March, 2021

• 4 March

  US says rockets hit Iraq base hosting coalition troops

  

  Bloomberg Ten rockets targeted an airbase in western Iraq that hosts US-led coalition troops, the latest in a spate of attacks that have raised tensions days before a visit by Pope Francis. There was no immediate claim for Wednesday’s attack on Al Asad Airbase, which came just a day after the Pentagon said it was hoping to deter future assaults ...

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• 4 March

  Riot hearing to look at slow guard deployment, intelligence gaps

  

  Bloomberg Federal officials will face stern questioning about delays in deploying the National Guard during the January 6 riot at the US Capitol, as lawmakers probe broader intelligence failures in the days before the violent insurrection. Major General William Walker is set to appear alongside three intelligence and counter-terrorism experts from the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the ...

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• 4 March

  Orban’s party quits EU lawmaker group in Hungary democracy row

  

  Bloomberg Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban pulled his ruling party out of the parliamentary caucus of the European Union’s largest political group as the bloc piles pressure on him over the erosion of democratic norms. Orban triggered the exit of his 12 European Parliament lawmakers on Wednesday after a vote by the European People’s Party (EPP) caucus cleared the way to ...

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• 4 March

  German far-right party put on watchlist

  

  Bloomberg Alternative for Germany (AfD), the biggest opposition group in the country’s parliament, was placed on the domestic intelligence service’s list of organisations suspected of right-wing extremism, Der Spiegel reported. Prompted by a confidential 1,000-page report about alleged violations of constitutional rules protecting human dignity and democracy, the move allows the agency to conduct nationwide surveillance of the AfD, the ...

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• 4 March

  Hong Kong makes 100th arrest under security law

  Bloomberg Hong Kong made its 100th arrest under a national security law imposed on the former British colony by China last year, while a mass bail hearing for dozens of pro-democracy activists was forced into a fourth day. 100 people had been arrested on suspicion of activities harming national security, police said. The accused include 83 male suspects and 17 ...

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• 4 March

  Sunak extends furlough pay for workers until September

  

  Bloomberg Rishi Sunak will extend furlough payments to UK workers until the end of September, protecting millions of people whose jobs were suspended during the coronavirus pandemic until after restrictions are set to be lifted. With the nation mired in a third lockdown, the government will keep paying 80% of wages for those in the program through the end of ...

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• 4 March

  Italy may seek extra stimulus amid virus

  

  Bloomberg Italy’s new government may soon seek parliamentary approval for more stimulus spending as a sluggish vaccination campaign and new coronavirus strains extend the nation’s reliance on fiscal support. Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s administration is planning to distribute about 32 billion euros ($38 billion) that was approved by the parliament in January through a new decree called “sostegno” or “support,” ...

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• 4 March

  EU likely to suspend bloc’s budget rules by two years

  Bloomberg The European Union’s (EU) executive arm is likely to extend a suspension of the bloc’s debt rules through next year amid uncertainty over the region’s economic recovery. In its guidance on fiscal policy for the coming months, the European Commission outlined its parameters for assessing whether to prolong a waiver of the EU’s spending limits, signaling that it won’t reinstate ...

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• 4 March

  Trudeau’s tighter Covid-19 rules hit Canada’s economic growth

  

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claims there isn’t a trade-off between Canada’s strict lockdowns and economic growth will be tested this week with the release of new output data. Analysts expect gross domestic product (GDP) shrinks by more than 5% last year, a middling result among advanced economies. The US, with far less restrictive pandemic measures last year, shrinks by ...

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• 3 March

  Roblox warns of slowing growth

  Bloomberg Roblox Corp., the kid-focused gaming company that’s planning to go public this month, warned investors that the booming user growth it enjoyed during the pandemic is about to disappear. The total hours that users spend engaged with the gaming platform could drop by as much as 11% in the second quarter, Roblox said in a statement. Though the number ...

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