Politics

  Bloomberg President Joe Biden called for vigilance in protecting US democracy in a tribute to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as he seeks to rally Democrats behind voting-rights legislation. “Harry knew better than most how difficult democracy is, that the idea of America itself is under attack,” Biden said during a memorial service for the longtime Nevada senator ...

  Bloomberg Japan and the US have agreed that US forces stationed in Japan won’t leave their bases except for essential reasons in an effort to stem the spread of Covid-19 cases, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday. His comments came as areas hosting or close to U.S. bases saw some of the biggest increases in infections on a ...

  Bloomberg Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro floated the possibility that public servants won’t receive a raise for the fourth year in a row, dismissing pressure by workers that has led to cargo holdups and work slowdowns. “It could be that there is no adjustment for anyone,” Bolsonaro said in Brasilia. “Anything is possible,” he added, emphasizing that raises aren’t a ...

  Bloomberg Kazakhstan’s president said he’s ordered security forces to shoot protesters “without warning” as he declared victory with Russia’s help in crushing unrest sweeping the central Asian nation. “Those who don’t surrender will be destroyed,” President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in a televised address to the nation Friday. He rejected all calls for negotiations with the protesters, calling them “criminals, ...

  Bloomberg The US and Japan expressed concern about China’s efforts “to undermine the rules-based order” and resolved to work together to respond to its activities that threaten security, underscoring positions that have rankled Beijing. At a virtual meeting of the two allies’ foreign and defense ministers Friday Japan time, the countries also “voiced concern about China’s activities in the ...

  Bloomberg President Joe Biden warned the insurrection at the US Capitol is part of an assault on democracy that Donald Trump and his supporters are continuing to wage a year after the deadly riot. Biden’s speech was his most detailed rebuttal yet of the effort by Trump and prominent Republicans to raise doubt about the results of the 2020 ...

  Bloomberg Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen arrived in Myanmar on Friday, becoming the first foreign leader to visit the country since the junta seized power in a coup nearly a year ago. Security was tightened in major cities like Yangon as well as the capital Naypyidaw in anticipation of protests over Hun Sen’s visit. Several protesters took to Facebook ...

Bloomberg The Australian government insists world tennis No. 1 Novak Djokovic isn’t being held against his will as the vaccine-mandate critic remains confined in a hotel used to detain refugees and asylum seekers. Djokovic “is not being held captive in Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said in a radio interview Friday. “He is free to leave at any time ...

  Bloomberg Russia and its allies sent troops to help quell protests in Kazakhstan that posed the biggest threat to the central Asian country’s leadership since it gained independence in 1991. Dozens of anti-government protesters were killed by security forces and hundreds wounded, authorities said Thursday, after President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced an “anti-terrorist operation” to put down the demonstrations. He ...

  Bloomberg North Korea said it test-fired a “hypersonic” missile for the second time in about four months, as it continues to develop nuclear-capable weapons designed to evade interception by the US and its allies. According to the account provided by North Korea’s official media, the latest test showed marked improvements from its last attempt to fire a hypersonic missile ...