THOUSANDS GATHER AGAINST MALAYSIAN GOVT
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition supporters gathered by the thousands in the capital on Saturday to call for the ouster of the country’s long-ruling government in elections due within months.

Followers of the three-party alliance led by opposition firebrand Anwar Ibrahim streamed through the capital Kuala Lumpur to converge on an iconic stadium, where the current ruling bloc declared independence in 1957. Access to the venue was granted by authorities this week, and as the crowds gathered, there was no hint of the violence that marred the country’s last major antigovernment rally in April. The ruling coalition has controlled Malaysia since independence from Britain but political observers said that it faces its stiffest test yet in the coming polls after a poor showing in 2008.

FRENCH UNIONS, EMPLOYERS TO CHANGE LABOR LAWS
PARIS: French President Francois Hollande led a chorus of approval after unions and employers reached a deal on reforms to the country’s complex labor laws after over three months of talks. The measures are designed to give more flexibility to employers who have long complained of the red tape strangling the French economy. But it will also offer more protection to employees, a key concern of France’s unions. The national agreement requires the support of at least three of the five main union confederations for it to be ratified. On Friday, three of them appeared to back it, the other two strongly opposed. Both the unions and employers are set to approve the deal in the coming days. But leaders on both sides seemed satisfied with the agreement and ready to recommend it to their respective constituencies. If that happens, the measures will go before the French cabinet on March and from there to parliament, with the government hoping it can be made into law by the end of May.

HOLLYWOOD STEPS OUT FOR GOLDEN GLOBES AWARDS
LOS ANGELES: Hollywood hits the red carpet on Sunday for the Golden Globes, Tinseltown’s biggest pre-Oscars awards show, with Steven Spielberg, Ben Affleck and Quentin Tarantino among those eyeing major prizes. Days after topping nominations for the Academy Awards, Spielberg’s political drama Lincoln is the frontrunner for Globes glory, with seven nods, ahead of Affleck’s Iran drama Argo and Tarantino’s Django Unchained, both with five nominations. US TV comedy favorites Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will co-host the Globes, after three years of edgy British comic Ricky Gervais taking barbed near-the-knuckle shots at the assembled A-listers. The awards are voted on by the just 100-member Hollywood Foreign Press Association, seen as more celebrity-driven than the esteemed Academy of Motion and Picture Arts and Sciences, whose Oscars show is next month. AFP