Politics

Bloomberg Croatia suffered its strongest earthquake in 140 years — for the second time in 2020 — with the tremor devastating the city at its epicenter, killing at least one person and rattling Europeans as far away as Rome and Vienna. The temblor, measured at 6.3 by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre on Tuesday, was larger than both a 5.2 quake ...

Bloomberg The trade deal that both sides of the English Channel say reflects a new era of cooperation is essentially a sideshow for the City of London, which is still awaiting its own seal of approval from the European Union (EU). EU officials must rule separately that British financial regulations and oversight are strong enough to create a level playing ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s continued effort to overturn the November 3 election results got a front-page rebuke from one his most loyal backers: the New York Post. “Mr President, it’s time to end this dark charade,” the New York City tabloid’s editorial board wrote in Monday’s edition. The paper, which endorsed Trump for president, tells Trump to “Give it up,” ...

Bloomberg China has sentenced a former lawyer to four years in prison over her posts about the coronavirus response in Wuhan, media reports said, the first known conviction of someone who chronicled authorities’ early struggle to manage the outbreak. Zhang Zhan, 37, was convicted at the Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court on Monday of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” ...

Bloomberg A ban on political campaign rallies in some parts of Uganda ahead of the January 14 elections is meant to stymie President Yoweri Museveni’s rivals, according to the opposition. The Electoral Commission’s suspension of campaign meetings in at least 12 of Uganda’s 146 districts is expected to hamper Museveni’s main challenger, pop star Bobi Wine, who’s yet to hold ...

Bloomberg Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, facing the biggest protests of his 26-year rule, will gather a convention of his supporters in February in an effort to break the gridlock that has paralysed his country’s political life since August. A two-day Belarusian People’s Congress will start on February 11, state-owned news agency Belta reported on Monday, citing Lukashenko at a meeting ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Boris Johnson said major changes are coming in the UK as the result of the trade deal his government negotiated with the European Union (EU), completing the country’s separation from the bloc, the Telegraph reported. “We can’t sort of suddenly decide that we’re free and then not decide how to exercise it,” Johnson told the Sunday Telegraph ...

Bloomberg Venezuela’s opposition-dominated National Assembly voted to continue meeting beyond its five-year term that ends on January 5, giving the nation two competing legislative bodies after members boycotted the congressional election pushed by autocrat Nicolas Maduro. The move paves the way for opposition leader Juan Guaido to remain as the “president in charge,” though lawmakers voted to impose more checks ...

Bloomberg Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou’s favoured successor, Mohamed Bazoum, is the front-runner to win the elections, after the main opposition challenger was barred from standing. Issoufou, 68, is stepping down after serving two five-year terms. His departure paves the way for the first-ever peaceful transition of power between two elected leaders in the West African nation, which has had four ...

Bloomberg The Japanese government will ban entry to most foreigners through the end of January as coronavirus cases reach record highs there and the nation confirmed its first cases of the new, more infectious Covid strain. The restrictions will be implemented on Monday, the government said in a statement. Japanese nationals and foreigners with residency who are returning from short ...