Rebellion against Malaysian PM boosts opposition campaign to topple government

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: A ruling coalition party’s planned no-confidence vote against Malaysia’s prime minister is unlikely to succeed, but the rebellion has strengthened the opposition’s campaign to topple the government, politicians and analysts said Thursday.

The Sabah Progressive Party, a member of the 14-party ruling National Front coalition, announced Wednesday that its two legislators in Parliament would seek a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Monday.

The chances of the motion succeeding “are slim,” said prominent political commentator A. Kadir Jasin.

The numbers are on Abdullah’s side. Even without the two Sabah state legislators’ support, the Front has 138 votes in the 222-member house and can defeat the motion easily.

“However, the proposal for a no-confidence vote itself is sufficient to weaken the prime minister’s position,” Kadir said. Even without a vote, the motion “will provide ideas to others who are dissatisfied with Abdullah to topple him.”

Verizon speeds up FiOS fiber-optic Internet

NEW YORK (AP) — Verizon Communications Inc. is boosting the speed of its FiOS fiber-optic Internet service in 10 states.

The FiOS service areas of California, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington will see new plans that nearly double Internet speeds, Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl said in remarks to be delivered at a conference Wednesday.

The faster speeds were already available in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, where competition from cable is particularly fierce, and in Florida, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

With the speed increase, Verizon is now providing the same speeds in all 16 states where FiOS is available. It comes at a time when cable companies are preparing a big boost to their own Internet services.

Tighter security checks in hands of MPs, police say

OTTAWA — Background checks on cabinet ministers could be improved by expanding them to include spouses and family members, an RCMP official indicated Wednesday.

In his second appearance before the House committee on public safety, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Raf Souccar was guarded in his comments, but he told MPs the current background checks could be beefed up.

“The process is what it is. If it is not the right process, it has to be changed, and government has to make that decision,” Assistant Commissioner Souccar said. “Can this [process] be improved? I’m sure it can.”

Assistant Commissioner Souccar and Bob Paulson, the assistant commissioner for national security, were under fire over the RCMP’s handling of the case of former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier, who recently dated a woman with ties to men with criminal backgrounds.

Kardashian Clan Ordered to Court

The family that shops together swears to tell the truth together.

A judge set a Feb. 17, 2009, trial date in the lawsuit brought by Sonja Norwood, mother of R&B star Brandy, against sisters Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian and their brother Robert Jr.

She has accused the well-to-do sibs of racking up more than $120,000 in unauthorized charges on her credit card in 2006 and 2007, when Kim was working as Brandy’s stylist and dating the singer’s brother Ray J.

The Kardashians have denied, “generally and specifically,” every allegation in Norwood’s suit, saying they had the woman’s permission to shop spree-style. Norwood is seeking complete compensation for the charges, plus 10 percent interest.

A final status conference has also been set for Feb. 11. After that…it’s trial time.