| An Extremist Murder Shocks Germany’s Politicians Into Action Posted: 12 Jul 2019 04:01 PM PDT ![An Extremist Murder Shocks Germany's Politicians Into Action]( "An Extremist Murder Shocks Germany's Politicians Into Action") (Bloomberg) -- It wasn't your usual meeting of mayors in Germany's presidential palace this week. One had been stabbed in the throat, another received death threats and most feared for their loved ones.They've all become victims of a wave of political violence that culminated last month in what appears to be the first assassination of a politician by a right-wing extremist since the end of the Nazi-era. Walter Luebcke, an immigrant-friendly member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party, was shot in the head on his front porch. The detained suspect, a man with a neo-Nazi background, first confessed and, upon switching legal counsel, recanted.In a country where ultra-nationalistic and xenophobic fringe movements have become more public and outspoken in recent years, the brutality of the murder was a wakeup call. Democracy itself was under attack, top officials declared. Now, there are there are growing signs that Germany is reacting.Secret services are stepping up intelligence work, some political parties are driving out radicals. Politicians like President Frank-Walter Steinmeier are driving a zero-tolerance campaign, while parliament held a special session to discuss right-wing violence before its summer recess. The latest intelligence report, presented in June, identified 24,100 people as right-wing extremists, half of whom are willing to use force."All of us are getting emails, calls, and letters that make us ask—is this still the Federal Republic of Germany," said Ralph Brinkhaus, the most senior legislator in parliament from Merkel's ruling coalition. "Many colleagues, not only at a national and state but also at a local level, ask themselves 'am I sufficiently protected. Can that happen to me?'"With nationalists from London to Warsaw challenging the European consensus that helped maintain peace and prosperity on the continent since World War II, Germany's ability to deal with similar demands will have far-reaching consequences abroad and at home. While right-wing extremists are less visible than during last year's massive anti-refugee demonstrations in the city of Chemnitz, they've become more violent and are increasingly targeting politicians. According to a June poll carried out by ARD's Report Muenchen, roughly 40% of city officials get hate mail or other threats. In 8% of municipalities they have been physically assaulted.One reason for the radicalization could be frustrated expectations among right-wing extremists, said Gideon Botsch, professor of political science at the University of Potsdam. Nearly a year ago supporters of the movement were all but certain it could bring down the government amid the mass anti-immigration protests and the recent entry of the right-wing AfD in parliament. Then the rallies stopped. The AfD began to stagnate and bicker."Such a situation we consider highly explosive because it carries the risk that groups that want more, and dabble in terrorism, feel they now can or must act," Botsch says."Every CDU politician who would propagate such a coalition, should close his eyes and think about Walter Luebcke"The wave of extremist activities has far-reaching political and economic repercussions at a time when Europe's largest economy is losing steam and uncertainty has grown over the succession to Merkel, who said she won't run for another term. Merkel's ruling CDU is clearly distancing itself from the right.Read more: How Germany Finds a Leader If Merkel Steps Down EarlyThe AfD, known to have links to extremist groups, is steeped in its own leadership battle. And in Western Germany, the murder will likely cost it support, while strengthening those who pursue "a more sensible political tone,'' said Steffen Kailitz, professor of totalitarianism at the Hannah-Arendt-Institut in Dresden. But the big test will come in fall with elections in the Eastern German states of Saxony and Thuringia, where the AfD is currently polling as strong as the CDU, or even stronger, like in Brandenburg.Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who took over the CDU leadership from Merkel last December, is also putting herself and her party at arms length from the AfD, abandoning conservative rhetoric designed to win back voters from the movement. Politically incorrect jokes and calls for tougher measures to thwart immigration earlier in the year have been replaced with warnings to her colleagues not to sympathize with the AfD. "Every CDU politician who would propagate such a coalition, should close his eyes and think about Walter Luebcke," she said in an interview on public TV.Business leaders who welcomed the opening of Germany's doors to refugees because it would bring cheap labor, are equally concerned. Growing social conflict is spilling over into the streets and onto factory floors, raising questions about Germany's investment climate, until now considered one of the most attractive world-wide. "Businesses think about that," said Andreas Freytag, an economist at Friedrich-Schiller Universitaet in Jena, though he still considers the country's overall public security quite good.Simon Brost, who works at MBR, a Berlin-based group that counsels on how to counter extremism, says he regularly gets queries from businesses seeking advice on how to deal with right-wing and rightist-populist attitudes at the work place."Every CDU politician who would propagate such a coalition, should close his eyes and think about Walter Luebcke"The influential German business association DIHK late last year dedicated much of its annual conference to what it called "uncertainty" and "angst" stemming largely from migration and globalization. Business leaders need to do more to quell the breeding ground for political populists, they said.That won't be easy. Intelligence reports paint a picture of a highly-sophisticated but diffuse part of society that propagates their way of life through rock concerts and martial arts competitions. On weekends, some use images of leading public figures for target practice, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said.Then there's the dark side of social media, which the country's chief intelligence officer cited as one of the reasons for Luebcke's death. "A person defends the building of refugee camps, is massively attacked in social media, covered in hate posts, and finally virtually executed in his garden," said Thomas Haldenwang, head of the German domestic intelligence service in reference to the Luebcke case.Authorities too may have dropped the ball or even turned a blind eye. Critics say intelligence personnel were heavily focused on Islamist terrorism while there were extremist sympathizers among security forces, a claim Seehofer has played down as an isolated issue.Tackling the latest wave of crime requires not only repression but addressing its fundamental origins—cohabitation between Germans and a flood of foreigners, says Freytag, the economist. The good news is that, at least, the country is beginning to take the issue serious, he says."It's actually about integrating people with vastly different perspectives on life and that's damn hard. But I see more people thinking about the problem, that makes me mildly optimistic we can overcome this."To contact the authors of this story: Raymond Colitt in Berlin at rcolitt@bloomberg.netArne Delfs in Berlin at adelfs@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Caroline Alexander at calexander1@bloomberg.net, Ben SillsThomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Hezbollah leader: US sanctions offense to Lebanese state Posted: 12 Jul 2019 03:11 PM PDT ![Hezbollah leader: US sanctions offense to Lebanese state]( "Hezbollah leader: US sanctions offense to Lebanese state") The leader of Hezbollah says U.S. sanctions against two lawmakers from his group are an offense to Lebanese state institutions which would need to defend themselves. Hassan Nasrallah, in a wide ranging interview late Friday, said such tactics won't sideline the group, because Hezbollah is a "big force" that represents large segments of society and has widely popular elected officials. Nasrallah said his group is a "main source of Lebanon's strength" when asked if the Lebanese state would yield to pressure amid threats of more sanctions.
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| US deciding how to punish ally Turkey over Russian arms deal Posted: 12 Jul 2019 02:17 PM PDT  The U.S. edged closer to crisis Friday with NATO ally Turkey, which began receiving components of a Russian-made air defense system in defiance of Trump administration warnings that the deal would mean economic sanctions and no access to America's most advanced fighter jet. Despite the warnings, the administration was publicly silent on how it would respond to Turkey's announcement Friday that it received the first shipment of the S-400 system. "That a NATO ally would choose to side with Russia and Vladimir Putin over the alliance and closer cooperation with the United States is hard to fathom," the Democratic chairman and the ranking Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said in a joint statement.
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| UN Security Council visits Colombia as peace worries mount Posted: 12 Jul 2019 01:25 PM PDT  Maria del Pilar Hurtado's son screamed in anguish at the sight of his mother's dead body on a dirt road in the poor community in northern Colombia the family called home. The wrenching scene was caught on a cellphone camera and quickly made headlines around Colombia in June. Now the United Nations Security Council is getting a firsthand look at the challenges of peace nearly three years into Colombia's historic accord with leftist rebels as they visit Friday with the nation's president, politicians and former rebels at a time of mounting concern.
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| Hezbollah chief says has reduced fighters in Syria Posted: 12 Jul 2019 01:17 PM PDT  The head of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement Hassan Nasrallah said Friday he had decreased the number of fighters supporting the Damascus regime in neighbouring war-torn Syria. The head of the Iran-backed Shiite movement, which has been fighting in Syria since 2013, did no quantify the extent of the reduction. Nasrallah said none of his fighters were currently involved in fighting in Syria's northwestern region of Idlib, where regime and Russian forces have increased deadly bombardment on a jihadist-run bastion since late April.
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| Dead Drone: Are Iran and America Headed Towards a Bloody War? Posted: 12 Jul 2019 01:17 PM PDT  Deptula said the Pentagon must modernize its "geriatric air force with systems that have been designed to operate against high-threat capabilities like stealth fighters, bombers and [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] aircraft."Iran's destruction of a U.S. Navy Global Hawk surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz on June 20, 2019 shouldn't deter U.S. forces from monitoring the strategic waterway, officials said.Retired U.S. Air Force general David Deptula, dean of the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute, told Air Force magazine he would put an additional Global Hawk "in the exact same track." "We certainly don't want to be cowed," Deptula said.(This first appeared earlier in July 2019.)Northrop built four Broad-Area Maritime Surveillance-Demonstrator drones, based on the Global Hawk platform, for the Navy starting in 2008. The Navy has stationed two of them in the United Arab Emirates for operational use as it prepares to deploy the full MQ-4C naval version of the Global Hawk starting in late 2019.
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| Egyptian mediators arrive in Gaza to call for calm Posted: 12 Jul 2019 12:49 PM PDT ![Egyptian mediators arrive in Gaza to call for calm]( "Egyptian mediators arrive in Gaza to call for calm") Egyptian meditators arrived in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Friday after fears of renewed tension along the enclave's border with Israel a day after the Israeli military shot and killed a Hamas militant. The Egyptian delegation, comprised of senior officials of the General Intelligence Service, began talks with the militant Islamic group and other factions in Gaza City. Salah al-Bardawil, a Hamas official, said talks focused on an unofficial truce that Egypt brokered between his movement and Israel and efforts to achieve reconciliation between Hamas and its Fatah rival President Mahmoud Abbas.
