![]() » Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, formally declared his intention to re-enter the Kremlin. In a speech to his United Russia party he said that he would accept an offer to stand as its candidate in a presidential election next March. In a plan hatched two years ago Mr Putin will swap jobs with Dmitry Medvedev, the current president, who will head the United Russia list at elections in December. Alexei Kudrin, Russia's long-serving finance minister, seen by many as the most competent member of the government, left after a public spat with Mr Medvedev. See article » Several euro-zone parliaments approved a deal struck by leaders in July to expand the powers of the European Financial Stability Facility, the main bail-out fund. The most crucial vote was in Germany, where, as The Economist went to press, Angela Merkel, the chancellor, was hoping to avoid having to rely on opposition support. See article » Left-wing parties took control of the 348-member French Senate for the first time since the foundation of the Fifth Republic in 1958. The indirect elections were not a guide to voter sentiment, but still dealt a blow to Nicolas Sarkozy, the unpopular president. See article » Sixteen ethnic Serbs and four NATO peacekeepers were hurt when violence flared on Kosovo's border with Serbia . Blaming Serbia for the trouble, the European Union postponed the latest round of talks in Brussels between the two countries.
A recurring problem » China's government yet again butted heads with the Dalai Lama over the question of his reincarnation. The 76-year-old Buddist leader said that he will wait until he is "around 90" to determine whether there will be a 15th Dalai Lama to succeed him, and suggested he might choose that successor himself. China's foreign ministry claims that the title can be conferred only by the government in Beijing-and would otherwise be illegal. » Relations between Pakistan and America deteriorated after Mike Mullen, chairman of America's joint chiefs of staff, accused Pakistan's intelligence service of having close links with the Haqqani network, an Islamist militia fighting in Afghanistan. Despite claims that the group was responsible for a recent attack on the American embassy in Kabul, Pakistani army officials said that they would take no action against insurgents operating along their border. See article » In a ruling in Tokyo that surprised many observers, three former aides to Ichiro Ozawa, the kingpin behind the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, were convicted of taking illegal donations of millions of yen on the party's behalf. Mr Ozawa is soon to stand trial on similar charges.
He doth protest too much? » The rumour-mill turned its attention to Chris Christie , governor of New Jersey, as speculation mounted that, despite past refusals, he is again considering entering the Republican nomination race. Mr Christie failed to quash the speculation with a suspiciously presidential speech. See article ![Click Here!]() » Florida's Republican Party, at a meeting due on September 30th, was expected to throw the entire timetable for next year's primaries into disarray by opting to hold its primary in January, ahead of the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire's primary, traditionally the beginning of the election process. » The administration formally appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn a decision by a lower court that ruled a crucial part of Barack Obama's health-care reforms unconstitutional. The timing makes it likely that Mr Obama's most notable legislative achievement will either be struck down or definitively upheld in the middle of next year's election campaign. » A mini-crisis over this and next year's American budgets, which might have led to a temporary government shutdown , seemed to have been averted. But the row between Republicans and Democrats over a top-up for the federal government's disaster-relief fund continues. See article
The muddy game » Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, football's governing body, has written to Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, expressing concern over delays in the country's preparations to host the 2014 World Cup. The head of the Brazilian football confederation, Ricardo Teixeira, is fending off corruption claims. See article ![]() » Bruce Golding announced that he would step down as prime minister of Jamaica at a conference of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party in November. See article » In Bolivia the government of Evo Morales suffered a blow when the defence and interior ministers resigned over criticism of heavy-handed police tactics against Amerindian demonstrators marching to the capital, La Paz, to oppose a new road through an indigenous reserve. Mr Morales, who had previously championed the road, promised a referendum.
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A big ask » Even though the Americans and Israelis urged him to hold back, the Palestinians' leader, Mahmoud Abbas, lodged an application for full membership of the UN to its Security Council, which may ponder the matter for several weeks. It was unclear whether or when a similar bid, or a version of it, might be made to the UN General Assembly, in the likely event that the Americans veto it in the Security Council. ![]() » Israel went ahead with plans to build another 1,100 homes in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as their future capital, earning a rebuke from Barack Obama's administration and other Western governments, which argued that the move hindered efforts to restart peace talks. » Yemen's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had been in Saudi Arabia since June recovering from a bomb attack, unexpectedly (and perhaps against the wishes of his hosts) returned home, promising to arrange an orderly handover of power. Few believed him. Four days later his defence minister survived an assassination attempt. See article » Forces fighting for Libya's new government tightened their grip around Bani Walid and Sirte, the last remaining towns under Colonel Muammar Qaddafi's control. The port of Sirte, close to the colonel's home town, was said to be in the hands of his foes. » Michael Sata, a former porter at London's Victoria railway station, won a presidential election in Zambia, unseating the incumbent, Rupiah Banda, who graciously bowed out. See article | 
