| Rudd Quits Johnson’s Cabinet With Furious Attack on His Strategy Posted: 07 Sep 2019 03:30 PM PDT ![Rudd Quits Johnson's Cabinet With Furious Attack on His Strategy]( "Rudd Quits Johnson's Cabinet With Furious Attack on His Strategy") (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson suffered a major blow to his authority as British prime minister on Saturday as a senior member of his cabinet quit with a ferocious attack on his leadership.Amber Rudd resigned as work and pensions secretary and left Johnson's ruling Conservative party, accusing him of "political vandalism" and alleging he is not trying hard enough to secure a Brexit deal with the European Union.In a furious resignation letter, Rudd said she could not accept Johnson's decision to expel 21 Tory members of Parliament from the party over their refusal to follow his orders in a vote on his Brexit strategy this week."This short sighted culling of my colleagues has stripped the party of broad minded and dedicated Conservative MPs," she wrote to Johnson. "I cannot support this act of political vandalism."Rudd's resignation plunges Johnson's six-week-old administration deeper into turmoil after a dramatic and disastrous week.His Brexit strategy was already in tatters after members of Parliament voted to stop him carrying out his threat to take the U.K. out of the EU with no deal on Oct. 31. Then they refused to grant him the emergency general election he wanted, and to cap it off his own brother resigned in protest at his plans. And adding to the mix on Saturday, former chancellor Philip Hammond told a local newspaper he's taking legal advice over how Johnson treated him for rebelling.Big BlowThe loss of Rudd, one of the most senior members of his team, and a key pro-European voice, will pile further pressure on Johnson. He is facing calls to abandon his aggressive stance toward his opponents and to drop his central pledge to exit the EU "do or die" at the end of next month.Johnson insists he still wants a divorce deal with the EU and has repeatedly claimed in recent days that negotiations with the EU are progressing positively.In her resignation letter, Rudd said this was not the case, according to the private evidence she has received from inside the government. Her view echoes warnings from European officials, who have said they regard the talks with Johnson's envoy as a pretence."I no longer believe leaving with a deal is the government's main objective," Rudd wrote. "The government is spending a lot of energy to prepare for no-deal but I have not seen the same level of intensity go into our talks with the European Union who have asked us to present alternative arrangement to the Irish backstop."The latest Yougov poll, published over the weekend, suggests a hefty chunk of the electorate still backs Johnson's strategy -- support for the Tories was unchanged at 35%.Another One?In addition to Rudd, the Sunday Times newspaper in London reported at least one other minister is considering whether to resign.Johnson's office said Rudd knew she would have to sign up to potentially leaving the EU with no-deal when she took on the job in his cabinet."We are disappointed to learn that Amber has chosen to leave government and the party," a spokesman for 10 Downing Street said in a statement. "She was a talented welfare minister but all ministers who joined joined cabinet signed up to leaving the EU on Oct. 31 come what may, delivering on the referendum result as the public were promised. That has not changed."Rudd told the Times said she planned to fight the next election as an "independent Conservative" and away from her current seat of Hastings & Rye, on the southern coast, where she has a majority of just 346\--With assistance from Steve Geimann.To contact the reporter on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, James LuddenFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Top UK minister quits in new Brexit blow to PM Johnson Posted: 07 Sep 2019 03:07 PM PDT  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson received a fresh blow Saturday when senior minister Amber Rudd quit her work and pensions post in protest at his handling of the Brexit crisis. Rudd was a moderate member of former prime minister Theresa May's government whose endorsement Johnson coveted during his successful UK leadership challenge in July. "I have resigned from Cabinet and surrendered the Conservative Whip," Rudd tweeted.
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| In new blow, Cabinet minister quits Boris Johnson government Posted: 07 Sep 2019 02:23 PM PDT  Embattled British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a new blow Saturday when a Cabinet minister resigned, saying she did not believe Johnson was sincere about getting a Brexit deal with the European Union. This week Johnson kicked 21 lawmakers out of the Conservative group in Parliament after they sided with the opposition to pass a law designed to prevent Britain from leaving the European Union next month without a divorce deal.
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| Israeli aircraft strike targets in Gaza after drone attack Posted: 07 Sep 2019 02:15 PM PDT  Israeli aircraft hit several military targets for Gaza's Hamas rulers late Saturday after militants used a drone to drop a bomb on the Israeli side of the Gaza-Israel perimeter fence. The Israeli military said the targets included "offensive military equipment and two military sites" for the Islamic group's aerial unit, which it said was responsible for the drone attack.
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| US says NKorea blocking resumption of nuclear talks Posted: 07 Sep 2019 11:24 AM PDT  North Korea must stop blocking nuclear talks with the United States before it is too late, the US special envoy to that country said amid a stalemate in the negotiations. "If we are to succeed, North Korea must set aside its search for obstacles to negotiations and instead seek the opportunities for engagement while that opportunity lasts," Stephen Biegun said Friday in a speech at the University of Michigan. The State Department released the text of his remarks on Saturday.
