Politics

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that an international treaty aimed at banning the use of cluster bombs is "very close" to being achieved. It is hoped that many other countries, whether present at the talks or not, such as the United States and Canada, will sign up to the treaty. Cluster bombs have been used in countries such as Cambodia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Lebanon. More than 100 countries and multiple humanitarian organisations have supported a ban on their use, as they can remain dangerous for many years after being dropped

Maxime Bernier, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, resigned after it was revealed that he left classified materials at an insecure location. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Bernier's resignation in Ottawa on Monday. Bernier was once in a relationship with Julie Couillard, whose previous associations with the controversial Hells Angels biker group were reported in recent months. In an interview with French-language television network TVA, Couillard indicated that Bernier left behind some designated secret documents at her residence.

Michel Suleiman officially became the President of Lebanon yesterday after a series of events that had delayed the election by over a year were concluded. Some people in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, set off explosives and fired guns to celebrate the victory. US President George W. Bush released a statement regarding the victory: "I congratulate Michel Sleiman on his election as President of Lebanon." Bush continued, "I am confident that Lebanon has chosen a leader committed to protecting its sovereignty, extending the government's authority

Jean-Pierre Bemba, one of the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) former vice presidents and militia leaders, has been arrested in Belgium on charges of war crimes. This comes as United Nations (UN) peacekeepers discovered three mass graves in the nation containing an estimated total of 100 bodies. Reports say that the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) included at least two counts of crimes against humanity and four counts of war crimes which he allegedly committed in the "Central African Republic from 25 October 2002 t

A front page editorial in South Africa's largest weekly newspaper, The Sunday Times, criticizes President Thabo Mbeki's "incompetent" handling of the country's ongoing anti-immigrant violence, and urges him to resign from office. "Either he will not lead or he cannot lead. Whichever is the case, the conclusion is the same: he must go," the editorial reads. "And so we appeal to President Mbeki: Stand down in the interests of your country." In the past two weeks, mob attacks against foreigners have spread across the capital of Johannesburg and

United States President George W. Bush is set to meet with leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints next week in Utah. President Bush's primary purpose in visiting Utah is to raise money for Republican presidential candidate John McCain's general election campaign. The Deseret News and The Salt Lake Tribune have reported that the meeting is scheduled for May 29. According to spokesmen for the church, also called the Mormon Church or LDS Church, President Bush will meet with the three-member First Presidency which includes the

Israel scrambled two fighter jets to intercept a suspicious aircraft that was failing to respond to air traffic control (ATC) and had moved into attack positions, only to discover that it was carrying International Middle East peace envoy and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair. The aircraft was an executive private jet carrying delegates including Blair from Sinai, Egypt where they had attended the World Economic Forum to Bethlehem on Wednesday when the aircraft entered Israeli airspace and failed to respond to multiple dem

Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of Zimbabwe's largest opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has returned to the Zimbabwean capital city of Harare after a period of self-imposed exile in South Africa. He hopes to begin rallying support for the presidential run-off election against current President Robert Mugabe. Tsvangirai had originally planned to return on May 17, but this was postponed when his party learnt of an assassination plot against him. Allegations of treason were also levelled at him last month by Justice Minister Pa

The Conservative Party's Edward Timpson has won the Crewe and Nantwich by-election in the United Kingdom with a majority of 7,860 votes. This is the party's first by-election victory in 26 years and party leader David Cameron visited the constituency earlier. Labour Party candidate Tamsin Dunwoody said that the 17.6% swing was a "mid-term blip" and that the people of Crewe and Nantwich will be "watching" Mr. Timpson. However David Cameron proclaimed the result "the end of New Labour" calling the Conservatives' overturning of the 7,000 Labour m

David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party and UK leader of the opposition today made a speech to the conference of the Scottish Conservative Party. In the speech he addressed the issue of Scottish independence. "I want to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom - all of it, including Scotland. I absolutely believe we are stronger together, and weaker apart, and I will do anything and everything to keep our two countries as one," he said. "Whether we like it or not, the ugly stain of separatism is seeping through the Union flag," said

UK Members of Parliament voted against a bill that would result in the limit for abortions being brought down by four weeks, to 20 weeks. The MP who originally proposed the bill, Nadine Dorrie from the Conservative Party, commented on the result. "There comes a point when it has to be said this baby has a right to life." The vote to lower the limit to twenty weeks was defeated by 332 votes to 190. There was also a vote on decreasing the limit to 22 weeks, with it being defeated by 304 votes supporting to 233 opposing. The proposer of the twen

UK political parties are making their final bids for votes in the Crewe and Nantwich constituency, where a by-election, due to the death of Gwyneth Dunwoody MP, is to be held tomorrow. A YouGov poll has suggested that the main opposition party, the Conservatives, are ahead at 45%, the incumbent Labour Party 18.8% behind on 26.2%. Polls from the newspaper The Independent and Populus and ICM have also put the Conservatives ahead. However the bookmakers Ladbrokes have deemed the Conservatives "unbackable", with odds of just 16/1. Crewe and Nant