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Roma girl Maria to stay in Greece

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 31 Mei 2014 | 21.29

A BULGARIAN Roma girl who was seized in October from a couple falsely claiming to be her parents is to stay in Greece in the care of the Smile of the Child charity.

A court in the Greek city of Larissa on Saturday terminated any parental rights of her adoptive family, and repelled an attempt by the Bulgarian Child Protection Agency to take guardianship, the ANA-MPA news agency reported.

The girl - known as Maria and now aged 5 - was discovered during an October police raid for drugs and weapons at a Roma camp near Lamia in central Greece.

Because the child was blonde, suspicions rose that she was the victim of a kidnapping, sparking international interest.

After an extensive investigation, Greek authorities traced the biological parents to a Roma camp in Bulgaria.

Maria's mother said she left her daughter in Greece, where she had worked four years ago, because she had no money to care for her.


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PM off to France for D-Day 70th

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 30 Mei 2014 | 21.29

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott will attend the official commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the World War II D-Day landings in Normandy.

He will join French President Francois Hollande and other heads of government at the British services at the Bayeux Cathedral and cemetery, and the international ceremony at Sword Beach, Ouistreham, on June 6.

Although US, British and Canadian troops dominated the invasion force, many other nations were involved, including about 3000 Australians, most of them aircrew. Eighteen were killed.

Mr Abbott will be accompanied by seven Australian D-Day veterans, who were all airmen.

He and the veterans will visit the Western Front on June 7, paying tribute to the 295,000 Australians who served there between 1916 and 1918 and honouring the 46,000 who lost their lives.

They will visit the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux and Pozieres.

"As part of the 100th anniversary of ANZAC, I would like to see a greater focus on Australia's role on the Western Front," Mr Abbott said in a statement.

The Abbott government is considering building an interpretive centre at Villers-Bretonneux.

Following his visit to France, Mr Abbott will travel to Canada and the US for formal talks with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and US President Barack Obama.

He will be accompanied by a business delegation to promote trade and business ties.

In North America, he will visit Ottawa, New York, Washington and Houston and then Pearl Harbour, Hawaii.


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'Al-Jazeera journalist' arrested in Egypt

EGYPT'S Interior Ministry says police have arrested a female freelance reporter for allegedly sending footage to the local affiliate of Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera.

In a statement sent to reporters on Friday, the ministry said police raided her home in the coastal city of Port Said and confiscated streaming devices, a laptop and a mobile phone with videos that Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr allegedly used.

The Arabic website of the Doha-based satellite network confirmed the arrest, saying the woman had been detained on Wednesday, but did not say whether or not she was an employee.

Three journalists from Al-Jazeera English, including Australian Peter Greste, are currently on trial in Egypt, accused of airing false news, and of belonging to and aiding the Muslim Brotherhood of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, which has been designated a terrorist group.


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Quake strikes China, 33 people injured

A MODERATELY strong earthquake has struck southwestern China near the border with Myanmar, injuring at least 33 people.

Residents fled buildings and students evacuated schools that had already been damaged by a quake in the same area last week.

Five of the injured people were in serious condition, said a woman at the Yunnan provincial earthquake monitoring bureau, who gave only her surname, Xu.

The quake in Yunnan's Yingjiang county was registered at magnitude 6.1 by China's earthquake monitoring agency, but at 5.9 by the US Geological Survey.

Electricity was cut to some areas in the quake zone, but communications were not affected.

More than 1000 soldiers were helping rescue efforts, and tents and bedding were sent to aid survivors.

About 300,000 people live in the area.

A tremor lasting a few seconds was felt in Myitkyina, the capital of Myanmar's northeastern state of Kachin, and in the town of Bhamo, according to people reached there by phone.

There were no reports of injuries or damage there.

China's mountainous southwest suffers frequent earthquakes.

Last August, a quake in Yunnan killed five people.


