Politics

Bloomberg Ethiopians in the south of the country have voted almost unanimously to have their own state, part of a push for increased autonomy that’s intensified since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018. South West will become Ethiopia’s 11th state after 1.26 million Ethiopians in six zones and one locality took part in a September 30 referendum. About ...

Bloomberg Singapore is pressing ahead with plans to reopen its borders despite battling a record Covid-19 outbreak, saying it will allow vaccinated travellers from nine more countries including the US and UK to enter without having to quarantine. The other places to qualify are Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain with travel to Singapore to start from October ...

Bloomberg Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz resigned in the face of corruption allegations, a stunning blow for a rising star of European conservative politics. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, whom Kurz recommended as his successor, now begins the work of salvaging the ruling People’s Party/Green Party coalition. He’s due to meet Green officials and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on Sunday. ...

Bloomberg Czech President Milos Zeman was rushed to the hospital over complications related to his chronic health problems, a development that may snarl government negotiations after his ally suffered a shock election defeat. Zeman, 77, has spent the past years in a wheelchair suffering from diabetes and neuropathy. A staunch supporter of Russia and advocate of deepening ties with China, ...

Bloomberg Talks to form a three-way coalition government in Germany risk getting bogged down over finance and budget matters, based on divergent policy objectives outlined by leaders of the two junior parties over the weekend. Volker Wissing, secretary-general of the business-friendly FDP, said his party won’t accept tax increases or a loosening of the so-called debt brake, according to a ...

Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping said unification with Taiwan “will and must be achieved,” renewing his pledge just days after sending a record number of warplanes near the island as part of a years-long pressure campaign. Xi made the remarks as part of a televised speech marking the 1911 uprising that toppled the last Qing emperor and led to the ...

Bloomberg Ethiopia has launched a major offensive against rebel forces from the Tigray region, carrying out air strikes in its latest bid to gain the upper hand in an almost yearlong civil war. The move from the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed comes days after he was inaugurated for a new five-year term as leader of Africa’s second-most populous ...

Bloomberg US President Joe Biden said he and China’s Xi Jinping have reaffirmed their agreement on Taiwan, as top envoys for the two countries were expected to discuss simmering tensions over the democratically ruled island during talks in Zurich. Biden told reporters after returning from a trip to Michigan that he and the Chinese president spoke and agreed to stick ...

Bloomberg Afghanistan’s state power company has appealed to a United Nations-led mission to give $90 million to settle unpaid bills to Central Asian suppliers before electricity gets cut off for the country given that the three-month deadline for payments has passed. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan from mid-August, electricity bills haven’t been paid to neighbouring countries that supply ...

Bloomberg Mali’s foreign ministry has summoned the country’s French ambassador after France’s President Emmanuel Macron questioned the legitimacy of the African nation’s interim leadership. Tensions between France and Mali have been rising since Mali’s Prime Minister, Choguel Kokalla Maiga, accused France of abandoning his country “mid-flight” in the fight against extremists. Radio France International reported that Macron last week rejected ...