| North Korea fired projectiles into sea in 3rd weapons test Posted: 01 Aug 2019 05:35 PM PDT  North Korea fired unidentified projectiles twice Friday into the sea off its eastern coast in its third weapons tests in just over a week, South Korea's military said. The increased testing activity is seen as brinkmanship aimed at increasing pressure on Seoul and Washington over the stalled nuclear negotiations. North Korea also has expressed frustration at planned U.S.-South Korea military exercises, and experts say its weapons displays could intensify in the coming months if progress on the nuclear negotiations isn't made.
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| Saudi changes allow women to travel without male consent Posted: 01 Aug 2019 05:34 PM PDT  Saudi Arabia issued new laws early Friday that loosen restrictions on women by allowing any citizen to apply for a passport and travel freely, ending a long-standing and controversial guardianship policy that required male consent for a woman to travel or carry a passport. The changes are a potential game-changer for Saudi women's rights in the kingdom. Saudi women fleeing domestic abuse and the guardianship system occasionally drew international attention to their plight, being dubbed "runaways" for escaping the kingdom and seeking asylum abroad.
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| Trump portrait adorns Colorado Capitol after Putin prank Posted: 01 Aug 2019 04:49 PM PDT  President Donald Trump finally joined the Colorado state Capitol's wall of presidential portraits on Thursday, a year after a prankster placed a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin near the spot intended for him. Colorado Republicans raised more than $10,000 through a GoFundMe account in 2018 to commission the oil painting by Sarah Boardman, an artist who also produced the Capitol's portrait of President Barack Obama. "It's only fitting that a populist such as the president would have the first crowdfunded campaign for a presidential portrait, with contributions as small as $5 and as large as $500," former Senate President Kevin Grantham said in the Capitol's third-floor rotunda Thursday.
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| Iran president: US sanctions on foreign minister 'childish' Posted: 01 Aug 2019 04:18 PM PDT  Iran's president lambasted new U.S. sanctions by the Trump administration targeting the country's foreign minister, describing the move Thursday as "childish" and a barrier to diplomacy. Hassan Rouhani's remarks came after the Trump administration announced Wednesday that it had imposed financial sanctions on Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as part of its escalating campaign of pressure against the Islamic Republic.
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| UN chief: Data shows July equaled or surpassed hottest month Posted: 01 Aug 2019 03:57 PM PDT ![UN chief: Data shows July equaled or surpassed hottest month]( "UN chief: Data shows July equaled or surpassed hottest month") The latest data from the World Meteorological Organization shows the month of July "at least equaled if not surpassed the hottest month in recorded history" — and it followed the hottest June ever, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday. The U.N. chief told reporters that "this is even more significant because the previous hottest month, July 2016, occurred during one of the strongest El Nino's ever," which was not the case this year. An El Nino is a natural warming of the ocean that once it interacts with the atmosphere often warms up the globe and changes rainfall and temperature patterns, making some places wetter and some places drier.
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| Trump has 'no problem' with latest North Korean missile tests Posted: 01 Aug 2019 03:55 PM PDT  North Korea carried out its third missile test in eight days Friday, according to the South's military, but US President Donald Trump said he had "no problem" with the spate of launches by Pyongyang. The nuclear-armed North is barred from ballistic missile tests under UN resolutions and its actions have drawn condemnation from European members of the Security Council but a comparatively sanguine response from Trump, who has met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times, generating global headlines on each occasion. "I have no problem, we'll see what happens but short range (missiles) are very standard," Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a rally in Ohio.
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| US officials say Islamic State still poses global threat Posted: 01 Aug 2019 03:28 PM PDT ![US officials say Islamic State still poses global threat]( "US officials say Islamic State still poses global threat") The Islamic State remains a global threat despite losing the once vast territory it held in Syria and Iraq, U.S. officials said Thursday in warning about persistent violence from underground cells and an expansion of militants into new areas. Ambassador James Jeffrey, the State Department envoy to the international coalition fighting the Islamic State, told reporters that thousands of the extremist organization's fighters are scattered around Syria and Iraq, where officials see a "persistent, resilient, rural terrorist level of violence" in that country.
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| UN appoints acting deputy at agency being probed Posted: 01 Aug 2019 03:14 PM PDT ![UN appoints acting deputy at agency being probed]( "UN appoints acting deputy at agency being probed") Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday appointed a new acting deputy head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, whose top management is under investigation by the U.N.'s internal watchdog over allegations of abusing their authority. Deputy Commissioner General Sandra Mitchell of the United States resigned in July and denied all allegations in a confidential report by the ethics office of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, known as UNRWA.
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| Pompeo says he was ready, but North Korea meeting unlikely Posted: 01 Aug 2019 02:45 PM PDT  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday the Trump administration remains ready to resume talks with North Korea now, although he regretted that a meeting between the two sides is unlikely at an Asian security conference this week in Thailand. Pompeo said he and the administration's chief negotiator Stephen Biegun had hoped to meet with a senior North Korean official while in Bangkok for the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations forum.
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| Trump Ruled Out Mnuchin’s Proposal to Warn China of New Tariffs Posted: 01 Aug 2019 02:39 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump ruled out giving Beijing advance notice of his intent to slap a new 10% tariff on $300 billion in Chinese goods in an Oval Office meeting before he announced the duties, according to several people familiar with the discussion.During the meeting, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer briefed Trump on their talks in Shanghai this week with their Chinese counterparts. While the White House called the talks "constructive" in a statement issued Wednesday, Trump concluded that the two U.S. officials actually came away with nothing, the people said."When my people came home, they said 'we're talking, we have another meeting in early September,"' Trump told reporters as he departed the White House on Thursday for a campaign rally. "I said 'that's fine, but in the meantime, until such time as there's a deal, we'll be taxing them.'"Spokesmen for Treasury and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Mnuchin and Lighthizer knew the president was considering a new round of tariffs before they left for Shanghai, three of the people said. Trump has been unhappy about what the U.S. views as Chinese back-tracking on trade talks, and has recently said he believes Beijing may be trying to wait until after the presidential election in 2020 to conclude a deal.Trump accused the Chinese government of reneging on a tentative trade deal in May, which prompted an impasse in talks. After a meeting with Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Japan in June, Trump declared that the Chinese president had agreed to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural goods as part of a ceasefire in the trade war. But Chinese state media said there was no such agreement, and the purchases never materialized.Trump complained again on Thursday about Chinese trade practices -- "for many years, China has been taking money out by the hundreds of billions of dollars a year.""So now it's time that we change things around," he told reporters. "If they don't want to trade with us, that would be fine with me. We'd save a lot of money."Thursday's meeting in the Oval Office was tense. Mnuchin recommended that the U.S. notify Beijing before Trump announced the new tariffs, the people said. Trump refused. Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney talked through the market effects of increasing the China tariffs, the people said.Trump hit send on his tweets announcing the new tariffs at 1:26, while Mnuchin, Lighthizer, Mulvaney and others were still in the Oval Office.\--With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy.To contact the reporters on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net;Jenny Leonard in Washington at jleonard67@bloomberg.net;Shawn Donnan in Washington at sdonnan@bloomberg.net;Saleha Mohsin in Washington at smohsin2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Sudan activists: 4 shot dead amid marches against violence Posted: 01 Aug 2019 02:29 PM PDT  At least four Sudanese demonstrators were shot dead by live ammunition on Thursday amid mass marches in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere across the country denouncing state violence against pro-democracy protesters, activists said. The killings took place in Khartoum's sister city, Omdurman, according to the Sudan Doctors' Committee, part of the protest coalition which has spearheaded the protests that drove longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir from power in April. The marches were held to demand justice for the killing of at least six people — including four students — by security forces during student protests in a central province Monday.
