Politics

Relatively unknown Indiana Senator Evan Bayh is taking steps to make a run for U.S. President during the 2008 election cycle. Bayh has formed a political action committee (PAC) and already is a leading money-raiser among Democratic party hopefuls. The Hoosier politician also is touting his appeal to traditionally republican voters. Popular red state politician Among the selling points Bayh points to in his likely 2008 bid is that he is a democrat who consistently wins elections in republican red states by appealing to moderate republican and l

Officials of the Fanmi Lavalas party in Haiti threatened boycott of the upcoming general elections if one of their party leaders, Father Gerard Jean-Juste, is not released from jail. Jean-Juste is being jailed, arrested a month ago on July 21, in relation to the murder of journalist. The Fanmi Lavalas party is currently divided among moderate factions and those with closer ties to former President Aristide. Jean-Juste is believed to be a favorite presidential candidate for the party. A representative of the party, Gerald Gilles, commented s

Scotland Yard believes it has successfully identified a potential terrorist attack on the British Parliament's House of Commons being planned by an al-Qa'ida group. The plot was discovered by authorities after utilizing an informant's abilities to decipher encrypted e-mails. British police and MI5 then identified the terrorist cell that had been video recording potential targets. The reported plan was to involve the release of sarin gas, a highly toxic substance that the United Nations has classified as a weapon of mass destruction. As well

The ban on using the term "mate" as a form of address for fellow Australian security officers has been overturned. The ban was previously reported here on Wikinews 3 days ago. A daily email brief sent to security staff revoked the "mate" ban and suggested that security officers use their judgement about how to address visitors, employees and Parliamentarians. The edit said: "PSS officers are reminded to treat everyone in Parliament House with respect and courtesy, and to be sensitive to the expectations of visitors and building occupants. In

According to Online, 13 people were killed and over a hundred injured in armed clashes between rival political factions in Pakistan on Thursday August 18, 2005 local time. The attacks centered around polling stations throughout the country where elections for local offices were taking place. The first of the clashes occurred in the Bannu district in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province. There three people directly participating in the armed clashes were shot dead. Their political ties are unclear. Many others were injured in the inciden

Administrators Ferrier Hodgson are working to get troubled EG Green and Sons, trading as Harvey Beef, back open in two weeks. Approximately 600 workers are directly employed by the company, which is both a major employer in the region and the region's largest meat exporter. South West Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Rolf Stene was quoted as saying "It could affect a lot of people, those 600 workers at the abattoir, farmers, shopkeepers, the service industry it would hit a lot of people right throughout the community." The employ

A power outage in Indonesia that left about 100 million people without electricity has caused a political crisis. The country's state-owned energy monopoly, PLN, has not determined the immediate cause, and the country's president has ordered the national intelligence agency and police to investigate. The blackout appears related to deficiencies in Indonesia's power generation capacity. The power failure follows attempts to deal with the country's growing energy crisis, including conservation and trying to allow private companies to provide e

Mo Mowlam, the former Secretary for Northern Ireland, has died at 8.10am BST (07:10 UTC) in a hospice after a fall two weeks ago. She was 55. In a statement, prime minister Tony Blair called her "one of the shrewdest political minds I ever encountered. She was a natural politician, could read a situation and analyse and assess it as fast as anyone." Another former cabinet minister, Clare Short, said: "She was a very beautiful young woman, she survived ill health and helped bring peace to Northern Ireland and now she's gone far too young." M

Pierre Nkurunziza, leader of the former rebel group CNDD-FDD, has been elected unopposed as President of Burundi by the country's Senate and National Assembly. The CNDD-FDD had won landslide victories in communal and national elections earlier this year, the first since the 1993 assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye plunged Burundi into more than a decade of ethnically-charged civil war. Nkurunziza replaces Domitien Ndayizeye, who had served as head of a transitional government since 2003. One key challenge will be to resolve ongoing te

Abdelmajid Bouchar, a March 2004 Madrid terrorist attack suspect, was arrested in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, the Ministry for Internal Affairs said yesterday. He was arrested on June 23rd after he allegedly presented forged Iraqi identity documentation with a name "Midhat Salah" during a routine check by Serbian police. He is currently held in a prison in Padinska skela, near Belgrade. Spanish interior minister, Jose Antonio Alonso, said Spain will seek extradition. The man is accused of presenting false documents and immigration violat

Security guards at Parliament House in Canberra have been advised by internal memo not to use the word 'mate' when communicating with the public. The Speaker of the house has been asked to look into the directive after it was rumoured that a member of Parliament or a senior public servant complained about use of the common Australian term. The Secretary for the Department of Parliamentary Services said on ABC TV: "There was a feeling that they perhaps just needed a reminder that some informality, while it may be appropriate for some people, i

Microsoft has revealed prices for the Xbox 360, its new games console which goes on sale later this year. Details were made public by Chris Lewis, the Regional Vice President of Xbox across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, in an interview with the console's official website, Xbox.com. According to Lewis, the Xbox 360 will ship in two separate bundles — the full system, and the Core System. The full system is the premium edition; it comes with the components and accessories — including a detachable 20-gigabyte hard drive and wireless control