Punjab entrepreneur sets up 10-storey building in just 48 hours

It was a promise delivered floor by floor. In just 48 hours, an entrepreneur has constructed a 10-floor building in this suburban town in Punjab.

The red and grey facade building, Instacon, stood tall on an industrial plot in Mohali, 10 km from Chandigarh on Saturday, two days after Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had laid its foundation stone.
Work on the building's construction started around 4.30 pm on Thursday. By Friday evening, the building saw seven floors in place.

As the deadline of 48 hours approached, all the 10 floors of the building were in place even though the glass-panes on the windows and other fittings inside were still being put by the workers and engineers.

Ful Story: Punjab entrepreneur sets up 10-storey building in just 48 hours

Delegates give undivided support

FOCUS: Umno wraps up a rousing pre-election general assembly by reaffirming its commitment to a multiracial agenda, reaching out to the young in a big way and to seek a two-thirds parliamentary majority 

KUALA LUMPUR: A BUOYANT Umno yesterday lifted the last psychological barrier as it headed into a momentous general election targeting a two-thirds majority.
With concerns of sabotage a recurring theme, Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak secured an undertaking from delegates at the party's general assembly for undivided support to be extended to all party candidates.

Full Story : Delegates give undivided support

Reprieve for bankrupts - PM Datuk Seri Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Laws will be reviewed to help those declared bankrupts through no fault of theirs to get back on their feet again.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the procedures used in declaring one a bankrupt would be changed to prevent innocent people from being victimised.
“Sometimes, people are declared bankrupt although it is not their fault; like when they become guarantors to others who take up loans,” he said in his winding-up speech at the Umno general assembly here.    Full Story :  Reprieve for bankrupts

Iran's president promotes controversial confidant

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's president appointed his divisive confidant to a high-profile post Saturday in a move widely viewed as an attempt to boost the close aide's profile ahead of his expected candidacy in next year's presidential elections.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad named Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei the head of the secretariat of the Non-Aligned Movement, the bloc of developing nations that Iran took over the leadership of this year. The post raises Mashaei's political clout and gives him much-needed international experience.

Full Story :  Iran's president promotes controversial confidant

Clashes rock Tunisia town

FRESH clashes have erupted in the flashpoint Tunisian town of Siliana, amid rising discontent over poor living conditions two years after the revolution, but a deal has been struck aimed at satisfying protesters' demands. 
 
In Siliana, where violence has left more than 300 people wounded this week, hundreds of youths, armed with rocks and petrol bombs, clashed throughout the afternoon with the police, an AFP journalist reported on Saturday.

Full Story : Clashes rock Tunisia town

Rallies in Cairo as Morsy sets date for constitution referendum

Cairo (CNN) -- Egyptians will vote in two weeks to approve, or reject, a new constitution -- a potentially pivotal moment for the North African nation that underwent a revolution a year ago and, more recently, has seen its president become the target of fierce protests.

President Mohamed Morsy on Saturday announced a December 15 referendum date on what could become the nation's constitution, shortly it was presented to him by the Islamist-dominated assembly that crafted it.

While his supporters cheered the move, there was little indication the vote or anything Morsy said would placate the opposition.

FULL STORY :  Rallies in Cairo as Morsy sets date for constitution referendum