Politics

Voters went to the polls on Tuesday for several US state elections seen by some as a referendum on the policies of President Barack Obama one year after his election (and by others as a purely local election). A few key races in the elections are in states the president carried last year. In Virginia, results indicated that Republican candidate Bob McDonnell won over Democrat Creigh Deeds in the governor's race. Polls suggested that many independent voters in the state who last year voted for Obama supported McDonnell. Another race being cl

British mercenary Simon Mann was released from a jail in Equatorial Guinea after being pardoned for attempting to overthrow the government. Mann, along with several dozen other suspected plotters, was arrested five years ago on charges of trying to start a coup to overthrow president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Their plans were foiled, however, and Mann was arrested after arriving in Zimbabwe to purchase firearms and grenades. The conspirators had planned to install exiled opposition leader Severo Moto as president and to gain control over

With sixteen years under his belt, Thomas Menino has won his fifth term as Mayor of Boston, longer than any other mayor in Boston's history since it elected its first mayor nearly 200 years ago. Menino became acting mayor on July 12, 1993 when he assumed the position after the resignation of Mayor Ray Flynn, who left to become Ambassador to the Holy See. Menino won his first election that November. On July 12 of this year, he became Boston's longest reigning mayor. Menino defeated his opponents, the combined team of City Councilors At-Large M

With two by-elections coming up in Australia, many minor parties and independents will be looking to gain a seat in the House of Representatives. Dr Clive Hamilton AM is one of the independents / candidate for the Australian Greens. Dr Hamilton was awarded Member of the Order of Australia honours for his contributions to public debate and public policy earlier this year. Wikinews reporter Patrick Gillett held an exclusive email interview with Dr Hamilton, candidate for the Division of Higgins. In participating in this interview, Dr Hamilton w

Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission stated today that it cancelled the presidential runoff, originally scheduled for November 7, and officially declared president Hamid Karzai the winner. This announcement comes a day after President Hamid Karzai's main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from the race. "We declare that Mr. Hamid Karzai, [who] got the majority of votes in the first round and [who] is the only candidate for the second round of elections of Afghanistan in 2009, we declare [is] the elected p

With two by-elections coming up in Australia, many minor parties and independents will be looking to gain a seat in the House of Representatives. Zahra Stardust (real name Marianna Leishman) is the candidate for the Australian Sex Party. Wikinews reporter Patrick Gillett held an exclusive interview with Ms Stardust, candidate for the Bradfield electorate. “In an area that claims 50 years of conservative representation from white, heterosexual, able-bodied, suited, male protagonists, the Australian Sex Party is excited to a provide modern outw

Afghanistan authorities said on Saturday that they have arrested at least six people believed to have been involved in Wednesday's deadly attack on a United Nations guesthouse in Kabul. Afghan intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh announced the arrests on Saturday. The assault, lead by militants linked to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, killed five foreign UN employees and at least two Afghan guards. The three attackers also were killed. The Taliban said the attack was the first step in a plan to disrupt Afghanistan's November 7 presidential runoff elec

Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah said today that he will not participate in this week's runoff election against President Hamid Karzai, accusing the government of not meeting his demands for a fair vote. Abdullah said that his withdrawal is in protest of what he called the misconduct of the government and the country's Independent Election Commission (IEC). Abdullah had given Karzai until Saturday to remove the country's top election official Azizullah Ludin in an effort to avoid a repeat of the massive fraud that marred the Au

Partial results from Mozambique's Wednesday elections indicate that the incumbent FRELIMO, or the Mozambican Liberation Front party, will win around three-quarters of the votes, giving it a comfortable victory. Preliminary results released by the National Electoral Commission indicated that Armando Guebuza, the president of Mozambique, has 74% of votes in the presidential elections, or 536,440 votes, according to results based on 18% of polling stations. The opposition candidate Daviz Simango, who is the mayor of the city of Beira, came in a

A French magistrate has ordered former President Jacques Chirac to stand trial on embezzlement charges dating back to the 1990s, when he was mayor of Paris. The order is unprecedented, and follows several other trials targeting former high-level politicians. Chirac did not respond directly to news he has been ordered to stand trial, but a statement from his office said he was serene and determined to clear himself. The former president is charged with embezzlement and breach of trust relating to allegations that 35 people were given fake jobs

Sources close to Afghanistan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah said that he may pull out of next week's runoff election against President Hamid Karzai, due to concerns about the credibility of the poll. Abdullah had given Karzai until Saturday to remove the country's Independent Election Commission (IEC) chief, Azizullah Lodin. It was one of several conditions that Abdullah had voiced this week to avoid a repeat of the massive fraud that marred the August 20 presidential election. As of Saturday, Karzai had not agreed to his opponent'

US president Barack Obama visited the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Thursday, 161 km (100 mi) away from White House, to honor 18 soldiers who died in Afghanistan due to varying reasons. The bodies of the dead were brought by C-17 air craft. Obama left the White House around 00:19 local time (-7 UTC) by helicopter and reached the base where the C-17 air plane brought the bodies of the dead. Obama stood silent and motionless near the air plane while the bodies were brought down and were wrapped with the American flag. Ten of those soldier