Politics

BLOOMBERG European states reacted with fury to a Chinese envoy questioning the independence of ex-Soviet states, tainting China’s push to court leaders in the region and burnish its credentials to broker peace after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some “ex-Soviet Union countries” don’t have effective status under international law, Chinese ambassador to France Lu Shaye said in an interview aired on ...

BLOOMBERG Russia will cut staff limits for German diplomatic missions and expel about one-third of Berlin’s diplomats currently working in the country, foreign ministry in Moscow said. The ministry said the move was meant to “mirror” the recent expulsion of Russian diplomats from Germany. Relations between the former major trading partners continue to deteriorate as President Vladimir Putin’s war against ...

BLOOMBERG Amritpal Singh, a fugitive Sikh separatist leader, surrendered to the Indian police in the state of Punjab, ending a tense weeks-long chase. The self-styled preacher, who has tried to revive a banned movement to create an independent state of Khalistan, was arrested in Moga, according to a tweet from Punjab police. The search for Singh, 30, prompted police to ...

BLOOMBERG Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling party won at least one of five Japanese by-elections but faced close races in the others, public broadcaster NHK said, with the results seen as key to his decision on election timing. The premier’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is fighting to keep the three seats it previously held of the five. Managing to ...

BLOOMBERG Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is getting dragged into the escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing as she tries to disentangle Italy from its close relationship with China. Meloni, the right-wing leader who came to power less than a year ago, is leaning towards pulling out of an agreement to join China’s controversial Belt and Road Initiative, which has funded ...

BLOOMBERG Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirmed a general vote on May 21, completing the formal process to call for an election that will take place in the aftermath of a deadly train crash which has shaken the country. The country is today very close to recovering its investment grade, a development that will mean lower borrowing costs for the state, ...

BLOOMBERG US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to his Brazilian counterpart after that country’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, accused America of “encouraging war” while on a visit to China. Sullivan and Celso Amorim “discussed a number of bilateral and global issues, including Russia’s war against Ukraine” and “continued cooperation to combat climate change and protect the environment,” ...

BLOOMBERG North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the launch of a military spy satellite, a move that could allow him to keep an eye on US allies as well as advance his state’s ability to deliver a nuclear warhead to the American mainland. Kim called for the launch of the state’s first military reconnaissance satellite within a planned timeframe, during ...

BLOOMBERG Myanmar’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear appeals by deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and former president Win Myint against their conviction on corruption and other charges, paving the way for a review of previous rulings. Suu Kyi, 77, had appealed against seven charges related to the purchase of a helicopter, election fraud and violating the colonial-era Official ...

BLOOMBERG Russian President Vladimir Putin visited troops in two occupied regions of Ukraine, according to video by the Kremlin, marking the second time in a month he’s toured territory seized in the more than year-old invasion. Putin was shown meeting officers of the Vostok National Guard in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk and at the headquarters of the Dnepr ...