News in Brief
Montenegro votes for president in tight run-off
Al Jazeera – Montenegrins headed to the polls on Sunday to elect their next president in a run-off vote
that could see a young upstart unseat incumbent Milo Djukanovic, who has dominated the country’s
political scene for decades.
The outcome of the contest will likely determine the balance of power in the Balkan nation ahead of a
snap parliamentary vote due in June, following months of gridlock after the government collapsed in August.
Montenegro’s president, elected for a five-year term, has a mostly ceremonial position and most of the political power resides with the prime minister.
China urges Japan to refrain from joining US chip curbs
Bloomberg – China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang urged Japan to refrain from supporting US efforts to suppress the Chinese semiconductor industry, while his counterpart pressed for the swift return of a Japanese citizen detained by Beijing.
During a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi in Beijing on Sunday, Qin said a chip blockade will only strengthen Beijing’s resolve to achieve self-reliance, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
Bulgarians vote in fifth parliamentary elections in two years
Al Jazeera – Bulgarians cast their ballots in the fifth general election in two years, hoping to end political instability and help overcome the economic woes fuelled by the war in Ukraine. Turnout was expected to be low due to voters’ apathy and disillusionment with politicians, who have failed to form stable governments and deliver governance in one of the poorest and most corrupt
European Union member states. Ukraine’s war has deepened the political crisis that has engulfed Bulgaria since 2020, the worst instability since the fall of communism.