Politics

  Bloomberg The European Union (EU) agreed to broaden accession talks with Serbia, the largest of the six Balkan countries aspiring to join the bloc, reviving a process that had shown little progress for two years. None of the Balkan aspirants are expected to join the bloc before 2025 at the earliest, as enlargement fatigue and a decade of crises ...

  Bloomberg Voters in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland see themselves united as one country in the next 10 years, according to polls conducted on both sides of the border. South of the border, 62% of people favour Irish unity, though the majority view it as a long-term project rather than an immediate priority, according to a ...

  Bloomberg South Africa jettisoned a plan that would have forced about 200,000 Zimbabweans to return home, to the satisfaction of critics who said it would have caused a humanitarian crisis. The Department of Home Affairs gave no reason for withdrawing its directive to end the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit. The cabinet’s decision to end the permits drew a chorus of ...

  Bloomberg The son of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top domestic policy adviser was appointed the head of the country’s biggest social network after Gazprom PJSC-linked companies bought a controlling interest in it. Vladimir Kirienko, 38, who was previously a first vice-president at state-owned Rostelecom, has been named chief executive officer at VK, the company said in a statement. He ...

  Bloomberg The Economic Community of West African States threatened over the weekend to impose new sanctions on Mali to compel the country’s military leaders to set a timetable for February 27 elections that would restore democratic rule. Ecowas, as the regional economic bloc is known, is considering “economic and financial sanctions” from January 1, according to a statement issued ...

  Bloomberg Group of Seven (G-7) governments are converging around a warning to Russia that President Vladimir Putin will face severe costs if he sends troops into Ukraine, a senior US official said. Discussions at a weekend meeting of G-7 foreign ministers in Liverpool, England, have been in line with President Joe Biden’s public stance towards the threat of a ...

  Bloomberg The UK opposition Labour Party has taken its biggest lead over the ruling Conservative Party since 2014 in a new opinion poll, in the latest sign that allegations around Covid-19 rule-breaking parties are eroding support for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Support for the Labour party is at 41%, according to an Opinium survey for the Observer newspaper. That ...

  Bloomberg An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 5.0 shook buildings in Tokyo, temporarily halting some train lines along Japan’s eastern coastal region. The earthquake occurred in the southern part of Japan’s Ibaraki Prefecture at about 12:30 pm local time, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. There is no threat of a tsunami, and train lines had resumed operations ...

  Bloomberg Residents in New Caledonia, an archipelago in the strategic waters of the Pacific, have voted overwhelmingly to remain a French territory, in a victory for French President Emmanuel Macron. More than 96% voted against independence from France, state-run AFP news agency reported. Turnout was low, however, after indigenous pro-independence leaders called to boycott the referendum, which meant to ...

  Bloomberg Former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro was warned he’ll be considered in “willful noncompliance” with a Congressional subpoena if he fails to testify to a House panel investigating the Trump administration’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Representative James Clyburn, the committee’s chairman, didn’t specify possible consequences in a letter to Navarro. Navarro told the panel in a ...