Politics

Voters in French Guiana and Martinique voted down referendums for increased autonomy from France earlier today, according to poll results. In French Guiana, with a turnout of 48%, the vote was 69.8% against increased independence from France; in Martinique, with a 55% voter turnout, the polls were 80% against extra autonomy. In a statement, French President Nicolas Sarkozy hailed the outcome, saying it reflected the strong ties between the territories and metropolitan France. Both Martinique, in the Caribbean, and French Guiana were granted F

Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Biden, mother of United States Vice President Joe Biden and matriarch of the Biden family, died Friday evening after suffering from a brief illness – possibly related to a recent hip fracture. She was 92 years-old. In a statement to the Associated Press, the Vice President said his mother died at home in Wilmington, Delaware surrounded by family and friends. Details of scheduled funeral services and memorials will be released in the upcoming days, the Vice President’s Washington office said. Jean Biden, whom the Vic

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday that the UK's natural gas reserves will not run out in spite of record demand. This spike in demand is caused by the recent cold weather. A supplier, National Grid, issued two "balancing alerts", which mean a possible supply shortfall, which were promptly lifted. A spokeswoman for the company said that there was a possible shortfall of 35 million cubic metres (1.2 billion cubic feet). This third balancing alert is expected to last for the next few days, and is said not to be due to the cold

Pakistani intelligence officials said today that at least four people have been killed in a suspected US drone strike in the North Waziristan province. Officials say missiles hit a house and a vehicle near the town Miranshah. The region is near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. "The US drone fired two missiles on a house. The house was completely destroyed," said an unnamed security official. The attack comes a day after Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari warned that US drone strikes were undermining Pakistan's "national consensus" in hi

Greek police have said that a bomb went off near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Parliament in the capital, Athens. No injuries have been reported as-yet. The incident occurred at 20:00 local time (1800 UTC). The bomb had apparently been planted in a bin in front of the Parliament building, and the detonation was so strong that it could be heard kilometres away. Approximately seventeen minutes before the explosion, Eleftherotypia, a national newspaper, received a phone call about the bomb, and the area had been cordoned off. This caused a

Human rights groups have criticized United States President Barack Obama's decision to halt the transfer of detainees to Yemen from the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Mr. Obama suspended the repatriation of Yemeni detainees Tuesday because of what he called an "unsettled" security situation in Yemen. "It was always our intent to transfer detainees to other countries only under conditions that provide assurances that our security is being protected," Obama said. Some lawmakers had expressed concern that freed inmates could join Yemen-based a

With this year's November midterm elections fast approaching, three prominent United States Democrats announced their plans for retirement from public service on Wednesday. Powerful and influential—yet controversial for his alleged close ties to the financial sector and his handling of last year's bailout—Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut announced that he would not be seeking a sixth term this year. In a speech to his supporters in East Haddam, Connecticut, the sixty-five-year-old senior senator—with his family at his side—said, "I h

Croatia's ruling Democratic Union (HDZ) party expelled the former prime minister Ivo Sanader following his political comeback Sunday. The decision was made after a day-long intra-party meeting led by the party's president and current prime minister Jadranka Kosor, who accused him of trying to split the party and thus make a crisis in the government majority. Of twenty two members of the party presidency, 16 voted for expulsion, three were against (Luka Bebić, Mario Zubović and Damir Polančec) and two abstained (Bianca Matković and Petar Selem)

The US Secret Service has revealed that a third uninvited guest gained entry to last November's state dinner for the Indian Prime Minister. The Secret Service discovered the third interloper while investigating how Tareq and Michaele Salahi were able to breach security at the dinner. The man did not get close to the First Family, and authorities are not revealing the man's name at this time. In a statement, the Secret Service commented that "It appears at this point that the subject traveled from a local hotel, where the official Indian delega

The Russian government has raised the minimum price for vodka in an effort to combat alcoholism. The new minimum price for a half liter of vodka is now 89 roubles (US$2.94, €2.05), nearly double what it was before the price raise. The time between New Year's day and the Orthodox Christmas (January 7) is often marked with a spike in drinking. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has made attempts to stem alcohol consumption in the nation, saying he was shocked that the average Russian drank 18 liters (38 US pints) of pure alcohol each year. The go

The Afghan parliament has rejected president Hamid Karzai's nominees for his new cabinet. Karzai had nominated 24 persons to fill vacancies, although only seven were approved. Of the nominees rejected include incumbent Energy Minister Ismail Kha, and the incumbent minister of Women's Affairs. It did however approve the nominees for the positions of Defense, Interior, and Finance ministers. President Karzai will need to resubmit candidates for the vacant positions so that the government can begin its 2010 workload. During the confirmation h

Authorities in Yemen say the Nigerian man accused of trying to destroy a U.S. airliner last week lived in Yemen during a four-month period earlier this year. The Yemeni Foreign Ministry and it's Minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi says 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab lived there between early August and early December. The ministry says the Nigerian was granted a visa to study Arabic at an institute in the capital Sana'a. Security officials say they approved the visa for Abdulmutallab because he was granted visas by several friendly countries,