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| UN to probe attacks on facilities in northwest Syria Posted: 01 Aug 2019 02:18 PM PDT  The United Nations will investigate several attacks on UN-supported facilities and other civilian sites in northwest Syria, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Thursday, angering Russia. Guterres also expressed hope that a truce agreed in the Idlib region by the Syrian government on Thursday would hold, with the ceasefire contingent on implementation of a Turkish-Russian buffer zone deal. Heavy bombardment by regime and Russian forces on Idlib, Syria's last jihadist-run stronghold, and other parts of the northwest has killed over 780 civilians since the end of April, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
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| Texas man charged with supporting Islamic State group Posted: 01 Aug 2019 02:08 PM PDT ![Texas man charged with supporting Islamic State group]( "Texas man charged with supporting Islamic State group") Federal prosecutors say a North Texas man who was captured by military forces in Syrian has been charged with supporting the Islamic State. In July, a grand jury indicted 23-year-old Omer Kuzu on one count of conspiring to support a foreign terrorist organization. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas says Kuzu made a first appearance in a Dallas court Thursday and pleaded not guilty.
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| 2nd rocket launcher recovered from US service member at BWI Posted: 01 Aug 2019 01:50 PM PDT  Officials say an Air Force sergeant tried bringing home a rocket launcher tube as a souvenir at the same airport where another service member tried returning with a similar weapon this week. The State Fire Marshal's Office in Maryland issued a statement saying the device, designed to be aircraft-mounted, was recovered Thursday at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. It held no explosives, but it might have contained pressurized gas and couldn't go on a commercial flight.
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| UPDATE 1-Trump says he is not worried about short-range missiles fired by North Korea Posted: 01 Aug 2019 01:41 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Trump says he is not worried about short-range missiles fired by North Korea]( "UPDATE 1-Trump says he is not worried about short-range missiles fired by North Korea") U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was not worried about missiles being tested by North Korea, calling them very standard, short-range devices. Trump was asked about the missile launches as he left the White House on a trip to Ohio. Trump added the missile launches did not violate any promises Kim had made to him.
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| Trump administration extends protections for Syrians in US Posted: 01 Aug 2019 01:36 PM PDT  The Trump administration is extending protections that allow about 7,000 Syrians to live and work legally in the U.S. The decision by acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan was announced Thursday and extends temporary protected status for 18 months for those who have been in the U.S. since Aug. 1, 2016. Temporary protected status is granted to countries ravaged by natural disasters or war and lets citizens of those countries remain in the U.S. until the situation improves back home.
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| North Korea launches another projectile, US official says Posted: 01 Aug 2019 01:31 PM PDT  North Korea has fired at least one projectile into the Sea of Japan, a U.S. official confirmed to ABC News. The official said that the projectile is similar to the two launched by North Korea earlier this week which were assessed to be short-range ballistic missiles.
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| UPDATE 1-Trump says U.S. will be 'taxing' China until trade deal is reached Posted: 01 Aug 2019 01:18 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Trump says U.S. will be 'taxing' China until trade deal is reached]( "UPDATE 1-Trump says U.S. will be 'taxing' China until trade deal is reached") President Donald Trump said on Thursday Chinese President Xi Jinping was not moving fast enough on reaching a trade agreement and that the United States would be "taxing" China until a deal is secured. Trump, speaking to reporters, also said he was not concerned about a sharp drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average after he announced earlier on Thursday that the United States would slap additional tariffs on Chinese goods. The Dow closed down 285 points, reversing gains after Trump tweeted that he would impose 10% tariffs on an additional $300 billion of Chinese imports on Sept. 1.
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| UPDATE 5-Trump plays down new apparent North Korea test, still open to talks Posted: 01 Aug 2019 12:53 PM PDT ![UPDATE 5-Trump plays down new apparent North Korea test, still open to talks]( "UPDATE 5-Trump plays down new apparent North Korea test, still open to talks") U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday played down what appeared to be North Korea's third missile launch in just over week, saying they were short-range and "very standard" and would not affect his willingness to negotiate with Pyongyang. South Korea's military said unidentified short-range projectiles were fired at 2:59 a.m. and 3:23 a.m. local time on Friday from North Korea's South Hamgyong Province into the East Sea. A U.S. official said U.S. intelligence had detected at least one, and possibly multiple projectiles, that did not pose a threat to North America.
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| WRAPUP 7-U.S. still hopes for talks after latest N.Korean missile tests Posted: 01 Aug 2019 12:41 PM PDT ![WRAPUP 7-U.S. still hopes for talks after latest N.Korean missile tests]( "WRAPUP 7-U.S. still hopes for talks after latest N.Korean missile tests") SEOUL/WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - North Korea's latest missile launches did not violate a pledge its leader Kim Jong Un made to U.S. President Donald Trump, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday, but efforts to resume denuclearisation talks remained in doubt. Kim oversaw the first test firing of what North Korean state media called a "new-type large-calibre multiple-launch guided rocket system" on Wednesday.
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| Russian 'mass unrest' probe arrests five amid opposition crackdown Posted: 01 Aug 2019 12:34 PM PDT  Russian investigators said Thursday they had detained five people as part of a criminal probe into mass unrest, in an apparent attempt to crush a wave of peaceful protests demanding fair elections. The investigation into mass unrest, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and violence against police, came after thousands of people protested in Moscow last week against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. Authorities launched the clampdown as opposition politicians are fighting to get on the ballot for a Moscow parliament election in September amid anger over worsening living standards which has dented President Vladimir Putin's approval ratings.
