News about politics

Ukraine parliament confirms new defence minister Ukraine's parliament confirmed National Guard chief Stepan Poltorak as the former Soviet state's fourth defence minister.

14 October 2014

Cancellation of Catalonia referendum 'excellent news': Spain PM Spain's Prime Minister hailed the decision by Catalan leaders to call off a planned vote on independence as "excellent news.

14 October 2014

Kerry meets Egypt's Sisi to press democracy US Secretary of State John Kerry was meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to press the former military leader to adopt greater democratic reforms.

13 October 2014

Turkey says US can use air bases for IS fight: US official Turkey has granted the United States access to its air bases for the campaign against the Islamic State group.

13 October 2014

Australia PM vows to 'shirtfront' Putin at G20 over MH17 Prime Minister vowed to "shirtfront", or confront, Russian President at the G20 summit next month over the loss of Australian lives in the MH17 crash.

13 October 2014

Nationalists ahead in Bosnia presidency races Nationalist candidates of Bosnia's Croats, Muslims and Serbs were ahead in the race for the country's tripartite presidency.

13 October 2014

China's Li in Russia for Putin talks Chinese Prime Minister arrived in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin as Russia is struggling with its most pronounced isolation since the end of the Cold War.

13 October 2014

West to learn if sanctions softened Russia on Ukraine Western allies should learn if their punishing sanctions on Russia have softened its stance on Ukraine enough to justify Europe's economic recovery.

13 October 2014

Kerry calls for new Middle East peace talks John Kerry called for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, saying both sides had to be helped to make "tough choices" for lasting stability.

13 October 2014

Greek PM narrowly wins parliamentary confidence vote Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras won a parliamentary confidence vote, which he called in a bid to rally support.

11 October 2014

Standard and Poor's lowers France outlook to 'negative' Ratings agency Standard and Poor's kept its 'AA' rating for France but lowered its outlook from "stable" to "negative" on fears over the country's budget situation.

11 October 2014

Brazil President Rousseff trailing in latest poll Brazil President Dilma Rousseff narrowly trailed challenger Aecio Neves in latest opinion polls ahead of their October 26 election showdown.

10 October 2014

'Missing' Kim Jong-Un absent on key party anniversary North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un apparently missed a key political event, extending a month-long absence.

10 October 2014

Dalai Lama row puts ANC on collision course with history Dalai Lama asked for a visa to attend next week's first ever summit of Nobel laureates in Africa, Zuma's government demurred and the Tibetan cancelled his trip.

10 October 2014

White House walks back talk of Syria-Turkey buffer zone The White House denied it was planning to create a safe haven along Turkey's border with Syria.

09 October 2014

Poland keen to play fresh role in Ukraine crisis talks Poland is keen to work with Germany and France in search of a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis.

09 October 2014

Buffett would 'bet money' on Clinton becoming president Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Tuesday he would bet money on Hillary Clinton becoming the next president of the United States.

08 October 2014

Charles Michel, Belgium's youngest PM for 174 years Belgium's Charles Michel, who became prime minister, is a 38-year-old French-speaking liberal who is now one of the youngest leaders in Europe.

08 October 2014

Brazil's Dilma Rousseff, from guerrilla to president Dilma Rousseff is a former leftist guerrilla once imprisoned and tortured by the country's military regime who is now fighting a different battle.

07 October 2014

Russian 'bear' needs firmness and tact, says EU's Mogherini The European Union's incoming foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said that the Russian "bear" needed to be handled with a mixture of firmness and tact.

07 October 2014

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