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Cash to Vic athletes to Commonwealth Games

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 29 Mei 2014 | 21.29

The Victorian government has granted $450,000 to help athletes travel to the Glasgow Games. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S Commonwealth Games team has received a $450,000 boost from the Victorian government to help them to travel to Scotland for the Games.

Premier Denis Napthine and Sports Minister Damian Drum announced the grant on Thursday, with the money going to the Victorian Commonwealth Games Association to assist Victorian athletes with travel costs.

"We expect that Victoria will once again punch above its weight. We expect that while we are only 25 per cent of the Australian population, over 30 per cent of the selected teams will be Victorians," Dr Napthine said.

"That's a great tribute to the skill of Victoria and also our grassroots sports, our VIS (Victorian Institute of Sport), and our coaches and our sports system.

"We wish all the athletes well, and our $450,000 will help our athletes as they go for gold in Glasgow."

The Commonwealth Games begins in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 23.


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State Of Origin tops 2.4 million viewers

More than 2.4 million viewers tuned in to watch Wednesday's State of Origin opener. Source: AAP

NSW'S State Of Origin victory over Queensland was watched by more than 2.4 million viewers, with about half of the audience living in Sydney.

Game one of the series filled the first three spots on OzTAM's overnight ratings because the Nine Network breaks down the coverage into three segments.

The match (2.487 million) was number one in the ratings followed by the pre-match coverage (1.714 million) and the post-game segment (1.348 million) was third.

Of the 2.487 million viewers who tuned in to watch the Blues win at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, 1.288 million lived in Sydney.

There were 747,000 viewers in Brisbane, 426,000 in Melbourne and 86,000 in Adelaide. The game was not screened in Perth.

It was a solid ratings figure for State Of Origin, but well short of the record.

Nine says Game Three in 2012, watched by 2.626 million viewers, was the biggest audience ever for a State of Origin match since official ratings began.

State Of Origin's dominance in the ratings took its toll on a few shows.

Network Ten's reality cooking series MasterChef and its quality drama Offspring were shunted out of the top 10.

MasterChef was 11th with 779,000 viewers and Offspring was a spot further back with 766,000 viewers.


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Experienced drivers' test struggle

MOST experienced motorists might struggle to pass the driving test if they had to take it now, according to a survey.

A total of 50 experienced drivers took a test in an experiment organised by car insurance company Direct Line, with more than three quarters of them failing.

Those who failed recorded an average of three serious or dangerous faults, with one participant committing 10 major faults.

Just one major fault, or more than 15 minor faults, can fail a candidate. In the mock test, the experienced drivers who failed committed an average of 16 minor faults, with one driver recording as many as 42.

One motorist drove at 65km/h in a 50km/h zone, and another failed to see the kerb when doing a three-point turn. One driver even failed to spot a pedestrian by not properly checking his blind spot, forcing the pedestrian to move back onto the footpath.

The vast majority of drivers were awarded minor faults for a lack of concentration behind the wheel and a lack of control over the vehicle, most commonly using the wrong gear and failing to check their mirrors. One driver received 14 minor points for misuse of gears.

Direct Line said complacent driving and a lack of concentration at the wheel could be caused by an over-reliance on in-car driving aids, such as parking sensors or blind spot monitors.

Further research by Direct Line among 4000 UK adults revealed that 68 per cent of UK drivers rely on driving aids behind the wheel, with almost half (48 per cent) of motorists stating that they use a sat nav.

Direct Line's motor director Rob Miles said: "While drivers gain experience with age, it's easy to pick up bad habits that could be potentially dangerous and put other road users at risk.

"Driving aids are becoming increasingly common, and when used correctly, can result in a safer, more-comfortable driving experience.

"However, it's important that drivers don't rely too heavily on these aids, as it can be to the detriment of both their overall ability and concentration on the road ahead."


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Buffett's older sister called in to help

Warren Buffett's older sister is helping to ensure the billionaire's fortune goes to just causes. Source: AAP

WHEN Warren Buffett announced in 2006 that he would give away his billions, he was flooded with individual requests for help that still flow in today.

