| UPDATE 1-North Korea tells United Nations to cut international aid staff - letter Posted: 04 Sep 2019 05:51 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-North Korea tells United Nations to cut international aid staff - letter]( "UPDATE 1-North Korea tells United Nations to cut international aid staff - letter") North Korea has told the United Nations to cut the number of international staff it deploys in the country because the world body's programs have failed "due to the politicization of U.N. assistance by hostile forces," according to a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The United Nations estimates 10.3 million people - almost half the country's population - are in need and some 41 percent of North Koreans are undernourished, while Pyongyang said in February it was facing a food shortfall this year and had to halve rations, blaming drought, floods and sanctions. "U.N. supported programs failed to bring the results as desired due to the politicization of U.N. assistance by hostile forces," Kim Chang Min, secretary general for North Korea's National Coordinating Committee for the United Nations, wrote to the top U.N. official posted in the country.
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| Brazil's Bolsonaro praises 1973 military coup in Chile Posted: 04 Sep 2019 05:31 PM PDT  Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday criticized U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, a former Chilean president, by praising the 1973 military coup that led to her father's death. Bolsonaro mentioned Bachelet's father Alberto, an air force officer who opposed Gen. Augusto Pinochet's coup, and was imprisoned and tortured. "If Pinochet's people had not defeated the left in 1973 — among them, your father— today Chile would be a Cuba," Bolsonaro told reporters outside his residence in Brasilia.
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| North Korea tells United Nations to cut international aid staff - letter Posted: 04 Sep 2019 04:59 PM PDT ![North Korea tells United Nations to cut international aid staff - letter]( "North Korea tells United Nations to cut international aid staff - letter") North Korea has told the United Nations to cut the number of international staff it deploys in the country because the world body's programs have failed "due to the politicization of U.N. assistance by hostile forces," according to a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The United Nations estimates 10.3 million people - almost half the country's population - are in need and some 41 percent of North Koreans are undernourished, while Pyongyang said in February it was facing a food shortfall this year and had to halve rations, blaming drought, floods and sanctions. "U.N. supported programs failed to bring the results as desired due to the politicization of U.N. assistance by hostile forces," Kim Chang Min, secretary general for North Korea's National Coordinating Committee for the United Nations, wrote to the top U.N. official posted in the country.
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| Johnson Gets Boxed In Over Brexit With Election Only Way Out Posted: 04 Sep 2019 04:28 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson was humiliated by Parliament for a second day running, with his do-or-die Brexit strategy derailed and even his plan for a general election rejected. But having bet everything on getting Britain out of the European Union by Oct. 31, he can't back down.The U.K. prime minister has lost all authority in the House of Commons and must find a way to win its support for an election so he can get a shot at commanding a majority. If he can't, he will be trapped in office, compelled by law to request a further delay to Brexit.Johnson is the third Conservative leader to be undermined by the intractable task of delivering Brexit more than three years after the fateful 2016 referendum. Unlike his two predecessors, though, he was a key architect in persuading the British public to vote for it.That decision was meant to settle the European question in British politics that had been lurking for decades. Instead, it's torn the Tories apart and left a nation that was once the benchmark for stability and pragmatism on the cusp of a third election in just over four years. There's also no guarantee it will break the deadlock that's paralyzed a country of almost 70 million people.As European Union leaders monitored events, the chaos that has engulfed the U.K. establishment was brought to life in a charged House of Commons. Earlier in the day, the grandson of Winston Churchill was close to tears in an emotional farewell to his colleagues after getting thrown out of the party for siding against Johnson. He had been a Tory member of Parliament for 37 years.And the mood only got worse as the hours wore on. In a dramatic series of evening votes on Wednesday, members of Parliament moved to stop Johnson forcing the U.K. out of the bloc without a deal next month, effectively wrecking his mission to deliver Brexit by Oct. 31.When he angrily responded with a desperate appeal for a snap general election, Parliament rejected that, too."You can't negotiate with Boris Johnson," said John McDonnell, one of the leading figures of the opposition Labour Party, adding that the prime minister has a "passing relationship with the truth." Good will and trust in Parliament are in short supply, adding to impasse.Johnson, who exploited Parliament's Brexit deadlock to depose Theresa May and become prime minister, has now found himself a victim of the same forces that destroyed her.He was the face of the Leave campaign and has sold himself to his party as a tough negotiator who would force EU leaders to back down by threatening to take Britain out of the EU without a deal. Yet he shown himself unable to get his way even in his own party.After he threw 21 MPs who voted against him out of the Conservatives on Tuesday night, the rebels turned up on Wednesday and refused to sit on the opposition benches, staying in their old seats behind the prime minister in a show of defiance."It is completely impossible for government to function if the House of Commons refuses to pass anything that the government proposes," the prime minister told a noisy parliament. "In my view and the view of the government, there must now be an election on Tuesday 15 October."His appeal didn't work as Labour is divided. Some in the party argue it's a chance to grab power, something that seemed an impossible idea only a few years ago. Others fear that Johnson would win a majority and be able to seek a no-deal Brexit. Timing -- before or after Oct. 31 -- is the key for them."We want an election because we look forward to turfing this government out," Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said. "The offer of the election today is a bit like the offer of an apple to Snow White by the wicked queen -- because what he's offering is not an apple or even an election, but the poison of no deal."Corbyn said he would back an election once the bill to stop a no-deal Brexit had become law. Johnson accused the Labour leader of being too scared of losing to fight a contest.A person familiar with the matter said Johnson plans to keep pushing. And while Johnson is a talented campaigner -- as the 2016 surprise outcome proved -- going to the polls in the current, highly volatile climate is a huge gamble for the Conservatives.Two years ago, May called a snap election expecting to win a landslide. Instead, she lost the majority she started with, a failure that resulted in the chaos and confusion that has defined British politics ever since.Meanwhile, British politics never sleeps. Over in House of Lords, the unelected peers are pulling an all-nighter. Johnson is hoping a band of Tories will be able to sustain a three-day filibuster to stop the bill getting onto the statute book.It's a desperate ploy, but these have become desperate times.To contact the reporters on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net;Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Rodney JeffersonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Hectic rescue underway as Bahamas death toll rises to 20 Posted: 04 Sep 2019 04:15 PM PDT  The US Coast Guard and Britain's Royal Navy airlifted survivors and ferried in emergency supplies Wednesday as the death toll from Hurricane Dorian's devastating rampage through the Bahamas rose to 20. The United Nations said 70,000 people on Grand Bahama and Abaco island -- virtually the entire population -- were in "immediate need" of aid while the government confirmed the grim new victim count, which was expected to rise further.
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| North Korean foreign minister will not attend U.N. gathering of world leaders Posted: 04 Sep 2019 03:38 PM PDT ![North Korean foreign minister will not attend U.N. gathering of world leaders]( "North Korean foreign minister will not attend U.N. gathering of world leaders") North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho will not attend the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations later this month "due to his schedule," the country's mission to the U.N. told Reuters on Wednesday. Ri has attended the high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in New York for the past three years. North Korea was initially listed on a tentative speaking schedule - dated July 10 - to again be represented at ministerial level, but a revised agenda issued on Friday downgraded Pyongyang's representation.
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| US adds new sanctions and reward to further pressure Iran Posted: 04 Sep 2019 02:56 PM PDT  The Trump administration stepped up pressure on Iran on Wednesday, imposing sanctions on an oil shipping network with ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and offering a reward of up to $15 million for anyone with information that could disrupt its faltering economy even further. The new measures are the latest installment in a campaign of "maximum pressure" aimed at forcing Iran to renegotiate the 2015 nuclear deal, from which the administration withdrew last year, and cease a range of activities that the U.S. and its allies say destabilize the Middle East. In announcing these new steps, U.S. officials appeared to dampen expectations for European-led efforts to salvage the remainder of the nuclear deal.
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| UN envoy urges key nations to call for end to Libya conflict Posted: 04 Sep 2019 02:52 PM PDT ![UN envoy urges key nations to call for end to Libya conflict]( "UN envoy urges key nations to call for end to Libya conflict") The U.N. envoy to war-torn Libya said Wednesday he has launched "an intensive campaign" for an international conference to deliver a message that the offensive launched five months ago by a rebel commander must end. A civil war in Libya in 2011 toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. In the chaos that followed, the country was divided, with a weak U.N.-supported administration in Tripoli overseeing the country's west, and a rival government in the east aligned with the self-styled Libyan National Army led by Gen. Khalifa Hifter.
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| US offered millions in cash to captain of Iranian tanker Posted: 04 Sep 2019 02:51 PM PDT  A senior US official personally offered several million dollars to the Indian captain of an Iranian oil tanker suspected of heading to Syria, the State Department confirmed Wednesday. The Financial Times reported that Brian Hook, the State Department pointman on Iran, sent emails to captain Akhilesh Kumar in which he offered "good news" of millions in US cash to live comfortably if he steered the Adrian Darya 1 to a country where it could be seized. "We have seen the Financial Times article and can confirm that the details are accurate," a State Department spokeswoman said.
