Politics

  Bloomberg As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine wreaks destruction on the fringes of the European Union, the bloc is poised to pull its newest member closer into the fold. Croatia, which joined the EU almost a decade ago, is on the verge of joining the Schengen zone — the passport-free area stretching from Norway’s Arctic coast to Spain’s Atlantic seaboard ...

Bloomberg Russian missiles struck residential buildings in the center of Ukraine’s capital early Sunday, which was condemned by President Joe Biden as “barbarism.” The strikes followed bombardments across in Ukraine’s north and west on Saturday, including missiles launched from Belarusian airspace. “It’s more of their barbarism,” Biden said in response to a question from a reporter about the hit on ...

Bloomberg Back-to-back rulings on guns and abortion eliminated any doubt the US Supreme Court will be the transformational force Republicans envisioned when they filled three vacancies during Donald Trump’s presidency. Less than two years after Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation just before the 2020 presidential election, the court’s conservatives laid bare their willingness to rewrite the nation’s lawbooks and upend ...

Bloomberg Embattled UK leader Boris Johnson said he plans to stick around as prime minister for a third term until the mid-2030s, an act of defiance in the face of mounting political defeats and pressure within his own Conservative Party. Earlier this month, Johnson survived a leadership challenge and there is growing speculation that another confidence vote is being hatched ...

  Bloomberg South African President Cyril Ramaphosa mounted a defense of his corruption-fighting record and promised consequences for the architects of a massive scheme to defraud the state days after the head of a judicial inquiry found that he had stood by while the looting happened. In a column carried by the Sunday Times, Ramaphosa detailed his efforts to rebuild ...

Bloomberg US President Joe Biden’s political fortunes have changed dramatically since his first Group of Seven summit last summer, or even his last visit to Europe in March. It couldn’t come at a worse time for his international allies as Russia settles into a long war with Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who will welcome G-7 leaders in the Bavarian ...

Bloomberg China’s chief envoy to Australia was heckled by several protesters in Sydney on Friday as he delivered a speech that attempted to go some way towards repairing relations between the trading partners. One shouted about the detention of members of the Uighur minority group in China, while another protester called ambassador Xiao Qian “a disgrace” as he addressed the ...

Bloomberg President Xi Jinping’s rumored visit to Hong Kong to mark the city’s 25th anniversary of Chinese rule is in doubt after top officials in the city came down with Covid. Two senior members of incoming Chief Executive John Lee’s cabinet — including his No. 2 — have tested positive for the virus, the government revealed in a Thursday statement. ...

  Bloomberg President Jair Bolsonaro is considering increasing monthly stipends paid to about 18 million poor Brazilian families as opinion polls show his re-election campaign failing to close the gap with front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva less than four months before the vote. The idea is to boost payments made through a cash transfer program known as Auxilio Brasil ...

Bloomberg The chairman of Boris Johnson’s ruling Conservatives resigned after the party lost two key parliamentary seats in one night, raising fresh concerns about Johnson’s leadership and his faltering popularity with voters. The elections “are the latest in a run of very poor results for our party,” Oliver Dowden said in a letter to Johnson posted on Twitter. “We cannot ...