Politics

Bloomberg China’s passed a controversial law that gives the coast guard more freedom to fire on foreign vessels, a move that could fuel risk of military miscalculation in the Western Pacific. The law is aimed at “safeguarding national sovereignty, security and maritime rights,” the official Xinhua News Agency said in a report on Saturday. The law will take effect from ...

Bloomberg Arguments in the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump will begin the week of February 8, giving the Senate time to continue confirming President Joe Biden’s cabinet, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. The House will transmit the single article of impeachment to the Senate on Monday and, as in previous impeachments, senators will be sworn-in as ...

Bloomberg Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, taking control of a nation wracked by a deadly pandemic, persistent unemployment and burgeoning social unrest to cap the most acrimonious transfer of power in modern American history. Biden, 78, took the oath of office around noon from Chief Justice John Roberts on the ...

Bloomberg China urged cooperation with Joe Biden’s administration and said it hoped new US officials would make their own judgments on Xinjiang, after outgoing Secretary of State Michael Pompeo called Beijing’s crackdown in the region “genocide.” “We hope the new US administration will work together with China, with mutual respect, properly handle differences and conduct more win-win cooperation in more ...

Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson defeated a rebellion by his own lawmakers after they pressed for British judges to be able to rule if China’s Muslim Uighur minority is suffering genocide. The House of Commons narrowly voted down an amendment to a proposed law on international trade agreements which would have allowed victims to ask the High Court in ...

Bloomberg A Supreme Court panel in India refused to issue orders on the government’s petition to stop a proposed rally by farmers that would run at the same time as Republic Day celebrations on January 26. The three-judge panel headed by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde said police, and not the court, should decide on allowing farmers into ...

Bloomberg Tunisia saw another night of anti-government protests after the prime minister acknowledged “legitimate” anger at nation’s economic malaise while warning against the use of violence. Protesters blocked roads, burned tires and skirmished with police in mainly working class neighbourhoods of Tunis and the central city of Kasserine, local broadcaster reported. More than 600 people have been arrested in upheaval ...

Bloomberg President-elect Joe Biden was expected to arrive in Washington, the eve of his inauguration, with the usual backdrop of celebrations and political comity replaced by a military lockdown. Biden was expected to spend the night at Blair House, the guest residence across the street from the White House — one of just a few traditions being honoured during the ...

Bloomberg The Taliban has called on President-elect Joe Biden to honour a US agreement to withdraw all the American forces from Afghanistan by May in order to secure intra-Afghan peace talks and end two-decade-long war. “Steps must now be taken to end the war, not to prolong it, and the agreement was made for the purpose,” Mohammad Naeem, a senior ...

Bloomberg Russia vowed to ignore US and European calls to free jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny after he urged Western governments to sanction key allies of President Vladimir Putin. Navalny, 44, identified eight people as potential targets for punitive measures, including billionaire Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich and tycoon Alisher Usmanov as well as top officials, in a list ...