Bloomberg US President Donald Trump repeated that he didn’t know about his son’s meeting with Russians at Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign, while asserting that such meetings are a routine part of politics— “totally legal and done all the time.†Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my ...
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Jail for separatist leaders unacceptable: Catalonia
Bloomberg Catalan President Joaquim Torra said his government won’t accept separatist leaders being sent to prison for declaring independence as the region prepared for the one-year anniversary of a tumultuous illegal referendum that plunged Spain into a constitutional crisis. A court decision due in the fall that could see independence leaders imprisoned for up to 30 years will be a ...
Read More »Jailed Lula is endorsed by Workers’ Party for Brazil’s top job
Bloomberg Brazil’s left-wing Workers’ Party formally endorsed Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the upcoming presidential election, even though the former leader has been in jail since April on a corruption conviction. The Workers’ Party, known by its Portuguese acronym of PT, pushed ahead with Lula’s candidacy during a convention on Saturday in Sao Paulo. “Our democracy is at risk,†...
Read More »Trump administration fails to sway judge on DACA
Bloomberg The Trump administration failed again to convince a federal judge that there’s a legitimate reason to rescind legal protections for hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children and seek to avoid deportation. US District Judge John Bates in Washington said that a second attempt by the Department of Homeland Security to ...
Read More »Congo ‘leader’ blocked from returning home
Bloomberg Congolese opposition leader Moise Katumbi was twice refused permission to return home to register for the December presidential election, his campaign team said. The government rejected the allegations. Katumbi, in self-imposed exile since May 2016, had planned to fly to Lubumbashi, his home town in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo, on August 3 but his jet was denied permission ...
Read More »Pompeo warns Russia, China on flouting N Korea sanctions
Bloomberg US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo warned against easing up on sanctions until North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons, drawing a rebuke from the regime that underscored how far apart the two sides remain almost two months after their leaders met in Singapore. Back in Singapore for a regional security forum, Pompeo on Saturday called out Russia and ...
Read More »Russian agent in US seeks dismissal of indictment
Bloomberg Accused Russian operative Maria Butina asked a judge to dismiss a US indictment charging her with acting as an unregistered agent of the country and appealed an order denying her release from custody. Butina has been held since her arrest July 15 after prosecutors said she had ties to Russia’s intelligence services and oligarchs who could offer her safe ...
Read More »Kushners give up control of ‘tower’ to save themselves
Bloomberg The Kushners have found their out—and it comes at a price. The family firm of presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner will be relieved of the biggest drag on its real estate empire, will no longer face a $1.2 billion debt payment due in months, will be rid of having to overhaul an aging property. But in return, they’ve given up ...
Read More »Mnangagwa wins Zimbabwe’s presidency after deadly protests
Bloomberg Emmerson Mnangagwa won Zimbabwe’s presidential election, a victory overshadowed by deadly protests, opposition allegations of rigging and threats of legal action, and criticism by observers that the contest was flawed. The controversy surrounding the vote may undermine efforts to reunify the southern African nation and rebuild an economy battered by almost two decades of misrule under Robert Mugabe, who ...
Read More »Judge: US must name czar to reunify children
Bloomberg The federal judge presiding over the reunification of immigrant children separated from their parents at the US border ordered the government to figure out how to reunite the more than 500 children still in custody after calling the government’s efforts “unacceptable.†The government must “identify an individual or a team†to create and implement a procedure for those kids ...
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