Politics

Bloomberg The top US diplomat in China, Terry Branstad, is retiring, the American Embassy confirmed on Monday, after President Donald Trump touted the former Iowa governor’s expected campaign help in a key swing state. The embassy’s statement resolved hours of uncertainty about Branstad’s status after Secretary of State Michael Pompeo thanked the envoy for his service in a series of ...

Bloomberg Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga was elected leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party by an overwhelming majority, ushering in the country’s first change of prime minister in almost eight years. The party, which has ruled mostly uninterrupted since 1955, was set to use its parliamentary majority to install Suga as prime minister in a separate vote on ...

Bloomberg Russian President Vladimir Putin is tightening his embrace of beleaguered ally Alexander Lukashenko as the Belarusian ruler intensifies a crackdown on month-long protests. Putin, who hosts Lukashenko for talks in Sochi on Monday, is determined opposition demonstrators won’t topple the Belarusian president, said five people close to the Kremlin, who asked not to be identified discussing internal policy. It’s ...

Bloomberg Ivory Coast opposition leader Henri Konan Bedie vowed to welcome back exiled citizens and free political prisoners should he be elected president of the world’s biggest cocoa producer in next month’s elections. “I pledge to take concrete and immediate measures for the unconditional return of all exiles,” he said to a packed rally of his Democratic Party of Ivory ...

Bloomberg Justice Secretary Robert Buckland warned he could quit over the UK government’s plan to break international law by overriding the Brexit divorce treaty, as EU leaders stepped up pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson. “If I see the rule of law being broken in a way I find unacceptable, then of course I will go,” Buckland said on BBC ...

Bloomberg Peru President Martin Vizcarra is pushing back on an impeachment attempt, asking the country’s top court to halt the process while accusing the head of congress of involving the military to oust him. Cabinet chief Walter Martos said the government will file a lawsuit on Monday at the Constitutional Court to halt the impeachment proceedings. In a televised address, ...

Bloomberg Tropical Storm Sally looks set to reach New Orleans and southeastern Louisiana stronger than earlier forecasts, bringing a dangerous storm surge, flooding rains and potentially causing up to $3 billion damage and losses. Louisiana’s governor declared a state of emergency as the state braces for its second large storm in a month. Sally has also sparked evacuations on some ...

Bloomberg Residents of Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta who tested positive for the coronavirus will be isolated in official facilities and can no longer be quarantined at home, the city’s governor said ahead of tighter restrictions that take effect on Monday. Isolation at home must be avoided to limit contagion, Anies Baswedan said at a press conference on Sunday. The city’s ...

Bloomberg Afghanistan’s government and Taliban leaders began historic peace talks on Saturday in a bid to end two decades of war, in a meeting that was fraught with tension over what the insurgent group will demand in return for laying down its arms. Meeting in an enormous hotel conference room in Doha, Qatar, the two sides promised to negotiate in ...

Bloomberg The US is “deeply concerned” about 12 Hong Kong pro-democratic activists held in mainland China who have been denied access to lawyers of their choice, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The activists were arrested two weeks ago off the coast of Hong Kong by Guangdong Maritime Police. Local authorities haven’t provided information on their welfare or charges ...