Politics

  Bloomberg The UK government is considering sending Challenger 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the discussions. If it goes ahead, the move would be the first time a Western country has provided Ukraine with modern battle tanks to fight Russian forces. No final decision has been taken, the people said on Monday. Neither wished …

Bloomberg Russia’s defense ministry claimed a major strike on Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, killing hundreds of Ukrainian servicemen in retaliation for the New Year’s Day rocket attack on Makiyivka that killed at least 89 Russian troops. There was no immediate response from Ukraine. The ceasefire unilaterally declared by Moscow over Orthodox Christmas ended on January 7. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy …

Bloomberg Nato won’t let Serbia redeploy its security units in Kosovo, turning down a request made in December 2022 amid soaring tensions between the local Serb minority and Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian authorities, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic says. “We all knew and expected such response” from Nato’s Kosovo Force, or KFOR, Vucic said in interview to Belgrade-based Pink TV. The Nato …

  Bloomberg Former prime minister Theresa May has earned over £2.5 million on top of her official salary from outside engagements since the last general election, the most of any UK member of Parliament, according to an investigation by Sky News. Overall, parliamentarians earned £17.1 million extra since late 2019 on top of their individual £84,144 annual salaries. Two thirds …

Bloomberg President Joe Biden will confront one of his biggest political liabilities head-on, as he pays a visit to the US border with Mexico in El Paso, Texas. Biden will see first-hand conditions for migrants and the US officials who process them as they cross from Mexico. He’s facing calls from Democrats and Republicans to more quickly process cases, resettle …

Bloomberg South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) is intent on turning itself around and addressing voter disillusionment over poor government services and high levels of crime, poverty and unemployment, President Cyril Ramaphosa said. “The renewable process is irreversible, it is irrevocable,” Ramaphosa told a rally at a stadium in the central city of Mangaung, where the party was founded …

Bloomberg French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to increase the retirement age to preserve the financial balance of the national pension system may get the backing of the Republican opposition party, its leader Eric Ciotti said. An overhaul that would progressively raise the retirement age from 62 currently to 64 in 2032 may be acceptable, the president of the conservative party …

Bloomberg The US and Germany will send armoured vehicles and an additional Patriot air defense system to Ukraine, a significant upgrade in firepower urgently sought by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the fight against Russia’s invasion. The US will provide its Bradley Fighting Vehicles while Germany is sending its Marder vehicles, the leaders said in a joint statement. Germany also will …

Bloomberg Donald Trump is being blamed for the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was assaulted during the January 6, 2021, riot, in a lawsuit that claims the former president is responsible because he riled up his supporters with false election claims and calls to take action. That “cost” Sicknick his life, Sandra Garza, Sicknick’s former girlfriend and …

Bloomberg Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to cease fighting in Ukraine for 36 hours starting from Friday at noon, Moscow time, but Kyiv quickly dismissed the move as a ploy, unlikely to slow a conflict that’s heading for its second year. The Kremlin said Putin gave the order for Russian Orthodox Christmas. It follows an appeal by the …