| 150 migrants feared dead after boats capsize off Libya coast Posted: 25 Jul 2019 12:03 PM PDT |
| Senators advance bill to punish, sanction Saudi Arabia Posted: 25 Jul 2019 11:50 AM PDT |
| Woman shoots 2 Israeli men to death at Mexico shopping mall Posted: 25 Jul 2019 11:16 AM PDT  A woman wearing a blond wig disguise shot to death two Israeli men at a restaurant in an upscale Mexico City shopping mall, and authorities said Thursday they were investigating links to organized crime. Ulises Lara, spokesman for the city prosecutor's office, said a total of four suspects were involved in the either the killing, logistics or getaway.
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| Iran poses first big test for 'British Trump' Johnson Posted: 25 Jul 2019 11:03 AM PDT  Iran's detention of a UK-flagged tanker presents new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson with an early leadership test -- does he side with the US "maximum pressure" campaign against the Islamic republic or back EU efforts to salvage its nuclear pact. Which way Johnson leans could set the tone for a complex agenda that includes withdrawing from the European Union and establishing much closer trade relations with the United States. Some US commentators even see this is a make-or-break moment that might vindicate President Donald Trump's decision to abandon the Iran nuclear deal and seek one curbing Tehran's broader activities in the Middle East as a whole.
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| We’re Getting an Idea of Boris Johnson’s Plan A: Deal, Then Election Posted: 25 Jul 2019 10:27 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson hasn't given much information about his Brexit plans B, C or D, but his statement to Parliament on Thursday gives us an idea of his Plan A:Prepare Britain for No Deal. Posters, TV ads, roads widened and infrastructure installed. The message: "Britain Can Take It"Tell the EU it can either give way, or take its share of the economic hit from a no-deal split. Secure enough concessions to go back to ParliamentGet the deal through Parliament. Britain leaves the EU. Can-do spirit and pluck have won the dayCall an election. Probably around March 2020, because parties don't like campaigning in the winter. Johnson needs a majority in Parliament to do any of the things he wants to do, and this would be his moment of maximum strengthThat's if everything goes well. If things go badly and he can't get enough concessions to satisfy Parliament, the election might be sooner.To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Ukraine seizes Russian tanker in Black Sea in retaliation move Posted: 25 Jul 2019 10:15 AM PDT  Ukraine has seized a Russian tanker it said was involved in the capture of three Ukrainian ships and their crews near annexed Crimea last year. The incident could complicate president Volodymyr Zelenskiy's attempts at a more workable relationship with Russia and discussions of a prisoner exchange between the two countries. The 10 Russians on board the the Nika Spirit, previously known as the NEYMA, were questioned by Ukraine's security service before being released. The Russian foreign ministry had previously said it would be "a gross violation of international law" if Russians were "taken hostage" in the incident, promising that "consequences will not be long coming". The security service said the tanker had blocked the passage under the bridge between mainland Russia and Crimea in November when Russian ships fired upon and boarded three Ukrainian navy ships attempting to go through. The incident sparked a military standoff and cemented Moscow's control of the Sea of Azov, which is enclosed by Crimea, Ukraine and Russia. The 24 sailors on the ships were jailed in Moscow and are being tried on charges of illegally crossing the border. Security agents, prosecutors and border guards raided the Nika Spirit in the port of Izmail near Odessa, where it had gone for repairs, and would confiscate it as evidence in a criminal case, the security service said. The vessel had changed its name to "hide its involvement in illegal activities and an act of aggression," it claimed. Video showed camouflaged security service agents approaching the tanker in a speedboat, climbing the gangplank and demanding documents from the captain in the wheelhouse. Ukrainian media reported that it had later been discovered that the crew of the vessel had changed since November. Russia's human rights ombudswoman said on Thursday evening 10 crew members were on a bus to neighbouring Moldova, from where they would fly back to Russia. It had previously been reported that 15 were on board. Russian senator Konstantin Kosachyov said if Mr Zelensky had approved the operation, then he was "continuing the provocation" started by his predecessor Petro Poroshenko in November. If he hadn't, then Mr Zelenskiy had shown himself to be "merely an instrument in the hands of Ukrainian security forces," he claimed. Lawmaker Vladimir Dzhabarov said Ukraine's actions were as "absolutely illegal" and harmful to relations. A Russian firm that previously owned the vessel claimed that it had not been in operation in 2018. Mr Zelenskiy and Mr Putin spoke by phone for the first time this month, discussing the possibility of a prisoner exchange. Ukraine's ombudswoman said negotiations for the release of the 24 sailors had intensified, and some Ukrainian officials have erroneously claimed that an agreement had been reached. The Kremlin has said the sailors must face trial. More than 10,000 people have been killed in the simmering conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine that kicked off after the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
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| Tunisian president Essebsi dies at 92; interim leader put in Posted: 25 Jul 2019 12:08 PM PDT  Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, the North African country's first democratically elected leader and a symbol of the generation of Tunisians who shook off French rule in the 1950s, died Thursday. In a hasty ceremony hours after Essebsi died at a military hospital in Tunis, the leader of parliament took over as interim president. The government declared seven days of mourning, as condolences poured in from several Arab countries and the United Nations, A funeral is planned for Saturday.
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| Brazil Court Orders Petrobras to Fuel Stranded Iranian Ships Posted: 25 Jul 2019 09:18 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- A Brazilian top court justice ordered Petroleo Brasileiro SA to refuel two Iranian ships stranded off the country's cost after the state-controlled oil company refused to do so for fear of U.S. sanctions.Petrobras, as the Rio de Janeiro-based oil giant is known, will comply with the decision, a person close to the company said. The producer has said it may face "significant losses" if included under U.S. sanctions. A spokesman for Justice Dias Toffoli, who ruled on the matter, declined to comment because the case was filed under seal.The two ships have been floating since early June off the port of Paranagua, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of Sao Paulo, one of them loaded with corn bound to Iran. The Islamic republic, which buys one third of all of Brazil's corn exports, had threatened to cut its imports from the country unless the ships were refueled.While Brazil has a long history of good relations with Tehran, President Jair Bolsonaro's commitment to ripping up the country's traditional foreign policy to side with U.S. President Donald Trump has put those ties in doubt. On Sunday, Bolsonaro told reporters Brazil was "aligned" with the U.S. policies, including on Iran.Iran and the U.S. have been at loggerheads since last year, when Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 nuclear agreement with the Islamic republic, calling it the "worst deal ever." The fate of the vessels is the latest evidence of how the Trump administration's policies are affecting other countries and rattling commodities markets across the globe.Brazil's detachment from Middle Eastern countries is not beneficial for its exports, and the South American nation should try to reconnect with them, said Ali Ahmad Saifi, executive director at CDIAL Halal, a company that accounts for about 60% of all the chicken that's certified in the country in accordance to Islamic law."Brazil has the opportunity to keep great relationships with everyone. We don't need to import foreign problems," Saifi said. "Arab countries are important to Brazil's exports; it's important to have a great relationship with them."The Middle East imported around $9.7 billion in Brazilian products past year, according to Brazil's trade ministry figures. Agriculture goods accounted for more than 70% of the total. Main exports to thee region include chicken meat, totaling $2 billion last year, followed by sugar, corn, iron ore, beef and soy products.Brazil's government is planning to visit the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and possibly Qatar in October.(Updates with comments by Halal certifier in sixth paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Sabrina Valle in Rio de Janeiro at svalle@bloomberg.net;Tatiana Freitas in São Paulo at tfreitas4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, ;Tina Davis at tinadavis@bloomberg.net, Walter BrandimarteFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Senate Panel Advances Bill to Punish Saudis for Khashoggi’s Death Posted: 25 Jul 2019 09:16 AM PDT ![Senate Panel Advances Bill to Punish Saudis for Khashoggi's Death]( "Senate Panel Advances Bill to Punish Saudis for Khashoggi's Death") (Bloomberg) -- A Senate committee advanced a bill to punish Saudi Arabia for the killing of columnist Jamal Khashoggi, setting up a confrontation with President Donald Trump, who has been pushing for a more measured action to preserve the longstanding alliance.The bill, sponsored by Senator Bob Menendez, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, would suspend arms sales to the kingdom and impose sanctions on those found responsible for the Khashoggi murder, potentially including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It was approved 13-9.The measure was co-sponsored by Republican Senators Todd Young, Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins.The committee votes came a day after Trump vetoed three resolutions passed by Congress to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Trump has sought to maintain a close relationship with the kingdom, which his administration has described as an important partner to help counter Iran's influence in the region.Menendez's measure replaced a proposal from Committee Chairman Jim Risch, prepared in consultation with the White House, which would restrict U.S. visas for members of the kingdom's royal family but not the crown prince or the Saudi ambassador. The measure also had bipartisan support, with two Democratic co-sponsors.Risch has said he is "not interested" in passing legislation that wouldn't be signed into law by the president. The committee chairman argues that restricting travel to the U.S., a high priority for many wealthy Saudis, is the best way to pressure the crown prince to change his behavior.In a surprise move, Risch pulled his bill from consideration after the committee amended it to include Menendez's bill, which Risch said would prevent it from being signed by the president.The House passed a bill earlier this month that would require intelligence officials to report to Congress detailing evidence of who was responsible for killing Khashoggi, including any current or former Saudi officials. The measure, passed 405-7, would require the administration to impose sanctions and deny U.S. visas to sanctioned individuals seeking to enter the country.Trump said in November that the U.S. may "never know all of the facts" in the killing of Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned critic."Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn't!" Trump said at the time.To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Flatley in Washington at dflatley1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, Anna EdgertonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| US sanctions Venezuela emergency food 'corruption network' Posted: 25 Jul 2019 08:59 AM PDT  The US Treasury Department on Thursday announced sanctions against three of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's stepsons, a Colombian businessman and six others for running a "corruption network" that profited from emergency food imports. The US has in recent months escalated sanctions against Venezuela, which is struggling with a political and economic crisis that the United Nations says has left a quarter of its 30 million people in need of humanitarian aid. The new restrictions target Maduro's stepsons Walter Jacob Gavidia Flores, Yosser Daniel Gavidia and Yoswal Alexander Gavidia Flores, whom the US says collaborated with Colombian businessman Alex Nain Saab Moran to profit off importing emergency food into the country as it struggled with rising malnutrition.
