1945 - After World War II, Japanese occupation ends with Soviet troops occupying area north of the 38th parallel, and US troops in the south.
1948 - Republic of Korea proclaimed.
The Korean war (1950-1953) killed at least 2.5 million people. It pitted the North - backed by Chinese forces -  against the South, supported militarily by the United Nations
In Depth: The Korean War
On This Day 1950: UN condemns North Korean invasion
1950 - South declares independence, sparking North Korean invasion.
1953 - Armistice ends Korean War, which has cost two million lives.
1950s - South sustained by crucial US military, economic and political support.
1960 - President Syngman Ree steps down after student protests against electoral fraud. New constitution forms Second Republic, but political freedom remains limited.
1961 - Military coup puts General Park Chung-hee in power.
1963 - General Park restores some political freedom and proclaims Third Republic. Major programme of industrial development begins.
1972 - Martial law. Park increases his powers with constitutional changes.
After secret North-South talks, both sides seek to develop dialogue aimed at unification.
1979 - Park assassinated. General Chun Doo-hwan assumes power.
Hundreds died as troops fired on 1980 rally
2005: Lingering legacy of Korean massacre
1980 - Martial law declared after student demonstrations. In the city of Gwangju (Kwangju) at least 200 killed by the army, causing resentment that has yet to fade. Fifth republic and new constitution.
1981 - Chun indirectly elected to a seven year term. Martial law ends, but government continues to have strong powers to prevent dissent.
1986 - Constitution is changed to allow direct election of the president.
1980s - Increasing shift towards high-tech and computer industry.
1987 - President Chun pushed out of office by student unrest and international pressure in the build-up to the Sixth constitution. Roh Tae-woo succeeds Chun, grants greater degree of political liberalisation and launches anti-corruption drive.
North (l) and South (r) Korean soldiers stand at arm's length
2002: Eyewitness - Korean no-man's land
2004: Koreas switch off loudspeakers
1988 - Olympic games in Seoul. First free parliamentary elections.
1991 - North and South Korea join United Nations.
1993 - Roh succeeded by Kim Young Sam, a former opponent of the regime and the first civilian president.
1996 - North Korean submarine runs aground in South, 11 crew found shot dead in apparent suicide and 13 killed by South Korean forces during massive search operation.
South Korea admitted to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Sunshine policy
1998 - Kim Dae-jung sworn in as president and pursues "sunshine policy" of offering unconditional economic and humanitarian aid to North Korea.
South Korea captures North Korean mini-submarine in its waters. Nine crew inside found dead.
Kim Dae-jung: Former president won Nobel Peace Prize
2002: Kim Dae-jung's tainted legacy
2000 June - Summit in Pyongyang between Kim Jong-il and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. North stops propaganda broadcasts against South.
2000 August - Border liaison offices re-open at truce village of Panmunjom. South Korea gives amnesty to more than 3,500 prisoners. One hundred North Koreans meet their relatives in the South in a highly-charged, emotional reunion. Kim Dae-jung awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
2001 - Opening of Incheon International airport, built on tidal land off port of Incheon.
2002 March - Group of 25 North Koreans defect to South Korea through Spanish embassy in Beijing, highlighting plight of tens of thousands hiding in China after fleeing famine, repression in North.
2002 June - Battle between South Korean and North Korean naval vessels along their disputed sea border leaves four South Koreans dead and 19 wounded. Thirty North Koreans are thought to have been killed.
2002 December - Roh Moo-hyun, from governing Millennium Democratic Party, wins closely-fought presidential elections.
2003 October - Biggest mass crossing of demilitarised zone since Korean War: Hundreds of South Koreans travel to Pyongyang for opening of gymnasium funded by South's Hyundai conglomerate.
2004 February - Parliament approves controversial dispatch of 3,000 troops to Iraq.
Labour unrest flares up regularly
2003: Korea's president takes on big business
2004 June - US proposes to cut by a third its troop presence. Opposition raises security fears over the plan.
Dispute over Dokdo, known as Takeshima in Japan, sours ties
2005: South Koreans vent fury at Japan
2005 June - Kim Woo-choong, the fugitive former head of Daewoo, returns and is arrested for his role in the industrial giant's $70bn-plus collapse. In May 2006 he is sentenced to 10 years in jail.
2005 December - South Koreans are shocked by revelations that cloning scientist and national hero Dr Hwang Woo-suk faked landmark research on stem cell research. He goes on trial in June 2006, charged with misusing funding.
2006 October - Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon is appointed as the UN's new secretary-general. He takes office in January 2007.
2007 February - South and North Korea agree to restart high-level talks suspended since July 2006 in wake of North's nuclear test.
Head of the largest South Korean car maker, Hyundai, is jailed for three years for embezzlement.
2007 April - South Korea and the US agree on a free-trade deal after 10 months of talks.
Trains from North and South crossed the border in 2007
Korean trains in historic link-up
2007 May - Passenger trains cross the North-South border for the first time in 56 years.
2007 December - Conservative Lee Myung-bak wins landslide victory in presidential election.
2008 February - The country's greatest cultural treasure, the Namdaemun Gate, is destroyed by fire.
2008 April - North Korea hits out at President Lee, warning that his tough stance could lead to "catastrophic consequences".
President Lee's Grand National Party wins a slim majority in parliament.
President Lee ended his predecessor's "sunshine policy" in 2008
Sunset for Korean Sunshine Policy?
2008 October - South Korean banks become vulnerable to global credit crisis as result of having taken on high levels of foreign debt. Government announces $130bn financial rescue package to shore up banking system and stabilise markets.
2009 January - North Korea says it is scrapping all military and political deals with the South over its "hostile intent", as ties worsen.
2009 February - South Korea's central bank cuts interest rates to a record low, amid forecasts that the economy is likely to suffer its first annual contraction for more than 10 years.
2009 May - Former president Roh Moo-hyun commits suicide over bribery scandal.
2009 August - Former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung dies; North Korea sends a senior delegation to Seoul to pay its respects.
2009 October - North Korea expresses "regret" for unleashing dam water that drowned six campers downstream in South Korea in September. The two sides hold talks aimed at preventing flooding on the Imjin River which spans their militarised border.
2009 November - South and North Korean warships exchange fire across a disputed sea border, and again in January.
2010 January - North nonetheless accepts an offer of food aid from South, the first such aid in two years.
North Korea denied claims it sank the Southern warship Cheonan in 2010
How the ship was sunk
Q&A: Inter-Korean crisis
2010 May - South Korea breaks off all trade with the North after investigators say they have found proof the South Korean naval ship Cheonan was sunk by a North Korean torpedo in March. Pyongyang describes the findings as a "fabrication" and cuts all diplomatic ties with Seoul.
2010 November - Cross-border clash near disputed maritime border results in death of two South Korean marines. North Korea's military insists it did not open fire first and blames the South. South Korea places its military on highest non-wartime alert after shells land on Yeonpyeong island. Further exchange of fire in August.
2011 October - US Congress approves long-stalled free trade agreement with South Korea. The deal is expected to increase US exports to South Korea.
2012 April - The governing conservative Saenuri (New Frontier) Party, formerly called the Grand National Party, wins parliamentary elections with a reduced majority.
2012 July - South Korea begins move of most ministries to "mini capital" at Sejong City, 120km south of Seoul. Key ministries will remain in Seoul.
2012 August - Lee Myung-bak becomes South Korea's first president to visit the Liancourt Rocks, which Japan also claims. Tokyo recalls its ambassador in protest.
2012 October - South Korea strikes deal with the US to almost triple the range of its ballistic missile system to 800km as a response to North Korea's test of a long-range rocket in April.
2012 December - South Korea elects its first female president, Park Geun-hye, of the conservative Saenuri party. She takes office in February.
2013 January - South Korea launches a satellite into orbit for the first time using a rocket launched from its own soil. Previous attempts in 2009-10 failed. The launch comes weeks after a North Korean rocket placed a satellite in orbit.
2013 March - South warns North over unilateral abrogation of Korean War armistice and bellicose rhetoric. North also cut off a hotline and vowed to end non-aggressions pacts with South. A cyber-attack from an internet address in China temporarily shuts down the computer systems at South Korean banks and broadcasters.
2013 June - North and South Korea agree to hold talks on the possibility of reopening the Kaesong joint industrial complex that it shut in April, as well as to restore the Cross hotline. Both resume in September.
2013 December - South Korea announces expansion of air defence zone, two weeks after China unilaterally announced its own extended air defence zone in East China Sea to include disputed Socotra Rock.
2014 March - North and South Korea exchange fire into sea across the disputed western maritime border during largest South-US military training exercise in region for 20 years.
Ferry disaster
2014 April - Sewol ferry sinks off west coast, killing at least 281 people, mainly high-school students. Captain sentenced to 36 years in prison in November for gross negligence, chief engineer imprisoned for 30 years for murder, thirteen other crew members jailed for up to 20 years on other charges.
2014 October - North and South Korea engage in rare exchange fire across their land border as South Korean activists launch balloons containing leaflets condemning North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Gun fire also exchanged when Northern patrol ship crossed disputed western maritime border.
US and South Korea again postpone transfer of control over troops in South in event of war with North, citing "intensifying threat" from Pyongyang. Transfer due in 2012, and delayed until 2015. No new date set.
2014 December - Constitutional Court bans left-wing Unified Progressive Party, accused of being pro-North Korean.
President Park calls for cyber security at key facilities to be strengthened after data on its nuclear reactors is leaked.
2015 March - North Korea fires short-range surface-to-air missiles into the sea in an apparent show of force against annual military drills between South Korea and the United States.
2015 November-December - Mass protests in Seoul against government's economic policy and insistence on schools' using state-approved history books.
2016 October - President Park Geun-Hye is embroiled in a political crisis over revelations that she allowed a personal friend, with no government position, to meddle in affairs of state. There are calls for Park's resignation amid public protests.
2016 December - Parliament votes to impeach President Geun-Hye over a corruption and influence peddling scandal.


