Politics

Stephen Harper will be meeting with the Dalai Lama XIV, 72, on Monday at the Prime Minister's Office in Ottawa at 2 p.m. The Dalai Lama is scheduled to give a speech the day before in Ottawa in a downtown arena. He will meet with secretary of state for multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, in Gatineau, Quebec on Monday, then hold a news conference, later meet the prime minister, and meet at a reception with all the parliamentarians. Governors General Michaëlle Jean will meet with him at her Rideau Hall residence, followed by a meet with Liberal MPs

Attorneys for Oral Roberts University requested a gag order on court filings related to alleged illegal political and financial wrongdoing as well as wrongful firings. According to a court filing, ORU believes "their legal motion that publicity allegedly manipulated by the professors and their attorneys could lower the possibility of a fair trial. They want the professors and their attorneys barred from talking about the case outside of court." Specifically, "The motion refers to a report allegedly compiled by Roberts' sister-in-law, Stephanie

In the midst of accusations of wrongdoing, the Oral Roberts University (ORU) Board of Regents Chairman George Pearsons said the school owes over $55 million in debt. According to IRS records, ORU had about $76 million in revenue in 2005, and its operating budget for 2007-2008 was over $82 million. One former regent member said that the endowment approached $60 million at its peak, but a university spokesman said the current endowment exceeds $34 million. In September Richard Roberts, who served as president since 1993, was accused of wrong-do

Myanmar opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi has left her house arrest to meet with government officials. Witnesses have observed a caravan of vehicles leaving the home of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Reports say that she is meeting with a liaison minister, U Aung Kyi, who was recently appointed by Senior General Than Shwe, the leader of Myanmar's military junta. The appointment of a liaison minister came after Special Envoy of the United Nations, Ibrahim Gambari, arrived in Myanmar on an urgent mission to press for mediation and reco

Britney Spears will not appear on the legendary American children's program Sesame Street. When contacted today, Sesame Workshop press representative Ray Hammerman replied that the rumours were, "not true, there are no plans to have her on as a guest." Sesame Workshop Vice President of Corporate Communications Ellen Lewis backed up this statement, adding that the show is "not in production until Feb. 2008". Published reports in British tabloid newspaper The Daily Star suggested Spears was to improve her image by appearing on the show. She wa

Australia is calling for criminal charges to be made in light of the final report into the Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 disaster, which was published yesterday. Five Australians were among the 21 killed when the Boeing 737 jetliner overshot the runway at Adisucipto International Airport, near Yogyakarta, Indonesia on March 7 this year. Australian Minister for Foreign affairs, Alexander Downer, said that the "very credible report" made it clear the two-man cockpit crew were responsible for the accident. The report found that alarms sounded no le

Libertarianz party president, Craig Milmine, and the party leader, Bernard Darnton, spoke exclusively to Wikinews journalist Gabriel Pollard about the political philosophy, libertarianism in New Zealand. This article follows on from interviews with republican, Lewis Holden; and monarchist, Noel Cox. The idea of libertarianism is where consent is required for all actions between people, and that these interactions are voluntary. Over four million people will be given freedom to run their own lives as Mr Milmine said. He says the Government does

At a time when many countries are tightening anti-terrorism legislation and discussing on whether to "crack-down" on freedom of speech, New Zealand has repealed its sedition law. The Crimes (Repeal of Seditious Offences) Amendment Bill was passed by the New Zealand Parliament by an overwhelming majority of 114 to 7. Sedition is the crime of inciting insurrection against the state. New Zealand's sedition law criminalised speech intended to "bring into hatred or contempt" or "excite disaffection" against the monarch or the government or to inc

The Prime Minister of Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has called for snap elections for Denmark's unicameral parliament, the Folketing. The parliamentary election will be held on Tuesday, November 13, 2007. The call follows over a month of rumours in the media. Rasmussen made the announcement in an address to the Folketing at 1:06 p.m. CEST (UTC+2), stating that the current administration was not stepping down and that the election is to be held now to avoid having speculation dominate the current political debates. The last election was held

According to reports, Turkey has today launched airstrikes against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) bases near the border to Iraq. F-16 fighter jets and helicopter gunships are said to have bombed targets on both sides of the border. Turkish officials said that a major incursion was not implemented at this time to give diplomacy a final chance. An Iraqi delegation, headed by defense minister Qadir Obeidi (aka Abdel Qader Jassim), is scheduled to visit Turkey on Thursday. "We do not accept in any way... the use of Iraqi territories, including the

Nearly 330,000 people in San Diego County, California located in the United States are being ordered to evacuate after massive wildfires started to spread and grow. As a result, U.S. President George W. Bush has declared a state of emergency in California clearing the way for federal aid assistance. "All of us across this nation are concerned for the families who have lost their homes and the many families who have been evacuated from their homes. We send the help of the federal government," said Bush in a statement to the press. Almost 1,500

United States First Lady Laura Bush was in Saudi Arabia today to promote breast cancer awareness. In the United States and other countries, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Bush, on her first visit to the Saudi kingdom, was greeted by Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, son of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and honorary president of the Saudi Cancer Society. She also attended the signing the U.S.-Saudi Arabia Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research agreement at a crowded auditorium at the King Fahad Medical City. This new