Bloomberg The UK will require all travelers to take a pre-flight Covid-19 test within 48 hours prior to their flight regardless of their vaccine status, a surprise government move that prompted a swift and angry reaction from the airline industry. The measure, which takes effect on December 7, will be temporary and be reviewed as the omicron outbreak develops, Health ...

Bloomberg President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit New Delhi on Monday as billions of dollars of Russian weaponry flow into India that would normally attract US sanctions. Eager to draw India into its efforts to contain China, the US may look away this time. Putin is making his first foreign trip in nearly six months for talks with Prime ...

Bloomberg Russia said it will protest officially to the US about an incident over the Black Sea, when civilian aircraft had to divert from their routes because of a US spy plane. “Increased US and Nato warplanes activity near Russian borders creates risks of dangerous incidents for civilian aviation,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on her Facebook page. ...

Bloomberg Germany’s Free Democrats overwhelmingly supported a coalition deal with the Social Democrats and Greens, bringing the party one step closer to governing Europe’s biggest economy. The pro-business FDP backed the 177-page pact outlining the government’s plan for the next four years with 92% of votes at a special party conference in Berlin. The SPD already approved the deal at ...

Bloomberg France’s Republicans nominated their first woman presidential candidate in a primary that sharpened the focus of the challenge facing Emmanuel Macron in next year’s election. Valerie Pecresse won the final round of the conservative’s ballot after 61% of members backed her. Eric Ciotti, a lawmaker from southern France often compared to far-right rival Eric Zemmour, took 39%. By selecting ...

Bloomberg Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the US will stand up to an “increasingly assertive and autocratic” China in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, calling its activity “disturbing.” One way to counter China’s military modernisation, growing nuclear capabilities and technological advances is to strengthen US alliances in the region, Austin told a security conference in California. “The activity that we ...

Bloomberg The US is reevaluating the travel ban on eight southern African countries as more information about the omicron variant and its spread becomes available, White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci said. “That ban was done at a time when we were really in the dark — we had no idea what was going on,” Fauci said. U.S. medical advisers ...

Bloomberg President Joe Biden said Americans are returning to work and the US economy continues a strong rebound from the pandemic, after a Labour Department report offered a mixed view on the job market. “Simply put, America, America is back to work,” Biden said in remarks at the White House. “Because of the extraordinary strides we’ve made, we can look ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) will give preliminary approval to the reforms submitted by Spain to unlock $11.3 billion of its recovery funds. The European Commission will validate first set of milestones fulfilled by the Spanish government as part of its cash-for-reforms package to counter economic fallout of Covid-19, according to EU officials. Spain is one of the largest beneficiaries ...

Bloomberg Italy’s credit rating was raised one notch to “BBB” by Fitch Ratings, which said the country’s high Covid-19 vaccination rates and an increase in public and private spending will help the economy expand more than expected. The boost in rating reflects confidence in the unity government led by Premier Mario Draghi and its ability to wisely spend over 200 ...