Bloomberg ­Prime Minister Theresa May’s office slapped down Philip Hammond for saying he hoped Brexit would bring only modest changes, after his comments enraged the euroskeptic lawmakers May needs to stay in her job. The chancellor of the exchequer said he wanted an ambitious Brexit deal that replicates Britain’s current easy trade terms with the EU and moves the economy ...

Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel and her prospective coalition partners stepped up the pace of talks to end Germany’s political impasse, setting a nine-day timeline for a final deal on a government platform. Merkel’s Christian Democratic-led bloc and the Social Democratic Party agreed on Friday to try to wrap up negotiations by February 4. If that goal is met, the SPD ...

VIENNA / Reuters The Syrian opposition will not attend a peace conference Russia is hosting next week, a spokesman said on Saturday, dismissing the meeting as an attempt by the Syrian government’s close ally to “sideline” the current United Nations peace process. He was speaking at the end of two days of UN-brokered talks between the Syrian government and opposition, ...