Politics

Bloomberg The blame game over the likely failure to reach a Brexit deal escalated, with Downing Street accusing German Chancellor Angela Merkel of making an agreement effectively impossible. The pound fell. According to a British official, Merkel told Prime Minister Boris Johnson that Northern Ireland must remain part of the EU’s customs union if he wants to secure a divorce ...

Bloomberg Russia’s government denied it has any troops in Mozambique, after reports that a Russian soldier was killed in the southern African country. “There are no Russian soldiers in Mozambique,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday in Moscow. Portuguese news agency Lusa reported that Mozambique received military equipment from Russia to help battle IS-linked insurgents. The support will assist ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam said her government could handle growing violence without a military intervention by Beijing, but didn’t rule out seeking China’s help or invoking further emergency measures. “I still strongly feel that we should find the solution ourselves,” Lam told reporters on Tuesday, before a meeting of the city’s Executive Council. “That’s also the position of ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s decision to step aside from Kurdish allies in Syria while Turkey’s military advances drew a stark rebuke on Monday from one of his staunchest Republican backers. “This is going to lead to the reemergence of IS, and the biggest winner of all this will be the Iranians, and that’s too bad,” Senator Lindsey Graham told Fox ...

Bloomberg Rwandan rebels staged a rare attack in the northern mountainous region known for gorilla trekking, killing at least 14 people, the National Police said. Authorities killed 19 attackers and arrested five, who the police said are members of Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a rebel group based in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. All visitors to ...

Bloomberg Acting PM Pedro Sanchez painted himself as the voice of moderation in Spanish politics as the country braces for an election campaign in the shadow of forthcoming verdicts in a trial of Catalan separatists and international disputes over trade and Brexit. “I humbly ask people to think who can guide our country with moderation towards progress,” Sanchez said in ...

Bloomberg Tunisia counted votes from the parliamentary elections, as an exit poll suggested a moderate radical party will get the most ballots while falling short of the majority needed to form a government. Polling by local firm Sigma Conseil showed Ennahda winning with 17.5% of votes, with Heart of Tunisia — the party of jailed TV mogul Nabil Karoui — ...

Bloomberg The winner of Kosovo’s snap election struck a defiant tone towards Serbia, foreshadowing more of the acrimony that has kept the two neighbours from clearing a key hurdle on their path to membership in the European Union. Albin Kurti, whose Self-Determination Movement won, said that in talks with Belgrade his new government would focus on a historic “debt that ...

Bloomberg Prospects of a Brexit deal faded after talks between the two sides stalled and European leaders cast doubt on reaching an agreement in time for the October 31 deadline. French President Emmanuel Macron and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar both signalled they want progress by Friday, adding to a sense that time is running out for the two sides ...

Bloomberg North Korea said it’s not keen to hold more talks with the US until measures are taken to withdraw Washington’s “hostile policy” towards Pyongyang, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported. The US was using the latest talks in Stockholm for the benefit of its domestic politics, the Yonhap report said, citing a statement from the North Korean foreign ministry. ...