Politics

A collection of 1709 posts

Politics

Japanese shares hit record high as Sanae Takaichi wins landslide election victory

The Liberal Democratic party won 316 of the 465 seats in the lower house, the first time a single party has secured a two‑thirds majority since parliament was established in 1947. Its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation party, added 36 seats, producing a supermajority of 352 and easing the

Politics

Machado says ally Juan Pablo Guanipa kidnapped after prison release

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said one of her closest allies was kidnapped hours after being released from prison. Machado said on social media that Juan Pablo Guanipa was taken around midnight in a residential neighbourhood of the capital, Caracas. "Heavily armed men, dressed in civilian clothes, arrived

Politics

NSW major event powers challenged as protesters seek to march on Herzog visit

Palestine Action Group Lawyers told the supreme court the New South Wales government handed police sweeping powers for the duration of Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit and had done so to suppress protests. The urgent hearing before Justice Robertson Wright came ahead of a planned march from Town Hall

Politics

US Treasury Secretary Pushes For Start On Fed Chair Confirmation Hearings

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged the Senate Banking Committee to begin confirmation hearings for Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh, despite a standoff over an ongoing probe into current Fed chair Jerome Powell. Speaking on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Bessent noted Senator Thom Tillis’ recent pushback and said,

Politics

Turning Point USA’s Halftime Show Pays Tribute to Charlie Kirk

Turning Point USA’s “All-American Halftime Show,” a streamed concert pitched as a conservative alternative to Bad Bunny’s main event at the Super Bowl, doubled as a tribute to the group’s late founder, Charlie Kirk. Kid Rock headlined the event and had said the performers planned "to

Politics

Angus Taylor expected to challenge Sussan Ley within days

Supporters expect Angus Taylor to challenge Sussan Ley for the Liberal leadership within days, arguing “something has to change” after a horror opinion poll and the chaos of the Coalition split. No decision has been made, but conservative MPs say it is a matter of when, not if, after the

Politics

Jimmy Lai to be sentenced after national security conviction

Jimmy Lai, a British citizen and founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, is due to be sentenced after a months-long trial that ended with convictions on national security offences. He was found guilty last December of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of

Politics

Japan’s Sanae Takaichi wins snap election in landslide

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won a snap election on Sunday, securing a landslide and a resounding mandate for her economic policies and tough stances on immigration and China. The Liberal Democratic Party captured an absolute majority in the 465-member House of Representatives, winning at least 310 seats, up from 198,

Politics

Venezuela Frees Key Opposition Figures as Government Courts U.S. Support

Venezuela on Sunday freed a group of prominent opposition leaders, including Juan Pablo Guanipa and Perkins Rocha. Ramón Guanipa Linares, Mr. Guanipa’s son, wrote on social media that after more than eight months of unjust imprisonment and more than a year and a half of being separated, the family

Politics

Frontline: Our Soldiers Facing Putin review

Nato is presented as vulnerable in reputational terms, dependent on US stability and generosity, with Donald Trumps shredding of the so-called "rules-based order" framed as a threat. Channel 4s two-part Frontline: Our Soldiers Facing Putin aims to give the alliance a PR boost by asking what

Politics

Starmer in fight to reassert control over Labour party after McSweeney exit

Keir Starmer accepted the resignation of his closest adviser, Morgan McSweeney, after anger over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. McSweeney said he took full responsibility for advising the appointment despite Mandelson's ongoing relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, a matter he said had undermined trust in Labour

Politics

Morgan McSweeney resigns after advising Mandelson appointment

Morgan McSweeney has resigned as chief of staff after pushing for Peter Mandelson to be appointed UK ambassador to the US despite Mandelson’s known ties to Jeffrey Epstein. In his resignation statement McSweeney said: “When asked, I advised the prime minister to make that appointment and I take full

