What a Warren presidency could mean for markets

America's political convention season begins with former first lady Michelle Obama addressing the Democrats' now-virtual gathering set to anoint Joe Biden, as President Donald Trump defies coronavirus concerns to rally supporters in battleground Wisconsin.

"I know that if we entrust this nation to Joe, he will do for your family what he did for ours: bring us together and make us whole," says former US second lady Jill Biden as she addresses the Democratic National Convention after her husband was formally nominated by his party for the presidential election. Former President Bill Clinton and former secretaries of state John Kerry and Colin Powell also spoke at the online event, touting Biden's skills for the presidency.

Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton attack Donald Trump as a failure on the third night of the all-online Democratic convention.

Budapest and Warsaw remain on collision course with the EU as Brussels airs "serious concern" over judicial independence in the two member states. The criticism has been dismissed by Hungary as "flawed" and "unfounded."

The shooting of Colombian ex-presidential candidate Alvaro Gomez Hurtado in 1995 was widely thought to be the work of his political rivals. But in a letter to a special court for peace, FARC says it was behind the hit.

The EU Commission has found that people living in rural areas are less likely to support democracy and EU solidarity. They are also more likely to suffer a shortage of services such as medical care and public transport.

Uganda votes for a new president in January. Popular musician and challenger Bobi Wine wants to build a united coalition. In his way is President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled with an iron fist for over three decades.

Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, was doing a live radio interview with Kenya's Hot 96 FM station when the reported raid took place. Ugandan authorities are yet to comment.

Pope Francis urges the Myanmar army to work towards "democratic coexistence" as thousands demonstrate in the streets following last week's military coup. Pope Francis held this Sunday the first public Angelus prayer from the window of the Apostolic Palace in St Peter’s Square since December 20, 2020.

Locals were seen mourning their deaths on Monday, after at least 13 civilians and three soldiers were killed during an attack on the village of Ndalya, in Democratic Republic of Congo's north-eastern Ituri province, on Sunday. An army spokesperson blamed the attack on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Ugandan armed group active in eastern Congo since the 1990s. Locals were seen wrapping the dead bodies in plastic.

A recent report by the Economist Intelligence Unit on the state of democratic freedoms has downgraded France to a "flawed democracy", as civil liberties in rich and poor countries alike come under attack amid Covid-19 restrictions. We discuss the delicate balancing act of protecting individual freedoms in the midst of a global health crisis with the report's author Joan Hoey, Europe Editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit. She says that although "nobody has put forward a convincing alternative to the policy of lockdowns and social distancing", checks and balances remain essential.

Jihadist attacks and the death of a number of election officials after their car triggered a landmine marred the second round of voting in presidential elections in Niger.