Politics

BLOOMBERG Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged support for a coalition to help provide Ukraine with a fleet of Western-made fighter jets, although he stopped short during a surprise UK visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of promising actual aircraft. Sunak told Zelenskiy on Monday that he was “very keen to build that coalition of countries to give Volodymyr and his people ...

BLOOMBERG Thailand’s two biggest pro-democracy parties agreed to join in a coalition that would give them a clear majority in the lower house, moving to quickly maintain momentum after a stronger-than-forecast showing in the elections. The liberal Move Forward party claimed a mandate to lead after topping the polls, with party chief Pita Limjaroenrat taking to Twitter to say he ...

BLOOMBERG Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a personal pledge to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Germany will continue to support the government in Kyiv with military and other assistance for as long as needed. Scholz hosted Zelenskiy in Berlin for the first time since Russia’s invasion and said the Ukrainian leader’s visit was “a strong signal.” It came a day after ...

BLOOMBERG Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conceded a loss in the southern swing state of Karnataka, a rare victory for Rahul Gandhi’s opposition Congress party as it looks to build momentum ahead of national elections next year. Congress took 135 seats in the 224-member assembly, its biggest victory against Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in major state elections since the ...

OUAGADOUGOU / WAM Thirty three people were killed in an attack by gunmen on an area in western Burkina Faso. Babo Pierre Bassinga, governor of Boucle du Mouhoun region, said in a statement that the village of Youlou in the department of Cheriba, Mouhoun province, had been brutally attacked, with 33 civilians killed in the attack. The attack came three ...

BLOOMBERG Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled that former premier Imran Khan’s arrest by the anti-graft agency was illegal and ordered for the ex-cricket star to be freed from custody, a dramatic about-turn in the ongoing political drama. Khan was presented before the top court for an appeal hearing against his arrest, which has fuelled nationwide protests. Security officials were stationed around ...

BLOOMBERG Turkish presidential contender Muharrem Ince withdrew from Sunday’s election, narrowing the field of rivals to incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan and injecting fresh uncertainty into the contest over how his supporters will vote. “I am withdrawing from the race. I am doing this for my homeland,” Ince told reporters in a press briefing in Ankara. He asked for “a vote ...

BLOOMBERG There’s been no significant progress on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (Asean) five-point peace proposal for Myanmar that would include ending violence and committing to free elections, according to Indonesia President Joko Widodo. “Asean unity is needed to formulate the way forward,” Indonesia’s leader said as the two-day summit wraps up in the island of Labuan Bajo. “But ...

BLOOMBERG Armed with well over $30 billion in weapons freshly supplied by its allies, Ukraine is gearing up for a counteroffensive that may push Russia closer to ending its war, or show neither side has enough firepower to seize the advantage. Kyiv’s troops will leverage that hardware — shipments delivered since December that cost more than any North Atlantic Treaty ...

BLOOMBERG Pakistan opposition leader Imran Khan appears at an anti-graft tribunal after his dramatic arrest sparked violent clashes and prompted his supporters to protest outside the military’s headquarters. Khan was arrested by paramilitary troops on the orders of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), an autonomous anti-graft agency, in relation to a case involving a land deal. He was moved to ...