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| Activists say 10 killed in bombing of Syria rebel stronghold Posted: 25 Jul 2019 08:52 AM PDT |
| No-Deal Brexit Risk Grows After EU Rejects Boris Johnson’s Demands Posted: 25 Jul 2019 08:36 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson pledged to "turbo-charge" preparations for a no-deal Brexit and hinted he's mulling an election, as Britain's new leader gambled on taking the hardest line he can with the European Union.Making his first appearance in Parliament as prime minister, Johnson said he was happy to talk to the EU and would prefer an orderly divorce with a deal. But he warned that any chance of reaching an agreement hinges on the bloc abandoning its guarantee for the Irish border, something Brussels immediately rejected.If neither side backs down, Britain will be on course to drop out of the EU on the exit day deadline of Oct. 31 with no deal in place to cushion the blow to the economy from disrupted trade.While Britain is "better prepared" than critics say, there is much more to be done, the premier argued."In the 98 days that remain to us we must turbo-charge our preparations to make sure that there is as little disruption as possible to our national life," he said. "I believe that is possible with the kind of national effort that the British people have made before and will make again."Welcome to Number 10, Boris Johnson. You Have Some Work to DoThat talk of "national effort" seemed to be an attempt to channel Johnson's hero Winston Churchill. The martial language continued, as the prime minister said he wanted to "mobilize" government staff to prepare. The work is to be the "top priority" of Michael Gove, and new Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid will deliver "all necessary funding."Johnson's office pledged a public information campaign to help prepare the nation for the possibility of a no-deal departure, which risks delays at ports, shortages of essential supplies including medicines, and difficulties with cross-border transactions, and could trigger a recession."I would prefer us to leave the EU with a deal," Johnson said. "We will throw ourselves into these negotiations with the greatest energy and determination and in the spirit of friendship."But he said the EU would have to "rethink their current refusal" to reopen talks on the agreement that May reached, and that Parliament has rejected three times.Boris Johnson Has Put the Old Brexit Gang Back Together AgainThe prime minister appeared to rule out minor cosmetic changes. "A time limit is not enough," he said. "If an agreement is to be reached it must be clearly understood that the way to the deal goes by way of the abolition of the backstop."The so-called backstop guarantee is a part of the Brexit deal that Theresa May negotiated with the EU last year, designed to ensure there is no need for checks on goods crossing the Irish land border with the U.K. Johnson and his pro-Brexit allies argue the backstop traps Britain indefinitely in the EU's customs rules, negating the point of leaving the bloc. The EU says it's vital to avoid the return to checkpoints on the border that could undermine the peace on the island of Ireland.The EU hit back at Johnson. The bloc's chief EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier sent a strongly worded email to European diplomats, describing Johnson's appearance in the Commons as "combative" and saying the demand to eliminate backstop was "unacceptable." Johnson's office said the U.K.'s new strategy is at a very early stage. The premier aims to speak to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker by phone on Thursday. The RebelsYet Johnson faces obstacles to forcing through a no-deal split. Members of Parliament opposed to leaving without an agreement say they have the votes in the Commons to stop it. That seems likelier after Johnson fired more than half of May's cabinet -- these former ministers could feel liberated to rebel against him.Johnson could be forced to call an election to break the deadlock and his allies have been weighing up their options for an early poll. On Thursday, he further fuelled speculation of a snap vote.He delivered his attack lines against the opposition Labour Party with more vigor than he'd had for his own statement. And then later he dropped another hint that his mind is on an election, either before or after Brexit.During the debate, Johnson told the Scottish National Party's Ian Blackford that his policies were "not the basis on which to seek election" in Scotland. "We will win on a manifesto for the whole U.K," the prime minister added.The comment suggested Johnson sees delivering Brexit as the first step towards calling an election, with the goal of getting his own mandate and winning an outright majority in parliament, which he currently lacks. If things don't go as he hopes, he might have to bring that plan forward.\--With assistance from Nikos Chrysoloras.To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Caroline AlexanderFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Brazil judge orders Petrobras to refuel Iran ships: source Posted: 25 Jul 2019 08:35 AM PDT  Brasília (AFP) - A Supreme Court judge on Thursday ordered Brazil's state oil giant Petrobras to refuel two Iranian ships stranded off the country's coast, a source involved in the dispute and a report said. The order came after Iran's top envoy to Brazil told Bloomberg that Tehran could suspend imports from the Latin American country if the issue was not resolved. Petrobras has refused to provide fuel to the vessels, which have been stuck at Paranagua port in the southern state of Parana since early last month, for fear of breaching US sanctions.
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| Petrobras to supply fuel to Iranian ships: Brazil top court Posted: 25 Jul 2019 08:28 AM PDT |
| Former PM Barak, others join forces before Israeli elections Posted: 25 Jul 2019 08:14 AM PDT |
| Up to 150 migrants feared dead after boats capsize near Libya Posted: 25 Jul 2019 08:14 AM PDT  Up to 150 Europe-bound migrants were missing and feared drowned on Thursday after the boats they were traveling in capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya, the coastguard and U.N. refugee agency said. Ayoub Gassim, a spokesman for Libya's coastguard, said that two boats carrying around 300 migrants capsized east of the capital, Tripoli. Around 137 migrants were rescued and returned to Libya, he said, and the coastguard has recovered just one body so far. Charlie Yaxley, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency, said they estimate "that 150 migrants are potentially missing and died at sea." After the uprising that toppled and killed Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya became a major conduit for African migrants and refugees seeking a better life in Europe. Traffickers and armed groups have exploited Libya's chaos since his overthrow, and have been implicated in widespread abuses against migrants, including torture and abduction for ransom. Earlier this week, the Libyan coastguard intercepted around three dozen migrants off the coast and took them to a detention center near Tripoli where an airstrike killed more than 50 people earlier this month. Over 200 detainees are still being held at the Tajoura detention center, near the front lines of fighting between rival Libyan factions. The U.N. has expressed concern for their safety. In recent years the European Union has partnered with the coastguard and other Libyan forces to try and prevent migrants from making the dangerous journey by sea to Europe. Rights groups say those efforts have left migrants at the mercy of brutal armed groups or confined in squalid detention centers that lack adequate food and water. The U.N. refugee agency says 164 migrants have died traveling from Libya to Europe since the start of the year, fewer than in previous years. But the U.N. says the journey is becoming more dangerous for those who attempt it, with one in four perishing at sea before reaching Europe.
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| Almost 700 summary executions in DR Congo in six months: UN Posted: 25 Jul 2019 08:12 AM PDT  Nearly 700 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo were victims of summary and extrajudicial executions this year, with a third carried out by security forces, the United Nations reported on Thursday. In the six months between January and June, which followed a momentous presidential election in December, security and law enforcement officials were responsible for at least 245 extrajudicial killings and armed groups carried out at least 418 summary executions, according to a UN half-year report from its joint office for Human Rights (UNJHRO). The organisation documented 3,039 human rights violations and abuses throughout the DRC, down from 3,324 in the same period last year, said Abdul Aziz Thioye, director of the UN Human Rights Office in the DRC.
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| ‘A level of chaos not seen in Britain since the war’: US TV presenter delivers devastating assessment of Boris Johnson Posted: 25 Jul 2019 07:39 AM PDT  A leading US television news host has delivered a brutal assessment of the new prime minister Boris Johnson, saying Britain now faces a "level of chaos … not seen since World War II."Lawrence O'Donnell, host of the MSNBC network's The Last Word, could barely contain his astonishment at the "crazy" process that allowed the Tory MP to take power after "just over one-tenth of one per cent of the British population" voted in the leadership contest.The veteran anchor attacked Mr Johnson for offering "impossible" promises and said he was someone who did not "distinguish between fact and fiction".Explaining the prime minister's Brexit strategy to US viewers, he said: "Boris Johnson says he will simple lead the United Kingdom out of the European Union without any exit deal at all, which would instantaneously bring a level of chaos to Britain not seen since World War II."British viewers who shared the clip on social media expressed their surprise at such honesty. "Quite remarkable views of our new PM from American news media," wrote one."If you think the [US] electoral college is crazy, the United Kingdom has just outdone it," said Mr O'Donnell at the beginning of his segment."Boris Johnson just become the British prime minister without even having an election," he added, describing the leadership contest – which allowed teenagers as young as 15 to take part – as a "private vote" of Tory party members."Voters included children, because there are no real laws about this kind of private voting within a party, and the voters were obviously dominated by people who, like Boris Johnson, do not distinguish between fact and fiction."Referring to the "gloom" greeting Mr Johnson's arrival at No 10, he added: "No British prime minister has even been more unpopular on his very first day in office than Boris Johnson."Like his predecessor Boris Johnson is promising to do the impossible and negotiate a new exit deal with the European Union, but unlike his predecessor he is also promising to do the impossible when he fails to negotiate a new exit deal."Comparing Mr Johnson to Donald Trump, Mr O'Donnell's guest Brian Klaas, a political scientist and columnist, said there was "disbelief" in London at Mr Johnson's arrival at No 10."You now have on both sides of the Atlantic a narcissistic, serial liar who has larger than life hair, who was born in New York [and] who has made racist statements," he said.
