Politics

Bloomberg It took an austere law professor to channel the burning injustices of a generation disillusioned by the failures of the Arab Spring into an insurgent campaign that dealt a stinging rebuke to Tunisia’s political establishment. After a buildup that scarcely registered with the media, at the ballot box 61-year-old Kais Saied saw off nearly two dozen rivals seeking to ...

Bloomberg The US will send a “moderate” number of American troops to the Middle East and additional missile defense capabilities to Saudi Arabia in response to last weekend’s attack on oil facilities, top Pentagon officials said. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that the decision represented a “first step” in the US response. He reiterated US statements that evidence collected ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump is planning about a dozen one-on-one meetings with foreign leaders next week at the United Nations General Assembly, but none may be more anticipated than his Wednesday session with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Interest in those talks stems from a whistleblower complaint filed by a US intelligence official after Trump and Zelensky spoke by phone earlier ...

Bloomberg Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro heads to New York on Monday in an attempt to defuse the international outcry over the fires raging through the Amazon, while simultaneously asserting the country’s right to develop the rainforest as it sees fit. Until recently, few countries enjoyed such widespread affection as Brazil did, with its tradition of multilateral and “soft power” diplomacy, ...

Bloomberg The first assembly polls after Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a landslide victory in national elections in May will take place in the states of Maharashtra, the country’s richest, and Haryana next month. Voting will be held on October 21, while counting will take place on October 24, Sunil Arora, chief election commissioner, said at a press conference on ...

Bloomberg The unrest in Hong Kong should start letting up after three months of protests as Chief Executive Carrie Lam makes a concerted effort to address the concerns raised by the demonstrators, her top adviser said. The city’s leader plans to hold a dialogue with Hong Kong citizens and will also address the underlying issues raised by the protesters — ...

Bloomberg Boris Johnson heads to New York on Sunday for his first United Nations General Assembly as prime minister. But even on the other side of the Atlantic, he won’t be able to escape Brexit. According to a statement from Johnson, his two-day schedule will see him “raising three crucial issues” — the crisis in the Middle East, climate change, ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s government doesn’t see any benefit in conceding to more demands from protesters and the increasingly violent demonstrations are unlikely to stop anytime soon, according to a top adviser to leader Carrie Lam. Radical demonstrators — some of whom have lobbed petrol bombs at police and vandalised subway stations in recent weeks — won’t give up their struggle ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump said he doesn’t want to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at a summit next week in New York. “I’m not looking to meet him. I don’t think they’re ready yet. But they’ll be ready,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “At the right time, they’ll be ready. I never rule anything out, but I ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump said he’ll appoint Robert O’Brien as his White House national security advisor, elevating the State Department’s top hostage envoy from relative obscurity to one of the most important jobs in US government. O’Brien had the backing of Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, whose central role shaping the administration’s foreign policy will be solidified by the appointment. ...