Tribune – Comment, news and reviews from Britain's democratic left

Turkey is bracing itself for an upsurge in Kurdish secessionist violence following a court ruling which banned the country’s largest Kurdish party from participating in Turkish politics.

There will be a run-off between Sebastián Piñera, the centre-right candidate, and Eduardo Frei, the centre-left candidate, on January 17 to determine who will be the next president of Chile.

National Health Service chief executive David Nicholson faced a barrage of opposition this week from health service unions after he was reported as suggesting that the NHS might have to accept a pay rise ceiling of less than one per cent in the next three years.

Shelter’s Christmas message to the Government is stark – changes in local housing allowance have left thousands of tenants struggling to manage their finances and many are now in danger of losing their homes.

Carwyn Jones, Wales’ new First Minister, has dropped two people from his first cabinet and brought in two new faces to spice up his team ahead of a general election battle with Plaid Cymru, Labour’s coalition partners in the Welsh Assembly, and the Conservatives.

Abkhazia has held its first presidential election since the conflict with Georgia last summer.