Politics

Despite repeatedly saying that he would not endorse a particular candidate for this November's U.S. presidential election, Republican Congressman Ron Paul made a surprise statement Monday afternoon in which he announced that he was supporting Constitution Party nominee Chuck Baldwin. This comes after Libertarian Party nominee former congressman Bob Barr's controversial last minute refusal to attend Paul's third party unity conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC nearly two weeks ago. Instead, Barr held a press conference of h

Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, today spoke at the 2008 Labour Party conference. In his speech he described his determination to lead his party and country, in addition to claiming that the current financial situation meant that this was no time for a novice to claim a country, saying that he is the right man to lead. This speech comes as questions are raised over Brown's suitability as a leader. Brown introduced the speech by telling the conference attendees that he wanted to discuss his reasons for leading the count

Swiss Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz has suffered a major heart attack and had to be hospitalised. He was in Eastern Switzerland when he collapsed. Later on Sunday he was flown by helicopter to Bern University Hospital where he was placed into an artificial coma. The Finance Minister underwent today a major bypass surgery and doctors say that he will have to remain in Intesive care for at least two weeks. As a result, the cabinet has been reorganised, with Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (Minister for Justice and Police) as the interim Finance Mini

British Grammy Award winning singer George Michael has been cautioned over drug use. The 45 year old singer was caught with class A and C drugs in the Hampstead Heath area of London. He was arrested on 19 September after being caught in the public toilet. British Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said drug laws needed to be "flexible". He stated he did not know the details of the case when questioned why Michael was given a mild sentence. Michael was banned from driving for two years after being caught slumped behind the wheel of his car twic

A hacker who has claimed to be loosely associated with internet group Anonymous managed to hack into the email account of Alaskan Governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin in the early morning hours of Wednesday, September 16. Partial contents of her email account - including two family photos, email messages and contact lists - were subsequently hosted online at Wikileaks.org, a website that anonymously hosts leaked government and corporate documents. Anonymous, who were responsible for attacks on Scientology in the past,

A video has surfaced which shows police in St. Paul, Minnesota arresting over 200 people at a city park during the first day of the Republican National Convention (RNC) on September 1, 2008. The video first appeared on YouTube which was then picked up and reported on by the political news websites Alternet.org and Blue Linchpin. Glass Bead Collective (GBC), which had interviewed the author of one of the buried videos, was preemptively raided before the RNC according to an interview published on Democracynow.org. The video, which had been burie

The Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan was bombed today killing at least 60 people and injuring 120. The explosion, believed to be a car or truck bomb and heard 30 km (18 miles) away in Rawalpindi, occurred at 8 P.M. PDT (14:00 UTC), just hours after newly elected President Asif Ali Zardari addressed Parliament promising to destroy terrorism in the country. It is thought that more than a ton of explosives were used in the blast, which left a crater 30 feet deep and triggered a gas leak which sent the hotel up in flames. It is feared that t

South African President Thabo Mbeki has agreed to a call from the ruling African National Congress to resign. The ANC announced earlier today that it wanted Mbeki, 66, to resign after two days of talks. He was just months from completing his full term of office, but is caught up in allegations that he influenced a corruption case being brought against rival and ANC leader Jaco Zuma. Zuma was cleared of all charges on September 12, with the court ruling that Mbeki's regime had interfered. Mbeki and others deny this. Half of the cabinet is rep

On October 14, 2008, Canadians will be heading to the polls for the federal election. Liberal candidate David Remington is standing for election in the riding of Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington. Wikinews contacted David Remington, to talk about the issues facing Canadians, and what they and their party would do to address them. Wikinews is in the process of contacting every candidate, in every riding across the country, no matter their political stripe. All interviews are conducted over e-mail, and interviews are published unedited, allo

On October 14, 2008, Canadians will be heading to the polls for the federal election. Christian Heritage Party candidate Steven Elgersma is standing for election in the riding of Haldimand—Norfolk. Wikinews contacted Steven Elgersma, to talk about the issues facing Canadians, and what they and their party would do to address them. Wikinews is in the process of contacting every candidate, in every riding across the country, no matter their political stripe. All interviews are conducted over e-mail, and interviews are published unedited, allowin

On October 14, 2008, Canadians will be heading to the polls for the federal election. Christian Heritage Party candidate Ron Gray is standing for election in the riding of Langley. Wikinews contacted Ron Gray, to talk about the issues facing Canadians, and what they and their party would do to address them. Wikinews is in the process of contacting every candidate, in every riding across the country, no matter their political stripe. All interviews are conducted over e-mail, and interviews are published unedited, allowing candidates to impart t

In the lead-up to the 2008 Canadian federal elections much speculation was made about environmental issues and initiative, with various parties maneuvering to claim some portion of the green mantle. But it was the Liberal party which first brought a full-blown policy to the public. In the months since the Green Shift initiative was brought forth, the political pundits and activists have both talked about this year as the first election where the environment would be a major issue on the minds of voters, and possibly a decisive one for the elec