Politics

Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel asked the German people for forgiveness after making a rare public apology for sparking massive criticism with plans for a five-day Easter shutdown. Merkel dropped the proposal, calling it a “mistake,” after a hastily-arranged video conference with the heads of Germany’s 16 states around 33 hours after announcing the move. She defended one of Germany’s toughest ...

Bloomberg This week Joe Biden made good on his campaign promise to work more with allies to pressure China, coordinating with US partners to impose sanctions over alleged human-rights abuses in Xinjiang. Beijing’s response: Hit back at the allies as hard as possible. China wasted no time immediately retaliating with reciprocal sanctions against European Union officials while summoning the bloc’s ...

Bloomberg The US expressed concerns over the presence of more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels near a disputed South China Sea reef, saying Beijing uses “maritime militia to intimidate, provoke and threaten other nations.” Chinese boats “have been mooring in this area for many months in ever increasing numbers, regardless of the weather,” the US embassy in the Philippines said ...

Bloomberg An Australian adviser to Myanmar’s detained civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is being investigated by the authorities under two separate charges, the junta’s main spokesman said on Tuesday. Sean Turnell, who was detained shortly after the military takeover of the country in a coup on February 1, is being investigated for violations of Myanmar’s immigration and official secrets ...

Bloomberg Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will seek to shift the focus back onto her push for an independence referendum after facing the biggest threat to her job since coming to power more than six years ago. The Scottish National Party leader is all but sure to survive a no-confidence vote that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives had hoped would ...

Bloomberg More than 20 Western diplomats staged a public show of unity outside a Canadian’s high-profile spying trial, highlighting their shared concern about the risk of arbitrary detention in the country. Representatives from the US, the UK, the European Union and numerous European countries were turned away en masse while attempting to attend the trial of Michael Kovrig. The International ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) signed off on a slate of punitive measures over human rights abuses including sanctions aimed at China. “The violations targeted include the large-scale arbitrary detentions of, in particular, Uyghurs in Xinjiang in China,” according to an EU statement on Monday. “The sanctions signal the EU’s strong determination to stand up for human rights and to ...

Bloomberg Myanmar’s military junta expects investments from Asian countries to continue despite growing condemnation over its coup last month and the violent suppression of ensuing pro-democracy protests. While the US and its partners are taking actions such as sanctions against the military, and some regional companies have scaled back operations, Asian neighbours largely have refrained from turning away from the ...

Bloomberg British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he is “reassured” that the European Union does not want to launch a vaccine battle, despite the bloc warning it is set to restrict exports of coronavirus shots to the UK. In an attempt to defuse the tensions over the issue, Johnson said avoiding blockades of vaccine supplies is vital because immunisation programs ...

Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel proposed extending and tightening Germany’s lockdown after Covid-19 contagion rates nearly doubled in a month, highlighting Europe’s struggles to contain the pandemic. The plan would prolong current curbs through April 18 and calls for new measures in hard-hit areas, according to a chancellery draft seen by Bloomberg. Merkel and regional leaders will discuss the proposals as ...