Politics

Bloomberg Last summer Hong Kong’s protesters called for a revolution as they occupied the city’s international airport, marched in the millions and mocked Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “Game of Thrones” villain. This year’s different. A sweeping national security law imposed by China in June and Covid-19 restrictions have rendered the pro-democracy movement’s tactics illegal, from public gatherings to ...

Bloomberg North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is convening a key ruling party body on Wednesday for the first time in eight months to address a “crucial” mystery issue. He’s got plenty of tricky situations to choose from. The state’s official Korean Central News Agency offered few clues about the gathering of the Central Committee, saying it will “discuss and decide ...

Bloomberg Democrats kicked off their convention with a show of unity and a rallying cry fuelled more by animosity towards Donald Trump than affirmations for their own nominee Joe Biden — enlisting progressives, centrists and even Republicans to paper over differences and oust the incumbent. The debut night, held virtually, put on display the Biden campaign’s desire to make the ...

Bloomberg Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said she’s ready to be interim president in place of incumbent Alexander Lukashenko as national strikes were starting a day after the country’s biggest opposition protest. “I am ready to take responsibility and act in this period as national leader” until new presidential elections are held, Tikhanovskaya said in a video address published on ...

Bloomberg The Philippines is looking to further reopen its economy even as coronavirus infections continue to rise, after a poll showed adult unemployment was at a record high last month. The government wants to allow more economic activity and extend aid to small businesses after 27.3 million Filipinos in a Social Weather Stations survey in early July said they were ...

Bloomberg New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has delayed the general election by four weeks until October 17 as the nation’s first community outbreak of Covid-19 in more than three months worsens. Ardern said on Monday she delayed the election from September 19 after consultation with other political parties, to provide certainty to voters. A fresh outbreak of the virus ...

Bloomberg Malaysia has detected a strain of the new coronavirus that’s been found to be 10 times more infectious. The mutation, earlier seen in other parts of the world and called D614G, was found in at least three of the 45 cases in a cluster that started from a restaurant owner returning from India and breaching his 14-day home quarantine. ...

Bloomberg The almost daily drumbeat of tensions between the US and China shows little sign of letting up, while touching on everything from the coronavirus to trade to defense issues to monetary policy. President Donald Trump has made his tough positions on China a key element in the lead-up to the US presidential election, now less than three months away, ...

Bloomberg Russian President Vladimir Putin offered support to Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko, who appealed to his neighbour for help after his claim of an election victory to extend his 26-year rule led to widespread protests and strikes that have been met with police brutality. Russia is ready to provide assistance to “resolve the problems” that arose after Belarus’s vote a week ...

Bloomberg The Chinese army has released footage of its Hong Kong garrison firing cannons and torpedoes in a drill in the South China Sea amid rising tensions between Beijing and Washington over the status of the former British colony. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recently tested the weaponry, including a torpedo launch from the vessel Huizhou that successfully hit its ...