Politics

Bloomberg A lock-down is being implemented by police in three towns in the Philippines near an erupting volcano, 40 miles (65 kilometres) south of capital Manila, to prevent residents from returning home as heavy ash fall and tremors continue in the area. More than 38,000 persons are currently staying in evacuation centres due to the Taal volcano’s eruption, the disaster ...

Bloomberg Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is expected to begin next week, but the president has yet to settle on either his defense strategy or the team that will represent him in the Senate. Trump has sent conflicting signals about key aspects of the Senate trial, including how long it should last and whether witnesses should testify. He is still considering ...

Bloomberg Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Russian businessman who spent nearly a decade in prison in Russia on what he said were politically motivated charges by the Kremlin, won a second victory at Europe’s top human rights court. The Russian trial judge’s refusal to “allow the defense to examine prosecution and defense witnesses and to submit important expert or exculpatory evidence” violated ...

Bloomberg Tens of thousands of people in the Philippines are being evacuated from an erupting volcano 40 miles (65 kilometres) south of the capital as some 144 earthquakes could signal “further eruptive activity.” The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology kept the alert status at the second highest level at its 4 pm bulletin, reiterating a call for total evacuation ...

Bloomberg A Pakistan high court has said that a special court set up to try former military dictator and president Pervez Musharraf was illegal and consequently suspended the death sentence handed out to him in absentia for treason. A three-judge panel of the Lahore High Court, headed by Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, announced the verdict on Monday saying procedure ...

Bloomberg An investigation by Hong Kong’s police watchdog into the conduct of the city’s officers throughout recent unrest has revealed “many shortcomings,” the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported. The 300-page report from the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) found a failure to separate peaceful demonstrators from violent protesters, the newspaper reported. The probe also determined there was a lack of ...

Bloomberg Irish PM Leo Varadkar set the stage for a general election within weeks, gambling that a strong economy and his success towards shaping a Brexit deal will strengthen his hold on power. Seeking to seize the political moment, Varadkar said he had decided on a date and would reveal it publicly after briefing colleagues. A vote is likely on ...

Bloomberg National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said the White House has “reached out” to North Korea, seeking the resumption of diplomacy that has been dormant since October, Axios reported, citing an interview with O’Brien. The Trump administration has reached out to North Korea via “various channels,” O’Brien said, adding that there was some optimism that North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un ...

Bloomberg In a democracy, two resounding election defeats in a matter of months might prompt some soul searching in the losing camp. In China, however, a snub at the polls in places it claims is more a minor setback rather than a sign of a flawed strategy. President Xi Jinping’s government showed that yet again in the wake of Taiwanese ...

Bloomberg Libya’s warring factions have embarked on a tenuous ceasefire in a nine-month war that has drawn in Russia and Turkey, following a call by the presidents of both countries to halt the fighting. Forces loyal to eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar, who launched the war in April against the internationally recognised government, and the Tripoli-based government reduced violence as ...