Politics

Bloomberg The Taliban ordered its fighters to remain just outside the Afghan capital as it starts talks for a peaceful transition of power, cementing its renewed grip on the country two decades after the US ousted it from power. Fighters from the militant group entered the outskirts of Kabul on Sunday as the US and other nations rushed to evacuate ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was to visit the Queen’s representative in Canada to trigger the country’s second election in two years, seeking to capitalise on polls showing his Liberal Party with a large enough lead to retake a majority in parliament. The prime minister was scheduled to meet Governor General Mary Simon at 10 a.m in Ottawa, according to ...

Bloomberg South Korean President Moon Jae-in left the door open for talks with Japan in a speech marking his neighbour’s World War II surrender as several Japanese cabinet members visited a war-linked shrine seen by many in Asia as a symbol of its past militarism. In his last Liberation Day speech as president to mark the end of Japan’s 1910-1945 ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong has a “constitutional responsibility” to implement the anti-sanctions law that China has passed to ensure the city’s long-term and steady development, Financial Secretary Paul Chan wrote in his blog on Sunday. Chan joins Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam in backing local legislation to include Beijiing’s anti-sanctions law in the city’s constitution. The US has interfered with ...

Bloomberg South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma, currently serving a 15-month jail term for contempt of court, has undergone surgery for an unspecified condition, and is due to have further procedures carried out in coming days. Zuma, whose arrest last month triggered a wave of protests and looting in parts of the country, will remain hospitalised close to his prison, ...

Bloomberg Afghanistan’s US-backed president used his first public appearance in days to say he’s turning to the international community for help against Taliban militants advancing across the country. Ashraf Ghani made brief, nationally televised remarks on Saturday as Taliban fighters continue to make rapid territorial gains in the vacuum left by departing US and NATO troops. The president said he ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s largest protest group that drew upwards of two million of the city’s residents on to the streets in 2019 will disband, according to local media reports. Members of the Civil Human Rights Front, which organized many of the largest rallies during the Hong Kong’s 2019 pro-democracy protests, endorsed a resolution to disband, local media including the South ...

Bloomberg Finland’s opposition Finns Party picked a new leader who said the anti-immigrant populists won’t sacrifice their controversial policies in order to become more palatable to other politicians. Riikka Purra, a 44-year-old lawmaker considered the favourite in the race, won by a large margin, securing majority support at a party convention in Seinajoki, western Finland, on Saturday. Incumbent Jussi Halla-Aho ...

Bloomberg Representatives of Nicolas Maduro’s government and the opposition signed a “memorandum of understanding” in Mexico City to begin talks aimed at ending a five-year political impasse and addressing the nation’s economic collapse. The head of opposition’s delegation, Gerardo Blyde, said each side’s willingness and the common understanding that Venezuela is in the midst of its “worst crisis” in modern ...

Bloomberg Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema took an early lead as the first results were announced from cliffhanger election. With results tallied from 15 of the 156 constituencies, Hichilema had 171,604 votes versus President Edgar Lungu’s 110,178, chief electoral officer Kryticous Nshindano said Saturday. Total valid votes counted so far are 287,996, he said. The partial count may not be ...