Politics

Bloomberg Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he would consider an invitation extended by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to visit Ukraine, as Japan’s ruling party No. 2 publicly urged the premier to go ahead with the trip. Kishida told lawmakers Wednesday a decision would be based on the circumstances. Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi told parliament it would be desirable ...

Bloomberg Pakistan’s ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan said he’s confident of returning to power this year, and would back a continued role for the International Monetary Fund to prop up the economy and stave off a growing risk of a debt default. The former cricket star, who was removed from office in a confidence vote last year, said in an ...

  Bloomberg Hungary’s defense minister said an overhaul of senior-level military brass was underway in the NATO member state, which he called necessary to open the way for a new generation of leadership. The timing of the changes — with war raging on in neighboring Ukraine — has sparked criticism from opposition ranks that see it as an attempt to ...

Bloomberg Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cautious approach to sending Leopard battle tanks – or allowing other countries to export their own stocks of the German-made military vehicles – to Ukraine is confusing allies and creating splits within his own government. Three Baltic states over the weekend called on Germany as Europe’s leading power to quickly change course. An adviser to Ukrainian ...

Bloomberg Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ruled out supporting Sweden’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) after an activist burned Islam’s holy book in Stockholm at the weekend. Turkish parliamentary approval is required for the membership, so Erdogan’s comments suggest Sweden and neighboring Finland’s efforts to join Nato are now a more distant prospect. “If you cannot ...

Bloomberg The Biden administration has confronted China’s government with evidence that suggests some Chinese state-owned companies may be providing assistance for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, as it tries to ascertain if Beijing is aware of those activities, according to people familiar with the matter. The people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations, declined to detail the ...

Bloomberg Serbia will look into a European Union plan that proposes normalizing ties with Kosovo as it risks losing its chance to join the bloc, President Aleksandar Vucic said. Serbia’s leader for more than a decade, Vucic announced plans for a broad public debate to consider the proposal which, according to media reports, envisages the Balkan country and Kosovo developing ...

Bloomberg Latvia’s top envoy criticized Germany over its indecision on whether to send Ukraine the Leopard 2 tanks, saying there are no longer any “good arguments” not to give Kyiv the heavier weapons it demands. The three Baltic nations — Latvia, along with Estonia and Lithuania — were expected to reiterate calls for Germany to send the tanks when the ...

  Bloomberg Burkina Faso ended its military collaboration with France, the second West African nation to sever defense links that were forged to combat a decade-long insurgency in the region. The government on January 18 criticized a 2018 agreement that enabled the troops to operate in Burkina Faso, according to a letter sent by the nation’s Foreign Affairs Ministry to ...

  Bloomberg French President Emmanuel Macron’s government formally presented its flagship pension reform at a cabinet meeting on Monday, paving the way for parliament to debate it as unions and opposition parties ready further strikes and protests against the plan. The bill, which raises the minimum retirement age to 64 from 62 and aims to erase deficits in the system ...