Bloomberg North Korea says it’s monitoring “rumours†the FBI was involved in a recent raid on its embassy in Spain. In Pyongyang’s first public statement on the incident, an unidentified foreign ministry spokesperson said North Korea is tracking rumours that the FBI and an anti-North Korea group were involved in the “grave terrorist attack†on its embassy in Madrid on ...
Read More »South Korea’s cabinet nominees drop out in blow to Moon Jae-in
Bloomberg South Korean President Moon Jae-in retracted his nomination for science minister, following a series of high-level resignations that are complicating a cabinet reshuffle and distracting from his efforts to revive nuclear negotiations with North Korea. Moon’s decision to withdraw the appointment of Cho Dong Ho to oversee science and communications policies was based on “a comprehensive review,†Moon’s spokesman ...
Read More »Venezuelans protest chronic power cuts
Bloomberg The man seeking to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on residents of poorer areas south of the capital to protest his rule, as three blackouts in less than a month have virtually shut down the country. Many schools and businesses have been closed for five days. “We will continue to hit the streets,†Juan Guaido, head of the ...
Read More »UN chief sees path to Libya unity deal
Bloomberg United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar and his competitors in the Tripoli government are closer to finding a power-sharing agreement that would break the political deadlock in the divided North African country. Haftar and the UN-backed prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj have been negotiating a united caretaker government ahead of possible elections. But the talks ...
Read More »Democrats make play for US president’s rural base
Bloomberg Elizabeth Warren issued a call to arms while Amy Klobuchar made an appeal to unity as Democratic presidential candidates offered different messages they hope will chip away at President Donald Trump’s support across the Farm Belt. Warren, who’s called for breaking up tech behemoths and large agricultural corporations, cast her campaign as “about standing our ground and fighting back†...
Read More »Has the next economic bubble really arrived?
There are still some economists who fear another crash. The latest is Eugene Steuerle of the Urban Institute, a liberal think tank in Washington. In a new article, he warns that the economy may be on the edge of a giant “wealth bubble” that will collapse with possibly-dire consequences. Steuerle is especially worried by parallels between Americans’ present wealth — ...
Read More »ECB’s power struggle will end in tiers
With Mario Draghi halfway out of the door, the battle is on for the future direction of European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy. The nature of the contest is arcane, to say the least. For a while now, the Banque de France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau has been pushing the idea of “tiering†deposit rates to ease the pain ...
Read More »Holiday giant pays a price for grounded 737 Max
The European travel operator Tui AG was so proud of its fleet of 15 shiny new Boeing 737 Max jets that it’s been naming them after popular holiday destinations: Costa del Sol, Rhodes and Tenerife Alegria are among those christened since deliveries started last year. Tui was expecting to take delivery of another eight 737 Max aircraft by the end ...
Read More »Ditching May won’t help to mend her Brexit plan
Surely never in the history of British politics has so much effort been expended to so little effect. Another week of frantic Brexit drama yielded no change in the choices facing the UK, and brought the country no closer to deciding. It’s still either leave the European Union with no deal, accept the withdrawal agreement Prime Minister Theresa May has ...
Read More »What is coming after a chaotic week in Brexit?
March 29 was meant to be the day that Britain officially left the European Union (EU). It was instead the day lawmakers rejected Theresa May’s exit deal for a third time, plunging the country deeper into crisis. It marked the ninth consecutive “no†vote this week, after MPs rejected eight ways forward. In the end, May summed it up best: ...
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