Politics

Bloomberg Thailand is set for a fresh wave of street protests by pro-democracy activists with PM Prayuth Chan-Ocha ignoring their deadline to quit by Saturday. Free Youth and the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration, two of the main protest groups, have vowed to stage mass gatherings until all of their demands, which include a rewriting of the constitution and ...

Bloomberg Warring parties in Libya signed a permanent ceasefire agreement ahead of a conference to appoint a unity government for the fractured North African country. Representatives of the internationally recognised government based in Tripoli and eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar agreed to the ceasefire after talks in Geneva, the United Nations said. The pact promises to end a war started ...

Bloomberg Malaysia’s king will meet with the country’s other royal leaders to discuss proposals by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, with media reports saying the government plans to declare a state of emergency to try to control the coronavirus pandemic. The king understands the need for continuity in the country’s administration to combat the threat of Covid-19, the palace said in ...

Bloomberg Guinea’s President Alpha Conde won a comfortable majority victory in a vote marred by protests over the legality of his third-term bid. Conde will rule the world’s biggest bauxite exporter for another six years, after defeating former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo with 59% of the vote, Kabinet Cisse, the head of the electoral commission, said in a speech ...

Bloomberg The Somali parliament on Saturday approved a new cabinet named by Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble last week. All the 188 lawmakers in attendance voted in favor of the cabinet ministers, according to Parliament Speaker Mohamed Mursal Sheikh. In September, the Somali parliament ratified Roble’s appointment, less than a week after his nomination. Roble, a Swedish-Somali who had been ...

Bloomberg The Italian government is expected to approve further virus containment measures as soon as Sunday and is mulling additional economic support even as the threat of tighter restrictions prompts protests. New infections soared above 19,000 cases on October 23, just a day after Naples — Italy’s hardest-hit city — imposed a night-time curfew in a bid to contain spread ...

Bloomberg White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said the goal in talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a deal on a coronavirus relief package within the next 48 hours. “The last 24 hours have moved the ball down the field,” Meadows said on Fox Business Wednesday, after the latest round of talks between Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven ...

Bloomberg A special unit of Taliban extremists ambushed a convoy of Afghan security forces, killing as many as 34 even as the insurgent group holds peace talks with the Kabul government to end the 19-year-old war. The night raid by Taliban fighters, some armed with night-vision goggles and laser-assisted rifles, took place in Afghanistan’s north as the convoy made its ...

Bloomberg Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said his government is prepared to withdraw emergency rules banning large gatherings in the capital if the mounting protests demanding his ouster and monarchy reforms remain peaceful. Prayuth’s pledge to review the state of emergency issued last week and open the doors for talks came as thousands of protesters marched to the prime minister’s ...

Bloomberg Malaysia’s United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party expressed its support for the government, in a boost to PM Muhyiddin Yassin’s leadership. The party, the largest block in the ruling coalition, announced a “political ceasefire” and said it will back the government’s efforts to manage the pandemic and boost economic growth, according to a statement from UMNO President Ahmad Zahid ...