| UN chief: Colombia must respect commitments to rebels Posted: 02 Jul 2019 05:06 PM PDT ![UN chief: Colombia must respect commitments to rebels]( "UN chief: Colombia must respect commitments to rebels") Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he regrets the "polarization and division" in Colombia over elements of the 2016 peace deal and is calling on the government to ensure that any changes to the accord respect commitments made to rebels who laid down their arms. The U.N. chief singled out the contentious debate over six changes that Colombia's government enacted last month for the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, which was established under the agreement to try former combatants accused of atrocities. In a report to the U.N. Security Council circulated Tuesday, Guterres also expressed "deep concern" that the U.N. mission in Colombia has verified 123 killings of former combatants since the peace deal was signed by the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC.
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| Navy SEAL acquitted of murder in killing of captive in Iraq Posted: 02 Jul 2019 04:48 PM PDT  A decorated Navy SEAL was acquitted Tuesday of murder in the killing of a wounded Islamic State captive under his care in Iraq in 2017. The verdict was met with an outpouring of emotion as the military jury also cleared Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher of attempted murder in the shootings of two civilians and all other charges except for posing for photos with the body of the dead captive. Gallagher cried "tears of joy, emotion, freedom and absolute euphoria," defense lawyer Marc Mukasey said.
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| The Latest: Acquitted Navy SEAL cries tears of 'freedom' Posted: 02 Jul 2019 03:14 PM PDT  A defense lawyer for a decorated Navy SEAL says his client cried tears of "joy" and "freedom" after being acquitted of murder. Attorney Marc Mukasey said the jury verdict Tuesday that cleared Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher of all but one charge had lifted a huge weight from the SEAL and his family. Friends of Gallagher emerged from the courthouse and yelled "Free Eddie" while his attorneys high-fived each other.
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| German Grab of EU Job Shows Cracks in Once-Mighty Merkel Armor Posted: 02 Jul 2019 03:04 PM PDT ![German Grab of EU Job Shows Cracks in Once-Mighty Merkel Armor]( "German Grab of EU Job Shows Cracks in Once-Mighty Merkel Armor") (Bloomberg) -- In the end, Angela Merkel landed on her feet.After three days of brutal horsetrading and weeks of consultations, a German stands to lead the European Union for the first time in over half a century. Sharing the spoils with France's Emmanuel Macron, another woman, Christine Lagarde, is to lead the European Central Bank. Together they form a symbol of change for a union that was under pressure to seek renewal.But the blunt show of EU power politics involved in distributing the bloc's top jobs, also laid bare the cracks in Merkel's once unassailable power as Europe's preeminent leader.At a key moment, she appeared to have misread the resistance in her own center-right political family to a compromise deal that would have installed a socialist as president of the European Commission. When the appointment finally pivoted to her own party ally and defense minister, Ursula von der Leyen, Merkel was forced to abstain from the vote -- lacking the support from her Social Democratic coalition partner at home.Osaka DealVon der Leyen's nomination must now be approved by a European Parliament bristling against the sort of back-door wheeling and dealing that created it. Previously the German leader had bought into an accord hashed out at the G-20 in Osaka that envisioned the socialist Frans Timmermans at the helm of the commission, since he was an endorsed lead candidate from one of the parliamentary factions.But things didn't go as planned. Merkel arrived at the summit on Sunday to find the "Osaka deal" assailed by Italy, eastern European governments and, to her dismay, leaders in her own European People's Party who weren't properly briefed. The EPP won the European election in May, they said, and should lay claim to the Commission."As things are shaping up, this won't be a very simple negotiation, to put it mildly," Merkel told reporters on her way into the summit.Twenty hours later, after a sleepless night of trying to get the socialist Dutchman through, EU leaders had nothing to show for and the summit adjourned until Tuesday. A fuming Macron pilloried European leaders for driving the nomination process aground."Our credibility is deeply stained by these endless meetings that lead to nothing," he said in the afternoon of Monday on his way out.The next day, the mood shifted rapidly when a new plan that a French official attributed to Paris was put on the table: ditch the European Parliament's lead candidates -- dubbed "Spitzenkandidaten" -- and give the EPP its due: in the form Merkel's own Christian Democratic Union ally von der Leyen. The unexpected turn unlocked the byzantine process, at least among the leaders.For his part, Macron appears to have scored a more unalloyed victory. He managed to get a French woman installed at the ECB, a French-speaking Liberal ally at the European Council and saw off some of the more extreme positions of some eastern European governments.Merkel told reporters that the seemingly elegant solution was not her own -- and that she had come to Brussels committed to the Spitzenkandidat principle that EU parliamentarians laud as a more democratic process. She attributed the trust within the council for her defense minister to other leaders."I certainly heard a lot of support across parties today, even though as I said, I pushed for a different result for the entire day yesterday," Merkel said.Fine LineWhether or not a German as commission president fell into Merkel's lap, Merkel will need to walk a fine line in Berlin, where her Social Democratic coalition partner will take a dim view of the von der Leyen nomination. Martin Schulz, the former SPD leader whom Merkel defeated in the 2017 election, mocked van der Leyen's nomination, saying she was the worst minister in Merkel's cabinet.When the Council's nomination package came to a vote more than 48 hours after leaders arrived in Brussels on June 30, Merkel's hands were tied, without the immediate support from the SPD at home."The Social Democrats were not able to decide today on whether to agree to this, so I had to abstain," she said. "That's the regular rule."The result may emerge as a Pyrrhic victory for the chancellor. Merkel, who has said she won't run again when her term ends in 2021 at the latest, was as much on the receiving end of political forces churning in Brussels than the master tactician she has been in the past.But the final deal was just that, shaped by Merkel and Macron and presented to the other leaders.To contact the reporters on this story: Patrick Donahue in Brussels at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net;Ian Wishart in Brussels at iwishart@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Raymond ColittFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| U.N. aviation agency to review global pilot training in shadow of 737 MAX crashes Posted: 02 Jul 2019 02:45 PM PDT  Global regulators will meet in Montreal next week to review pilot licensing requirements, the U.N.'s aviation agency said, as part of a discussion that has gained urgency following two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in the past year. It is the first time that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which sets global standards for 193 member countries, will undertake such a broad review on training requirements. While the meeting was not called in response to the MAX crashes in Indonesia last October and in Ethiopia in March, it coincides with a larger debate on whether increasingly automated commercial jets are compromising pilot skills.
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| U.N. aviation agency to review global pilot training in shadow of 737 MAX crashes Posted: 02 Jul 2019 02:41 PM PDT ![U.N. aviation agency to review global pilot training in shadow of 737 MAX crashes]( "U.N. aviation agency to review global pilot training in shadow of 737 MAX crashes") Global regulators will meet in Montreal next week to review pilot licensing requirements, the U.N.'s aviation agency said, as part of a discussion that has gained urgency following two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in the past year. It is the first time that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which sets global standards for 193 member countries, will undertake such a broad review on training requirements. While the meeting was not called in response to the MAX crashes in Indonesia last October and in Ethiopia in March, it coincides with a larger debate on whether increasingly automated commercial jets are compromising pilot skills.
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| EU, France, Germany and UK urge Iran to reverse uranium decision Posted: 02 Jul 2019 02:06 PM PDT  The diplomatic chiefs of the EU, France, Germany and Britain said Tuesday they were "extremely concerned" and urged Iran to reverse its decision to breach a limit on enriched uranium reserves under a 2015 nuclear deal. "We urge Iran to reverse this step and to refrain from further measures that undermine the nuclear deal," said the joint statement signed by EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini and the three countries' foreign ministers -- France's Jean-Yves Le Drian, Germany's Heiko Maas and Britain's Jeremy Hunt.
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| EU Top Jobs Go to People Who Didn’t Campaign Posted: 02 Jul 2019 01:15 PM PDT ![EU Top Jobs Go to People Who Didn't Campaign]( "EU Top Jobs Go to People Who Didn't Campaign") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Landing a top leadership portfolio in the European Union this year was expected to be highly political. Not only were the national preferences of France and Germany in play, power blocs in the European Parliament also had their preferred candidates. Yet the political compromises involved in naming new leaders were so complex, the prevailing candidates turned out to be people who didn't even campaign. German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, who is to be president of the European Commission, and Christine Lagarde, the former French finance minister who will lead the European Central Bank, came completely out of the blue. On the other hand, those who did campaign — including Manfred Weber of the center-right European People's Party bloc and Frans Timmermans of the Socialist bloc — and those like Michel Barnier, the EU Brexit negotiator, who made themselves available as alternatives, failed to make the cut at all. Wrangling between the warring factions led by Angela Merkel of Germany and Emmanuel Macron of France pushed ideas and policy proposals out of the process, and member state priorities to the forefront.This matters because the incoming EU leaders will need to deal with both internal and external challenges. The post-election parliamentary arithmetic will require greater compromise than ever on legislation, even as issues like Brexit continue to divide governments. External challenges include President Donald Trump's tariff threats, the risk of war in the Middle East, and China's rising power. In times of such crises, European institutions can easily lose credibility if leaders are unable to stand up to big member states.Lagarde, who's been leading the International Monetary Fund for almost a decade, knows a thing or two about running international organizations, and Von der Leyen has been strengthened by a long political career in Germany. For his part, Josep Borrell, the Spaniard nominated to be the EU's new foreign policy chief, is a diplomatic heavyweight who isn't afraid to stand up to Trump. Having a gender split at the top of the EU is also unquestionably a good thing.But there's a danger that when it's time for members of the European Parliament to vote, the issue of legitimacy will stick in their minds. They may see some candidates as too beholden to national politics, or to political parties, and may struggle to form a consensus. Von der Leyen draws her political support base from Merkel and her CDU party, and her somewhat turbulent time as defence minister might be seen as a drawback. Martin Schulz of Germany's Social Democratic Party has already called her the "weakest" member of the German government.One thing's for sure: Those who want a stronger and more integrated Europe will have a hard time seeing a clear vision for the future with these leaders — even if having women running both the Commission and the ECB is a great narrative in itself. The campaign to win over voters has only just begun.To contact the author of this story: Lionel Laurent at llaurent2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Mary Duenwald at mduenwald@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Brussels. He previously worked at Reuters and Forbes.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| EU Top Jobs Go to People Who Didn’t Campaign Posted: 02 Jul 2019 01:15 PM PDT ![EU Top Jobs Go to People Who Didn't Campaign]( "EU Top Jobs Go to People Who Didn't Campaign") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Landing a top leadership portfolio in the European Union this year was expected to be highly political. Not only were the national preferences of France and Germany in play, power blocs in the European Parliament also had their preferred candidates. Yet the political compromises involved in naming new leaders were so complex, the prevailing candidates turned out to be people who didn't even campaign. German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, who is to be president of the European Commission, and Christine Lagarde, the former French finance minister who will lead the European Central Bank, came completely out of the blue. On the other hand, those who did campaign — including Manfred Weber of the center-right European People's Party bloc and Frans Timmermans of the Socialist bloc — and those like Michel Barnier, the EU Brexit negotiator, who made themselves available as alternatives, failed to make the cut at all. Wrangling between the warring factions led by Angela Merkel of Germany and Emmanuel Macron of France pushed ideas and policy proposals out of the process, and member state priorities to the forefront.This matters because the incoming EU leaders will need to deal with both internal and external challenges. The post-election parliamentary arithmetic will require greater compromise than ever on legislation, even as issues like Brexit continue to divide governments. External challenges include President Donald Trump's tariff threats, the risk of war in the Middle East, and China's rising power. In times of such crises, European institutions can easily lose credibility if leaders are unable to stand up to big member states.Lagarde, who's been leading the International Monetary Fund for almost a decade, knows a thing or two about running international organizations, and Von der Leyen has been strengthened by a long political career in Germany. For his part, Josep Borrell, the Spaniard nominated to be the EU's new foreign policy chief, is a diplomatic heavyweight who isn't afraid to stand up to Trump. Having a gender split at the top of the EU is also unquestionably a good thing.But there's a danger that when it's time for members of the European Parliament to vote, the issue of legitimacy will stick in their minds. They may see some candidates as too beholden to national politics, or to political parties, and may struggle to form a consensus. Von der Leyen draws her political support base from Merkel and her CDU party, and her somewhat turbulent time as defence minister might be seen as a drawback. Martin Schulz of Germany's Social Democratic Party has already called her the "weakest" member of the German government.One thing's for sure: Those who want a stronger and more integrated Europe will have a hard time seeing a clear vision for the future with these leaders — even if having women running both the Commission and the ECB is a great narrative in itself. The campaign to win over voters has only just begun.To contact the author of this story: Lionel Laurent at llaurent2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Mary Duenwald at mduenwald@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Brussels. He previously worked at Reuters and Forbes.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Thousands of Ethiopian Israelis protest police violence Posted: 02 Jul 2019 01:14 PM PDT ![Thousands of Ethiopian Israelis protest police violence]( "Thousands of Ethiopian Israelis protest police violence") Thousands of Israelis protested Tuesday against alleged police brutality toward Ethiopian Israelis across the country after police shot dead an Ethiopian Israeli teen. Demonstrators blocked highways around the country, including a major thoroughfare through central Tel Aviv and the main highway into Jerusalem, snarling traffic late into the night. In Tel Aviv, a protester set a car on fire and demonstrators clashed with police.
