Politics

In his first public speech since the fatal shooting that killed an Italian Intelligence agent in Iraq, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has rejected the version of events presented by the US administration. The intelligence agent, Nicola Calipari, was escorting freed hostage, Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, when their car came under fire by US troops on the journey to Baghdad airport last week, leaving Nicola Calipari dead and Giuliana Sgrena and another intelligence agent wounded. Mr Berlusconi has disputed US claims that the c

Syria has begun to withdraw its troops from northern and southern Lebanon despite a large rally in Beirut to support the Syrian presence. Lebanese Defence Minister Abdul-Rahim Murad said troops would pull back to the eastern Bekaa Valley on Tuesday, but refused to give a date for a full withdrawal. The movement of the 6,000 troops involved would take six to ten days, he said. Syria has a total of 14,000 soldiers in the country. Earlier, a peaceful Hezbollah-organised rally saw hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets of Beirut to s

The CIA has been secretly authorized by a classified directive, signed by US President Bush, to send suspects overseas as part of a "rendition" process. The program has been used to manage the large case load which has accumulated since the September 11, 2001 attacks, leaving US officials free to concentrate on the "high value" suspects who are kept under US control at secret locations throughout the world. Today, US officials were reluctant to defend this policy for any specific cases, but White House spokesman Dan Bartlett presented a gener

The US and France are repeating their calls for Syria to completely withdraw from Lebanon. The two countries are leading an international campaign, based upon the UN Security Council Resolution 1559. Syria's president Bashar al-Assad promised to gradually withdraw his troops from the region, but the US State Department is calling Bashar al-Assad's promise "insufficient" and demanded an "immediate and full withdrawal". The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement which read, "We note the announcement by the president of the Syrian republic o

DNA tests have proven that David Blunkett is not the father of Kimberley Quinn's baby son, Lorcan. The spokesman of the former minister said that test, categorically denies that David Blunkett is the father of Ms. Quinn's second son Lorcan. The test was carried out a few weeks ago with consent of both parties. However Stephen Quinn, the real father, attacked Blunkett by saying "We are angry that Mr Blunkett has yet again chosen to talk to the press about... our family." Mr. Blunkett was the former home secretary in the United Kingdom, until

Yuri Kravchenko, a former Interior Minister in Ukraine, has been found dead in his home just hours before questioning for the case of murdered journalist Georgiy Gongadze. Early reports indicate that he committed suicide, but the circumstances of his death will most likely result in further investigation by the authorities. Yuri Kravchenko was the Ukraine's Interior Minister in 2000 when Mr. Gongadze was murdered. Mr. Gongadze's headless body was buried in the woods near Kiev but his head was never found. Nobody has yet been arrested for the m

Senior Canadian officials said Tuesday that U.S. president George W. Bush has not returned a telephone call Paul Martin made to him last week, due to the Canadian government's decision to not participate in the U.S. missile defence initiative. The Prime Minister was hoping explain Canada's reasons for saying no. Although the White House has formally stated it's "disappointment" on the decision, it also stated that Bush would likely talk with Martin on the issue when the two meet with Mexican President Vicente Fox on March 23 to discuss the fu

Margaret Wilson was appointed as Speaker of The House of Representatives. She becomes New Zealand's first female Speaker of the House. She also rounds out the top positions within New Zealand being taken by women. All four of Governor-General, Prime Minister, Chief Justice and the Speaker of the House are female. Wilson was voted in with 64 votes. Clem Simich (National MP) received 37 and ACT MP Ken Shirley got five votes. The position has usually been appointed unopposed, but the other two candidates stood to protest at the lack of consultati

A compromise put forward by the Conservatives that would have allowed easier passage through the Commons of the proposed new anti-terror legislation has been rejected by Prime Minister Tony Blair. The bill proposes new "control orders" for terror suspects which include house arrest, curfews, tagging and bans on internet and phone use. The bill will replace current powers that allow the detention of foreign terror suspects without trial which has been ruled against as a breach of human rights by the law lords. The Conservatives wanted a "sunse

White supremacist and Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel was expelled from Canada and arrived in Germany today. A Federal Court judge ruled that his anti-Semitic activities were "not only a threat to Canada's national security, but also a threat to the international community of nations." In a press release given by B'nai Brith Canada, executive vice president Frank Dimant said that "For decades Zundel has spewed his venom and imbued his brand of hate in a new generation of white supremacist groups that had made him a hero ... Zundel's day of reck

The Lebanese Government has resigned amid a protest by 10,000 people in Martyrs Square. The Syrian-backed government lead by Prime Minister Omar Karami was under pressure in recent weeks, particularly after former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri was killed earlier this month. The protests were demonstrating over Syria's large military presence in Lebanon. Syria has over 14,000 troops in Lebanon. Announcing his resignation, Karami said, "Out of concern that the government does not become an obstacle to the good of the country, I announce the re

The British Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced that the minimum wage is to go up from GBP 4.85 (EUR 7.03) per hour to GBP 5.05 (EUR 7.32) per hour in October and GBP 5.35 (EUR 7.76) per hour in October 2006. The minimum wage for 18-21 year-olds, the development minimum wage will also go up from GBP 4.10 (EUR 5.94) per hour to GBP 4.25 (EUR 6.16) per hour. The rises was a recommendation by the Low Pay Commission, a government organisation responsible in the minimum wage said that the minimum wage has increased the amount of jobs in the mark