Politics

Bloomberg Sweden’s ruling party, the Social Democrats, have decided to support a Nato entry bid by June, newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported, citing party sources it didn’t identify. The Social Democrats led by Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson have long been a holdout in the debate on whether Sweden should join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato), officially opposing an entry and ...

  Bloomberg Switzerland is mirroring further trade and financial sanctions implemented by the European Union against Russia as the war in Ukraine continues. The latest sanctions, which include banning the import of coal and other products like vodka, as well as a ban on the participation of Russian companies in public procurement, was expected to come into effect from Wednesday. ...

  Bloomberg Aid has trickled into parts of Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region since federal and rebel forces declared a truce late last month after 17 months of fighting, but has only reached a tiny proportion of the millions of people who need it so far. The World Food Programme dispatched 20 trucks carrying food and other supplies to Tigray on ...

  Bloomberg Over the past few years, the US has accused China of using “debt diplomacy” to make developing nations across the world more dependent on Beijing. Yet the cases of Sri Lanka and Pakistan — both friends of China facing dire financial situations as inflation soars — show that President Xi Jinping’s government is becoming more reluctant to pull ...

  Bloomberg Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is ready to meet the protesters, who are holding rallies for the past five days and calling for the ouster of the government for its economic policies that have brought the county to the brink of a debt default. “Understanding that this is a tough time for all of us, I invite ...

Bloomberg Germany is debating whether to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Group of Seven summit it’s hosting in June, given India’s reluctance to condemn Russia for invading Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter. Germany is set to include Senegal, South Africa and Indonesia as guests at the meeting in Bavaria, but India remains under consideration, the ...

Bloomberg Finland is set to kick off a process that is likely to culminate in an application by Russia’s Nordic neighbor to join the defense alliance Nato. The government, together with President Sauli Niinisto, finalised a white paper on changes to the nation’s security environment following its former imperial master’s attack on Ukraine. The report will be sent to parliament ...

  Bloomberg Nationalist leader Marine Le Pen cast herself as the only candidate able to defend the poor in a clear pitch to left-wing voters, as a tight race for the French presidency enters its final phase. “I am fundamentally attached to social dialog,” Le Pen said during an hour-long interview with France Inter radio. Her rival, President Emmanuel Macron, ...

Bloomberg South Korea’s President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol plans to embrace nuclear energy in a bid to accelerate the nation’s goal to zero out emissions. An extensive revision to the energy mix, particularly atomic power, is “inevitable” in order for South Korea to reach its climate targets, the presidential transition committee said. Nuclear energy will be added to the taxonomy to ...

Bloomberg Sri Lanka warned of an unprecedented default and halted payments on foreign debt, an extraordinary step taken to preserve its dwindling dollar stockpile for essential food and fuel imports. All outstanding payments to bond holders, bilateral creditors and institutional lenders will be suspended until a debt restructure, the finance ministry said in a statement. The newly appointed central bank ...