Obama said it was time for an “effective, lean government.” “With this authority, we would help businesses grow, save businesses time and save taxpayer dollars,” he added.

The White House said, the plan would save US$ 3 billion (£2bn) over 10 years and cut 1,000 to 2,000 jobs through attrition.

Obama has an imperative to deliver. He made the promise to come up with a smart reorganization of the government in his last State of the Union speech last January.

With November’s general election on the horizon, it is not clear whether congressional Republicans will grant Mr Obama’s request for such reorganizational powers.

The proposal is seen as an attempt to counter Republican criticisms that Mr Obama is a big-government liberal.

He told business leaders that he wants to close the US commerce department and merge six agencies.

The president said his proposal followed discussions with business and agency leaders over many months.

The six agencies that would be consolidated are the Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration, the Office of the US Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the Trade and Development Agency.

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“The results do not reflect the will of the people,” Mr. Gorbachev said at the time. “Therefore I think they (Russia’s leaders) can only take one decision, annul the results of the election and hold new ones.”

The 80 year old Soviet leader called on Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to heed protester demands and not to seek a third term as president next year.

“I would advise Vladimir Putin to leave now. He has had three terms: two as president and one as prime minister. Three terms, that is enough,” as he told the Moscow Echo radio.

The former president was considering attending the march in central Moscow today, to which thousands ventured. He was, however, unable to appear but passed his greetings to the protestors.

The protesters shouted “Russia without Putin” and “New elections, New elections” as one speaker after another called for an end to Putin’s 12-year domination of the country at the second big opposition rally in two weeks in central Moscow.

In an unexpected boost to the protestors, an advisory Kremlin rights panel said overnight that the new parliament had been discredited by the accusations of fraud and that fresh elections should be called.

Many of the protesters wore white ribbons, the symbol of the protests, and others carried balloons and flags at the rally, which brought together various affiliation of liberals, nationalists, anarchists, environmentalists and urban youth on a bitterly cold day.

The protesters say Putin’s United Russia benefited from widespread voting irregularities and international monitors said the vote was slanted in the ruling party’s favor.

Aquino has the confidence that the articles of impeachment now at the senate embody the sentiments of the citizenry regarding the lack of leadership of Corona to head the Supreme Court.

It follows that if the case is strong Aquino expect the senators to follow and address what the Filipino people want, that is to protect the integrity of the Supreme Court as an institution.

The President did not emphasize he would personally sway the senators to vote for Corona’s impeachment.
“I know what I’m supposed to do. And I will do what is necessary to fulfill my oath of service to the Filipino people,” Aquino said hinting however at his having a hand in the impeachment of the Chief Justice.

Aquino however said that Corona’s impeachment should not have a ‘chilling effect’ on other justices of the high court.

If given the chance to appoint a chief justice, Aquino believes that the next SC head would not be beholden to him.

He praised the 188 lawmakers who impeached the chief justice. Aquino said Corona, whom he called ‘pariwara (stray)’ deserved to be impeached as he was “eroding the dignity of the Supreme Court.”

“There is an excess of evidence, can we still hope that Mr. Corona will change? We are convinced that when it comes to (Pampanga Rep. Gloria) Arroyo, Mr. Corona does not see right from wrong.”

“Our efforts to hold people accountable are useless if the scales of justice are already tipped to favor a certain person. The truth is clear: Mr. Corona was appointed to the Supreme Court, not as a protector of justice but as the protector of Mrs. Arroyo,” the President added.

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The House justice committee chaired by Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. of Iloilo province, said that at press time, 188 congressmen voted to impeach the Chief Justice.

The process was swift, since it only took several hours for congressmen to be apprised of the Articles of Impeachment prepared by lawmakers themselves and to vote on the articles.

With 285 House members, only 95 votes are needed for the complaint against Corona to be transmitted to the Senate.

