Politics

The South African government has set a six-month deadline for some white farmers to agree on sale prices for their farms. The government will be requiring them to sell the farms as part of its land redistribution programme. Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana said that if no agreement in reached in 6 months, the government could expropriate farmlands. Stating that negotiations have been too slow, in some cases taking many years, Xingwana said that some farm owners were seeking "unrealistic prices". Land owners claim they are n

Twenty-four thousand delegates from over 132 countries are expected to attend the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto this week Delegates include scientists, politicians, health care workers, government and non-governmental officials, people with AIDS and celebrities. In attendance will be Bill and Melinda Gates, Bill Clinton, Richard Gere, Olympia Dukakis and Sandra Oh. The theme of the conference is "Time to Deliver" and is meant to focus attention on the need to meet past promises to increase funding for treatment, care and prev

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved Resolution 1701 calling for a "full cessation of hostilities" in the Israeli-Lebanon war and for international and Lebanese troops to replace Israeli troops in south Lebanon. The UN decree comes on the heels of an Israeli government decision to expand its offensive in Lebanon. Sources say that Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert will bring the UN resolution to cabinet for discussion on Sunday. Daniel Ayalon, Israel's ambassador to the United States, said that his government was likely

Some of the United Kingdom's most influential British Muslims have written a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair saying that there must be urgent changes to UK foreign policy. In the memo, they say current government policy musters fanaticism and puts ordinary people at risk in both the United Kingdom and abroad. They also urge the Prime Minister to extend his efforts in tackling terrorism and extremism. The letter has been signed by three Muslim Members of Parliament, three Muslim peers and thirty-eight Muslim groups including the Muslim C

The New Zealand Government has asked the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand to start refining its taxpayer funded 'Buy Kiwi Made' scheme to also include products designed in New Zealand but manufactured elsewhere. The Buy Kiwi Made scheme was a NZ$11 million post-election deal between the Labour Party and the Green Party. Political experts say the reason for Labour to ask the Green party to refine the scheme was because it was afraid that companies, like clothes maker Icebreaker which manufactures its clothes outside of New Zealand would not

A Chinese government official convicted of working for the Taiwanese government has been executed, and thousands of civil workers viewed the taped trial for "educational purposes" on Monday. The prisoner's name was Tong Daning and was in his mid-50's and held a rank just under "Assistant-Minister" before he was found guilty of espionage. According to the anonymous sources, Daning had been selling state sources for over 15 years, making a profit of about US$250,000. Daning is the highest ranking person executed in China since 1999, when a Majo

Three-term US Senator Joe Lieberman has conceded defeat to challenger Ned Lamont in Tuesday's Democratic Party primary election in the US state of Connecticut. With 98% of precincts reporting, the Associated Press reports that Lieberman has 48% of the vote compared to 52% for Lamont. The winner of the primary faces the Republican Party candidate in the November 7 general election but Lieberman confirmed tonight his intention to petition to run as an Independent against both the Democratic and Republican nominees. The polls closed at 8 p.m. loc

There has been more fighting between Israel and Hezbollah as attempts to reach a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Lebanon continue. The Arab League is proposing an amendment calling for Israel's immediate and complete withdrawal from Lebanon, a condition that is not in the current draft. There are also objections to the resolution's call for Hezbollah to end all attacks whilst only requiring Israel to end "offensive" actions. Critics assert this wording gives Israel room to continue defensive operations. Lebanese parliamentary Speaker N

The Lebanese Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, told a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Beirut that an Israeli air strike killed more than 40 people in the village of Houla in southern Lebanon. However, he later revised the figure down to one. "An hour ago, there was a horrific massacre in the village of Houla in which more than 40 martyrs were victims of deliberate bombing", Siniora told the meeting. "If these horrific actions are not state terrorism then what is state terrorism?" he asked rhetorically. 65 survivors have been pulled out from

Residents of Kelso, New South Wales - a suburb of Bathurst in the state's Central West - may have been confused by a newsletter sent by the local council giving an incorrect date for the council's by-election. A by-election was called by the New South Wales State Electoral Office to fill vacancies left by the resignation of councillors Janice McGilcrist and Kath Knowles. Bathurst Regional Council dispatched a newsletter in Kelso on Friday which gave the date of the by-election as August 8. The information in this newsletter was incorrect - th

Canadians contact Stephen Harper about the war in Afghanistan, newly released records of telephone calls, letters, and emails to the Prime Minister reveal. "Callers would like him to resign and run in a byelection," says a report, citing 73 such calls. In February, most were congratulatory messages for the new prime minister, and other matters. In April, 1,805 pieces of correspondence and another 422 telephone calls dealt with Afghanistan-related issues. In May, the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) received 1,453 letters, and emails about Cana

Lebanon warned the U.N. today that the U.S.–French drafted UN Security Council resolution will not end the on-going conflict in Lebanon. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has left thousands homeless and threatens more. The resolution calls for a long-term buffer zone between Southern Lebanon and Northern Israel. Also the draft demands full cessation of all hostilities but makes no mention of any Israeli withdrawal, which is one of the points of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora's seven point proposal for ending the crisis. Mitri who