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| Brexit Hardliner Rees-Mogg Quits His Investment Firm for Cabinet Posted: 25 Jul 2019 07:35 AM PDT ![Brexit Hardliner Rees-Mogg Quits His Investment Firm for Cabinet]( "Brexit Hardliner Rees-Mogg Quits His Investment Firm for Cabinet") (Bloomberg) -- Jacob Rees-Mogg, an influential Brexit backer in the U.K. Parliament, left the investment firm he co-founded in 2007 to assume a role in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's cabinet.He stepped down from Somerset Capital Management in accordance with the rules for cabinet ministers, according to a statement on Thursday. Rees-Mogg was elected to Parliament in 2010, after which he stepped back from the running of the firm, serving as an adviser.Rees-Mogg, 50, was appointed leader of the House of Commons, moving from the back benches to a senior role for the first time. He has long been a staunch supporter of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, and backed Johnson's leadership bid.Somerset Capital is an asset manager focused on emerging markets, and has about $7 billion of assets under management, according to its website.To contact the reporter on this story: Lucca de Paoli in London at gdepaoli1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shelley Robinson at ssmith118@bloomberg.net, Patrick Henry, Ross LarsenFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Germany Not in Crisis Nor Mulling Stimulus, Finance Chief Says Posted: 25 Jul 2019 07:31 AM PDT ![Germany Not in Crisis Nor Mulling Stimulus, Finance Chief Says]( "Germany Not in Crisis Nor Mulling Stimulus, Finance Chief Says") (Bloomberg) -- German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz brushed off warning signals for Europe's largest economy, saying the government has no concrete plans to spur economic growth.The German Social Democrat, who is Chancellor Angela Merkel's deputy in cabinet, said resolving "man-made" crises such as trade tensions and a potentially hard Brexit would help boost growth rates as early as the end of this year."We are not in a situation that makes it necessary or wise to act as if we were in a crisis, we are not," Scholz said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Berlin on Thursday.Scholz spoke moments after the European Central Bank offered its strongest-yet signal that monetary support for the euro-area economy will be scaled up after the summer break. The business outlook for German companies tumbled to the lowest level in a decade as the Bundesbank said Europe's largest economy shrank in the second quarter, adding to signs that Germany may be staggering toward a recession.ECB President Mario Draghi said manufacturing in Germany and other parts of Europe is sustaining an "idiosyncratic shock" and may need government spending to lift it out of its malaise. Draghi noted the limits to monetary policy's impact."If there were to be a significant worsening in the eurozone economy, it's unquestionable that fiscal policy -- a significant fiscal policy, mostly in some countries but also at the euro-area level -- becomes of the essence," Draghi told reporters in Frankfurt. Should monetary policy not have traction, government fiscal policy "will become of the essence."But economists expecting any stimulus from the German government will have to rethink, as Scholz signaled there was nothing in the pipeline. Existing middle-class tax cuts and infrastructure spending being implemented by Merkel's coalition are doing their job, Scholz said, scoffing at any additional stimulus."This is not a wise idea," he said, citing high employment and public investment as well as labor shortages in parts of the German work force. Increased spending would rather lead to rising prices rather than bolstering economic growth, Scholz said.Seething trade tensions between the U.S. under President Donald Trump and China is weighing on exports, with auto manufacturers struggling to cope with adjustments in the industry. The Rhine river, one of Germany's main transport arteries, saw water levels running precariously low, threatening a similar disruption of supply lines that occurred last year.An Ifo gauge of business expectations fell to 92.2 points in July, the lowest level since 2009. Firms' assessment of current conditions also declined, leaving a composite index at 95.7, below even the most pessimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists."It is clear that the Eurozone is in need of some form of support," Oliver Blackbourn, a portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors, wrote in a note to clients. "Broad fiscal support still seems highly doubtful but more and more extreme monetary policy alone is not the answer."(Updates with Draghi, analyst comments from fifth paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Patrick Donahue in Berlin at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net;Matthew Miller in Berlin at mtmiller@bloomberg.net;Arne Delfs in Berlin at adelfs@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Raymond ColittFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| US blocks UN vote to condemn Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes Posted: 25 Jul 2019 07:18 AM PDT  The United States blocked an attempt to get the United Nations Security Council to condemn Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes on the outskirts of Jerusalem, diplomats said.Citing 17 Palestinians who would be displaced by the destruction, UN officials had called on Israel to halt the plans. But Israel continued, saying the 10 apartment buildings it demolished on Monday had been built illegally, and posed a threat to Israeli armed forces along the occupied West Bank. Most of the homes were still under construction. On Tuesday, Kuwait, Indonesia, and South Africa circulated a five-paragraph draft statement to the 15-member Security Council expressing concern. The document, seen by Reuters, warned that the demolition "undermines the viability of the two-state solution and the prospect for just and lasting peace."The US told its counterparts that would not support the text, diplomats said. The country also rejected a revised three-paragraph draft statement. Back home, the US House of Representatives voted to condemn the growing boycott movement against Israel on Tuesday, following a similar bill passed by the Senate. Freshman congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib both voiced concern for the vote. Representative Tlaib, the first Palestinian American woman in congress, gave a speech on the House floor the morning of the vote about her personal experience."I stand before you the daughter of Palestinian immigrants," she said. "Parents who experienced being stripped of their human rights, the right to freedom of travel, equal treatment. So I can't stand by and watch this attack on our freedom of speech and the right to boycott the racist policies of the government and the state of Israel. I love our country's freedom of speech, Madam Speaker. Dissent is how we nurture democracy."Still, the bill passed with only seventeen members voting no, including fellow "Squad" member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Representative Ayanna Pressley, the fourth member of the group of freshmen women who recently faced virulent attacks from the president and his supporters, voted yes.The future of Jerusalem, which is home to over 500,000 Israelis and 300,000 Palestinians, is a longstanding international debate. Palestinians want a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with east Jerusalem as the capital, all territory captured by Israel in 1967. Allies on both sides have been fierce with both support and detraction.Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt and senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner have spent two years developing a peace plan they hope will provide a framework for renewed talks between the groups. The role of Mr Kushner, whose background is mostly in real estate, in the complicated diplomatic situation has been questioned.
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| For an early win on global trade, Boris Johnson should look no further than Donald Trump Posted: 25 Jul 2019 06:40 AM PDT  It's official – the Johnson administration says it is committed to securing a global, outward-looking Brexit. But of course, saying something is not the same as delivering it. There are reasons to be optimistic. On the steps outside Downing Street, in the speech that laid out his vision for his premiership, the new Prime Minister paid lip service to the benefits of free trade, which, as he accurately noted, "has done more than anything else to lift billions out of poverty." "Let's start now on those free trade deals," he proclaimed. And it seems he has appointed the right people to do so. The newly appointed International Trade Secretary Liz Truss is one of the most vocal supporters of the global Britain vision; she has the economic savvy to recognise that tariffs are taxes on your own consumers, and a strong belief in the role of the market to help secure peace and prosperity, not just in the UK, but with the countries we trade with as well. The right puzzle pieces are falling into place – but what will the complete picture actually look like? Deal or no deal, free trade agreements outside of the EU are a key ingredient of Britain's success post-Brexit. And there are already offers on the table. Ministers have held informal talks on joining the Trans Pacific-Partnership (TPP), a free trade bloc which includes 11 countries bordering the Pacific Ocean. With terms and conditions already in place, this is an easy win for Britain to secure a free trading future with major world players including Australia, Japan and Mexico. Trade | Read more from The Telegraph The post-Brexit free trade agreement signed with South Korea last month offers new opportunities to the UK as well; not simply better trade with South Korea specifically, but the ability to use the agreement as a blueprint deal, which can be brought to other countries of similar size or similar relationship to Britain, cutting down the timeline of the negotiating process. But vitally, the UK needs to look to its greatest ally, the United States, to formally expand the Special Relationship beyond our historical and social ties, and affirm our economic ties as well. Now more than ever, both countries (and leaders) are in a unique position in which securing a bilateral trade deal would be of huge value to both countries at the same time. The Oval Office is currently occupied by a trade protectionist, who interprets trade deficits as a loss for American citizens, rather than a win for those in the market for cheaper, more varied goods. As Donald Trump escalates trade tensions with China, and even hits out at the European Union, he will be in the market for a symbol of good foreign relations and to show some indication of being open to parts of the world. Meanwhile Prime Minister Johnson – who campaigned hard to leave the European Union, with the promise that Britain would be more prosperous stepping out onto the global stage alone – will be looking for a big, early win on the trade front, to prove that the messaging of Brexiteers can translate into results. While there are areas like health and agriculture that will prove more sensitive in the discussions, most goods should prove much easier to find mutual ground on, securing at least a bare bones trade deal, if not a comprehensive package. Both of these outcomes could give a meaningful boost to growth, and improve the quality of life for consumers on both sides of the pond. Many like to compare Johnson to Trump. Outside of their birthplace and truly extraordinary haircuts, I think it is often a reach to bill the two as a like-for-like pairing. But on the topic of trade, for very different reasons, they come to the same conclusion. If the UK trade team can pick up the pace, there are serious opportunities to be gleaned in (what Johnson promises to be) a few months' time. The UK appears ready to get started, and may finally have the political will to get going. Kate Andrews is associate director at the Institute of Economic Affairs
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| Britain's Johnson rejects 'unacceptable' Brexit deal Posted: 25 Jul 2019 04:48 AM PDT  Britain's new Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday called the current Brexit deal negotiated with the EU "unacceptable" and set preparations for leaving the bloc without an agreement as a "top priority" for the government. In a pugnacious debut in parliament, the former London mayor urged EU leaders to rethink their opposition to renegotiating the deal. After installing a right-wing government following a radical overhaul, Johnson doubled down on his promise to lead Britain out of the EU by October 31 at any cost.