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| Syria says it agrees to cease-fire in rebel stronghold Posted: 01 Aug 2019 12:06 PM PDT ![Syria says it agrees to cease-fire in rebel stronghold]( "Syria says it agrees to cease-fire in rebel stronghold") Syria's government said it has agreed to a conditional cease-fire starting late Thursday in northwestern Syria, according to state media. Government troops and allied Russia warplanes have been carrying out a three-month offensive against the rebel's last stronghold, which has displaced hundreds of thousands and has targeted health facilities and other infrastructure. The decision came hours after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres authorized an investigation into attacks on health facilities and schools in the rebel-held enclave, following a petition from 10 members of the U.N. Security Council.
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| UK, France and Germany condemn North Korea missile launches Posted: 01 Aug 2019 11:56 AM PDT  The United Kingdom, France and Germany on Thursday condemned North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches as violations of U.N. sanctions and urged Pyongyang to engage in "meaningful negotiations" with the United States on eliminating its nuclear weapons. The three countries also urged North Korea "to take concrete steps toward its complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization" and said international sanctions should remain in place and be fully enforced until its nuclear and ballistic missile programs are dismantled.
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| The Latest: Missile, suicide attack kill dozens in Yemen Posted: 01 Aug 2019 10:52 AM PDT  A Yemeni health official says the death toll in attacks in the southern port city of Aden has climbed to 51. The official says 40 people were killed in a missile attack on a military parade in the al-Galaa camp in the city's neighborhood of Breiqa on Thursday. The al-Galaa camp houses forces loyal to the United Arab Emirates, a member of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the country's Iran-backed Houthis since 2015.
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| REFILE-UPDATE 1-Trump: U.S. will hit $300 bln worth of Chinese goods with 10% tariff Posted: 01 Aug 2019 10:46 AM PDT ![REFILE-UPDATE 1-Trump: U.S. will hit $300 bln worth of Chinese goods with 10% tariff]( "REFILE-UPDATE 1-Trump: U.S. will hit $300 bln worth of Chinese goods with 10% tariff") U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would impose an additional 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports starting Sept. 1, as talks aimed at easing tensions between the world's two largest economies continue. "Trade talks are continuing, and during the talks the U.S. will start, on September 1st, putting a small additional Tariff of 10% on the remaining 300 Billion Dollars of goods and products coming from China into our Country. In a string of tweets, Trump also faulted China for not following through on promises to buy more American agricultural products and personally criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping for failing to do more to stem sales of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
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| Rebel missile, suicide attack kill dozens in Yemen's port Posted: 01 Aug 2019 10:38 AM PDT  Yemen's main southern city of Aden was shaken by double attacks Thursday, as a missile fired by rebels hit a military parade and suicide bombers blasted a police station. At least 51 people were killed in the deadliest day in nearly two years in the de facto capital of the U.S.- and Saudi-backed side in Yemen's civil war. Most of the dead came from the missile strike, which slammed into a parade of newly graduated fighters belonging to a militia loyal to the United Arab Emirates, known as the Security Belt.
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| Iran says sanctions show US 'afraid' of top diplomat Posted: 01 Aug 2019 10:18 AM PDT  Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday mocked a US decision to impose sanctions on his top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif, saying it showed Washington was "afraid" of the foreign minister as tensions again flare between the arch-enemies. The US Treasury said the sanctions would freeze any of Zarif's assets in the United States or controlled by US entities, as well as squeeze his ability to function as a globe-trotting diplomat. "They are afraid of our foreign minister's interviews," Rouhani said in a televised speech, referring to a recent round of interviews Zarif gave to foreign media in New York.
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| WRAPUP 4-Trump hits China with more tariffs, says Xi moving too slow on trade Posted: 01 Aug 2019 09:50 AM PDT ![WRAPUP 4-Trump hits China with more tariffs, says Xi moving too slow on trade]( "WRAPUP 4-Trump hits China with more tariffs, says Xi moving too slow on trade") U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would impose a 10% tariff on $300 billion of Chinese imports from Sept. 1 and could raise tariffs further if China's President Xi Jinping fails to move more quickly to strike a trade deal. The announcement extends Trump's trade tariffs to nearly all China's imports into the United States and marks an abrupt end to a temporary truce in a trade war that has disrupted global supply chains and roiled financial markets.
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| Hamza bin Laden's death 'only symbolic blow to al-Qaeda' Posted: 01 Aug 2019 09:46 AM PDT  The killing of Hamza bin Laden has dealt a symbolic blow to al-Qaeda, but may have little practical impact on the resilient jihadist network, terrorism experts said. The death of Osama bin Laden's favourite son ends jihadist hopes of a dynasty leading what was once the world's most notorious terrorist group. The younger bin Laden, thought to be around 30, was being prepared to one day oversee al-Qaeda and usher in a new, younger leadership in the network his father founded. American officials gave little detail of his death, only saying it had happened in the first two years of Donald Trump's administration. A Whitehall source said the US evidence of the death was "highly credible". But terrorism experts and government sources also said it was unclear Hamza had inherited any of his father's vision or ability and he had not been able to achieve any jihadist successes. Suggestions he might one day have been open to an eventual merger with Islamic State group had never been confirmed, said the Whitehall source. Osama bin Laden's son, Hamza bin Laden, is shown as a boy in an undated al-Qaeda training video. Credit: Getty "I think it's a big loss for al-Qaeda," said Pakistani security expert Rahimullah Yusufzai, one the few journalists to have interviewed Osama bin Laden face to face. "They needed someone younger and more active. And Hamza bin Laden had those qualities," he told AFP. "He would have been acceptable to the rank and file and a natural successor to his father." Despite his pedigree, the younger bin Laden had so far not distinguished himself in the organisation however. "There was no evidence that he was a strategic mastermind to anything like the same degree as his father," said the Whitehall source. "I don't think it makes a difference in practical terms," added Raffaello Pantucci, director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute. "The removal of a guy who has not particularly done anything is not going to really move the dial." Hamza is believed to be the 15th of bin Laden's 20-odd children and spent his early childhood with his parents, first in Saudi Arabia and then in Sudan and Afghanistan in the 1990s. After the 9/11 attacks, when bin Laden became the world's most wanted man, he sent several wives and children to live in Iran, for safety, including Hamza. Letters discovered in the Abbottabad compound after the May 2011 raid that killed the older bin Laden show Hamza had a close bond with his father and wanted to follow in his footsteps. His father in turn appeared to be grooming him for a leadership role. He had sworn to avenge his father's death and was later introduced by Zawahiri as a "lion" Al Qaeda has been trying to capitalise on the destruction of Islamic State group's caliphate to again become the world's pre-eminent jihadist group. It has moved away from trying to hit targets in the West, and instead grow powerful regional presences in Syria, Yemen, Somalia and North Africa.