Instead of tossing the letters aside, Buffett packages them up and sends them to his big sister Doris. With the help of seven women, her Sunshine Lady Foundation scrutinises each request to find people who have come upon bad luck through no fault of their own.

"She just believes that a lot of people got short straws in life, and she wants to help them," Warren Buffett said.

It's rare for philanthropists to respond to individual requests, said Northeastern University professor Rebecca Riccio, who teaches philanthropy and interviewed the siblings last year. Buffett, 83, and his 86-year-old sister worked out the unusual arrangement because neither wanted to disregard the requests, but Buffett also wanted to focus on running Berkshire Hathaway.

"I think Warren and Doris do not have it in them to ignore those letters," Riccio said.

Warren Buffett sent his sister $5 million initially to cover the cost of responding to his letters and promised more money if she needed it. The siblings didn't want to say exactly how much Doris has given to the letter writers so far.

Many of the requests are simple: A man who needed a new glass eye. The grandmother who wanted a tombstone for the three children she lost. A disabled woman who needed a car to visit her daughter and grandchildren.

"These are decent people who just didn't have the breaks somebody else did," Doris Buffett said.

She said her drive to help people developed during the Great Depression, when she saw people struggling with such basic needs as hunger and shelter. That desire grew as she faced her own disappointments, including four divorces and the loss of a $12 million fortune in the stock market crash of 1987.

Doris Buffett started the Sunshine Lady Foundation in 1996 after inheriting money. Through it, she has also given away $150 million of her own money, focusing primarily on larger programs such as scholarships for domestic violence victims, college education for prison inmates and efforts to help people with mental illnesses.

Riccio says Doris Buffett's personal connections to recipients and her willingness to provide so many small gifts sets her apart.

"She cares about people, not about the prestige or the perception of her as a philanthropist," Riccio said.

Doris Buffett focuses her foundation's main giving on the communities where she lives: Fredericksburg, Virginia; Wilmington and Beaufort, North Carolina, and Rockport, Maine. But she doesn't confine her gifts to those places.

Steven Lewicki spent 15 years in prison for a string of bank robberies, but during that time earned his associate's degree thanks to a college program inside Maine State Prison funded by Doris Buffett's foundation.

When he was freed, Lewicki finished his bachelor's degree at the University of Maine at Augusta and got a job with a group that advocates for prisoners.

"I feel an obligation to Doris," Lewicki said. "I feel an obligation to honour her philanthropy and her integrity and her guidance and all of that."

Doris Buffett's main goal is to provide one-time aid and, whenever possible, connect people with other forms of help. But she knows there are limits to what she can do.

"I can't change somebody's life, but I can make it possible for them to do so," she said.


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Row over green reforms derails debate

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 28 Mei 2014 | 21.29

A STRAIGHTFORWARD proposal to change the way fees are managed under national environment law has been sidetracked by a lengthy debate about the Abbott government's green credentials.

The non-controversial bill allows for cost recovery for environmental impact assessments, and on Wednesday cleared the first hurdle of parliament with bipartisan support.

But Labor's environment spokesman Mark Butler used the occasion to move an amendment condemning the government's plan to create a "one-stop-shop" for environmental approvals.

"In eight short months... this government has shown itself to have scant regard indeed for its responsibilities to protect and nurture Australia's environment," Mr Butler told the chamber.

Critics claim the proposal will erode environmental protections by handing federal powers to the states but the government argues it will deliver faster approvals and reduce regulatory duplication.

The amendment failed, and Environment Minister Greg Hunt pushed the bill through in a vote.

He said almost all state governments - Liberal and Labor - strongly supported the reforms on the table.

"The only people opposed to this reform are the current members of the federal opposition," he said.


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HK man charged over undeclared $A300,000

A HONG Kong national has been charged after attempting to leave Australia with $300,000 in undeclared cash he had stashed in his luggage.

