Politics

Bloomberg North Korea has labelled Moon Jae-in a meddlesome mediator and reduced to rubble a $15 million liaison office that was one of the South Korean president’s biggest diplomatic achievements. On Monday, however, Kim Jong Un’s regime abruptly restored communication with South Korea via hotlines that Pyongyang had let fall silent for about two months. The move came after Kim’s ...

Bloomberg India’s yearlong farmers’ protests against federal agricultural laws have reached a new flash-point after eight people, including four protesters, were killed in the poll bound northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Farm groups have alleged the deaths occurred after a convoy of cars connected to a junior federal minister ran over angry demonstrators, fired shots and attacked a protest leader ...

Bloomberg The Biden administration will directly engage with Beijing in the coming days to enforce commitments in their trade deal and start a new process to exclude certain products from US tariffs in an effort to help American workers and businesses, senior administration officials said. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai is set to speak to Chinese Vice Premier Liu He ...

Bloomberg Japan’s Fumio Kishida was appointed prime minister by parliament on Monday, and is set to reveal a new cabinet lineup as he seeks to revive support for his ruling party ahead of a general election that could likely come this month. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) used its majority to formally elect Kishida, who will be the second ...

Bloomberg The US called on China to halt its “provocative” pressure on Taiwan after a record number of daily incursions by Chinese warplanes, saying the military actions are destabilising and risk leading to “miscalculations.” “The US commitment to Taiwan is rock solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region,” State ...

Bloomberg North Korea denounced a closed-door UN Security Council meeting that found recent missile tests by the secretive nation were a violation of the UN resolution, saying it’s an encroachment on the country’s sovereignty. The missile tests were “conducted thoroughly in the territorial land, air and seas” of North Korea an in open seas and “never posed threats or harm” ...

Bloomberg Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s ANO party looked the favourite to garner the most votes in next week’s general elections, retaining its lead in a new opinion poll. No single party or coalition is likely to win an outright majority in the October 8-9 ballot, according to the survey of 1,247 people carried out on September 24-30 by pollster ...

Bloomberg The Singapore government can do a better job communicating the country’s virus strategy, a minister said, addressing residents’ frustrations over confusing signals on its reopening plan. The country of about 5.5 million people has shifted its approach from Covid elimination to trying to live with the virus, yet authorities have tightened restrictions on gatherings, restaurants and businesses even after ...

Bloomberg Algeria closed its airspace to French military planes, escalating a row between the North African nation and its former colonial ruler over comments attributed to President Emmanuel Macron. Two planned logistical support flights heading to Africa’s Sahel region were denied permission to cross Algeria on Sunday and have been postponed, according to French army spokesman Colonel Pascal Ianni. The ...

Bloomberg Chinese warplanes made multiple incursions close to Taiwan in the second major display of military might in two weeks. People’s Liberation Army aircraft conducted 38 flights near the territory, based on statements from Taiwan’s defense ministry. There were 13 Chinese planes in the air defense identification zone in nighttime hours and 25 earlier in the day, the ministry said. ...