Politics

Wikinews reporter Iain Macdonald today interviewed Petros Tzomakas, a Greek far-left activist and member of Xekinima, which is the Greek division of the Committee for a Workers' International. The party is a member of Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA). Tzomakas also sits on his local 5th Athens Municipal District committee, which is a joint effort by left-wing parties including SYRIZA, the Anticapitalist Left Cooperation for the Overthrow and a number of other political parties to oppose austerity measures proposed by the government. All

A middle-aged civilian has been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir after anti-India separatists threw stones at a bus in Srinagar. The victim, Shafiq Ahmad Sheikh, died in hospital after the stone struck his head, police officials stated. The stone-pelting incident occurred in the Batmaloo area before the separatists marched to the local United Nations office to protest against Indian administration in Kashmir. Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the leader of the protesters, had ordered the protests against "growing human rights abuses" by security off

The Illinois House of Representatives failed last Thursday to approve a Democratic Party-sponsored amendment to the state constitution's redistricting procedures, killing any hope of reforming the controversial process this year. The vote was 69–47, just two votes short of the 71-vote supermajority needed to propose constitutional amendments for ratification by voters in the next election cycle.  In the redistricting process, the boundaries of legislative districts are redrawn every ten years following the US census. Districts are redrawn such

Lawmakers in Belgium voted almost unanimously to ban public wearing of full face veils on Friday. The proposal received 134 votes in the lower house of federal parliament with two abstentions and nobody opposing. Under the new rule, any clothing that fully obscures the face will be prohibited in public areas such as parks and streets; anyone who ignores it will be fined $20 to $35 and/or a jail sentence of up to a week. Exceptions could be made during certain festivals, or if the wearer has police permission to use the veil. The proposal will

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, along with Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak, warned yesterday that that the guerrilla group Hezbollah was in possession of more weapons than some governments. Gates, after meeting with Barak, said that both Syria and Iran were responsible for providing weapons of "ever increasing capability" to Hezbollah, although he declined to confirm that the group had gained possession of ballistic missiles called Scuds that are capable of reaching targets within Iran. According to Gates, Hezbollah's military capabili

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is now at the centre of controversy when, on Thursday, a live microphone caught him describing a voter he had talked to as being a "bigoted woman". The incident occurred after Brown, encouraged by his advisors to interact with ordinary people more often before next week's parliamentary elections, went for a walkabout in the town of Rochdale, located near Manchester. There, he spoke with Gillian Duffy, aged 65, who challenged him on topics such as health and education, before asking about immigration: "All those E

Dale Ogden, a 2010 California gubernatorial candidate, talks with Wikinews reporter Mike Morales about his platform. Ogden is a member of the United States' Libertarian Party. Interview How would you define libertarianism? Libertarianism is a political philosophy of minimum government espoused by the founders of our nation. People should be free to enjoy the fruits of their labor and government should be limited to protecting the life, liberty and property of its citizens. That includes such things as national defense, a court system to res

Chaos broke out in the Ukrainian parliament as several smoke bombs were thrown during a debate about the extended lease on a Russian naval base in Ukraine. Members of parliament (MPs) were seen fighting on the chamber floor while opposition MPs threw eggs at the speaker of the house, Volodymyr Lytvyn. It is not clear who threw the smoke bombs, although opposition MPs were thought to be responsible, but the debate continued despite the lingering smoke and chaos. The speaker had to be protected by two aides holding umbrellas and politicians held

A snap election in Nauru has failed to end a political deadlock. The election, called a year early by President Marcus Stephen, had all eighteen members of parliament re-elected. President Stephen's government is controlled by nine MPs with his opponent holding the same number. Because neither side can decide who should be speaker of the house, a government cannot be formed. Stephen's opponent had been trying to get rid of him for several months. Stephen will remain in power with a caretaker government. During his term in office, Stephen has

A protest on the Japanese island of Okinawa calling for the closure of a United States military base attracted almost 100,000 people on Sunday, after speculations that the Japanese government may back out of an election promise to force it off the island entirely. The base, Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, has been long criticized by the Japanese people, as it and other bases on the island have served as the location for most of America's 47,000 troops stationed in Japan. The US military presence on the island is seen by some as a legacy of

The Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, has been declared the winner of this month's elections, after the first multiparty polls in 24 years. Salva Kiir, a former rebel leader, meanwhile, was also declared president of the semi-autonomous southern Sudan in separate elections. According to the Sudanese election commission, al-Bashir won 68% of the vote, while Salva Kiir obtained 93% of the vote out of slightly more than 2.5 million total votes. "The first [was] Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir. He was the candidate and won," said Abel Alier, the ch

Fidesz, the conservative Hungarian party, has won a two-thirds majority in parliament, according to official results. With about 99% of all votes counted, Fidesz is projected to have won 263 seats in the 386-seat parliament, ending eight years of Socialist government. The incumbent Socialists placed a distant second, obtaining 59 seats, while the far-right Jobbik took 47 seats. A new Green party, called Politics Can Be Different, received sixteen seats, and an independent candidate took the remaining seat. With this power change, Fidesz now