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  Brussels / AFP European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled plans on Wednesday to tighten the code of conduct for former officials after a row over his predecessor Jose Manuel Barroso’s role with Goldman Sachs. The “cooling-off” period during which they must inform Brussels if they take a new job would be extended from 18 months to three years for ...

  Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Germans against turning to economic isolationism, saying she’s “not happy” about the possible collapse of the Trans-Pacific Partnership after US President-elect Donald Trump said he’ll withdraw from the trade accord. Fresh from announcing she’ll seek a fourth term in next year’s German election, Merkel used a speech to parliament in Berlin to acknowledge voters’ ...

  Bloomberg Euro-area economic growth accelerated to its fastest pace this year as growing order books prompted companies to add more workers and raise prices. A Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing and services rose to 54.1 in November from 53.3 a month earlier, IHS Markit said on Wednesday. That’s the strongest level in 11 months and above the 50 mark ...

  AFP The uncertainty caused by Brexit and Donald Trump’s election will help spur talks on a long-stalled free trade accord between the EU and South American trade block Mercosur, Brazil’s foreign minister said Wednesday. “I think the possibilities of the Mercosur negotiations have a direct relationship with international insecurity,” Jose Serra told a news conference in Madrid when asked ...

  Washington / AFP Donald Trump signaled his campaign trail dismissal of the threat of climate change may have been hot air after all, saying he was “open minded” on supporting global accords. The US president-elect emerged from cabinet-building talks in his Trump Tower headquarters and traveled ten minutes across town to The New York Times to give a wide-ranging interview ...

  Beijing / AFP The Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Wednesday he had “no worries” about US President-elect Donald Trump and looked forward to meeting him—a prospect which would anger Beijing. The Nobel laureate called the US “a leading nation of free world” at a press conference on a visit to Mongolia, where he met with Buddhist ...

  Seoul / AFP Japan and South Korea on Wednesday signed an agreement to share defence intelligence about North Korea, despite protests from opposition parties and activists in Seoul and strong criticism from China. South Korea’s defence ministry said the accord was necessary in the face of growing military threats from Pyongyang, which has conducted two nuclear tests and more than ...

  Berlin / AFP German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Wednesday against the power of fake news on social media to spur the rise of populists, after launching her campaign for a fourth term. Speaking in parliament for the first time since her announcement Sunday that she would seek re-election next year, Merkel cautioned that public opinion was being “manipulated” on ...

  Manila / AFP Philippine fishermen on Wednesday criticised President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to ban them from a rich South China Sea fishing ground, part of his efforts to ease tensions over disputed waters controlled by China. Duterte’s aides said he had made a “unilateral” declaration to make the lagoon at Scarborough Shoal a protected marine sanctuary, after raising the issue ...

  Harare / AFP A Zimbabwe court on Wednesday indefinitely postponed the trial of five war veteran leaders charged with insulting longtime President Robert Mugabe, citing bungling by the prosecution. The five were facing charges for authoring a highly-critical statement accusing Mugabe of “dictatorial” behaviour, and were arrested earlier this year in a crackdown on critics of the 92-year-old leader. ...