Politics

Bloomberg In the corridors of the UK Parliament, an idea that four months ago seemed laughable is now being seriously discussed. Is another referendum a way out of the Brexit deadlock? Speaking privately, some ministers raise it unprompted. At a press conference, leaders of the smaller opposition parties urged the government to consider it as a contingency worth preparing for. ...

Bloomberg Kosovo lawmakers adopted a set of laws to upgrade its lightly armed troops into a formidable force, which neighbouring Serbia sees as security threat and an obstacle to normalising ties between the two Balkan nations. Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic demanded an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council after the Kosovo’s parliament ignored objections from ethnic Serb ...

Bloomberg A fifth weekend of protests by France’s Yellow Vests movement started in relative calm in Paris, with police arresting several dozen people in the capital compared with hundreds a week earlier. As protesters gathered in front of the opera house and on the Champs-Elysees avenue in central Paris, police used tear gas to prevent a small breakaway group from ...

Bloomberg Sri Lanka’s top court ruled against President Maithripala Sirisena’s plan to dissolve the island nation’s parliament and call a new national vote, extending a political crisis that has roiled the island nation since late October. The Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional a presidential notice to dissolve parliament before a period of four-and-a-half years from its first sitting unless the ...

Bloomberg Maria Butina pleaded guilty to acting as an undeclared Russian agent in the US and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, advancing an inquiry into Russia’s efforts to build back-channels to politically connected Americans. The 30-year-old gun enthusiast operated as a Kremlin agent as she befriended National Rifle Association leaders (NRA) and influential US conservatives, she admitted in federal court ...

Bloomberg Swedish opposition leader Ulf Kristersson, the man most likely to be asked to form a new government after Stefan Lofven’s second defeat in parliament, is calling for a quick resolution to the country’s political stalemate, warning that the chances of a snap election are now rising. “Ultimately, we are heading at quite a high speed toward a new election,” ...

Bloomberg Theresa May was expected to face a vote of confidence in her leadership of the Conservative Party as the embattled UK prime minister warned the rebels who want her out that they will be putting Brexit at risk. Tory members of Parliament were expected to vote on Wednesday evening on whether they have confidence in May. If she loses, ...

Bloomberg Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to deploy national police to the restive Catalonia region, as tensions escalate between Madrid and Barcelona. The central government sent three letters to the pro-independence Catalan administration this week warning that the regional Mossos police had failed to ensure basic security during recent protests, which paralysed several highways for hours with impunity. Sanchez ...

Bloomberg Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s long march towards one-man rule in the heart of the European Union hit a new milestone. Shrugging off the threat of sanctions from Brussels, Orban’s lawmakers approved a law that will further tighten his hold over the country’s court system. Opposition lawmakers tried to prevent the opening of the parliamentary session and then whistled ...

Bloomberg North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is not expected to visit the South before the end of the year, South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s office said. Kim may still travel to Seoul in January for what could mark the first trip by any North Korean leader to the South’s capital, presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan said in a text message. Yonhap ...