Politics

Bloomberg Social Democrat Olaf Scholz’s bid to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor is reaching a critical phase as the party seeks to work through vast policy differences with its two prospective junior partners. After 14 hours of talks this week and sparring over the weekend, the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats said they made progress in finding common ...

Bloomberg The US called the Taliban “candid and professional” in their first official meeting since the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan in August, with weekend talks focusing on wide-ranging issues including security, terrorism and human rights. The discussions in Doha, Qatar, covered the need for safe passage of US citizens, other foreign nationals and Afghan partners, State Department spokesman Ned ...

Bloomberg Burkina Faso’s exiled former president stands trial on Monday for the murder of Thomas Sankara, the iconic African leader killed in a putsch three decades ago. Blaise Compaore, who ruled the West African nation for 27 years until he was removed in a popular uprising in 2014, will be tried in absentia at a military tribunal in the capital, ...

Bloomberg China and India blamed each other for a lack of progress in finding ways to ease friction along their disputed border, underscoring the lingering ill will following clashes last year. The Chinese side “made great efforts” to calm tensions during a meeting of military officials, Colonel Long Shaohua, spokesperson for the Western theater of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), ...

Bloomberg Austria’s new Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg vowed to work closely with his predecessor and future party whip, Sebastian Kurz, who was reduced to a parliamentary role by a corruption scandal. The new premier, almost two decades older than Kurz, said he’ll continue to work along the lines of a coalition program signed with the Green Party in 2020. That includes ...

Bloomberg Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen said the island is facing “unprecedented challenges” and will defend its sovereignty, pushing back after Chinese leader Xi Jinping declared a day earlier that unification will be achieved. Taipei hopes for an easing in cross-strait ties, and resolving differences requires dialogue on the basis of parity, Tsai said in a televised National Day address on ...

Bloomberg Ethiopians in the south of the country have voted almost unanimously to have their own state, part of a push for increased autonomy that’s intensified since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018. South West will become Ethiopia’s 11th state after 1.26 million Ethiopians in six zones and one locality took part in a September 30 referendum. About ...

Bloomberg Singapore is pressing ahead with plans to reopen its borders despite battling a record Covid-19 outbreak, saying it will allow vaccinated travellers from nine more countries including the US and UK to enter without having to quarantine. The other places to qualify are Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain with travel to Singapore to start from October ...

Bloomberg Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz resigned in the face of corruption allegations, a stunning blow for a rising star of European conservative politics. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, whom Kurz recommended as his successor, now begins the work of salvaging the ruling People’s Party/Green Party coalition. He’s due to meet Green officials and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on Sunday. ...

Bloomberg Czech President Milos Zeman was rushed to the hospital over complications related to his chronic health problems, a development that may snarl government negotiations after his ally suffered a shock election defeat. Zeman, 77, has spent the past years in a wheelchair suffering from diabetes and neuropathy. A staunch supporter of Russia and advocate of deepening ties with China, ...