Bloomberg Barnaby Joyce will return to parliament as Australia’s deputy prime minister after winning a special election, five weeks after he was forced to step down for being a dual national in breach of the constitution. Joyce, 50, claimed victory in the rural seat of New England, winning 63 percent of the vote to 11 percent for his nearest rival ...
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Hillary Clinton hits out at Trump, Xi at Beijing event
Bloomberg Hillary Clinton hit out at both US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in remarks via video to a conference in Beijing. Clinton, a former secretary of state, said the Trump administration had retreated from diplomacy. She called on both the US and China to avoid “bluster†or “personal taunts†in dealing with North Korea, and said ...
Read More »Mexico’s Meade quits, paving way for candidacy
Bloomberg Mexico Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade resigned, stoking speculation that he will become the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party’s candidate for president in 2018 elections. Meade’s resignation was announced during a speech by President Enrique Pena Nieto at the Los Pinos residence in Mexico City. The president also said Pemex CEO, Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, will leave his post to ...
Read More »Syrian delegation to arrive in Geneva for peace talks today
BEIRUT / GENEVA / Reuters A Syrian government delegation will arrive in Geneva on Wednesday, a day later than expected, to attend peace talks being held there this week, Syrian state news agency SANA said. The delegation had delayed its plan- ned departure for the talks, which began on Tuesday, because of the opposition’s insistence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ...
Read More »Suicide attack kills 17 in Baghdad
BAGHDAD / Reuters Two attackers shot several civilians in the Nahrawan area southeast of Baghdad before one blew himself up and the other was killed by security forces, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said, without providing official casualty figures. Local media reported at least 17 people were killed and 28 wounded. IS claimed responsibility for the att- ack, described by an ...
Read More »â€˜N Korea may be gearing up for a missile launch’
Bloomberg Japan received radio signals suggesting that North Korea may be preparing for a missile launch test, Kyodo News reported, citing multiple government officials. Japan didn’t specify the type of possible missile, according to the news service. Any radio signals could be from winter training by North Korea’s military, Kyodo said. Separately, Yonhap reported that the US continues to watch ...
Read More »Irish crisis deepens amid fresh email row
Bloomberg The controversy engulfing the Irish government and threatening Brexit talks escalated, as the release of a cache of emails threatened to further undermine the nation’s deputy leader and bring an election closer. Deputy Prime Minister Frances Fitzgerald faces a no-confidence vote in Dublin over her handling of a whistle blower controversy that could pull down the minority government. In ...
Read More »â€˜UK has done enough for Brexit negotiations to move forward’
Bloomberg UK Trade Secretary Liam Fox called on the European Union to allow Brexit negotiations to move on to future trade links, saying his government has done enough to satisfy the bloc’s demands for money. Fox said that while the UK wants a deal with the EU, it’s “not afraid†of talks breaking down and could trade with the 27 ...
Read More »Germany’s standoff eases as wrangling shifts to coalition
Bloomberg Germany’s political stalemate showed signs of easing as the Social Democrats started haggling over terms of a renewed coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc rather than outright blocking an alliance between Germany’s two biggest parties. The possibility of the SPD again joining a Merkel-led government in a “Grand Coalition†has unfolded quickly, with the party opening the door ...
Read More »Russia: North Korea taking step towards denuclearisation
Bloomberg Russia’s deputy foreign minister said North Korea’s current pause in provocations — the longest since last winter — indicates a step toward denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. “I think North Korea’s restraint for the past two months is within the simultaneous freeze road map†suggested by China and Russia, Igor Morgulov told reporters in Seoul on Monday. Russian and ...
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