A senior immigration officer has said staff did not act in a racist way when an American Muslim woman was detained for 13 hours at Heathrow airport.

Ayan Mohamud, 18, who was visiting family in Leicester, said she felt she was being "judged" in the wake of the Paris terror attacks.
Leicester MP Keith Vaz raised Ms Mohamud's case at a Home Affairs select committee meeting on Tuesday.
Sir Charles Montgomery said there was no "racist dimension" to the checks.
The Border Force director general told Mr Vaz, who chairs the committee, that he had already investigated the case before the meeting.
"I am absolutely satisfied there was no ethnic or racist dimension to this intervention," he said.
"It was initially a straightforward case of immigration status and it became an issue of my officers' concern for her well-being.
"What I would like to do, if you can engineer the permission of the individual, is to write to you with a more fulsome background to the case."
Mr Montgomery dismissed the idea that women coming into the UK wearing headscarves are routinely stopped.
Ms Mohamud, who spoke to the BBC about her ordeal, claimed she was was being judged based on what she was wearing.
She said: "After the Paris incident happened, [Border Force] feel that everyone wearing a scarf needs to be checked thoroughly."


A man who killed his parents and was later found dead had been arrested for chasing a stranger with a knife days earlier, an inquest has heard.

Convicted rapist Ashraf Amrani, 30, was on bail when his body was discovered on a roof in Westbourne Park Road, west London, last February.
His parents Hassan, 72, and Zohra, 59, were found dead earlier.
Their bodies were discovered when police went to inform the couple of their son's arrest.
Amrani had been arrested three days earlier for affray.
Hassan Amrani was found fully clothed in a bath in the upstairs of his flat with a stab wound to his stomach.
Mrs Amrani was found lifeless in the foetal position in a downstairs bathroom.
An inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice heard their son had a "significant" head injury and what appeared to be a number of self-inflicted wounds when he was found.
Coroner Bernard Richmond QC said in his opening remarks that there was "no suggestion that anyone other than Ashraf Amrani is responsible for the killings."
On 10 February 2015, Amrani was arrested on suspicion of affray, having reportedly pursued a stranger down the the street with a large knife, the court heard.
He was taken to St Mary's Hospital after falling ill from having taken ecstasy.
He was later released on bail and left hospital the following day.
Witness statements from neighbours, friends and colleagues spoke of how Amrani had been acting in an unsettling manner in the week leading up to his death, with several speculating that he was on drugs.
One friend, Trevor Brown, said Amrani had visited his house on 12 February and acted in a threatening way, at one stage taking a knife out of a kitchen drawer and pacing around.
Amrani had served several years in prison following his conviction for rape in 2010.
Relatives said he felt "shackled" by his licence conditions, which had forced him to move in with his parents.
Asked when Amrani started using drugs following his release from prison, his brother-in-law Jalil Essbai told the court: "When he started to find it difficult in life, when he couldn't find work and couldn't support himself - about a year after he came out of prison."
He added: "He felt very shackled, basically."
Amrani had a history of drug abuse and his family had sought to get him psychiatric care in the past.
The court was also told how Amrani's "volatile" relationship with his mother had forced her to leave home to stay with relatives at times.


The political map of Scotland is to be almost completely redrawn under plans to cut the number of Scottish seats at Westminster from 59 to 53.

The proposals would see changes to the boundaries of all but three of the existing constituencies.
And they could threaten the seats of the only Labour and Conservative MPs in Scotland.
The move forms part of proposals to reduce the total number of MPs in the House of Commons from 650 to 600.
But the proposed boundary changes have been described as "unacceptable" by Labour and the SNP - which won 56 of the 59 seats in Scotland at the last general election.
The plans, which will now go out to public consultation, have been unveiled by the Boundary Commission for Scotland and follow similar reviews in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
They would see the East Lothian constituency remain untouched, as would the island seats of Orkney and Shetland and Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles) - both of which are protected by law.
A further 16 seats would have their names retained despite their boundaries changing to some extent.
But elsewhere, 40 sitting MPs will be facing a scramble for only 34 new seats.
Among the proposals are:
The Boundary Commission for Scotland was required to ensure each of the new constituencies - with the exception of the island seats - has between 71,031 and 78,507 voters and does not cover an area of more than 13,000 sq km (5,019 sq miles).
Only 11 of the existing constituencies, not including the two protected seats, have the required number of voters, while five are above it and the remaining 41 are below.
Lord Matthews, deputy chairman of the commission, said he believed the proposals were a "good implementation" of the rules set by parliament.
He added: "Today is the start of a process, and we now want to hear the views of the public. We will reflect on responses to the consultation and makes changes if needed where the legislation allows us to do so.
"We will be running a number of public events across the country in the coming weeks and hope that voters will make their views heard."
The SNP's new deputy leader, Angus Robertson, criticised the proposed reduction in the number of elected representatives in Scotland.
He said: "At a time when Scotland already faces a deep and growing democratic deficit, with a Tory government that we didn't vote for imposing increasingly right-wing policies against our will, it is vital that the Scottish people have strong elected representation at Westminster to stand up for Scotland's interests and to hold the UK government to account."
Scottish Labour also criticised the new boundaries, with its sole MP Ian Murray - whose Edinburgh South constituency has effectively been split into two new seats - claiming they were "unfair, undemocratic and unacceptable".
He added: "They are based on an out-of-date version of the electoral register with nearly two million voters across the UK missing."
On average, an existing constituency has about 66,000 electors and an area of 1,360 sq km, while the proposed new constituencies have, on average, about 73,500 electors and an area of 1,514 sq km.
Almost two thirds of proposed constituencies are each within a single council area, with no constituencies containing parts of more than two council areas.
The largest proposed constituency by area is Highland North, at 12,985 sq km, while the smallest would be Edinburgh North and Leith, at 20 sq km.
And the new constituency with the most electors would be Moray and Nairn at 78,477, while Clackmannanshire and Stirling North would have the fewest at 71,122.
The real battle in the next general election might take place before the actual vote. Some SNP MPs will have to fight each other for the nomination as a constituency candidate - while Labour and the Conservatives risk humiliation.
Prof John Curtice has said there will be a "substantial game of musical chairs played across the country".
Glasgow will be the most interesting battleground, going from seven to six MPs. Patrick Grady, Carol Monaghan and Alison Thewliss will be most affected.
Roger Mullin in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath is being utterly squeezed while, across the Forth, Labour's Ian Murray seems incredulous at the changes in Edinburgh South.
He has probably got a good personal vote but key parts of his constituency are going.
If we swing down to the south-west, David Mundell is at risk too. Scotland's only Conservative MP is seeing his Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale seat being abolished and the new seat taking in healthy SNP chunks.
The scale of revision is huge - and there are massive constituencies. From the Cuillins to the Cairngorms, the size of the new Inverness and Skye seat makes the mind boggle.
It could be difficult here for SNP MPs again, as the the region's going from three seats to two.
The consultation on the proposals will run until 11 January 2017. Members of the public and interested parties can get further information and submit views on the commission's interactive portal. A number of public events will also be held around the country.
The changes will also see the number of seats in England reduced from 533 to 501; in Wales from 40 to 29; and in Northern Ireland from 18 to 17.
The Boundary Commissions for England, Northern Ireland and Wales launched their own consultations on the proposals last month.


Los Angeles has become the largest city in the US to agree a $15 (£9.67) minimum wage.

The City Council voted 14-1 to pass the law in a victory for the national campaign to raise wages for low-paid workers.
Seattle and San Francisco have already agreed to increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2017 and 2018 respectively.
That compares with a $7.25 federal minimum wage which individual states can opt to beat or reduce.
"Today, Los Angeles becomes the latest and largest city to throw its support behind the legions of workers who ask for nothing less than to be paid a fair and decent wage," said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, a lobby group for worker rights.
The $15 minimum will be in place by July 2020, according to the proposed legislation.
To get there, from July 2016, the wage will increase annually starting at $10.50. Non-profit organisations with 25 workers or fewer will have longer to raise wages.
"There's still work to be done, but you will not see this council shy away from its responsibility," Council President Herb Wesson said on his Twitter account.
US retail giant Walmart - the nation's largest private employer - announced in February it plans to raise wages for employees at its US stores.
By 1 February 2016, all current workers will earn at least $10 per hour, it said.


Barnet have announced a triple signing ahead of the reopening of the January transfer window,

The League Two play-off hopefuls have signed Ricardo Almeida Santos, 21, for £100,000 from Peterborough United.
They have also brought in fellow 21-year-old defender David Tutonda from Cardiff City on a two-year deal.
And they secured a third signing on New Year's Eve when striker Simeon Akinola, 24, agreed to move from National League side Braintree Town for £40,000.
Santos, who has signed on an undisclosed-length deal, drops a division to join the Bees after making 75 appearances for League One side Posh.
Tutonda, who failed to make a senior appearance for Cardiff, has previously spent time on loan at Newport and York.
All three deals will be formally completed on Sunday when the transfer window opens.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


The chalk cliffs at Beachy Head sit at the eastern end of the South Downs National Park on the south coast of England and offer wonderful views across the south coast to those walking the coastal path.

