| IS leader's death ushers in new phase for the group Posted: 28 Oct 2019 05:18 PM PDT  One of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's last audio messages was an appeal for his followers to do everything in their power to free Islamic State detainees and the women being held in jails and camps in northeastern Syria. With news of the extremist group's leader's death, Kurdish security forces worried about the possibility of attacks or rioting have been tightening security at these facilities, which hold more than 80,000 members and supporters of the militant group, including women and children. Fear of chaos already was running high over the fate of those detained after this month's Turkish military invasion of northeastern Syria, which ushered in major troop changes in the area about two weeks after al-Baghdadi's message.
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| Feds: Brothers with alleged Hezbollah ties are 'dangerous' Posted: 28 Oct 2019 03:41 PM PDT ![Feds: Brothers with alleged Hezbollah ties are 'dangerous']( "Feds: Brothers with alleged Hezbollah ties are 'dangerous'") Federal prosecutors say two brothers charged with conspiring to export drone parts and technology from the U.S. to Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon are "dangerous" and should remain in custody while they await trial, according to a court document filed Monday. Usama and Issam Hamade are charged with conspiracy to violate U.S. export laws. Usama Hamade is also charged with smuggling.
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| Not over yet: New US Syria mission after al-Baghdadi death Posted: 28 Oct 2019 03:31 PM PDT  Pivoting from the dramatic killing of the Islamic State's leader, the Pentagon is increasing U.S. efforts to protect Syria's oil fields from the extremist group as well as from Syria itself and the country's Russian allies. It's a new high-stakes mission even as American troops are withdrawn from other parts of the country. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says the military's oil field mission also will ensure income for Syrian Kurds who are counted on by Washington to continue guarding Islamic State prisoners and helping American forces combat remnants of the group — even as President Donald Trump continues to insist all U.S. troops will come home.
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| Envoy for North Korea expected to get No. 2 State Dept. job Posted: 28 Oct 2019 03:25 PM PDT ![Envoy for North Korea expected to get No. 2 State Dept. job]( "Envoy for North Korea expected to get No. 2 State Dept. job") The U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, is expected to be nominated as early as this week to be second-in-command at the State Department, officials said Monday. Two Trump administration officials and a congressional aide familiar with the selection process said the White House is expected to nominate Biegun to be the next deputy secretary of state in the coming days. Biegun would replace John Sullivan, who has been nominated to be the next U.S. ambassador to Russia.
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| U.K. to Destroy Commemorative 50p Coins in Brexit Meltdown Posted: 28 Oct 2019 03:16 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Thousands of 50-pence coins minted to commemorate Brexit on Oct. 31 will be melted down after Prime Minister Boris Johnson accepted an extension from the European Union, two people familiar with the matter said.U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid had announced plans for millions of coins engraved with the date Johnson pledged to leave the bloc, but production was paused last week when it became clear there would be a delay.The coins were already being minted so they could be put into circulation as soon as the U.K. left the EU.On Monday, Johnson accepted the EU's offer of a three-month extension to Jan. 31, and the decision was taken for all the coins to be melted down, according to the people, who asked not to be identified. One of them said hundreds of thousands of the coins had been minted already.A spokesman for the Treasury said the U.K. will still produce a coin to mark its departure from the EU -- whenever that takes place.Javid's predecessor, Philip Hammond, had also planned to mint a more limited number of the 50-pence coins to mark the original Brexit date of March 29.(Updates with Treasury comment in third and fifth paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net;Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The next inevitable Brexit extension Posted: 28 Oct 2019 03:13 PM PDT ![The next inevitable Brexit extension]( "The next inevitable Brexit extension") The "Hotel California" jokes are not getting old somehow. How could they, when they are completely true? It really is impossible for countries that have checked in to leave the European Union, even if they blow past three successive deadlines for withdrawal.It has now been two and a half years since the United Kingdom set in motion Article 50 of the E.U.'s Lisbon Treaty. According to the terms of the treaty, Britain was set to leave the E.U. on April 29, 2019, regardless of whether a deal establishing the formal terms of withdrawal had been established. That didn't happen, and Theresa May, then the prime minister, asked for a paltry two more weeks. But April came and went with yet another request for an extension, one that was freely granted, giving Britain until Halloween. Now, with three days to go, the E.U. says they have until the end of January 2020. The latest so-called "flextension" even allows the British to leave before that if they can somehow arrive at a deal sooner.This is not some supererogatory act of charity on their part. They understand that three more months are unlikely to change the reality on the ground in Britain. Boris Johnson lacks a clear majority in the House of Commons, and the Labour opposition says it will not support the general election he would like to hold in December. His attempt on Monday to force one failed when Labour MPs abstained.So far Johnson is not admitting defeat and insists that he will seek another vote. But even if he does somehow manage to arrange for an election between now and January, he will be no closer to extricating his country from Brussels. Several things could happen as a result of an election, and very few of them make leaving the E.U. more likely.For one, it is possible that the legislation calling for a general election could be amended to include terms that impose additional checks on Johnson's ability to negotiate -- this possibility explains the support for a so-called "one-line" general election bill among various minor opposition parties, including the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Nationalists.Then there are the election results themselves. Johnson's pitch for the leadership of the Conservative party earlier this year was, literally, "do or die": he promised that Britain would leave the E.U. by the October 31 deadline even if it meant doing so without a clear deal in place. For this reason his party party could easily fail to win a majority, which would almost certainly mean the end of his premiership. Johnson could also win a narrow majority that requires him to establish another coalition government with a regional party such as the Democratic Unionists in Northern Ireland, who wholeheartedly oppose a no-deal Brexit. And even a clear Conservative majority would not be a majority in favor of doing whatever Johnson and his cabinet colleagues decide -- there are still a small but crucial number of pro-Remain Tories.There is also the real if somewhat remote possibility that Johnson could lose at the ballot box altogether. A Labour government would very likely attempt to hold a second Brexit referendum, which would push the process back by half a year even if the eventual result were another vote in favor of leaving. The only consolation for Johnson and his colleagues would be that Brexit was no longer their problem.No matter what happens, it seems very likely that no agreement on a potential deal will be reached within the U.K. by January 31 of next year. Rather than trigger a no-deal Brexit, the E.U. will respond to this as it has three times already, by giving the British yet another costly extension.Time to start running for the doors.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.
