Free Republic

Libya’s parliament swore in a new prime minister Sunday despite a disputed vote and walkouts from a largely secular bloc, lawmakers and a Libyan television reported. Despite the protest from a number of non-Islamist parliamentarians, the interim parliament swore in 42-year-old businessman Ahmed Matiq in a televised session headed by the second deputy of parliament, Saleh al-Makhzoum, and member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Justice and Construction Party. […] Al-Sharif al-Wafi, an independent lawmaker from Benghazi, said the swearing-in was unconstitutional and defied democratic principles. He said the second deputy of parliament continued the session after first deputy Ezzeddin al-Awami had...

South Korea's Prime Minister, Chung Hong-won, offered to resign on Sunday following withering criticism of the government’s handling of a ferry disaster that has plunged a nation into mourning and claimed at least 188 lives. The Sewol ferry was carrying 476 people, the majority schoolchildren, when it sank on April 16 while travelling to the tourist island of Jeju off the country’s southwest coast. By Sunday the official death toll stood at 188 with at least 114 still missing. Amid mounting criticism of the government’s response, Chung Hong-won, the Prime Minister, offered his resignation, apologising, “for many problems from the...

Narendra Modi, the odds on favourite for prime minister who is running under the banner of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has suffered a major blow. His right hand man, Amit Shah (pictured), has been barred from future campaign rallies after making a number of anti-Muslim statements. A close Modi aide for years, Shah was in charge of his campaign in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state. In announcing its decision on Sunday, the Election Commission said that Shah's statements promoted "hatred and ill will" between religions. It also urged police to press criminal charges.The politician, among other...

John Key: 'I'm not a reptile' He's been to a doctor and a vet just to make sure, but Prime Minister John Key is adamant he's not a shapeshifting reptilian alien. Mr Key was unusually forced to deny any previously non-declared extraterrestrial connections to reporters after an Auckland man put in an Official Information Act (OIA) request asking for proof he might be one. "To the best of my knowledge, no. Having been asked that question directly, I've taken the unusual step of not only seeing a doctor but a vet, and both have confirmed I'm not a reptile," a...

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigned on Tuesday in a bid to ease Ukraine's deadly two-month crisis as lawmakers debated key reforms.

Apparently UK gun control was effective enough so that Irfaq Naz had a 950,000-volt stun gun, hammers, kitchen knives, a machete and a samurai sword. But maybe he just liked the idea of manually beheading the Prime Minister, who once claimed that the UK needs to integrate with Islam rather than the other way around. Taxi driver Irfaq Naz, 34, was caught by officers in July driving the wrong way down a north London street having travelled down from his Middlesbrough home.An unsheathed Samurai sword, a machete, kitchen knives, hammers and masking tape were also found in his Vauxhall Astra,...

The Langevin Block, the building across from Parliament Hill that houses the Prime Minister’s Office, was evacuated Wednesday morning amid reports of a suspicious person and package in the area. Prime Minister Stephen Harper was not in the building. Police also closed Wellington Street, the street in front of the Parliament Buildings, for two blocks, and taped off roads in the area. RCMP officers were questioning a man who was put into a police cruiser. A joint RCMP-Ottawa police team that deals with potentially hazardous materials was called to the scene. The Conservative government’s throne speech was to be delivered...

A man was in custody Wednesday after scuffling with security and leaving a suspicious package in the building that houses the Prime Minister’s office, Canadian police said. Prime Minister Stephen Harper was not in the Langevin Building at the time, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl. Lucy Shorey said. Ottawa Police Const. Chuck Benoit said there was commotion and a package was left after the suspect said he would do something. …

KEVIN Rudd has been sworn in as the nation's 28th Prime Minister, alongside Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and new Treasurer Chris Bowen. Governor-General Quentin Bryce confirmed the Labor caucus' decision last night to reinstall Mr Rudd in the post it removed him from just over three years ago. Mr Rudd’s wife Therese Rein, daughter Jessica and granddaughter Josephine were at Government House for the ceremony. Mr Albanese’s wife, former NSW deputy premier Carmel Tebutt, accompanied her husband. Mr Rudd will make a statement to parliament at noon, asserting his authority as Prime Minister and challenging Tony Abbott to bring...

