Politics

BLOOMBERG Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is getting dragged into the escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing as she tries to disentangle Italy from its close relationship with China. Meloni, the right-wing leader who came to power less than a year ago, is leaning towards pulling out of an agreement to join China’s controversial Belt and Road Initiative, which has funded ...

BLOOMBERG Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirmed a general vote on May 21, completing the formal process to call for an election that will take place in the aftermath of a deadly train crash which has shaken the country. The country is today very close to recovering its investment grade, a development that will mean lower borrowing costs for the state, ...

BLOOMBERG US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to his Brazilian counterpart after that country’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, accused America of “encouraging war” while on a visit to China. Sullivan and Celso Amorim “discussed a number of bilateral and global issues, including Russia’s war against Ukraine” and “continued cooperation to combat climate change and protect the environment,” ...

BLOOMBERG North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the launch of a military spy satellite, a move that could allow him to keep an eye on US allies as well as advance his state’s ability to deliver a nuclear warhead to the American mainland. Kim called for the launch of the state’s first military reconnaissance satellite within a planned timeframe, during ...

BLOOMBERG Myanmar’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear appeals by deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and former president Win Myint against their conviction on corruption and other charges, paving the way for a review of previous rulings. Suu Kyi, 77, had appealed against seven charges related to the purchase of a helicopter, election fraud and violating the colonial-era Official ...

BLOOMBERG Russian President Vladimir Putin visited troops in two occupied regions of Ukraine, according to video by the Kremlin, marking the second time in a month he’s toured territory seized in the more than year-old invasion. Putin was shown meeting officers of the Vostok National Guard in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk and at the headquarters of the Dnepr ...

BLOOMBERG The Moscow City Court rejected an appeal by Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich against his detention on allegations of espionage in a high-profile case that’s highlighted the growing pressure on journalists in Russia. Gershkovich, 31, appeared smiling in the glass defendant’s cage when media were allowed into the courtroom before the hearing. It was the first time ...

BLOOMBERG Bangladesh’s garment factories, a key source of foreign exchange for the South Asian nation, face the heightened risk of fires as summer temperatures soar, an industry lobby group warned. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the main industry body in the world’s No 2 exporter after China, issued 11 instructions to its 4,500 members over the weekend. These ...

BLOOMBERG European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on the European Union to maintain a common position towards China after French President Emmanuel Macron sparked outrage by suggesting that the bloc should avoid being dragged into a dispute with Beijing by the US. Von der Leyen told lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, that the EU needs to diversify away from ...

PESHAWAR / WAM A landslide during a thunder and lightning storm on the main road through northwest Pakistan’s Khyber Pass buried more than 20 trucks, killing at least two people, with dozens more feared trapped, Reuters said. “Twenty to twenty-five containers are buried in the wreckage,” Abdul Nasir Khan, deputy commissioner of the Khyber district, told Reuters. “The wreckage is ...