Bloomberg Police used tear gas and water cannons to control thousands of protesters on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, some of whom were setting fires, as a week-long series of demonstrations against higher gasoline taxes converged on the French capital. Among the protesters were members of far-right political movements who confronted riot police, according to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner. Police used ...

Bloomberg Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) tapped Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat as the de facto successor to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, kicking off the city-state’s third leadership transition in its 53-year history. Heng, 57, was named the PAP’s first assistant secretary-general — widely seen as second in command to Lee — at a meeting of the party’s ...

Bloomberg Two of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s most popular opposition politicians joined forces to compete in next month’s presidential election. Felix Tshisekedi, the head of Congo’s biggest opposition party, will run for president backed by Vital Kamerhe, who came third in the last election in 2011, Kamerhe said in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where the two leaders signed a ...