The office of the new Palestinian prime minister says he has submitted his resignation after just two weeks on the job because of a conflict over authority, though it remains unclear whether he will actually step down. Former university dean Rami Hamdallah took office June 6 after being picked by President Mahmoud Abbas to replace internationally known Salam Fayyad. …

No.10 rocked by secret love affair: 'Stunned' PM holds crisis talks over fears tryst will 'blow political agenda out of the water' Identities of people involved or details of relationship cannot be disclosed They are middle-aged figures and the affair has now concluded Mr Cameron was ‘stunned’ when told the identities of alleged lovers He ‘immediately realised the importance of the story’, sources revealed 'None of us could believe it when we first heard it' said senior source David Cameron has held crisis talks at Downing Street after being told of allegations of a sensational love affair which has potentially...

Institutions Worthy of Our Parties: Should the U.S. Switch to a Parliamentary System? Efforts to curb legislative partisanship have weak track records, so maybe we should consider changing the other side of the equation in order to establish a government that can actually get things done. Rick Hasen has a really interesting paper up discussing partisan polarization and the possibility of changing the Constitution to deal with it. (And you should really read Jonathan Bernstein’s response, too.) Hasen starts off by asking whether we should be considering moving toward a more parliamentary style of government. It’s a fair question. We...

When Margaret Thatcher was elected England's first female prime minister of England in the spring of 1979, I was 12 years old and my father had been a congressman for less than four months. To me, it seemed as if it would be only a short while until my own country followed suit and elected a woman to serve as president. Of course, in my mind, it would be a conservative woman, strong willed, committed, determined and articulate. Like Thatcher. Thatcher served as prime minster for more than 11 years, stepping down only after a power struggle within her...

The Left has led sickening celebrations in response to the death of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Ethiopia’s ruling party on Saturday named as its leader acting Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who took over after the death last month of longtime leader Meles Zenawi, an official said at the end of a congress of party bosses. As chairman of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front, or EPRDF, Hailemariam, 47, will almost certainly be confirmed as the country’s prime minister in an upcoming official ceremony. Bereket Simon, Ethiopia’s communications minister, said Hailemariam would be sworn in soon. It remains unclear exactly when, but Bereket said this might happen early next month. “Since the party holds an overwhelming majority...

Greek party leaders have named who will head the country's new coalition government. Barring any last-minute changes, sources said house speaker Filippos Petsalnikos would take over the post of Prime Minister. 'We have agreed on Petsalnikos but things can change between now and when the prime minister sees the president,' a source close to the discussions said.

GREEK Prime Minister George Papandreou has agreed to step down and political leaders will now meet to form a new unity government to end the political crisis, the president's office said. The deal was reached after a meeting between Mr Papandreou, main opposition leader Antonis Samaras and President Carolos Papoulias, the Greek head of state. "An agreement was reached to form a new government to immediately lead the country to elections after ratifying the decisions taken by the European Council on October 26," the president's office said in a statement.

The Prime Minster gave a speech to Parliament on Monday on reforming British immigration laws. He is immediately directing immigration officials in his administration to crack-down on immigrants from mostly Muslim countries who have no loyalties to Britain, British values or British culture.  •Forced Marriages to be a criminal offense •End to Anchor babies - Families will need to post a bond of thousands of pounds to bring in other family members from overseas •A call on all loyal Citizens of Great Britain to turn in illegal immigrants, particularly those who overstay their Visas •Lengthening and strengthening the Test...

LABOR may have finally bounced off rock bottom but Australia's oldest political party and its leader are still facing a historic loss of public confidence and electoral failure. A three-point rise in the Newspoll primary vote for the ALP has avoided the unthinkable for the Gillard government of going to 25 per cent or below to have less support than the combined vote for the Greens and various odds and sods, but the broader view of this survey of public opinion about Labor - as well as the personal standing of Julia Gillard - is devastating. The electorate has not...

Readings:• Isa 22:19-23• Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8• Rom 11:33-36• Mt 16:13-20“The doctrine of the primacy of Peter is just one more of the many errors that the Church of Rome has added to the Christian religion.”So wrote the Presbyterian theologian Loraine Boettner in his 1962 book, Roman Catholicism, a popular work of anti-Catholic polemics. Although the religious landscape has changed significantly since the early 1960s, there are still many non-Catholic Christians today who agree wholeheartedly with Boettner’s assertions. The Papacy is unbiblical! It has no basis in Scripture! Peter was never singled out as a leader of the apostles!...