The cliffs have appeared in many films, from Quadrophenia to Harry Potter and of course Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Yet for all their beauty and symbolism they are also one of the most notorious suicide spots in the world.
Photographer Brian David Stevens has been documenting the area from Beachy Head to Birling Gap for the past year, recording both the changing seasons and the small crosses that dot the cliff tops, each one a memorial to a life.
Writer Robert Macfarlane commented on Brian's pictures: "These are special images. I've never seen Beachy Head look like this. You make the billowing earth and the billowing cloud speak to one another.
"And those circling birds, aloft in the way that the suicides might long to be, reminded me of a line of Paul Claudel's that I quoted somewhere in Mountains of the Mind: 'We lack wings to fly, but will always have strength to fall.'"
But perhaps the images speak for themselves.
Alongside the Sussex Police and the coastguard the Beachy Head Chaplaincy Team (BHCT) patrols the area and reaches out to those in distress.
You can see more of Brian's work on his website.


Ulster moved into a play-off spot in the Pro12 with five sets of games left after a thumping 10-try win over bottom club Zebre at Kingspan Stadium.

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Luke Marshall and Charles Piutau both notched two tries as Stuart Olding impressed for Ulster at fly-half.
Ruan Pienaar, Jacob Stockdale, Craig Gilroy, John Andrew, Olding and Paul Marshall also scored tries as Ulster ran the Italians ragged.
An Ulster concern was a knee injury picked up by Marcell Coetzee.
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The Springboks star had to be helped off after only 18 minutes and it was not immediately clear whether it was the same knee that he injured seriously last April when he suffered cruciate ligament damage.
Andrea De Marchi's early score helped Zebre level at 7-7 with Guillermo Roan and Lloyd Greeff notching late scores for the outclassed visitors.
Ulster are now fourth in the table, having moved four points ahead of the Scarlets, while Les Kiss' side are six points behind their third-placed Irish rivals Munster.
Saturday's game saw Ulster rack up their biggest ever points total, beating the 67 points scored against Caerphilly in 2002
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Ulster had their bonus point in the bag by the 26th minute after centre Marshall's two early scores and further tries from Pienaar and Piutau.
Zebre prop De Marchi had barged his way through some weak Ulster tackling for a 13th-minute score but it was the visitors' only moment of success in the first period as the home side cut through them at will.
Ireland centre Olding suggested he could be a future fly-half option for club and country as he impressively directed the Ulster backline in addition to scoring a late try.
Jared Payne, meanwhile, is likely to be in Joe Schmidt's thoughts for next week's Six Nations finale against England after his assured full-back display before being hauled off after 55 minutes.
Payne's brilliant long pass set up Gilroy's try shortly after the resumption and a horrible Greeff fumble on his own line gifted Piutau Ulster's seventh try before replacements Andrew and Paul Marshall got in on the scoring act to bring up the home team's try count to double figures.
A misdirected Olding pass helped gift Zebre's second try to replacement prop Roan while Greeff's late effort was the final touchdown of the game but those scores didn't mask another chastening evening for Italian rugby.
TEAMS
Ulster: J Payne; C Gilroy, J Stockdale, L Marshall, C Piutau; S Olding, R Pienaar; C Black, R Herring (capt), W Herbst; K Treadwell, A O'Connor; R Diack, C Henry, M Coetzee.
Replacements: J Andrew for Henry 50, A Warwick for Black 50, R Ah You for Herbst 50, F van der Merwe for O'Connor 66, C Ross for Coetzee 18, P Marshall for Pienaar 46, P Nelson for Payne 55, D Busby for Piutau 74.
Zebre: D Berryman; M Bellini, T Boni, T Castello, L Greeff; S Bordoli, C Engelbrecht; A De Marchi, O Fabiani, B Le Roux; Q Geldenhuys (capt), V Bernabo; M Cornelli, G Koegelenberg, F Ruzza.
Replacements: L Ferraro for Fabiani 58, B Postiglioni for De Marchi 61, G Roan for Le Roux 55, J Furno for Bernabo 50, J Nibert for Cornelli 59, G Palazzani for Engelbrecht 41, M Pratichetti for Boni 62, M Mornas for Bordoli 66.
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)


A German comedian under investigation for mocking the Turkish president has accused Angela Merkel of "filleting" him on behalf of a "despot".

Prosecutors began investigating Jan Boehmermann after he read an obscene poem about Recep Tayyip Erdogan on TV.
Ms Merkel, the German chancellor, faced heavy criticism over the decision.
The comedian's comments come on World Press Freedom day, amid widespread criticism of Turkey's government over its crackdown on the country's media.
Speaking publicly about the investigation for the first time, Mr Boehmermann told Germany's Die Zeit newspaper: "The chancellor must not wobble when it's a matter of freedom of opinion.
"But instead, she filleted me, served me for tea to a highly strung despot and made me into a German Ai Weiwei."
Ai Weiwei is a Chinese dissident artist who was prosecuted and imprisoned by his home country.
Boehmermann, considered Germany's most incisive satirist, read the obscene poem on his Neo Magazin Royale programme, making clear that it included material that broke German laws on free speech.
Section 103 of the criminal code bans insulting representatives or organs belonging to foreign states.
In particular, the poem made references to sex with goats and sheep, as well as repression of Turkish minorities. Reports said that Mr Erdogan demanded Germany press charges against the comedian.
German law forbids citizens to insult foreign leaders, but the decision to investigate Mr Boehmermann has proved highly controversial.
Prosecutors dealing with the case say they are unsure when a decision will be made on whether to pursue it.
The Turkish president has been widely condemned for the heavy-handed treatment of journalists seen as critical of his government.
Turkish prosecutors have opened more than 1,800 cases against people for insulting him since he became president in 2014.
Also on Tuesday, Turkish novelist and Nobel prize-winner Orhan Pamuk attended a court hearing in the Turkish city of Istanbul in solidarity with a fellow writer who is accused of insulting Mr Erdogan.
In his column in the Taraf newspaper, Murat Belge suggested that the president had reignited a conflict against Kurdish rebels to win votes. He is facing four years in jail if convicted.
Mr Pamuk told a Turkish news agency he was dismayed by the growing number of cases that were trying to silence, intimidate and deter opponents of the government.
Among the most recent cases, a Dutch-Turkish journalist was last week told she was not allowed to leave Turkey after she tweeted comments critical of Mr Erdogan.
Ebru Umar was briefly arrested over the tweets, before being freed and told to report to police twice a week.


Two Indian stuntmen have drowned after they jumped into a reservoir as part of a film shoot near Bangalore in south of the country.

The film crew was shooting a scene for a regional Kannada language film when Anil Verma and Raghav Uday dived from the helicopter into the water.
A local inspector told Agence France Presse that the two men could not swim and were not rescued in time.
Police have registered a criminal case of negligence against the producers.
A senior officer told AFP: "Precautionary and safety measures were not taken for the shoot. There were no life jackets, no rescue team nor an ambulance."
Duniya Vijay, who is one of Kannada cinema's top actors, also jumped into the water with the stuntmen, but managed to swim ashore without injury.


Mahjong lovers in China have found a unique way to deal with a merciless heat wave descending on their city.

What do you do if it's way too hot but you just can't stay away from your favourite boardgame?
Well, kick your shoes and socks off, grab a chair and umbrella and head down to the river.
That's what people in the town of Dujiangyan are doing and regardless of who wins at mahjong - they certainly all beat the heat!
And hot it is - media reports say that over the past days, the thermometer in the town in Sichuan province climbed to just under 40C.
Mahjong is an ancient Chinese board game and is often played by elderly people in public parks. But current temperatures are nothing to mess with.
The advice by Britain's National Health Service on how to tackle a heat wave is to "have cool baths or showers, and splash yourself with cool water".
Local media reports cite players joking that the only hazard they still have to tackle is the occasional shoe floating away downstream.
But overall "it's awesome. I can enjoy mahjong while feeling cool and refreshing," one player says in a video uploaded by a regional paper.
It's not the first time the region has seen such heat in the summer and river mahjong has been popular in the small town for a few years now.


Juventus want to mark the 30th anniversary of the Heysel Stadium tragedy by dedicating a Champions League final victory against Barcelona to the victims and their families.

Thirty-nine fans died when a wall collapsed at the 1985 European Cup Final in Brussels when crowd trouble culminated in a surge by Liverpool fans towards their Juventus counterparts.
Memorials were held in Turin and Liverpool on 29 May to commemorate the anniversary - and underdogs Juventus believe their first Champions League triumph since they beat Ajax in 1996 would be the perfect tribute.
Defender Leonardo Bonucci said in Berlin ahead of Saturday's final: "I went to the service to commemorate the victims last week and I think the memory of what happened there is a further stimulus for us because we are hoping we should be able to dedicate a victory to those who lost their lives that night."
The European Cup Final was played, despite the tragedy before the game, Juventus winning 1-0 through Michel Platini's penalty.
Coach Massimiliano Allegri, who is hoping to complete a treble in Berlin's Olimpiastadion after winning Serie A and the Italian Cup, added: "It is very important. Thirty years ago we saw a tragedy which is going to stay with us and has gone down in the history of football, so I think for Juventus, for Italian fans and for world football, this year is a year to be remembered."
He said: "We have to remember the victims and as I have said in previous press conferences we have to think about the families of the victims."
Juventus's veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon admits Barcelona, inspired by the attacking triumverate of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar and aiming for their fourth Champions League win in 10 seasons, are overwhelming favourites but insists the Italians will not simply lie down for Luis Enrique's side.
He said: "They have great players with great skill as a team with players such as Messi, Suarez and Neymar and with Andes Iniesta playing in central midfield.
"Of course they are favourites but we are not whipping boys. When you play a team such as Juventus, with players such as Paul Pogba, Carlos Tevez, Bonucci, Claudio Marchisio and whoever, we are not just here as the designated scapegoat - we have a chance."
Buffon added: "Juventus have always had a reputation for great players, great champions with many trophies and that makes us aware of what we have to live up to. That is a great responsibility, to achieve something great."
Bonucci said: "It will be up all 11 of us to fight for every ball. We are not here to be the sacrificial lambs."


