Word: primed
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...ruling political bloc. After all, for as long as the Southeast Asian nation has been independent, the National Front alliance has been in power. Even opposition leaders admitted they wouldn't win control of the federal government. Instead, most viewed the voting as a referendum on the leadership of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose popularity has been hurt by higher living costs and rising racial tensions in this multiethnic nation...
...outcome was so devastating for the National Front that Abdullah's future as Prime Minister is now in doubt. "This is a new dawn for Malaysia," said Anwar Ibrahim, a former Deputy Prime Minister, who is the spiritual head of the People's Justice Party and the opposition's most charismatic figure. "The people have voted decisively...
...What a difference four years makes. In 2004, Abdullah's party won a record mandate, capturing 64% of the popular vote and 91% of seats in parliament. The overwhelming victory was due, in part, to the attraction of a fresh face-after 22 years in power, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad handed over the reigns to Abdullah in 2003. Abdullah also scored points by positioning himself as a progressive reformer; he promised to clean up widespread graft and strengthen civil liberties...
...Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Popular Party leader and election opponent Mariano Rajoy immediately suspended all campaign activities, and the Spanish parliament convened a special session late on Friday afternoon to express its unanimous condemnation of the assassination. Socialist spokesperson Diego Lopez Garrido confirmed that Sunday's election would be held as planned, assuring the press that "no matter how hard ETA tries," it will not impede "Spaniards' freedom of expression." Yet the question of whether - and how - the killing might affect the vote was on everyone's mind...
...surge forces began reducing violence across Iraq, the picture in Mosul worsened, leaving it the only place in the country where violence was rising as the year closed. Iraqi and American officials agree that Mosul is now probably the last urban stronghold of the insurgency. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki dispatched additional Iraqi army troopers to the area, promising a "decisive battle" that has yet to materialize. But in any case Petraeus and other U.S. commanders believe that efforts to fix Mosul this time are destined to work better, chiefly because nationalist Sunni fighters are rethinking their alliances with...