Bloomberg Taiwan announced it is extending its compulsory military service to one year from the current four months, a signal to Beijing and Washington it is serious about defending itself. President Tsai Ing-wen said at a press briefing in Taipei that the change coming in 2024 was necessary to ensure international support and that China’s expansionism threatened regional stability. “This ...

Bloomberg Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic has ordered the nation’s army on full alert after weeks of rising tensions in neighbouring Kosovo where the local Serb minority has been confronting the authorities over new registration requirements, putting up road blockades and holding protests that threaten to tip into violence, the defense ministry says. “The President of the Republic of Serbia, as ...

  Bloomberg Top executives at Japan’s biggest banks are expecting negative interest rates to linger and see little immediate earnings boost after a surprise move by the nation’s central bank pushed lenders’ shares up by 13% last week. Earnings won’t enjoy a meaningful lift unless the Bank of Japan (BOJ) scraps negative interest, according to three senior executives, who asked ...