Politics

Bloomberg Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shouldn’t rush to change Japan’s 70-year-old constitution, a former defense minister and rival for the ruling party’s leadership said in an interview. Shigeru Ishiba, 60, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party who has emerged as a critic of Abe, said he was concerned that the premier was being hasty in asking his party to …

Bloomberg US President Donald Trump warned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi his country must do more to reduce obstacles to U.S. exports even as he offered thanks for recent purchases of American-made equipment. Trump said at a joint public appearance with Modi after the leaders met at the White House that their two countries must have “a trading relationship that …

Bloomberg The party overseeing Mongolia’s economic recovery plan was dealt a setback after its presidential candidate finished second behind a populist businessman promising stricter controls over mineral resources. Democratic Party candidate Battulga Khaltmaa, a former cabinet minister, received 38.1 percent of the vote, securing an unprecedented run-off election against Parliament Speaker Enkhbold Miyegombo, according to the General Election Commission. Enkhbold, …

Bloomberg Donald Trump has been U.S. president for less than six months but it’s been enough time to send opinions of American leadership plunging. According to a Pew Research Center public survey of 37 countries, a median of just 22 percent of respondents have confidence in Trump to do the right thing in international matters, compared with 64 percent at …

Bloomberg China hit back at US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying its efforts on North Korea have been “indispensable.” China has “played an important and constructive role” in seeking peace on the Korean peninsula, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters in Beijing. China strictly implements United Nations Security Council resolutions and isn’t the crux of the North Korean …

Bloomberg Republican Karen Handel defeated a well-funded opponent in a special election for a U.S. House seat in Georgia, a setback for Democrats who hoped President Donald Trump’s low approval ratings would help them win congressional races. Handel, 55, won in a suburban Atlanta district held by the GOP since 1979 despite raising far less money than Democrat Jon Ossoff, …

Bloomberg A one-time rival to President Emmanuel Macron was forced out of the French government on Wednesday as the president asserted his authority after a resounding victory in Sunday’s parliamentary elections. Justice Minister Francois Bayrou, 66, who threw his weight behind Macron’s campaign in February after mulling his own bid for the presidency, quit Wednesday morning. European Affairs Minister Marielle …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was named to replace his cousin as heir to the throne in a shake-up that consolidates the 31-year-old leader’s power in the world’s biggest oil exporter. The king’s decision to elevate his son, who already controlled the defense, oil and economy portfolios, was supported by 31 out of 34 members of …

Bloomberg Prime Minister Theresa May will make her first attempt to engage with Britain’s new political landscape as she publishes a legislative program heavy on Brexit and likely to be light on anything controversial. Queen Elizabeth II was expected to read out the plans to lawmakers at 11:30 a.m. in London on Wednesday in an occasion stripped of most of …

Bloomberg Wolfgang Schaeuble, Germany’s veteran finance minister, urged the US to limit Russian and Chinese influence or risk bringing about “the end of our liberal world order.” The comments by Schaeuble, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet since she took office in 2005, are one of the strongest expressions of concern among European policy makers that President Donald Trump’s …