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| Your Evening Briefing Posted: 04 Sep 2019 02:50 PM PDT ![Your Evening Briefing]( "Your Evening Briefing") (Bloomberg) -- Want to receive this post in your inbox every afternoon? Sign up hereFirst, Boris Johnson lost his majority. Then he lost control of the House of Commons. On Wednesday, the U.K. prime minister lost a third time when lawmakers voted to block his plan for a no deal-Brexit. In power for six weeks, Johnson is now pushing for a snap election, a move also rejected by Parliament. This time, all he has to lose is his job. Here are today's top storiesWall Street rebounded along with European and Asian shares as political tensions appeared to subside in Hong Kong, Italy and the U.K., while indicators in China and Europe hinted global economic growth may not be as bad as some expected.Facebook and Google executives met with Trump administration intelligence officials to discuss security efforts leading up to the 2020 U.S. presidential election.The USS Gerald Ford is a $13 billion aircraft carrier that came in $2.5 billion over-budget with catapults, elevators and a propulsion system that didn't work as advertised. Now, the contractor that built the ship, Huntington Ingalls, and subcontractor General Electric are fighting over who has to pay for the mistakes at taxpayer expense. U.S. President Donald Trump said he never spoke with Vice President Mike Pence about staying at Trump's Ireland golf resort during an official trip this week, a move that steers taxpayer dollars to Trump. The only problem with that is Pence's chief of staff, Marc Short, said Trump did indeed mention staying at the the hotel as "a suggestion" to Pence.There are hundreds of people associated with accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein whose names should be revealed, a lawyer for the dead money manager's alleged victims told a judge. One of them might be a John Doe who is trying to keep his identity secret.Apple is sitting on a cash hoard of $200 billion. One might wonder why the gadget giant is borrowing $7 billion more?What's Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director smells a trade deal coming between the U.S. and China. Bank of America's David Woo said it's time to start betting on a truce in Trump's trade war. His argument is simple, Joe says: Going into an election year, it's unlikely Trump would let trade uncertainty hurt the economy further. What you'll need to know tomorrowHong Kong's Carrie Lam folded on extradition, but will it be enough? America is creating jobs. The most popular one pays $24,000 a year. The world's biggest lawsuit may be a sham, Businessweek reports. The Democratic contenders agree on how to fight the climate crisis. Trump tweaks a map to match his error on Hurricane Dorian's threat. When CEO Jack Dorsey gets hacked, Twitter listens. Businessweek explains how robots can help, rather than replace, us.What you'll want to read tonightTime to tell your smug New York City friends that they've made the wrong life choice: Second cities are taking the gold when it comes to where life is really worth living. To contact the author of this story: David Rovella in New York at drovella@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UK Labour's Corbyn will not allow an election before Oct 31 Brexit date -BBC Posted: 04 Sep 2019 02:48 PM PDT ![UK Labour's Corbyn will not allow an election before Oct 31 Brexit date -BBC]( "UK Labour's Corbyn will not allow an election before Oct 31 Brexit date -BBC") UK opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will not allow Prime Minister Boris Johnson to hold an election before Oct. 31 even if he backs a new poll when a bill to stop a no-deal Brexit on that date becomes law, the BBC said on Wednesday citing a lawmaker. "A senior Labour MP has just said Jeremy Corbyn told him tonight he would NOT allow Boris Johnson to have an election before 31st October," BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said in a tweet.
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| UPDATE 1-Effort to disqualify lawyer part of U.S. campaign against Huawei: counsel Posted: 04 Sep 2019 02:34 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Effort to disqualify lawyer part of U.S. campaign against Huawei: counsel]( "UPDATE 1-Effort to disqualify lawyer part of U.S. campaign against Huawei: counsel") The effort to stop a former U.S. Justice Department official from representing Huawei is another step in a broader U.S. government campaign against the Chinese company, a lawyer for Huawei argued on Wednesday. Lawyer Michael Levy said the company has not been given any material information as to why its counsel, James Cole, should be removed. Cole is Huawei's lead lawyer in the U.S. case against the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker for allegedly misleading global banks about its business in Iran.
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| WRAPUP 2-Iran to develop centrifuges for faster uranium enrichment Posted: 04 Sep 2019 02:25 PM PDT ![WRAPUP 2-Iran to develop centrifuges for faster uranium enrichment]( "WRAPUP 2-Iran to develop centrifuges for faster uranium enrichment") DUBAI/WASHINGTON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Iran on Wednesday said it would take another step away from a 2015 nuclear deal by starting to develop centrifuges to speed up its uranium enrichment but it also gave European powers two more months to try to save the multilateral pact. Separately, the United States refused to ease its economic sanctions on Iran, imposed fresh ones designed to choke off the smuggling of Iranian oil and rebuffed, but did not rule out, a French plan to give Tehran a $15 billion credit line.
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| Hong Kong Leader’s Retreat Over Bill Fails to Satisfy Protesters Posted: 04 Sep 2019 02:23 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Carrie Lam's move to formally withdraw a bill allowing extraditions to China may well have ended the Hong Kong unrest in June. But now protesters want a lot more, and they're ready and willing to fight.After three months of at-times violent demonstrations, Hong Kong's leader made her most significant concession yet on Wednesday evening. In a somber televised address, she told an anxious city that she was meeting a demand from protesters to officially scrap a proposal that ended up sparking the worst unrest since the former colony's return to Chinese rule in 1997."Incidents over these past two months have shocked and saddened Hong Kong people," she said. "We are all very anxious about Hong Kong, our home. We all hope to find a way out of the current impasse and unsettling times."But before she had even spoken, pro-democracy activists and lawmakers were already saying Lam's concession was too little, too late. They want their other four demands met, most significantly a longstanding push to nominate and elect their own leaders -- a proposal Beijing explicitly ruled out this week.Read more: Why Hong Kong's still protesting and where it may go"Hong Kong people will not be satisfied, which is absolutely reasonable after three months of blood, sweat and tears," said Alvin Yeung, an opposition lawmaker.The next few weeks will tell whether Lam -- and her backers in Beijing -- bet correctly that relenting on one key demand would deflate a protest movement that has only gotten more violent. President Xi Jinping is also facing a broader economic slowdown in China as he spars on trade with U.S. President Donald Trump.While investors reacted with glee, giving the local benchmark Hang Seng Index its biggest gain in 10 months, most analysts saw the jump as a temporary bounce for a market that has been battered in recent months."It's positive but may only provide a temporary solution," said Stephen Innes, Asia Pacific Market Strategist at AxiTrader. "I can't see Hong Kongers going merrily along. I think the divide runs deeper."A timeline of how Hong Kong's protests led to withdrawal of the extradition billFor Beijing, the move amounts to a shift in tactics as it looks to quell the violence before Xi gives a landmark speech to celebrate 70 years of Communist Party rule on Oct. 1. A spokesman for the top mainland body overseeing Hong Kong on Tuesday deployed a softer tone in drawing a line between radical protesters and moderates, saying the "majority of Hong Kong's citizens, including many young students, are taking part in peaceful demonstrations."Lam on Wednesday stuck with that line while addressing the five demands of protesters. She downplayed the significance of using the term riot and said she couldn't give amnesty to demonstrators charged with crimes because it ran contrary to the rule of law.Although she pledged to launch a study and review of the government's work, she didn't meet a demand for an independent commission. And she punted on the demand for universal suffrage, saying any discussions would need to take place "without further polarizing society.""Our response to the five demands have been made with full consideration to different constraints and circumstances," she said. "I recognize these may not be able to address all the grievances of people in society."Protesters weren't pleased. Users of online forum LIHKG -- a popular sounding board and organizing platform for demonstrators -- slammed Lam's address shortly afterward.Joshua Wong, the prominent student leader who led a previous wave of pro-democracy protests in 2014 and was recently arrested over his role in a rally, warned that a crackdown was coming: "Whenever there are signs of sending a palm branch, they always come with a far tighter grip on exercising civil rights."More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested so far as they hold running battles with police. The most recent clashes last weekend saw protesters set a massive roadblock on fire in central Hong Kong and hurl around 100 Molotov cocktails at police, who responded with water cannons and tear gas."Carrie Lam could use the bill's withdrawal as a pretext to frame protesters as perpetrators of violence," said Raymond Chan, a pro-democracy lawmaker in Hong Kong. "As the bill is formally withdrawn, the logic goes, then any ongoing protests must serve ulterior motives such as Hong Kong independence or a color revolution."Up to now, some protesters have called for actions of civil disobedience -- like blocking roads, subway lines and access to the airport -- to pressure the government. Lam's biggest concessions, including the one Wednesday, have come after an escalation of violence, reinforcing the idea that radical actions are more effective than peaceful marches that attract hundreds of thousands of people.The question now is whether protesters can sustain the momentum to push for their final goals. Lam indicated that she's put her best offer on the table, and the toughest demand -- universal suffrage -- can only be decided by Beijing."Genuine democracy in Hong Kong is not on the agenda, and will not be on the agenda," said Steve Tsang, director the China Institute at London's School of Oriental and African Studies and the author of several books on Hong Kong. "They are not just going to get softer and softer and softer. Xi Jinping cannot afford to allow the Hong Kong protesters to win against the Communist Party."