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| Nuclear War with North Korea Is Still Possible. Trump’s ‘Walk’ Across the DMZ Made That Less Likely. Posted: 02 Jul 2019 12:52 PM PDT  Donald Trump did the seemingly impossible by being the first sitting U.S. President to set foot in North Korea. On Sunday, Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ), where they held an hour-long summit. They also briefly stepped over the border together into North Korea and back again, replicating the same historic act previously carried out by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim. While many of Trump's critiques called it nothing more than a photo-op, this symbolic act brought down tensions as Washington and Pyongyang promised to resume negotiations.How can anyone not applaud when two nations who have technically been in a formal state of armed conflict for nearly seven decades seek dialogue? At least for the moment, it seems the Trump Administration has made escalation management America's primary goal, ensuring any pause in talks does not slip back to the dark days of 2017. The alternative runs the risk of an unwanted war.
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| EU Leaders Tap Germany’s Von Der Leyen as Commission Chief Posted: 02 Jul 2019 12:32 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Ursula von der Leyen, Chancellor Angela Merkel's defense minister and fellow conservative party member, was nominated by European Union leaders to become the bloc's next chief executive after a brutal final round to weeks of horsetrading.The Council will also propose IMF chief Christine Lagarde to head the European Central Bank and Charles Michel as president of the European Council. Spain's Josep Borrell Fontelles will be foreign policy chief. Lagarde said in a tweet she would "temporarily relinquish her responsibilities as IMF Managing Director during the nomination process."Merkel, whose initial plans had suffered a setback on Sunday, came out with a German at the helm of the union. She abstained from voting in the 28-member council, after many of the German Social Democrats, her junior coalition partner, opposed the deal.Von der Leyen's name emerged as a compromise after a Merkel-backed plan that would have given the job to the Socialists was rejected by her own center-right allies. It would be the first time a German holds the top EU job since Walter Hallstein was head of the Commission of the European Economic Community more than half a century ago.Her challenge will be to navigate a world of bruising trade wars, renewed geopolitical tension surrounding Iran, as well calls for increased transparency and representation within the bloc itself.A deputy leader of Merkel's Christian Democratic party, von der Leyen must still be ratified by an absolute majority in the European Parliament to become commission president.Parliamentary HurdlesVon der Leyen's nomination still faces a serious hurdle in parliament because leading members of its Socialist group, the No. 2 faction in the 28-nation assembly, are opposed. While the broader Socialist group is split, an indication of how the faction will eventually vote on von der Leyen's nomination may come on Wednesday, when the assembly is due to elect its own president. The post is supposed to go to a Socialist under the summit deal, but the group's members are weighing support for a Green member of the assembly named Ska Keller. The Greens, the EU Parliament's fourth-largest group, have said they oppose the summit package.Von der Leyen's appointment will probably ensure little changes in the EU's position on Brexit. While she hasn't expressed many views on the U.K.'s departure in public as defense minister, her arrival in Brussels from the ranks of the German government means it's likely to be business as usual at the commission. This will dash the hopes of the two contenders to be the next British prime minister that the bloc will offer to renegotiate the Brexit deal.Political ModerateVon der Leyen, 60, is the only minister who has been in Merkel's government since the German leader took office in 2005. As a trained doctor who raised seven children, she cut a compelling figure in German politics -- and for most of the 14 years of Merkel's stewardship was considered a natural successor as chancellor.More recently, her once-bright political star faded somewhat. At the defense ministry, von der Leyen has faced probing questions about Germany's military readiness, procurement projects that have run aground, and the prevalence of outside consultants.When Merkel abandoned the party leadership late last year, von der Leyen stayed in the background and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer took the job instead. Within the CDU, von der Leyen has been a champion of Merkel's moderate course, backing pension increases, expansion of childcare and gender quotas that sections of her party had opposed. Those positions never helped her expand a base of support among conservatives.Brussels HomecomingA top post in Brussels would be a homecoming for von der Leyen, who was born in the Belgian capital in 1958 while her father, Ernst Albrecht, was a senior official in the European Commission. Albrecht returned the family to West Germany, where he served as state premier of Lower Saxony from 1976 to 1990.A strong advocate of trans-Atlantic cooperation, Von der Leyen was a latecomer to politics, entering the CDU in 1990. She had previously worked as a gynecologist in the Lower Saxon capital Hanover. While then-Chancellor Helmut Kohl promoted Merkel to his cabinet after East and West Germany reunited in 1990, von der Leyen won a seat in her home-state legislature in 2003 after her children were born.In Merkel's government she served as family minister, labor minister and defense minister. Von der Leyen lived in California for years and is fluent in English and French.(Updates with assembly procedure in the seventh paragraph.)\--With assistance from Richard Bravo, Ben Sills, Nikos Chrysoloras, Ian Wishart, Viktoria Dendrinou, Gregory Viscusi, Alexander Weber, Marine Strauss, Jan Bratanic, Lyubov Pronina, Milda Seputyte, Jasmina Kuzmanovic, Raymond Colitt, Caroline Alexander, Arne Delfs and Ewa Krukowska.To contact the reporters on this story: Patrick Donahue in Brussels at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net;Stephanie Bodoni in Brussels at sbodoni@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo, Raymond ColittFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran trying to 'blackmail' world by violating nuclear deal: Netanyahu Posted: 02 Jul 2019 12:31 PM PDT  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday accused Iran of breaching the nuclear deal in order to "blackmail" the international community into relieving economic pressure on the Islamic republic. "This week Iran openly violated the nuclear deal by increasing the stockpile of enriched uranium (to beyond that) allowed under the deal," Netanyahu said at an early reception in Jerusalem marking the United States' July 4 independence day. Iran said Monday it had exceeded a limit on its enriched uranium reserves set under a 2015 nuclear deal that has edged towards collapse.
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| Fire kills 14 Russian sailors aboard deep-sea submersible Posted: 02 Jul 2019 12:19 PM PDT  Fire broke out on one of the Russian navy's deep-sea research submersibles, and toxic fumes from the blaze killed 14 sailors aboard, Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday, although it released few details about the disaster or the vessel involved. The Defense Ministry did not say how many sailors were aboard the vessel during Monday's fire, whether there were any survivors or if it was submerged at the time. President Vladimir Putin, who came under criticism for his handling of the Kursk nuclear submarine disaster in 2000 that killed 118 sailors, canceled a scheduled appearance and immediately summoned Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for a briefing on the blaze, which was under investigation.
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| Reconsider Saudi G20 after Khashoggi killing, UN expert says Posted: 02 Jul 2019 12:13 PM PDT  World powers should reconsider holding the next Group of 20 summit in Saudi Arabia without accountability over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a UN expert who probed his death said Tuesday. Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, in a report last month found "credible evidence" that linked Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the killing of Khashoggi, a dissident writer who published in The Washington Post. On a visit to Washington, Callamard -- who presented her report to the United Nations but does not speak for it -- said that the next Group of 20 summit, scheduled for November 2020 in Riyadh, offered a chance to pressure Saudi Arabia.
