Politics

Bloomberg Supporters of opposition leader Alexey Navalny held Russia’s biggest anti-Kremlin protests since at least 2018, braving clashes with riot police and freezing temperatures to demand his release from jail. Tens of thousands turned out in dozens of cities across the world’s largest country, defying the authorities’ warnings that they may face charges of “mass disorder” for the unauthorised protests. ...

Bloomberg The Congress of South African Trade Unions, a key ally of the country’s ruling African National Congress, has attacked the party for everything from delays in securing Covid-19 vaccines to failing to provide income support for workers affected by the pandemic. In a submission to a meeting of the ANC’s top decision-making body, the National Executive Committee, the 1.8 ...

Bloomberg Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said “help is on the way,” as the country reels from a rise in coronavirus infections and deaths that have claimed the lives of two members of his cabinet. In a televised address, Mnangagwa said government was engaging countries that have developed vaccines and once secured, they would be given first to health-care workers. “Help ...

Bloomberg Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she remains committed to a legal referendum on independence after her party set out a plan of action should the UK government continue to refuse to grant one. The Scottish National Party (SNP) leader said that if the party wins May’s regional election in Scotland, the UK’s position will be untenable because voters ...

Bloomberg President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, his first calls with foreign counterparts since his inauguration this week. In a nod to continental cooperation, Biden’s first conversation was with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and then Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The White House, in a statement, said Biden underscored to Trudeau “the strategic ...

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 ...