US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in the Middle East for the 11th time in his so-far failed effort to engineer a cease-fire between Israel and Iran-backed militants since the attack on Israel more than a year ago. It may be the last chance for President Joe Biden’s administration to secure a pause in Israel’s multi-front conflict with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon before the US election. European policymakers losing sleep over their souring economies have another worry looming large: how much more damage Donald Trump could cause if he returns to the White House after next month’s election. With memories of the former US president’s first stint in office still fresh, they know his appetite to wage new trade wars threatens unavoidable fallout in a region whose position is far weaker than last time round. WATCH: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde talks about the risk of trade tariffs. Source: Bloomberg India and China have ended their four-year border stalemate, a significant step toward easing tensions and paving the way for a possible meeting between the leaders of both nuclear-armed countries at the BRICS summit. Their relations have been frozen since June 2020 when clashes between soldiers along the disputed Himalayan border left at least 20 Indian and an unknown number of Chinese dead. Some of Latin America’s leftist leaders are struggling with public fears over crime and a failure to keep promises of social reform, making room for the return of more business-friendly governments in the region. Crucial tests loom next year when voters head to the polls in Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile, and in 2026, when Brazil, Colombia and Peru hold elections. Mozambique faces a fresh flash point over Oct. 9 elections after opposition presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane called for mass attendance at tomorrow’s funeral of his lawyer, Elvino Dias, who was murdered by unknown gunmen over the weekend. The gas-rich African nation is on edge after police yesterday dispersed dozens of supporters of Mondlane, who provisional results show is coming second in the ballot that he says has been rigged. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government is pushing through new legislation to salvage her controversial plan to stem undocumented migration after a court in Rome blocked her long-delayed program to divert asylum seekers to Albania. A Peruvian judge sentenced former President Alejandro Toledo to more than 20 years in prison for taking an eight-figure bribe tied to a highway project construction. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s eldest son said Vice President Sara Duterte “crossed the line” with her attacks on his father, saying she “doesn’t know how to be a president,” as the feud between the nation’s biggest political clans escalates. The UK will loan Ukraine £2.3 billion ($3 billion) to purchase military equipment using profits generated by frozen Russian assets. |