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Race, religion stirs pot in Malay election

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Campaigning wrapped up Friday for general elections that could see gains for Malaysia’s opposition amid anger over race and religion among minority Chinese and Indians.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s coalition appeared certain to win Saturday’s elections as it has for decades.

However, analysts predicted the opposition would win between 35 and 38 seats in parliament, nearly doubling its 19-seat share of the 289-seat body amid growing disenchantment among ethnic minorities who complain of discrimination.

Abdullah has been accused of failing to properly manage inflation, crime, corruption and, most importantly, ethnic tensions between the majority Malays and ethnic minorities.

There should be a swing in these seats, said Tricia Yeoh, director of the Center for Public Policy Studies think tank. The Chinese and Indian votes will be the important swing votes.

A reduced majority for the National Front would be seen as a personal rebuke for Abdullah, who has lost much of the goodwill he had when he replaced longtime leader Mahathir Mohamad in 2003.

On Friday, Abdullah met fishermen and visited a mosque in the northern state of Penang, while his deputy, Najib Razak, inaugurated a health clinic and met schoolteachers and senior citizens in eastern Pahang.

Every time you face the election, you get some degree of anxiety because we cannot assume that victory is in our hands, Najib told reporters.

At stake are 222 seats in parliament, along with legislatures in 12 of Malaysia’s 13 states.

Muslim Malays make up 60 percent of Malaysia’s 27 million people, and form the bulk of voters for Abdullah’s United Malays National Organization.

The party dominates the National Front coalition, which includes Chinese- and Indian-based parties in a power-sharing arrangement that has ensured racial peace in this multiethnic country.

The National Front has won every election since independence in 1957.

Minorities object to a 37-year-old affirmative action program for Malays that continues despite their rising standards of living. The program, instituted after deadly race riots in 1969, gave Malays preference in government jobs, business and education to help them catch up with the wealthier Chinese.

The Chinese and Indians are also angry at a string of court decisions in religious disputes that have gone in favor of Malays, and Indians were infuriated by the demolition of Hindu temples by authorities last year.
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ETA blamed for politician’s death

MADRID, Spain (CNN) — A man shot and killed a former town councilman from the ruling Socialist Party in northern Spain on Friday, just two days before national elections, in an attack blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA.

ETA has killed Isaias Carrasco, a former councilman in Mondragon, said Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba in a nationally-televised news conference.

The gunman shot Carrasco from the back several times at midday Friday in the northern town of Mondragan, hitting him in the head and chest. He died later at hospital, Rubalcaba said.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, a Socialist who is in a tight re-election battle with conservative challenger Mariano Rajoy, was informed of the news while at one of the last rallies of the election campaign, CNN partner station CNN+ reported.

Following the attack, Socialist Party and Popular Party officials agreed to suspend campaigning, which would have ended later Friday with major rallies in Madrid for each main candidate.

Instead, they announced a meeting for later in the day in Parliament to express the condemnation of all of society to the attack, the Socialist Party said in a statement.

Today is a day of mourning, Rajoy, the Popular Party candidate, said in a separate nationally-televised statement. The only culprit here is ETA, and the only option is to defeat them with the rule of law and the security forces and the unrelenting will of all Spaniards.

We will win this battle and the killers will be jailed.

Zapatero was due to make a statement later Friday.

A woman in Mondragon who spoke by telephone with CNN+ said she heard three shots from her window overlooking the street and saw a man down on the street being comforted by his shocked wife and daughter.

The government put security forces on maximum alert, backed by the armed forces, at the start of the election campaign two weeks ago out of concerns about possible terrorist attacks — especially by ETA, which has been blamed for more than 800 deaths in its long fight for Basque independence.

Four years ago, the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people came three days before the elections. The attack was blamed on Islamic terrorists.

Rajoy has accused Zapatero of being soft on terrorism and of secretly negotiating with ETA, even after an ETA bomb at Madrid’s airport in December 2006 blew apart a fledgling peace process at the time. Zapatero has rejected those charges.

Hundreds of town councilors in the northern Basque region have police or private bodyguards, out of fears of ETA attacks, but CNN+ said that the former councilman killed on Friday did not appear to have a bodyguard at the time of the attack. Both the United States and European Union list ETA as a terrorist group.

ETA declared a unilateral cease-fire in March 2006, raising hopes for an end to the violence. However, ETA’s bomb at Madrid’s airport, which killed two men and destroyed a parking garage, ended the peace process.

