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China Party Congress: Xi broke with recent precedent by not anointing a successor, pointing to the potential for his influence/control to persist for decades. With Xi Jinping Thought placed in the Constitution 20 University Institutes have already been set up to teach it widely. China made plain that it is unwilling to accept U.S. attempts to contain its rise through a tighter U.S.-India alliance.
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Kenyan Democracy: the opposition has called foul and for new, credible elections after the re-run presidential vote achieved a turnout of just 38.4%. The low turnout was a result of an opposition boycott and violence preventing the casting of ballots in the west of the country. A bodyguard to a Supreme Court Justice was shot the day before a ruling was scheduled – only 2/9 judges attended.
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Saudi Transformation: the Crown Prince’s plan to change the country, in favour of a more moderate interpretation of Islam, was combined with a massive US$500bn mega-city investment plan – linking into Jordan and Egypt. Speculation about the Saudi Aramco IPO continued, potentially pointing to a purely domestic listing. Kuwait announced its own investment splurge – US$160bn on five islands.
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