April, 2019

• 7 April

  Libya lurches to battle for capital as Sarraj vows to fight

  

  Bloomberg Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar’s forces advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli, setting up a potential endgame for the capital as the country’s UN-backed government vowed stiff resistance. Under attack from fighter jets, Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) fought its way towards the country’s most populous city, where battle-hardened militias that oppose him have mobilised. Appeals for calm by ...

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• 7 April

  Venezuelans protest blackouts, water crisis

  

  Bloomberg Venezuelans poured into the streets, demonstrating against a near-total breakdown in public services and rallying behind National Assembly leader Juan Guaido, who is leading a drive to end two decades of socialist rule. The protests come after a month of rolling blackouts that have paralysed daily life and dried the water taps in huge swaths of this oil-rich nation. ...

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• 7 April

  Indonesia’s presidential race heats up amid rallies

  Bloomberg Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto called for change in a rally on Sunday, talking down the government’s economic performance as competition heats up ahead of an election next week. Indonesia goes to the polls on April 17 in a contest that pits the incumbent Joko Widodo against the contender with the economy being the focal point in the race. ...

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• 7 April

  May makes another appeal to find way to Brexit blueprint

  

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Theresa May defended her decision to ask archrival Jeremy Corbyn to help draft a new blueprint for Brexit, and warned the UK might never leave the EU if he doesn’t back a compromise plan. “The longer this takes, the greater the risk of the UK never leaving at all,” May said in a statement. “It would mean ...

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• 7 April

  Thailand anti-junta coalition suffers huge setback from ‘seat allocations’

  

  Bloomberg The prospect of many small parties gaining parliamentary seats in Thailand has dented the claim by an anti-junta coalition that it has a majority following March’s general election. An Election Commission statement said more than 25 parties will receive lower house seats based on the proportional representation system in the military-backed constitution, implying many small parties will enter the ...

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• 7 April

  Nigeria deploys troops to bandit-affected regions

  

  Bloomberg Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari ordered security personnel to parts of the country prone to attacks by bandits. “I have ordered rapid and robust deployment of troops to all the areas currently under attack from bandits,” Buhari said in a statement. “We are determined to tackle this challenge ferociously until these remorseless killers are crushed and utterly defeated.” The attacks ...

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• 7 April

  US waterways policy is sheer crony capitalism

  

  The president has received from one of his employees, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, a report that probably tells Ross’ employer what he wants to hear: that imports of cars — “The Audis are coming! The Audis are coming!” — threaten “national security.” This report is required by our lackadaisical Congress so it can pretend to be involved in setting trade ...

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• 7 April

  Tesla suddenly makes sense ‘sort of’

  

  Here’s a phrase you haven’t heard much about Tesla Inc. lately: It all makes sense now. By “it,” I mean these events since January 1: Tesla announced it sold about 91,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2018, more than double the level of the second quarter. That included more than 63,000 Model 3s. The company said capital expenditure in ...

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• 7 April

  A stronger China won’t lift emerging markets

  Emerging markets are missing out on the trade of the decade. Green shoots are everywhere. China’s factory activity is finally stabilising, and the Federal Reserve may even cut interest rates this year. Both should be great news for stocks around the world. But nervous investors are busy selling instead, redeeming $2.6 billion of their holdings in emerging-markets ETFs over the ...

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• 7 April

  On Nato, Trump’s words should match US actions

  Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was a courteous guest during a joint session of Congress, playing down current frictions within the alliance and praising President Donald Trump’s effort to get Europe to pay more for its own defense. This was more than just astute diplomacy: It was recognition that, despite the impression given by Trump’s many disparaging remarks about Nato, ...

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