Politics

Bloomberg Italy’s opposition Five Star Movement suffered heavy setbacks in local elections on Sunday, dimming the party’s prospects of leading the national government after parliamentary elections next year. Five Star, led by former comedian Beppe Grillo, failed to make it to the second round of voting in Genoa, Palermo, Parma and Verona, according to projections. Centrist-oriented parties fared better in ...

Bloomberg Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was detained by police outside his apartment in southern Moscow after calling on supporters to mount an unsanctioned protest near the Kremlin, his supporters said. Presidential hopeful Navalny had announced rallies against official corruption on Monday, the Russia Day holiday, and protesters gathered in numerous other cities. In Moscow, Navalny called on supporters to ...

Bloomberg A day after she was forced to promote prominent Brexit hardliners in her bid to cling to power, UK Prime Minister Theresa May is set to face furious lawmakers from her Conservative Party in a showdown that could signal the end of her premiership. May, who chairs a meeting of her new Cabinet on Monday morning, will hear first-hand ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong braced itself for its first typhoon this year, as Tropical Storm Merbok lashed the financial center with rain and wind. The Hong Kong Observatory hoisted Signal No. 8 at 5:20 p.m. local time. and said the warning would remain in force tonight. At 7 p.m., Tropical Storm Merbok was centered about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south-southeast of ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Theresa May’s office backtracked on a statement that a deal was reached with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, adding to a sense of chaos around her government after last week’s disastrous election, and eight days before Brexit talks begin. “The prime minister has tonight spoken with the DUP to discuss finalizing a confidence and supply deal when ...

Bloomberg Russia and the US are ready to help resolve a diplomatic rift in the Middle East over Qatar’s alleged support for militants and ties to Iran, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister, discussed Qatar with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a phone call on Saturday. Both “stressed the need to resolve ...

Bloomberg Philippine troops have enough resources but will need a bit of time to quash Islamic militants entrenched in the southern city of Marawi, the head of the army says. The remaining members of the Maute group, which is allied with the IS, are confined to four villages in the city and their possible exit points have been sealed, Eduardo ...

Bloomberg Italians voted in the first round of municipal elections on Sunday in a test of the country’s political mood after a multi-party deal on a new electoral law unraveled this week, making the prospect of a snap national vote this year unlikely. “It was our duty to try, but the game’s over,” former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told daily ...

Bloomberg Polling stations opened across France on Sunday as voters begin electing a parliament that will determine how much power recently elected President Emmanuel Macron will actually have. If polls are to be believed, it will be a lot. The latest surveys suggest Macron’s Republic on the Move movement, or REM, will win a comfortable majority in the 577-seat National ...

Bloomberg North Korea says it has moved closer to test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile with the potential of hitting the US mainland. “US President Donald Trump has said the world will never see North Korea reach the final stage of developing nuclear weapons that could reach the US, but recent strategic weapon tests have proved the country is ‘not far ...