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| Boris Johnson Admits He Doesn't Know the Detail of His Brexit Plan B Posted: 12 Jul 2019 12:26 PM PDT ![Boris Johnson Admits He Doesn't Know the Detail of His Brexit Plan B]( "Boris Johnson Admits He Doesn't Know the Detail of His Brexit Plan B") (Bloomberg) -- U.K. leadership front-runner Boris Johnson admitted that he did not know the full details of an international trade rule that he is proposing as a viable plan B for Brexit.Johnson was grilled in a BBC interview about a measure he argues could help Britain's economy cope if the country leaves the European Union without a deal in October.He argued the U.K. could continue to trade tariff-free with the EU under Article 24 of the GATT -- but both the EU and the World Trade Organization have said it wouldn't work in the event of a chaotic Brexit."How would you handle paragraph 5C?" the interviewer asked. Johnson responded: "I would confide entirely in paragraph 5B.""Do you know what's in 5C?" the interviewer asked. Johnson paused, before replying: "No."Johnson is ahead in polls of grassroots Conservatives who will choose the next leader. The party's members are overwhelmingly in favor of Brexit and regard Johnson as more likely to deliver on the referendum result of three years ago than his rival, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.But the interview on Friday highlights Johnson's weak spot -- his critics say he's bad on details and has made blunders when he was foreign secretary by not being well enough prepared.The BBC's Andrew Neil conducted twin interviews with the leadership rivals on Friday evening. During the exchanges:Johnson said it would be "insane, now," to say the government might not deliver Brexit by Oct. 31, in a hint that he could be prepared to accept a delay at a later date.Johnson said he did not think it will be necessary to suspend Parliament to drive through a no-deal Brexit against the wishes of British politicians, while refusing to rule it out. Johnson denied that his failure to back British ambassador to the U.S. Kim Darroch prompted the envoy to resign over leaked cables detailing his views of President Donald Trump. That came as British police opened an investigation into the leak. Hunt refused to guarantee the U.K. will leave the EU before Christmas, though he said he expected Brexit would be completed by then. To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Stuart Biggs in London at sbiggs3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Emma Ross-ThomasFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UK PM contenders say EU will drop Irish backstop for Brexit deal Posted: 12 Jul 2019 11:52 AM PDT  The two candidates vying to become Britain's next prime minister both said Friday they believe the EU will agree a Brexit deal this year without the controversial "backstop" provision for the Irish border. Ex-London mayor Boris Johnson, the favourite over foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt to replace outgoing premier Theresa May, predicted the European Union would instead negotiate the issue during post-Brexit free trade talks. "We will get a deal by October 31st," Johnson told the BBC during highly-anticipated separate interviews with the leadership rivals, referring to the latest delayed deadline for Britain's departure from the bloc.
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| Boris Johnson Says Brexit Deadline Must Not Be Seen as ‘Phony’ Posted: 12 Jul 2019 11:30 AM PDT ![Boris Johnson Says Brexit Deadline Must Not Be Seen as 'Phony']( "Boris Johnson Says Brexit Deadline Must Not Be Seen as 'Phony'") (Bloomberg) -- U.K. leadership front-runner Boris Johnson said it would be "insane now" to say the government might not deliver Brexit by Oct. 31, in a hint that he could be prepared to accept a delay at a later date.The former foreign secretary also said he does not think it will be necessary to suspend Parliament in order to drive through a no-deal Brexit against the wishes of British politicians.But he again refused to rule out such a radical step, even though former prime minister John Major and Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond have said they'd be prepared to take legal action to prevent that course of action."I want the elected representatives of the people to take their responsibilities and work together to get this thing over the line," Johnson said in a televised BBC interview late Friday. "It would be absolutely insane now to say that yet again we have a, you know, a phony deadline."Johnson is the overwhelming favorite in the contest to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May as 180,000 Conservative Party members cast their votes to choose a new leader this month. After Brexit was delayed from March 29 to April 12 and then to Oct. 31, Johnson has said he's prepared to leave the bloc "do or die" by that deadline -- a position that is popular with euro-skeptic grassroots Tories.Even so, at least twice in public events during the campaign he's indicated he could accept a delay at some point in the future. He argues that it is vital to appear resolute about leaving on time in negotiations with the EU.By contrast, Johnson's rival for the top job -- Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt -- has said he would allow another delay to Brexit, if a deal were within reach.In a separate interview with the BBC on Friday, Hunt went further than before, refusing to guarantee the U.K. will leave the EU before Christmas. Parliament may act to prevent a no-deal Brexit, he said, complicating any commitments around the fall deadline. "If we get a deal, it will be on or around 31st October but I can't control what Parliament does and that's why I'm being honest with people," he said.Hunt offered himself to Tory members as a realist. "If they support me, they are choosing someone who is not going to pretend this is easy, but someone who actually has a chance of getting us out of the European Union quickly which means a deal that can get through Parliament," he said. "And that's what I can do."To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Stuart Biggs in London at sbiggs3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Emma Ross-ThomasFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| US House votes to curb Trump powers to start Iran war Posted: 12 Jul 2019 11:22 AM PDT  The US House of Representatives voted Friday to restrict President Donald Trump's ability to attack Iran, voicing fear that his hawkish policies are pushing toward a needless war. The Democratic-led House approved an amendment on a broad defense bill that would prohibit funding for military operations against Iran unless they are in self-defense or explicitly approved by Congress. The two chambers will have to negotiate over the language as they finalize the defense bill.
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| The Latest: House OKs limiting Trump ability to strike Iran Posted: 12 Jul 2019 10:39 AM PDT  The Democratic-controlled House has voted to limit President Donald Trump's authority to make war against Iran. The party-line vote on the annual defense measure came after more than two dozen Republicans joined with Democrats on a 251-170 tally to require Trump to get authorization from Congress to conduct military strikes against Iran.
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| House votes to limit Trump's Iran war powers Posted: 12 Jul 2019 10:29 AM PDT  Lawmakers approved an amendment that would bar funding to use military force against Iran unless Congress authorizes it.
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| 'The situation is very vulnerable': Christianity faces extinction in once multicultural Iraq Posted: 12 Jul 2019 10:16 AM PDT  The official story is that northern Iraq is at peace. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) has largely been defeated; the Iraqi Army and its allies are in charge. But for Christians, the persecution continues. Those who can are getting out. Those who stay are preparing themselves for more violence. "Things are bad more than any other time," Fr Behnam Benoka tells me at his church in Bartella, a ghost town protected, if that's the right word, by soldiers with Kalashnikovs. "It's harder even than before Isil." Isil was a nightmare, the worst one can possibly imagine. But Christians say that having left their homes to escape Sunni fundamentalism, they've returned to find their lands are now dominated by Shia militia sponsored, allegedly, by Iran. Christianity, they fear, faces extinction in what was once a multicultural society. My guide on this trip is Fr Benedict Kiely, an English priest who runs a charity called Nasarean.org that provides advocacy and aid for Iraqi Christians. He knows a man who knows a man who gets us through countless checkpoints, themselves a brazen display of the contest to control the region known as the Nineveh Plains. Nineveh lies north and east of Mosul, traditionally regarded as home to the tomb of the prophet Jonah; so old is the Christian community here that the men in our car speak conversational Aramaic, the language of Jesus. Under Saddam Hussein Christians enjoyed relative tolerance and stability. Many were middle-class and some held positions in the ruling Baath Party, all of which would later make them a target for retribution. It's estimated that the Christian population has fallen from around 1.5 million under Saddam to about 250,000 today, a decline that began under the dictator. In the late Nineties, Saddam found god in a bid for legitimacy. Islamic religious education was encouraged and young radicals went to Saudi Arabia for instruction. In the car, Yohanna Towaya, a Christian who previously lived and worked in Mosul as a professor, divides history into "before 2003 and after 2003." The West invaded in March of that year. In September, he recalls, the Islamic mullahs in Mosul began to preach that "the Christians are infidels and also aiding the Americans." Islamists took effective control, sponsored, he says, by al-Qaeda. Grafitti on Our Lady cathedral, Mosul, Iraq, reads "Entry forbidden upon the order of the Islamic state" Credit: Tim Stanley They kidnapped Christians, ostensibly to raise cash for the anti-American resistance. Mr Towaya's own brother and brother-in-law were taken while working in the fields: men approached them with guns and said "come with us". Mr Towaya shrugs: "This was ordinary." The kidnappers set their ransom at $500,000, an absurd sum, but the Towayas knew a general who was able to negotiate the men's release. If anyone couldn't pay, the victim was beheaded and their body dumped in the street. Mr Towaya says that between 2003 and 2014, "The majority [of Christians] left Mosul and went to the [surrounding] Nineveh plains". Some fled abroad, to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, even Syria. His own family returned to their ancestral home in Qaraqosh on the Plains. But something even worse was coming. On June 10, Isil - an army of Sunni Jihadists Hell-bent on building a new empire - captured Mosul. Mr Towaya explains: "On the first day, they didn't say anything about Christians. Christians were very comfortable in the first week. But after 15 days, they asked Christians to leave town. They must leave, or convert, or be killed." On August 6, Isil expanded into the Nineveh Plains, including Mr Towaya's town. Mr Towaya and an estimated 125,000 Christians took to the road and drove east, to Kurdistan. Overnight, the Kurdish city of Erbil became a giant camp. Refugees slept on building sites or in the streets. As for what happened in occupied Mosul, one can see with one's own eyes. At noon, a man walks through the traffic in a daze; he is missing both arms. That was one of the ways Isil dispensed its justice. The eastern half of Mosul is recovering from the war but the western, older and more Christian part is still a wasteland. Isil went on an orgy of destruction, including blowing up the famous leaning minaret at the al-Nuri mosque, where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the foundation of the Isil caliphate. Its green dome still stands, just, in a field of bricks and concrete. There are likely still to be bodies underneath. Amazingly, human beings live among the ruins. The first few shops to return were barbers and men's clothes. Iraqi men like to look good. I see almost no women. The toppled remains for the Al-Tahira Church in Mosul Credit: Tim Stanley The courtyard of the Syriac cathedral doubled as a firing range. The dome of the Chaldean Al-Tāhirā church, which dates from the 18th century, was blown off the tower and landed upside down on the roof; it sits there like a giant spinning top. On the walls of the cathedral of Our Lady is written in Arabic: "Entry forbidden on the orders of the Islamic State." Climbing the stairs, past rooms with no floors, I discover a scattered pile of Christian instructional books; a sign of how fast people had to flee and, given that they're still lying there, that hardly anyone has been back since. No wonder. Isil had a very special purpose for churches. It turned them into torture chambers. From the top of Our Lady, Fr Benedict points to a bell tower. That's where they hanged people. Not everyone got out. We drive to a Kurdish suburb to meet a Christian family who stayed in Mosul during the occupation and, in order to survive, publicly converted to Islam. They bear the classic signs of trauma: they joke, they scream, they shout. After an impassioned argument - as much with himself as anyone else – the son tells his story. He speaks in a detached monotone, as if recalling something that happened to someone else. I agree to withhold his name. He says: "When Isil conquered Mosul they were as angels. They said they came to save us from injustices. The people who left before because of danger came back: Isil gave aid to the people. They had their laws and their propaganda and they punished people [but] they had an administration and it gave order. All the Christians who stayed converted and they liked it" - at first. Under Isil, conversion to Sunni Islam was mandated: he was told either his family should do it or they would all be killed. So, they did. They had to submit to the new laws of the city, which were enforced by a religious police force. "All are forced to go to the prayers. If [the religious police] see someone in the street, not in the mosque, they will punish you. If you are three minutes late, they punish you." Men had to wear beards and were forbidden from smoking; the religious police would sniff their fingers to see if they'd obeyed the commandment. Women were told never to go out unaccompanied by a male relative. They had to wear the head-to-toe niqab, including gloves. If the religious police saw an exposed finger, they would bite it. Many women had never before worn the niqab and they kept falling over in the street. If a man who wasn't a relation helped them up, he'd be punished. Television was banned. I ask if the city was quiet. He shakes his head. "All the time there is explosions and drone strikes. All the time there is shooting." There were foreigners among Isil: he saw a Chinese fighter. ISIL fighters celebrate on vehicles taken from Iraqi security forces in Mosul in 2014 Credit: Reuters It seems that Isil did take the family's conversion at face value but "sometimes they asked you about religion and if you couldn't answer, they