INDONESIA: Visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang  pledged $21.7 billion (£17.36bn) in new investment in Indonesia yesterday to strengthen the countries’ economic and political ties.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi announced the new Chinese investment pledge, which follows a previous $44.89bn (£35.92bn) commitment made when President Joko Widodo met Chinese President Xi Jinping in July. 

UNITED STATES: The Party for Socialism & Liberation announced on Thursday that Claudia de la Cruz will be the party’s candidate and Karina Garcia her running mate in next year’s US presidential election.

Ms de la Cruz is co-executive director and co-founder of the the People’s Forum in New York; Ms Garcia is one of the founders of the Justice Centre in El Barrio in New York.

GERMANY: German MPs approved contentious legislation for the replacement of fossil-fuel heating systems yesterday, passing a major climate policy plan that prompted lengthy infighting in the governing coalition and helped push down its poll ratings.

Parliament’s lower house voted by 399-275 for the Bill with five abstentions.

RUSSIA: Russian authorities are holding local elections this weekend in occupied parts of Ukraine in an effort to tighten their grip on territories Moscow annexed a year ago and still does not fully control.

The voting for Russian-installed legislatures in the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions began yesterday and ends on Sunday. 

The move has already been denounced by Kiev, the United States and their allies.