GLOBAL DIARY
“The political decision makers who will meet at COP26 in Glasgow are urgently summoned to provide effective responses to the present ecological crisis” – POPE FRANCIS
AUSTRIA’S ALEXANDER SCHALLENBERG SWORN IN AS CHANCELLOR AFTER SEBASTIAN KURTZ QUITS Austrian foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg was sworn in as chancellor after fellow conservative Sebastian Kurz stepped down as Austria’s leader in the face of corruption allegations, to keep the ruling coalition with the Greens alive. Schallenberg was sworn in at a ceremony in President Alexander van der Bellen’s office along with his successor as foreign minister, Michael Linhart, who like Schallenberg is a career diplomat and had been serving as ambassador to France.
MERKEL TO BRING LIKELY SUCCESSOR TO G20 TALKS German Chancellor Angela Merkel has invited her likely successor Finance Minister Olaf Scholz to join bilateral discussions with other world leaders on the sidelines of the G20 summit this weekend, a German government official said. The three German parties working to form a new coalition government aim to wrap up their talks by the end of November and hope to elect Social Democrat Scholz as the new chancellor in the week of Dec. 6, party officials said last week. The fact that Merkel and Scholz will take part in the summit together is a sign of continuity in Germany’s approach to the G20, the government official said.
IRAN AGREED TO RETURN TO NUCLEAR TALKS Iran will resume talks with six world powers before the end of November, its top negotiator said, seeking to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that lifted sanctions on the Islamic Republic in exchange for curbs to its nuclear program. “Had a very serious & constructive dialogue with Enrique Mora on the essential elements for successful negotiations. We agree to start negotiations before the end of November,” Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani wrote on Twitter following meetings with EU officials in Brussels.
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November
