Politics

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 ...

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 ...