Politics

Bloomberg European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Wednesday that the risk of a no-deal Brexit on October 31 is now “palpable,” sparking a drop in the pound. Juncker, speaking to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, after a meeting with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said the main sticking point continued to be the so-called backstop to avoid a ...

Bloomberg Spain is headed for its fourth election in as many years in November as the latest failure to produce a governing alliance highlighted the increasingly fractured state of its politics. “Spain needs stability, moderation, a progressive government — it doesn’t need deadlock,” acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a stormy parliament session as political opponents assailed him for ...

Bloomberg Malaysian ruling party leader Anwar Ibrahim, who cut a deal to become the country’s next prime minister ahead of last year’s election, said he should take power around May 2020. “There’s an understanding that it should be around that time, but I don’t think I should be too petty about the exact month,” Anwar said in an interview, when ...

Bloomberg A low-profile law professor and a jailed media tycoon secured the top spots in Tunisia’s landmark presidential vote, routing veteran politicians in a rejection of the status quo in the birthplace of the Arab Spring. Kais Saied, a constitutional law professor, secured 18.4 percent of the vote while Nabil Karoui, the owner of a TV channel who’s detained on ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said sanctions would only complicate the city’s problems as prominent local activist Joshua Wong gets set to address US lawmakers who are considering changes to special trade privileges for the financial hub. “I uphold this principle of accountability, but at the moment it is all for us to see that Hong Kong is undergoing ...

Bloomberg The Pentagon is preparing a report on who was responsible for the weekend attack on Saudi oil facilities and intends to make it public within 48 hours, a US defense official said. The official couldn’t confirm or deny a CBS News report that the US has identified locations in southern Iran from which it believes more than 20 drones ...

Bloomberg South Sudan, where warring parties agreed to end five years of conflict, could return to bloodshed despite recent commitments by its leaders to form a power-sharing government, the United Nations warned. Both armed opposition groups and the government are forcibly recruiting children in Juba and Western Bahr el Ghazal, and in Greater Bahr el Ghazal, respectively, according to Yasmin ...

Bloomberg Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy has been on trial ever since he became prime minister eight weeks ago, and on Tuesday his lawyers were expected to defend it in the UK’s highest court. Fresh from being lambasted by a fellow European leader after he opted out of a joint news conference, Johnson will see his decision to suspend parliament under ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump promised to help allies following attacks on major Saudi Arabian oil facilities, even though he said the US is no longer directly reliant on Middle Eastern oil and gas and has few tankers there. “We are a net Energy Exporter,” Trump tweeted. “We don’t need Middle Eastern Oil & Gas, & in fact have very few ...

Bloomberg South Korea clarified Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha’s remarks earlier in the day in which she appeared to confirm a local newspaper report saying Kim Jong-un invited US President Donald Trump to visit Pyongyang. Kang was asked at a parliamentary session on Monday about a report by South Korea’s Joongang Ilbo newspaper that detailed Kim’s offer for another summit. It ...