Politics

Trump: US open to new Iran deal as sanctions set to return

Bloomberg President Donald Trump said the US remains open to reaching a comprehensive deal with Iran that blocks its nuclear-weapons programme, just days before sanctions on the country’s energy and shipping sectors kick back in. “Our objective is to force the regime into a clear choice,” Trump said in a statement released by the White House on Friday evening, referencing ...

Read More »

Brexit silence can’t hide hints of ‘deal’

Bloomberg A cloak of secrecy surrounds the negotiations on the UK’s exit from the European Union. Neither side has reported in any detail what’s going on behind closed doors in Brussels since Prime Minister Theresa May updated Parliament on October 22. But the lack of public comment doesn’t mean nothing’s happening. British and European negotiators are locked away trying to ...

Read More »

US raises support for West Africa force fighting extremists

Bloomberg The US almost doubled its pledge for the financial support of a West African force that began deploying last year to fight a surge in militant attacks. Assistance to the force that’s known as G5 Sahel will now total $111 million, from an initial pledge of $60 million made in October 2017, Samantha Reho, a spokeswoman for the US ...

Read More »

US-Korea alliance strained as Trump suspends ‘war games’

Bloomberg The US and South Korea have spent almost seven decades honing their preparedness for war. Now fears are growing among the alliance’s proponents that extended peace talks are eroding that advantage. Defense chiefs from the two nations will gather for an annual meeting in Washington on Wednesday facing a radically changed landscape after President Donald Trump’s decision to restart ...

Read More »

Joseph Kabila’s chosen successor lags in Congo presidential elections

Bloomberg Voters in the Democratic Republic of Congo prefer two opposition candidates over the ruling party’s entrant in presidential elections set to take place in December, according to an opinion poll. More than a third of the electorate back Union for Democracy and Social Progress leader Felix Tshisekedi in the vote, while 17 percent favor Union for the Congolese Nation ...

Read More »

Rebel leader returns to South Sudan

Bloomberg South Sudan’s main rebel leader committed to the latest deal to end a half decade of bloody civil war as he returned to the capital for the first time since fleeing violence more than two years ago. Former Vice President Riek Machar temporarily returned to Juba on Wednesday to take part in celebrations for a so-called “final, final” peace ...

Read More »

Trump turns focus to rally GOP post Kavanaugh saga

Bloomberg So much for the “Kavanaugh Bump.” Republicans now fear some of their voters are losing enthusiasm a week away from midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Outrage amid the Republican electorate over Democrats’ treatment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination has dissipated, Trump aides and Republican pollsters say. After last week’s mail-bomb scare and synagogue shooting, ...

Read More »

Merkel’s party fights over legacy with chancellor sidelined

Bloomberg Angela Merkel’s favoured successor to head her governing party is running into stiff competition in a race that will shape the German chancellor’s legacy. Her old nemesis Friedrich Merz is now a contender for the Christian Democratic Union’s chairmanship, raising the possibility that for the first time ever the leader of the Europe’s dominant economy will come from the ...

Read More »

Violence heightens divisions in Trump’s first midterms

Bloomberg Deadly politically tinged violence that stunned the nation last week likely will sharpen the hard partisan edge that is defining the first midterm election of Donald Trump’s presidency. Grief and calls for civility have been replaced by finger-pointing by some members of both parties, including Trump, who blamed the news media for fostering hate just days after he made ...

Read More »

Trump plans to end birthright citizenship

Bloomberg US President Donald Trump said he plans to sign an executive order ending birthright citizenship for babies of non-immigrants and unauthorised immigrants born on US soil, according to excerpts of an interview released on Tuesday. “We’re the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of ...

Read More »
Send this to a friend