Politics

Iraqi police say three blasts in Baghdad killed four people and wounded fourteen others on Tuesday. Three other blasts also rocked the northern city of Mosul on the same day, killing and wounding several dozen people. The explosions came as politicians continue to debate over who was responsible for the last wave of bombings, which happened exactly one week ago. The Baghdad explosions struck at the Iraqi government's nerve center, near the heavily fortified Green Zone. Baghdad's security chief, General Qassem Mohammed Atta, reported that three

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has announced that Cabinet decided on Monday that the controversial Maori sovereignty flag Tino Rangatiratang from 2010 is to be to be flown on New Zealand’s national day, Waitangi Day on Auckland Harbour Bridge, Premier House, Parliament and other significant sites controlled by the Government. This follows consultation lead by Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples with Maori about what Maori flag should be flown on Waitangi Day. Mr Key says that "More than 1200 submissions were received and 80 per cent

At least eight people have died in the Afghan capital Kabul after a suicide bombing hit the Wazir Akbar Khan diplomatic and governmental residential district, according to officials. The car bomb exploded this morning outside the Heetal Hotel shortly before the start of a three-day conference on corruption in the capital, killing at least eight. President Hamid Karzai said that the dead included two bodyguards of former vice-president Ahmad Zia Massoud. The former vice-president's house was damaged, and police suspect that he may have been the

The White House is expected to announce today that some of the inmates from the United States' controversial detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are to be relocated to a prison facility, to be acquired by the Federal Government, on the US mainland. The Thomson Correctional Center in north-western Illinois is expected to accommodate around 100 prisoners from the Cuba base. The closure of the camp is a key policy for US President Barack Obama and an unnamed White House official is quoted as saying "Closing the detention centre at Guantanamo i

Turkey's constitutional court has banned the Democratic Society Party (DTP), the country's largest pro-Kurdish political party. The court found it guilty on Friday of supporting violence and being linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party, a Kurdish rebel group better known as the PKK. The move has sparked violent protests across the country and caused the DTP to announce a boycott of parliament. The party's two leaders, Ahmet Türk and Aysel Tuğluk, were banned from politics for five years and expelled from the Turkish parliament. On Saturday, Tü

An Iraqi Interior Ministry official today said that thirteen people are in custody in connection with last Tuesday's coordinated bombings in Baghdad that killed 127 people and wounded 400. The announcement of the arrests came as lawmakers again questioned officials about security lapses in the capital, where there have been three massive attacks since the beginning of August. It was also revealed that the US military had warned of an attack on Tuesday, but Iraqi officials say there was not time to act. On Saturday, Iraq's Interior Minister Ja

The Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is to remain in the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, following yesterday's assault which left him with facial damage, two broken teeth, a broken nose and cuts to his lips. The assault on the 73-year-old media mogul came at the end of a political rally where Prime Minister Berlusconi had addressed the assembled crowd. Berlusconi will now stay in hospital until at least Tuesday, and according to a bulletin released to Italian Media, he is able to eat, but only with difficulty. He was approached an

Industry Canada announced today that the government, through the Privy Council Office, has effectively overturned a decision by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regarding the status of Globalive Wireless Management Corporation, which was set to launch in November under the WIND Mobile brand. In a release issued this morning, Tony Clement, Minister of Industry is quoted as saying "Globalive is a Canadian company, and meets Canadian ownership and control requirements under the Telecommunications Act," differ

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is in San Raffaele Hospital overnight in Milan following an assault during an autograph session at the end of a rally. The 73 year-old media mogul received a punch in the face from an assailant who police named as 42 year-old Massimo Tartaglia, a local man who has been undergoing mental health treatment for ten years. Tartaglia was holding a replica of Milan's famous Domo Cathedral as he struck the premier; the composition of the replica is unknown, but eyewitnesses suggest it may have been made from ma

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani announced that the military operation targeting Taliban militants based in the South Waziristan tribal region is now over, after nearly two months. He commented that the military is now focusing on the nearby Orakzai tribal region, in order to pursue the Pakistani Taliban leadership that is believed to have fled there from South Waziristan. There recently have been heavy artillery and air strikes in the area. "The operation in South Waziristan is over. Now there are talks about Orakzai," Gilani said

Guinea's military government has said that it arrested about 100 soldiers, as it investigates the attempted assassination of military ruler Moussa Dadis Camara. According to state officials, the detained soldiers are allies of presidential guard chief Lieutenant Aboubacar Sidiki Diakite, who is suspected of being behind last Thursday's shooting. Diakite, who also goes under the name of "Toumba," is still at large; a reward worth 200 million Guinean francs or about US$40,000 was reportedly offered for information leading to his capture. Meanw

Somali pirates released a Greek-owned cargo ship and its 24 Ukrainian crew members earlier today, after seven months in captivity. The director of Greek shipping firm Alloceans Shipping, Spyros Minas, announced that pirates freed the Ariana, after the company paid a ransom. The released sailors were in good health, Minas noted. Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko also announced the crew's release from Kiev. "I congratulate the nation, and I congratulate the families on the successful operation to free our sailors," he commented. The shippi