Politics

On Super Tuesday, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, known more commonly as 'Joe the Plumber', won the U.S. Republican Party primary for Ohio's 9th congressional district, which represents Toledo. He defeated real estate agent Steve Kraus, 51 percent to 48 percent, and will now face incumbent Democratic Representative Marcy Kaptur, who has held the seat since 1983. Wurzelbacher received notice during the 2008 presidential election, when he asked a question about taxes to future president Barack Obama. Obama, who at the time was the Democratic Party p

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney won six of the ten U.S. Republican Party (GOP) presidential primary contests as part of Super Tuesday. Of the remaining four, former Senator Rick Santorum won three while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won one. Representative Ron Paul of Texas did not win any contests, but finished second in three. Romney scored victories in Ohio, Vermont, Massachusetts, Virginia, Idaho, and Alaska. In a victory speech to supporters in his home state of Massachusetts, he remarked, "tonight, we've taken one more s

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was elected to his third term as President of Russia after the country's Monday election, causing concern from local and international communities about the legitimacy of the election. According to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, Putin received nearly 65% of the vote, placing him vastly ahead of the Russian Communist Party's nominee for President, Gennady Zyuganov, who received 17.18% of the vote. European observers, including those from the Organization for Security and Coopera

The following is the fourth in a monthly series chronicling the U.S. 2012 presidential election. It features original material compiled throughout the previous month after a brief mention of some of the month's biggest stories. In this month's edition on the campaign trail, the Libertarian Party holds a primary in Missouri, Wikinews interviews a lesser-known Republican candidate focused on the nuclear situation in Iran, and a Democratic candidate disputes a "one-dimensional" label. Summary In February 2012, three well-known figures announced

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has described a possibility of a new cold war in the Middle East due to the Iranian nuclear programme. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon suggests negotiating with Iran by asking it to disprove the allegations of developing nuclear weapons. "If [the Iranians] obtain nuclear weapons capability, then I think other nations across the Middle East will want to develop nuclear weapons," Hague said. "The most serious round of nuclear proliferation since nuclear weapons were invented would have begun."

Three nations in three continents have seen attention focused on high suicide rates this week. A study found Scotland's suicide rate to be increasing away from neighbouring England, Russian press and politicians are examining the world's third-highest teen suicide rate, and new figures showed increasing Aboriginal children's suicides in Australia's Northern Territory. "Until the highest authorities see suicide as a problem, our joint efforts will be unlikely to yield any results," Boris Polozhy of Moscow's Serbsky psychiatric center said yeste

__NOTOC__ Standard & Poor's downgraded Egypt's currency rating for the second time in four months based on the country's shorfall in foreign reserves and shaky political transition. It's the latest development for a nation facing mounting economic diffuclties. Egypt's foreign reserves fell by over 50 percent last year to about US$16 billion. Egypt has requested US$3.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund to bolster its reserves and prevent a devalation but that could take months. Experts say that Egypt's problem of attracting foreign

Karen Handel, who was vice president of public policy for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, resigned yesterday, one week after the organization took flak for its decision not to fund Planned Parenthood. At her announcement, Handel criticized Planned Parenthood for leading an "orchestrated, clearly pre-meditated attack on Komen." The Komen Foundation is known for raising awareness of breast cancer and for its funding of breast cancer screening. Handel was a former Republican candidate for governor in the state of Georgia where she took a pro-life s

A neologism coined in advice columnist Dan Savage's column Savage Love in response to comments made by former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum about homosexuality has gained prominence during the ongoing election cycle in the United States. After Santorum spoke out against LGBT rights in the United States in 2003, readers of Savage’s column voted to define the word "santorum" as "the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex." The prominence of this term's association with Santorum, a current candidat

Susan G. Komen for the Cure has stopped funding breast cancer screening and educational programming on breast health run by fellow US-charity Planned Parenthood and its affiliates. The Komen institute cites an ongoing investigation, while Planned Parenthood blame political pressures. Planned Parenthood received nearly $700,000 from the Komen Foundation last year alone. In the last five years, the funding from the foundation has granted 170,000 women breast exams. Leslie Aun, a spokesperson for the Komen Foundation, said the organization ad

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel gave yesterday's opening address to the 42nd meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is facing a distinctly different geo-political landscape from twelve months ago. Outside the WEF security cordon, in the sub-zero temperatures of Davos' train station car park, the local incarnation of the Occupy movement are setting up 'Camp Igloo'; but, with little hope of the archetypes of the 1%, 'Davos Man', arriving by public transport and seeing their sub-zero protest. David Roth, heading the Swiss centre-lef

Across Egypt hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets for the day, marking exactly one year since the outbreak of protests leading to 83-year-old longstanding ruler Hosni Mubarak's downfall. The country's decades-long emergency rule was partially lifted this week; meanwhile, a possible economic meltdown looms and a newly-elected parliament held their first meeting on Monday. Despite the new parliament, military rule introduced following Mubarak's fall last spring remains. Echoing the demands from a year ago, some protesters are demandin