Politics

Bloomberg Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered part of his forces to focus on destroying Ukraine’s long-range missile and artillery systems during a visit to troops in occupied territory. Shoigu “instructed the commander to prioritize the defeat of long-range rocket and artillery weapons of the enemy with high-precision weapons” during a meeting with the military’s Vostok group, the Russian Defense ...

Bloomberg Sri Lanka will this week elect a new president, who would need the support of both lawmakers and protesters in order to pull the bankrupt country out of its worst economic crisis. Legislators in the 225-seat parliament will on Tuesday submit nominations for the post, left vacant after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to Singapore and resigned. Voting is due ...

  Bloomberg Former Pakistan premier Imran Khan called for early national elections after his party swept the by-elections in the country’s most populous state, underscoring the risks the government faces as it seeks a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. Khan was ousted in April following a protracted political drama that saw Shehbaz Sharif take over as prime minister. Since ...

Bloomberg Clear dividing lines over the economy emerged as the UK’s leadership race turned personal in the second of three debates to determine who will succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister. Front-runner and former Chancellor Rishi Sunak accused Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt, his two closest rivals, of “socialism” as he attacked their plans to ...

  Bloomberg Bulgaria’s president will give the Socialist Party a mandate to form a new government in a last-ditch bid to avoid triggering the fourth election in less than two years. It’s the European Union member’s final chance to quickly quell a political crisis that ousted Prime Minister Kiril Petkov’s four-party coalition in a no-confidence motion last month. But the ...

Bloomberg Italy’s political parties are readying for possible snap elections, even as some of them redouble efforts to convince Prime Minister Mario Draghi to rethink his determination to resign. While talks to patch up the current majority, or form a new one, continue, Italy’s political groupings are making preparations for a potential vote, several party and government officials said, asking ...

  Bloomberg Voting was underway in Pakistan’s most populous province of Punjab on Sunday for several by-elections that are a litmus test for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government after Imran Khan was ousted in April following a protracted political battle. A victory for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will give the former leader the renewed momentum to pressure the government to hold ...

  Bloomberg Two Balkan states signed an agreement that will allow North Macedonia and Albania to formally start negotiations to join the European Union, a process long-delayed by bilateral quarrels between countries in the volatile region. Bujar Osmani, North Macedonia’s foreign minister, signed the protocol with his Bulgarian counterpart in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, on Sunday. The move came a day ...

Bloomberg Hungarians are holding daily protests as a plunging currency and the threat of a Russian cut-off of natural gas shipments to Europe forces Prime Minister Viktor Orban to embrace unpopular austerity measures. A few thousand demonstrators rallied by the Danube river in Budapest on Saturday evening, according to local media reports. Protesters then blocked a bridge for a fifth ...

Bloomberg Jessie Duarte, who served as special assistant to former South African President Nelson Mandela after his release from prison, has died. She was 68. Duarte’s death on Sunday was announced by the South Africa’s ruling party. She had been on medical leave since November undergoing cancer treatment. “It is with profound sadness that the African National Congress has learned ...