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| Europe Tried to Trust Trump. But That’s Becoming Impossible. Posted: 02 Jul 2019 12:09 PM PDT  Bloomberg/GettyBRUSSELS—What the last few days of Trumpian summitry have established beyond a reasonable doubt is the U.S. president's inclination to confuse photo-ops (including what look like family photos) with policy. The most recent example was the chaotic minuet at the DMZ with North Korea's tyrant Kim Jong Un, which has rewarded Kim with the prestige of a presidential visit without demanding he first get rid of his nukes.That was preceded at the Osaka G-20 by backslapping bonhomie with Saudi Arabia's crown prince, accused by U.S. intelligence of ordering a journalist's butchering, and a few yucks with Russian President Vladimir Putin about his meddling in U.S. elections and the need to get rid of reporters. Not really all that funny when you think more than 20 journalists have died violently since Putin's been in power. Kim, Putin, Mohammed bin Salman, Xi Jinping, and Donald J. Trump all smiled for the cameras like salesmen pushing timeshares and telling you to trust them.Trump Smirked as He Surrendered Western Values to Putin at the G-20 Summit in OsakaBut here's the problem, and a growing one, for America's traditional allies. How is it possible to trust the current president of the United States, when he aligns himself so comfortably with these authoritarian characters, aping their anti-democratic world view for the cameras?The dilemma presented itself in bold relief at a conference over the weekend in Brussels, home to the European Union and NATO headquarters. The German Marshall Fund's Brussels Forum, an annual gathering meant to cement transatlantic relations, more recently has been devoted to lamenting the Trump presidency—and looking for ways to survive it. U.S. officials here find themselves in an almost impossible position, trying to reassure allies that Trump doesn't really mean his tweets, and that there's some kind of grand strategy in his mad rush to embrace monstrous authoritarians around the world. But that's wearing thin, and the spectacle can be worse than disconcerting. I asked NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, U.S. Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, if his troops would defend NATO member Latvia from Moscow. The obvious answer, the necessary answer, by treaty and by common sense, should be a straightforward yes. But Wolters danced around it as if second-guessing his commander-in-chief."All you have to do is go back and take a look at what unfolded in 9/11 with respect to the attack on the homeland of the United States, and look at the response that occurred on behalf of NATO," he said. "Those are obviously the comforts, if you will, of the world's greatest alliance."That wasn't direct enough for the U.S. ambassador to NATO, Kay Bailey Hutchison, who, unprompted, offered more direct assurances."If Latvia is invaded by Russia, we will be there. There is no doubt about it," she told the audience. "If Russia invades Latvia, that's not the only place they're going. They have a plan, and it's going to go far beyond that, and we are going to stop it before it spreads." She added that the U.S. still had a chance to negotiate a healthier relationship with Beijing, but Moscow? Not so much. "I don't think we have a chance with Russia," she said, a statement that seemed at odds with the chummy Trump-Putin meeting that unfolded just a day later in Japan."It's highly disturbing," said one senior diplomat Saturday, sympathetic toward Hutchison's awkward position. "What we see in Washington, D.C., and hear here, it doesn't fit together. The NATO ambassador has to… try to calm things down," something she apparently has to do regularly."'Actions, not words' has been their talking point for a year and a half," a senior European official griped to me. She said European trust in the "this too shall pass" defense "is eroding."Multiple European officials spoke sotto voce about their exhaustion trying 24/7 to decipher the significance of the latest midnight presidential tantrum in screaming capital letters that seems to upend agreed upon Syria policy, or China trade policy, or Iran policy that their local U.S. ambassador or general had tried to rationalize.Trump has played bad-cop-good-cop rolled into one crazy cop, showing fangs one minute, fawning the next, so often that his own team doesn't really know what to believe. Is he pulling troops out of Syria? Sanctioning half of China's trade? Obliterating Iran? European officials have gone bleary-eyed from the constant tea-leaf tweet-reading they and their American counterparts rely on to figure out which way the hot air is blowing out of the Oval Office."Top advisers say one thing, the president says another thing. There are reverses of course by the president on a daily basis," said European Parliament Member Marietje Schaake, from the Netherlands, empowered to speak more freely as she wraps up her final week after a decade in government. "There are a lot of strong words but there is also a lot of flip-flopping…. I worry that the credibility of the United States is declining very rapidly in Europe."Another senior European official called Trump's smirking "don't meddle in the election" moment with Putin "absolutely cynical," and an insult to his closest allies, some of whom are under constant cyber attacks and propaganda assaults from Moscow's security services. "By making light of Russia's interference in our democracy, the president is undermining efforts to deter Russia's attacks—including the executive order that Trump himself signed last fall warning of consequences for such activities," added Laura Rosenberger, a former Obama administration official, and a director of the German Marshall Fund's Alliance for Securing Democracy program. Her team released a report on countering authoritarian interference just a day or so before the Trump-Putin laugh-in.And as much as the Europeans decry Trump's Putin/dictator fixation, and his mercurial decision-making style, they are just plain confused by his rejection of using alliances to pressure adversaries."What we don't understand is why Trump isn't making an effort to build a global coalition on China," a senior European diplomat said. "We have some of the same issues with Huawei, but when we reach out to work together, we get pushed back," he said. Trump's G-20 turnaround on the Chinese company that Trump's national security team had portrayed as an international pariah left the senior European official gut-punched, wondering what he's going to tell other officials and companies at home, as he had been fighting to get his country to step away from Huawei's 5G. "It will be very hard for Europeans to be convinced... to have the utmost concern about Huawei if we've just heard that Americans are selling their technology to the same company," agreed parliament member Schaake.When you combine that dynamic with Trump's threats to sanction E.U. companies doing the same thing, the overall conclusion is, the enemy of the enemy is my friend, the senior European diplomat said. "We get pushed closer to China," or at the very least, European companies do.And if Trump changed his mind on one-half of the U.S. ban on Huawei this week, what's to say he won't drop it all next week in order to do a China trade deal? The European politician just shook his head."He's very direct, there's no ambiguity," Trump's representative of the European Union explained to me in a sitdown a couple weeks earlier at a gathering of Central European leaders in Bratislava–though I was not able to reach him for reaction to the G20. Trump Becomes First Sitting American President to Step Into North Korea—a Win for Kim Jong Un"For all the griping you say you hear, I hear an equal amount of 'he's great, he finally makes things happen,'" Sundland said. "We are like an old married couple. We're never getting divorced, but we have some issues to hash out.""Our bluntness about them does not change our unshakable alliance," he said.But one of the senior European officials countered with the dire prediction of German scholar Constanze Stelzenmüller of Brookings Institute, who warned at an Intelligence Squared debate at the conference that Trump's attacks on his allies and the press, and the coddling of dictators like Putin were leading to a "silent spring" that is shredding international relations."We can last another year or so," the senior European official said. But if Trump is elected again, "Europe will no longer see the United States as the shining bastion of democracy, human rights and freedom." They won't try to emulate Americans, or rely on them.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. 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| UN food aid agency steps up relief for Congo refugees Posted: 02 Jul 2019 12:00 PM PDT ![UN food aid agency steps up relief for Congo refugees]( "UN food aid agency steps up relief for Congo refugees") The U.N. World Food Program said Tuesday it will triple the number of people it is providing food and cash assistance to in northeastern Congo's Ituri province, which is facing inter-ethnic violence and an Ebola epidemic. WFP said a resurgence of clashes between ethnic groups has claimed at least 160 lives in recent weeks and has forced tens of thousands of additional people to flee their homes, many of whom are malnourished. Ituri is one of two provinces in the grip of Congo's worst-ever Ebola outbreak, which has claimed more than 1,400 lives.
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| UN: Sudan's health supply shortage exacerbated by crisis Posted: 02 Jul 2019 11:23 AM PDT ![UN: Sudan's health supply shortage exacerbated by crisis]( "UN: Sudan's health supply shortage exacerbated by crisis") The United Nations says Sudan is facing shortages of medicine and health supplies because of its ongoing economic crisis, which has been exacerbated by recent political upheaval. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday the World Health Organization and the U.N. children's agency, UNICEF, are beefing up supplies and assistance to the vast western Darfur region.
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| Does the Air Force Really Need 74 Additional Combat Squadrons? Posted: 02 Jul 2019 11:00 AM PDT  She added that five more bomber squadrons are needed, there are now nine.On Sep. 17, 2018 U.S. Air Force (USAF) Secretary Heather Wilson and chief of staff Gen. David Goldfein has unveiled an initiative, titled "The Air Force We Need."The new strategy calls for the service to gain 74 combat squadrons in order to deal with threats from China and Russia.According to USA Today, The Air Force We Need is based on President Donald Trump's defense strategy, assessments of the military strength of adversaries and the ability of the Air Force to confront them, Wilson and Goldfein said. The 2018 National Defense Strategy, released in January, calls on the Pentagon to defend the homeland, maintain the nuclear weapons deterrent, defeat China or Russia, deal with threats such as Iran and North Korea and continue to fight extremists.
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| AP analysis: Trump smiles with North Korea, threatens Iran Posted: 02 Jul 2019 10:34 AM PDT  With North Korea, President Donald Trump puts on the charm. Nuclear weapons are at the heart of the difficult U.S. relations with both Pyongyang and Tehran. Kim Jong Un has seemed as willing to meet with Trump as the U.S. president has been to talk and shake hands for the cameras with him.
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| The Latest: European powers concerned about Iran nuke deal Posted: 02 Jul 2019 10:27 AM PDT  European powers that have been trying to preserve the nuclear deal with Iran are underlining their concern at Tehran exceeding its stockpile limit for low-enriched uranium and their demand that it comply in full with the accord.
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| Clarification: Trump-North Korea-Stepping Into History story Posted: 02 Jul 2019 10:16 AM PDT  In a story July 1, The Associated Press reported that President Donald Trump was joined in his Freedom House conversation with North Korea's Kim Jong Un by his daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Ivanka Trump and Kushner did meet Kim and were in the room for the opening of the session between the American president and North Korean leader.