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| 5 years on, Yazidis still live with IS massacre, enslavement Posted: 01 Aug 2019 09:27 AM PDT  Five years after their lives were torn apart by Islamic State militants, the Yazidis of Iraq are still unable to return home or locate hundreds of their women and children kidnapped and enslaved by the extremists. Yazidi community leaders and Iraqi politicians met Thursday in Baghdad to commemorate the fifth anniversary of IS rampaging through the Sinjar region in northern Iraq in Aug 2014. The militants destroyed villages, and religious sites, lined men up and shot them before kidnapping thousands of women and children and trading them in modern day chattel slavery.
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| Russia engineers climate to induce rain as wildfires rage across Siberia Posted: 01 Aug 2019 09:19 AM PDT  Russian authorities are seeding clouds to try to induce rain over an epidemic of forest fires in Siberia. The operations come after Donald Trump offered Vladimir Putin help fighting the blazes. An Antonov An-26 turboprop flew to northern Irkutsk region on Thursday to fire exploding shells of silver iodide into "clouds suitable for artificial rain induction operations," the state aerial forest conservation brigade said. Fires in three districts are located under rain-bearing clouds, it said. After refuelling, the plane will fly into the Krasnoyarsk region to seed clouds over fires in a district there. Silver iodide shells have been shot over some 100 fires since the start of July, resulting in medium and heavy rains in two out of every three attempts, the brigade claimed. It has also deployed 500 firefighters to assist locals in four regions. Russia is in the grips of one of the worst fire seasons in recent years, with more than 12,000 square miles burning as of late July. The sun has turned red from smoke in some cities, and dangerous levels of air pollution have been reported in Chelyabinsk, Tomsk and Novosibirsk. Russia doesn't extinguish most fires unless they threaten populated areas. Aviation Forest Protection officers parachute in as other aircraft seed clouds with iodine to produce rain Credit: Rex Some of these fires were among the 100-some long-lasting wildfires observed in June in the Arctic, a region normally too cold and wet for widespread burning. Mr Trump told Mr Putin in a phone call on Wednesday that the United States was ready to assist Russia in fighting wildfires, according to the Kremlin. While Mr Putin merely said he would keep it in mind, he took the offer as a sign bilateral relations could be improved, it said. Although cloud seeding has been used for decades in the United States and other countries to try to increase snowfall at ski resorts or pre-empt rainfall during events like the Beijing Olympics, its efficacy continues to be debated. With a crystal structure resembling ice, silver iodide causes water particles in clouds to freeze and grow heavier, as the brother of novelist Kurt Vonnegut discovered in the 1940s. Dry ice, table salt and propane are also dropped on or fired into clouds to encourage rain. During the Vietnam War, the United States seeded clouds over the Ho Chi Minh trail in an attempt to "make mud not war" and prolong the monsoon season. In response to Russia's ongoing fire crisis, shamans of Siberia's indigenous peoples have been conducting rituals to summon rain. Meanwhile, the Russian Orthodox Church has claimed credit for summoning rain in the Krasnoyarsk region. Churches there began praying for rain on July 21, which resulted in precipitation and a decrease in smoke over towns, the Krasnoyarsk bishopric claimed this week. "The weather changed, and now a decision has been made to conduct prayers in all churches of the Krasnoyarsk region to preserve this holy phenomenon," a church spokesman told state news agency TASS.
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| UPDATE 1-U.S. confirms small soybean sale to private Chinese buyer Posted: 01 Aug 2019 09:11 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-U.S. confirms small soybean sale to private Chinese buyer]( "UPDATE 1-U.S. confirms small soybean sale to private Chinese buyer") The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday confirmed a private Chinese company bought 68,000 tonnes of soybeans in the week ended July 25, the first soybean purchase since Beijing offered to exempt five crushers from import tariffs imposed more than a year ago as part of a U.S.-China trade dispute. Soybean prices remained lower on Thursday due to the small amount, however. U.S. President Donald Trump and other top officials said Chinese President Xi Jinping promised large agricultural purchases he met Trump at the G20 summit in Japan a month ago to restart stalled trade talks.
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| Iran was able to capture a British oil tanker because it only gave the Royal Navy 1 hour's notice to escort it, rather than 24, former UK Defence Secretary says Posted: 01 Aug 2019 08:57 AM PDT  Penny Mordaunt has offered insight into how Iran's Revolutionary Guard corps managed to seize the Stena Impero oil tanker in July.
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| The Joe Biden Bounceback Posted: 01 Aug 2019 08:46 AM PDT  "It's not going to be Biden," a Republican lawmaker close to the White House told me recently. "And if it is," President Donald Trump truly prefers that. The administration and the re-elect may want to reconsider their analysis. Wednesday night's Democratic presidential debate, along with a crush of new polling data, confirmed what we already knew: Joe Biden, despite assertions to the contrary, remains a clear front-runner. He continues to want to skip to the general election, where he likes his chances. On the recent controversies surrounding President Trump and immigration, the former vice president said: "So, Mr. President, let's get something straight: We love it. We are not leaving it. We are here to stay. And we're certainly not going to leave it to you."Aside from Biden's reemergence, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard had the breakout performance. The anti-establishment firebrand continued to drill down on foreign policy. She attacked the president for championing a revamped, but misguided alliance with Saudi Arabia. "How can you say Saudi Arabia is a great partner in fighting terrorism when they are fueling and funding terrorist groups in Yemen?" she told Fox News after the debate. Gabbard also warned against administration Iran hawks, saying military action against the mullahs of Tehran would be "far more devastating, far more costly" than even the Iraq War, of which Gabbard is a veteran. Despite a feisty online presence, Gabbard's polling numbers are in the cellar, however.
