The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the chief alliance of Opposition Parties in India, has rejected [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister}} Manmohan Singh's appeal to end its boycott of Parliament. A spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the chief opposition party, Sushma Swaraj termed the appeal as a "mere formality" which was akin to "rubbing salt to the wound".
"I appeal to leaders of the opposition to join the proceedings and this government is ready to discuss all issues and there is no issue which is barred from discussion,
In a victory that has come as a surprise to commentators, George Galloway, candidate for the RESPECT The Unity Coalition party, has won the election in Bethnal Green and Bow in the UK general election, 2005 with a majority of just 823. The seat had been held by Oona King, and with a majority of 10,057 in the United Kingdom general election, 2001, it had been considered to be a safe Labour Party seat.
RESPECT also took second place in East Ham and West Ham, pushing the Conservative Party into third place in both constituencies, and in Birmingh
Australian Prime Minister John Howard has made a qualified apology to an Australian citizen who was deported to the Philippines in 2001. The woman, who was born in the Philippines, is yet to be located.
"I am very sorry if anything unfair has happened in relation to that and on the face of it that does appear to be the case," Mr Howard said.
The woman had come into contact with New South Wales police after a car accident. Speaking but little English, she was then sent to the Philippines consulate in Brisbane, Queensland. She was then deporte
Speaking in Putney, London, where the Conservative candidate won the seat from Labour, Michael Howard has announced that he will not fight in the next General Election.
The Conservative leader stated that he would be 67 or 68 by the time of the next election, an age he believed to be too old to lead a party into power. Therefore, he would be making way for a successor so he or she can be well-established before the next election.
Howard stated that he would first reform the selection process for a new party leader before resigning, to avoid l
According to an TNS NIPO survey published today, a 68% majority of the Dutch agrees with the position that the Balkenende government is behaving itself as the "lap dog" ("schoothondje") of the United States.
The survey also stated 79% find that US President Bush overly pressures other countries to become and stay allies to the US. Over 70% agreed Europe should attempt to counterbalance the US, while 56% of the participants in the survey agree that Bush is a danger for world peace.
The survey was released the night before a Bush visit to the N
The United Kingdom General Election Results: Labour Conservative Lib Dems 355 197 62 DUP SNP Sinn Féin 7 6 5 Plaid Cymru SDLP UUP 3 3 1 RESPECT IKHH Ind. 1 1 1
Wikinews will have coverage of the election results at:
Results of 2005 United Kingdom General Election Background: Wikipedia, Wikinews' sibling project, has in-depth background articles on:
UK political parties
The UK House of Commons
The UK Parliament
United Kingdom politics
The 2005 UK general election was held on Thursday 5th May. The election resulted in a third term
Pakistan Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed announced Wednesday the capture of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, and five other suspected al-Qaeda militants, after a gun battle in Waziristan on Monday. Abu Faraj al-Libbi was wanted in connection with two attempts to assassinate Pakistan's President, Pervez Musharraf, one on December 25, 2004.
Security officials said the Libyan born al-Libbi was thought to be a top general for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and acted as an operational commander in Pakistan. Ahmed told AP, "This arrest gives us a lot o
Former Russian nuclear energy minister Yevgeny Adamov was arrested on Monday by Swiss authorities. The arrest came at the request of U.S. officials who claim he stole more than nine million dollars allocated by Washington to help improve Russian nuclear safety.
The Ministry of Justice in Switzerland said Adamov will be extradited to the US. The warrant allowing this states that he is charged with diverting money from the U.S. Department of Energy to several companies he controls.
Adamov's lead lawyer said he will fight the extradition warrant
Former Haitian Prime Minister Yvon Neptune has been weakened by a hunger strike and is believed to be in critical condition. He has refused medical care unless all charges against him have been dropped.
The secretary of the Dominican Armed Forces, Gen. Sigfrido Pared Perez, is reported by the Associated Press as saying Mr. Neptune would be flown to the Dominican Republic on Monday, and immediately to a hospital in Santo Domingo, the capital, but this plan was rejected by Mr. Neptune.
The former Prime Minister has been held for 10 months under
Romania's presidential advisor for foreign policy, Andrei Pleşu, resigned yesterday from his position. The resignation was signed by President Traian Băsescu, with the 56-year-old Pleşu saying that he is withdrawing from his position due to health problems. A press release by the presidency said that, until a new advisor is named, Anca Ilinoiu will act in the position of Pleşu.
Andrei Pleşu became the presidential advisor when Băsescu was elected as the president of Romania, in December 2004. The advisor had been complaining about his health p
A new, refurbished cafeteria at the Romanian Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest has opened for the use of parliamentarians. The new cafeteria, which has mahogany furniture and leather draped armchairs, was officially opened yesterday, and is situated at the entrance to the Senate headquarters in the Palace of the Parliament.
Members of Parliament said they were not satisfied with the former cafeteria in the Palace, saying that it didn't have proper tables and chairs to sit on. Many parliamentarians expressed their satisfaction at the openin
Delegations from every region of ex-Yugoslavia, except Kosovo, visited Josip Broz Tito's grave in Belgrade on a 25th anniversary of his death. Tito, the lifelong president of Yugoslavia from 1953, died on May 4, 1980 and was buried in the "House of Flowers" in Belgrade.
World War Two veterans, as well as youngsters, carrying Yugoslavian flags, laid down flowers on Tito's grave.
Two Macedonians, a 59-year-old Stojanche Kostovski and a 21-year-old Goce Velkovski, marched from Skoplje, Macedonia to Belgrade, Serbia to visit Tito's grave, coverin