Politics

Bloomberg Croatia’s top diplomat rejected President Zoran Milanovic’s threat to veto the accession of Sweden and Finland into Nato, vowing that the government would ensure they were brought into the alliance. “We won’t be the only nation to defy the principles and values of Nato, which we fought so hard to join,” Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman told reporters in ...

Bloomberg Kosovo’s announcement that it plans to join Europe’s top human rights body triggered a protest from Serbia, which has vowed to halt the attempts at international recognition of its neighbour, whose sovereignty it rejects. “Serbia can’t do much, but will fight on the international scene for further withdrawals of recognition of Kosovo independence,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in ...

  Bloomberg Ranil Wickremesinghe, a veteran lawmaker and former premier, has been named Sri Lanka’s next prime minister days after the last incumbent, the brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, resigned in the face of escalating anger with the deepening economic crisis. The president’s media unit confirmed the appointment in a text message. No other details were immediately available. The announcement ...

  Bloomberg John Nkengasong, the outgoing head of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said the continent is facing the dual pandemics of Covid-19 and HIV, which could lead to the emergence of new variants. As he readies himself to lead the US global AIDS program, he warned that the continent is on a very uncertain and unpredictable trajectory ...

Bloomberg Kremlin-installed occupation authorities in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region plan to ask President Vladimir Putin to become part of Russia, Tass reported, the first public sign that he may seek to annex territory taken in the invasion. The region won’t hold a referendum first but would appeal directly to Putin to absorb it into Russia, Kirill Stremousov, the deputy chief ...

Bloomberg Sweden and Finland are winning more pledges of help in case Russia attacks them as the Nordic nations are on the path to becoming members of the Nato defense bloc. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed a security agreement with Sweden and plans another with Finland later in the day, as the pair is moving closer to filing membership ...

Bloomberg The UK escalated its threats over the post-Brexit deal for Northern Ireland, saying the European Union’s latest proposals on trading arrangements won’t work and signalling it’s prepared to take unilateral steps unless a new agreement can be negotiated. The government “will not shy away from taking action to stabilise the situation in Northern Ireland if solutions cannot be found,” ...

Bloomberg The only son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos has claimed victory in a high-stakes Philippines presidential election and has asked critics to judge him by his actions and not his past as he moves on with considering names for his cabinet. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr won the election by a landslide, cementing his family’s return to ...

Bloomberg Japan and South Korea are among the countries set to join the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a US-led regional grouping President Joe Biden is expected to unveil later this month, the Sankei newspaper reported. Australia and New Zealand are also set to sign up as members of the group, the paper said, without specifying where it got the information. ...

  Bloomberg Ferdinand Marcos Jr won a landslide victory in the Philippines presidential election, according to unofficial results, bringing his family back to power in Manila 36 years after his dictator father fled the country. With 96.7% of the election returns counted, the former senator won 30.7 million votes, or 58.8% of the total votes cast for president. His closest ...