Bloomberg Russia’s buildup near the Ukrainian border is likely to secure the Kremlin a stronger negotiating position as the possibility remains that tensions are resolved peacefully, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said. “I still believe in the peaceful solution of this conflict,” Nauseda said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Brussels. “Yes, there are a lot of rumors — we ...

  Bloomberg One potent force is emerging from the torpid dispute over Northern Ireland between the UK and European Union, and the potential consequences could redraw the map more dramatically than Brexit. Sinn Fein, whose ultimate goal is a united Ireland and the end of British rule, is leading the polls ahead of critical elections to Belfast’s power-sharing assembly on ...

  Bloomberg Spain’s main opposition party descended into chaos as senior officials were accused of mounting an espionage operation against a rising star who poses a threat to the party leader. The fight broke out after local newspapers reported that the People’s Party had hired private detectives to dig up information on the brother of Madrid’s regional president, Isabel Diaz ...

  Bloomberg The first wild polio virus case in 30 years has been confirmed in Malawi, sparking concern that the disease that causes paralysis could spread from the only two countries where it is endemic, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Malawian case in the capital, Lilongwe, has been tied to a strain of the virus found in an outbreak in Pakistan’s ...

  Bloomberg Boris Johnson said the UK proposes to stop Russian firms from raising capital in London’s financial markets, part of measures targeting Vladimir Putin’s administration if it decides to invade Ukraine. The move is part of a “very tough package of sanctions” that’s “ready to go,” the British prime minister said in a pooled TV interview in London. Johnson ...

  Bloomberg Biden administration officials told lawmakers that they plan to seek $30 billion in new spending to combat the Covid-19 pandemic in conjunction with a $1.5 trillion government funding package lawmakers want to complete by March 11. Department of Health and Human Services officials made the informal pitch to lawmakers, with a formal White House request expected at a ...

  Bloomberg Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi pushed through long-delayed changes on how Italy assigns licenses for public beaches, despite the opposition of one of the parties backing his government. The government approved a plan to set up competitive tenders for the lucrative licenses from 2024, which allow bathhouses and resorts to be built on public land in exchange for ...

  Bloomberg Canadian consumer price inflation accelerated to a new three-decade high in January, adding to pressure on the Bank of Canada to start raising interest rates as early as March 2. Annual inflation was 5.1% last month, up from 4.8% in December, Statistics Canada reported in Ottawa. Economists were anticipating inflation would be unchanged in January. The average of ...

  Bloomberg German national railway operator Deutsche Bahn AG has taken the first concrete steps to prepare for a potential sale or listing of its DB Schenker logistics unit, which could be around 20 billion euros ($23 billion). The government-owned company is working with a consultant and legal advisers to ready the business for a possible transaction later this year, ...

  Bloomberg Stocks rise on Friday as planned talks between Russia and the US over Ukraine alleviated some investor gloom about geopolitical risks. Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index and US equity futures advanced after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for talks in Europe next week. On Thursday, President Joe Biden warned that ...