Politics

Soldiers in Guinea are searching for the former head of the presidential guard whose men are accused of shooting and wounding the country's military leader, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara. Camara is being treated at a hospital in Morocco, where he is reportedly in "stable" condition. The country's security forces are searching for former aide-de-camp Lieutenant Aboubacar Sidiki Diakite, whose men opened fire on military ruler late on Thursday, according to officials. The former aide, who is also known as Toumba, escaped after the assassination a

Official results from Equatorial Guinea have indicated that Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the president of the country, has been reelected another term. The election, held on November 29, saw Obiang take 95.37% of the ballot, or 260,462 votes, according to a statement released on the government website yesterday. An opponent, Placido Mico Abogo, finished a distant second, with 3.6% of the vote. Obiang said that he was going to make human rights, education, and health reforms in his next term. Equatorial Guinea, the third largest producer of oil in A

Philippine officials have put a southern province under martial law today, and arrested the patriarch of a powerful clan, following last week's massacre of 57 people. Government officials say President Gloria Arroyo suspended civil rights in the Maguindanao province. This comes soon after the Philippine authorities received reports that some groups were arming themselves to resist arrests by security forces. Officials said that troops took Andal Ampatuan Senior, the local governor, and his son Zaldy Ampatuam, into custody at their home in Mag

The Liberal Party have retained both the Bradfield and Higgins seats in the Australian House of Representatives, despite some predicting a voter backlash after their recent leadership change and splits over environmental policy. The seats were previously held by former Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson and former Treasurer Peter Costello, respectively. Higgins In Higgins the victorious candidate was Kelly O'Dwyer. Ten candidates contested this by-election, though the governing Labor Party did not field a candidate. "I think it sends a clear m

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through London earlier today, calling for a deal to be made at this week's Copenhagen Climate Conference in Denmark. Similar such marches were held in Belfast, Dublin, and Glasgow. According to the London Metropolitan Police, twenty thousand people attended the march. Organisers, however, claimed that about forty thousand people were present at the demonstrations. The march began at Grosvenor Square and continued all the way to the Parliament building on the Thames river. The march contained members

Moroccan authorities have for the second time refused to allow Western Sahara campaigner Aminatou Haidar, who is on the twentieth day of her hunger strike in Spain, to return home until she apologises for refusing to state her nationality as Moroccan upon receiving a prize. According to the Moroccan authorities, she voluntarily handed over her passport and would receive a new passport and be pardoned for what senior official Abderraham Leibek called "an act of treason against her homeland" on the condition that she apologises. Foreign Minister

Yousuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister of Pakistan, has told British prime minister Gordon Brown that Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is not in the country. Brown hailed Pakistan's efforts to "disrupt the activities of al-Qaeda", and referred to them as his "allies", promising to provide another £50 million to support the operations to stabilise the borders of the nation; announcing this pledge, he said "This is your fight but it is also Britain's fight." Four days ago, he urged Pakistani officials to "join [Britain] in the major effort" to fi

A deadly hotel bombing in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, has killed at least fifteen people, including three Somali Cabinet ministers, earlier today. Some reports say the death toll could be higher. The blast targeted a university graduation ceremony being attended by a number of government officials. The Shamo Hotel was hosting a graduation ceremony for Banadir University. Eyewitnesses reported that a suicide bomber gained access to the venue dressed as a woman, donning a full abaya and a veil. The attacker was wearing an explosive strapp

Tuesday evening, United States President Barack Obama went to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, to deliver a televised address to announce his new approach to the War in Afghanistan. President Obama announced an increase of 30,000 US troops to be sent to Afghanistan. "The 30,000 additional troops that I am announcing tonight will deploy in the first part of 2010 – the fastest pace possible – so that they can target the insurgency and secure key population centers. They will increase our ability to train competent Af

A Pakistani provincial politician was killed earlier today by a teen-aged suicide bomber in the northwestern Swat valley. Shamsher Ali Khan, a member of the Awami National Party, was receiving guests at his residence in the town of Kanju, when a young man, armed with explosives. walked into the grounds of the house. He blew himself up, killing Khan and injuring over twelve other people. According to police, two of the victim's brothers were among those hurt. The blast was so strong it damaged portions of the building. The guests were reporte

Edward Natapei, the Prime Minister of Vanuatu has lost his position and parliamentary seat over a paper work blunder. Natapei was in Trinidad and Tobago at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and his staff failed to file the paperwork that notified the parliamentary speaker of his absence. Under Vanuatu law, since he missed three consecutive sittings of parliament without notifying the speaker in writing, he must forfeit his seat. In order to comply with the law, Natapei would have needed to submit a signed explanation for his absen

Iran announced earlier today that it plans to build ten new uranium enrichment plants. Iranian media reported that the Cabinet approved the construction of the plants just two days after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) censured Iran for its nuclear activities. The proposed facilities, reported to be similar to Iran's main nuclear plant at Natanz, would vastly increase the nation's capacity to produce enriched uranium. Iranian media quoted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying that Iran should get to the point where it can produ