CANBERRA (Reuters) – One of three independent MPs needed by Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard to form a minority government hinted on Friday he could negotiate on Labor's mining profits tax he has previously opposed.
Maverick outback MP Bob Katter gave Gillard and conservative Opposition Leader Tony Abbott a “wish list” of 20 priorities that [...]

NAIROBI, Kenya – Southern Sudan’s parliament may vote to secede from the Khartoum-based north if an independence reference scheduled for January is delayed, a former top Southern Sudan official said Thursday.
The oil-rich region can take such action under the terms of a peace deal signed in 2005 to end the north-south civil war, said [...]

The juror who was the lone holdout on some counts at former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s political corruption trial has said she had a responsibility to follow her conscience and that she stands by her vote.
“I could never live with myself if I went along with the rest of the jury,” JoAnn Chiakulas [...]

YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar's feared junta has undertaken a major military reshuffle ahead of rare elections, an official said Friday, without confirming reports that Than Shwe was among those shedding their uniforms.
A total of 15 senior leaders, including the army number three Thura Shwe Mann have retired from their military posts to stand in [...]

The juror who was the lone holdout on some counts at former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s political corruption trial has said she had a responsibility to follow her conscience and that she stands by her vote.
“I could never live with myself if I went along with the rest of the jury,” JoAnn Chiakulas [...]

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia's conservative chief Tony Abbott was Friday accused of trying to force the nation back to the polls, just one week after an inconclusive vote which left the nation with a hung parliament.
Greens leader Bob Brown said Abbott seemed determined to deepen the impasse by refusing to submit his election promises [...]

NEW DELHI (AFP) – The Indian parliament was set to vote Wednesday on a long-delayed draft law that will enable foreign nuclear groups to build reactors in the 150-billion-dollar Indian atomic energy market.
The bill, which has been subject of fierce wrangling between the government and opposition, is part of a landmark atomic energy pact [...]

KABUL, Afghanistan – A shopkeeper in Kandahar city says what others are thinking: Casting a ballot in next month’s Afghan parliamentary election isn’t worth the risk.
“I’m not going to vote. I can’t risk my life for nothing,” says 31-year-old Hekmatullah as he calls out prices for lipstick and nail polish to women shuffling through [...]

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia's “kingmaker” independent MPs were set to hold talks on Tuesday after weekend elections failed to produce a clear winner, triggering the worst political deadlock in decades.
The three were expected to meet in Canberra as they are courted by both Prime Minister Julia Gillard's left-leaning Labor party and the conservative Liberal/National [...]

On August 21, after less than two months in power, Australia’s first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, faced the voters. Australia had the option to keep her as leader and her left-of-center Labor Party in power. But instead, no decision was made, and the country has its first hung parliament in 70 years, with neither [...]