Politics

Bloomberg WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been charged by federal prosecutors in Virginia in a move that suggests the US government is determined to pursue his extradition, according to an inadvertent filing in an unrelated court case. It’s unclear what Assange, who’s been living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012, has been charged with. The existence of the ...

Bloomberg The Czech Republic’s billionaire prime minister rejected intensifying calls for him step down as he tries to save his hard-won coalition from collapsing amid public outcry over an investigation into whether he committed fraud. The fraud probe has imperiled the political career of Andrej Babis since his upstart ANO party defeated its traditional mainstream rivals in elections a year ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his first-ever visit to the Maldives for the swearing-in of its new president, signalling a shift in the island nation towards India and away from China. The visit — the first by an Indian head of state since 2011 — is expected to reset strained ties with the Maldives as Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, ...

Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for tolerance in a city that’s been a flashpoint of anti-immigrant unrest, laying down a political marker that may lead to conflict during the final phase of her chancellorship. As far-right protesters organised a “Merkel Must Go” march, the chancellor faced hostile questions on a visit to the eastern city of Chemnitz. Meanwhile, her ...

Bloomberg Congress isn’t expected to pass legislation ordering new US sanctions on Russia before the end of the year, as lawmakers focus instead on government spending measures, judicial nominations and a farm bill, key senators said. A bipartisan group of senators moved swiftly over the summer to assemble new proposals for Russia sanctions following President Donald Trump’s summit with Russian ...

Bloomberg Vice President Mike Pence told Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi that the US had concerns about human rights abuses in the Southeast Asian nation, saying there was no excuse for the violent crackdown on its minority Rohingya Muslim population. “This is a tragedy that has touched the hearts of millions of Americans,” Pence told Suu Kyi in a tense ...

Bloomberg The United Nations lifted almost decade-old sanctions on Eritrea, potentially boosting the once-isolated Red Sea nation’s economy as it rebuilds relations with long-time foe Ethiopia. The UN Security Council’s move ends restrictions first imposed in 2009 on accusations Eritrea backed armed groups including al-Shabaab in Somalia. Eritrea has long decried the claims as baseless and politically motivated, while UN ...

Bloomberg Malaysian prosecutors will bring more charges against the wife of ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday, the anti-graft agency said, stepping up legal action against a growing group of individuals surrounding Najib. Rosmah Mansor was called in by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on Wednesday. She will appear in court the following day to face charges in several cases linked ...

Bloomberg France’s Emmanuel Macron is heading to sea on his biggest warship a day after he suffered a tirade of abuse from Donald Trump. The trip, planned for weeks, will show France’s alliance with the US goes beyond any temporary disagreement between the presidents. France’s sole aircraft carrier, the Charles-de-Gaulle, the world’s most powerful vessel outside the US navy, was ...

Bloomberg Thirteen undeclared North Korean missile operating bases were identified in a new report, undermining the Trump administration’s claims that its outreach to Pyongyang is making progress in getting Kim Jong-un’s regime to give up its nuclear weapons programme. The 13 sites are among an estimated 20 bases, small and dispersed across the country, that are believed to have underground ...