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| Palestinians Seek to Leverage Global 5G Spat to Upgrade Telecoms Posted: 28 Oct 2019 03:00 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The Palestinian Authority wants Israel to ease roadblocks stalling the upgrade of its telecommunications infrastructure, and is using a global regulatory gathering to pressure it to cooperate.For the first time since 2015, Palestinian and Israeli officials met last week to discuss proposed Palestinian improvements. The meeting preceded Monday's launch of the World Radiocommunication Conference, a United Nations-affiliated conclave where the Palestinians will seek oversight of Israeli actions.Negotiations over standards and spectrum for new fifth-generation systems will be a major focus of the gathering, held once every four years. The U.S., citing security considerations, hopes to nail down leadership over the Chinese in 5G, and an Israeli-Palestinian dispute could undercut its efforts to keep the conference's focus on next-generation technology.The U.S. has played a role in the past in pushing for upgrades to the Palestinian telecom infrastructure, and the American Embassy welcomed the talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials, saying it hoped they will "yield results that improve the lives of everyday individuals who want peace."Israeli ControlIsrael has kept a tight grip on broad aspects of the Palestinian information and communications technology sector even after ceding some powers to the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo peace accords of the 1990s. The Palestinians say Israel's control of frequencies and telecoms infrastructure violates its commitment under those agreements to let them develop their own communications sector.The inadequate frequencies and outdated technology have cost Palestinian telecom firms and the broader economy. While Israel prepares to implement 5G, the West Bank only moved to 3G last year and Gaza remains on 2G. Palestinian officials also want more frequency to allow for a third operator, in addition to Palestine Telecommunications Co., or Paltel, and Qatar-based Ooredoo.At the same time, Israeli operators are benefiting since many Palestinians use unauthorized Israeli SIM cards because of the better service they offer, and 7amleh, a Palestinian advocacy group, says Israel also conducts mass surveillance of Palestinian communications."We're now facing a very big problem with the Israeli side," said Ishaq Sider, the Palestinian minister of telecom and information technology, in an Oct. 22 interview at his Ramallah office. "It is not a political issue, it is a humanitarian issue to make the life of the people easier."Security ConsiderationsThe Palestinians aren't persuaded by Israel's justifications of restrictions on security grounds. A spokesman for Israel's Ministry of Communications declined an interview request and said it would convey its position via appropriate channels.The joint technical committee of Israeli and Palestinian officials that met last Thursday was established under the Oslo accords to coordinate decisions on topics like frequency assignment and equipment imports, but has convened infrequently since 2000, according to a 2016 World Bank report."Neighboring bodies need to coordinate," said Daniel Rosenne, director general of Israel's Ministry of Communications between 1996 and 2001. "The practical problems there are often not trivial."At their meeting, the sides discussed upgrading the West Bank to 4G and 5G, and bringing 3G to Gaza, according to Samer Ali, international relations director for the Palestinian Telecom Ministry. Israel said it would study the possibility of bringing 4G and 5G to the West Bank, and agreed to have a panel discuss the frequency spectrum, he said. Approving 3G for Gaza is on the table, but awaits the formation of Israel's next government, Ali added."Bottom line we didn't get anything," he said. "We don't expect to get anything directly from the Israeli side."Palestinians have increasingly sought to use international bodies to find leverage as peace efforts stagnate, and along with other Arab states plan to ask the World Radiocommunication Conference to approve third-party monitoring of Israel's compliance with its commitments."It means higher costs, it means more complications, it means your cycle for expanding your network is out of your control," said Ammar Aker, chief executive officer of Paltel, which has more than 3 million subscribers and about $400 million in annual revenue. "We work directly on all fronts to push things forward."\--With assistance from Saud Abu Ramadan.To contact the reporters on this story: Ivan Levingston in Tel Aviv at ilevingston@bloomberg.net;Fadwa Hodali in Ramallah at fhodali@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Turkey will attack Kurdish fighters who remain near border Posted: 28 Oct 2019 02:48 PM PDT  Turkey's foreign minister said Monday that his country's military will attack any Syrian Kurdish fighter that remains along the border area in northeast Syria after a deadline for them to leave expires. Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters that Russian and Syrian officials provided information that some Kurdish fighters had pulled out of the border area, but others still had not. The Syrian Kurdish fighters have until 3 p.m. GMT Tuesday to pull back to positions about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Turkish border.
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| 2020 Democrats commend troops, not Trump, for Syria raid Posted: 28 Oct 2019 02:24 PM PDT  Democratic presidential candidates are heaping praise on U.S. military forces who pulled off the weekend raid that left Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi dead. "This victory was not due to Donald Trump's leadership," former Vice President Joe Biden said Monday. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said the successful mission was "accomplished with information supplied by the Kurds" Trump abandoned when he recently announced plans to withdraw most U.S. troops from Syria.
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| Morocco wants women, minors held in Iraq, Syria to come home Posted: 28 Oct 2019 02:06 PM PDT ![Morocco wants women, minors held in Iraq, Syria to come home]( "Morocco wants women, minors held in Iraq, Syria to come home") Morocco wants to bring home 671 Moroccan women and children linked with jihadi groups who are held in Syria and Iraq, with a top investigative official saying they're harmless. Morocco's top intelligence official, Boubker Sabik, said 1,659 Moroccans joined the Islamic State group or other jihadi organizations, and 742 of them died fighting.
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| U.K.’s Boris Johnson Fails in Bid to Trigger Snap Brexit Election Posted: 28 Oct 2019 01:59 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Boris Johnson is stuck.Against all the odds, he secured a Brexit deal during talks in Brussels -- but he has failed to get it ratified in the U.K. Parliament, and he can't even get the election he wants to break the deadlock.The British prime minister tried for a third time Monday to trigger a snap poll to end the impasse and was rebuffed again by the House of Commons.Yet the signs are he won't have long to wait before firing the starting gun on the country's third general election campaign in a tumultuous four years. He will try again on Tuesday to get Parliament to allow an early election to take place, this time using an easier legal route."We will not allow this paralysis to continue," Johnson told MPs after the vote. "One way or another, we must proceed straight to an election."Almost three-and-a-half years after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union, the country remains locked in limbo with its long-term relationship to the 500-million strong trading bloc no closer to clarity.Earlier on Monday, envoys from European governments considered the U.K.'s political chaos from a meeting room in Brussels.New DeadlineThey decided Britain needs more time to sort out its plans and agreed to extend the deadline from Thursday -- the date the country had been due to exit the bloc -- to Jan. 31.That allows a clear window for British politicians to put their rival visions for Brexit to voters in a general election. Johnson and his team say Parliament is broken and "dead," and needs to be dissolved.They want a Conservative majority government, but in order to trigger that election they needed a "super-majority" of two-thirds of MPs to vote for it. Johnson's third attempt to win that vote failed on Monday and he said instead he will propose a one-line bill, a basic piece of legislation, changing the date set in law for the next election to Dec. 12.Simple MajorityHe will only need a simple majority in the Commons, rather than two-thirds of MPs, for the bill to pass. Opposition legislators from the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party have indicated they are willing to back a motion along similar lines, though their support is not yet certain.SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said they needed a "cast iron assurance" the government won't try to try to reintroduce the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill while election bill is going through stages of parliament, or before parliament is dissolved for an election.The risk for Johnson is that politicians could try to amend his one-line bill to set conditions on the election that he will not like.Either way, Johnson made clear he is giving up on his attempt to get his Brexit deal ratified in Parliament before the election. There is "no support" among MPs for pushing through the law implementing his divorce agreement in the short time available, he said. With the U.K. still in the EU, the poll, when it comes, is likely to turn into a proxy referendum on Brexit.It will be potentially the final opportunity for voters to choose between parties offering to stop Brexit or force through the split at any cost. (Updated with context and detail from 11th paragraph.)\--With assistance from Robert Hutton.To contact the reporters on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net;Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@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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| Boris Johnson suffers another defeat after MPs strike down bid for an early election Posted: 28 Oct 2019 01:38 PM PDT ![Boris Johnson suffers another defeat after MPs strike down bid for an early election]( "Boris Johnson suffers another defeat after MPs strike down bid for an early election") U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in the loss column again.On the same day Johnson begrudgingly accepted the European Union's offer of extending the Brexit deadline until Jan. 31, 2020, MPs voted down the prime minister's bid to hold early general elections. While Johnson publicly said nobody "relishes" the idea of a general election, The Washington Post notes he "very much" wants one since it could lead to him reclaiming a parliamentary majority and, eventually in his eyes, free the U.K. from its Brexit quagmire once and for all.He had no such luck Monday, with MPs voting for the motion 299 to 70. That fell short of the required two-thirds majority with the Labour Party continuing to abstain while the possibility of a no-deal Brexit remains in play. However, both Johnson and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn have hinted they could back an early election scheduled for December under a new plan proposed by the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Nationalist Party that would only require a simple majority of votes.And with that, the saga continues. Read more at The Guardian and The Washington Post.
