Bloomberg President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Russian-led troops that helped him crush an uprising would begin to leave in two days as he denounced “oligarchic groups” that dominate Kazakhstan’s economy. The country is now “stable” after last week’s violence, allowing for the phased withdrawal over 10 days of forces from Russia and other ex-Soviet states that he’d summoned to Kazakhstan, ...

  Bloomberg Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government sided with authorities in Kazakhstan in their crackdown against protesters, dismissing human rights concerns after Russian-led troops helped crush an uprising over the last week. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said violent protesters need to be held accountable and concerns over human rights have “no place” when it comes to restoring order, ...

  Bloomberg Myanmar’s military government accused two US nationals and embassy staff of breaking health protocols for Covid-19-detected patients, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The junta stated that a US diplomatic passport holder and another US employee of the embassy who were tested positive for Covid-19 were transferred to the properties of the US embassy ...

  Bloomberg Top US and Russian diplomats agreed to keep talking even as they acknowledged a first round of security discussions did little to resolve their differences over Russia’s troop buildup near Ukraine or Moscow’s concern about the possibility that Nato may expand its presence further east. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov repeated Russia’s insistence it has no plans to ...

  Bloomberg Mali’s military ruler said he’s open to talks with West Africa’s economic bloc about returning the nation to civilian rule and asked the group to reconsider sanctions imposed over his refusal to hold elections next month. While the government regrets the “illegal, illegitimate and inhumane nature of certain decisions, Mali remains open to talks with the Economic Community ...

  Bloomberg Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro suffered a rare electoral loss when his candidate was defeated in a vote to elect the next governor of Barinas state, the birthplace of Hugo Chavez, who started the so-called socialist revolution. Jorge Arreaza, a former foreign minister and Chavez son-in-law, conceded defeat to little-known opposition candidate Sergio Garrido. The Electoral Council said Garrido ...

  Bloomberg Canada’s labour market beat expectations in December, a strong end to a record year for employment gains. Employment rises 54,700 last month, Statistics Canada reported in Ottawa. That’s more than double the 25,000 gain economists were predicting in a Bloomberg survey. Full-time jobs actually surged by 123,000, as many part-time workers shifted to more permanent employment — another ...

  Bloomberg Germany suffered its costliest natural disaster on record last year, as flash floods led to damages that vastly exceeded the amount covered by insurers. Torrential rainfall that devastated parts of western Germany in July 2021 cost Europe’s biggest economy $40 billion, according to a Munich Re report. Roughly a quarter of that will be met by the insurance ...

  Bloomberg The New York Times Co agreed to buy the Athletic, acquiring a sports-news website with more than 1 million subscribers. The newspaper publisher is paying $550 million for the Athletic, which will remain a standalone product, Times Chief Executive Officer Meredith Kopit Levien said in a statement. The deal is expected to close by the end of March. ...

  Bloomberg UK property developers must contribute to a 4 billion-pound-fund ($5.4 billion) to fix dangerous cladding on low-rise apartment blocks by March or face new regulations that would force them to pay, Housing Secretary Michael Gove said. Gove said it was “morally wrong” that homeowners were still trapped in unsafe and unsellable apartments more than four years after the ...