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| Russia and Ukraine Swap Prisoners in a Victory for Diplomacy Posted: 07 Sep 2019 10:15 AM PDT  Gleb Garanich/REUTERSMOSCOW—What happened on Saturday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was a unique moment in the five-year long conflict and it was a real victory of diplomacy. The two politicians, one a former KGB officer, another a former comedian, managed to keep their promises to each other and swap 70 prisoners variously accused of illegal border crossing, espionage, murders, assassination attempts or terrorism. The significance lies in the high profiles of the prisoners both Kiev and Moscow released and offers a glimmer of hope that the two neighbors and former allies could eventually overcome the bloody division that has separated them since Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity.For Zelensky the prisoner swap was a huge political risk: knowing there would be harsh critics attacking him both at home in Ukraine and in the West, calling him a traitor. But millions of Ukrainians supported Zelensky's commitment to find compromises with Putin. A huge majority voted for him and for his party earlier this year. Can Ukraine's Comedian President Seriously Shake Things Up?"I am willing to do anything to prevent our heroes from dying," Zelensky told the parliament in late May. "And if necessary, I am ready to lose my post without hesitations just to make peace happen."The word "hero" means a lot to Ukrainians today, after the endless war with pro-Russian forces, which has killed more than 13,000 people. In August 2015, a Russian court sentenced a well-known Ukrainian film director, Oleg Sentsov, to 20 years in prison on bogus terrorism charges. Sensov and 34 other freed Ukrainian prisoners landed in Kiev on Saturday to the joy of millions of people. "If we today receive heroes coming home, Russia gets all sorts of criminals, who might be wishing they stayed in Ukraine," Galina Odnorog, a community leader in the city of Mariupol, told The Daily Beast in a phone interview.It was an open wound for Ukrainians to see Sentsov's health failing during a 145-day hunger strike last year. The film director, the father of two children, demanded the Kremlin free 24 Ukrainian sailors captured in Crimea and other political prisoners. Russian intellectuals, actors, cultural and political figures called for the Kremlin to free Sentsov. Amnesty International declared Sentsov to be a prisoner of conscience, the European Parliament awarded him the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought. The difference in prisoners' arrival scenes in Kiev and Moscow illustrated the current contrast in Russia's and Ukraine's approach to the celebration of freedom and respect for heroism. If in Kiev crowds were allowed to greet the freed friends and loved ones as soon as they stepped off the plane, in Russia journalists and relatives had to wait outside the gate of the airport. Ukrainian President Zelensky was in the airport to shake hands, hug and personally thank each one of the arriving Ukrainians, as "national heroes." There was no sign of President Putin to shake hands with 35 people released from Ukrainian prisons. Only 12 of them were actually citizens of Russia. The images of Sentsov hugging his daughter in Borispol airport will stay in Ukraine's history, as a symbol of justice. For the relatives of many prisoners, the process of the swap negotiations has been tough. Viktor Soroka, the father of one of 24 captured Ukrainian sailors drove 300 miles from Odessa to Kiev last week just to find out that the swap was postponed. "It feels like a huge octopus held our innocent sons hostages," Soroka told The Daily Beast. "Russia is a hostile marketplace for prisoners but one hopes all of the Ukrainian prisoners will be exchanged and nobody is left behind." Just a few weeks ago tensions between Kiev and Moscow increased with Putin offering Ukrainians Russian citizenship and Zelensky welcoming Russians to accept political asylum in Ukraine. "We know perfectly well what a Russian passport provides," the Ukrainian President said. "The right to be arrested for a peaceful protest, the right not to have free and competitive elections."But in spite of their different visions of democracy both Putin and Zelensky, with the help of dozens of negotiators, managed to reboot peace talks. The Russian High Commissioner for Human Rights, Tatiana Moskalkova said that the negotiations of the prisoner exchange took three years. "We felt that the mutual dialogue became constructive, after the phone conversation between Presidents of Ukraine and Russia on July 11," Moskakova said. It was Zelensky who called Putin on that day. One particular prisoner was a serious issue in the negotiations. Vladimir Tsemakh, a former commander of rebel forces in eastern Ukraine, was a valuable key witness about the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 bound from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 298 people on board. "I was afraid the swap would fail," Zelensky admitted to journalists on Saturday when asked about the release of such a sensitive prisoner.Dutch investigators and members of the European parliament criticized the idea of swapping Tsemakh. "This is a very, very bad moment," Kati Piri, a Dutch member of the European parliament told The Guardian. "I understand the situation—but not on MH17, not just a witness but possible suspect, that is a step too far from our perspective."In spite of 40 members of the European Parliament calling for Zelensky to keep Tsemakh in jail, the Ukrainian leader freed the witness and Ukraine's citizens supported his decision. "European politicians have no right to criticize us, they make business deals, shake hands with Putin, it is unfair to expect Ukraine to be cornered as his main enemy," Odnorog told The Daily Beast. "Zelensky kept the promise he gave us to bring our guys home at any price."World leaders including Angela Merkel and Donald Trump congratulated Russia and Ukraine on the successful first step to peace. "The experience of other conflicts shows that if sides can agree on exchanges of prisoners, they may very likely be able to negotiate other conflict related issues," Varvara Pakhomenko, head of the Ukraine mission for the humanitarian group Geneva Call told The Daily Beast on Saturday. 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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| Iran Says It’s No Longer Abiding by Uranium Enrichment Limit Posted: 07 Sep 2019 09:57 AM PDT ![Iran Says It's No Longer Abiding by Uranium Enrichment Limit]( "Iran Says It's No Longer Abiding by Uranium Enrichment Limit") (Bloomberg) -- Iran said it is no longer abiding by limits imposed on its uranium enrichment and centrifuge research by the 2015 nuclear accord, throwing down a new challenge to European leaders struggling to reduce diplomatic tensions between Tehran and Washington.The Islamic Republic will forge ahead with plans to develop its advanced centrifuges and has started injecting them with gas, Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on Saturday at a news conference. That's a breach of a time-frame agreed within the deal that aimed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.Iran has been scaling back its compliance to the terms of the beleaguered deal since May as it pushes back against the "maximum pressure" offensive of U.S. President Donald Trump, who unilaterally left the accord last year. The U.S. and the Iranians have been unable to agree to terms that would let them discuss their standoff, even as Trump offered to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and ease restrictions so Tehran can use some of its oil wealth to access credit.UN WatchdogIran will not take any action against international nuclear inspections or the work of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, Kamalvandi said. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the head of Iran's atomic organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, will meet with the acting director general of the IAEA, Cornel Feruta, on Sunday, he said."Iran's breaches are still easy to reverse," Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, said in an email. "But the more they step away from their commitments, the harder it will become to restore status quo ante."And the latest Iranian move is likely to trigger claims in Washington that the Islamic Republic is intent on rebuilding an atomic program capable of producing nuclear weapons.U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton tweeted after the Iranian announcement that the U.S. was "eager" to get full a report from the IAEA on whether it may be concealing nuclear material or activities.U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in Paris he was "not surprised that Iran has announced that it's going to violate" the nuclear deal. Esper made his comments at a press conference with his French counterpart Florence Parly shortly after Iran's announcement.Kamalvandi said that while its latest actions may amount to Iran ceasing compliance to technical aspects of the accord, they were "reversible within a day" and the agreement itself remained intact.French EffortsParly, whose government is leading a European attempt at salvaging the deal with a plan that requires the U.S. to ease sanctions on Iranian oil exports, said diplomatic efforts will continue in order to "get Iran to come back into compliance."A French proposal orchestrated by President Emmanuel Macron hopes to deliver the economic benefits demanded by Iran, and in turn salvage the deal, which includes a $15 billion credit line against which Tehran can sell crude.But the plan would require Trump, who is trying to wipe out Iran's oil revenue, to approve sanctions waivers -- an idea his advisers have so far dismissed. Rather than easing up, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said on Wednesday that Washington planned to intensify its "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran until it changed its behavior.Iran had warned for weeks that it would embark upon the third and most significant stage of its plan to gradually scale back its commitments to the nuclear accord if the European Union, a partner in the multilateral agreement, couldn't work out a mechanism by Sept. 6 that would allow Iran to export oil.'Over-Dramatized'Russia, a signatory of the original deal along with the U.S., France, the U.K., China and Germany, played down concerns over Iran's move. "The decision of Iran to use more advanced centrifuges shouldn't be over-dramatized," the Russian ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said on Twitter.While conceding that it marks "another deviation" from the Iran nuclear deal, the Russian diplomat said it isn't a proliferation threat but "a strong signal" that the agreement must be revived.While Iran will "set aside" restrictions on uranium enrichment, it has no need as yet to enrich uranium beyond 20%, a level limited by the nuclear accord and required for research reactors, Kamalvandi said. Weapons-grade uranium needs to have an enrichment level of 90% or higher.Iran's stockpiles of low-enriched uranium are likely to see a "high jump" in coming weeks as a result of the measures announced on Saturday, Kamalvandi said. Iran breached a 300-kilogram limit on stockpiles of the material in early July.The 2015 nuclear accord was designed to ensure that even if Iran broke out of the deal, it would need at least a year to restore the capacity and material needed for a weapon. Iran, which says its nuclear work is aimed solely at addressing its energy and medical needs, forfeited some 97% of its enriched uranium and mothballed three-quarters of the industrial capacity needed to refine the heavy metal.(Updates with U.S. national security adviser tweet in seventh paragraph.)\--With assistance from Gregory Viscusi, Glen Carey and Maria Jose Valero.To contact the reporter on this story: Arsalan Shahla in Tehran at ashahla@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Steve GeimannFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran fires up advanced centrifuges in latest nuclear step Posted: 07 Sep 2019 09:32 AM PDT  Iran said Saturday it had fired up advanced centrifuges to boost its enriched uranium stockpiles, its latest scaling-back of commitments under a crumbling 2015 nuclear deal. The Islamic republic was acting on a threat to further abandon its nuclear commitments based on a deadline it set for European powers to do something to shield it from US sanctions. "The centrifuge machines, as they are engaged in research and development, will help with increasing the stockpile," spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said.
