| Trump addresses UN in shadow of Iran crisis, domestic scandal Posted: 23 Sep 2019 06:26 PM PDT  US President Donald Trump will try selling his tough Iran policy in a speech to the UN on Tuesday, but the bid for international leadership will be overshadowed by growing political scandal at home. "We'll be talking about Iran," Trump told reporters about his speech at the UN General Assembly in New York. Saying his administration had already put "a lot of pressure" on Tehran, he hinted at new measures in the US campaign to end Iran's nuclear technology programs and, more generally, to curb the country's power in the Middle East.
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| At UN, Trump focuses on religious freedom, not climate Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:43 PM PDT  President Donald Trump made his political priorities clear Monday within an hour of arriving at the United Nations for a three-day visit: He breezed by a major climate change summit to focus instead on religious persecution, an issue that resonates with his evangelical supporters. The climate summit, a centerpiece of this year's U.N. schedule, was not on Trump's agenda at all.
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| Huawei exec in Canada court, bids to quash extradition Posted: 23 Sep 2019 12:49 PM PDT  Top Chinese telecom executive Meng Wanzhou and her lawyers went to court on Monday to try to have her extradition case thrown out, arguing that her rights were violated. The United States wants to put Meng on trial for fraud for allegedly violating Iran sanctions and lying about it to US banks -- accusations her lawyers dispute. The arrest of Meng -- a rising star whose father Ren Zhengfei founded Huawei and over three decades grew it into a global telecom giant -- caused an unprecedented diplomatic rift between Canada and China.
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| The Latest: Trump: I'd win Nobel if it was awarded 'fairly' Posted: 23 Sep 2019 03:25 PM PDT  President Donald Trump got a question that was music to his ears during one of his meetings with foreign leaders at the United Nations. When Trump met with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday, a reporter from the Pakistani press corps asked Trump about mediating the India-Pakistan standoff over the disputed region Kashmir. When the reporter told Trump he would deserve a Nobel Prize if he could resolve the dispute, the president readily agreed.
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| Fox News Guest Calls Greta Thunberg ‘Mentally Ill Swedish Child’ as Right Wing Unleashes on Climate Activist Posted: 23 Sep 2019 06:11 PM PDT  Fox NewsThe Daily Wire's Michael Knowles joined other conservative pundits and Fox News personalities in openly attacking 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg following her fiery speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit on Monday, calling the teenager a "mentally ill Swedish child."In the wake of Friday's youth-led Climate Strike, Thunberg blasted U.N. leaders, striking a defiant and angry tone."For more than 30 years the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away?" Thunberg said. "Because if you really understood the situation and went on failing to act, you would be evil, and that I refuse to believe."Appearing on Fox News' The Story on Monday evening, Knowles joined anchor Harris Faulkner and liberal commentator Christopher Hahn to discuss Monday's climate protests across the nation as well as Thunberg's speech. Knowles immediately went after the young climate activist."If it were about science it would be led by scientists rather than by politicians and a mentally ill Swedish child who is being exploited by her parents and by the international left," Knowles said, prompting Faulkner to ask Hahn to respond since he had a "visceral reaction" to the right-wing talker's comments."Yeah, I mean, you're a grown man and you're attacking a child—shame on you," the liberal pundit said. Knowles insisted he was not attacking Thunberg but rather her parents and liberals."Relax, skinny boy, I got this," Hahn shouted. "OK? You're attacking a child, you're a grown man!"As Hahn continued to demand that Knowles "take it back," the conservative podcaster stood by his remarks, repeating his claim that Thunberg is "mentally ill" while accusing the left of "exploiting a girl with many mental illnesses." (For the record, Thunberg has been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, something she has called her "superpower.")The two went back and forth over Knowles' attack on Thunberg. Faulkner, meanwhile, did not directly address Knowles' comments, instead refocusing the conversation on another topic.Throughout the day on Monday, conservatives on television and social media mocked and belittled the 16-year-old climate activist. A popular right-wing Twitter troll said Thunberg needed a "spanking," while the editor-in-chief of The Federalist quipped that Thunberg's emergence showed that we "need to have a national conversation about the rising problem of arrogant teenage Swedes." On Fox & Friends, guest Marc Morano declared that the 16-year-old was "instilling fear in millions of kids." Later on Monday, host Greg Gutfeld—who famously has failed to read articles to prepare for television segments—criticized Thunberg's parents for allowing her to speak out publicly about climate change, saying kids know "nothing about nuclear energy or the costs of solar or wind power.""I feel bad for her," he said, adding that co-host Juan Williams would be "embarrassed" if his kid acted like Thunberg.But the teen-bashing didn't sit well with everyone on Fox News.When Outnumbered guest Buck Sexton mocked the idea of asking Thunberg about other topics, like the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve, the show's co-hosts immediately pushed back against his tone. "No picking on children," host Melissa Francis said."She's a kid," Dagen McDowell added. 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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| The Latest: UN chief: 'The tide is turning' on climate Posted: 23 Sep 2019 05:37 PM PDT  U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says "the tide is turning" as a summit dedicated to combating climate change has concluded. Guterres on Monday listed 77 countries that committed to carbon neutrality by 2050, though those countries combined produce far less than half the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Seventy nations also pledged to do more to fight climate change, 100 business leaders promised to join the green economy and one-third of the global banking sector signed up to green goals.
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| Tech companies back independent watchdog to tackle online extremism Posted: 23 Sep 2019 06:03 PM PDT ![Tech companies back independent watchdog to tackle online extremism]( "Tech companies back independent watchdog to tackle online extremism") A global working group set up by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Microsoft to remove extremist content will become an independent watchdog working "to respond quicker and work more collaboratively to prevent" attacks like Christchurch, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday. Ardern has pushed for stronger action since New Zealand's worst peacetime mass shooting in March, when a gunman attacked Muslims attending Friday prayers in Christchurch. "In the same way that we respond to natural emergencies like fires and floods, we need to be prepared and ready to respond to a crisis like the one we experienced," Ardern told reporters on the sidelines of the annual United Nations gathering of world leaders.
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| Tech companies back independent watchdog to tackle online extremism Posted: 23 Sep 2019 06:00 PM PDT ![Tech companies back independent watchdog to tackle online extremism]( "Tech companies back independent watchdog to tackle online extremism") A global working group set up by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Microsoft to remove extremist content will become an independent watchdog working "to respond quicker and work more collaboratively to prevent" attacks like Christchurch, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday. Ardern has pushed for stronger action since New Zealand's worst peacetime mass shooting in March, when a gunman attacked Muslims attending Friday prayers in Christchurch. "In the same way that we respond to natural emergencies like fires and floods, we need to be prepared and ready to respond to a crisis like the one we experienced," Ardern told reporters on the sidelines of the annual United Nations gathering of world leaders.
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| UK, France Germany blame Iran for Saudi oil attacks Posted: 23 Sep 2019 05:21 PM PDT  Fallout from the Sept. 14 attacks is still reverberating as world leaders gather for their annual meeting at the U.N. General Assembly and international experts investigate, at Saudi Arabia's request, what happened and who was responsible.
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| U.S.-Japan trade deal hits snag as Tokyo seeks assurances on car tariffs Posted: 23 Sep 2019 05:14 PM PDT  UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S.-Japan trade deal hit a last-minute snag as Japanese officials sought assurances that the Trump administration will not impose national security tariffs on Japanese-built cars and auto parts, people familiar with the talks said on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are aiming to sign a trade deal at a meeting this week during the United Nations General Assembly in New York that provides increased access to Japan for U.S. agricultural goods and bilateral cuts in industrial goods tariffs.
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| U.S.-Japan trade deal hits snag as Tokyo seeks assurances on car tariffs Posted: 23 Sep 2019 05:12 PM PDT ![U.S.-Japan trade deal hits snag as Tokyo seeks assurances on car tariffs]( "U.S.-Japan trade deal hits snag as Tokyo seeks assurances on car tariffs") UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A U.S.-Japan trade deal hit a last-minute snag as Japanese officials sought assurances that the Trump administration will not impose national security tariffs on Japanese-built cars and auto parts, people familiar with the talks said on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are aiming to sign a trade deal at a meeting this week during the United Nations General Assembly in New York that provides increased access to Japan for U.S. agricultural goods and bilateral cuts in industrial goods tariffs.
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| Greta Thunberg berates leaders as UN climate summit falls short Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:53 PM PDT  An emotional Greta Thunberg tore into world leaders at a UN climate summit Monday, accusing them of betraying her generation by failing to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, as announcements by major economies fell far short of expectations. The Swedish teen's impassioned speech, in which she repeated the words "How dare you" four times, was the defining moment of the meeting, called by UN chief Antonio Guterres to reinvigorate the faltering Paris climate agreement. Ahead of the conference, the United Nations issued a release saying 66 countries vowed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, along with 10 regions, 102 cities, and scores of businesses.
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| Greece says 1985 hijacking arrest a mistake, suspect freed Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:51 PM PDT  Greek authorities said early Tuesday that the arrest of a Lebanese man on suspicion of participation in a TWA flight hijacking in 1985 was a case of mistaken identity. The 65-year-old was released without charges and was being put up at a hotel on the Aegean Sea island of Syros, where he had been detained the past four days, a police statement said. The name on his passport came up on a European police computer system as that of a man wanted by Germany over the hijacking, in which an American was killed.
