Politics

  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. ...

Bloomberg France’s four largest left-wing parties overcame rivalries to form a united front ahead of legislative elections next month as opposition mobilises against newly re-elected President Emmanuel Macron. After tense deliberations, the Socialist party board approved an electoral pact with the Communists, the Greens and the far-left France Unbowed. They will now present a single slate of candidates in the ...

  Bloomberg Rudy Giuliani balked at showing up for his scheduled interview before the House Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, a spokesman for the panel said. The spokesman, Tim Mulvey, said the committee “will consider all enforcement options” if the former personal lawyer to former President Donald Trump continues to refuse. “Mr Giuliani had ...

Bloomberg Sweden and Finland are starting to win assurances of help if threatened by Russia in the interim period between an expected application to join defense alliance Nato and an eventual entry. The two Nordic countries, which began to seriously consider joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have worried of an insecure “gray period” ...

Bloomberg Russian forces have been slowed by supply line and morale problems in the southern and eastern parts of Ukraine, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman said. The European Union proposed a ban on Russian crude oil phased in over the next six months, part of the bloc’s sixth package of sanctions as President Vladimir Putin seeks to cement military gains in ...

Bloomberg Preceded by a group of carnival drummers, Federico Gutierrez and his entourage progressed slowly into a working-class neighbourhood of Bogota, the pulse of the drums drowning out insults yelled by groups of onlookers. Gutierrez is running for Colombia’s presidency, and the capital’s grittier districts are the heartland of his main rival, Gustavo Petro. But the candidate known as “Fico” ...

Bloomberg North Korea lifted a temporary lockdown it had imposed a day earlier after reports from across the country of cases of fevers of unknown origins, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing multiple South Korean government officials. The brief lockdown followed a military parade marking the anniversary of the founding of its army. Pyongyang also held festivities a few weeks ago ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he would bring Japan’s virus-related border controls in line with other wealthy democracies next month, as he sought to boost consumer spending to fight an economic slowdown. Kishida credited the border controls with helping the country weather the pandemic relatively well, even as he announced their relaxation in a speech in the City of ...