDonna Dasko, one of Canada's best-known pollsters, said the move to scrap public financing was the tipping point for an opposition that had been demoralised by Harper's re-election. "It was so provocative," she said. "It was purely an effort to take away the modest public support that the political parties have."/ppAs tensions rose, Harper appeared on national television on Wednesday night vowing to block a coalition from coming to power. "Canada's government will use every legal means to protect our democracy, to protect our economy," he said./ppHe said his opponents were undemocratic and accused Dion of being allied with Queacute;beacute;cois separatists. Harper used the word "separatist" four times in the five-minute address./ppSpeaking after Jean's decision, the NDP leader, Jack Layton, said his party would vote down the government in January./pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/canada"Canada/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/mq-CanhNnXhxaw8dOmh7uwCUw-4/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/mq-CanhNnXhxaw8dOmh7uwCUw-4/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/74821?ns=guardianpageName=World+news%3A+Zimbabwe+declares+cholera+emergencych=World+newsc3=The+Guardianc4=Zimbabwe%2CCholera+%28News%29%2CWorld+newsc5=Unclassified%2CNot+commercially+usefulc6=Chris+McGrealc7=2008_12_05c8=1129204c9=articlec10=GUc11=World+newsc12=Zimbabwec13=c14=h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FZimbabwe" width="1" height="1" //divpZimbabwe has declared a national health emergency days after playing down an escalating cholera outbreak that has already claimed more than 500 lives. The move appeared aimed at winning aid from countries and organisations that have been isolating Robert Mugabe's regime. /ppBritain joined the EU and other international organisations in immediately pledging assistance. Gordon Brown said the UK was helping because the cholera outbreak showed that Zimbabwe was a failed state with a government unable to protect its citizens from disease. /ppOfficially, more than 560 people have died from cholera and about 12,000 have been infected after an outbreak triggered by years of neglect of water systems, resulting in open sewage running through some townships. Nearly half the deaths have been recorded in the capital, Harare. Doctors believe many more in rural areas have not been recorded. /ppThe World Health Organisation said the fatality rate - 4.5% of those contracting cholera - was more than four times greater than it normally is when managed with rehydration salts and medicines./ppThe epidemic has spilled over to South Africa, and the government there said it would hold an urgent meeting on the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, where millions of people are also facing severe food shortages, a teetering health system and rampant hyperinflation. /pp"There are very clear signs ... people are beginning to die of starvation. South Africa and SADC [the Southern African Development Community] can't just fold our arms," said a government spokesman, Themba Maseko./ppHowever, Kenya's prime minister, Raila Odinga, told the BBC that intervention should mean removing Mugabe from office. "Powersharing is dead in Zimbabwe and will not work with a dictator who does not really believe in powersharing. It's time for African governments to take decisive action to push him out of power."/ppThe chairman of the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights, Douglass Gwatidzo, said the state of emergency was overdue: "They should have done that two or three weeks ago when the figures of cholera-related deaths were still low. However, it's better late than never."/ppThe European commission has pledged more than $12m (pound;8m) to contain the outbreak. The International Red Cross and WHO are supplying drugs. /ppIn a statement released by Downing Street, Brown said: "The international community's differences with Mugabe will not prevent us [helping]. We are increasing our development aid, and calling on others to follow suit. For once we agree with the government of Zimbabwe: this is a national emergency."/ppThe state-run Herald newspaper quoted Zimbabwe's health minister, David Parirenyatwa, as appealing for help to get the main hospitals working again after staff stopped coming to work because their pay did not cover the cost of transport. /ppHowever Zimbabwe's economy continued its collapse under the weight of hyperinflation, which is officially put at 231m percent but is said by economists to be much higher./ppThe Zimbabwe dollar lost more than 60% of its value yesterday after the limit on cash withdrawals from bank accounts was officially raised to Z$100m. The expected flood of scarce cash on to the streets saw the value of a new Z$100m drop from pound;33 to pound;10 in minutes. /ppLong snaking lines formed outside banks long before opening time. Thousands of people waited patiently, but by the end of the day many had still not got their money./pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/zimbabwe"Zimbabwe/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/cholera"Cholera/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/2gqOhSUrVvC-t0dqgs-031-4w1c/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/2gqOhSUrVvC-t0dqgs-031-4w1c/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/28566?ns=guardianpageName=Politics%3A+Hoon+delays+Heathrow+third+runway+decisionch=Politicsc3=The+Guardianc4=Transport+policy%2CGreen+politics%2CGeoff+Hoon%2CEd+Miliband%2CPlanning+policy%2CAirline+industry+%28business%29%2CTravel+and+transport+environmental+impact%2CTransport+UK%2CClimate+change+%28Environment%29%2CEnvironment%2CBusiness%2CPolitics%2CUK+newsc5=Climate+Change%2CBusiness+Markets%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CPolicy+Society%2CEthical+Livingc6=Allegra+Strattonc7=2008_12_05c8=1129177c9=articlec10=GUc11=Politicsc12=Transport+policyc13=c14=h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FTransport+policy" width="1" height="1" //divpThe