Politics

Bloomberg Romanians are set to re-elect president Klaus Iohannis, who’s promising to bring normality after years of political chaos. Voting ran from 7 am to 9 pm on Sunday in Bucharest, after which exit polls were expected to be released. Iohannis, 60, easily won a first round two weeks ago and is widely expected to defeat his runoff opponent, ex-prime ...

Bloomberg Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro said his government is prepared for any unrest, as he expressed his concern about the wave of protests across South America. He said though he didn’t expect trouble in Brazil. “We always have to be prepared so that we are not surprised by events,” he told reporters at a military ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. ...

Bloomberg Japan and South Korea struck a last-minute deal to rescue their expiring intelligence-sharing pact, after a push from the Trump administration averted a blow to US efforts to strengthen its Asian alliance network. South Korea will suspend its plans to pull out of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) and temporarily withdraw a complaint it made against ...

Bloomberg Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari ruled out the possibility of changing the constitution to seek a third term in office, Punch newspaper reported. The head of state, 76, was re-elected in March for a second four year mandate, the last he is permitted under the west African country’s constitution. Speculation is already turning to who the ruling All Progressives Congress ...

Bloomberg Millions of Hong Kong residents will vote on Sunday in local elections, marking their first chance to weigh in at the polls after five months of increasingly violent protests calling for greater democracy in the former British colony. Ahead of the District Council election, Hong Kong officials warned the vote could be postponed after some candidates came under attack ...

Bloomberg Indian PM Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) agreed to a surprise alliance with the rival Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to form the government in the western state of Maharahstra, home to the country’s financial capital, Mumbai. Modi tweeted his congratulations to BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, who was sworn in as chief minister of the state. Ajit Pawar of the ...

Bloomberg British PM Boris Johnson tweeted that he’s looking forward to releasing the Tory party’s manifesto on Sunday, less than three weeks before the country goes to the polls. Johnson said the manifesto will respect the Brexit referendum and allow the government to focus on delivering “real benefits” to the nation. The tweet followed an appearance by Johnson and the ...

Bloomberg Bogota was placed under curfew for the first time in decades as Colombia became the latest Andean nation to be convulsed by violent anti-government protests. The mayor’s office instituted a city-wide curfew, as demonstrators clashed with security forces a day after a nationwide strike. Masked youths fought with police, and there were outbreaks of looting and vandalism in many ...

Bloomberg The US Senate unanimously passed a bill aimed at supporting protesters in Hong Kong and warning China against a violent suppression of the demonstrations — drawing a rebuke from Beijing. China reiterated on Wednesday a threat to impose unspecified retaliation if the bill became law and urged the US to stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs. Separately, the city’s ...

Bloomberg Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has decided to resign, state-run Daily News reported, days after his party’s candidate lost the country’s bitterly contested presidential poll and allowing newly-elected president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to choose a replacement. The Daily News didn’t say whether Wickremesinghe, who leads the United National Party and the ruling coalition, took the decision in order to ...