Politics

Former US Vice President Al Gore announced earlier today that he would separate from Tipper Gore, his wife of 40 years. The Gores called the decision "mutual." In an e-mail to close friends, Al and Tipper Gore said that they would not make additional comments. The message was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Gore family. A family friend said, "There isn't anyone else. They just want to go their separate ways." In the e-mail, Al and Tipper Gore said: “We are announcing today that after a great deal of thought we have decided to separate. T

All International Activists from the six ship "Gaza Freedom flotilla", seized in the Gaza flotilla raid by Israeli naval forces in international waters, may be released. The activists had attempted to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu decided that Israel will not prosecute or continue to hold the activists it captured. "It was agreed that the detainees would be deported immediately," said a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister, as Israel comes under fire for its actions in the incident. Although some reports indicated th

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama resigned today, following a controversial move regarding a US military base. Hatoyama told a news conference broadcast nationwide that he will step down after a broken campaign promise to move a US Marine base off the southern island of Okinawa. The decision to resign followed poor poll ratings for Japan's Democratic Party in an upcoming parliamentary election. Members of the party have called for Hatoyama's resignation in order to preserve their chances of victory in the election. He is expected to forma

Egypt will open a Gaza Strip crossing for humanitarian and medical aid. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered the opening of the Rafah Border Crossing. Food and medical supplies will be allowed, but not concrete or steel. It will be made available for ill and injured Palestinians seeking medical treatment. Rafah is the only point on the Gaza border not controlled by Israel; a 2005 agreement put Palestine and Israel in charge of the border, with observation from the European Union. United Nations officials had demanded an end to the Gaza bl

Two sculptures have been confiscated and thirteen pro-democracy activists arrested in Hong Kong, in what critics have described as "politically motivated" censorship. The sculptures, a new replica of the "Goddess of Democracy" and a carving called the "Tiananmen Massacre Relief", had been placed in the piazza of Hong Kong's Times Square shopping mall in remembrance of the 21st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Incident. Although the Causeway Bay piazza is designated as a public space, its day-to-day operations are run by the shopping mall's

Bangladesh temporarily blocked the social networking site Facebook on Saturday, after a man was arrested for uploading content onto it deemed offensive. Other users had reportedly posted other kinds of potentially offensive content, including anti-religious and pornographic materials. Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested Mahbub Alam Rodin, aged 30, in charges of uploading cartoons of some political leaders on the website. Rodin's activity on Facebook was classified as "offensive", said Commander Mohammad Sohail, director of RAB's Legal and Me

The Pacaya Volcano erupted on Friday. It is located 50 kilometers south of the capital of Guatemala, Guatemala City. Throughout the evening and night, volcanic ash fell in the municipalities of Amatitlán, Villa Nueva, and Guatemala City. President Álvaro Colom's government has decreed a State of Public Calamity in the Escuintla, Sacatepéquez and Guatemala departments, for 15 days or more, so the authorities can do their job correctly. The emergency response is being coordinated by the National Coordination for Disaster Reduction (CONRED). Th

On Saturday, May 29, Bingu wa Mutharika, President of the African country of Malawi, granted pardons to a gay couple who had been sentenced to 14 years in jail for sodomy and indecency charges. Mutharika, who has in the past dismissed homosexuality as alien, stated that he was releasing the couple on humanitarian grounds. On Thursday, the President of South Africa condemned the decision of the Malawi courts in a rare dissenting statement stating, "We have condemned the action taken to arrest people in terms of our constitution," in response to

The Conservative Party has won the last seat of the 2010 general election, taking the seat of Thirsk and Malton with a majority of over 11,000. Voting in the constituency had been delayed by the death of the United Kingdom Independence Party candidate in the run-up to the original polling date of May 6, 2010. The new MP, Anne McIntosh, took over 52% of the vote, with the Liberal Democrats – partners with the Conservatives in the coalition government – in second place. Despite the relationship between the parties in government, the Liberal D

US Representative Joe Sestak, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, says that he was offered a job in the Obama administration if he would drop out of a Senate primary election. Obama told journalists in a news conference that an official report on the allegations will be released "shortly".  Sestak made the allegations first in February. Media attention grew, however, only when he defeated Arlen Specter, the incumbent senator and White House-preferred candidate, in the Senate primary last week. Since then, there has been more pressure on the Obama ad

After reports that US President Barack Obama has fired the director of the Minerals Management Service, Elizabeth "Liz" Birnbaum, the Interior Department revealed that she instead resigned "on her own volition". The resignation occurred amidst growing criticism of the federal government's response to the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion and the agency's oversight over offshore drilling.  Birnbaum, who became director in June 2009, was expected to testify before a subcommittee of the House of Representatives today with Interior Secretar

Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, has been sworn in to another term after winning the country's recent polls, which were largely boycotted by the opposition. The inauguration ceremony, attended by multiple African leaders and two diplomats from the United Nations, was held earlier today. A reporter for the Al Jazeera news agency described the event as being primarily "a gathering of African leaders". In his inauguration speech, al-Bashir said that there would be "no return to war" with southern Sudan, and said a referendum on southern i