Politics

Salomón Lerner, President of Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which has investigated human rights abuses in the country, has received death threats and anti-Semitic emails, according to Human Rights Watch. The 12-member commission published its major report , covering abuses committed over the last two decades, on 28 August 2003. Since then the commission has come under fierce attack from retired military personnel and politicians. Largely as a result of the commission's findings, 378 Peruvians are currently facing criminal charg

The president of Romania, Traian Băsescu, announced today that he would call a referendum next year asking Romanians whether they approve the switch to a unicameral legislature. Romania currently has a bicameral parliamentary structure, similar to the United Kingdom and United States, with a Chamber of Deputies as the lower house and a Senate as the upper house. In the past month, however, President Băsescu has stated that he would like to see the replacement of the current system with a unicameral parliament, consisting of only one chamber,

Officials in Sri Lanka have confirmed that an explosion, which occurred during morning rush hour in Colombo, injured one person. The explosion occurred outside a newspaper office of a political party allied with the Sri Lankan government. There have not been any claims of responsibility yet, although a senior police officer has said that the bomb was planted in a van belonging to the political party, which used to be a militant group against the government.

A member of the French National Assembly, René Dosière, denounces the "opacity" in the budget of the Élysée Palace, the office of the President of the French Republic. According to him, the president's real budget is approximately three times the budget given for his services in the yearly national budget voted by the French Parliament, because many employees and services are provided by other ministries and public services free of charge to the presidency, and thus are counted in other budgets. As an example, the French Ministry of Defense pr

Alberto Fujimori, the former president of Peru currently in de facto exile, showed his intention to run in the Peruvian presidential election of April 2006 at a press conference in Tokyo reportedly. Fujimori was stripped of the presidency by the Peruvian parliament in 2000 during his visit to Japan. Since then, he has been able to remain in Japan due to the dual nationality which he holds as a result of his parents having been Japan-born immigrants, even though a Peruvian court accused him and requested that the Japanese government deport him

For the first time, the United States Mint will feature a president facing forward on a coin. President Thomas Jefferson will face forward on the 2006-dated five cent coin. This image is based on an 1800 painting of the president by Rembrandt Peale. This design is referred to by the mint as the "Jefferson 1800". "The changing images in the Westward Journey Nickel Series™ lead us back to Thomas Jefferson, who envisioned the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark expedition as a way to move the Nation forward. The image of a forward-looking

President Bush has asked Congress to discuss the option of allowing him to deploy military resources if avian flu breaks out in America. "I'm concerned about what an avian flu outbreak could mean for the United States and the world," said the president in a conference today. The president also expressed concern that local response would be slow, given the precedent provided by the recent gulf coast hurricane disasters, the aftermath of which has triggered widespread criticism for what many view as instances of long-delayed and inadequate deli

St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, a large organ transplantation center, reports that a low priority Saudi liver transplant patient received improper priority, and the actions were concealed. Hospital President Gus Valdespino confirmed that hospital staff members falsified documents several times to cover up the maneuver, pretending that the transplant was for a patient who was near the top of the regional waiting list, when the Saudi patient was 52nd on the state's liver transplant list. Priority is believed to have been

President George W. Bush today nominated Harriet Ellan Miers to replace Sandra Day O'Connor as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who announced her retirement intentions July 1, 2005. Bush originally nominated John G. Roberts, Jr. to replace O'Connor, but following the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Roberts was renominated and confirmed as Chief Justice of the United States. Bush's nomination was not totally unexpected because senators from both political parties reportedly suggested her as a potential nom

The Christian Democrats (CDU) of Angela Merkel have won the by-election in Dresden and gained one additional overhang seat in the Bundestag. A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between general elections. The CDU candidate Andreas Lämmel received 37.0% of the first votes, his Social Democratic contender Marlies Volkmer won 32.1% and the candidate of The Left, Katja Kipping, earned 19.2%. The SPD performed better at the second election, winning 27.9%, followed by the CDU w

John G. Roberts Jr. was sworn in as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States on Thursday, September 29, 2005, hours after being confirmed by the United States Senate by a 78-22 vote. The oath of office was administered by Justice John Paul Stevens, who has served as acting chief justice since the death of William Rehnquist. President George Bush commented "The Senate has confirmed a man with an astute mind and kind heart. All Americans can be confident that the 17th chief justice of the United States will be prudent in exercising judicial

The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has begun debating a bill requiring that all Governmental agencies be given a 10 year shelf life, at which time they may be reinstated by a committee appointed by the President or cease to exist within two to four years. The White House supports the proposed bill. The senate debate will cover such issues as how difficult it will be for the President's sunset commission to recommend the elimination of an agency, and how much the public will be permitted to participate. M