Politics

Bloomberg North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and South Korea’s Moon Jae-in agreed in letters to restore relations, improving the prospects for a breakthrough in an extended stalemate in nuclear talks. The two countries released what appeared to be coordinated statements on Tuesday calling for reconciliation on the peninsula, with state media in Pyongyang saying they agreed “to make a big ...

Bloomberg The Biden administration has asked Congress for $1 billion to bring Afghans who helped American forces during the two-decade war in their country to the US, and there is bipartisan support to provide the money, according to people familiar with the matter. The money would be included in an emergency measure chiefly intended to provide heightened security on Capitol ...

Bloomberg The UK government is planning to press ahead with its flagship Sizewell C nuclear project even without Chinese funding, according to a person familiar with the situation. The proposed 20 billion-pound ($27.5 billion) plant in eastern England is still viable, despite the government exploring ways to remove state-owned China General Nuclear Power Corp from all future projects in the ...

Bloomberg The US and China left open the possibility of a summit between their presidents despite a contentious day of talks between officials from both sides in city of Tianjin. Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng told visiting Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman during a meeting on Monday that the relationship was “in a stalemate and faces serious difficulties.” Xie ...

Bloomberg Najib Mikati, a billionaire businessman and former premier, is poised to be named Lebanon’s third prime minister-designate in less than a year, as the country scrambles to escape a spiraling economic crisis. Lawmakers and President Michel Aoun are holding talks to name a new premier, but Mikati’s already won the backing of a group of former Sunni Muslim heavyweight ...

Bloomberg Ethiopia’s northern Amhara province urged its adults to enlist in military and fight rebels advancing from neighbouring Tigray region, potentially intensifying the nine-month conflict. Amharans of above 18 years should fight for the “existence of the region,” Chief Administrator Agegnehu Teshager said on a regional broadcaster weeks after Tigray fighters crossed into towns in Amhara and Afar states. The ...

Bloomberg President Vladimir Putin used a Navy Day parade to deliver his latest reminder of Russia’s military muscle, touting the nation’s hypersonic nuclear weapons at a ceremony in his hometown of St Petersburg. “Today the Russian navy has everything it needs to defend our homeland, our national interests,” Putin said in a speech in front of a monument to the ...

Bloomberg Typhoon In-Fa made landfall in Eastern China on Sunday, causing the evacuation of more than 100,000 people, the cancellation of flights in and out of Shanghai and the halting of business operations, according to state media. In-Fa landed in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, at 12.30 pm, local time, with a maximum wind force of 38 meters (125 feet) per second, ...

Bloomberg Malaysia’s parliament will sit for the first time this year on Monday, providing lawmakers an opportunity to grill Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin over his government’s handling of the pandemic and the economy. The five-day sitting will see Malaysia’s emergency declaration and bills on fake news and penalties for breaching Covid protocols finally laid before the house for legislators to ...

Bloomberg The Biden administration has no immediate plans to levy economic sanctions on Chinese officials in response to the Microsoft Exchange hack that the US blames on Beijing, according to people familiar with the matter. Some in the administration cite concern that sanctions wouldn’t be as effective as other approaches in deterring future cyber-attacks by China, according to two people ...