President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen yesterday signed an agreement to relinquish power to a government of national unity that will prepare for early elections, in return for which he has been promised immunity from prosecution.
Articles by Charles Richardson 
Is there room for an anti-war Republican?
Ron Paul has many faults, but this time it’s his virtues that will sink him.
The right time for a left revival in cash-strapped Europe
Despite all the talk of crisis, there has been no sign of Europeans rejecting orthodox economic consensus that blames unsustainable levels of government debt and warns that recovery is going to be painful.
Can the peace option work in Syria?
The big news overnight from the Middle East was an announcement from the Arab League that the Syrian government has agreed to the League’s peace plan for Syria.
Herman Cain isn’t serious, but that might not stop him
Of the Republican contenders — Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain — one name stands out. America’s pundit class have been giving a lot of attention to the pizza tycoon.
UNESCO welcomes the Palestinians — at a price
After losing some of the limelight in the past fortnight due to the Israel-Hamas deal for the release of Gilad Shalit, the “official” Palestinian leadership of Fatah and Mahmoud Abbas bounced back yesterday.
Shalit swap a sign of failing peace hopes
This week’s celebrations for prisoner swaps are unable to hide the fact that Middle East peace seems further away than ever.
Greens take the agenda because no one else wants it
Offshore processing is a gigantic mistake, and until someone other than the Greens says that, Labor will continue to suffer.
French Socialists pick a candidate — now for the hard part
François Hollande is off to a good start, but there’s a long way to go.
Catholics miss out again in royal rules
Whether it’s from the presence of the Liberal Democrats or from David Cameron’s own convictions, Britain’s coalition government is steadily building up some reformist credentials.
Ukraine still teetering between east and west
This week Europe’s politicians have had the chance to put aside, if only briefly, their economic fears and join in a chorus of condemnation of Ukraine.
The government takes on violent extremism — sort of
On one hand, we want governments to be alert to the risk of an Anders Breivik appearing in our midst. On the other hand, there are some fairly obvious dangers in having the government monitoring people’s political beliefs and deciding what counts as “extremism”.
Tony Nahal deserves to stay — whatever the tabloids say
Antoun (Tony) Nahal, his wife, mother-in-law and six-year-old daughter face deportation to Egypt as early as this week — despite the fact that daughter Rita was born here and the others have lived in Australia since 2004.
For ‘dull’ Hollande, it’s ‘game over’ in French presidential race
Despite the misadventures of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, hopes are high in France’s Socialist Party as its voters go to the polls on Sunday to choose a candidate for next year’s presidential election to run against centre-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.
States sing the same old tune at tax forum
This week’s tax summit — sorry, forum — comes with low expectations, and so far seems to be meeting them.
Tanya Plibersek takes the pledge
Citizenship is a birthright; reciting or refusing to recite a pledge of allegiance would make zero difference to that.
Ireland set to choose a president — why can’t we?
Nominations closed this week for the Irish presidential election, to be held on October 27.
Bolt case: everyone has their rights, even Andrew
Those who detest Andrew Bolt’s views applaud, with few exceptions, his conviction for racial vilification, while those who defend his right to express himself turn out, again with few exceptions, to be his political supporters.
Compare and contrast: Yemen and Saudi Arabia
Promises of reform in two neighbouring mid-east countries: in Yemen, president Ali Abdullah Saleh calls for early elections and says he is committed to a peaceful transfer of power. In Saudi Arabia, king Abdullah has announced that from 2015 women will be allowed to stand and vote in local elections.
Richardson: how Labor blew its chance of marriage compromise
Britain’s Liberal Democrats have pledged to legalise same-sex marriage before the next election. In Australia, Labor blew its chances of a compromise.
Baillieu faces down his backbench — for now
Victoria’s Coalition government, in office for almost 10 months, has so far been largely successful in avoiding controversy — in keeping with Ted Baillieu’s steady-as-she-goes style and with his very narrow parliamentary majority.
In Denmark, Europe’s Left wins one at last
After a long run of outs, there was finally some good news overnight for the European Left, as Denmark’s Centre-Right government conceded defeat following yesterday’s election.
