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  Rome/ AFP With campaigning over, media silence was imposed across Italy on Saturday on the eve of a constitutional referendum seen as crucial to the future of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. In the frantic final round of campaigning which ended on Friday, Renzi’s domestic rivals vowed to knock down referendum proposals to streamline parliament and force the centre-left leader out ...

  New Delhi / AFP Britain’s former premier said on Saturday the election of France’s Marine Le Pen would be a “big body blow” for Europe, saying he hoped for the victory of a mainstream party. David Cameron said the recent rise of “anti-system, populist” and “quite extreme political parties” in western Europe did not mark the end of globalisation, but ...

  Kuala Lumpur/ AFP Relatives of missing MH370 passengers were headed to Madagascar on Saturday, harbouring hopes of finding seaborne debris, 1,001 days since the mysterious disappearance of the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines jet. Four Malaysians and two Chinese nationals left from Kuala Lumpur and will be joined in Madagascar by other MH370 next-of-kin travelling from France. The Boeing 777 jet was ...

  Bangkok / AFP A Pakistani man suspected of starting a devastating factory fire in Karachi four years ago that killed 255 people has been arrested in Bangkok, Thai police said on Saturday. Abdul Rehman, 46, was detained at a hotel in the red light district Nana area of the capital on Friday evening, said Thailand’s Interpol chief. “Thai Interpol ...

  The European Union’s new legislative proposals for a clean energy transition have disappointed environmentalists, policy experts and even building insulation manufacturers. And yet, given U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s lack of interest in sustainable energy, even this plan, cautious as it is, may well ensure Europe’s leadership in this area, especially if the Europeans manage to implement the best element ...

  The US jobs report for November released was met essentially with a yawn by Wall Street, causing relatively little immediate movement in stock prices. This was understandable. The data’s mixed signals suggest a short-term Goldilocks scenario (neither too hot nor too cold) for markets and Federal Reserve policies. The longer-term implications, however, are more complex. Here is a summary ...

  Amid rising Hindu nationalism, the Supreme Court of India has ordered theaters to play the national anthem before films and directed moviegoers to stand at attention — no excuses. The Indian Constitution is a wonder of the world, but this decision undercuts free-speech and individual rights at a moment when the country can ill-afford it. The court, which has ...

  Bloomberg The greatest risks facing European Union banks are high levels of bad loans and lower profitability, the bloc’s financial regulator said in a report. The European Banking Authority said that while EU-wide lenders had strengthened their capital buffers, technology-related risks were increasing amid lingering litigation concerns. Presenting its ninth report on “risks and vulnerabilities in the EU banking ...

  Bloomberg Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc will probably deepen cuts at its investment bank and its Irish business to boost capital after flunking Bank of England stress tests, according to analysts. The Edinburgh-based lender may need to dispose of 44 billion pounds ($56 billion) of risk-weighted assets to improve its capital buffers, analysts at Barclays Plc led by ...

  Reuters Fourteen former and current executives of the Wendel investment company will face trial for tax fraud while US bank JP Morgan Chase is to be pursued for complicity, legal sources said. The former head of Wendel, Jean-Bernard Lafonta, and Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, ex-chief of the main French employer’s association, are among those to be tried, legal sources said. An ...