Politics

BLOOMBERG South Korea played down any possibility of a rift with the US over a report that American intelligence agencies had eavesdropped on allies’ discussions about Ukraine, reiterating that its alliance with Washington remains strong. “We will review past precedents and cases from other countries to come up with countermeasures,” and will hold consultations with the US on the issue, ...

BLOOMBERG China held a second day of military drills around Taiwan, with multiple exercises involving aircraft and ships, after the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, returned from a visit to the US. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that it detected 58 aircraft from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and nine warships near Taiwan as of midday, with 31 of ...

BLOOMBERG Russia has formally charged Wall Street Journal (WSJ) correspondent Evan Gershkovich with spying, Russian state media reported, citing people familiar with the case. The reported charges by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), come more than a week after the US citizen was detained during a reporting trip to Ekaterinburg in Russia’s Ural Mountains region. Gershkovich has denied the changes, ...

BLOOMBERG The US is opposing efforts by some European nations to offer Ukraine a clear “road map” to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) membership at the alliance’s July summit in Lithuania, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing four officials involved in the talks. Lines were drawn at a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels, the newspaper reported. Ukraine ...

BLOOMBERG After former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi touched down in Taiwan last year, it took less than an hour for China to announce missile tests and military drills encircling the island. By that standard, Beijing’s initial reaction to President Tsai Ing-wen’s unprecedented meeting on US soil with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been muted. Although China released statements condemning ...

BLOOMBERG The UK is seeking to restart talks with the US for a trade deal, people familiar with the matter said, hoping to overcome President Joe Biden’s reluctance over agreements that are unpopular with key American voters. British officials are expected to privately lobby their American counterparts to reopen dialogue when Biden visits Northern Ireland on April 11, according to ...

BLOOMBERG India has confronted Myanmar in recent months with intelligence showing that China is providing assistance in building a surveillance post on a remote island in the Bay of Bengal, according to Indian officials with knowledge of the matter. Indian government representatives at various levels have shared satellite imagery with Myanmar counterparts that they said depicted Chinese workers helping to ...

OTTAWA / WAM Two people died and more than a million were without power after an ice storm hit Canada’s two most-populated provinces ahead of a holiday weekend, bringing freezing rain and strong winds that toppled trees and weighed down power lines, Reuters reported. Just under a million people did not have power in Quebec and about 110,000 in Ontario ...

BLOOMBERG French President Emmanuel Macron urged Xi Jinping to use his influence to help restore peace to Ukraine, saying the Chinese leader could bring all sides together to discuss a way to end the Russian invasion. “I know I can count on you to bring Russia back to reason and everybody to the negotiation table,” Macron told Xi during a ...

BLOOMBERG China accused India of kicking out journalists with its official news agency, and said it would have to take corresponding measures. India recently asked journalists from Xinhua News Agency to leave the country, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Thursday at a regular press briefing in Beijing. “The Chinese embassy and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have ...