Politics

Former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet, 91, has suffered a heart attack early this morning. His son, Marco Antonio, declared that his father had received his last rites from a Catholic priest and that "he is in the hands of God and the doctors". Pinochet underwent a bypass surgery in the Hospital Militar in Santiago and his condition is reported to be critical but stable. Doctors have reported he is also suffering from pulmonary edema. Pinochet came to power in 1973 when the Chilean armed forces led a coup which deposed the left-wing presi

Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a state of national calamity Sunday in the wake of Typhoon Durian, allowing the government to more rapidly release funds needed to bolster search and rescue efforts. Relief efforts in the Philippines faced delays Sunday for survivors, as fears grew of a rising death toll in the archipelago nation from last week's storm. Red Cross officials recorded a death toll of at least 406, with 398 others missing and another 489 as injured, based on figures provided by mayors of devastated towns in the

Stephane Dion has won the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada today at Palais des congrès de Montréal with 2,521 (54.7%) votes to former Harvard academic Michael Ignatieff with 2,084 (45.3%) votes. Dion entered the convention as a dark horse but surged past three other candidates to win on the fourth ballot. The Liberal party dominated politics in Canada for the past century. The Conservative party won government in a January 2006 election held amid a desire for regime change and a patronage scandal in mostly French-speaking Quebec. "St

A local commander and his 11 men are alleged to have gang-raped a 22-year-old woman in Shahri Buzurg District of the northeastern Badakhshan province of Afghanistan on November 28. The crime was reported to have been committed in the Shah Dasht village by a local warlord called Mujtaba, who belongs to Jamiat-e-Islami Afghanistan, led by Burhanuddin Rabbani (now a member of the parliament). Local villagers told journalists that they have complained a number of times about brutalities and lawlessness in their village by warlords but police an

Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's son and daughter-in-law, Chen Chih-chung and Huang Jui-ching, returned to Taiwan Friday at 11:00pm Taipei time from New York. Huang Jui-ching is pregnant, and politicians in Taiwan of all stripes have called on her to come home to give birth. President Chen had promised in September that his daughter-in-law would give birth in Taiwan and that his grandson would not be an American. Politicians and media have speculated that the couple would give birth in the US. Chen Chih-chung stated that he and his wife

Demonstrations calling for Lebanon Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and his cabinet to resign lasted through Friday night and into Saturday. The protest, mobilized by Hezbollah and other opposition groups, has brought hundreds of thousands of demonstrators into the Beirut's Martyrs' Square and streets close to the government's headquarters. The demonstrators are imposing a blockade on the offices. "I wish that our prime minister and his ministers were here among us today rather than hiding behind army tanks and barbed wire," Michel Aoun, an influ

Raul Castro, the brother of Cuba's leader, Fidel Castro and Cuba's defense minister, has asked that negotiations be reopened with the United States as long as the U.S. "accepts that we Cuba are a country." Raul took over the country's leadership after Fidel became ill in July. "Let me take this opportunity to express our willingness to settle the long US-Cuba disagreement at the negotiating table. Of course, that is, as long as they accept that we are a country that does not tolerate any reduction of its independence, and based on the principl

Former environment minister Stéphane Dion has overtaken former frontrunners Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae to take the lead on the third ballot of the Liberal Party of Canada leadership convention. Dion now leads with 1,782 votes (37%) to Ignatieff's 1,660 votes (35.5%). With 1,375 votes (28.5%) Rae was the last candidate on the ballot and has been eliminated by the contest. He has released his delegates and has decided not to announce his voting intention for the fourth and final ballot. Former leadership contestants Joe Volpe and Ken Dryden,

The Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, Gothabaya Rajapakse narrowly escaped a suicide attack from suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels. The attack took place in downtown Colombo, the Sri Lankan Capital at 10:30 a.m., as a convoy carrying the Defence Secretary and other officials was attacked by a suspected terrorist in a three wheeler. Early reports indicate that Gothabaya, brother of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and vocal critic of the LTTE, escaped unscathed, while at least 2 people have died and 14 others were inju

The ex-leader of New Zealand's National Party, Dr Don Brash, has announced today that he has left his five year career in politics. Dr Brash had announced last week today that he was stepping down from leader of the National Party. Dr. Brash was to stay on in politics as long as the new leader, John Key, gave him a senior portfolio and front bench position, where it was thought there would be no room for Dr Brash. However Dr Brash did not comment on whether he had sought that kind of position. The front bench positions and a possible portfolio

New Zealand Members of Parliament will receive thousands more after getting pay increases today. The pay rises for backbench MPs are between 3.8% and 4.1% which will mean a backbench MP will now earn around NZ$122,500. The pay rises are to counter inflation next year of about 2.5% which will result in MPs receiving more money. Other MPs with senior positions will get rises of between 4% and 8.1%. This year the Prime Minister's increase will be worth just over $14,000 - paying her $6,942 a week. Helen Clark, PM of New Zealand, received a 9.4

At its official launch in Washington DC yesterday, the Appignani Humanist Legal Center (AHLC) announced its filing of a lawsuit in Florida challenging the use of a church as a polling place during the recent U.S. midterm elections. The AHLC is representing Jerry Rabinowitz and the action is against Arthur Anderson in his capacity as supervisor of elections for Palm Beach County. But the organization indicates that more lawsuits in other states are expected to follow—all being part of an effort to show that churches are improper polling places b