International Business News - Politics & Policy http://www.ibtimes.com/politicsnpolicy/ All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif Armed pirates seized a Malaysian palm oil tanker with 39 crew off the coast of Somalia--the fourth hijacking in a month, a global maritime watchdog said Wednesday. 166358 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/pirates-seize-malaysian-tanker-off-somalias-coast.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:49:01 EDT A Republican official tells The Associated Press that Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman will be speaking at the Republican National Convention. The GOP official said Wednesday that Lieberman would deliver a speech as Republicans gathered in St. Paul to nominate John McCain for president. The official requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to make an announcement. 166531 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/sen-joe-lieberman-to-speak-at-gop-convention.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:48:36 EDT Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has dismissed comments from Russian officials who say Poland's decision to accept a U.S. missile defense base exposes the country to attack. 166333 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/112614-poland-us-missile-defense.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/rice-to-sign-missile-defense-deal-with-poland.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/rice-to-sign-missile-defense-deal-with-poland.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:47:39 EDT A convoy of badly needed food aid for beleaguered Georgians rumbled through a Russian checkpoint Wednesday, waved through by soldiers who themselves showed no signs of fulfilling their president's promise of a pullback within two days. 166354 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/112590-georgia-russia.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/russia-moves-toward-pullback-but-shows-strength.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/russia-moves-toward-pullback-but-shows-strength.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:44:04 EDT Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain has consistently followed the government's instructions for keeping prohibited foreign money out of their presidential campaigns, and some of that banned money has slipped into Obama's campaign. 166376 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/112631-overseas-donors.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/ap-impact-campaigns-take-cash-seek-details-later.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/ap-impact-campaigns-take-cash-seek-details-later.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:42:15 EDT Government opponents held general strikes in five regional capitals on Tuesday to demand Bolivian President Evo Morales return state shares of oil and natural gas income his administration diverted to fund a pension for the elderly. 166525 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/bolivian-opposition-protests-in-regional-capitals.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:41:00 EDT Electric and hybrid vehicles may be better for the environment, but the California Legislature says they're bad for the blind. It has passed a bill to ensure that the vehicles make enough noise to be heard by visually impaired people about to cross a street. 166521 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/calif-lawmakers-concerned-about-quiet-hybrid-cars.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:35:33 EDT Spanish media say an airliner has swerved off the runway at Madrid airport. It is unclear if there were casualties or if the plane was landing or taking off. Media reports conflict. 166528 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/reports-plane-swerved-off-madrid-airport-runway.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:34:30 EDT The city has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a lawsuit claiming 52 Iraq war activists were unjustly arrested, lawyers announced Tuesday. The activists were arrested in April 2003 outside the Manhattan offices of a military contractor, the Carlyle Group. 166519 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/nyc-to-pay-2-million-to-arrested-war-protesters.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:32:12 EDT The world's major industrial countries are calling for increased economic support for war-torn Georgia. Finance ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrial countries issued a joint statement Wednesday pledging support for Georgia's economy and its financial system. They also urged other countries and institutions to assist in the effort. 166496 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/g-7-countries-pledge-support-for-georgia.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:31:15 EDT European Union regulators Wednesday approved a deal between Japanese electronics companies JVC and Kenwood, saying the combination will not impede competition in European markets. 166518 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/european-regulators-approve-kenwood-jvc-deal.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:28:51 EDT A U.S. federal grand jury handed down a new indictment against Puerto Rico Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila Tuesday, charging him with four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with alleged campaign finance violations. 166512 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/puerto-rico-governor-indicted-on-5-new-charges.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:26:17 EDT German authorities would be able to block moves by foreign investors to take large stakes in German companies if they conclude that the investments endanger the country's interests under legislation endorsed Wednesday by the government. 166451 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/germany-approves-law-on-foreign-investment.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:24:29 EDT Members of the Bank of England's committee that sets interest rates are largely in agreement on policy, minutes from the group's August meeting revealed on Wednesday--though two members disagreed with the decision to leave rates unchanged. 166510 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/boe-members-largely-in-agreement-on-rate-policy.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:20:35 EDT The Appalachian Trail is getting something new along its 2,175-mile route from Georgia to Maine--a highway underpass. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is building an underpass to make a crossing safer in Cumberland County, where the trail crosses Wertzville Road in Middlesex Township. The trail crosses the road in a slight depression, with rises on both sides that hide approaching traffic. 166529 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/appalachian-trail-to-get-its-1st-highway-underpass.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:17:53 EDT A supervisor arrested after a large immigration raid at an Iowa meatpacking plant was hit with new charges Tuesday including conspiring to hire illegal immigrants. 166509 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/more-charges-filed-in-iowa-plant-immigration-raid.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:17:07 EDT He's said to be the richest man in Texas politics, but the disclosures Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has filed to the state Ethics Commission have only the barest details. 166500 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/texas-no-2-politician-stays-mum-on-his-wealth.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:07:46 EDT A father and son are accused of intentionally releasing thousands of gallons of oil into two Pennsylvania streams in the Allegheny National Forest, killing an unknown number of fish, reptiles and amphibians. 166497 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/father-son-charged-in-oil-spill-in-pa-forest.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:05:39 EDT "Girls Gone Wild" entrepreneur Joe Francis wants a California court to rescind a settlement he claims a federal judge coerced him into signing. Francis, who created the popular video series that features young women baring their breasts, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the parents of three underage girls, aiming to vacate an agreement reached in Panama City, Fla., and get his payout returned. The girls were filmed there, and their parents subsequently sued Francis. 166495 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/girls-gone-wild-founder-sues-to-rescind-payout.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:02:31 EDT President Bush says he sees "hopeful signs of progress" in New Orleans three years after Hurricane Katrina's devastation, while acknowledging the city is still struggling to recover. 166488 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080820/bush-new-orleans-still-struggling-after-katrina.htm Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:59:01 EDT