Politics

  Bloomberg Pervez Musharraf, the former four-star Pakistani army general who governed the South Asian nation for nearly a decade after coming to power in a 1999 bloodless coup, has died. He was 79. He died after a long ailment in Dubai, said Raza Bokhari, a former spokesman and close aide. Musharraf, who was Pakistan’s fourth military leader, was a ...

  Bloomberg Ukraine’s government expects Russia’s new offensive to start this month, defense minister Oleksii Reznikov said at a press briefing in Kyiv. The one-year mark of Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor will be Feb. 24. Reznikov said the main directions of Russia’s attack are likely to be from the east and south. He discounted the possibility of an invasion ...

Bloomberg The Pentagon is tracking what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon over sensitive nuclear sites in the western US, an incident that injected new strain into relations before a planned Beijing visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The balloon was first spotted earlier this week and had been loitering over Montana, where Minuteman III intercontinental-ballistic-missile silos are ...

Bloomberg The Czech Republic’s incoming president said the only limit to weapons deliveries to Ukraine should be nuclear arms, signaling support for sending fighter jets as he expressed confidence that Ukrainian forces can defeat Russia. Petr Pavel, a retired top Nato general who takes office March 9, also said President Vladimir Putin’s government isn’t the only one to possess nuclear ...

Bloomberg The Adani Group’s $120 billion loss in market value after Hindenburg Research accused it of fraud roughly equates to India’s annual infrastructure budget. But the government has shown few signs of worry — or at least that’s the impression it’s giving to the markets. The calculus is tricky. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is considered a close ally of Gautam ...

Bloomberg Turkey is nearing a decision to approve Finland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization by next month at the latest, potentially leaving Sweden out in the cold, according to people familiar with the matter. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is close to concluding that steps taken by Helsinki to address security concerns have been enough for lawmakers to ratify ...

  Bloomberg The US and the Philippines have agreed to resume joint patrols in the South China Sea amid lingering tensions with China in the disputed waters. The decision was reached during Thursday’s meeting between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Philippine counterpart, Carlito Galvez, where they also exchanged views “on shared regional security challenges in the Indo-Pacific,” according ...

Bloomberg North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the door remains shut for talks with the US on winding down its atomic arsenal, setting the stage for renewed provocations by pledging to respond to what it saw as threats from Washington. “The DPRK is not interested in any contact or dialogue with the US as long as it pursues its hostile policy ...

  Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, are planning to go to Washington DC in mid-March potentially to unveil a proposal for Australia’s nuclear submarine project, according to a person familiar with the matter. President Joe Biden will host the British and Australian leaders, and the allies are expected to announce their preferred design ...

Bloomberg The US secured access to more Philippine military bases, clearing the way for a greater American presence in the Asia-Pacific region as tensions with China over Taiwan and the South China Sea persist. The announcement Thursday of a plan to designate four new locations in “strategic areas” where the US will have expanded access didn’t mention China. Instead, it ...