Politics

Bloomberg British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said coronavirus lockdown rules are set to be scrapped in seven weeks’ time, as he hailed the UK’s successful vaccine rollout ahead of key elections this week. On the campaign trail, Johnson said the pandemic data was likely to allow people in England to stay overnight with friends or relations, with indoor hospitality able ...

Bloomberg Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US will defend the “rules-based” global order as he prepares for meetings in the UK and Ukraine, part of an effort to keep US allies united against China and show support for a crucial ally in the face of Russian aggression. “Our purpose is not to contain China, to hold it back, ...

Bloomberg The Philippines has protested China’s “dangerous maneuver” against its Coast Guard that patrolled and trained last month near a South China Sea shoal, with Manila’s top diplomat issuing expletive-laden remarks towards Beijing. The Chinese Coast Guard shadowed, blocked and issued radio challenges on Manila’s crew near Scarborough Shoal, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on ...

Bloomberg Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party lost an election in a key state he visited frequently before the recent virus surge forced him off the campaign trail, adding to growing signs of a backlash over his government’s handling of the world’s worst Covid-19 outbreak. In West Bengal, incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress won around 72% ...

Bloomberg President Ivan Duque withdrew a plan to raise taxes on many Colombians after it triggered days of bloody street clashes and a political crisis. Duque is giving up on some of the most unpopular ideas, such as extending the value-added tax to additional goods and services and making more people subject to income tax. Colombia needs to raise revenue ...

Bloomberg Chad’s recently reinstated Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacke retained several of slain President Idriss Deby’s allies in his new cabinet, which is expected to be in power for a transition period. Tahir Hamid Nguilin retained the post of Chad’s finance minister and Oumar Torbo Djarma kept the portfolio of oil, while the mining portfolio was split off and given ...

Bloomberg North Korea is pushing back at President Joe Biden’s comment labeling the country a serious threat, and issued new warnings to South Korea for not stopping activists from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. Biden’s comment on North Korea was “intolerable,” Kwon Jong Gun, director general of the Asian country’s Department of US Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, said ...

Bloomberg China has sent its Shandong aircraft carrier for military training in the South China Sea and plans to continue similar exercises, the state-owned Global Times said. The training conducted by the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Shandong aircraft carrier task group is “a routine exercise,” the paper said on Twitter, citing a PLA Navy spokesperson. It didn’t give exact timings ...

Bloomberg Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party is trailing in a key state election that is seen as a test of his popularity and an indication of whether the backlash over his government’s mishandling of the country’s Covid-19 emergency will hurt him at the ballot box. In West Bengal, incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress was ahead ...

Bloomberg Germany’s Greens have cemented a robust advantage in the early stages of the election campaign, boosting their chances of capturing the chancellery in September and pushing through a heavily environmentalist reform agenda. Bolstered by a youthful image and strong climate credentials, the Greens surged into the lead past Angela Merkel’s center-right bloc in three separate polls in the past ...