site.news_by_theme politics
N. Korea top task for South's first female president
Park Geun-Hye will be sworn in as South Korea's first female president next week -- a historic landmark clouded by North Korea's recent nuclear test and threats emanating from Pyongyang.
21 February 2013
Has politics weighed on Oscars race?
Perhaps it is no surprise, given that 2012 was a US election year, but this year's Oscars crop includes a heavy dose of politics -- which has arguably influenced Hollywood's top awards race.
19 February 2013
Tunisia in crisis as president's party rejects govt plan
Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki's secular party said Monday it would stay in the ruling coalition reversing a previous threat, but maintained its call for key Islamist ministers to resign.
12 February 2013
Scotland may have to reapply to UN and EU, says Britain
Scotland may have to reapply for membership of international organisations such as the UN and EU if it votes for independence.
11 February 2013
Russia's Medvedev hunted in mystery video campaign
A slick documentary film has mysteriously emerged on the Russian Internet where former ambassadors, an ex-general and even an ex-prime minister line up to accuse Dmitry Medvedev of betraying Russia's interests.
06 February 2013
Chavez 'clearly' recovering: official
Hugo Chavez is making steady progress recovering from cancer surgery, said the leader of Venezuela's parliament, who said the convalescing president is "clearly" moving ahead in his recovery.
04 February 2013
Berlusconi vows to refund money from unpopular tax
Former premier Silvio Berlusconi vowed Sunday to refund the money Italians have had to fork out for an unpopular property tax if his coalition wins this month's elections.
04 February 2013
Change in Israel needed for peace talks: Palestinians
The Palestine Liberation Organisation said Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have to drastically change tack if peace talks were to resume.
31 January 2013
Russia says Assad blundered, as regime courts opposition
Russia's prime minister has said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made a "grave, perhaps fatal error" by delaying political reforms, as Damascus courted opposition forces.
29 January 2013
Outrage as Berlusconi praises Mussolini on Holocaust Day
Italy's gaffe-prone former premier Silvio Berlusconi sparked outrage Sunday with remarks praising wartime dictator Benito Mussolini despite Il Duce's persecution of Jews and allowing thousands to be deported to Auschwitz.
28 January 2013
Venezuela making 'bald-faced lies' over Chavez: opposition
Venezuela's government is flat-out lying to its people about cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez's health, the country's leading opposition figure charged Sunday.
28 January 2013
Clinton says can't predict her future, as 2016 looms
With only days left until she steps down as America's top diplomat, Hillary Clinton left the door open Sunday to a possible future run in the 2016 presidential elections.
28 January 2013
Czech 'Prince' goes punk in presidential bid
Wearing badges depicting him as punk rocker, blue-blooded Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg is proving a serious contender in his country's first direct presidential election.
24 January 2013
Concerns over media freedoms in Morsi's Egypt
The Cairo cafe is packed with patrons in stitches as television host Bassem Youssef fires his caustic criticism at President Mohamed Morsi, but post-revolution media freedoms have proved no laughing matter for some.
24 January 2013
Palestinians brace for new rightwing Israeli govt
The Palestinians are bracing for a new right-wing government that Israel's election is expected to produce, hoping that international and domestic moves will strengthen their position.
19 January 2013
German poll kicks off do-or-die year for Merkel alliance
German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces her first test at the polls in a general election year Sunday with a state vote that could prove even more decisive for her flailing coalition partners.
18 January 2013
Sri Lanka swears in new chief justice despite protests
Sri Lanka's president on Tuesday appointed the government's senior legal adviser as a replacement for the impeached chief justice, despite protests by lawyers and a chorus of international criticism.
15 January 2013
Gambians stage anti-EU demonstration
Thousands of Gambians Friday marched in the capital, Banjul to show solidarity with President Yahya Jammeh in his row with the European Union.
13 January 2013
Thousands gather in support of Malaysian opposition
Malaysian opposition supporters gathered by the thousands in the capital Saturday to call for the ouster of the country's long-ruling government in elections due within months.
13 January 2013
Japan summons China envoy for first time under PM Abe
Tokyo summoned the Chinese ambassador Tuesday for the first time under the new nationalist government to "strongly protest" against the presence of official ships in waters around disputed islands.
08 January 2013