Politics

Bloomberg French President Emmanuel Macron has emboldened Italy’s populists in their standoff with the European Union by embarking on a spending spree of his own. The promises Macron unveiled in a bid to defuse the Yellow Vest protests, from a 100-euro ($114) a month hike in the minimum wage to abolishing a tax on pensions, could play into the hands ...

Bloomberg Brazil’s incoming government won’t sign a broad United Nations migration treaty, following in the footsteps of the US and Chile in a crackdown on open borders. Ernesto Araujo, who will be Foreign Minister under President-Elect Jair Bolsonaro, said on Twitter that the United Nations Global Compact for Migration is “an inadequate instrument to deal with the problem” and that ...

Bloomberg Outgoing Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila signalled he’ll remain active in politics and would consider running for office when he’s eligible again in 2023. The 47-year-old leader is preparing to step down after ruling the cobalt- and copper-rich Central African nation for almost 18 years. He’s chosen Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary to succeed him in a December 23 ...

Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Theresa May is calling off a crucial vote in Parliament on whether to approve her Brexit deal, according to a person familiar with the situation. The vote in the House of Commons to endorse the terms of the UK’s split from the European Union was due to be held on Tuesday evening but is now set ...

Bloomberg Armenia’s former ruling Republican party was wiped out in parliamentary elections that handed a massive majority to the leader of the country’s “Velvet Revolution.” Preliminary results show acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s My Step alliance won 70.4 percent of votes in Sunday’s elections, Armenia’s Central Election Commission reported. The Republicans received 4.7 percent, just short of the 5 percent ...

Bloomberg Swedish Social Democratic leader Stefan Lofven is now facing a defeat in a potential prime minister vote after an attempt at forging a broader coalition failed. After a week of talks, the opposition Center Party rejected forming a government with the Social Democrats, throwing negotiations wide open again three months after the Nordic nation’s inconclusive election that saw big ...

Bloomberg Maria Butina, the Russian gun-rights activist who befriended leaders of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Republican Party and then was accused of acting as an undeclared agent of the Kremlin, has decided to change her plea of not guilty to at least one of the two charges she faces. In a court filing, Butina’s lawyers asked a ...

Bloomberg Secluded in his Presidential palace, Emmanuel Macron is looking for a miracle. An angry France is waiting to see if he finds one. Macron was due to address the nation on Monday evening. Everyone, from Yellow Vest protesters to his dwindling number of supporters, is anticipating some solution to end the downward spiral of Europe’s second largest economy, started ...

Bloomberg The streets of Paris are returning to normal as crews remove debris after protests by a grassroots movement forced police to fire tear gas and water cannons just a week after extremely violent clashes led President Emmanuel Macron’s government to back down on fuel tax increases. Police arrested 1,700 people nationwide and held 1,200 in custody after containing several ...

Bloomberg At least two people were killed in Togo when police clashed with demonstrators during a banned nationwide protest, in an explosion of tension before disputed parliamentary elections later this month. Four policemen were also hurt, and authorities arrested 28 people in the capital, Lome, and Bafilo, 250 kilometres (150 miles) north of the city, the government said in a ...