Bloomberg An explosive leak from former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s unpublished book that says President Donald Trump wanted to freeze aid to Ukraine until its government investigated his political rival threatens to scramble the politics of the impeachment trial and bring new pressure on Republicans to call witnesses. Bolton’s account in the draft of his book, as described by ...

Bloomberg Five Katyusha rockets were fired at the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, one directly hitting the US Embassy building, Iraq’s security forces reported. US helicopters were seen evacuating injured people, al-Sumaria News reported, citing an anonymous security official. The State Department released a statement that did not comment on any injuries or deaths. But it noted there have been ...

Bloomberg Slovenian PM Marjan Sarec unexpectedly stepped down, abandoning his minority government after saying that it lacked sufficient support in parliament. The collapse puts the Alpine euro-area country on track for its sixth government in 10 years, a period that included a double-dip recession, a banking bailout and repeated political upheaval. The resignation also underscores the difficulty faced by newcomers from ...

Bloomberg A military plane has crashed in an area controlled by Taliban militants in eastern Afghanistan, according to a senior official at the country’s Civil Aviation Authority. “The plane was apparently dispatched for military operations and it took off from Afghanistan territory,” said Ghulam Masoom Massumi, the director of air traffic management at the authority, by phone. “The military plane ...

Bloomberg The Democratic Party, the main establishment force in Italy’s government, roared back to life with an authoritative victory in a key regional vote that shut down talk of a snap election. Italian bonds surged. In retaining control over the center-left stronghold of Emilia-Romagna, the Democrats signalled a power shift in PM Giuseppe Conte’s coalition, rejuvenating a four-month-old government that’s ...

Bloomberg Myanmar signalled that closer ties with China offer an economic buffer if human-rights concerns cause Western nations to curb trade privileges or investment. The persecution of the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority has sparked global condemnation, and led to an International Court of Justice order last week for emergency steps to protect Rohingya from genocide. The controversy imperils Myanmar’s European ...

Bloomberg The Peruvian party dominated by the opposition Fujimori family looks set to lose support in congressional elections after years of head-butting with the executive, according to unofficial results. A quick count of voting sheets by Ipsos Peru confirmed exit polls showing the country’s unicameral Congress will be divided between as many as 10 parties, with none having a majority. ...

Bloomberg Drugmakers are racing to find medicines that can curb the spread of the coronavirus as the infection bypasses China’s travel restrictions. Pharmaceutical companies from Gilead Sciences Inc to Moderna Inc are pursuing two main strategies: helping to re-purpose medicines developed against other lethal viruses from Ebola to HIV, and relying on new technologies to develop a vaccine faster than ...

Bloomberg Japanese power producers have been emitting more carbon dioxide since a nuclear disaster in 2011 led to an increased reliance on fossil fuels, but a new kind of bond could help them reverse that trend. So-called transition bonds can pay for not-so-green companies to move towards cleaner business models, and Japanese electrical utilities could issue them to help reduce ...

Bloomberg A group of investors led by SoftBank’s Latin America Fund will invest $125 million in AlphaCredit, the Latin American financial technology platform said. The investment will allow “AlphaCredit to consolidate its place as one of the leading financial technology platforms in Latin America, continue its expansion and leverage the competitive advantages of its proven and profitable business model,” the ...