World / Politics | ANALYSIS Oct 8, 2013
U.K. political pledges reveal divide
by Anthony Faiola
After a year that saw him lead the charge for gay marriage in Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron seemed to go back to his roots this week. Serving up red meat to his base at the Conservative Party's annual conference, Cameron repeatedly blasted the ...
World / Politics Oct 6, 2013
Deep political divisions at root of U.S. shutdown
by Dan Balz
The government shutdown did not happen by accident. It is the latest manifestation — an extreme one by any measure — of divisions long in the making and now deeply embedded in the country's politics. At some point, presumably, the current standoff will end. The ...
World / Politics | FOCUS Oct 1, 2013
'Not-so-conservative' Republicans may be key to solving U.S. fiscal drama
The most conservative tea party-backed members of the House GOP have been the center of attention in the ongoing fiscal drama, but the key to a solution in the coming days may be a different Republican bloc altogether. It's a group of a few dozen ...
World / Politics Sep 29, 2013
Looking to 2016, Rubio and Paul rush to join Cruz
by David Nakamura
Sen. Ted Cruz might have alienated the Republican establishment with his all-night polemic against the Affordable Care Act. But that doesn't mean the caustic Texan didn't win any friends in Washington. As Cruz's 21-hour speech dragged on, GOP Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and ...
National / Politics Sep 27, 2013
Nippon Ishin's future seen riding on Sakai mayor race
by Eric Johnston
Sunday's mayoral contest in Sakai, one of Japan's most independent-minded cities, is expected to decide not only the fate of a plan to merge Osaka prefectural cities into a single administrative entity, but also the fate of national-level efforts to create a new opposition ...
World / Politics | FOCUS Sep 18, 2013
Economic disparities center stage in German poll
by Michael Birnbaum
Germany has near record-low unemployment and a locomotive-strong economy, which leaves Frieder Beckmann with a question: Why can he only get a job that pays $2 an hour? It is the kind of question that is also being voiced by other Germans, who say ordinary ...
World / Politics Sep 9, 2013
Moscow mayor election could shift political landscape
by Will Englund
In a mayoral election that tested the Kremlin's strategy against its opposition, and that brought some of the divisions within the Kremlin itself close to the surface, charismatic anti-corruption Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny made a far stronger showing than expected Sunday. ...
World Sep 3, 2013
2014 elections, specter of Iraq loom over Obama's high-stakes Syria gamble
President Barack Obama's stunning reversal on Syria — deciding to ask Congress to approve the use of force just hours after he seemed set on bypassing the legislative branch — amounts to a massive gamble by the commander in chief. There is little certainty of ...
World / Social Issues Sep 2, 2013
Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, posted on Facebook on Friday night that her sister, who is running for the Senate in Wyoming, is "dead wrong" to oppose same-sex marriage. Liz Cheney, who is opposing Republican Sen. Mike Enzi ...
World / Politics Aug 26, 2013
Top challenger detained as Moscow's race for mayor heats up
by Will Englund
Mayoral Candidate A raises questions about Candidate B's campaign literature. The police, who report to the incumbent, Candidate C, respond by raiding the print shop where the literature is produced. Candidate D raises a stink, because he was using the same printing firm. That's hardball. ...