Politics

Bloomberg US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have plenty to discuss during their first virtual summit — from sanctions to Taiwan — even as expectations for a breakthrough on major issues are low. A Biden administration official said the US expects the virtual summit in Washington to last several hours, a time frame that includes translation for ...

Bloomberg The head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) military alliance urged Russia to prevent any escalation in the wake of its build-up of forces near the border with Ukraine. “What we see is a significant, large Russian military build-up, we see an unusual concentration of troops and we know Russia has been willing to use these types of ...

Bloomberg President Vladimir Putin said Russia isn’t behind the migrant crisis playing out at the Poland-Belarus border, but instead is ready to help resolve it. Speaking to Rossiya-1 TV Channel on Sunday, Putin said he learned about developments in the border region from media reports. “We are ready to contribute to this in every possible way, if of course, something ...

Bloomberg President Joe Biden’s approval rating dropped to a new low, mainly because of more negative views among Democrats and independents, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. The president’s overall approval rating is at 41%, down from 50% in June and 44% in September, according to the survey, which added that his current standing isn’t statistically different from two ...

Bloomberg US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concerns over China’s continued military, diplomatic, and economic pressure on Taiwan in a phone conversation with Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Blinken urged Beijing “to engage in meaningful dialogue” to resolve Taiwan Strait issues “peacefully and in a manner consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people on Taiwan,” US Department ...

Bloomberg Bulgarians are voting again in their third general elections this year under abysmal conditions. The poorest nation in the European Union has one of the world’s worst Covid-related death rates, is struggling to access the EU’s pandemic aid and is in a state of permanent political crisis. Former PM Boyko Borissov has run the country for most of the last ...

Bloomberg Austria is putting unvaccinated people under lockdown from Monday, the most drastic move by a Western European country to slow the latest wave of the coronavirus. European cases reached almost 2 million last week, the most in a single week in the region since the pandemic started. The Netherlands and Latvia have both imposed new measures, while Germany is ...

Bloomberg A row engulfing the British government has helped the opposition Labour party record one of its first poll leads over the ruling Conservative party for almost a year. Keir Starmer’s Labour party registered 37% support in the survey, a single point ahead of the Conservatives in the Opinium poll published by the Observer newspaper. It’s the first Labour lead ...

Bloomberg Vladimir Putin has a message for the US and its allies: Moscow won’t tolerate creeping expansion by their armed forces into Ukraine. That’s what he’s told German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other western officials who’ve called in recent days to warn him about what they say is a new accumulation of tanks and troops near the border with his ...

Bloomberg Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will run against his daughter Sara for the vice presidency in next year’s elections, ABS-CBN reported, citing Communications Secretary Martin Andanar. President Duterte plans to file his candidacy on Monday, the last day to finalise bids for the 2022 polls, Andanar was quoted by ABS-CBN as saying on Saturday. When contacted by Bloomberg, Andanar said ...