German SPD edges ahead of conservatives in vote to decide Merkel successor - CNA

BERLIN: Germany's Social Democrats narrowly won Sunday's (Sep 26) national election, projected results showed, and claimed a "clear mandate" to lead a government for the first time since 2005 and to end 16 years of conservative-led rule under Angela Merkel.

The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) were on track for 26 per cent of the vote, ahead of 24.5 per cent for Merkel's CDU/CSU conservative bloc, projections for broadcaster ZDF showed, but both groups believed they could lead the next government.

With neither major bloc commanding a majority, and both reluctant to repeat their awkward "grand coalition" of the past four years, the most likely outcome is a three-way alliance led by either the Social Democrats or Merkel's conservatives.

Agreeing a new coalition could take months, and will likely involve the smaller Greens and liberal Free Democrats (FDP).

"We are ahead in all the surveys now," the Social Democrats' chancellor candidate, Olaf Scholz, said in a round table discussion with other candidates after the vote.

"It is an encouraging message and a clear mandate to make sure that we get a good, pragmatic government for Germany," he added after earlier addressing jubilant SPD supporters.

The SPD's rise heralds a swing left for Germany and marks a remarkable comeback for the party, which has recovered some 10 points in support in just three months to improve on its 20.5 per cent result in the 2017 national election.

Scholz, 63, would become the fourth post-war SPD chancellor after Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and Gerhard Schroeder. Finance minister in Merkel's cabinet, he is a former mayor of Hamburg.

Scholz's conservative rival Armin Laschet, signalled his bloc was not ready yet to concede, though his supporters were subdued.

"It hasn't always been the first-placed party that provided the chancellor," Laschet, 60, told the round table. "I want a government where every partner is involved, where everyone is visible - not one where only the chancellor gets to shine," he said in an early attempt to woo smaller parties.

Schmidt ruled in the late 1970s and early 1980s in coalition with the FDP even though his Social Democrats had fewer parliamentary seats than the conservative bloc.

COALITION FOR CHRISTMAS?

Attention will now shift to informal discussions followed by more formal coalition negotiations, which could take months, leaving Merkel in charge in a caretaker role.

Scholz and Laschet both said they would aim to strike a coalition deal before Christmas.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMib2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvZ2VybWFuLXNwZC1lZGdlcy1haGVhZC1jb25zZXJ2YXRpdmVzLXZvdGUtZGVjaWRlLW1lcmtlbC1zdWNjZXNzb3ItMjIwMjQzNtIBAA?oc=5

2021-09-26 18:30:00Z
52781886475259

Canada foreign minister says eyes wide open when it comes to normalising China ties - CNA

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Garneau received the two Canadians on Saturday when they arrived in Calgary, Alberta, after spending more than 1,000 days in solitary confinement.

Spavor was accused of supplying photographs of military equipment to Kovrig and sentenced in August to 11 years in jail. Kovrig had been awaiting sentencing.

Trudeau, who won a third term last Monday after a tight election race, had vowed to improve ties with China after becoming prime minister in 2015, building on his father's success in establishing diplomatic ties with China in 1970.

But even before Meng's arrest, Canada's repeated questioning of China's human rights positions had irked Beijing, and the two countries have failed to come closer.

China has always denied any link between Meng's extradition case and the detention of the two Canadians, but Garneau said that "the immediate return of the two Michaels linked" it to Meng's case in a "very direct manner".

Garneau said he had heard about the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) several weeks ago, which opened the door to the return of the two men.

Canadian Ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman denied Washington had made the release of Kovrig and Spavor a condition for the resolution of the charges against Meng.

"Absolutely not. The DPA and the resolution of the charges against Ms Meng was a completely independent process, and it was proceeding as it did," Hillman told Canadian broadcaster CTV.

Garneau also said he did not think the timing of the men's return had anything to do with that of the federal election.

"I think it just worked out that way."

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMifmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvY2FuYWRhLWZvcmVpZ24tbWluaXN0ZXItc2F5cy1leWVzLXdpZGUtb3Blbi13aGVuLWl0LWNvbWVzLW5vcm1hbGlzaW5nLWNoaW5hLXRpZXMtMjIwMzU1MdIBAA?oc=5

2021-09-26 21:56:41Z
52781899690382

Merkel's party narrowly loses to rivals Social Democrats in Germany's election, projected results show - The Straits Times

BERLIN (REUTERS) - Germany’s Social Democrats narrowly won Sunday’s national election, projected results showed, and claimed a “clear mandate” to lead a government for the first time since 2005 and to end 16 years of conservative-led rule under Angela Merkel.