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| Netanyahu aides questioned in possible witness harassment Posted: 28 Oct 2019 01:06 PM PDT  Israeli police are reportedly investigating whether two senior aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu harassed a witness in a corruption case. Channel 13 TV says Ofer Golan and Jonathan Urich were both recently questioned and their phones have been confiscated. It says Golan hired a van in August to park outside the home of Shlomo Filber, blaring a message "to be a man" and stop lying about Netanyahu.
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| British PM loses election bid after EU backs Brexit delay Posted: 28 Oct 2019 01:05 PM PDT  British MPs on Monday defeated yet another attempt by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to force an early election, just hours after the European Union agreed to postpone Brexit for up to three months. The Conservative leader immediately announced an alternative plan to hold a snap poll that could yet see an election in early December. Johnson suffered a major setback earlier Monday when he was forced to agree to delay Britain's departure from the European Union beyond this week's October 31 deadline.
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| Johnson Bid for Election Defeated in Parliament: Brexit Update Posted: 28 Oct 2019 12:29 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Boris Johnson's latest attempt to trigger an early general election was defeated in Parliament on Monday and he immediately said he will try again. Earlier he had accepted the European Union's offer of a three-month Brexit delay to Jan. 31.Johnson said he has given up getting his withdrawal agreement bill passed by this Parliament and a general election would be the only way to resolve the deadlock that has stopped the U.K. ratifying his divorce deal with Brussels.Key Developments:EU Council President Donald Tusk's spokesman confirms Johnson wrote to EU to accept extensionJohnson wins 299 votes for general election motion, short of the 434 needed for the necessary two-thirds majority in the House of CommonsRead more: What's in a Deal? The Brexit Extension's Key Points SummarizedOpposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said he won't vote for an election until the U.K. is no longer at risk of crashing out of the EU without an agreementLiberal Democrats, Scottish National Party are working together to try to force a snap poll on Dec. 9, reflecting a split with LabourPound rises 0.3%EU Moves to Finalize Brexit delay (7:25 p.m.)The so-called "written procedure" for the endorsement of the extension by EU27 governments has been activated, according to an EU diplomat. The deadline is at 6 p.m. Brussels time tomorrow. If there are no objections from the bloc's capitals by that time, the U.K will have until Jan. 31 at its disposal to find a way forward.MPs Reject Johnson's Early Election Bid (7:00 p.m.)Boris Johnson failed in his latest attempt to hold an early general election, after MPs once again rejected his motion in the House of Commons.Johnson fell short of the 434 votes needed to win a two-thirds majority for an early election, which he wanted to take place on Dec. 12. It's the third time Johnson has tried to win approval for a motion paving the way for an election and he's vowed to keep trying until he succeeds.Johnson Open to Election on Dec 9-12 (6:25 p.m.)The prime minister is drawing up a plan B to get an early election if he loses the vote on Monday, his spokesman said.Boris Johnson's alternative would pave the way for an election in the range of Dec. 9-12 and is likely to involve MPs voting later this week on a one-line piece of legislation simply stating the date for the snap poll.Corbyn Hints He Might Back a Different Vote (5:45 p.m.)Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, argued his MPs can't support an election tonight because they don't trust Boris Johnson and can't rely on his assurances about the date of the vote. But he hinted the position could change if Johnson proposed a short bill that fixed the date in law."We will consider carefully any legislation proposed that locks in the date," Corbyn said. "We will agree to nothing until it's clear and concrete what exactly is being proposed."Johnson Accepts EU Extension Offer (5:30 p.m.)Boris Johnson has, as expected, obeyed the law that required him to accept the extension offered to him by the EU. After weeks of briefing by his officials that there were holes in that law, it seems there were none the prime minister's lawyers' could use."I have no discretion," Johnson wrote in a letter, which was published by his office. The prime minister added this was "damaging to our democracy" and urged EU leaders to make clear this will be the last extension.Labour to Abstain or Vote Against Early Election (2:40 p.m.)The opposition Labour Party has agreed to maintain its position of abstaining or voting against a general election in Monday evening's vote in the House of Commons, according to a person familiar with its plans.Jeremy Corbyn's leadership team, the shadow cabinet, discussed the issue earlier on Monday. The decision means Johnson won't reach the required two-thirds of MPs to get an election in the vote later.People's Vote Campaign in Disarray (1:30 p.m.)People's Vote, the umbrella group for organizations pushing for a second referendum on Brexit is in disarray amid a war of words between leading officials.On Monday morning, communications chief Tom Baldwin accused Roland Rudd – chairman of Open Britain, one of five groups backing the campaign, of "putting a wrecking ball" through People's Vote after he said in an email to staff that Baldwin and Campaign Director James McGrory would leave the organization "with immediate effect."Baldwin told the BBC that Rudd doesn't have the authority to sack him. For his part, Rudd said Baldwin has a "an opportunity for a different type of role" and "there's no row about where we stand."People's Vote posted a thread of 6 tweets on Twitter calling Rudd's email a "boardroom coup" and saying "this campaign is not owned by any one person." McGrory retweeted the posts.Lib Dems Likely to Back Short Tory Bill (1:20 p.m.)The Liberal Democrats are likely to back any move by the government to replicate their own proposal (see 12:30 p.m.) by putting forward a one-line bill setting a date for an election, two people familiar with the matter said.Any Liberal Democrat support would be contingent on there being a triple lock to ensure the bill stipulates the election date, it doesn't seek to ram through the Withdrawal Agreement before election day, and it protects against a no-deal Brexit before Jan. 31.The officials also said the party is unlikely to support amendments to any bill because it needs to pass both houses quickly.Why Macron Backed Down (1:10 p.m.)French President Emmanuel Macron has infuriated his EU partners in recent weeks with his trenchant opposition to letting North Macedonia and Albania start accession talks, and increased his isolation by holding up approval of the Brexit extension.But after a call with Johnson on Sunday Macron changed tack. The French leader was convinced that Johnson wouldn't try to renegotiate the deal or meddle in EU affairs during the extension period, an Elysee official said.Macron also wanted to be seen as a team player. France wants to preserve the unity of the EU-27, which has been a key strength during the negotiations, the official added.Regulators to Use Delay to Iron Out No-Deal Risks (1 p.m.)A Brexit extension will give the U.K. and European Union more time to try to resolve residual risks to the financial system from a no-deal split, according to Nausicaa Delfas, an executive director at the Financial Conduct Authority."There are some outstanding issues that could crystallize if there is a no-deal at the end of January, and therefore for that reason we need to keep on with our preparations just to be prepared for all scenarios," Delfas said in an interview. Among the issues are conflicting restrictions on which equities and derivatives would need to be traded in the EU or in the U.K.But a short delay probably wouldn't substantially alter financial firms' preparations, she said."Often people say actually in financial services, we've already undergone a hard exit in the sense that people have already prepared," Delfas said. "So it's a question of judgment for them. But obviously a quite short delay to the end of January, I don't think will make very much difference."Johnson Offers Pledge on Election Date (12.30 p.m.)Prime Minister Boris Johnson's efforts to get an early election continue. He said in a written statement to Parliament that the poll would be held on Dec. 12 if the House of Commons votes for it later on Monday, and that Parliament would return before Dec. 23.Those promises are designed to answer two arguments that Labour is using not to back an election. They say they can't trust him not to put it off until a later date once Parliament has agreed to it, and also that Parliament might not return until January, meaning there wouldn't be time to pass Brexit legislation.If those pledges don't shift Labour, a government official said Johnson is likely to offer his own version of the proposal (see 12 p.m.) from the Liberal Democrats: A one-line bill setting the date of the next