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| EU Leaders Nominate Lagarde for ECB President: Summit Update Posted: 02 Jul 2019 10:13 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- European Union leaders are back in Brussels for another crack at choosing a new commission president after failing to reach a decision during almost 20 hours of talks on Sunday and Monday.The package of appointments also includes the head of the EU parliament, the foreign policy chief and the president of the leaders' council.Key Developments:IMF Chief Christine Lagarde chosen for European Central Bank presidentGermany's Ursula von der Leyen chosen for the commission presidencySpain's Josep Borrell chosen for the foreign-policy chief positionLeaders Chose Lagarde, Von Der Leyen for Jobs (7:12 p.m.)Leaders came to an agreement on the jobs package, according to a tweet by Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel. Choices include:European Commission President: Ursula von der LeyenEuropean Council President: Charles MichelEU Foreign-Policy Chief: Josep BorrellEuropean Central Bank: Christine LagardeWeber Quits (6:48 p.m.)Manfred Weber was officially the center-right EPP's pick for the commission post for the past several months and opposition to his candidacy was one of the major sticking points in this negotiation.He withdrew his claim to the commission presidency this afternoon, his spokesman said in a tweet, removing another obstacle to the deal that EU leaders are trying to close in Brussels right now.Merkel Phones Home to Consult Coalition Partners (6:10 p.m.)Leaders have taken a break from summit talks so that Angela Merkel can speak to her coalition partners, the SPD, EU officials said.The SPD's European family, the Socialists, were close to scoring a big win yesterday when Frans Timmermans was nearing the commission presidency post. The outcome is looking a lot less favorable for them with the current package that would put center-right candidate Ursula von der Leyen in the top job.Socialist Fajon Says Opposed to von der Leyen (5:49 p.m.)Tanja Fajon, a Socialist member of the European Parliament from Slovenia, says most of the group's leaders in the assembly expressed "disappointment" with and opposition to the possibility of an EU summit deal in which German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen would become European Commission president.Fajon, speaking to Bloomberg News in Strasbourg, France, after emerging from a meeting of the Socialist group's leaders, declined to speculate about the position that the group as a whole -- the second biggest in the EU Parliament -- would take on the matter. The Socialist members are due to meet at 6:30 p.m. in Strasbourg.European Council Closes in on Jobs Package (5:40 p.m.)Leaders are closing in on a deal, with German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen still at the top of the ticket, according to two officials with knowledge of the talks. Here's how the latest iteration of the jobs package breaks down:European Commission President: Ursula von der LeyenEuropean Council President: Charles MichelEU Foreign-Policy Chief: Josep BorrellEuropean Central Bank: Christine LagardeEastern Members Back von der Leyen for Top Job (3:53 p.m.)Hungary's government spokesman said that after "defeating Weber," the Visegrad-4, which includes Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, would support German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen for the top EU job.Von der Leyen, Johnson's Striking Similarities (3:48 p.m.)As strange as it sounds, the potential next heads of the EU and U.K. have similar backgrounds, although it seems to have pushed them in opposite directions when it comes to their views on Europe. The fathers of Ursula von der Leyen, the latest person discussed for European Commission president, and Boris Johnson, favorite to become British prime minister next month, both held senior posts in the executive arm of the bloc.Von der Leyen's father, Ernst Albrecht, worked in Brussels from the late 1950s until 1970 (and she was born there) and rose to become commission director-general. Johnson's father, Stanley, was a senior official in the commission's environment department in the late 1970s before becoming a member of the European Parliament for five years.The similarities don't stop there. Both also have a large number of children. Seven in Von der Leyen's case. Johnson hasn't confirmed how many he's got, but it's reported to be at least five.Stanishev, Borrell Mentioned for Top Posts (3:15 p.m.)The latest thinking on the appointments package would see Socialists from Bulgaria and Spain get two of the top jobs, according to two officials. Sergei Stanishev is being talked of as the next president of the European Parliament, where he's sat since 2014, and Josep Borrell, himself a former parliament president and until earlier this year Spanish foreign minister, would become the EU's foreign-policy chief. These are the only tweaks so far to the full draft list we published at 12:59 p.m., the officials said.Lagarde Being Touted for ECB President (12:59 p.m.)IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde is emerging as frontrunner to succeed Mario Draghi at the ECB, under the latest plan circulated to national delegations at the Brussels summit, according to several officials. The proposed split of top jobs is not a done deal yet and could well meet the fate of other proposed distributions circulated over the past three days. The draft plan is as follows:European Commission President: Ursula von der Leyen European Council President: Charles MichelEU Foreign-Policy Chief: Maros SefcovicEuropean Parliament President: split in two 2.5-year terms between Manfred Weber and SocialistsEuropean Central Bank: Christine LagardeEU Industry-Economy Commissioner: Frans Timmermans EU Budget Commissioner: Nadia CalviñoLithuanian Premier Floated for Top EU Job (12:39 p.m.)Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite is being floated by Germany as a new potential candidate for the job of European Commission president, according to two officials with knowledge of the talks. While she is likely to get the support of the Christian Democrats and eastern countries outside the political group, she may be problematic for some Liberals and Socialists because of her hard stance against Russia. If she's chosen, the final package could still feature Socialist's Frans Timmermans as foreign-policy chief or president of the European Parliament.Salvini Makes His Presence Felt in Brussels (12:25 p.m.)Italian deputy premier and populist strongman Matteo Salvini tried again to crash the EU top jobs talks in Brussels, undercutting the timid attempts at compromise by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.Speaking from Limbadi, a small village deep in the Southern region of Calabria, Salvini reiterated that Italy would oppose "any stitch-up that excludes all the others and has only the support of the French and Germans."Salvini has reason to raise his voice: The latest polls in Italy show his League party would get 38% of votes in a new election, within shooting distance being able to garner an absolute majority in Parliament without needing any allies.Timmermans Throws His Chips in for EU Post (12:15 p.m.)Frans Timmermans missed the deadline earlier today for taking up his seat in the new European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, signaling that he is betting on getting something in the package of other EU jobs being negotiated by government leaders in Brussels. Timmermans was elected to the EU Parliament in May at the top of the Dutch Socialists' list.Georgieva, von der Leyen Touted for Top Role (11:37)Germany's highly-regarded defense minister, Ursula von der Leyen, has been floated as a possible candidate for the presidency of the European Commission, while the group of countries opposing Timmermans's bid are pushing for World Bank Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva, two officials familiar with the matter said.Both options tick the gender box and they come from the center-right EPP party, but they are outside the universe of formal candidates, which would make it difficult for the other parties in the European Parliament and some leaders to accept them.New names are in circulation and hopefully a consensus can be found today for the whole package, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told reporters. "Today we will find a solution," he said.Costa Says Leaders Too Tired to Close Deal Monday (11:10)Leaders probably could have struck a deal on appointing Timmermans as European Commission president if they weren't so tired at their summit Monday, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on his way into the summit."Yesterday we truly were a very short distance away from having an agreement," he said, adding that Timmermans's candidacy remained "surely'' a possibility.Merkel 'Happy' and Ready to Get 'Creative' (11:05 a.m.)"We're going to go to work with a renewed sense of creativity and I think everyone needs to understand that they need to move a little bit," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters ahead of the summit. "In that case there will certainly be a chance and I think we have the responsibility to achieve results. In this spirit I'll get to work, happily and firmly."It's unclear whether her cryptic comments about "creativity" and "the need to move" means that the Timmermans-centered package has been abandoned after yesterday's reactions.Draghi, Merkel Not Available for EU Posts (10:59 a.m.)Outgoing ECB President Mario Draghi, who has been touted by the Italian government for a top EU job, told Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte he's not interested. And so has Angela Merkel, who has also been repeatedly approached by EU leaders for a role in Brussels."These are two people that I esteem but two people who personally told me that they are not available," Conte told reporters in Brussels ahead of the summit.Merkel's Allies Feel Betrayed (10:53 a.m.)The European People's Party decided against backing a Timmermans-centered package due to the back-room nature of the so-called Osaka Accord, two party officials said. Merkel, who's seen as the unofficial leader of EU's Christian Democrats, had previously told center-right leaders that the party line was to stick with Manfred Weber for the EU Commission presidency. This line was passed from leaders to their EU lawmakers.When the line changed without many of them knowing, center-right leaders and lawmakers felt they had exposed themselves too much backing Weber (both during his campaign and after the EU elections) to switch allegiances, the party officials said.From her side, Merkel told EPP leaders on Monday that she had Weber's approval for proposing him for EU Parliament president and striking an agreement for another EU Commission president in Osaka.Leaders Weighing 'Various Scenarios,' Bettel Says (10:42 a.m.)Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said he's had a lot of talks this morning and there are "various scenarios" at play. He also pointed to the chaotic performance by the center-right EPP, which up to this point hasn't been able to agree on a strategy."The EPP had a bug yesterday," Bettel said on his way into the summit. "I hope that they did a reboot over night and that they can work constructively today so that we can come to a solution."He also repeated a line Merkel said on Monday, that the council will have to work together for the next term, so they shouldn't do anything that will disturb the institutional balance."This is about the next five years, not about the next six months," Bettel said.Visegrad insists Timmermans remains a 'no go' for them (10 a.m.)Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis tells reporters in Brussels that the nations making up the so-called V4 will not accept Frans Timmermans as European Commission president. Margrethe Vestager is a "first-class name," he said, but insisted it's not so much about names but about finding the person who understands their region and can push for the interests of his region. Timmermans "doesn't understand our region" and is "a no go."How the EU Parliament Complicates Things (9 a.m.)The main reason leaders want to reach a deal on the president of the EU Commission on Tuesday is that the decision is supposed to come in a package that includes other top jobs, including the president of the European Parliament. As per its own rules, the assembly is due to elect a chief in Strasbourg on Wednesday. If it goes ahead and picks its own head without coordinating with leaders, one piece of the puzzle will have been taken out of the equation.The deadline for submissions of candidacies is at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, which makes it an unofficial deadline for EU leaders to find an agreement on the full package of top jobs.One of the names discussed in the past among leaders for president of the assembly is German Green MEP Ska Keller. Her pick would be an acknowledgment of the gains that Greens made in May's EU elections and would also tick at least one of the two top jobs that need to be filled by women candidates. However, in the latest package which was discussed yesterday, the job was allotted to center-right German lawmaker Manfred Weber.Keller threw her hat into the ring anyway, and if talks between parties at the European Parliament break down today, a left-of-center alliance could still catapult her to the presidency without the backing of center right.Merkel's Allies Are Sticking to Their Guns (8 a.m.)The center-right European People's Party -- largest group at the European Parliament -- said one of its number should be president of the EU Commission, and it wants to lead the EU legislature too.That stance is the biggest obstacle to the Timmermans-led package that EU leaders have been working on. Whatever the leaders agree has to be ratified by the parliament and without the EPP they would be operating with a wafer thin majority."Holding 2 positions out of many is not too much for election winner," EPP Vice Chair Siegfried Muresan said on Twitter last night.\--With assistance from Richard Bravo, Caroline Alexander, Ian Wishart, Gregory Viscusi, Marine Strauss, Milda Seputyte, Maria Tadeo, Slav Okov, Patrick Donahue, Viktoria Dendrinou, Jonathan Stearns, Lyubov Pronina, Jan Bratanic and Jasmina Kuzmanovic.To contact the reporters on this story: Alexander Weber in Brussels at aweber45@bloomberg.net;Stephanie Bodoni in Brussels at sbodoni@bloomberg.net;Nikos Chrysoloras in Brussels at nchrysoloras@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo, Zoe SchneeweissFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Know This: A U.S.-Iran War Would Not Be Fought Only in Iran Posted: 02 Jul 2019 10:11 AM PDT  Residents in northern Cyprus were surprised on July 1 when a S-200 missile slammed into the side of a mountain in the wake of an Israeli airstrike in northern Syria. Israel has targeted Iranian bases and weapons transfers to Hezbollah more than a thousand times in the last seven years. Iran has threatened to respond, but Tehran now faces larger concerns as it wrestles with Washington and seeks to raise tensions in both the Gulf, Iraq and Yemen among its allies and proxies.An arc of simmering conflict runs from the waters off Cyprus to the Gulf of Oman where the U.S. Global Hawk was downed in June, to Abha in Saudi Arabia which has been targeted by Iranian-backed Houthi drones. It is a frontline that stretches three thousand miles and marks out the potential flashpoints between the United States and its allies against Iran and its allies and proxies. Viewing the region through this complex map of interlinked conflicts is the best way to see the current U.S.-Iran tensions in the context in which they have grown. It also reveals the possible ways Iran and its proxies might strike at the United States and its allies. In some cases these conflicts have already broken out.
