Politics

Bloomberg The US and South Korea are planning to step up the scale of their joint military exercises, a move that has in the past prompted threats and weapons tests by North Korea. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup agreed in talks Tuesday in Seoul to “further expand and bolster the level and scale of ...

Bloomberg China lashed out at the Czech Republic after incoming President Petr Pavel spoke with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen, saying the move amounted to “serious interference” in its affairs. “This is a blatant violation of the Czech Republic’s political commitment to the one-China principle,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Tuesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing, referring to ...

  Bloomberg China’s Coast Guard maintained near-daily patrols at key features across the disputed South China Sea last year, ramping up its presence as tensions over the waterway with Southeast Asian neighbors remain high, new tracking data shows. Patrols in the waters surrounding the Vanguard Bank off Vietnam, an area known for its oil and gas reserves and the site ...

  Bloomberg Hungary’s nationalist government ousted hundreds of senior military leaders in the most far-reaching overhaul of the central European nation’s army since it joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The dismissals affect the top ranks, including generals, with colonels and lieutenant colonels making up the biggest share, Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky said in an interview on Monday. It was ...

  Bloomberg Croatia’s President Zoran Milanovic drew a parallel from Russia’s annexation of Crimea to Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, causing an uproar across the Balkans. “Who annexed Kosovo? The international community, including us,” Milanovic said Monday in a speech in the Croatian town of Petrinja, where he spoke about the war in Ukraine. “Kosovo was taken from Serbia by force, ...

Bloomberg Russia’s hunt for weapons to fire at Ukraine could provide a lifeline for North Korea, where even a relatively modest arms deal would help lift the country’s cash-starved and stagnant economy into growth. The US made fresh accusations this month that Kim Jong Un is providing arms and ammunition to aid Putin’s war, including sending shells and rockets. While ...

  Bloomberg At least 28 people were killed and more than 100 others wounded in a bomb blast at a mosque in a security compound in northwestern Pakistan, officials said. It was the worst such attack in almost 11 months. The explosion in Peshawar took place Monday during afternoon prayers, inside an area where the town’s police headquarters and other ...

  Bloomberg President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey may ratify only Finland’s bid to join Nato, in a move that could delay Sweden from gaining membership. “Sweden will be shocked when we give a different response to Finland’s bid,” Erdogan said Sunday on state-run TRT. Turkey has balked at ratifying Sweden’s bid over its hesitance to wage a crackdown ...

Bloomberg China hit back at a report that the US has confronted it with evidence suggesting some of its state-owned firms may be helping Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying Washington should stop sending weapons if it wants the conflict to end. China “would never add fuel to the fire, still less exploit the crisis,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said ...

Bloomberg Japanese voters want an election before any hike in taxes to fund Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s plans for a record increase in defense spending and providing more support for families with children, according to two polls. About 63% of respondents to a poll by the Nikkei newspaper carried out Jan 27-29 and 77% of those who took part in ...