In Malaysia’s Election, a Free Press Was Elusive

HONG KONG â€" American presidents have built-in advantages when running for re-election. Corporations and other interest groups tend to give financially to their cause to stay in the good graces of the leadership. The president enjoys the bully pulpit that comes with being in the White House. Throw a healthy economy into the mix, and it’s an almost unbeatable combination.

Some of the same could be said halfway around the world in Malaysia, except the leadership there enjoys even more pronounced advantages that helped propel it to victory Sunday: control over an economy that is riding a wave of economic prosperity with a growth rate over 5 percent last year, and the government’s perceived influence over some of the most influential media outlets â€" and a willingness to act against those that don’t fall into line.

In the run-up to Sunday’s voting, there were numerous allegations that Web sites giving voice to the opposition were the victim of cyberattacks. According to the group Human Rights Watch, one online site that is critical of the government, Malaysiakini, could not be accessed from within Malaysia in the two weeks leading to the elections, or readers experienced significant slowdowns while accessing the site.

The group also said that at least three other sites â€" Radio Free Malaysia, Radio Free Sarawak and Sarawak Report â€" experienced what appeared to have been cyberattacks in which the sites were overwhelmed with traffic, curtailing access for nearly a week before the election.

There is no conclusive evidence that the government or its supporters were behind such disruptions, but the timing and targets naturally raise questions. As Human Rights Watch noted, Radio Free Sarawak and the Sarawak Report “frequently report on government corruption and criticize government policies affecting rural residents.” The group said the government was obligated to prevent such attacks from happening to assure free elections.

While Sunday’s election kept the governing National Front coalition in power, it was left with a weakened majority in Parliament. Since then, the opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, has said the elections were marred by fraud and that his coalition would challenge the results of some races, my colleague Joe Cochrane reports.

But the Malaysian authorities have been cracking down on members of the opposition who are raising such issues. As the Brisbane Times reports, the police this week arrested two bloggers, one of whom tweeted a claim that the police were protecting phantom voters in contested election districts.

“We will continue monitoring social media and we will not rest until those who circulate racial postings online are detained,” said Syed Ismail, the director of the Commercial Crime Investigation Department. “Anyone who tries to instill hate and compromise public safety will face the music.”

The government has reason to be defensive: the rise of social media in Malaysia was viewed as one of the primary reasons why the National Front and the incumbent prime minister, Najib Razak, have struggled to retain control over the country, as it has allowed Malaysians access to news reporting outside government control and influence.

On Thursday, Western news outlets highlighted reports about a Wednesday night rally that drew tens of thousands to hear Mr. Anwar, the opposition leader, accuse the Malaysian government of having “stolen the election.” But on the Web site of the New Straits Times, Malaysia’s most influential newspaper and one viewed as regularly toeing the government line, the election stories that were highlighted were “Accept the People’s Verdict, Says Azmin,” “White House Congratulates Malaysia on Election” and “Call to Accept the Election Outcome.”

Genetics Reveal Europe Is One Big Family

LONDON â€" From Ireland to Turkey, Europeans are all related, sharing a link with ancestors who were alive just 1,000 years ago, according to a new genetic study.

Research by scientists in California is further evidence that neat distinctions between various European peoples are largely artificial and that they are all one big family â€" although not necessarily a happy one.

“Even pairs of people as far apart as the U.K. and Turkey share a chunk of genomic material 20 percent of the time,” according to the authors of a paper published on Tuesday.

Peter Ralph and Graham Coop of the University of California used genomic data for 2,257 Europeans to conduct the first such study of an entire continent.

In recent years, genetics has combined with archaeology and linguistic studies as a tool to help answer the eternal question of where we come from.

A separate study, based on DNA recovered from ancient skeletons, revealed last month that the genetic makeup of modern Europe was established by a wave of newcomers to the continent 6,500 years ago, more recently than previously thought.

Recent research has focused on the shared legacy of Europeans in contrast to earlier theories that focused on differences â€" and the current, often racial conflict. (Witness the trial that began this week of German neo-Nazis accused of being connected to a wave of killings of Turks and Greeks from 2000 to 2007.)

As recently as the 1950s, British schoolchildren were still studying pre-World War II textbooks that divided Europeans into Germanic, Alpine and Latin “types” according to the shape of their noses.

The Conversation, an Australian academic Web site, quoted Maciej Henneberg, a University of Adelaide anthropologist, as saying scientists had been arguing for 50 years that all humans were too closely related to be divided into races.

