Politics

Bloomberg Boris Johnson won’t be fined again for breaking coronavirus regulations after UK police concluded a probe into rule-breaking gatherings during lockdown, a major boost for the prime minister after months of turmoil. London’s Metropolitan Police said it has made a total of 126 referrals for fines as part of its investigation into the “partygate” allegations that have dogged the ...

Bloomberg Ukraine is working to get more of its fighters out of Mariupol’s beseiged Azovstal compound, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as Russia threatened to put on trial those it said had “surrendered” at the steel plant. “The evacuation mission continues” overseen by the military and intelligence service with help from “the most influential international mediators,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly ...

Bloomberg Taiwan must gird itself against potential Chinese aggression through military deterrence that includes acquiring the right weapons and proper training, the top US naval officer said. “That is a big lesson learned and a wakeup call, particularly with respect to not only having the right kit but are people trained to use it the right way,” Admiral Michael Gilday, ...

Bloomberg The US deal with the Taliban — forged under President Donald Trump and implemented under President Joe Biden — was “the single most important factor” in the rapid collapse of Afghanistan’s forces as American troops withdrew last year. As in Vietnam decades earlier, the US “spent years and billions of dollars training and equipping” the Afghan National Security Forces ...

Bloomberg Kim Jong-un may be preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to coincide with US President Joe Biden’s trip to the region, as the North Korean leader battles a Covid-19 outbreak posing one of the greatest crises faced by his regime. Kim looks poised to test launch an ICBM in the next two to four days, CNN said, ...

  Bloomberg China’s most senior diplomat vowed to counter any perceived US efforts to disrupt a once-in-five-year Communist Party meeting at which President Xi Jinping is set to secure a precedent-breaking third term. Beijing should “resolutely respond to any words and deeds by Washington to suppress and contain China” before the 20th party congress later this year, Yang Jiechi wrote ...

Bloomberg Scotland is committed to rejoining Nato along with the European Union should it gain independence from the UK after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine heightened security risks, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said. In a speech in Washington, the Scottish National Party (SNP) leader said the war had made membership in the alliance more vital. She pointed to Scotland’s strategic position ...

Bloomberg Boris Johnson’s government plans to introduce legislation within weeks to override parts of the Brexit deal it negotiated with the European Union, a move that’s likely to escalate tensions with the bloc and raise the prospect of a trade war. While the UK would prefer to reach a negotiated solution, the situation in Northern Ireland means Britain has to ...

  Bloomberg Group of Seven (G-7) finance ministers meeting in Bonn will discuss an aid package to support the immediate financial needs of Ukraine, according to government officials. While final figures have not yet been decided, the G-7 will probably consider a preliminary contribution of 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) for the first month, said two people familiar with the ...

Bloomberg Kim Jong-un mobilised North Korea’s military to help fight one of the biggest crises he has faced in his decade as leader, as suspected Covid-19 cases reached nearly 1.5 million in less than a month. Pyongyang reported 269,510 new “fever cases” and six deaths nationwide in a 24-hour period, the state’s official Korean Central News Agency reported. Since late ...