Bloomberg Jared Kushner confirmed four contacts with Russians during his father-in-law’s presidential campaign or after the election, he said, but he described the encounters as unmemorable and denied colluding with the Russian government to help Donald Trump win. In the most consequential meeting, Kushner said he agreed to meet with a Russian banker, Sergey Gorkov, on Dec. 13 at the ...
Read More »US dispatches envoy to ease Mideast frictions
Bloomberg White House envoy Jason Greenblatt flew back to a more volatile Middle East on Monday as deadly violence that began over a Jerusalem shrine spilled over into the Israeli Embassy in Jordan, leading to a diplomatic standoff between two key American allies. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet was set to convene for the second time in 24 ...
Read More »Afghan capital Kabul hit by worst bombing in 2 months
Bloomberg A suicide car bomb killed at least 24 people and wounded more than 40 others in Kabul on Monday, the worst attack on the Afghan capital since a blast killed over 100 people almost two months ago. The attack hit a minibus carrying government workers in the Western neighborhood of Dehbori, according to a statement from the office of ...
Read More »Polish president vetoes judiciary laws amid EU and public outcry
Bloomberg Poland’s president vetoed part of a judicial overhaul that’s triggered one of the country’s deepest political crises since the fall of communism and touched off debate in the European Union over how to confront members that flaunt democratic values. Dealing a blow to the ruling party that backed his presidency, Andrzej Duda struck down bills that would have replaced ...
Read More »Abe denies cronyism allegations as support falls
Bloomberg Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sought to stem a slide in his popularity in a special parliamentary hearing on Monday, reiterating his denials of cronyism, apologizing for disparaging remarks about opponents and vowing to focus on the economy. Approval for Abe’s cabinet slumped again in three media polls conducted over the weekend. His support was at 26 percent, the ...
Read More »China probes former rising star in party for violations
Bloomberg China’s official Xinhua News Agency confirmed on Monday that Sun Zhengcai, the former Communist Party chief of Chongqing city, is under investigation for serious disciplinary violations. The brief announcement followed news reports a little over a week ago that Sun, 53, was being probed. As the youngest member of the party’s 25-member Politburo, Sun was considered a rising star ...
Read More »Ryanair shares tumble after warning fares will fall in 2017
Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc predicted that ticket prices will decline through the rest of the year as Europe’s biggest discount carrier competes to lure more customers amid excess capacity. The shares fell the most in four months. The Dublin-based airline said fares will slide 8 percent in the six months through March, accelerating from a 5 percent drop in the ...
Read More »Air France plans lower-cost airline to attract millennials
Bloomberg Air France-KLM Group will start flights this autumn of its Joon reduced-fare brand that will target millennial customers as Europe’s biggest carrier seeks to fend off growing competition from discounters such as Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA. Joon, previously code-named Boost, will initially offer medium-haul services from the airline’s Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport base and begin long-haul routes in mid-2018, ...
Read More »South Africa mulls sale of state assets to fund airline
Bloomberg South Africa is evaluating assets it could sell to pay for this month’s 2.2 billion rand ($169.5 million) bailout of unprofitable carrier South African Airways, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said in letter to parliament. The government’s decision to settle a debt owed by the airline to Standard Chartered Plc mustn’t affect the balance of this year’s budget, Gigaba said ...
Read More »UK makes registration of drones mandatory
Bloomberg Drones will have to be registered and their users required to pass safety tests under new rules to be announced by the UK’s Department for Transport. Registration will be mandated for owners of drones 250 grams (8.8 ounces) or larger after research found that drones as small as 400 grams (14 ounces) could damage the windscreens of helicopters. Other ...
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