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| Fox News hosts admits they would have criticised North Korea visit by Obama Posted: 02 Jul 2019 09:57 AM PDT  Fox News hosts were open about the conservative channel's bias in a segment on Donald Trump's visit to North Korea, admitting that "if it were the adversary" travelling to meet with Kim Jong-un, they'd have no praise."Of course they're going to attack him," host Greg Gutfeld said on a Monday episode of The Five, referring to criticism of Mr Trump's visit to the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea. "That's what you would do.""And let's be honest," Mr Gutfeld continued, "if it were the adversary—an adversary from your party on the other side, we would do the same thing."Fox News has long been a conservative news organisation, but its relationship to the Trump administration is unprecedented. The president is known to mimic talking points from the channel's programmes, especially its early morning shows, on a regular basis. Acknowledgement of this has reportedly been used to deliver messages to Mr Trump regarding desired policy and opinions.Mr Trump is also known to speak to Fox host Sean Hannity on the phone on nearly "most weeknights." In a recently released transcript from Paul Manafort's trial, it was revealed that the conservative talking head was also exceptionally close with the president's former campaign manager.In response to Mr Gutfeld's comments, fellow host Jesse Watters mockingly yelled "How dare Obama meet with a dictator with no preconditions?" Juan Williams, the liberal representation on the show, later pointed out that the response to former president Barack Obama's attempts to meet with leaders of Cuba, Iran, and even North Korea were regularly brushed off for the same reasons critics call Trump's meeting a farce. Mr Gutfeld jumped in right away. "Couldn't trust Obama, though," he said. The cast laughed.
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| Sudan protest group says 2 leaders arrested Posted: 02 Jul 2019 09:41 AM PDT  A Sudanese opposition group said Tuesday that two of its leaders were arrested amid a weekslong standoff between the ruling military council and a protest coalition that held mass marches this week. The Sudanese Professionals' Association, which has spearheaded protests since December, said security forces arrested Yassin Abdel-Karim, head of the Sudanese Teachers' Committee, in the capital, Khartoum. The group said security forces searched the homes of three other leaders.
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| Johnson Plans to Show Tory Rebels Some Love: Brexit Update Posted: 02 Jul 2019 09:34 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt both vowed to rip up the controversial Irish backstop and make sure no new borders emerge between Northern Ireland and Britain as a result of Brexit. Meanwhile members of Parliament continue to plot to try to block a no-deal exit.Key Developments:Johnson and Hunt both reiterate willingness to leave without a dealJohnson blames U.K. negotiators for Irish backstopJohnson's plan to get rebels onside: "Love them up."Hammond hints he would join rebels to block no-deal Brexit; McDonnell says there's a small window in September and OctoberPound fallsHunt: No-Deal 'Very Serious' If It Goes Wrong (5:10 p.m.)Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who on Monday set out his plan to prepare for a no-deal Brexit, has conceded that it's a risky strategy. Speaking to ITV News, he cited a Bank of England analysis that said a no-deal departure could be almost as bad as the 2008 financial crisis."It could be very serious if we get this wrong," he said. However, he insisted the referendum result has to be honored. "This is a country where we do what the people tell us, so we have to deliver Brexit," he said.Boles Sees No-Deal Brexit as Likeliest Outcome (1:40 p.m.)Nick Boles, who left the Conservative Party earlier this year in protest at its refusal to work on a Brexit compromise, has told the Institute for Government he thinks efforts to prevent a no-deal Brexit are likely to fail."It's more likely than not that we will leave with a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31,'' he said.On the question of whether Tories would commit career suicide to bring down a government intent on no-deal, he said: "Don't underestimate how many members of Parliament desperately want to remain members of Parliament.''He said Theresa May's likely successor, Boris Johnson, wouldn't be able to change the parliamentary arithmetic, adding that the idea Tory Brexiteers hoping for a no-deal outcome would vote for a deal with some changes to the backstop was "ridiculous.''"Boris is going to be a prisoner just as much, if not more so, than Theresa May," he said.Johnson Plans to Show Tory Rebels Some Love (1:25 p.m.)At the leadership event in Belfast, Boris Johnson was asked how he could restore party unity and reconcile Tory rebels to the idea of a no-deal Brexit."I would love them up," Johnson replied. "I would give them as much understanding and love as I possibly could and try to bring everybody together, because I really think this is existential. We either do this or we're doomed."Johnson said the alternative to delivering Brexit is likely to be a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn, and that risk is focusing minds of potential rebels.Hammond Hints at Role as No-Deal Rebel (1:10 p.m.)Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond hinted he may join Conservative rebels in voting down a no-deal Brexit if the new prime minister pursues it as a policy.Hammond, who has consistently opposed leaving the EU without a deal, said he doesn't expect to remain in post as chancellor under the new Tory leader."I believe that it will be for the House of Commons, of which I will continue proudly to be a member, to ensure that doesn't happen,'' Hammond told Parliament Tuesday. His Labour opponent, John McDonnell told reporters later that Hammond would be "one of the most influential'' backbenchers, paying tribute to a "vehemence'' from Hammond on no-deal that isn't often seen.McDonnell said his party would do whatever it could to prevent a messy no-deal exit, and that there's a small window to block it in September and October.Johnson Blames U.K. for Irish Backstop (12:50 p.m.)Johnson said the Irish backstop -- the most contentious part of the Brexit deal -- was included in the agreement partly because of the demands of the U.K. negotiators."The backstop represents the incoherence at the heart of the strategy we've been pursuing," he told a leadership contest event in Belfast.The EU demanded that there should be no hard border on the island of Ireland and proposed a backstop that applied only to Northern Ireland. The U.K. side -- in an effort not to cut Northern Ireland off from the rest of the country -- then asked for the backstop to apply to the whole of the U.K. That meant the whole country would be subjected to EU trading rules if the backstop ever came into effect.Johnson wants the Irish border issue to be solved as part of future trade negotiations after the U.K. has left.Hunt Promises N. Ireland Will Be Treated Same (12:15 p.m.)Hunt pledged that Northern Ireland will be treated the same as the rest of the U.K. after Brexit.That's an important commitment -- and a difficult one to keep -- because the EU and U.K. have agreed there will be no border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit. And if there's no border on the island, but the U.K. breaks free from the EU's rules and tariff structure after Brexit, then some kind of border will probably be needed between Northern Ireland and Britain.Hunt Says Existing Technology Can Fix Border (12 p.m.)Hunt said he believes the solution to the Irish border issue lies in technology, and existing methods are sufficient."I don't believe it needs new technology, I think we can do it with the technology we have," he told a leadership contest event in Belfast.He said the Irish border backstop -- the most contentious part of the exit deal Theresa May negotiated -- has to be "changed or it has to go" in order for a divorce accord to get through Parliament.Johnson's Team Denies Spending Commitments (9 a.m.)Boris Johnson's campaign chairman, Iain Duncan Smith, denied his boss has committed to increasing public spending -- despite apparent pledges by other Johnson backers over the past few days.Responding to criticism from Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, who has repeatedly said the candidates' spending plans are incompatible with the no-deal Brexit both have said they would accept, former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said Tuesday Johnson's spending plans are more what the government "must aspire to" rather than actual commitments."What Boris has said is that these are areas that a Conservative government must aspire to deliver -- when of course the money is there and available,'' Duncan Smith told LBC radio. "It is not Boris who's gone around shouting 'We've got plenty of money to spend,' what he is talking about is the areas that need work."DUP's Wilson Says 'Ambiguity' to EU is Over (7:40 a.m)Sammy Wilson, Brexit spokesman for the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party which props up the government, said the U.K. must send a signal to the European Union that the "days of ambiguity and ambivalence are over" by leaving the bloc no later than Oct. 31."I don't agree that Northern Ireland is likely to suffer disproportionately in the event of no deal," Wilson told BBC Radio, conceding there may be "some turbulence."Earlier:Contenders to Lead U.K. Clash Over Parliament, Brexit and TrustU.K. House Prices Stuck in a Brexit Rut With Growth Near ZeroBrexit Bulletin: Drawing a LineTo contact the reporters on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net;Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Emma Ross-Thomas at erossthomas@bloomberg.net, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump-Putin Meeting: Where Does Russia Go from Here? Posted: 02 Jul 2019 09:14 AM PDT  Moscow lauded last Friday's meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Osaka as a modest victory.Although top Russian officials acknowledged that little had changed as a result of the meeting, they expressed tempered optimism about the tone of the two leader's conversation. They are hopeful that if they show patience and manage to keep U.S.-Russian tensions from spiraling out of control, then Washington will eventually accept new détente without Moscow having to alter its course.In an interview on Sunday, Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told state television host Vladimir Solovyov that Moscow saw encouraging signs from Trump at the meeting."The American president quite distinctly showed his intention to reenergize the dialogue," he said. "As for Putin, he has long been talking of his desire to go along the path of normalization of relations, but he also said that without mutual interest from the United States we cannot talk about this."Peskov added, "Now, for the first time, we have seen this mutual interest from the American president."At the same time, other members of Putin's team admitted that nothing close to a breakthrough occurred. Ambassador Yuri Ushakov, the Russian president's foreign-policy assistant, said after the meeting "Unfortunately, it was not possible to discuss many topics in depth."Trump and Putin reportedly discussed arms-control, trade, Iran, Venezuela, Syria and Ukraine. However, no new agreements or plans for a subsequent meeting between the two leaders were announced.