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| Boris Johnson's Conservatives face test in special election Posted: 01 Aug 2019 08:15 AM PDT  After a first week in office that saw him booed in Scotland and berated in Belfast, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was facing his first electoral test on Thursday — a special election that could see his Conservative government's working majority in Parliament cut to just one vote. Voters are electing a lawmaker in a by-election for the seat of Brecon and Radnorshire in Wales after Conservative incumbent Chris Davies was ousted. Davies is running to regain the seat but faces a strong challenge from the Liberal Democrats' Jane Dodds in a vote overshadowed by Brexit.
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| Johnson Risks Cut to U.K. Majority in First Electoral Test Posted: 01 Aug 2019 08:05 AM PDT ![Johnson Risks Cut to U.K. Majority in First Electoral Test]( "Johnson Risks Cut to U.K. Majority in First Electoral Test") (Bloomberg) -- Follow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story. Boris Johnson is facing his first test at the ballot box since becoming U.K. prime minister in a by-election in the Welsh district of Brecon and Radnorshire on Thursday.The anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats are favorites with bookmakers. If they win, Johnson's paper working majority in the House of Commons would be reduced to just one, making his balancing act more difficult as he seeks to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31 -- with or without an EU deal.The premier's Conservative Party is defending an 8,038-vote majority in the seat, which became vacant after Conservative Member of Parliament Chris Davies was convicted of faking expenses claims and was forced out by a recall petition. The local Tory Party selected Davies to stand again in Thursday's vote, despite his conviction.Johnson, whose strategy has been to commit to leaving the EU "come what may" by Halloween in a bid to win back voters who defected to the Brexit Party in the European elections in May, visited the constituency on Tuesday to support the campaign.The Brexit Party is running a candidate in the election and the result, in a district which is estimated to have voted 52% - 48% vote for Leave in the 2016 referendum, will give an indication of how well Johnson's strategy is cutting through with voters.The Liberal Democrats see the vote as a chance to capitalize on their resurgence since their poll ratings were decimated following five years in coalition with the Conservatives that ended in 2015. The party, which last week elected Jo Swinson their new leader, won 20% of the vote in May's European Parliament election and their national support has been at about the same level in recent surveys.Neither Plaid Cymru, which campaigns for Welsh independence, nor the Green Party put up a candidate, instead urging their supporters to vote Liberal Democrat to maximize the chances of sending a "Remain" MP to Westminster.Polls close at 10 p.m. on Thursday evening and the result is expected in the early hours of Friday morning.To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Alex Morales, Andrew AtkinsonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Merkel ally calls for Europe to go it alone in the Gulf Posted: 01 Aug 2019 07:57 AM PDT  A key ally of Angela Merkel has called for Europe to set up its own naval taskforce in the Persian Gulf independent of the US. Amid a widening divide between Western allies over how to deal with Iran, Norbert Röttgen called on Thursday for France and Germany to lead a European mission to protect shipping from Iran. The UK has sought to build consensus for an international taskforce following the seizure of a British-flagged tanker by Iran. But France and Germany have rejected calls to contribute warships to a US-led mission over concerns at Donald Trump's aggressive stance towards Iran. Mr Röttgen, who is chairman of the German parliament's powerful foreign affairs committee, called on Thursday for Europe to go it alone. "The reasons for a European mission in the Gulf remain, even if Britain should decide on a joint mission with the US," he said. "It's about European interests, not specific British ones, so a European mission should be made up of a group of European states, to which France and Germany must belong." Jeremy Hunt, the former foreign secretary, initially called for a European-led taskforce in response to the seizure of the Stena Impero last month. But Boris Johnson's government has shifted the UK position, with Dominic Raab, the new foreign secretary, suggesting a European mission may not be "viable" without US support. Mr Röttgen's comments come amid signs of a rift in Mrs Merkel's coalition government over the issue. Olaf Scholz, the vice-chancellor, appeared to rule out German contributing to a US-led taskforce on Wednesday, only to be contradicted by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the defence minister, who said the proposal was still being considered. But despite Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer's comments, German involvement remains unlikely. Any military deployment needs parliamentary approval in Germany, and with Mr Scholz's centre-Left Social Democrats (SPD) opposed, there is no majority in favour. Mohammed Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, faces new US sanctions Credit: Evgenia Novozhenina /REUTERS German and French concerns are understood to centre on the Trump administration's increasingly belligerent tone towards Iran, amid fears any incident could be seized on by US hardliners as a pretext for war. The European Union spoke out yesterday against a decision by the US to impose sanctions on Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. "We regret this decision," a spokesman for Federica Mogherini, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, said. "From our side, we will continue to work with Mr Zarif as Iran's most senior diplomat, and in view of the importance of maintaining diplomatic channels." The decision means Iran's chief negotiator will now have to seek special permission to enter the US to attend the United Nations. Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, accused the US of "resorting to childish behaviour" over the sanctions. "They were claiming every day, 'We want to talk, with no preconditions' and then they sanction the foreign minister," Mr Rouhani said.
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| Egypt calls for Palestinian state during Kushner visit Posted: 01 Aug 2019 07:44 AM PDT ![Egypt calls for Palestinian state during Kushner visit]( "Egypt calls for Palestinian state during Kushner visit") Egypt's president has reiterated his support for the creation of a Palestinian state during talks with White House envoy Jared Kushner. President Donald Trump's administration has not endorsed a two-state solution, which has long been seen internationally as the only viable path to peace. Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, is promoting the economic component of a yet-unreleased peace plan.
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| GBP/USD: Pound Ready For A Blow From The BOE Posted: 01 Aug 2019 07:15 AM PDT ![GBP/USD: Pound Ready For A Blow From The BOE]( "GBP/USD: Pound Ready For A Blow From The BOE") GBP/USD has hit a fresh two-year low after the Fed's hawkish decision. The Bank of England's rate decision and preparations for a hard Brexit are set to dominate trading today. A dead-cat bounce tends to be followed by a fresh dive – and that is what GBP/USD has been struggling with.
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| U.S. confirms small soybean sale to private Chinese buyer Posted: 01 Aug 2019 06:49 AM PDT  The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday confirmed a private Chinese company bought 68,000 tonnes of soybeans in the week ended July 25, the first soybean purchase since Beijing offered to exempt five crushers from import tariffs imposed more than a year ago as part of a U.S.-China trade dispute. Soybean prices remained lower on Thursday due to the small amount, however. U.S. President Donald Trump and other top officials said Chinese President Xi Jinping promised large agricultural purchases he met Trump at the G20 summit in Japan a month ago to restart stalled trade talks.
