Politics

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) poured cold water on Boris Johnson’s attempt to renegotiate the Brexit deal, saying the so-called backstop to prevent a hard Irish border — which the British prime minister wants scrapped — was a vital part of the divorce agreement. It means that with just over two months to go until Johnson has said the UK ...

Bloomberg Matteo Salvini dangled the prospect of tax cuts and a boost in government spending for Italians in a final push to force new elections that could secure him the premiership. Salvini, who has called time on his alliance with the Five Star Movement and is seeking to cash in on strong poll ratings, promised in a radio interview that ...

Bloomberg Communications restrictions continued across Kashmir two weeks after India scrapped the region’s autonomy, while the fate of detained political leaders — including former chief ministers — remains uncertain. India aid all government offices along with around 190 schools would be reopened from Monday, however curbs in some parts of the capital Srinagar were reimposed after protesters clashed with police, ...

Bloomberg Iran warned the US against apprehending a supertanker carrying the Middle East country’s oil, leaving the fate of the vessel uncertain as it sailed east into the Mediterranean Sea from Gibraltar, where it been detained since last month. The tanker, formerly called the Grace 1 and now known as the Adrian Darya 1, was signaling — at least for ...

Bloomberg Leaders of Russia’s lower house of parliament met to discuss alleged foreign meddling in the country’s affairs including in elections, amid the biggest wave of protests in Moscow in seven years. The council of the State Duma, comprising party leaders and top officials, held a special session to create a commission to investigate “the facts of possible interference in ...

Bloomberg Spain accused Italy of breaking international rules with its failure to allow a ship carrying 107 migrants to dock at an Italian port. Italy “is keeping its ports closed in breach of all the rules,” acting Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo said in an interview with Cadena Ser radio. “We are talking about people, about laws that everyone has ...

Bloomberg Four senior Hong Kong democrats have found themselves labeled by Chinese state media as a new “Gang of Four,” as Beijing seeks to assign blame for the largely leaderless protest movement rocking the city. A string of state media editorials have compared the long-time opposition figures — including former Chief Secretary Anson Chan, former Democratic Party chief Albert Ho, ...

Bloomberg An IS affiliate said it was responsible for a suicide bombing attack at a wedding hall in Afghanistan’s capital that killed 63. More than 180 others were injured in the attack, which took place at 10:40 pm in the western part of Kabul, Nasrat Rahimi, a spokesman at the Interior Ministry, said by phone on Sunday. There were about ...

Bloomberg Yemen’s Houthi rebel government appointed its first ambassador to Iran, days after a delegation met Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, the rebel-held Saba news agency. The appointment of Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Dailami is meant to boost ties between Yemen and Iran, the rebel ­­­said on TV. Al-Houthi said the relationship with Tehran will be better than it was ...

Bloomberg The Government of Gibraltar says European Union regulations don’t allow it to seek a court order to seize a tanker which the US accuses of breaching its sanctions by exporting Iranian oil. The US issued a warrant to seize the supertanker, which has been detained by the UK and Gibraltar since July, on suspicion of hauling Iranian oil to ...