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| UPDATE 1-Trump discusses N.Korea with South's Moon, asks what a 3rd Kim summit would yield Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:51 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Trump discusses N.Korea with South's Moon, asks what a 3rd Kim summit would yield]( "UPDATE 1-Trump discusses N.Korea with South's Moon, asks what a 3rd Kim summit would yield") NEW YORK/SEOUL, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart held a summit in New York on Monday to discuss plans to restart U.S.-North Korea talks, as the allies prepare for talks in Seoul on sharing the cost of American soldiers stationed in South Korea. "Right now, people would like to see that happen.
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| Trump says he put 'no pressure' on Ukraine, as tension mounts Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:41 PM PDT  US President Donald Trump on Monday swatted away mounting pressure from Democrats demanding his impeachment, rejecting accusations he had offered aid to Ukraine only if it investigated his political rival Joe Biden. Battered by the burgeoning scandal during his first full day at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Trump tried to shift the controversy toward Biden, accusing the former vice president, without evidence, of engaging in corruption in Ukraine. Democrats have fumed as Trump's administration has blocked Congress from obtaining a whistleblower's secret complaint allegedly detailing the president's actions, and they ramped up their demands for the document that sparked the latest crisis.
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| Trump tries to make America relevant again at the U.N. Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:34 PM PDT  Here are four big questions (and answers) about Trump's big address to the U.N. General Assembly.
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| Trump could negotiate 'better' Iran deal, UK's Johnson says Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:30 PM PDT  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday US President Donald Trump could negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran "better" than what Tehran and world powers agreed to in 2015. "Let's do a better deal," Johnson said in an interview with NBC while in New York for the UN General Assembly. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif appeared to respond to Johnson's comments on Twitter, writing that France, Germany and Britain's "paralysis in fulfilling their obligations w/o US permission has been clear since May 2018," when Washington withdrew from the accord.
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| U.S.-China trade talks will resume in two weeks - Mnuchin Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:30 PM PDT ![U.S.-China trade talks will resume in two weeks - Mnuchin]( "U.S.-China trade talks will resume in two weeks - Mnuchin") U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday that he and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He for trade talks in two weeks. "It's actually, I think, it's not next week, but the following week we'll be having those talks," Mnuchin said in an interview with Fox Business Network, adding that the two country's negotiators had made some progress in easing their trade tensions in last week's deputy-level meetings. Earlier on Monday Mnuchin had told reporters at the United Nations General Assembly that the trade talks would resume next week.
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| Japan still hopes for U.S. trade deal signing by end-Sept - spokesman Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:28 PM PDT ![Japan still hopes for U.S. trade deal signing by end-Sept - spokesman]( "Japan still hopes for U.S. trade deal signing by end-Sept - spokesman") Japan still hopes to sign a trade deal with the United States by the end of September and there is still time to complete final negotiations to reach that goal, Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Masato Ohtaka said on Monday. Ohtaka, in a briefing with reporters at the United Nations General Assembly, said that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi would discuss remaining trade issues at a meeting in New York later on Monday evening.
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| 'You are failing us': Plans, frustration at UN climate talks Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:20 PM PDT  Scolded for doing little, leader after leader promised the United Nations on Monday to do more to prevent a warming world from reaching even more dangerous levels. As they made their pledges at the Climate Action Summit, though, they and others conceded it was not enough. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres concluded the summit by listing 77 countries that committed to carbon neutrality by 2050, 70 nations pledging to do more to fight climate change, with 100 business leaders promising to join the green economy and one-third of the global banking sector signing up to green goals.
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| Trump says meeting with Kim Jong Un 'could happen soon' Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:11 PM PDT  Trump provided few details, and it wasn't clear what officials were doing behind the scenes to set up a meeting meant to address a diplomatic impasse over the North's development of nuclear-armed missiles targeting the U.S. mainland. Trump has also proven that he's willing to take risks with North Korea that no other U.S. leader has taken, even as critics say his summitry captured the world's attention but got few concrete results.
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| Court ruling could throw Johnson's Brexit plan into more disarray Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:01 PM PDT ![Court ruling could throw Johnson's Brexit plan into more disarray]( "Court ruling could throw Johnson's Brexit plan into more disarray") The UK Supreme Court will say on Tuesday whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson acted unlawfully when he suspended parliament just weeks before Brexit, a ruling that may further complicate his plans to lead his country out of the European Union next month. Most lawmakers are opposed to a so-called "no-deal Brexit" scenario, fearing that it would cause economic damage and severe disruption, including to food and medicine supply chains.
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| Biden Shifts From Ukraine to Health Care: Campaign Update Posted: 23 Sep 2019 03:59 PM PDT ![Biden Shifts From Ukraine to Health Care: Campaign Update]( "Biden Shifts From Ukraine to Health Care: Campaign Update") (Bloomberg) -- After a weekend spent responding to largely discredited allegations of impropriety from President Donald Trump, Joe Biden's campaign is attempting to shift the conversation back to health care this week.On Monday, the campaign said it would spend the week focusing on Biden's plan for expanding Obamacare while assailing Trump's "vicious efforts" to dismantle it.The shift comes after reports this weekend that Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate Biden and his son Hunter.Polls show that most Americans are uncomfortable with eliminating private insurance, as proposed by two of Biden's chief rivals, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, and the Biden campaign is eager to highlight those differences. The focus on health care will mostly be through digital efforts, as the former vice president will spend most of the week fundraising and has no scheduled events around the theme this week."We cannot let any scandal, tweet, or desperate attempt to stay in power from this president distract us from the reality of a second-term of Donald Trump's presidency: a president focused on demolishing our health care system and forcing tens of millions of Americans to pay the price," Biden said in a statement.Group Says Trump May Have Broken Election Law (5:43 p.m.)President Donald Trump might have violated election law when he urged his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Joe Biden, according to complaints filed by a campaign finance watchdog group.Common Cause said that Trump, his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and other political operatives solicited foreign nationals for campaign help when they asked Ukrainian authorities to reopen an investigation into largely discredited allegations against the Democratic front-runner and his son Hunter Biden.Federal law prohibits foreign citizens from contributing money or other things of value to campaigns. It also bars candidates and their representatives from asking foreigners for such assistance.Even if Trump did not offer a quid pro quo to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the form of U.S., merely asking for the inquiry to be reopened could violate federal law, the group said.Common Cause filed its complaints with U.S. the Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission. In addition to Trump and Giuliani, the complaints name Victoria Toensing, who was once considered for Trump's legal team, and GOP donors Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman as participants in the effort to persuade Ukraine to aid Trump by investigating the Bidens. -- Bill AllisonSanders Would Push Saudi Arabia-Iran Talks (4:32 p.m.)Bernie Sanders said he could ease Middle East tensions by having the two regional powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran, meet at the negotiating table -- and if they don't, Saudi Arabia would lose U.S. support."What President Bernie Sanders would do is bring Saudi Arabia, bring Iran around the table and say, 'You know what? We're not going to spend trillions of dollars sorting out your laundry. Get it together. Stop your damn wars, alright?'" Sanders said to a crowd of about 200 at a town hall at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa."I think in many ways we need to rethink our relationship with countries in the Middle East," he added. "I think we have got to end the U.S. approach which supports Saudi Arabia and just attacks verbally or otherwise Iran."The Democratic presidential candidate has long advocated ending interventionist U.S. foreign policy and voted against the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.The U.S. said Friday it would send a "moderate" number of troops to the Middle East and contribute missile defense capabilities to the Saudis in response to last weekend's attack on oil facilities. American officials blame Iran for the attack that knocked out half the production of oil from a key Saudi field. -- Emma KineryHigher Bar Set for Democrats' Fifth Debate (3:44 p.m.)The Democratic National Committee on Monday announced the higher criteria to qualify for the fifth candidate debate in November.To make the cut, candidates must show they've received donations from at least 165,000 unique contributors, up from 130,000 for the October debates. These must include at least 600 donors per state in at least 20 states.And they must meet one of two polling thresholds: either 3% or more in any four national or single-state polls or at least 5% in two polls from the first four primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada. In the September and October debates, candidates needed to have 2% support in four approved polls.Although the new thresholds are only slightly higher, they are likely to lead to a winnowing of the field. As of now, only seven candidates -- Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke and Andrew Yang -- poll above 3% on average nationally, according to Real Clear Politics. In the most recent Iowa poll, only five candidates polled above 5%. The DNC has not announced a date or a site for the forum. -- Misyrlena EgkolfopoulouWeld Says Trump Ukraine Call Is 'Treason' (9:36 a.m.)Donald Trump's 2020 Republican challengers said the president's July 25 call with his Ukrainian counterpart is the latest evidence that he should not be in the office -- with one rival suggesting it was tantamount to "treason."Allegations that Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during the call to investigate Democratic front-runner Joe Biden amount to "treason, pure and simple," former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, who is seeking to mount a primary challenge to Trump, told MSNBC.Former Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh, another Republican who is running against Trump for the party nod, said the president should be impeached over the conduct.Weld, Walsh and former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford -- a third Republican who has announced his intent to challenge Trump -- gave a group interview to MSNBC on Monday and urged the national party to permit state contests for voters to choose the party's 2020 candidate, even as Arizona, Kansas, Nevada South Carolina and Alaska have already canceled their GOP primaries. -- Kasia KlimasinskaBooker Says Thousands Answered Fundraising Plea (8:02 a.m.)Cory Booker is touting the best two fundraising days of his campaign after announcing he'd quit the Democratic presidential race unless he collects $1.7 million by Oct 1."Ten thousand people have responded," the New Jersey senator told MSNBC on Monday. "If people want me in this race go to CoryBooker.com."On Saturday, Booker's campaign manager told reporters that unless they were able to raise the $1.7 million within 10 days, they may be unable to compete for the nomination.Booker, the former Newark, New Jersey, mayor raised $12.3 million by June 30 and had $5.3 million cash on hand. But he lags behind the fundraising of other leading candidates, including Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Beto O'Rourke. -- Caitlin WebberCOMING UPThe United Food and Commercial Workers union will host forums in Iowa and Michigan with Democratic presidential candidates on Sept. 29 and Oct. 13. Michael Bennet, Biden, Booker, Buttigieg, Harris, Sanders and Warren have confirmed that they will attend.\--With assistance from Caitlin Webber, Kasia Klimasinska, Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou, Emma Kinery and Bill Allison.To contact the reporter on this story: Tyler Pager in Philadelphia at tpager1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| No breakthrough as EU's Tusk, Britain's Johnson meet in New York Posted: 23 Sep 2019 03:49 PM PDT  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated a call for "flexibility" from the EU in Brexit talks during a meeting with Council President Donald Tusk in New York Monday that failed to yield a breakthrough.
