Politics

Bloomberg Donald Trump told reporters he’s “the least racist person” as fallout continues from a vulgar remark about immigrants from Africa and Haiti attributed to the president following a meeting with lawmakers last week. “I am not a racist,” Trump said in response to a shouted question from reporters as he entered his Palm Beach golf club. “I am the ...

Bloomberg Czechs will decide in a runoff presidential election whether pro-Russian incumbent Milos Zeman keeps his post for five more years or is ousted by a pro-European Union professor who’s won endorsements from candidates who tumbled out in the first round. Zeman, a veteran politician who supports Russian leader Vladimir Putin and was one of early backers of US President ...

Bloomberg South Africa’s ruling-party leader, Cyril Ramaphosa, said that while Jacob Zuma’s government must obey the decisions of the African National Congress, he doesn’t want to “humiliate” the president and divide the nation. Ramaphosa, speaking in a television interview broadcast by Johannesburg-based eNCA, said the ANC has to be careful about deciding on Zuma’s future as the nation’s leader before ...

Bloomberg Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg strengthened her power base as the Liberal Party agreed to join her minority coalition. The new government will be built on a “broader center-right platform,” Solberg said at a televised press conference in Moss, south of Oslo. “We are seeing more polarized landscape in many countries with parties refusing to take responsibility,” she said. ...

Bloomberg Tunisia’s main opposition parties derided a government pledge to increase aid for low-income families, urging Tunisians to step up protests over IMF-backed austerity measures as the country marks the seventh anniversary of the revolt that inspired the Arab Spring uprisings. “Government actions are just painkillers and cannot deal with the situation,” Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, head of the opposition Democratic ...

Reuters An Iranian oil tanker has sunk after burning for more than a week following a collision on Jan. 6 in the East China Sea, Chinese state media said on Sunday, adding that large amounts of oil are burning in the surrounding waters. Iranian officials said the remaining 29 crew members and passengers of the tanker were presumed dead. Iranian ...

ANKARA / Reuters Iran’s president said on Sunday the United States had failed to undermine a nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers, and hailed the accord as a “long-lasting victory” for Iran, state television reported. US President Donald Trump delivered an ultimatum to European signatories of the deal to fix the “terrible flaws” of the agreement with Iran, or ...

BAGHDAD / Reuters Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced on Sunday his candidacy for the May 12 parliamentary elections to choose a prime minister. Abadi, a Shi’ite Muslim who led the country in the four-year war against IS, said he will seek to form a cross-sectarian block called ‘’the victory alliance’’ to contest the parliamentary elections, with candidates from other ...

Bloomberg Czech President Milos Zeman is heading into a runoff against a pro-European challenger in a ballot that’s become a public reckoning of a veteran politician who’s thrown his support behind Russian lea-der Vladimir Putin and mobilised voters with anti-migrant rhetoric. Zeman, 73, had 39 percent with nearly all districts counted after the first round of voting. The former prime ...

Bloomberg An alert mistakenly warning Hawaiians of an imminent ballistic missile attack — at a time the state’s residents are already anxious about nuclear tensions between the US and North Korea — resulted from human error, Hawaii’s governor said. The emergency notice was triggered after an “employee pushed the wrong button” during a shift change at the Hawaii Emergency Management ...