Bloomberg Germany will take on greater military leadership in global conflicts, requiring a sustained increase in defense spending and troop strength, according to plans for the nation’s first overhaul of security policy in a decade. A “renaissance of classic power politics” is increasing “the risk of violent conflict between states, including in Europe and its neighborhood, as the example …

  Kiev, Ukraine / AFP Ukraine and Canada signed a “milestone” free trade agreement on Monday designed to bolster support for the war-scarred former Soviet republic in the face of an increasingly assertive Russia. Canada has a vast Ukrainian diaspora and been a strong supporter of Kiev since its February 2014 pro-EU revolution was followed by Russia’s annexations of Crimea …

  On June 14, 2016, Zimbabwe and Japan signed a major automobile industry trade deal to ship 10,000 Japanese tractors to Harare and train 40 Zimbabweans in Japanese automobile manufacturing techniques. This deal mirrors similar contracts signed by China, Zimbabwe’s principal Asian partner, and reaffirms Japan’s desire to compete with China for economic influence in sub-Saharan Africa. Japan’s investment in …