punish." What exactly did he mean by "punish?" It was a trial without witnesses or lawyers. Those found guilty were taken to a spot opposite the market and that's where Isil would "cut their hands and head off. They would gather all the people with loudspeakers to see and to hear." He was present at an execution by defenestration. "At 4pm… we see people gathering. They brought someone from a car and took him up to the third floor and threw him off. He died." His executioners then "came out [of the building] and threw stones at him." They stoned a dead body. In October 2016, the Iraq Army and Shia militia liberated Mosul from Isil, along with the Nineveh Plains. This family, now free to leave Mosul, went to a refugee camp. They now have to live with the stigma of having converted. Mr Towaya returned to Qaraqosh to find that his brother's house, next door to his own, was missing: evaporated by a bomb. Mr Towaya's house had been occupied by Isil. There was a pile of books and clothes lying on the floor waiting to be burned but, he assumes, the Jihadists took fright and ran before they could light it. Almost no one went back to Mosul. Fr Benedict says he was the first Western priest to have visited the city, very shortly after liberation. The bodies had been removed but detritus remained. "We saw sludge, literally sludge where a body had lain days before. That and beard hair", so much of it he thought at first that he was looking at carpet. Isil fighters shaved their beards off before slipping away into the villages and rural population. They're not entirely gone: this week, the Iraqi military announced a sweep of the countryside to dig out Isil cells. But even if Isil's local power base is lost, even if there is no hunger for the return of the caliphate in Mosul, there are signs that Sunni fundamentalism is being replaced by Shia chauvinism with long-term objectives. In the course of this mass movement of people across northern Iraq, the Christian population fell but the concentration of Shabak Arabs grew, a mostly Shia ethnic group boosted by the pro-Iran Shia militia. In the view of Fr Benoka, a new coalition of interests "want to force [the Christians] from our lands." Fr Benoka in his rebuilt church in Bartella, Nineveh Province Politics and civil society are in pieces; the armed forces are in control of the Plains. They harass citizens and they are turning the screws on business and culture. It's become expensive to lease shop space in Nineveh, which rules impoverished Christians out of the marketplace, and those who do run a store, says Fr Benoka, are targets of a covert boycott. "All the Muslims have orders: do not buy from Christians." In Bartella itself, the Shia "put their loudspeakers on top of the public library", direct them at the Christian areas, and "start broadcasting their prayers all day, starting at 4.30 am… They are also putting Shia religious monuments [in front of] our Christian historical sites" to dwarf them and reclaim the landscape. This I saw for my own eyes: on the road in front of the town now stands a large portrait of the Shia hero Ali, with his famous lion. The Shia militias can accurately say "We are not killing Christians," complains Fr Benoka, but "what kind of life can a Christian lead?" The priest estimates there were around 85,000 Christians living in Nineveh's towns before Isil; he thinks there is probably less than a third left. If there is a war between the United States and Iran, the region could be a battlefront. The young and educated are getting out fast, although not to Britain or America. Iraqi Christians report that the UK isn't handing out visas, while the number of Christian refugees admitted to America has fallen by 98 per cent in two years under Donald Trump. The Trump administration prefers to focus resources on making life better on the Plain: they are paying to remove rubble and on every street corner of Qaraqosh is a garbage can donated by Washington. Yet Nineveh is being ethnically cleansed – not just by the violence of Jihadis but, under this fragile peace, by poverty and insecurity. Persecuted Christians I meet with Archbishop Bashar Warda at his cathedral in Erbil, which was once packed with refugees. He recently told a British audience that his people face "extinction". With me he calculates that "the situation is very vulnerable" and the West is not doing enough. Iraq's Christians need jobs and investment, yes, but they also need the West to recognise honestly what is happening. I explain that some Western governments like to think of themselves as "colour blind" – as favouring neither one religious group nor another, and especially not Christianity, which they see as Western and privileged. The Bishop is appalled: "Christians have been targeted, persecuted, so you have to help them." If the West's policy is to aid anyone who is suffering – in an objective fashion – then necessity dictates they help the Christians because "it happens to be Christians this time." Is Britain saying "we can't help you because you are Christian?" he asks. "That is a type of discrimination. You help those who need help. That is the criteria."
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| Kuwait arrests Muslim Brotherhood members wanted in Egypt Posted: 12 Jul 2019 10:09 AM PDT ![Kuwait arrests Muslim Brotherhood members wanted in Egypt]( "Kuwait arrests Muslim Brotherhood members wanted in Egypt") Kuwait's Interior Ministry says it has detained members of Egypt's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group convicted of terrorism crimes. The statement published Friday on the state-run KUNA news agency did not say how many individuals were detained or if Kuwait planned on extraditing them to Egypt. It said members of the group had been convicted of terrorism in Egypt with some sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
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| Are Iran and the United Kingdom on a Collision Course? Posted: 12 Jul 2019 10:07 AM PDT  Iran appeared to retaliate for a British seizure of an Iranian oil tanker in the Straits of Gibraltar, attempting Wednesday afternoon to seize a British oil tanker in the Straits of Hormuz, according to the British Ministry of Defense. While a nearby Royal Navy frigate blocked the Iranian raid without firing a shot, the latest tit-for-tat is a dangerous escalation in the "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran."Contrary to international law, three Iranian vessels attempted to impede the passage of a commercial vessel, British Heritage, through the Strait of Hormuz," a spokesperson for Britain's Ministry of Defense told British media. "HMS Montrose was forced to position herself between the Iranian vessels and British Heritage and issue verbal warnings to the Iranian vessels, which then turned away.""We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region," the spokesperson warned.The thirty-nine-kilometer-wide Strait of Hormuz, located between Iran and Oman, accounts for about 30 percent of the world's oil traffic.Iran has vehemently denied Britain's accusations. In a statement to the semi-state-run Fars News Agency, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said that "these allegations are being proposed in order to raise tensions . . . This talk is obviously to cover up their own weak position."
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| Tick Tock: Is Iran's Regime Nearing the End? Posted: 12 Jul 2019 10:00 AM PDT  During the Obama administration, President Hassan Rouhani came to the negotiating table because of economic pressure after the Senate unanimously passed unilateral economic sanctions—a measure the White House initially opposed but then for which it took credit.Iran and the United States are as close to direct conflict as they have been for three decades, since Operation Praying Mantis in 1988 which was, at the time, the largest surface naval engagement since World War II.A lot of ink has been spilled and oxygen expended discussing the matter, some of it good and some of it simplistic. Here a few thoughts, informed by being lucky enough to spend close to seven months studying in the Islamic Republic while finishing a doctorate in philosophy on Iranian history. I worked on the Iran desk at the Pentagon during the George W. Bush administration, frequently visit the Persian Gulf, and have followed Iran almost continuously for a quarter century.(This first appeared in June 2019.)
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| Brexit, domestic drama and Trump drive UK leadership race Posted: 12 Jul 2019 09:56 AM PDT  The race to become Britain's next leader has been dominated by Brexit, but disrupted by domestic drama and Donald Trump. Britain's 2016 decision to leave the European Union divided the country, upended its politics and ultimately defeated Prime Minister Theresa May. She resigned as Conservative Party leader last month after failing to win Parliament's backing for divorce terms with the EU. May's announcement triggered a leadership contest in which a 10-strong field of contenders was whittled down by Conservative lawmakers to two: Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson, his predecessor in that job.
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| Will Nationalism Poison Ukraine's New President? Posted: 12 Jul 2019 09:53 AM PDT  Ever since Volodymyr Zelensky's upset victory in April, Ukrainians have been wondering whether their newly elected president will take new approaches to resolve the conflict with Russia. His thumping victory over Petro Poroshenko, who tried to dismiss all of his opponents as puppets of Russian Vladimir Putin puppets, uncovered a strong, untapped desire to end the Russophobia that has been porminant with over the past five years. During that time, the Poroshenko and other senior government officials routinely referred to Ukrainians who wanted better relations with Russia as a "fifth column."During the campaign Zelensky outflanked Poroshenko by promising to do anything to achieve peace, including direct negotiations with Putin. Since winning the election, however, Zelensky has backtracked from this pledge and reassured the West that he has no intention of negotiating with Putin without Western intermediaries present. In sum, he continues to try to be everything to everyone by telling each person whatever it is they want to hear.
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| Hammond Poised to Halt Plans to Overhaul U.K. Energy Industry Posted: 12 Jul 2019 09:38 AM PDT ![Hammond Poised to Halt Plans to Overhaul U.K. Energy Industry]( "Hammond Poised to Halt Plans to Overhaul U.K. Energy Industry") (Bloomberg) -- Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond is blocking a set of government proposals to overhaul the U.K. energy industry because of the potential spending implications for a new prime minister, people familiar with the matter said.The plans are included in a long awaited energy white paper that the business department has been working on for months, according to the officials, who asked not to be identified because the policies haven't been announced. Measures include the way nuclear power plants get funding, boosting technology to capture industrial greenhouse gas emissions for storage, accelerating the decarbonization of the power industry and efforts to make housing more energy efficient.Business Secretary Greg Clark had hoped to publish the proposals in July, but Hammond is reluctant to give the go-ahead to new spending before a successor to Theresa May is in place, the people said. Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is the overwhelming favorite to win the contest, which pits him against the incumbent in the Foreign Office, Jeremy Hunt.The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy didn't immediately reply to a request for comment. The Treasury declined to comment.Hammond's reticence is slowing efforts to eliminate U.K. greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and spur a nuclear renaissance. The government has estimated it needs to draw in 100 billion pounds ($126 billion) of investment for electricity networks over the next few years to replace aging coal and atomic generation plants.Ambitions to fund a new fleet of nuclear facilities took a blow earlier this year when Hitachi Ltd. pulled out of the Wylfa project. Toshiba Corp. also withdrew from a major development earlier in the year.Whitehall officials across departments are also concerned the document is both incomplete and too sizeable a policy plan to put forward just before a new premier takes over, according to two of the people familiar. One option being considered is to publish more urgent sections before recess leaving the rest for the next government to handle.If Johnson wins, as expected, neither Hammond nor Clark are likely to remain in their cabinet jobs. That's because Johnson has said his cabinet members will have to be prepared for the U.K. leaving the European Union without a Brexit deal -- something that Hammond and Clark have said they can't support. The new prime minister will be announced on July 23.To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Jeremy Hodges in London at jhodges17@bloomberg.net;Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Lars Paulsson, Reed LandbergFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Jeremy Hunt Refuses to Commit to Brexit Before Christmas Posted: 12 Jul 2019 09:36 AM PDT ![Jeremy Hunt Refuses to Commit to Brexit Before Christmas]( "Jeremy Hunt Refuses to Commit to Brexit Before Christmas") (Bloomberg) -- Leadership contender Jeremy Hunt refused to guarantee the U.K. will leave the European Union before Christmas, a stance likely to further undermine his diminishing chances of becoming prime minister."I'm not going to give you those commitments," Hunt said in a televised BBC interview Friday when asked if he could guarantee he'd get Brexit done by the end of the year. "Prime ministers should only make promises they know they can deliver."In contrast to Hunt, Boris Johnson, his rival for the top job, has pledged to meet the Oct. 31 deadline for Brexit "do or die," a position that surveys show is popular among the 180,000 grassroots Conservative Party members who are voting for the next leader.Hunt told the BBC that Parliament may opt to rule out a no-deal Brexit, complicating any commitments around the fall deadline. "If we get a deal, it will be on or around 31st October but I can't control what Parliament does and that's why I'm being honest with people," he said.To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Mayes in London at jmayes9@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Nigeria Shia group says 2 killed in anti-government protests Posted: 12 Jul 2019 09:13 AM PDT ![Nigeria Shia group says 2 killed in anti-government protests]( "Nigeria Shia group says 2 killed in anti-government protests") Members of Nigeria's pro-Iran Shia Muslim sect, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, say two of their members were killed and several injured in the northern city of Kaduna when police fired on an anti-government demonstration. The group said in a statement on Friday that the killings happened on Thursday at a protest against the detention of their leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky. On Tuesday a group of the Shia protesters tried to enter Nigeria's National Assembly in the capital Abuja.