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| Iran speeds up uranium enrichment in latest breach of nuclear deal Posted: 07 Sep 2019 09:23 AM PDT  Iran has sped up its uranium enrichment programme in the latest breach of the nuclear deal as it ratchets pressure on the West. A spokesman for the country's nuclear agency said it had launched forty centrifuges boosting its ability to make reactor fuel and ultimately nuclear weapons. Behruz Kamalvandi said the measures are reversible at this stage if the European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal restore Iran's access to foreign trade. "The European parties to the deal should know that there is not much time left, and if there is some action to be taken [to salvage the nuclear deal], it should be done quickly," Mr Kamalvandi said on Saturday. Britain, France and Germany have repeatedly said they are committed to saving the deal that gave Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, but their efforts have so far borne little fruit. Behrouz Kamalvandi speaking during a press conference in the capital Tehran Credit: AFP Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has led the European initiative. In his latest effort, he offered Iran a $15 billion line of credit to compensate for lost oil sales. Mr Kamalvandi said the centrifuges now in operation are capable of enriching uranium to concentrations of 20 per cent. 90 per cent is required to make weapons grade uranium. Iran began breaching the terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement after the US abandoned the deal last May and reimposed economic sanctions on the country. The deal was intended to prohibit Iran from developing nuclear weapons. In July the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found Iran had stockpiles of enriched uranium in excess of the 300kg it was allowed to have under the accord. Less than a week after the IAEA inspection, it began to enrich uranium to a 4.5 per cent concentration, exceeding the 3.67 per cent limit set out in the deal. The UK and French governments yesterday expressed disappointment at Iran's latest move. Dr Roham Alvandi an Associate Professor at the London School of Economics and expert in Iran affairs said Iran does not wish to disband the 2015 deal and are trying to "keep it as in tact as possible". "This most recent step does not bring them much closer to developing nuclear weapons, that is not their intention. They are still subject to inspections by the IAEA who are monitoring their stockpiles. "There are so many variables that it is difficult to determine how long it would take Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was designed so Iran would remain at least a year away from reaching the necessary stockpiles for a bomb." What appears to be the Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1 off the coast of Tartus, Syria Credit: Maxar Technologies via Reuters Meanwhile, the Iranian tanker seized by Gibraltar in July was photographed by a US satellite off the Syrian port of Tartus. The vessel formerly known as Grace 1 was released on August 15 after Tehran made assurances that its 2.1m barrels of oil would not be released to Syria. The tanker was seized in July by the British Royal Marine who suspected it was travelling to Syria in breach of EU sanctions. On Friday, the oil tanker now called Adrian Darya 1 was photographed closed to Tartus, Mazar Technologies Inc, a US space technology company said.
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| To set up 'safe zone,' US wades into muddled Syria politics Posted: 07 Sep 2019 09:01 AM PDT  U.S. flags fluttered on the back of coalition armored vehicles as they whizzed past tiny hamlets in northeastern Syria. Once part of the sprawling territories controlled by the Islamic State group, the areas are now under threat of an attack from Turkey, which considers these villages' liberators, the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish-led forces, to be terrorists. To forestall violence between its two allies along the border it has helped clear of IS militants, Washington has upped its involvement in this part of Syria.
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| Syrian air defenses block rebel drone attack in northwest Posted: 07 Sep 2019 08:36 AM PDT ![Syrian air defenses block rebel drone attack in northwest]( "Syrian air defenses block rebel drone attack in northwest") The Syrian army's air defenses repelled a drone attack by insurgents in the country's northwest, an area that until recently witnessed intense fighting, state news agency SANA said Saturday. Syrian government forces declared a unilateral cease-fire on Aug. 31 following a wide four-month offensive on Idlib province, the last remaining rebel stronghold in the country. Idlib province is dominated by al-Qaida-linked militant factions.
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| Typhoon kills 3 in South Korea before moving to North Korea Posted: 07 Sep 2019 07:48 AM PDT  One of the most powerful typhoons to ever hit South Korea swept along the country's coast on Saturday, toppling trees, grounding planes and causing at least three deaths before moving on to North Korea. Typhoon Lingling knocked out power to more than 161,000 homes across South Korea, including on the southern island of Jeju, which was lashed by the storm overnight, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said. After hitting Jeju, the storm remained offshore as it moved up South Korea's west coast on Saturday morning before making landfall in North Korea in the afternoon.
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| Iran says boat seized in Strait of Hormuz, Filipinos arrested Posted: 07 Sep 2019 07:34 AM PDT  Iran seized a boat and arrested 12 Filipino crewmen as it busted a suspected fuel-smuggling ring in the Strait of Hormuz waterway on Saturday, state media reported. "Coast guards successfully seized a foreign ship in the Strait of Hormuz," said Major Hossein Dehaki, the coast guard chief in the southern province of Hormozgan. Dehaki said the group was suspected of operating a fuel-smuggling ring and the confiscated shipment had been intercepted close to Sirik county in the Strait of Hormuz.
