May, 2021

• 23 May

  Belarus military forces Ryanair jet landing as reporter arrested

  

  Bloomberg Belarus scrambled a fighter jet to force a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania to land in its territory, where authorities detained a journalist who covered the 2020 presidential election and protests against Alexander Lukashenko’s disputed claim of victory. The crew of the Boeing 737-800 carrying scores of passengers from Athens to Vilnius was notified by Belarusian authorities of ...

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• 23 May

  China’s top diplomat to visit Russia for 16th strategic talks

  

  Bloomberg China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, will visit Russia for the 16th strategic and security consultation between the two countries starting from Monday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday. Yang, director of the Communist Party’s central committee for foreign affairs who sits on the 25-member Politburo, will also visit Slovenia and Croatia, ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said ...

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• 23 May

  Ireland says ‘real risk’ hackers may release stolen information

  Bloomberg Ireland’s government warned of a “real risk” that hackers will release sensitive medical information, as it vowed again not to pay a ransom. Hackers have threatened to release private health records on Monday after infiltrating the system, in the latest cyberattack by an international crime gang. Spending minister Michael McGrath on Sunday repeated the government’s pledge not to make ...

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• 23 May

  German Green party candidate slips in poll after bonus scandal

  

  Bloomberg Annalena Baerbock, the co-leader of Germany’s Green party, is losing ground in the race to become the country’s next chancellor, a new poll shows. Baerbock would receive 20% of the vote if national elections were held on Sunday, a drop of 4 points compared with last week, according to the poll by Insa published in the Sunday edition of ...

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• 23 May

  UK denies claims over Covid herd immunity

  

  Bloomberg The UK government pushed back on claims from the former chief aide of Prime Minister Boris Johnson that officials pursued a herd immunity strategy in the early days of the pandemic. Dominic Cummings, who is due to give evidence on the government’s handling of the pandemic to lawmakers on Wednesday, unleashed a series of tweets criticising the UK’s response. ...

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• 23 May

  Data revisions leave Taiwan unsure ‘where Covid-19 outbreak is heading’

  

  Bloomberg Taiwan reported a steady increase in Covid-19 cases, as the government’s decision to revise up past daily totals dented confidence in official data at a time when soft lockdown measures appear to be slowing the rate of new infections. Health authorities reported more than 600 new cases at the weekend, 287 on Sunday and 353 on May 22, and ...

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• 23 May

  US Treasury proposes global corporate tax of at least 15%

  

  Bloomberg The US called for a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15%, less than the 21% rate it has proposed for the overseas earnings of US businesses — a level that some nations had argued was excessive. The contrast between the new proposal, released by Treasury Department, and higher rate the Biden administration is seeking to be applied ...

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• 23 May

  Germany imposes UK travel curbs due to variant from India

  

  Bloomberg Germany will impose fresh restrictions on travelers from the UK due to the rapid spread in Britain of the coronavirus strain first identified in India. Travelers from the UK will have to spend two weeks in quarantine upon arrival in Germany even if they test negative for the virus, according to the foreign ministry. In addition, transport companies will ...

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• 23 May

  Eiffel Tower to reopen in July after suffering heavy losses

  Bloomberg The Eiffel Tower is getting ready to welcome visitors again starting in mid-July as restrictions linked to the coronavirus ease throughout France. The French capital’s iconic structure will reopen from July 16 to tourists eager to climb the 324-meter tower’s staircases or use its lifts, according to an announcement on Twitter. The news comes as the terraces of cafes ...

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• 23 May

  Euro-area recovery boosted by services as industry loses steam

  

  Bloomberg The euro area’s economic recovery is increasingly being supported by a rebound in services as factories confront a supply squeeze that is pushing up costs. Surveys of purchasing managers by IHS Markit show the 19-nation region emerging from the pandemic crisis as infections drop and the lockdowns that dragged the bloc into a double-dip recession are eased. Service-sector businesses, ...

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