Politics

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fired Nadhim Zahawi, citing “serious” breaches of ethics rules after revelations about the Conservative Party chairman’s tax affairs made his position untenable. In a letter to Zahawi on Sunday, Sunak said that the independent review of the matter had been concluded and “it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the ...

  Bloomberg Nearly a year into an invasion that was supposed to take weeks, Vladimir Putin is preparing a new offensive in Ukraine, at the same time steeling his country for a conflict with the US and its allies that he expects to last for years. The Kremlin aims to demonstrate that its forces can regain the initiative after months ...

Bloomberg The Palestinian Authority said it’s ending security ties with Israel after nine civilians were killed in a West Bank gunfight, in an escalation in violence that was later followed by a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian government body, on Thursday announced three days of mourning following the clashes in the city of ...

Bloomberg A retired Nato general will seek to fend off an attempted political comeback by the Czech Republic’s billionaire former premier as the nation votes in a presidential runoff election. Petr Pavel, who once served as Nato’s highest-ranking military officer, is favored to win the contest to become head of state after narrowly defeating former Prime Minister Andrej Babis a ...

Bloomberg Myanmar’s military government took an early step toward holding parliamentary elections, but it did so by imposing strict rules on political parties that may make fair balloting difficult. The country has been under sanctions, including by the US and EU, since the coup in 2021 that toppled the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Seeking to ease ...

  Bloomberg The main party in Thailand’s ruling coalition named Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan as its sole premier candidate in general elections slated for May. Prawit, a former army chief and long-time ally of incumbent Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, was the unanimous choice of about 500 party members at a general meeting of the Palang Pracharath Party held in ...

Bloomberg As recently as last week, US officials insisted the M1 Abrams tank was a bad fit for Ukraine. Yet on Wednesday, President Joe Biden reversed course and offered 31 of them, saying the 70-ton vehicle would “enhance Ukraine’s capacity to defend its territory.” The switch shows how, nearly a year into Russia’s war, keeping Nato unified remains paramount among ...

  Bloomberg Indian authorities detained several students in the national capital as they thwarted their plans to organize a screening of a banned BBC documentary about the 2002 Gujarat riots and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in the violence. Police on Wednesday detained about 70 students of Jamia Milia Islamia University who wanted to screen the documentary India: The Modi ...

  Bloomberg China’s foreign ministry accused the top US official in Hong Kong of discrediting the city’s business reputation after he warned of diminishing confidence in its rule of law, the latest sign of frayed relations over the troubled Asian financial hub. Gregory May, who took over as US consul general in September, warned that companies in Hong Kong face ...

Bloomberg Germany pledged to supply Ukraine with more than 100 Leopard 2 battle tanks in a joint effort with allies, providing Kyiv’s forces with a significant upgrade in firepower and earning effusive praise from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. In a first step, Germany will make a company of 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks available from stocks held by its armed forces, ...