government postponed the hugely controversial decision on whether to build a third runway at Heathrow yesterday, sparking speculation that cabinet divisions on the environmental impact of the third runway had persuaded Gordon Brown of the need for delay./ppBackbench Labour MPs, the opposition and environmentalists were all caught off-guard by transport secretary Geoff Hoon's announcement yesterday that a decision would be delayed until January 2009, 12 months after the initial consultation wound up. It is thought that the energy and climate change minister, Ed Miliband - a key ally of the prime minister for the past decade - persuaded him of the need for more consideration. /ppA decision had been expected in the next few days, leaving little parliamentary time for debate before Christmas. The government supported Heathrow expansion in its aviation white paper in 2003 and backed a third runway to that end, while Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and some members of the cabinet are thought to oppose it./ppHoon said yesterday he wanted time to give consideration to the 70,000 responses received when the government held a consultation on the issue./ppOpponents of the third runway said division at cabinet level on the environmental wisdom of the decision was making the government rethink. The government's position had also been exposed by the Conservative party's decision to oppose the plans, saying they would fund high-speed rail links instead./ppIn recent weeks Gordon Brown has held private meetings in No 10 with Labour backbenchers, including a ministerial aide and a vice-chair of the party, in an attempt to assuage their fears. One Labour backbencher involved in the campaign said: "[Lord] Mandelson [the business secretary] is key to this decision - his two priorities are getting re-elected and keeping big businesses onside and in this instance the two are in conflict. And that's why maybe he needs more time." The Conservative MP for Putney, Justine Greening, called the delay a classic example of what her party have cast as Brown's "dithering". London's mayor, Boris Johnson, has said he favours a new airport in the Thames estuary. /ppFriends of the Earth thought the inauguration in the last week of a new climate change committee to hold the government's sustainability record to account had changed matters. FoE campaigner Richard Dyer said: "Hopefully this shows that ministers are beginning to wake up to massive environmental consequences of allowing airports to expand. Under the Climate Change Act, which was passed last month, the government is legally required to slash UK greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 ... but building new runways will cause a huge increase in aviation emissions that will make it all but impossible to meet our targets for tackling climate change." /ppHowever, the chair of the committee, Lord Turner, said recently that he thought airport expansion was consistent with the sustainability agenda./ppThough Hoon has been only been transport secretary for two months, he has been happy to make controversial decisions. Only a few weeks into his job he gave permission for Stansted airport to increase flight capacity by 10%, overruling a local authority which banned the expansion on environmental grounds./ppHe said: "I know there are strong views across a range of interests. I will ensure that I give proper consideration to the evidence before me and will therefore take more time before making an announcement to the house, in January 2009." /ppA spokesman for Brown said the decision had "enormous" national and regional implications. "The delay is a reflection of the fact that this is an important decision," he added./ppLiberal Democrat MP Norman Baker said: "Let's hope this is a belated sign that the government is finally paying attention to the massed ranks of the public and the Commons benches ... However, if this delay is just to wait for the aviation industry to rewrite its proposals in a way that suits it, then this is no cause to celebrate."/ppBusiness lobbyists expressed concern at the delay. /ppEd Anderson, chairman of the Airport Operators Association, said: "That month will not change the fundamental fact that Heathrow's expansion is urgent and necessary for the future of the country, for London's standing as a world-class city, and for our regional economies."/ph2Landing grounds/h2pstrongFor/strong/pp· Could contribute an extra pound;9bn a year/pp· Congestion has cut Heathrow's global routes from 220 to 180/pp· Thousands of new jobs created/ppstrongAgainst/strong/pp· Noise and pollution /pp· Gridlock on surrounding roads /pp· Loss of about 700 homes/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/transport"Transport policy/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/greenpolitics"Green politics/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/geoffhoon"Geoff Hoon/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/edmiliband"Ed Miliband/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/planning"Planning policy/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/theairlineindustry"Airline industry/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/travelandtransport"Travel and transport/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/transport"Transport/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/climatechange"Climate