Politics

Portugal Elects António José Seguro, Defeats Chega’s André Ventura

António José Seguro won Portugal’s presidential election in a landslide, taking more than 65 percent of the vote to André Ventura’s roughly 34 percent, with more than 90 percent of districts reporting. Leaving his home in Caldas da Rainha, Mr. Seguro said, "The Portuguese people are the

Politics

Bhumjaithai Claims Surprise Victory in Thailand Election

Voters faced a choice between two starkly different visions for Thailand’s future, and the nationalist stance prevailed. With 89 percent of the vote counted, Bhumjaithai won 194 seats in the 500-seat House of Representatives, while the progressive People’s Party took 115 seats. It was the first time in

Politics

Narges Mohammadi Sentenced Again and Ends Hunger Strike

Iranian authorities have sentenced Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to another prison term before she had completed her previous sentence, her family and lawyers said. The Narges Foundation said she was tried in a new case and given more than seven and a half years for “assembly and collusion

Politics

DHS funding talks stalled as deadline nears

With a Friday deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security approaching, Democrats and Republicans remained at an impasse and a shutdown looked possible. "If I had to say now, I probably would expect there is a shutdown," said Senator John Fetterman on Fox News’s "Sunday

Politics

Israeli president arrives in Sydney as Coalition frets over poor polls

Israel’s president Isaac Herzog has arrived in Sydney for a four-day visit to speak to survivors of the Bondi terror attack and their families. He touched down this morning with his wife, Michal Herzog, and was met at the airport by ambassador Amir Maimon and his wife, Tal; the

Politics

Takaichi Lands Historic Win, Markets and Crypto Eye Policy Shifts

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a historic landslide in the February 8, 2026 snap parliamentary elections, with the Liberal Democratic Party projected to win between 274 and 326 of the lower house’s 465 seats — the largest post‑war margin for any Japanese party. The decisive result consolidates

Politics

Inside Tanintharyi’s five-year armed resistance

Tanintharyi, the narrow strip of land between the Andaman Sea and Thailand, has become a stronghold of local resistance. After five years of guerrilla warfare the revolutionary youth there remain determined to restore democracy through armed struggle. Soldiers from the Karen National Union inspected the ruins of a Buddhist monastery

Politics

Thai PM’s party on track to win election in blow to pro-democracy camp

The prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul's Bhumjaithai party looked set to win the most seats after more than half of votes were counted, with Thai TV channels projecting it would be by far the largest in parliament. "We are likely to take first place in the election,"

Politics

Takaichi Poised for Sweeping Win after Snap Election

Sanae Takaichi made history last fall as Japan’s first woman prime minister and, after just over 100 days in office, called a snap election in a bid to capitalize on her popularity. After polls closed on Sunday, the Liberal Democratic Party was projected to win an absolute majority in

Politics

Trump’s Oil Grab in Venezuela Shatters an American Taboo

Immediately after U.S. forces captured Venezuela’s leader in January, President Trump announced plans to take control of the country’s oil industry. He has forced Venezuela’s government to begin “turning over” as many as 50 million barrels for sale by the United States, is pressing American firms

Politics

Starmer’s chief of staff resigns over Mandelson appointment

Morgan McSweeney, the chief of staff to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, resigned on Sunday after days of political upheaval over his role in the appointment of Peter Mandelson, a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as ambassador to the United States. A longtime protégé of Mr. Mandelson, Mr. McSweeney said the decision

Politics

Ley’s Coalition deal may have shifted MPs toward Angus Taylor

Sussan Ley’s deal to reunite with the Nationals has damaged her credibility and potentially shifted some MPs into her leadership rival Angus Taylor’s corner, colleagues say. As Ley told a press conference the majority of colleagues believed the was “stronger together”, one Liberal MP privately feared the reunion

Politics

Japan election: Takaichi's conservatives on course for landslide

An exit poll by NHK projected the Liberal Democratic party would win between 274 and 328 of the 465 lower house seats, well above the 233 needed to regain the majority it lost in 2024. With seats for its junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation party, the two parties could