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| Boris Johnson calls for 'Trump deal' to fix Iran nuclear standoff Posted: 23 Sep 2019 03:48 PM PDT  PM says president could come up with better pact, in apparent shift from European positionBoris Johnson arriving at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan on Monday. Photograph: Craig Ruttle/APBoris Johnson has sided with Donald Trump in calling the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran a "bad deal", while praising the US president as a "very brilliant negotiator" capable of achieving a better one.The prime minister's remarks, made in a NBC interview, marked a sharp change in UK rhetoric. British leaders, including Johnson, had until now upheld the 2015 accord between six major powers and Iran as a major diplomatic achievement.British officials insisted that the prime minister continued to support full compliance with that deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Programme of Action (JCPOA).However, Johnson had clearly come to the UN determined to emphasise his personal relationship with Trump, who reneged on the JCPOA last year, praising him highly in the interview. Asked about the JCPOA, Johnson said: "The reality is, as President Trump rightly said, it was a bad deal. It had many defects. Iran was and is behaving disruptively in the region.""If it was a bad deal – and I'm willing to accept that, it had many, many defects – then let's do a better deal."And I think there's one guy who can do a better deal and one guy who understands how to get a difficult partner like Iran over the line and that is the president of the United States."Johnson described Trump as a "very, very brilliant negotiator" who could produce a "Trump deal".On the prospect of a US military response to the attacks, Johnson replied: "It's not something that I think will necessarily help the situation."Johnson's remarks came as the UK, France and Germany declared they were convinced that Iran was responsible for airstrikes against Saudi oil installations on 14 September and called on Iran to negotiate over its role in the Middle East and its development of missiles as well as its nuclear programme.In a joint statement at the UN general assembly on Monday, the three European governments supported the US and Saudi claim that Iran had carried out the missile and drone attack on 14 September against an oil field and petrochemical processing facility, but added they maintained support for the JCPOA."It is clear to us that Iran bears responsibility for this attack. There is no other plausible explanation. We support ongoing investigations to establish further details," the statement said following a meeting between Johnson, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron.The statement said that the attack raised the risk of a major new conflict, which was of concern to the whole world. It underlined the importance of collective security and multilateral action.The statement also restated the European nations' commitment to the 2015 nuclear deal.Asked whether Johnson's undertaking in the European statement clashed with his remarks on the US evening news, a UK official insisted there was a coherent message."What this is about is achieving compliance, and we're open to various ways of achieving that," he said."Our commitment is to working with all of our partners to find solutions to bring Iran into compliance. In his interview I think he was clear he wants to work with all our partners."The European agreement called for Iran to return to the limits on its nuclear programme imposed by that agreement, which Tehran has begun to ignore more than a year after the US withdrew from the deal.But the statement said Iran would now have to go further, arguing "the time has come for Iran to accept a long-term negotiation framework for its nuclear program, as well as regional security issues, which include its missile programs," the statement said.Iran has denied responsibility, insisting the strikes were launched from Yemen by their Houthi allies.On Monday night Iran ruled out the possibility of negotiating a new deal with major powers. Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet that European partners have failed to fulfil their commitments under a 2015 nuclear pact.France has sent investigators to examine the weapons fragments collected at the site of the attacks. The UN has also sent an investigative team, which has yet to deliver a report. Iran has said it will not necessarily accept the results of that report, calling into question the impartiality of the UN team.The European statement comes as the US and Iran are poised to clash at the UN general assembly. Donald Trump is due to address the assembly on Tuesday, and the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, who has already arrived in New York, will speak the next day. Both are expected to blame the other for the worsening instability in the Gulf.
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| UPDATE 1-FAA chief invites Boeing 737 MAX feedback from divided world regulators Posted: 23 Sep 2019 03:29 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-FAA chief invites Boeing 737 MAX feedback from divided world regulators]( "UPDATE 1-FAA chief invites Boeing 737 MAX feedback from divided world regulators") The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration invited continued feedback from global regulators at a Boeing 737 MAX briefing on Monday about the steps needed to return the grounded passenger jet to flight after two fatal crashes. The closed-door meeting, on the eve of a United Nations aviation assembly in Montreal, brought together representatives from more than 50 countries with airlines that fly that MAX and those that will have incoming flights of the aircraft. Airlines have urged regulators to coordinate with one another in a bid to avoid damaging splits over safety as they evaluate software changes undertaken by Boeing Co to return the MAX to flight.
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| Trump Shrugs Off Egypt Protests, Says El-Sisi ‘Highly Respected’ Posted: 23 Sep 2019 03:25 PM PDT ![Trump Shrugs Off Egypt Protests, Says El-Sisi 'Highly Respected']( "Trump Shrugs Off Egypt Protests, Says El-Sisi 'Highly Respected'") (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said he wasn't concerned about demonstrations in Cairo and other Egyptian cities last week, praising President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi for bringing back stability to Egypt."Demonstrations? No, everybody has demonstrations," Trump said during a meeting with El-Sisi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday. "Egypt has a great leader, he's highly respected, he's brought order. Before he was here there was very little order, there was chaos. So I'm not worried about that."More than eight years after Egypt's uprising against then-leader Hosni Mubarak, and reeling under worsening living standards, hundreds of people defied a ban on demonstrations in several major cities late Friday. While small, the very existence of the protests was a stark reminder of simmering discontent in the country of 100 million that's seen a crackdown on political freedoms since the 2011 uprising.The protests, which were eventually broken up by tear gas, took many by surprise, including activists who participated in the 2011 revolt, as well as state-run media, though there's little indication whether the action will snowball into further unrest. El-Sisi, who was elected after overthrowing and jailing an Islamist president amid mass demonstrations in 2013, blamed the latest protests on Islamists."Let me say that you will always find protests like this in our regions, especially with political Islam," the Egyptian leader said via a translator.\--With assistance from Claudia Maedler.To contact the reporters on this story: Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.net;David Wainer in New York at dwainer3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump says Rouhani meeting not scheduled as speculation swirls Posted: 23 Sep 2019 03:02 PM PDT  US President Donald Trump said Monday he could not rule out a meeting with Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani at the United Nations this week, but no encounter was yet scheduled. Speculation has been rife over whether the leaders of the two arch-foes would finally meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, with France's Emmanuel Macron trying to broker what would be a historic rendezvous. The chances of this happening have seemingly diminished in the wake of a dramatic attack on Saudi oil facilities blamed by the United States on Iran, which denies being involved.
