Germany Remains EU's Main Migrant Destination with 100,000 Annual Requests
Germany remained the most popular European destination for migrants, with more than 100,000 asylum bids recorded for nine years in a row.
The federal migration office received 100,278 requests from first-time seekers as of late September 2021, which saw the second-highest monthly tally since 2017.
France came far behind with 54,105 asylum applications fielded between January and September 2021, followed by Spain with 41,799 requests, Italy with 37,492 requests and Austria with 22,928 requests.
Hungary: Mayor Marki-Zay Wins Run-off to Challenge Orban
A conservative provincial mayor has been chosen to face off against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in next year's election.
Peter Marki-Zay, a political outsider with no party affiliation, won an opposition run-off primary.
He will now lead a united opposition into the parliamentary elections.
Opinion polls suggest he has the best chance of ousting the right-wing Prime Minister, whose Fidesz party took office in 2010.
For years Fidesz has benefited from the fragmentation of opposition parties.
But for the first time since he came to power, Mr. Orban will now face a united front of opposition parties that also includes the socialists, liberals and the formerly far-right, now centre-right, Jobbik.
Oct 16, 2021
U.S. Allies Step up Pressure on Iran to Return to Nuclear Negotiations
The United States and its closest partners are stepping up pressure on Iran to return to stalled nuclear negotiations, warning that it will face greater international isolation, new economic penalties and possibly military action if it forges ahead with its atomic programme.
In a series of high-level diplomatic meetings in Washington, U.S., European, Israeli and Arab officials agreed on the need to make clear to Iran that its continued resistance to rejoining the talks in Vienna will not be ignored or left unpunished.
Oct 15, 2021
Japan Dissolves Parliament, Paves Way for Election
Japan's new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dissolved the Lower House of parliament, setting the stage for national elections later this month.
Kishida, who formally took over the reins from Yoshihide Suga, will be seeking to maintain a Lower House majority for his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
The Prime Minister also enjoys reasonable public support, according to opinion polls.
Voters in Japan will head to the polls on October 31 to choose a new parliament, and indirectly elect the country's next government.
The last Lower House election was held in 2017 under Shinzo Abe, who pulled the long-ruling LDP further to the right while serving as Japan's longest-serving Prime Minister.
Global Hunger Index Ranks India at 101 Out of 116 Countries
India slipped to 101st position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 of 116 countries, from its 2020 position of 94th and is behind its neighbours Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Eighteen countries, including China, Brazil and Kuwait, shared the top rank with GHI score of less than five.
The report, prepared jointly by Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and German organisation Welt Hunger Hilfe, termed the level of hunger in India alarming.
Oct 14, 2021
Chile's President Sebastián Piñera Faces Impeachment Bid
Chile's opposition has launched a bid to impeach President Sebastián Piñera over possible irregularities in the sale of a mining company, after details emerged in the Pandora Papers leak.
Mr. Piñera used "his office for personal business", congressman Tomas Hirsch said as he presented the accusation in the Lower House of Congress.
The President is accused of selling the firm to a friend in a deal contingent on a favourable regulatory decision.
The revelations come from the Pandora Papers, a leak of 11.9 million documents. The files say President Piñera sold the Dominga mine, a copper and iron project in an environmentally sensitive area, to a childhood friend in 2010, nine months after he had taken office.
The leaks suggest the last payment in the deal was conditional on not establishing an area of environmental protection where the mining company operated, a demand of environmental groups.
Oct 13, 2021
Irish Budget: Irish Finance Minister Outlines €4.7bn Package
Ireland's Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has presented his much leaked budget for 2022 to the Dáil (parliament).
Mr. Donohoe told the house that the Republic is now entering a new phase after the Covid-19 pandemic.
He predicted that the national debt would be almost €240bn (£203.5bn) next year or €50,000 (£42,400) for every man, woman and child in the state.
He said debt was currently 106% of national income, but would fall next year to 99%.
Shia Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr claimed victory for his nationalist Saeroun movement in Iraq's election.
Mr. Sadr, who wants to end US and Iranian influence over Iraq's internal affairs, promised to form a government free from foreign interference.
Partial results showed Saeroun winning 73 of the 329 seats in parliament and Sunni Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi's Taqaddum coalition second with 38.
The pro-Iranian Fatah alliance suffered a surprise setback, getting only 14.
It is likely to take many weeks of negotiations to build a new governing coalition, which Mr. Sadr cannot lead because he did not stand as a candidate.
But the record low official turnout of 41% suggests many Iraqis do not believe that there will be any real change to the power-sharing system, based on sectarian and ethnic identity that has allowed narrow elite to keep a firm grip on power since the US-led invasion in 2003.
International Energy Agency Invites India to Become Full-time Member
International Energy Agency (IEA) invited India, the world's third-largest energy consumer, to become its full-time member - a proposal if accepted will require New Delhi to raise strategic oil reserves to 90 days requirement.
Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri held online discussions with IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
India in March 2017 became an associate member of the Paris-based body which advises industrialised nations on energy policies.
In January 201, IEA members and India agreed to enter into a strategic partnership, strengthening their collaboration across a range of vital areas including energy security and clean energy transition.
IEA is made up of 30 member countries and eight associate nations. Four countries are seeking accession to full membership - Chile, Colombia, Israel and Lithuania.
The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis.
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