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| US-China trade talks 'back on track': White House advisor Posted: 02 Jul 2019 08:56 AM PDT  US-China trade negotiations are now headed in a positive direction following this weekend's meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, a top White House aide said Tuesday. It's all good," Navarro told CNBC. The US trade delegation has been led by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
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| How U.S. Chipmakers Pressed Trump to Ease China's Huawei Ban Posted: 02 Jul 2019 08:10 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. President Donald Trump's decision to allow U.S. companies to continue selling to Huawei followed an extensive lobbying campaign by the U.S. semiconductor industry that argued the ban could hurt America's economic and national security.In multiple high-level meetings and a letter to the Commerce Department, the companies argued for targeted action against Huawei Technologies Co. instead of the blanket ban the Trump administration imposed in May. That includes identifying specific technologies that the Chinese company shouldn't be given access to, while allowing U.S. firms to supply the rest.The Semiconductor Industry Association, or SIA, a trade group that represents companies like Intel Corp., Broadcom Corp. and Qualcomm Inc., told the Trump administration that its sanctions against the Chinese company will make them appear to be unreliable partners, which will put them at a severe disadvantage globally.Representatives of chipmakers last month met with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to argue that the decision to place the company on a so-called entity list could hurt the country, people familiar with the meeting said.In the letter seen by Bloomberg News, SIA said that the action risked cutting off its members from their largest market and hurting their ability to invest. At the same time, Huawei would in many cases be able to get components elsewhere, they argued."Overly broad restrictions that not only constrain the ability of U.S. semiconductor companies to conduct business around the world, but also casts U.S. companies as risky and undependable, puts at risk the success of this industry, which in turn impacts our national security," the group wrote last month. They added that the administration should take into account those factors when evaluating license applications from American firms.Their talking points seem to have found their way to Trump. After concluding a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Osaka on Saturday, the U.S. president said American firms weren't pleased with his Huawei policy and announced that he has agreed to let them keep shipping some of their components and technology."I've agreed -- and pretty easily -- I've agreed to allow them to continue to sell that product so American companies will continue," the president said during a press conference. "The companies were not exactly happy that they couldn't sell because they had nothing to do with whatever was potentially happening with respect to Huawei. So I did do that."He later clarified he will only allow them to sell "equipment where there is no great national emergency problem with it," without offering more details. Trump's comments stoked confusion among industry and analysts and the White House has not yet announced specifics on the path forward for U.S. companies doing business with Huawei.White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Tuesday said Huawei's involvement in 5G networks remains a "national security concern" but the sale of a "small amount of low-level chips" isn't a "bad thing" if it persuades China to return to trade negotiations."5G is huge, selling a few chips to Huawei is not," Navarro said in an interview on CNBC.While China hawks in Congress and Trump's administration feared a potential reversal of the export ban, U.S. industry has been pushing the White House to ease restrictions that require American firms to get a U.S. government license in order to sell to the Chinese tech giant.A spokesman for SIA said the group has "consistently urged the administration to advance U.S. semiconductor leadership as it works to preserve national security, and we're encouraged by the direction the president set in Osaka."A Commerce spokesman said companies can submit license applications explaining the importance of exports on their business relationship. When a case is made for license approval based on concrete and supportable facts, decisions on those licenses are made. When data is absent, Commerce is unable to act, the spokesman said.Chipmakers have been placed in a tough spot by the trade dispute and security-related action against Huawei. China is their biggest market, providing about a third of revenue. They're arguing that not all exports to Huawei and its affiliates pose a security risk and that much of what's sold there is easily replaceable with non-U.S. products. Given the massive cost of research and development for chips, continuing to miss out on revenue could hurt their competitiveness.Their concerns were stoked by China's response to Trump's Huawei ban. In May, Beijing threatened to compile a list targeting companies that it says are not dependable suppliers. American firms were also spooked when Chinese government officials called them in for meetings and threatened to add them to the list if they don't make sure the U.S. eases up on its ban, people briefed on the meetings said.The chip industry's proposed solution is to ask for a narrower set of restrictions, according to people involved in the negotiations with U.S. government representatives. They argued that there are choke points -- crucial pieces of technology, that if withheld could slow down Huawei without totally crippling it. In many cases, providing chips without the engineering support and software needed to integrate them in devices is enough, the people said.Micron, IntelIn the letter the SIA highlighted several areas that don't warrant a blanket ban. The memory chip industry is dominated by Korean makers with a 68% market share of the commodity products. That means if Micron Technology Inc., Intel and Western Digital Corp. are excluded from China, they will directly lose market share, the group argued.In analog chips, simpler components that convert things like sound and radio waves into digital signals, the U.S. owns 65% of the market. European and Japanese companies have 'viable substitutes' that Chinese customers could use. And even in logic chips, where companies such as Intel and Qualcomm have won the U.S. a 69% stranglehold, Huawei's own HiSilicon chip unit is among a list of alternative providers that could offer replacements for crucial components of smartphones, computers and networking gear.National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said Sunday that the granting of licenses only applies to general merchandise. "Anything to do with national security concerns will not receive a new license from the Commerce Department. I think that's very important."Still, the Trump administration's end goal remains unclear. Trump said he will only make a decision on what to do about Huawei when trade talks are in the final stages. "We'll have to save that until the very end," he said.(Updates with comments by Navarro from 10th paragraph.)\--With assistance from Margaret Talev.To contact the reporters on this story: Jenny Leonard in Washington at jleonard67@bloomberg.net;Ian King in San Francisco at ianking@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net, Sarah McGregor, Peter ElstromFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 2 militants, 2 guards killed in shootout in Iran's west Posted: 02 Jul 2019 08:03 AM PDT ![2 militants, 2 guards killed in shootout in Iran's west]( "2 militants, 2 guards killed in shootout in Iran's west") The semi-official Fars new agency is reporting that members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard have killed two gunmen trying to infiltrate the country through the border with Turkey. Fars said two Iranian guards were also killed in the skirmish Tuesday in the northwestern province of Azerbaijan. The report said Iranian forces confiscated a large number of weapons, explosives and communication systems.
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| Sri Lankan PM opposes president's move to hang drug convicts Posted: 02 Jul 2019 08:02 AM PDT ![Sri Lankan PM opposes president's move to hang drug convicts]( "Sri Lankan PM opposes president's move to hang drug convicts") Sri Lanka's prime minister opposes a decision by the president to execute drug convicts, saying the country must conduct its affairs in a civilized manner, his office said Tuesday. A statement from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office said Sri Lanka under President Maithripala Sirisena has supported U.N. resolutions for a moratorium on the death penalty in 2016 and 2018. Wickremesinghe has said he plans to discuss the matter with the Cabinet and later with the president and the speaker of Parliament.
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| One of Iran's Last F-14A Tomcats Just Crashed Posted: 02 Jul 2019 08:00 AM PDT  It is said that the IRIAF only have some twelve to fourteen operational F-14A and F-14AMs left.The picture in this post features the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) F-14A Tomcat that crashed yesterday .According to Scramble Facebook News Magazine, it is now (still unconfirmed) reported that the aircraft involved is F-14A 3-6003. According to the picture of the fatal Tomcat, the airframe is completely destroyed.As we have reported yesterday, one of the few remaining IRIAF F-14A Tomcat fighter jets was involved in a crash at home base Esfahãn-Shahid Beheshti International Airport (Iran).The IRIAF F-14A from the 8th Tactical Air Base crashed while it was landing. The aircraft reported an emergency to air traffic control during its training flight, subsequently the fighter was approved to make a quick landing at Esfahãn, but the aircraft was not able to hold position and skidded of the runway. Both pilot and Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) were forced to eject. They parachuted safely to mother earth.
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| U.K. Tory Rivals Offer Giveaways Even Socialists Call Reckless Posted: 02 Jul 2019 07:55 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- For decades the British Conservative Party has prided itself on being trusted with money. Now the two men vying to become the next prime minister face accusations they are putting that reputation at risk.Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt are promising voters a tax-cutting and spending spree that is sparking growing concern. Chancellor Philip Hammond, a fellow Conservative, says they are not being honest about the consequences for borrowing.Of the two candidates, Hunt is pledging the most. If delivered, his commitments would make him barely less extravagant than the opposition Labour Party, which before the 2017 general election said it would increase spending by 48.6 billion pounds ($61 billion) to reverse austerity -- to be paid for with tax increases.Even John McDonnell, Labour's economic spokesman, has described the Tory pledges as "reckless," saying they will "put the economy at risk."On Monday, Hunt unveiled a 6 billion-pound ($7.6 billion) plan to help farmers and the fishing industry prepare for a no-deal Brexit, adding to commitments that include:Slashing corporation tax to 12.5%, costing 13 billion pounds a yearA 15 billion-pound annual increase to defense spending by 2023-24Raising the threshold at which people start paying national insurance, a payroll tax. The increase could cost as much as 17 billion pounds, according to the Institute for Fiscal StudiesJohnson seemed to row back on a pledge to end a public-sector pay freeze which had been announced earlier in the day by his supporter, Health Secretary Matt Hancock. Like Hunt, he's promised to raise the national-insurance threshold. He's also vowed to:Increase the amount people can earn before they start paying income tax at the higher 40% rate to 80,000 pounds from 50,000 pounds. Estimated cost: 9 billion poundsIncrease spending on police officers, costing around 700 million poundsRaise social-care funding by 1%, costing about 160 million poundsSpend an extra 1% on roads, costing 100 million poundsThe pledges are "extraordinary," said Paul Johnson, director of the IFS. He rejected both candidates' claims that the money would come from the war chest Hammond built to buffer the economy in case of a no-deal departure from the European Union."That's only available in the event of no deal not happening and in any case, what they're just saying is they'd be willing to borrow more and borrow more into the long term," he said. "They've told us nothing about how much more they're willing to borrow."Fiscal rules require that the structural budget deficit is no more than 2% of GDP in 2020-21. It is forecast to come in 26.6 billion pounds below the ceiling but the headroom will fall to 15 billion pounds once the reclassification of student loans takes effect later this year. Economists say a no-deal Brexit would more than wipe out either margin."I have no doubt we will need all that money and more to respond to the immediate impacts" of crashing out of the EU without a deal, Hammond told lawmakers Tuesday in what may be his final question-and-answer session in Parliament.Hammond cited cross-government analysis published last year that showed the public finances would take a 95 billion-pound hit by 2035-36 in a disruptive no-deal Brexit scenario.Legacy ThreatWith talk of a possible general election this year, fiscal conservatives such as Hammond are concerned the largesse on offer will make it harder to portray Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as reckless.Britain's budget deficit has fallen from almost of 10% GDP in the aftermath of the financial crisis to 1% last year. But austerity has proved painful for millions, and Hammond fears those sacrifices at now at risk of being squandered. He's been reluctant to allow Prime Minister Theresa May to burnish her legacy with spending commitments on the environment and education."My concern is that this government has built up a reputation for fiscal responsibility and the British people have worked incredibly hard over a decade now to rebuild our public finances and I think it's very important that we don't throw that away," he said this week.To contact the reporter on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Andrew Atkinson, Brian SwintFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Austria’s Kurz Chides Macron, Merkel Over EU Stitch-Up in Osaka Posted: 02 Jul 2019 07:22 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Sebastian Kurz may be out of the Austrian chancellery for the time being, but the conservative leader is still trying to broker power in the European Union.Kurz opposed a plan to make Dutch Socialist Frans Timmermans the European Union's next chief executive. The proposal -- brought back by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron from the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan -- was wrong in its outcome and how the decision was reached, he said in an Bloomberg interview."We're against any backroom deals like the one in Osaka," Kurz said Tuesday in Vienna. "The EU is more than only two countries, and it's necessary to involve all the others in decision making processes."Kurz, 32, is seeking to return to power after he was ousted as Europe's youngest leader in a no-confidence vote in May. Kurz's political enemies allied to remove him from office in the fallout over an influence-peddling scandal involving his coalition partner, the far-right Freedom Party. Snap elections are scheduled for Sept. 29. He's currently polling in front.Winner DecidesDuring European Parliament elections, Kurz had campaigned alongside Manfred Weber, the lead candidate for the European People's Party -- the conservative political grouping that secured the most support in the bloc-wide ballot. He said European leaders need to stand by the so-called Spitzenkandidaten process for picking the next European Commission chief or risk losing voters' trust."The most important thing is that the process is transparent, and that the election result is respected," he said. "It's important that the EPP decides who will be the president of the commission."EU leaders are back in Brussels for another crack at choosing a new commission president after a bid to put Timmermans in the post faltered after almost 20 hours of talks on Sunday and Monday. With negotiations continuing Tuesday in Brussels, an alternative package is gathering support which would see German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen get the job.Nominating Timmermans to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker to head the commission "would be a wrong signal because he lost the election, and we also don't want a shift to the left in the EU," Kurz said in the interview.Kurz, who remains in touch with other conservative party leaders as head of the Austrian People's Party, said that almost half of the EU member states were against the Timmermans deal, not just a few eastern European countries."It's difficult to explain to voters that they gave their vote, believing in the Spitzenkandidaten system and afterward it's not respected anymore," he said. "All the prime ministers have to respect that we had elections of the European Parliament."\--With assistance from Chris Reiter, Matthias Wabl and Rosalind Mathieson.To contact the reporter on this story: Boris Groendahl in Vienna at bgroendahl@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Rosalind Mathieson at rmathieson3@bloomberg.net, Chris ReiterFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| White House's Navarro says China trade deal will take time: CNBC Posted: 02 Jul 2019 07:20 AM PDT  White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Tuesday U.S. trade talks with China are heading in the right direction and any concessions to Beijing on Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL] were small in the context of a larger trade deal. "We're headed in a very good direction," Navarro said in an interview with CNBC. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in a meeting on Saturday at the Group of 20 summit in Japan to restart trade talks after the last major round of negotiations collapsed in May.