The 31-year-old man was picked up at Melbourne's International Airport after customs officers found the money on Tuesday.

The officers also retrieved the man's customs declaration, which confirmed he had not declared he was exporting excess currency.

Federal police stopped the man leaving Australia on a Hong Kong-bound flight.

After his arrest, he faced charges of money-laundering and dealing with money suspected of being the proceeds of crime.

He is expected to appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court at a later date.

Victorian regional commander Graham Krisohos of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service said there was no limit to the amount of currency that could be brought in or out of Australia.

However, "if you have more than $10,000 of currency, you must declare it to a Customs and Border Protection officer before you enter or leave the country", Mr Krisohos said.


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Ice addict thief spared extra jail time

A HOMELESS ice addict who went on a $20,000 spending spree across Sydney using credit cards stolen from mailboxes has been spared extra time in prison.

Kayla Hemmings, 25, received a minimum sentence of 18 months at the NSW District Court on Tuesday for deliberately lighting a fire at the historic Sydney pub, the Lansdowne Hotel, which caused $2 million damage.

Magistrate Eve Wynhausen said she took Tuesday's punishment into account at Central Local Court on Wednesday when she sentenced Hemmings to concurrent sentences, the longest a nine-month jail term, for a string of offences including credit card theft.

Ms Wynhausen said Hemmings had shown remorse for the two-week spending binge in October 2013, which was funded by bank cards stolen from mailboxes on Sydney's north shore.

By the time Hemmings was charged on October 31, 2013, her spending included 48 separate transactions on a credit card totalling just under $5000 and using a David Jones store card to buy two Apple Mac Pro laptops worth more than $5000.

Hemmings' counsel, Mary Underwood, told the court at her sentencing on Wednesday that her client had been using the drug ice at the time and under the influence of her boyfriend.

"I am not excusing her actions, but she did not have a serious criminal record ... until she was in a relationship with someone that amplified this behaviour," Ms Underwood said.

The lawyer said Hemmings was introduced to amphetamines as a teenager by her mother.

"Unfortunately, she's had a number of converging events," Ms Underwood said.

"There's been abuse, physical and sexual, she got pregnant and was abandoned, she was introduced to ice and got mixed up with domestic violence."

Ms Wynhausen said Hemmings' offending had cost the community tens of thousands of dollars.

"I hope that once she is released from custody, she gets her life in order," she said.


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Model Schiffer's UK home hit by fire

PARTS of supermodel Claudia Schiffer's English home have been damaged in a blaze.

Up to 50 firefighters were called to the mansion at Coldham Hall in Lawshall, Suffolk, on Monday.

The star has lived at the 16th century property with her husband, film producer Matthew Vaughn, since 2002. They have three children.

A number of outbuildings and stables, including a clock tower, were damaged in the fire which took crews more than two hours to extinguish, Suffolk Fire Service said.

It is understood eight fire crews managed to prevent the flames spreading to the Grade I-listed hall.

The hall is set in 16 hectares, and the couple reportedly paid STG5 million ($A9.1 million) for it.


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Labor senator 'spied on', committee hears

Written By Unknown on Senin, 26 Mei 2014 | 21.29

Labor senator John Faulkner may have been spied on in parliament house, a hearing has been told. Source: AAP

A PARLIAMENTARY official may have wrongfully accessed security camera footage of another official talking to veteran Labor senator John Faulkner.

Senior officers in the Department of Parliamentary Services accessed nine minutes of security camera footage while investigating a code of conduct case against an employee.

Department secretary Carol Mills has told a Senate estimates hearing the footage was properly released under guidelines which allowed its use in cases where it was needed to "provide evidence upon which to take criminal and civil proceedings".

However Ms Mills told the hearing on Monday that while the footage, which had been sought by human resources officers, was being examined, there may have been an "inadvertent breach of the statement of purpose".

She said the part of the footage in question involved a person "doing other activities in the building other than that for which the CCTV footage was released".