The Royal Navy's most decorated pilot, Capt Eric "Winkle" Brown, has died at the age of 97.

Capt Brown also held the world record for flying the greatest number of different types of aircraft - 487.
During World War Two, Capt Brown, who was born in Leith in 1919, flew fighter aircraft and witnessed the liberation of Bergen Belsen concentration camp.
The pilot, who had been appointed MBE, OBE and CBE, died at East Surrey Hospital after a short illness.
A statement released by his family said: "It is with deep regret that the passing of Captain Eric Melrose Brown CBE DSC AFC is announced.
"Eric was the most decorated pilot of the Fleet Air Arm in which service he was universally known as 'Winkle' on account of his diminutive stature.
"He also held three absolute Guinness World Records, including for the number of aircraft carrier deck landings and types of aeroplane flown."
Capt Brown was educated at Edinburgh's Royal High School, before studying at the University of Edinburgh, where he learned to fly.
He had caught the bug for flying at the age of eight when his father, a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War One, took him up in a bi-plane.
"There was no second seat, but I sat on his lap and he let me handle the stick," he told the BBC in 2014.
"It was exhilarating. You saw the earth from a completely different standpoint."
He retired from the Royal Navy in 1970 but became the director general of the British Helicopter Advisory Board and later the president of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1982.
Capt Brown wrote numerous books of his own and forewords for other authors on the theme of aviation, before and after his retirement.
In March 2015 a bronze bust of him was unveiled at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Somerset.
At his 97th birthday celebration in London on 27 January he was joined by more than 100 pilots, including the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambellas.
In 2014 , the war veteran was picked as the subject for the 3,000th edition of Desert Island Discs, during which he was described by presenter Kirsty Young as a "real life hero" and a "remarkable, dare-devil".
"When you read through his life story, it makes James Bond seem like a bit of a slacker," she said.


A New Zealand woman who was lost in a forest east of Wellington for 24 hours said she drank her own breast milk and covered herself in dirt to survive.

Susan O'Brien, 29, had taken a wrong turn during the Xterra race through Rimutaka Forest Park.
Authorities launched a search operation when Mrs O'Brien failed to reach the finishing line on Sunday morning.
Mrs O'Brien, a mother of two, was eventually airlifted out at 11:30 local time (00:30 BST) on Monday.
She was quickly reunited with her family, 24 hours after she had been due to finish the race, and the first thing she did was to feed her 8-month-old daughter, according to the Dominion Post.
Mrs O'Brien, who also has a two-year-old son, told reporters: "I definitely thought I was going to die."
"I'm breast-feeding my baby so I had a bit of my milk, which I thought, that should help me keep going."
She also had two litres of water with her, gel packs and an energy bar, reported Radio New Zealand.
The fitness trainer said she got very cold and wet as night descended.
She dug a hole in the forest floor and lay in it covered with dirt to keep warm overnight. "I just kept chucking dirt on myself and every time I heard something I kept screaming 'help'," she said.
She told the New Zealand Herald that the ordeal had not put her off trail running.


Back in 1980,  a nine-year-old boy called Dan Davies went to see Jimmy Savile at a recording of Jim'll Fix It.

Watching his demeanour on set between takes left him, he says, feeling disturbed.
"He seemed cold, odd. I just felt uncomfortable."
As an adult, Mr Davies interviewed Savile again and again.  He knew there was something dark about him but he did not know what.
Thirty-five years after that first encounter, he published what is the most comprehensive account of Savile's life and crimes.  And yet he had been as surprised as anyone when the flood of revelations about him emerged two years before.
How did Savile get away with it?
In 1971, a 15-year-old girl was found dead.  She was known to her friends as Samantha. In the papers she was called Claire McAlpine where she was described as a "dolly dancer" on Top of the Pops.
The death, from an overdose of sleeping pills, was front page news. Just before, her mother had contacted the BBC to complain that a DJ had seduced her.
In her diary she is said to have described seeing two DJs.  Savile was not suspected of sleeping with her but the inquiry was described by Dame Janet Smith as "wholly inadequate" - more concerned about protecting the reputation of the BBC than getting at the truth.
In a separate inquiry, Savile admitted to the bosses at Radio One that their suspicions were right. He had been taking girls - 14 year olds - back to his flat from Top of the Pops but only because they did not have a place to stay for the night.  Doreen Davies, a former Radio One executive, said it seemed to be entirely plausible - kind hearted.
Dame Janet Smith says the BBC failed to investigate the "warning signs" adequately.  She does not believe that senior managers knew about Jimmy Savile but she certainly thinks there was a corporate failure to take the issue of protecting young people.
What's perhaps even more surprising is that when there were front page stories about Top of the Pops in the 1970s, the BBC's Board of Management were pleased that Savile went to the papers to discuss life behind the scenes at Top of the Pops.
In the interview, he describes how it was like a high class discotheque and that, yes, he did go on dates but he only visited homes when parents were present.  He was approaching 50 at the time.
Dame Janet Smith accepts that attitudes towards older men having relationships with young girls has changed but adds that it is not an excuse for the BBC.
Canon David Winter is a former head of religious broadcasting for the BBC.  He has written a shelf  of books on theology.  He was also Savile's boss.
In the 1970s, Savile presented a programme called Speakeasy.  He brought a large youth audience and was happy to do programmes on moral and ethical issues.
Savile, Canon Winter said, would in private "go on about girls" and so one day he questioned how this squared with the DJ's "professed Roman Catholic faith".  Savile said it was simple, he would get in to heaven because of his charity work.
So did Canon Winter think Savile was abusing young girls?  He didn't.  He thought it was bluster - the invention of an odd mother-obsessed loner.  He suspected he was gay.   He also adds he and his colleagues were probably "deluded by celebrity".
The Dame Janet Smith report is filled with similar stories.
Savile did not spend time with colleagues, he didn't even in the 70s give the BBC a phone number.  The head of Radio One's press office, Rodney Collins, rang Leeds General Infirmary's porters office if he wanted to get hold of him.
Some, however, suspected the truth.   Wilfred De'Ath was a BBC radio producer in the 1960s.  Since then his life has had many ups and downs.  He has lost touch with his family,  become homeless and had a spell in prison for theft.
But back in the early 60s his lifestyle was rather more orderly and he made a programme called Teenscene.   One day he decided he would interview Savile.  Savile agreed, so long as they could meet first in a restaurant on London's Edgware Road.  When De'Ath arrived he found Savile with a young girl.  "Prepubescent", he says.
Afterwards he spoke again to Savile and asked if he wasn't "living dangerously".  That was, he says, as brave as he got.  The idea of reporting the incident was he feels  "out of the question - it wasn't a moral issue".  Savile was daring him to say something knowing that he could deny everything.   He was, he says, also "physically intimidating".
It is something that appears again and again in the report.  Staff are said to have received complaints from victims and done nothing.  Some 117 people gave evidence saying they had heard rumours or seen things that were inappropriate but did not report them.
The culture, Dame Janet says,  was to turn a "blind eye" - especially towards stars.
With Stuart Hall she goes much further, naming two senior managers who she says should have done more.  It wasn't just a matter of missing a few "warning signs".
And today?  Dame Janet says "whistle-blowing" is now easier but says many of the same fears about the consequences still exist.


Liverpool's owners have approached manager Jurgen Klopp about extending his contract at Anfield.

Klopp, 49, only joined Liverpool in October, then agreeing a deal until 2018, with the option of another year.
But the club's hierarchy is looking to extend that contract as a show of faith and to ward off any potential debate on his future.
German Klopp took Liverpool the finals of the League Cup and the Europa League last season.
Any new deal would not necessarily involve fresh terms over payment.
Klopp is already in the top bracket of earners because of his status and past achievements, having guided Borussia Dortmund to two German titles and a Champions League final before his move to Anfield.
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Colombia's Tatiana Calderon will be Sauber's development driver in Formula 1 this year.

The deal means Calderon, who finished 21st in the GP3 feeder category last year, will spend time in Sauber's simulator and with the team at races.
The 23-year-old will race in GP3 for a second season in 2017.
Team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said Sauber could give Calderon "a professional platform to develop her racing knowledge and skills".
Calderon said: "I am grateful to be working with such an established Formula 1 team and to benefit from its long experience.
"I look forward to working with the team and learning as much as I can. It is a step closer to my dream - one day competing in Formula 1."


Yann Songo'o is set to move into a midfield role for Plymouth Argyle.

The 24-year-old joined the Pilgrims as a centre-back following his release by Blackburn Rovers, but played as a defensive midfielder in the 1-0 loss at Carlisle on Saturday.
"He was probably the standout performer," Argyle manager Derek Adams said after the defeat.
"He's a winner and I think that him going in there a bit further forward than the back three helped us."
With Latvia international Nauris Bulvitis getting international clearance and able to partner former Crawley skipper Sonny Bradley in the centre of defence, former Cameroon Under-21 international Songo'o was able to be pushed further forward.
"I think he's more than comfortable to play in there," added Adams. "You've got to give us a bit of protection, but going forward we have to create more chances than we're creating."


A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a woman in her 70s was stabbed.

The victim was found with stab wounds at a property in Hailey Avenue, Chipping Norton, on Monday.
She suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospital where she remains in a stable condition, Thames Valley Police said.
A 44-year-old man arrested on suspicion of GBH on Monday has been re-arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Updates on this story and more from Oxfordshire
The force is appealing for witnesses to what it believes is an "isolated incident".
Hailey Avenue was closed while house-to-house enquiries took place but has since reopened.


