Bloomberg More than 20 Western diplomats staged a public show of unity outside a Canadian’s high-profile spying trial, highlighting their shared concern about the risk of arbitrary detention in the country. Representatives from the US, the UK, the European Union and numerous European countries were turned away en masse while attempting to attend the trial of Michael Kovrig. The International ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) signed off on a slate of punitive measures over human rights abuses including sanctions aimed at China. “The violations targeted include the large-scale arbitrary detentions of, in particular, Uyghurs in Xinjiang in China,” according to an EU statement on Monday. “The sanctions signal the EU’s strong determination to stand up for human rights and to ...

Bloomberg Myanmar’s military junta expects investments from Asian countries to continue despite growing condemnation over its coup last month and the violent suppression of ensuing pro-democracy protests. While the US and its partners are taking actions such as sanctions against the military, and some regional companies have scaled back operations, Asian neighbours largely have refrained from turning away from the ...

Bloomberg British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he is “reassured” that the European Union does not want to launch a vaccine battle, despite the bloc warning it is set to restrict exports of coronavirus shots to the UK. In an attempt to defuse the tensions over the issue, Johnson said avoiding blockades of vaccine supplies is vital because immunisation programs ...

Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel proposed extending and tightening Germany’s lockdown after Covid-19 contagion rates nearly doubled in a month, highlighting Europe’s struggles to contain the pandemic. The plan would prolong current curbs through April 18 and calls for new measures in hard-hit areas, according to a chancellery draft seen by Bloomberg. Merkel and regional leaders will discuss the proposals as ...

Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank (SNB) spent 110 billion francs ($118 billion) on interventions in 2020, evidence of heightened market activism that risks fueling more tension with the US. The tally is the highest since 2012 and indicates officials purchased currency worth 9 billion francs in the fourth quarter, when the US Treasury branded Switzerland a currency manipulator. Such eye-watering ...

Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc reopens its main Hong Kong office on Monday, after being closed last week in the wake of three people testing positive for coronavirus (Covid-19). “Precautionary measures — such as wearing masks, pre-entry temperature screening, hand sanitisers, spaced queuing and portable acrylic screens at open banking counters — will continue to be in place,” according to a ...

Bloomberg The European Union’s top banking regulator urged lenders to promptly write off loans that are failing in the aftermath of the pandemic, warning that without action “zombie” firms could damage the economic recovery. Jose Manuel Campa, chairman of the Paris-based European Banking Authority, said in an interview on March 19 that regulators expect non-performing loans to “increase to a ...

Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG plans to triple its headcount in China over the next three years, ramping up its ambitions to gain market share as the nation’s financial market opens. “We are planning to more than triple our presence in term of headcount in China over the next 3 years and look forward to strengthening our position,” Chief Executive ...

Bloomberg KCB group Plc, Kenya’s biggest bank by assets, is in talks to form digital payment partnerships to expand revenue streams, Chief Executive Officer Joshua Oigara said. “We have to go beyond lending,” Oigara said in an interview in the capital, Nairobi. KCB is looking for partnerships for its mobile wallet, he said. The Nairobi-based lender is seeking increased revenue ...