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| UN: Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity no longer in danger Posted: 02 Jul 2019 06:53 AM PDT  The U.N. cultural agency says Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity is no longer considered an endangered world heritage site thanks to extensive restoration work at the church celebrated for marking the birthplace of Jesus. UNESCO's World Heritage Committee decided Tuesday to remove the church and nearby pilgrimage route from its list of significant places under threat because of the "high quality of work" on its leaky roof, broken windows, damaged columns and grime-covered mosaics. One of Christianity's most sacred shrines, the church was built in the 4th century over a cave where the Virgin Mary is said to have given birth.
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| Fourteen Russian sailors die in fire on 'nuclear-powered' submarine Posted: 02 Jul 2019 06:50 AM PDT  Fourteen sailors were killed in a fire on a top-secret Russian submarine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday, admitting to one of the country's worst naval disasters in a decade. A Russian news outlet, RBC, cited an unnamed military source as saying the vessel was a nuclear-powered AS-12 deep-sea submarine known as Losharik, but there was no official confirmation. The submarine, which is capable of serving under-water cables, was taking carrying out a survey of the sea floor in Russian territorial waters, according to the Defense Ministry. A fire broke out on the vessel, and the sailors died from smoke inhalation. The fire happened on Monday, but was not disclosed until Tuesday. The submarine has returned to its port, the Northern Fleet Headquarters at Severmorsk, and unconfirmed Russian language reports say some five sailors from the vessel have been hospitalised. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has cancelled a planned public appearance to meet with his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu. The investigation into what happened on the submarine is being managed personally by Russian navy chief Nikolai Yevmenov. Monday's fire was compared to fate of the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kursk. In August 2000, the Russian nuclear-powered submarine sank to the floor of Barents Sea after two explosions in its bow, killing all 118 men aboard. That accident, soon after Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, took office, focussed official attention on the state of the military and its hardware, which had been subject to underfunding and neglect after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Severomorsk – Submarine fire Since then, Mr Putin has overseen a massive increase in military funding. Images of Losharik first surfaced in 2015, when the vessel happened to be caught in a photoshoot for Top Gear Russia. "Losharik is a deep-sea diving 'station' with a pressure hull composed of spherical compartments designed to withstand the pressure of deeper depths," says Michael Kofman, an expert in the Russian Navy at the CNA think tank in Virginia. The ability to dive beyond 1000 meters under the sea allows Losharik to set up infrastructure below water, examine salvage, or conduct special operations along the ocean floor. Such special operations include mapping, cutting and tapping transoceanic communications cables. The vessel is operated by a "highly secretive" special branch of the Russian Navy known as the Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research, or GUGI, Mr Kofman says. Losharik is also reportedly designed to be carried great distances by a larger "mothership." That ship is believed to be a vessel known as the Podmoskovye, a heavily modified Delta IV-class ballistic nuclear missile submarine built by the Soviet Union.
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| Trump 'demands US military chiefs stand next to him' at 4th of July parade Posted: 02 Jul 2019 06:48 AM PDT  Donald Trump has reportedly requested the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines stand next to him during a special Fourth of July event.The US president has said a display of US military tanks will be part of the "Salute to America" event he is headlining in Washington on Thursday.There is also expected to be a military demonstration by the US Navy Blue Angels and other aircraft.Mr Trump has asked the chiefs for the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines stand next to him as aircraft from each of their branches of the military fly overhead, the New York Times reports.The event is likely to raise concerns over Mr Trump's desire to parade US military forces through the streets of the capital in a similar manner to authoritarian regimes such as North Korea, Iran and China.Mr Trump has wanted a military parade of tanks and other military hardware in Washington after he witnessed a similar parade on Bastille Day in Paris in 2017, but the plan was eventually scuttled partly because of the cost."We're going to have some tanks stationed outside," the US president said on Monday.He appeared to acknowledge local officials' concerns over the damage the heavily armoured tanks could do to city streets, adding: "You've got to be pretty careful with the tanks because the roads have a tendency not to like to carry heavy tanks."So we have to put them in certain areas, but we have the brand new Sherman tanks and we have the brand new Abrams tanks."Sherman tanks were used by the US during the Second World War, but have been out of service for decades. The M1A1 Abrams tank is currently the main US battle tank."We're going to have a great Fourth of July in Washington, DC. It'll be like no other," Mr Trump said. "It'll be special and I hope a lot of people come. And it's going to be about this country and it's a salute to America.""I'm going to say a few words and we're going to have planes going overhead, the best fighter jets in the world and other planes too," he said.The Council of DC tweeted its opposition to the event on Monday: "We have said it before, and we'll say it again: Tanks, but no tanks."> We have said it before, and we'll say it again: Tanks, but no tanks. (PS: The @DeptofDefense agrees, see highlighted area below) pic.twitter.com/ock2EORKNz> > — Council of DC (@councilofdc) > > July 1, 2019Mr Trump plans to deliver a speech at the Lincoln Memorial during his "Salute to America," which has been added to the regular schedule of Independence Day events in the capital. The annual fireworks display will go off closer to the Lincoln Memorial instead of the Washington Monument, as has been the long-standing tradition. The event is open to the public and free of charge, but a ticket-only area in front of the memorial is being set aside for VIPs, including members of Trump's family, friends and members of the military, the White House said.The Republican National Committee has been offering its major donors tickets to Mr Trump's speech, according to HuffPost.Politicians and local officials have voiced concerns Mr Trump's speech could alter the tone of what has traditionally been a nonpartisan celebration of America's independence from Britain by delivering a political speech, after he formally announced his bid for re-election in June.Additional reporting by agencies
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| With just 15 ministers, Germany shows that small cabinets work Posted: 02 Jul 2019 06:14 AM PDT  Reports that Boris Johnson is considering shrinking the size of the Cabinet if he becomes Prime Minister will come as no surprise to Germans. Mr Johnson will not be the first European leader to contemplate the possibility that, when it comes to government departments, less can be more. Angela Merkel runs Germany, Europe's biggest economy and pre-eminent power, with a cabinet of just 15. That's smaller than Donald Trump's cabinet of 16, and far fewer than the 28 voices competing to be heard around Theresa May's cabinet table. Germany does it, in part, by the same method members of Mr Johnson's team are proposing — by merging different policy areas into larger departments. So, for instance, there is no German equivalent of the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Instead the interior ministry — Germany's Home Office — takes care of sport, the transport ministry is in charge of digital infrastructure, and there is a junior minister for culture and media in Mrs Merkel's chancellery office. Olaf Scholz, the finance minister, doubles as vice-chancellor, doing away with the need for a separate cabinet post. In general the system works well, and there have been few calls for a larger cabinet or more government departments. Horst Seehofer was widely accused of taking on too much responsibility and seeking to create a "superministry" for the interior Credit: Michele Tantussi/Getty Images Europe But it did come unstuck when Horst Seehofer, the current interior minister, made sweeping new responsibilities his price for joining Mrs Merkel's coalition. Mr Seehofer was accused of seeking to build a "super ministry" when he demanded control of housing and "homeland affairs" be added to the interior ministry. Many suggested it was too much for a department that already has to deal with policing and immigration. "It has to be manageable," Mr Seehofer's predecessor, Thomas de Maiziere, commented waspishly. "I certainly wouldn't have expected the breath of responsibility he seeks." Mr Seehofer has since struggled in office, and has some of the lowest approval ratings for any member of Mrs Merkel's government. Key differences in the German political system also help keep the cabinet small. Mr Johnson's team has suggested merging the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland offices into a single department for devolved affairs. In federal Germany, the 16 states each have their own fully empowered regional government, so there is no need for cabinet representation. Business in the German parliament is decided by a committee of senior MPs, not the government, so there is no equivalent of the Leaders of the Commons and Lords. Government whips are elected by MPs, not appointed, and are seen as representatives of backbenchers. They guard their independence and do not attend cabinet meetings. Mrs Merkel is not the first postwar German chancellor to govern with a small group of senior ministers. While the cabinet ballooned to over 20 under Helmut Kohl, her predecessor Gerhard Schröder slimmed it back down. But the system does throw up problems — as Mr Johnson may find. The small number of departments means Mrs Merkel has fewer appointments to offer rivals in order to buy their support. As Mr Johnson may also find, it gets even trickier when you have to divide the jobs up in a coalition — as is usually the case in Germany. In the most recent coalition negotiations, Mrs Merkel was forced to give up control of the three biggest departments — finance, foreign and interior — to other parties in return for their support. That was the equivalent of a British Prime Minister handing over the Treasury, Home Office and Foreign Office, and it left many in Mrs Merkel's own party unhappy that there weren't enough plum jobs left for them.