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| Female bomber in Mogadishu mayor's office targeted UN envoy Posted: 25 Jul 2019 04:46 AM PDT  A rare female suicide bomber used in the deadly al-Shabab attack in the office of Mogadishu's mayor was aiming for the American who is the new United Nations envoy to Somalia and had left the office just minutes earlier, the extremist group and officials said. The death toll in Wednesday's attack rose to seven and the seriously wounded Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman was in a coma on Thursday. The new U.N. envoy, James Swan, was the bomber's intended target, Abdiaziz Abu Musab, al-Shabab's military spokesman, told local media.
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| Johnson Will `Turbo Charge' No-Deal Preparations: Brexit Update Posted: 25 Jul 2019 04:47 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson stressed his "absolute commitment" to leaving the EU on Oct. 31 and said he would "turbo-charge" preparations for a no-deal divorce as he set out his priorities for government. He made the pledges in a speech to Parliament after the first meeting of his new cabinet on Thursday morning.Key Developments:Boris Johnson chaired the first meeting of his CabinetPrime minister speaks and faces questions in House of CommonsMust Read: Champagne and Magic Complete Johnson's RebrandingRead More:The Great Brexit Purge: Johnson's Cabinet CullJohnson Won't Guarantee No-Deal Commons Vote (12:35 p.m.)Asked by Tory defector Anna Soubry whether he'd allow Parliament to have a say on the next steps if he fails to secure a new deal on Brexit, Johnson refused to provide the yes or no answer she requested."This parliament has already voted several times to honor the mandate of the people to come out of the EU, and that is what we should do.," Johnson said.The reply won't dispel fears among opponents of a no-deal Brexit that Johnson may attempt to bypass the House of Commons if he can't agree a new deal with the EU.Letwin Offers Support For A Brexit Deal (12:30 p.m.)Oliver Letwin, one of the former Conservative ministers who have been doing their best to block a no-deal Brexit, reminded Johnson that he and many of his co-conspirators are ready to vote to leave the European Union with an agreement."There lies within this House I believe still a possible majority in favor of almost any sensible arrangement," Letwin said. Johnson was warm in response: "I share his desire not to get to a no-deal outcome."DUP Leader Praises Johnson's Optimism (12:20 p.m.)Nigel Dodds, Westminster leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, welcomed Johnson's "positivity, his optimism" and urged him to "strain every sinew" to both deliver Brexit and restore devolved government to Northern Ireland.The relationship with the DUP is critical for Johnson's Conservatives because their Parliamentary majority depends on the Northern Irish Party. Dodds pointed to this, with a suggestion DUP support isn't guaranteed: "we look forward to further conversations in the coming weeks to ensure that we can have a sustainable Conservative and Unionist government going forward," he said.That may involve spending commitments to Northern Ireland as well as delivering Brexit.Johnson Drops Another Election Hint (12:15 p.m.)Boris Johnson, answering a question from Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford, dropped another hint that his mind is on an election. "If we can deliver a fantastic and a sensible and a progressive Brexit, which I believe we can, and the whole U.K. comes out as I know that it will, what happens then to the arguments of the SNP?" he asked.He then suggested that if the SNP campaigned for an independent Scotland to re-enter the EU, it would be signing up to joining the Euro and giving up control of its fishing grounds."That is not the basis on which to seek election in Scotland," Johnson said. "We will win on a manifesto for the whole U.K."The entire exchange suggests Johnson's preferred option is to hold an election after delivering a successful Brexit. But talk of election manifestos suggests the direction of his thinking.Johnson Bombards Corbyn to Tory Delight (12:10 p.m.)The new Tory leader's first appearance in the House of Commons as prime minister showed why the party picked him: to take on Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party.Johnson savaged the opposition leader and his finance spokesman John McDonnell in the kind of ferocious attack Theresa May never delivered in her three years in power.He said Corbyn had flip flopped on Brexit and was now "a Remainer" and provoked McDonnell to rise from his seat, wave him away and pour himself a glass of water from the table in the middle of the Commons chamber.Tory MPs loved it, roaring their approval as Johnson finished his verbal assault, claiming he now led the real "people's party."NHS is 'Not For Sale,' Johnson Says (12 p.m.)In answer to a question from Jeremy Corbyn about a future trade deal with the U.S., Johnson ruled out including the state-funded National Health Service. "It's not for sale," he told MPs.Corbyn Criticizes Johnson's Trump Links (11:55 a.m.)Opposition Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn attacked Johnson for his links to Donald Trump, using the U.S. President's own words to call the new premier "Britain Trump." He urged Johnson to rule out including the U.K.'s National Health Service in any trade deal with the U.S.Other criticisms surrounded the support for the death penalty expressed by the new home secretary, Priti Patel, and Johnson's infamous "f*** business" remark to a European ambassador. On Brexit, Corbyn said if Johnson is confident in his plan, he should put it to a public vote."Labour will oppose any deal that fails to protect jobs, workers' rights or environmental protections," Corbyn said. "And if he has the confidence to put that decision back to the people, we will campaign to Remain," Corbyn added, reiterating the current Labour line on a second referendum.Johnson: National Spirit Makes No-Deal Possible (11:50 a.m.)Boris Johnson sought to establish the idea that preparing for a no-deal Brexit should be a national effort to reduce disruption. "I believe that is possible with the kind of national effort that the British people have made before and will make again," he said.Although he didn't specify when the British people had made such efforts before, many on the Tory benches will have taken it as an invocation of World War II, a key historical moment for many backers of Brexit.Johnson Calls for Turbo-Charged No-Deal Plans (11:45 a.m.)Johnson said he has instructed his Cabinet to ramp up preparations for leaving the European Union, telling the House of Commons he's instructed Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid to make available "all necessary funding." Michael Gove, who runs machinery of government, will make no-deal preparedness his "top priority," Johnson said."In the 98 days that remain to us, we must turbo-charge our preparations to make sure that there is as little disruption as possible to our national life," Johnson said.Arms Waving, Johnson Rallies Tories (11:40 a.m.)Johnson's arrival was greeted in the Commons by cheers from his own side. His style could not be more different from Theresa May's.At the dispatch box, he waved his arms for emphasis, pausing his statement during the key passage on Brexit for effect.On the government front bench behind him, sat Johnson's new Cabinet. Home Secretary Priti Patel and Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid were in prominent places.Johnson Says 'Mission' is to Leave EU on Oct. 31 (11:35 a.m.)Boris Johnson said his government's mission is to deliver Brexit by Oct. 31 and described the deal struck by Theresa May as "unacceptable to this Parliament and this country.""I would prefer us to leave the EU with a deal, I believe it is possible even at this late stage," Johnson said. He said he and his team are ready to meet and talk with EU negotiators "wherever and whenever,"The Irish backstop must be removed from the U.K. Withdrawal Agreement with the EU and everyone in the cabinet is committed to leaving on Oct. 31 "whatever the circumstances," Johnson said.Britain will "throw itself" into negotiations and "turbo-charge" preparations for a no-deal divorce, Johnson said. He said the 39 billion pounds would be available for the work.Johnson Will Address No-Deal Planning (11:10 a.m.)Boris Johnson will address preparations for a no-deal split from the EU when he addresses Parliament later, Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg told the House of Commons."It's jolly good news we've got an administration that's committed to leaving the European Union," Rees-Mogg said in answer to an MP's question about no-deal planning. "Preparedness is of great importance, I think he might find there are some encouraging words coming from the prime minister a bit later."Rees-Mogg: MPs Voted to Leave EU by Oct. 31 (10:53 a.m.)Jacob Rees-Mogg, the new leader of the House, argued Parliament has already given its approval to leaving the EU on Oct. 31, regardless of whether a deal has been reached with the EU. MPs have already passed laws putting the Brexit process in motion, he said."With relation to leaving the European Union, this Parliament voted for the Withdrawal Act and said we would leave," he said. "Parliament debated, Parliament decided, parliamentary democracy requires we deliver."Brexiteer Baker Eyes Treasury Committee Chair (10.45 a.m.)Boris Johnson hasn't so far found a job for Steve Baker, the deputy chairman of the pro-Brexit European Research Group and a man who coordinated opposition to Theresa May's deal. Baker was an early backer of Johnson, giving him the Brexiteer stamp of approval.Baker may yet be appointed to a non-Cabinet ministerial position, but if he's not, what would he like to do instead? This morning he said in a brief interview that he has his eye on the chairmanship of Parliament's Treasury Committee, vacant now Nicky Morgan has become Culture Secretary.It's one of Parliament's most powerful committees, and would be a good pulpit from which Baker would be able to make life difficult for the government. And not just on Brexit. "It would allow me to pursue my other interest -- monetary policy reform," he said. Baker is an advocate of ending the days of fiat money creation.Rees-Mogg Doesn't Rule Out Prorogation (10:45 a.m.)Jacob Rees- Mogg, the new leader of the House of Commons didn't rule out suspending Parliament to force through Brexit.Asked about it in his weekly question and answer session, he told MPs: "The prime minister has said he views prorogation as an archaic mechanism and he doesn't wish to see archaic mechanisms used. As I'm now bound by collective responsibility that's now my view."Swinson Urges Corbyn to Call No-Confidence Vote (10:05 a.m.)Jo Swinson, the newly elected leader of the Liberal Democrats, has written to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn urging him to call a vote of no-confidence in Boris Johnson's new government."Boris Johnson does not hold a mandate from Parliament or the general public to be Prime Minister," Swinson wrote. "His reckless refusal to rule out proroguing Parliament in order to crash the U.K. out of the EU without a deal demonstrates that he is not fit to lead this country."She points out that Corbyn, as leader of the official opposition, is the only person in a position to call such a vote. "You must not sit back and allow this government to crash our country out of the EU," she wrote.Labour has so far resisted calls for a no-confidence vote, saying the party will do so only when there is a good chance of success.Sunak: Govt Could Use EU Payment for Economy (8:45 a.m.)Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rishi Sunak suggested the government could spend the 39 billion-pound ($49 billion) financial settlement to stimulate the economy -- depending on the outcome of negotiations with the European Union."That will no doubt be a discussion for the future but the point is we won't be writing a check on day one for 39 billion pounds," Sunak told BBC Radio.It's a position that risks angering the bloc because the agreed sum is a settlement of past and current liabilities -- with a portion owed for ongoing projects. The bloc has repeatedly said the payment is a key component of the divorce settlement and not related to any future trade deal.Also asked how he expects the EU to respond to the tougher line taken by Johnson, Sunak predicted the bloc would negotiate. "They said they would never give us an extension until we passed the withdrawal agreement -- they didn't just give us one, they gave us a couple," he said.There's No Time For Doubt: Duncan Smith (7:50 a.m.)Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, who was chairman of Johnson's leadership campaign, said there's not enough time before the new prime minister's Oct. 31 Brexit deadline for there to be doubters in cabinet."If you've got 100 days, you cannot have people who say 'you know what, I'm not sure about this,'" Duncan Smith told BBC Radio 4.He said Amber Rudd and Nicky Morgan, regarded as more moderate voices on Brexit, will be able to have their say in cabinet discussions, contradicting Nick Boles's claim (see 7:35 a.m.) that they will be "neutered."Boles: New Cabinet Shows Hard Right Takeover (7:35 a.m.)Nick Boles, who sits in the House of Commons as an independent after quitting the Tory Party over the inflexibility of hardline Brexiteers, said Johnson's reshuffle shows that the party has been taken over."It's very clarifying because what it establishes beyond all doubt is that the Conservative Party has been taken over top to bottom by the hard right," Boles told BBC radio. "They're turning themselves into the Brexit Party in order to hold off Nigel Farage.""These are not normal center ground pragmatic politicians, these are ideologically motivated people from the hard right," Boles said.Boles, who voted three times for Theresa May's deal with the EU, said Nicky Morgan and Amber Rudd, who had previously opposed a no-deal split with the bloc, are "neutered captives" in the new cabinet. They have had to agree to be open to leaving without an agreement -- and the damage that could cause to the U.K. economy -- to get their jobs, he said.Earlier:The Great Purge: Johnson Culls Cabinet to Make His Brexit MarkWelcome to 10 Downing, Boris Johnson. You Have Some Work to DoChampagne and Magic Complete Johnson's Rebranding as U.K. Leader\--With assistance from Thomas Penny and Kitty Donaldson.To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net;Tim Ross in London at tross54@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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| UPDATE 1-Royal navy will protect UK-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz Posted: 25 Jul 2019 04:30 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Royal navy will protect UK-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz]( "UPDATE 1-Royal navy will protect UK-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz") The British government said on Thursday its navy will accompany British-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz to defend freedom of navigation, after previously saying it did not have the military resources to do so. Tensions have spiked between Iran and Britain since the Islamic Republic last Friday seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait. Its move came after British forces captured an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar which Britain said was heading for Syria in defiance of EU sanctions.
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| Syrian refugee pleads not guilty to church bomb plot charges Posted: 25 Jul 2019 04:21 AM PDT ![Syrian refugee pleads not guilty to church bomb plot charges]( "Syrian refugee pleads not guilty to church bomb plot charges") A Syrian refugee accused of plotting to bomb a Christian church in Pittsburgh to inspire Islamic State of Iraq followers has pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges. Mustafa Mousab Alowemer entered his plea Wednesday during his arraignment in federal court. Alowemer is charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and two counts of distributing information about an explosive, destructive device, or weapon of mass destruction.
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| Britain tasks navy with accompanying British-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz Posted: 25 Jul 2019 04:00 AM PDT ![Britain tasks navy with accompanying British-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz]( "Britain tasks navy with accompanying British-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz") Britain's navy will accompany British-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz in order to defend freedom of navigation after Iran seized a tanker, its ministry of defence said on Thursday. "The Royal Navy has been tasked to accompany British-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz, either individually or in groups, should sufficient notice be given of their passage," a British government spokesman said in a statement.
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| UK opposition leader Corbyn: We will oppose Brexit if PM Johnson's deal fall short Posted: 25 Jul 2019 03:56 AM PDT ![UK opposition leader Corbyn: We will oppose Brexit if PM Johnson's deal fall short]( "UK opposition leader Corbyn: We will oppose Brexit if PM Johnson's deal fall short") Britain's opposition Labour Party will oppose any Brexit deal brought forward by new Prime Minister Boris Johnson if it does not protect jobs, workers rights and the environment, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Thursday. "Labour will oppose any deal that fails to protect jobs, workers' rights or environmental protections, and if he (Johnson) has the confidence to put that decision back to the people, we will campaign to 'Remain'," Corbyn told parliament.
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| Sudan protesters to march against political party allocation Posted: 25 Jul 2019 03:56 AM PDT  Sudan's pro-democracy movement is calling for marches in the capital, Khartoum, and in other locations across the country. The movement wants people to take to the streets Thursday to insist that the upcoming transitional government be made up of experts and technocrats, rather than political parties. This comes just hours after the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, which represents the protesters, said they'd reached a deal to reconcile their differences with rebel groups that are also part of the movement.
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| The Latest: Johnson urges EU to 'rethink' Brexit deal Posted: 25 Jul 2019 03:54 AM PDT  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on the European Union to "rethink" its refusal to renegotiate the Brexit deal. Addressing the House of Commons for the first time since becoming prime minister, Johnson said Britain would throw himself into efforts to make sure Britain leaves the EU on time on Oct. 31. Britain's main opposition Labour Party has rejected calls for an immediate vote of no-confidence in the new government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
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| Trump vetoes attempt to block $8bn arms sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE Posted: 25 Jul 2019 03:41 AM PDT  Donald Trump has vetoed three congressional resolutions to block the billion-dollar sales of weapons to key allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.In a strong rebuke to Mr Trump, both chambers of Congress had voted to prevent the arms deals earlier this month, shortly after the leader had taken the extraordinary step of bypassing Congress to approve them in May.Members had cited concerns about the human rights record of Saudi Arabia, after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi within the country's consulate in Istanbul last year.They also expressed fears the weapons may be used against civilians in Yemen, where the US's Gulf partners are spearheading a five-year bombing campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.On Wednesday Mr Trump once again moved to force through the deals by vetoing the resolutions.He said the resolutions "would weaken America's global competitiveness and damage the important relationships we share with our allies and partner."House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the president's move "shameful"."The president's shameful veto tramples over the will of the bipartisan, bicameral Congress and perpetuates his administration's involvement in the horrific conflict in Yemen, which is a stain on the conscience of the world," she said in a statement.Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said it was a "slap in the face" to Congress and accused the Trump administration of using threats from Iran as a "convenient excuse" to push through the sale."The president's veto sends a grim message that America's foreign policy is no longer rooted in our core values – namely a respect for human rights – and that he views Congress not as a coequal branch of government, but an irritant to be avoided or ignored," he added. It did not appear that the lawmakers opposed to the sale had enough votes to override Trump's veto.The White House argues that stopping the $8.1 billion arms sales would send a signal that the United States does not stand by its allies, at a time when threats against them are increasing.Tensions have reached breaking point between Tehran and Washington, after the US pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal and piled more sanctions on the country.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said the sales were the administration responding to an emergency caused by Iran, both the US's and Saudi Arabia's arch foe. The arms package are set to include thousands of precision-guided munitions, other bombs and ammunition and aircraft maintenance support.The initial May decision to bypass congressional review sparked fury among lawmakers and saw Democrats and Republicans band together in a rare joint move against the administration.It marked one of the few times the Republican-led Senate has opposed Mr Trump's foreign policy.News agencies contributed to this report
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| Reports: Turkish strikes kill planners of attack on diplomat Posted: 25 Jul 2019 03:21 AM PDT  Turkish media say Turkey's military has struck and killed the alleged planners of an attack that killed a Turkish diplomat in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region. Private DHA news agency says Thursday the military, acting on Turkish intelligence, targeted two vehicles carrying the alleged masterminds of the July 17 attack, which killed Osman Kose at a restaurant in Irbil. DHA says the alleged planners and their bodyguards were killed on July 18 and July 24.
