Politics

Pakistan's election commission is expected to announce a new date for the January 8 election after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto last week triggered nation-wide violence. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in Islamabad has more. Election officials say it is impossible to hold the vote January 8 because many of their offices and voting materials were destroyed in riots that followed the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Analysts expect the vote to be delayed until mid-February or March. But the two main op

Officials in Pakistan say parliamentary elections will be delayed until next month. VOA correspondent Nancy-Amelia Collins in Islamabad reports the Pakistan Election Commission says the delay is due to the destruction of election offices and materials in violence that broke out last week after Benazir Bhutto's assassination. Chief election commissioner Qazi Mohammed Farooq says the elections originally scheduled for January 8 are being postponed and will be held next month. "The polling will now be held on 18th February, 2008 instead of 8th J

At least 250 people have died in Kenya in post-election clashes across the nation. Incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was declared re-elected on Sunday in a close vote. His opponent Raila Odinga disputes the result and has called for a recount. The clashes have been along tribal lines, with Kibaki backed by the Kikuyu and Odinga by the Luo. The fighting has been particularly severe in western Kenya, a power base for Odinga. Police have been ordered to shoot looters on sight and have imposed a curfew in Kisumu, Kenya's third largest city. Kibera,

In the "2008 Taipei City New Year Countdown Party", several local and foreign media focused on the fireworks of the Taipei 101 due to the notability of the skyscraper world-wide. After some criticism from government executives because some wordmarks by sponsors appeared on the Taipei 101, the Taipei Financial Center (owner of Taipei 101) decided to set up 12,000 sparklers 500 meters tall from the 34th floor to the top of the tower on the 101st floor. Even though the ingredients of the sparklers were made in China, Vice President of Taipei 101

Today at midnight, the Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Malta, both small island states in the Mediterranean and former British colonies, adopted the euro as their official currency; less than four years after their accession to the European Union. Because Cyprus and Malta are in different time zones, Cyprus adopted the euro one hour before Malta did the same. In both countries the euro was welcomed with outdoor celebrations, including a fireworks display in Malta's capital Valletta. According to the BBC Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis

Responding to a request of the chairman of the German Minister of Interior Conference, the interior affairs chief of the State of Saxony, Mr. Albrecht Buttolo, told the Associated Press (AP) today that he sees hardly any chance to ban the German Church of Scientology. His statement adds to heavy critique by the extremism expert of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Kristina Köhler, as well as speakers of all other Federal Parliament parties, who stated that it would not be a governmental task to ban a group like the Church of Scientology. Th

The electoral commission of Pakistan held a meeting today to decide whether the general election of the country will go ahead as planned next week on Saturday January 8, 2008. A firm decision is expected on Tuesday; however, according to CNN, Election Commission Secretary Kanwar Dilashad told The Associated Press that a recommendation has been made to the Government to delay the election. It has not been stated how long this electoral delay will be, as no new projected date for the election has yet been proposed. Violent civil unrest has occur

Sara Jane Moore, 77, who tried to assassinate Former United States President Gerald Ford in 1975 was paroled from prison in California this afternoon. Moore tried to assassinate Ford outside of the St. Francis Hotel in downtown San Francisco on January 15, by firing one shot, which missed because a bystander grabbed Moore's arms just seconds before she fired the gun. The bullet missed hitting Ford in the head by inches. It is not yet known why she was released or what the conditions of her release were. In 2006, Ford died from natural causes

It has been announced that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, 19, the son of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will take her place as the head of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and lead the party alongside his father Asif Ali Zardari. It is also announced and confirmed that the PPP along with the Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), will contest the upcoming elections for a new Prime Minister on January 8. "I stand committed to the stability of the federation. The long and historic struggle for democracy will continue with

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has ordered security forces to take firm action against rioters following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. The violence has left at least 44 people dead and dozens injured. Mr. Musharraf insisted the measures were to protect people. VOA's Ayaz Gul reports from Islamabad that a bitter dispute has also erupted over how the 54-year-old politician died and who was behind her assassination. Thursday's assassination of Ms. Bhutto has plunged the Pakistani nation into a situation that many per

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a suicide attack yesterday, has been buried in her ancestral home in the village of Garhi Khuda Bakhsh. Meanwhile, violence has erupted across the nation in protest to the 54-year-old opposition leader's death. The Pakistani government has claimed to have evidence to suggest that al Qaeda were responsible for attacking her at the end of her address to an election rally. One spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said "We have intelligence intercepts indicating that al Qaeda le

With the Climate Conference in Bali having come to a successful conclusion, Wikinews journalist Sean Heron interviewed Christoph Bals from the German NGO Germanwatch on his opinion of the outcome, and an outlook on the future negotiations. Christoph is the Senior Political Executive of Germanwatch, Co-Author of the Climate protection-Index and did lobby work on Bali. The interview Introduction to Germanwatch Wikinews: Could you explain what defines the organization Germanwatch and what your targets are? Christoph Bals: Germanwatch is a non go