Politics

Bloomberg Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un will meet next month to negotiate a deal that could avert nuclear war. But the ultimate success of any agreement hinges on someone else: China’s President Xi Jinping. As North Korea’s largest trading partner, China’s enforcement of United Nations sanctions helped bring Kim to the negotiating table while also shielding his regime from Trump’s ...

Bloomberg President Nicolas Maduro won another six-year term as millions of Venezuelans boycotted the widely derided election, a victory that hands him sole ownership of the nation’s crushing economic crisis. Ignoring calls from the US and regional leaders to suspend the elections, the socialist regime proceeded with the presidential contest despite the threat of further isolation and sanctions on the ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s formal demand that the Justice Department investigate possible surveillance of his campaign marks a turning point: It’s the first time he’s using the authority of his office to counter the Russia probe since he fired FBI Director James Comey last year. “I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look ...

Bloomberg Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire who owns London’s Chelsea Football Club, is unable to travel to the UK at the moment because of delays renewing his visa, according to people familiar with the situation. Abramovich, who didn’t watch his team win the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium, hasn’t been denied a visa, but renewal is taking longer than usual, ...

Bloomberg Giuseppe Conte, a 53-year old law professor with no political experience, has emerged as the leading candidate for prime minister in an Italian coalition government. All of Italy’s main newspapers reported on Monday that Conte, who teaches law at Florence University, is the frontrunner. Conte himself posted a picture of John F. Kennedy on his WhatsApp profile over the ...

Bloomberg Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded Iran halt all uranium enrichment, stop its ballistic-missile programme and give nuclear inspectors access to the entire country, in a speech detailing the US approach now that President Donald Trump has withdrawn from the 2015 nuclear deal. The demands were among 12 “basic requirements” that the US will seek if Iran wants relief ...

Bloomberg Russia said the US will have to drop its opposition to negotiating directly with the Taliban on the eventual pullout of American troops from Afghanistan or face a grinding and bloody war for years to come. The US refusal to talk with the hard-line extremist movement that controls 40 percent of Afghan territory is “why we are at a ...

Bloomberg Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated that he would not provoke China into a war following reports that the Chinese military landed long-range bombers on an airport in the South China Sea. “You know they have the planes, not stationed in Spratly but near the provinces facing — Chinese provinces facing the Spratly and the China Sea. And with their ...

Bloomberg Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad’s government is considering investigating former leader Najib Razak for abuse of power, as it intensifies efforts to seek evidence of wrongdoing at scandal-plagued state fund 1MDB just days after taking office. Najib has been summoned to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s office to aid in a 1MDB-related probe, Bernama news agency cited an unidentified MACC official ...

Bloomberg Venezuela held an election on Sunday that will be ignored by much of the country, but could set its path for decades to come. President Nicolas Maduro, fighting to keep control of a restive state, called a vote months earlier than it’s traditionally held. In doing so, he defied the international community and risks further punishment for a nation ...