Politics

BLOOMBERG Ukrainian officials are signaling that the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut may soon be impossible to defend as Russian troops level the area. “The enemy is gradually destroying everything that can be used to protect our positions, for reinforcement and defense,” Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address Monday evening. The top commander in charge of Ukraine’s ground forces, ...

BLOOMBERG Thailand’s major political parties are ramping up their policy promises to cement a foothold in regional bastions ahead of a general election in May. Campaigning in north Thailand’s Chiang Rai province, the main opposition Pheu Thai Party vowed to triple farmers’ income during the first four years in office if elected. That will be achieved by introducing new farming ...

BLOOMBERG India’s main opposition Congress party said it will forge alliances with some regional groups to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in next year’s general elections. Congress had formed coalition governments from 2004 to 2014 with “friendly allies” and will forge alliances with like-minded political groups for the 2024 polls, party President Mallikarjun Kharge said. Congress’ top leadership are ...

BLOOMBERG A deal with the European Union over trade barriers in Northern Ireland could be struck in the coming  days, deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said. “Hopefully there’ll be good news in a matter of days, not weeks.” Raab said in an interview with Sky News’ Sophy Ridge. “We are not there yet. But we are obviously in a ...

BLOOMBERG China will host the president of Belarus in a state visit this week, welcoming an ally of Vladimir Putin as the US expresses concerns that Beijing may yet decide to provide weapons support to Russia that would assist it in its war in Ukraine. Alexander Lukashenko is visiting at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, China’s foreign ministry said ...

Bloomberg China called for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in a position paper on ending the war that offered some reprieve to Moscow but was quickly dismissed by Kyiv’s allies as the conflict enters its second year. Several of the 12 points outlined by China in the document would, if carried out, offer clear benefits to Russian President Vladimir ...

Bloomberg Poland sent its first four Leopard 2A4 battle tanks to Ukraine, a symbolic gesture to mark one year since Russia’s invasion as western allies rush to arm the embattled nation’s forces amid intensified Kremlin-ordered attacks. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced during a visit to Kyiv that the delivery of the remaining batch of its 14 German-made combat vehicles will ...

Bloomberg President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is intensifying his campaign to mediate an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine as he seeks to reinsert Brazil in the global political stage. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin was quoted by Russia’s Tass news agency as saying Moscow is studying Lula’s proposal to end the conflict as it continues to assess ...

Bloomberg The race to succeed Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tightened, the health service and where to go next in the push to break away from the rest of the UK. As nominations closed for the post of Scottish National Party leader, bookmakers continued to make Health Secretary Humza Yousaf the favourite. But his closest rival, Kate Forbes, who is ...

  Bloomberg Junior doctors in England will walk out for three consecutive days next month after voting overwhelmingly to take industrial action over pay, claiming the government has refused to engage. The British Medical Association (BMA) said trainee doctors will not report for work starting from March 13 as they push for a higher than 2% raise for the current ...