Polls Collapsing For Obama After The Debate

Both national and swing-state polls are beginning to tighten in the presidential race between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. It's a signal that an expected Romney bump is starting to take shape after his consensus win in the first presidential debate on Wednesday. 

Here's a sampling of the national polls:

• Gallup: Romney is starting to close in on Obama, trailing by only 3 points in the seven-day rolling average. And that average only reflects two days of surveys post-debate, so the full effect won't be known until next Wednesday.
• Rasmussen: Rasmussen has had wild swings and tends to be Republican-leaning this election, but Romney holds a 2-point advantage here. 
• Reuters/Ipsos: Here, the race has tightened from a 6-point Obama lead pre-debate to only a 2-point lead on Friday. But Saturday didn't provide any further bounce for Romney in the online survey.

Read more: Business Insider

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France votes in presidential poll

Polls have opened in France's presidential election, taking place amid widespread concern over the eurozone crisis and high unemployment.

Centre-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy is seeking re-election, saying only he can preserve a "strong France". But he is facing a tough challenge from Socialist Francois Hollande, who has said it is "the left's turn to govern".

There are 10 candidates in all, and if none wins more than 50% of the votes there will be a run-off round on 6 May.

Polls in mainland France and Corsica are open until 18:00 (16:00 GMT), with voting stations in big cities remaining open for a further two hours.

The first official results will be released after the last stations close at 20:00 (18:00 GMT).

Read details: BBC News

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Ahmadinejad Eclipsed in recent polls

Ahmadinejad was the big loser in Iran's parliamentary elections on Friday, the results of which show a solid victory for the hard-line supporters of Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei. Both camps had approached the election as a public showdown in the bitter feud between the president and the Supreme Leader that has raged for the past two years.

The victory in the parliamentary vote that weakens Ahmadinejad, combined with the repression that has sidelined the opposition Green Movement, allows Khamenei to dismiss any talk of internal political strife and claim that Iran is united in the face of Western sanctions and Israeli military threats.

Read more: Time World

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Egypt's Islamists claim most seats in run-off vote

[ Reuters ] 7 Dec

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said on Wednesday it won most seats in a first-round parliamentary vote, with early tallies suggesting liberals had backed some of its candidates to block hardline Salafis.

The Islamist group, which was banned under ousted president Hosni Mubarak, had already won 37 percent of the vote in an initial phase of the multi-pronged election, meaning it is well on course to have the largest bloc of seats in the new assembly.

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Glenn Beck Grills Newt Gingrich on Government Spending and Health Care

[ Yahoo News ] 7 Dec

In a sign that the scrutiny into his past is picking up alongside his  rising popularity, Newt Gingrich faced some of the toughest questions of his candidacy yet on Glenn Beck's radio show today.

The former House speaker this morning was grilled on a variety of past statements, from his support of the individual mandate to Medicare and climate change. And his remarks today are already coming under attack by opponents as being too liberal.

Read full story for details

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Romney staff spent nearly $100,000 to hide records

[ Reuters ] 6 Dec

Mitt Romney spent nearly $100,000 in state funds to replace computers in his office at the end of his term as governor of Massachusetts in 2007 as part of an unprecedented effort to keep his records secret, Reuters has learned.

Officials have said the details of Romney's request to remove paper records, such as what specific documents he wanted to destroy, could be made public only in response to a request under the state's freedom of information law. Reuters has filed such a request.

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Putin and party suffer election blow

[ Yahoo News ] 5 Dec

Russian voters have dealt Vladimir Putin's ruling party a heavy blow by cutting its parliamentary majority in an election that showed growing unease with his domination of the country as he prepares to reclaim the presidency, Yahoo News reports quoting Reuters.

Incomplete results showed Putin's United Russia was struggling even to win 50 percent of the votes in Sunday's election, compared with more than 64 percent four years ago. 

The result is a blow also for Medvedev, who led United Russia into the election. His legitimacy as the next prime minister could now be in question.

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Russians Poll for Duma

[ BBC Europe ] 4 Dec

Russians are voting in polls that will decide the shape of the lower house, or Duma, for the next five years.

While there are reports of violation of election laws, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who leads the ruling United Russia party, has accused foreign powers of meddling in election preparations.

Duma members have questioned why the foreign-funded organisation - whose name means "voice" or "vote" - is allowed to monitor Russian elections.

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Egypt goes to first poll after Mubarak

Full Story: Pakistan Today 28 Nov

Egyptians began voting Monday morning in the first elections since the fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak who was ousted in February in one of the most important moments of the Arab Spring.

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