“The few externally visible differences like skin color or nose shape are not enough to justify divisions,” he said.

Neither should the latest research provide any comfort to racially motivated ultra-nationalists who would seek to oppose non-European immigration to a mythically homogenous Europe.

The Californian scientists said other research suggests everyone alive in the world today shares a common ancestor from sometime in the past 3,500 years.

The Californian study yielded some surprising conclusions, including that Britons share more recent common ancestors with people in Ireland than with others in Britain. And a German has more distant cousins in Poland than in Germany.

The ancestry is not equally shared. Modern Italians and Spaniards have relatively few common ancestors compared with other European populations, which may be explained by their geography and history.

It is tempting to think that further proof of shared ancestry might contribute to a new era of brotherly â€" or at least cousinly â€" love among the peoples of Europe in the face of the challenges that confront them.

Some are skeptical.

“There have been many studies that we’ve been involved in showing that groups which are fighting each other furiously all the time are actually extremely closely genetically related,” Mark A. Jobling, a geneticist at England’s Leicester University, told Associated Press.

“So for example Jewish and non-Jewish populations in the Middle East are extremely similar genetically, but to tell them they are genetic close relatives isn’t going to change their ways.”

Genetics Reveal Europe Is One Big Family

LONDON â€" From Ireland to Turkey, Europeans are all related, sharing a link with ancestors who were alive just 1,000 years ago, according to a new genetic study.

Research by scientists in California is further evidence that neat distinctions between various European peoples are largely artificial and that they are all one big family â€" although not necessarily a happy one.

“Even pairs of people as far apart as the U.K. and Turkey share a chunk of genomic material 20 percent of the time,” according to the authors of a paper published on Tuesday.

Peter Ralph and Graham Coop of the University of California used genomic data for 2,257 Europeans to conduct the first such study of an entire continent.

In recent years, genetics has combined with archaeology and linguistic studies as a tool to help answer the eternal question of where we come from.

A separate study, based on DNA recovered from ancient skeletons, revealed last month that the genetic makeup of modern Europe was established by a wave of newcomers to the continent 6,500 years ago, more recently than previously thought.

Recent research has focused on the shared legacy of Europeans in contrast to earlier theories that focused on differences â€" and the current, often racial conflict. (Witness the trial that began this week of German neo-Nazis accused of being connected to a wave of killings of Turks and Greeks from 2000 to 2007.)

As recently as the 1950s, British schoolchildren were still studying pre-World War II textbooks that divided Europeans into Germanic, Alpine and Latin “types” according to the shape of their noses.

The Conversation, an Australian academic Web site, quoted Maciej Henneberg, a University of Adelaide anthropologist, as saying scientists had been arguing for 50 years that all humans were too closely related to be divided into races.

“The few externally visible differences like skin color or nose shape are not enough to justify divisions,” he said.

Neither should the latest research provide any comfort to racially motivated ultra-nationalists who would seek to oppose non-European immigration to a mythically homogenous Europe.

The Californian scientists said other research suggests everyone alive in the world today shares a common ancestor from sometime in the past 3,500 years.

The Californian study yielded some surprising conclusions, including that Britons share more recent common ancestors with people in Ireland than with others in Britain. And a German has more distant cousins in Poland than in Germany.

The ancestry is not equally shared. Modern Italians and Spaniards have relatively few common ancestors compared with other European populations, which may be explained by their geography and history.

It is tempting to think that further proof of shared ancestry might contribute to a new era of brotherly â€" or at least cousinly â€" love among the peoples of Europe in the face of the challenges that confront them.

Some are skeptical.

“There have been many studies that we’ve been involved in showing that groups which are fighting each other furiously all the time are actually extremely closely genetically related,” Mark A. Jobling, a geneticist at England’s Leicester University, told Associated Press.

“So for example Jewish and non-Jewish populations in the Middle East are extremely similar genetically, but to tell them they are genetic close relatives isn’t going to change their ways.”

Genetics Reveal Europe Is One Big Family

LONDON â€" From Ireland to Turkey, Europeans are all related, sharing a link with ancestors who were alive just 1,000 years ago, according to a new genetic study.

Research by scientists in California is further evidence that neat distinctions between various European peoples are largely artificial and that they are all one big family â€" although not necessarily a happy one.

