Politics

Bloomberg The US said it will cut assistance to Afghanistan by $1 billion this year and threatened more cuts could come as a breakdown in talks over forming a unity government threatened to derail a US-engineered peace deal. Hours after departing Kabul on March 23, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo issued a statement saying the US “deeply regrets” the failure ...

Bloomberg The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is looking at contingency options for its July convention amid a growing expectation that the coronavirus crisis will not have abated by the time the parties are ready to nominate their presidential candidates. “As we navigate the unprecedented challenge of responding to the coronavirus, we’re exploring a range of contingency options to ensure we ...

Bloomberg German officials are ready to help Italy get through the coronavirus pandemic and are prepared to support an emergency loan from the euro area’s bailout fund. The preferred option in Berlin would see Italy granted an enhanced credit line by the European Stability Mechanism with minimal conditionality, according to a German official with knowledge of the government’s thinking. While ...

Bloomberg Russia is starting to restrict exports of some goods while easing imports as part of the government’s response to the global coronavirus crisis. A government coronavirus prevention council ordered exports of groats suspended for 10 days starting on March 20, the state-run Tass news service reported, citing a letter from the agricultural agency Rosselkhoznadzor. Groats typically include rice and ...

Bloomberg The Russian military ended war games near its western borders as the country ramps up preventative measures to slow the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19). “It’s obvious that all of this is connected with preventive measures,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call on Monday. “It’s linked to the situation around the general fight against coronavirus.” The ...

Bloomberg Secretary of State Michael Pompeo ventured abroad for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic hit the US in full force, making a surprise visit to Afghanistan’s capital on Monday as part of a bid to inject new momentum into an already faltering peace process with the Taliban. Pompeo was expected to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in ...

Bloomberg China’s ambassador to the US reaffirmed his opposition to promoting theories that the virus that causes Covid-19 originated in an American military lab, in an unusual break with the country’s foreign ministry. Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai said in an interview with “Axios on HBO” that he stood by his Febraury 9 statement that it would be “crazy” to spread ...

Bloomberg Joe Biden pushed back on suggestions that the November election could be postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic, saying on March 22 it’s important that voting continues as it has during other crises in American history. “We have to let the electoral process run. We ought to be able to preserve our health and our democracy at the same time,” ...

Bloomberg Boris Johnson warned Britons they face “tougher measures” including a potential full lockdown if they continue to ignore calls to stop social gatherings, as his government asks Parliament to grant sweeping powers to tackle the accelerating coronavirus outbreak. With the UK’s weekend newspapers full of reports about people meeting in parks and traveling to coastal towns, the prime minister ...

Bloomberg Authorities in Beijing have forced at least seven Chinese nationals to stop working for American news outlets there, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the latest development in an ongoing dispute between the US and China over media access. Members of the New York Times, Voice of America and two other outlets were dismissed from their jobs on ...