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| Greta Thunberg Can’t Do This Alone: How To Join The Fight Against Climate Change Posted: 23 Sep 2019 03:00 PM PDT  NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 23: Youth activist Greta Thunberg speaks at the Climate Action Summit at the United Nations on September 23, 2019 in New York City. While the United States will not be participating, China and about 70 other countries are expected to make announcements concerning climate change. The summit at the U.N. comes after a worldwide Youth Climate Strike on Friday, which saw millions of young people around the world demanding action to address the climate crisis. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)Greta Thunberg condemned world leaders for their inaction on climate change at the U.N. Climate Action Summit on Monday, calling their failure to plan for drastic cuts in carbon emissions, which scientists say we need to avoid catastrophe, a "betrayal" of young people."You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words," Thunberg said. "And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!"While there were a few signs of progress at the summit, most of the biggest polluters failed to propose meaningful change."There's a big dissonance between every leader saying to Greta 'we hear you' and the commitments they are putting on to the table," Isabel Cavelier, senior advisor at the Mission 2020 climate group, told The Guardian. "China said absolutely nothing new, India mentioned commitments made in the past, the US, Canada and Australia aren't here. We are seeing governments showing up empty-handed. There's a feeling that the big emitters are holding things back."Though Thunberg's work has dominated coverage, there are also scores of young people around the world who have joined the movement against climate change, many of whom are participating in the Global Climate Strike this week. Several of them, along with Thunberg — including Alexandria Villaseñor, Chiara Sacchi, Catarina Lorenzo, Iris Duquesne, and Raina Ivanova — recently filed a lawsuit against five of the world's major carbon polluters, stating that the countries are violating their rights as children. If the lawsuit succeeds, the U.N. would classify the climate crisis as a children's rights crisis. For those wondering how to stop sitting on the sidelines and join activists around the world in their fight against climate change, here are a few ways to get involved. Find a Global Climate Strike near you. On September 27, people around the world will be taking to the streets — again (the first strike was September 20) — to cap off the week of action. Find your local climate strike here. Why join? "We need to act right now to stop burning fossil fuels and ensure a rapid energy revolution with equity, reparations, and climate justice at its heart. But it's going to take all of us working together to succeed," according to the organizers' website. Join a local campaign — or consider starting your own.You can find a local group local climate change action group here. Learn how to organize & mobilize.The Global Climate Strike organizers are holding online trainings around the world on September 25 and October 2 on how to make the most impact in the movement for climate justice. You can find out how to join online orientation here. If you want to gain skills in campaigning and organizing in your own community, you can also join an online training on causes of climate change, how to have climate change conversations, and more. Continue striking every Friday.The Global Climate Strike grew out of a grassroots movement called FridaysforFuture, which started with Greta Thunberg sitting outside of Swedish parliament all by herself every school day for three weeks. FridaysforFuture is growing: Find out how to join the movement here. Volunteer or donate to environmental organizations.If you have the means, consider donating to organizations that help the environment and fight climate change such as Earth Justice, the Sierra Club, the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, or NextGen Climate Action. Become educated on climate change.The best thing you can do before you take action on any issue is become educated on it. There are many resources where you can start, including Inside Climate News and Climate Central. You can also go straight to the source; the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. (It may be 2,000 pages long, but the website makes it easy to read with summaries and graphics.)Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?Young Women Are Leading The Global Climate StrikeHere Are The Women Fighting Climate ChangeThe Best Signs From The Climate Change Strikes
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| WRAPUP 2-EU's Barnier says it's hard to see Brexit solution Posted: 23 Sep 2019 02:43 PM PDT ![WRAPUP 2-EU's Barnier says it's hard to see Brexit solution]( "WRAPUP 2-EU's Barnier says it's hard to see Brexit solution") UNITED NATIONS/BERLIN, Sept 23 (Reuters) - The European Union's Brexit negotiator said on Monday it was difficult to see a way to break the Brexit impasse as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's demand to drop an insurance policy for the Irish border was unacceptable. More than three years after the United Kingdom voted by 52%-48% in a referendum to leave the EU, Brexit's future remains uncertain, with options ranging from a turbulent no-deal exit to abandoning the entire endeavour.
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| Israeli election rivals meet as deadlock still looms Posted: 23 Sep 2019 02:35 PM PDT  Israel's president summoned the leaders of the country's two largest political parties to his official residence late Monday, hoping to break a political deadlock that threatens to push the nation into months of limbo and potentially force a third election in less than a year. Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his challenger, former military chief Benny Gantz, commented as President Reuven Rivlin brought them together for a photo at the beginning of the meeting. The two men looked tense and uncomfortable as Rivlin forced a smile.
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| Brazil's president is heading to UN in a pugnacious mood Posted: 23 Sep 2019 02:32 PM PDT  Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been in power for less than nine months, but he's already had diplomatic spats with France, Germany, China, Norway, Arab nations, Venezuela, Cuba and Argentina. Now the pugnacious leader is set to go onto the world's biggest diplomatic stage and buck growing calls for a tougher crackdown on deforestation in the Amazon region that he considers an economic resource for his nation. "We have to talk about patriotism, sovereignty, what Brazil means to the world," Bolsonaro said over the weekend, previewing Tuesday's appearance at the annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly, which has been preceded by a climate summit and a two-day youth conference aimed at spurring action to combat global warming.
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| Trump calls for new Iran deal Posted: 23 Sep 2019 02:31 PM PDT  With the Middle East on high alert after an attack on Saudi oil facilities, world leaders were jockeying at the United Nations on Monday to respond to the attack and find a resolution to heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran. President Donald Trump said he was ready for a new agreement with Iran, a year and a half after he withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal and stringently reimposed sanctions on Tehran.
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| The Latest: European powers push for new talks with Iran Posted: 23 Sep 2019 02:28 PM PDT  The leaders of France, Britain and Germany are urging Iran to enter talks about a new arrangement to bolster the fraying nuclear deal Tehran struck with the West in 2015 — though they said they still supported that agreement, which the U.S. has withdrawn from. Johnson went further, saying U.S. President Donald Trump should strike a new deal with Tehran.
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| In chaotic vote, UK Labour rejects campaign to remain in EU Posted: 23 Sep 2019 02:22 PM PDT  Britain's opposition Labour Party descended into chaos on Monday as it narrowly rejected a grassroots attempt to force leader Jeremy Corbyn to campaign to remain in the European Union and reverse the outcome of the 2016 Brexit vote. Corbyn's efforts to unite the two sides by staying out of the debate and putting the ultimate decision in the hands of voters have led to a dramatic drop in Labour's support. The result means that the party will leave the conference in the same position that it came in -- in favour of a second referendum but against openly campaigning for or against Brexit.
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| Rocket attack hits near US Embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone Posted: 23 Sep 2019 02:14 PM PDT ![Rocket attack hits near US Embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone]( "Rocket attack hits near US Embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone") Iraqi security officials say at least two rockets have been fired into the capital's fortified Green Zone, landing around one kilometer (a half-mile) from the U.S. Embassy. The attack comes amid heightened tensions in the region following an attack on Saudi oil installations that the U.S. and Britain have blamed on Iran. The attack Monday night was the second since May, when a rocket was fired into the Green Zone, landing near the sprawling U.S. Embassy compound.
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| Iranian leader Rouhani's New York travel restricted Posted: 23 Sep 2019 02:05 PM PDT  Hassan Rouhani landed in New York Monday for the UN General Assembly, but the Iranian leader won't be allowed to see much of the Big Apple while he is here. Iran's president is subject to the same strict travel restrictions imposed on staff at the Iranian mission to the United Nations in July, diplomats told AFP. Under the restrictions, Rouhani cannot venture far from the UN headquarters, which sit on the East River on the eastern side of Manhattan island.