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| Egypt court sentences 11 Islamists to life for prison breaks Posted: 07 Sep 2019 07:18 AM PDT  An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced 11 people to life in prison — including the head of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie — after a retrial on charges related to mass prison breaks at the height of the 2011 popular uprising. The retrial was related to a case rooted in the escape of 20,000 inmates from Egyptian prisons in Jan. 2011, early in the 18-day uprising that toppled longtime autocratic President Hosni Mubarak, who testified in the case in December. This is the latest of several life sentences for Badie.
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| UPDATE 5-Living conditions 'rapidly deteriorating' after storm in Bahamas -aid group Posted: 07 Sep 2019 06:02 AM PDT ![UPDATE 5-Living conditions 'rapidly deteriorating' after storm in Bahamas -aid group]( "UPDATE 5-Living conditions 'rapidly deteriorating' after storm in Bahamas -aid group") Thousands of displaced people are living in "rapidly deteriorating" conditions in the worst-hit parts of the Bahamas six days after Hurricane Dorian made landfall, the United Nations World Food Programme warned on Saturday. Some 90 percent of the homes, buildings and infrastructure in Marsh Harbour, where Dorian rampaged for almost two full days as one of the strongest Caribbean hurricanes on record, were damaged, the World Food Programme said.
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| Yemeni medics say 130 bodies pulled after deadly airstrike Posted: 07 Sep 2019 05:22 AM PDT ![Yemeni medics say 130 bodies pulled after deadly airstrike]( "Yemeni medics say 130 bodies pulled after deadly airstrike") Yemeni medics said Saturday they have pulled at least 130 bodies from the rubble of a rebel-run detention center that was hit earlier this month by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in the country's southwest. The attack was one of the deadliest in more than four years of war in Yemen that have claimed tens of thousands of lives, thrust millions to the brink of famine and spawned the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The Saudi-led coalition, which has fought the Iran-backed Houthis since 2015, has faced international criticism for airstrikes that have hit schools, hospitals and wedding parties, killing thousands of civilians.
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| Boris Johnson Trapped, Merkel Warily Eyes China: Weekend Reads Posted: 07 Sep 2019 05:00 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Want to receive this post in your inbox every day? Sign up for the Balance of Power newsletter, and follow Bloomberg Politics on Twitter and Facebook for more.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a miserable week with a string of losses in Parliament over his Brexit strategy, compounded by the resignation of his own brother from the government. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is toughening her stance on China, while a Ugandan pop-star-turned-politician is on a mission to topple one of Africa's longest-serving presidents.Dig into these and other aspects of the latest political developments in this edition of Weekend Reads.Britain's Steve Bannon Is Tearing Johnson's Tories ApartThe prime minister's adviser Dominic Cummings has emerged as the new hate figure in British politics and the man many Conservatives blame for wrecking their party and pushing the country into chaos all in the name of delivering Brexit. Robert Hutton and Kitty Donaldson report.Merkel Has Made a U-Turn on China But It May Be Too LateWith governments from the U.S. to Japan and Australia taking a harder line on China, Germany too is toughening its policy toward Beijing on matters such as intellectual property. But as Birgit Jennen, Patrick Donahue and Arne Delfs explain, it's an especially high-risk strategy for Berlin when its export-dependent economy is flirting with recession.Bolsonaro's Words Are the Sparks as Brazil's Farmers Burn AmazoniaThe Amazon has been burning for weeks, and many fires in one of Brazil's most ravaged states, Rondonia, were lit by small farmers who eke out a living on the jungle's fringes with slash-and-burn agriculture. David Biller and Bruce Douglas write that President Jair Bolsonaro's explicit endorsement has emboldened them to burn more than they have in years.Democrats Tout Similarly Bold Climate Plans to Willing AudienceEven as they presented ambitious proposals to reduce carbon emissions to a national audience, Democratic candidates for president tried to balance the boldness of their plans with the need for simplifying a complex scientific problem for voters. As Gregory Korte explains, that meant the conversation was often about cheeseburgers, light bulbs and plastic straws.Kochs Downplay Politics to Find Common Ground in Liberal Silicon ValleyThe Kochs' industrial behemoth is deepening its ties to the world of tech with a new VC fund and a Bay Area charm offensive. Sarah McBride takes a closer look.Italy's New Finance Minister Is a Peace Offering to EuropeIf Italian Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte wanted to prove Europe can do business with his government, his choice of finance minister might be exhibit A. As Alessandro Speciale and Jerrold Colten explain, Roberto Gualtieri's appointment may be crucial in repairing Italian relations with the European Union. Behind the Multibillion-Dollar Legal Award Nigeria Calls a ShamA dying Irishman went for one last big score in Nigeria. The project failed, but a London tribunal says his company's owed $9 billion and counting. Kit Chellel, Joe Light and Ruth Olurounbi reveal the complex plot.Muslims Fear Detention Camps as India Rewrites Citizenship RulesIndia's biggest and most complex registry is dividing families and causing ripples across the political spectrum, fueled by concerns Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party is using the measure to advance a hard-line Hindu agenda. Bibhudatta Pradhan reports.Mud-Slinging Election Shows Nothing Splits Israel Like NetanyahuMissing in the campaigning for Israel's Sept. 17 election is any reference to the fundamental issues the nation faces. Instead, as Ivan Levingston writes, Israel's second national vote in five months has become a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.City Where Chernobyl Was Filmed Fears Real-Life Nuclear Disaster Its streets helped form the backdrop for this year's hit TV show Chernobyl, which depicted a deadly explosion at the Soviet-era nuclear plant in 1986. Now, Milda Seputyte reports, the Baltic city of Vilnius is preparing for its own potential real-life atomic catastrophe. And finally … His life has been threatened and he's been charged with treason, but a Ugandan pop-star-turned-politician is on a mission to do what no one else has managed for more than 30 years: topple the president. David Malingha and Fred Ojambo sat down with Robert Kyagulanyi, known by his stage name Bobi Wine, at his home. To contact the author of this story: Karl Maier in Rome at kmaier2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Halpin at thalpin5@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Your Weekend Reading: Fed Sticks to the Script Posted: 07 Sep 2019 04:30 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Want to receive a daily news briefing, including this weekend edition, in your inbox every day? Sign up hereFed Chairman Jerome Powell played down talk of America and the world heading for a recession, remarks that helped push stocks up Friday, topping a week of gains. September's mixed jobs report gave the Fed more ammunition to cut interest rates this month, something Wall Street also liked. But not everyone is optimistic: Billionaire hedge fund titan Ray Dalio, fresh from Burning Man, put the odds of a U.S. downturn at 25%.What you'll want to read this weekendBoris Johnson had a terrible week, and many are blaming Britain's own version of fired Trump aide Steve Bannon. Here's a guide to the latest twists and turns of the never-ending dance we call Brexit.Jim Bianco writes in Bloomberg Opinion that while negative interest rates are having their moment, they're bad