Politics

Bloomberg Malaysian PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob said he would not delay the dissolution of parliament, amid continued pressure from his party to hold a general election as soon as possible. “To face the 15th general election, Barisan Nasional must be prepared,” Ismail said, referring to the ruling coalition. “I say that once we are prepared, I won’t delay for even ...

Bloomberg European Union leaders agreed to pursue a partial ban on Russian oil, paving the way for a sixth package of sanctions to punish Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, for the invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions would forbid the purchase of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia delivered to member states by sea but include a temporary exemption ...

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s next leader John Lee said the financial hub faces difficulties before it can reopen the border with mainland China, after returning from his first meeting with President Xi Jinping since being selected to run the financial hub earlier this month. Lee said he told Premier Li Keqiang there are “a lot of challenges and difficulties” to ...

  Bloomberg Gustavo Petro ceded his front-runner status for Colombia’s presidency to a little known 77-year-old construction magnate, in a sign of how voters are increasingly willing to gamble on untested leaders who promise change. Rodolfo Hernandez’s surprise surge to place second in the election sets up a June 19 runoff with Petro, a former mayor of Bogota whose program ...

Bloomberg Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the country needed to focus on new areas of growth as a panel laid out proposals for his “new form of capitalism” aimed at reducing social disparities and driving the economy. “We’ve put together a grand design for a new capitalism,” Kishida said at a meeting of the panel. “We’ll seek new growth, ...

Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping praised Hong Kong’s next leader for defending national security and upholding stability at their first meeting since John Lee was selected as chief executive earlier this month. The leader of the world’s second largest economy told Lee that the central government had “full confidence” in him, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Xi also ...

  Bloomberg Hurricane Agatha was expected to strike Mexico’s Oaxaca state on Monday with damaging winds, heavy rain and a crashing storm surge, making it the strongest May storm to hit the eastern Pacific on record. Agatha was already raking the Pacific coastline with damaging gusts and heavy rain. The compact storm, just below Category 3 strength on the five-step ...

Bloomberg A construction magnate who was little known at the start of the year surged into presidential runoff with a real chance at winning as voters coalesce against his leftist rival. Rodolfo Hernandez took 28% of the vote to 40% for Gustavo Petro, a former mayor of Bogota and onetime guerrilla, the electoral authority said. Hernandez beat out Federico Gutierrez, ...

  Bloomberg The United Nations’ human rights chief should resign for failing to condemn China after visiting its remote Xinjiang region where the US accuses Beijing of genocide, according to one prominent scholar. Adrian Zenz, senior fellow in China studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, told Bloomberg TV that he considered Michelle Bachelet’s trip to China’s far western ...

Bloomberg Northern Ireland’s devolved government remains effectively suspended after a move to elect speakers to the Assembly failed amid a stand-off over Brexit. “The Assembly has been unable to conduct its first business therefore we can proceed no further,” Acting Speaker Alex Maskey said. Until a speaker is elected, there can be no nominations to the region’s joint top ministerial ...