change/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/Ttf901_Hx-P-b-CjvneOdbTS3Nc/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/Ttf901_Hx-P-b-CjvneOdbTS3Nc/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/24045?ns=guardianpageName=Business%3A+Banks+urged+to+pass+on+historic+cutch=Businessc3=The+Guardianc4=Interest+rates+%28Business%29%2CBank+of+England+%28Business%29%2CRecession+%28UK%29%2CCredit+crunch+%28Business%29%2COil+and+gas+companies+%28Business%29%2CManufacturing+sector+%28Business%29%2CHouse+prices+%28Money%29%2CMoney%2CBusiness%2CEconomic+policy%2CEconomics+%28Business%29%2CPoliticsc5=Personal+Finance%2CCredit+Crunch%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CBusiness+Markets%2CProperty+Mortgages+and+Interest+Ratesc6=Ashley+Seager%2CLarry+Elliottc7=2008_12_05c8=1129242c9=articlec10=GUc11=Businessc12=Interest+ratesc13=c14=h2=GU%2FBusiness%2FInterest+rates" width="1" height="1" //divpBritain's bailed-out high street banks risked the wrath of the government last night after they refused to pass on to all their mortgage customers the full benefits of the Bank of England's decision to cut borrowing costs to the lowest level since 1951./ppDespite joint pressure from Gordon Brown and the chancellor Alistair Darling to match the one percentage point reduction in the bank rate to 2%, both the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Halifax said their standard variable rates (SVR) would not be reduced by the full amount. /ppHalifax, Britain's biggest mortgage lender, said it would trim only a quarter point off its SVR home loan although customers on tracker mortgages would receive the cut in full, worth pound;82 a month on a pound;150,000 mortgage. RBS said it would "strike an appropriate balance" between the needs of borrowers and savers, but would pass on the cut in full to business customers./ppThe cuts in mortgage rates were triggered by the announcement from Threadneedle Street that it had cut the bank rate to its joint lowest in history in an attempt to prevent the economy sliding deeper into recession./ppDarling said last night that borrowing costs had come down by a total of three percentage points in two months. "This will help people and businesses - and I want to see these cuts passed on." /ppThe chancellor met bank chiefs yesterday to flesh out plans to offer up to two years' holiday on mortgage payments if homeowners fell into difficulties./ppThe move from the Bank of England was widely expected after a run of poor data from every part of the economy this week suggested Britain was tipping into a longer and deeper recession than the chancellor predicted in last week's pre-budget report./ppBrown welcomed the decision and predicted the cut would not be the last. "They made the right decision. If the banks pass the interest rates on, it's a benefit to homeowners across the country," he said. The prime minister also stepped up the pressure on the bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) to cut rates further in the coming months. "Interest rates could continue to come down. If you've got a period when inflation comes down, you've got to do different things." /ppTUC general secretary Brendan Barber said ministers should get tough with high street banks if they refused to pass on the rate cut. "This decision was spot-on. The Bank of England could not be clearer about what it expects the high street banks to do. The government must now pull every lever of influence to get banks lending. If that doesn't work, radical measures will be needed straightaway. The alternative is a wave of bankruptcy and redundancy."/ppThe Halifax said its decision to cut its SVR from 5% to 4.75% was the result of balancing the interests of customers with "the commercial imperative of managing its business in a sustainable and prudent fashion"./ppFollowing the market mayhem this autumn, the taxpayer now owns almost 60% of RBS and is likely to have a stake of nearly 50% in the country's biggest commercial bank once the merger between Lloyds TSB and Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) is completed. The high street banks believe they are receiving mixed messages from Whitehall, with ministers urging them to both increase their lending and to run their businesses profitably so that they can repay state loans./ph2Rewind to 1951/h2pIt was the year Britain returned Winston Churchill to office aged 77, Newcastle United beat Blackpool in the FA Cup, and free spectacles and false teeth on the NHS were halted. Pendlebury delivered the famous line "It's a good job we're both honest men" in The Lavender Hill Mob - a cinema ticket to see Alec Guinness and Sid James cost 2d, or 21p today, a Morris Minor around pound;520 (pound;12,000). Some goods were still rationed, and a loaf of bread cost 6d. The year was 1951, and it was the last time the Bank's base rate was 2%. It was also the year that Gordon Brown was born.br /strongJo Adetunji/strong/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/interestrates"Interest rates/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/bankofenglandgovernor"Bank of England/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/recession"Recession/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/creditcrunch"Credit crunch/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/oilandgascompanies"Oil and gas companies/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/manufacturing"Manufacturing sector/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/houseprices"House prices/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/economy"Economic policy/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics"Economics/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/PWi05E3YD8FH5vkX9Uo5DOMoCXg/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/PWi05E3YD8FH5vkX9Uo5DOMoCXg/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

