Germany’s far-Left party has returned to power in a state government for the first time since the Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago, stoking heated debate about its communist roots. The Left Party, widely seen as the successor to the Socialist Unity Party (SED) that once ruled East Germany, will head the government of Thuringia […]
Xi Jinping heads line-up of China’s new leaders
Xi Jinping has been confirmed as the man chosen to lead China for the next decade. Mr Xi led the new Politburo Standing Committee out onto the stage at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, signalling his elevation to the top of China’s ruling Communist Party.
China’s Hu Jintao dismisses any hopes of reform
Hu Jintao, the outgoing president, opened the 18th Party Congress with promises of more economic miracles, but little of genuine political or social reform. “We must not take the treacherous road of changing flags and banners,” he said. Beneath a 20ft-tall hammer and sickle