\--With assistance from Eric Lam and Shawna Kwan.To contact the reporter on this story: Iain Marlow in Hong Kong at imarlow1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Senior U.K. Conservative to Quit Parliament Over Brexit Fears Posted: 04 Sep 2019 02:23 PM PDT ![Senior U.K. Conservative to Quit Parliament Over Brexit Fears]( "Senior U.K. Conservative to Quit Parliament Over Brexit Fears") (Bloomberg) -- Former U.K. Conservative Party chairman Caroline Spelman will quit Parliament at the next election citing concerns about jobs for her constituents if Britain leaves the European Union without a deal.Also standing down at the next election will be former Defense Secretary Michael Fallon.Spelman, 61, who joined the Tories as an 18-year-old and has been an MP for 22 years, is the latest in a string of high-profile Tories to leave the party or be expelled after Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered them not to vote against a no-deal Brexit."In my constituency there is a large council estate and all the single mums there owe their jobs to the car factory," Spelman told Bloomberg. "I can't be pro no-deal when I've seen the predictions about what will happen to jobs, I can't ignore it."Spelman voted against the government Wednesday after meeting Chief Whip Mark Spencer who "graciously allowed me to vote with my conscience" in favor of legislation forcing an extension to the Brexit deadline.Spelman denied she'd been asked to step down by the party, adding that her constituents need a fresh candidate for the next election whenever that comes. She declined to criticize Johnson's handling of party discipline.Read more: Brexit Rips Conservative Party Apart as Johnson Expels 21 RebelsAfter Spelman leaves the House of Commons, she is keen to carry on her work with the head of the Anglican Church, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. He is is overseeing a reconciliation commission to heal nationwide divisions over Brexit.Fallon, 67 and the MP for Sevenoaks in southeast England since 1997. The Conservative stalwart previously served as an MP for Darlington from 1983 to 1992. Unlike Spelman, he didn't rebel on this week's votes to avert a no-deal Brexit. Fallon posted a statement on his website late on Wednesday to confirm the decision.(Updates with Fallon to stand down starting in second paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net;Alex Morales in London at amorales2@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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| Pound Surges as Parliament Moves to Block Johnson’s No-Deal Plan Posted: 04 Sep 2019 02:13 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Want the lowdown on European markets? In your inbox before the open, every day. Sign up here.The pound posted its biggest gain in six months after U.K. lawmakers took further steps toward blocking the government from pursuing a no-deal Brexit.Sterling climbed as much as 1.5% to 1.2258 after lawmakers voted to force Prime Minister Boris Johnson to delay Brexit by three months. The embattled U.K. leader was dealt another blow after Parliament rejected Johnson's motion to hold early elections on Oct. 15, the third time Johnson suffered a major parliamentary defeat for his Brexit plan in 24 hours.The U.K. currency has plunged since Johnson took power, but was able to claw back some of the losses this week as he lost his majority. The opposition Labour party said it will not support Johnson's call for an election until the Brexit delay is enshrined in law."Ultimately, if the risk of 'no deal' on Oct. 31 is shifting lower, and 'no deal' is one of the worst outcomes for the pound, then this likely opens the door to a more positive set of Brexit scenarios," said Adam Pickett, a Citigroup Inc. foreign-exchange analyst.Investors are still expecting more political turmoil and are buying volatility to insure against price swings into the end of January 2020, which would become the next Brexit deadline, meaning this looks like "a temporary reprieve for the pound more than anything else," said Credit Agricole's Valentin Marinov.\--With assistance from Sarah Ponczek.To contact the reporters on this story: Katherine Greifeld in New York at kgreifeld@bloomberg.net;Charlotte Ryan in London at cryan147@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ven Ram at vram1@bloomberg.net, Neil Chatterjee, Debarati RoyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Facebook Meets With FBI to Discuss 2020 Election Security Posted: 04 Sep 2019 02:07 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Executives from Facebook Inc. and Google met with U.S. intelligence officials on Wednesday to discuss the technology industry's security efforts leading up to the 2020 U.S. presidential election, according to a person familiar with the talks.The gathering, which is taking place at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, included staff members from the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said the person, who asked not to be named because the talks haven't been publicly disclosed. Representatives from Twitter Inc. and Microsoft Corp. were also in attendance.The full-day meetings were arranged to discuss how tech companies like Facebook are preparing for election-related security issues, including government-backed online disinformation campaigns similar to the one Russia orchestrated ahead of the 2016 U.S. election. In June, a senior Trump administration official told reporters that Russia, China, and Iran are all trying to influence public opinion ahead of the 2020 elections. Facebook has taken down coordinated influence campaigns originating from all three countries in the past year.Attendees at Wednesday's meeting will also discuss plans for better coordination of security efforts between tech companies and government agencies -- something that didn't happen in 2016. Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy, was leading the meeting, according to a person familiar with the situation.Facebook has been heavily criticized for propagating past disinformation campaigns, and it has also been the most vocal about changes it's making to protect its network around elections. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has said repeatedly that security is a top priority at the social network, and Facebook has hired thousands of content reviewers and security-related personnel to better monitor its service. Ahead of the 2018 U.S. midterm elections, Facebook also created a "war room" at its headquarters to more quickly respond to issues in the weeks leading up to election day.Facebook and other tech companies also have added more restrictions on political advertising after foreign agents used their platforms to buy ads in 2016. Facebook now requires verification and documentation from political advertisers, and launched a public database of all the political ads it runs. Twitter and Google have also added an application process for political advertisers.Representatives for Microsoft and Twitter confirmed their attendance at Wednesday's meeting, and one U.S. intelligence official described the meeting as an effort to establish "shared goals" between the tech community and the government."We always welcome the opportunity to spend time with our peer companies and the government agencies tasked with protecting the integrity of the 2020 election," a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement. "This is a joint effort in response to a shared threat, and we are committed to doing our part."A spokeswoman for the DNI declined to comment. Google -- along with the FBI and DHS -- didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.(Updated with context around disinformation campaigns and comment from Twitter.)\--With assistance from Alyza Sebenius.To contact the reporter on this story: Kurt Wagner in San Francisco at kwagner71@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz, Alistair BarrFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| British PM in limbo after MPs reject his Brexit plan, elections Posted: 04 Sep 2019 02:03 PM PDT  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government was left in limbo on Wednesday after MPs voted to derail his Brexit plan and rejected his call for an early election to break the political deadlock. Just six weeks after taking office, Johnson lost his majority in the House of Commons as his own MPs joined opposition parties to stop him taking Britain out of the EU next month without a deal. On Wednesday evening, they approved a bill that could force Johnson to delay Brexit to January or even later if he cannot agree exit terms with Brussels in time.
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| Minority Governments Not Unusual in the EU, But They Normally Work Posted: 04 Sep 2019 01:41 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Minority governments aren't that unusual in the European Union. Yet in the U.K. -- typically governed by a one-party majority -- that form of rule has gone sour. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who lost his majority when a lawmaker switched party on Tuesday, expelled another 21 MPs after being defeated on a Brexit bill in Parliament. On Wednesday, the lack of support translated into yet another resounding defeat over a no-deal exit from the EU and also saw his push for an early general election rejected.\--With assistance from Nikos Chrysoloras, Andrea Dudik, Jonas Bergman and Paul Tugwell.To contact the reporters on this story: Eddie Spence in London at espence11@bloomberg.net;Zoe Schneeweiss in London at zschneeweiss@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Sheldon Reback at sreback@bloomberg.net;Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran's Rouhani orders lifting of all nuclear R&D limits Posted: 04 Sep 2019 01:27 PM PDT  Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday ordered all limits on nuclear research and development to be lifted, the country's third step in scaling down its commitments to a 2015 deal with world powers. Iran and three European countries -- Britain, France and Germany -- have been engaged in talks to reduce tensions and save the nuclear deal that has been unravelling since US President Donald Trump withdrew from it in May last year.
