Politics

Bloomberg South African President Jacob Zuma said the ruling African National Congress is threatened by factionalism and urged senior members vying for top party posts to consider including opponents in the new leadership that will be elected at its national conference. “Factionalism has become the biggest threat to the organization,” Zuma told about 5,000 delegates in his opening speech to ...

Bloomberg Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called out Russia and China at the UN for giving North Korea an economic lifeline, even as the top US diplomat struggled to staunch confusion over the US position on conditions for talks with Kim Jong Un’s regime. Addressing the United Nations Security Council, Tillerson said China and Russia’s refusal to sever ties with ...

WASHINGTON / YANGON / Reuters The United States has identified one person it might impose sanctions on over the brutal crackdown in Myanmar against minority Rohingya Muslims and is examining others, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said. Tillerson, who last month declared the violence against the Rohingya to be “ethnic cleansing,” has said Washington was considering “targeted sanctions” against ...

Bloomberg Vice President Mike Pence will seek to show on a trip to the Mideast next week that the Trump administration can still partner with Arab and Muslim leaders on security matters and broker peace despite the backlash following President Donald Trump’s declaration that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. Pence is expected to receive an enthusiastic welcome from leaders in Israel. ...

Bloomberg Angela Merkel said Germany needs a stable government to strengthen Europe in a world fraught with risk as her Social Democratic rivals agreed to talks that could lead to a renewed alliance with the chancellor. As she seeks to end Germany’s political stalemate and clear the way for her fourth term, Merkel argued that a EU without a strong ...

Bloomberg Opposition lawmakers began an effort to force Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski out of office after he rebuffed calls to resign over his ties to companies that received payments from disgraced Brazilian builder Odebrecht SA. Congressmen from three parties presented a motion to remove the center-right president on the grounds of moral incapacity. The unicameral Congress will hold an ...

Reuters The US Congress will allow a deadline on reimposing sanctions on Iran to pass this week, congressional and White House aides said, leaving a pact between world powers and Tehran intact at least temporarily. In October, US President Donald Trump declined to certify that Iran was complying with the nuclear agreement reached among Tehran, the United States and others ...

Bloomberg Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the US is prepared to negotiate with North Korea without preconditions, but the Trump administration would first want a “quiet period” without nuclear or missile tests for discussions with Kim Jong Un’s regime to begin. “Let’s just meet. We can talk about the weather if you want,” Tillerson said in a speech at ...

WASHINGTON / Reuters The United States is voicing skepticism about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a major withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria and is arguing that his declaration of victory against IS was premature. Putin, during a surprise visit to Russia’s Hmeymim air base in Syria, declared that the work of Russian forces was largely done in backing ...

BEIRUT / Reuters Iran’s southeastern province of Kerman was hit by multiple strong quakes on Tuesday and Wednesday, injuring at least 18 people and damaging some 20 houses, state media reported. The first quake of magnitude 5.9 struck on Tuesday morning 35 miles (56 km) north of Kerman, a city with a population of more than 820,000. The tremor, initially ...