Politics

Bloomberg President Donald Trump is facing a turning point in his bid for re-election, betting that a handful of Southern and Midwestern states can reopen their economies without triggering an even deeper public health crisis. If it works out, Trump can claim he was right all along about quickly lifting stay-at-home restrictions that are damaging the economy. If it doesn’t ...

Bloomberg Germany’s efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic have upended the race to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel. In the simmering contest to lead Europe’s largest economy, Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder has emerged as the uncrowned king of the crisis. His hard line to clamp down on the spread of the disease in the wealthy southern state has propelled him to ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Boris Johnson was expected to return to lead the UK’s daily televised coronavirus briefing on Thursday, with his government weighing options for easing a nationwide lockdown that officials warned will not be lifted any time soon. Johnson, who returned to work this week after being incapacitated by the disease and treated with oxygen in the hospital, was ...

Bloomberg When his state on Brazil’s northern coast needed ventilators to handle a surge in coronavirus victims, Maranhao Governor Flavio Dino imported 190 units from China through an unusual route. The cargo made a stop in Ethiopia before arriving in Sao Paulo, where it skipped customs and was flown straight to Sao Luis do Maranhao, the state’s capital. Dino had ...

Bloomberg Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s response to the country’s surging coronavirus epidemic may help him walk away unscathed from a host of political and economic problems that hounded his government just months ago. His approval rating on April 21 was 83%, up from 76% on January 7, according to Morning Consult, a US-based survey and research firm. A separate ...

Bloomberg German officials signalled there won’t be a significant further easing of restrictions on public life for at least another week as data showed coronavirus infections in Europe’s biggest economy rose the most in four days. Chancellor Angela Merkel was due to consult with state premiers on Thursday on whether to lift more of the curbs imposed to stop the ...

Bloomberg China’s plan to resume annual parliamentary sessions delayed by the coronavirus outbreak next month could be seen as a statement of the country’s commitment to get back to normal. The actual gathering may end up showing how much has changed. The National People’s Congress (NPC) will start its annual session on May 22, the official Xinhua News Agency said ...

Bloomberg Malaysia reported the highest daily increase in new coronavirus cases since April 16 due to infections among people who returned from overseas. The country confirmed 94 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, of which 72 recently flew back from neighbouring Indonesia, Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a briefing. That brings the total number of cases to 5,945. ...

Bloomberg Europe took another step towards life after lockdown as France, Spain and Greece unveiled details of how they plan to emerge from the coronavirus and cautiously restart economies crippled by the pandemic. In Paris, PM Edouard Philippe announced plans to reopen stores starting on May 11. Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez said he aims to remove most restrictions on daily ...

Bloomberg The apparent increase in homeless people occupying New York City subway cars has ignited a new dispute between Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo over who’s responsible and what’s the best way to deal with the problem. The dispute went public after de Blasio proposed overnight shutdowns of 10 end-of-line stations to “deep clean” cars and to ...