Bloomberg A Chinese fighter plane flew within 20 feet (6 metres) of a US Air Force reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea in what the US Indo-Pacific Command called “an unsafe maneuver.” The unusually close encounter happened on December 21 but wasn’t disclosed until later, when the command issued a statement after verifying the details and getting approval …

Bloomberg Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged citizens to continue their energy-saving drive and said Germany’s new floating LNG terminals will make Europe independent of Russian gas for the long term. In his New Year’s address to the nation, Scholz acknowledged that the energy crisis triggered by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was a “tough test” for the continent’s biggest economy. But …

  Bloomberg President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has selected a senator and former Petrobras official to lead Brazil’s state-controlled oil giant with the aim of turning it into a renewable energy powerhouse. Jean Paul Prates, a senator for Lula’s Workers’ Party, confirmed Lula’s invitation in a note sent from his press office. Moments later, Lula congratulated Prates on Twitter, …