Politics

Bloomberg Plans for the most sweeping changes to Russia’s constitution since it was adopted nearly 30 years ago include one big one: an amendment that could allow President Vladimir Putin remain in power until 2036. Russian voters could be forgiven for not noticing. In a nationwide ad campaign and the official website that explains the proposed amendments, which are subject ...

Bloomberg The prime minister of Sweden was forced to defend his Covid-19 strategy after opposition parties mounted a scathing attack on his government amid signs its handling of the pandemic has been fatally flawed. With more than 4,500 Swedes now dead as a result of the coronavirus, and Sweden’s chief epidemiologist admitting mistakes, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven was the target ...

Bloomberg Anti-government demonstrations broke out in several Brazilian cities as President Jair Bolsonaro suffers growing backlash against his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Protesters carrying signs in defense of democracy and against racism gathered in Brazil’s largest cities despite medical recommendations of social distancing, many encouraged by US demonstrations that followed the death of George Floyd. Pro-Bolsonaro marches also took ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s directive to pull 9,500 troops from Germany hits home hard for friends of America like Edgar Knobloch, whose Bavarian town has been home to US service members for seven decades. Like Chancellor Angela Merkel, the mayor of Grafenwoehr was caught off guard. It’s the latest sign of the US’s deterioration of ties with a loyal ally, ...

Bloomberg India and China agreed to resolve a current border standoff peacefully in line with various bilateral agreements and will keep each other engaged as talks remains deadlocked. “The two sides will continue military and diplomatic engagements to resolve the situation and to ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas,” India’s ministry of external affairs said. A meeting was ...

Bloomberg China lambasted suggestions that it hid information about the coronavirus outbreak, saying in a newly published white paper that it has acted transparently and informed the world of developments in a timely manner. “Some foreign politicians and media have presumed guilt for the origin of the virus, put labels on the virus and politicised the epidemic,” Xu Lin, head ...

Bloomberg Boris Johnson will set out his plans for rebuilding the UK economy after the coronavirus as he seeks to stem the hemorrhaging of support for his government’s response to the crisis. The prime minister will use a speech later this month to commit to speeding up spending on roads, hospitals and research, his office said after three opinion polls ...

Bloomberg Malaysia will relax restrictions on the movement of peoplke within the country from June 10 and allow almost all activities including domestic tourism to resume, PM Muhyiddin Yassin said. The nation’s borders will remain closed and overseas travel is still restricted, he said. Theme parks etc won’t be allowed to reopen yet. The new rules will be in place ...

Bloomberg Japan has refrained from joining countries including the US and UK in coordinated criticism of China’s move to impose a national security law in Hong Kong, Kyodo reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Japan decided not to be a signatory to the countries’ joint statement on the proposed law as Tokyo tries to improve its diplomatic relations with ...

Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel was caught off guard by US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull 9,500 US troops out of Germany by September. The government wasn’t officially notified by the US about Trump’s plan, and it has so far only found out about the matter from media reports, a German government official said on Saturday, declining to comment ...