Politics

  Bloomberg Voters in Malaysia’s biggest state are set to reject the opposition alliance in elections, increasing pressure on Anwar Ibrahim to step aside as de facto leader and forcing a rethink in strategy ahead of a national vote that may be called as soon as next year. The polls in Sarawak in Borneo island is expected to present another ...

  Bloomberg The United Nations Human Rights Office called on Vietnam to release four activists who were jailed for as much 10 years for disseminating anti-state propaganda, according a statement from UN spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani. Trinh Ba Phuong, Nguyen Thi Tam, Do Nam Trung and independent author Pham Doan Trang were sentenced under articles 88 and 117 of Vietnam’s Criminal ...

  Bloomberg Simon Case, the civil servant spearheading the investigation into whether the prime minister’s office and other government departments hosted lockdown-breaking parties last year, has stepped back from the role following reports that he hosted a similar event at the time. In a statement, Downing Street said Case had recused himself from the process to “ensure the ongoing investigation ...

  Bloomberg A Florida man who was one of the first people to plead guilty to crimes stemming from the January 6 Capitol riot was sentenced to five years in prison for assaulting law enforcement officers — the longest such term yet. Robert Palmer, described by his lawyer as a father of four and a “successful businessman,” was sentenced by ...

  Bloomberg Leading nations of the European Union (EU) are resisting a push to quickly draw up specific sanctions and other punishments to impose on Russia if it invades Ukraine, even as the Kremlin shows no sign of backing off a massive troop buildup near its neighbour. Germany, France, Italy and Spain want to focus now on talking to Moscow ...

  Bloomberg Boris Johnson is being squeezed from both sides of the argument over how to tackle a “staggering” surge in Covid-19 omicron infections — and that could have dangerous implications for the UK. The prime minister suffered the biggest Conservative rebellion of his tenure, as 100 members of Parliament opposed his strategy for clamping down on the new coronavirus ...

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Mark Rutte reached a coalition deal nearly nine months after the Dutch general election, marking the longest negotiations in the nation’s history. Rutte, who is expected to be named prime minister once again, presented the agreement between his Liberal party and three partners in the hall of the Dutch parliament building in The Hague. “It took ...

  Bloomberg US Secretary of State Antony Blinken scrapped the rest of his tour of Southeast Asia and will return to Washington after a member of the press travelling with him tested positive for Covid-19, State Department spokesman Ned Price said. Blinken and other senior staff have tested negative for Covid, Price said, and the person who tested positive didn’t ...

  Bloomberg Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticised China’s “aggressive actions” in Asia while laying out plans to more closely integrate US allies and security partners in Asia. During a key policy speech in Jakarta, Blinken underscored US efforts to deliver high-quality infrastructure and vaccines to the region while working closer on security issues. He said the Biden administration doesn’t ...

  Bloomberg Exiled opposition leader of Belarus Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya vowed to continue her campaign against authoritarian ruler Alexander Lukashenko after a court in the country jailed her husband for 18 years. “The dictator publicly takes revenge on his strongest opponents,” Tsikhanouskaya said on Twitter, following the conviction of Siarhei Tskihanouski at a closed trial in a Belarus prison. “We won’t ...