Politics

Bloomberg At least 26 people were killed in an attack on a Somalian hotel by suspected al-Shabaab fighters, according to a senior state official. The dead included two Americans, a Canadian and a Briton, as well as three each from Kenya and Tanzania, Ahmed Mohamed Islam, the president of the country’s Jubbaland state, said. At least 56 other people were ...

Bloomberg India is planning a large-scale purchase of drones for its 1.2 million-strong army to boost surveillance capability along its volatile borders with neighbouring Pakistan and China. The drones would enable units on the border to carry out a 24-hour watch against threats, Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat said in New Delhi. PM Narendra Modi’s government plans to spend $250 ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump asked the US Supreme Court to clear his administration to start using Pentagon funds for construction of more than 100 miles of fencing along the Mexican border. Filing an emergency request, the president asked the justices to lift a freeze on the money while a legal fight with the Sierra Club and another advocacy group plays ...

Bloomberg It wasn’t your usual meeting of mayors in Germany’s presidential palace. One had been stabbed in the throat, another received death threats and most feared for their loved ones. They’ve all become victims of a wave of political violence that culminated last month in what appears to be the first assassination of a politician by a right-wing extremist since ...

Bloomberg The Pheu Thai Party elected Sompong Amornvivat to lead Thailand’s biggest opposition party into parliament, pledging to keep the coalition government under close scrutiny. Sompong was picked at a special assembly to succeed acting head Viroj Pao-in, who resigned earlier this month. “Our important duty is to scrutinise the workings of the government,” Sompong said in a comment posted ...

Bloomberg Britain’s ambassador to the US dramatically resigned after leaked comments in which he criticised the Trump. White House sparked a major diplomatic row between the transatlantic allies. President Donald Trump decided to freeze out Kim Darroch, saying he would no longer deal with the man who had called his administration “inept” and “uniquely dysfunctional.” In a statement released by ...

Bloomberg Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the US needs to stop its “economic terrorism” against his nation as it won’t agree to hold talks under duress. “Negotiations are never possible under duress,” Zarif was quoted as saying on Wednesday in Tehran, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. “Pressure and economic terrorism against Iran must stop and ...

Bloomberg Labor Secretary Alex Acosta doesn’t plan to resign over his association with financier Jeffrey Epstein and was expected to hold a conference on Wednesday, a Department of Labor official said. Acosta has come under increased pressure since Epstein’s indictment for conspiracy was revealed. In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida in order to resolve similar allegations ...

Bloomberg The woman designated to be the most powerful official in the European Union said she hopes the UK changes its mind and stays in the bloc after all. In a clear indication that she will try to prevent the UK leaving without a deal, Ursula von der Leyen, nominee for next European Commission president, told EU lawmakers that if ...

Bloomberg Television Broadcasts (TVB) Ltd, Hong Kong’s dominant broadcaster, has come under attack on social media for its alleged pro-Beijing bias in the coverage of recent political protests in the city, with campaigners urging companies to pull their commercials. Organisers of the drive have managed to score at least one win. Sports drink brand Pocari Sweat, owned by Japanese health ...