Politics

Bloomberg US special forces are assisting Philippine troops in their operations against militants in the southern city of Marawi, the US embassy in Manila said in an emailed statement. The assistance helps military commanders in their fight against the militants and was offered at the request of the Philippine government, according to the statement, which didn’t give details of the ...

Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she’s ready to defend the interests of European Union members in Brexit negotiations and doesn’t see any reason for the process to be delayed by the results of the UK’s election. “We will try to defend the interests of our 27 members states, and Great Britain will defend its own interests,” Merkel said in ...

Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government backed the withdrawal of German troops from Turkey, escalating a feud between two NATO allies and major trading partners. Germany will seek talks with the US and other allies in the coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq to make the transition from Incirlik to a base in Jordan as smooth as possible, Defense Minister ...

Bloomberg Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lined up behind Qatar in its feud with Saudi Arabia and regional allies, offering to mediate a resolution of a crisis that has thrown one of the world’s most strategically important regions into turmoil. Categorization of Qatar as a terrorist state won’t help alleviate the problems facing the region which is in need of ...

Bloomberg IS claimed its first attack on Iran, as suicide bombers and gunmen struck at the heart of the country’s political and religious establishment on Wednesday. Assailants entered the parliament building in Tehran and the shrine of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to the south of the city. At least two people were killed in the legislature, Tasnim ...

Bloomberg South Korea’s new president is suspending the installation of remaining components of a controversial US missile shield pending an environmental impact assessment, Yonhap News reported, leaving the system incomplete while North Korea steps up its missile development. “We are not saying the two launchers and other equipment that has already been deployed should be withdrawn,” a senior official at ...

Bloomberg US Attorney General Jeff Sessions had suggested in the past several weeks he might resign amid a widening rift with President Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter. Sessions has come under fire from the president over his recusal from an investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, an inquiry that’s now exploring whether ...

Bloomberg Theresa May said she’d be willing to tear up human-rights legislation to combat terrorism in a move the Labour opposition said was an attempt to distract from her cuts to police, as security dominated the closing stages of the UK election campaign. The prime minister and her Labour Party opponent, Jeremy Corbyn, set out on whistle-stop tours of the ...

Bloomberg Kuwait’s ruler is stepping up his efforts to resolve one of the worst crises among Gulf Arab monarchies, a day after Saudi Arabia and its allies isolated Qatar by cutting off air and sea transport and closing the small nation’s only land border. Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah was to travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to mediate an end ...

Bloomberg US-backed forces in Syria have begun the long-anticipated push to remove IS from their self-declared capital of Raqqa. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and its partners launched their offensive on Tuesday, the US Central Command said in an emailed statement. Raqqa was among the first cities captured by IS, also known as IS, and has been a base for ...