Politics

  Bloomberg Russia’s ambassador to Poland, Sergey Andreev, was struck with red paint in Warsaw amid protests opposing the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Crowds jeered the envoy as he led a Russian delegation to lay flowers at a memorial to Soviet Red Army troops who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II as part of Russia’s May 9 Victory Day ...

Bloomberg John Lee, named Hong Kong’s next chief executive in a rubber-stamp election that’s been criticised as unfair, vowed to strengthen national security and accelerate the city’s integration with mainland China. Speaking in Cantonese and English shortly after his victory was announced, the former police official and security minister outlined his service to China and Hong Kong and said his ...

Bloomberg US first lady Jill Biden crossed into Ukraine from Slovakia for an unannounced visit. Hungary continues to block the European Union’s latest package of sanctions against Russia, and Sunday’s talks in Brussels ended without an agreement. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy issued a video to mark Ukraine’s Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation, a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected ...

  Bloomberg The UK government plans to move quickly to “fix” the Northern Ireland Protocol despite the election victory of the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, which favours keeping the contentious post-Brexit trade agreement. “It must be dealt with,” Dominic Raab, the UK’s deputy prime minister, told Sky News. Raab declined to comment on a report in the Telegraph that ...

Bloomberg The Russian invasion of Ukraine has spurred a rush of loans to help tiny Moldova defray the economic hit from the war raging next door. Things are so perilous that the International Monetary Fund is now calling on nations to send cash. The conflict is piling pressure on the ex-Soviet nation, just as it started trying to fix graft ...

Bloomberg The two candidates for Australia’s next prime minister were grilled on cost-of-living issues, corruption and rising inflation at a second leaders’ debate less than two weeks from a national vote to be held on May 21. During the debate, held in Sydney, the conversation often deteriorated into a yelling match between PM Scott Morrison and opposition Labor leader Anthony Albanese, ...

  Bloomberg Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva officially launched his bid to return to Brazil’s presidency more than a decade after he left office. The widely expected announcement, marked by an official event in Sao Paulo, kicks off a new phase of the campaign, in which Lula and his running mate Geraldo Alckmin will start traveling across the nation trying ...

  Bloomberg John Lee became the only candidate for Hong Kong’s top post by proving his willingness to loyally execute Beijing’s demands despite an international outcry. The question now is whether he can convince China that re-opening the Asian financial centre to the world won’t jeopardise its control. Lee, a former cop and security minister, emerged as a leading advocate ...

  Bloomberg The US Treasury Department sanctioned Blender.io, a virtual currency mixer it said was tied to North Korea’s hacking and money laundering activities. The action marks the first time Treasury has sanctioned a so-called “mixer,” which is used to hide the origin of illicit funds. “Today, for the first time ever, Treasury is sanctioning a virtual currency mixer,” said ...

Bloomberg Boris Johnson’s Conservatives shed seats across England and lost control of three London strongholds in the local elections, leading to a backlash against the from local party leaders. The Tories lost control of Wandsworth Council — an iconic local government which has been Tory-run since 1978 — as well as in Westminster, where the Houses of Parliament are based. ...