Politics

Bloomberg It seemed like a dream come true for Vladimir Putin when Donald Trump ordered US withdrawals from key global hotspots, prompting one of the administration’s toughest Russia hawks to tender his resignation. Now the Kremlin isn’t so sure. Having gained more policy victories from Trump in 24 hours than in the whole of his presidency to date, Putin’s voiced ...

Bloomberg A US nuclear envoy said Washington would review policies preventing Americans from providing humanitarian to North Korea, including the travel ban, in a potential overture to restart talks with Kim Jong-un. Stephen Biegun, the US’s special representative for North Korea, disclosed the move, as he began a four-day trip to South Korea. The former Ford Motor Co. executive will ...

Bloomberg Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari presented an 8.8 trillion-naira ($24.2 billion) budget for next year to lawmakers after the cabinet agreed to reduce spending plans as the nation struggles to meet revenue targets. Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer and most populous nation, has “recovered from recession” after a slump in 2016, Buhari told a joint session of the Senate and ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Theresa May, who has just 28 days to convince rebellious lawmakers to back her Brexit deal, put the UK on high alert over the dangers of crashing out of the European Union without an agreement. Her cabinet ministers agreed to implement “in full” plans for a no-deal break from the European Union, including 3,500 troops put on ...

Bloomberg After three months of gridlock, Sweden still doesn’t have a government. Now, party leaders will get a three-week respite in the hope that they can come back with a solution. Parliament speaker Andreas Norlen said that he will meet again with party leaders on January 14 and called for a prime minister vote two days later. If that fails, ...

Bloomberg France’s Yellow Vests may have peaked as a protest movement, but they are contemplating a next step: presenting candidates in next May’s European elections to provide another outlet for voters angry at President Emmanuel Macron. The limited amount of polling so far suggests a Yellow Vests campaign wouldn’t impact Macron’s party in selecting legislators for the European Parliament. Instead, ...

Bloomberg South African authorities issued a warrant of arrest for Grace Mugabe, the wife of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, civil rights organisation AfriForum said. A charge of assault was laid against Grace Mugabe in South Africa last year, after local media including the Star newspaper reported that she assaulted a woman at a hotel in Johannesburg. While she agreed ...

Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Theresa May has given herself another four weeks to save the Brexit deal she says is still the only way to avoid a chaotic split from the European Union. Last week, May called off a parliamentary vote scheduled for December 11 on the withdrawal agreement after concluding it would be defeated amid overwhelming opposition from politicians ...

Bloomberg The Kremlin cheered what it said was a relaxation of a ban on sanctioned Russian businessmen by organisers of the World Economic Forum, signalling the move would ease the path for a delegation to attend the January event. “We welcome the fact that the Davos economic forum and its management heard our position that it’s unacceptable to have a ...

Bloomberg Jacob Zuma, the former South African president facing 16 corruption charges and a demand to pay back as much as $2.2 million in legal fees, may see his woes deepen from beyond the country’s borders. South Africa’s top court ruled that Zuma had no right to co-sign a Southern African Development Community (SADC) decision in 2014 to sideline a ...