Politics

<noinclude> The federal elections in Belgium tomorrow will decide the fate of the 8-year-long coalition of liberals and socialists, and will shake the cards for what politicians admit will be long and difficult negotiations. Voting is mandatory in Belgium, and Belgians abroad have already voted, although their votes will only be counted tomorrow. A recent survey in the French-speaking part of Belgium shows that if voters could choose, 1 out 3 would stay at home. The poll results On the Flemish side, the final poll predicted a 29,9% victory f

<noinclude> Artillery attacks of the Turkish Armed Forces were officially protested by Iraq, says one news report. The foreign minister of Iraq sent a protest letter to Turkey, accusing Turkey of "shelling" Kurdish areas in Iraq. The letter said that the artillery caused heavy damage in northern Iraq and that it went on for several hours. It also said that these kinds of attacks "undermine confidence between the two nations and negatively affect their friendship". Turkey has not confirmed such over-the-border attacks and has been moving armed

<noinclude> United States President George W. Bush has fallen ill and has missed the morning session of the G8 Summit, but has returned to the day's events. "The President had a good rest this morning. He's feeling better, not 100 percent, but he feels good enough to rejoin the meeting. He just left his suite a short while ago, so we are back on schedule," said a spokesman for the White House, Tony Fratto. Earlier Dan Bartlett, the White House counselor stated that Bush was dressed and ready for the meeting when he began to feel sick and tha

<noinclude> Spanish police arrested the politician Arnaldo Otegi, a Basque leader of the outlawed party Batasuna on Friday, in the northern Basque city of San Sebastian, shortly after the Supreme Court, in Madrid, upheld a lower-court's conviction of him last year for "glorifying terrorism" at a memorial in December 2003 for a dead ETA leader. His arrest comes three days after ETA announced the end of its 15-month unilateral cease-fire. During this cease-fire, Otegi was claimed as a key interlocutor in potential peace talks, but if the govern

Switzerland has lifted a 52 year old ban on any form of motor racing taking part in the country. The ban was first introduced following the more than 80 deaths in the disaster at the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans. The ban was lifted following heated discussions within the Swiss parliament with some arguing that the reintroduction of the sport could help the countries component manufacturers and the tourism industry, while others argued that the sport wasn't good for the environment. The final voting saw the ban lifted with 97 votes for and 77 agai

Leaders from the 7 richest industrialised countries and Russia will have to deal with climate issues at the 33rd G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany. While France and Germany are calling for quantifiable greenhouse gas emission cuts, the U.S. and Japan believe that growing economies such as India and China would need to join in on such efforts. German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G8 summit yesterday said the two main topics were climate change and combating poverty in Africa. She said her first talks with president Bush were good, and added:

<noinclude> Citing unnamed Turkish officials, reports say that hundreds to thousands of Turkish troops have crossed the border to Northern Iraq in pursuit of members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). "This afternoon 10 Turkish helicopters landed in a village in Mazouri, which is ... 3 km (2 miles) inside the Iraqi border. They landed with around 150 Turkish special forces," said deputy minister for Peshmerga Affairs in Kurdistan, Jabar Yawir who also stated that "after two hours they left and there were no confrontations with the PKK."

<noinclude> Basque separatist group ETA will end their cease-fire as of June 6, the group said in a communique released in Basque newspaper Berria on Tuesday. "The minimum conditions for continuing a process of negotiations do not exist," ETA said, adding that the Spanish government of Prime Minister Zapatero responded to its cease-fire "with arrests, torture and persecution." Zapatero condemned ETA's move. "ETA's decision goes totally in the opposite direction of the path that Basque and Spanish society want, the path of peace," he said.

Political parties in Thailand have regained some of their freedoms, following an agreement on Tuesday by the government's military-appointed Cabinet. As a result of the deal, parties are now allowed to meet and hold activities, opening the way for elections that are tentatively planned for December. However, a ban on forming new political parties remains in effect, until at least next week. Government spokesman Nattawat Suthiyothin said a bill on new parties would be forwarded to the National Legislative Assembly. And the Cabinet says that the

<noinclude> Just one day before the G8 summit, a battle in the media between Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States President George W. Bush continued as President Bush criticized Russia for "derailing" its promised democratic reforms. In a speech from the Czech Republic, where he plans to implement a missile defense system, Bush said: "In Russia, reforms that once promised to empower citizens have been derailed, with troubling implications for democratic development." He also described the relationship with Russia as complex, a

<noinclude> Just two days before the G-8 Summit is scheduled to begin, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated during an interview on Sunday that Russia will point their nuclear missiles at major European cities if the United States sets up any kind of missile defense system in Europe. Putin also said that a new cold war has begun with "the west" and that a "new arms race" has begun. This statement came after the U.S. announced plans to build several missile defense systems based in Poland and the Czech Republic. These defense systems will in

<noinclude> Former Liberian president Charles Taylor, who is facing charges of war crimes for his role in the Sierra Leone Civil War, has decided to boycott the proceedings at The Hague under the auspices of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. He faces 11 charges of war crimes, all of which he denies. Taylor claims that his trial will not be fair as he only has one defense lawyer. "He has not thumbed his nose at the court," said Karim Khan, his counsel, before producing the letter in which Taylor said he would "not receive a fair trial at the