Politics

The alleged Russian spy who called himself Paul William Hampel was deported out of Canada on Tuesday. It is believed by CSIS, the Canadian intelligence agency, that Hampel was part of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service. Justice Pierre Blais, who took his case, ordered the alleged Russian spy's deportation on December 4th. Customs Canada sent the man to the airport at 11:00 p.m. on Christmas Day. The man arrived in the Russian capital at 7:35 the next day. Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said that Russia provided papers to allow the ma

Marco Pannella, a member of the European Parliament (MP) and leader of the Nonviolent Radical Party, started a thirst and hunger strike to protest the death sentence against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. "The Iraqi government would commit a horrible act, of the same level as those committed by Saddam Hussein himself," Pannella said yesterday in a statement on the party's Web site. Granting clemency to the former Iraqi leader would be "an extraordinary occasion, to make literally explode in the hearth of the Middle East and in the world,

Former United States President Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.) died yesterday at 6.45 pm PST (0345 UTC Wednesday) at his home in Rancho Mirage, California at the age of 93. Gerald Ford was a prominent politician from Grand Rapids, Michigan before his appointment to the vice-presidency, having served in the United States House of Representatives for 24 years from 1949 to 1973 and acted as Minority Leader. He was appointed Vice President of the United States following the resignation of Spiro Agnew. Ford was sworn in as t

Following a bill, which was passed with approximately 81% by the 207 MPs attending, Iran's parliament wants Iran to review its compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency. This was the first time since the 1979 revolution that a bill was passed in five minutes. This bill was given double-urgency status, making it a higher priority over everything else. This passage occurs after the UN implemented sanctions against Iran for continuing its nuclear program; the new law permits for Iran to continue its program against the UN's wishes. T

A British airways flight from London, England to Miami, Florida containing British prime minister Tony Blair has missed a taxiway at Miami airport. The Boeing 747-400 plane hit lights as it was turning off the runway onto a taxiway taxiing at 1815 local time on Tuesday evening (2315 GMT). The pilot couldn't see the correct taxiway due to poor lighting, said British Airways spokesman John Lampl. Prime minister Tony Blair, with his family, was on his way to stay with Bee Gees star Robin Gibb at his house in Miami Beach when the incident occurre

The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sent a letter to Pope Benedict XVI which was delivered by the Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. Vatican City has not released the contents or details of the letter, but news agencies in Iran report that the letter contains a discussion about the United Nations resolution against Iran, which imposes sanctions. In a statement, the Pope said that he "reaffirms the role that the Holy See intends to carry out for world peace, not as a political authority but as a religious and moral one ...

A telescope designed to find earth-like planets outside our solar system was launched on a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome inside the country of Kazakhstan. The project, which is known as COROT or COnvection ROtation and planetary Transits, is led by the French. "Our Corot satellite has been put into orbit today perfectly by a Soyuz rocket," said president of National French Space Studies Center, Yannick d’Escatha. The telescope will remain in space for at least 2 years to hunt down and find other planets. The telescope will begin to fi

According to the Tribunal spokesman Raed Jouhi, the Iraqi High Tribunal's appeals court in Baghdad confirms the sentence of death against the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, after a month and a half of trial review. According to the CNN, no sentence has been notified to Saddam Hussein yet. On November 5, Hussein was sentenced to death for his role in the Dujail massacre in 1982, in which 148 Shiites died. According to Iraqi laws, Hussein would be hanged within 30 days, and there is no chance of pardon. Source (in Italian) de:Beruf

National security adviser for Iraq, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, has confirmed that Saddam Hussein is to be executed within 30 days of losing his appeal at the High Tribunal Court. Mr. al-Rubaie said: "The appeals court approved the verdict to hang Saddam." Following the announcement, approximately 20 people were killed and 12 people injured in Baghdad, in a bomb explosion and a mortar attack. The decision requires ratification by the Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani who personally opposes the death penalty. However President Talabani has given legal pe

A unanimously passed United Nations Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Iran has been dismissed by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a "piece of paper." Ahmadinejad said that it is in "the best interest of the West" to have a "nuclear Iran" and that Iran will not stop enriching uranium. "It is a piece of torn paper ... by which they aim to scare Iranians ... It is in the Westerners' interests to live with a nuclear Iran," said Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad also goes on to say that anyone who "backs" the U.N. resolution will "

The International Federation of Netball Associations announced the decision today that New Zealand has secured the rights to host the World Netball Championships in 2007 after Fiji were stripped of the rights following their military coup this year. Kareyn Smith, vice president of the IFNA, said: "New Zealand was really the only viable option, and participating nations will just have to accept it. One big issue which will have to be looked at is the number of people who had already booked to travel to Fiji for the tournament in July, including

The New Zealand government has announced that the new minimum purchasing age to buy fireworks in New Zealand is 18-years instead of the current age of 14-years. Also the amount of time fireworks are available for sale during Guy Fawkes has been restricted to three days before Guy Fawkes night instead of ten days. The New Zealand Fire Service has welcomed the new restrictions despite them calling for a complete ban. The Environment minister, Honourable David Benson-Pope, said: "This aims to restrict young teenagers from purchasing these potenti