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| Trump asks Lindsey Graham to help make new Iran nuclear deal, reports say Posted: 01 Aug 2019 06:25 AM PDT  Donald Trump's administration wants Republican Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina to help craft a new Iran nuclear deal after the president withdrew from his predecessor's landmark legislation, according to a new report. Mr Trump's administration has paired Middle East policy advisers with "outside actors" to field ideas for the new plan, the Daily Beast reported Thursday, quoting four sources. Mr Graham has taken a hard-line approach to the US-Iran conflict, calling Tehran a "provocative regime" and "an enemy of mankind" that "threatens the existence of the state of Israel". "If you are not willing to take this enemy on, you will regret it," the senator said after being briefed on escalating tensions between the two countries. Mr Graham and other US officials close to the president have hinted at a potential military conflict arising out of increasingly hostile activity near the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has seized a British-flagged vessel and reportedly attacked two other tankers, according to US intelligence. Mr Graham told the Daily Beast in an interview this week he wanted Iran to sign an agreement saying it will not enrich and reprocess its nuclear fuel.The senator described the pledge he'd like Tehran to agree to as the "gold standard," telling the news outlet: "I told the president: Put the 123 on the table with the Iranians. Make them say 'no.'""I think the Iranians will say no," he added, "and I think that will force the Europeans' hands."The US State Department said in a statement it was "seeking a deal with Iran that comprehensively addresses the regime's destabilizing behaviour—not just its nuclear program, but also its missile program, support for terrorist proxies, and malign regional behaviour.""We want Iran to behave like a 'normal nation,'" the statement added.
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| UPDATE 1-Irish PM open to talks with UK's Johnson 'without precondition' Posted: 01 Aug 2019 06:19 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Irish PM open to talks with UK's Johnson 'without precondition']( "UPDATE 1-Irish PM open to talks with UK's Johnson 'without precondition'") Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Friday he was ready to meet Britain's new Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss his Brexit plans "without precondition". Johnson has indicated that he will not restart Brexit negotiations until the EU agrees to change the "backstop" clause, which Brussels wants to ensure Ireland's border with Northern Ireland remains open after Britain leaves the bloc. "I have spoken to the new British prime minister by phone and I invited him to come to Dublin to discuss these matters without any preconditions," Varadkar told journalists.
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| U.S. Navy Super Hornet Jet Crashes Near Death Valley, Injuring 7. Pilot Still Missing Posted: 01 Aug 2019 05:36 AM PDT  The U.S. Navy is conducting a search-and-rescue operation for the pilot of an F/A-18E Super Hornet jet that crashed near Death Valley on Wednesday, injuring seven.The pilot was flying in "Star Wars" Canyon, a chasm in Death Valley National Park where tourists go to observe aviation training exercises, according to park officials, CNN reported."The cause of the crash is currently under investigation," Lt. Cmdr. Lydia Bock, a spokesperson for the Navy's Joint Strike Fighter Wing, said in a statement."Search and rescue personnel are on scene and the status of the pilot is currently unknown," Bock added.Seven visitors sustained minor injuries after the accident, Death Valley National Park spokesman Patrick Taylor told CNN.Recommended: Why North Korea's Air Force is Total Junk Why Doesn't America Kill Kim Jong Un? The F-22 Is Getting a New Job: Sniper
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| Russia senses U.S. wants pretext for Persian Gulf conflict - RIA Posted: 01 Aug 2019 05:31 AM PDT ![Russia senses U.S. wants pretext for Persian Gulf conflict - RIA]( "Russia senses U.S. wants pretext for Persian Gulf conflict - RIA") Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday it had the impression that the United States was looking for a pretext for conflict in the Persian Gulf, the RIA news agency reported. "Events there are really moving to a dangerous point and there are risks of a large-scale military clash," RIA cited foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying. Zakharova told the same news briefing that a U.S. move to create a naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz looked like a crude attempt to pressure Iran.
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| Team Trump Turns to Lindsey Graham to Cut an Iran Deal Posted: 01 Aug 2019 05:00 AM PDT  Win McNamee/GettyPresident Donald Trump wants a new deal with Iran to replace the nuclear agreement he pulled out of, and he's turning to one of his most hawkish confidants to help do it.Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is working in close coordination with senior Trump administration officials who focus on Middle East policy to find an alternative to the Obama administration's Iran deal, four people with knowledge of the efforts tell The Daily Beast. Part of that effort includes fielding ideas from outside actors, including foreign officials, two of those sources said.Graham's developing role in the Trump administration's Iran strategy comes as the State Department, Department of Defense, and other government agencies try to manage the delicate relationship between Washington and Tehran. The two countries have engaged in tit-for-tat escalations over the last several months, feeding fears on Capitol Hill that the two countries are on a crash course that could likely end in a direct military conflict. The situation has worsened in recent weeks, with the Trump administration accusing Iran of attacking tankers in the Gulf of Hormuz, which it heavily patrols.Why Would Iran Start a Tanker War?Despite the growing tensions between the U.S. and Iran, the Trump administration and officials in Tehran have signaled they are willing to meet and negotiate with each other. But neither side is ready to take the plunge just yet. Iran policy experts, some of whom worked with the former Obama administration, said Tehran will not engage in talks about a revised nuclear deal unless the U.S. rolls back at least some of its sanctions on the country. And with the Treasury Department's recent sanctioning of Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, the chances of negotiations moving forward anytime soon seem unlikely, those sources said. In the meantime, though, Trump administration officials, and now apparently Graham, are actively working to put together plans for a new nuclear deal. Graham has been one of the most outspoken senators on Iran. In June, following a classified briefing on tensions between Washington and Tehran, Graham said the U.S. was "closer" to a military confrontation."This is a provocative regime that shoots its own people down in the street, that threatens the existence of the state of Israel. This is an enemy of mankind, and if you are not willing to take this enemy on, you will regret it," Graham said. Now, though, it appears Graham is keen on finding a new deal that the U.S. can bring to the negotiating table. It is unclear how far along the team is in crafting a proposal, but Graham did travel to Israel earlier this month to meet with officials about the situation with Iran.In an interview with The Daily Beast on Wednesday, Graham said he had spoken to Trump about his ideas for a new nuclear deal several times and that the president was contemplating them. The senator said the U.S. should ask the Iranian regime to agree to a so-called 123 Agreement—a key, legally binding commitment that requires countries doing nuclear deals with the U.S. to sign on to nonproliferation standards. The U.S. has entered into those agreements with more than 40 countries. "I told the president: Put the 123 on the table with the Iranians. Make them say 'no,'" Graham told The Daily Beast. "I think the Iranians will say no. And I think that will force the Europeans' hands."The U.S. should also require Iran to sign on to the "gold standard," a pledge not to enrich and reprocess nuclear fuel, Graham