Inspired by this excellent post, I propose that Thalaivar be appointed India’s prime minister for life. I demand the appointment must be made with immediate effect. Here are the advantages of making Thalaivar our next PM:

1. They won’t be any need for a cabinet. Thalaivar can function as PM in the morning, defense minister in the afternoon, finance minister in the evening and can entertain the humanity by dancing on national television in the night.

2. Similarly, there won’t be any need for IB, RAW, Army–the works. The next time dushman nations attack India, Thalaivar will magically reach the location and kill all the terrorists with a swipe of his hand. Alternatively, he can attempt to seduce them by showing his movies ala Rakhi Sawant. If any additional help is required, Sunny Deol, who once threatened to flood Pakistan by pissing in that direction, would be enlisted.

3. Imagine the savings on defense budget. And police. And everything else.

4. There will no longer be any religious riots–only one religion will be permitted–Thalavism. Babri Masjid-Ram Temple would be replaced by 1600 feet tall cutout of the Thalaivar.

5. No more Bollywood vs Tollywood vs Mollywood debates. The entire film industry would be shut down–why would we need them?

6. Number 5 will mean no more of Amitabh Bachhan. Yes!

7. Our prime minister will never age. He will always be just ”fresh out of college”.

8. Naturally, he will never die too.

9. Instead of boring blue turbans, we will see hairstyles of dazzaling hues.

10. Bal Thackeray will be too busy claiming Thalaivar as Marathi Manoos to bother the rest of us.

What else?

And remember, you first heard it here.

Posted in Media/Blog watch      

CBC News:
GG agrees to suspend Parliament until January  —  Decision gives Tories reprieve, prevents opposition from toppling government on Monday  —  Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean has granted a request from Stephen Harper to suspend Parliament until late next month, the prime minister announced on Thursday …

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States will quickly feel a change in attitude from Moscow if President-elect Barack Obama transforms Washington's policies toward Russia, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~f/reuters/topNews?a=AftR3xQL"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/reuters/topNews?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~f/reuters/topNews?a=3FMP86h3"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/reuters/topNews?i=3FMP86h3" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~f/reuters/topNews?a=fmdJ4ku9"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/reuters/topNews?i=fmdJ4ku9" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/reuters/topNews/~4/QFOBApCkL2w" height="1" width="1"/

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that Canada's governor general has allowed him to suspend Parliament.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that Canada's governor general has allowed him to suspend Parliament.div class="feedflare" a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?a=9z3L8mF5"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?a=furYGRPZ"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?d=50" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?a=ywWClQVZ"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?i=ywWClQVZ" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?a=wwIFYbLs"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?d=52" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?a=RU6a5t9y"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?i=RU6a5t9y" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~4/xQhHddq15i8" height="1" width="1"/