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| Trump Raids Elementary Schools to Pay for Wall; Mexico Off Hook Posted: 04 Sep 2019 01:17 PM PDT  Jose Luis Gonzalez/ReutersDuring the 2016 election, Donald Trump repeatedly pledged that, as president, he would get Mexico to pay for the construction of his much-promised wall along the U.S. southern border. On Tuesday, his administration revealed that it would be paying for the wall instead by diverting funds meant for the construction of elementary schools, hazardous waste warehouse facilities, and fire stations, among other Department of Defense initiatives.The revelation came in the form of a list of projects that DOD sent to Capitol Hill that it says it will now be putting on hold as the president transfers funds from that department to wall construction. All told, DOD pinpointed more than $1 billion in mainland priorities that it was now shelving, in addition to $1.8 billion in foreign-based projects, and nearly $700 million in projects based in Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands—all U.S. territories. Among the notable items now on the backburner include $62 million for a middle school at Ft. Campbell in Kentucky, $13 million for a "child development center" at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, more than $40 million to replace a hazardous materials warehouse in Virginia, nearly $11 million for a fire station replacement in Beaufort, South Carolina; nearly $95 million for an elementary school at Camp Mctureous in Japan; and nearly $80 million for an elementary school replacement project in Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. Lawmakers in Congress had fought the president's ability to divert such funds to border wall construction. But a recent Supreme Court ruling left little doubt that Trump retained the legal ability to make such transfers, and congressional aides do not expect that the courts will come to their rescue at this point. Since the Trump administration signaled in February it would raid military construction funding to pay for the wall, the working assumption on Capitol Hill among Democrats had been that the White House would probably privilege funding in states held by Republicans while maximizing the pain for areas represented by Democrats.That's true to some extent. New York, the home of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, will take the biggest hit of any state, with diversions from planned projects at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point tagged at $160 million. New Mexico, Virginia, and Maryland will all see significant cuts, too.But the administration will also divert plenty of dollars from projects in states with Republican representation, complicating politics for a handful of GOP senators with the most difficult re-election fights in 2020, including Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).Leaked Letter Shows Where Military Will Reinforce Trump's Border WallTillis' home state of North Carolina will see roughly $80 million in projects put on hold. McSally, who was appointed to her seat, will have to deal with the loss of $30 million for an Army facility in southern Arizona to her constituents. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who is up for re-election too, will see roughly $60 million in projects for his state put on pause. But the final list may hurt territories, which have no electoral votes, the most— particularly Puerto Rico, which has been a persistent source of agitation for the president. The island will see over $400 million in funding for military projects there deferred.Almost all of the projects contained in the list appear in a larger list of unspent military construction funds circulated by congressional Democrats in a letter to the then-Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanhan and warned that diversion of funds from the projects "imposes known and unknown risks on the military services' ability to train the force, maintain readiness, and support military missions." The projects postponed in order to divert funding to Trump's border wall include a number of congressional defense spending favorites. In Alaska, the Defense Department deferred $8 million for the expansion of a missile field at Fort Greely, home of the missile defense system the Pentagon hopes will help counter missile threats from adversaries like North Korea. And the Trump administration, which has embraced the use of drones more so than even the administration of Barack Obama, has decided to defer a huge pot of funds intended to fix a sinkhole that is developing at a key site for the U.S. drone program. In New Mexico, the Pentagon will delay $85 million to improve conditions at a drone training program at Holloman Air Force Base, where issues like bad plumbing, poor lighting, and a massive sinkhole prompted Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) to call the situation "unacceptable" during a visit in April. In Virginia, the Pentagon is delaying over $40 million in funding to bring hazardous waste storage up to current standards in a Naval facility that serves as the main supply point for vessels supporting NATO; it's also icing $10 million to provide a new sensitive compartmentalized information facility, or SCIF, for the Air Force's cybersecurity unit. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper spent the past two days informing affected lawmakers of the cuts. In a Tuesday letter, a group of key Democratic senators, led by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), the top Democrat on the Senate panel that appropriates for military construction, demanded answers from Esper over why this group of projects was targeted."We also expect a full justification of how the decision to cancel was made for each project selected," they wrote, "and why a border wall is more important to our national security and the wellbeing of our service members and their families than these projects."Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? 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| Johnson Calls for Snap Election After Another Brexit Defeat Posted: 04 Sep 2019 12:57 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Follow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story. A defiant U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson hit back after a second crushing defeat for his Brexit strategy in two days and called for a snap general election.In a high stakes gamble that risks his own job just six weeks after becoming premier, Johnson said an emergency poll was the only way out of the Brexit deadlock that has paralyzed British politics for the past three years."It is completely impossible for government to function if the House of Commons refuses to pass anything that the government proposes," he said in a statement to a noisy parliament. "In my view and the view of the government, there must now be an election on Tuesday 15 October."Members of Parliament began debating Johnson's plan for a snap election and were due to vote on whether to approve it later on Wednesday night. But with opposition parties saying they won't back him, because they don't trust him to keep his promises, Johnson looks set to suffer yet another rejection.Poisoned Apple"We want an election because we look forward to turfing this government out," opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn responded. "The offer of the election today is a bit like the offer of an apple to Snow White by the wicked queen -- because what he's offering is not an apple or even an election, but the poison of no deal."Corbyn said he would back an election once the bill to stop a no-deal Brexit had become law.The back-and-forth took place after MPs moved decisively to stop Britain lurching out of the European Union without an agreement in eight weeks' time. Johnson failed to stop the House of Commons voting for a draft law designed to thwart his plan to take the U.K. out of the EU -- with or without a deal -- on Oct. 31. Instead, MPs voted by 327 to 299 in favor of forcing Johnson to ask the EU to delay Brexit by three months to Jan. 31 if he can't get a deal agreed, or if he fails to persuade Parliament to leave the bloc without one.The bill will now move to the unelected second chamber, the House of Lords. It needs to pass in both houses to become law.The PurgeJohnson resisted the draft law with all his power. On Tuesday night he fired 21 MPs from his ruling Conservative Party after they refused to carry out his orders and voted against him. On Wednesday, Johnson said again he will never ask the EU for another delay to Brexit."It is clear that there is therefore only one way forward for this country," Johnson said. "The country must now decide whether the leader of the opposition or I go to those negotiations in Brussels on 17 October to sort this out."Johnson is going to push hard to get this election.If he loses the vote proposing a snap poll on Wednesday, he is planning to try again on Monday, people familiar with the matter said. He told a private meeting of Tory MPs that he wants to get on with the election campaign, as it's the only way to break the deadlock.But his plan is a huge gamble. Two years ago Theresa May called a snap election expecting to win a landslide. Instead, she lost the majority she started with, a failure that resulted in the chaos and confusion that has engulfed British politics ever since.\--With assistance from Alex Morales and Jessica Shankleman.To contact the reporters on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net;Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net;Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Britain abandons plan to immediately end freedom of movement after Brexit Posted: 04 Sep 2019 12:53 PM PDT ![CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Britain abandons plan to immediately end freedom of movement after Brexit]( "CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Britain abandons plan to immediately end freedom of movement after Brexit") Britain's government has abandoned plans to end freedom of movement for European Union citizens immediately after a possible no-deal Brexit and will instead return to an earlier policy of giving them three years' temporary leave to remain. The fate of EU migrants had been thrown further into confusion by the government's announcement last month that their automatic right to live and work in Britain would end abruptly - and sooner than expected - in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The plan was branded reckless by lawyers, which said it could result in millions of EU nationals who were legally resident in Britain but had not yet applied for settled status losing some of their rights.
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| Woman sets herself on fire after being charged for illegally entering football match in Iran Posted: 04 Sep 2019 12:44 PM PDT  An Iranian woman has set herself on fire outside a court in Tehran after being tried for resisting arrest by morality police for trying to enter a football stadium disguised as a male spectator. According to Rokna news agency, the woman, named only as Sahar, has been taken to a local hospital with life-threatening burns. A spokesperson for Iran's judiciary has said the woman "had been engaged in a physical confrontation with security forces in February" after resisting arrest on charges of and insulting police and bad-hejabi, refusing to abide by strict Muslim dress codes. She had been detained but later released to appear in court on charges of "insulting the public by defying the dress code for women", according to court papers. Ahead of a court hearing on Monday she says she was told by a source that she faces six months in prison. She asked the judge to postpone her trial so she could attend a funeral. When she came out of the building she set herself on fire in front of the usually crowded complex that houses several courts. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 Iranian women have been banned from attending football stadiums as the clerical regime regards watching men playing football in shorts "promoting promiscuity". Dr. Mustafa Dehmardi, the head of accident and emergency at Motahari hospital in Tehran, told Rokna news agency that Sahar had burns caused by petrol fire on 90 per cent of her body. She is currently in the hospital's intensive care unit. Iranian women's rights activists have long been campaigning to enter sports stadiums, and in recent years they have been allowed to attend volleyball matches only if accompanied by their spouses in designated areas.
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| UPDATE 1-Iran has released seven crew members of seized tanker Stena Impero - Sweden foreign min Posted: 04 Sep 2019 12:34 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Iran has released seven crew members of seized tanker Stena Impero - Sweden foreign min]( "UPDATE 1-Iran has released seven crew members of seized tanker Stena Impero - Sweden foreign min") LONDON/STOCKHOLM, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Iran has released seven of the 23 crew members of the British-flagged tanker Stena Impero that was seized earlier this summer, Sweden's foreign minister said on Wednesday. The Swedish-owned Stena Impero was detained by Iran's Revolutionary Guards on July 19 in the Strait of Hormuz waterway for alleged marine violations, two weeks after Britain detained an Iranian tanker off the territory of Gibraltar. Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said in a statement that the Swedish embassy in Tehran had confirmed that seven of the 23 members had been released.
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| UPDATE 1-Rouhani says Iran to develop centrifuges for faster uranium enrichment Posted: 04 Sep 2019 12:34 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Rouhani says Iran to develop centrifuges for faster uranium enrichment]( "UPDATE 1-Rouhani says Iran to develop centrifuges for faster uranium enrichment") Iran will from Friday begin developing centrifuges to speed up the enrichment of uranium, as the next step in scaling back its nuclear commitments, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday. Under its 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers, Iran was allowed to keep restricted quantities of first-generation centrifuges at two nuclear plants. "From Friday, we will witness research and development on different kinds of centrifuges and new centrifuges and also whatever is needed for enriching uranium in an accelerated way," Rouhani said a televised speech.
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| Iran ratchets up pressure ahead of weekend nuclear deadline Posted: 04 Sep 2019 12:26 PM PDT  Iranian officials ratcheted up pressure Wednesday ahead of a weekend nuclear deadline for European nations to come up with a solution for Iran to sell its oil abroad in the aftermath of escalated U.S. sanctions. President Hassan Rouhani reiterated a threat that Tehran would take additional steps away from the 2015 nuclear accord on Friday and accelerate nuclear activities if Europe fails to provide a solution, calling it Iran's third, "most important step" away from the deal. "Iran's third step is of an extraordinarily significant nature," Rouhani said, without giving details.