ETA officially ended the cease-fire in June 2007 and since then has been blamed for three killings: two undercover Spanish Civil Guards who were shot dead in France while on an anti-terrorist operation against the group, and the former councilman killed on Friday.
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Thousands mourn slain UNC student; cops search for killer

(CNN) — Thousands of students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill gathered Thursday to remember student body president Eve Carson, who was shot and killed in a suburban neighborhood near campus.

We’ve lost someone who we cherish and love. We’re all in a state of shock, UNC Chancellor James Moeser told the students, who had gathered on the school’s quad late in the afternoon under a cloudless sky in the grassy center of campus.

The death of any parent’s child or any student is a tragedy, but this is a tragedy magnified and multiplied by the number and depths of the relationships, meaningful relationships, that Eve Carson had on this campus, he said.

Eve Carson personified the Carolina spirit. … She felt the very pulse and heartbeat of this university. Watch a friend remember Carson

Thousands gathered again hours later for a candlelight vigil in the campus pit — a common meeting place for students, CNN affiliate WRAL reported.

The Chapel Hill Police Department confirmed earlier Thursday that Carson, 22, had been shot and killed.

Officers responding to a report of gunshots around 5 a.m. Wednesday, in a neighborhood about a mile from campus, found her body lying in an intersection, police said.

Police have no suspects, said Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran, who added that it was premature to discuss possible motives.

What it feels like was a fairly random crime, he told reporters.

Carson’s blue 2005 Toyota Highlander was found about a mile from where her body was discovered, according to The Associated Press.

Toby Rice, of Chapel Hill, told AP his wife spotted the car and phoned 911. We saw it on the news and we heard the woman is the president of the student body, and she goes, ‘Oh my God, I just found the car,’ Rice said.

Authorities believe the vehicle was stolen during the crime, and Curran said he was hopeful that it would yield clues in the investigation.

Chapel Hill investigators have been in contact with counterparts in Alabama, where another female student from Georgia was found fatally shot on a road near the Auburn University campus Tuesday night.

Even though the homicides on the surface may look similar, it appears to be unlikely that they’re connected, Curran said.

Carson, a UNC senior and native of Athens, Georgia, was heavily involved in campus affairs. A pre-med student double majoring in political science and biology, she was a recipient of the university’s prestigious Morehead Scholarship and a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, according to a statement from UNC.

She has been taken from us in a terrible act of violence, Moeser told the students, who stood and sat somberly in front of him, some holding yellow daisies.

We are all hurting. We are all grief-struck, stunned, he said. Watch authorities describe finding the student’s body

He said counselors will be made available for students, with nearby Duke University sending additional counselors to help.

An August YouTube video from a student-produced television news program, Carolina Week, shows Carson, smiling and gregarious, welcoming students back from summer break. She gave a video tour of the student legislative and executive offices.

I’ve really found that my experience has been enriched by the ways that we give back to our communities and our campus, she said on camera, sitting in her office, which overlooked one of the main roads through the university.

Also, I personally invite you to come hang out with me, she said, swiveling in her chair. I spend a lot of time in this office, and I love saying, ‘hi,’ and meeting new people. If I can help you, or if I can help you figure out how you want to get involved on campus, please come by, and let’s talk.

Moeser urged students to strive for the example that Carson set.

Let us be the university that Eve Carson envisioned, he said.
found here.

Hundreds mourn slain UNC student; cops search for killer

(CNN) — Hundreds of students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill gathered Thursday to remember student body president, Eve Carson, who was shot and killed early Wednesday morning in a suburban neighborhood near campus.

We’ve lost someone who we cherish and love. We’re all in a state of shock, UNC Chancellor James Moeser told the students, who had gathered late in the afternoon under a cloudless sky in the grassy center of campus.

The death of any parent’s child or any student is a tragedy, but this is a tragedy magnified and multiplied by the number and depths of the relationships, meaningful relationships, that Eve Carson had on this campus, he said.

Eve Carson personified the Carolina spirit. … She felt the very pulse and heartbeat of this university.

The Chapel Hill Police Department confirmed earlier Thursday that Carson, 22, had been shot and killed. Officers responding to a report of gunshots around 5 a.m. Wednesday, in a neighborhood about a mile from campus, found her body lying in an intersection, police said. Watch authorities describe finding the student’s body

Carson’s blue 2005 Toyota Highlander, which they believe was stolen during the crime, was found about a mile from where her body was found after receiving a tip, according to The Associated Press.

