Politics

Bloomberg China’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine played a role in Estonia’s decision to quit an Eastern European initiative that aimed to enhance relations with Beijing, the Baltic nation’s top diplomat said. “It was definitely a factor that we kept in mind when making the decision. Before that, we consulted with a series of allies,” Foreign Minister Urmas ...

  Bloomberg Russia defied growing international pressure to grant United Nations inspectors immediate access to Europe’s largest nuclear plant amid fears of a catastrophe over shelling of the area in Ukraine occupied by Kremlin forces. The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency has warned of a “real” risk of nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia plant in southeastern Ukraine because of repeated ...

Bloomberg Former President Donald Trump said he supported the release of documents related to the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago home earlier this week, including a copy of the search warrant and a receipt of items that agents took from the property. Trump made the announcement late Thursday on his social media site, Truth Social, following a Justice Department request ...

Bloomberg Latvia and Estonia joined Lithuania in abandoning the so-called 16+1 eastern European framework with China, which once threatened to divide the European Union in its relations with the world’s most populous nation. The format between China and eastern members took shape in 2012 as a platform for Beijing to forge ties with 16 eastern European countries, cooperating on infrastructure ...

Bloomberg Britain’s leading trade unionists will hold a rally in London next week in the middle of a string of train strikes designed to bring the country to a standstill. ‘Enough is Enough,’ a union-led group that also includes Labour MP Zarah Sultana, has been set up to protest against the rising cost of living. Wednesday’s event in Clapham, south ...

  Bloomberg Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto will run for the presidency in 2024, hoping the third time’s a charm as he tops popularity surveys on the back of his strongman image and support from the majority Muslim population. Prabowo, who leads Indonesia’s third largest party Gerindra, announced his intention in a briefing after a party meeting on Friday. The ...

Bloomberg Explosions at a Russian airbase in Crimea that Ukraine says destroyed nine fighter aircraft may indicate new Ukrainian offensive capabilities that complicate Kremlin efforts to support its invading forces, according to European intelligence officials and defense analysts. “In just one day, the occupiers lost 10 combat aircraft, nine in Crimea and one more in the direction of Zaporizhzhia,” Ukrainian ...

Bloomberg House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the US couldn’t let China establish a “new normal” around Taiwan, hours after Beijing announced plans for regular military patrols near the democratically governed island. Pelosi told a news briefing in Washington that Chinese leaders had been “trying to push their way” toward their goals on Taiwan before she led a congressional delegation there ...

Bloomberg South Korea said the possible operation of a controversial American-made missile shield was “not negotiable,” pushing back at China’s efforts to hold President Yoon Suk Yeol to his predecessor’s pledge to freeze its deployment. Decisions on the deployment of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system was a matter of South Korea’s self-defense, a senior presidential official told ...

  Bloomberg China’s military said exercises held around Taiwan in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit had concluded, while pledging to continue regular patrols near the island. The People’s Liberation Army “successfully completed all tasks” set out in exercises last week, Eastern Theater Command spokesman Senior Colonel Shi Yi said Wednesday. The statement ended ambiguity on the status ...