Politics

While nearly all cover of the 2008 Presidential election has focused on the Democratic and Republican candidates, there are small political parties offering candidates, and those who choose to run without a party behind them, independents. Wikinews is interviewing some of these citizens who are looking to become the 43rd person elected to serve their nation from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Our third interview is with Henderson, Nevada's Brad Lord-Leutwyler, a professor of logic and critical thought at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Cap

Former Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee, a lifelong Republican who left the party in 2007 following a defeat in the 2006 midterm elections, endorsed Democratic Senator Barack Obama in his bid for the White House. Chafee said Obama is the "best candidate to restore American credibility, to restore our confidence to be moral and to bring people together to solve the complex issues". Chafee was considered a liberal Republican in the Senate disagreeing with his party on issues such as the War in Iraq, abortion, gay rights, global warming and t

Wikinews was notified last night that Frank Zilaitis is switching gears, by dumping his Presidential campaign, and going after a seat in Congress, for Florida's District 15. He has launched a "Frankly Frank" campaign. He says that he has always intended on running for the position, no matter whether the incumbent was returning or not. Just weeks ago, Zilaitis told television reporters from Central Florida News 13 that "I actually believe -- and I have no choice but to believe -- that I can be the next 44th president of the United States of Am

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's trip to San Antonio, Texas renewed an intense debate about the abortion issue. The Democratic Senator held a rally at the Roman Catholic St. Mary's University after receiving an invitation from the school. San Antonio Archbishop Jose Gomez criticized the school for not consulting with him before offering the invitation. He stated that the candidate's pro-choice position on abortion contradicts the religion's rejection of the practice and added that her "positions against the teachings of the church and

A motion has been passed in the Parliament of Australia to make a formal apology to the Stolen Generations. Thousands of people converged on Canberra, the capital city, to witness the event. Many Indigenous people set up camp on the lawns outside Old Parliament House at the site of the Tent Embassy which has been on the site since Australia Day 1972. The front doors of Parliament House opened at 7:30 a.m. with many people queuing from before 7 a.m. to gain a place inside. With the House of Representatives public gallery packed, about a thousan

Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois and 2008 US presidential candidate has swept all three of today's Democratic contests in the "Potomac primaries" consisting of the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. and the bordering states of Virginia and Maryland. Obama led in the Virginia polls 67 percent, while in the District of Columbia, he lead 76 percent over opponent, New York senator Hillary Clinton's 24 percent. This sweep gives him a slight lead over Clinton in the delegate count. Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign lost an aide today, a

George W. Bush, president of the United States met with the Malian President Amadou Touré yesterday. Mr.Bush said that he "was touched by the [Malian] President's concern about the life of the average citizen in Mali," and that he is "proud to be standing side-by-side with you [Amadou Touré]." Mr.Bush started the press conference after the meeting by saying that one of the reasons he wants to work with Mali is "because they've agreed to fight corruption, and support the education and health of its citizens." He added that he believes Mali

Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee moves his campaign to Wisconsin today after being defeated by John McCain in the Washington, Maryland and Virginia primaries last night. Tonight, Huckabee will attend a rally in Pewaukee. Tomorrow he will be making stops in Madison, La Crosse, Wausau and Green Bay. As of this writing, he has 217 delegates compared to front runner John McCain, who has 827, more than tripling Huckabee. The Wisconsin primary, for both Democrats and Republicans, is on February 19.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today announced the dissolution of the Parliament of Malaysia. Badawi, also known informally as Pak Lah, has been expected for some time to call for parliamentary elections. Only yesterday, the Prime Minister had responded to journalists that he would do "no such thing" today. In a response to the announcement, Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang expressed his regrets on the time of calling elections, as it, in his words, "showed insensitivity and disrespect to the Chinese New Year cel

Wikinews held an exclusive interview with Bob Jackson, one of the candidates for the Libertarian Party nomination for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Jackson, an engineer, believes that he can win the Libertarian nomination and, though it is unlikely, the White House as well. He believes that the strength of America is based on the maximum freedom of citizens who are responsible for their actions. "This", he says, "is guaranteed by the Constitution and made possible by the rule of law and limited government." He has plans for Iraq and t

The Australian parliament will apologise tomorrow for past mistreatment of Australia's indigenous population. The wording of the apology will be revealed after 5pm AEDT (UTC+11) today, and will be read in parliament tomorrow at 9am AEDT. Opposition leader Brendan Nelson has given in-principle support to an apology, but has criticised the government for the delay in releasing the wording. He has written his speech without seeing the apology. "If Mr Rudd wants to unify Australia, to bring our nation together, the most important person he sho

This year, four breeds of dogs are competing for the first time in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, United States. The new breeds making their Westminister debuts this year, are the Plott, a hunting hound originally bred by two German immigrant brothers in North Carolina; the Tibetan Mastiff, once described by Marco Polo as "tall as a donkey with a voice as powerful as that of a lion."; the Beauceron, a herding dog originally bred to herd flocks of sheep in France, later used to sniff out landmin