Bloomberg Officials reported a high turnout among voters in Russian presidential elections that are expected to hand Vladimir Putin a mandate to rule until 2024 amid an escalating standoff with the West. Opposition activists complained of ballot fraud. The Central Election Commission said turnout across Russia was 59.6 percent at 7 pm in Moscow. The Tass news service reported that ...

Bloomberg Russia’s ambassador to the European Union suggested the nerve agent used to poison a former spy and his daughter may have come from a research lab in the UK and rejected accusations it was made in Russia, according to an interview to be broadcast by the BBC. Ambassador Vladimir Chizhov said in searching for the poison’s source, investigators need ...

Bloomberg Southeast Asian nations and Australia vowed to unite against protectionism, while also using a summit in Sydney to urge North Korea to denuclearise immediately. “We are committed to free and open markets,” the final communique from the first Australia-Asean Special Summit, held in Sydney, said on Sunday. They pledged to resist “all forms of protectionism.” Global markets were rattled ...