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| Huawei Says U.S. Bid to Remove Lawyer Is Part of ‘Agenda’ Posted: 04 Sep 2019 12:12 PM PDT ![Huawei Says U.S. Bid to Remove Lawyer Is Part of 'Agenda']( "Huawei Says U.S. Bid to Remove Lawyer Is Part of 'Agenda'") (Bloomberg) -- A lawyer defending Huawei Technologies Co. against charges that it violated U.S. sanctions on Iran told a federal judge an effort to remove its lead attorney from the case was part of a government "agenda" against the Chinese tech giant.Federal prosecutors have asked U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn, New York, to disqualify James M. Cole as lead attorney for Huawei's defense team. They say Cole, during a four-year stint as deputy attorney general, had access to classified matters that appear to be "substantially" connected to Huawei."This case is part of an overall agenda which the government has against Huawei," Michael Levy told Donnelly. "There is something of a campaign here in wanting to disqualify Mr. Cole that can be seen as one more tactical step. It's a dangerous area."In addition to bringing the Brooklyn case, the government has filed criminal charges against Huawei in federal court in Seattle, accusing it of stealing trade secrets from T-Mobile US Inc. The U.S. has also banned Huawei's technology and accused the company of helping Beijing carry out espionage.Cole, a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, served as Attorney General Eric Holder's deputy from 2011 to 2015. Donnelly, who didn't issue a public ruling Wednesday, held a portion of the hearing in open court, then ordered the courtroom sealed to discuss classified material and matters of national security.Read More: Huawei Iran-Sanctions Evidence Is Too Risky for China to SeeDuring the public portion of the hearing, prosecutor David Kessler argued that while working in the government, Cole had been privy to discussions regarding a "prior matter" that had a "substantial relationship to this one.""It's a unique case, but we don't think it's a close call," Kessler said. "The ultimate question is whether Mr. Cole was in the government's confidences from his prior representation. We believe he has had these confidences, absolutely."While prosecutors didn't disclose what those confidences were, Levy said the "related matter" was the federal investigation of HSBC Holdings Plc. In 2012, HSBC paid $1.9 billion to resolve a criminal investigation into whether it violated U.S. sanctions laws on Iran and laundered at least $881 million on behalf of drug cartels. That investigation led prosecutors to Huawei's Iran dealings, people familiar with the matter have said.Donnelly questioned Huawei's argument that even if Cole had been privy to classified matters or matters of national security, he should be permitted to remain on the case because he doesn't remember them. Huawei has also argued the U.S. took too long to object to Cole's working as a defense lawyer on the case."I take it your position is Mr. Cole doesn't remember these things," she said to Levy. "If there really is a conflict, and in the middle of the trial, all of a sudden, a memory is triggered, we don't want to be in that position, do we?"Read More: Huawei Suit Against U.S Tries to Go Where Russia Firm FailedHuawei earlier this month accused the U.S. government of orchestrating a campaign to intimidate its employees and launching cyberattacks to infiltrate its internal network. The accusations have ratcheted up tensions between Huawei and the Trump administration, which has accused the networking company of helping Beijing spy and labeled it a national security risk. Washington has blacklisted Huawei, curbing sales of the technology it needs to make its phones and telecommunications equipment.The U.S. House Intelligence Committee said in 2012 that Huawei and ZTE Corp., China's two largest phone-equipment makers, provide opportunities for Chinese intelligence services to tamper with U.S. telecom networks for spying. Matthew Whitaker, as acting attorney general, echoed such security concerns when he announced both Huawei prosecutions in January.Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer, who is also charged in the case, remains free on bail in Vancouver, Canada, while she fights extradition to the U.S.The case is U.S. v. Huawei Technologies Co., 18-cr-457, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).(Updates with context of Huawei's accusation at bottom.)To contact the reporter on this story: Patricia Hurtado in Federal Court in Manhattan at pathurtado@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Peter Jeffrey, Joe SchneiderFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Brexit Deadlock as Boris Johnson’s Lies Finally Catch Up With Him Posted: 04 Sep 2019 11:57 AM PDT  Ben Pruchnie/GettyLONDON—Unfortunately for Boris Johnson, the British prime minister now needs us to take him at his word.Britain's opposition parties voted on Wednesday to reject Johnson's proposal to hold an election before Halloween, the night by which he promises to have delivered Brexit. His rivals said they could not trust him not to abuse the power of his office to simply move the election date into November and crash the country out of the European Union while there is no parliament in place to stop him.He told the House of Commons that he wouldn't do it. His official spokesman told reporters that he would never consider such a move.But Boris Johnson's word is not his bond.The former journalist (who is also known to have fathered at least five children during two marriages and several affairs) has twice been fired for dishonesty.His job at The Times of London was terminated when he fabricated a quote from his godfather Colin Lucas, a historian, to use in a story about Edward II. Sadly for him, the made-up quote contained such an obvious historical error that Lucas was forced to come out and defend his honor, thus costing Johnson his first job.He suffered a similar fate once he had entered politics. When tabloid newspapers wrote about his four-year affair with Petronella Wyatt, the daughter of Lord Wyatt, he described the reports as an "inverted pyramid of piffle." Her family came forward to say it was true and Wyatt had undergone an abortion, leaving Johnson to be sacked by the Conservative Party for lying once again.Boris' Girlfriend Banished by the Queen, Who Has a 'Dim View of Adulterers'A court case examining Johnson's first controversial move as prime minister prompted further concerns about his honesty. He stated publicly that he was not planning to shut down Parliament in the lead up to the Brexit deadline, and his Downing Street spokesman continued to insist that would not be the case until days before Johnson asked the queen to do just that.Johnson argued disingenuously that the shutdown was just the traditional prorogation used to separate sessions of Parliament. Prorogation is indeed an annual occurrence but this was to be the longest parliamentary shutdown in 40 years and the first since the aftermath of World War II to be called at a time of constitutional crisis.Emails handed over to a Scottish court examining the legality of the move showed that Johnson had signed off on the prorogation in mid-August after which officials continued to deny for weeks that it would be implemented.After a humiliating defeat in the House of Commons on Tuesday night when 21 Conservative lawmakers voted to take control of Brexit away from their own prime minister, Johnson called for a new election to be held.The opposition parties are refusing to accept this latest gambit until they are certain that Johnson won't try some kind of procedural maneuver to push through a no deal Brexit. Johnson won the vote by 298 to 56 but that fell well-short of the number required to trigger an election.Labour's Brexit spokesman Sir Keir Starmer said it was impossible to believe Johnson's assurances because he has been "dishonest time and again" and "lied" to lawmakers."When he says the 15th of October, I can tell you across all the opposition parties and some Tory MPs, they do not trust him," he said.Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was an "elephant trap." For hundreds of years British prime ministers had the power to call an election whenever they wanted. This was often used to try to take advantage of a wave of popularity—such as Theresa May's ill-fated snap election of 2017—but it also helped to navigate political crises when a government's legitimacy was being questioned. On the other hand, it was very easy for an election to be triggered by the opposition if the government no longer commanded a majority in the House of Commons.That system was curtailed by the Conservative prime minister, David Cameron, who saw a short-term gain in being able to cement his 2010 coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Cameron was also the leader who decided that a referendum on membership of the European Union would be a neat way to end decades of internal Conservative bickering about Europe.Under Cameron's Fixed-Term Parliament's Act, a two-thirds majority in the House of Commons is required to bring about an early end to a five year term. Johnson has no way of securing that supermajority without the help of his opponents, on Wednesday he fell more than 130 votes short giving him his third defeat out of three votes in his short prime ministerial career.Johnson made a "do or die" commitment to get Britain out of the EU by October 31 even if that meant triggering a No Deal Brexit, which would mean Britain had no trade deals with Europe and would be likely to suffer economic harm in the short term at least.Boris Johnson Humiliated by Parliament in First Brexit VoteOn Wednesday, the rebels who defeated Johnson the night before returned to the Commons and backed a bill to block a No Deal Brexit if the prime minister hasn't agreed a plan with the EU ahead of the October 31 deadline. It will now pass to the second chamber, the House of Lords, for expected approval.The bill could have been derailed by some fresh apparent duplicity from the prime minister. An unpopular amendment to it unexpectedly passed after the government reportedly refused to provide staff to count any of the votes against it. However, the opposition lawmakers and Conservative rebels were undeterred and passed the bill with a 29-strong majority.Unable to push through No Deal, or call an election and hope that a fed-up nation would agree to get this over with, Johnson is now left with nowhere to turn in the short term. He responded to the bill passing by formally challenging Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to back his call for a general election next month, but as things stand the measure doesn't have the required two-thirds approval of the House of Commons.Labour is split on when to acquiesce to an election, but they know that forcing Johnson to break his Halloween pledge would be a boon to Nigel Farage's Brexit party who wait in the wings poised to steal millions of Conservative votes whenever the country does go back to the polls.Despite that chance to make Johnson go back on his word, Corbyn is still minded to go to the people as soon as possible in the belief that a strong campaign would see him installed into No 10. He's been calling for an election ever since the last one, and appeared rankled earlier when Johnson mocked him as a "big girl's blouse" for not rushing to back a vote.If only he could convince the rest of his skeptical and largely anti-Brexit party that Johnson would be as good as his word.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| UK to offer EU citizens 3-year visas after no-deal Brexit Posted: 04 Sep 2019 11:38 AM PDT  Britain's government on Wednesday announced a three-year immigration scheme to cover most European citizens wanting to come to Britain after a no deal Brexit, in a move aimed at reassuring business they will still be able to recruit the staff they need. The new policy will allow immigrants and their close family members from the European Economic Area (EEA) -- which comprises EU nations, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway -- and Switzerland to apply to live and work in Britain for up to three years. Britain's interior ministry said the move, to run until the end of 2020, signalled "the end of free movement in its current form" from EEA member states.
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| UPDATE 1-German Social Democrats start "speed-dating" for aspiring leaders Posted: 04 Sep 2019 11:28 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-German Social Democrats start "speed-dating" for aspiring leaders]( "UPDATE 1-German Social Democrats start \"speed-dating\" for aspiring leaders") No fewer than 17 leadership candidates for Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) faced hustings on Wednesday with members deciding who they want to drag the party out of the doldrums and decide whether to quit government. Germany's oldest party, divided over staying in conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition, is holding a protracted leadership race after its worst ever performance in elections to the European Parliament in May forced Andrea Nahles to quit.
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| British PM ruffles feathers with 'chlorinated chicken' taunt Posted: 04 Sep 2019 11:19 AM PDT  As British lawmakers battle over Brexit, they are making decisions of historic importance. During a testy House of Commons debate Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn of ducking an election and being "a chlorinated chicken" — a reference to claims the U.K. will have to lower its food safety standards to get a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States. Such banter is nothing new in the chamber, despite its strict rules against "unparliamentary language." It is forbidden to accuse another lawmaker of lying, and legislators must be referred to as "the honorable lady," ''the honorable gentleman" or "my honorable friend," rather than by name.