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| Climate Change Turns Up Global Political Heat Posted: 25 Jul 2019 02:56 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.Much of Europe is bracing for the hottest day of the year, with record temperatures forecast for Germany, France and the U.K.Whether it's drought in India, wildfires in California and Siberia, or flooding in Argentina, the impact of freak weather events attributed to climate change is being felt worldwide, and forcing itself onto governments' radars.Voters in seven European Union countries now name climate change as their No. 1 concern, above the economy, jobs or immigration. Incoming EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has pledged to make environmental policy the bloc's top priority.That's not without contention, with major coal-burning countries like Poland wary of moves to tax carbon. In places like the U.S., Australia and Canada, climate and the environment is a key electoral battleground.It's not necessarily a left-right political issue. China is making inroads in battling air pollution, while Boris Johnson referenced the U.K.'s effort to tackle climate change in his first speech as prime minister yesterday. Emmanuel Macron put climate at the heart of France's Group of Seven presidency, and the current heatwave bolsters his case at next month's G-7 leaders summit.For President Donald Trump, simply pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord hasn't made the issue disappear.Global Headlines Great purge | On his first day as U.K. prime minister, Johnson took an ax to his predecessor's cabinet and populated the top ranks of government with like-minded Brexit hardliners. It was a new, brutal-yet-efficient side that emerged in a man who has undergone a startling transformation from has-been to undisputed leader in 12 months.Missiles aloft | North Korea fired two missiles into the sea off its east coast, raising the stakes just before stalled nuclear disarmament talks with the U.S. were set to get back on track. Leader Kim Jong Un has pressed Trump to drop sanctions choking his state's economy, and the tests may have been a reminder that if the dealings sour, Pyongyang has weapons capable of quickly striking American military bases and allies.Tricky path | Two hundred days into her second stint as U.S. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi is waging battles on her right and her left as well as against the calendar. The Democrats' lead combatant with Trump is trying to keep ideological fissures from becoming yawning chasms that will hobble her party in the 2020 election.Click here for more on House passage of pension legislation aimed at giving Democrats an edge next year with voters in the Midwest's union-heavy states. And read more about Democratic presidential aspirants' efforts to lock down black voter support in the latest edition of Bloomberg's Campaign Update.Leadership void | Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello's resignation is fomenting fresh uncertainty in the U.S. commonwealth as it struggles back from a ruinous hurricane and navigates a record bankruptcy. Rossello, whose decision follows two weeks of protests, was undone by popular fury after the publication of profane, vengeful and misogynistic text messages among him and his aides.Fire sale | An investor darling who oversaw a 2,400% surge in shares of Latin America's largest car rental company is leading one of Brazil's biggest privatization efforts yet. As Rachel Gamarski reports, former Localiza CEO Jose Salim Mattar is on a mission to sell more than 100 state-controlled companies as President Jair Bolsonaro seeks to deliver on his promise to offload assets in a bid to spark much-needed investments and boost public accounts.What to WatchTurkey's central bank is expected to lower interest rates today — estimates of how much vary from 50 basis points to 8 percentage points — after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan installed Murat Uysal as governor, having fired his predecessor for failing to cut sooner. Spain's Socialist party rejected demands made by a key potential coalition partner, pushing Pedro Sanchez's bid to stay on as prime minister to the brink of failure and making a fourth election in as many years more likely. The U.K. and France are among U.S. allies spurning the Trump administration's call for a coalition to protect ships passing through the Persian Gulf amid Iranian attacks on tankers and drones, Nick Wadhams reports.And finally…A Swedish prosecutor has charged U.S. rapper A$AP Rocky and two other people held in remand since July 5 on suspicion of committing an assault in Stockholm. The case has drawn unusual diplomatic attention after Trump announced he'd offered to "personally vouch" for the performer's bail in a phone call with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. Musician Kanye West and his wife Kim Kardashian West had lobbied Trump to intervene. \--With assistance from Kathleen Hunter, Flavia Krause-Jackson, Jon Herskovitz and Rosalind Mathieson.To contact the author of this story: Alan Crawford in Berlin at acrawford6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net, Anthony HalpinFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Russian investigators grill opposition in vote crackdown Posted: 25 Jul 2019 02:32 AM PDT  Russian investigators summoned a number of opposition politicians for questioning Thursday after the authorities staged nighttime raids and jailed top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny for 30 days. The crackdown was launched as opposition politicians fight to get on the ballot for a Moscow parliament election in September amid falling approval ratings for President Vladimir Putin. The arrests and raids followed a weekend rally in Moscow, the largest such demonstration in years, as anger grows over the refusal by the election authorities to allow popular opposition candidates to take part in the poll.
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| Fake Tweets Put Israel in Bed With Iranian Exile ‘Terrorists’ Posted: 25 Jul 2019 02:14 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/GettyTEL AVIV—It was already late afternoon Tuesday local time when a call came in from a contact several time zones away. "A strange story is making the rounds in the Iranian press," said the contact, who tracks such things. The leader of the Mujahedin e-Khalq (MEK), an Iranian exile group often described by critics as a cult, had secretly traveled to Israel last week for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad chief Yossi Cohen. Rudy Giuliani, a long-time supporter of the group, had apparently been a go-between.A Shady Facebook Campaign Is Stoking the Iran-U.S. ConflictEven stranger was the source for the report: the French consul general in Jerusalem, Pierre Cochard, who had publicized the news a few days prior via his personal Twitter account, citing a former colleague whom he had worked with in Tehran. In a long five-tweet thread, Cochard lamented the fact that the MEK leader, Maryam Rajavi, a political refugee in France, had not received official approval from Paris for such sensitive talks with the Israeli government. "You may want to look into this on your end," my contact said.The intriguing report hadn't really gained traction yet, although a few Iran-focused journalists and analysts on Twitter had begun credibly highlighting the consul's tweets and bombshell revelations. The news value was obvious. A quasi-Marxist group that fell afoul of the Islamic Republic after the 1979 revolution, the MEK has been in exile for most of the last four decades. Both the U.S. and European Union used to consider the group a terrorist organization, a designation lifted just a few years ago after a high-profile lobbying campaign by many allegedly well-paid supporters like former CIA chief James Woolsey, Howard Dean, and, yes, Giuliani. More to the point the MEK was simply weird, with a cult of personality reportedly built around its husband-wife leaders, Massoud and Maryam Rajavi. While their actual base of support inside Iran is extremely suspect, the MEK does on occasion deliver. In the early 2000s they were the source for several major revelations regarding Iran's nuclear weapons program. Which is where Israel may come in. According to a 2017 report likely attributable to the Obama administration, Israel had teamed up with the MEK to assassinate Iranian nuclear scientists. More recently, an Iranian terror plot out of Austria and Belgium in 2018 reportedly was foiled by the Mossad. The alleged target? An MEK rally in Paris. In short, there were plausible reasons for Rajavi to make a trip to Jerusalem, although such a move would be hugely controversial—sending a message, as it was sure to do, that the MEK is an Israeli partner in the service of regime change in Iran. "The Iranians always suspect a hidden hand supporting any of the anti-regime groups, inside or outside the country, rightly or wrongly," one U.S-based analyst that covers Iran told The Daily Beast. The French consul in Jerusalem would surely have known all of this when he went public. The Cochard profile, on the face of it, looked like a legitimate French diplomat's personal account. It retweeted the French foreign ministry, it issued official-sounding platitudes about Bastille Day and the Franco-Israel relationship, it spotlighted highlights from French President Emanuel Macron. Established in 2013, the account had over 2,000 followers, including the verified profiles of several prominent Israeli journalists, the French ambassador in Israel, and the French embassy in Tel Aviv. A picture of the consul general visiting a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem was tweeted out around the same time as the MEK thread; a cursory search on Google brought up no other hits for the image, lending further credence to the account's legitimacy. An initial inquiry made to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office for comment dished up what often is a classic non-denial denial. Responding to the question of whether Ms. Rajavi indeed visited Israel last week to meet with Netanyahu, a spokesman told The Daily Beast that "[I] have not seen those media reports and have nothing to offer on query." When pressed on the fact that these weren't media reports, but rather (ostensibly) the online postings of a senior European diplomat working across town in Jerusalem, the spokesman declined to comment further. Intriguing. And yet, going back further in the account's timeline, things began to look very different. The consul was in the past apparently a major fan of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. Homages to Lebron James were interspersed with ruminations about NBA basketball generally. Following the patois of modern social media there were purposeful spelling mistakes and online American slang. Not exactly the public profile of a pedigreed French diplomat and graduate of the prestigious École Nationale d'Administration. At a certain point earlier this year, it turned out, the account was re-branded—or bought, or potentially hacked. Gone were the references to the Razorbacks and King James. In their place, under the profile of Pierre Cochard, the account was now churning out, in fluent French, tweets about high diplomacy and French foreign policy hyperspecific to what a real consul general sitting in Jerusalem would be occupied with. Until, at the height of an escalating standoff between Tehran and Washington (and Jerusalem), it tweets out an elaborate story regarding the MEK, Rudy Giuliani, secrets flights from Talinn, the Mossad, and more. The story did succeed in gaining some traction online before this reporter finally reached the French consulate for comment, bringing L'affaire Rajavi to its attention. A spokesman rejected the veracity of the profile, telling The Daily Beast it was a fake and that they were contacting Twitter about the matter. The consulate added that Cochard had been the victim of an identity theft on the popular social media platform. Twitter took down the Pierre Cochard account a few hours later. Giuliani to Speak Beside Leader of Accused Iranian 'Cult'The story, a classic case of fake news and disinformation, was luckily stopped before it was able to travel halfway around the world—although the Iranian media is likely still flogging the "report." Yet the real moral is just how much time, effort, and resources were invested to make this particular profile seem like the real personal account of the French consul general in Jerusalem. This is the new face of psy-ops and cyber-ops in our hyperconnected, digitized world, and it all too often resembles the real thing. As if on cue, on Wednesday the Israeli intelligence services said they had scuttled a wide-ranging Iranian online recruitment campaign targeting Israeli nationals, primarily via the use of fake social media profiles on Facebook."The Consulate General of France in Jerusalem calls internet users to remain vigilant," read the conclusion of the official statement issued Tuesday. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Trump speaks in front of fake presidential seal mysteriously manipulated to feature Russian eagles and golf clubs Posted: 25 Jul 2019 02:11 AM PDT  Donald Trump appeared at a right-wing rally in front of a fake presidential seal, doctored to make apparently satiric references to Russia and golf.The tweaked image flashed up on a screen behind the president as he spoke to a summit hosted by the conservative group Turning Point USA in Washington earlier this week.The normally solitary bald eagle was seen with two heads, made to resemble the two-headed bird on the official Russian coat of arms in a mocking nod to Mr Trump's woes with investigations into Moscow's election meddling.The symbolic bird also showed up clutching a bag of golf clubs – evidently a joke about the president's fondness for spending so much time on the links.Both the White House and Turning Point USA said they were unaware of why or how the altered image appeared on the screen.A spokesman for Turning Point USA told The Washington Post it was a "last-minute A/V [audio/visual] mistake" after the newspaper first highlighted the doctored seal."I can't figure out who did it yet. I don't know where they got the image from," he added, explaining they organisation was still try to determine who was responsible and where they got the image from.> Seriously?? > How did Russia's national symbol end up on a presidential seal at a trump event? https://t.co/z6omAXnz6q pic.twitter.com/u8Baym73fM> > — Olga Lautman (@olgaNYC1211) > > July 25, 2019Richard Painter, who served as the George W Bush administration's chief White House ethics lawyer, told the Post: "To let someone project something on the screen that isn't controlled by the White House is pretty stupid."He added: "Someone is going to be getting in trouble, but they got one heck of a good laugh out of it."Mr Painter explained that First Amendment freedom of expression rights allowed people to parody the official presidential seal.Kathleen Clark, legal professor at Washington University, said: "Was someone at Turning Point trolling Trump? I just think Putin would probably approve."