for the financial system.People are shelling out $3.25 for a cup of high-end instant coffee. Meanwhile, the broader market for the magic bean is tanking.Porsche is taking aim at Tesla with its electric Taycan Turbo. But at $150,000, it comes with a much higher price tag. Over in the world of autonomous driving, it turns out sensors can't even spot a fire truck.Take a tour of Switzerland's massive hydroelectric dams.What you'll need to know next weekApple will unveil its latest iPhones on Tuesday. Democrats may push for stronger gun laws as Congress returns. The European Central Bank is set to cut rates and buy more bonds. A narrower field of Democratic presidential candidates will debate. Big Tech is braced for greater scrutiny.What you'll want to see in Bloomberg GraphicsSee where the 100 largest private U.S. landowners hold 40 million acres—an area the size of Florida. To contact the author of this story: Ian Fisher in New York at ifisher10@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: David Rovella at drovella@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Disputed Iranian tanker Adrian Darya 1 photographed off Syrian port Posted: 07 Sep 2019 04:13 AM PDT  The Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1 at the centre of a dispute between Tehran and Western powers, which went dark off Syria earlier in the week, has been photographed by satellite off the Syrian port of Tartus, Maxar TechnologiesInc., a U.S. space technology company said on Saturday. Maxar's supplied image shows the tanker Adrian Darya 1 very close to Tartus on September 6. The ship appeared to have turned off its transponder in the Mediterranean west of Syria, Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed on Tuesday. The tanker, which is loaded with Iranian crude oil, sent its last signal giving its position between Cyprus and Syria sailing north at 15:53 GMT on Monday, the data showed. The vessel, formerly named Grace 1, was detained by British Royal Marine commandos off Gibraltar on July 4 as it was suspected to be en route to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions. Satellite images shows the tanker Adrian Darya 1 very close to Tartus on September 6 Credit: Maxar Technologies Two weeks later, Iran in retaliation seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz leading into the Gulf. Gibraltar released the Iranian vessel on Aug. 15 after receiving formal written assurances from Tehran that the ship would not discharge its 2.1 million barrels of oil in Syria. However, shipping sources say the tanker is likely to try to conduct a ship-to-ship transfer with another vessel for part of its cargo after Iran said a sale had been concluded. Washington has warned any state against assisting the ship, saying it would consider that support for a terrorist organisation, namely, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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| UPDATE 1-Iran seizes ship with Filipino crew for alleged fuel smuggling in Gulf Posted: 07 Sep 2019 04:05 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Iran seizes ship with Filipino crew for alleged fuel smuggling in Gulf]( "UPDATE 1-Iran seizes ship with Filipino crew for alleged fuel smuggling in Gulf") Iran's coast guard has seized a foreign tugboat suspected of smuggling fuel in the Gulf and detained its 12 Filipino crew members, state television reported on Saturday. Iran, which has some of the world's cheapest fuel due to heavy state subsidies, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling overland to neighbouring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states. It has frequently seized boats it says are being used for smuggling fuel in the Gulf.
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| Iran now using advanced centrifuges, violating nuclear deal Posted: 07 Sep 2019 04:00 AM PDT  Iran has begun using arrays of advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium in violation of its 2015 nuclear deal, a spokesman said Saturday, warning that Europe has little time left to offer new terms to save the accord.
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| UN says floods, heavy rainfall in Sudan kill 78 people Posted: 07 Sep 2019 03:59 AM PDT ![UN says floods, heavy rainfall in Sudan kill 78 people]( "UN says floods, heavy rainfall in Sudan kill 78 people") A U.N. humanitarian agency says flooding triggered by heavy rains in Sudan have killed a total of 78 people across the country in the past two months. Mary Keller, head of monitoring and reporting at the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, tells that The Associated Press on Saturday the deaths were mainly because of collapsed roofs and electrocution.
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| AP EXPLAINS: Iran's nuclear program as atomic deal unravels Posted: 07 Sep 2019 03:34 AM PDT  Iran announced Saturday it had begun using advanced centrifuges in violation of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The decision by Iran marks what it calls its "third step" away from the accord, which saw Iran agree to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. The deal began to unravel over a year ago with President Donald Trump unilaterally pulling America from the accord.
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| The Latest: UN nuclear inspectors on the ground in Iran Posted: 07 Sep 2019 03:02 AM PDT  The United Nations' nuclear watchdog says it has inspectors on the ground in Iran who will be able to look into reports that Tehran began injecting uranium gas into advanced centrifuges in violation of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
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| U.S. Defense Secretary Urges Chinese ‘Restraint’ on Hong Kong Posted: 07 Sep 2019 02:48 AM PDT ![U.S. Defense Secretary Urges Chinese 'Restraint' on Hong Kong]( "U.S. Defense Secretary Urges Chinese 'Restraint' on Hong Kong") (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said China shouldn't intervene forcibly in Hong Kong and warned European countries against becoming too dependent on Chinese investment."We would obviously urge restraint and not to act, and to sit down and talk with the protesters and resolve the differences," Esper said at a press conference in Paris with his French counterpart Florence Parly."As countries increase their dependence on Chinese investment and trade they become more susceptible to coercion and retribution when they act outside Beijing's wishes," Esper said. "It is essential that all countries make well-informed decisions about their relationship with the Chinese."Esper and Parly downplayed their recent differences over France's refusal to join a naval force put together by the U.S. to protect shipping in the Gulf following a series of attacks on oil tankers. Britain joined the U.S. force while other European countries such as Germany said they'd work with the French on a mission that's more geared toward surveillance.Parly said the separate European initiative was "totally coordinated and in full transparency with our American friends. The idea is to rally the highest number of countries. There is no competition."Esper said the U.S. force is "about deterring bad behavior in the Gulf and assuring freedom of navigation. Our preference is that all countries join this broader umbrella but the key thing is that all countries work together to defend these common values and rights, and defend them whether it is from Iran trying to violate them, or if is from China in the South China Sea."To contact the reporter on this story: Gregory Viscusi in Paris at gviscusi@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, James Cone, James AmottFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Russia and Ukraine swapping prisoners in landmark exchange Posted: 07 Sep 2019 02:37 AM PDT  A long-awaited swap of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine was underway on Saturday, sources and state media said, with 70 people involved in the landmark exchange. A Ukrainian government source told AFP the swap was proceeding and that 35 people on each side would be exchanged. A number of high-profile prisoners are expected to be part of the exchange. Earlier Saturday an AFP