Politics

Politics this week

China suppressed the worst outbreak of violence in Tibet since 1989 and perhaps since 1959 (when Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was forced into exile). The violence spread from the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, to other areas of the region. China blamed the Dalai Lama for fomenting the violence even though he called for an end to it. See article

China's annual session of parliament ended with the appointment of Li Keqiang as vice-prime minister. Mr Li is tipped as a candidate for the top when the current generation of leaders retires. See article

Still smarting from an electoral rebuff, Malaysia's prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, shuffled his cabinet, removing several scandal-tainted ministers and promoting a prominent judicial reformer. See article

Something for everyone

A meeting of foreign ministers of the Organisation of American States “rejected” Colombia's recent raid on a FARC guerrilla camp just inside Ecuador. But it also committed member countries “to combat threats to security caused by...irregular groups or criminal organisations”.

Five women whose missionary husbands were abducted and killed by the FARC guerrillas in Colombia in the early 1990s filed a civil suit in a Miami court for compensation against Chiquita Brands International, an American banana company that has admitted paying protection money to the FARC and right-wing paramilitaries.

In another of a series of cautious economic reforms, Cuba's government said it would allow private farmers to buy supplies from hard-currency shops rather than directly from the state. The government is also to relax curbs on the purchase of computers and other electronic gadgets. See article

In Mexico, Alejandro Encinas, an ally of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the narrow loser of the last presidential election, won a ballot for the leadership of the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution, the main opposition. His victory means that his party is likely to adopt a more intransigent stance towards the government of Felipe Calderón. See article

A British judge lifted a freeze on $12 billion of the assets of Venezuela's state oil company, quashing an order granted to Exxon Mobil in January as part of its bid for compensation for the takeover of a heavy-oil project.

Wright and wrong

AP

Barack Obama made a big speech on race that tackled head-on his relationship to Jeremiah Wright, a former pastor at the church Mr Obama attends in Chicago. Many moderates took umbrage after videos were broadcast of Mr Wright's sermons, in which he raged against “white” America. Mr Obama said Mr Wright had “expressed a profoundly distorted view” of America, but backed away from disowning his former mentor. See article

Democrats in Florida floated and quickly abandoned a plan to re-stage their primary election in June. The national party nullified the state's January primary because it jumped the election calendar, but with the nomination still up for grabs an argument is raging in the party about whether to count Florida's delegates. The state party's chairman said she had received little support for a re-vote.

David Paterson was sworn in as New York state's governor after Eliot Spitzer's recent resignation amid revelations about his sexual dalliances with a prostitute. Mr Paterson, who was Mr Spitzer's deputy, is the Empire State's first black governor (and only America's third since Reconstruction). He is also blind. See article

The Supreme Court heard arguments in the biggest gun-rights case to come before it in decades. At issue is a ban on the ownership of handguns in Washington, DC. The justices will give their verdict in June. See article

The clerics still rule

Iran's conservatives, who call themselves “principlists” for their devotion to the Islamic Republic's ideals, performed well in the first round of elections for the majlis, the country's parliament. Although many would-be reformists were barred from competing, the controversial president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, could yet face strong opposition if he stands for the job again next year. See article

In Baghdad, a conference to conciliate Iraq's rival political parties fell apart. Sunni and Shia groups walked out soon after Dick Cheney, America's vice-president, lauded political and security improvements in the country as “phenomenal”. Mr Cheney was on a visit to mark the fifth anniversary of the American-led invasion.

A poll by a respected Palestinian firm, PSR, found that Hamas's Ismail Haniyeh would beat Fatah's Mahmoud Abbas in a presidential election. It was PSR's first such finding since the Islamists of Hamas won a parliamentary election two years ago, and a blow to American and Israeli efforts to weaken the party and boost the more accommodating Mr Abbas.

In Kenya, Parliament debated amendments to the constitution that would entrench a new power-sharing arrangement agreed between the president, Mwai Kibaki, and his main rival, Raila Odinga. Both sides also agreed to set up a commission of international experts to examine December's disputed election.

Soldiers from the African Union prepared to invade Anjouan, one of the Comoro Islands off the coast of Mozambique. Troops loyal to the Comoros' president have already clashed with supporters of the renegade leader of Anjouan, Mohamed Bacar, who took power last July after winning an election that the president declared illegal. See article

Sour Serbs

As long feared, newly independent Kosovo saw an outbreak of violence as United Nations forces tried to take back control of a courthouse in north Mitrovica from Serbs. One UN policeman was killed. See article

The ruling centre-right UMP party did badly in France's local elections, losing several cities and lots of council seats to the Socialists. But President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed to press on with his reforms. See article

EPA

Angela Merkel became the first German chancellor to address Israel's parliament. She spoke of Germans' shame over the Holocaust and promised to be a true friend and partner of Israel. The German cabinet also held a joint session with the Israeli cabinet. See article