Politics

Bloomberg Ireland’s first grand coalition moved a step closer, as political leaders signed off on the final detail of a program for government. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s Fine Gael, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and the Green’s Eamon Ryan agreed the plan for the next five years, and will now put it to the parties’ lawmakers and members in coming ...

Bloomberg Singapore will this week further relax restrictive measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, with the government assessing the situation in the country to be under control. After June 18 at 11:59 pm, most activities will be allowed to resume subject to safe distancing principles, according to a press release from the Ministry of Health on Monday. Small ...

Bloomberg The US Supreme Court refused to take up a new test of “qualified immunity,” rejecting several appeals that challenged the legal doctrine that has become a broad liability shield for police officers accused of civil rights violations. Qualified immunity has come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks amid the nationwide protests sparked by the May 25 death of George ...

Bloomberg The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said it is “high time” to break relations with South Korean authorities, adding the next action against the “enemy” will come from the army. It’s better to take a series of retaliatory measures rather than release statements condemning South Korea’s behaviour, and which could be misinterpreted or dismissed, Kim Yo Jong ...

Bloomberg At least 50 people were killed and nine injured in attacks by extremists on three local governments in Nigeria’s Borno state. The insurgents attacked military and civilian bases in the Monguno area, killing nine soldiers and three task force members and injuring nine civilians, said Hassan Ibrahim, a member of a local civilian force. The extremists freed 18 detained ...

Bloomberg As the leader of one of the largest pro-democracy parties in Hong Kong’s legislature, Alvin Yeung could make history if the city’s opposition wins an unprecedented majority in September elections. Or he could find himself disqualified before the campaign even starts. The 39-year-old lawyer is among several prospective candidates accused by Chinese authorities of behaviour that opposition politicians fear ...

Bloomberg President Jair Bolsonaro said he trusts Brazil’s armed forces to stay out of politics after a Supreme Court justice ruled on the military’s constitutional role at the request of an opposition party. Anti-racism protests in Brazil and what Bolsonaro’s adversaries say are his authoritarian tendencies were the backdrop to the petition by the Democratic Labor Party (PDT). Justice Luiz ...

Bloomberg Nigel Farage is planning to relaunch the Brexit Party following concerns that Boris Johnson is watering down his position on exiting the European Union, the Sunday Express reported. The organisation, probably to be renamed the Reform Party, intends to field a candidate in the next available special election, the newspaper said, without giving the source of the information. Senior ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump addressed graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point on Saturday, even as the backlash to his threat to use active-duty service members to quell domestic political protests continues to roil the Pentagon. Trump’s appearance at the nation’s oldest service academy was meant to signal a return to normalcy after the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, it ...

Bloomberg India and China have started to pull back their forces along the border in the Himalyan region after talks between senior military officials, according to India’s Army Chief Manoj Mukund Naravane. “Our borders along with China are under control,” Naravane told reporters in the northern Indian city of Dehradun on Saturday. “We have had a series” of meetings with ...