Labor Party

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - New Zealand elected its first conservative government in nearly a decade yesterday, ending the rule of one of the world's longest-serving elected women. John Key, a 47-year-old multimillionaire former foreign currency trader and leader of the conservative National Party, swept easily to power in this South Pacific country of 4.1 million people. He did so by ousting Prime Minister Helen Clark's Labor Party. "Today, New Zealand has spoken. In their hundreds of thousands, they have voted for change," Key said in his victory speech, echoing the slogan of US...

Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik is insisting in court that attempts to label him as insane are misplaced — and some psychiatrists agree that simply committing such monstrous crimes does not mean a person is mentally ill. The far-right, anti-Islam Breivik has already confessed to committing Norway's worst mass murder in a bomb-and-shooting rampage that killed 77 people last July. Whether or not Breivik is sane is at the crux of his ongoing trial and will determine how he is sentenced.

LONDON - For the opposition Labor Party, this should be a shining moment. Under Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, unemployment is up, budget cuts are biting British wallets, and the government's veto of a new European Union economic treaty has left the country increasingly isolated from its neighbors. And yet rather than Cameron, it is Labor's chief, Ed Miliband, who is confronting a profound crisis of popularity. Only 16 months after he defeated his brother to win the crown of opposition leader, Miliband's approval ratings have sunk to record lows.

OSLO - Mass killer Anders Behring Breivik slammed a psychiatric report that declared him insane, insisting Wednesday that it was based on "evil fabrications" meant to portray him as irrational and unintelligent. "It is not me who is described in that report," the right-wing extremist, who has admitted to killing 77 people in a July 22 bomb-and-shooting rampage, said in court. A second psychiatric examination concluded that Breivik was sane. The five-judge panel trying Breivik on terror charges for the attacks will consider both.

An opinion poll suggests that Israel's opposition Labor Party could nearly triple in strength in parliament under its new leader. The poll conducted by the Dialog agency for the Israeli daily Haaretz says that under Shelly Yachimovich, Labor could win 22 seats in the 120-seat parliament, which would make it the second-largest bloc. The former television journalist was chosen last week to lead Labor, which currently has eight seats in parliament. Her message of social justice has resonated with protesters demanding lower living costs.

LONDON — A British lawmaker was stabbed yesterday by a woman he did not know during an advice session with constituents, Labor Party officials said. Stephen Timms, the member of Parliament for East Ham and former financial secretary to the Treasury, was being treated at Royal London Hospital after the attack for injuries not believed to be life-threatening, a statement from the Labor Party said. “He has received visitors and is in good spirits,’’ the statement said.

OSLO - Norway's ruling Labor Party had its best local election result in more than two decades and the anti-immigrant Progress Party plummeted in support two months after attacks by a right-wing fanatic killed 77 people. Riding a wave of sympathy, Labor won 33.2 percent of the vote while the Conservatives jumped to second place with 27.7 percent, with 99 percent of the votes counted yesterday in county and municipal elections. The right-wing Progress Party sank to 11.8 percent from 18.5 percent in the 2007 election.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is announcing that her party will vote next week on its leadership. Gillard said on Thursday she will abandon her leadership ambitions if her Labor Party lawmaker colleagues choose former foreign minister Kevin Rudd over her in the ballot on Monday. She called on Rudd to abandon his ambitions if he loses. Gillard told reporters: "We need a leadership ballot to settle this question once and for all. "

OSLO - Mass killer Anders Behring Breivik slammed a psychiatric report that declared him insane, insisting Wednesday that it was based on "evil fabrications" meant to portray him as irrational and unintelligent. "It is not me who is described in that report," the right-wing extremist, who has admitted to killing 77 people in a July 22 bomb-and-shooting rampage, said in court. A second psychiatric examination concluded that Breivik was sane. The five-judge panel trying Breivik on terror charges for the attacks will consider both.

LONDON — Prime Minister Gordon Brown will pay a visit today to Queen Elizabeth II to seek permission to dissolve Parliament and designate May 6 as the date for the first national vote since 2005, the Labor Party confirmed. For Brown, appreciated by some but widely unloved, election day could mark the ignominious end of a three-year term beset by division within his party, relentless media sniping, and the near-collapse of the British economy. Defeat would end a political era begun with Tony Blair’s landslide 1997 election victory, which returned...

