Politics

Bloomberg A Hong Kong court rejected an appeal by an influential activist who was trying to reduce his prison sentence for rioting related to a violent 2016 protest. Edward Leung, 28, a self-described Hong Kong “localist” whose more radical approach to politics won him supporters among the city’s protesters, had been sentenced to six years in prison in 2018 for ...

Bloomberg Brazil’s Supreme Court gave the green light for a probe into allegations that Jair Bolsonaro tried to interfere with police investigations, adding to the president’s difficulties as the wheels come off Latin America’s biggest economy and his cabinet threatens to implode. Brazilian bonds dropped after the court decision, which presents Bolsonaro with his deepest political crisis to date. The ...

Bloomberg The number of deaths caused by Covid-19 in care homes in England and Wales soared to 2,050 in the week ending on April 17, more than double the number a week earlier, highlighting the difficulties the government faces in stopping the spread of the virus. The latest toll contributed to the overall number of fatalities rising to the highest ...

Bloomberg For about as long as North Korea has existed, Kim Pyong Il has been considered a possible successor to the throne. And now, with his nephew Kim Jong-un’s health status unclear, his name is being bandied about again. Kim Pyong Il, 65, is the last known surviving son of North Korea’s founder, Kim Il Sung. After losing out in ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong announced plans to reopen government offices and some public facilities, as Chief Executive Carrie Lam took cautious steps to get the city back to work amid the threat of further coronavirus outbreaks and fresh political protests. Government employees will start returning to offices from May 4 and the city is preparing to open facilities including museums and ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, battling to find a way out of Italy’s nationwide lockdown, hailed the near-completion of a new bridge in Genoa following a deadly 2018 accident as a model for restarting the country. Workers at the construction site, which has stayed open through weeks of virus containment measures, lifted the last steel section into place for a ...

Bloomberg The Trump administration will square off against House Democrats on Tuesday over a crucial question: Is a congressional subpoena of White House officials a formidable weapon or an empty threat? The battle, which is likely to reach the Supreme Court, could shape legal fights ranging from the quest for President Donald Trump’s tax returns to a conflict over his ...

Bloomberg US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential bid on Monday, citing the fellow Democrat’s role in helping to manage the federal response to the 2008 financial crisis and in passing Obamacare. In a video published on Biden’s YouTube page, Pelosi said that the presumptive Democratic nominee “has been a voice of reason and resilience, ...

Bloomberg Kim Jong-un has not been seen in public for more than two weeks. If he’s hale and hearty, to dispel the frenzied speculation to the opposite, it should be a simple matter of having him pop up somewhere to have his photo taken. Officials in South Korea say they think Kim is fine. The regime’s ally China is trying ...

Bloomberg Julian Assange’s extradition trial, set to begin next month, has been delayed amid the coronavirus pandemic. The three-week trial was due to begin on May 18 in London, but was postponed until July or even November, because of the extension of the UK lockdown. Assange faces extradition to America on charges that he conspired to disclose documents passed to ...