Germany’s ruling coalition collapsed after the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, sacked his finance minister and paved the way for a snap election – triggering political chaos in Europe’s largest economy just hours after Donald Trump won the US presidential election. Christian Lindner, the sacked minister, said: ‘The chancellor gave me an ultimatum to suspend the constitutional … Read more
Crisis talks in the coalition of Scholz’s Social Democratic Party, the Greens and Lindner’s Free Democratic Party came to a head after the FDP issued a paper with demands for liberal economic reforms that were difficult for the other two parties to accept. Lindner’s recent policy paper, leaked to the media last week, called for tax cuts and … Read more
The Lindner paper is just another step in an almost endless list of ever growing tensions within the German government. Up to now, the risk of snap elections had been relatively low as none of the three coalition parties had an interest in earlier elections, given their weak polling results. It now increasingly looks as … Read more
Damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton is estimated to be more than $100bn. Two powerful hurricanes have devastated properties and businesses across the southeastern United States. Climate-linked weather events are becoming more frequent and costly in the nation, draining the federal government’s aid funds rapidly. That is why many Americans lack flood insurance or … Read more
Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson calls election for November, cites policy disagreements as responsible for government collapse. Icelandic Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson has dissolved the country’s three-party coalition government and called for a new election to take place in November. In a press conference on Sunday, Benediktsson said problems had mounted within the left-right coalition on … Read more
We reconnect with our Bangladesh community, one month since a youth-led movement forced out PM Hasina. Last week, Bangladesh marked one month since a youth-led movement ended Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule. Initially sparked by protests against a quota system for government jobs, the unrest soon escalated into a full-scale revolution. More than 1,000 … Read more
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has attacked a move by its key ally. The United Kingdom’s government says it will stop some of its arms exports to Israel, fearing the use of certain weapons could break international law. Israel’s prime minister called the move “shameful” and said it will help Hamas, the Palestinian group that … Read more
In the wake of last month’s contested presidential election, officials have been quick to blame opponents for disruptions. Most of Venezuela woke up to a power outage, with the authorities claiming saboteurs had targeted the national electricity network. On Friday, Communications Minister Freddy Nanez said on state channel VTV that the blackout hit at approximately … Read more
Since PM Hasina’s flight abroad, numerous attacks have been reported against Hindu households, temples and businesses. Bangladesh’s new interim government says it is working to resolve attacks on Hindus and other religious minorities reported after the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hindus are the largest minority faith in mostly Muslim Bangladesh, and many are … Read more
We speak to Bangladeshi youth at the forefront of a movement they say aims to restore trust and hope in the country’s future. Students and youth across Bangladesh have been protesting against a government job quota system perceived as unfairly favouring the children of “freedom fighters” from Bangladesh’s war for independence. The protests escalated after unprecedented … Read more