The suspected poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny underscores the dangers Russians face for speaking out against President Vladimir Putin. It’s also a warning to those currently protesting for democratic change in neighbouring Belarus. So long as Putin remains at the helm, Russia will continue to pose a serious threat to democratic values, in its periphery and beyond. A ...

Bloomberg Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd is set to find out whether it has enough support from creditors for a 1.2 billion-pound ($1.6 billion) rescue or if it will need a judge to overrule them in order to stave off collapse. The UK carrier founded and controlled by billionaire Richard Branson has already secured the backing of three creditor classes and ...

Bloomberg Qantas Airways Ltd plans to cut as many as 2,500 more jobs by offloading ground operations like baggage handling and aircraft cleaning as the cost of the coronavirus pandemic mounts. The reductions follow previously announced plans to eliminate 6,000 jobs, or 20% of the workforce, the airline said in a statement on Tuesday. “Airlines have to change how they ...

Bloomberg The Trump administration gave American Airlines Group Inc emergency approval to deploy a new weapon against Covid-19: a surface coating that kills coronaviruses for as many as seven days. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the emergency declaration for Allied BioScience Inc’s SurfaceWise2 product, allowing it to be used in some American Airlines planes and airport facilities, as well ...

Bloomberg Japan’s second-largest convenience store operator FamilyMart Co will become a wholly owned subsidiary of top shareholder Itochu Corp after the trading house succeeded in its tender offer for the retailer’s shares. The deal will lift Itochu’s stake in FamilyMart to 65.7% from 50%, allowing the trading company to begin the process of delisting the convenience store operator from the ...

Bloomberg Finland’s national carrier Finnair Oyj plans to eliminate as much as 15% of its workforce and push through deeper cost cuts in an effort to survive one of the worst crises in aviation history. The airline will slash a maximum of 1,000 jobs and lay off “practically all of its personnel in Finland,” it said on Tuesday. Finnair also ...

Bloomberg Women’s activewear retailer Sweaty Betty is preparing to put itself on the block, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The London-based company could fetch about 400 million pounds ($524 million) in a transaction, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Potential suitors could include large retailers or ...

Bloomberg Russia brushed off a call by German Chancellor Angela Merkel for a full investigation into the suspected poisoning of Alexey Navalny, saying it’s still not clear yet that the opposition leader was exposed to a toxic substance. “If the substance is identified and it’s shown to be a poisoning, that would be basis for an investigation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry ...

Bloomberg Hurricane Laura is poised to strengthen rapidly and come ashore along the Texas-Louisiana coast as a tree-snapping Category 3 storm, forcing residents to flee their homes despite the threat of Covid-19. Laura’s winds will likely peak at 115 miles (185 kilometres) per hour as it comes ashore early on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. Laura has disrupted offshore ...

Bloomberg West African leaders have made scant headway in their efforts to ensure Mali swiftly reverts to civilian rule after President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s ouster by a military junta. Talks between the junta’s leaders and envoys from the Economic Community of West African States ended without resolving when the military will arrange elections or release Keita, who’s been in captivity ...