said. Enrichment and reprocessing are key steps on the way to a nuclear weapon."If countries want to have their own nuclear industry, that's fine. I'm not against that. But countries can do that without enrichment and reprocessing, without making their own fuel," Graham said. "The problem the Trump administration has is, how do you make a flawed deal better? We need to extend a new deal that cannot be manipulated in the future. If the [State Department] has a better plan, then fine, but I think this is a good option."Graham said all countries in the Middle East should agree to both 123 Agreements and the "gold standard." "It's reasonable for the entire region," he said. "Except for Israel. I'm not talking about Israel. They're in their own sort of… category."Graham, too, wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal earlier this month with Gen. Jack Keane, a member of IP3, a firm that worked with Trump advisers to export U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. The senator said he wrote the opinion piece with Keane because the two had discussed the idea of proposing to Iran a 123 Agreement. Keane and IP3 have been pushing for a U.S. nuclear comeback by way of nuclear exports to the Middle East. "The U.S. could begin supplying fuel rods for nuclear reactors throughout the Arab world. Dozens of nations already operate under similar nuclear frameworks," the op-ed said. "Under this proposal, Iran could become a legitimate nuclear-power nation with all the benefits of following international rules. But under no circumstances would it be permitted to enrich nuclear material for the purpose of building a weapon."Asked about Graham's work on Iran, the State Department said: "The U.S. is seeking a deal with Iran that comprehensively addresses the regime's destabilizing behavior—not just its nuclear program, but also its missile program, support for terrorist proxies, and malign regional behavior," a department spokesperson said in a statement. "We want Iran to behave like a 'normal nation.'"Graham's involvement comes at a time when Rand Paul, another Republican who regularly advises Trump, is working behind the scenes to influence the administration's policy toward the Islamic Republic. The Kentucky senator proposed his own plan, first reported in Politico last month, to become a diplomatic emissary to Iran, with the president signing off on Paul's mission. According to Politico, Paul personally made this pitch to Trump while playing a round of golf at the president's club in Sterling, Virginia. Two sources with knowledge of the situation tell The Daily Beast that Paul had been warming Trump to the idea starting at least two weeks before they played that round of golf. Further, a spokesman for Paul said that the senator "has had multiple conversations with [Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo on this issue" in recent weeks, including on the emissary proposal.When Trump and Paul were on that golf course together discussing Iran and diplomacy, Graham was there with them. However, the two Trump allies have vastly divergent approaches to the region.According to those who've spoken to the president about each senator, Trump has repeatedly joked about all the countries Graham wants the U.S. military to invade, and conversely has privately praised Paul as someone who "won't let" America start "World War III." It is unclear whether the president will even attempt to have the two men work together on Iran policy. When asked by The Daily Beast if he was coordinating with Paul on the issue, Graham chuckled and simply said, "No." After an extended pause, he added, "I'm not sure what he's doing."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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| Russiagate Is Deader Than Ever Posted: 01 Aug 2019 04:27 AM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The ruling by U.S. District Judge John Koeltl to dismiss the Democratic National Committee's lawsuit against Russia, the Trump campaign and others on Tuesday may look like something of an afterthought now that Robert Mueller, the special counsel, has failed to find evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump's team. It is, however, anything but anticlimactic: It contains some hard truths for those still hanging on to the Trump-Russia story.The DNC sued in April 2018, painting a picture of collusion between a Russian government eager to get Trump elected and a Trump campaign that was "a willing and active partner in this effort." This picture, unlike Special Counsel Robert Mueller's eventual report, was based on "connecting the dots" – an exercise in which many commentators have happily engaged since Trump won the 2016 election. Even at the time it was filed, the DNC lawsuit was widely dismissed as a political stunt. But it also followed the example of the Democrats' legal action against President Richard Nixon's re-election committee after Watergate, which ended in a $750,000 settlement when Nixon resigned. Koeltl refused to penalize the DNC for suing frivolously: Indeed, the case helped him clarify some important points.In his ruling, Koeltl, who once worked for Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox, first explained that Russia cannot be sued in a U.S. court for government actions planned in Moscow. That seems obvious, but the DNC disputed it in the lawsuit, and there'd been a lot of public indignation about Russia's actions on U.S. soil that contravene U.S. laws. The Russian government, of course, isn't bound by these laws any more than the U.S. government is bound by Russian laws. As things stand, the two are adversaries, and as such, they'll do to each other what they feel they can get away with, not what the other side deems legal. Retaliation is a matter of policy rather than law. So when Trump called on Russia to hunt for missing Hillary Clinton emails, he wasn't really condoning illegal action, since this concept doesn't apply to the Russian government; he was merely hinting that as president, he wouldn't retaliate against Russia for trying to unearth the emails. From a legal point of view, it appears safer to call on Russia to do some hacking than to ask the same of a specific American hacker. One can find Trump's call unpalatable, or accept his logic that whatever helps him win is good, but this is a political choice, not a legal dilemma.Another point Koeltl makes is that, though it's not OK to steal documents such as personal and work-related emails, it's perfectly OK to disseminate and publish them under the First Amendment – as long as the disseminator isn't also the thief. This has important implications for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, whom neither Mueller nor anyone else has accused of actually stealing the emails of DNC operatives and Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta – or, indeed, any of the classified documents WikiLeaks has published. It can be argued that he helped some of the whistle-blowers to steal files and that constitutes a crime, but in general, he shouldn't be held responsible for publishing pilfered material.Moreover, according to the ruling, it's fine to ask a thief for information he's known to have stolen. And even if Russia's military intelligence service had sent the stolen emails directly to the Trump campaign, the campaign wouldn't have been legally liable for publishing it.As the 2020 presidential election approaches, any foreign government can obtain, by whatever means, compromising information about any of the candidates, hand it to the media or to the candidate's competitors, and the media or the competitors can publish it – all without anyone being legally liable. I can see why that can make some people uncomfortable. But there it is. Countries will spy on each other, and they'll get their hands on information of public interest in the process. If this information is genuine, the public should get access to it. (But of course the publisher should first make sure it's not fake). And the foreign government that stole the information should suffer the consequences – for example, in the form of sanctions – unless there are political reasons not to retaliate.The Democrats should accept the reality and play by the same rules as their opponents – who, in this case, appear to have played by the rules, such as they are.As for Trump-Russia, the Democratic candidates appear to have made the right decision about it. During Tuesday's debate, the word "Russia" was heard exactly twice, from Senator Amy Klobuchar, who criticized Trump for pulling out of an arms control agreement. Perhaps the story will float up again as the campaign goes on – but it should stay buried. There are more legitimate reasons to push back against President Vladimir Putin's regime: His aggression against neighboring countries, his ruthless suppression of protest, his support of other murderous regimes, and so on. In U.S. elections, it's the voters who decide, regardless of whether Putin helps a candidate by sharing some kompromat.To contact the author of this story: Leonid Bershidsky at lbershidsky@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Tobin Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Leonid Bershidsky is Bloomberg Opinion's Europe columnist. He was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and founded the opinion website Slon.ru.