Politics

Bloomberg The top leadership of South Africa’s ruling party excluded its suspended Secretary-General Ace Magashule from a meeting on Saturday, confirming the sidelining of one of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s biggest detractors. Magashule was ordered to vacate his post after he ignored an order by the African National Congress (ANC) to step aside while he faces trial on graft charges. He ...

Bloomberg Somalia will expedite elections in a bid to quell instability and coax donors into releasing funds needed to pay the nation’s security forces and other state employees, Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdirizak said. The prime minister is scheduled to meet representatives from political parties and other interested groups in July to agree on the voting process, Abdirizak said. The authorities ...

Bloomberg The Philippines said China’s unilateral fishing ban in the South China Sea doesn’t apply to areas within the Southeast Asian nation, in yet another sign of tension between the two countries. The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea “opposes China’s imposition of the same over the areas within the territory and jurisdiction of the Philippines,” it said ...

Bloomberg Isabel Diaz Ayuso, Madrid’s combative conservative leader, won a second term as regional president, cementing her position as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s most powerful critic. Ayuso’s People’s Party claimed 65 seats in the vote, more than doubling its representation in the regional assembly, with Sanchez’s Socialists getting 24 and falling to third place in number of votes behind a ...

Bloomberg Vietnam has ordered a strict border control after lengthening the quarantine period to include additional time at home and imposing some movement restrictions as it traces the recent flare up in coronavirus cases to overseas travellers. During a virus task force meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam ordered intensified inspections on arriving travellers, according to a post on ...

Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition is rapidly revising its pandemic strategy over concerns its controversial lockdown law may suffer a court setback, which would be the second legal defeat in quick succession just months before September elections. Germany’s Constitutional Court is considering at least 289 challenges to the law, which was pushed through in April after authorities failed to find ...

Bloomberg President Joe Biden sought to ease tensions with his political allies by quadrupling the limit on the number of refugees who can enter the US after months of administration wavering and reversals over increasing the cap. Biden said he would allow in as many as 62,500 refugees by the end of September, up from the historically low ceiling of ...

Bloomberg Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said China remains a benefactor, as the Southeast Asian nation seeks to increase vaccine delivery from the mainland amid brewing tensions in disputed waters. “China remains our benefactor,” Duterte said. “Just because we have a conflict with China doesn’t mean to say that we have to be rude and disrespectful.” Duterte made the comment hours ...

Bloomberg It’s not just India. Fierce new Covid-19 waves are enveloping other developing countries across the world, placing severe strain on their healthcare systems and prompting appeals for help. Nations ranging from Laos to Thailand in Southeast Asia, and those bordering India such as Bhutan and Nepal, have been reporting significant surges in infections in the past few weeks. The ...

Bloomberg A week that could set in motion the eventual collapse of the 314-year union between England and Scotland is concentrating City trading desks on market disasters ahead. As Scots enter a May 6 vote pitched on whether there should be a second independence referendum, fund managers and sell-side strategists see potential for massive chaos across the UK’s economic landscape ...