Politics

Bloomberg Donald Trump ordered an end to Hong Kong’s special status with the US and signed legislation that would sanction Chinese officials responsible for cracking down on political dissent in the city, drawing a rebuke from China and adding fresh uncertainty for businesses including banks in the financial hub. “No administration has been tougher on China than this administration,” the ...

Bloomberg A Russian military hospital discharged the first group of 18 volunteers in a vaccine trial after a 28-day observation period, calling the initial phase a success, according to an emailed statement from the Defense Ministry. The group had no health complaints, complications or adverse reactions to the vaccine, according to the statement. They will come back for further tests ...

Bloomberg Supporters of an opposition challenger to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko turned out to demand the authorities allow him to run in next month’s election. At least 2,500 people formed long lines outside the central election commission in the capital Minsk on Wednesday with written challenges to its decision to reject former banker Viktor Babariko’s candidacy for the August 9 ...

Bloomberg Spain is committed to reforms to address climate change and accelerate the country’s digital transition, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said after meeting with his Swedish counterpart Sefan Lofven. “We are committed with reforms,” Sanchez said in an joint press conference in Lofven. “We have a common goal which is to come out with a stronger Europe.” In their meeting, ...

Bloomberg Bulgaria’s main opposition party launched a no-confidence motion against the government, putting pressure on Prime Minister Boyko Borissov as protesters take to the streets against his failure to fight high-level corruption. The Socialist Party, which filed the motion on Wednesday, doesn’t have enough lawmakers to oust the cabinet in the fifth such confidence vote it has faced. But the ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump told a federal judge in New York that he will continue to challenge a grand jury subpoena seeking his tax filings after the US Supreme Court ruled he is not immune from investigation. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr is investigating hush-money payments made before the 2016 presidential election to Stormy Daniels, a porn actress who ...

Bloomberg China’s projection of its military might into Asian waters and North Korea’s modernisation of its ballistic-missile arsenal pose risks to Japanese and regional security, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said. In its annual white paper released on Tuesday, the ministry accused China of “relentlessly’ pushing its way towards uninhabited East China Sea islands claimed by the two countries, saying ...

Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel showed a united front with Italy’s Giuseppe Conte days ahead of a crucial European Union summit, warning that EU leaders need to deliver a “massive” response to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The German leader’s common line with the Italian prime minister was a sales pitch in favor of a proposed 750 billion-euro ...

Bloomberg An ambitious voter registration effort from Facebook has rankled President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, which is complaining that the social network’s goal of registering 4 million voters in time for November’s election is an attempt to swing the election in favor of former Vice President Joe Biden. “With knowledge of every user’s political ideology, Facebook is officially in the ...

­­­Bloomberg Croatia and Bulgaria may join the euro area in January 2024, European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said. The two European Union nations were admitted into the currency’s waiting room, known as the ERM-2, last week and must spend at least two years there working to fulfill the Maastricht criteria. They may be ready in 2023, but “the tradition is that ...