Politics

Bloomberg Ukraine revoked the immunity from prosecution long enjoyed by lawmakers, part of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s efforts to stamp out corruption. Parliament voted for a constitutional amendment placing its members on the same legal footing as other citizens, starting from January 1. The bill was originally submitted in 2015 by ex-President Petro Poroshenko, but was sidelined until Zelenskiy’s ruling party ...

Bloomberg US Vice President Mike Pence came under fire on Tuesday for staying at President Donald Trump’s golf resort during his official visit to Ireland, despite most of his meetings with Irish leaders taking place more than 200 kilometres (125 miles) away in Dublin. The vice president’s staff defended the decision, noting that Pence — who is travelling with his ...

Bloomberg South Africa has been hit by an outbreak of attacks on migrants from other African countries as the nation prepared to host a meeting of political and business leaders from across the continent. A spate of violence that broke out in suburbs south of Johannesburg’s city centre and spread to the central business district saw the destruction of more ...

Bloomberg A key legal test of Boris Johnson’s plan to suspend parliament got underway in Edinburgh, with an attorney for a group of lawmakers saying that the prime minister’s move shows a “breathtaking” contempt for the UK’s constitution. “This prime minister says in his own words, in his own handwriting, that the further sitting of Parliament is only a ‘rigmarole’ ...

Bloomberg Georgia’s ruling party nominated the top law enforcement official, who was blamed for a harsh crackdown on demonstrations in June, as the new prime minister, prompting protesters to gather outside parliament to denounce the decision. Giorgi Gakharia, 44, the interior minister and formerly the economic development minister, was put forward by the ruling Georgian Dream’s billionaire leader Bidzina Ivanishvili ...

Bloomberg Taiwan denied interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs to support protesters, rejecting such claims by Beijing as “talking nonsense.” The Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement that unrest in the former British colony stemmed from the Communist Party’s refusal to consider protesters’ democratic demands. The agency was responding to comments by a top mainland representative on Taiwan affairs ...

Bloomberg US Vice President Mike Pence said the American people “stand with Ukraine” but that European nations should do more to help the former Soviet republic. The US has “carried the load” on Ukraine and “we’ve been proud to do that,” Pence told reporters on Monday in Warsaw. “But we believe it’s time for our European partners to step forward.” ...

Bloomberg Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze stood down on Monday, saying he’d completed the tasks he’d set himself. “The strategic framework has been created and put into place,” Bakhtadze, 37, said in a lengthy Facebook post listing the achievements of his government in the Caucasus nation. “I have decided to leave my position, considering that I have accomplished my mission.” ...

Bloomberg A day after only a narrow victory in state elections, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition realised once again that it needs to do far more to effectively stem the rise of populism in Germany. Yes, the Christian Democrats and their junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats, won in the eastern states of Brandenburg and Saxony. But the gains of the ...

Bloomberg The UK moved a step closer to a general election as the political crisis engulfing the country over its divorce from the European Union deepened. Allies of Prime Minister Boris Johnson are considering a snap poll as he battles his opponents in parliament who are trying to stop him taking the UK out of the EU without a deal ...