Politics

Bloomberg Iran released the Chinese-American graduate student Xiyue Wang on Saturday as part of a prisoner swap, US officials said. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif confirmed that the US freed Iranian scientist Massoud Soleimani. Soleimani was “delivered to Iranian officials in Switzerland,” Iran’s foreign ministry said on its Telegram channel. Zarif later tweeted photos of himself with his countryman. ...

Bloomberg The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation that would impose sanctions on Chinese officials over human rights abuses against Muslim minorities, prompting Beijing to threaten possible retaliation just as the world’s two largest economies seek to close a trade deal. The bill is an amended version of the Senate’s S. 178 to support the Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic ...

Bloomberg At least 132 people have been killed in floods and landslides caused by unusually heavy rainfall in Kenya. Around 17,000 were displaced and 11,000 livestock swept away by strong waters, government’s spokesman Cyrus Oguna said. More than half of the country has been affected, according to Oguna. The rains have helped alleviate the drought conditions across the country that ...

Bloomberg Donald Trump, once the primary critic of NATO, blasted France’s Emmanuel Macron for his “very insulting” comments about the military alliance that’s celebrating its 70th anniversary in London. The full-throttled attack came on Tuesday, hours before the two leaders were scheduled to meet face-to-face in London. The US president, who in the past has expressed admiration for the French ...

Bloomberg Typhoon Kammuri barrelled into the Philippines’ main island, killing at least three people, displacing half a million more and shutting its main airport. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte canceled work in government offices in Metro Manila, while schools were closed as Kammuri battered the capital region on Tuesday. The foreign exchange and stock markets were open. About half a million ...

Bloomberg Iran for the first time acknowledged that its security forces shot and killed protesters last month during one of the most violent crackdowns on dissent since the 1979 Islamic revolution. State television on Tuesday reported that “rioters” had been shot dead in several areas as they joined anti-government protests, including in Tehran, the capital, and Mahshahr in the country’s ...

Bloomberg North Korea said it was preparing a choice of “Christmas” gifts for President Donald Trump, in the country’s latest effort to pressure the US to offer more concessions in nuclear talks before the new year. Top North Korean diplomat Ri Thae Song said in a statement Tuesday that the onus was on the US side to determine how the ...

Bloomberg The US is “likely” to bring additional charges in a case against Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, associates of Rudy Giuliani who are accused of skirting campaign contribution limits as part of a plot to oust the American ambassador to Ukraine, a prosecutor said. The comment was made at an hour-long court hearing in Manhattan. Responding to a question ...

Bloomberg Backing for the nationalist Sweden Democrats surged in yet another poll, confirming that the party is now a contender to become the largest political force in the country. Some 22.6% of Swedes would vote for the Sweden Democrats if an election was held today, according to the bi-annual poll by the country’s statistics agency. That’s up from 17.1% in ...

Bloomberg It’s been about two years since Kim Jong-un launched a missile capable of hitting the entire US, declared his nuclear weapons programme “complete” and halted all ICBM tests. In that time, the North Korean leader has also become an even bigger threat to America. Kim’s testing freeze ushered in unprecedented diplomacy with US President Donald Trump, leading to historic ...