Bloomberg Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for the highest-ranking visit by a US official to the island in decades, a trip that stands to further worsen spiralling relations between the US and China. Azar is set to discuss the international response to the coronavirus, along with supplies of medical equipment and technology, according ...

Bloomberg Lebanon’s minister of information resigned a day after deadly protests against the government’s role in last week’s devastating blast in Beirut, and hours before global leaders gathered to discuss aid to the country. Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad submitted her resignation “in response to the public calls for change,” she said in a televised press conference on Sunday. Nehmat ...

Bloomberg Afghanistan’s government will release hardened Taliban prisoners to clear the final hurdle for direct peace talks with the insurgent group and end the 19-year war. President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday said he would accept the recommendation of the Loya Jirga, a grand national assembly of 3,400 influential members of society, which sought to free 400 Taliban prisoners “in order ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s privacy chief criticised the US Treasury Department for “doxxing” Chief Executive Carrie Lam and other officials by releasing their personal information as part of its sanctions on them. “The disclosure of the data of the persons concerned by the US Department of the Treasury is obviously excessive and unnecessary,” Acting Privacy Commissioner Tony Lam said in a ...

Bloomberg The UK is stepping up efforts to stop the influx of migrants crossing the English Channel by boat, as tensions rise with France about how to control a surge in crossings. The Home Office requested help from the armed forces in dealing with the jump in immigrants trying to gain entry into the country by making the 35-kilometre (22-mile) ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump announced four executive actions on Saturday, including continued expanded unemployment benefits and a temporary payroll tax deferral for some workers, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hobble the US economy. Trump also ordered continued eviction protection and student-loan relief. The moves could jeopardise negotiations with congressional Democrats over an additional coronavirus relief package, with the two ...

Bloomberg Boris Johnson’s government will invest nearly $1.7 billion in building projects and provide two billion pounds in energy efficiency grants in an effort to create jobs and rally the pandemic-hit UK economy. Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said 300 “shovel-ready” projects will receive a share of a 900 million pound Getting Building Fund, and a further 360 million pounds will ...

Bloomberg The sometimes literal nature of automated translation programs has tripped up plenty of tourists — or in the case of Mexico, its entire tourism board. Operators of the Visitmexico.com website were left red-faced when the English version of the tourism information portal suddenly sprouted a series of comic or literal translations. Confusion escalated to the point where Mexico’s government ...

Bloomberg Florida luxury train operator Brightline is dropping plans to rebrand as Virgin Trains USA and ending its relationship with Richard Branson’s Virgin Enterprises. The company had entered into a branding deal with Virgin in advance of a planned initial public offering, which was scrapped indefinitely on pricing day in February 2019. At the time, the companies touted synergies between ...

Bloomberg More economic upheaval is on the horizon in Europe as plans to end the unprecedented support for workers during the coronavirus pandemic threaten to tip millions of households into a debt trap. Organisations that help individuals sort out their financial problems are warning of a sharp increase in the number of families burdened by bills they can’t pay. Even ...