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| Johnson Urges EU Leaders to See He Has Compromised on Brexit Posted: 23 Sep 2019 02:01 PM PDT ![Johnson Urges EU Leaders to See He Has Compromised on Brexit]( "Johnson Urges EU Leaders to See He Has Compromised on Brexit") (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson urged European Union leaders to recognize that he has compromised on Brexit and appealed to them to meet him half-way as he holds crucial talks on securing a divorce deal with the bloc.The British premier, in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, spent Monday in a series of side meetings, trying to make progress on finding a new Brexit agreement. Asked what he wanted from this week's talks, Johnson told ITV News: "A broader understanding of quite how forward-looking and forward-leaning the U.K. has been with our suggestions."Time is running short for the prime minister, who has pledged to leave the EU with or without a deal by Oct. 31. While his senior officials have spoken of signs that the EU is softening its line, the bloc's leaders have been resolute that they will not abandon their commitment to the integrity of its single market.Officials on both sides now regard the talks at the UN as potentially make-or-break for the chances of securing a deal before the deadline.As Johnson Fights to Save Brexit Deal, Leaders Ask: Who Is He?Johnson repeatedly pointed to his proposal of an all-Ireland zone for phytosanitary standards -- checks on plants and livestock for pests and disease -- as evidence that he had softened his line. "That, we think, is a helpful suggestion. I hope that colleagues will see that that's a concession we're making," he said.Border, High CourtWhen the prime minister met EU President Donald Tusk in New York on Monday, he made the point again, according to his office, emphasizing that "in order to secure a deal, we will now need to see movement and flexibility from the EU."But Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar -- who'll see Johnson in New York on Tuesday -- didn't appear to be in a mood for compromise. He said he wouldn't accept a "halfway house" on how the Irish border will be managed after Brexit. Ireland and the EU need legally-binding assurances, he said.An EU official said Johnson's 30-minute meeting with Tusk took place in a positive atmosphere, but despite the open discussion, large gaps remain between the two sides and time is running short. The official said Britain must urgently provide realistic proposals for resolving the impasse and submit them in writing as legal text.U.K. Supreme Court to Rule on Parliament Suspension TuesdayAt the same time, Johnson's team are braced for a ruling from the Supreme Court in London Tuesday over whether his decision to suspend Parliament to reduce the time for lawmakers to scrutinize his Brexit plans was unlawful.Johnson stonewalled questions about what he might do in response. "I'm going to wait and see what the judgment is," he said.U.K. Labour OppositionBack in Britain, the opposition Labour Party backed away from adopting a position of fully rejecting Brexit, instead, backing leader Jeremy Corbyn's wait-and-see policy.The party's annual conference in Brighton, southeast England, saw angry scenes as three votes went Corbyn's way. The party is now committed to fighting a general election, renegotiating a Brexit deal with the European Union, and then holding a referendum to allow voters to support that deal or opt to remain in the bloc.Officially, Labour will only decide which side to support in that vote once the terms of the deal are known. In reality, most of the party's supporters and members of Parliament oppose Brexit.(Adds EU official comment.)\--With assistance from Peter Flanagan.To contact the reporters on this story: Robert Hutton in New York at rhutton1@bloomberg.net;Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Your Evening Briefing Posted: 23 Sep 2019 02:00 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Want to receive this post in your inbox every afternoon? Sign up herePresident Donald Trump pulled Ukraine's new leader into the 2020 U.S. election campaign by allegedly asking him to investigate the son of former Vice President Joseph Biden. Trump's personal lawyer said he wasn't sure if his client threatened to cut off aid to Ukraine if President Volodymyr Zelenskiy refused to probe largely discredited claims against the Bidens (Trump later denied any linkage). Calls for his impeachment are rising again, with one challenger for the Republican nomination calling Trump's alleged behavior "treason."Here are today's top storiesTimothy O'Brien writes in Bloomberg Opinion why Trump's Ukraine phone chat puts the Republican president at greater risk of impeachment.WeWork's board will likely convene this week and might discuss ousting embattled CEO Adam Neumann as it seeks to salvage its IPO.The future of the Boeing 737 Max could also be decided this week, as airworthiness experts meet in Montreal. It took Tesla about 15 years to rack up $5 billion in losses. The company some regarded as China's Tesla did it in just four.The U.K. organized the "largest repatriation in peacetime history," bringing home 150,000 tourists stranded by the collapse of Thomas Cook Group. Wondering what to do in retirement? Disrupt something. Older Americans are starting more businesses than ever, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.What's Joe Weisenthal thinking? The Bloomberg news director last week argued that, while tempting, not every risk in the market isa bubble that's about to pop. Over the weekend, however, Joe started noticing signs that the rally in government bonds might be one after all. What you'll need to know tomorrowApple's new Mac Pro will be assembled in Texas after a tariff waiver. Nissan and Carlos Ghosn were fined $16 million. Trump attended the UN climate summit for 15 minutes, then left. A long-despised and risky economic doctrine is now a hot idea. Boris Johnson says it's time to make a new nuclear deal with Iran. How 5G revived a zombie company, making one man $900 million. "Game of Thrones" tied an Emmy record last night. What you'll want to read in Climate Changed"You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words," said 16-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg in a speech at the UN Global Climate Action Summit in New York. "People are suffering, people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are at the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of endless economic growth. How dare you!"To contact the author of this story: Josh Petri in Portland at jpetri4@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| India’s Rising Power Mutes Criticism of Modi’s Kashmir Crackdown Posted: 23 Sep 2019 02:00 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- If Prime Minister Narendra Modi was worried about a frosty reception in the U.S. after his crackdown on India's Muslim-majority region of Kashmir, President Donald Trump was quick to put those fears to rest."Border security is vital to India," Trump said alongside Modi, as the two spoke at a huge gathering of around 50,000 Indian-Americans on Sunday. "We understand that."The high-level acknowledgment from the world's most powerful political leader comes as Modi -- who will address the United Nations General Assembly on Friday -- continues an unprecedented security crackdown in the tense Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir. On Aug. 5 he abolished 70 years of regional autonomy and placed its citizens under widespread restrictions including an extended communications blackout. It also follows India's push to strip millions of people -- mostly Muslims -- of their citizenship in the country's northeastern state of Assam, near Bangladesh.Trump's comments, although not explicit approval, are symbolic of the quiet acceptance of India's policies which have attracted little international criticism. India's actions have been compared to what China is doing in its own restive mostly-Muslim border region of Xinjiang. But few countries other than Pakistan and China, which both have territorial claims in disputed Kashmir, have criticized New Delhi -- a stark contrast to the 22 states that signed a letter criticizing China's crackdown against Muslim minority Uighurs, which has seen as many as 1 million citizens placed in "re-education camps."Nations want to keep Modi onside as they recognize India's rising strategic importance in Asia as a counterweight to Beijing. There's also the size of its market, including billions in arms purchases, and the fact that criticizing New Delhi risks aligning with Pakistan, which is widely accused of sponsoring terrorist groups in the region."There is little diplomatic upside to directly challenging India," said Paul Staniland, an associate professor at the University of Chicago. "India is an important economic and strategic partner, or potential partner, for countries ranging from France to the U.S. to the Gulf states. It's also clear that the government of India won't be rolling back its policy anytime soon, and many countries are leery of seeming to back the Pakistani line."'Grave Concern'Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has long campaigned on removing Kashmir's special status, and moved swiftly to enact its plans following a sweeping election victory in May. Pledging economic development and the eradication of corruption, the government made the state subordinate to New Delhi and paved the way for people from outside the state to purchase land -- a move that's raised fears of an attempt to change the ethnic makeup of the state.But despite the prolonged detention of political leaders and the deployment of 10,000 extra Indian paramilitary forces, Kashmir's turmoil has generated only muted global responses. A group of United Nations experts urged India to revoke its communications blackout, while Human Rights Watch has condemned the arbitrary detention of thousands."India's sudden decision has brought our lives to a standstill," said Javed Ahmed, a 30-year-old fruit seller in the Kashmiri capital of Srinagar, in an interview in late August. "It is about taking our resources and changing this land forever."The Prime Minister's office didn't respond to calls or an email.A separate group of United Nations experts has expressed "grave concern" over a citizenship drive in Assam, where 1.9 million people -- mostly Muslims -- are at risk of being stripped of their national identity over concerns they are Bangladeshis from across the border. Indian Home Minister Amit Shah has previously called illegal migrants "termites," and the UN experts warned the registration process "may exacerbate the xenophobic climate while fueling religious intolerance and discrimination in the country."One reason Modi's Kashmir move has not provoked more global outcry, said Kashish Parpiani, a fellow with Observer Research Foundation, is the image India has successfully presented to the rest of the world."India's status as a rising free-market, rancorous democracy known for soft power exports like yoga and Bollywood lend it a benign character," Parpiani said. "Whereas China often acquires the ire of the international community owing to the common narrative surrounding its efforts to build an Orwellian authoritarian system."Important AllyModi wasn't always beyond reproach. In 2005, he was denied a U.S. visa after deadly anti-Muslim riots rocked the state of Gujarat when he was chief minister in 2002, although he was officially cleared of blame. Some now want to prevent the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from giving Modi an award over abuses in Kashmir and Assam.Modi has avoided the same type of international criticism China has received because what's happening in Kashmir is simply nowhere near as bad as China's abuses in Xinjiang, said Sameer Patil, a former assistant director at India's National Security Council Secretariat and now International Security Studies Programme fellow at the Mumbai-based Gateway House."India is considered an important ally by western countries, therefore there would be a muted response to what India is doing, but the actions don't really match up," Patil said. "The other thing that's important to understand is the strength of India's market. Just as China has utilized its market size as leverage, India has also started to think this is something which ought to be used for foreign policy objectives."India has also skillfully handled the Trump administration, agreeing to significantly reduce Iranian oil imports, for example, while reacting forcefully after Trump offered tomediate the Kashmir dispute."The Modi government has managed Trump and his administration quite well, knowing when to flatter and when to push back," said, Ian Hall, an international relations professor at Australia's Griffith University. "Washington understands that India matters, because India complicates Beijing's calculations, not just in South Asia, but across the Indo-Pacific."To contact the reporters on this story: Iain Marlow in Hong Kong at imarlow1@bloomberg.net;Archana Chaudhary in New Delhi at achaudhary2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Ruth PollardFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UK has put forward detailed Brexit proposals, wants EU to engage seriously -UK official Posted: 23 Sep 2019 01:55 PM PDT ![UK has put forward detailed Brexit proposals, wants EU to engage seriously -UK official]( "UK has put forward detailed Brexit proposals, wants EU to engage seriously -UK official") Britain believes it has put forward detailed proposals on Brexit in replacing the Irish backstop and is looking for the European Union to engage seriously with these ideas, a UK government official said on Monday. EU sources earlier said no proper alternative for the border between Northern Ireland, a British province, and Ireland that ensures the integrity of the EU single market and customs union has been proposed yet by London. "We believe we have put forward some detailed proposals and we have made a move to try to get this process moving along," the official said.