Police have charged a man with arson endangering life with intent after a burning car was abandoned outside a house in Larne, County Antrim.

The house was badly damaged in the attack at Killyglen Road on Sunday.
The man, who is 34, has also been charged with making threats to kill, intimidation and wasting police time by making a false report.
He is expected to appear before Antrim Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
Paramedics were called to the scene after the stolen silver Peugeot was set on fire outside the house at about 16:45 BST on Sunday, but no-one was taken to hospital.
Two other men, aged 23 and 32, who were also arrested after the attack have been released on police bail pending further inquiries.


The Official Chart Show, which has been on Sunday evenings for nearly 50 years, is being moved to Friday evenings.

As well as changing days, it's also getting shorter in duration and it's getting a change in presenter as well.
Greg James will take over the hosting duties when it starts airing in his Friday show, which starts at 4pm.
At the moment it is fronted by Clara Amfo, who only stepped into the role in January having taken over from Jameela Jamil.
Newsbeat spoke to Radio 1 boss Ben Cooper, to find out what's going to happen when the new show starts in July.
It's big news. Radio 1's Official Chart Show is moving from Sunday between 4pm and 7pm to Friday between the hours of 4pm and 6pm.
Recently there was an announcement saying there were going to be global release dates. [At the moment] different countries around the world have different release dates.
They said it's all going to be on a Friday in every single country and then the Official Charts Company, which collates all that information, said they were now going to publish the chart on a Friday.
I don't want our audience to be 48 hours behind everyone else. I want them to hear the number one first on Radio 1.
I was trying to remember how long it's been on a Sunday. I was one of those kids with my fingers on record and pause, taping the top 40 on my cassette machine.
For over 30 years it's been on a Sunday. I think people are going to be shocked.
Radio 1 is changing. Our audiences are changing and we have to change to keep up with those audience activities.
The Official Chart Show is currently three hours but if you look at audience figures and you look at where the peaks are in terms of audience listening, you know that obviously the top 20 is more important than the top 40.
We'll reflect the top 40 but we'll actually be playing the top 20. We'll play a range of records between 40 and 20 but we're not going to play the whole of the top 40.
There are some records that hang around in the chart for weeks and weeks on end and we don't need to play those.
It'll be about the new music, the new entries, the ones that are rising up faster than anyone else. That will be condensed into a fantastic new two-hour show with Greg.
I just think this is going to give the chart new energy.
Clara has got the most amazing opportunity. [When Fearne Cotton leaves Radio 1, Clara will take over her mid-morning show.]
She has got the keys to the Live Lounge so I think she's very very happy.
You know from when you've heard Greg fill in for the Chart, he loves the Chart.
He's so excited about getting his hands on it and I think it's going to sound really fun, really energetic, really pacey and be full of the stars who are making the music of today.
On Sunday we'll have from 4pm to 7pm to play with. That's an opportunity to create a brand new show.
I'm working with the people at CBBC on creating something that will take some of the best content from their channel, and some of our great content, and really focusing on a young, teen audience.
I don't know yet. It's got a short commission so we're going to look at Jack and Dean and what they do with the Chart Bite, whether that continues or not, we shall have to see in the future.
The Chart Show has been going since 1967. It will continue to go until 2067 and beyond I believe.
There is always a human need to find out what music your friends and yourself love.
Curated playlists are the thing of the moment and this is the ultimate curated playlist. The Chart Show is exciting and it's just moving days - that's all.
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Hearts, Forfar Farmington and Glasgow Girls all won to maintain their 100% starts to the season in SWPL 2.

Goals from Stacey Hutchison and Ashley Carse gave Hearts a 2-0 win at home to battling Jeanfield Swifts.
Forfar Farmington shipped three goals in the last 10 minutes to Motherwell, but held on to win 5-3 and keep hold of top spot on goal difference.
Glasgow Girls beat Buchan 1-0, while Edinburgh University Hutchison Vale won 3-0 against East Fife.
All SWPL 1 games were postponed due to the number of players involved with the Scotland U19s squad, who were taking part in the Uefa Championship Elite round in Ireland.
Hearts were made to fight all the way against a determined Jeanfield Swifts side who dominated the opening period.
The visitors could have been ahead when Danielle McGinley found space, but appeared to slip as she took her shot.
McGinley had another opportunity shortly after but shot wide as Swifts continued to pin Hearts back.
However, Hearts really should have been ahead after 12 minutes when Kara Kidd rounded Jeanfield goalkeeper Corrie McIlravey-Davidson only to knock the ball off the post before hitting the rebound wide.
Hearts' Carse and Jeanfield's Rachel Todd shot wide at either end before, right on half-time, the home side broke the deadlock.
Jenn Dodd's free-kick found the unmarked Hutchison at the back post and she had the simple task of knocking the ball over the line.
While Hearts may have been fortunate to have had the lead at that stage, they looked a different outfit in the second half.
Hutchison should have doubled her tally when Kidd raced down the right and cut back to her on the edge of the box, but she lifted her shot over the bar.
Jeanfield's best chance of the game fell to Ellie Cowie wide on the right on 63 minutes, but her shot lacked enough power to trouble goalkeeper Ashley Watson.
And Hearts doubled their lead with a well-worked goal 10 minutes later; Carse and Kidd exchanging passes before the former curled a right-foot shot into the far corner.
It could have been three in the dying seconds, but Demi Summers hit the bar from close range.
Hearts head coach Andrew Enwood was delighted to make it three league wins in a row, and believes Jeanfield will cause a few problems for their promotion rivals this season.
"I don't think we created as many chances as we've had in the last two home games, but you're not going to create chance after chance in every game," said Enwood. "It's about taking them when they come along.
"One of Stacey's roles is to be in and around the box and score goals and that's two on the trot now for her. And everybody knows that Ashley Carse scored so many goals last year for us. The second goal was fantastic."


Saudi security forces have arrested 431 suspected members of the Islamic State militant group, officials say.

They are accused of plotting suicide attacks on security forces and mosques in various parts of the country.
Most of the suspects are Saudi citizens, but they also include people from six nationalities, including Yemen and Syria, the interior ministry said.
Saudi Arabia is part of a US-led coalition carrying out air strikes against IS militants in Syria and Iraq.
In its statement, the interior ministry said the suspects were planning suicide operations targeting mosques "on every Friday timed with assassinations of security men" in the east.
"Terrorist plots to target a diplomatic mission, security and government facilities" the southern province of Sharurah were also thwarted, the ministry added.
In April, Saudi authorities said they had arrested 93 IS suspects and foiled planned attacks on targets including the US embassy in Riyadh.


A Swansea City fan has been banned from football matches in the UK for four years following disorder at games, says South Wales Police.

Michael Jordan McGuire, 19, from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, also had to pay £1,000 costs in a hearing at Swansea Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
Police said the order also stopped McGuire from entering towns and cities where Swansea or Wales were playing.
They added that McGuire contested their court application to ban him.
A spokesman said the court was shown video footage of McGuire during disorder at three games - Wolves versus Swansea in 2008, Swansea versus Charlton Athletic in 2009, and Swansea versus Leicester City last year.
The court was also shown photographs from the Swansea versus Cardiff City fixture in 2009.
The order was made on the basis that McGuire caused or contributed to violence and disorder at these matches, said South Wales Police.
Police said the court agreed he should be banned despite having never been arrested or convicted of football-related violence.
They said the ban extended to matches in the UK which were regulated under the Football Spectators Act 1989.
Supt Phil Davies of Swansea police said: "South Wales Police can, and will, pursue civil banning orders against those who are frequently and actively engaged in incidents of disorder at football events regardless of whether they have been arrested or convicted.
"I'm sure no Swansea City fans will want to miss any of this season's Premier League fixtures and therefore this case should be a deterrent to anyone thinking of getting involved in disorder.
"The feedback we have had following the opening three matches of this season has been extremely positive, including positive comments from Greater Manchester Police on the behaviour of the Swans fans and from Sunderland fans about the good atmosphere during their visit to Swansea last weekend."


Facebook has released an app for iPhone owners called Notify that gathers news and entertainment stories into one regularly updated feed.

CNN, Fox News and the Washington Post are among the 70 organisations providing stories to the app.
Anyone who installs the app chooses their own mix of sources that will post notifications to their feed.
It competes directly with Twitter's Moments and Apple's News service, which create feeds of breaking stories.
The feed of stories could be customised by choosing from several different categories, including movies, music, sport, news and celebrities, Facebook said in a blogpost.
There are also categories for daily meditation exercises and another from the Getty picture library showing iconic images from the same day in history.
Currently, the Notify service is available only to iPhone-owning Facebook members in the United States.
Facebook has not said when or if the service will be extended to other parts of the world or other operating systems.
Notifications about new articles appear on the lock screen of an iPhone and can be shared from that display.
Mark Mulligan, managing director of analyst company Midia Research, said the move made sense because Facebook had become the "jumping off point into our digital lives".
"The better a job it can do of this, the better it locks users in," he said. "It has seen standout success with spinning out Messenger and recognises that the more touchpoints it can develop with its users, the more it can create greater loyalty."
Notify comes soon after Facebook unveiled its Instant Articles service In May. This sought to speed up the delivery of off-site content by hosting it in its own data centres. Articles from BuzzFeed, National Geographic, the New York Times and six other media organisations are featured on the service.
Instant Articles is initially available only on iPhones but tests of an Android version have begun.
A similar, rival service called the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) initiative was launched by Google and many other web firms in October.
AMP stored slimmed down copies of stories from dozens of news organisations to enable them to load faster on portable devices.


In three of British TV's top shows John Michie went from solving murders to committing one and then to saving lives.

