Politics

Bloomberg Chinese officials have told Hong Kong that they think a lockdown will be needed to contain surging Covid-19 cases, according to people familiar with the discussions, with the city’s government conceding some kind of targeted stay-at-home restrictions may be necessary if the situation continues to spiral out of control. The two sides have been meeting frequently to discuss Hong ...

Bloomberg The Kremlin said there are “no concrete plans” for a summit between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, throwing into question the fate of a French proposal that seemed to offer fresh hope for averting an alleged Russian plan to attack Ukraine. US officials said the meeting, proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, would occur only ...

Bloomberg Former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo is scheduled to travel to Taiwan next month, one of the most senior US dignitaries to visit the democratically ruled island in recent years. Pompeo has accepted an invitation from the Taipei-based Prospect Foundation, the group’s president, Lai I-chung, said. The former top US diplomat and potential Republican presidential contender will visit Taiwan ...

  Bloomberg Slovenia’s premier moved to block a controversial deal that would hand a large chunk of the country’s biggest tourism group to a buyer with ties to the family of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Prime Minister Janez Jansa’s cabinet approved a 41.6 million-euro ($47.2 million) boost to the capital of the country’s Sovereign Holding, allowing it to exercise ...

  Bloomberg UK trade unions are challenging plans by Boris Johnson to end Covid-19 regulations in England, saying the prime minister should put public health first. The Trades Union Congress (TUC), an umbrella group for British unions representing more than 5.5 million people, said that the government should first commit to improving sick pay and supporting people with weakened immune ...

  Bloomberg Russia and Belarus will extend their biggest joint military drills in years, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said, as frictions spike with the West over Russia’s military buildup near the Ukraine border. Russia had said it would return its troops to their bases afterward. While those drills are in Belarus, which is north of Ukraine, the defense ministry statement ...

  Bloomberg Police dislodged anti-vaccine protesters from the street in front of Canada’s parliament building, clearing the center of a weeks-long blockade that paralysed the capital city’s downtown and plunged the nation into crisis. By evening, a total of 170 people had been arrested as police intensified their actions, deploying pepper spray, batons and mounted units to remove demonstrators. But ...

  Bloomberg Slovenia’s premier faces pressure before April elections to block a deal that would hand a large chunk of the country’s biggest tourism group to a buyer with ties to the family of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Political parties have called for an extraordinary parliamentary meeting for February 28 to demand the state exercise its right to buy ...

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated his intention to end the UK’s remaining Covid-19 restrictions, saying he would lay out a plan this week for “living with Covid.” Some opposition politicians and public health experts questioned the decision at a time the UK continues to see tens of thousands of Covid-19 cases a day. Johnson’s comments also came hours ...

  Bloomberg Hong Kong is considering stricter social-distancing measures to try to curtail an escalating Covid-19 outbreak that’s strained its hospitals and exposed an inadequate health infrastructure. The current wave of infections, by far the most severe the city has faced during the pandemic, is testing Hong Kong’s zero-tolerance approach to the virus. Scenes of elderly patients lying on gurneys ...