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| Why Iran's Rag-Tag Navy Would Actually Cause a Lot of Problems in War Posted: 12 Jul 2019 09:07 AM PDT  Besides the rocket-armed motor boats, note also the presence of anti-ship ballistic missiles (detailed in this article) and other assets that could be cued to hit naval targets.On May 16, 2019, U.S. officials cited reports that Iran had installed missiles on civilian motorboats in the Persian Gulf as a justification for a major deployment of U.S. military forces to the Middle East.(This first appeared in June 2019.)However, this claim may ring a bit strangely to observers of Iran's military, as employing swarms of heavily armed motor boats to launch asymmetric attacks on maritime assets has long been understood to be its naval strategy—one that Tehran hasn't exactly been shy about publicizing.Take, for example, this video which depicts a swarm of rocket-armed boats unleashing a hail of rockets upon a giant mockup of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.Besides the rocket-armed motor boats, note also the presence of anti-ship ballistic missiles (detailed in this article) and other assets that could be cued to hit naval targets.In another ironic incident, a U.S. military diagram explaining Iranian tactics was founded and adopted by Iranian media to advertise its military strength (and was then breathlessly reported in the U.S. as a "new" Iranian threat.)The U.S. Navy even designed its Littoral Combat Ships with countering Iranian fast boats in mind—to its current regret as it re-orient to "great power" conflict.
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| At least 8 killed in Syria government raids on rebel enclave Posted: 12 Jul 2019 09:02 AM PDT ![At least 8 killed in Syria government raids on rebel enclave]( "At least 8 killed in Syria government raids on rebel enclave") Syrian rescue workers say at least eight civilians have been killed in government bombing of the country's last rebel stronghold. The strikes Friday included rare air raids on Idlib city, already home to large numbers of people displaced by the 10-week offensive on the rebel-held area. Teams of first responders, known as White Helmets, filed into narrow alleys lined with bombed buildings to help the injured, pull bodies out and douse fires.
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| Merchant ships urged to avoid using private armed teams in Mideast Gulf Posted: 12 Jul 2019 08:37 AM PDT ![Merchant ships urged to avoid using private armed teams in Mideast Gulf]( "Merchant ships urged to avoid using private armed teams in Mideast Gulf") Shipping companies sailing through the Middle East Gulf are being urged to avoid having private armed security guards onboard as the risk of escalation in the region rises, industry associations say. Relations between Iran and the West have become increasingly strained after Britain seized an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar last week and London said its warship HMS Montrose had to fend off Iranian vessels seeking to block a British-owned tanker from passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The most recent incidents followed a spate of attacks on tankers since May around the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, which the United States has blamed on Iran and are denied by Tehran.
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| Iran Guards say strike 'terrorists' in Iraqi Kurdistan Posted: 12 Jul 2019 07:18 AM PDT ![Iran Guards say strike 'terrorists' in Iraqi Kurdistan]( "Iran Guards say strike 'terrorists' in Iraqi Kurdistan") Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Friday that they had launched deadly strikes against "terrorists" across the border in Iraqi Kurdistan. "Terrorist camps and training centres were attacked from Wednesday," with rockets, drones and artillery, the Guards said in a statement published by their official website Sepahnews. The statement did not name the groups targeted in the strikes, but said they were behind efforts to "disrupt security" in Iran.
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| Sweden says it won't sign UN nuclear ban treaty Posted: 12 Jul 2019 07:13 AM PDT ![Sweden says it won't sign UN nuclear ban treaty]( "Sweden says it won't sign UN nuclear ban treaty") Wallstrom told a news conference that there is no majority in Sweden's parliament, the Riksdagen, to sign the convention. The Social-Democratic-led government of Sweden, which is not a NATO member, has been internally divided over the issue, with some saying it could find its cooperative relationship with the alliance weakened if it endorses the U.N. convention. NATO supports the idea of a world without nuclear weapons, but doesn't believe it can be achieved by imposing a ban through the United Nations convention.
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| Britain sending destroyer to Gulf amid Iranian threats Posted: 12 Jul 2019 07:07 AM PDT  Iran on Friday demanded the British navy release an Iranian oil tanker seized last week off Gibraltar, accusing London of playing a "dangerous game" and threatening retribution, while London announced it was sending a destroyer to the Persian Gulf. The comments from Iran's Foreign Ministry came the day after police in Gibraltar, a British overseas territory on the southern tip of Spain, said they arrested the captain and chief officer of the supertanker suspected of breaching European Union sanctions by carrying a shipment of Iranian crude oil to Syria.
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| German government ordered to allow Isil bride home Posted: 12 Jul 2019 07:07 AM PDT  German courts have ordered Angela Merkel's government must allow an Isil bride and her children home. In the first ruling of its kind, a court ordered that the government must repatriate the woman from a refugee camp in Syria for the safety of her children. The families of dozens of other German Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) volunteers are expected to seize on the ruling as they campaign for the return of their relatives. Like the UK, Germany has so far refused to repatriate citizens who travelled to the Middle East to join Isil, fearing they could pose a security risk. The woman in the new ruling, who has not been named, is currently living in the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria with her three children aged two, seven and eight. She is understood to be from the Lower Saxony region of Germany. In an urgent hearing, the court found that conditions in the camp, recently described as "horrifying" by the International Red Cross, presented a serious danger to the children. The court ruled that conditions in the camp presented a serious danger to the children Credit: Maya Alleruzzo/AP The case was brought by relatives who sued the German government to force it to arrange the children's return. The government argued it was under no obligation to allow the woman's return because she joined Isil of her own volition. The court made no ruling on her rights, but ruled her children were entitled to protection as German citizens and ordered the government to repatriate her because it was impossible for them to leave the camp without her. Kurdish authorities in control of the refugee camp want European countries to take their citizens back and have ruled out allowing children to return alone. "This is a fundamental decision in which the foreign ministry was clearly told that it cannot avoid political and legal responsibility," Dirk Schoenian, a lawyer for the woman's relatives said. "Now we finally have a ruling from a German court that Germany is obliged to take back not only the children, but also their mother," Claudia Dantschke of Hayat Deutschland, a counselling centre for the relatives of Isil volunteers, told the broadcaster Deutsche Welle. The German foreign ministry said the ruling was "being examined" and a decision had not yet been made on whether to appeal.
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| The Latest: Gibraltar police detain 2 more from Iran tanker Posted: 12 Jul 2019 06:44 AM PDT  Police in Gibraltar say they have arrested the two second mates of an Iranian supertanker seized last week by the British navy on suspicion of carrying Tehran's oil to Syria. Police in the British overseas territory on the southern tip of Spain say Friday the two men are in custody and assisting police with their inquiries. The ship is suspected of breaching European Union sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad's government.
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| AU envoy: Sudan military, protesters to sign political deal Posted: 12 Jul 2019 06:09 AM PDT  A transition agreement between Sudan's ruling military council and a pro-democracy coalition was scheduled to be signed Saturday, a top African Union diplomat said, just hours after the military claimed it thwarted an attempted coup by a group of officers. The transition agreement sets up a joint Sovereign Council that will rule for a little over three years while elections are organized. Lt. Gen. Gamal Omar, a member of Sudan's military council, said the coup attempt took place late Thursday, just days after the military and the pro-democracy coalition had agreed to the joint sovereign council.
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| Iran hits Iraqi Kurdish fighters with cross-border shelling Posted: 12 Jul 2019 06:00 AM PDT ![Iran hits Iraqi Kurdish fighters with cross-border shelling]( "Iran hits Iraqi Kurdish fighters with cross-border shelling") Iranian state TV is reporting that the country's elite Revolutionary Guard has targeted Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, using missiles and cannons. The Friday report shows images of Iranian troops firing artillery into a mountainous area, using drones to identify the targets. It said "many" Kurdish militants were killed and wounded in the two-day operation without providing details.
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| Trump vs. Darroch: Whose Government Is 'Inept' and 'Dysfunctional?' Posted: 12 Jul 2019 05:49 AM PDT  In this week's brouhaha over the leaked cables from Britain's Ambassador, Sir Kim Darroch, to his government in London describing the Trump Administration as "inept" and "dysfunctional," Trump's explosive reaction, and the Ambassador's resignation, one central question has been assiduously avoided: what does Sir Kim mean by "inept" and "dysfunctional?"While that is a good question in general, it becomes even more poignant in the case of a British Ambassador from Prime Minister Theresa May's administration describing another government. To be blunt, the question for the ambassador is: compared to whom?During the past 30 months of the Trump Administration during which Ambassador Darroch has served in Washington, his government in London has done what? Negotiated, renegotiated, and then re-renegotiated deals for Britain's orderly withdrawal from the EU, each time unable to mobilize a majority in its own party to ratify those agreements. Suggested and then withdrawn, and then suggested and finally drifted on the issue of a second referendum on Brexit. Threatened to hold new elections, withdrawn the threat, and repeated it as it became ever less credible. Seen the Prime Minister humiliate herself, offering members of her own party her resignation in exchange for their voting for her last and final negotiated Brexit option—only to be refused. And finally, as she resigns in impotence, staggered as it faces the near certainty that her successor as Prime Minister will be the closest analog Britain has ever seen to Donald Trump.