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| German Social Democrats start "speed-dating" for aspiring leaders Posted: 04 Sep 2019 11:11 AM PDT ![German Social Democrats start "speed-dating" for aspiring leaders]( "German Social Democrats start \"speed-dating\" for aspiring leaders") No fewer than 17 leadership candidates for Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) faced hustings on Wednesday with members deciding who they want to drag the party out of the doldrums and decide whether to quit government. Germany's oldest party, divided over staying in conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition, is holding a protracted leadership race after its worst ever performance in elections to the European Parliament in May forced Andrea Nahles to quit.
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| EU nationals can apply for 3-year right to remain in UK after no-deal Brexit Posted: 04 Sep 2019 11:08 AM PDT ![EU nationals can apply for 3-year right to remain in UK after no-deal Brexit]( "EU nationals can apply for 3-year right to remain in UK after no-deal Brexit") Britain has announced that European Union nationals will be able to apply for a three-year right to remain in the country in the event of a possible no-deal Brexit. "After Brexit, EU citizens who move to the UK for the first time will be able to apply for a 36-month temporary immigration status - European Temporary Leave to Remain (TLR)," the government said in a document.
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| Would-be German center-left leaders embark on stump tour Posted: 04 Sep 2019 11:06 AM PDT  The large field of candidates vying to lead what traditionally has been Germany's main center-left party embarked Wednesday on a marathon stump tour. The outcome is expected to influence the future of Chancellor Angela Merkel's German government. The candidates to replace Andrea Nahles, who resigned abruptly as leader in June, traveled to the western city of Saarbruecken for the first of 23 canvassing events that will be followed by a ballot of the party's 426,000 members.
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| U.K.’s Johnson Tells Tories He Wants to Get on With Election Posted: 04 Sep 2019 10:50 AM PDT ![U.K.'s Johnson Tells Tories He Wants to Get on With Election]( "U.K.'s Johnson Tells Tories He Wants to Get on With Election") (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson told Conservative Party colleagues on Wednesday that he wants to push ahead with holding an early general election in order to resolve the parliamentary impasse over Brexit.The prime minister believes that opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is running scared of a poll, and that it's a chance for the Tories to win a majority in the House of Commons, according to two members of Parliament at the meeting who asked not to be named discussing a private gathering.The Conservatives have relied since 2017 on the support of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party to pass legislation. On Tuesday, they lost their combined majority when Philip Lee quit to join the Liberal Democrats.Johnson then expelled 21 Conservative MPs who rebelled in a vote to thwart a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31. That's left his government with a deficit of more than 40 in Parliament.A person familiar with the matter said Johnson plans to keep pushing for a snap election next week if he fails to persuade Parliament to vote for one on Wednesday night.BrinkmanshipAssuming that a rebel bill designed to block a no-deal Brexit passes the House of Commons, the premier assumes the only way of breaking the deadlock gripping British politics is to ask the people to elect a new Parliament, said the person, who asked not to be named discussing the sensitive issue.Johnson is ready to try again to get the House of Commons to agree to an election on Monday, if, as expected, members of Parliament refuse to vote for a poll before then.Johnson is facing defeat in the House of Commons again on Wednesday at the hands of opponents who are determined to block his strategy of taking the U.K. out of the European Union without a deal on Oct. 31. The rebel bill has already passed one stage and is set for another vote in the evening.If he loses the vote, as seems likely, Johnson will ask members of Parliament to vote immediately for a general election instead. But that vote, too, is likely to leave him defeated. He needs two-thirds of MPs to support his plan and so far the opposition parties are refusing to agree.Corbyn has said he wants an election but only once a new law is passed, to ensure Johnson cannot deliver a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31. According to the person familiar with the government's thinking, the prime minister is expected to make clear that an election is the only option and to try again to secure one on Monday, by which time the anti no-deal law is likely to have passed.Even on Monday he may be thwarted again.That's because Labour is thinking of not supporting an early election until the threat of a no-deal exit on Oct. 31 is eliminated, two opposition MPs familiar with the plan said. That means any election must be scheduled for after that date, once a delay to Brexit has been secured, the MPs said.(Updates with Johnson's plans starting in first paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net;Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Robert HuttonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Churchill’s grandson and 20 other MPs expelled from the Conservative Party for voting against hard Brexit Posted: 04 Sep 2019 10:50 AM PDT  Churchill's grandson and 20 other MPs expelled from the Conservative Party for voting against hard Brexit originally appeared on abcnews.go.comSir Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Britain's World War II leader Winston Churchill, has been expelled from the Conservative Party for going against Boris Johnson over Brexit.He and 20 other Conservative members of Parliament "had the whip removed" following their votes against the Conservative Party and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which helped to defeat the government's position. ...
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| EU Says U.K. Has Failed to Deliver New Proposals: Brexit Update Posted: 04 Sep 2019 10:44 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose Brexit strategy is in tatters, told lawmakers from his disintegrating Conservative party that he wants to get on with an election to stop his government going around in circles.On Wednesday, members of Parliament are set to push their showdown with the premier over Britain's divorce from the European Union to its climax. After seizing control over the parliamentary agenda, Johnson's critics will aim to pass a law banning him from taking Britain out of the bloc without a deal on Oct. 31.Key Developments:MPs are debating a new law to block a no-deal split from the EU, an interim vote passed by 329 to 300, with final votes expected from about 7 p.m.Government also set to propose a motion for a general election, with a vote late tonightGermany and Ireland say a further Brexit delay is possibleThe pound rose 1%Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid pledged to end austerity in spending plansEU Says U.K. Still Has No Talks Proposals (6:30 p.m.)Senior EU officials, including chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, briefed the ambassadors of the bloc's 27 governments in Brussels today, reaffirming talks are at an impasse and that Johnson's envoy David Frost has promised but failed again to deliver concrete proposals, according to three participants in the closed meeting.Following today's meeting between Frost and EU negotiators, the mood is very pessimistic, one of the officials said. EU member states and the Commission reiterated that they are unwavering in their support for Ireland's position.The bloc only knows what U.K doesn't want, one of the diplomats said. The EU is trying to work out whether the U.K. doesn't have a plan, has a plan still in the works, or has a plan but is not ready to present it.While monitoring developments in London, the EU27 will now focus their energy on no-deal preparations, starting with yet another technical meeting on Thursday, the first diplomat said.Johnson Says He Wants to Get On With Election (6.15 p.m.)Boris Johnson told a private meeting of Conservative MPs that he wants to get on with an election, according to two people present who spoke on condition of anonymity.The prime minister said that the government can't keep going in circles without a majority, and that while he doesn't want an election, one is inevitable and necessary to break the deadlock currently surrounding Brexit.U.K. Toughens Rules for Foreign Criminals (5:55 p.m.)The Home Office on Wednesday said it will introduce new border controls to make it harder for "serious criminals" to enter the U.K. in the event of a no-deal Brexit. A tougher criminality threshold will be applied to European Economic Area citizens in order to deport and keep out criminals from abroad, the department said.In a measure to allow businesses to recruit and retain staff after Brexit, the Home office also announced that EEA and Swiss citizens and their close family members who arrive in the U.K. between Brexit and the end of 2020 will be able to obtain temporary immigration status lasting three years.Other new measures include removing the EU customs channel at entry points, introducing blue passports later this year – a totemic issue for Brexiteers – and removing the right to permanent residence for those who arrive after Brexit.Spelman Joins the Anti No-Brexit Rebels (5:40 pm.)Caroline Spelman, another Conservative former minister, switched sides and joined the rebels in today's vote, according to data from the House of Commons.Having voted against Tuesday night's successful bid by MPs to seize control of the Parliamentary timetable, Spelman backed the bill to block a no-deal Brexit.Spelman is not expected to be expelled from the party, as rebels were last night, because the vote was not being treated as an issue of confidence in the government, according to a party official speaking on condition of anonymity.First Stage of Anti No-Deal Brexit Bill Approved (5:20 p.m.)Members of Parliament voted by 329 votes to 300 to continue with the bill aimed at blocking a no-deal Brexit.The bill will now be examined in detail in the House of Commons with a series of votes on amendments expected to start at 7 p.m.Johnson Wants General Election for Oct. 15 (4:55 p.m.)A footnote from Prime Minister's Questions earlier in the day: Boris Johnson three times set out his intended date for an early general election as Oct. 15.That's a day later than his officials were briefing last week and addresses concerns that Oct. 14 is the start of a Jewish holiday.Churchill's Grandson Chides Johnson for Disloyalty (4:25 p.m.)Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill, appeared on the edge of tears as he confirmed he will stand down as an MP after 37 years. He was one of the Tory rebels who was expelled from the Conservative Party by Johnson on Tuesday night."I'm truly very sad that it should end in this way," he said. "It is my most fervent hope that this house will rediscover the spirit of compromise, humility and understanding that will enable us finally to push ahead with the vital work in the interests of the whole country that has inevitably had to be so sadly neglected whilst we have devoted so much time to wrestling with Brexit."He did allow himself a parting shot at Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg, however, saying that while he had loyally voted for Theresa May's deal three times, their disloyalty to the party at that time had helped to inspire his rebellion.Hammond: Government Isn't Negotiating With EU (4:20 p.m.)Philip Hammond, the former chancellor of the exchequer who was thrown out of the Conservative Party for voting against Boris Johnson on Tuesday night, said Parliament voting to block a no-deal Brexit won't hinder negotiations "because actually there is no negotiation going on with the EU.""We've had confirmation from multiple sources across the EU that nothing is happening," Hammond said. "Nothing we are doing here is going to undermine the prime minister's ability to negotiate with the EU."Johnson has claimed said that the only obstacle to getting a deal with the EU is the belief in Brussels that Parliament will continue to block a no-deal divorce. He also claims the legislation will hand power to Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party.Hammond countered that idea, too. "I would sooner boil my head than hand power to the leader of the opposition," he said.Labour's Election Conundrum (3:40 pm)Labour's members of Parliament held an extra meeting this morning to discuss strategy following its regular gathering last night. Two of the MPs present privately said the party had discussed the timing of a general election, with many voices telling Corbyn to delay until after Britain has left the EU.The party is split, with the leadership keen to go for