The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) were on track for 26 per cent of the vote, ahead of 24.5 per cent for Merkel’s CDU/CSU conservative bloc, projections for broadcaster ARD showed, but both groups believed they could lead the next government.

With neither major bloc commanding a majority, and both reluctant to repeat their awkward “grand coalition” of the past four years, the most likely outcome is a three-way alliance led by either the Social Democrats or Merkel’s conservatives.

Agreeing a new coalition could take months, and will likely involve the smaller Greens and liberal Free Democrats (FDP).

“We are ahead in all the surveys now,” the Social Democrats’ chancellor candidate, Olaf Scholz, said in a round table discussion with other candidates after the vote.

“It is an encouraging message and a clear mandate to make sure that we get a good, pragmatic government for Germany,” he added after earlier addressing jubilant SPD supporters.

German Chancellor candidates are seen ahead of a televised discussion in Berlin on Sept 26, 2021. PHOTOS: AFP, EPA-EFE

The SPD’s rise heralds a swing left for Germany and marks a remarkable comeback for the party, which has recovered some 10 points in support in just three months to improve on its 20.5 per cent result in the 2017 national election. 

Scholz, 63, would become the fourth post-war SPD chancellor after Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and Gerhard Schroeder.  Finance minister in Merkel’s cabinet, he is a former mayor of Hamburg. 

Scholz’s conservative rival Armin Laschet, signalled his bloc was not ready yet to concede, though his supporters were subdued.

“It hasn’t always been the first-placed party that provided the chancellor,” Laschet, 60, told the round table. “I want a government where every partner is involved, where everyone is visible – not one where only the chancellor gets to shine,” he said in an early attempt to woo smaller parties.

Schmidt ruled in the late 1970s and early 1980s in coalition with the FDP even though his Social Democrats had fewer parliamentary seats than the conservative bloc. 

Era-changing election

Attention will now shift to informal discussions followed by more formal coalition negotiations, which could take months, leaving Merkel in charge in a caretaker role.

Scholz and Laschet both said they would aim to strike a coalition deal before Christmas.

Merkel plans to step down after the election, making the vote an era-changing event to set the future course of Europe’s largest economy. 

She has stood large on the European stage almost since taking office in 2005 – when George W. Bush was US president, Jacques Chirac in the Elysee Palace in Paris and Tony Blair British prime minister.  

“This has been a once-in-generation election,” said senior Greens lawmaker Katrin Goering-Eckardt.  After a domestic-focused election campaign, Berlin’s allies in Europe and beyond may have to wait for months before they can see whether the new German government is ready to engage on foreign issues to the extent they would like.  

A row between Washington and Paris over a deal for Australia to buy US instead of French submarines has put Germany in an awkward spot between allies, but also gives Berlin the chance to help heal relations and rethink their common stance on China.

On hearing that the SPD were slightly ahead in polls, US President Joe Biden told reporters in Washington: “I’ll be darned... They’re solid.”

On economic policy, French President Emmanuel Macron is eager to forge a common European fiscal policy, which the Greens support but the CDU/CSU and FDP reject. The Greens also want “a massive expansion offensive for renewables".  

“Germany will end up with a rather weak chancellor who will struggle to get behind any kind of ambitious fiscal reform at the EU level,” said Naz Masraff at political risk consultancy Eurasia.

Whatever coalition formation ends up in power, Germany’s friends can at least take heart from an election campaign in which moderate centrism prevailed, and the populism that has taken hold in other European countries failed to break through.  

