Politics

NBC News Washington bureau chief, senior vice president and the moderator of Meet the Press Tim Russert has died today after a sudden heart attack at NBC'''s Washington news bureau. He was rushed to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., where resuscitation efforts failed. Russert was recording voiceovers for Meet the Press when he collapsed. Russert and his family had recently returned from Italy after celebrating his son Luke's graduation from Boston College. He is survived by his wife Maureen Orth, son Luke, and father, who he knew f

A long-awaited apology from the Canadian government to the country's native population was overshadowed on Wednesday by remarks made by Canadian Member of Parliament (MP) Pierre Poilievre. The government had announced that the historic statement was to take place on Wednesday, June 11, but prior to the actual apology, Poilievre spoke on a noon-hour radio program and made remarks that were 'hurtful' to natives, as the MP later admitted. The apology, which took place as planned, involved Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper offering his regret

Stephen Harper, Canada's Prime Minister, apologized on behalf of the Canadian Government for its role in the Indian Residential School System in front of Aboriginal Leaders, elders, and more than 1000 outside the Parliament Building. Harper proclaimed, "The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history. Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country." This apology was seen at more than 30 event around the country, and broadcast live on

Cuba has reformed its wage system to pay workers on the basis of productivity. The communist state had previously paid all workers the same, and has done since the 1959 revolution. The move, announced by Vice-Minister for Labour Carlos Mateu, is one of a series of changes introduced by Raul Castro, who took over from ill brother Fidel Castro. Mateu stated in Granma, the Communist Party of Cuba's newspaper, that workers who met targets would get a minimum bonus of 5%, that there would be no maximum salary and that managers whose teams increased

On June 4, a report published by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that in the past 16 years high school students have become less likely to engage in health risk-related behaviors such as having sex and taking drugs. However, the CDC found that Hispanic students were less likely to have reduced risky behavior when compared to Black and White students in several key areas. The National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is run by the CDC every two years, and is an anonymous, self-administered survey of st

A European Union-United States summit held in Slovenia produced a draft declaration outlining the groups' future cooperation on climate change, energy security and financial stability. Yesterday was the final day of the summit, the last EU-US summit that US President George W. Bush will attend in his current role. Hopes of a major breakthrough on the topic of climate change were low going into the summit. The foreign minister of Slovenia, Dimitrij Rupel, commented last week that, "on climate change, the positions are split." Members of the 27-

Four Pakistani police officers have been shot dead by suspected militants, according to police. The attackers allegedly shot into a police car before setting it on fire. Two officers were also injured in the shooting, which was the region's second such attack in less than a month. The local police chief commented on the incident. "An unknown number of gunmen used automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades to target the police party," he said. An adviser to the Pakistani Prime Minister said that the peace deal signed with militants last m

Israel and Iran are engaged in a war of words following comments made by Shaul Mofaz, Israel's Transportation Minister, stating that his country will "attack Iran" if Iran does not stop building up its nuclear program. On Friday, June 6 in an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli newspaper, Mofaz was quoted: "Attacking Iran, in order to stop its nuclear plans, will be unavoidable. If Iran continues its plan to develop nuclear weapons, we will attack it. The window of opportunity has closed. The sanctions are not effective. There will be

Taiwan Electromagnetic Radiation Hazard Protection and Control Association (TEPCA), an environmental organization set to promote environmental hazard warnings on electromagnetic radiation, protested over the potential health impact of electromagnetic radiation as Ying-jeou Ma, President of the Republic of China, visited this show on the 2nd Day of 2008 WiMAX Expo Taipei (June 3). "Base stations of WiMAX are unnecessary in Taiwan! The governmental people didn't care about the living and health of the public!" strongly stated Jiau-hua Chen, Chai

African politicians met at the 2008 World Economic Forum on Africa, where they discussed a variety of issues, including the current situation in Zimbabwe. Simba Makoni, a former finance minister in Zimbabwe, said the chance of a free election in Zimbabwe was low: “Conditions have been created in the country as a whole, but particularly in the rural areas, where there is no prospect of any semblance of a free and fair election.” The Secretary General of the main opposition party in Zimbabwe, the Movement for Democratic Change, also criticized

While nearly all coverage of the 2008 Presidential election has focused on the Democratic and Republican candidates, the race for the White House also includes independents and third-party candidates. These prospects represent a variety of views that may not be acknowledged by the major party platforms. Wikinews has reached out to these candidates throughout the campaign. We now interview the Prohibition Party Presidential nominee Gene Amondson, a preacher, artist and prohibition activist. Why do you want to be President? With one out of nin

The Clinton campaign has announced that Hillary Clinton will suspend her campaign for the Democratic Presidential nomination on Saturday. In an email sent to Clinton supporters, she said that she would like to "extend my congratulations to Senator Obama." This announcement made by the Clinton team comes as Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, says that he is 'honored' to be the nominee in the election.