Bloomberg Venezuelans began vote in 23 governors races on Sunday, with opponents of President Nicolas Maduro widely expected to deal a blow to the ruling socialist regime by taking leadership in states long dominated by the government. Maduro, heir to the office held by strongman Hugo Chavez, called elections to release tensions after months of bloody protests, and to dispel …

Bloomberg Austrian voters gave 31-year-old conservative Sebastian Kurz a mandate to form a new government in an election on Sunday, setting up a potential coalition with the nationalist Freedom Party, according to projections based on partial returns. Kurz’s People’s Party took as much as 31 percent of the vote, with the Freedom Party polling as much 27.6 percent, according to …

KOBANI / Reuters Almost three years after Kurdish fighters defeated IS in the Syrian town of Kobani, residents still mourn the dead and feel abandoned by their foreign allies as they struggle to rebuild. IS’s defeat in predominately Kurdish Kobani in early 2015 helped turn the tide against the ultra-militant group and marked the start of a more open US …