Politics

Limassol. At least two people have died at a Cypriot army aircraft crash in the village of Kolossi this morning, west of the island's southern coastal town of Limassol. Kolossi is a community of some 2,000 Britons, Germans and Cypriots. Director of the President's Press Office Marios Karoyan told CNA that the aircraft was a PC - 9 (Pilatus). It is one of the two training military aircraft of the National Guard (Cyprus Army) and according to the first reports two people have died, believed to be the two pilots. Defence Minister Kyriakos Mavro

With only one week to go till the German federal election, all polls say it's impossible to predict who will govern the country for the next four years (for the polls see end of article). Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) had headed the polls for over two years. Only three months ago, when chancellor Gerhard Schröder proclaimed he would seek early elections, a move that at the time was considered to be political suicide by many commentators, it seemed not unlikely that the CDU could even govern on its own, without an coalition partner.

In a press release on September 8 from the Swedish Ministry of Education, Research and Culture it was announced that new television broadcasting licenses for the Swedish digital terrestrial television network was to be given and that the Radio and Television Authority (RTVV) had been given the task to handle the applications. All digital television licenses will cease by the end of 2005 and the companies must apply for a renewal if they want to continue broadcasting in 2006 and 2007. Minister Leif Pagrotsky says in the press release that he is

Israel destroyed their last remaining military facilities in the Gaza Strip today, leaving behind as few remnants of the occupation as possible. Soldiers placed explosives in the buildings, and watched as they were destroyed, sources say. Shaul Mofaz, Israel's Defense Minister, expects the final pullout from Gaza to be completed by Monday or Tuesday. The remaining military troops in Gaza remain in military vehicles while waiting for the pullout. It is being currently debated in the Israeli cabinet as to whether the synagogues will be demolish

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has apologised to Britons affected by Hurricane Katrina. Many British citizens who were trapped in the New Orleans have complained to the British Foreign Office about the lack of response from their government after the hurricane destabilized almost 200 miles of the United States gulf coast. British nationals living and vacationing in New Orleans reported that U.S. authorities had refused to evacuate them as Hurricane Katrina approached the city, leaving them stranded in their hotels. President George W. Bush

The German Anarchist Pogo Party ran a campaign ad (Download here — NSFW) which, instead of discussing the party's politics, featured various party scenes set to a heavy metal soundtrack. The spot included revelers smashing furniture, pouring beer down each other's throats, and women dancing topless. The spot ends with the proclamation: "My vote for the rubbish". The ARD refused to air the ad because it "violates the human dignity" and showed only a heavily censored version at an earlier airtime. The Party then sued the station and got an inju

The death of a candidate for the Bundestag could delay the final outcome of the German federal election by several weeks. The 43-year old Kerstin Lorenz, of the far right NPD, suffered a stroke during a campaign appearance on Monday and slid into a coma. She died on Wednesday in the hospital. The NPD must now nominate a new candidate for the constituency of Dresden I and election officials have to reprint hundreds of thousands of ballot papers. Also, the vote of anyone who already sent in their absentee ballot will be declared invalid, and th

Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine announced the dismissal of his government Thursday, under accusations of graft and political infighting. Amongst those dismissed was Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Yushchenko, who won the Presidency almost one year ago, in what became known worldwide as the "Orange Revolution" had vowed to stamp out the corruption that was widespread under Leonid Kuchma. Most of the dismissed officials took part in the revolution that swept the popular Yushchenko into power. Yushchenko announced that Yuriy Yekhanuro

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has been criticised for refusing to cut the fuel excise tax as petrol prices reach up to $1.40 AUD per litre in parts of the country. The criticism by Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has been particularly vocal, claiming that the government simply does not want to lose the revenue the excise generates. The Queensland government subsidises fuel in the state with GST revenue. "The reality is they cream off a huge amount every day. He can do something about it if he really wants to," Mr Beattie said. Mr How

On Monday the electoral council of Haiti decided to move back the presidential elections, slated to take place on November 6th, to a new date of November 20th. The first round will take place on that date and the second round of voting will take place on January 3. Also the council announces that the previously moved municipal elections will take place on December 11th. Before it was only known that they had been moved to December. The postponement come off of concerns of security and registration problems.

French President Jacques Chirac continued his hospital stay Tuesday in what a government spokesperson describes as favorable conditions. Chirac was admitted on Friday to a military hospital in central Paris, where doctors called his condition a "small vascular incident" that hindered his vision. Doctors report such a problem as he was having could range from a ruptured blood vessel to a stroke, since more than 80% of strokes are caused by blockage in an artery carrying blood to the brain. The problem reddened and bothered the eyesight of the

__NOTOC__ In a press release issued Saturday, September 3rd, 2005, Democratic Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana claims that President Bush staged a photo opportunity, at the breached 17th Street levee, by having equipment quickly moved into the background during the event. Senator Landrieu says the equipment was dispersed elsewhere the next day, but did not provide details. Landrieu says in her press release, " ... we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw