Politics

Bloomberg Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country for the Maldives on a military aircraft, an air force spokesman said on television, hours ahead of his expected resignation on Wednesday. The Sri Lankan Air Force provided an aircraft for the 73-year-old leader to leave the country following a decision by the security council, Air Force spokesman Group Captain Dushan ...

  Bloomberg Sri Lanka had to impose emergency rule because it received intelligence reports that attempts were on to take over the PM’s office and air force chief’s house, Prime Minister and Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe said in a televised address Wednesday. Speaking on a private TV channel — after protesters took control of the state broadcaster and prime minister’s ...

  Bloomberg Russian President Vladimir Putin’s younger daughter has been handed a new role with the country’s most powerful business lobby to help beat the impact of international sanctions over his war in Ukraine, the RBC newspaper reported. Katerina Tikhonova, who is sanctioned by the US and its allies, was named co-chairman of a committee to coordinate import-substitution efforts by ...

Bloomberg Mario Draghi said he won’t continue leading Italy’s government if the Five Star Movement leaves his coalition, in a sign of growing impatience for the constant squabbling among parties. “For me there is no government without Five Star,” Draghi said at a press conference on Tuesday. “There is no Draghi government different from the current one.” Draghi is under ...

Bloomberg Venezuela has arrested Americans this year even as that country’s government has made gestures toward improving relations with the US to help ease a humanitarian and political crisis. A State Department spokesperson confirmed the arrests on Tuesday night but did not identify the Americans, say how many had been detained, or provide any further details, citing privacy concerns. The ...

  Bloomberg Outgoing UK prime minister Boris Johnson raised the prospect of leaving office sooner than expected, suggesting his successor could be chosen “by acclamation” rather than in an eight-week contest as planned. His appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday had the air of a valedictory outing, as he declared he was “proud” of ...

Bloomberg Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles has called for the US to grow its military presence in the Indo-Pacific, warning that a failure to maintain the balance of power in the region could be “catastrophic.” Speaking in Washington DC, Marles, who is also Australia’s deputy prime minister, said the region was currently facing a military build-up “at a rate unseen ...

  Bloomberg Basil Rajapaksa, the former finance minister of Sri Lanka and brother of the outgoing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, attempted to leave the country early Tuesday but was turned back by airport officials, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. People at the main international airport serving Colombo began protesting when they saw Basil Rajapaksa trying to depart, ...

Bloomberg The race to succeed Boris Johnson as UK prime minister is taking shape as two Conservative big hitters, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, opted out ahead of the first round of voting. Patel’s move is likely to favor Foreign Secretary Liz Truss’s bid to be the preferred candidate of the low-tax, Thatcherite wing of the ...

Bloomberg President Joe Biden and his Mexican counterpart, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, plan to discuss ways to expand legal migration, improve security and strengthen their shared border during a White House meeting on Tuesday. The two leaders will announce joint actions to improve infrastructure and cooperation along their almost 2,000-mile boundary, according to Biden administration officials, who briefed reporters on ...