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| Turkey delights Putin and irks Trump as it begins taking delivery of Russian missile system Posted: 12 Jul 2019 05:34 AM PDT  Turkey has begun taking delivery of a Russian missile system that has irked US officials but serves as a win for both President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Kremlin. Turkish television showed scenes of three Russian cargo planes arriving at a military airport in the Turkish capital, Ankara, reportedly carrying parts for the S-400 advanced air defence system."The transfer of the first group of S-400 long-range air and missile defence systems to the Murted Air Base started on 12 July," the defence ministry reported in a tweet. Russian officials confirmed the deliveries.Local news outlets reported that it could take up to five months for all the parts to arrive. The missiles for the system are expected to arrive separately in sea vessels.The potential delivery of the S-400s had prompted White House threats of economic sanctions and other reprisals against the NATO member. The purchase violates US sanctions on Russia's military industry and raises concerns that it could undermine NATO security."Turkey has made a very bad choice," US Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, wrote on Twitter Friday. "This is not the conduct of an ally. Unless it reverses course, Turkey will not receive the F-35 aircraft and any move to deploy the Russian S-400 system must be met with immediate sanctions under U.S. law."But the delivery of the $2.5 billion weapons system, ordered in 2017, represents a significant strategic and economic win for Moscow, which is trying to boost its arms industry as well as weaken the NATO alliance. Russian President Vladimir Putin has assiduously courted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the last three years, exploiting Turkey's frustrations with Washington over its Syria policy and cosy relations with Gulf Arab monarchs to lure Ankara closer into its orbit. "This is a formula to cement Turkey's political relationship with Russia at a time when the relationship with the US went in the opposite direction," said Sinan Ulgen, a Turkey specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International PeaceUS officials have warned of imposing economic sanctions as required by Congress and booting Turkey from the programme to develop and deploy advanced F-35 fighter jets if Turkey took delivery of the S-400 mobile anti-aircraft missile launchers. Turkey's economy is already suffering from high inflation and unemployment exacerbated by high foreign debt.But Mr Erdogan has said that US President Donald Trump was not as determined to punish Turkey as some others in his administration. "Mr Trump has not said 'We will impose sanctions against you' during my phone conversations with him or in our bilateral meetings so far," Mr Erdogan was quoted as saying earlier this month.The purchase itself is hardly a strategic game-changer. Turkey will receive only 128 missiles. But the US says it is worried that the Russian personnel entering Turkey's defence establishment under the guise of helping instal the system and train operators could undermine NATO security. Other critics say the purchase may not improve Turkey's defence capabilities. "This is not going to be conducive to enhancing Turkey's security aspirations," said Mr Ulgen. "It is true that Turkey is in need of improving its own national capabilities of protecting itself over the threat of ballistic missiles. But this is not an answer to that. The S-400 cannot be used to counter that threat."The delivery also represents something of a political win for Mr Erdogan, who is still licking wounds from his party's losses in recent municipal elections."During the last months, S-400 became a domestic political issue for Mr Erdogan," said Aydin Sezer, a former Turkish diplomat and columnist for Medya Gunlugu, a news outlet. "This is important leverage for Erdogan to consolidate his political party."Turks have complained that for years Ankara was seeking to buy drones or missile-defence systems from the US only to be hampered or offered deals that were on unfavourable terms. Both supporters and opponents of Mr Erdogan support the purchase of a defence system designed to counter Western power amid rampant mistrust of the US and fears it might launch an attack on Turkey at some point in the future. A poll this month showed 44 per cent of Turks support the purchase, with only 24 per cent opposed. Older Turks remember the US arms embargo over Cyprus in the 1970s, and many don't see Washington as a trusted partner when it comes to arms sales. Left-leaning Turks see the purchase as defiance against Western imperialism."They think that this move is somehow a proclamation of independence and protecting Turkey from world powers like NATO and the US," said Mr Sezer.Mr Ulgen acknowledged 'bipartisan support" for the purchase, but said many of those in favour "are not aware of the costs related to acquiring the weapons."
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| Swedish Government Won’t Sign ‘Problematic’ UN Nuclear Treaty Posted: 12 Jul 2019 05:22 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Sweden has decided not to sign the UN treaty on nuclear arms, calling it problematic and unrealistic.The decision was announced by Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom at a press conference in Stockholm, who said the country will remain a "strong voice" against the proliferation of nuclear weapons.Reality is complicated and the treaty is problematic, but the decision was made as a militarily alliance-free nation, said Wallstrom. Sweden will become an observer nation to the treaty and won't close the door on signing it, she said.Backed by Sweden, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons passed in 2017 in the UN General Assembly by a vote of 122 in favor with just the Netherlands, a NATO member, voting against. The negotiations were boycotted by the world's nine nuclear-armed countries -- the U.S., China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the U.K. as well as most NATO members.Sweden, which has close ties with NATO, has been pressured not to sign the treaty by the U.S., newspaper Svenska Dagbladet has reported.To contact the reporter on this story: Jonas Bergman in Oslo at jbergman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Tasneem Hanfi Brögger at tbrogger@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Duterte critics laud UN vote to scrutinize drug killings Posted: 12 Jul 2019 05:13 AM PDT  Critics of the Philippine president's deadly anti-drug campaign said Friday that a vote by the U.N.'s top human rights body to look into the thousands of deaths of suspects is a crucial step toward bringing perpetrators to justice and helping end the killings. President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman, however, condemned the resolution adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva as Western meddling in Philippine government affairs and questioned the validity of the narrow vote.
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| Turkey risks US sanctions after taking delivery of Russian S-400 missile defence system Posted: 12 Jul 2019 04:58 AM PDT  Russia began delivery of an advanced missile defence system to Turkey on Friday, a move expected to trigger US sanctions against a NATO ally and drive a wedge into the heart of the Western military alliance. The first parts of the S-400 air defence system were flown to a military air base near the capital Ankara, the Turkish Defence Ministry said, sealing Turkey's deal with Russia which Washington had struggled for months to prevent. The United States says the purchase of Russian military hardware may lead to Ankara's expulsion from an F-35 fighter jet programme. NATO said on Friday it was "concerned" by Turkey's acquisition. "We are concerned about the potential consequences of Turkey's decision to acquire the S-400 system," a NATO official told AFP, following repeated warnings that the system is not compatible with allied weapons. Investors in Turkey have been unsettled by the deal. The Turkish lira weakened to 5.717 against the dollar from 5.683 before the ministry announced the arrival of the S-400 consignment to the Murted Air Base, northwest of Ankara. "The delivery of parts belonging to the system will continue in the coming days," Turkey's Defence Industry Directorate said. "Once the system is completely ready, it will begin to be used in a way determined by the relevant authorities." A second Russian AN-124 cargo plane transporting parts of the S-400 air defence system comes into land Credit: Getty Images At least two Russian Air Force AN-124 cargo planes flew to Turkey on Friday morning, data from plane tracking website Flightradar24 showed. Turkish broadcasters showed footage of one plane parked at airbase and a second one landing at around 12.30 pm (0930 GMT). Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation confirmed on Friday it had started delivering the S-400 systems and that the deliveries would continue in accordance with an agreed schedule, the RIA news agency reported. Turkey says the system is a strategic defence requirement, particularly to secure its southern borders with Syria and Iraq. It says that when it made the deal with Russia for the S-400s, the United States and Europe had not presented a viable alternative. President Tayyip Erdogan said after meeting President Donald Trump at a G20 summit last month that the United States did not plan to impose sanctions on Ankara for buying the S-400s. Trump said Turkey had not been treated fairly but did not rule out sanctions. U.S. officials said last week the administration still plans to impose sanctions on Turkey. Under legislation known as Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which targets purchases of military equipment from Russia, Trump should select five of 12 possible measures. These range from banning visas and denying access to the U.S.-based Export-Import Bank, to the harsher options of blocking transactions with the U.S. financial system and denying export licences. Washington says the S-400s could compromise its Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter jets, an aircraft Turkey is helping to build and planning to buy. Turkey could also face expulsion from the F-35 programme under the sanctions. Erdogan has dismissed that possibility, but Washington has already started the process of removing Turkey from the programme, halting training of Turkish pilots in the United States on the aircraft. Investors in Turkey have been concerned about the impact of potential U.S. sanctions on an economy which fell into recession after a currency crisis last year. The S-400 acquisition is one of several issues which have frayed ties between the two allies, including a dispute over strategy in Syria east of the Euphrates River, where the United States is allied with Kurdish forces that Turkey views as foes. The detention of U.S. consular staff in Turkey has also strained relations, along with disagreements over Iran, Venezuela and Middle East policy. Turkey has long demanded Washington hand over a Muslim cleric which Ankara holds responsible for an attempted coup in 2016. The Murted base was formerly known as Akinci Air Base and was used by putschist soldiers in the failed 2016 coup
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| Britain to send second warship to Gulf amid rising tension with Iran Posted: 12 Jul 2019 04:54 AM PDT  Britain is sending a second warship to the Gulf amid rising tensions with Iran, as it said it was discussing with the US the possibility of building up its military presence in the area. Relations between Tehran and the West have come under increasing strain after UK authorities seized an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar heading for Syria and a Royal Navy ship was harassed by Revolutionary Guards in the Strait of Hormuz. The HMS Duncan, a Type 45 Destroyer and one of the most advanced warships in the world, will sail to the Gulf in the coming days to provide support to the HMS Montrose. It is understood it was due to travel to the region, but its deployment was brought forward in light of recent events. Jeremy Hunt, Foreign Secretary, said that sending HMS Duncan was "about our responsibility to do everything we can to protect British shipping" in comments made after a disclosure by Theresa May's office that Britain was talking to the US about building up its presence in the strategic choke point. "But this is not an Iran-specific issue," Mr Hunt said. "Notwithstanding the broader tensions in the region - this is about Syria and about a breach of the sanctions against Syria, which of course is a country that Iran is active in." Gulf of Oman While not strictly linked, the fate of the impounded Grace 1 vessel has become tied to the future of the nuclear deal. The Islamic Republic on Friday called on Britain to release its seized oil tanker and warned foreign powers to "leave the region because Iran and other regional countries are capable of securing the regional security". Abbas Mousavi, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, told the IRNA news agency: "This is a dangerous game and has consequences ... The legal pretexts for the capture are not valid ... The release of the tanker is in all countries' interests." Sources suggested the move was done on US instruction, however, Gibraltar's chief minister stated that no other government was involved in the decision to detain the tanker. "There has been no political request at any time from any government that Gibraltar should act or not act on one basis or another," Fabian Picardo told parliament, revealing that vessel had been carrying 2.1 million barrels of light crude oil. British soldiers impound oil supertanker Grace 1, on suspicion it is carrying Iranian crude oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions Credit: UK Ministry of Defence It came as the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency urged Britain to stick with Europe in trying to save the nuclear deal with Iran, cautioning that Tehran was "very far off" a nuclear weapon. Mohamed ElBaradei called Tehran's further enriching of uranium - up to 4.5 per cent from the 3.7 per cap agreed in the 2015 nuclear deal - "child's play" and said it was a long way from the 90 per cent it would need for a bomb. "It's a cry for help," he told BBC Radio 4. "They are very far away from a nuclear weapon, they are not an imminent threat. "It's a symbolic reaction from a country that can't even import medicines because of sanctions imposed by the US." He described President Donald Trump's decision to back out of the nuclear accord when it was "working" as "lacking rationale, legal basis and any common sense". "They are applying a waterboarding method to Iran, drowning Iran and then looking and then asking them: let's have a dialogue without any preconditions," Mr ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who served as vice-president of Egypt after stepping down from his role at the IAEA, said. "No country is going to cooperate under these humiliating conditions," he added. "If they (the US) want to go to war they are doing a perfect job."
