Politics

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

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 Grief and calls for civility have been replaced by finger-pointing by some members of both parties, including Trump, who blamed the news media for fostering hate just days after he made ...

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 ...

Bloomberg Russia has sent a senior delegation to Venezuela to consult high-ranking government officials on a plan to stem the brutal economic collapse in a key Kremlin ally. Venezuela is reeling from the impact of US sanctions and low oil prices. Russia, which has maintained close ties with the leftist government of President Nicolas Maduro and provided a lifeline in ...

Bloomberg Typhoon Yutu slammed into northern Philippines on Tuesday and is travelling a path similar to last month’s super storm Mangkhut that killed at least 82 people and damaged about $500 million of farm output in the Southeast Asian nation. More than 10,000 people were moved to safer grounds before Yutu came ashore. As many as 12 million people are ...

Bloomberg Mongolia’s president said he may go on a hunger strike or stage a sit-in as a last resort to pressure the North Asian nation’s parliament to voluntarily disband after he criticized it for failing to stand up to economic challenges. President Khaltmaa Battulga, who has only has limited power to introduce and veto legislation, made the suggestion in a ...

Bloomberg The speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament has warned his country could descend into political violence if the legislature remains suspended throughout a leadership struggle that has plunged the island nation into a constitutional crisis. The capital Colombo was gripped by political intrigue after President Maithripala Sirisena said he had to fire Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe late on Friday because ...

Bloomberg Germany’s Angela Merkel will quit as head of her Christian Democratic party after almost two decades, a person familiar with the matter said. She intends to stay on as chancellor and step down when her current term ends in 2021, the person said, despite a series of political setbacks that have eaten into her authority. The shock decision from ...