Among the issues raised in the draft complaint against Corona are the following to wit;

1] His partiality in granting a temporary restraining order (TRO) favoring Mrs. Arroyo and husband Jose Miguel on a hold departure order.

2] Improper investigation of an intellectual-dishonesty case against Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo.

3] Others include the refusal to account for the Judiciary Development Fund.

4] Questionable track record.

5] Failure to disclose publicly statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

6] Failure to meet Article VIII, Section 7 (3) of the Constitution or issue of competence, integrity, probity and independence.

7] Blatant disregard of the principle of separation of powers by issuing a status-quo order against the House of Representatives in the case concerning the impeachment of then-Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

8] Disregard of the principle of res judicata and in deciding in favor of Gerry-Mandering in the cases involving the 16 newly-created cities.

9] The promotion of Dinagat Island into a province.

Chronological events of Corona’s personal relationship to Gloria Arroyo;

a) During Arroyo’s vice presidency Corona served as her spokesman and chief of staff.

b) When Arroyo took the presidency in 2001, Corona assumes various posts as presidential chief of staff, presidential spokesman and acting executive secretary.

c) In April 2002, Arroyo appointed Corona as associate justice to the Supreme Court.

d) Finally, seven days after the May 10, 2010 synchronized automated presidential election, Arroyo appointed Corona as 23rd chief justice to the Supreme Court as among Arroyo’s midnight appointees.

The 1987 Constitution provides that there should be no more appointments two months before the elections.

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Hillary Clinton doubts she will ever run for office again, and would love to ‘get a good night’s sleep for a week or two,’ her husband has claimed.

Hillary wants to stay in one place for two or three days,’ he told ABC’s ‘The View’.
‘Since we were in law school, she’s shied away from politics and putting herself on the line and then she does and she gets committed.’

He said she did not want to run as a Democratic presidential candidate against Barack Obama in 2008 and has no eye on the White House.

‘She’s tired, she needs some time off,’ he told ABC. ‘I don’t know what the future holds. She doesn’t think she will ever run for office again.’

He said his wife would like to be doing ‘a lot of this work like I do – except focused on women and girls’ and he is struggling to keep up with her.

Mrs. Clinton has said she only intended to be Secretary of State for a single term, which heightened speculation she might run for president.

Mr Clinton, 65, also talked about economics and his new book: ‘Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy’.

But he spoke in addition about his daughter Chelsea starting her new job as an NBC correspondent, ahead of her debut next Monday.

‘I was surprised but I knew she was thinking about it,’ he told ABC, saying Chelsea is also involved with both Columbia and New York University.

The FBI has illegally spied on Muslim community groups under the cover of holding outreach meetings, a US human rights group claims.

“The trust that community outreach efforts aim to create is undermined when the FBI exploits these programs to gather intelligence on the very members of the religious and community organizations agents are meeting with,” he said.

According to Michael German, a former FBI agent who works with the ACLU, using such sessions to spy on people only backfired.

In 2009 the FBI in San Jose, California, apparently detailed the opinions and backgrounds of three community leaders and members during a careers day for Assyrians, a Christian community from the Middle East.

The ACLU listed several examples of the alleged practice, including the compiling of notes on In 2007, agents were said to have collected detailed information on the background of representatives from 27 Muslim organizations meeting at a mosque.

The ACLU already has filed a lawsuit in California alleging that the FBI paid an informant to spy on mosques in the state.

In its statement, the FBI said the ‘primary purpose’ of outreach programs was ‘to enhance public trust in the FBI in order to enlist the cooperation of the public to fight criminal activity.’

They have protested the designation of Kamal Ganzouri, a premier under Hosni Mubarak, to form a cabinet.

Tens of thousands gathered on Friday to demand the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces speed up the transition of the status quo to democracy which they believe requires the military caretaker to leave power now.

The military rulers have shown no sign of giving way to the demand to quit now.