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| UK PM Johnson tells ministers: we are all committed to leaving EU by Oct. 31 Posted: 25 Jul 2019 01:40 AM PDT ![UK PM Johnson tells ministers: we are all committed to leaving EU by Oct. 31]( "UK PM Johnson tells ministers: we are all committed to leaving EU by Oct. 31") British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told his new top team of ministers on Thursday they had a momentous task ahead and were committed to delivering Brexit by Oct. 31. Johnson, who officially took over from Theresa May on Wednesday and swiftly sacked most of her ministerial team, held the first meeting of his new cabinet of ministers on Thursday. "We have a momentous task ahead of us.
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| UPDATE 2-Decline in German business morale fuels recession fears Posted: 25 Jul 2019 01:28 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-Decline in German business morale fuels recession fears]( "UPDATE 2-Decline in German business morale fuels recession fears") German business morale plunged in July to its lowest level in more than six years, a survey showed on Thursday, in a further sign that a manufacturing crisis is pulling Europe's largest economy towards recession. The data bodes ill for Germany's export-reliant economy which has been hit hard by weaker foreign demand, trade disputes and Brexit uncertainty. The Ifo institute said its business climate index fell to 95.7 from an upwardly revised 97.5 in June.
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| UPDATE 1-China and U.S. trade negotiators to meet in Shanghai July 30-31 Posted: 25 Jul 2019 01:26 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-China and U.S. trade negotiators to meet in Shanghai July 30-31]( "UPDATE 1-China and U.S. trade negotiators to meet in Shanghai July 30-31") Lead negotiators for China and the United States will meet in Shanghai on Tuesday for two days in the next round of trade talks, China's commerce ministry confirmed. It would mark the first face-to-face meeting between U.S. and Chinese trade teams since presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agreed at a G20 summit in Japan to revive talks to end their year-long trade war. The governments of the world's largest economies have levied billions of dollars of tariffs on each other's imports, disrupted global supply chains and shaken financial markets in their dispute over how China does business with the rest of the world.
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| Merkel Leaves Europe’s Sputtering Engine to Ride Out the Storm Posted: 25 Jul 2019 01:21 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Germany's economy is sinking deeper and deeper into trouble, but there appears little chance of home-grown support from Chancellor Angela Merkel.Signs of economic malaise are becoming increasingly hard to ignore amid a series of profit warnings in the country's marqee automotive sector and an intensifying industrial crisis. The latest alarm bell -- a sharp drop in executive sentiment -- came just days after Merkel defended the country's tight-fisted spending, a policy that's riled European neighbors and the U.S.What that means is that despite free money available on credit markets, the government of Europe's engine plans to ride it out rather than try to give the economy a steroid shot."Germany's resistance to loosening fiscal policy represents a major downside risk to the global economy," said Neil Dutta, head of economics at Renaissance Macro Research in New York. "A couple of years ago, the U.S. was ridiculed for loosening fiscal policy with the unemployment rate so low. Maybe the Germans should try it."While Germany has the financial muscle for a boost, especially with negative interest rates that means it gets paid to borrow, Merkel's government takes the approach that a slowdown after a period of historic growth is normal, and the headwinds will ease when U.S. President Donald Trump's trade wars get resolved."My personal view is that an investment offensive would be more important than a balanced budget," Olav Gutting, a lawmaker in Merkel's CDU party, told Bloomberg. While such a package could include spending for digital infrastructure, tax cuts and incentives for research, "I'm fairly alone in my caucus group on that point."That's leaving the heavy lifting to the European Central Bank, which is expected to signal on Thursday that monetary stimulus is on the way. But governments' reluctance to provide backup is a major frustration for central bankers who've spent a decade pumping life back into the euro-area economy.Slowdown ArrivedBefore trouble started in the middle of 2018, Germany's export-driven economy had racked up 13 straight quarters of growth. What was expected to be a temporary blip -- stemming from car-emissions tests and clogged shipping on the Rhine river -- has failed to disappear.Expansion in 2019 may slow to just 0.5%, which would be the worst in six years, and Bloomberg Economics estimates the economy shrank in the second quarter, holding euro-area growth to a below-trend 0.2% pace.And Germany can't expect other countries to pull it out of its funk. The International Monetary Fund this week cut its 2019 forecasts for economic growth and world trade, and said a projected pickup next year looks "precarious."'Fiscal Stimulus'"This is all about fiscal stimulus,'' said Julian Emanuel, BTIG's chief equity and derivatives strategist. "If I was running a country with a growth rate of half a percent, a surplus of close to 2% and rates negative -- wouldn't you be borrowing and spending money?''While Berlin holds out for the storms to pass, the fallout from the slowdown is spreading. Some of the nation's biggest corporate names from BASF SE to Daimler AG and Continental AG have had to come to terms with the changing dynamics, resetting profit expectations.The good news is the strength of the labor market, though job cuts are starting to pile up, and the Bundesbank has warned that unemployment may rise. That could increase pressure on Merkel to act.The auto industry represents a tougher challenge. In addition to battling the fallout from trade tensions and softening demand in the U.S. and China, carmakers and their suppliers are laboring under deeper structural changes. The transition to an era of self-driving, electric cars and winding down the combustion engine has hit Germany particularly hard.Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler AG has issued two profit warnings this year. Parts maker Continental, in the midst of a structural overhaul, reined in profit forecasts because of a previously unexpected slowdown in global auto production.The German government has struggled to formulate a response. Headway on efforts to establish domestic battery-cell production is slow. Meanwhile, the auto industry is pleading for help to make the tens of billions of euros spent on developing electric cars pay off."We need strong partners in politics and society for this transformation process," including initiatives to build up charging infrastructure for electric cars, said Bernhard Mattes, president of German auto lobby VDA.With Germany marking 30 years since reunification -- an event that involved absorbing a bankrupt economy -- the country has shown it can bounce back from adversity. And even if the government is reluctant to tap into its resources, that financial might is there, which is more than many other countries can say,"We're not taking that pessimistic a view on the German economy," said James von Moltke, chief financial officer of Deutsche Bank AG, which is in the midst of a major restructuring focused on returning to its roots as a financier of the country's exporters. "If there's a thaw in terms of global trade discussions, that may be helpful in the second half."(Updates with Ifo business confidence in second paragraph.)\--With assistance from Jonathan Ferro, Nicholas Comfort, Christoph Rauwald, Arne Delfs, Zoe Schneeweiss, Vonnie Quinn, Simon Kennedy and Patrick Donahue.To contact the reporters on this story: Chris Reiter in Berlin at creiter2@bloomberg.net;Kristie Pladson in Frankfurt at kpladson@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net;Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump vetoes measures blocking arms sales to Saudi Arabia for war in Yemen Posted: 25 Jul 2019 01:06 AM PDT  Donald Trump has vetoed an effort by the US Congress to block billions of dollars in arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, saying the Arab states were "bulwarks" against Iran and must be supported. Democrats and Republicans banded together to pass three resolutions blocking $8bn (£6.4bn) in weapons sales in protest at the high number of civilians killed by Saudi and UAE bombing in Yemen. A number of Mr Trump's closest Republican allies, like Senators Rand Paul and Lindsey Graham, defied the president and voted for the resolutions. Mr Trump vetoed all three of the resolutions on Wednesday night, the second time he has used his veto authority to defend Saudi Arabia from criticism in Congress. "Saudi Arabia is a bulwark against the malign activities of Iran and its proxies in the region," Mr Trump said in a statement. He said that blocking the arms sales would weaken the Arab states' "ability to deter and defend against these threats". The veto was met with fury from Democrats and some criticism by Republicans. "The president's shameful veto tramples over the will of the bipartisan, bicameral Congress and perpetuates his administration's involvement in the horrific conflict in Yemen, which is a stain on the conscience of the world," said Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat speaker of the House. Mr Trump has stood firmly behind Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, despite a reported CIA assessment that the royal had likely ordered the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist. Saudi Arabia denies he was responsible. The president argues Saudi Arabia is a key ally and a major buyer of American weapons. British arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE have come under similar criticism. Last month, the Court of Appeal court ruled that UK weapons sales were unlawful because the government had not adequately considered the risk to civilians. The court, however, did not immediately ordered a halt to sales.
