Politics

Bloomberg Sinn Fein looks set to become the largest party in Northern Ireland’s assembly, potentially marking a historic shift in the region’s political balance, according to a poll ahead of next week’s election. The nationalist party, whose ultimate goal is a united Ireland, drew 26% support in LucidTalk’s final poll for the Belfast Telegraph ahead of the May 5 vote. ...

Bloomberg The findings of a House select committee’s investigation into the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol will be presented to the nation in eight separate public hearings spread out over June, the panel’s chairman said. Planning is under way for a mixture of televised hearings in prime-time and others to occur during the daytime, Representative Bennie Thompson, a ...

Bloomberg Germany’s parliament urged the government to quickly supply Ukraine with heavy weapons and other equipment to help its defense against Russia. The three parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition and the largest opposition group — which combined hold over 80% of the seats in the lower house of parliament — teamed up to support a motion in a show ...

  Bloomberg China denied reports that it plans to build a naval base in the Solomon Islands, with a Defense Ministry spokesman calling them “fake news.” Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a Chinese military base in the Solomon Islands would be a “red line” for his government, after Beijing signed a security pact with the government in Honiara. The ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration is weighing the political costs of replacing India’s religion-based marriage and inheritance laws with a uniform civil code ahead of national elections in 2024, according to people involved in the plan, a move that risks alienating a broad spectrum of voters. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has begun the process to implement uniform civil ...

Bloomberg North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have lowered his threshold for a nuclear strike, raising the risks for a miscalculation as he rolls out new weapons whose uses range from nearby tactical strikes to threatening the US homeland from afar. Kim signalled a looser policy towards his possible use of atomic weapons at a military parade in Pyongyang ...

  Bloomberg A bipartisan group of senators was expected to meet to discuss options for passing immigration legislation this year. “The idea is to get as many bipartisan bills we can find that have goals that will add up to 60,” Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said, referring to the Senate’s threshold for passing most legislation. Sens John Cornyn (R-Texas), Thom ...

Bloomberg A special court in Myanmar sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to five years in prison in the first of several corruption charges leveled against the deposed civilian leader, according to a person familiar with the matter. The judge handed down the verdict immediately after convening the court, said the person who declined to be named as he is not ...

Bloomberg Taiwan’s military says it plans on using lessons learned from the two-month-old war in Ukraine during annual exercises the island relies on to defend itself from any invasion by China. The Defense Ministry made the announcement, when it said war games would be held May 16-20 and live-fire drills July 25-29. Scenarios for the annual Han Kuang exercises “will ...

Bloomberg Ahead of the November 2019 election, Sri Lankan presidential challenger Gotabaya Rajapaksa proposed sweeping tax cuts so reckless the incumbent government thought it must be a campaign gimmick. The finance minister at the time, Mangala Samaraweera, called a briefing to assail the “dangerous” pledge to reduce the value-added tax to 8% from 15% and scrap other levies. To him, ...