The projected results for ARD showed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on track for 10.5 per cent, worse than four years ago when they stormed into the national parliament with 12.6 per cent of the vote, and all mainstream groupings have ruled out a coalition with the party.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiY2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnN0cmFpdHN0aW1lcy5jb20vd29ybGQvZXVyb3BlL2dlcm1hbi1jZHVjc3UtYW5kLXNwZC10aWVkLWluLW5hdGlvbmFsLWVsZWN0aW9uLWV4aXQtcG9sbNIBAA?oc=5

2021-09-26 16:31:02Z
52781886475259

Afghan student succeeds in leaving her country after 6 failed attempts, plans to return to Singapore for studies - TODAYonline

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

1. Afghan student succeeds in leaving her country after 6 failed attempts, plans to return to Singapore for studies  TODAYonline
2. Taliban hang up bodies of alleged kidnappers in Afghan city  AsiaOne
3. Taliban urge international airlines to resume Afghan flights  The Straits Times
4. Afghan business owners fear economic collapse over sanctions  Al Jazeera English
5. Kabul residents facing trouble with rising food prices, medicine shortage, fuel price hike  Times of India
6. View Full coverage on Google News

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMigAFodHRwczovL3d3dy50b2RheW9ubGluZS5jb20vc2luZ2Fwb3JlL2FmZ2hhbi1zdHVkZW50LXN1Y2NlZWRzLWxlYXZpbmctaGVyLWNvdW50cnktYWZ0ZXItNi1mYWlsZWQtYXR0ZW1wdHMtcGxhbnMtcmV0dXJuLXNpbmdhcG9yZdIBAA?oc=5

2021-09-26 12:43:25Z
52781902938079

China's Xi warns of 'grim' situation with Taiwan - Yahoo Singapore News

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that relations between Beijing and Taipei were "grim" on Sunday, urging the island's main opposition party to help seek "unification of the country."

China views self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and vows to retake it one day, by force if necessary.

Xi has become the most bellicose leader since Mao Zedong, describing the seizure of the island as "inevitable."

In a congratulatory letter to Eric Chu -- the newly elected leader of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party -- Xi said the Chinese Communist Party and the KMT should collaborate under a "shared political basis."

"In the past our two parties insisted on '1992 consensus' and opposing 'Taiwan independence' ... to promote peaceful developments in cross- strait relations," Xi said in the letter released by the KMT.

"At present the situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and grim," he said, urging the parties to jointly seek peace and "the unification of the country."

Ties between Taiwan and China improved markedly under former president Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT between 2008 and 2016, culminating with a landmark meeting between Xi and him in Singapore in 2015.

The KMT has side-stepped frictions with China by accepting the so-called 1992 consensus -- a tacit agreement that there is only "one China" without specifying whether Beijing or Taipei is its rightful representative.

In response, Chu said in a letter to Xi that the two sides should "seek common ground and respect their differences" to promote peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Beijing has stepped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who views the island as a sovereign nation and not part of "one China."

Last year, Chinese military jets made a record 380 incursions into Taiwan's defence zone, with some analysts warning that tensions between the two sides were at their highest since the mid-1990s.

On Thursday, China flew 24 warplanes including two nuclear-capable bombers into Taiwan's air defence zone, the biggest incursion in weeks, after voicing its opposition to Taipei joining a major trans-Pacific trade deal.

aw/oho

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiR2h0dHBzOi8vc2cubmV3cy55YWhvby5jb20vY2hpbmFzLXhpLXdhcm5zLWdyaW0tc2l0dWF0aW9uLTEwNTI1ODcxOS5odG1s0gFPaHR0cHM6Ly9zZy5uZXdzLnlhaG9vLmNvbS9hbXBodG1sL2NoaW5hcy14aS13YXJucy1ncmltLXNpdHVhdGlvbi0xMDUyNTg3MTkuaHRtbA?oc=5

2021-09-26 10:52:58Z
52781902801380

China's Xi warns of 'grim' Taiwan situation in letter to opposition KMT - The Straits Times

TAIPEI (REUTERS) - The situation in the Taiwan Strait is "complex and grim", Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote in a congratulatory letter on Sunday (Sept 26) to the newly elected leader of Taiwan's main opposition party, who has pledged to renew talks with Beijing.

Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) elected as their leader on Saturday former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu, who said he would rekindle stalled high-level contacts with China's ruling Communist Party.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up military and political pressure to force the democratically ruled island to accept Chinese sovereignty, even though most Taiwanese have shown no interest in being governed by Beijing.

In Mr Xi's letter, a copy of which was released by the KMT, he said both parties had had "good interactions" based on their joint opposition to Taiwan independence.

"At present, the situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and grim. All the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation must work together with one heart and go forward together," wrote Mr Xi, who is also head of the Communist Party.

He expressed hope that both parties could cooperate on "seeking peace in the Taiwan Strait, seeking national reunification and seeking national revitalisation".

