Politics

BLOOMBERG The French government survived two no-confidence motions late Monday to enable the immediate adoption of President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular pension reform bill without holding a full vote in parliament. In a tighter than expected count, the first motion got 278 votes, only nine short of the 287 needed to topple Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. The second got 94. “We …

BLOOMBERG Hard-line Brexiteers in Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party said parts of the UK prime minister’s new Brexit deal are “practically useless,” while reserving judgment on whether they’ll rebel in a vote on Wednesday. EU law will remain supreme in Northern Ireland, new trading arrangements won’t work as billed by Sunak and a proposed veto mechanism for the application of new …

BLOOMBERG Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday for talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin including on Beijing’s proposals to end the war in Ukraine. “During the visit, I look forward to exchanging in-depth views with President Putin on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues of common concern, so as to draw a blueprint for China-Russia …

BLOOMBERG India lodged a formal protest with the British High Commission in New Delhi after a Sikh separatist sympathizer pulled down the national flag outside its embassy in London. Local media in India tweeted video footage that showed the man pulling down the Indian tricolour. He then briefly waved the orange flag of the so-called Khalistan movement, which fought for …

BLOOMBERG Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida prodded his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to speak against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at their meeting on Monday, adding pressure on New Delhi to choose between major world democracies and a key supplier of energy and weapons. “I want to stop Russia’s invasion as fast as possible, Kishida told reporters after the meeting. “To …

BLOOMBERG Thailand’s parliament was dissolved on Monday ahead of elections slated for May as Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha seeks to extend nearly a decade of his military-backed rule. The order dissolving the House of Representatives was endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn and published in the Royal Gazette, just three days before the lower house was due to complete its four-year …

BLOOMBERG Australia’s government is confident that plans to acquire a fleet of nuclear submarines under the Aukus agreement won’t derail progress in restoring its relations with China. Trade Minister Don Farrell said talks on reviving frozen ties were progressing well at an official level, and that an invitation for him to visit Beijing still stood. That’s despite the overarching aim …

BLOOMBERG President Vladimir Putin made a surprise trip to occupied Mariupol, the Ukrainian city largely destroyed by a months-long Russian siege, according to a Kremlin statement and video released on state television. The highly classified visit was Putin’s first to one of the four Ukrainian regions that Russia claimed in September to have annexed as part of its invasion launched …

BLOOMBERG North Korea test-fired a suspected short-range ballistic missile, adding to its barrage of launches in the past month that included two rockets designed to deliver a nuclear warhead to the US mainland. The missile was fired towards waters to the east of the Korean peninsula, Yonhap News reported, citing South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. It flew for about …

BLOOMBERG Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, and her Pheu Thai party widened leads as the voters’ top choice in the latest opinion poll ahead of a general election tentatively scheduled for May. Paetongtarn, who represents the Southeast Asian nation’s largest opposition party, garnered 38.2% of support in a poll of 2,000. It’s the latest edition of …