“Even pairs of people as far apart as the U.K. and Turkey share a chunk of genomic material 20 percent of the time,” according to the authors of a paper published on Tuesday.

Peter Ralph and Graham Coop of the University of California used genomic data for 2,257 Europeans to conduct the first such study of an entire continent.

In recent years, genetics has combined with archaeology and linguistic studies as a tool to help answer the eternal question of where we come from.

A separate study, based on DNA recovered from ancient skeletons, revealed last month that the genetic makeup of modern Europe was established by a wave of newcomers to the continent 6,500 years ago, more recently than previously thought.

Recent research has focused on the shared legacy of Europeans in contrast to earlier theories that focused on differences â€" and the current, often racial conflict. (Witness the trial that began this week of German neo-Nazis accused of being connected to a wave of killings of Turks and Greeks from 2000 to 2007.)

As recently as the 1950s, British schoolchildren were still studying pre-World War II textbooks that divided Europeans into Germanic, Alpine and Latin “types” according to the shape of their noses.

The Conversation, an Australian academic Web site, quoted Maciej Henneberg, a University of Adelaide anthropologist, as saying scientists had been arguing for 50 years that all humans were too closely related to be divided into races.

“The few externally visible differences like skin color or nose shape are not enough to justify divisions,” he said.

Neither should the latest research provide any comfort to racially motivated ultra-nationalists who would seek to oppose non-European immigration to a mythically homogenous Europe.

The Californian scientists said other research suggests everyone alive in the world today shares a common ancestor from sometime in the past 3,500 years.

The Californian study yielded some surprising conclusions, including that Britons share more recent common ancestors with people in Ireland than with others in Britain. And a German has more distant cousins in Poland than in Germany.

The ancestry is not equally shared. Modern Italians and Spaniards have relatively few common ancestors compared with other European populations, which may be explained by their geography and history.

It is tempting to think that further proof of shared ancestry might contribute to a new era of brotherly â€" or at least cousinly â€" love among the peoples of Europe in the face of the challenges that confront them.

Some are skeptical.

“There have been many studies that we’ve been involved in showing that groups which are fighting each other furiously all the time are actually extremely closely genetically related,” Mark A. Jobling, a geneticist at England’s Leicester University, told Associated Press.

“So for example Jewish and non-Jewish populations in the Middle East are extremely similar genetically, but to tell them they are genetic close relatives isn’t going to change their ways.”

IHT Quick Read: May 8

NEWS The Obama administration, resolving years of internal debate, is on the verge of backing a Federal Bureau of Investigation plan for a sweeping overhaul of surveillance laws that would make it easier to wiretap people who communicate using the Internet rather than by traditional phone services, according to officials familiar with the deliberations. Charlie Savage reports from Washington.

The Nigerian military’s harsh tactics have curtailed militant attacks in the north, a stronghold of Boko Haram, but at a huge cost and with likely repercussions. Adam Nossiter reports from Maiduguri, Nigeria.

Trained to battle Israel, Hezbollah’s Lebanese Shiite guerrillas are pushing into a very different fight, against fellow Arab Muslims trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Anne Barnard reports from Beirut.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday criticized a Pentagon report that explicitly accused China’s military of staging attacks on the computer systems of the American government and military contractors. Keith Bradsher reports from Hong Kong.

A Spanish court on Tuesday dropped a subpoena for Princess Cristina, the younger daughter of King Juan Carlos, in an embezzlement case that has tarnished the monarchy. Raphael Minder reports from Madrid.

The state-controlled Bank of China said on Tuesday that it had ended all dealings with a key North Korean bank in what appeared to be the strongest public Chinese response yet to North Korea’s willingness to brush aside warnings from Beijing and push ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Keith Bradsher reports from Hong Kong.

The European Union’s halting effort to create a more unified banking system, which many experts consider necessary for avoiding future financial crises, received fresh impetus on Tuesday. James Kanter reports from Brussels and Nicholas Kulish from Berlin.

Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo of Brazil will be the next leader of the World Trade Organization, a Brazilian official said Tuesday, and will take the reins at a time when the group is fighting to remain relevant. David Jolly reports from Paris.

ARTS In a homecoming sweetened with poetic justice, a collection of drawings and paintings by Aboriginal children living in a settlement camp in the 1940s and 1950s will be returned to Australia. Felicia R. Lee reports.