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| The Urgent Search for a Cyber Silver Bullet Against Iran Posted: 23 Sep 2019 01:40 PM PDT  WASHINGTON -- After spending billions of dollars to assemble the world's most potent arsenal of cyberweapons and plant them in networks around the world, United States Cyber Command -- and the new era of warfighting it has come to represent -- may face a critical test in the coming weeks.President Donald Trump is considering a range of options to punish Iran for this month's attack on Saudi oil facilities, and has toughened sanctions on Iran and ordered the deployment of additional troops to the region. But a second cyberstrike -- after one launched against Iran just three months ago -- has emerged as the most appealing course of action for Trump, who is reluctant to widen the conflict in a region he has said the United States should leave, according to senior American officials.But even as the Pentagon considers specific targets -- an attempt to shut down Iran's oil fields and refineries has been one of the "proportionate responses" under review -- a broader debate is taking place inside and outside the administration over whether a cyberattack alone will be enough to alter Iran's calculations, and what kind of retaliation a particularly damaging cyberstrike might provoke."The president talked about our use of those previously, but I'm certainly not going to forecast what we'll do as we move forward," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation" when asked whether a cyberattack might be an artful, nonescalatory response to this month's drone or missile strikes on two of Saudi Arabia's most important facilities."This was Iran true and true, and the United States will respond in a way that reflects that act of war by this Iranian revolutionary regime."Pompeo noted that the U.S. military was already sending additional troops to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, largely to bolster air defenses. But those moves alone are viewed as unlikely to be enough to prevent further Iranian actions.The question circulating now through the White House, the Pentagon and Cyber Command's operations room is whether it is possible to send a strong message of deterrence with a cyberattack without doing so much damage that it would prompt an even larger Iranian counterstrike.At least three times over the past decade, the United States has staged major cyberattacks against Iran, intended to halt its nuclear or missile programs, punish the country or send a clear message to its leadership that it should end its support for proxy militant groups.In each case, the damage to Iranian systems could be repaired over time. And in each case, the effort to deter Iran was at best only partly successful. If the American charge that Iran was behind the attack in Saudi Arabia proves accurate, it would constitute the latest example of Tehran's shaking off a cyberattack and continuing to engage in the kind of behavior the United States had hoped to deter.The most famous, complex effort was a sophisticated sabotage campaign a decade ago to blow up Iran's nuclear enrichment center using code, not bombs. The Obama administration later began a program, accelerated by Trump, to try to use cyberattacks to slow Iran's missile development. And this past June, Trump approved a clandestine operation to destroy a key database used by the Iranian military to target oil-carrying ships -- and canceled a traditional missile strike he had ordered to respond to the downing of an American surveillance drone.The June cyberattack, according to two American officials, also did damage that Iran has not yet detected."Cyber can certainly be a deterrent, it can be a very powerful weapon," said Sen. Angus King, the Maine independent who is a chairman of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, created by Congress, that is examining American offensive cyberstrategy. "It is an option that can cause real damage."King and other experts said Iran would probably respond to a cyberattack with one of its own, given the vulnerabilities that exist in the United States and the hyperconnected nature of American life.But current and former intelligence officials say a cycle of retaliation need not be confined to one military domain. Just as the United States responded in June to the Iranian downing of a drone and sabotage of oil tankers with a cyberattack, Iran could respond to an American cyberoperation with a terrorist attack by a proxy force or a missile strike.The Pentagon has long held that a cyberattack could constitute an act of war that requires a physical response, and there is no reason to think that Iran would not pursue the same policy.One senior administration official recently acknowledged that even Gen. Paul Nakasone, the commander of Cyber Command and the director of the National Security Agency, has warned Trump and his aides that the cyberarsenal is "no magic bullet" for deterring Iranian aggression in the Middle East.In war games -- essentially online simulations -- held before the attack on the Saudi oil fields, officials have tried to figure out how Iran's increasingly skillful "cyber corps" would respond to an American cyberattack. These Iranian fighters have racked up a significant record: wiping out 30,000 computers at Saudi Aramco, freezing operations at American banks with a "denial of service" attack, and crippling a Las Vegas casino. Last year, they began to study the ins and outs of election interference, according to private experts and government studies of the 2018 midterms.When Nakasone was nominated for his job, he acknowledged that one of the biggest problems facing Cyber Command was that it had not cracked the deterrence problem. Nations that are attacking the United States via cyberattacks "do not think much will happen to them," he told Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. "They don't fear us."In his first 18 months in office, Nakasone has raced to bolster Cyber Command's authority to act preemptively -- and its preparations to respond to attacks. New, classified directives given to him by Trump and built upon by Congress allow Cyber Command to place "implants" of malicious software inside foreign networks without lengthy approval processes that run up to the president. Congress has called such efforts part of "traditional military authority."Iran has reportedly been a major target -- no surprise, because Nakasone was a key player in designing a plan called Nitro Zeus to shut down Tehran and other Iranian cities in the event of a war. The idea was to put together an attack so devastating that Iran might surrender without a shot being fired.The 2015 nuclear agreement between the Iranian leadership and President Barack Obama eased the threat of war, and the American cyberoperations plan was put back on the shelf, at least until recently.At the Pentagon, and even at Cyber Command, many senior officers are cautious about cyberwarfare, arguing that it is difficult for such weapons alone to deter an enemy.The attack using the "Stuxnet" virus that crippled Iranian nuclear-enrichment centrifuges a decade ago was successful in a narrow sense: It blew up 1,000 of the 5,000 centrifuges up and running at the time. But when it recovered, Iran built upward of 14,000 more, and counterattacked by crippling Saudi Aramco's computer systems.A long-running series of cyberattacks has slowed but not stopped Iran's missile program -- and Iran has continued to provide thousands of short-range rockets to Hamas and other terrorist groups. The Saudis are studying whether a new generation of Iranian-made missiles were central to this month's attack on its oil facilities.The Pentagon and other military officials have told the White House that neither another cyberattack nor the new deployment announced Friday will probably be robust enough to reestablish deterrence and prevent another attack by Iran on U.S. allies.Part of the problem is that most cyberactivity is clandestine, so it is easy for a government to play down the consequences of an attack or deny it even took place.But some people who favor stepping up cyberoperations suggest that officials are simply thinking too small. If a cyberstrike is damaging enough -- taking a refinery offline or shutting down an electric grid, for example -- it would be hard to hide. That might have a much more deterrent effect than the smaller bore operations the United States has undertaken so far, they argue.But such a devastating cyberoperation would also increase the risk of escalation -- just as a bombing run on the oil refineries would. Iran, or any other adversary, could say that people were killed or injured, and that might be difficult to disprove.A key element of deterrence is ensuring that an adversary understands the other side's basic capabilities. Unlike nuclear weapons, though, which are widely understood, the American cyberarsenal is shrouded in secrecy, for fear adversaries will develop countermeasures if even basic capabilities are known.Nakasone has argued that his cyberwarriors must be roaming cyberspace "persistently engaging" enemies -- a euphemism for skirmishing with adversaries inside their networks."We must 'defend forward' in cyberspace, as we do in the physical domains," he wrote in a Defense Department publication in January. "Our naval forces do not defend by staying in port, and our air power does not remain at airfields. They patrol the seas and skies to ensure they are positioned to defend our country before our borders are crossed. The same logic applies in cyberspace."But there is a growing consensus within Cyber Command that if cyberweapons are going to shape the actions of adversaries, they must be used in combination with other elements of power, including economic sanctions, diplomacy or traditional military strikes.King, the Maine senator, sees the decisions over the next few weeks on Iran as a test case. "The president's instinct is not to get in a shooting war, and I think he is right about that," he said. "So the question is how do we respond?"He argued that there was no urgency. "This was not a strike on New York City," King said. "This was not even a strike on Riyadh. There needs to be a response."But there is time to pause and take a deep breath and consider all of the options -- one of which is cyber -- but also to think about how we deescalate the situation."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Rouhani says Iran's message to the world is 'peace and stability' -IRNA Posted: 23 Sep 2019 01:33 PM PDT ![Rouhani says Iran's message to the world is 'peace and stability' -IRNA]( "Rouhani says Iran's message to the world is 'peace and stability' -IRNA") Iran's message to the world is "peace and stability," said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani upon his arrival in the United States, where he will attend the U.N. General Assembly, the state news agency IRNA reported on Monday. "Our message to the world at the U.N. meeting is peace, stability and also we want to tell the world that the situation in the Persian Gulf is very sensitive," said Rouhani.
