German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed he will run for a second term in the upcoming snap elections after his Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, ruled himself out. The decision brings some clarity, but leaves the SPD with its most unpopular chancellor in record time.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is set to run for a second term in the upcoming snap elections after his popular Defence Minister Boris Pistorius – a possible replacement – ruled himself out of the running on Thursday. The news provided some relief after weeks of uncertainty about whether Pistorius would step forward, with the elections just months away on 23rd February.
But it leaves the ruling Social Democrats (SPD) with Germany's most unpopular chancellor on record as their candidate at a time when the party is already trailing in third place behind the opposition conservatives and the far-right.
"I have just informed our party and parliamentary group leaders that I will not be standing as a candidate for the office of federal chancellor," Pistorius said in a video posted to SPD social media channels on Thursday evening. "This is my sovereign, personal and entirely personal decision."
Traditionally, the incumbent chancellor would always be in pole position to lead his or her party into the next election – former Chancellor Angela Merkel won four consecutive terms for the conservatives. But the stark difference in popularity between the diffident Scholz and Pistorius, Germany's most popular politician since he stepped onto the national stage as defence minister two years ago, had raised doubts about whether this was the best course of action.
Even within the SPD, a majority favoured Pistorius running for chancellor over Scholz, who earlier this month oversaw the collapse of his fractious three-way coalition over differences about how to revive the ailing economy.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he thinks there is a chance of a peace being reached with Ukraine. He told the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia that he believed there was "a chance of finding a solution," to the conflict.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Russia then Ukraine over the weekend, Russian state news agency TASS has reported, citing an unnamed source. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also said American envoys will visit the capitals of both countries.
The Iranian Health Ministry said at least 18 people were killed and 142 others injured in U.S. airstrikes carried out between 30 August and 2 September.
The Iranian Army has again struck at U.S. bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for U.S. attacks on southern and western parts of Iran late on Tuesday, which reportedly killed 18 people and injured more than 100 others.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow for peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, two people familiar with the matter said. They were met by Russian Presidential Envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow for peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, two people familiar with the matter said. They were met by Russian Presidential Envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
Spanish authorities are preparing a new site in Ceuta to accommodate hundreds of migrants who remain on the streets following large-scale arrivals in July, local media reported Saturday.
A Chinese national was pulled alive from a tunnel in Nepal on Saturday, authorities said, 10 days after a wall of ice, rock and mud tore through a Himalayan valley, killing more than 1,300 people and leaving more than 5,600 missing.
At least two people were killed and dozens injured on Friday after an explosion at a military barracks in the Bolivian municipality of Viacha, about 30 km (20 miles) from La Paz, Defence Minister Ernesto Justiniano said.
The resolution, sponsored by African countries and led by Togo, passed by 164 votes to one, with six abstentions. The United States was the only country to vote against it.
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