Inmate-release plan hits snag in California Assembly

California legislators plan to keep trying Tuesday to find consensus on a controversial proposal that would release at least 27,000 inmates from state prisons. The California Assembly on Monday delayed a possible vote on the plan. “When we arrive at a responsible plan that can earn the support of the majority of the Assembly and make sense to the people of California, we will take that bill up on the Assembly floor,” Assembly Speaker Karen Bass said in a statement

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Japan’s PM under pressure after key vote lost

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso is facing increasing pressure within his party to step aside before national elections after his party lost a key vote in Tokyo on Sunday. Aso’s Liberal Democratic Party lost its majority in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly as the opposition Democratic Party of Japan made the largest gains. The LDP won 38 seats, down from 48.

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Beaten Back, Iran’s Opposition Looks To Reform From Within

Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi lashed out defiantly at Monday’s certification, following a partial recount initiated by the clerical body that oversees Iran’s elections, of the June 12 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “From now on we will have a government..

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Analysis: Rafsanjani holds the cards, but close to vest

Iran stands at a crossroads between the opposition movement and the Islamic regime, which has cracked down on protesters who dispute the election results that gave President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term. Some analysts say that Iran’s former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani could play a key role in resolving the political crisis.

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Iranian-Americans say history is at hand

Some Iranian-Americans, watching the post-election unrest in Iran, say the tug-of-war between the people and their hardline government has come to a head after three decades. “I am absolutely convinced that what we are witnessing is a turning point in the history of the Islamic Republic,” said Dr. Hamid Dabashi, professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York City.

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Storm in a teacup over right-winger and queen’s garden party

A controversial British politician convicted of inciting racial hatred could soon be sipping tea with Queen Elizabeth at one of her annual garden parties. Nick Griffin is the leader of the British National Party, a right-wing group that opposes immigration and wants Britain to withdraw from the European Union.

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