While she declined to say what those activities were, Senator Faulkner asked whether the footage involved someone giving information to him.

"It may do," Ms Mills said.

Senator Faulkner said it was a "serious issue of parliamentary privilege" and he would seek an investigation.

"That a senator in this parliament is being spied on as they go about the proper conduct of their duties - no one in this place is ever going to accept that," he said.

The committee went into a private session to discuss the issue further.

In 2011 Senator Faulkner led an inquiry into the DPS, which he described as "the worst administered government department" he had ever come across.


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Gold output off to a slippery start

Gold production in Western Australia's goldfields region has got off to a weak start for the year. Source: AAP

GOLD production in Western Australia's goldfields region has got off to a weak start for the year, with wet weather wreaking havoc at several mines.

Output dropped seven per cent to 68 tonnes between the March and December quarters as intense storm systems dumped rain on large areas of the state, Melbourne-based gold mining consultants Surbiton Associates said in a report.

On an annual basis, the amount of gold produced was up eight per cent.

During the March quarter, the Regis Resources Duketon Gold Project, near Laverton, was badly affected as 4.7 million tonnes of water flooded the Garden Well open pit to a depth of 45 metres.

Meanwhile, Norton Gold Fields' Paddington operations near Kalgoorlie reported 278 millimetres of rain during the quarter - more than double the region's average annual rainfall.

Surbiton Associates director Sandra Close said gold production was often affected by rain early in the year, as tropical cyclones sweep in from the Timor Sea.

"Wet weather forced many mines to cut ore production and restrict ore haulage in the March quarter," Dr Close said.

"This meant they had to rely on lower-grade, stockpiled material part of the time to keep their treatment plants running near capacity."

She said the grade of ore fell by around six per cent overall.

Despite the fall in output, some new capacity helped boost production as the Tropicana project reached full capacity and the new Mungari treatment plant near Kalgoorlie was commissioned.

US mining giant Newmont's two WA operations - Boddington mine and the Kalgoorlie Superpit joint venture - produced the most gold, followed by Newcrest's Cadia East/Ridgeway operation in NSW and its Telfer mine in central WA.


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Modern Family wedding lifts Ten's ratings

The first battle round of The Voice was the No.1 show on Sunday night with 1.865 million viewers. Source: AAP

NETWORK Ten will be showering Modern Family with confetti after Mitch and Cam's same-sex wedding performed well in the ratings on Sunday, despite being against The Voice and House Rules.

The second half of Mitch and Cam's wedding on Modern Family was ninth on OzTAM's overnight ratings with 808,000 viewers.

The first part of the double episode was 12th with 699,000 viewers.

The US sitcom was in direct competition against the Nine Network's singing series The Voice and Seven Network's reality renovation program House Rules.

The first battle round of The Voice was the No.1 show with 1.865 million viewers, and House Rules was fourth with 1.264 million.

The Voice has won the ratings every night it has screened this season.

Separating the The Voice and House Rules on Sunday were Seven News (1.390 million) and 60 Minutes (1.289 million) which were second and third respectively.

Ten's reality cooking MasterChef also held up well against The Voice to be seventh with 948,000 viewers.


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Deli meats a worry, study shows

A study shows hygienic food handling is not practised at many supermarket delicatessens. Source: AAP

ADELAIDE carnivores beware: a new study shows hygienic food handling is not practised at many of the city's supermarket delicatessens.

The study found 134 out of 174 samples of various ready-to-eat deli meats bought at randomly selected supermarkets had bacterial levels that failed to meet food standards guidelines.

The results of the research, carried out last year by students at Adelaide University, will be presented this week at a Perth conference.

"Although no recognised food poisoning pathogens such as Escherichia coli or Salmonella species were found on these meats, the high bacterial count suggests that hygiene has been compromised," said the university's Professor Michael Reichel.

"Such out-of-control processes are also susceptible to contamination with serious food poisoning organisms."

