Politics

Deputy to the Iraq Health Minister, Ammar al-Saffar, who lives with his sister in Baghdad's Sunni neighbourhood of Adhamiya, was kidnapped today. It is reported that six uniformed men and others wearing suits, arrived at Mr Saffer’s home in police cars and pickup trucks and took him off. As one of the deputies to the Health Minister, Mr Saffer called earlier this year for as much as $8 Billion to restore Iraq’s health services. On August 9, 2006, Mr Saffar discussed the health situation in Iraq with the BBC. He said that the insurgents were

The Palestinian group Islamic Jihad may stop firing rockets into Israel, following a request to that effect by President Mahmoud Abbas. Mr. Abbas met leaders of the group and urged them to halt the violence. "Abbas said the truce is a national necessity. We said the truce must be mutual ... and part of a national consensus." said Khedr Habib, an Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza. The group's website quoted Khaled al-Batch, another leader of the group, as saying the proposal was "worth studying." While Islamic Jihad is not the only group to fire ro

Royal is now a leading candidate to succeed Jacques Chirac in May 2007. She was elected yesterday by over 100,000 activists after a moderate, and some say Blairite, campaign. In the early hours of Friday morning, the result of a vote by members of the French Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste, PS) was announced, with centrist Ségolène Royal leading the poll to become their candidate in next year's election for President of the Republic. While many parties contest the presidential elections, the winner is expected to be an official candidate o

Veteran broadcast journalist Sir David Frost recently interviewed British Prime Minister Tony Blair for Al Jazeera English. In the first episode of "Frost over the World", a series of weekly interviews broadcast on Al Jazeera English in Britain by Sky TV, Frost asserted that "Iraq had been pretty much of a disaster from the start". Responding, Blair said difficulties arose from "a deliberate strategy with al-Qaeda with Sunni insurgents on one hand, Iranian-backed elements with Shia militias on the other, to create a situation in which the wil

New Zealand politician and head of the United Future party, Peter Dunne, has defended the group of 12 girls from St Margaret's College who attempted to do an "undie run" through Christ's College. Both schools are located in Christchurch, New Zealand. According to newspaper, The Press, the 12 year 13 (seventh form) girls were stopped by staff who worked for Christ's College when they arrived at the school in their underwear. It has been reported that the girls' punishment is to banned from the Leavers Dinner that takes place at the end of the

Stephen Harper is set to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. Harper arrived in Hanoi at about 7:30 a.m. ET on yesterday. On Wednesday, the Chinese government proposed the meeting during the APEC conference between the two leaders, the Chinese government withdrew from the meeting right after Harper agreed to it. They said they would signal at the eleventh hour that its president would meet with Mr. Harper. They added that China rejects any criticism of its human-rights situat

Ex-Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson has decided to launch an exploratory committee early next year to explore a possible 2008 White House bid. Thompson is one of three large Republican candidates to form exploratory committees in the past week. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) and Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani both have formed committees; Giuliani's has already begun work and McCain's will begin work after the Christmas holiday. "I will be forming an exploratory committee for president after the first of the year, and then I will be

Islamist groups have vowed large scale protests after Pakistan's Parliament amended laws to transfer rape cases from Sharia courts to civil courts. Sharia courts in Pakistan, based on Islamic religious law, try rape cases under "Hudood" laws instituted in 1979. The laws say that a rape victim must herself face adultery charges unless she can produce four Muslim male witnesses to the rape. The maximum sentence for adultery is death by stoning. The laws are widely condemned by women's rights groups as an almost impossible burden of proof. Human

Rioting erupted in Tonga today in protest at the slow pace of democratic reform, with rampaging protesters setting fire to buildings and overturning police and government vehicles. The violence erupted two months after the death of the South Pacific nation's conservative king. Rioting crowds overturned cars, looted and set fire to shops and offices, and stoned government buildings including the prime minister's office. "Five or possibly six people appear to have been killed," Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said. Downer said

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the Duke of Edinburgh are set to visit the United States in May 2007 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown Settlement. This will be Her Majesty’s fourth State Visit to the United States. Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh welcomed President and Mrs. Bush on a State Visit to the United Kingdom at Buckingham Palace in November 2003 – during that visit, Her Majesty paid tribute to the 'special relationship' between the United Kingdom and the United States. A statement re

Incumbent President Joseph Kabila has been declared the winner of the 2006 Presidential elections by the Independent Electoral Commission of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Chairperson of the electoral commission, Apollinaire Malu Malu, announced that Kabila polled 58 percent of the vote to his rival Jean-Pierre Bemba's 42 percent, in the run-off vote held on October 29. Kabila has called for calm following the announcement by the election commission. Bemba has released a statement saying he does not accept the declared election result.

Nobel laureate Milton Friedman has died at the age of 94, his family announced. Friedman is considered to be one the most influential economists of the past century. Friedman won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1976 and essentially defined the theory of Monetarism. He served on U.S. President Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board and significantly influenced post-WWII economic policy in the U.S. He was a leading figure in the Chicago school of economics.