Politics

Police reports state that a bomb blast in a church in Nepal on Saturday has killed two people and injured at least a dozen more. The attack comes just hours before the national parliament was due to elect a new prime minister. The bomb detonated in the Church of the Assumption in the town of Lalitpur, located south of Nepal's capital of Kathmandu. The explosion occurred during the church's weekly function. Around 150 people were in the church at the time of the explosion. "The wounded people have been rushed to a local hospital and we are inv

Bingu wa Mutharika, the president of the African country of Malawi, was inaugurated on Friday after having been reelected to a second five-year term. The Malawian election commission had earlier reported that wa Mutharika had won the election, having taken 2.7 million votes, more than twice than the 1.3 million votes received by the second place contestant, John Tembo. In a statement at his inauguration ceremony, Mutharika said one of his highest priorities would be to battle with corruption. "My stance remains unwavering," he said. "I shall

Iran has successfully tested a Sajjil solid-propellant, surface-to-surface missile, according to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The president announced this at a campaign speech in Semnan. "... we launched a Sejil-2 missile, which is a two-stage missile and it has reached the intended target," Ahmadinejad said in the northern city which is close to the launch site. Ahmadinejad told the crowd of supporters: "The defense minister contacted me and said, ... 'With divine intervention and the assistance of the Lord of the Age, the Sejil-2 rocket, w

A copy of a letter written to the Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper by a Canadian man facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia has been obtained by The Canadian Press. In it, Mohamed Kohail pleads with the prime minister to utilise "every way possible to get me out of this situation." Kohail, 23, of Montreal, was sentenced on March 3, 2008 to be publicly executed following a confession for murder at a Saudi school. Kohail claims the confession was obtained under duress. The Saudi Supreme Court advised the lower court on April 9, 2009 t

The Speaker of the British House of Commons, the Right Honourable Michael Martin MP, told Parliament that he will "relinquish the office of Speaker on Sunday, 21st June". This preempts a vote of confidence in him that was scheduled later this week. He will also step down as the Member of Parliament for Glasgow North East, which will cause a by-election. In his statement to Parliament, Martin said he is standing down "in order that unity can be maintained," as he believes "that the House is at its best when it is united." Martin, Speaker since

Malawians went to the polls on Tuesday to vote in a new parliament and president. 3,900 voting stations were set up throughout the country. Polls opened at 6.00 am local time, and closed at 18.00. Six million people have been registered to vote in the elections. The leading candidates for the office of president include the incumbent, President Bingu wa Mutharika of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, and John Tembo, head of the coalition of the United Democratic Front and the Malawi Congress Party. "[Politics] is the main game in town.

The Right Honourable Michael Martin MP, the Speaker of the British House of Commons, faces a vote of no confidence this week. This motion will be launched by Tory Douglas Carswell MP. Martin addressed the House of Commons at 15:30 BST (14:30 UTC). Speaker Martin has faced much controversy over his handling of a recent scandal involving the expenses of Members of Parliament (MPs). Martin defended the House of Commons' authorities that requested a police investigation with regard to this leak, causing anger amongst many MPs. In his statement, t

Tens of thousands of protestors rallied in the streets of Taiwan on Sunday against president Ma Ying-jeou's engagement policy with China. Protestors claim Ma's policies could possibly undermine the country's self-rule. The march was lead by the chairman of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, Tsai Ing-wen. The march comes a few days before the anniversary of the president's appointment, which is due on Wednesday. The opposition claims that Ma will weaken the sovereignty of Taiwan, if he follows through on his pledge to abandon the an

Dalia Grybauskaite, the budget commissioner for the European Union, has claimed victory in the Lithuanian presidential elections. She received 68 percent of the vote after 96 percent of the ballots were tallied. Second place was taken by the Social Democrats' Algirdas Butkevicius, who took about 12% of the vote. "I am grateful for the responsibility invested in me," Grybauskaite said following the first round of voting on Sunday. Turnout in the elections was reported at slightly more than fifty percent. A candidate must win at least half th

India's Congress Party won a large victory in Saturday's general elections. According to state television, the alliance of Congress is ahead or has already won in 263 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party came in a distant second, with 154 seats, and the Third Front won sixty seats. Other parties took the remaining seats. "I express my deep sense of gratitude to the people for giving us this massive mandate, for having reposed their faith in the party," said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The results of the elections come as somewhat

Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse declared victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels on Saturday, after a civil war lasting 26 years. "I will be going back to a country that has been totally freed from the barbaric acts of the LTTE. This freedom comes after 30 long years," Rajapakse said. "My government's precise and well coordinated humanitarian operation has so far succeeded in rescuing over 210,000 civilians who were being used as human shields by the LTTE. "We have restricted the LTTE to one square kilometre-lik

In a meeting with Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari in Paris on Friday, French president Nicolas Sarkozy pledged to give twelve million Euro (US$16.2 million) in humanitarian aid to Pakistan. The funds will be given to more than one million internally displaced persons (IPD) in Pakistan who have been forced to flee from their homes following heavy violence between Taliban militants and the Pakistani army in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. "We've come to an understanding for a larger cooperation for the strengthening of Pakistan, s