journalist in Moscow saw two buses with tinted windows leaving the high-security Lefortovo jail escorted by a police convoy. Russia's state-run news channel Rossiya 24 said the convoy had departed "within the framework of preparations for a prisoner exchange". Six Ukrainian Navy servicemen appealed against arrest at Moscow court in August Credit: Anton Novoderezhkin/ TASS The channel said the buses had arrived at Moscow's Vnukovo terminal for government flights, and that a Russian government plane had landed at Kiev's Boryspil airport. Anticipation has been building in recent days for the swap, which would be the first major exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine since the conflict over eastern Ukraine erupted in 2014. It could be a crucial step in easing tensions between the ex-Soviet neighbours over Russia's annexation of Crimea and the war with Moscow-backed separatists that has left more than 13,000 dead. The head of the defence team for 24 Ukrainian sailors captured by Russia last year told AFP they would be part of the swap. "According to my information, they were put on a bus. All 24 of them," Nikolai Polozov said, adding that he expected them to arrive in Ukraine "in the next few hours". Moscow has been holding the sailors since seizing three vessels last November in the most dangerous direct clash between Russia and Ukraine in years. Among other prisoners who could be released by Russia is film director and activist Oleg Sentsov, 43, who has become Ukraine's most famous political prisoner. He was arrested in 2014 and has been serving a 20-year sentence in a Arctic penal colony for planning "terrorist attacks" in Crimea. Reports emerged last week that Sentsov had been moved to Moscow. Ukraine could hand over Kyrylo Vyshynsky, a journalist at Russia's RIA Novosti state news agency who was released on bail late last month pending a trial for "high treason". A Ukrainian court this week also released from detention a man investigators have described as a key witness in the downing of flight MH17. The release of Vladimir Tsemakh, an alleged air defence specialist for pro-Russian separatists, prompted concern from the Netherlands that he may avoid questioning. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the "large-scale" prisoner exchange with Ukraine was being finalised and that the swap would be "a huge step towards normalising relations" with Kiev. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the prospect of a prisoner swap after sweeping to power in an election in April. The comedian-turned-politician, whose defeat of incumbent Petro Poroshenko shocked Ukraine's political elite, had vowed during the campaign to bring Ukrainian prisoners home. His election has revived peace efforts and Paris has called for a summit of the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France to be held later this month.
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| Inside Matteo Salvini's Secret Russian Money Machine Posted: 07 Sep 2019 02:24 AM PDT  Alberto Pizzoli//AFP/ReutersROME–Italy's Mussolini-channeling, selfie-taking, race-baiting far-right leader, it might be said, knows no shame. Over the course of 14 months as interior minister and vice premier, while acting as if he already ran the government, Matteo Salvini also became something of a cop-impersonating wannabe hero, taking a selfie in every insignia-laden security windbreaker and polo shirt he could squeeze into to try to somehow channel the power of the uniform to puff up his ego and invincibility. He even directed a police officer to take his teenage son on a joyride using an official security service jetski during his summer vacation. And it all seemed to be working very well–until it didn't.Salvini, leader of the former Northern League separatist party, now known simply as the League, doubled his support from a paltry 17 percent in March 2018 national elections to more than 34 percent in European parliamentary elections in May. He had been on the periphery of mainstream politics, thought to be too extreme in his rhetoric and adoration for Benito Mussolini's nationalistic style of governing to ever actually come close to power. An Italian Expose Documents Moscow Money Allegedly Funding Italy's Far-Right SalviniBut with Donald Trump's endorsement on a campaign visit in Philadelphia in 2016 and careful curation by Trump strategist Steve Bannon, Salvini went viral–quite literally. He hijacked social media in a way no Italian leader had ever come close to doing and held Trumpian campaign-style rallies–more than 200 in just over a year–rather than spending time behind the desk. He might have apologized for the jetski incident, but he was unapologetically racist in his policies, most of which were announced via Facebook Live. Then, last month, Salvini overplayed his hand, provoking a catastrophic collapse of the Italian government in the expectation new elections would put him in office as the full-fledged prime minister.But the whole time Salvini was reaching for what he hoped would be unbridled power, he was up to something fishy behind the scenes–and, as with his American idol, that something involved the Russians. A series of journalistic revelations in recent months make the case Salvini was enabling Russian interference in exchange for dirty money filtering into his political party coffers. And in a dramatic parliamentary confrontation, the prime minister Salvini hoped to force out threw the accusations in his face. Last February, an Italian exposé pulled back the curtain on a scandal that has yet to be fully unraveled. But it involves a group of nefarious Russians with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin attempting to buy influence in Europe's far-right parties through hard cash and dirty fuel. And Salvini, long an unrepentant Russophile, seemed all-too-happy to oblige. As accounts of the scandal were drip fed by the Italian press, Salvini attempted his midsummer parliamentary coup. Obviously he hoped early elections would hand him full powers, but may also have wanted to get the "Russian Affair" out of the headlines. Whatever the reason, the coalition's mild-mannered professorial prime minister Giuseppe Conte, who had for 14 months carried out Salvini's hardline bidding on migration and national security, suddenly found his voice. In a stunning resignation speech last month, Conte condemned Salvini as a radical lout and a faux Christian. In a scathing 60 minute parting shot in parliament, Conte accused Salvini–seated right bedside him–of everything from blasphemy for kissing his rosary when it was convenient to hedonism for inviting scantily-clad supporters to lap dance during the national anthem at a mojito-fueled beach rally. But of all the accusations Conte lobbed at his soon-to-be former interior minister and vice premier, one thing stood out. In a not-so-veiled accusation, Conte implied that perhaps Salvini's master wasn't his own ego, but Vladimir Putin. There was an audible gasp in parliament when Conte crossed the invisible line, putting his hand ever-so-softly on Salvini's shoulder and saying Salvini "still had some explaining to do" about a certain October 2018 meeting Salvini's associates had in Moscow in which details were discussed about funneling millions of euros into Salvini's League party through an illicit kickback scheme involving underpriced Russian fuel. "The Russian affair deserved to be clarified also for its international implications," Conte told him during his speech. "You refused to share the information."