Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel is poised to back increases in German spending on defense and infrastructure in a budget plan that seeks to address global risks and the refugee crisis that’s her biggest domestic challenge. The blueprint, set for approval by Merkel’s Cabinet, foresees a 2.7 percent increase in spending next year and balanced federal budgets through 2020, according to ...

Paris / AFP French luxury goods group Hermes said on Wednesday that net profit rose to skim the billion-euro mark last year despite an economic slowdown in China, the Paris terror attacks and currency fluctuations. Hermes, known for its leather handbags such as the Birkin named for the British singer and its silk square scarves, posted growth across the regions ...

Brussels / AFP Two suicide bombers who struck Brussels were identified on Wednesday as brothers linked to the prime suspect in the November 13 Paris attacks, as a manhunt for a third assailant in Belgium’s bloodiest terror assault gained pace. A day after the triple blasts that killed some 35 people and left around 250 injured, in an operation claimed ...

Sydney / AFP Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Wednesday that Europe had “allowed security to slip”, as he questioned the EU’s Schengen passport-free zone in the wake of the Brussels attacks. Turnbull’s comments came as Belgium’s neighbours France, Germany and the Netherlands tightened border security after some 35 people were killed in Belgium’s worst extremist assault. Security at ...

Paris / AFP France’s prime minister on Wednesday said there was an “urgent need” to tighten controls on the European Union’s external borders after deadly bombings in Brussels claimed by the IS group. “There is an urgent need to strengthen the external borders of the European Union,” Manuel Valls told French radio. Heightened vigilance was required to stop people crossing ...

Brussels / Bloomberg Brussels Airport will remain closed on Wednesday as terrorism investigators sift through the site seeking evidence in the twin bombing attacks a day ago that killed at least 31 people. “Because the forensic investigation is still under way, we currently have no access to the building,” the airport said in a statement on its website. “It is ...

Moscow / AFP Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday called for Europe to drop its “geopolitical games” and unite behind efforts to fight terrorism, a day after attacks in Brussels killed around 30 people. “I really hope that Europeans, in the face of the terrible threat of terrorism that occurred yesterday in Brussels, will put aside their geopolitical games ...

The value of catastrophic events is that they can help people face up to problems that are otherwise impossible to address. Maybe this will be the case with Tuesday’s horrific attacks in Brussels. Europe is facing a security threat that’s unprecedented in its modern history, at a time when its common currency, border security and intelligence-sharing are all under severe ...

The terrorist attacks in Brussels have once again evoked the international resolve to defeat terrorism, defend freedom and human rights not only in Europe but also around the world. Posing a new challenge, perpetrators vented their anger over the arrest of Salah Abdeslam, the most wanted suspect in November’s attacks in Paris. They seem to send a vengeful message that ...

The reaction of financial markets to the terrorist attacks in Brussels on Tuesday was calm and mature, showing that they have learned the lessons of such tragedies, which have become all too common. Nonetheless, markets will find it increasingly difficult to price the longer- term effects, including unusual political developments that could affect the global economy. The markets’ relatively muted ...