Politics

Corazon Aquino, the 11th president of the Philippines, has died today at Makati Medical Center of complications from colon cancer. She was 76. She had been in the hospital since June. She was the first female president of the Philippines and Asia's first female President. She was born María Corazón Sumulong Cojuangco on January 25, 1933 in Paniqui, Tarlac, Philippines. She was the widow of Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., a leading figure in the political opposition against the autocratic rule of Dictator Ferdinand Marcos. After her husband was as

The President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, has chosen a new National Police Chief. Provincial transport minister Bheki Cele will replace Jackie Selebi, who is awaiting the outcome on charges of corruption. Zuma said in a statement to the press that the appointment is "integral" to the government's plan of reducing the country's crime levels within five years. South Africa has a high crime rate and, on average, has nearly 50 murders a day. "I would like one day for a young girl to be able to walk alone from a nightclub or elsewhere without a

Maharani Gayatri Devi, formerly the Rajmata of Jaipur and one of the last of India's surviving royalty, died Wednesday, July 29, after a ten-day illness. She was 90 years old. Born in 1919 into the royal family of Cooch Behar, in 1939 Devi married Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II of Jaipur, becoming his third wife. After India gained independence in 1947, the popular Devi ran for parliament in 1962 as a member of the Swatantra Party, winning her constituency with a then-record 78% of the vote. Devi won reelection twice, but she ran afoul of tax la

Newsroom Style Guide - how to write Content Guide - what to write The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, announced on Tuesday that "We will freeze relations with Colombia." He attributed the decision to "new aggression by the government of Colombia." Further, he said, "I've ordered to withdraw our ambassador from Bogota, to withdraw our diplomatic personnel." This diplomatic move follows claims by Colombia that amongst weapons its military has captured from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are AT4 anti-tank rockets manuf

An Iranian airliner overshot a runway in the Iranian city of Mashhad and crashed into a perimeter wall, smashing the front of the aircraft and leaving 17 dead and 19 injured. This accident occurred less than 10 days after an Iranian airliner en route to the Armenian capital of Yerevan crashed, killing 168 people. The Aria Aviation Company's Russian-built Ilyushin II-62 airliner landed near the middle of the runway, according to deputy transport minister Ahmad Majidi, and crashed into the perimeter wall before striking power lines and coming

Armenia's defense minister Seyran Ohanian has announced that nation will contribute troops to the ISAF forces in Afghanistan. Colonel Seyran Shahsuvarian told Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL) that an Armenian military official is discussing the details of the deployment at a NATO planning conference in Germany. Armenia, as part of the USSR, has previously participated in the failed Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, and veterans have expressed a willingness to return to the front according to the Associated Press (AP). As of yet, no detai

Preacher, painter and prohibition activist Gene Amondson, best known for his runs as the U.S. presidential nominee for one faction of the Prohibition Party in 2004 and as the party's de facto nominee in 2008, died yesterday surrounded by his four children after falling into a coma following a stroke. He was 65 years old. Amondson was part of the Prohibition Party split in 2004 that led to two tickets. Although he received few votes, Amondson finished in third place in four Louisiana parishes, the best showing by a Prohibition Party candidate

A former official from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine has confessed to involvement in the abduction and murder of journalist Georgiy R. Gongadze in 2000. Olexiy Pukach has also implicated other officials in the crime. Gongadze criticised the government of then-President Leonid Kuchma. On September 16, 2000, he was abducted and his decapitated remains were found two weeks later near Kiev. Kuchma's opponents described the slaying as political, and there was widespread controversy on national and international levels. Olexiy Pukach,

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the first ever landing of humans on the Moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 touched down on the lunar surface at 20:17 UTC on July 20. The historic anniversary was marked by the current United States President, Barack Obama, meeting the crew, Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin, the first men on the satellite's surface, and Michael Collins, who remained in lunar orbit. Obama praised the men and commented on the global historical significance of their deeds. At the time of the initial landing Aldrin and A

__NOTOC__ Iceland has applied to the presidency of the European Union for membership. The application, made on Friday, followed a 33-to-28 vote (with 2 abstentions) on Thursday in the Alþingi (the national parliament of Iceland) to approve the application, on a motion proposed by the Social Democratic Alliance party. The application follows a campaign promise to join the EU made by Prime Minister of Iceland Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir during the recent elections in April. Should the application be approved by the EU (a process that involves eval

According to the Pew Research Center, a non-advocacy organization that evaluates issues, attitudes and trends shaping the political landscape of the United States, centrism is on the rise in America. According to Pew, the number of Americans identifying themselves as independents has reached the highest level in 70 years. Recently 36% of Americans say they are independents, 35% identify as Democrats, while 23% see themselves as Republicans. Some people are abandoning the major parties, re-registering as independent or joining third parties. O

Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Iranian cleric, former president of Iran, and current head of the Expediency Council, has given his first Friday prayer service in Tehran since the disputed June 12 Iranian presidential election. In the sermon, which was held at Tehran University and twice disrupted by loud chanting from demonstrators, Rafsanjani first discussed the earliest days of Islam and Mohammed's lessons of the importance of human rights for all people and unity among all Muslims. He then made reference to Ja'far al-Sadiq, an 8th century C.E. Is