BANGKOK — Vietnam’s president resigned in the latest episode of the ruling Communist Party’s “blazing furnace” anti-corruption campaign, and Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan was named acting president. The appointment is Xuan’s second stint as acting president after she stepped in when Vo Van Thuong’s predecessor resigned in early 2023. The turmoil among top … Read more
LISBON, Portugal — A center-right alliance led by the Social Democratic Party has won Portugal’s general election by a slender margin and is set to form a minority government that could have a difficult term in office as a radical-right populist party that came third in the voting tries to get a hand on the … Read more
LONDON — The British government introduced legislation Wednesday to quash the wrongful convictions of hundreds of Post Office branch managers in England and Wales who were caught up in one of the United Kingdom’s biggest miscarriages of justice. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the legislation “marks an important step forward in finally clearing” the names … Read more
Japan’s ruling party has stood the test of time, surviving even when expected to fade. But a fresh wave of scandals, heralding record-low public approval ratings, has prompted the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to try to shape up. For over 70 years, the LDP—the party of the late Shinzo Abe and now incumbent Prime … Read more
LISBON, Portugal — Portugal is holding a general election Sunday against a backdrop of corruption scandals and economic hardship that have eroded faith in moderate mainstream parties and could push a significant number of voters into the arms of a radical right populist party. A slew of recent corruption scandals has tarnished the two parties … Read more
TOKYO — Japan’s beleaguered prime minister was set to stand before a political ethics committee Thursday at Parliament in a bid to showcase his leadership. Fumio Kishida has fought against plummeting support ratings since his governing party’s corruption scandal rocked the government. The scandal, considered the biggest in decades, centers on political funds raised through … Read more
LISBON, Portugal — The official two-week campaign period before Portugal’s early general election began on Sunday, with the country’s two moderate mainstream parties once again expected to collect the most votes but with the expected rise of a populist party potentially adding momentum to Europe’s drift to the right. The center-left Socialist Party and center-right … Read more
Prosecutors say they are seeking extradition orders and the arrest of more suspects over the 2020 theft of around $580,000 in U.S. cash that was hidden in a couch at South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ranch CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Prosecutors said Friday they are seeking extradition orders and the arrest of more suspects … Read more
ROME — A delegation of German bishops is expected in Rome soon after the Vatican insisted they scrap a planned vote this week on a controversial proposal to let laypeople participate in a decision-making council alongside bishops. The aborted vote was the latest in years of efforts by the Holy See to rein in the … Read more
MELBOURNE, Australia — A retired Catholic bishop has been charged with sexual offenses including child abuse in a remote part of Australia’s northwest. Christopher Saunders, 74, will appear in the Broome Magistrates Court on Thursday in the heart of the sprawling Outback diocese where he had actively served as a cleric for 45 years, a … Read more