* * *In fact, the "Metropol" affair, named for the Moscow hotel in which a secret meeting between Salvini associate Gianluca Savoini and Putin's henchmen took place in October 2018, dominated headlines all summer after it was reported by newsmagazine Espresso, causing many to speculate that Salvini pulled the plug on the government to divert attention.What is important is that Savoini, the man at the center of the Russian affair, is one of Salvini's closest allies, but has been kept at a discreet distance from his governmental affairs. He is married to a Russian woman named Irina whose personal history is opaque. The couple own homes in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Milan, and he frequently tweets photos of Red Square with the caption "Third Rome." Savoini is the head of the Russian-Lombardy commercial group set in northern Italy, and has been referred to by Italian Vanity Fair as Salvini's "sherpa," who "doesn't speak a word of Russian but who is fluent in the language of politics."Not long after the story first broke in February, an Italian magistrate put Savoini under criminal investigation on suspicion of international corruption, along with Gianluca Meranda and a former banker named Francesco Vannucci–the other Italian men reportedly at the table during the Moscow meeting. The mens' homes in Italy have been searched and documents said to be bad for Salvini have been sequestered. Both have admitted to being at the Metropol, but each has denied wrongdoing, pleading instead that they were negotiating legitimate private business deals that, while they might have looked bad, given international sanctions against Russia, were not illegal. Prosecutors looking into the affair have told The Daily Beast that they do not think the dirty oil deal was ever carried out, but the plans alone constitute a crime whether they came to fruition or not because of the ties to Salvini's political party. Salvini was called to the Italian senate to answer questions earlier this summer, but he refused, calling the allegations "fantasies" brought on by political opponents. He said he had never taken a ruble from the Russians, although it appears he would have had the deal not fallen through. (One is reminded of U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to secure a huge real estate deal in Moscow. It failed, but not for want of trying, even as he ran for president in 2016.)Igor Dodon is Vladimir Putin's Moldovan Mini-MeThe Moscow meeting was first reported by the Italian newsmagazine Espresso last year and was picked up by BuzzFeed, which has since teamed up with the investigative news site Bellingcat and the Russian site the Insider to dig deeper. Earlier this week, BuzzFeed and the others published new audio tape from the Metropol meeting in which a voice identified as Savoini's can be heard trying to close a deal for $72 million that would have been funneled into Salvini's League party ahead of the European Parliamentary elections last May. The Russians caught on tape are identified as Andrey Yuryevich Kharchenko and Ilya Andreevich Yakunin. A third man at the meeting known only as "Yuri" has not been identified by name. In a hearing on the case Thursday in Milan, lawyers for Savoini argued that the BuzzFeed audio is inadmissible because its origin cannot be verified. It is widely thought to have been taped by one of the men in attendance at the Moscow meeting, found during the police investigations of Savoini and the other men, then leaked to the press by someone who wanted to do damage to Salvini. The journalists who had been trailing Savoini in Moscow also have photos of all the men at the Metropol that day which have been entered into evidence in the case. Lawyers also argued that Salvini had not been privy to the details of the meeting and that Savoini was acting on his own to benefit the League.The Russians identified on the tape are no strangers to Putin's inner circle. Kharchenko is an aide to Russia's most notorious alt-right leader, Alexander Dugin. During the five-year-long war in Ukraine, Dugin emerged as a nationalist leader, denying globalism and liberal values; but after the failure of the Russia-backed forces to claim more territory in eastern Ukraine he claimed "Devil disrupted the Russian Spring." That Putin would court someone like Salvini is hardly surprising. Salvini has posted selfies from Red Square wearing a t-shirt with Putin's image and is no stranger to Moscow, traveling there often both officially and privately. He has been a strong advocate of lifting European sanctions on Russia and campaigned for the European Parliament on forging closer ties to Russia. In the past three or four years Putin has supported far-right ideologues and has met frequently with one of Salvini's closest allies in Europe, French politician Marine Le Pen. Putin also has met Hungarian leader Victor Orban, who refers to George Soros as "Satan," and with the far-right Czech President Milos Zeman, who are all part of the same umbrella group that is now pushing to lift Russian sanctions in the European Parliament. Putin's ruling party United Russia has even gone so far as to sign cooperation agreements with Salvini's League and Austria's Freedom Party (FPO). Putin ally Dugin has told The Daily Beast that Steve Bannon is "the last hope in the United States, Salvini in Italy, Le Pen in France."It is impossible that Putin would not have known about the multi-million euro deal being forged with Savoini and Salvini. As has been proven in the past, when Putin gives the "green light," Russian banks, businesses and government spring into action to find ways to discreetly channel Russian money to Europe's far-right parties. "We openly act against the West's mainstream political powers," Sergei Markov, a Kremlin advisor active on the international scene, told The Daily Beast. "We share the same values as Europe's far-right groups, such as Christian beliefs, strong families, the defense of private property." Markov named the Kremlin's key political allies as France, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Spain. Russia's Alt-Right Rasputin Says He's Steve Bannon's Ideological Soul MateMarkov also told The Daily Beast that Salvini is crucial in Putin's plan. "There is nothing strange about our businesses wanting to help him," Markov said. "He will block the anti-Russian sanctions at the European parliament." Olga Kryshtanovskaya, the head of research at the Russian State University of Management, says that the Kremlin's current strategy is to build a network of friends in the West. "Putin personally approves the list of far-right leaders that Russia should be dealing with, then his elite, including politicians with soft liberal views, like Vladimir Pligin, promote, because they serve him as soldiers," Kryshtanovskaya told The Daily Beast. The BuzzFeed report about Salvini's dirty Russian money also mentions Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, Putin's close friend from St. Petersburg. During his Moscow visit last October, Salvini met him and later denounced the West's sanctions against Russia as "cultural folly" and met with Kozak and Pligin. Shortly after that the U.S. put Kozak on the sanctions list. "The Russian elite is dreaming about the end of tensions with the West but since Putin is not going to give Crimea back for anything, he chooses to redesign the West, and Russian elite is helping him," Kryshtanovskaya told The Daily Beast.For now, Salvini is out of office in Italy, but he is still a member of the European Parliament, where he can bide his time waiting for the new Italian government–presided over by none other than Giuseppe Conte–to fall. Salvini can also use his time out of the spotlight and off the government's clock to do as he pleases, meet with old friends, fund raise for the next elections, and, very likely, take more selfies in Red Square. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| UPDATE 4-British lawmakers prepare court action to enforce Brexit delay Posted: 07 Sep 2019 02:09 AM PDT ![UPDATE 4-British lawmakers prepare court action to enforce Brexit delay]( "UPDATE 4-British lawmakers prepare court action to enforce Brexit delay") British lawmakers are preparing legal action in case Prime Minister Boris Johnson tries to defy legislation compelling him to seek a further delay to Brexit, opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Saturday. An opposition bill which would force Johnson to ask the European Union for an extension to Britain's departure to avoid an Oct. 31 exit without a transition deal was approved by parliament's appointed upper chamber, the House of Lords, on Friday.
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| Trump's hardline campaign against Iran is failing to check its nuclear ambitions and risking a 'catastrophic' war Posted: 07 Sep 2019 02:00 AM PDT  Trump's maximum pressure strategy aims to cripple Iran's economy and squeeze it into a new nuclear deal, but it's showing no signs of working.