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| U.S. Military 'Will Be Available' to Escort Commercial Ships Passing Iran Posted: 25 Jul 2019 01:00 AM PDT  The U.S. military could escort American ships through key waterways in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters on Wednesday."We will escort our ships to the degree that the risk demands it," Esper said at a Pentagon media availability.However, Esper stressed on Wednesday that he was not announcing that U.S. Navy ships and aircraft would immediately begin escorting U.S. commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz to deter Iranian aggression."I'm not saying that right now," Esper said. "I'm just saying this is one of the things I'm going to see with CENTCOM next week as I understand their concept of the operations. Again, to the degree of course United States vessels need an escort, we will be there. We will be available to them."Iran has recently seized foreign ships as tensions with the United States and Europe have risen sharply over the past few months, prompting U.S. Central Command to announce on July 19 that it was developing Operation Sentinel, a multinational mission to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Oman."This maritime security framework will enable nations to provide escort to their flagged vessels while taking advantage of the cooperation of participating nations for coordination and enhanced maritime domain awareness and surveillance," a CENTCOM news release says.The U.S. military will determine whether a U.S. commercial ship requires an escort if they face the threat of being stopped or seized, Esper said.Esper said he will discuss with CENTCOM commanders exactly what escorting U.S. commercial ships would involve. He also explained that U.S. warships do not need to be right next to a commercial ship in order to protect it.
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| US plans new Russia sanctions over support for Venezuela's Maduro Posted: 25 Jul 2019 12:54 AM PDT  The United States is considering imposing new sanctions on Russia over its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the White House representative for the South American nation said Wednesday. President Donald Trump's administration has continued to increase punitive measures against Venezuela since January, when Washington -- along with 50 other countries -- recognized opposition leader Juan Guido as the crisis-ridden country's interim leader. Russia, North Korea and Cuba continue to support Maduro.
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| Kamikaze Boris Johnson Risks Becoming Britain’s Shortest-Serving PM Posted: 25 Jul 2019 12:48 AM PDT  Oli Scarff/GettyLONDON—Boris Johnson's first act as British prime minister was to launch himself on a spectacular collision course with reality.Instead of pivoting towards conciliation as he stood on the steps of Downing Street, the new Conservative leader lashed out at the "doomsters" and "gloomsters" who have failed to extricate Britain safely from the European Union over three agonizing years of negotiation at home and abroad.Even before the Queen formally invited him to become Britain's next prime minister, a raft of anti-Johnson Conservative lawmakers had quit the government in protest. The new PM chose to respond with a purge of his opponents in the most savage cabinet reshuffle in decades and the appointment of one of the most controversial bomb-throwers in Westminster as his senior adviser.Johnson, who led the Leave campaign during the Brexit referendum, claims he can solve the Brexit conundrum in just three months. It's either a pledge of great bravery or colossal hubris. Either way it is very likely that it will lead to Johnson putting the keys to No. 10 on the line in an early general election.Boris Johnson Is Lazy and Will Be a Terrible Prime Minister, Say His Ex-ColleaguesTwice on Wednesday he repeated the campaign pledge made to Conservative Party members, who selected him to replace Theresa May, that he would have Brexit wrapped up by Halloween. He says he wants Britain to leave the European Union with a new deal, which means either convincing Europe to abandon the red lines it's stuck to since 2016 or forcing the House of Commons to change its mind and approve a version of May's deal that was brutally rejected by lawmakers on three occasions.The only other option is to take Britain out of the E.U. without a deal, which parliament also has voted against repeatedly. He could try and force a No-Deal Brexit through against the will of Parliament, but that would break with centuries of political precedent.Johnson finds himself in an almost impossible position. It's going to take more than optimism to secure Britain's exit from the E.U., but he made it clear that he would take personal responsibility for doing just that. "The buck stops here," he said, as crowds of protesters booed and shouted over his first speech as prime minister.If Parliament won't let him deliver what he has promised to deliver, he's going to need a new Parliament—and that means an election.The big strategic question facing Johnson on the first night in the apartment above his new offices at No. 10 is whether to face up to reality before he crashes headfirst into the obstinacy of EU leaders and parliamentary opponents, or wait until after the damage has been done.If he spends the three months trying to negotiate a new deal with Europe and convince a skeptical parliament to accept it, he runs the risk of being forced into an election soon after October 31 when he has failed to deliver his trademark pledge. Nigel Farage's Brexit Party is waiting in the wings and ready to crush the Conservatives just as they did in this year's European elections.The alternative would be Johnson calling a snap election ahead of the deadline and asking the nation to back his vision by returning a more strongly pro-Brexit set of lawmakers to rubberstamp his approach.Either of those scenarios could leave him at risk of usurping George Canning, who was Britain's shortest-serving prime minister—in office from April 1827 for 119 days until his premature death at the age of 57.Johnson's best chance of avoiding that ignominy is to convince the current parliament to back whatever deal he can eke out of Brussels. Unfortunately for him, May has handed over a tiny working majority of just two lawmakers in the House of Commons, which means Johnson will be sweating over every vote.The parliamentary arithmetic makes Johnson's cabinet reshuffle all the more surprising. By losing at least half of the cabinet of lawmakers he inherited from May, Johnson has created a whole host of new enemies.He fired Jeremy Hunt, his final opponent for the leadership, as well as Hunt's backers Liam Fox and Penny Mordaunt, even though they were arch-Brexiteers. The Remain-leaning lawmakers have also been booted out of a cabinet that May had tried to balance between the rival factions.Johnson has disregarded that notion and appears to be rebuilding the Vote Leave organization inside No. 10.One outgoing minister told The Daily Beast: "It's the Brexiteers' wet dream of a Cabinet. The test is whether securing, as they have, every office of state they can now deliver Brexit. Backs to the wall, Dunkirk spirit, underdog rhetoric won't be enough. The clock is ticking and all hinges upon success—the prime minister, the government, the party, the country."Perhaps the clearest sign that Johnson is planning a scorched earth policy rather than looking to build consensus is his choice of Dominic Cummings as senior adviser. Cummings was portrayed as the genius behind the Brexit referendum win—played by Benedict Cumberbatch in a recent HBO movie—but he is also known as one of the most abrasive characters in politics. Benedict Cumberbatch's Brexit Movie Is 'Fantasy' 'Bullsh*t,' Say Campaign InsidersHe became one of the few people in modern times to be found in contempt of parliament earlier this year for refusing to appear at a committee hearing, and former Prime Minister David Cameron once reportedly described him as a "career psychopath."Cummings has been scathing not just about his Brexit opponents but many of those on the same side. He attacked the group of hardline Brexiteers whom May struggled to control, saying they should be "treated like a metastasizing tumor and excised from the U.K. body politic."He described the pro-Brexit lawmaker tasked with negotiating the May deal as "thick as mince and lazy as a toad."Cummings is also renowned as an electoral strategist, raising the prospect that he has been appointed to help oversee an impending election, or perhaps even a second referendum, if that becomes the only option left on the table. Johnson has sidelined the party's big beasts and surrounded himself with a cadre of political outsiders like Cummings and his new Home Secretary (interior minister) Priti Patel, who was forced out of May's cabinet when it emerged that she had been holding secret meetings with the Israeli government behind the prime minister's back.Johnson likes to ham up comparisons between himself and Winston Churchill, but after writing a biography of the leader who prevailed against Hitler in World War II he should know that Churchill's over-ambitious and under-prepared early forays did not always end in success.In World War I, Churchill drew up a bold plan to open a second front by attacking the Ottoman Empire, but he was not granted the number of troops he requested. In a fit of blind optimism over reality, Churchill ordered an amphibious attack on what is now Turkey to go ahead anyway. The result was the notorious bloodbath at the Battle of Gallipoli.Additional reporting by Jamie Ross.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| No F-35 for You: Iran's Air Force Might Be Dying Posted: 25 Jul 2019 12:43 AM PDT  Not good.Two incidents in late August 2018 involving Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force F-5F Tiger II fighter jets underscored the ongoing crisis in Iran's air force.On Aug. 21, Iran unveiled what it described as a new, fourth-generation fighter jet. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani even sat in the plane's cockpit and posed for photographs.One problem. The aircraft in question was conspicuously an F-5F, one of the 17 Iran bought from the United States during the rule of the Shah. It was not domestically-built."Iran has probably upgraded the electronics systems, originally from the 1960s, and made other upgrades," Iran analyst Nader Uskowi suggested. "But it is not clear why the president of the country should unveil a 40-year-old plane as a new fighter."War Is Boring contributor Sebastien Roblin pointed out that Iran is in fact developing a new plane called the Kowsar-88, another in a long line of modified reverse-engineered F-5s that Tehran will either use as a trainer or light-attack aircraft.But that jet "wasn't ready for display this August, so Tehran simply took an old, very well-known jet fighter and claimed it was a new one, in full view of domestic and international audiences that would know better," Roblin wrote at The National Interest.
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| Iran's Worst Fear: Israel Sending F-35s Over Their Airspace (Some Say It Happened) Posted: 25 Jul 2019 12:25 AM PDT  So who to believe? Occam's razor says go with the simplest explanation, which is that the episode never happened.A Kuwaiti newspaper created a stir earlier this month when it reported that Israel's new F-35 stealth fighters had flown over Iran.(Note: This first appeared in April of last year.)"The fighters crossed Syrian airspace into Iraqi airspace, including to Iran, where they carried out reconnaissance missions and targets in the areas of Bandar Abbas, Isfahan and Shiraz, flying at a high altitude over other sites suspected of a relationship with Iran's nuclear program," according to an "informed source" quoted by the newspaper Al-Jarida (Google Arabic translation here).The F-35s were allegedly not detected either by Iran or Russian radar based in Syria, according to the article.So did the incident really happen? First, if the incident were true, that would mean that operational missions are already being flown by the F-35I Adir ("Mighty"), the Israeli version of the Lockheed Martin fighter. Israel currently has only nine of them, and the first squadron was declared operational only late last year. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has a well-earned reputation for boldness, but there is a difference between being bold and foolhardy. IAF pilots and planners have barely had time to acclimate to a fifth-generation aircraft different from the fourth-generation F-15s and F-16s they currently operate. Even the U.S. military is struggling to fix numerous bugs in the F-35.
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