Politics

Former member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Tommy Sheridan and his wife are to be tried for perjury. The charges stem from Tommy and Gail Sheridan's successful £200,000 defamation suit against British tabloid newspaper The News of the World in 2006, during which the judge said that conflicting evidence meant some witnesses were perjuring themselves. This led to an investigation by Lothian and Borders Police. The newspaper had accused Tommy Sheridan of having an affair. Sheridan established the Scottish Socialist Alliance in 1996, which bec

The Scottish Parliament has narrowly rejected the Scottish government's proposed £33 billion budget. The devolved parliament was tied 64-64 on the motion to approve the budget after two Green Party MSPs switched away from backing the minority Scottish National Party (SNP) administration. The Presiding Officer (speaker) of the parliament, Alex Fergusson, used his casting vote to reject the budget. Finance Secretary John Swinney of the SNP announced that he would immediately reintroduce it. The budget had the backing of the Scottish Conservative

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, an openly gay Icelandic politician currently serving as the nation's Minister for Social Affairs, is soon to be appointed prime minister. The appointment will mark the first time ever that an openly gay individual has been appointed head of a national government. She will remain interim prime minister until the general election, rescheduled for May. Jóhanna, 66, has support from both parties in the new coalition government, and she says she will accept the position under the condition that both parties will trust her. O

In an interview on Israeli television, the country's foreign minister Tzipi Livni said that another offensive against Hamas, inside the Gaza Strip, was possible if the smuggling of weapons through tunnels under the strip is not halted. This comes just one day after Press TV reported that Israeli F-16 fighter jets once again began to fly over the Strip. "We embarked on the operation in order to bring quiet [to Southern Israel] - now there is quiet, and to stop the firing of rockets - now the firing has stopped. As far as I am concerned, we cou

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, otherwise known as the Tamil Tigers, have told the BBC that they are prepared to fight back against Sri Lankan forces. The vow follows reports that Sri Lankan forces are laying siege to the last rebel-held areas of the island. The Sri Lankan army have said that the "final battle" was underway and predicted that the Tamil rebellion is finished. There have been rumours that Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Tigers' leader since the conflict began, had fled in the face of the assault. But political leader B Nadesan

President Barack Obama of the United States had his first full interview since his inauguration, on Al Arabiya television. The Dubai television network in the United Arab Emirates had exclusive access to the President. During the interview, Obama repeated a campaign promise to deliver a speech in a Muslim capital, and urged that the peace process between Israel and Palestine resume. "We cannot tell either the Israelis or the Palestinians what's best for them. They're going to have to make some decisions. But I do believe that the moment is ri

__NOTOC__ The Bolivian President, Evo Morales, 49, has claimed victory after voters ratified a new leftist constitution, granting more power to the country's indigenous majority. "The indigenous farmers, the most marginalized sector throughout the history of the republic, are now recognized as people with the same rights as any citizen. Here begins the new Bolivia. Here we begin to reach true equality," Morales told a crowd in front of the flag-draped balcony of Palacio Quemado in La Paz, the administrative capital of Bolivia. Ratified with

Mamadou Dia, The first Prime Minister of Senegal has died today at the age of 99. The cause of death was announced as natural causes. Dia died in Dakar, the capitol of Senegal. Born on July 18, 1910 in Kombolé, Senegal, he served as Prime Minister of Senegal from 1957-1962. Dia started life in politics as a leader in the Afrique occidentale française (AOF) in 1948, shortly before being elected as a senator in 1949. He retired his senate seat in 1955 when he was appointed prime minister by the French National Assembly to serve alongside the ne

Netizens have discovered the photograph that was used to create the iconic Barack Obama "HOPE" poster, which became a national symbol during his 2008 presidential campaign in the United States. Los Angeles, California street artist Shepard Fairey's poster design is an almost exact match to an Associated Press photo from October 2006 or earlier. Prior reports beginning on January 14, 2009 claimed that the poster was based on a different photo, a shot by Reuters photographer Jim Young from January 2007. However, on January 20, 2009 Flickr user

The United States Senate has, in a 94–2 vote yesterday, approved Hillary Clinton as the next United States Secretary of State. She is now the 67th person to hold that position and succeeds Condoleezza Rice. During the Senate debate, the issue of the foundation of Hillary's husband, former President Bill Clinton, was again raised, as it was during the hearing held by the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Some politicians have expressed concern that foreign donations to the foundation may create conflicts of interest for Hilla

Caroline Kennedy, considered to be among the front-runners for the United States Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, yesterday withdrew her name from consideration for the seat. New York state Governor David Paterson had been reported as intending to name her as Clinton's replacement this Saturday. Caroline Kennedy, the only surviving child of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, issued a statement at midnight saying she had quit her bid because of "personal reasons". A close associate of Kennedy, who spoke under the

__NOTOC__ Today, the official ceremony ushering in Barack H. Obama II as the new president of the United States took place at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. A 21-gun salute, as well as the playing of four ruffles and flourishes and "Hail to the Chief", marked the moment he assumed power from his predecessor, George W. Bush. Bush's second term as President of the United States, which began on January 20, 2005, expired with the swearing-in of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, at noon EST (UTC-5), under the p