Bloomberg Politics

Veteran South African opposition politician Helen Zille is the front-runner to become Johannesburg’s next mayor, a new poll showed, but she’ll likely fall short of securing an outright majority in municipal elections to be held on Nov. 4.

Russia said it would intensify attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure following a vow from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to double down on strikes against oil refineries, a day after Moscow’s foreign ministry warned that diplomats and foreign officials in Kyiv were in “mortal danger.”

UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is using her party’s annual convention to call for the end of inheritance tax and an expansion of childcare support to higher earners.

Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs’ party won a record number of seats in Latvia’s parliamentary elections, an outcome that should help him consolidate power at a time of growing security threats from Russia.

The UK government said it will scrap earlier plans for some criminal trials to be heard by a judge alone, watering down proposed legislation that had sparked strong opposition from legal professionals and some Labour backbenchers.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a package of weaponry for Ukraine as well as aid for the country’s energy sector worth about €1.35 billion ($1.5 billion) during a visit to Kyiv Sunday that coincided with Russia’s latest attack on the capital.

President Donald Trump cited major corporate investment plans in Ohio during a rally in the state, part of his effort to boost Republican candidates in key races ahead of the midterm elections in November.

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the US war with Iran has been an economic disaster, blaming the conflict for higher inflation and borrowing costs worldwide and warning it’s also damping global growth.

Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff said he was “deeply disturbed” by a student’s 2024 rape allegation that has drawn national outrage.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the launch of an intermediate-range strategic missile using a hypersonic weapons system, state media said, underscoring his intent to further strengthen the country’s nuclear deterrent.

Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs’s party was on course to win the largest share of votes in an election on Saturday amid growing security threats from Russia, putting him in a strong position ahead of coalition talks to form the next government.

A Venezuelan national wanted by the FBI has been sent to the US to face trial, the latest sign of deepening law-enforcement cooperation between Caracas and the Trump administration.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Madrid on Saturday, joining nationwide protests over housing costs that could increase pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call a snap election.

Bloomberg Economics economic statecraft lead Chris Kennedy tells Bloomberg This Weekend that the G7’s coordinated release of up to 100 million barrels of oil and fuel could provide near-term relief from record diesel prices, but will not resolve supply constraints tied to the Iran war and attacks on Russian refining capacity. Speaking with hosts David Gura and Christina Ruffini, Kennedy says a US diesel export ban could create unintended consequences for domestic and global fuel markets, while high diesel costs are adding economic pressure in states with competitive midterm races (Source: Bloomberg)

Bloomberg senior White House reporter Josh Wingrove tells Bloomberg This Weekend that President Donald Trump’s campaign stops in traditionally Republican states such as Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas reflect competitive races and an effort to bolster GOP support as economic concerns weigh on the party. Speaking with hosts David Gura and Christina Ruffini, Wingrove also discusses Trump’s appearance with Dennis Rodman amid interest in renewed diplomacy with North Korea and an upcoming Alberta vote that could begin a process toward separation from Canada. (Source: Bloomberg)

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is facing pressure to speed up his efforts to tackle the UK’s troubled water industry, as the Green Party called for Thames Water to be brought under public ownership immediately.

Russian forces hit a major bridge in Kyiv that connects the left and right banks of the Dnipro River, as well as a logistics center near the capital overnight, in the latest series of drone attacks on Ukraine’s civil infrastructure.

Kyiv’s latest battlefield success has frustrated Vladimir Putin’s hopes of quickly seizing all of Ukraine’s Donetsk Region, a goal for the Russian president since he launched the full-scale invasion nearly five years ago.