election. That has problems (see 8:50 a.m.), but it doesn't need Labour's support to pass.Tories Eye Lib Dem Plan for Dec. 9 Election (12 p.m.)Without support from the main opposition Labour Party, the government looks set to lose Monday's key vote in Parliament on Boris Johnson's bid for an early general election on Dec. 12. So the government is examining a joint proposal (see 8:50 a.m.) from the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Nationalist Party to hold a snap poll on Dec. 9.The two routes to an election are very different, with the government's motion requiring a two-thirds majority in the House Commons, compared to just a simple majority for the Liberal Democrat proposal. The latter has obvious appeal for the government, though it also comes with considerable risk. As a so-called one-line bill, Members of Parliament can add amendments to the legislation, potentially wrecking it from the government's perspective.Another difference is that while the government's proposal under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act would not go to the House of Lords, as a piece of legislation the Liberal Democrat plan would -- providing further opportunities for the bill to be altered.But Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson pledged on Sunday to allow the bill's passage without amendments, and according to a government official, the Dec. 9 date is doable. For Johnson, though, it would mean admitting Brexit will not happen in the short term.No U.K. Response to EU Yet (11:40 a.m.)Boris Johnson has not yet seen EU Council President Donald Tusk's letter on the Brexit extension so is unable to respond, the British prime minister's spokesman, James Slack, told reporters in London.Blaming Parliament for the Brexit delay, Slack said the prime minister's preference would still be to leave on Oct. 31. Johnson will open a debate in the House of Commons later Monday and make the case for a general election to break the deadlock over leaving the EU."Parliament has blocked the timetable that would allow us to leave on Oct 31. Parliament has chosen more dither and delay,'' Slack said. "We will have to look at the letter and then ministers will take decisions."No-deal Brexit planning is continuing as the action of any responsible government to be ready for all eventualities, Slack said.U.K. Should Use Time 'Wisely,' EU Diplomat Says (11:35 a.m.)As with the previous Brexit extension, the EU side hopes that the U.K. will use its extra time "wisely," according to a diplomat in Brussels. The meeting of envoys this morning, following talks throughout the weekend, reaffirmed unity among the 27 remaining members, according to the official.Extension Hides Bigger Threat for Johnson (11:10 a.m.)Even if he can eventually deliver Brexit, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will have less room for maneuver as he confronts a familiar dilemma: How to sever trade ties with the European Union after four decades of membership without triggering massive disruption to British business and the economy.Monday's decision by the EU to delay Britain's departure by as long as three months means Johnson will have very little time to negotiate a free-trade agreement with the bloc before the end of 2020, when the planned transition period smoothing the U.K.'s withdrawal is due to end.EU Official: Next Step for U.K. to Approve Delay (10 a.m.)The next step in the Brexit extension process is for the European Union to seek the U.K.'s agreement, per the conditions of Article 50, an EU official said in a text message to reporters. After that's secured, EU Council President Donald Tusk will begin the "written procedure" to formalize the decision among the remaining 27 EU leaders, with a deadline of 24 hours, the official said.The aim is for the process to be concluded by Tuesday or Wednesday, the official said.It's worth noting that under the terms of the Benn Act, which was passed by Parliament to prevent a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31, Prime Minister Boris Johnson must accept if the EU offers an extension to Jan. 31.EU Envoys Agree Delay to Jan. 31: Tusk (9:30 a.m.)Envoys representing the 27 remaining European Union members agreed to the U.K. request for a Brexit extension to Jan. 31, EU Council President Donald Tusk said on Twitter. The bloc's decision will be formalized "through a written procedure," Tusk said, meaning that there will be no leaders' summit.The EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, told reporters the diplomats' meeting was "very short, effective and constructive" as he left the room.What Envoys Will Discuss in Brussels (9 a.m.)Envoys from the remaining 27 EU members states debate the wording of two separate documents this morning -- a six-page legal decision granting an extension, and a two-page declaration explaining the reasoning. The main points of the documents, drafts of which were obtained by Bloomberg on Sunday, are as follows:Brexit will take place on the first day of the month following the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, "or on 1 February 2020, whichever is the earliest"The Withdrawal Agreement isn't up for renegotiation during the extension period. Note that EU leaders took a similar decision when they granted the previous extension in April, but broke their rule after Johnson's government, with different red lines, took officeThe U.K must nominate a candidate for EU Commissioner after the extension is granted. However, the wording of the documents suggests that the confirmation process of the British candidate may not be finalized before the end of January, meaning the U.K. won't actually get to have a commissionerThe EU reminds the U.K. that it still has the right to revoke BrexitFinally, EU governments warn that the U.K should do nothing which is seen as sabotaging the bloc during the extension periodJohnson's Different Routes to an Election (8:50 a.m.)The European Union's apparent intention to extend the Brexit deadline to Jan. 31 could yet have an impact on Monday's vote in the House of Commons. Yet Boris Johnson still looks likely to fall short of the two-thirds majority he needs to secure an early general election. That's because an extension on its own doesn't satisfy the opposition Labour Party's position that it won't support a snap poll until the risk of a no-deal Brexit is completely removed.But over the weekend, another option emerged via a proposal from the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party. They suggested amending the Fixed-term Parliament Act to set the next election for Dec. 9, which crucially would require only a simple majority to pass. The risk for the government lies in MPs trying to attach amendments to the bill, but a U.K. official later indicated such a move could be considered if it loses Monday's vote.There's a final way Johnson could get his election -- though it's a longer and untested process, with significant risks. The opposition or Johnson himself could trigger a no-confidence vote in the government, which requires a simply majority to succeed. Party leaders then would have 14 days to form a new government that can win a confidence vote, with Parliament dissolved -- and a general election scheduled -- if all efforts fail.Macron Backs Brexit Delay (7:48 a.m.)French President Emmanuel Macron will agree to a Brexit extension, easing the risk of the U.K. leaving the European Union without a deal on Oct. 31, according to a French government official.Macron has agreed a delay until Jan. 31, said the official, who asked not to be identified. With other member states already supporting the move, France's backing paves the way for EU diplomats to sign off on an extension during talks in Brussels on Monday.Williamson Optimistic Government Can Win Vote (Earlier)Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said he's "optimistic" the government can win the vote on Monday to hold a general election, noting that the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party, for example, "are moving to the recognition that this Parliament isn't going to deliver anything.""I actually think that you'll see quite rapid movement," Williamson told Sky News.Williamson was touring the broadcast studios plugging a government announcement of 400 million pounds ($515 million) of spending on schools. It's the latest in a succession of announcements of increased expenditure on education, health and policing by the Conservatives, and a reminder the ruling party is on a constant election footing,Earlier:EU Proposes Brexit Extension to Jan. 31 Ahead of Envoy Talks Johnson and Macron: The Odd Couple Determined to Get Brexit DoneWhy Would Jeremy Corbyn Help Boris Johnson Now?: Therese RaphaelJohnson Sent to 'Naughty Step' on Brexit, DUP's Foster Says\--With assistance from Stuart Biggs, Nikos Chrysoloras, Helene Fouquet, Jonathan Stearns, Alexander Weber, Ian Wishart, Silla Brush and Kitty Donaldson.To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net;Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| IS victims see satisfaction but no closure in leader's death Posted: 28 Oct 2019 12:07 PM PDT  "It would have been even better if al-Baghdadi could have been captured and sent to trial," Salines told The Associated Press. Al-Baghdadi was responsible for directing and inspiring attacks by his followers around the world.
