GLOBAL DIARY

TERRITORY

“We will never allow anyone, any organisation or political party, at any time or in any form, to separate any part of Chinese territory from China” ~ XI JINPING, GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE

CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY

KING CHARLES APPOINTS THE NEW PRIME MINISTER AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE

THE SHORTEST-SERVING PRIME MINISTER IN UK HISTORY

After just 44 days leading the country, Liz Truss has assumed the title of the shortest-serving prime minister in the history of the United Kingdom. Rishi Sunak has now become Britain’s third prime minister in under two months, at a time when the U.K. faces what he has termed a “profound economic challenge” and as his Conservatives struggle to heal divisive wounds from months of infighting. In his first speech as PM, Sunak promised to unite the nation “facing a profound economic crisis” and acknowledged “mistakes were made” by his predecessors. Sunday Times crowned Sunak the 222nd richest person in the UK.

TENS OF THOUSANDS MARCH IN PARIS TO PROTEST INFLATION

Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Paris on 16th October to demonstrate against rising inflation, with the march organised by a coalition of left-wing parties seeking to pressurise the government of French President Emmanuel Macron. The protest comes ahead of a mobilisation across France that’s been called for by unions following recent strikes at oil refineries in the country by workers seeking higher wages, news agency EFE reported. About a third of all petrol stations in France have run out of fuel since the strikes began on 27th September. Prices have risen in France by more than 6% this year.

XI JINPING SECURES THIRD TERM IN POWER

China’s ruling Communist Party ended its Congress with several amendments to the party constitution that will embolden President Xi Jinping’s status as China’s leader. The week-long Congress was attended by 2,300 delegates, all Party stalwarts. The Congress paved the way for Xi to have an unprecedented third term by cementing his “core position” at the head of China’s leadership. The official announcement of his third term will come during the annual legislative sessions next March. Delegates also voted to enshrine opposition to Taiwan’s independence in the constitution.

WEALTH

“I think, in our country, we judge people not by their bank account, we judge them by their character and their actions. And, yes, I’m really fortunate to be in the situation I’m in now, but I wasn’t born like this” ~

RISHI SUNAK, UK PRIME MINISTER

ANA BRNABIĆ TO SERVE THIRD TERM AS PRIME MINISTER

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has nominated Ana Brnabić to serve a third term as prime minister and to lead a new government through a time of war in Europe, global energy and inflation crises and tensions with Kosovo. The nomination came more than five months after the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won the most votes in the recent national election. The formal announcement of results was delayed by voting irregularities at one polling station, preventing parliament from being convened. Vučić, who leads SNS and wields considerable influence over government policies, said he had “limitless trust” in Brnabić, 46, who became Serbia’s first female premier in 2020. “It is important that she remains prime minister so we can continue to work diligently and solve problems for autumn and winter,” Vučić told reporters.

MUSK BEGINS HIS TWITTER OWNERSHIP WITH FIRINGS

Elon Musk has taken ownership of Twitter Inc with brutal efficiency, firing top executives but providing little clarity over how he will achieve the ambitions he has outlined for the influential social media platform. The CEO of electric car maker Tesla Inc and self-described free speech absolutist has said he wants to prevent the platform from becoming an echo chamber for hate and division. Other goals include wanting to “defeat” spam bots on Twitter and make the algorithms that determine how content is presented to its users publicly available. Musk fired Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde, accusing them of misleading him and Twitter investors over the number of fake accounts on the platform.

POLITICAL CHANGE IN MONTENEGRO

Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović, who has dominated the tiny country’s domestic politics for three decades, suffered a shock defeat late last month, when his party lost a parliamentary election. Đukanović has steered his country along a broadly pro-Western course in terms of foreign policy: Montenegro joined NATO in 2017 and is in EU membership talks. However, he has been widely accused of failing to uphold democratic standards by presiding over cronyism, corruption and organised crime. Đukanović’s Democratic Party of Socialists won around 35 per cent of the vote, which translates to 30 members of parliament — well short of the 41 required to form a majority in the 81-seat legislature. The rival For the Future of Montenegro bloc won around 32 per cent of the vote or 27 seats, while the other main opposition coalition, Peace is Our Nation, received around 12 per cent of the vote, or 10 seats.

FUTURE INVESTMENT INITIATIVE

For the sixth consecutive year, Riyadh is hosting the Future Investment Initiative forum, which brings together participants from more than 50 nations to discuss, listen and connect, through a diverse series of sessions on business, tech and shared challenges facing humanity. About 6,000 of the world’s top business leaders, policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and tech experts gathered in the Saudi capital to explore a fundamental question: how will the new global order look? The theme of this year’s forum, “Investing in humanity: Enabling a new global order”, invited participants to delve into topics as diverse as education, artificial intelligence and robotics, health, and sustainability.