Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Social Issues Jul 6, 2013
Gillard discusses sexism issues
Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female prime minister, has opened up for the first time on the sexism that plagued her leadership and famous misogyny speech in her final interview before being ousted. Gillard, an unmarried atheist lawyer, was dumped as Australia’s prime minister by ...
Global-related Jul 2, 2013
Can Rudd resurrect Labor?
by Ramesh Thakur
Even by the standards of a sports-mad country in which politics is a blood-sport, the events leading to the comeback of Kevin Rudd have been extraordinary.
Politics & Diplomacy Jun 27, 2013
Australia leader ousted in snap leadership vote
Kevin Rudd beat Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in a ballot for the Labor leadership as the ruling party seeks to revive its fortunes ahead of an election that opinion polls show it will lose in a landslide. Rudd won by 57 votes to ...
Politics & Diplomacy Jun 18, 2013
Gillard's 'gender war' backfires as male voters ditch Aussie leader: poll
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s attempt to marginalize the opposition by claiming it would change abortion rights and sideline women has backfired with a poll Monday showing male voters are deserting her. Gillard, the country’s first female leader, last week reignited a simmering gender ...
Asia Pacific Jun 15, 2013
Host suspended for asking Gillard if her lover is gay
An Australian radio presenter has been suspended after pressing embattled Prime Minister Julia Gillard on air whether Tim Mathieson, her hairdresser boyfriend, is gay, and colleagues rushed to her defense Friday. The startling exchange came with Gillard’s Labor Party far behind in the polls ...
Asia Pacific Jun 13, 2013
Gillard defends abandoning of bodies
Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Tuesday defended her government’s decision to leave the bodies of drowned asylum seekers in the ocean, as a search began for yet another vessel in the Indian Ocean. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said two aircraft had been dispatched ...
Asia Pacific Apr 19, 2013
Aussie leader unswayed by Kiwi vote
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard vowed not to alter her stance on same-sex marriage despite New Zealand giving it the go-ahead, with hundreds of couples expected to make the journey to tie the knot. Last September, Australia’s Parliament voted overwhelmingly to reject the move, ...
Politics & Diplomacy Apr 14, 2013
Gillard accused of having 'tin ear'
A former Australian minister behind last month’s failed coup against Prime Minister Julia Gillard accused her of being divisive and media-driven in an interview Saturday, reviving tensions within the ruling Labor Party. Former Arts Minister Simon Crean, a veteran and former leader of the ...
Politics & Diplomacy Mar 22, 2013
Gillard retains power as Rudd ducks vote
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard remained leader of the governing Labor party after her predecessor, Kevin Rudd, declined to challenge her in a ballot Thursday. No rivals stood against either Gillard or Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan, Labor official Chris Hayes said. ...
Politics & Diplomacy Feb 4, 2013
Australia's Labor faces defeat: polls
Australia’s ruling Labor Party is heading for a huge defeat in elections this year, according to the first national polls Monday since Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a vote would be held in September. Labor ministers insisted a win was still possible as major ...