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| France Is an Amazonian Nation, Macron Says in Retort to Brazil Posted: 23 Sep 2019 01:11 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- French President Emmanuel Macron further staked France's claim to the debate over the Amazon's future with a geography lesson -- the latest shot in a back-and-forth feud with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro over climate change and the destruction of the South American rainforest.Citing the French overseas department of Guyana in South America as fully a part of France, Macron on Monday said his nation has a direct interest in the rainforest's future. French Guyana shares a 730-kilometer (450-mile) border with Brazil -- about 100 kilometers longer than continental France's frontier with Spain -- and is one of five overseas departments."We are a member of the Amazon nations," Macron said at an event on the sidelines of a UN climate summit in New York on Monday, alongside representatives from Bolivia, Colombia and Peru and actor Harrison Ford. Macron called for nations not to weaken their efforts to save tropical rainforests, and to better respond to the needs of those living in such ecosystems.Macron and Bolsonaro got into a trans-Atlantic feud during the Group of Seven meetings in France last month over climate change and the record number of fires in the Amazon. Ahead of the G-7, Macron threatened to scrap an EU-Mercosur trade deal over what he described as Bolsonaro's "lies" over his commitment to climate change.Read More: Bolsonaro to Fight Back on Amazon Controversy With UN SpeechBolsonaro quickly punched back at what his administration saw as unfair infringement on Brazil's sovereignty, and his government has undertaken a public relations campaign asserting its commitment to protecting and sustainably developing the rainforest. But the fight got personal, too, with Bolsonaro tweeting out a supporter's criticism of Macron's wife and demanding an apology from the French president.The Brazilian leader, who has called for expanded development in the rainforest, plans to take his potentially conflicting message of environmental stewardship and rainforest development to the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York this week. He also vowed to avoid personal spats, saying "I am preparing a fairly objective speech. No one is going to fight with anyone, you can rest assured."But in a sign of how controversial the Brazilian leader's status is on climate issues, Bolsonaro isn't taking part in UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's all-day summit on the topic on Monday. President Donald Trump made a surprise appearance at the event, which wasn't initially on his schedule."The elephant is the room is that Brazil is not here," Macron said. "We are willing to work with Brazil. Our goal is to work with everyone, with respect for everyone."The feud between the Brazilian and French leaders appears far from over. Asked about the comments from Macron by reporters in Brasilia on Monday, acting president Hamilton Mourao said that the French president was "getting his few minutes of fame"In addition to French Guyana, France's overseas departments include the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique and the Indian Ocean islands of Mayotte and Reunion.(Adds comment from Mourao in ninth paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Gregory Viscusi in New York at gviscusi@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Bruce Douglas, Larry LiebertFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Boris Johnson calls for ‘Trump deal’ to replace Iran nuclear agreement Posted: 23 Sep 2019 01:09 PM PDT  Boris Johnson has called for a new "Trump deal" to replace the Iran nuclear agreement, winning praise from the US president and potentially shattering EU unity.In extraordinary comments in New York, the prime minister attacked the existing "bad deal" – ending four years of the UK backing it as the best way to stop Tehran building a bomb.
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| German defense minister wants quick decision on Tornado replacement Posted: 23 Sep 2019 01:02 PM PDT ![German defense minister wants quick decision on Tornado replacement]( "German defense minister wants quick decision on Tornado replacement") German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Monday said she aimed to decide as soon as possible next year how to replace Germany's aging fleet of Tornado fighter jets to prevent a lapse in Germany's ability to carry out missions for NATO. Kramp-Karrenbauer, leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, said she discussed the issue with U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper during her first official visit to Washington since taking on her new role as defense minister. Germany in January decided to pick either the Eurofighter - built by Airbus, Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Leonardo SpA - or Boeing Co's F/A-18 fighter, dropping Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter out of a tender worth billions of euros.
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| Labour Party Backs Corbyn's Wait-and-See Approach: Brexit Update Posted: 23 Sep 2019 12:49 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Follow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story. The U.K.'s opposition Labour Party voted to back leader Jeremy Corbyn's wait-and-see Brexit policy after divisions between senior politicians overshadowed its annual conference. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in New York, where he's holding discussions with European leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.The Supreme Court will rule on Johnson's suspension of Parliament on Tuesday.Key Developments:Labour delegates opted for Corbyn's preferred policy on Brexit -- to secure a second referendum and decide how to campaign laterSupreme Court to rule on suspension of Parliament at 10:30 a.m. on TuesdayEconomy spokesman John McDonnell says Labour MPs should be given a free vote on any Brexit deal the party negotiates with the EU if it comes to powerJohnson says EU leaders should recognize he's shifted on BrexitStarmer Warns Johnson Over Brexit Law (8:30 pm)Boris Johnson must obey the law passed by Parliament to block a no-deal Brexit or face the consequences, Keir Starmer, the Labour Party's Brexit spokesman, told Bloomberg TV."Doesn't it tell you everything you need to know about Boris Johnson that his first instinct when a law is passed is to attempt to break the law?" Starmer told Bloomberg TV on Monday. "If he does try to do that, he's going to run into problems in the courts and he's going to run into problems in Parliament."Starmer said the act passed by Parliament is "very very simple.""If you haven't got a deal through or agreement for no-deal by Oct. 19, then you've got to apply for an extension" to Brexit talks, Starmer said. "If he doesn't do that, then he can be sure there will be legal proceedings and he can be sure that there will be proceedings in Parliament."Starmer 'Disappointed' by Labour Vote on Brexit (7 p.m.)Labour's Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said he was "disappointed" by the party's vote to reject a Brexit policy explicitly backing staying in the European Union. But he said the party has come a long way in the past year in evolving its Brexit policy, and suggested the result might not matter in the long run."Obviously I'm disappointed by the result," Starmer said at a Politico event on the sidelines of the Labour Party conference in Brighton on Monday. "Would I have liked us to go a bit further and won the vote today? Of course I would."Starmer reiterated his stance that if there were a second referendum, he'd campaign for Remain. He said Monday's vote shouldn't deter Remain-backing voters because "the Labour Party membership is so overwhelmingly in favor of Remain that it's very obvious where we're going to end up."London Mayor Khan Criticizes Labour Decision (6:50 p.m.)London Mayor Sadiq Khan has criticized the Labour Party conference decision to reject an unambiguous policy to stay in the European Union in favor of leader Jeremy Corbyn's wait-and-see approach (see 5:45 p.m.)."I do not believe this decision reflects the views of the overwhelming majority of Labour members who desperately want to stop Brexit," Khan, a Labour Party member, said on Twitter. "Labour IS a Remain party."Johnson Urges EU to Recognize He's Moved on Brexit (6 p.m.)In New York, where he's due to meet other European Union leaders, Boris Johnson said they should recognize that he's compromised on Brexit and move to meet him.Asked what he wanted from this week's talks, the prime minister told ITV News: "A broader understanding of quite how forward looking and forward-leaning the U.K. has been with our suggestions."He cited his proposal of an all-Ireland zone for phytosanitary standards -- essentially checks on plants and livestock for pests and disease. "That, we think, is a helpful suggestion. I hope that colleagues will see that that's a concession we're making," he said.Labour Conference Backs Corbyn on Brexit (5:45 p.m.)Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn won the backing of Labour Conference for his wait-and-see policy on Brexit (see 3:15 p.m.) in a show of hands following a debate in Brighton, southeast England.A motion that would have committed the party to "campaign energetically" for Remain in a repeat referendum on Brexit was defeated amid angry scenes in the hall. Some demanded a "card vote," which would have seen all votes recorded, but the conference chairwoman ruled that the vote using a show of hands was clear.Labour's plan is now to win an election, negotiate a new deal with the EU and hold a referendum -- with the party deciding to campaign for Remain or the deal it has negotiated at a special conference.Starmer Pledges Plebiscite in Six months (5:25 p.m.)Labour's Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer promised an incoming Labour government would hold a referendum soon after taking office.It would "legislate immediately for that referendum to take place. It will take place as soon as possible -- and no later than six months from a Labour government taking office," Starmer told delegates at the Labour conference. "I have a very simple message today: If you want a referendum -- vote Labour. If you want a final say on Brexit -- vote Labour. If you want to fight for Remain -- vote Labour. Labour will let the people decide."Starmer said he and colleagues are ready to stop Prime Minister Boris Johnson breaking a law passed by Parliament to block a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31.Debate Opens With Reference to Murdered Cox (3:30 p.m.)Delegates at the Labour conference have started debating the party's policy on Brexit and in the second speech heard a reference to Jo Cox, the Labour lawmaker who was murdered during the 2016 referendum campaign.The speech, by a delegate from the GMB union, set the tone for an emotion-charged series of interventions by delegates."Let's not forget what unites us," Richard Corbett, leader of Labour's delegation in the European Parliament told delegates in a plea for unity. "We all oppose Boris Johnson's no-deal Brexit." He then went on to call for the party to support remaining in the EU.Labour's Brexit Options Narrowed to Three (3:15 p.m.)Labour delegates will vote shortly on three different Brexit policies -- and it's not impossible that all three will pass, potentially handing the party's leadership contradictory instructions.One vote will be on a statement by the party's ruling National Executive Committee, in essence endorsing Jeremy Corbyn's position on Brexit. That means winning an election, negotiating a deal with the EU, then holding a referendum pitching the deal versus Remain -- but postponing a decision on which side to support until after the deal terms are known. It's an attempt to balance the interests of Leave and Remain supporters, but has angered prominent pro-EU figures in the party.Another vote will be on a motion that closely resembles the NEC statement, but without specifically mentioning delaying the decision.The third motion calls for Labour to immediately become the party of Remain, pledging to hold a second referendum and campaign unambiguously to stay in the European Union. If this is the only motion that passes, Corbyn will be under pressure to immediately shift his stance having pledged to adhere to the decision of the Labour membership. What happens if two or all three motions pass