Sliced salami, fritz and roast pork showed the highest proportions of unsatisfactory bacterial counts.

Ham and chicken meats had lower levels of bacteria, but two-thirds of those samples still failed to meet satisfactory standards.

He said 15.5 per cent of samples showed the presence of coliform bacteria, indicating poor hygiene such as people not washing their hands after going to the toilet.

As well as revealing food safety issues, the results related to food quality.

"People have a right to expect that the product they buy on the weekend should last through the following week, not go slimy in a couple of days," he said.

He called on supermarkets and retailers to review their processes and staff compliance, as well as carry out more microbiological testing.


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China 'offers leniency' to bomb suspects

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 25 Mei 2014 | 21.29

AUTHORITIES have called for anyone involved in terrorist activities in China's restive northwest to turn themselves in and promised leniency following a bombing that killed dozens of people.

The announcement followed a security crackdown launched over the weekend in response to Thursday's attack at a morning street market, which killed at least 43 people and wounded dozens.

The official Xinhua News Agency said an anti-terrorism campaign in the northwest Xinjiang region would target religious extremist groups, underground gun workshops and "terrorist training camps," and that "terrorists and extremists will be hunted down and punished".

Police have revealed the names of five people blamed for the attack and said they were part of a "terrorist gang".

Based on their names, all the suspects appeared to be Uighurs, the region's most populous Muslim minority.

Police said that four of the assailants were killed in the bombing and that the fifth was captured on Thursday night.

In Sunday's announcement, public security officials in Xinjiang said people involved in a range of designated terrorist activities would receive mitigated punishments if they turn themselves in within 30 days, Xinhua reported.

The announcement also said those who surrender and offer information about other suspects or criminal activities "will be given minor punishment or exempted from punishment".

The bombing in Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital, left the region's residents on edge and raised fears that organised extremism was on the rise.

Ismail Tiliwaldi, a former governor of Xinjiang, said in an editorial posted on a website sponsored by regional authorities that the attackers "vainly attempted to attract attention through a large-scale bloody incident and maliciously sow ethnic estrangement and cause hatred and opposition to achieve their criminal plot of separating the country," according to Xinhua.

In far-off Beijing, police announced they were canceling vacations for officers and would step up patrols at train stations, schools, hospitals and markets.

A measure under which passengers at stations in central Beijing are required to undergo security checks will be extended to three additional stations, the city government said.

Thursday's violence was the deadliest single attack in Xinjiang's recent history, and the latest of several that have targeted civilians, in contrast to a past pattern of targeting police and officials.

It was the highest death toll since several days of rioting in Urumqi in 2009 between Uighurs and members of China's dominant Han ethnic group left nearly 200 people dead.


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Belgians vote, brace for new stalemate

Belgians have begun casting their vote for a new national parliament. Source: AAP

BELGIANS are casting their vote Sunday for a new national parliament, amid fears that a fresh political stalemate may be in the making for the fissured country.

The last federal elections in 2010 left Belgium without a government for a world-record 541 days, because of a rift between the Dutch-speaking Flanders region and French-speaking Wallonia.

"The formation of a government could prove difficult after the elections this time too," Julie Cantalou of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom liberal think tank predicted, pointing to expectations that the nationalist N-VA party will emerge victorious.

The conservative party - the largest in Flanders - would like to eventually see Belgium break up along its linguistic lines.

It came in first nationally during the 2010 elections, but was then locked out from the government negotiations after its hardline leader, Bart De Wever, outright rejected proposed reforms.

In the end, Socialist leader Elio Di Rupo managed to form a six-party coalition government that did not include the N-VA.

Whether the Flemish nationalists could be shut out of new coalition talks is questionable, analysts say. The Socialists - the largest party in Wallonia - may have to end up sitting at the negotiating table with the diametrically opposed N-VA.

"With around a third of Flemish votes, the N-VA is an almost indispensable interlocutor for coalition talks," Cantalou noted.

