Politics

  Bloomberg Russia wants an explanation of European security obligations from western nations before making its next proposals on the Ukraine crisis, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. Moscow is asking Nato members and countries in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to clarify how they intend to fulfill OSCE obligations not to strengthen security at the expense of ...

  Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s embattled position was reinforced by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss amid a scandal over alleged pandemic-rule-breaking parties, as she batted away speculation that she could run for the leadership. “The future of the PM is assured,” Truss said on the BBC’s Sunday Morning show. “He’s doing an excellent job on the things that matter ...

  Bloomberg Taiwanese Vice President William Lai held a video call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — his second meeting with a senior US politician in two days— on topics including human rights in China. Pelosi, who has called for a diplomatic boycott of next month’s Beijing Winter Olympics, reiterated her concern about Chinese human rights abuses, according to a ...

  Bloomberg The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen finally secured a bank loan for her financially struggling campaign to challenge President Emmanuel Macron. The candidate in the April presidential election obtained a 10.6 million euro loan from a European bank, Jordan Bardella, president of her National Rally party, told Agence France-Presse. A spokeswoman for Le Pen didn’t immediately respond ...

  Bloomberg Mario Draghi’s failed bid to become Italian president has tarnished the aura that helped him keep a fractious coalition in line. But the damage suffered by the country’s main political parties means that the prime minister may still have the leverage to push through his agenda in the final year of his mandate. After six days of chaotic ...

  Bloomberg Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that the American proposal to defuse tensions with Ukraine contained “rational elements,” even though some key points were ignored. The seemingly calmer tone came after U.S. President Joe Biden warned of a possible Russian attack next month during a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. They also discussed ...

  Bloomberg The Biden administration said it recommended changes to China’s requirements for Covid-19 quarantine and testing among American diplomats, adding to tensions between the world’s biggest economies ahead of the Olympics. “We have long-standing concerns regarding the PRC’s quarantine and testing policies that run counter to diplomatic privileges and immunities,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Thursday, ...

  Bloomberg A UK government probe into alleged rule-breaking parties in Boris Johnson’s office during the pandemic could be stripped of key details at the request of the police, potentially handing the prime minister a boost as he tries to persuade his Conservatives not to mount a leadership challenge. Facing a major public backlash, Johnson commissioned the civil service to ...

  Bloomberg North Korea confirmed launches of four missiles this week, as Kim Jong Un ramped up weapons-testing to a record pace in an effort to signal displeasure with the US over economic sanctions. The tests included the launch of two long-range cruise missiles Tuesday that flew for 1,800 kilometers before striking an island off the peninsula’s eastern coast, the ...

Bloomberg As populism tested the ability of Europe’s mainstream parties to adapt, one country stood out as an exception: Portugal. General elections on Sunday are likely to cement its status as an oasis for the political center. Yet it’s not without risks. Prime Minister Antonio Costa of the center-left Socialist Party has only a slight edge in some polls over ...