Bloomberg The co-founder and former chief executive officer of Devon Energy Corp. has signed on to shape energy policy for Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination. Larry Nichols will lead Rubio’s energy steering committee. Nichols, who cut a $50,000 check to the super PAC supporting Rubio in December, also will host a Feb. 26 ...

Washington / AFP Tens of millions of additional cars in the US alone could be recalled over Takata’s potentially defective airbags, which have been linked to several deaths, the US auto safety regulator said on Monday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement that it continues to investigate the dangers in Takata’s airbags equipped with ammonium nitrate-based ...

Bloomberg Jamaica is showing signs of revival after a lost decade of economic contraction and increase in poverty rates. In an election on Thursday, voters must decide whether they can stand several more years of the austerity the government says has underpinned the country’s recent turnaround. Since restructuring $9 billion of debt in 2013, the administration of Prime Minister Portia ...

Rio De Janeiro / Bloomberg Brazil’s economy faces a prolonged rout with no recovery in sight, as political uncertainty weighs on investor confidence and structural reforms show no sign of gaining traction, according to fund manager and former central bank chief Arminio Fraga. Even if President Dilma Rousseff survives attempts to remove her from office, she will be too weak ...

Idomeni / AFP Greece said on Monday it was taking action to persuade Macedonia to take in Afghan migrants as thousands remained stranded at the border and the main port in Athens. “We have begun diplomatic moves… we believe the problem will be resolved,” junior interior minister for migration Yiannis Mouzalas told parliamentary television, without elaborating on what steps were ...

Kandahar / AFP Afghan troops have retreated from two districts in the southern province of Helmand, officials said on Monday, a move which highlights the challenge from Taliban fighters in the opium-producing region. “The Afghan army retreated from two army bases in Musa Qala and one base from Nawzad district” on Saturday, provincial governor Khan Rahimi said, leaving no troops ...

New Delhi / AFP Much of New Delhi’s water supply was cut off on Monday after members of an influential Indian caste sabotaged a canal as part of protests seeking preferential treatment that have killed at least 19 people. A representative of the Jat caste said they had called off their week-long protests which saw thousands of troops deployed in ...

Kampala / AFP Uganda’s main opposition leader was held by police on Monday at a police station outside the capital after being taken from his home where he had been under house arrest. Kizza Besigye has rejected the results of Thursday’s election won by veteran President Yoweri Museveni, and called on his supporters to join a protest march to the ...

Ankara / AFP Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday announced a multi-million-dollar aid package for the country’s struggling tourism industry which has been hit by a crisis with Russia and security concerns. Davutoglu said that a total of 255 million Turkish lira ($86.5 million) in financial aid would be given to Turkish tourist agencies while there would also be ...

Lyndon Johnson simply was exasperated. Barack Obama’s mischief was methodical. Four days before the 1966 congressional elections, Johnson, asked about criticism from Richard Nixon, testily responded: “I do not want to get into a debate … with a chronic campaigner like Nixon.” Johnson’s disparagement endeared Nixon to Republican voters, thereby propelling him toward the presidency. Four days before Saturday’s South ...