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The United Nations has reported that a total of 978 people have been killed by a cholera epidemic in the African nation of Zimbabwe, an increase of 25% from just three days ago. The UN also says that there have been 18,413 reported cases in the country since the epidemic began in August of 2008. The outbreak of the disease has been quickened by the lack of proper sanitation and the collapse of water systems and healthcare. The area worst affected by cholera is Zimbabwe's capital of Harare, where 208 people died out of 8,454 suspected cases. Th

Thai opposition (Democrat Party) leader Abhisit Vejjajiva won a majority of votes in the House of Representatives of Thailand on Monday and will be named the 27th Prime Minister of Thailand. Abhisit, an economist, got 235 votes against 198 by former national police chief and Pheu Pandin leader Pracha Promnok, a loyalist of fugitive Prime Mininster Thaksin Shinawatra. The nation's third prime minister in four months, Abhisit, at 44, is set to become the youngest prime minister Thailand has had, and its fifth leader in a little over two years.

At least 28 people drowned and were confirmed dead, 46 were rescued, while 34 others remain missing on Sunday, after an overcrowded passenger motorboat capsized off waters in Ballesteros, a town of 17,000 people, the Cagayan police reported. 'M/B Mae Jan', a wooden-hulled ferry, was carrying 102 passengers, after an eight-hour voyage from Calayan Island in the Luzon Strait for Appari when it capsized less than 300 meters (984 feet) from its destination, at 8:30 p.m. Its bamboo outrigger broke due to strong waves, as it reached the mouth of th

On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States directed an appeals court to reconsider its ruling concerning the claims of four former British Guantanamo captives. The lower court had ruled that the four men were not entitled to bring senior Bush Presidency officials to court, because they were not citizens, and were not detained within the United States, they had no recourse under the United States Constitution. In its direction, the Supreme Court pointed out that in its landmark ruling in Boumediene v. Bush it ruled that overseas captives

Somalia's parliament overwhelmingly voted Monday to keep Nur Hassan Hussein as their prime minister, blocking President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed's attempt at dismissing the prime minister and his "corrupt, inefficient" government. President Yusuf announced his motion to dismiss Hussein on Sunday, saying his government was "unable to perform its duties" in matters such as dealing with the Islamic militants who have taken over most of the country. The latest dispute between the two involved efforts to reconcile with the Alliance for the Re-liberati

Ksenia Sukhinova of Russia, won the Miss World 2008 crown on Saturday, outshining 108 other international competitors. She was crowned by her predecessor Miss World 2007, Zhang Zilin of the People's Republic of China. She pledged to "help people" and said, "I think I can help people and I want to help people and today if I walk away with this crown I will do that." Sukhinova, 5' 10", said that her immediate ambitions included meeting Russia's president Dmitry Medvedev. She is a student of Tyumen State Oil and Gas University, she is enrolled i

Mark Vinar, an Australian climber from Perth, has been presumed dead after falling over half a kilometre from New Zealand's highest peak, Aoraki/Mount Cook. He is said to have lost his footing whilst descending the Zurbriggen Ridge. His brother, Miles Vinar, was rescued by an alpine rescue team after being stranded for two days on a ridge on the mountain and airlifted by helicopter to Plateau Hut in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park on early morning Saturday. Guides at Plateau Hut became concerned for the two brothers on Friday, when the latter

An Iraqi journalist for an Egyptian Newspaper named Muntazer al-Zaidi was tackled by authorities after he threw his shoes at United States president George W. Bush during a press conference on Sunday in Baghdad. Bush had made a surprise last visit to Iraq to sign a new security pact brokered by Iraq and the U.S. Before throwing his shoes at Bush, the reporter, Muntader al-Zaidi of Al-Baghdadia, a local television station, stood up and said, "This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, dog!" The words were followed by the reporter's two shoe

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a new human rights instrument to protect economic, social and cultural rights. The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was formally adopted by the General Assembly on Human Rights Day, December 10. The protocol establishes a complaints mechanism to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, allowing individuals to complain to an international body about breaches of the Covenant. Complaints will be heard by the UN's Com

Taiwan's former President, Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), has been conditionally released on bail, some ten hours after he was indicted for corruption. Speaking to media at the Taipei District Court, he said: "I want to thank my lawyers, members of the Democratic Progressive Party and my supporters who have given me huge encouragement. I am grateful to those who cared for, supported and looked after me so I could get through the hardest and loneliest 32 days of my life in prison." He earns the historical distinction of being the first ex-president of th

After a plan to bail out three large American auto companies failed to pass the Senate this week, the White House has said that it is considering using some of the US$700 billion earmarked to rescue the banking industry to bail out the automakers. The White House says that the collapse of the automakers would be a terrible setback that could destroy the economy. "Under normal economic conditions we would prefer that markets determine the ultimate fate of private firms. However, given the current weakened state of the US economy, we will consi

United States president-elect Barack Obama has announced Shaun Donovan as his choice for the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Donovan is currently New York City's housing commissioner. The announcement was made in Obama's weekly address, in which the president-elect discussed his reasons for selecting Donovan, and discussed the importance of what he announced will be his department. "To stem the rising tide of foreclosures and strengthen our economy, I’ve asked my economic team to develop a bold plan that will dramatically increase