The 60-year-old Scottish actor, who was born in Burma and grew up in Kenya, played DI Robbie Ross in STV's detective drama Taggart for 12 years.
He then moved to Britain's biggest soap to play Karl Munro in Coronation Street.
While that character was serving life for murder he has hopped to the BBC to play consultant neurosurgeon Guy Self in Holby City.
Michie has also appeared in films and plays, mostly recently in a Winter's Tale at Edinburgh's Lyceum.
Forty years ago he remembers beginning his career as a stage hand at the city's Traverse Theatre, bringing cups of tea to the actors.
He told BBC Radio Scotland's Stark Talk that his father was brought up in the Campsie Hills but after World War Two there was no work and he was sent east by his family to get a job in banking.
He went first to India and met Michie's mother, a Lancastrian nurse, in Mumbai.
Michie moved to Kenya when he was three and lived there until he was 12, during the period when the East African nation fought for and won its independence from Britain.
He told Edi Stark: "It was a wonderful life if you were from that minority of Europeans who lived a colonial life.
"I was unaware of what that really meant but I loved it.
"It needed independence obviously but at the time for me as a young white kid it was bliss."
Kenya gained its independence in 1964 and Michie's father stayed for a while but eventually he moved the family back to Scotland, taking a job at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Michie had attended a prep school in England from the age of eight and he was now sent as a boarder to the exclusive Glenalmond private school in the Perthshire countryside, where his father had been a pupil.
Michie says: "Glenalmond was radically different from this forward-thinking hippy-type school in Sussex.
"It was old-fashioned, strict, hardly a woman to be seen and you are kept in that environment until you are young man of 18 - not healthy."
He says he did not begin acting at the remote all-boys school because "as a 13-year-old quite-nice-looking young lad" he would have been made to take the girls' parts.
"I'd have to put on a wig and a dress and I thought there is no way I am doing that to have a load of older boys ogling at me," he says.
"So consequently I did no drama.
"By the time I got to 17 or 18 I was way too rebellious to want to do it anyway."
He says the only things to do at the school were take drugs and pass exams.
His rebellious streak saw him caught smoking marijuana, he says.
"I was desperate to see a bit of the world and have fun so I went off travelling to Australia, ended up herding cattle and picking tobacco and selling paintings.
"Then I went to university to do English and Law but I knew it wasn't for me because I really wanted to be an actor.
"So I jacked it all in and went back to Edinburgh and got a job as a stage hand at the Traverse."
His career did not take off straight away and it was quite a while before he landed major roles.
From 1998 he spent over a decade on Taggart, a detective series set in Glasgow.
"I'm from Edinburgh but I just love Glasgow," he says.
"Taggart was such a great job because no-one was carrying the whole show.
"It was split between three or four of us and we were on location all over the place, different story every episode and great fun. We all got on famously well."
He says he loved playing DI Ross, an "unpredictable" detective with a liking for a drink and an attractive woman.
Michie, a father of three who has been with his partner for 28 years, says there is an element of himself in every character he plays.
"I didn't get with Carol until I was 31 and I had a lot of lost time to make up for after school," he says.
Carol is a former dancer with the Hot Gossip dance troupe who he met when she was the choreographer on a Walkers crisp advert.
The couple now live in London with their family but from 2011 to 2013 he drew on his mother's Manchester roots when he took on a part in Coronation Street.
He says the soap was the first TV programme he ever saw because his mum, who was from Rochdale, used to watch it.
"It was the weirdest thing," he says.
"A kid from Africa watching the goings-on in the working class back streets of Salford."
Michie played the character of Karl with a Manchester accent, drawing on his experience of his relatives with whom he spent time when he could not go back to Africa in the school holidays.
He says the pain of separation from his parents means he can draw on "deep emotional feelings very quickly".
Michie, whose nephew Jamie Michie plays Steelshanks in Game of Thrones, says getting into a part should be "dangerous".
He says: "I remember once having to play someone who was bipolar and I went a little bit too far.
"It was in the theatre and I hyperventilated for 20 minutes walking around the theatre.
"I was supposed to have a fit in the show and people don't believe me when I say this but I actually did have a fit on stage.
"It was very disturbing. No-one realised that I had had it for real. They just thought I was overacting, which was kind of ironic."
Stark Talk is on BBC Radio Scotland at 13:30 on Wednesday 10 May.


Harlequins back row Mat Luamanu has been banned for three weeks by the Rugby Football Union for "dangerously charging" Sale forward Josh Beaumont.

Luamanu, 27, was sent off for the no-arms tackle in the closing stages of the Sharks' 19-10 victory on Friday.
The 6ft 3in, 20st 7lb forward will miss the Premiership fixtures against Exeter, Saracens and Wasps, and will be available again on 3 October.
Sale back rower Beaumont had to leave the pitch after the 71st-minute tackle.


The Sea Empress oil disaster off Pembrokeshire could be repeated due to cuts to coastal emergency services, the county's former MP has said.

Thousands of birds died when 72,000 tonnes of crude oil spilled in 1996.
Nick Ainger told BBC Radio Wales the scrapping of the UK's emergency towing vessel fleet showed lessons had not been learned 20 years on.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said it was felt the shipping industry should fund such a service.
The stranding of the Sea Empress oil tanker at the mouth of the Cleddau Estuary off Milford Haven in February 1996 resulted in 72,000 tonnes of crude North Sea oil escaping into the sea.
Scores of volunteers helped open and run a makeshift animal hospital where more than 7,000 dead or oiled birds were taken - just a fraction of the number affected.
About 120 miles of Welsh coastline were contaminated with the total cost of the clean-up operation put at Â£60m.
The first two tugs in the UK's emergency towing vessel fleet were introduced in 1994 following the Donaldson report into the MV Braer oil spill.
It was expanded to four in 2000 when a tug at Falmouth, Cornwall, gave cover to south Wales for the first time.
The UK coalition government scrapped the fleet in 2011 as a cost-saving measure, although one tug, in Orkney, won a reprieve until March 2016.
Mr Ainger told the Sunday Supplement programme:  "We now have a position, 20 years after the Sea Empress, 23 after the Braer, where we have no emergency towing vehicles stationed around our coast.
"Ironically, other countries in Europe, in Spain, in France, Germany, Norway have got government-financed emergency towing vessels.
"We, with our huge coastline with all the shipping that we have coming not only in and out of Milford Haven, but around our shores from the North Sea carrying crude oil, we haven't got a government-supported emergency towing vessel.
"I think that lesson should be re-learned very, very quickly before we have another disaster."
An MCA spokeswoman said:  "The government believes that responsibility for ensuring the operational safety of ships is properly a matter for the commercial shipping industry, working in partnership with the tug and salvage industries; it did not believe that it was appropriate for the taxpayer to fund this provision."
She added that no vessel had run aground or foundered in UK waters, nor had any pollution occurred, as a result of a ship being unable to engage a suitable towing vessel.


England defender Gary Cahill says Roy Hodgson's six changes were not to blame for the side's inability to break down Slovakia on Monday.

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The goalless draw coupled with Wales' win over Russia meant Hodgson's side finished second in Group B.
"We had the ball constantly. We just didn't quite have that cutting edge to open them up," said Cahill, when asked if the changes had affected England.
"It wasn't to be. But we should have won the game."
The Chelsea centre-back added: "In games like that, you need something a little bit special - someone to shoot from outside the box or create something, which we nearly did."
Hodgson has faced criticism for the number of alterations he made to the starting line-up, with former England striker Gary Lineker saying before the match he felt rotation was "a hindrance".
However, the England manager feels too much has been made of the impact the changes had on the team.
"What would necessarily have changed? Had Wayne (Rooney) started, would he have scored the goals the others missed from his left half position?" said Hodgson.
"Wayne and Dele Alli and Harry Kane came on and we still did not take the chances.
"But the 'six changes' [debate] amuses me. We finished the game against Wales with Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge up front and people said that was positive. And now it suddenly becomes 'six changes' with those two starting. It was four changes from the side which finished the Wales game.
"If we'd won this game people would have said we didn't miss those we'd left out, and when we don't they say the team selection is wrong."


The Conservatives' proposed revamp of the way people pay for social care have been criticised by an ex-government adviser and opposition parties.

There is universal acknowledgement that the system was overdue for reform, as social services in England can no longer finance rising demand.
The plans will see many more people paying for more of their home care.
Concerns have been led by former government advisor Sir Andrew Dilnot who proposed a cap on costs in 2011.
Sir Andrew criticised the decision to abandon the cap idea and said the changes would leave elderly people "helpless" until their assets reach £100,000.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats also attacked the plans, but Prime Minister Theresa May said the reforms were essential to ensure fairness "across the generations" and long-term sustainability of the social care system.
Why many will pay more for care
How the care system works across the UK
Election Live: Rolling text and video updates
Under the system that had been due for implementation in 2020 nobody would have to pay more than £72,000 towards the cost of social care they receive at home.
People who have assets of more than £23,250 have to pay for all their care, those with assets of between £14,250 and £23,250 would get some help and below that all care is funded.
Under the new Conservative plans nobody who has assets of less than £100,000 would have to pay for care. But crucially, for the first time in the case of people being cared for in their own home, that calculation includes the value of their house. If their assets are above £100,000 they will have to pay until their value reaches that cut-off point.
The Conservatives have said nobody will have to sell their house in their lifetime, or that of a surviving partner, but ultimately care costs would be taken from their estate.
Mrs May said it would remove the worry that people would have to sell their homes while still alive, or see their savings dwindle to virtually nothing.
However Sir Andrew said the changes would leave people unable to plan for the future.
"There's nothing you can do to protect yourself against care costs, you can't insure it because the private sector won't insure it, and by refusing to implement the cap that Conservatives are now saying they're not going to provide social insurance for it," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
"So people will be left helpless knowing that what will happen is if they're unlucky enough to suffer the need for care costs, they'll be entirely on their own until they're down to the last £100,000, all of their wealth including their house.
"The analogy is a bit like saying to somebody you can't insure your house against burning down, if it does burn down then you're completely on your own, you have to pay for all of it until you're down to the last £100,000 of all your assets and income."
Chris Ham, chief executive of The King's Fund health think tank, described the Conservative plans as "deeply disappointing".
"Instead of fundamental reform, these proposals involve tinkering with a broken system and do not provide the sustainable solution that is desperately needed."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the Conservatives of "forcing those who need social care to pay for it with their homes". Speaking on the BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine Show he labelled the policy a "dementia tax".
Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb, said "elderly people the length of Britain will shudder at these care cost proposals".
He said: "Many elderly people currently will face the cruel situation of having to sell their home when they die to fund residential care home costs.
"Now the frail and elderly receiving care in their own home will face what is a 'Personal Death Tax' charged against their home. And the more help you need, the more Theresa May will snatch away when you die."


