Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Thursday he was "disappointed" over the resignation of James Purnell, his work and pensions secretary. In his letter of resignation -- published by the Press Association -- Purnell also called on Brown to step aside. "I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more, not less likely," he wrote. "That would be disastrous for our country. This moment calls for stronger regulation, an active state, better public services, an open democracy. ...

From where he came, no one could have predicted what Ronald Takaki would become. Raised in a low-income area of Oahu, Hawaii, a descendant of Japanese immigrants who toiled in sugar cane plantation fields, he cared more about surfing than schoolwork. But the boy who earned the nickname "10-toes Takaki," a reference to when surfers hang 10 toes over the front of a long board, went on to become a legendary ethnic studies scholar. The pioneering and beloved professor ...

With their nation under high security alert, South Koreans mourned a former leader at a funeral ceremony Friday morning. Officials and dignitaries gathered in Seoul's Kyungbok Palace to honor former President Roh Moo-Hyun, who committed suicide last week. South Koreans poured into the streets to catch a glimpse of the black Cadillac making a five-and-a-half hour journey from Roh's home in the village of Bongha to the capital. Some bowed their heads or wept openly. Others, still stunned from the ...

When Benno Ohnesorg was shot on June 2, 1967, by a policeman in West Berlin during a demonstration against the Shah of Iran, the young German student became a martyr for a generation of left-wing activists. The killing triggered the radicalization of the mass protest movement in West Germany, which directed its anger against the police, the government and the conservative establishment. The poignant image of a woman cradling Ohnesorg's head as he lay dying on the ground became etched in Germans' minds. But now it ...

While California's Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a ban on same-sex marriages that voters voters passed in November, the fight will undoubtedly go forward. The ruling by the court allows about 18,000 same-sex marriages performed before the ban to remain valid. The decision was met with chants of "shame on you" from a crowd of about 1,000 people gathered outside the court building in San Francisco on Tuesday. Proposition 8 passed in the 2008 general election with about ...

So why did Sonia Sotomayor get the nod as Barack Obama's first pick for the Supreme Court? Of the four women in final contention for the job — the competition included two members of his Administration, Solicitor General Elena Kagan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano as well as his fellow Chicagoan, Appeals Court Judge Diane P. Wood — Sotomayor was the candidate with whom the President was least familiar. But Sotomayor aced an hour-long interview with the ...

Ever since Lee Myung Bak became president of South Korea in 2008, he has been bombarded by a series of crises. Weeks after Lee's inauguration, tens of thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Seoul over his decision to allow imports of U.S. beef, which had been banned due to concerns about mad-cow disease. Late last year, the global financial meltdown hit Korea especially hard, and businessmen blamed Lee and his policy team for failing to build international confidence ...

Does trans-national democracy work? Or is Europe about to see a wave of new Far Right politicians and mavericks marching from obscurity to national prominence thanks to an election most voters are neglecting? Between June 4 and June 7 it could happen. Since the first European Parliament election was held in 1979 the Parliament has grown significantly in power. But the more power it gets, the less interest voters seem to take in its proceedings. The latest "Euro barometer" poll ...

The last time this country undertook a serious debate over health-care reform, back when Hillary Clinton put together her proposal in 1993, the Republican strategy could have been summed up in three words: Just say no. This time around, however, the clamor for fundamental change of a system that covers too few and costs too much has grown to the point where the minority party knows that simple obstructionism is a dangerous route to take. "The status ...

President Obama on Thursday will try to take the reins on the debate over national security and rally support for his plan to shutter the military prison at Guantanamo Bay in what his administration is billing as a major address. In recent weeks, conservative critics have blasted Obama for what they see as missteps on national security. In addition to the controversy over closing Guantanamo, Obama released Bush-era memos detailing "enhanced interrogation techniques" of suspected al Qaeda members. Obama also ...