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/58623?ns=guardianpageName=World+news%3A+Canada+suspends+parliament+in+reprieve+for+under-fire+PMch=World+newsc3=guardian.co.ukc4=Canada+%28News%29%2CWorld+newsc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CNorth+America+Travelc6=Mark+Tranc7=2008_12_04c8=1129067c9=articlec10=GUc11=World+newsc12=Canadac13=c14=h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FCanada" width="1" height="1" //divpThe Canadian government won a reprieve today when the governor general agreed to suspend parliament until late January, putting off a no-confidence vote that the prime minister was expected to lose./ppIn a controversial decision, Michaëlle Jean agreed to the suspension request from the prime minister, Stephen Harper, who is trying to cling to power less than two months after winning re-election./ppJean, the representative of the Queen as Canada's head of state, holds a mostly ceremonial position as governor general, but she has the power to accept or reject any request from Harper to suspend parliament. /ppBefore today's meeting between Harper and Jean, the opposition said a suspension of parliament would only delay what they saw as Harper's inevitable defeat. /ppIn a televised address yesterday, Harper condemned the opposition plan to gain power through a no-confidence vote as undemocratic and vowed to use "every legal means" to stop the attempt to unseat his minority Conservative government./ppA Canadian government has never been thrown out by a no-confidence vote to be replaced without an election. /ppHarper will now work on a budget that includes a stimulus package amid criticism from the opposition liberal leader, Stephane Dion, that the government has no plan to respond to the shocks from the global economic slowdown./ppThree opposition parties have banded together in an attempt to unseat the government. The coalition, which has promised to fast-track billions in dollars in spending as the country heads into recession, has the backing of Canada's beleaguered car and forestry sectors./ppCanadians are split on whom to support. According to an Angus Reid poll for Canadian TV, 64% do not support Dion becoming prime minister in a coalition government, but 53% oppose the Conservatives' current economic policy. Some 57% are concerned about the separatist Bloc Quebecois's role in the coalition. /ppAnalysts say Canada's political paralysis is unprecedented. A Canadian governor general has never before refused a request by the prime minister to temporarily suspend parliament, but such a move had never been requested to delay a no-confidence vote when it was clear the government lacked the confidence of a majority of MPs./pp"There is no precedent whatsoever in Canada and probably in the Commonwealth," said Ned Franks, a constitutional scholar and political scientist. "We are in uncharted territory."/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/canada"Canada/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/1-n6fWMUqwHAmQ6adBsfMCGAxYc/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/1-n6fWMUqwHAmQ6adBsfMCGAxYc/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that Canada's governor general has allowed him to suspend Parliament.img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rss/edition_world/~4/cLUJHN1LHPs" height="1" width="1"/

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that Canada's governor general has allowed him to suspend Parliament.div class="feedflare" a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?a=kn0rX2V1"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?a=K8vMX6hY"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?d=50" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?a=52LgO6Qz"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?i=52LgO6Qz" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?a=jGukomNb"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?d=52" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?a=vieIOcCH"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?i=vieIOcCH" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rss/cnn_world/~4/UIoFjIATCqs" height="1" width="1"/

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hinted on Thursday that he may return to his old job in the Kremlin, but not before his ally President Dmitry Medvedev's term expires in 2012.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~f/reuters/topNews?a=Hb15r5jT"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/reuters/topNews?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~f/reuters/topNews?a=qFB8tBqf"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/reuters/topNews?i=qFB8tBqf" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~f/reuters/topNews?a=wXQDDOId"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/reuters/topNews?i=wXQDDOId" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/reuters/topNews/~4/Xyztrs_iCV4" height="1" width="1"/

