Politics

<noinclude> The children's show 'Tomorrow's pioneers' on Al-Aqsa TV, which is controlled by Hamas, is hosted by a character resembling Mickey Mouse, who tells young viewers to drink milk, study hard and fight for Islamic world leadership and commit violence against Israel and the United States. The images date from April but have made the press earlier this week. Meanwhile the show was reported to have been put on hold, pending a "full revision", according to the Palestinian Minister of Information Mustafa Barghouti. But a representative from

<noinclude> Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, received the president of Tajikistan, Imomali Rakhman, in Tehran today. Their meeting focused on expanding bilateral ties between the two nations and trilateral talks among the three Persian-speaking nations. Moreover, both heads of state expressed the desire to expand ties with the Islamic world. Khamenei stated that the past of Iran and Tajikistan are intertwined religiously and culturally. This is because Tajikistan was part of Iran before the late 1700s. Ne

<noinclude> André Boisclair announced his resignation today as leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ), the same day the National Assembly of Quebec was resuming sitting after the recent general election. He said he would stay as an MNA for his riding of Pointe-aux-Trembles in Montreal, Quebec. An interim leader has yet to be named. "I want to thank from the bottom of my heart everyone who has supported me up until now," he said. "I will no longer lead the Parti Quebecois. I was honored to represent the Parti Quebecois's members." His party finis

<noinclude> __NOTOC__ After winning the presidential election on Sunday, President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy immediately began to lay out his plans for France. Political observers consider the 53% to 47% the victory over Ségolène Royal, a "resounding win," lending credibility to his policies. Sarkozy is expected to announce his government soon. He left Monday to go on a retreat with his family, while considering his cabinet line-up and strategy for the important parliamentary election in June. Cheers and riots Cheering crowds were seen at Place

<noinclude> Today the Russian Military celebrated its 15th anniversary. The current Russian Armed Forces were formed by decree on May 7, 1992 by then President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the armed forces were under the purview of the Soviet system, and at the time served the entire U.S.S.R. Upon the collapse of the U.S.S.R., property and personnel where divided up amongst member states and Russia created the Armed Forces of Russia. The Armed Forces of Russia have currently over one million serving mem

Manouchehr Mottaki, the foreign minsister of Iran, did not attend a dinner at Sharm el-Sheikh because the red dress of a Ukrainian violinist did not meet the "Islamic standards." According to Mottaki, "There was something wrong with that so I offered my apologies. There was no other reason." The planned discussion of Condoleezza Rice and Mottaki would have been the highest-level formal talks of U.S. and Iranian officials. It was intended to enable the foreign ministers to thrash out ways to curb the security problems in Iraq. State Depa

Nicolas Sarkozy has been elected as the 23rd President of the French Republic with 53% of the vote. His rival, Ségolène Royal, was defeated with 47% of the vote. Ms. Royal has accepted her defeat. Mr. Sarkozy has promised to be the "President of the French People" and Royal has vowed to "keep on fighting". Sarkozy's first term will begin on 16 May. Sarkozy has promised to try to reform France to face the challenges of the 21st century, with putting the nation back to work at the top of his agenda. Sarkozy has said that he would also work to f

<noinclude> Mohammad Khatami, the president of Iran from 1997 to 2005, was among a delegation of Islamic clerics to meet Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican City in Rome on Friday. This is Khatami's first meeting with Pope Benedict XVI and his second with a pope. Khatami told a press conference after the meeting that the wounds caused by Benedict XVI's remarks that linked Islam to violence were "very deep." He, moreover, stated that the wounds "cannot be healed easily and a single meeting may not be enough." On the issue of terrorism, Khat

<noinclude> Protesters in Israel have called for the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Defense Minister Amir Peretz after the government issued a report on the first 6 days of the recent conflict with Lebanon saying that Israel was too "hasty" in the decisions the government made during the conflict which began on July 12, 2006. "Olmert and Peretz, we have received confirmation that both of you came to power in the wrong positions. You can't handle the position, you failed. Go home. You said you worked for us. You are

The Scottish National Party (SNP), which supports Scottish independence from the UK, has pulled off a historic, albeit narrow, victory in yesterday's Scottish elections. In the third Scottish election since the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, the left of centre SNP beat the ruling Labour Party by a single seat. It won 47 seats, while Labour won 46, down from the current 50. It is the first time since the parliament opened that Labour has been beaten, and the first time in fifty years that they have not had a majority of Scottish c

<noinclude> A bill that would set fixed election dates in Canada every four years is scheduled to receive royal assent and become law today. Since confederation, a sitting government could choose any date for an election as long as it was less than five years after the writs were returned for the previous election, unless it was defeated by a motion of no confidence. By convention, elections have been held every four years, often when the governing party was doing well in the polls. Bill C-16, first introduced in the House May 30, 2006, wou

<noinclude> Wednesday evening, Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP) and Ségolène Royal (Socialist Party) debated live on national TV in France. About 20 million viewers, about half the number of registered voters watched. This was the only head-to-head debate between the two remaining presidential candidates, and only the fifth such debate in the history of the French Fifth Republic. The second round of popular voting will be held this Sunday, May 6, 2007. In the first round, Sarkozy got 31.18% of the vote, while Royal received 25.87%. This time they will b