Politics

Bloomberg President Donald Trump moved swiftly to exact retribution on those he blames for his impeachment, purging his administration of two witnesses who testified against him in the House inquiry just two days after his acquittal by the Senate. Gordon Sondland announced he had been ousted as US ambassador to the European Union just hours after the White House dismissed ...

Bloomberg Prominent activist Ventus Lau stood outside a restaurant, handing out surgical masks and asking recipients to shout pro-democracy slogans — including the popular rallying cry “Liberate Hong Kong! Revolution of our times!” For Lau, who has organised some of the biggest anti-government protests since they began last June, the demonstrations are on hold as fear of a new coronavirus ...

Bloomberg Ireland voted on Saturday, with PM Leo Varadkar’s party facing a struggle to retain power after almost a decade in office. Voting started at 7 am and was expected to finish at 10 pm. State broadcaster RTE was expected to release an exit poll immediately after voting ends. Counting is set to begin on Sunday, with a clear picture ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s inevitable acquittal in the Senate’s impeachment trial on Wednesday has some House Democrats fretting that they should have delivered a more complete case to argue for his removal. Trump is emerging from the two-week Senate trial looking as strong as ever, barely wounded by the relentless details of his efforts to force Ukraine to investigate one ...

Bloomberg Luxury Asian vacations turned into a form of confinement for thousands of cruise passengers when authorities in Hong Kong and Japan said they would quarantine those aboard for up to two weeks after finding coronavirus infections aboard. The developments will come as a blow to Princess Cruises, the operator of a vessel that is being quarantined off Yokohama, and ...

Bloomberg The Pentagon said it has deployed a new submarine-launched nuclear warhead for the first time as the Navy seeks to counter Russia’s war chest of smaller tactical nukes. The Pentagon’s confirmation follows a controversial move last week to ease restrictions on the use of land mines, which are banned by more than 160 nations. The Trump administration in recent ...

Bloomberg European Union government envoys in Brussels and the bloc’s executive arm will seek to accommodate Emmanuel Macron’s appetite for reform with tighter rules on countries looking to join the bloc and a broader debate on how to make the EU more effective. The European Commission will propose an overhaul of the expansion process in a bid to revive the ...

Bloomberg Romania’s minority government is facing a no-confidence vote just three months since taking power, though it’s likely to benefit whatever the result. The Black Sea nation is well acquainted with political chaos, having had more prime ministers than any other European Union member-state in the three decades since communism collapsed. This time around, the ruling Liberal Party opened the ...

Bloomberg Kim Jong-un has spent much of his time as North Korea’s leader developing bigger and more advanced nuclear weapons. This year, he may try to make them harder to find by putting them under the sea. Recent North Korean reports touting a new submarine and its test of a ballistic missile designed to be launched from one have fuelled ...

Bloomberg The US said it’s preparing for a possible pandemic and Hong Kong closed more checkpoints with mainland China, as the death toll from the coronavirus rose to at least 425. As Beijing tries to contain the damage from the worsening crisis, officials are evaluating whether the target for economic growth this year should be softened. China is hoping the ...