Politics

Bloomberg The acting US ambassador to Japan denounced an animated video from public broadcaster NHK aimed at explaining the Black Lives Matter protests, adding to widespread criticism that it perpetuated racist stereotypes. “The caricatures used are offensive and insensitive,” Joe Young, the Charge d’Affaires ad interim, said on Twitter on Tuesday of the animation. It didn’t mention the death of ...

Bloomberg Greece and Italy signed an agreement on Tuesday that marks the maritime boundary in the Ionian Sea between the exclusive economic zones of the two European Union members. The deal is “an important development” and shows Greece’s constant goal is to delimit maritime zones with all its neighbours, with valid agreements that adhere to international law — unlike Turkey’s ...

Bloomberg Transmission of the novel coronavirus by people who don’t develop symptoms is “very rare,” the World Health Organization (WHO) said, playing down concerns that these so-called silent spreaders might serve as a major conduit for the disease. “It still appears to be rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits onward to a secondary individual,” Maria Van Kerkhove, head of ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump is seeking to tie Joe Biden to activists’ calls to “defund the police” in an attempt to paint his likely 2020 opponent as weak on crime and vilify Democrats pushing for police reform, even though Biden hasn’t embraced the slogan. Two weeks of protests over the death of a black man in Minneapolis police custody have ...

Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government said it’s received no official word from Washington on plans to withdraw US troops from Germany, the latest sign of deteriorating relations between the two countries. “As of this hour, there is no official confirmation by the appropriate authorities in the United States whether these plans will really be carried out or not,” Defense Minister ...

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 ...