is much less clear.Ireland Not in Mood for Border Compromise (2:34 p.m.)Ireland won't accept a "halfway house" on how the Irish border will be managed after Brexit, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said in New York.Varadkar reiterated that Ireland and the EU need legally-binding assurances on any arrangement that would replace the backstop, adding that while he is not currently scheduled to meet German leader Angela Merkel while at the UN, he does expect to speak to her before October's summit.Barnier Is Not Seeing Grounds for a Breakthrough (2:11 p.m.)On a visit to Berlin, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, offered a bleak outlook for any prospective resolution on the so-called backstop. Johnson's government wants to scrap the legally airtight border solution, he said, and "change the way the internal market and border controls operate.""As I am sure you will understand, this is unacceptable," Barnier told reporters alongside German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.The state of play is not good, he added."Let me therefore put it clearly. Based on current U.K. thinking, it is difficult to see how we can arrive at a legally operative solution, which fulfills all the objectives of the backstop."Business Says Labour Plans Add to Brexit Pain (1:35 p.m.)Business groups criticized Labour's plan to cut working hours and other policies, urging the opposition party to work with corporate Britain to achieve its wider goals. The biggest industry lobby group, the Confederation of British Industry, said Labour should ground its policies in "reality, not ideology.""The inclusive ownership fund grabs headlines, but would amount to a tax on workers, pensions and savings," Confederation of British Industry Director-General Carolyn Fairbairn said in a statement, suggesting a 32-hour working week could push businesses into a loss. "Add these ideas to mass re-nationalization, rising business taxes and ongoing Brexit uncertainty, and we risk hanging a closed sign on the door of our open economy."British Chambers of Commerce Director-General Adam Marshall said that "Labour should be reaching for the carrot rather than the stick in its approach to business and economic growth."Supreme Court Ruling Due on Tuesday (1:20 p.m.)The U.K.'s top judges will rule Tuesday morning on whether Boris Johnson acted lawfully when he suspended Parliament.If the Supreme Court finds Johnson suspended Parliament illegally, he could be forced to recall the legislature, giving opponents of a no-deal Brexit time to thwart his plans to leave by Oct. 31. The announcement will come at 10:30 a.m.Labour Pledges to Cut Working Week (12:15 p.m.)The Labour Party would cut the average working week to 32 hours with no loss of pay within a decade, if elected into power, Treasury spokesman John McDonnell said in his speech to the party's conference.Labour will set up a Working Time Commission to make recommendations on increasing statutory leave requirements and would opt out of the European Time Directive, he said.A Labour-commissioned study published earlier this month rejected the idea of a French-style cap on work time. Instead, economist Robert Skidelsky said the aim should be to reduce hours for public-sector employees to 35 hours per week in a decade, through a policy of investment in automation and efficiency.McDonnell Calls for End to Brexit Division (12:10 p.m.)Ahead of a debate on the party's position on Brexit later Monday, Treasury spokesman John McDonnell used his keynote speech to tell delegates he will campaign to remain in the European Union after Labour has sought its own deal with the bloc."We aim to trust the people in having the final say on Brexit. A deal or Remain," he said. "Some of you will know I have said I will campaign for remain, but let me make it clear that I profoundly respect those who support a genuine alternative.""In our debates today I want us to demonstrate in the respect we show each other and how we bring our party together just how we can also bring the country together again," he said.McCluskey 'Implores' Party to Back Leader (11:25 a.m.)Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite union, told Labour delegates: "I implore you, please give Jeremy the support he needs later" after the conference was dominated by in-fighting and rival union Unison said it wouldn't support leader Jeremy Corbyn's position on Brexit (see 11 a.m.).McCluskey, who denies he was involved in an attempt to depose Deputy Leader Tom Watson at the weekend, called on the party to support Corbyn. "From Brexit to the banks, the country needs a united Labour voice," he said.More Trouble Ahead for Corbyn on Brexit (11:00 a.m.)There were indications that the Brexit votes at the Labour conference could go against party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Monday afternoon.The delegation from the trade union Unison, one of the biggest funders of the party, decided at a meeting on Monday morning that they will vote for a motion saying the party should commit to backing Remain in any referendum on a Brexit deal negotiated with the EU by a future Labour government (see 8:25 a.m.).They will abstain on the motion backing the leadership's plan not to say how it would vote in the referendum until it sees the terms of the agreement and will vote against the statement from the party's ruling National Executive Committee endorsing Corbyn's position.Jon Lansman, leader of the Momentum grassroots activists group, also said the way the NEC came to its decision was a "travesty" and said members should vote as they choose. "On conference floor members should feel free to vote with their conscience," he wrote on Twitter.Hancock: Brexit Deal 'More Likely Than Not' (9:55 a.m.)Health Secretary Matt Hancock told LBC radio a deal is now "more likely than not" due to the shifting stance of the European Union on renegotiating the withdrawal agreement."I think the penny is starting to drop on the continent that since they don't want a no-deal exit, the way to avoid the no-deal exit is for the EU to offer a deal that can get through Parliament," Hancock said on Monday. "The debate is on what changes and the details that need to change and getting rid of the backstop."U.K. Business Warns of 'Messy' Brexit Risk (9:20 a.m.)With the chance of a no-deal Brexit still hanging over corporate Britain, business lobby groups are banging the drum for certainty.Companies are facing "the potential for a messy and disorderly exit on Oct. 31," British Chambers of Commerce Director General Adam Marshall said in a Bloomberg TV interview at the Labour Conference in Brighton."We've already got businesses who are sending goods around the world for example, that don't know what trading conditions those goods will arrive at port under," he said. 'These uncertainties are very, very real; we've got to get to a conclusion."Businesses "need to know some very basic things about the trading conditions that they face," he said. "They want all of the political parties, Labour included, to come together and deliver that."Labour Plan Could Unite Country, McDonnell Says (8:40 a.m.)Jeremy Corbyn's compromise Brexit plan that seeks to satisfy both Remain and Leave voters, is the best to unite the country and party, according to John McDonnell, Labour's Treasury spokesman."The way in which Jeremy Corbyn is managing it is I think the one way we can heal some of the divisions that there are in our community at the moment," McDonnell said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.McDonnell, who has said he would probably support Remain in another referendum, dismissed Deputy Leader Tom Watson's suggestion that supporting remain offers the party its clearest path to power. McDonnell said the issue has moved beyond party politics.Labour is meeting almost daily with MPs from rival parties in order to prevent a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31, he said.Labour's Brexit Motions Show Party Divide (8:25 a.m.)The Labour Party will hold votes Monday on two Brexit motions that illustrate the divisions over whether the party should unequivocally back remaining in the European Union.The first option says a second referendum pitching Remain against "a credible leave option" is "the only way to resolve Brexit," saying the party should take a clear position to "campaign energetically for a public vote and to stay in the EU in that referendum."The second option echoes leader Jeremy Corbyn's position, prioritizing the fight to block a no-deal Brexit and commending the party leadership for trying to bridge the divide between Remain and Leave voters. The motion also calls for a second referendum with both Remain and a "credible" Leave option on the ballot paper -- but stays silent on how the party should campaign.McDonnell: MPs Should Get Free Vote on Brexit (8 a.m.)Labour Treasury spokesman John McDonnell said senior Labour Party figures should be given a free vote on any Brexit deal they negotiate with the EU if they get into power.McDonnell laughed off a suggestion by Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey that shadow cabinet members, including Emily Thornberry, should step aside if they don't agree with leader Jeremy Corbyn on Brexit.McDonnell reiterated in a series of media interviews that he would probably campaign to remain in the European Union, and said others would take a different view and should be allowed to express that.It's the latest sign that Corbyn is struggling to keep his party together over Brexit as he tries to strike a balance to avoid alienating pro-Brexit voters. Prominent Labour politicians, including Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer, foreign affairs spokeswoman Thornberry and deputy leader Tom Watson, are pushing for unambiguous support for staying in the EU.Earlier:Johnson Takes Bid for Brexit Deal to New York as Clock Runs DownU.K. Labour Pledges to Fund Elderly Care as Brexit Splits HardenJohnson Zeroes In on Directors' Role After Thomas Cook Failure\--With assistance from Stuart Biggs, Anna Edwards, Thomas Penny, Jessica Shankleman, Peter Flanagan and Patrick Donahue.To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in Brighton, England at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Kitty Donaldson in Brighton, England at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net;Robert Hutton in New York at rhutton1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Fiat Chrysler Takes On Brexit with Price Promise to British Customers Posted: 23 Sep 2019 12:40 PM PDT  FCA's Deal or No Deal promotion keeps prices on Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Jeep models steady in the event of Brexit-related exchange rate changes or tariffs.
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| California, China to team up on climate research institute Posted: 23 Sep 2019 12:39 PM PDT  As tensions between China and the United States ratchet up, former California Gov. Jerry Brown sees a way to bring together the world's largest carbon emitter and a U.S. state that's leading the way in energy standards: climate change. Brown and Xie Zhenhua, China's top climate official, will announce a new university partnership focused on climate research and policy on Monday as part of the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York. While it may seem like an unlikely pairing, Brown has been building a partnership with China for years.
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| Greta Thunberg stares down Trump as two cross paths at UN Posted: 23 Sep 2019 12:28 PM PDT  The US president ended up skipping the climate summit as the Swedish activist told leaders, 'you are failing us'Greta Thunberg briefly crossed paths with Donald Trump at the United Nations in New York on Monday.Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist, fixed Trump with a steady stare as he arrived at the UN to attend a meeting on religious freedom. The US president decided to snub a major UN climate summit, held on the same day.Thunberg's steely look at Trump prompted an immediate response on social media. Julián Castro, the Democratic presidential contender, tweeted the video with the words "I think a lot of us can relate."Thunberg may well have had Trump in mind when she addressed the UN climate summit, telling world leaders "you are failing us" due to their sluggish response to the climate crisis.Trump has repeatedly questioned climate science, vowed to withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement and set about scrapping rules limiting carbon pollution.
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