Bloomberg Kim Jong Un will put North Korea on a path to develop more advanced nuclear technologies and missiles, sending a chilling warning to President-elect Joe Biden that the Asian leader is ready to ratchet up security tensions. Kim called the US a “war monster†and his “biggest main enemy,†at the first Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea ...
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Donald Trump’s role in Capitol riot may figure in criminal probe
Bloomberg The US charged 55 people with crimes stemming from the siege of the US Capitol and President Donald Trump’s actions ahead of the riot may be investigated by federal prosecutors. Asked whether the US Attorney’s office would scrutinise the president’s role in inciting the storming of the Capitol, Michael Sherwin, the acting US Attorney in Washington, said at a ...
Read More »Pelosi moves cautiously against Trump as Biden focuses on agenda
Bloomberg House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is moving cautiously as she faces pressure from angry Democrats to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time, while President-elect Joe Biden is making it clear he wants to focus on his agenda and fighting the coronavirus. With many House Democrats demanding impeachment after Trump encouraged a mob that stormed the Capitol this week, ...
Read More »HK blocks local website on ‘security grounds’
Bloomberg Hong Kong police blocked a local website and cited National Security Law for the first time in doing so. The National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force has blocked hkchronicles.com, without specifying which content violated the law. The website often features pro-democracy articles. Ming Pao reported Hong Kong police declined to comment on individual cases, but the ...
Read More »US cites Russia as likely hacking culprit, bucking president Trump
Bloomberg US intelligence agencies and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said a major hack of the federal government and some corporations was likely undertaken by Russia — contradicting President Donald Trump’s efforts to suggest China might be responsible — and “will require a sustained and dedicated effort to remediate.†The FBI is still focused on identifying victims, collecting and ...
Read More »WikiLeaks founder Assange denied bail
Bloomberg Julian Assange was denied bail by a UK judge on Wednesday, two days after the court blocked the WikiLeaks founder’s extradition to the US on mental-health grounds. The ruling means the 49-year-old will remain in London’s high-security Belmarsh prison, where he’s been for nearly two years. He will be held while the US government tries to appeal the extradition ...
Read More »US citizen among dozens rounded by HK police
Bloomberg President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for US secretary of state denounced Hong Kong’s arrest of dozens of opposition figures under a controversial national security law, an unprecedented crackdown that included an American lawyer. Police said they had swept up 53 people in the operation and that around 1,000 officers had been dispatched to carry out the detentions. Those arrested included ...
Read More »Malaysia leader’s call for snap election stirs new infighting
Bloomberg Tensions are rising in the largest party in Malaysia’s ruling coalition over whether a general election should be held amid the nation’s worsening coronavirus epidemic. Ties between Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s Bersatu party and United Malays National Organisation, his key ally, have steadily deteriorated since UMNO threatened to pull out of the coalition in October, even though Muhyuddin survived ...
Read More »Afghanistan, Taliban resume peace talks
Bloomberg Battling a resurgence in violence including a campaign of targeted killings of journalists, Afghanistan’s government resumes peace talks with the Taliban on Tuesday, with efforts expected to be focused on securing a cease-fire agreement in the dying days of Donald Trump’s presidency. Since the intra-Afghan talks began in September in the Qatari capital of Doha, where the Taliban has ...
Read More »Trump’s last stand on election gives Pence a final loyalty test
Bloomberg President Donald Trump will make his last stand to overturn his election loss on Wednesday when Vice President Mike Pence presides over a congressional session to ratify November’s results, an event that threatens to strain the relationship between the two men. Trump’s refusal to concede and his obsession with overturning the will of voters means the ceremony poses a ...
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