Politics

Bloomberg Malaysia and Singapore said they will allow travel between the two countries on compassionate grounds or for family emergencies from May 17. The visits would be for death and critical illness reasons, the two sides said in a joint statement after a two-day visit by Malaysia Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to the city-state. The countries agreed on procedures and ...

Bloomberg Delayed elections in Somalia amid political infighting has enabled al-Qaeda-linked extremists to make gains in an insurgency, raising the threat of insecurity in eastern Africa. The group, known as al-Shabaab, has taken advantage of the impasse and the withdrawal of US troops from Somalia to recruit fighters, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Authorities have thwarted some ...

Bloomberg The Pentagon said it had cancelled projects related to Donald Trump’s border wall and was returning money the former president directed to the project to defense programs. “The Department of Defense is proceeding with cancelling all border barrier construction projects paid for with funds originally intended for other military missions and functions such as schools for military children, overseas ...

Bloomberg The town of Hartlepool in northeast England is the kind of place a Conservative prime minister would ordinarily struggle to find support. One of the most deprived areas of the UK, the blue-collar port saw its steel industry collapse in the 1970s and 80s and the unemployment rate remains among the highest in the country. Politically, it’s backed the ...

Bloomberg Australia has temporarily banned its citizens from returning from India. The pause on allowing in travellers that were in India within 14 days of arriving will take effect from Monday, Health Minister Greg Hunt said in an emailed statement. Breaches of the ban could lead to a fine of A$66,600 ($51,000), five years imprisonment, or both. As virus cases ...

Bloomberg A strong earthquake off Japan’s northern coast of Miyagi prefecture on Saturday temporarily disrupted bullet train service and prompted utility companies to conduct checks at nuclear power plants. The magnitude 6.8 temblor hit at 10:27 am local time at a depth of 32 miles, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. While the quake shook buildings as far away as Tokyo, ...

Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing an official investigation into whether he or his party broke election law by failing to declare the funding of works to refurbish his government residence. The Electoral Commission, which regulates political donations, announced the inquiry amid questions over whether Johnson took an undeclared loan from a political donor to cover the costs ...

Bloomberg Somalia’s leader said he’s prepared to hold elections, after a controversial plan to extend his mandate without a vote drew international condemnation and stoked violence in the Horn of Africa nation. President Mohamed Abdullahi, also known as Farmajo, called for urgent talks on the return to a September 17 agreement between the federal and regional governments to hold an ...

Bloomberg Finland’s ruling coalition came to an agreement on spending plans, averting a collapse of the Nordic nation’s Social Democrat-led government by a thin margin. The five-party cabinet patched up its differences, forging a common vision of how Finland’s recovery from the pandemic should take place, PM Sanna Marin said. The broad outlines of the deal are now agreed, and ...

Bloomberg For months, developed economies have hoarded Covid-19 vaccines and the raw materials needed to make them. Now, they’re being forced to act as an explosive outbreak in India raises the risk of new virus mutations that could threaten the wider world. Under mounting criticism for dominating vaccine resources, the US said that it will help India by sending items ...