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| Hard Questions on Immigration Demand Straight Answers Posted: 12 Jul 2019 04:30 AM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- America's immigration policies are broken, and there's little sign in Washington of a bipartisan desire to fix them. President Donald Trump rages on about the crisis at the southern border, but has failed to come forward with plans that would end it. When it comes to effective proposals, Democrats haven't been much better. Most of the contenders for the party's presidential nomination can't even bring themselves to admit that illegal immigration is a serious problem.Both parties need to answer three questions. First, what does the U.S. owe refugees and asylum seekers who are desperately seeking the safety that their own countries can't provide? Second, how many immigrants, and what kind, does the U.S. need to strengthen its economy and advance the well-being of all its citizens? Third, how should the country resolve the status of the 10 million or so undocumented immigrants already within its borders?Undoubtedly, the U.S. needs to do more to help genuine asylum-seekers. International law requires it, and so do the values to which the country was dedicated. In 2017, the U.S. granted asylum to about 26,000 applicants. Moving forward, that number should double. Reaching that goal is not a matter of making standards more lenient, but clearing a backlog of several hundred thousand cases pending before U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services and the immigration courts. It will mean adding many more judges, clerks and asylum officers at the border.Related: America's Immigration Crisis Goes Beyond the BorderThe rules need fixing too: Layers of ill-adapted laws, administrative tweaks and court rulings have created incentives for filing asylum claims that lack merit, paralyzing the system and pushing the most desperate to the back of the line. Addressing all this will be costly. Congress just passed a bill appropriating $4.5 billion to deal with the border surge, mostly for care and shelter. The 30 new immigration judge teams the bill covers (at a cost of $45 million) won't dent the asylum backlog. To speed legitimate asylum claims, get rid of bad ones and keep up with future trends, the U.S. should hire 10 times that number.As for refugees, the U.S. should set the annual ceiling at 120,000. With the number of refugees worldwide remaining at a historic high, that figure — slightly higher than the Obama administration's 2017 ceiling of 110,000 — would be commensurate with the country's historical commitment to a compelling humanitarian purpose. Trump has lowered the ceiling for those admitted annually by nearly three-quarters, to 30,000 — and in 2018, the country let in just 22,491. In 1980, a much smaller U.S. economy admitted 207,116. To match that level with today's larger population, the U.S. would have to admit some 300,000 refugees.The fact is, the U.S. can be doing far more than it is now, and should work with other governments and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to this end. After all, the program more than pays for itself: By one government estimate, from 2005 to 2014, refugees contributed $63 billion more in revenue than they cost in expenditures.Simple self-interest, as opposed to moral commitment, should guide policy on economic migration. Sustaining the dynamism of the U.S. economy requires more immigrants at every level of skill, but especially those with talents in high demand. Immigrants alleviate demographic pressures while also bringing disproportionate ambition and entrepreneurial energy. A remarkable fact: Immigrants or their children established nearly half of today's Fortune 500 companies. For all these reasons, the U.S. needs to attract more foreigners who wish to become Americans.Shifting toward a system that pays greater attention to skills and to the needs of the labor market would raise the nation's return on immigration and make larger numbers of entrants of all kinds more politically feasible. In 2017, the U.S. issued 1,127,167 immigrant visas, but only about 7% went to workers themselves, not including their dependents. Moving forward, it should grant at least 1.4 million each year in total, and make half of these skills-based, changing that percentage as economic conditions demand. The points-based system used by Canada offers a good model.This leaves the question of the undocumented. The president has called for "millions of illegal aliens" to be deported. That would take decades, cost tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars, hamstring the U.S. economy, and cause untold disruption and heartbreak. The U.S. is a nation of laws — one reason why the country exerts such a pull — and certainly ought to uphold its immigration rules. But this needn't exclude a path to legal status and, eventually, citizenship for those entrants who are otherwise law-abiding. Innocents brought to the country as children deserve immediate dispensation.A crucial element of this approach, though, is better enforcement of the law in the future, so that the issue doesn't resurface as an intractable problem. Strengthening the border will require investment in roads and barriers in urban areas, better lighting and sensing technology, and new equipment for screening at ports of entry. A biometric entry-exit system could track the visa overstayers who've outnumbered illegal border-crossers in recent years. And expanding the E-Verify system for vetting newly hired workers will be essential: Currently, only about 800,000 businesses are enrolled, or less than a third of the 3 million or so U.S. businesses with 10 or more employees.Trump is just plain wrong on immigration. He sees a vital economic asset as a liability. But most of the Democrats running to unseat him are choosing not to grapple honestly with the issue — that is, with the need to secure the border, uphold the law, and limit humanitarian commitments to what is both affordable and politically feasible. Public recognition of the benefits of immigration has risen lately, but so has the polarization that makes workable remedies impossible. Enough. Posturing will no longer do. Immigration poses hard questions — and demands straight answers.—Editors: James Gibney, Timothy Lavin, Clive Crook.To contact the senior editor responsible for Bloomberg Opinion's editorials: David Shipley at davidshipley@bloomberg.net, .Editorials are written by the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Hard Questions on Immigration Demand Straight Answers Posted: 12 Jul 2019 04:30 AM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- America's immigration policies are broken, and there's little sign in Washington of a bipartisan desire to fix them. President Donald Trump rages on about the crisis at the southern border, but has failed to come forward with plans that would end it. When it comes to effective proposals, Democrats haven't been much better. Most of the contenders for the party's presidential nomination can't even bring themselves to admit that illegal immigration is a serious problem.Both parties need to answer three questions. First, what does the U.S. owe refugees and asylum seekers who are desperately seeking the safety that their own countries can't provide? Second, how many immigrants, and what kind, does the U.S. need to strengthen its economy and advance the well-being of all its citizens? Third, how should the country resolve the status of the 10 million or so undocumented immigrants already within its borders?Undoubtedly, the U.S. needs to do more to help genuine asylum-seekers. International law requires it, and so do the values to which the country was dedicated. In 2017, the U.S. granted asylum to about 26,000 applicants. Moving forward, that number should double. Reaching that goal is not a matter of making standards more lenient, but clearing a backlog of several hundred thousand cases pending before U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services and the immigration courts. It will mean adding many more judges, clerks and asylum officers at the border.Related: America's Immigration Crisis Goes Beyond the BorderThe rules need fixing too: Layers of ill-adapted laws, administrative tweaks and court rulings have created incentives for filing asylum claims that lack merit, paralyzing the system and pushing the most desperate to the back of the line. Addressing all this will be costly. Congress just passed a bill appropriating $4.5 billion to deal with the border surge, mostly for care and shelter. The 30 new immigration judge teams the bill covers (at a cost of $45 million) won't dent the asylum backlog. To speed legitimate asylum claims, get rid of bad ones and keep up with future trends, the U.S. should hire 10 times that number.As for refugees, the U.S. should set the annual ceiling at 120,000. With the number of refugees worldwide remaining at a historic high, that figure — slightly higher than the Obama administration's 2017 ceiling of 110,000 — would be commensurate with the country's historical commitment to a compelling humanitarian purpose. Trump has lowered the ceiling for those admitted annually by nearly three-quarters, to 30,000 — and in 2018, the country let in just 22,491. In 1980, a much smaller U.S. economy admitted 207,116. To match that level with today's larger population, the U.S. would have to admit some 300,000 refugees.The fact is, the U.S. can be doing far more than it is now, and should work with other governments and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to this end. After all, the program more than pays for itself: By one government estimate, from 2005 to 2014, refugees contributed $63 billion more in revenue than they cost in expenditures.Simple self-interest, as opposed to moral commitment, should guide policy on economic migration. Sustaining the dynamism of the U.S. economy requires more immigrants at every level of skill, but especially those with talents in high demand. Immigrants alleviate demographic pressures while also bringing disproportionate ambition and entrepreneurial energy. A remarkable fact: Immigrants or their children established nearly half of today's Fortune 500 companies. For all these reasons, the U.S. needs to attract more foreigners who wish to become Americans.Shifting toward a system that pays greater attention to skills and to the needs of the labor market would raise the nation's return on immigration and make larger numbers of entrants of all kinds more politically feasible. In 2017, the U.S. issued 1,127,167 immigrant visas, but only about 7% went to workers themselves, not including their dependents. Moving forward, it should grant at least 1.4 million each year in total, and make half of these skills-based, changing that percentage as economic conditions demand. The points-based system used by Canada offers a good model.This leaves the question of the undocumented. The president has called for "millions of illegal aliens" to be deported. That would take decades, cost tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars, hamstring the U.S. economy, and cause untold disruption and heartbreak. The U.S. is a nation of laws — one reason why the country exerts such a pull — and certainly ought to uphold its immigration rules. But this needn't exclude a path to legal status and, eventually, citizenship for those entrants who are otherwise law-abiding. Innocents brought to the country as children deserve immediate dispensation.A crucial element of this approach, though, is better enforcement of the law in the future, so that the issue doesn't resurface as an intractable problem. Strengthening the border will require investment in roads and barriers in urban areas, better lighting and sensing technology, and new equipment for screening at ports of entry. A biometric entry-exit system could track the visa overstayers who've outnumbered illegal border-crossers in recent years. And expanding the E-Verify system for vetting newly hired workers will be essential: Currently, only about 800,000 businesses are enrolled, or less than a third of the 3 million or so U.S. businesses with 10 or more employees.Trump is just plain wrong on immigration. He sees a vital economic asset as a liability. But most of the Democrats running to unseat him are choosing not to grapple honestly with the issue — that is, with the need to secure the border, uphold the law, and limit humanitarian commitments to what is both affordable and politically feasible. Public recognition of the benefits of immigration has risen lately, but so has the polarization that makes workable remedies impossible. Enough. Posturing will no longer do. Immigration poses hard questions — and demands straight answers.—Editors: James Gibney, Timothy Lavin, Clive Crook.To contact the senior editor responsible for Bloomberg Opinion's editorials: David Shipley at davidshipley@bloomberg.net, .Editorials are written by the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump’s US military chief nominee General Mark Milley vows not to be ‘intimidated into making stupid decisions’ Posted: 12 Jul 2019 04:26 AM PDT  Donald Trump's nominee to become the next top US military officer has promised that, if confirmed, he would not be cowed by the White House as he provides advice on national security matters.General Mark Milley, who serves as US Army chief of staff, appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on Thursday at a moment when Mr Trump's moves to pull the Pentagon into his border wall plans, Independence Day festivities and other initiatives have generated concerns about the erosion of the military's nonpartisan traditions.If confirmed, General Milley would replace Marine General Joseph Dunford Jr as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff this autumn.Senator Angus King asked General Milley if he would challenge the president, who since his 2016 election has questioned decades-old defence alliances and taken positions that have caused discomfort within the military highest ranks.In response to the general's vow to remain independent, Mr King said: "I believe that. But I think it's very important to emphasise that the Oval Office is an intimidating place, and the president of the United States is the most powerful leader in the free world."He added: "To be willing to say 'Mr President, you're wrong about this' ... if it's something that she or he doesn't want to hear is just, there is no more important responsibility in your career."General Milley replied that Marine General Dunford and "most of us" have seen a lot of combat."Arlington is full of our comrades, and we understand absolutely full well the hazards of our chosen profession," General Milley said, referring to the national cemetery a few miles away in Virginia where many US service members are buried."We know what this is about, and we will not be intimidated into making stupid decisions," he said. "We will give our best military advice and not keep the consequences to ourselves."General Milley, a gruff infantry officer educated at Princeton, became the Army's top officer in August 2015 after serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries.His nomination by Mr Trump last December, which came surprisingly early, defied the recommendation of then-Defence Secretary James Mattis, who had recommended the Air Force's top officer, General David Goldfein.It's not clear how Mr Trump, who appears to have gained confidence in his instincts on foreign policy as his presidency has gone on, would take to being challenged by General Milley.Mr Mattis, who during his initial period as Pentagon chief steered defence policy back towards traditional positions, resigned in December over Mr Trump's treatment of key allies.General Milley would take on new responsibilities for an institution experiencing intense leadership upheaval.This week, officials unveiled a plan for installing the Defence Department's third acting secretary this year, as federal personnel rules require acting defence secretary Mark Esper – who has been serving as General Milley's civilian counterpart leading the Army since 2017 – to step aside while SASC considers whether to confirm him for the top Pentagon job.Senate officials on Thursday said Mr Esper's confirmation hearing would take place on 16 July.Also this week, the man poised to become the Navy's top officer, Admiral William Moran, announced he would instead retire over his connection to a Navy officer accused of treating female personnel inappropriately.The president intends to announce Vice Admiral Mike Gilday, the director of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, as his next pick to lead the Navy, a senior US official said on Thursday. