Bloomberg Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski rejected calls from opposition lawmakers for his resignation and said allegations he lied to Congress are groundless. Kuczynski said his decision to pardon former President Alberto Fujimori is the real reason why leftist lawmakers are seeking a new motion to impeach him. “I won’t resign,†he told business leaders at an event in Lima. ...
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Iran’s sanctions evasion went East after Europe action
Bloomberg The US effort to put Iran in a financial vice was working. European banks were paying big fines and closing off its money flows, and severe sanctions on the country’s banking and energy sectors were forcing it to the table on a nuclear deal. But as US enforcement officials would soon discover, Iran had found a new channel for ...
Read More »Trump criticises everyone but Russia for election meddling
Bloomberg President Donald Trump spent much of his weekend hammering the FBI, Democrats, Robert Mue-ller’s investigation and his own national security adviser over Russia’s efforts to sway the 2016 election that he won. Excepted from the criticism — Russia. Trump’s 14 Twitter messages about the Russia investigation within 24 hours focussed on defending the validity of his victory and insisting ...
Read More »Mexico runner-up in polls says ‘won’t be Trump’s doormat’
Bloomberg The candidate polling second in Mexico’s presidential campaign says he wouldn’t allow US President Donald Trump to treat his country like a “doormat,†in another sign that relations with the country’s northern neighbour will weigh in the election. Speaking at a campaign event in Mexico City, Ricardo Anaya said he wouldn’t pay for the border wall Trump wants and ...
Read More »After a year of Trump, crisis lull masks risk of conflict
Bloomberg After a year of US President Donald Trump, the trans-Atlantic security establishment seems unsure whether to be relieved that a major war hasn’t begun on his watch or alarmed at the scale of emerging risks. Speeches and panel discussions at the Munich Security Conference in Germany over the weekend portrayed a world on the cusp of three potential conflagrations: ...
Read More »Moscow warns US not to ‘play with fire’ in Syria
Bloomberg Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the Trump administration not to “play with fire†as he lashed out at the US over what he described as its “provocative†support for autonomy-seeking Kurds in Syria. “The US should stop playing very dangerous games which could lead to the dismemberment of the Syrian state,†Lavrov said at a Middle East conference ...
Read More »Merkel names loyalist to key post in signal on succession
Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided to appoint a party loyalist who has been floated as a potential successor to the post of general secretary of her Christian Democratic Union. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the CDU premier of the western state of Saarland, will succeed Peter Tauber, according to a party official familiar with the decision, who spoke on condition of ...
Read More »Czech social democrats mull cabinet talks
Bloomberg The opposition Czech Social Democratic Party picked parliamentary Deputy Speaker Jan Hamacek as its new chairman, opening the way for government talks with billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis whose ANO party is struggling to find ruling partners. Hamacek, 39, beat Jiri Zimola for the post, with both saying they were ready to negotiate with ANO about potential cooperation. While ...
Read More »Signs of thaw in S Africa mine fight as Ramaphosa starts
Bloomberg South African mining companies agreed to postpone a legal challenge to the government’s controversial new rules for the industry after President Cyril Ramaphosa said he’s committed to finding a solution to the dispute. The presidency held talks with the Chamber of Mines lobby group following Ramaphosa’s state-of-the-nation speech, both sides said in statements. The postponement “serves to allow parties ...
Read More »US, Russia tension flares over N-arms control now at risk
Bloomberg As tensions escalate between Russia and the US, the nuclear-armed former Cold War rivals are risking the future of decades-old arms control agreements that have helped to keep a strategic balance and prevent the risk of accidental war. The conflict played out at a global security conference in Germany where Russia aired grievances about the US and the Trump ...
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