Politics

In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin adopted the following resolution at their state convention: CALLING ON THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO INITIATE IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST PRESIDENT BUSH, VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY AND DEFENSE SECRETARY RUMSFELD FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS WHEREAS, the Downing Street Memo shows that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld began planning and executing the war on Iraq before seeking Congressional and UN approval;WHEREAS, UN weapons inspectors showed prior to the invasion that there were no weapons

The Finnish Social Democrats have elected the party secretary Eero Heinäluoma as their leader at the party's annual Congress in the city of Jyväskylä. Other contestants for the post were the foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja and the education minister Tuula Haatainen. He was elected with 201 of the 350 possible votes, while Tuomioja got 101 and Haatainen got 11 votes. The election was required as the current leader, former prime minister and parliament speaker Paavo Lipponen has decided to leave after 12 years at the helm. Lipponen has also v

Some minutes before midnight local time on Thursday, Eduardo Rodriguez Veltzé, then President of the Supreme Court of Justice, took oath as the new president of Bolivia, a country that has found itself plunged in a serious crisis for several months. Earlier on Thursday, the Legislature had suspended the session that had predicted, in the House of the Liberty of Sucre, to decide the name of the new president of the Bolivians, due to the intensified protests after it become known that a minor was killed by the Army. The demonstrations also brou

Copenhagen, Denmark - The Danish Integration Minister Rikke Hvilshøj's car was set ablaze outside her family-home on the morning of Wednesday 8 June. From there, the fire spread to the family's garage, and further on to the side of the house, damaging the roof above the kitchen and children's room. At the same time, an e-mail was sent to several media agencies, where a group calling themselves "Action Group Beate" claimed responsibility, saying it is a "protest against the racist immigrational laws of Denmark". The police found the computer us

Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary for the United Kingdom, said on Monday that the UK will not vote as planned on the new constitution for the European Union. "Until the consequences of France and the Netherlands being unable to ratify the treaty are clarified it would not in our judgment now be sensible to set a date," said Straw. A British poll indicates 56% would vote "no" at this point if given a chance, while only 22% would vote "yes". Following the UK's decision, the Czech Republic also suspended its referendum. Prime Minister Jiri Par

Republican Dino Rossi, Washington State Gubernatorial Candidate in the 2004 election, said that he will not appeal the decision made today in Chelan County Superior Court by John Bridges after he ruled that the Republicans failed to prove Rossi would have won the election if illegitimate votes were not counted. “Unless an election is clearly invalid, when the people have spoken their verdict should not be disturbed by the courts,” said Bridges in his verdict. With the appeals over the closest gubernatorial race in U.S. history has finally end

Despite the strong 'no' votes in both France and the Netherlands, the Irish foreign minister Dermot Ahern has confirmed that Ireland will still hold a referendum on the proposed European Union constitution. This comes following the Irish rejection of the Nice Treaty in 2002. Speaking to BBC radio Mr. Ahern said "We've made a decision based on the commitment that we gave when we put the constitution together in draft form." He went on to say "Over 50 percent of the population of Europe have already ratified the convention. What do you say to th

Following elections in the country of Kuwait on June 2, two women were appointed for the first time ever to the Kuwaiti municipal council. This follows a historic decision on May 16 that granted Kuwaiti women the right to vote and run for public office in future elections. The Kuwaiti Minster of Social Affairs, Faysal al-Hajji, said that "During its weekly meeting on Sunday, the cabinet named two women to the municipal council for the first time in the history of Kuwait." The women are: Sheikha Fatima al-Sabah, architect and member of the A

The government of Canada is fighting to keep Washington from having access to passenger lists for Canada's domestic flights. The Canadian transport minister Jean Lapierre said two-thirds of Canada's domestic flights at some point cross through American air space. The Minister said he may have to re-route them (around U.S. airspace) rather than breach the privacy rights of domestic Canadian passengers. In plans which are not yet finalized, Washington recently warned Canada (and other countries) the U.S. intends to require that its no-fly list p

There are often odd, unusual and controversial items up for sale on eBay - multi-million euro planes, the Pope's old car and a young woman's virginity, to name just a few. But how about the Prime Minister's shoes? Shoes custom designed for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher have been put up for sale on eBay. The shoes, which have a reserve price of £2,930 (US $3,580), are currently owned by 65 year old Eleanor Graham. Ms. Graham bought them in a Sue Ryder charity shop after seeing a member of Thatcher's staff drop them in the sho

Patsy Calton from Bramhall, Cheshire, England, a Liberal Democrat MP for the Cheadle constituency died at age 56 from cancer on Sunday May 29. The Liberal Democrat party leader Charles Kennedy described her as a "spirited and courageous" politician. She was first elected to the Cheadle constituency by the slim margin of 33 votes in the 2001 election. She was then re-elected just 24 days before her death with a greatly increased majority of 4020, in spite of not campaigning herself due to the illness. She was a staunch supporter of a ban on sm

Newly named Prime Minister of France Dominique de Villepin has had his cabinet accepted by President of the Republic Jacques Chirac. Head of the majority Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party, Nicolas Sarkozy, comes as a second-in-command as Minister of the Interior, with the honorific rank of Minister of State. The Ministry of the Interior is traditionally one of the most important positions in the cabinet, with that of Finances; the Minister of the Interior is in charge, notably, of law enforcement and relationships with local governments