Politics

Bloomberg Boris Johnson apologised after wrongly explaining his own government’s coronavirus restrictions, in a gaffe that will fuel growing criticism of his response to the pandemic. “Apologies, I misspoke today,” the UK Prime Minister said on Twitter. It was the third time in three hours that government spokespeople had failed to be clear on the new rules that are being ...

Bloomberg Ivory Coast should briefly postpone on October 31 elections to settle a dispute over the legal framework of the vote, including the legitimacy of the electoral commission and the voter roll, the International Crisis Group said. With supporters of the ruling party and the opposition heading for a confrontation, talks would “offer an opportunity to get out of the ...

Bloomberg The US asked Zimbabwe to help put down an insurgency in neighbouring Mozambique that’s destabilising a region rich in natural gas, people familiar with the matter said. The request came in a phone call between US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Tibor Nagy and Zimbabwe Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo last week, the people said, asking not to be identified ...

Bloomberg Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said relations between the US and Greece are the closest they’ve ever been after meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at his home on the island of Crete. “The relationship between our two countries is at an all-time high. It’s getting stronger,” Pompeo said at a press conference on Tuesday following further talks at ...

Bloomberg A majority of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers plan to remain in office after China’s decision to extend their terms without a planned election. Sixteen of 23 sitting opposition lawmakers will keep their seats on Hong Kong’s 70-member Legislative Council, pan-democrat politicians said. The announcement came after a week-long survey of democracy supporters revealed a split among the opposition’s supporters ...

Bloomberg Emmanuel Macron met the leader of the opposition in Belarus and promised to help mediate an end to the country’s political crisis, as he seeks to persuade European Union chiefs he’s serious about confronting Russia. The meeting in Vilnius on Tuesday was the first between a leader of a Group of Seven nation and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled across ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden square off for 90 minutes in their first debate on Tuesday and political pros on both sides are fretting the most about a viral moment that can turn a good performance into a disaster that’s remembered for generations. A single ill-advised answer could turn off a crucial demographic in a battleground state. ...

Bloomberg Spain’s Supreme Court has barred Catalonia’s regional president from office for 18 months, adding a further dose of instability to a country immersed in its worst economic crisis in living memory. Joaquim Torra was found guilty of disobeying a court order to remove pro-independence symbols from Catalan public buildings in a “repeated, stubborn and obstinate” manner, according to the ...

Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny during his hospital treatment for poisoning, a sign of how seriously the case is being taken in Berlin. “I’m very grateful to Chancellor Merkel for visiting me in the hospital,” Navalny said on Twitter. “The meeting happened. It’s not worth calling it ‘secret.’ More a private meeting and conversation ...

Bloomberg The European Union said it won’t abandon trade talks with the UK even if Boris Johnson’s government doesn’t withdraw its plan to break international law. Yet at the same time, the bloc renewed its threat to take legal action in a sign of just how delicate negotiations are as the clock ticks on a compromise. European Commission Vice President ...