Politics

  JAKARTA / WAM A strong quake struck off the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island early on Monday, sending residents fleeing from their homes, but no damage or victims were reported immediately. The shallow 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit at 4:06 am at a depth of 21 kilometres, with its epicentre 167 kilometres west of the coastal city of Pariaman, the ...

Bloomberg North Korea could launch an ICBM as soon as this week, the Yonhap News Agency reported, in what would be its most serious provocation in five years as South Korea undergoes a presidential transition and the world focuses on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. South Korea and the US have detected signs of an imminent test of an intercontinental ballistic ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong doesn’t have the infrastructure to roll out a lockdown and compulsory testing as swiftly as mainland China, according to Chief Executive Carrie Lam, whose announcement of a now-delayed city-wide test sparked chaos and confusion in the financial hub. The 17.5 million residents of the southern Chinese technology hub of Shenzhen were told that they’d go into a ...

  Bloomberg The Philippines said a Chinese Navy ship entered waters within the archipelago without permission earlier this year, potentially expanding a territorial dispute beyond the South China Sea. The ship lingered in the Sulu Sea, which is surrounded by undisputed territory in the Philippine archipelago, for three days from late-January to early-February despite being challenged by a Philippine Navy ...

Bloomberg Russian missiles hit a military training facility in western Ukraine close to the Polish border that had been used regularly by Nato before the invasion. The strike, which comes after Russia warned that convoys of Western military supplies for Ukraine would be considered legitimate targets, raised new concerns about the conflict potentially spilling over Ukraine’s borders. Initial reports suggest ...

Bloomberg White House officials including Press Secretary Jen Psaki briefed about 30 social-media influencers on US policy on Ukraine in an effort to counter Russian propaganda, a spokeswoman said. The creators, who are active mainly on Bytedance Ltd’s TikTok, were given an overview of the latest White House thinking on Ukraine during a video call, with material similar to that ...

  Bloomberg Talks between military commanders of China and India to resolve a two-year-old border dispute — at its worst in four decades — were inconclusive, a joint statement issued by India’s Ministry of Defense said. A quick resolution of the border dispute would help “facilitate progress in bilateral relations,” the two sides said. This round of talks — the ...

Bloomberg A campaign for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to retain the leadership of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) when it holds internal elections in December is gathering momentum, with some key party officials throwing their weight behind him. “There is an emerging consensus that the president must get a second term,” Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola, ...

Bloomberg About 300,000 people in Hong Kong are currently in isolation or under home quarantine because of Covid, Chief Executive Officer Carrie Lam said at a press conference on Sunday. The city has boosted support for isolated people because of the high numbers and will start sending medical packages to Covid patients from Monday, officials said. The supplies will include ...

Bloomberg Russia has already lost access to almost half of its reserves and sees more risks to President Vladimir Putin’s war chest due to increased pressure from the West on China, said Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. “The total volume of our reserves is about $640 billion, and about $300 billion are in such condition that we can’t use them now,” ...