Bloomberg Hong Kong braced for rare strikes and further protests amid an escalating standoff over a controversial bill that would allow extraditions to mainland China. Local companies said they would suspend work or allow flexible office hours on June 12 to accommodate workers planning to demonstrate near the city’s Legislative Council, which will meet to debate amendments. The Hong Kong ...

Bloomberg Mali’s President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, urged citizens to refrain from violence as his government scrambled to deal with the fallout from an attack that left scores of people dead and raised the specter of widespread civil conflict. Extremist insurgencies that have plagued the impoverished West African nation for seven years are increasingly stoking tension between farming communities and groups ...

Bloomberg The US Coast Guard is touting increased operations in the Western Pacific, thousands of miles from American shores, as China’s coast guard and civilian fishing militias increasingly assert the country’s territorial claims. A presence in the South China Sea and elsewhere will help enforce the sovereignty of partner nations in the disputed waters, US Coast Guard Pacific Area Commander ...

Bloomberg Moldova’s newly declared Prime Minister Maia Sandu said her decision to form a parallel government in the former Soviet Republic is perilous and urged the former ruling party still claiming power not to turn the country into a second Venezuela. Speaking from Chisinau, the 47-year-old former World Bank adviser insisted that her administration will be wholly pro-European even though ...

Bloomberg In Haiti’s historic breadbasket, a dozen farmers worked in ankle-deep water, stooped under a piercing blue sky in a lush region dominated for generations by rice fields, and more recently by roving bands of armed men. The gunmen, linked to an infamous gang leader named Arnel Joseph, have been waylaying travellers in the Artibonite Valley, driving out police and ...

One of the least-discussed but perhaps most consequential comments by special counsel Robert Mueller in his appearance before reporters was his blunt counterintelligence assessment: “Russian intelligence officers, who are part of the Russian military, launched a concerted attack on our political system.” The US military, backed by Mueller’s findings and those of the intelligence community, has responded by developing a ...

There’s one worrying aspect about the decision by Brussels to trigger a disciplinary process against Italy – and, no, it’s not the prospect of financial sanctions. It’s that the European Commission report, which states that Italy hasn’t made enough progress in cutting its debt, lands at a time of utter political chaos in Rome. The ruling League and Five Star ...

Like the offer of a week’s vacation in the sun amid a washout summer at home, some good news has arrived at last for Thomas Cook Plc’s shareholders: Fosun International Ltd. is interested in a potential bid for the beleaguered British travel company’s tour operating arm. An approach from the Chinese group, which already owns an 18% stake in Thomas ...

Around the world, governments are hitting on a modish new idea: Turn the internet off. Sometimes they mean it literally. Methods vary, but the trend is clear enough. Countries are increasingly ordering telecoms and other companies to block network access, shut down messaging services, or otherwise restrict digital applications or websites, usually citing public order or national-security concerns. In extreme ...

Southeast Asian nations no longer want your trash. Last week, Malaysia announced it was sending 3,300 tons of scrap plastics including CDs, insulated electric cables and milk jugs back to countries ranging from Australia to Bangladesh, Canada, China and Japan. Days later, the Philippines shipped back 69 containers of dirty Canadian diapers and other refuse brought into the country between ...