Bloomberg The US will leave in place North Korea-related sanctions on two Chinese shipping companies, and President Donald Trump has no plans to impose additional penalties on Kim Jong-un’s government, according to two people familiar with the matter. The two people, who were granted anonymity to discuss the issue, spoke hours after Trump threw US sanctions policy towards North Korea ...
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Trump Jr. escapes Mueller Russia probe
Bloomberg Special Counsel Robert Mueller ended his probe without indicting one of its most politically sensitive subjects: Donald Trump Jr. A key episode in Mueller’s 22-month probe into Russian election meddling was a secret meeting that the president’s eldest son took at Trump Tower in Manhattan in 2016 with a Russian lawyer connected to the Kremlin on the promise of ...
Read More »UK cabinet ministers war-gaming the fall of May
Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Theresa May is confronting what could be the end of her premiership as the near impossible task of delivering a Brexit deal cracks her fragile government apart. In the past two weeks, May has lost the trust of her cabinet ministers, infuriated members of parliament on all sides, and been told to her face a growing ...
Read More »Orban enters showdown as EU party weighs expulsion
Bloomberg Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s role as a trailblazer for resurgent nationalist forces in the European Union faces a reckoning as the bloc’s largest political family weighs whether to expel or suspend his illiberal party two months before crucial EU elections. The verdict by the European People’s Party (EPP) due on Wednesday afternoon was expected to signal whether the ...
Read More »Fugitive Indian jeweller arrested in London, say police
Bloomberg Indian diamond tycoon Nirav Modi, who allegedly defrauded a state-run bank of $2 billion, was arrested and is due to appear in court on Wednesday, London’s Metropolitan police said in a statement. Indian authorities are seeking to extradite Modi, who dressed stars including Kate Winslet, Dakota Johnson and Priyanka Chopra, and face charges of fraudulently acquiring guarantees from Punjab ...
Read More »Kazakh leader quits, puts daughter in contention
Bloomberg Kazakhstan began a new political era, at least formally, as Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was sworn in as president on Wednesday, succeeding leader-for-life Nursultan Nazarbayev. One of his first acts was to move Nazarbayev’s daughter into contention as a successor. The Kazakh Senate unanimously elected Dariga Nazarbayeva as the body’s new chairwoman, putting her formally in the line of succession to ...
Read More »May stuck in fight over Brexit delay
Bloomberg Britain’s messy divorce from the European Union is once again stuck between the demands of Theresa May’s divided government and the reality of what the bloc is willing to offer her — this time over how long the delay to Brexit should be. With just nine days left until the UK is due to exit the EU, the prime ...
Read More »Algeria’s ruling party supports protesters
Bloomberg Algeria’s ruling party on Wednesday voiced support for protesters demanding the country’s embattled president step down, in the latest signal of growing rifts within the ruling powers. In comments carried by Algerian television, National Liberation Front chief Moued Bouchareb said Abdelaziz Bouteflika “understood the popular protests and its demands.†A statement issued by the party’s brass after a testy ...
Read More »Taiwan ex-premier challenges Tsai
Bloomberg A former premier and vocal proponent of independence for Taiwan will challenge his former boss, President Tsai Ing-wen, for the ruling party’s nomination, ensuring the island’s tense relationship with China will be a central focus of the presidential campaign. Former Premier Lai Ching-te said in a text message that he would vie for the Democratic Progressive Party’s backing in ...
Read More »Congo president blocks senators over ‘corruption’
Bloomberg Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi blocked senators from taking their seats after an election at the weekend marred by allegations of corruption. The decision further delays Tshisekedi’s formation of a new government, almost three months after he won a disputed election to lead the world’s biggest cobalt producer. It comes less than two weeks after he and ex-President Joseph Kabila, ...
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