Politics

Bloomberg Spain’s National Court ordered the Catalan police chief to surrender his passport after finding evidence that his force spied on its rivals in Madrid. A judge in the Spanish capital told Josep Lluis Trapero to report back to the court every two weeks, citing evidence that the Catalan police force, known as the Mossos d’Esquadra, may have conducted counter-intelligence ...

Bloomberg Asia’s two biggest economies both have their most powerful leaders in decades — and neither one has much incentive to mend a relationship that has long been volatile. Polls show Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling party is heading for a landslide win in an October 22 election, putting him on track to become the longest-serving leader in the ...

Bloomberg As Buenos Aires goes to the polls for midterm elections, Maria Eugenia Vidal is everywhere — except on the ballot. Vidal is the province’s governor, a key ally of President Mauricio Macri, and the public face of a Senate campaign that’s turning into a referendum on his economic plans. It’s her picture that’s plastered across billboards in the industrial ...

BAGHDAD / Reuters Iraq’s central government forces launched an advance early on Monday into territory held by Kurds, seizing a swathe of countryside surrounding the oil city of Kirkuk in bold military response to a Kurdish vote last month on independence. The government said its troops had seized Kirkuk airport and had taken control of Northern Iraq’s oil company from ...

LUXEMBOURG / Reuters The European Union vowed on Monday to defend a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and urged US lawmakers not to reimpose sanctions after President Donald Trump chose not to certify Tehran’s compliance with the accord. Germany and France led a chorus of warnings to the United States, normally the EU’s closest foreign policy ally, ...

Bloomberg Catalan President Carles Puigdemont defended his region’s claim to independence as the Spanish government signaled it will move ahead with the process of suspending self-rule this week. In a letter to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Puigdemont said his focus for the next two months will be dialogue and called for a face-to-face meeting as soon as possible, insisting ...

Bloomberg Venezuela’s autocratic regime claimed wins in 17 of the 23 states holding governor elections on Sunday, results that defied polls predicting widespread gains by the opposition. The government kept polling stations open hours past the scheduled 6 p.m. closing. Election officials emerged about 10:15 p.m. to announce the results. Votes were still being counted in one state. “This only ...

Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads into potentially laborious talks this week to form a national government weakened after her Christian Democratic Union suffered a defeat in Volkswagen AG’s home state. Three weeks after Merkel’s CDU won the federal ballot, her party posted its worst election result in Lower Saxony since 1959 and lost in the state to the Social ...

Bloomberg South Korean military officials are readying for another possible missile launch by Pyongyang as they prepare for a joint military drill with the US on the disputed peninsula this week. Multiple South Korean media reports citing unidentified military officials on Saturday and Sunday said North Korean missile vehicles “kept appearing and disappearing” from the map and “transporter erector launchers” ...

Bloomberg Lawmakers in the UK House of Commons are holding cross-party talks in a bid to stop Prime Minister Theresa May from leaving the European Union without a trade deal, the main opposition Labour Party’s finance spokesman said. “It’s not going to happen,” John McDonnell told BBC Television’s “Andrew Marr Show” on Sunday. “I don’t think there’s a majority in ...