Mr Chu, who badly lost the 2016 presidential election to current President Tsai Ing-wen, responded to Mr Xi that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were "all the children of the Yellow Emperor" - in other words, all Han Chinese.

Mr Chu blamed Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for tensions with Beijing after pursuing anti-China policies.

Mr Chu, who met Mr Xi in China in 2015, said he hoped to "seek common ground and respect differences, increase mutual trust and geniality, strengthen exchanges and cooperation so as to allow the continued peaceful development of cross-strait relations".

Under outgoing KMT leader Johnny Chiang's 17-month tenure, high-level contacts with China stalled amid military tensions and suspicion in Beijing the party was not sufficiently committed to the idea Taiwan was part of "one China".

As well as losing the 2016 polls, the KMT were trounced in elections last year after failing to shake DPP accusations they were Beijing's lackeys.

China refuses to talk to Ms Tsai, calling her a separatist.

She says Taiwan is already an independent country called the Republic of China, the island's formal name, and that only Taiwan's people have the right to decide their own future.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMicGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnN0cmFpdHN0aW1lcy5jb20vYXNpYS9lYXN0LWFzaWEvY2hpbmFzLXhpLXdhcm5zLW9mLWdyaW0tdGFpd2FuLXNpdHVhdGlvbi1pbi1sZXR0ZXItdG8tb3Bwb3NpdGlvbi1rbXTSAQA?oc=5

2021-09-26 07:24:49Z
52781902801380

Climate education still a 'peripheral topic' in Southeast Asia's syllabus amid calls to make it compulsory - CNA

CLIMATE MATERIALS FOR CHILDREN

The lack of government-mandated climate education has opened the door to education entrepreneurs to fill a gap.

The founders of Earth Warriors, a global early childhood education curriculum, noticed a lack of climate education content available to any children under the age of 11.

Keya Lamba and Shweta Bahri have designed materials suitable for those aged between 3 and 7, which they hope will be adopted by schools around the world. Their courses have been peer reviewed and supported by climate scientists.

“Our whole mission and belief is that if you build these sustainable habits at a young age, then being a conscious citizen that cares about the planet comes as naturally to these kids as brushing their teeth,” Lamba said.

“There’s a lot of evidence that shows this is true. It can also nudge the adults around them as well,” she said.

"We try to show that kids are the ones demanding and making the changes. Climate change education has to be everywhere at every age group. It’s so critical and it’s surprising that it’s not taken very seriously or urgently.”

They aim to challenge assumptions that learning about climate change is too complex or daunting for children, and eventually advocate for governments to include this type of material themselves.

From their research, they say there is no formal inclusion of climate education in Southeast or South Asia. But they first plan to deliberately target schools with higher fees, like those that use international curriculums. 

“We made a very conscious decision. Research shows that it’s people from higher income backgrounds that are contributing a lot more to climate change than people from lower income backgrounds,” Bahri said.

Children are already highly exposed to the impacts of climate change. The recently released Children’s Climate Risk Index from UNICEF found that more than 99 per cent of children are exposed to at least one major climate and environmental hazard, shock or stress, “creating a child’s rights crisis”.

Climate impacts such as flooding, cyclones, water scarcity, disease and air pollution overlap and compound in many parts of the world. Children in those often-poor parts of the world face even more future risks.

It is a further reason why experts want to accelerate the ability of young people to contribute to solutions and feel empowered to tackle these inherited issues.

“There’s a growing recognition that we owe something to them, that they have a voice and a seat at the table,” Rajakumar of Climate Governance Malaysia said.

“And there’s no silver bullet. There’s no dashboard, no roadmap, so why not invite the children to the table as well?”

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vc3VzdGFpbmFiaWxpdHkvY2xpbWF0ZS1jaGFuZ2UtZWR1Y2F0aW9uLXNvdXRoZWFzdC1hc2lhLXN5bGxhYnVzLWNvcDI2LTIxOTY2ODbSAQA?oc=5

2021-09-25 22:00:15Z
CBMibWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vc3VzdGFpbmFiaWxpdHkvY2xpbWF0ZS1jaGFuZ2UtZWR1Y2F0aW9uLXNvdXRoZWFzdC1hc2lhLXN5bGxhYnVzLWNvcDI2LTIxOTY2ODbSAQA