A renewed stalemate could come at an economic cost for Belgium.

During the 2010-11 political crisis, for instance, the country saw the interest rates on its debt rise to challenging levels.

A new deadlock or a quarrelling coalition could be "a significant barrier to resolving Belgium's deteriorating competitiveness," Michael Pearce of the Capital Economics research group warned.

The national elections will also be the first real test for Belgium's King Philippe, who took over the throne from his father last July.

The monarch will play a role by tasking leading politicians to form a government or appointing mediators.

The vote takes place under the pall of a deadly shooting on Saturday at the Jewish Museum of Belgium, in which three people were killed by an unknown individual who fired a gun into the building before fleeing the scene. The motives were initially unclear.

Belgians will also be casting ballots on Sunday for the country's regional legislatures and for a new European Parliament.

The last polls close at 4pm (1400 GMT), with results expected in the evening.


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Car bomb kills at least 10 in Syria

A CAR bomb has struck a pro-government neighbourhood in the central Syrian city of Homs, killing at least 10 people, setting cars on fire and sending thick plumes of black smoke into the sky, activists and a government official say.

The blast in the Zahra district, which is predominantly inhabited by Alawites and Christians, sent tremors through Homs, where rebels and the government have struck two ceasefire deals this month that have restored at least a semblance of peace to the shattered city.

The provincial governor, Talal Barazzi, said the attack targeted such reconciliation efforts in Homs.

An official in the Homs governor's office said 10 people were killed in the explosion on Sunday and more than 40 were wounded.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.

The director of the opposition Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group, Rami Abdurrahman, put the death toll at 12.

He also said more than 40 were wounded.

Differing death tolls are common in the immediate aftermath of attacks in Syria.

Syrian state television blamed the bombing on "terrorists".

The station broadcast footage that showed cars on fire and people trying to push other vehicles away from the blast site.


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UK deputy PM facing Lib Dem calls to quit

THE leadership of British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has been questioned by some of his own MPs as Liberal Democrat candidates joined voices urging him to quit over dismal election results.

The Deputy Prime Minister has insisted he is staying despite the party losing more than 250 councillors in local elections and anticipating another rout when European election results emerge later.

Southport MP John Pugh suggested that a dozen of his Commons colleagues had expressed doubts to him over whether Clegg should continue at the head of the party.

An internal "post-mortem" of the poor night at the polls - in which the party was almost or entirely wiped out in some former strongholds - "has to include a truly open, mature and balanced look at our whole strategy, including the leadership issue", the Southport MP told the Sunday Times.

"Although I admire enormously Nick's bravery, it does not follow that because the captain should go down with the ship that the ship has to go down with the captain."

Fellow Lib Dem MP Adrian Sanders, who represents Torbay, said: "The problem is the messenger, very few people say it's the message."

Clegg has conceded that the strongly pro-EU party could lose all 11 of its MEPS when results are declared later on Sunday and even the most optimistic polls suggest only a handful will survive.

As the scale of the losses became clear, Clegg said he would "absolutely not" resign, and insisted the Lib Dems were still succeeding where they focused on their achievements in coalition.

He blamed a wider "anti-politics mood" but his party has suffered in opinion polls, with ratings at consistently low levels since joining the Conservative-led coalition.

Two would-be MPs are among more than 600 people who have signed up to the online LibDems4Change campaign which has published an open letter calling on Clegg to step down.

Jackie Porter, who is set to fight the Conservative-held target seat of Winchester in next May's general election, said the party was "not going forward with a clear strategy".

The county councillor said the party's achievements were overshadowed because Clegg "allowed himself to be portrayed as just another pea out of the same pod" as Prime Minister David Cameron and opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband.

To win back support, the party needed to demonstrate it was different, she said.

If Clegg refuses to quit, a leadership contest would be triggered if 75 local party associations formally demanded one, or if a majority of the parliamentary party approved a no-confidence motion.


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