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| British PM Johnson says government will move bill for Dec. 12 election Posted: 28 Oct 2019 12:01 PM PDT ![British PM Johnson says government will move bill for Dec. 12 election]( "British PM Johnson says government will move bill for Dec. 12 election") British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday his government would present a bill to parliament to hold an election on Dec. 12, saying it was time to "get Brexit done". "Later on this evening, the government will give notice of presentation for a short bill for an election on the 12th of December so we can finally get Brexit done," Johnson told parliament.
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| Students join Iraq protests as clashes kill 3 demonstrators Posted: 28 Oct 2019 11:39 AM PDT  Thousands of students joined Iraq's anti-government protests on Monday, as clashes with security forces firing tear gas canisters killed at least three demonstrators and wounded more than 100. The students skipped classes at several universities and secondary schools in Baghdad and across Iraq's majority-Shiite south on Monday to take part in the protests, despite the government ordering schools and universities to operate normally. A senior security official estimated that 25,000 protesters took part in the demonstration in the capital.
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| Northern Ireland's DUP will not vote for early election Posted: 28 Oct 2019 11:22 AM PDT ![Northern Ireland's DUP will not vote for early election]( "Northern Ireland's DUP will not vote for early election") Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, which is allied to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives, will not back the government's call on Monday for an early election, the party's Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson said. Parliament is due to vote on Monday on whether to back an election, which Johnson wants to hold on Dec. 12, to break the deadlock over Brexit. "We will not be supporting this motion tonight," Wilson told parliament ahead of the vote.
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| EU Grants Brexit Extension Posted: 28 Oct 2019 11:17 AM PDT ![EU Grants Brexit Extension]( "EU Grants Brexit Extension") The European Union (EU) has agreed to a Brexit extension of three more months rather than see the United Kingdom plunge out of the bloc with no deal on October 31. After a meeting of European ambassadors, Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, announced 27 EU member nations had agreed to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's request for an extension. The latest extension removes the immediate threat of a no-deal Brexit on the scheduled October 31 departure date, an outcome the freight industry expected would cause supply chain chaos across northern Europe.
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| The Latest: UN chief says remember victims of terrorism Posted: 28 Oct 2019 10:45 AM PDT  U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the death of the Islamic State group's leader is a moment to remember the victims of terrorism. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters Monday that the U.N. chief has "taken note" of U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
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| UK Labour leader says will consider legislation which locks in election date Posted: 28 Oct 2019 10:42 AM PDT ![UK Labour leader says will consider legislation which locks in election date]( "UK Labour leader says will consider legislation which locks in election date") Britain's main opposition Labour Party will carefully consider any legislation which would lock in an early election date, leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Monday. The Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrats say they will support a law to hold an early election under certain conditions, including a no-deal Brexit being ruled out. "We will consider carefully any legislation proposed that locks in the date," Corbyn told parliament, ahead of a vote later on Monday in parliament on an early election, which the government wants to hold on Dec. 12.
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| Why Xi Jinping Can't Sell China's 'One Nation' Strategy Posted: 28 Oct 2019 10:41 AM PDT  The Xi Jinping era has been disastrous for Chinese society, for China's foreign relations with much of the world, and particularly for cross-Strait relations.
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| US Treasury Secretary vows more economic sanctions on Iran Posted: 28 Oct 2019 10:39 AM PDT  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin shake hands as they deliver joint statements during their meeting in Jerusalem, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019. JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin pledged Monday to increase sanctions against Iran, saying the Trump administration's "maximum pressure campaign" is halting alleged Iranian aggression in the Middle East. Mnuchin met Monday in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called on Washington to impose additional sanctions to halt what he called Iran's "plunge for everything" in the region.
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| Chile’s Pinera Fires Top Economic Ministers Amid Protests Posted: 28 Oct 2019 10:23 AM PDT ![Chile's Pinera Fires Top Economic Ministers Amid Protests]( "Chile's Pinera Fires Top Economic Ministers Amid Protests") (Bloomberg) -- Ten days of riots, protests and reprisals claimed their first political victims Monday as Chile's President Sebastian Pinera fired eight ministers, including the biggest hitters in the cabinet.The interior, finance and economy ministers were all dismissed, with Pinera naming a younger, more centrist team to convince protesters that their voice has been heard.A wave of riots, looting and protests has caused more than a billion dollars of damage this month, before spawning the largest peaceful demonstration in the country's history. Yet, today's announcement is unlikely to placate a movement that has demands ranging from tax reform to constitutional change, via the resignation of the billionaire president himself."These have been difficult days," Pinera said at a ceremony in the presidential palace. "Our government has heard the loud and clear message of the Chilean people who want a more fair and more inclusive society."The president's approval rating slumped to 14% last week as the protests all but paralyzed the country's largest cities, according to a survey by pollster Cadem. Opposition lawmakers have announced a constitutional accusation against Pinera on the grounds of human rights violations.Outgoing CousinPinera appointed Gonzalo Blumel as interior minister and Ignacio Briones as finance minister.Briones is dean of the school of government at Universidad Adolfo Ibanez. He has a PhD in political economy from Institut d´Etudes Politiques de Paris and was a senior adviser to the Finance Minister during Pinera's first term in office."I have a very positive opinion of Briones as an academic and an expert in public policy, but he doesn't have much experience in the political arena and this may eventually show," said Tomas Izquierdo, an economist and chief executive officer of research firm Gemines Consultores.Today's firings also included Andres Chadwick, the interior minister and Economy Minister Juan Andres Fontaine.Chadwick was a particular source of anger because of the violent suppression of the protests and the fact he is Pinera's cousin. His replacement, Blumel, 41, was until now minister of the presidency, coordinating the passing of government bills with Congress.Fontaine was another target of protesters after remarking that to avoid the higher subway prices, people should just get up earlier to take the subway at non-peak hours. A study earlier this year showed that Santiago residents face commutes as long as two hours.Mounting AngerThe firings are unlikely to quell mounting anger over how Pinera has dealt with the protests. More than 1,000 people have been injured and over 3,000 arrested, according to the Chilean Human Rights Institute. Police and the armed forces between them are responsible for five deaths for which it is bringing homicide charges, the institute said on Oct. 22.Protests resumed in front of the government's Moneda palace after the announcement, according to images on TV."Chileans have been marching against Pinera's agenda and the new interior minister is precisely the person that was in charge of pushing that agenda," said Yasna Provoste, a senator for the opposition Christian Democrats party. "Pinera's government just can't get a grasp of the citizens' demands."The extent of the protests shows the challenge facing Pinera's center-right government. Pinera initially tackled the violence as a law-and-order matter, stating the country was at war with criminals. That only made things worse. He then apologized for failing to recognize genuine grievances and announced measures including raising taxes for high-income earners and lifting basic pensions.While more than 600 supermarkets have been looted, the occurrence of serious violence has slowed. Losses for Chile's retail sector due to looting and lost sales reached $1.4 billion since the protests began, according to the Santiago Chamber of Commerce.Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, now the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said she would send a team to look into allegations of human-rights violations, a move the government welcomed.(Updates with comment from opposition senator in 13th paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Eduardo Thomson in Santiago at ethomson1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Cancel at dcancel@bloomberg.net, Philip SandersFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UK PM Johnson: I will campaign for my Brexit deal in any election Posted: 28 Oct 2019 10:20 AM PDT ![UK PM Johnson: I will campaign for my Brexit deal in any election]( "UK PM Johnson: I will campaign for my Brexit deal in any election") British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will campaign for his Brexit deal if he succeeds in his push for an election after being forced to request an extension to the date of Britain's exit from the European Union. Johnson is demanding parliament approve an election on Dec. 12 in return for more time to adopt his deal, which was agreed with the EU earlier this month but has not been approved by lawmakers after the timetable for his divorce deal was defeated in parliament.