Instead, they have responded by promising that a new president would be elected by mid-2012, sooner than previously announced, and appointing Ganzouri, 78, to head a ‘national salvation government’.

The Tahrir protesters have dismissed Ganzouri, premier from 1996 to 1999, as another face from the past whose appointment reflects the generals’ resistance to change.

The violence has fueled public anger at the military council and drawn more protesters to Tahrir Square.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Ganzouri described his task as thankless and “extremely difficult” and listed his priorities as securing the streets and reviving the economy. Egypt’s pound has weakened to its lowest level in seven years.

The demonstration highlighted the division between revolutionary youths wanting to overhaul the whole system and more cautious Egyptians keen to restore normality.

Ganzouri’s appointment has reinforced that divide.

It is believed that the disputed area is potentially rich in oil and gas. Among the claimants of the area Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

The territorial claims of the disputed islands will be discussed at the two key east Asian summits in Indonesia this week but China will not be ready to make concession of the disputed China Sea.

The United States along with Japan have pressured China to resolve the complicated issue of sovereignty which has been brought up again this year that end up with tension of other claimants of the region.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is attending first a summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), followed by the East Asia Summit where both will be held in Bali, Indonesia on November 19.

Among the attendees of the East Asia Summit are senior officials or leaders from Southeast Asia, China, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand. U.S. President Barack Obama is due to attend this year.

The issue of the South China Sea will most likely to be discussed during the two summits, according to diplomats.

Regional claimants try to diffuse the tension after a series of disputes this year, including Chinese patrol boats threatened to ram a Philippine-contracted survey ship in the Reed Bank in March.

China insists the dispute can only be resolved by bilateral talks between the parties directly concerned and dismissed any interference and involvement by the United States and Japan of said issue.

With U.S. bases to the east in Japan and South Korea, China fears its southern flank could be threatened if the United States stepped up its naval presence in the South China Sea, even if, as Washington says, it only wants to protect freedom of navigation.

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Israel also said it would temporarily freeze transfers to the Palestinian Authority, which amount to around half of the Palestine Authority’s domestic revenue base.

Western countries have criticized an Israeli decision to build more houses for settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

There are almost 500,000 Jews live in settlements on occupied territory. The settlement building program is illegal under international law although Israel has continued to dispute it.

France and Germany said it would hinder efforts for peace while Britain called the Israeli move provocative and unhelpful.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague also criticized Israel’s temporary withholding of Palestinian tax revenues, which was announced at the same time, and called for a reversal of both decisions.

French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said: “Settlement building in the West Bank as well as in east Jerusalem is illegal in international law and is a threat to the two-state solution”.

Steffen Seibert, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, said building settlements in occupied areas “hinders the goal we all must have of a two-state solution and is unjustifiable”.

A plan by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to build 2,000 new apartments in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has been seen by Palestinians as a punishment for their UNESCO membership bid and the move by President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestine Authority to speed up the destruction of the peace process.

Peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel broke down more than a year ago. The Palestinians are demanding an end to settlement building.

The announcement came after an ‘arbitrary and unlawful financial blockade’ had been imposed by Bank of America, Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and Western Union which Assange said started since last December.

Assange said Wikileaks must ‘aggressively fund raise in order to fight back against this blockade and its proponents.’

The website Wikileaks temporarily could not provide classified information because of financial trouble.

The former computer hacker said the organization had lost ‘tens of millions of dollars in lost donations at a time of unprecedented operational costs’.

He said the group was taking pre-litigation action against the blockade in Iceland, Denmark, the UK, Brussels, the United States and Australia and had lodged an anti-trust complaint at the European Commission.

Assange is in Britain awaiting a decision by the High Court on the appeal against his extradition to Sweden to face sex assault charges.

The Australian won bail in December and his bail conditions include wearing an electronic tag and daily appearances at a nearby police station.

He fears extradition to Sweden may lead to him being sent to the United States to face separate charges relating to Wikileaks.