Politics

Bloomberg Prime Minister Narendra Modi is studying three options, including a cash handout for farmers, people with knowledge of the matter said, as his administration seeks to ease an agrarian distress and shore up popular support ahead of next year’s general election. The government is weighing options including a monthly income support programme for farmers, a cash handout plan for ...

Bloomberg The UK is in need of leadership, US Ambassador to London Woody Johnson said, as he also cast doubt on the chances of a bilateral trade deal if Prime Minister Theresa May manages to push her Brexit agreement through Parliament. “I’m feeling the country is in need of leadership,” Johnson said on Monday in a BBC Radio interview. “You ...

Bloomberg The Democratic Republic of Congo counted ballot papers on Monday after an election that the opposition described as chaotic and flawed, with problems ranging from broken voting machines to delays and vote-buying. Congolese went to the polls on Sunday to find a successor to long-serving President Joseph Kabila in a vote that was already two years overdue, with Kabila’s ...

Bloomberg Kim Jong-un is intent on resolving the nuclear impasse that has stalled negotiations with the US and wants to hold more meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Moon’s office said. The North Korean leader sent Moon a personal letter of well wishes on Sunday, expressing a willingness to meet often in 2019 to advance peace talks and achieve ...

Bloomberg Tropical Storm Usman, which entered the Philippines on Christmas Day, has killed at least 16 people as it churned across several provinces, triggering floods and landslides and forcing thousands to flee to safer grounds. The storm has displaced at least 17,000 people in the Bicol region in the southern part of the Philippines’ main Luzon island. Three died in ...

Bloomberg Bangladesh’s 104 million voters were expected to choose their next government on Sunday. Polling started at 8 am with analysts forecasting that PM Sheikh Hasina is likely to be re-elected, extending her rule as the longest serving premier since the nation became independent in 1971. As of afternoon, nine people had been killed in clashes between the ruling and ...

Bloomberg The Democratic Republic of Congo started voting on Sunday for a successor to long-serving President Joseph Kabila after a tense campaign the opposition said was marred by crackdowns and disruptions. Kabila’s handpicked successor, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, is running for the ruling coalition and faces strong challenges from opposition alliances headed by Felix Tshisekedi and Martin Fayulu. The current president, ...

Bloomberg Residents in and near Nigeria’s Borno state are creating panic for no reason, which has led people in the northeast communities of Bama, Dikwa and Monguno to abandon their towns for camps set up for displaced persons, the army said. “The inhabitants of these towns and the general public are urged to discountenance such calls and remain calm,” army ...

Bloomberg The chances of the UK leaving the European Union are “50-50’’ if Parliament rejects Prime Minister Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement in January, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said in a Sunday Times interview. “If we were not to vote for that, I’m not sure I would give it much more than 50-50,” the veteran campaigner for Brexit told the ...

Bloomberg Donald Trump hasn’t ordered the Pentagon to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, a White House spokesman said, contradicting reports last week that he’s directed the military to pull 7,000 soldiers out of a conflict he’s long criticised. “The president has not made a determination to drawdown US military presence in Afghanistan and he has not directed the Department of Defense ...