Politics

Yesterday, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, appeared before the Cole Inquiry into kickbacks paid to Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime. It is the first time in over a decade that a senior government official has been called to give evidence before a royal commission in Australia. The inquiry heard that Mr Vaile could not recall being told any specific details of the allegations made against the wheat exporter AWB before 2003, and despite his department receiving information about the allegations, it came as no surprise that he was not

On 9 and 10 April 2006, Italians voted to elect members of Parliament as well as the country's next Prime Minister. The election was fought mainly between coalitions: the centre-left L'Unione (The Union), led by Romano Prodi, and the currently-ruling centre-right House of Freedoms, led by incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Initial polls do not indicate a clear winner. The main party in L'Unione is the Federation of the Olive Tree, and the House Of Freedoms' main party is Berlusconi's Forza Italia party. It is expected that no part

French President Jacques Chirac has announced that the new youth job law that has fueled protests for the past few weeks is to be replaced by other measures to attack unemployment amongst young adults. Students and unions protested the new law, which would have given employers the freedom to fire youth workers under the age of 26 without reason during a two-year "trial period". The prospect had sparked somewhat violent protests across the country in the past two months. Union leaders have given government officials until Easter to withdraw th

Following a phyrrhic victory by the Thai Rak Thai party, Thailand's caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra resigned to try to defuse the country's political crisis. It remains unclear what the eventual outcome will be. In 38 constituencies, Thai Rak Thai (lit. Thais love Thais) stood unopposed and failed to garner support from the required 20% of eligible voters. Seven of those 38 may face the same ballot choice in the upcoming April 23 by-elections, according to the Thai-based English-language newspaper, the Bangkok Post. A repeat of th

Prime Minister Tony Blair launched a new crime-fighting agency to deal with "brutal and sophisticated" crimes by organised gangs. The agency's mandate and powers have been compared to that of the United States' FBI. The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), has approximately 4,200 "law enforcement officers", some of whom are ex-spies, and will use their £400m annual budget to fight counterfeiting, fraud, drug and people-trafficking. The agency was created out of the National Crime Squad, the National Criminal Intelligence Service and invest

Legislators in the Massachusetts General Court, their name for the state legislature, approved legislation on Tuesday, April 4, that would make it the first state in the United States to require all residents to have health insurance and impose penalties for non-compliance. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican who is expected to run for U.S. President in 2008, is expected to sign the bill. The bill passed the lower house, the Massachusetts House of Representatives by a vote of 155-2, and unanimously by the state senate. The Democ

According to papers filed in U.S. Federal Court by Patrick J. Fitzgerald on Wednesday, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former Chief of Staff, has told investigators that he was authorized by President Bush to divulge to reporters information from the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Saddam Hussein's efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Libby's testimony to the federal grand jury included the statement that he had received "approval from the President through the Vice President" to release portions of the NIE. Accor

At least seventy civilians were killed, with many more injured in an apparent suicide attack at the popular Buratha mosque in northern Baghdad soon after the Friday prayers. Police have said that two of the bombers were dressed as women. The attack comes a day after the Iraqi interior ministry issued a warning about possible attacks on mosques. The chief imam of Buratha mosque, Sheikh Jalaluddin al-Saghir, who is also a member of the Iraqi parliament, stated that Shias are being targeted "as part of this dirty sectarian war waged against them

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern have unveiled their plan to restore a power-sharing executive government in Northern Ireland by a deadline of November 24. The plan calls for the Northern Ireland Assembly's members to be recalled on May 15 and given six weeks to form an executive. If no results comes within six weeks, then the members are to be given another 12 weeks to attempt to form an executive. After that, if no result is achieved by November 24, then the salaries of all members will be s

The Australian government has received reports that a family of six people from the Indonesian province of West Papua are camping on Bamboo Island in the Torres Strait. The Australian customs service is trying to verify the accuracy of the reports. It is believed that the group consists of a union activist, his wife and four children. One of the children is believed to be two months old. A spokesman for Australian immigration minister Amanda Vanstone said that the government were aware of the reports but that it is an operational matter and n

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has announced a five year plan costing AU$1.8 billion to address issues with the country's mental health system. The plan follows a commitment made at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in February. The federal government will improve access to clinical and health services, increase the number of mental health professionals in Australia, create mental health work teams consisting of GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists and mental health nurses, provide respite services for people suffering m

Despite promising to step down before the new parliament convenes, caretaker Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is still embroiled in controversy. Opposition parties have stated they will not run in the by-elections on April 23. Democrat leader Jurin Laksanawisit was quoted in ThaiDay, an insert in the Thai edition of the International Herald Tribune as saying, "the three parties still do not trust him because he is still the caretaker Prime Minister and behind the person who will be the new prime minister." Leading candidates for the PM