Politics

Bloomberg South Korea detected that North Korea is continuing to prepare for a possible intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch, a move that would further raise tensions a day after it conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear detonation. Chang Kyung-soo, acting chief of the defense ministry’s policy planning office, told lawmakers on Monday that North Korea was making preparations for ...

Bloomberg The United Nations asked the International Criminal Court to investigate whether human-rights violations committed in Burundi constitute crimes against humanity. A probe by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi found that the authorities in the East African nation committed crimes including extrajudicial executions, torture and enforced disappearances over the past two years, according to a report published on ...

Bloomberg Kenya’s economy may pay the price of opposition leader Raila Odinga’s successful bid to nullify the outcome of last month’s election, as prolonged political uncertainty pending a court-ordered rerun weighs on growth and investor confidence. “There was a lot of exuberance that the elections were over,” Kenneth Minjire, head of securities at Genghis Capital in Nairobi, said by phone. ...

Bloomberg Angela Merkel’s election opponent, Martin Schulz, failed to score a decisive breakthrough in their only televised debate as the chancellor stood firm on her record, insisting that controversial decisions on keeping the country’s borders open for refugees and striking a deal with Turkey were right. Trailing badly in the race to determine Germany’s next leader, Schulz repeatedly failed to ...

Bloomberg The resignation of Taiwan’s premier sets the stage for a broader reshuffle and provides President Tsai Ing-wen a chance to raise her poll numbers ahead of local elections next year. Premier Lin Chuan, who had been seen as Tsai’s chief economic policy architect, said on Monday he told the president on Sunday he would resign after passing key pieces ...

Bloomberg The UK’s decision to leave the European Union was “stupid” and only the will of the British people can stop it, Martin Selmayr, the chief of staff to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, said. “Brexit is bad, and it’s a stupid decision,” Selmayr said at a conference in Brussels on Monday. “The only people who can reverse it would ...

Bloomberg The race to lead South Africa’s ruling party is turning increasingly nasty. Allegations that Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, a front-runner for the post, had extra-marital affairs with at least eight women and paid expenses for some of them were splashed across the front page of the Sunday Independent, which cited Ramaphosa’s private emails to back up the story. It ...

Bloomberg North Korea said it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb with “unprecedentedly big power” on Sunday that can be loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile, in its first nuclear test under US President Donald Trump’s watch. The test, ordered by Kim Jong Un, was a “perfect success” and confirmed the precision and technology of the bomb, according to the Korean ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump said he would discuss the future of the US-South Korea free-trade agreement with his advisers following a newspaper report that he’s considering terminating the pact. “I am,” Trump said in response to a question about whether he’s discussing the issue with advisers. “It’s very much on my mind,” the president said during a visit to Houston ...

Bloomberg India got a full-time defense minister after Prime Minister Narendra Modi shuffled his cabinet on Sunday, a move that may speed up acquisitions as the government spends $250 billion on everything from warplanes to submarines. Nirmala Sitharaman will be the nation’s second female defense minister, taking over the responsibility from Arun Jaitley, who had been handling the portfolio in ...