Politics

Bloomberg Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, running in an election that could be the fight of his political life, said he hopes to annex all Jewish West Bank settlements. Israel will build more settlements and won’t uproot settlers, Netanyahu said in a speech in the West Bank settlement of Elkana. “With God’s help, we will extend Jewish sovereignty to ...

Bloomberg The US said it’s at the “threshold” of a deal with the Taliban after the latest round of talks ended, even amid reports that the group attacked another Afghan city on Sunday. US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said he’ll be travelling to Kabul for consultations after discussions with the Taliban. The withdrawal of American and NATO ...

Bloomberg Efforts by France and Iran to salvage the nuclear deal are gaining momentum as Tehran sends its special envoy back to Paris while signalling it could be edging closer to a plan to restore some of its oil exports. On Monday President Hassan Rouhani’s special representative and deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, will head an economic delegation on his ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong protesters caused major disruptions to the city’s international airport on Sunday, massing outside the building in attempt to paralyse transport to and from the facility. MTR Corp, operator of the city’s rail system, cancelled express trains to the airport, while demonstrators blocked buses from leaving the airport terminal. Protesters vandalised turnstiles at some of stations and sprayed ...

Bloomberg Hundreds of Russians marched through the streets of Moscow in what appeared to be the most peaceful unauthorised rally in a summer of demonstrations against President Vladimir Putin. The Interior ministry, which usually understates the scope of protest activities, put the number of march participants at 750 people, according to Interfax. No detentions were reported, but there was a ...

Bloomberg Germany made an emotional appeal for forgiveness to neighbouring Poland 80 years after the start of World War II that was met by a renewed demand for reparations by the fellow European Union member’s prime minister. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, visiting the town of Wielun, Poland, where Nazi bombers caused the first large-scale civilian casualties of the conflict in ...

Bloomberg Queen Elizabeth II approved Boris Johnson’s request to suspend parliament for almost five weeks ahead of Brexit. The prime minister’s move sets up a showdown with lawmakers who want to block him from taking the UK out of the European Union without a deal. The pound fell. Privy Council said Queen approved Johnson’s request to prorogue — suspend — ...

Bloomberg India’s Supreme Court has agreed to examine the constitutional validity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to scrap Kashmir’s autonomy but refused to immediately lift an unprecedented state-wide lockdown on communications and movement. The court’s three-judge panel headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said a constitution bench comprising five judges will review the legality of abrogating Article ...

Bloomberg Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday with a plan to play his ace card — an international ruling that invalidated some of Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea. Duterte said he will use the Philippines’ 2016 internationaltribunal win against China, which he set aside to warm ties and tap Chinese funding, to ...

Bloomberg Interest from Hong Kong residents in leaving the city has surged since street protests broke out in the former British colony. About 200 people showed up at a seminar organised by InvestUK, an adviser that helps people secure investor visas to move to the UK from Hong Kong, in July compared with about 40 people usually, according to the ...