Politics

Harry Whittington, the person who was shot by Vice President Dick Cheney in a hunting accident, was released from the hospital today. He said to reporters that "My family and I are deeply sorry for all that Vice President Cheney and his family have had to go through this week." Only minutes later, Cheney received a standing ovation from Wyoming lawmakers. "I want to thank you for that welcome home," Cheney said in his first public appearance after the shooting, when he was addressing the Wyoming state Legislature. The chief of emergency care

The Australian House of Representatives have considered the bill regarding whether the Australian Health Minister Tony Abbott, or the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) regulate the abortifacient mifepristone (RU486), and has passed the bill unamended. Earlier today, the Prime Minister John Howard (Australian Liberal Party, Bennelong) has spoken on the amendments earlier proposed by Jackie Kelly (Liberal, Lindsay) and Andrew Laming (Liberal, Bowman), speaking in favour of the Laming amendments and reiterating his support for Abbott, statin

Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy of France went on French TV and accused Iran of having a "clandestine" nuclear program saying, "no civilian nuclear program can explain the Iranian nuclear program. So it is a clandestine Iranian military nuclear program. The international community has sent a very firm message by saying to the Iranians: 'Come back to reason. Suspend all nuclear activity and the enrichment of uranium and the conversion of uranium', but they are not listening to us. That is the reason why, for the first time for days, the i

In a move that has been greeted with dismay by some groups, Thailand's Constitutional Court has rejected a petition submitted by 28 of the country's senators. The petition levelled allegations against the Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, of having maintained influence over Shin Corporation and been involved in the decision to sell the family's remaining stake in the company to Temasek Holdings, the investment arm of the Singapore Government. The court's decision to reject the petition seeking impeachment was reached following an 8-6 vote.

The ongoing debate over whether the Australian Health Minister Tony Abbott, or the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) regulate the abortifacient mifepristone (RU486) has complicated with a number of members proposing amendments to the Senate bill, now in the House of Representatives. Jackie Kelly (Australian Liberal Party, Lindsay) has said that "There should be a transparent process in which the minister is accountable for his or her decision" on so-called restricted goods (of which RU486 is such a good) as listed in the TGA legislation.

The Bundesverfassungsgericht has declared legislation which would have allowed the German Air Force to shoot down hijacked passenger planes unconstitutional. The Luftsicherheitsgesetz (literally: Aviation Safety Act) was passed in January 2005 and mainly dealt with uncontroversial matters concerning the safety at airports. One provision however allowed the minister of defense to order the Air Force to shoot down a hijacked plane as a last resort if it could be presumed that that plane would be used as a weapon to kill people on the ground. Th

On February 14, 2006, the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court sentenced Omri Sharon, son of the comatosed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, to a nine month prison term, a nine month suspended sentence, and a 300,000 Shekel (USD 63,500) fine. Omri's lawyers have already stated they will appeal a "exceptionally harsh verdict". Ariel Sharon has not been charged so far. Judge Beckenstein decided to delay his prison sentence six months due to the current health of his father. Beckenstein was quoted as saying: "This is a swamp of political corruption and it must

Harry Whittington, the hunter accidentally shot by Dick Cheney, suffered a mild heart attack Tuesday. Physicians explained that one of the shotgun pellets still in Mr. Whittington moved to his heart. Doctors have decided to leave the pellet rather than risk surgery in the 78 year old attorney. They are still optimistic that Whittington will make a full recovery. He is currently in stable condition.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has linked cannabis use to mental illness, and called for state governments to take a tougher line on the drug. Speaking at a meeting of Federal, state and territory leaders, Mr Howard said that fighting drug abuse would be a significant element of the new mental health strategy. At a COAG press conference on Friday, Mr Howard explicitly stated that there was a relationship between cannabis use and mental illness. "We need, as part of the campaign on mental health, to address cannabis and amphetamine abuse

United Kingdom newspaper The Independent has run a story scrutinizing the accuracy of Wikipedia articles, using eight experts in various fields to comment on particular articles' validity. The experts' opinions ranged on topics from the Russian Revolution of 1917 to Kate Moss, Tony Blair and invitro fertilization. Wikipedia SubjectAuthorQuoteAnn Widdecombe, politician and writerAnn Widdecombe"I think overall that the entry is much better than Dod's parliamentary guide...The entry is pretty good though, I would give them 9.5 out of 10." "BBC Ra

According to the Thai News Agency Sondhi Limthongkul, an outspoken critic of the government and Prime Minister, may face legal action. This would not be the first time the de-facto leader of the campaign to oust the Prime minister has faced legal action over his words. In 2005, a number of lawsuits were filed by the Prime Minister against Sondhi, most notable being a 1 billion baht suit in November. Thailand's King, Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama the ninth) made use of his 78th birthday speech to comment on the issue and advise that the government

The majority Shia group in Iraq has nominated Ibrahim Jaafari for Prime Minister. He was chosen in a tight vote with Vice-President Adel Abdel Mahdi. United Iraqi Alliance, who backed both men, chose a nominee today after talks amongst party leaders concerning the nomination, which had originally stalled on Saturday. There is little doubt that Mr Jaafari will lead the new government considering that the UIA is the largest of the Iraqi political parties. However, many say that he will be faced with the challenge of getting the support of the