Politics

  Bloomberg The popular Chinese messaging application WeChat appears to have blocked access to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s account, leading one senator to call for a parliament-wide boycott of the service. Senator James Paterson, chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, said on Monday the prime minister’s team had been having trouble accessing the WeChat account ...

  Bloomberg French President Emmanuel Macron’s approval rating has stumbled less than three months before the first round of the country’s election. Macron’s approval rating fell to 37% in January from 41% a month earlier, while 60% disapproved, according to a poll by Ifop for the Journal du Dimanche published on Sunday. It was the biggest decline in the survey ...

  Bloomberg Russia hit back on Sunday after the UK alleged that Moscow is plotting to install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv, with the West continuing to warn that Moscow could yet invade Ukraine. The assertions, offered without a timeline on the intelligence, were contained in a UK Foreign Office statement. The UK claim is “evidence” that Nato countries, not ...

  Bloomberg Germany’s top naval officer resigned after comments he made about Russia, including a call to show respect toward President Vladimir Putin, caused a diplomatic incident. Ukraine summoned the German ambassador in Kyiv earlier Saturday to protest the remarks by Navy Inspector Kay-Achim Schoenbach, who also said Crimea would never return to Ukraine after its annexation by Russia in ...

  Bloomberg Media mogul Silvio Berlusconi pulled out of the running for Italy’s presidency shortly before voting starts, strengthening the prospect that Prime Minister Mario Draghi could be elected as head of state. Italy’s longest-serving postwar premier, Berlusconi, 85, announced his decision in a statement as his Forza Italia party held a virtual meeting with fellow leaders of the center-right ...

  Bloomberg Senegal holds municipal elections that will serve as a gauge of support for President Macky Sall and his ruling coalition. The Benno Bokk Yakaar coalition, which comprises Sall’s Alliance for the Republic, the Socialist Party and the Alliance of Forces for Progress, currently holds most of the 552 municipal seats and 125 of the 160 seats in parliament. ...

  Bloomberg US military aid to help Ukraine defend against a possible invasion by Russia began arriving, according to the American Embassy in Kyiv. The embassy, in a Twitter post, said the material “includes close to 200,000 pounds of lethal aid, including ammunition for the front line defenders of Ukraine.” “The shipment – and $2.7 billion USD since 2014 – ...

  Bloomberg President Joe Biden said Russia will “pay a heavy price” if any of its forces move across the border into Ukraine after earlier suggesting Western allies might struggle to react to a small-scale attack. As the top US diplomat meets Russia’s foreign minister in Geneva, Biden said he has issued clear warnings to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who ...

  Bloomberg US President Joe Biden will seek to win Japan’s backing for a common response to Russia if it attacks Ukraine during his first virtual summit on Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Ahead of the talks, a senior administration official said Biden wants to discuss a “strong, united response that would result from further Russian aggression toward ...

  Bloomberg Britain’s top foreign and defense officials held talks with their Australian counterparts in Sydney on Friday, focusing on advancing a security pact involving nuclear-powered submarines and sharing notes on countering China’s growing clout. UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss and Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace met with Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne and Minister for ...