political news

Australia will hold a general election on 21 August, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced.

Ms Gillard - the country's first female prime minister - said the snap poll would be "tough and close".

The governing Labor Party elected her as leader three weeks ago after ousting her predecessor, Kevin Rudd.

The race between Labor and the conservative opposition Liberal Party is expected to focus on the economy, health, climate change and immigration.

"This election is about the choice as to whether we move Australia forward or go back," Ms Gillard said in a televised speech in Canberra.

"Moving forward means moving forward with budget surpluses and a stronger economy."

She said that it also "means moving forward with stronger protection of our borders and strong plan, a real plan, that takes away from people-smugglers and the products they sell".

Opposition Liberal Party leader Tony Abbott has dismissed the recent change of the Labor leadership, saying Ms Gillard was committed to the "same dud policies" of her predecessor.

It will be the toughest fight in Ms Gillard's political life, the BBC's Phil Mercer in Sydney says.

Recent opinion polls give Labor a lead over the Liberals and Ms Gillard will be hoping to secure another three-year term, our correspondent adds.

Ms Gillard became Australia's prime minister last month after a surprise leadership vote saw Mr Rudd deposed.

Mr Rudd chose not to take part in the ballot, knowing he would suffer an embarrassing defeat to his deputy.

Labor has suffered a sharp drop in support in opinion polls this year.

A U-turn on a carbon trading scheme and a wrangle over a controversial mining tax led to a sharp slide in approval ratings for Mr Rudd's government.

Ms Gillard was born in Barry in south Wales, moving to Australia with her family at the age of four.

Avigdor Lieberman said it was an "insult" that the talks took place in Brussels without his prior knowledge.

It was Israel and Turkey's first meeting since a serious diplomatic rift over the killing of Turkish activists on an aid ship bound for Gaza in May.

The two men met and agreed to fully co-operate in future, officials said.

On Wednesday, Israeli Trade Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer held secret talks with Turkey's Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, in Brussels.

Correspondents say Mr Ben-Eliezer is the most pro-Turkish member of the Israeli cabinet, while Mr Lieberman's hardline approach to Palestinians and Israeli-Arabs has made him unpopular abroad.

Mr Lieberman was not aware of the meeting until it was reported by the Israeli media.

"This is an insult to the norms of accepted behaviour and a heavy blow to the confidence between the foreign minister and the prime minister," he said in a statement on Thursday.

Mr Netanyahu's office later released a statement blaming "technical reasons" for the failure.

No statements were released after Friday's meeting at Mr Netanyahu's residence, but officials said the two agreed that failing to inform Mr Lieberman of the meeting was a "mistake".

Mr Netanyahu also promised better co-ordination with Mr Lieberman in the future, they added.

Ankara curtailed diplomatic relations with Israel in May, after the naval raid in which nine Turks were killed.

The country, which had been Israel's most important Muslim ally, has demanded an apology and compensation for the victims' families.

Israel has so far refused, saying its commandos acted in self-defence after being attacked by a group of passengers on the ship, which was part of a flotilla trying to break its blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Israel has also rejected Ankara's demands for an international inquiry, agreeing only to an internal investigation involving two foreign observers.