Bloomberg The US has told Russia it is ready to take strong military action against Syria if President Bashar al-Assad uses chemical weapons to recapture one of his country’s last rebel-held areas, according to four people familiar with the discussions. US officials say they have information Assad may be planning a chemical attack in the northwestern province of Idlib. At ...

Bloomberg Zimbabwe’s top court dismissed the main opposition’s bid to overturn the results of last month’s disputed presidential election. The ruling confirms the victory of incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a 75-year-old former spy chief who has wooed international investors as part of his pledge to rebuild an economy devastated by decades of former President Robert Mugabe’s autocratic rule. A nine-member ...

Bloomberg The Democratic Republic of Congo disqualified one of the country’s most popular opposition politicians from running for president. The decision removes a second key opponent from the race against President Joseph Kabila’s anointed successor and raises the risk of angry protests by opposition supporters. It casts doubt on the credibility of the December 23 election in the cobalt-rich nation, ...