Mass killer Anders Behring Breivik slammed a psychiatric report that declared him insane, insisting Wednesday it was based on "evil fabrications" meant to portray him as irrational and unintelligent. "It is not me who is described in that report," the right-wing extremist, who has admitted to killing 77 people in a July 22 bomb-and-shooting rampage, said in court. A second psychiatric examination found that Breivik was sane. The five-judge panel trying Breivik on terror charges for the attacks will consider both reports.

The leader of the third force in Australian politics, Greens Sen. Bob Brown, has announced his resignation. The 67-year-old announced Friday that he has resigned as Greens leader and will resign from the Senate in June after 16 years to "make room for renewal" in the party. The left-wing Greens have enabled Prime Minister Julia Gillard's center-left Labor Party to form a minority government since 2012. Political scientist Nick Economou says he does not expect Brown's departure to weaken Gillard's tenuous grip on power.

SYDNEY - Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd announced yesterday that he would challenge his successor, Julia Gillard, for the leadership of the Labor Party and the country in a vote set for Monday morning. The move sets up a showdown to end an acrimonious public leadership battle that analysts warn has begun to paralyze the government. Rudd, who was displaced as prime minister by Gillard in a 2010 party coup, told reporters in Brisbane that he was "sick and tired" of being blamed for the failures of his successor's unpopular government and described the prime minister as...

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is announcing that her party will vote next week on its leadership. Gillard said on Thursday she will abandon her leadership ambitions if her Labor Party lawmaker colleagues choose former foreign minister Kevin Rudd over her in the ballot on Monday. She called on Rudd to abandon his ambitions if he loses. Gillard told reporters: "We need a leadership ballot to settle this question once and for all. "

LONDON - For the opposition Labor Party, this should be a shining moment. Under Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, unemployment is up, budget cuts are biting British wallets, and the government's veto of a new European Union economic treaty has left the country increasingly isolated from its neighbors. And yet rather than Cameron, it is Labor's chief, Ed Miliband, who is confronting a profound crisis of popularity. Only 16 months after he defeated his brother to win the crown of opposition leader, Miliband's approval ratings have sunk to record lows.

The ethics committee of Israel's parliament has suspended a lawmaker for dumping water on a colleague during a heated debate. During the outburst, Anastassia Michaeli threw water on colleague Raleb Majadale after he told her to shut up. Dripping wet, he chuckled and called her "crazy" as she stormed out of the room. The incident occurred during a debate over whether an Arab-Israeli school had the right to take its students to a Tel Aviv human rights march. Michaeli is a member of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, while Majadale is an Arab...

OSLO - The anti-Muslim extremist who confessed to a bombing and a youth camp massacre that killed 77 people has told investigators he also considered attacking other targets linked to the government or the prime minister's Labor Party, police said yesterday. During a 10-hour questioning session on Friday, Anders Behring Breivik asked interrogators how many people he killed in the July 22 attacks and "showed no emotion" when they told him, police attorney Paal-Fredrik Hjort Kraby told reporters.

JERUSALEM -- Israel's opposition Labor Party yesterday backed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in a crucial parliamentary vote, a day after he was cleared of corruption charges -- boosting Sharon's plan to pull out of the Gaza Strip. Labor was sending signals of readiness to join Sharon's government to promote the Gaza move, but there was stiff opposition from party members on both sides. Also, a poll indicated that the Israeli public was not behind a Sharon-Labor team. Sharon lost his parliamentary majority while ramming the Gaza withdrawal...

An opinion poll suggests that Israel's opposition Labor Party could nearly triple in strength in parliament under its new leader. The poll conducted by the Dialog agency for the Israeli daily Haaretz says that under Shelly Yachimovich, Labor could win 22 seats in the 120-seat parliament, which would make it the second-largest bloc. The former television journalist was chosen last week to lead Labor, which currently has eight seats in parliament. Her message of social justice has resonated with protesters demanding lower living costs.

OSLO - Norway's ruling Labor Party had its best local election result in more than two decades and the anti-immigrant Progress Party plummeted in support two months after attacks by a right-wing fanatic killed 77 people. Riding a wave of sympathy, Labor won 33.2 percent of the vote while the Conservatives jumped to second place with 27.7 percent, with 99 percent of the votes counted yesterday in county and municipal elections. The right-wing Progress Party sank to 11.8 percent from 18.5 percent in the 2007 election.