Talking points

Romania votes in parliamentary elections tomorrow, with the ruling centre-left coalition poised for victory after months of bitter feuding with its arch-rival, President Traian Basescu. It will be Romania's first national vote since a failed attempt by the ruling Social-Liberal Union party in summer to unseat centre-right Basescu - a move that drew sharp rebukes from the European Union and the United States.

Palestinian group Hamas celebrates its 25th anniversary with a mass rally attended by its supreme leader, Khaled Meshaal. The landmark visit by Meshaal, who has been in exile from the Palestinian territories for 45 years, comes two weeks after the bloodiest round of Israel-Gaza fighting in four years. It may also signal a rapprochement between the internal and external leaderships of Hamas, and a chance for reconciliation with rival West Bank-based faction Fatah.