Philip Williams has been the ABC's Europe Correspondent since July 2008 and is based in London. This is Philip's second stint in London for the ABC, and he has also worked as Tokyo correspondent (1990 to 1993).
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| UpdatedFor the past eight years John Key has so dominated New Zealand politics it seemed his rule as Prime Minister had no use-by date — but of course, as every political leader should know, all have one, but few recognise the signs it is time to go, writes Philip Williams.
Topics: government-and-politics, world-politics, new-zealand
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| UpdatedThere was a quiet but deadly serious issue raised in the second US presidential debate: what to do about Syria and, more broadly, how to counter Russia in that blighted nation and other places.
Topics: world-politics, us-elections, united-states, russian-federation, syrian-arab-republic
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Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have heightened after claims by Moscow that Ukrainian forces attempted to infiltrate the annexed territory of Crimea.
Topics: territorial-disputes, unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, ukraine, russian-federation
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses the European Union of failing to deliver on a deal that has stemmed the flow of Syrian refugees to Europe.
Topics: refugees, world-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, turkey, european-union
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| UpdatedThe Chilcot report is a step in the right direction for Britain, but it will not mean much to the Iraqis who lost loved ones and live under a new oppressive rule thanks to the West's war, chief foreign correspondent Philip Williams writes.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, united-kingdom
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| UpdatedThe full ramifications of the United Kingdom exiting the EU will be played out in years not days, writes Philip Williams.
Topics: world-politics, government-and-politics, referendums, united-kingdom
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| UpdatedMPs in the UK and in Australia may well be worrying in the wake of Jo Cox's death, writes Philip Williams. With the political discourse becoming increasingly inflammatory, theirs is now a job that carries new risks and fewer rewards.
Topics: murder-and-manslaughter, world-politics, referendums, united-kingdom, england
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| UpdatedAustralian troops have been involved in the Afghanistan war for 15 years, and Air Vice Marshal Tim Innes says they will continue their work there for at least another three years.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, foreign-affairs, defence-forces, terrorism, australia
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| UpdatedBelgium's security forces could have done more to prevent the Brussels attacks, but so could every security service in the world.
Topics: terrorism, security-intelligence, world-politics, belgium
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| UpdatedIran's Foreign Minister has criticised Australia's treatment of asylum seekers, describing their living conditions as "unconscionable".
Topics: refugees, immigration, rights, foreign-affairs, iran-islamic-republic-of, australia
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| UpdatedThe ABC is among the first to reach an isolated Fijian community battered by Cyclone Winston, where locals who lost homes and loved ones reveal how they survived and how they will plan to move on.
Topics: cyclones, relief-and-aid-organisations, fiji, pacific
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| UpdatedA week ago the villagers of Namacu on Koro island were tending their gardens, fishing, and relaxing in a beautiful coastal hamlet of around 250 people — they could not know that by Sunday morning their lives would be utterly, violently, changed.
Topics: cyclone, cyclones, disasters-and-accidents, weather, fiji, pacific
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| UpdatedWith so many internal factions fighting in Syria, and foreign superpowers fighting proxy wars over the territory, can a return to peace really be achieved?
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, terrorism, syrian-arab-republic
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| UpdatedJan Ruff-O'Herne, 93, was repeatedly raped in a Japanese army brothel. Now, she is campaigning for the Japanese Government to offer apologies and compensation to herself and other "comfort women".
Topics: sexual-offences, law-crime-and-justice, world-war-2, history, adelaide-5000, japan
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Outside La Casa Nostra Pizzeria, there is a single chair with a sign in five languages, simply saying: "why". It is a question not many in the steady stream of mourners can confidently answer.
Topics: community-and-society, unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, france
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Some shops are opening, the traffic flows, but despite the appearance of a semblance of normality, Paris is still a city in shock.
Topics: terrorism, law-crime-and-justice, community-and-society, france
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| UpdatedItalian businessman Massimiliano Natalucchi recalls the moment four terrorists stormed Paris's Bataclan theatre and his interaction with one of the unmasked gunmen.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, murder-and-manslaughter, france
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NATO and the US warn Russia against building up its military presence in Syria after reports Russian ground troops have been involved in fighting there.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, law-crime-and-justice, syrian-arab-republic, united-states, russian-federation
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| UpdatedIf we are led to feel more about the deaths of two American reporters than 50 Somali or Syrian or Afghan asylum seekers, surely we have lost something of our basic humanity, writes ABC foreign correspondent Philip Williams.
Topics: death, community-and-society, information-and-communication, immigration, murder-and-manslaughter, crime, law-crime-and-justice, united-states, libyan-arab-jamahiriya, united-kingdom
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| UpdatedA 16-year-old girl who was arrested at the same time as a boy convicted over an alleged terrorism plot on Anzac Day in Melbourne pleads guilty to two terrorism charges in Britain.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, united-kingdom
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| UpdatedBritish police accuse Russia of being involved in the murder of Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, after an inquiry into his mysterious death in 2006.
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, international-law, community-and-society, world-politics, united-kingdom, russian-federation
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New security measures targeting thousands of migrants trying to get into the UK from the French port of Calais are ordered by British prime minister David Cameron.
Topics: immigration, community-and-society, united-kingdom, france
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A major hospital in northern England briefly closes its accident and emergency department over fears two patients may have the potentially deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.
Topics: health, england, united-kingdom
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| UpdatedA British 15-year-old appears at the Old Bailey and admits involvement in a terror plot at this year's Anzac Day parade in Melbourne.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, law-crime-and-justice, courts-and-trials, england
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A 16-year-old British girl is charged with possessing an explosives recipe after she was linked to a planned terror attack in Melbourne on Anzac Day.
Topics: terrorism, anzac-day, law-crime-and-justice, crime, courts-and-trials, united-kingdom, vic, melbourne-3000, australia, england