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| UK PM Johnson accepts EU's Brexit delay - letter Posted: 28 Oct 2019 10:17 AM PDT ![UK PM Johnson accepts EU's Brexit delay - letter]( "UK PM Johnson accepts EU's Brexit delay - letter") British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday confirmed to the European Union his formal acceptance of a Brexit delay but asked the bloc to make clear that there could be no further extension to the divorce beyond Jan. 31. "I have no discretion under the UK's European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019, which was imposed on this government against its will, to do anything other than confirm the UK's formal agreement to this extension," Johnson said in a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk. "This unwanted prolongation of the UK's membership of the EU is damaging to our democracy," Johnson said, adding that he was urging EU member states to make clear there could be no further extension after Jan. 31.
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| Belgium names first female prime minister to lead caretaker government Posted: 28 Oct 2019 09:42 AM PDT  Belgium's first female prime minister in 189 years of the country's history has taken office, after the resignation of Charles Michel who will succeed Donald Tusk as president of the European Council. Sophie Wilmès, 44, will lead a caretaker government unable to launch fresh policy initiatives while Belgium struggles to form a coalition government more than 100 days after elections were held in May. The appointment of the French-speaking liberal and former budget minister was immediately attacked by senior figures in the Right-wing Flemish nationalist N-VA, the largest party in Belgium and Mr Michel's erstwhile coalition partners. Ms Wilmès said the appointment was a "great honour and responsibility" but admitted the caretaker government did not have "much opportunity to act." She urged the formation of a new coalition government as soon as possible. Her call for national unity appears doomed to be ignored after May's elections exposed deep-seated linguistic and cultural divides that threaten to tear Belgium apart. Sophie Wilmes will take over Wetstraat 16 - rue de la Loi 16, the address of the cabinet of the Prime Minister Credit: BENOIT DOPPAGNE/BELGA/AFP via Getty Images Dutch-speaking Flanders is dominated by the N-VA, while the French-speaking region of Wallonia voted for the francophone socialist party. Brussels, Belgium's other federal region handed the greens a majority, further complicating the chances of forming a federal coalition government. Belgium famously went 541 days with a caretaker government after the 2010 elections, a world record. Northern Ireland's Stormont Assembly has not sat for more than 1,000 days but is ineligible for the record as laws can still be passed in Westminster. Theo Francken, the former N-VA migration minister, said Ms Wilmes was a "rabid francophone" intent on "supporting French-speaking imperialism on the outskirts of Brussels." Ms Wilmès, a mother of four married to an Australian, is a fluent Dutch speaker but her position is further weakened by her liberal party losing support in the May elections to become Belgium's fourth largest party. Her promotion has been called "a poisoned chalice". The N-VA walked out of Mr Michel's four party coalition in December last year after Mr Michel said he would support Belgium signing the UN Migration Pact. The respected De Standaard newspaper said that the new prime minister was little known in Flanders but described her as charismatic and praised her for speaking good Dutch. Other Flemish commentators have criticised her for not doing more to curb government spending. Le Soir, the leading French language daily, said her elevation, which caps a rapid rise to the top for the Brussels born former local councillor, was "an elevator to the scaffold." Mr Michel will become the new president of the European Council, a role likely to be pivotal in the Brexit process, on December 1.
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| Is it worth it? UK banks question EU access after Brexit Posted: 28 Oct 2019 09:31 AM PDT ![Is it worth it? UK banks question EU access after Brexit]( "Is it worth it? UK banks question EU access after Brexit") Direct access to the European Union after Brexit may not be worth the cost if Britain has to align itself with EU rules covering only a narrow range of activity, financial industry officials have said. The UK financial sector's single biggest customer is the EU and it currently enjoys "passporting" or unfettered access to the bloc. Future trade will be based on "equivalence", the EU's system of access to foreign firms that Brussels deems to have home rules as strict as those in the bloc.
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| North Korean defector explains why the next generation is different Posted: 28 Oct 2019 09:24 AM PDT  Thae, who was North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom, defected to South Korea in 2016. He is one of the highest-ranking officials to defect from the so-called Hermit Kingdom.
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| Orban Shows Softer Side by Removing Controversial Court Chief Posted: 28 Oct 2019 08:52 AM PDT ![Orban Shows Softer Side by Removing Controversial Court Chief]( "Orban Shows Softer Side by Removing Controversial Court Chief") (Bloomberg) -- Hungary will replace the controversial head of its judiciary, the latest sign that Prime Minister Viktor Orban is trying to quell rule-of-law concerns in the European Union member.Orban's party on Monday nominated Tunde Hando to become a justice on the Constitutional Court, effectively cutting short her tenure as the powerful administrative head of the judiciary. The wife of a European lawmaker from the ruling Fidesz party, Hando faced criticism over judicial appointments and an oversight committee previously recommended her impeachment."The government doesn't want a war over the judiciary," Agoston Samuel Mraz, head of the pro-Orban Nezopont Intezet, a political research institute in Budapest, said by phone. "With the ongoing EU probe, it's in the government's strategic interest to put to rest rule-of-law issues."Orban, who's centralized power to an unprecedented degree in the EU since his return to power in 2010, has backpedaled on several of the issues at the center of the bloc's probe into the erosion of democratic standards, which has threatened billions of euros in subsidies. In May, Orban scrapped a plan to carve up the supreme court, which would've boosted his government's influence over the judiciary.Orban, who this month suffered his worst electoral setback in more than a decade, is also angling to retain his party's membership in the European People's Party, the center-right bloc that includes German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party.The EPP in March suspended Fidesz's membership indefinitely, citing rule-of-law concerns. European Council President Donald Tusk, an Orban-critic, is widely expected to become the group's new president next month. A decision on whether the Hungarian ruling party can stay in the center-right fold will be one of the first issues he'll have to confront."Orban doesn't want to keep anything on the agenda that may serve as a pretext for the EPP to expel Fidesz," said Mraz, the political analyst. "He wants to make sure that discussion about EPP is purely ideological and not based on facts."\--With assistance from Marton Eder.To contact the reporter on this story: Zoltan Simon in Budapest at zsimon@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net, Andrew LangleyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Merkel’s Successor Faces Party Revolt Over Bid to Be Chancellor Posted: 28 Oct 2019 08:38 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The leader of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union has been forced to fend off a challenge to her planned bid to become the next German chancellor the day after a "bitter" regional election loss.Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who succeeded Merkel as CDU leader last year, confirmed that the head of the party's youth wing questioned her position in an executive board meeting in Berlin on Monday. AKK, as she's known, said that she intends to be the candidate for the country's top job in the next election and that any party members wanting to question that can do so at next month's party conference."I have taken on this responsibility," Kramp-Karrenbauer told reporters Monday, citing her victory in the leadership race late last year. "Whoever thinks the question needs to be decided now, this fall, they have the opportunity to do so at the party conference" on Nov. 22-23.Friedrich Merz, whom AKK defeated in a close ballot in December to lead the party, earlier in the day took a swipe at her leadership on Twitter, saying the CDU "can no longer ignore or simply sit out" the loss in Thuringia.GaffesThe latest episode adds to a growing feeling that the twilight of Merkel's chancellorship is not going as planned -- the economy is slowing dramatically and her designated successor is failing to gain traction. AKK stumbled repeatedly in her efforts to win back voters from the right-wing Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, committing a series of gaffes and communication blunders. The CDU lost 11 percentage points to place third in a Sunday ballot in the eastern state of Thuringia, behind the anti-capitalist Left party and AfD.The CDU youth wing under its leader Tilman Kuban earlier this month called for a membership vote to determine who the party's chancellery candidate will be, effectively undermining AKK. The party chairwoman said she would stand by the CDU's historic principle that the chancellorship and CDU leadership go "hand in hand.""If that weren't the case, we would really be feeling the turmoil that we have in the party," AKK said in Berlin. Merkel has announced that she won't stand for a fifth term as chancellery in the next election, due in 2021 at the latest.The insurrection may still be contained within the party leadership. The CDU tends to do things by the book and is unlikely to easily abandon the chief it elected only 10 months ago.Earlier this month AKK riled the Social Democrats, the junior the coalition partner, by proposing a security zone in northern Syria that would likely involve German troops without consulting them. The episode underscored a growing perception among some party officials that AKK, who forged her political career in regional politics in the state of Saarland, is slow to take counsel from officials outside a small circle of advisers.(Adds AKK roll-out of Syria plan in final paragraphs.)\--With assistance from Arne Delfs.To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Donahue in Berlin at pdonahue1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Raymond ColittFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Angela Merkel's successor under pressure following disastrous election results Posted: 28 Oct 2019 08:14 AM PDT  Angela Merkel's chosen successor came under intense pressure on Monday after disastrous regional election results saw her party suffer crushing losses to the nationalist Alternative for Germany party (AfD). Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was forced to defend her leadership after the AfD forces her Christian Democrat party (CDU) into a humiliating third place in the eastern state of Thuringia. Popularly known as AKK, Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer took over as party leader from Mrs Merkel last year and was widely expected to succeed her as chancellor. But following a string of disappointing election results, questions are growing in the CDU over whether she can be trusted to lead the party into a general election. Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer faced the party at a stormy meeting in Berlin on Monday, at which she was forced to defend her hopes of standing as its candidate for chancellor in 2021. "The leadership issue must be resolved now," Tilman Kuban, the head of the CDU youth wing, reportedly told the meeting. But Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer insisted the candidacy would be decided in 2020. "I have been elected leader. If anyone wants to resolve it sooner they should say so and challenge for the leadership at the party conference in three weeks." Her words were greeted with applause, but there is no mistaking the fact that rivals are circling her. "The CDU can no longer ignore the election results from Thuringia or just sit them out," Friedrich Merz, the man she narrowly beat to the party leadership last year, tweeted in a clear warning shot. Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer has now presided over heavy losses in the European elections and regional elections in three German states. Mike Mohring, the CDU regional regional leader in Thuringia, lost no time in blaming AKK for the debacle Credit: FRIEDEMANN VOGEL/EPA-EFE/REX Following previous losses, she moved into the cabinet as defence minister in an attempt to shore up her position. But she came under fire in the run-up to the Thuringia election for getting involved in a damaging cabinet row over Syria policy with Heiko Maas, the foreign minister. "These sort of state election results are not disconnected from what's happening at a national level," Reiner Haseloff, a senior CDU figure, told German television. Mike Mohring, the CDU regional leader in Thuringia, lost no time in blaming AKK for the debacle. "Berlin was not helpful in the weeks leading up to the election," he said. The CDU leadership has agreed to Mr Mohring's demand to be allowed to open coalition talks with the Left Party in Thuringia. The CDU has previously always refused to consider any coalition with the AfD or the Left Party. But the two parties dominated the Thuringian election results and no coalition is possible without one of them. The Left Party, a successor to the former East German Communist Party, came first in the state with 31 per cent. Mr Mohring contends it is the lesser of two evils compared to the AfD, whose lead candidate in the state, Björn Höcke, has been compared to Hitler by German national television.
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| Netanyahu accuses Iran of wanting to strike Israel from Yemen Posted: 28 Oct 2019 08:05 AM PDT  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused Iran of wanting to strike Israel with precision-guided missiles from Yemen as he urged US President Donald Trump's administration to further pressure Tehran. Netanyahu made the comments as he met US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in Jerusalem, and while he again congratulated Trump on the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, he called for "a lot more" sanctions against Israel's archfoe Iran.
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| John Oliver on Trump's Syrian decision: 'The consequences have been dire' Posted: 28 Oct 2019 08:01 AM PDT  The Last Week Tonight has dissected Trump's strategy, of lack thereof, for pulling out US troops from the Syrian-Turkish borderJohn Oliver: 'So basically, America left the region the same way you leave a party right after you've clogged the toilet: quickly, leaving everything behind and forcing someone else to deal with all the shit.' Photograph: YouTubeJohn Oliver criticised Donald Trump's decision to pull out US troops from the Syrian-Turkish border and examined the many problems that have arisen as a result.On Last Week Tonight, the British comic referred to Trump as "the first president elected without any prior experience as a human being" before he played footage of him bragging about the killing of the Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.Oliver said that Trump "described it in the weirdest possible way" before rewinding to examine the controversial decision to stop helping Kurdish forces on the border between Syria and Turkey. Oliver called it a catastrophe that has been "universally condemned" before explaining that nearly 180,000 people have since been displaced and 120 civilians have been killed.Trump later explained that the Kurds didn't help in the second world war, to which Oliver asked: "What the fuck does that have to do with anything?"He also used examples of conflicts where the Kurds did help the US before stating: "The Kurds fought with the US military in at least two more wars than Donald Trump ever fucking did."Trump has also since said that he didn't want to spend more time in Syria, a place of sand and death. "Since when does Trump avoid areas with sand and death? He owns a golf club in Florida," Oliver quipped. But since May, Trump has increased troops in the Middle East by 14,000.It was also revealed that Trump essentially "rolled over for Erdoğan" by deciding to withdraw so quickly."So, basically, America left the region the same way you leave a party right after you've clogged the toilet: quickly, leaving everything behind and forcing someone else to deal with all the shit," he said.Since the withdrawal, "the consequences have been dire" and more than 100 Isis prisoners have escaped.At a rally, Trump said that Turkey's military incursion into Syria was needed, comparing it to letting two small children fight it out before stepping in. "He's not just a shitty president and a shitty person, he's a shitty dad," Oliver said. "Thank God he never had to raise any children."It has also led to new alliances which could lead to long-term ramifications. "So Trump has made a snap decision where the big winners are Putin, Erdoğan, Assad and Isis and that is a group you do not want to be friendly with, although I actually believe they were all at a Cowboys game with Ellen this weekend," he joked. "Look, we're all different and that's OK."While Oliver does point out that it's an impossible situation to get right, "it's genuinely hard to get it this wrong."He continued: "This was an unforced error. Trump chose to do something this sudden, this impetuous and this damaging and he's just not going to change."
