Politics

Bloomberg The US is in discussions with South Korea on ways to deter Kim Jong-un’s regime from using nuclear weapons, according to a spokesperson for the National Security Council. Following a meeting in Cambodia last year, US President Joe Biden and South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol asked their teams to plan for an effective coordinated response to a range ...

  Bloomberg Mitch McConnell is set to break Democrat Mike Mansfield’s record as longest-serving Senate party leader when he starts his 17th year as Republican leader — a mark of stability in a Capitol riven by chaos on the House side of the building. McConnell, 80, is now poised to serve as he did a dozen years ago: As a ...

Bloomberg Bulgaria’s president gave a former ruling party the chance to create a new government and steer the nation out of a political crisis that may lead to the fifth elections in two years. President Rumen Radev tapped Nikolay Denkov, a chemistry professor nominated by the We Continue the Change party, to lead coalition talks. Denkov will have a week ...

  Bloomberg New Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang offered effusive praise of Americans after stepping down as his nation’s top envoy to Washington, signalling that ties between the world’s biggest economies appear to be warming despite recent tensions over Taiwan. “I have been deeply impressed by so many hard-working, friendly and talented American people that I met,” Qin said in ...

  Bloomberg Representative Kevin McCarthy’s chances of becoming House speaker remained in doubt hours before Republicans formally take control of the chamber. With Republicans holding only a slender majority when the new Congress convenes, McCarthy can’t lose more than four GOP votes in his bid for speaker, and at least 14 Republicans still hadn’t promised their support. Some of his ...

Bloomberg Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva retook the helm of Latin America’s largest democracy promising to bring back the economic inclusion and prosperity that marked his first two terms as Brazil’s president between 2003 and 2011. It won’t be easy: Brazil grew more politically polarised over the past two decades, with trust in his Workers’ Party eroded by corruption scandals. ...

Bloomberg Four people have died and three are critically injured after a mid-air collision involving two helicopters near the Sea World theme park on Australia’s Gold Coast. Queensland Police said it appeared that one helicopter was taking off and another was landing when the incident occurred on Monday. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is appealing for witnesses and has sent ...

  Bloomberg Japan’s Defense Ministry said it spotted a Chinese military drone near the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyakojima on New Year’s Day. The unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, which the ministry identified as a WZ-7 drone, flew from the East China Sea towards the Pacific Ocean before circling back and heading west, the ministry said in a statement. The aircraft ...

Bloomberg A Ukrainian strike on a Russian military facility in the occupied eastern town of Makiyivka killed 63 troops being housed there, Russia’s defense ministry said, making it one of the deadliest losses acknowledged by Moscow. Ukraine warned that Russia may launch more attacks over the Orthodox Christmas holiday later this week even as it downed all 39 Shahed drones ...

  Bloomberg New Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang sought better Sino-US ties in a phone conversation with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on New Year’s Day, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing. Qin, who served as China’s ambassador to the US prior to his new job, looked forward to maintaining a close working relationship ...