Politics

Native Americans are petitioning Congress to investigate the elite Skull and Bones group and return what they believe are the remains of Apache warrior Geronimo for reburial. The petition alleges that Geronimo's grave was robbed in 1918 by members of the society, including Prescott Bush, President George W. Bush's grandfather. The alleged graverobbers stole Geronimo's head and his prized silver bridle, which had been buried with him. These allegations are also within a book by Yale graduate, Alexandra Robbins, titled; "Secrets of the Tomb". R

Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, who was Colin Powell's chief-of-staff, is attracting news headlines around the globe by publicly accusing members of the Bush administration. He said in a speech at the New America Foundation: "What I saw was a cabal between the Vice President of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, on critical issues that made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made." Regarding Karen Hughes's attempts to improve the country's image abroad? "It's hard to sell [manu

In a joint statement Friday by Australian federal Roads Minister Jim Lloyd and his New South Wales counterpart Joe Tripodi said that tolls were being considered to fast track upgrades of the Pacific Highway. Over Half of the highway between the F3 freeway terminus at Beresfield on Newcastle and the Queensland border is still single carriageway. Despite the New England Highway being the "national" highway from the F3 to Brisbane, traffic along the Pacific Highway is almost three times heavier on most sections . By 2021, traffic on the Pacific H

Egyptian opposition leader and former candidate in presidential election Ayman Nour has been sentenced today for 5 years imprisonment, as it was reported by both officials and Nour's lawyer. According to the court, he and his liberal democratic party, Ghad, falsified signatures required to register a political party in January 2005. Both Nour's punishment and his imprisonment have been condemned by the international community. Nour, who stood as a candidate in the recent presidential election, held on September 7 2005, claims that there was po

The first round of the presidential elections, currently scheduled for January 8, 2006, might have to be delayed, according to some members of the electoral council. This would mark the 4th time the presidential elections have been moved, and the 5th time for all elections. The chairman of the council, Max Mathurin, expressed concern over political unrest that could occur if conditions were not adequate to ensure fair elections. He said, "If certain major technical problems are not solved, elections on Jan. 8 could be a catastrophe." The pr

Chad has declared their border with Sudan a "military operations zone" and has also declared a "state of belligerance" exists between Chad and Sudan. Chadian President Idriss Deby described Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir as an "enemy of Chad." The government also called on its citizens to "mobilize against this Sudanese aggression." This comes at the heels of increased aggression between the two nations, namely the December 18 attacks against the border town of Adre. While the Chadian government fell short of declaring war against S

According to the Miami Herald, sources in the United States and in Haiti are saying that at least 2 of the potential presidents who are running in the upcoming Haitian elections have ties to the trafficking of cocaine, and 3 candidates for all positions. The Miami Herald names the 2 presidential candidates as Guy Philippe and Dany Toussaint. Guy Philippe is the rebel leader who participated in the 2004 Haitian rebellion which ousted former president Aristide. Philippe has long been thought to be part of the trafficking of cocaine through Hai

Evo Morales has fallen foul of a “bad taste joke” by a Catholic radio station joker who posed as the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Rodriguez Zapatero. The voice imitator telephoned Evo Morales to congratulate him for “joining the Cuban-Venezuelan axis” and asked him to make Spain his first international destination as president of Bolivia. The journalist involved in the hoax is said to be an anti-socialist activist very critical of Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez and the government of Rodriguez Zapatero. Erick Torrico, chairman of the Area of Communi

The Conservative Party of Canada leader Stephen Harper today made bold claims about the Canadian Arctic region at a campaign stop in Winnipeg, "The single most important duty of the federal government is to protect and defend our national sovereignty." . The prime minister-hopeful stated, "There are new and disturbing reports of American nuclear submarines passing though Canadian waters without obtaining the permission of —or even notifying — the Canadian government." Harper promised a significant increase in military presence in the Canadian

Lech Kaczyński, conservative politician from Poland, internationally controversial for having refused, as mayor of Warsaw, to authorize the Equality Parade for gay rights on June 11, 2005 in Warsaw, has taken the office of President in the country today, after swearing an oath before the National Assembly (joined houses of Sejm and Senate). For the first time since 1989 the former presidents of Poland, Lech Wałęsa and Aleksander Kwaśniewski, have been invited to the swearing ceremony. Kaczyński hasn't got the insignia of authority of the Secon

After months of threats from the states to take the federal government of Australia to the High Court of Australia over its Work Choices Act, New South Wales has formally lodged a writ with the High Court. Other states have indicated that they will follow the New South Wales government's lead. The 30-page Statement of Claim lodged by NSW Industrial Relations Minister John Della Bosca and Solicitor-General Michael Sexton claims that the Work Choices Act is unconstitutional as the act extends the commonwealth's powers beyond what the constitutio

In an article in the December 2005 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), researchers from Oxford University report that two recent avian flu fatalities in Vietnam were patients who had been treated with the anti-viral medication Tamiflu. There has been one other reported case of Tamiflu-resistance in Vietnam. The NEJM report documents that during treatment of H5N1-infected patients with Tamiflu there can be selection for mutant virus variants that are Tamiflu-resistant. This is also been observed with other more common flu v