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| UPDATE 2-Iran further breaches nuclear deal, says it can exceed 20% enrichment Posted: 07 Sep 2019 01:25 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-Iran further breaches nuclear deal, says it can exceed 20% enrichment]( "UPDATE 2-Iran further breaches nuclear deal, says it can exceed 20% enrichment") Iran said on Saturday it was now capable of raising uranium enrichment past the 20% level and had launched advanced centrifuge machines in further breaches of commitments to limit its nuclear activity under a 2015 deal with world powers. "We have started lifting limitations on our Research and Development imposed by the deal ... It will include development of more rapid and advanced centrifuges," Iranian nuclear agency spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told a televised news conference. The 2015 pact curbed Iran's disputed nuclear programme in exchange for relief from sanctions, but has unravelled since the United States pulled out of it last year and acted to strangle Iran's oil trade to push it into wider security concessions.
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| British lawmakers willing to go to court to enforce Brexit delay - BBC Posted: 07 Sep 2019 12:33 AM PDT ![British lawmakers willing to go to court to enforce Brexit delay - BBC]( "British lawmakers willing to go to court to enforce Brexit delay - BBC") British lawmakers, including Conservatives expelled this week from the party, are preparing legal action in case Prime Minister Boris Johnson refuses to seek a delay to Brexit, the BBC reported on Saturday. An opposition bill which would force Johnson to ask the European Union for an extension to Britain's departure to avoid a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31 was approved by parliament's appointed upper chamber, the House of Lords, on Friday. Johnson, a leader of the campaign to leave the EU during the 2016 Brexit referendum, took office in July after his Conservative party predecessor Theresa May quit following three failed attempts to get a deal with Brussels through parliament.
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| Iran seizes ship for alleged fuel smuggling in Gulf, holds 12 Filipino crew Posted: 07 Sep 2019 12:21 AM PDT ![Iran seizes ship for alleged fuel smuggling in Gulf, holds 12 Filipino crew]( "Iran seizes ship for alleged fuel smuggling in Gulf, holds 12 Filipino crew") Iran's coast guard has seized a vessel for allegedly smuggling fuel in the Gulf and detained its 12 crew members from the Philippines, the semi-official news agency ISNA reported. Iran, which has some of the world's cheapest fuel prices due to heavy state subsidies and the fall of its currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land to neighbouring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states. It has frequently seized boats it says are being used for smuggling oil in the Gulf.
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| Iran fires up advanced centrifuges in latest nuclear step Posted: 07 Sep 2019 12:11 AM PDT  Iran has started up advanced centrifuges to boost its stockpile of enriched uranium but will allow the UN atomic agency to continue monitoring its nuclear programme, a spokesman said Saturday. The spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation said the agency had activated 20 IR-4 and 20 IR-6 centrifuges as a third step in the Islamic republic's reduction of its commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal. "The centrifuge machines, as they are engaged in research and development, will help with increasing the stockpile," spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said.
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| Developing new centrifuges on Tehran's agenda - Iran nuclear official Posted: 06 Sep 2019 11:49 PM PDT ![Developing new centrifuges on Tehran's agenda - Iran nuclear official]( "Developing new centrifuges on Tehran's agenda - Iran nuclear official") Developing new types of uranium enrichment machines is on Tehran's agenda, a spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation said in a televised news conference on Saturday, adding that Iran has started injecting gas into advanced centrifuges. "Right now we don't need it, but developing new types of centrifuges is in our agenda," Behrouz Kamalvandi said as he announced details of steps taken by Tehran to further scale back its commitments to Iran's 2015 nuclear deal.
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| U.K. Economy Quietly Pays the Price for Growing Politics Chaos Posted: 06 Sep 2019 10:00 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Follow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story. Behind the noise of another tumultuous few days in U.K. politics, the nation's economy quietly had one of its worst weeks this year.Warning lights are flashing red, with manufacturing and construction shrinking and even the dominant services sector losing momentum, prompting forecasts that the U.K. is heading for a recession.At the same time, the housing market is stuck in a rut, retail sales are disappointing and shoppers are worried that Brexit will push up prices.This week has done little to lift the fog after Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a series of defeats, lost his Parliamentary majority and failed in a bid to force early elections. While the U.K. public was gripped by the political drama, including photographs of one lawmaker slouched in his House of Commons seat during a crucial Brexit debate, the reports highlight the economic cost of the chronic uncertainty surrounding Britain's departure from the European Union."The economy is rusting up quite visibly in the data," said Kit Juckes, chief global foreign-exchange strategist at Societe Generale. "It's just getting slowly worse, there's no momentum to anything."A report Monday will give an early indication of how likely an imminent recession is. After contracting 0.2% in the second quarter, the economy probably grew just 0.1% in July. A weaker reading could prompt economists, who currently see a bounce back in the third quarter, to start downgrading their outlooks.Pound VolatilityStill, movements in the pound this week highlighted that traders are glued to political, not economic, news. On Tuesday, the currency slipped below $1.20 for the first time since 2017. Then, the passing of an opposition bill reducing the risk of no-deal Brexit subsequently gave sterling its best week since June.Despite all that, the U.K.'s future is far from certain -- and the economy looks in an increasingly fragile state.Even before the latest political turmoil, confidence among households was crumbling. A Bank of England survey on Friday showed that inflation expectations for the coming year stand at 3.3%, with over half of Britons saying that Brexit would push prices up. Inflation is currently just over 2%.Businesses are also taking a hit. A report Monday showed manufacturing and construction shrinking last month, while services came close to stalling. If consumers start to tighten their belts, the economy's problems will deepen. Retail industry figures this week showed sales fell in August from a year earlier, a third drop in four months.According to Schroder economist Azad Zangana, households didn't cut their spending as expected after the 2016 EU referendum. Instead they saved less and "ate into their safety buffer.""Now we're in a situation where savings rates are near record lows," he said. "If we get no deal and the pound falls again and inflation picks up, we'll definitely go into recession."Amid the gloom, the U.K. economy got two potential boosts this week. First, Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid on Wednesday promised to end a decade of austerity with the biggest boost to government spending for 15 years. The same day, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the U.K.'s preparations for a no-deal Brexit may help to limit the economic hit, though the fallout will still be considerable.Still, right now, growth is meager at best."If you look through the underlying trend, our judgment is that the economy is growing very weakly," Carney said. "Slightly positive, but close to zero."\--With assistance from Francine Lacqua and Harumi Ichikura.To contact the reporters on this story: Eddie Spence in London at espence11@bloomberg.net;David Goodman in London at dgoodman28@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Andrew AtkinsonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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