Politics

As Tom DeLay's (Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas), alleged ethical lapses began to dominate American political news stories and the Sunday talk shows, have led some Republican members of the Majority Leader’s own party to question the reasoning for his refusal to account for his actions or resign. Last year, in a glimpse of problems yet to surface, the Republican head of the U.S. House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, or "House Ethics Committee", presided over three admonitions that included offering

A 33-year old visitor to the United States, named Wen Hao Zhao from Sydney, Australia, was arrested at the Capitol building on Monday, after he was observed by police standing in a "statue-like pose" and carrying two suitcases. When confronted by officers of the United States Capitol Police (USCP) who were called to the scene at 12:45 p.m. EST, he is reported to have been unresponsive to questioning. "He only would say at first that he wanted to speak to President Bush," according to USCP Chief Terrance W. Gainer. Some reports suggest that

In controversial reporting by the Israeli media, Moshe Katsav, the President of Israel, reportedly shook hands with two Mideastern leaders, the Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and Syrian President Bashar Assad, during his trip to the Pope's funeral on April 8. If true, it is a notable incident and the first time leaders of the two anti-Zionist nations of Iran and Syria have ever shaken hands with an Israeli leader. Syria is still technically in a decades-old state of war with Israel since an end to it was never officially declared. Peace

Romania's Ministry of European Integration has made public the text of the European Union's Accession Treaty with Romania and Bulgaria, making it available on its website. The text of the treaty is available freely, in Romanian, at . The Accession Treaty, which is due to be voted by the European Parliament on April 13 and signed on April 25, is the legal document facilitating Romania and Bulgaria's accession to the EU, which, according to the treaty, will take place on January 1, 2007. The treaty's content has been posted online in order to i

A Romanian been found and declared safe, according to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Romanian, which has as of yet only been identified by his last name, Dinca, had been kidnapped by soldiers dressed as civilians. Dinca was the president of Mega Star Congo Company, a Romanian enterprise operating in the DRC. After his kidnapping, one of his employees said that his boss had been kidnapped by military subordinates of a Congolese general who had been watching and following Dinca for the previous two weeks. Other employees confirme

In a document dated March 30, 2005 by a group calling itself "the 70 million people of Iran," a declaration was issued asking the current government of The Islamic Republic of Iran to "...peacefully surrender the power to its rightful owners..." by June 16 of this year. The group's relationship to political parties in Iran is not known. The document addresses the Supreme Leader Khamenei, Chairman Akbar Rafsanjani of the Expediency Council, and President Khatami, and enumerates the group's grievances against the regime. It threatens boycotts

Bill Clinton, the former President of the United States of America, will make a visit to Romania on May 21, to participate as the keynote speaker at the BeyondBorders 2005 conference in Bucharest. The conference will have the theme of "Branding a Country: Building a Reputation from Within" and is the inaugural BeyondBorders conference launched by the Brand Academy, the first Romanian institution dedicated to brand education. Clinton's previous visit to Romania was July 11, 1997, when he visited the country to promote political and military int

The President of Romania, Traian Băsescu, met yesterday with Jonathan Scheele, the head of the European Commission's Delegation to Bucharest, as well as with several European parliamentarians (MEPs). The parties discussed Romania's accession to the EU, which is particularly important as the Accession Treaty is scheduled to be signed late this month, after being voted on by the European Parliament on April 13. Băsescu told the delegation that European integration remains Romania's first priority at the moment, and that after negotiations were c

The Romanian Prime Minister, Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu discussed on Thursday the involvement of Siemens in regard to the privatisation of Romanian locomotive company Electroputere. Electroputere, which is based in the southern Romanian city of Craiova, remains one of the largest state-owned companies in Romania after the fairly rapid privatisation process of 2003 and 2004. There have been attempts to privatise the locomotive manufacturer for a long time, yet all of them failed. However, Gabriel Zbircea, the president of the Authority for the Re

US Army Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith was honored at a ceremony on April 5 at Arlington National Cemetery, where a memorial headstone was unveiled by his widow Birgit, and their two children Jessica, 18, and David, 11. The headstone is a special, gold-lettered memorial tombstone, one of only six such markers to be found in Arlington. The inscription states, "In Memory of Paul Ray Smith...His Spirit Lives Forever." Smith was honored posthumously by President George W. Bush on April 4, 2005 with the highest citation for valor that can be

With the death of Roman Catholic pontiff John Paul II, 84, on Friday, the Church prepares for the conclave, or assembly of cardinals, who will choose the next pope. All cardinals under the age of 80 are required to attend and cast their votes at the election, which must be held from 15-20 days following the funeral of the deceased Pontiff. The papacy, the highest office in the Catholic church, lies vacant until the election of a new leader for the over one billion-strong denomination. 117 cardinals will meet in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel to

Correspondent Toby Harnden and photographer Julian Simmonds of The Sunday Telegraph weekly, were put on trial for violating Zimbabwe's "Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act". The act requires all journalists in Zimbabwe to obtain accreditation from the state media commission. The two are also accused of breaking immigration laws by overstaying their visas. The journalists were arrested last Thursday during the election that saw victory for President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF. The trial is being held in a small town 40 kilometers