Politics

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 ...

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 ...