If Hong Kong were just another Chinese city

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has said Hong Kong is no longer autonomous from China after a monthslong crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. This has paved the way for the Trump administration to strip the territory of some of its privileged trade status. But alas, if Hong Kong would have been just another Chinese city. Hong Kong is defined by ...

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Lufthansa bailout to trigger turf war from low-cost rivals

Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG may have won its battle for state aid, but its surrender of airport slots to appease regulators heralds heightened conflict between European aviation’s old guard and low-cost challengers. A rivalry that’s been simmering for years has been given fresh impetus by the coronavirus crisis, with former flag carriers falling back on government support as discounters including ...

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S Africa agrees to $1.2b national airline bailout

Bloomberg South Africa’s government provisionally agreed to allocate at least 21 billion rand ($1.2 billion) to the country’s embattled national airline to help repay debt and resume operations after the lifting of Covid-19 travel bans. The proposed package includes about 17 billion rand that will go towards repaying South African Airways (SAA) creditors, according to a draft copy of a ...

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Distressed retailer Party City may cut debt with bond deal

Bloomberg Party City Holdco Inc, the retailer that has been trying to reduce its $2 billion debt load as social distancing scraps celebrations, will try to convince creditors to sign a deal that would trim its borrowings and inject fresh cash into the company. The company reached an agreement with holders of more than 52% of its bonds that would ...

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Airbus set to reassess output after virus hits jet demand

Bloomberg Top Airbus executives are planning to assess additional measures that may be necessary to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to people familiar with the matter. Among the topics to be discussed at a meeting are production rates for the plane-maker’s top-selling A320-series narrow-body jet, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing confidential deliberations. ...

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UK travel firms urge ‘air bridges’

Bloomberg More than 200 UK travel and hospitality executives, including the head of London’s iconic Ritz hotel, joined a chorus of airlines and airports calling for the government to introduce air bridges to boost tourism and scrap contentious plans to quarantine visitors. The group of 217 — spanning hotel chains and travel agents to chefs — also want the foreign ...

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China trolls US over protests after Trump criticised HK

Bloomberg Chinese officials and state media needled the Trump administration over race-related protests and looting that have engulfed US cities in recent days, after weathering criticism and threats from Washington over Beijing’s own moves to quell unrest in Hong Kong. Over the weekend, China’s foreign ministry and state media seized the opportunity to fire back at Trump. Chinese propaganda outlets ...

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Dozens killed in militant attacks in Burkina Faso

Bloomberg Suspected extremists killed dozens of people in three separate attacks in Burkina Faso, including a raid on a cattle market in the east of the country, marking a fresh surge in violence in one weekend. Gunmen on motorbikes fired into the market in Kompiembiga, killing at least 25 people, while seven paramilitary police and five civilians died when gunmen ...

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Wuhan mass testing may have curbed virus

Bloomberg Wuhan authorities said they found no new cases of “silent spreaders” for the first time in nearly two months as the city’s aggressive push to test its entire population appears to have succeeded in breaking hidden chains of transmission. Of the 60,000 people tested on May 31, no cases of asymptomatic infections were found, said the Wuhan municipal health ...

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Trudeau readies virus aid for ‘Canadian cities’

Bloomberg Prime minister Justin Trudeau is ready to announce financial support for Canadian municipalities whose revenues have plunged amid the Covid-19 lockdowns. Trudeau was expected to announce C$2.2 billion ($1.6 billion) in funding on Monday, according to a government official familiar with the plans. The money — potentially only a first move to help cities — will come in the ...

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