Politics

Bloomberg Pakistan’s government will resume trade with India, in the latest sign that tensions are easing between the two nations. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s economic coordination committee approved importing cotton yarn until June, Finance Minister Muhammad Hammad Azhar said at a briefing in Islamabad on Wednesday. It will also purchase 500,000 tons of sugar to help stabilise prices since the ...

Bloomberg China finalised a sweeping plan to ensure leaders in Beijing control the outcome of Hong Kong’s elections, a move that could deepen already-fraught relations with Western nations. President Xi Jinping on Tuesday signed orders to amend Hong Kong’s Basic Law, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, after revisions were passed by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee. The move ...

Bloomberg President Joe Biden announced a slate of federal judge nominees on Tuesday that placed a heavy emphasis on his stated goal of promoting diversity across the government. The picks — Biden’s first to the federal bench since taking office January 20 — included Zahid Quraishi, who would be the first Muslim-American federal judge in US history, and Ketanji Brown ...

Bloomberg As the death toll among Myanmar’s protesters rose dramatically last weekend, military air strikes against one of the country’s largest rebel groups stoked fears of another problem: Full-fledged civil war. The Karen National Union, which controls an area in the southeast along the Thai border, confirmed on Monday that about 10,000 residents fled to a safe zone last weekend ...

Bloomberg Dozens of people were said to have been killed in a raid by suspected militants in Mozambique, as an upsurge of violence threatens billions of dollars-worth of energy projects in one of Africa’s poorest nations. The violence began March 24 when armed attackers described by the government as terrorists assaulted the northern coastal town of Palma, close to a ...

Bloomberg Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is under pressure to join other major democracies in imposing sanctions on China over human-rights violations as he prepares for his first face-to-face summit with US President Joe Biden. Numerous reports of serious human-rights abuses against the Uyghur ethnic group in China’s far western region of Xinjiang have prompted several countries in the West ...

Bloomberg Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison reshuffled his cabinet, adding one additional woman to the 22-person body and elevating others to more senior roles as he seeks to ease a backlash against his government sparked by its handling of sexual assault allegations in parliament. While Morrison has promoted women to helm the high-profile attorney-general and home affairs portfolios, he risks ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong will cut mandatory hotel quarantine to 14 days from 21 for people coming from low-risk areas including Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, as the city works to reopen its pandemic-battered economy. People coming from medium-risk areas and who have been vaccinated will also only be asked to quarantine for 14 days, officials said at a briefing Monday. ...

Bloomberg Dozens of Myanmar protesters were killed in clashes with the military and police in the deadliest weekend since the February coup, sparking condemnation from governments around the world. At least 114 people died on Saturday, including civilians who weren’t taking part in demonstrations, according to rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Another nine deaths were reported on Sunday, ...

Bloomberg An explosion hit a Catholic church in central Indonesia during Palm Sunday celebrations, leaving at least 14 injured. The suspected suicide bombing occurred outside the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in Makassar city, Sulawesi island at about 10:30 am on Sunday just as mass had finished, national police spokesperson Argo Yuwono said in a briefing. Most of the victims ...