Politics

Bloomberg The US has told the United Nations agency that aids Palestinians that it will contribute only about half of a $125 million payment to the body, while demanding a “fundamental reexamination” of the social-service agency’s mission and funding before deciding whether to pay the rest. “It is time other countries, some of them quite wealthy, step in and do ...

LONDON­­­­ / Reuters US President Donald Trump and European Union leaders should increase pressure on President Bashar al-Assad and his allies Russia and Iran to return to talks to end Syria’s civil war, Syria’s chief opposition negotiator said. Nasr Hariri said that unless the West forced Assad and his big power allies to seek peace then Syrian civilians would continue ...

Bloomberg Germany’s deeply divided Social Democrats are starting to face up to political reality. Confronted with a crucial vote this weekend on whether to enter formal coalition talks with Angela Merkel’s bloc or cast themselves into the wilderness to rebuild the party, many SPD members are coming to the conclusion that a return to government carries the lesser risk. Senior ...

Bloomberg Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is meeting political parties as the Black Sea nation looks to appoint its third prime minister in a year following this week’s shock unraveling of the government. The Social Democrats, who won a landslide election victory in late 2016, proposed European Parliament lawmaker Viorica Dancila to replace Mihai Tudose as premier. The ruling party is ...

Bloomberg The threat of large-scale cyberattacks and a “deteriorating geopolitical landscape” since the election of US President Donald Trump have jumped to the top of the global elite’s list of concerns, the World Economic Forum said ahead of its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The growing cyber-dependency of governments and companies, and the associated risks of hacking by criminals or ...

Bloomberg The Catalan crisis is proving to be a millstone around the neck of the Spanish prime minister. Mariano Rajoy saw his People’s Party routed in elections in the rebel region last month and it has plumbed historic lows in opinion polls as the premier’s hesitant efforts to keep the push for independence in check disappoint voters across the rest ...

Bloomberg Russia’s government is discussing a proposal to turn on the fiscal taps in what would be the biggest domestic spending spree since President Vladimir Putin last ran for re-election in 2012. Kremlin economic aide Andrey Belousov said expenditures on health, education and infrastructure could be raised by 1.5-2 percent of gross domestic product, the official Tass news agency reported ...

Bloomberg Palestinian leaders called on President Mahmoud Abbas to withdraw recognition of Israel and break off security cooperation, in a move that follows the Trump dministration naming Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. The Palestine Liberation Organization’s Central Council declared it should no longer be bound by the 1993 Oslo peace accords and that its leaders will never recognise Israel as ...

Bloomberg Already grappling with extremist militants in the northeast, secessionists in the east and unrest in the oil-rich Niger River delta, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is facing an upsurge in violence between crop farmers and herders that may threaten his party’s election chances next year. Images of bodies hacked with machetes and perforated by bullets shared on social media are ...

BAGHDAD­­­­ / Reuters Iraq’s central government said “an atmosphere of trust” marked talks with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to resolve a conflict that triggered armed clashes in October. Envoys of the two sides met in the Kurdish regional capital Erbil in northern Iraq and discussed issues including security, control over the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) land borders, airports, the oil ...