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/90555?ns=guardianpageName=World+news%3A+Canadian+PM+fights+to+stay+in+powerch=World+newsc3=guardian.co.ukc4=Canada+%28News%29%2CWorld+newsc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CNorth+America+Travelc6=Mark+Tranc7=2008_12_04c8=1128964c9=articlec10=GUc11=World+newsc12=Canadac13=c14=h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FCanada" width="1" height="1" //divpThe Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, is expected to try to suspend parliament today in an attempt to hang on to power, less than two months after he won re-election./ppHarper will holds talks with the governor general to try to avoid an opposition no-confidence vote next week that the government would probably lose. /ppThe governor general, Michaelle Jean - the representative of the Queen as Canada's head of state - holds a mostly ceremonial position, but has the power to accept or reject any request Harper might make to suspend parliament. /ppIn a televised address yesterday, Harper, condemned the opposition plan to gain power as undemocratic. He vowed to use "every legal means" to stop the no-confidence vote to unseat his minority Conservative government and replace it with an opposition-led coalition./ppIf the coalition succeeds, it would be the first time a Canadian government has been thrown out by a no-confidence vote and replaced without an election./ppA cabinet minister has suggested that Harper would ask Jean to suspend parliament until next month, giving him time to present a budget that includes a stimulus package. /ppThe opposition liberal leader, Stephane Dion, has accused the government of having no plan to deal with recession and said that a suspension of parliament would only delay Harper's inevitable defeat. /ppCanada's political crisis stems from the government's response to the global economic crisis. Three opposition parties have united against the government's handling of the economy, accusing it of failing to come up with a suitable response to the crisis./ppCanada's beleaguered car and forestry sectors are backing the coalition, as it has promised to fast-track billions in dollars in spending as the country heads into a recession./ppCanadians are split on who to support. According to an Angus Reid poll for Canadian TV, 64% do not support Dion becoming prime minister in a coalition government, but 53% oppose the Conservatives' current economic policy./pp57% are also concerned about the separatist Bloc Quebecois's role in the coalition. Analysts say Canada's political paralysis is unprecedented./ppCanada's governor general has never refused a request by the prime minister to temporarily suspend parliament, but nor has one been asked to suspend parliament to delay a no confidence vote when it was clear the government lacked the confidence of a majority of MPs./pp"There is no precedent whatsoever in Canada and probably in the Commonwealth," said Ned Franks, a constitutional scholar and political scientist. "We are in uncharted territory."/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/canada"Canada/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/unvBe_owKcwhhk6rlqXnYQmbeBU/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/unvBe_owKcwhhk6rlqXnYQmbeBU/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says he will wait until 2012 to decide whether to run again for the presidency.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says he will wait until 2012 to decide whether to run again for the presidency.

Power-sharing in Zimbabwe is dead and Africa must unite to oust President Mugabe, says Kenya's prime minister.

Power-sharing in Zimbabwe is dead and Africa must unite to oust President Mugabe, says Kenya's prime minister.

As the two-year anniversary of Fiji's military takeover approaches, another international governing body has called the Pacific island nation to hold elections in 2009 as once promised.

This time a European Union delegation, led by German legislator Gabrielle Zimmer, met with leaders in Fiji and urged, “that parliamentary elections take place before the end of 2009 based on a political dialogue process involving all stakeholders and conducted without delay.”

Problems between the island nation and regional partners began when self-appointed Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama promised in 2007 that elections would be held in March 2009, a pledge he later back away from. Government officials have long claimed the country isn't ready for elections until it undergoes major changes in its race-based electoral laws.

The EU statement follows the Pacific Forum indication in August it would suspend Fiji from the organization if the government failed to schedule elections and return the country to Parliamentary democracy. Yet Bainimarama has held firm. In its most recent budget, the government allocated no extra monies for organizing an election, although funds were set aside for buying electronic equipment for voter registration.

Unlike the Pacific Forum's threats, the EU's statement could be especially damning to Fiji’s economy because the organization may withhold sugar subsidies for another year. ($50 million in subsidies were suspended for 2008 due to overthrowing the government of Laisenia Qarase.)

A discussion has broken out in the blogosphere over how exactly to initiate political change in Fiji. A commenter named Peace Pipe to a post in the

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held his annual live television call-in program Thursday -- an event that shows he still runs Russia even though he stepped down as president earlier this year, an analyst said.