Washington - Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama Wednesday refuted attacks by Republican rival John McCain that he was advocating socialism by wanting to raise taxes on the wealthier, saying the McCain campaign was grasping at desperate straws.

Over the past week, McCain, 72, who is lagging behind Obama in the backstretch to the November 4 elections, has drawn enthusiastic "boos" from supporters whenever he mentions that Obama wants to "spread the wealth."

Prague - Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's government survived a parliamentary confidence motion Wednesday, just as the Czech Republic prepares to take over the EU presidency in January.

The left-leaning opposition was five votes short in the 96-97 vote, the fourth failed effort to topple the ruling coalition since it came to power in January 2007.

The main opposition Social Democrats needed 101 votes in the 200-seat lower house to oust Topolanek's center-right cabinet.

Prague - Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's government faced a parliamentary confidence motion Wednesday, just as the Czech Republic prepares to take over the EU presidency in January.

The left-leaning opposition sought the vote on ousting the government after Topolanek's Civic Democrats, in power since January 2007, were weakened by a defeat in regional elections Saturday.

Political tension in the Central European nation is running high over the government's 2009 budget and before Senate run-off elections starting Friday that could bring more losses for the premier.

Washington, Oct. 22 : A political scientist has predicted significant gains for the Democratic Party in the 2008 congressional elections—including 11 seats in the U. S. House of Representatives and three seats in the U. S. Senate.

Carl Klarner of Indiana State University published his forecast in the October 2008 issue of PS: Political Science and Politics, a journal of the American Political Science Association (APSA).

The House and Senate forecasts were made in late July 2008, and Klarner’s model focuses on the percent of the major-party vote that the Democratic candidate received in a state or district.

Washington, Oct. 22: Republican presidential candidate John McCain continues to trail behind Democratic rival Barack Obama in states that were won by incumbent President George W Bush in 2004.

McCain''s move to distance himself from Bush appears to be reaching voters, despite a barrage of ads from the Obama campaign accusing the Arizona senator of being in lock step with the president.

A CNN/Opinion Research poll found that 52 percent of voters think McCain’s policies would be different from Bush''s, up eight percentage points in just two weeks.

New York, Oct. 22: The Republicans have unleashed a blistering mailing against Barack Obama that invokes the 9/11 attacks with a disturbing image of a jumbo jet and a warning that the Democrat nominee isn''t "who you think he is."

According to the New York Post, the attack flier reportedly has been landing in homes in Missouri and Virginia – two states that the Democrats have been working hard to convert to blue in November.

The front cover shows a plane with its nose aimed squarely at a few travelers in an airport waiting area, and warns, "Terrorists don''t care who they hurt."

The image of a plane in conjunction with terrorism was a clear reference to the airplanes-as-weapons attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.