A shocked sports journalist got home to find a parcel which was posted through his window had landed in his toilet.

Sam Cooke, 22, from Manchester, arrived at his house to find two cards on his doormat.
One said the parcel had been put through an open window. The second read: "I'm really sorry I think your parcel might have fallen down the toilet...Accidently (sic)".
Thankfully, the box, containing printer ink, was "too wide to hit the water".
Pictures of the apologetic postie's cards and box in the loo have been shared thousands of times on Twitter since Mr Cooke posted them on Twitter.
Royal Mail has apologised but Mr Cooke didn't kick up a stink.
He said: "There's honestly nothing to apologise for, the parcel is absolutely fine, gave me and thousands of others a good laugh."
Though he has said he will keep the window closed in future.


A lorry driver has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving following a crash in County Tyrone.

Albertas Daskevicius, from Ballykelly, County Londonderry, was charged over the death of Sean McElwee on Saturday.
Mr McElwee, groundsman of Cookstown Father Rocks GAA club, was one of three people killed in separate collisions in County Tyrone over the weekend.
The other victims were Jane Burnside from Cookstown and an unnamed woman in her 50s killed in a crash in the town.
Ms Burnside, 23, died after being hit by a car on Gortnagammon Road, Tullyhogue, outside Cookstown, on Saturday morning.
The other woman, whose name has not been released, died in a single-vehicle collision on Moneymore Road, Cookstown, early on Sunday morning.
Mr McElwee, who was in his 40s, was driving a van at Melmount Road, between Strabane and Sion Mills, when he was involved in the fatal crash.
The lorry driver accused of causing the collision also faces a number of other charges, including driving without insurance and without a tachograph.
Enniskillen Magistrates' Court was told that 49-year-old Mr Daskevicius, from Bawncourt in Ballykelly, admitted to police that the collision was his fault.
A police officer said he had pulled out to pass a lorry that was slowing down to turn left when he crossed the white line into the path of an oncoming vehicle.
The court heard that he had not consumed alcohol, and there was no evidence the accused was speeding or using a mobile telephone at the time.
Mr Daskevicius is currently unemployed but had agreed to buy the lorry and had made a payment of Â£2,000 in an effort to secure work.
He was released on bail on condition that he does not drive and surrenders his passport and identity documents.
The lorry driver is due to appear at Strabane Magistrates' Court on 14 May.


One Direction stars Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson face losing more than £3,000 each if they are caught using, or promoting, illegal drugs in Manila.

The pair have been asked to post bonds of 200,000 pesos each for a special work permit, ahead of two concerts in the Philippine capital this weekend.
Local immigration said the bond was intended "to protect public interest".
It follows a video leaked last May in which Malik and Tomlinson were shown allegedly smoking cannabis in Peru.
Elaine Tan, of the Philippine Bureau of Immigration, said the band would be prevented from performing if producers fail to post the cash bond before the concert.
The amount includes an additional processing fee of 20,000 pesos.
"The condition is intended to protect the public interest should the band members commit any violation during their stay in the Philippines," said Tan.
It is understood a concert producer went to the Immigration Bureau on Thursday to post the bonds, said Christine Ching, a spokeswoman of Anti-Drugs Advocate.
The group has also called on the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to send officers to monitor the band.
"We want to see their pure, raw, untainted talent," said Ching, adding that there was concern about the popular band's influence on Filipino youth.
She said the group had met with concert producers, and they had agreed to allow government drug agencies and advocate groups to monitor band members.
One Direction are due to play at the seaside Mall of Asia Concert Grounds on 21 and 22 March.
After the leak emerged last year, One Direction's Liam Payne - who was not seen in the video - tweeted an apology, saying "I love my boys and maybe things have gone a little sideways. I apologise for that."
"We are only in our 20s and we all do stupid things at this age," Payne wrote.


Six pets worth thousands of pounds have been stolen from a dog walker's van in south London.

Three Pugs, a Chihuahua, a Jug - a Pug crossed with a Jack Russell - and a Puggle, a Pug-Beagle crossbreed, were taken in Kemble Road, Forest Hill.
A witness said they saw two men load the animals into a black VW van and drive off.
The Met confirmed four dogs were swiped in a similar incident outside a house in nearby Streatham in July.
Dog owner Yuriko Matsukawa, whose five-year-old pug Pia was taken earlier, said the stolen pets were valuable, with pug puppies worth around Â£1,000.
She added: "I'm devastated. I'm desperate to be reunited with her."
The Evening Standard reported the dogs in Streatham were stolen from a dog walker's van in Glennie Road.
The Met Police confirmed the pets were still missing.
The Greater London Authority said last month there had been an an increase in dog thefts in the capital since 2013.
It found dog thefts made up the majority of domestic pet thefts across London and had increased from 186 in 2014 to 217 in 2015.


Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a hat-trick as Manchester United opened up a commanding Europa League last-32 lead against Saint-Etienne.

Ibrahimovic's deflected free-kick wrong-footed goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier and dribbled over the line for the opener, and he tapped home from close range after good work from Marcus Rashford, as well as adding a late penalty.
Saint-Etienne caused United problems on the break in the first 45 minutes, particularly with Romain Hamouma's pace, while Henri Saivet and Nolan Roux both clipped efforts narrowly off target.
Ruffier's double save denied Juan Mata and Anthony Martial forced the visiting goalkeeper into sharp saves, while Paul Pogba headed against the crossbar from close range.
The two sides meet for the second leg on Wednesday, 22 February (kick-off 17:00 GMT).
Relive United's win over Saint-Etienne
There were question marks over the signing of veteran striker Ibrahimovic on a free transfer from Paris St-Germain in the summer, but the Swede has responded by taking his tally to 23 for the season.
The 35-year-old former Juventus, Barcelona and AC Milan man has now netted 17 career hat-tricks. It was his first since joining United, his second in European competition and his third against Saint-Etienne.
"Every time I have played against Saint-Etienne, with hard work there has been a couple of goals," Ibrahimovic said after the game. "I have scored a couple of goals tonight and hopefully I can do the same next week."
The Ligue 1 side will be pleased to see the back of Ibrahimovic when he retires having scored 17 times against them during his career.
Ibrahimovic has 11 titles and three domestic cups to his name, but a major European trophy remains missing from his illustrious CV.
Like Ibrahimovic, United have never won this competition, but the result keeps alive their hopes of a cup treble this season. They face Blackburn in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday and Southampton in the EFL Cup final the following week.
In his first season at Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho's side are just two points off a Champions League spot in the league, but triumph in the Europa League would give them an automatic passage through to Europe's elite club competition.
Against Saint-Etienne, the Red Devils tested Ruffier on numerous occasions but he was left floundering for the first goal, while his parry into the danger area allowed the second.
On the other hand, the Ligue 1 side carved United's backline open with ease at times, with defender Eric Bailly looking particularly suspect, but they failed to work goalkeeper Sergio Romero into a single save with their 14 shots.
The world's most expensive player, Paul Pogba, was up against his brother Florentin, who was signed by the French side for 500,000 euros in 2012.
Mother Yeo and third brother Mathias watched from the stands as the two shared a warm embrace before kick-off, with the elder sibling Florentin sporting a number 19 on one side of his head and his brother's six on the other.
"It is something very magical, it does not happen every day and I really enjoyed playing against my brother," said the United player.
France international Paul showed why the club spent £89m to sign him from Juventus in the summer with a dominant midfield performance in which he controlled the tempo of the match.
However, on one occasion he inadvertently gave the ball away to Florentin, whose burst forward eventually saw the ball reach Saivet, but the on-loan Newcastle man could not find the target with his shot.
Florentin's rising drive in the first half almost saw him nick an away goal for his side, while Paul wasted good chances in the second period, the best of which came as he headed against the woodwork when unmarked.
The Saint-Etienne defender's evening ended early as he hobbled off with an injury with 12 minutes remaining.
Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic told BT Sport: "We created good chances. It was important to get a good win at home and we bring it with us in the second leg. It was a good game but I think we can do better.
"We are winning but in a short time everything can change. It's important to keep getting the wins we need. Everything can change but we're happy at the moment.
"This is the decisive moment for the season. We are still in all four competitions. The fifth we already won [the Community Shield]."
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho: "Concentration was not there in the first half. We started making dangerous mistakes at the back, were slow in the build-up and had no movement in attack. We were lucky to be winning at half-time.
"In the second half the story changed. We were faster. It wasn't the perfect game because we still lost the ball too often but it was better. The tie is not over but it is a good result."
Manchester United travel to Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup on Sunday (kick-off 16:15 GMT), while Saint-Etienne face Montpellier in Ligue 1 on the same day (kick-off 16:00 GMT).
Match ends, Manchester United 3, St Etienne 0.
Second Half ends, Manchester United 3, St Etienne 0.
Attempt missed. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left from a direct free kick.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ole Selnaes (St Etienne).
Offside, St Etienne. Kevin Malcuit tries a through ball, but Nolan Roux is caught offside.
Goal!  Manchester United 3, St Etienne 0. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Penalty Manchester United. Zlatan Ibrahimovic draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by Kévin Théophile-Catherine (St Etienne) after a foul in the penalty area.
Foul by Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).
Kevin Malcuit (St Etienne) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution, Manchester United. Ashley Young replaces Anthony Martial.
Attempt blocked. Henri Saivet (St Etienne) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Hand ball by Anthony Martial (Manchester United).
Attempt blocked. Henri Saivet (St Etienne) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Eric Bailly (Manchester United).
Jordan Veretout (St Etienne) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt blocked. Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Paul Pogba with a cross.
Corner,  Manchester United. Conceded by Henri Saivet.
Corner,  Manchester United. Conceded by Loic Perrin.
Substitution, St Etienne. Robert Beric replaces Florentin Pogba.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Florentin Pogba (St Etienne) because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Antonio Valencia.
Foul by Ander Herrera (Manchester United).
Kévin Monnet-Paquet (St Etienne) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal!  Manchester United 2, St Etienne 0. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner.
Attempt missed. Nolan Roux (St Etienne) right footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Ole Selnaes.
Substitution, St Etienne. Ole Selnaes replaces Vincent Pajot.
Paul Pogba (Manchester United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Paul Pogba (Manchester United).
Jordan Veretout (St Etienne) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution, Manchester United. Marcus Rashford replaces Juan Mata.
Foul by Juan Mata (Manchester United).
Jordan Veretout (St Etienne) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Paul Pogba (Manchester United) hits the bar with a header from very close range. Assisted by Daley Blind with a cross following a set piece situation.
Anthony Martial (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Henri Saivet (St Etienne).
Attempt blocked. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Juan Mata.
Attempt blocked. Anthony Martial (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jesse Lingard.