SPORTS Chuck Blazer, who was provisionally banned from all soccer activities on Monday, is just the latest FIFA executive to leave or be banned after allegations of misconduct. Rob Hughes writes from London.

IHT Quick Read: May 8

NEWS The Obama administration, resolving years of internal debate, is on the verge of backing a Federal Bureau of Investigation plan for a sweeping overhaul of surveillance laws that would make it easier to wiretap people who communicate using the Internet rather than by traditional phone services, according to officials familiar with the deliberations. Charlie Savage reports from Washington.

The Nigerian military’s harsh tactics have curtailed militant attacks in the north, a stronghold of Boko Haram, but at a huge cost and with likely repercussions. Adam Nossiter reports from Maiduguri, Nigeria.

Trained to battle Israel, Hezbollah’s Lebanese Shiite guerrillas are pushing into a very different fight, against fellow Arab Muslims trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Anne Barnard reports from Beirut.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday criticized a Pentagon report that explicitly accused China’s military of staging attacks on the computer systems of the American government and military contractors. Keith Bradsher reports from Hong Kong.

A Spanish court on Tuesday dropped a subpoena for Princess Cristina, the younger daughter of King Juan Carlos, in an embezzlement case that has tarnished the monarchy. Raphael Minder reports from Madrid.

The state-controlled Bank of China said on Tuesday that it had ended all dealings with a key North Korean bank in what appeared to be the strongest public Chinese response yet to North Korea’s willingness to brush aside warnings from Beijing and push ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Keith Bradsher reports from Hong Kong.

The European Union’s halting effort to create a more unified banking system, which many experts consider necessary for avoiding future financial crises, received fresh impetus on Tuesday. James Kanter reports from Brussels and Nicholas Kulish from Berlin.

Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo of Brazil will be the next leader of the World Trade Organization, a Brazilian official said Tuesday, and will take the reins at a time when the group is fighting to remain relevant. David Jolly reports from Paris.

ARTS In a homecoming sweetened with poetic justice, a collection of drawings and paintings by Aboriginal children living in a settlement camp in the 1940s and 1950s will be returned to Australia. Felicia R. Lee reports.

SPORTS Chuck Blazer, who was provisionally banned from all soccer activities on Monday, is just the latest FIFA executive to leave or be banned after allegations of misconduct. Rob Hughes writes from London.

IHT Quick Read: May 8

NEWS The Obama administration, resolving years of internal debate, is on the verge of backing a Federal Bureau of Investigation plan for a sweeping overhaul of surveillance laws that would make it easier to wiretap people who communicate using the Internet rather than by traditional phone services, according to officials familiar with the deliberations. Charlie Savage reports from Washington.

The Nigerian military’s harsh tactics have curtailed militant attacks in the north, a stronghold of Boko Haram, but at a huge cost and with likely repercussions. Adam Nossiter reports from Maiduguri, Nigeria.

Trained to battle Israel, Hezbollah’s Lebanese Shiite guerrillas are pushing into a very different fight, against fellow Arab Muslims trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Anne Barnard reports from Beirut.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday criticized a Pentagon report that explicitly accused China’s military of staging attacks on the computer systems of the American government and military contractors. Keith Bradsher reports from Hong Kong.

A Spanish court on Tuesday dropped a subpoena for Princess Cristina, the younger daughter of King Juan Carlos, in an embezzlement case that has tarnished the monarchy. Raphael Minder reports from Madrid.

The state-controlled Bank of China said on Tuesday that it had ended all dealings with a key North Korean bank in what appeared to be the strongest public Chinese response yet to North Korea’s willingness to brush aside warnings from Beijing and push ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Keith Bradsher reports from Hong Kong.

The European Union’s halting effort to create a more unified banking system, which many experts consider necessary for avoiding future financial crises, received fresh impetus on Tuesday. James Kanter reports from Brussels and Nicholas Kulish from Berlin.

Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo of Brazil will be the next leader of the World Trade Organization, a Brazilian official said Tuesday, and will take the reins at a time when the group is fighting to remain relevant. David Jolly reports from Paris.

ARTS In a homecoming sweetened with poetic justice, a collection of drawings and paintings by Aboriginal children living in a settlement camp in the 1940s and 1950s will be returned to Australia. Felicia R. Lee reports.

SPORTS Chuck Blazer, who was provisionally banned from all soccer activities on Monday, is just the latest FIFA executive to leave or be banned after allegations of misconduct. Rob Hughes writes from London.