Toby Rice, of Chapel Hill, told AP his wife discovered the car and called 911.

We saw it on the news and we heard the woman is the president of the student body, and she goes, ‘Oh my God, I just found the car,’ Rice said.

Carson, a UNC senior and native of Athens, Georgia, was heavily involved in campus affairs. A pre-med student double majoring in political science and biology, she was a recipient of the university’s prestigious Morehead Scholarship and a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, according to a statement from UNC.

She has been taken from us in a terrible act of violence, Moeser told the students, who stood and sat somberly in front of him, some holding yellow daisies.

We are all hurting. We are all grief-struck, stunned, he said.

He said counselors will be made available for students, with nearby Duke University sending additional counselors to help.

An August YouTube video from a student-produced television news program, Carolina Week, shows Carson, smiling and gregarious, welcoming students back from summer break. She gave a video tour of the student legislative and executive offices.

I’ve really found that my experience has been enriched by the ways that we give back to our communities and our campus, she said on camera, sitting in her office, which overlooked one of the main roads through the university.

Also, I personally invite you to come hang out with me, she said, swiveling in her chair. I spend a lot of time in this office, and I love saying, ‘hi,’ and meeting new people. If I can help you, or if I can help you figure out how you want to get involved on campus, please come by, and let’s talk.

The Tar Heels scheduled a candlelight vigil for Carson on Thursday night in the campus pit — a common meeting place for students — Moeser said.

Let us be the university that Eve Carson envisioned, he said. E-mail to a friend

found here.

Hundreds mourn slain UNC student; cops search for killer

(CNN) — Hundreds of students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill gathered Thursday to remember student body president, Eve Carson, who was shot and killed early Wednesday morning in a suburban neighborhood near campus.

We’ve lost someone who we cherish and love. We’re all in a state of shock, UNC Chancellor James Moeser told the students, who had gathered late in the afternoon under a cloudless sky in the grassy center of campus.

The death of any parent’s child or any student is a tragedy, but this is a tragedy magnified and multiplied by the number and depths of the relationships, meaningful relationships, that Eve Carson had on this campus, he said.

Eve Carson personified the Carolina spirit. … She felt the very pulse and heartbeat of this university.

The Chapel Hill Police Department confirmed earlier Thursday that Carson, 22, had been shot and killed. Officers responding to a report of gunshots around 5 a.m. Wednesday, in a neighborhood about a mile from campus, found her body lying in an intersection, police said. Watch authorities describe finding the student’s body

Carson’s blue 2005 Toyota Highlander, which they believe was stolen during the crime, was found about a mile from where her body was found after receiving a tip, according to The Associated Press.

Toby Rice, of Chapel Hill, told AP his wife discovered the car and called 911.

We saw it on the news and we heard the woman is the president of the student body, and she goes, ‘Oh my God, I just found the car,’ Rice said.

Carson, a UNC senior and native of Athens, Georgia, was heavily involved in campus affairs. A pre-med student double majoring in political science and biology, she was a recipient of the university’s prestigious Morehead Scholarship and a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, according to a statement from UNC.

She has been taken from us in a terrible act of violence, Moeser told the students, who stood and sat somberly in front of him, some holding yellow daisies.

We are all hurting. We are all grief-struck, stunned, he said.

He said counselors will be made available for students, with nearby Duke University sending additional counselors to help.

An August YouTube video from a student-produced television news program, Carolina Week, shows Carson, smiling and gregarious, welcoming students back from summer break. She gave a video tour of the student legislative and executive offices.

I’ve really found that my experience has been enriched by the ways that we give back to our communities and our campus, she said on camera, sitting in her office, which overlooked one of the main roads through the university.

Also, I personally invite you to come hang out with me, she said, swiveling in her chair. I spend a lot of time in this office, and I love saying, ‘hi,’ and meeting new people. If I can help you, or if I can help you figure out how you want to get involved on campus, please come by, and let’s talk.

The Tar Heels scheduled a candlelight vigil for Carson on Thursday night in the campus pit — a common meeting place for students — Moeser said.

Let us be the university that Eve Carson envisioned, he said. E-mail to a friend

found here.