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  Bloomberg The Covid-19 outbreak that’s hitting China is being caused by strains of the virus that have already circled the world, with no signs yet of significant new mutations emerging, according to officials at a global consortium that’s tracking the pandemic. Chinese authorities submitted 25 new genetic samples from Beijing, Inner Mongolia and Guangzhou taken in the past month ...

  Bloomberg South Korea’s parliament approved a 2023 budget that reflects a more rigorous fiscal approach from the new government as it tries to position the nation to address rising economic risks. The 639 trillion won ($499 billion) fiscal blueprint passed represents efforts by officials under President Yoon Suk Yeol to reduce South Korea’s debt dependence and wean the economy ...

Bloomberg With Russia’s invasion now into its 11th month, President Vladimir Putin said the absence of talks to stop the war is not Moscow’s fault. “It’s not we who refuse negotiations, but they,” Putin said in a TV interview. Russia is prepared to discuss “acceptable outcomes,” he added. Air alerts sounded across Ukraine after Russian fighter jets, including one capable ...

  Bloomberg China said it will strive to “recalibrate” its relationship with the US and increase communication with Europe as the country outlines its major diplomatic tasks for next year. “We will follow through on the common understandings reached between the Chinese and US Presidents” and work to bring bilateral relations back on the right course, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi ...

  Bloomberg Hong Kong intends to start reopening its borders with China before mid-January, aiming at returning to pre-Covid cross-border travel arrangements, the city’s leader said. The borders will “open fully in a gradual, orderly way,” Chief Executive John Lee said during a press briefing at the city’s airport on returning from a trip to Beijing, where he met President ...

  Bloomberg China’s military said it conducted exercises around Taiwan in response to escalating “collusion and provocations” from Taiwan and the US, after the latter authorised increased military assistance to the island. The People’s Liberation Army staged combat readiness patrols and drills around Taiwan , according to a statement from the Eastern Theater Command. The military will take “all necessary ...

  Bloomberg Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, emerged as voters’ top choice to lead the Southeast Asian nation ahead of the next general election tentatively scheduled in May, according to an opinion poll. Paetongtarn, who is widely tipped to be the prime minister candidate of the nation’s largest opposition party Pheu Thai, got 34% backing of ...

Bloomberg In the days after the assault on the US Capitol, some members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet talked about asking him to resign or invoking the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove him from office, according to testimony. Michael Pompeo, Trump’s secretary of state, told investigators for the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack that Labor Secretary Eugene ...

  Bloomberg Fiji has elected Sitiveni Rabuka as the nation’s prime minister, ending the 16-year rule of Frank Bainimarama. Rabuka gained 28 ballots to his predecessor’s 27 to become the new leader in a parliamentary vote, more than a week after a national election where no party held a majority of seats. While Rabuka’s party won fewer seats than Bainimarama’s, ...

  Bloomberg A turbulent year for the pound is coming to an end with little evidence that 2023 will be much different. Signs of a painful UK economic downturn keep piling up, making analysts doubtful that the currency can extend — or even sustain — a recent rebound against the dollar. The options market also shows skepticism, with traders still ...