Politics

BLOOMBERG Russian President Vladimir Putin began talks with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in Moscow on Wednesday as the Kremlin steps up efforts to restore ties between Turkey and Syria. Putin said he planned to discuss “all important aspects of cooperation” with Assad, who thanked the Russian leader for backing Syrian demands for the pullout of all foreign forces and expressed …

BLOOMBERG A Russian fighter jet collided with a US surveillance drone in international airspace above the Black Sea, causing the American aircraft to crash, the Pentagon said. Russia’s defense ministry denied the US claim, saying its jets didn’t come into contact with the drone, according to a statement posted on Telegram. The statement said the drone’s transponders were off, and …

BLOOMBERG Ex-Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating condemned the center-left Labor government’s deal with the US and UK to obtain nuclear submarines, saying the nation’s military sovereignty was being surrendered to the “whim and caprice” of Washington. A former Labour party leader, Keating served as prime minister from 1991 to 1996, during which he sought to loosen Australia’s bonds with the …

BLOOMBERG Supporters of Imran Khan clashed with Pakistani police outside his home as the security officials tried to arrest the former premier for the second time, prolonging a political crisis that’s overshadowing the country’s economic turmoil. Islamabad police spokesperson Taqi Jawad said that a police team reached Khan’s residence in the central city of Lahore late on Tuesday afternoon with …

BLOOMBERG Chinese President Xi Jinping is rebooting his image as a global statesman — and he’s already got a significant win under his belt. Hours after securing a third term as China’s president on March 10, Xi’s government hosted the signing of a landmark deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore diplomatic ties. While details of Beijing’s involvement remain …

BLOOMBERG US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan urged Turkey to ratify the membership bids of Sweden and Finland into Nato as pressure builds on two remaining holdouts to approve the expansion of the military alliance. Officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland have been trying to break an impasse that has held up the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s expansion since the …

BLOOMBERG The leaders of the US, the UK and Australia unveiled an ambitious multibillion-dollar plan for a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines that will ply the Pacific in an effort to blunt China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea and around Taiwan. “Forging this partnership, we’re showing again how democracies can deliver our own security and prosperity, and not …

BLOOMBERG Russia remains India’s main source of weapons even as the nation has drastically trimmed purchases, highlighting the challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi of recalibrating New Delhi’s dependence on Moscow, while its borders with both China and Pakistan remain tense. Russian weapon imports dropped by 19% for the five year period starting 2018 compared to a similar time frame …

BLOOMBERG Xi Jinping started an unprecedented third term as China’s president with fresh vows to ensure stability and strengthen party leadership, as he faces a future of slower growth and greater confrontation with the US. “Security is the foundation for development, and stability is the precondition for prosperity,” Xi said on Monday to close out the annual National People’s Congress …

BLOOMBERG Pakistan’s former premier Imran Khan is requesting the courts to hear his cases in a high-security judicial complex in the country’s capital after he skipped a lower court proceeding where he would have been formally indicted. The legal tussles over Khan’s appearance in various court cases adds to the political turmoil that has gripped the South Asian nation since …