In a parliament often pilloried for its unruliness and childishness, last month saw a rare moment of cross-party accord.

It came with the teary announcement from Martin Ferguson, a Labor minister who resigned from the government because of his support for the former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, that he was stepping down as the MP for the seat of Batman.
Mr Fergusson, a gruff former union chief, broke down as he paid tribute to the parents who had helped launch his career.
More surprisingly, there was emotion, too, from the leader of opposition, Tony Abbott, as he bade farewell to a politician regarded as one of Labor's more competent performers.
"Well may we shed a tear," said Mr Abbott, as he himself struggled to contain his feelings, "for things which were, which should be, but which are not."
As Abbott retook his seat, Julia Gillard turned to her front bench and rolled her eyes. The subtext of his remarks, after all, was that Mr Ferguson would never have resigned had Kevin Rudd remained as leader.
But that afternoon, and on the evening news bulletins that came later, it was Mr Abbott who came across as the more prime ministerial of the two.
After Julia Gillard ousted Kevin Rudd in June, 2010, her first words on the floor of parliament came when Tony Abbott approached to offer a congratulatory hand.
"Game on," she uttered sotto voce, clearly thinking she had his measure.
Three years on, virtually everyone in Canberra, including senior Labor figures, looks upon her as the loser.
As the 14 September election draws closer - there are now 100 days to go - her rival is affecting the air of a prime minister-designate. Barring some catastrophic revelation or dramatic unforeseen event, he should become the country's 28th leader.
"Australia, it seems, is not having an election on 14 September," says the ABC political presenter Barrie Cassidy, "but a handover. Never before has there been this level of expectation that a government is about to be thrown out."
Out of all the thousands of words written this year about the forthcoming election, few have so pin-pointedly hit the mark.
The polls suggest not only a defeat for Labor but also a rout. I have spoken to senior figures within the party who think it will be lucky to hold onto 30 seats, which in a parliament of 150 MPs would be calamitous. In Queensland, they could face a near wipe out.
Some Labor insiders fear they will retain just one seat - that, emblematically, of Kevin Rudd in Brisbane. They also expect to lose a swathe of seats in the western suburbs of Sydney, another key battleground.
High-ranking figures, like the Treasurer Wayne Swan and the defence minister Stephen Smith, face a struggle to retain their seats.
Last-ditch hopes that the federal budget handed down in May could spur some sort of a comeback have now evaporated.
Kevin Rudd, a potential saviour who did not have enough support to mount a successful challenge for the Labor leadership in February, has ruled out a return in any circumstances.
Small wonder that a gallows humour has taken hold within Labor ranks.
"It's like the Titanic - we're in the final scenes," one Labor backbencher, who supports Kevin Rudd, told ABC News. "Third class has realised the doors are locked and they're not getting out. And first class are running around looking for a dress to put on."
Such is the air of defeatism that some senior Labor strategists believe they should fight a noble campaign with a view to future elections rather than a nasty campaign, centred on personal attacks against Tony Abbott, that might mitigate their losses this time round.
Better to protect what is left of the Labor brand, the thinking goes, than to resort to negative tactics that have proven so off-putting to voters.
Outsiders might be surprised that a country that has weathered the global financial crisis without plunging into recession is about to punish the government so severely.
However, while Australia has enjoyed a period of relative economic stability, Canberra has gone through a phase of extreme political volatility.
Many of the government's problems flow from the coup that ousted Kevin Rudd in 2010.
The former prime minister, and his allies, have been a wilfully destabilising presence. Julia Gillard has struggled to stamp her authority on the government, and also to find her prime ministerial voice.
Though her minority government has pushed through popular reforms, like the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the Gonksi education programme, too often Labor has given the impression of self-absorption.
Its focus, many voters feel, has been on internal politicking rather than national governance.
Nor can Julia Gillard catch a break right now.
Last week, when she visited a school in Canberra to announce a major new school funding deal, television reports devoted more time to how she had been targeted by a flying salami sandwich - a copy-cat prank modelled on a vegemite sandwich aerial assault a few weeks before.
The turn-around has been stunning. Less than six years ago, when Kevin Rudd's victory ended 11 years of conservative rule, Labor's domination was complete.
Back then, the party ruled every state and territory, and the most senior Liberal office holder was the mayor of Brisbane, Campbell Newman.
Now New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland, where Mr Newman is now the premier, are all held by the conservative coalition.
So often underestimated, Mr Abbott can claim much of the credit. In the months after the failed Copenhagen global warning summit, when the politics of climate change were completely upended and the Rudd project seemed to stall, he seized the initiative and contributed to his opponent's downfall.
His attacks on Julia Gillard for adopting a carbon tax, despite promising during the 2010 campaign not to do so, have damaged her credibility.
More recently, with speeches on indigenous affairs and his backing for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, he has sought to recast his public image from the attack dog of old to a leader-in-waiting.
Once seen as erratic and overly aggressive, he has emerged in recent months as a more substantial and multi-dimensional figure.
He remains a deeply polarising figure, and polls continue show he is far from being a popular figure.
But he does not appear to elicit the same fear and loathing from sections of the electorate that stopped him from winning in 2010. He seems to be passing the plausibility test.
Barrie Cassidy has likened this pre-election phase to a US presidential transition, when the winner is known, but unable to take power until the actual inauguration.
After all, few here doubt that in roughly 100 days time, Tony Abbott will be taking the oath of office.


The Duchess of Cambridge has visited a hospital to meet staff and patients affected by the London Bridge attack.

The duchess met two groups of staff at King's College Hospital, south London, who were working on the evening of the attack and have continued to provide support to patients.
She also met patients in private.
Eight people were killed and 48 injured when three attackers drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and then stabbed people in Borough Market.
Away from the cameras, the duchess spoke to some of the seven patients who are still at the hospital.
One of the patients is critically ill but the duchess was expected to see the other six who are in a more stable condition.
The duchess also met staff who were working on the evening of the attack, including doctors, nurses, support staff and porters.
She asked about their roles and praised their efforts, saying: "Well done."
She told staff it was "quite unprecedented to go through this sort of event twice", after the Westminster Bridge attack on 22 March that killed five people.
At the end of her visit, she met a senior doctor to learn about the work the hospital does to help staff to process what they experienced when they treated the patients.
Meanwhile, Borough Market is to reopen at 10:00 BST on Wednesday.
Traders will pause for a minute's silence to remember the victims of the attack before the market bell is rung at the start of business.
A total of 14 of the victims were admitted to King's College Hospital following the attack on 3 June in which the attackers were shot dead by armed police.
Head of nursing Lynne Watkins-Hulme said it was unusual to have to deal with so many female casualties.
"That was quite traumatic for the staff. We are not used to so many females being injured," she said.
"We are used to seeing people who are stabbed. But to have six women who were stabbed, multiple times - it was just the amount of people - that was upsetting."
The duchess also spoke to emergency consultant Malcolm Tunnicliff, who went to the hospital when he heard the news.
He said: "We are very, very used to dealing with stabbings in this area.
"We are one of the busiest hospitals in western Europe for dealing with penetrating injuries but it was the volume and it is usually young men that stab each other, and there were quite a lot of ladies who were stabbed."
Dr Tunnicliff highlighted the "dedication of all the staff and actually how resilient they are, and they are very proud to work for King's and the NHS for that matter".
The Queen visited Royal Manchester Children's Hospital on 25 May after the Ariana Grande concert suicide bombing, and the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall went to the Royal London Hospital after the London Bridge attack last week.