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Controversial Dutch lawmaker enters UK after ban overturned

Days after a court allowed him entry into Britain, controversial Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders said his arrival Friday marked “a victory for the freedom of speech.” “I hope, once again, that the UK government will never, never turn back somebody for political reasons because they don’t like what they are saying,” Wilders said at a news conference at the Houses of Parliament. Wilders, known for his much-criticized film about Islam, was denied entry into Britain in February when he flew there to screen the film, “Fitna,” at the House of Lords

Tsvangirai’s party boycotting Zimbabwe government

Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change — the party of Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai — is boycotting the country’s unity government, the party’s leader said Friday. “This is a constitutional crisis,” said Tsvangirai as he railed against President Robert Mugabe’s party.

Afghan women still struggle, 8 years on

Afghan women have seen their status rise and fall repeatedly over the past three decades, attaining a measure of equality in the early 1990s before the strictly Islamic Taliban muscled their way to power and forced women to again wear the burqa and stay out of school.

More than 85,000 Iraqis killed in war violence, ministry says

The bombings, shootings and fighting across Iraq in nearly five years of war have left more than 85,000 Iraqis dead, a government ministry said in a report. The Iraqi Human Rights Ministry said 85,694 people were killed from 2004 to October 31, 2008, in the violence across the country.

Blast kills at least 8 in Pakistan

At least eight people were killed Thursday morning when a suicide car bomber rammed a police station in northwest Pakistan, authorities said.

Billy Graham’s son visits North Korea

The Rev. Franklin Graham has arrived in North Korea bearing a gift for North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the country’s official news agency reported Wednesday.

Puerto Rico braces for ‘people’s strike’

Labor unions called for a “people’s strike” to be held on Thursday in Puerto Rico to protest widespread government cutbacks announced last March in the wake of the economic downturn.

It’s tricky for wikis and online encyclopedias in China

When Jimmy Wales visited the headquarters of Hudong.com last month, he had one question for its founder: is it possible for Wikipedia to be the number one online encyclopedia in China?

End to Honduras crisis? Not so fast, negotiator says

A negotiator for de facto Honduran President Roberto Micheletti said that no deal was reached between the two opposed sides Wednesday, as other government officials had reported. Ninety percent of an agreement to end the country’s ongoing political crisis has been reached, Micheletti negotiator Vilma Morales said at a news conference Wednesday, but some key points remained to be worked out

Calderon’s Mexico Utility Shutdown: A Bold Reform Move

Economic reform arrived at Mexico’s electrical utility on Saturday night wearing black body armor, crash helmets and ski masks. Flabbergasted workers arriving for early morning shifts on Sunday found thousands of Federal police deployed to enforce a government decree shutting down the company.