an election because they think it might put leader Jeremy Corbyn in government, while rank-and-file MPs -- who have doubts about his electoral appeal -- are much more reluctant.Labour's Treasury spokesman John McDonnell tried to put a gloss on the divisions, telling reporters the debate was about finding the best strategy for avoiding a no-deal Brexit. Even getting a law passed in Parliament to prevent that scenario -- which MPs are currently debating -- didn't guarantee Boris Johnson would obey it, he said."We're looking at every way, having secured the legislation, of making sure that he can't wriggle out,'' McDonnell said.MPs Begin Debate on No-Deal Brexit Law (3:40 p.m.)In the House of Commons, MPs have begun to debate a law designed to prevent the U.K. from leaving the European Union without a deal on Oct. 31 -- something Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he is willing to do if necessary. That's why lawmakers voted to take control of Parliament's agenda from the government late Tuesday.Labour's Hilary Benn, one of the bill's sponsors, opened the debate, saying legislation is needed because threatening a no-deal Brexit is not a "credible" negotiating strategy."What unites us is a conviction that there is no mandate for no deal, and that the consequences for the economy and for our country would be highly damaging," Benn said. "No deal doesn't end anything, it will simply plunge us into greater uncertainty. No deal will not be the end of Brexit, it will only be the end of the beginning."No-Deal Efforts Will Limit Worst-Case Brexit Hit: BOE (3 p.m.)The U.K.'s preparations for a no-deal Brexit may help to limit the damage to the economy, though the fallout will still be considerable, according to the Bank of England. The drop in GDP from peak to trough is less than the 8% seen last November -- but still a dramatic 5.5%, the central bank said as it updated its assumptions for a worst-case scenario.Javid Told Not to Electioneer in Statement (2:10 p.m.)Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid was reprimanded three times by Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow for being too political in his spending statement to Parliament.John McDonnell, Labour's Treasury spokesman, accused Javid of using the announcement to win votes in a coming election, which Johnson wants Parliament to approve tonight."People will see this as the grubby electioneering that it is," McDonnell said. "It's straight out of the Lynton Crosby book of opinion poll politics," he said, referring to Johnson's elections adviser. The Tories "have calculated how little they have to spend" to meet people's concerns about key issues, he said.Benn Confident Bill Will Pass Lords (2:05 p.m.)Hilary Benn, one of the sponsors of the bill to extend Brexit negotiations, said he's confident it will pass its remaining stages in the House of Commons later Wednesday and survive any filibuster attempts in the House of Lords. (see 1:25 p.m.)"The question is the speed at which we can get it through the Lords but I don't doubt there's a majority for it there," Benn told Bloomberg in an interview.House of Lords Prepares for Filibuster Fight (1.25 p.m.)Most of the action today is in the House of Commons, but in the upper House of Lords, where the rebel Brexit bill will go next, another battle will begin this afternoon.The opposition will be trying to seize control of the agenda, just as happened in the Commons yesterday. But unlike yesterday, it first has to get past dozens of amendments that have been proposed in an effort to filibuster the motion so there isn't time for it to be passed.The opposition definitely has enough votes, but it doesn't -- yet -- have control of the timetable. Expect the sitting to go through the night, at the very least.Irish Open to Deadline Extension (1:16 p.m.)Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said his government would support another Brexit delay if it helps secure a deal. Speaking to reporters in Dublin, he said if the U.K. does seek an extension, a persuasive case on how that would help get a divorce agreement would need to be made.He called on Johnson's administration to bring forward "alternatives that do the same job" as the contentious backstop plan for avoiding goods checks at the Irish border. "We can't do a deal unless we have proposals to work with," he added.Merkel's Office Says Brexit Delay Possible (1:10 p.m.)German Chancellor Angela Merkel is keeping abreast of the political developments in London. "The German government is watching the procedures in parliament with interest," her chief spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in Berlin.Seibert said EU member states remained willing to reach an agreement with Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government, "even now on Sept. 4." Any extension would be for the U.K. government to decide – and member states would consider it accordingly, he said.Johnson Attacked Over Comments on Muslims (12:55 p.m.)Johnson faced an impassioned attack from Sikh Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi over a 2018 newspaper article the premier wrote. In his article, Johnson compared Muslim women wearing burqas covering their faces and bodies to letterboxes and bank-robbers.Dhesi drew applause from opposition MPs over his stance. Johnson did not reply directly, accusing Labour of anti-semitism. Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson admonished Johnson for his response, saying the prime minister "must be more careful'' about what he says.Johnson and Corbyn Clash Over Brexit, Election (12:20 p.m.)At Johnson's first weekly question and answer session in Parliament, the prime minister repeated his line that the U.K. intends to leave the EU on Oct. 31. He said the only thing that stands in the way is "the surrender bill from the opposition."Johnson called on Corbyn to say whether Labour would vote for an election, suggesting his opponent was afraid of such a contest. "Is he frit?" Johnson asked, a term used by former Tory Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to accuse an opponent of cowardice. Later Johnson called Corbyn "a chlorinated chicken" a joke based on concerns that Brexit will lead to lower food standards.Corbyn repeatedly asked Johnson to set out his negotiating position with the EU, which the premier repeatedly dodged. "These negotiations are a sham, all he is doing is running down the clock," Corbyn said. "I fail to see how I can be accused of undermining negotiations because no negotiations are taking place."EU Sees Irish Backstop as Only Solution (11:45 a.m.)The European Commission's published a 12-page note of its preparations for no-deal and one stand-out section is what it says about the Irish border and the "backstop" that Johnson wants removed from Theresa May's deal.The commission says the contentious "backstop" -- which would guarantee the border is kept free of infrastructure and controls until suitable alternative arrangements are agreed -- is the "only solution identified that safeguards the Good Friday agreement, ensures compliance with international law obligations and preserves the integrity of the single market."Pointedly, it says that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, EU law requires all goods entering Ireland from U.K. to be subject to relevant checks and controls.The Commission and Ireland "continue working together" on steps for immediate aftermath of no deal and "a more stable solution" in the longer term, the document says.Cabinet Focused on Spending Announcement (11:35 a.m.)Boris Johnson's cabinet discussed the spending round at their meeting this morning, according to an statement from the Prime Minister's office. The official "readout" didn't mention any discussions about Tuesday night's votes at the meeting.The spending round, due to be announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid on Wednesday afternoon, will focus on domestic priorities, including health, schools and tackling crime, according to the statement.EU Unmoved by Johnson's Commons Defeat (11:20 a.m.)The EU isn't moved by last night's excitement in the House of Commons, in public at least.For European officials, Boris Johnson remains their point of contact, European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told reporters in Brussels, distancing herself from any idea that the bloc thinks he's no longer in charge.Nothing has changed from the EU's point of view, Andreeva said.Farage Backs Brexit Pact With Tories (10:45 a.m.)Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, who praised Johnson's sacking of Tory rebels as a "an act of real leadership," welcomed the appointment of Steve Baker as chairman of the Brexiteer European Research Group.In a posting on Twitter, Farage welcomed Baker's suggestion of an election pact between the two parties and that he would oppose a Brexit deal "even if the backstop is removed.""A positive step in the right direction to deliver a clean break Brexit," Farage said on Twitter.A YouGov poll published on Tuesday had the Tories on 35%, Labour on 25%, Liberal Democrats on 16% and the Brexit Party on 11%, showing the potential benefit of a pact for the party.Hands 'Uncomfortable' With Tory Purge (10:10 a.m.)Former cabinet minister Greg Hands said he's "uncomfortable" with removing the whip from the 21 Tory MPs, but described Tuesday night's bill as a "ludicrous construction" which hands power to Brussels.He said in an interview with Ireland's RTE radio that he doesn't think an election is a good idea as he doubts it would change the make up of the House of Commons that much.Labour Won't Be 'Trapped,' Starmer Says (8:20 a.m.)Labour Brexit Spokesman Keir Starmer confirmed that Labour will not back Johnson's call for a general election when it comes to Parliament on Wednesday evening.Opposition parties -- and many Conservatives -- do not trust Johnson and want to ensure the law delaying Brexit until Jan. 31 unless Johnson can get a deal is firmly on the statute books, Starmer said."We're not going walk into a trap. This week it's crucial we complete the task in hand," Starmer said in interview with BBC Radio 4. "We're not shy of a general election but we're not going to be trapped into abandoning control of Parliament, abandoning this plan."Tories Reel after Rebels Expelled (Earlier)Conservative MPs woke Wednesday morning nursing the political equivalent of a hangover after 21 of their colleagues were expelled for defying Johnson and backing a move to take control of Parliament to block a no-deal Brexit.Two former chancellors of the exchequer, Kenneth Clarke and Philip Hammond, alongside Winston Churchill's grandson Nicholas Soames had the whip withdrawn, meaning they are no longer Conservatives, although they remain as members of Parliament.The move prompted astonishment from moderates. Ruth Davidson, who as leader of the party in Scotland proved a vote-winner, tweeted: "How, in the name of all that is good and holy, is there no longer room in the Conservative Party for Nicholas Soames."However, former leader Michael Howard, on the Brexit-supporting wing of the party, said the expulsion of Clarke -- his friend of sixty years -- was inevitable and followed "the logic of events."Irish Take Comfort From Westminster (Earlier)Irish Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty said it was "comforting" that the House of Commons had taken the first step toward forcing Boris Johnson to delay Brexit by three months in an effort to stop a no-deal split."The only thing we're absolutely sure that Westminster does not want is a hard Brexit," Doherty said in an interview with state broadcaster RTE. "And I think that's comforting."The Irish gamble to stick by the backstop has been underpinned by a consistent belief that Parliament would block a no-deal Brexit, which would accelerate many of the consequences of the U.K. leaving the EU that Ireland has been trying to avoid.Earlier:Wounded Johnson's Brexit Plan in Tatters as Election Fight LoomsBrexit Rips Conservative Party Apart as Johnson Expels 21 Rebels\--With assistance from Peter Flanagan, Dara Doyle, Patrick Donahue, David Goodman, Ian Wishart, Alex Morales and Jessica Shankleman.To contact the reporters on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net;Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net;Nikos Chrysoloras in Brussels at nchrysoloras@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Cargo Airlines Prepare For Brexit Demand Spike Posted: 04 Sep 2019 10:42 AM PDT ![Cargo Airlines Prepare For Brexit Demand Spike]( "Cargo Airlines Prepare For Brexit Demand Spike") Air cargo carriers are expecting a demand surge for scheduled and charter capacity if the British government overcomes opposition in Parliament and proceeds with a no-deal exit from the European Union Oct. 31, a scenario that even government experts agree will cause logistics chaos at English Channel ports. Opposition to a no-deal Brexit reached fever pitch Sept. 4 when the Conservative government led by Boris Johnson suffered a heavy parliamentary defeat. The defeat could pave the way for a bill to be passed designed to prevent Britain from leaving the European Union with no deal at the end of October.