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.The nominee to become Joint Chiefs vice chairman, Air Force General John Hyten, faced questions about whether he will be confirmed following a revelation on Wednesday that he has been investigated for an alleged sexual assault.Military officials investigated and found no evidence of wrongdoing, but some lawmakers said on Thursday that they would like to hear more from the alleged victim, an army colonel who told The Washington Post that she is willing to testify.Finally, General David Berger took over as the new commandant of the Marine Corps on Thursday.Speaking during a brisk hearing in which no senator raised questions about his credentials, General Milley echoed other Pentagon leaders in affirming that China posed a threat to US military superiority.He said the international order that emerged after World War II was "under the most stress since the end of the Cold War"."From East Asia to the Middle East to Eastern Europe, authoritarian actors are testing the limits of the international system and seeking regional dominance, while challenging international norms and undermining US interests," he said.Much of General Milley's job as chairman will involve tending to America's military alliances as the president, who has espoused a transactional view of those relationships, questions their value.General Milley must also navigate his duty to execute the commander in chief's orders while mitigating the impact of internally unpopular decisions, such as the initiative to use military funds to pay for Mr Trump's border wall.Privately, senior officers have also voiced concern that the involvement of active duty troops in a mission designed to stem migration at the southern border will detract from the military's core mission.Responding to questions from Senator Mazie Hirono, General Milley said he would resign if he was asked to carry out an order that was "illegal, immoral or unethical".Amid recent tensions with Iran, General Milley said the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal had complicated Washington's ability to build a coalition to confront Tehran's steps to challenge US interests and allies in the region.He said he did not expect war with Iran.General Milley voiced support for the Pentagon's refusal to transfer advanced F-35 jets to Turkey, a Nato ally, if it acquires Russian-made S-400 air and missile defence systems."The S-400 is a Russian system built to shoot down aircraft like the F-35," he said.Mr Trump has called the S-400 issue "complicated" and said the US is "looking at different solutions".General Milley also said he would recommend deploying land-based missiles to the Pacific if the United States proceeds with its planned withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, a Cold War-era pact the Trump administration says Russia is violating.Washington Post
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| U.K. Needs Diplomat, Not Politician, as U.S. Envoy, Hammond Says Posted: 12 Jul 2019 03:38 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond added to the furor surrounding the resignation of Kim Darroch as British ambassador in Washington, calling for his successor to come from the U.K.'s "excellent" diplomatic service -- a rebuke to those calling for a political appointment.Though he declined to say if outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May should make the choice or leave it to her successor -- most likely Boris Johnson -- Hammond said the U.K. link with the U.S. is the "single most important diplomatic relationship we have" and the position shouldn't be left "unfilled.""We have excellent candidates in the diplomatic service," Hammond said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Friday. "There's a normal process that takes place when an ambassador retires or resigns to replace him or her with a new ambassador from within our own excellent diplomatic service. I very much hope that will happen in the case of Washington."Darroch resigned after a spat with Donald Trump over the leak of unflattering cables he sent about the U.S. president. The episode has dominated political debate in the U.K. and overshadowed the ongoing Conservative Party leadership contest to replace May. Front-runner Boris Johnson was blamed by his critics for undermining Darroch's position by refusing to pledge support to the diplomat.Much of the reaction has cleaved along partisan lines. Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, a close ally who Trump once said would make a "great" ambassador to the U.S., said Darroch was "totally unsuitable for the job." Other pro-Brexit critics of the outgoing envoy have called for the appointment of someone from outside the diplomatic service who shares their views on leaving the EU and the need for a U.K.-U.S. trade deal.'Political Football'Johnson's failure to defend Darroch in a televised debate Tuesday was a factor in the envoy's resignation, a Foreign Office official told Bloomberg. That was in stark contrast to Johnson's leadership rival, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who said Trump's outburst had been "disrespectful and wrong."Alan Duncan, a minister in the Foreign Office, said in the wake of the debate that Johnson had thrown Darroch "under a bus" by refusing to back him, but Johnson defended his comments late Thursday at a campaign event in Maidstone, southeast England."There has certainly been an attempt to politicize this issue and to take the career prospects of Sir Kim and turn them into an issue in the Conservative Party leadership contest," Johnson said. "I will stand up for our fantastic diplomats across the world, I just don't think that their careers should be used as political footballs."May's office has said Darroch's replacement will be announced in "due course."\--With assistance from Francine Lacqua.To contact the reporters on this story: Stuart Biggs in London at sbiggs3@bloomberg.net;Francine Lacqua in London at flacqua@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Alex MoralesFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UN 'alarmed' at death sentences given by Yemen rebel court Posted: 12 Jul 2019 03:30 AM PDT  The United Nations said Friday it was "alarmed" at death sentences given by a court run by Yemen's Huthi rebels to 30 academics, trade unionists and preachers for alleged spying. "The UN Human Rights Office has received credible information suggesting that many of those convicted were subjected to arbitrary or unlawful detention, as well as torture," rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters. The rights office urged the appeals court to consider "the serious allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, and of violations of the fair trial and due process rights of the convicted people," Shamdasani said.
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| U.S. Border Policy Becomes 2020 Dividing Line: Balance of Power Posted: 12 Jul 2019 03:29 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Want to receive this post in your inbox every day? Sign up for the Balance of Power newsletter, and follow Bloomberg Politics on Twitter and Facebook for more.When it comes to coping with the wave of migration at the southern U.S. border, Donald Trump and the Democrats trying to unseat him are squarely on opposite sides of the fence.Elizabeth Warren yesterday unveiled a plan to "decriminalize" immigration violations, in sharp contrast to Trump's hard-line stance.Warren rolled out her policy before a town hall in Wisconsin – a presidential battleground state – where the Massachusetts senator and several of her rivals for the Democratic nomination detailed their immigration visions to a Hispanic audience.With federal officials expected to launch immigration raids this weekend across the U.S., the Democratic candidates are striving to appeal to Hispanic voters and capitalize on opposition to the administration's approach, which resonates with Trump's base.Trump suffered a setback yesterday when he capitulated on his effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census that opponents said was meant to increase the political power of Republicans by skewing the survey's results to favor white voters. Undercounting non-citizens would dilute the political power of areas home to many such people, as the results of the once-a-decade questionnaire are used to re-draw congressional districts and allocate billions in federal funds.It's too soon to tell how much the border debate will determine whether Trump wins a second term. But, with both the president and his potential opponents hardening their positions, the outcome could have real consequences for those in the U.S. illegally.Global HeadlinesPollution push | German Chancellor Angela Merkel's plan to make it more costly to pollute will move forward today with new proposals for levies on the transport and heating industries. In France, President Emmanuel Macron's proposed bank to combat climate change won the endorsement of European Commission president-designate Ursula von der Leyen. The efforts coincide with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's focus on tackling climate change during her final weeks in power.Gulf tensions | Iran's decision to ramp up uranium enrichment is prompting debate over whether the U.S. should – or even can – invoke a penalty that negotiators built into the 2015 nuclear agreement: re-institution of international sanctions. Administration hard-liners are pushing that approach, even though the U.S. has abandoned the accord. Deeper sanctions would shred what's left of European Union-led efforts to keep the deal alive as tensions rise with Iran over recent incidents involving oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.Lock the vote | The Kremlin is considering changing parliamentary election rules to maintain the United Russia party's two-thirds constitutional majority, ahead of possible moves to extend President Vladimir Putin's grip on power after his term ends in 2024. As Ilya Arkhipov and Henry Meyer exclusively report, it may cut the share of seats won via party lists to 25% from half now, with the rest chosen in local districts. United Russia is so unpopular that many pro-Kremlin candidates prefer to run as nominal independents.'Nothing to lose' | Indonesian President Joko Widodo vowed to implement measures to attract foreign investment as he seeks to unleash the potential of Southeast Asia's biggest economy during his second term. Emboldened by a landslide election win in April, the president told Bloomberg he'd lower corporate taxes, ease stringent labor laws and lift curbs on foreign ownership. The country's economy grew about 5% in recent years, well short of the 7% Jokowi targeted ahead of his first term.Coup attempt | Sudan's security forces are on high alert after foiling a purported coup attempt, the latest upheaval to strike the North African nation since long-time dictator Omar al-Bashir was ousted in April. As Mohammed Alamin reports, the alleged bid to overthrow the military council will delay plans for a power-sharing deal with the main opposition group and threatens to extend months of bloody upheaval.What to WatchTurkey says it started receiving the first major cargo of a Russian missile-defense system that has drawn the threat of U.S. sanctions over its potential to undermine NATO's military capabilities. Trump is complaining that China hasn't made good on a promise to its U.S. agricultural purchases, raising questions about efforts to restart trade talks. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Congress should act this month to raise the debt ceiling, but it's not clear that a deal is possible before in that time frame. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is weighing the nomination of his lawmaker son Eduardo as ambassador to the U.S. as he seeks to strengthen ties with Trump.And finally... Governments across Asia are rejecting garbage imports, setting the stage for a bottleneck that will make it increasingly difficult for developed countries to export their unwanted refuse. Ann Koh and Anuradha Raghu take a closer look at new technologies and changes in social behaviors that companies and governments are testing to tackle a mountain of human-generated waste that's forecast to grow to 3.4 billion tons a year by 2050. \--With assistance from Anthony Halpin and Ruth Pollard.To contact the author of this story: Kathleen Hunter in London at khunter9@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Winfrey at mwinfrey@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Death Match: Can Russia's MiG-35 Really Take on America's F-35? Posted: 12 Jul 2019 03:14 AM PDT  A recent documentary from T24, a Russian state-funded television channel, sheds light on the MiG-35's capabilities while offering plenty of high-fidelity footage of the plane in action.With Russia's MiG-29 nearing the end of its shelf life as Russia's staple multirole fighter, the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) are taking an increasing interest in its successor: the MiG-35.For years, its manufacturer has marketed the MiG-35 as a "4++" fighter: "I would say that this is a new plane that surpasses our foreign competitors. In other words, this is a 4++ level plane," stated Mikoyan General Director Ilya Tarasenko in a recent interview.(This first appeared in May 2019.)Russian President Vladimir Putin echoed this sentiment at a Kremlin conference: "I note that the new multipurpose MiG-35 fighter has enhanced flight and technical characteristics and is equipped with the very latest weapons systems. You know this better than I. It can follow from 10 to 30 targets at once, and can operate over land or sea. This is a genuinely unique and promising aircraft, 4++, you could say, very close to being fifth generation."But what exactly does "4++" mean, and is the MiG-35 really a hair's breadth away from being considered a fifth-generation fighter?A recent documentary from T24, a Russian state-funded television channel, sheds light on the MiG-35's capabilities while offering plenty of high-fidelity footage of the plane in action.
