Politics

Bloomberg In early June, chief executive Carrie Lam kicked off unprecedented chaos when she dismissed enormous crowds of Hong Kongers who marched peacefully to oppose legislation allowing extraditions to China. The masses again spoke clearly and peacefully — this time giving 85% of 452 District Council seats to pro-democracy candidates, a swing of more than 50 percentage points. Nearly 3 ...

Bloomberg A record number of Hong Kongers cast ballots in district elections by Sunday afternoon, with hours to go before polls were due to close, as they seized the first opportunity to vote after months of increasingly violent protests calling for greater democracy. Some 2.5 million people, or roughly 60% of the financial hub’s electorate, had voted by 6:30 pm, ...

Bloomberg British PM Boris Johnson pledged his Conservatives won’t raise income tax, value-added tax or national insurance rates as he unveiled the party’s programme for government on Sunday. He also promised that the National Health Service will not be “on the table” in trade talks. The Tories hold a double-digit lead in most opinion polls heading into the December 12 ...

Bloomberg Uruguayans voted for their next president on Sunday in a runoff in which polls suggest that opposition leader Luis Lacalle Pou will end 15 years of left-wing rule. Surveys show the 46-year-old career politician from the center-right National Party leading the Broad Front’s Daniel Martinez in an election in which voters will choose between an ambitious reform agenda or ...

Bloomberg India’s Supreme Court asked for documents to show how an alliance in a western state was formed to create a government, after prime minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party unexpectedly tied up with a rival to take control of Maharashtra. A panel of judges led by NV Ramana demanded that the federal government submit the papers by Monday morning, when ...

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 ...