Politics

Bloomberg The European Union’s top court faced the most stinging attack in its 68-year history — not from Brexiteers, but from its German counterpart. In a long-awaited ruling on the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing (QE) program, Germany’s constitutional court in Karlsruhe accused the EU Court of Justice of overstepping its powers when it backed the ECB’s controversial policy. German ...

Bloomberg State governments across India rushed to restore order after violence and chaos broke out when the country started relaxing its stringent virus lockdown, with migrant workers clashing with police in western India. In Mumbai, India’s financial capital, local police said on Twitter that from Tuesday standalone shops would issue tokens to customers to avoid crowding around storefronts. It used ...

Bloomberg Senate Democrats are ready to challenge a vow of “fairness and impartiality” by Brian Miller, President Donald Trump’s nominee to oversee trillions of dollars being spent in the effort to rescue the economy from the coronavirus pandemic. “I will be vigilant to protect the integrity and independence of the Office of Special Inspector General” and will work “to uncover ...

Bloomberg US President Donald Trump promised a “conclusive” report on the Chinese origins of the coronavirus outbreak, showing relations between the world’s biggest economies are set to remain rocky at least until the next election six months from now. Trump pledged the report in a “virtual town hall” with Fox News, in which he added that he had little doubt ...

Bloomberg The Trump administration’s relentless attacks on China over the cause of the coronavirus outbreak are targeted at a domestic audience in an election year. But they may have the effect of emboldening Beijing’s leaders. President Donald Trump promised a “conclusive” report on the Chinese origins of Covid-19, shortly after Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said — without providing proof ...

Bloomberg Eight people were killed and two were arrested after a group of “mercenaries” Venezuela’s vice president said were backed by the US and Colombia were caught trying to enter along its northern coast near the capital Caracas. Colombia’s government rejected any link to the incident, while Venezuela’s opposition said the alleged attack appeared to be staged. Speed boats came ...

Bloomberg New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she will join an Australian government cabinet meeting on Tuesday to discuss, among other issues, the eventual re-opening of borders between the two nations. Ardern accepted an invitation from Australian counterpart Scott Morrison to join his national cabinet meeting, which includes state premiers, via video link on Tuesday, she told a news ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is facing a growing revolt by Italian business and political rivals against his strategy for ending a nationwide lockdown that’s being eased for the first time on Monday. Criticism of Conte’s recovery plans and anger among small businesses left out of the first phase of easing are percolating after almost two months of restrictions that ...

Bloomberg North Korean troops fired at their South Korean counterparts on Sunday in the demilitarised zone that divides the two countries, a move that comes as its leader Kim Jong-un reappeared in public following an unexplained three-week absence. North Korea fired “several times” at a South Korean military guard post at about 7:41 am, and was met with retaliatory shots ...

Bloomberg Afghan Taliban insurgents killed 17 civilians and wounded 49 during the first week of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, further chipping away at their pledge to reduce violence following a peace deal with the US. The fatalities occurred from April 24, Javid Faisal, a spokesman for the National Security Council of Afghanistan, said on Twitter. Most of the ...