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Russiagate Is Deader Than Ever Posted: 01 Aug 2019 04:27 AM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The ruling by U.S. District Judge John Koeltl to dismiss the Democratic National Committee's lawsuit against Russia, the Trump campaign and others on Tuesday may look like something of an afterthought now that Robert Mueller, the special counsel, has failed to find evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump's team. It is, however, anything but anticlimactic: It contains some hard truths for those still hanging on to the Trump-Russia story.The DNC sued in April 2018, painting a picture of collusion between a Russian government eager to get Trump elected and a Trump campaign that was "a willing and active partner in this effort." This picture, unlike Special Counsel Robert Mueller's eventual report, was based on "connecting the dots" – an exercise in which many commentators have happily engaged since Trump won the 2016 election. Even at the time it was filed, the DNC lawsuit was widely dismissed as a political stunt. But it also followed the example of the Democrats' legal action against President Richard Nixon's re-election committee after Watergate, which ended in a $750,000 settlement when Nixon resigned. Koeltl refused to penalize the DNC for suing frivolously: Indeed, the case helped him clarify some important points.In his ruling, Koeltl, who once worked for Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox, first explained that Russia cannot be sued in a U.S. court for government actions planned in Moscow. That seems obvious, but the DNC disputed it in the lawsuit, and there'd been a lot of public indignation about Russia's actions on U.S. soil that contravene U.S. laws. The Russian government, of course, isn't bound by these laws any more than the U.S. government is bound by Russian laws. As things stand, the two are adversaries, and as such, they'll do to each other what they feel they can get away with, not what the other side deems legal. Retaliation is a matter of policy rather than law. So when Trump called on Russia to hunt for missing Hillary Clinton emails, he wasn't really condoning illegal action, since this concept doesn't apply to the Russian government; he was merely hinting that as president, he wouldn't retaliate against Russia for trying to unearth the emails. From a legal point of view, it appears safer to call on Russia to do some hacking than to ask the same of a specific American hacker. One can find Trump's call unpalatable, or accept his logic that whatever helps him win is good, but this is a political choice, not a legal dilemma.Another point Koeltl makes is that, though it's not OK to steal documents such as personal and work-related emails, it's perfectly OK to disseminate and publish them under the First Amendment – as long as the disseminator isn't also the thief. This has important implications for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, whom neither Mueller nor anyone else has accused of actually stealing the emails of DNC operatives and Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta – or, indeed, any of the classified documents WikiLeaks has published. It can be argued that he helped some of the whistle-blowers to steal files and that constitutes a crime, but in general, he shouldn't be held responsible for publishing pilfered material.Moreover, according to the ruling, it's fine to ask a thief for information he's known to have stolen. And even if Russia's military intelligence service had sent the stolen emails directly to the Trump campaign, the campaign wouldn't have been legally liable for publishing it.As the 2020 presidential election approaches, any foreign government can obtain, by whatever means, compromising information about any of the candidates, hand it to the media or to the candidate's competitors, and the media or the competitors can publish it – all without anyone being legally liable. I can see why that can make some people uncomfortable. But there it is. Countries will spy on each other, and they'll get their hands on information of public interest in the process. If this information is genuine, the public should get access to it. (But of course the publisher should first make sure it's not fake). And the foreign government that stole the information should suffer the consequences – for example, in the form of sanctions – unless there are political reasons not to retaliate.The Democrats should accept the reality and play by the same rules as their opponents – who, in this case, appear to have played by the rules, such as they are.As for Trump-Russia, the Democratic candidates appear to have made the right decision about it. During Tuesday's debate, the word "Russia" was heard exactly twice, from Senator Amy Klobuchar, who criticized Trump for pulling out of an arms control agreement. Perhaps the story will float up again as the campaign goes on – but it should stay buried. There are more legitimate reasons to push back against President Vladimir Putin's regime: His aggression against neighboring countries, his ruthless suppression of protest, his support of other murderous regimes, and so on. In U.S. elections, it's the voters who decide, regardless of whether Putin helps a candidate by sharing some kompromat.To contact the author of this story: Leonid Bershidsky at lbershidsky@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Tobin Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Leonid Bershidsky is Bloomberg Opinion's Europe columnist. He was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and founded the opinion website Slon.ru.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump vs. Obama?: Michael Moore Wants Michelle Obama To Run In 2020 Posted: 01 Aug 2019 04:24 AM PDT  Filmmaker Michael Moore said former first lady Michelle Obama is the one person who could "crush" President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.Moore went on MSNBC's "Decision 2020: Post-Debate Analysis" Wednesday evening to break down the Democratic debate. He urged Obama to run for president and said that Trump has to be crushed, because it's not enough to just beat him.Recommended: Why North Korea's Air Force is Total Junk Why Doesn't America Kill Kim Jong Un? The F-22 Is Getting a New Job: Sniper"The only way to remove Trump is to crush Trump," Moore said Wednesday. "And that's the question that has to be asked. Who can crush Trump? Who's the street fighter? … There is one person that would crush Trump — and she hasn't announced yet. And her last name rhymes with Obama. In fact, it is Obama —Michelle Obama."
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| UK's Javid: our economy is strong enough to cope with no-deal Brexit Posted: 01 Aug 2019 04:17 AM PDT ![UK's Javid: our economy is strong enough to cope with no-deal Brexit]( "UK's Javid: our economy is strong enough to cope with no-deal Brexit") The United Kingdom's economy is strong enough to cope with a no-deal Brexit and while the government wants a better divorce deal it will exit on Oct. 31 without a deal unless the European Union agrees to a better one, finance minister Sajid Javid said. "Our economy is fundamentally strong, so today we can make many choices," Javid said. "We have been clear we want to get a deal, but it has to be a different deal, a good deal, one that abolishes this undemocratic backstop, and if we cannot remove that backstop then we have to leave with no deal and we will be ready to do that," Javid said.
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