Politics

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 ...

Bloomberg China’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong accused protesters of jeopardizing the future of the city, calling demonstrations “illegal activities,” in the latest signal that China’s top agency in the semi-autonomous territory intends to take a more hands-on role. In a statement published on its website, the Liaison Office said “extremist radicals” were involved in illegal gatherings, harassment of shops ...

Bloomberg Only 20% of the French see far-right leader Marine Le Pen handling the coronavirus crisis better than the current government led by President Emmanuel Macron, according to an Ifop poll for Journal du Dimanche. Le Pen, who lost to Macron in the second round of presidential elections in 2017, has been one of the staunchest opponents of the government’s ...

Bloomberg Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to extend the national state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak until May 31. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike confirmed in a live-streamed video on Sunday that Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told her the government will extend the emergency status until the end of the month. Abe signalled it would be difficult to lift ...

Bloomberg Kim Jong-un ended his almost three-week absence from public events with a factory visit, an appearance that will ease, but not end, concern about the stability of the North Korean regime and control of its nuclear arsenal. Kim presided over a May Day ceremony to mark the completion of the Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory northeast of the capital Pyongyang, ...

Bloomberg India will extend its nationwide lockdown by two weeks from May 4 but will ease restrictions in some areas to revive economic activity that’s been stalled since the stringent stay-at-home orders were put in place across the country on March 25. Movement between states won’t be allowed during the lockdown, although authorities will partially relax measures in areas where ...

Bloomberg Italy’s prime minister apologised for delays in aid payments to jobless workers, underscoring the pitfalls for political leaders who are warily reopening Europe for business. As governments enter the next phase of dealing with the coronavirus, European policy makers are increasingly focusing on the risk of a second wave of a pandemic blamed for some 235,000 deaths worldwide. Giuseppe ...

Bloomberg The Trump administration has barred Anthony Fauci, the scientist who’s leading the US response to the coronavirus pandemic, from testifying before a congressional hearing next Wednesday. Fauci had been sought as a witness for a House Appropriations Committee subcommittee that was looking into the US response to the pandemic, according to Evan Hollander, a committee spokesman. “We have been ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump is escalating efforts to pin blame on China for unleashing a pandemic that has killed more than 60,000 Americans and is exploring ways to hold Beijing accountable, though his options are limited because of the potential economic consequences. Trump and his aides sharpened their criticism of Beijing, demanding answers about the virus’s origin and hinting at ...