ELECTIONS

Bangladesh's election on Sunday will be a "sham" designed to cement Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's rule, exiled opposition leader Tarique Rahman has told AFP in an exclusive interview defending his party's boycott.

Russian former city councillor and pro-peace politician Yekaterina Duntsova vowed to form a political party on Wednesday after authorities confirmed she would not be able to run in the elections in 2024.

Javier Milei comfortably won Sunday's runoff presidential election. He inherits a country in the middle of its worst economic crisis of the 21st century.

Haley is in the second place, followed by Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy.

The law can still be modified by the state's legislature

An announcement could come in the next few weeks, the Reuters news agency reported.

Northwester University professors analyzed the participation of billionaires in politics globally.

In Venezuela, sanctions relief coincides with a groundswell of support for Maduro's opposition, raising hopes for the oil industry's revival.

Argentina's next president will face a dizzying blend of economic challenges and opportunities.

Argentina is heading to a runoff presidential election race between Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who has overseen record inflation, and the chainsaw-wielding, TikTok-savvy outsider Javier Milei.

Venezuela's government and opposition agreed in a fresh round of negotiations Tuesday that presidential elections will be held in the second half of next year, with international observers present.

Poland "needs to be repaired" after eight years of populist government that are expected to come to an end after pro-EU opposition parties won Sunday's elections, analysts said.

Argentina's election campaign was marked by heated exchanges Wednesday as the incumbent president pressed charges against frontrunner candidate Javier Milei for dissing the national currency, which subsequently crashed.

The US dollar broke through the symbolic 1,000 peso mark on Argentina's parallel market on Tuesday, as citizens scramble to dump the currency two weeks before a presidential election, according to websites tracking the rate.

The Election Commission of Pakistan said Thursday that the national parliamentary polls, due to be held in November, will take place in the last week of January.

"In response, the United States has taken steps to impose visa restrictions on individuals who undermined democracy and implemented a pause of certain foreign assistance programs," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

"They also want no voter ID because they want to cheat on elections," Trump said, adding, "They don't want same-day voting. They don't want paper ballots. They never want any of this stuff because they want to cheat on elections ... "

New Zealand's electoral system needs significant changes such as a lower voting age of 16 to ensure democracy is more accessible, according to a draft report release on Tuesday.

Greek equities got a boost from the continued decline in the country's sovereign debt yields, which have dipped below 4% in recent weeks.

The outcome of the critical May 21 elections is all but certain, given the country's new electoral system.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro addressed an evangelical church in Florida a touched on potentially returning home.