Politics

Bloomberg The week before Joe Biden’s inauguration, downtown Washington looks like a city preparing for war. A huge swath of the city core is blocked off, patrolled by uniformed National Guard forces as part of a build-up not seen since the Civil War. And the US capital is getting even more fortified as federal, state and local officials brace for ...

Bloomberg Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni coasted to victory in elections that were marred by a clampdown on opposition campaigning, extending his 35-year rule. Museveni won 58.6% of votes cast on January 14, according to results released on Saturday by the Electoral Commission of Uganda on state television. Pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, 38, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi and presented ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s government expressed its “utmost anger” towards a US decision to sanction six officials from the city and China, calling the move “insane, shameless and despicable.” The US is attempting to “intervene” in the internal affairs of China and Hong Kong, and “obstruct” their efforts to safeguard national security, the city’s government said in a statement on Saturday. ...

Bloomberg Australia joined allies including the US and the UK in raising concern about the use of products from China’s Xinjiang region in global supply chains. Local companies that source goods from the area need to properly check supply chain and suppliers, Foreign Minister Marise Payne was quoted as telling the Australian Financial Review in an interview. Governments are seeking ...

Bloomberg Germany’s dominant party voted for continuity by electing Armin Laschet as leader, opting for the candidate who most resembles outgoing chancellor, Angela Merkel, in policy and style. Laschet, head of the country’s most populous state, beat long-time Merkel critic Friedrich Merz in a runoff after Norbert Roettgen, chairman of foreign affairs committee in Bundestag, was eliminated in first round ...

Bloomberg The US House prepared to vote on a history-making second impeachment of Donald Trump as lawmakers seethed over his role inciting last week’s mob attack on the Capitol and the president’s once-firm control over the Republican party began to break down. Trump’s impeachment appeared inevitable in a vote Democrats anticipated, with the resolution’s sponsors claiming broad support from Democrats ...

Bloomberg The Trump administration declassified its strategy to ensure continued dominance over China, which focuses on accelerating India’s rise as a counterweight to Beijing and the ability to defend Taiwan against an attack. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien announced the publication of the document, titled “United States Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific.” Approved by President Donald Trump in February 2018, ...

Bloomberg Chinese state media urged action to keep Hong Kong elections from becoming a “tool for anti-China and trouble-making forces,” raising the prospects for more measures to curb dissent in the Asian financial hub. The People’s Daily newspaper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, said in a commentary that those found to be disloyal must not be allowed to ...

Bloomberg Vice President Mike Pence signalled he’ll spurn demands to immediately oust Donald Trump over a deadly riot by the president’s supporters as the two met and agreed to work together for the remainder of the term, according to a senior administration official. The discussion adds to indications that Trump has no plans to resign before Joe Biden’s January 20 ...

Bloomberg President Xi Jinping issued an unusually upbeat assessment about China’s future, noting that “time and the situation” were on the country’s side in a new year marked by domestic turmoil in the US. The Chinese leader told a gathering of provincial and ministerial-level officials that he saw “opportunities in general outweighing challenges,” a marked shift from his sometimes dire-sounding ...