Berlin / AFP Chancellor Angela Merkel called on her ruling coalition on Wednesday to resist pressure to change its refugee policy after a stinging defeat to the upstart anti-migrant AfD in regional polls at the weekend. In her first address to parliament since Sunday’s election in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Merkel defended her welcoming stance to refugees …

  Paris/ AFP Gabon’s Ali Bongo on Wednesday rejected criticism of his disputed presidential election victory, accusing EU observers of bias towards his rival and insisting that only the country’s top court could order a recount. Oil-rich Gabon has been in turmoil since the August 27 poll, in which Bongo’s rival Jean Ping also claimed victory. Several people have been killed …

  Bloomberg China’s four biggest banks reported that staff numbers fell by the most in at least six years in the first half, highlighting the possibility that employment has peaked at the firms that are the world’s biggest providers of banking jobs. A decline of 1.5 percent from the end of last year left 1.62 million workers at Agricultural Bank …