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| U.S. unveils unusual $15 million reward program targeting Iranian military group Posted: 04 Sep 2019 10:28 AM PDT ![U.S. unveils unusual $15 million reward program targeting Iranian military group]( "U.S. unveils unusual $15 million reward program targeting Iranian military group") The goal is to get more information about the financing for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist group.
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| Israeli PM pays pre-election trip to volatile West Bank city Posted: 04 Sep 2019 10:15 AM PDT  Israel's prime minister visited the volatile West Bank city of Hebron under tight security on Wednesday in a move widely perceived as a bid to garner support from ultranationalists ahead of elections in less than two weeks. Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech outside a contested holy site known to Jews as the Tomb of the Patriarchs and to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque. "We are not strangers in Hebron, we will remain here forever," he said, speaking at a podium flanked by bullet-proof shielding.
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| Hook, Line and Sinker: The State Department's Iran Hand Steps Up the Pressure on Tehran Posted: 04 Sep 2019 10:09 AM PDT  NEW: Brian Hook is taking a swipe at the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Does he want to bring Iran to the table or overthrow its government?
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| EU pours cold water on Johnson's Brexit strategy Posted: 04 Sep 2019 10:02 AM PDT  Brussels on Wednesday warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson against the idea he could strike a new Brexit deal with EU leaders before Britain crashes out of the bloc next month. EU officials met a British delegation for "technical talks", but stressed once again that London has come up with nothing that might convince them to reopen the withdrawal agreement. "Leaders have never negotiated directly with the UK PM on Brexit.
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| Brexit chaos: All of your biggest questions, answered Posted: 04 Sep 2019 09:58 AM PDT ![Brexit chaos: All of your biggest questions, answered]( "Brexit chaos: All of your biggest questions, answered") Here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about Brexit.
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| French government urges companies to prepare for no-deal as it expresses regret at lack of new proposals from Downing Street Posted: 04 Sep 2019 09:45 AM PDT  The French government is urging businesses in France to step up preparations for a no-deal Brexit, saying Downing Street has offered no new proposals to replace the Irish backstop. Amélie de Montchalin, the Europe minister, said President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders had asked Boris Johnson at the G7 summit in Biarritz "to tell us very concretely if there are things he doesn't like in the negotiations previously conducted. As of now, we have not received proposals on alternatives from the British." She told French business leaders on Tuesday night that if Britain put forward new proposals, France stood ready to discuss alternative arrangements to the backstop, which the prime minister wants removed from the Withdrawal Agreement. Olivier Dussopt, a junior budget minister, said preparations by the estimated 100,000 French companies that do business with the UK were "moving in the right direction but are not yet sufficient." France is hiring 700 extra customs officers and has installed "smart border" systems at Calais in an attempt to minimise disruption. A French parliamentary report made public on Wednesday warned that Brexit will damage European intelligence-gathering, with or without a deal, as the UK will lose access to crucial data. "Whether it is a hard or a soft Brexit, the future status of a 'third country' will carry important consequences," according to the report by a parliamentary committee on intelligence-gathering. The committee called for a "privileged partnership" to be created between the EU and the UK to try to prevent criminal or terror networks exploiting legal loopholes after Brexit. British intelligence services will lose access to European files such as the Schengen Information System, which shares data for security and border management and gives police and border forces access to terrorism or crime alerts on individuals or objects, the report said. UK agencies will also be shut out of the EU's Passenger Name Record, which contains airline passenger information used to prevent, detect and investigate terrorism and serious crimes. They will no longer be given access to the European Travel Information and Authorisation System, which checks and holds data on the security status of travellers visiting EU countries. Britain will also be prohibited from accessing asylum-seekers' fingerprints, kept on the shared Eurodac file, to determine which country may be responsible for examining asylum applications made in the EU. At present, it enables Britain to send back migrants who have made applications in another EU member-state. The parliamentary report also re-affirmed that the UK will be kicked out of the European arrest warrant system after Brexit. The warrant, which allows EU member-states to request the arrest and detention of suspects in other countries without extradition negotiations, "cannot de facto be open to third countries," the report said. Countries such as Germany or Italy would have to change their constitutions to allow their citizens to be extradited to Britain. However, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has suggested that the EU could consider setting up streamlined extradition procedures with the UK instead. Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, repeated on Tuesday that France opposes a further postponement of Brexit unless it was for a game-changing event such as a general election.
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| Merkel's coalition partner begins race to choose new leader Posted: 04 Sep 2019 09:33 AM PDT  The future of Angela Merkel's government was hanging in the balance as her main coalition partner began the process of choosing a new leader on Wednesday. Several of the candidates vying to take over as leader of the centre-Left Social Democrats (SPD) want to take the party out of Mrs Merkel's coalition, leaving her without a majority in parliament. But any challenge to Mrs Merkel will not come immediately. SPD members are set to choose from a field of 23 candidates in a marathon election process and the winner may not be clear until November. The current favourite is Olaf Scholz, the finance minister and Mrs Merkel's vice-chancellor. Billed as the continuity candidate, Mr Scholz favours remaining in the coalition, but his campaign has been undermined by reports he only agreed to stand reluctantly because other SPD ministers refused. Also standing from within the current government is Michael Roth, the Europe minister, who earlier this year described Brexit as a "big s***show" caused by British politicians "born with silver spoons in their mouths". Olaf Scholz (right), the current finance minister and vice-chancellor, and his running mate Klara Geywitz are early favourites Credit: RALPH ORLOWSKI/REUTERS Under a controversial new rule almost all the candidates are standing in "gender equal" teams of one man and one woman, who would serve as joint leaders if elected. Critics say the policy has led to the frontrunners plucking virtual unknowns from the ranks to serve as running mates. Whoever wins will face the task of restoring the SPD's fortunes. One of two major parties in postwar German politics, the SPD has seen its support collapse since entering a "grand coalition" with its traditional rival, Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrat party (CDU) in 2013, and recently slipped behind the Greens in the polls. Candidates opposed to remaining in coalition with Mrs Merkel include Walter Borjans, who says a grand coalition of the two major parties "is not the normal functioning of democracy". Karl Lauterbach, another candidate who wants to pull out of Mrs Merkel's government, argues the grand coalition has driven voters into the arms of the nationalist Alternative for Germany party (AfD). The first round of voting will take place in October, with the results announced days before the Brexit deadline on October 26. If there is no clear winner a second round run-off will be held in November.
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| UK parliament approves first stage of bill to stop no-deal Brexit Posted: 04 Sep 2019 09:19 AM PDT ![UK parliament approves first stage of bill to stop no-deal Brexit]( "UK parliament approves first stage of bill to stop no-deal Brexit") Britain's parliament approved the first stage of a bill designed to stop a so-called no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31, underlining the lack of support for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's vow to take Britain out of the European Union with or without a deal.
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| US, allied Kurdish force conduct patrol on Syrian border Posted: 04 Sep 2019 09:11 AM PDT  U.S. troops and an allied Syrian militia conducted a joint patrol Wednesday in a town on the border with Turkey, a Kurdish news agency and a Syria war monitor reported. The move appeared to be part of an agreement to set up a safe zone along Syria's northeast border. Turkey sees the Syrian Kurdish fighters, who make up the majority of the Syrian Democratic Forces militia and are allied with the U.S., as terrorists aligned with a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey.
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| Saudi, UAE diplomats arrive in Pakistan to discuss Kashmir Posted: 04 Sep 2019 09:08 AM PDT ![Saudi, UAE diplomats arrive in Pakistan to discuss Kashmir]( "Saudi, UAE diplomats arrive in Pakistan to discuss Kashmir") Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates sent their top diplomats to Pakistan on Wednesday to help Islamabad defuse tensions with India over the disputed Kashmir region. Anti-India sentiment has grown in Pakistan since New Delhi moved to strip the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir of its limited autonomy on Aug. 5. Gulf Arab countries have kept mostly silent on the issue, underpinned by more than $100 billion in annual trade with India that makes it one of the Arabian Peninsula's most prized economic partners.
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