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| WRAPUP 2-Diplomats: Europeans keen to avoid sending Iran nuclear case to back U.N. - for now Posted: 02 Jul 2019 05:28 AM PDT ![WRAPUP 2-Diplomats: Europeans keen to avoid sending Iran nuclear case to back U.N. - for now]( "WRAPUP 2-Diplomats: Europeans keen to avoid sending Iran nuclear case to back U.N. - for now") PARIS/DUBAI, July 2 (Reuters) - France urged Iran on Tuesday to reverse its first major breach of a nuclear pact with world powers, but Europe will not for now trigger a dispute mechanism that could lead to the reimposition of U.N. sanctions, two European diplomats said. Iran's announcement on Monday that it had amassed more low-enriched uranium than permitted under the deal was confirmed by U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which monitors Iran's nuclear programme under the deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the move was not a violation of the accord, arguing that Iran was exercising its right to respond to the U.S. walkout last year.
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| Iraq Moves to Rein In Iran-Allied Militias Posted: 02 Jul 2019 05:20 AM PDT ![Iraq Moves to Rein In Iran-Allied Militias]( "Iraq Moves to Rein In Iran-Allied Militias") (Bloomberg) -- Iraq moved to curtail the power of Iran-backed militias by putting them under the formal command of the military, in an apparent attempt to limit the country's exposure to an escalating showdown between the Islamic Republic and the U.S.The Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of militias founded to fight Islamic State militants, are now "an inseparable part" of the Iraqi army and fall under the authority of the commander of the armed forces, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said in an order on Monday. He also ordered the closure of their offices. The prime minister in September declared himself head of the group.Some of the mostly Shiite militias answer to Iran-aligned commanders and are seen as fulfilling the Islamic Republic's agenda in Iraq and the region. A 2016 law already incorporated the militias into the Iraqi armed forces, and it's not clear that this latest order will be more effective.The timing of the order suggests "that one of its main goals is to allay American and regional concerns regarding the possibility of Hashd factions being used by Iran in its confrontation with the U.S. and its regional allies," said Fanar Haddad, senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore's Middle East Institute, using the Arabic name for the Popular Forces."The ambiguity surrounding the Hashd's role in the Iraqi state combined with the weakness of the prime minister's position mean that" changes will most likely be cosmetic, he said.U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton in May warned that Iran's use of allied Shiite militia groups in Iraq to attack American interests would "risk a very strong response." That same month, the U.S. ordered non-emergency government staff to leave Iraq. The order followed the U.S. decision in September to pull staff from its consulate in Basra, blaming threats from Iran-backed militias.Iraq's prime minister and U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo last month discussed the threat posed by Iran-backed militias following attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf. Aside from Iraq, Iran also supports paramilitary forces in Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and Yemen.Iraq is trying not to get dragged into a conflict between its two allies as Iran pushes back against swingeing U.S. sanctions that have crippled its economy. Baghdad has agreed to abide by U.S. curbs against the Persian nation but has warned it won't let its territory become a staging ground for an American war against its neighbor.To contact the reporter on this story: Abbas Al Lawati in Dubai at aallawati6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Paul AbelskyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iraq tries to bring Iran-backed militias in country to heel as tensions escalate Posted: 02 Jul 2019 05:13 AM PDT  Iraq's prime minister is attempting to bring powerful Iran-backed militias in the country under the control of the Iraqi armed forces, as he tries to placate the US amid soaring tensions with Tehran. Adel Abdul-Mahdi issued a decree ordering the militias, which fall under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), to come to heel by July 31 or be deemed "illegitimate". Mr Abdul-Mahdi has come under pressure from Washington to curb Iran's influence in Iraq, particularly after several recent unclaimed attacks against US interests in the country. The PMF, a collection of mostly Shia groups who fought Islamic State alongside the Iraqi army and number more than 140,000 fighters, technically fall under Mr Abdul-Mahdi's authority but PMF's top brass are politically aligned with Iran. The militias rose to prominence after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, when they fought American occupation, but have since gained outsized influence in politics and the economy, which some see as a threat to Iraq's security and sovereignty. Fighters of the Popular Mobilisation Forces flash the victory gesture as they advance through a street in the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, after the Iraqi government announced the launch of the operation to retake it from Isil Credit: AFP Iraq has found itself in the middle of Iranian and American allies as both sides threaten war. Iraq hosts more than 5,000 US troops, and it is also home to the PMF, some of whom want the US forces to leave. Qais al-Khizali, the leader of one of the most powerful Iranian-backed Shia militias in Iraq, tweeted that the move to integrate the PMF in the armed forces is a step in the right direction. Muqtada al-Sadr, a populist Shia cleric, also welcomed the decree, saying his faction known as the Peace Brigades would implement it. In a tweet, he described the decision as an important "first step" toward building a state, but he also expressed concern that the decision would not be implemented properly. It is not clear how Mr Abdul-Mahdi will enforce the order, where predecessor Haider al-Abadi failed. "At this time I think Abdul Mahdi was incentivised because of American pressure to put them all in one box in order to protect them, but will they comply?" said Hashim al-Hashimi, a Baghdad-based security expert who advises the government. Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani exercises control over Iran's proxies Credit: Getty "Their compliance hinges on Iran's receptiveness to these orders, if Iran is not receptive to these orders they will be like the ones Abadi issued." The crisis gripping the Middle East stems from President Donald Trump's withdrawal of the United States from the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers last year, and then imposing crippling new sanctions on Tehran. Last month, the US ordered the evacuation of nonessential diplomatic staff from Iraq amid unspecified threats from Iran. Since then, there have been a string of attacks on US interests in Iraq, including military bases where American trainers are based and a rocket attack near the US Embassy in Baghdad.
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| UPDATE 2-European powers won't trigger Iran deal dispute mechanism for now-diplomats Posted: 02 Jul 2019 04:44 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-European powers won't trigger Iran deal dispute mechanism for now-diplomats]( "UPDATE 2-European powers won't trigger Iran deal dispute mechanism for now-diplomats") PARIS/BRUSSELS, July 2 (Reuters) - Britain, France and Germany will not for the moment trigger a dispute resolution mechanism enshrined in the 2015 Iran nuclear accord that could lead to the reimposition of United Nations sanctions, two European diplomats said. Iran's announcement on Monday that it had amassed more low-enriched uranium than permitted was confirmed by U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which monitors Iran's nuclear programme under the deal. The second diplomat said the three powers would focus on bringing Iran back into compliance and that they wanted to gain more time for dialogue.
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| Busted: Ukraine Catches Iranian Military Attaché Trying to Smuggle KH-31 Parts out of Kiev Posted: 02 Jul 2019 04:01 AM PDT  The Kh-31A is an anti-ship missile based on the proven Kh-31P missile. It features an active radar guidance system and a sea-skimming profile.According Daily Beast, early this year, two Iranians were caught by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in Kiev with parts for the Kh-31 anti-ship missile inside their vehicle.The items, which included technical manuals, were confiscated and both Iranians were subsequently deported.This effort appears to have violated a UN arms embargo on Iran.The incident was described to American government officials by Vasyl Hrytsak, the head of Ukraine's intelligence service, during a recent trip to Washington.One of the men, according to Hrytsak, is named Abdi Biyan and was a military attaché at Iran's embassy in Kiev."The diplomats in Ukraine are not there for Chicken Kiev," said Tom Karako, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "They're there to get this kind of stuff."
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| WRAPUP 1 -France urges Iran to reverse nuclear move, China hits at U.S. pressure Posted: 02 Jul 2019 03:58 AM PDT ![WRAPUP 1 -France urges Iran to reverse nuclear move, China hits at U.S. pressure]( "WRAPUP 1 -France urges Iran to reverse nuclear move, China hits at U.S. pressure") PARIS/DUBAI, July 2 (Reuters) - France on Tuesday urged Iran to rapidly reverse its first major breach of a nuclear pact, a move denounced by President Donald Trump as "playing with fire", as world powers try to pull Washington and Tehran back from confrontation. China, like France a signatory to the 2015 deal, said it regretted Iran's move but urged all parties to exercise restraint and said the U.S. policy of increasing pressure on Iran was the "root cause of the current tensions".
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| European Parliament opens in shadow of unsolved Brexit Posted: 02 Jul 2019 03:53 AM PDT  The European Parliament opened a new session on Tuesday with newly elected British MEPs still in their ranks and three Catalan separatists blocked by Madrid from taking their seats. The 751-seat parliament -- based in Strasbourg, France -- is more fragmented than ever after a vote in May that saw solid gains by the liberals and Greens as well as the far right and eurosceptics in the 751-seat chamber. With Brexit delayed until as late as October 31, the deep political divisions in Britain were on full display in the eastern French city as 73 British MEPs arrived at parliament.
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| That Time Israel Withdrew from the Red Flag Alaska Wargames Because of Iran Posted: 02 Jul 2019 03:53 AM PDT  According to the IDF, the incident came after an Israeli AH-64 Apache combat helicopter successfully intercepted an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launched from Syria that infiltrated the country's airspace.Israel has decided that its F-15 fighters will not be heading to Alaska for this year's Red Flag exercise. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) was supposed to be making its debut in the Alaskan edition of the annual air combat exercise. The service may send some representatives instead.As reported by Haaretz, recent tensions between Israel, Iran and Syria were cited as the reason to keep the planes at home.Last week Russia and Syria claimed that Israel had attacked Syrian T4 air base near Homs. The Russian army statement said that two IAF fighter bombers had fired eight missiles against the base from Lebanese air space. Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that the attack on the Syrian base escalates tension in the region. Israel did not respond to this claim.
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| Protests mar opening of European Parliament's new session Posted: 02 Jul 2019 03:50 AM PDT  It was a rambunctious start for the European Parliament's new five-year session Tuesday: Brexiteers, Catalan independence backers and others disrupted the normally solemn proceedings with protests. Some lawmakers refused to stand as a jazz ensemble started playing the EU's anthem — Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy' — while others, notably from Britain's Brexit Party, turned their backs on the proceedings. There was a protest against the decision to deny Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont taking his seat, while others defended a German ship captain held in Italy in a standoff over migrant rights.
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| 10 Things to Know for Today Posted: 02 Jul 2019 03:44 AM PDT  Nuclear weapons are at the heart of the difficult U.S. relations with both North Korea and Iran, but Pyongyang perhaps gives Trump a greater chance of striking a deal. The French president urges Tehran to immediately reduce its stocks of low-enriched uranium and stick to the terms of the 2015 accord curbing its nuclear activity.
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