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| Germany Inches Toward Carbon Tax With Merkel Panel Proposals Posted: 12 Jul 2019 03:10 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Germany took a step toward introducing a sweeping levy on carbon-dioxide emissions to help recover lost ground on its international climate pledges.A panel of government advisers appointed by Chancellor Angela Merkel recommended Germany either introduce a carbon-dioxide tax or extend the European Union's Emissions Trading System to include the transport and heating sectors. The government should also work toward a 2030 deadline to include all sectors of the economy in the ETS, where polluters have to purchase permits to pump out carbon dioxide.The panel recommended a carbon price of between 25 and 50 euros per ton under the trading system to discourage fossil-fuel use. Transport and heating account for about 40% of Germany's greenhouse-gas emissions but aren't yet covered by the EU's carbon market.Merkel has made it a priority this summer to get coalition backing for putting a price on the transport and heating industries. While Germany has cut emissions from power production, pollution from automobiles, trucks and aircraft remain stubbornly high."This moment offers the historic opportunity to transform the fragmented, expensive and inefficient German climate policy so that the price of CO2 is at the center," said Christoph Schmidt, chairman of Merkel's Council of Economic Experts.Merkel, who as environment minister in the 1990s sketched some of the first international climate deals organized by the United Nations, in 2007 pledged to slash emissions 40% by 2020 from 1990 levels. The country is set to miss the target, senior ministers have said.The chancellor faces a political tightrope walk to get the policy right. Polls and "Fridays for Future" demonstrations underline voters' impatience with slow progress in hitting climate pledges. At the same time, any move to put new fiscal burdens on fossil transport and heating fuels may come with a political price for Merkel.Her party of Christian Democrats faces three state elections from September in eastern German states where the populist Alternative for Deutschland party has made inroads and many thousands of people are employed at coal plants and mines. The AfD oppose Merkel's timetable to pull out of coal achieved by consensus earlier this year. And hiking fuel and heating costs just as the economy begins to wobble may draw a backlash from the wider electorate too.To contact the reporters on this story: William Wilkes in Frankfurt at wwilkes1@bloomberg.net;Brian Parkin in Berlin at bparkin@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net, Andrew Reierson, Rob VerdonckFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran orders 'foreign powers' to leave the Strait of Hormuz, and says the West is playing a 'dangerous game' over Gibraltar tanker seizure Posted: 12 Jul 2019 03:00 AM PDT  Iran has threatened to disrupt maritime traffic in the strait before. Doing so could decrease the world's oil supply and send prices shooting up.
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| The Queen Is the Reason Boris Johnson Would Struggle to Suspend Parliament Posted: 12 Jul 2019 02:52 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson is threatening to suspend Britain's Parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit if he becomes prime minister -- and some politicians are planning to fight him in court.But he would face a bigger problem: Queen Elizabeth II could stop him first.As the front-runner to succeed Theresa May later this month, Johnson has committed to take the U.K. out of the European Union on Oct. 31, without a deal if necessary. Fearing an economic crash if Britain leaves without an agreement, members of Parliament have pledged to stop him, by bringing down his government if necessary.In response, some Conservatives have called for the next prime minister -- whether it's the front-runner Johnson or his rival Jeremy Hunt -- to simply stop Parliament from sitting.But that's outraged other members of the party. Former prime minister John Major said it would be "utterly and totally unacceptable" and he'd take legal action to try to stop a successor suspending Parliament in that way.Royal PowersThe power to prorogue -- as it is formally called -- lies not with the prime minister but with the monarch. As with her other powers, it is usually deployed at the request of the prime minister. That's why some academics, such as Vernon Bogdanor of King's College London, think the Queen "would follow the advice of her prime minister."But others disagree."The question constitutional experts are all debating is whether the Palace could say 'No,'" said Catherine Haddon of the Institute for Government. "It's all something of a gray area in our system."One of the long-standing goals of both Buckingham Palace officials and government civil servants has been to keep the monarch out of any political controversy. "The Sovereign does not become publicly involved in the party politics of government," according to the Cabinet Manual, the government's official guide to the British constitution.Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington, May's de-facto deputy, has taken that to heart. "I do think it's a really important principle that senior elected politicians of all parties do their utmost to keep the sovereign out of politics," he told MPs. But he's unlikely to be part of a Johnson administration.Haddon said government aides would be likely to urge the prime minister not to put the monarch in a difficult situation by asking the question."A constitutional showdown between Parliament and the executive of the order of the Civil War is definitely something that the palace would prefer not to be dragged into," Haddon said. The 17th Century English Civil Wars followed from King Charles I's confrontations with Parliament and saw him executed.The palace will already have been in contact with civil servants to discuss the issue, according to royal biographer Hugo Vickers,. "It puts the Queen in an extremely difficult position," he said. "Probably a lot of advice has already been given, and she can ask for further advice."If the prime minister went ahead and asked the question anyway, the queen would still have options. The crucial constitutional point is that a prime minister is appointed, and entitled to advise the monarch, on the basis that they have the support of the House of Commons."If the request for prorogation is to dodge an impending vote of no confidence, then by definition that confidence is not assured," Robert Hazell and Meg Russell, of the University of London's Constitution Unit, wrote in a blog post. "Hence the Queen could reasonably ask the prime minister to reconsider, or to withdraw the request."Or she could stall, by saying she needs the advice of the Privy Council, the ceremonial body made up of current and former ministers. That might well give a Parliament that was trying to challenge the prime minister the time it needed to render the question of prorogation irrelevant.On Thursday, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss, a prominent supporter of Johnson's leadership campaign, said proroguing should remain as a possibility."It's not something that I would like to see but I think it's very important not to box off options," Truss told reporters. "At this stage of negotiations it's vital not to close off any avenues."In contrast, Hunt said he wouldn't countenance the possibility. "It would be a rather curious thing to do if this is about taking back control for Parliament to actually shut it down," Hunt said in a TV debate on Tuesday evening.\--With assistance from Jessica Shankleman and Stuart Biggs.To contact the reporters on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net;Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Philip Hammond Backs Legal Action to Stop U.K. PM Suspending Parliament Posted: 12 Jul 2019 02:42 AM PDT ![Philip Hammond Backs Legal Action to Stop U.K. PM Suspending Parliament]( "Philip Hammond Backs Legal Action to Stop U.K. PM Suspending Parliament") (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said he would back a legal challenge against the government if the new prime minister tried to suspend Parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit.Boris Johnson, the favorite to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May this month, has refused to rule out proroguing -- or suspending -- Parliament to fulfill his pledge to leave the European Union on Oct. 31. Though Johnson has said he's "not remotely attracted to the idea," he's keeping his options open.Such a move would provoke a constitutional crisis because Parliament is "dead-set against" a no-deal Brexit, Hammond said on Bloomberg TV on Friday. "If anybody were to attempt to shut down Parliament in order to carry out a course of action which Parliament is known to oppose, that would be very serious indeed," he said.Hammond said he "strongly supports" the position of former Conservative Prime Minister John Major, who said this week he would be prepared to take the government to court if the new premier tried to suspend the legislature. Members of Parliament also voted this week in favor of a plan to prevent prorogation -- the latest attempt to block a no-deal Brexit."If we aren't able to prevent that course of action through Parliament, then certainly there will be resort to the courts," Hammond said.On Thursday, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss -- a loyal supporter of Johnson -- said prorogation should remain an option, and told Major to stop being "a back-seat driver."In the Bloomberg TV interview, Hammond refused to say if he would support a vote of no confidence in the government if it was the last resort to stop a no-deal Brexit, calling it a hypothetical question. He said that while the chance of the U.K. leaving the European Union without an agreement "is not negligible," he still sees a negotiated exit as the "most likely outcome."To contact the reporters on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net;Francine Lacqua in London at flacqua@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Emma Ross-ThomasFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| US calls off speech by former Hong Kong envoy amid fear of derailing trade talks Posted: 12 Jul 2019 02:30 AM PDT  A scheduled speech at a Washington think tank by the former United States general consul to Hong Kong has been postponed on the orders of the US State Department, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.Kurt Tong, who retired as Washington's envoy to Hong Kong and Macau last week, was to deliver a keynote speech on Wednesday at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to address Hong Kong's relationship with China and comment on the direction of US economic policy in the region.The State Department's directive follows a string of similar moves by the US administration to dampen or put off public remarks by officials that could anger the Chinese government and derail US-China trade talks that restarted in late June.During his three-year tenure, Tong on numerous occasions publicly warned that Hong Kong's autonomy was increasingly at risk of being eroded under the "one country, two systems" framework, a position that put him at loggerheads with Beijing.More recently, he had expressed his concern about the impact on Hong Kong's "political fabric" of proposed amendments to the city's extradition laws, which would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to mainland China.Weeks of protest over the proposed changes have rocked Hong Kong and forced the city's government to back down on its plan, with chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor this week announcing the bill was "dead".The remarks by Lam, who stopped short of declaring the amendment officially withdrawn, have not assuaged the concerns of her detractors in Hong Kong, who insist she resign and who view the saga as a sign of Beijing's broader encroachment on the city's autonomy.The State Department's decision to eliminate any chance of Tong uttering potentially inflammatory remarks on the Hong Kong-Beijing relationship came following a similar gag order it issued during his last week in office.Citing several people familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that the department vetoed a strongly worded speech scheduled for July 2, a decision arising from a concern that the castigation of Beijing could put the ongoing trade talks into jeopardy.Hong Kong media boss and democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai meets US Vice-President Mike Pence in the White House on Monday. The parley on Hong Kong's extradition bill and the wider issue of the city's autonomy has irked Beijing. Photo: Mark Simon alt=Hong Kong media boss and democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai meets US Vice-President Mike Pence in the White House on Monday. The parley on Hong Kong's extradition bill and the wider issue of the city's autonomy has irked Beijing. Photo: Mark SimonIn June, the White House indefinitely delayed a talk by Vice-President Mike Pence in which he was expected to slam China over its human rights record and infringement on religious freedoms, citing "progress in conversations between President Trump and [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping]".In the weeks since, however, Pence has met with Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai to discuss the extradition bill and the wider status of the city's autonomy, much to Beijing's ire.The Chinese government routinely condemns such meetings as efforts by foreign governments to interfere in China's "internal affairs".Separately, the State Department has also expressed "grave concern" over the extradition bill issue, while Trump said he raised the subject with Xi during their June 29 meeting in Osaka, Japan.Kurt Tong with Hong Kong's chief secretary for administration, Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at a ceremony marking the 243rd anniversary of US independence on July 4 at the Ocean Park Marriott Hotel in Aberdeen. Photo: Tory Ho alt=Kurt Tong with Hong Kong's chief secretary for administration, Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at a ceremony marking the 243rd anniversary of US independence on July 4 at the Ocean Park Marriott Hotel in Aberdeen. Photo: Tory HoThe US leader had previously declined to weigh in on the matter, expressing hope that Beijing and Hong Kong would be able to "work it out".The State Department did not respond to a request for an explanation of its decision to postpone Tong's Wednesday speech.Tong, who is entering the private sector after almost 30 years as a diplomat, will be succeeded in Hong Kong by Hanscom Smith, a career foreign service official who most recently served in the State Department's office for Chinese and Mongolian affairs.This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2019 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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