Politics

After successive suicide attacks in Mosul in recent days, killing over 40 people including the city's police chief, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced on Friday that Iraqi security forces and American troops were gathering for what he described as a "decisive" offensive against al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and its allies. "We have set up an operations room in Nineveh to complete the final battle with al Qaeda along with guerrillas and members of the previous regime," al-Maliki stated during a ceremony honoring the victims of the recent a

Australia will press on with plans to withdraw its troops from Iraq in June this year, although promises were made by the nation's foreign minister that relations with the United States will not be affected by the move. Foreign minister Stephen Smith said that the withdrawal will be conducted in an orderly fashion to minimise inconvenience to other nations in Iraq. Speaking in New York as part of his first US visit since the election he said "We want to do that in a way which sees minimal disruption, which causes the least inconvenience to our

The White House announced that the American president George W. Bush and his wife, First Lady Laura Bush will travel to Africa, next month. The tour, which is scheduled to take place from 15 to 21 February, will include visits to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia. The White House said the president will meet with leaders of these countries to discuss how the United States can support the continuation of democratic reforms, respect for human rights, and economic opportunities throughout the continent. The last time Bush visite

Romano Prodi, the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy (commonly referred to as Prime Minister), is facing votes of confidence in both houses of the Parliament of Italy. The Chamber of Deputies voted on Wednesday. The Senate will vote on Thursday. Prodi called for the votes himself on Tuesday in an effort to keep his weakened coalition in government. The vote in the Chamber of Deputies was won by Prodi. In the lower house, Prodi supporters still command a clear majority, in the form of Prodi's L'Unione, which took power after the 20

Romano Prodi, the Prime Minister of Italy, resigned Thursday evening after losing a vote of confidence in the Senate by a vote of 161-156. The vote comes in the wake of a growing crisis regarding corruption charges against Prodi's former Minister of Justice, Clemente Mastella. Prodi's fate was sealed when the UEDUR Populars, a smaller component of Prodi's ruling Olive Tree coalition, broke ranks and voted against him. Prodi did win the confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies, but was not expected to win the vote in the Senate. Some belie

United States Congressman and 2008 presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich has decided to quit his bid for the presidency and Democratic nomination. Kucinich noted in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on a interview on Thursday, that the Cleveland local and former mayor of the city was "transitioning out of the Democratic Presidential primary race" to focus on a "new direction." This comes a month after his youngest brother, Perry Kucinich, who had paranoid schizophrenia, was found dead. Kucinich told the Plain-Dealer he would make a longer statement

The parliament of Iraq has approved a new flag for the country. The new design no longer has the three green stars of the old flag, as they represented the ideals of the Baath party - "Unity, Freedom, Socialism". Saddam Hussein was a leading member of the Baath party before his rule was ended in 2003. The stars had upset many Kurds, who viewed them as a symbol of the régime that had killed thousands of their people. Massoud Barzani, President of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government, banned the flag in his region in 2006. "The n

Thousands of Palestinians entered the Egyptian territory from the Gaza Strip, after the border wall at the Rafah passage was destroyed. Palestinians say that this was to allow them to get food and fuel. The Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak announced that his government allowed residents of Gaza to enter Egypt, on the condition that it is peaceful and temporary. Witnesses reported that a large amount of the wall was destroyed by masked activists with explosives in the early hours of Wednesday, allowing overcrowded trucks of thousands of Pales

Republican Fred Thompson has officially withdrawn his bid for the United States presidency. This announcement comes after Thompson's third place finish in the South Carolina Republican primary, in which he received 16% of the vote, trailing Mike Huckabee and John McCain. "Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States," Thompson said today. "I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful peo

Tomislav Nikolić has won the first round of the Serbian presidential election with nearly 40% of the vote, according to election officials. Incumbent Boris Tadić came in second with 35% of the votes. The two will face each other in a runoff election on February 3. Coming in third was Velimir Ilić with about 7%, followed by Milutin Mrkonjić with about 6%. Tadic, a member of the Democratic Party, has pro-Western attitudes and supports Serbian membership in the European Union. Nikolić, leader of the Serbian Radical Party, supports closer ties wi

__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__ Today is Martin Luther King day in the USA. The day has been commemorated by many people including US president George Bush. In a visit to the Martin Luther King Memorial Library, Mr Bush said that he believed "Martin Luther King is a towering figure in the history [of the USA]." Barack Obama also marked the event by delivering a speech from the church which is seen by many to be the place where King became a prominent figure in the politics of the US. New York An event in New York was organized that involved at

Current Arizona senator John McCain won the South Carolina presidential primary in his bid to become the Republican candidate for President of the United States. With 97 percent of the votes counted, McCain was announced winner with 33 percent of the votes, followed closely by Mike Huckabee, who had just three percent less. "I know it's not easy and we've got a long way to go. There are some tough contests ahead," said McCain. In his concession speech, Huckabee vowed that his campaign will not falter. "The reason that I want to encourage you