Politics

Bloomberg A Pakistani court convicted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of corruption and handed him a seven-year prison term, sparking protests by his supporters. Arshad Malik, a judge of the accountability court, delivered the verdict in Islamabad on Monday after finding that Sharif had accumulated wealth through unknown means. Sharif, who was acquitted on the second charge and released from ...

Bloomberg Sudanese doctors went on strike as the army pledged its loyalty to President Umar al-Bashir amid some of the biggest anti-government protests in his rule. At least eight people have been killed in demonstrations that have rocked the African nation’s cities since mid-last week, as discontent with an economic crisis and soaring living costs have developed into calls for ...

Bloomberg Burundian authorities decided to move the political capital to the city of Gitega in the central province, from Bujumbura, government spokesman Prosper Ntahorwamiye said on Burundi National Television. Bujumbura will remain the economic capital as many of country’s business activities’ are based there, Ntahorwamiye said. At least five ministries and their agencies will start working from Gitega in Janaury ...

Bloomberg Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the government will keep pursuing its expansionary economic goals and vowed the populist coalition would complete its full five-year term. “The budget starts with a clearly expansionary signal, and maintains that even after the changes made following the negotiations with Brussels,” Conte told Italian daily La Stampa in an interview. The government initially ...

Bloomberg Theresa May urged Britons to abandon the Leave-Remain split that has beset the country since the Brexit referendum in 2016. After 2 1/2 years of division, it’s time to “put aside our differences and focus on what really matters,” the UK premier wrote in a letter to readers of the Daily Express newspaper. In a missive also aimed at ...

Bloomberg Donald Trump is coming off one of his roughest weeks as president, at least in his critics’ eyes — instigating a government shutdown fight, provoking his defense chief’s resignation, abruptly pulling US troops from two global hotspots, and even thinking about firing the head of the US central bank. Yet, as hard as it is for the outside world ...

Bloomberg The death toll from a tsunami triggered by suspected volcanic activity near the Sunda Strait in Indonesia has topped 200 as rescuers continue to search for dozens missing in the tourist region. More than 220 people, mostly tourists, are confirmed dead, at least 843 injured and dozens are missing in the two provinces hit by waves late on Saturday, ...

Bloomberg The US government shutdown has entered a second day. It’s likely to last at least until late in the week, and maybe into January, as the White House and Democrats remain at an impasse over President Donald Trump’s demand for billions of dollars in border wall funding. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate would adjourn for regular ...

Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s allies are plotting to keep her in Downing Street for at least another two years, the Sunday Times reported, citing a senior cabinet minister it didn’t name. The plans being floated would see May hang on to power until the autumn of 2021 when she would hand over to a new Conservative leader, according ...

Bloomberg Protests led by the grassroots Yellow Vest movement abated across France on December 22, a signal that a call to mobilise for a sixth straight weekend failed to maintain the momentum. An estimated 23,800 protested nationwide, down from 33,500 at the same time a week ago, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported, citing the interior ministry. Authorities stopped 109 people ...