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| Trump says phase one of China trade deal is ‘ahead of schedule’ Posted: 28 Oct 2019 07:02 AM PDT  "We are looking probably to be ahead of schedule to sign a very big portion of the China deal, and we'll call it Phase One but it's a very big portion," Trump said. The comments come ahead of Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile on Nov. 16-17. On Friday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer spoke with China's Vice Premier Liu He about the deal and signaled progress on negotiations over the weekend.
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| UPDATE 2-Trump: 'ahead of schedule' on China trade deal Posted: 28 Oct 2019 06:55 AM PDT  U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he expected to sign a significant part of the trade deal with China ahead of schedule but did not elaborate on the timing. "We are looking probably to be ahead of schedule to sign a very big portion of the China deal, we'll call it Phase One but it's a very big portion," he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before leaving on a visit to Chicago. Trump has said he hopes to sign the deal with China's President Xi Jinping next month at a summit in Chile.
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| Argentina President-Elect Calls for Brazil’s Lula to Be Freed Posted: 28 Oct 2019 06:54 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Alberto Fernandez has set the stage for his first diplomatic tiff even before he takes office as Argentine president. An hour after his election win, he called for Brazil's left-wing legend Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva to be freed from prison.Fernandez told supporters in Buenos Aires that Lula, who governed Brazil from 2003 through the end of 2010, was unfairly jailed. While he made similar comments during the campaign, his decision to raise it in the election aftermath risks friction with Brazil's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, a political rival of Lula.Bolsonaro, on a trip to Asia and the Middle East, lamented Fernandez's victory, saying he won't congratulate the president-elect but won't turn against him either. "Let's wait some time to see what is his real political stance," he told reporters in Abu Dhabi.Fernandez, whose win puts a left-wing political movement known as Peronism back into national power in Argentina, visited Lula at his prison in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba in July.The former Brazilian president is serving nearly nine years for corruption and money-laundering. Last month he rejected prosecutors' request that he leave prison for house arrest, in accordance with a Brazilian law that lets prisoners with good conduct and who have already served one-sixth of their jail time complete their sentence under a less-restrictive system.Lula Rejects Jail Release as Clash With Brazil Judges EscalatesLula was the most high-profile figure ensnared by a graft probe known as Carwash, which uncovered a kickback scheme involving state-owned companies, construction firms and politicians. His arrest prevented him from running for president last year, even as opinion polls showed him leading the race that ultimately was won by Bolsonaro.Mercosur's FutureWhile Bolsonaro had warned Brazil could leave the Mercosur if Argentina pivots to the left after the elections, on Monday he said Brazil could join forces with other members of the trade bloc to suspend Argentina if Fernandez disrupts trade deals."But I hope that won't be necessary; I hope Argentina won't be willing to change route on trade," he said.A Latin American Brexit? Analyzing Brazil's Threat on MercosurWhat Our Economist Says"Bolsonaro has been outspoken against Fernandez throughout the campaign. Economy Minister Paulo Guedes defends more trade openness, and he has suggested in the past that this would be easier outside Mercosur. Fernandez's victory may provide an additional political incentive for Bolsonaro to seek more independence from the bloc. Less proximity with its main trade partner would be bad news for Argentina -- as boosting exports is one of the country's best hopes to generate the dollars it needs."\-- Adriana Dupita, Latin America economist, Bloomberg EconomicsMercosur comprises Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The bloc recently reached a trade deal with the EU after 20 years of talks. Brazil runs a trade surplus with Argentina.(Adds Bolsonaro's comments on Mercosur in seventh paragraph.)\--With assistance from Simone Iglesias.To contact the reporter on this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto in Mexico City at jspinetto@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Rosalind Mathieson at rmathieson3@bloomberg.net, Jon HerskovitzFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The Latest: Iraq imposes Baghdad curfew amid protests Posted: 28 Oct 2019 06:46 AM PDT  Iraqi authorities have imposed a curfew from midnight to 6 a.m. in Baghdad, as renewed anti-government protests rage for a fourth day. The Baghdad security command announced the curfew Monday, as protesters clashed with security forces in the capital's central Tahrir Square.
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| Governing Germany Is About to Get Messier Posted: 28 Oct 2019 06:17 AM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Recent election results in German states have been dismal for the country's traditionally powerful centrist parties, but even by that standard, Sunday's vote in the eastern state of Thuringia is something else. The centrists haven't just lost big again — for the first time in post-World War II Germany, there's no reasonable path to a working coalition government. Thuringia, with a population of 2.1 million and just two cities of 100,000 people or more, is one of Germany's smaller states. It's where Harry's Inc. makes its razor blades and Daimler AG produces one in three engines, but it's better known as the state that includes Weimar, where the interwar German republic originated. Sunday's election has produced a chaotic outcome somewhat like that of the Weimar Republic election of 1930 in which the center sagged, the extremes grew and a majority coalition couldn't be formed.In the preceding electoral cycle, Thuringia was run by Germany's only minister-president from the far left Die Linke party, Bodo Ramelow. He's not a typical left-wing firebrand, and, despite widespread fears of what he might do when he took the job five years ago, he's demonstrated pragmatic leadership, managing both to increase public sector employment and cut debt. Though Thuringia was next to last among German states in terms of economic growth last year, voters are generally happy with Ramelow's down-to-earth management: He's the nation's fifth most popular regional leader. On election posters, his name featured prominently while his party's was nowhere to be seen. This worked for Ramelow, who earned Die Linke's best ever result in a local election, 31%. But his current coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens cannot continue: Those two parties won 8.2% and 5.2% respectively, less than in 2014, and their seats and Die Linke's in the regional parliament don't add up to a majority. On the center-right, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) won 21.8% and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) garnered 5%. It's all but impossible for them to work with Die Linke, though, and the CDU has publicly pledged never to do it. The nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) overtook the CDU with 23.4% support, but no other party can imagine a coalition with it, especially since the Thuringian AfD is led by one of its most far-right leaders, Bjoern Hoecke.In other words, it's next to impossible to build a cohesive majority government for the region without crossing political red lines. The entire center of the political spectrum -- the CDU, the SPD, the Greens and the FDP — has less combined support than the two extreme parties, Die Linke and AfD. That has never happened before, and though Ramelow's moderate style detracts from the starkness of this picture, it's still a disaster for German centrists, one of the worst one in a long line.Uncharacteristically for 2019, Thuringia hasn't registered a "green wave": This is a state where wind farms are highly unpopular with the largely rural population. The Greens can't pick up the slack for the weakening umbrella parties, the CDU and the SPD. Their increasing inability to hold the center even withe the help of the more reasonable smaller parties creates no end of worry on the federal level.Friedrich Merz, the pro-business politician who lost a hard-fought CDU leadership battle to current Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer last year, tweeted that after Thuringia, the party can no longer "ignore or just sit out" its poor election results. Indeed, AKK, as she is known, hasn't done much to convince the party base that she can win elections. In Thuringia, local party leader Mike Mohring tried to battle the AfD on its home turf, campaigning on security and anti-wind farm themes, but ended up beaten by the nationalists who were more believable on both subjects. The question of credibility and firm convictions is emerging as the toughest for the CDU as Merkel, the master architect of compromises, prepares to leave the stage, and AKK appears as adrift on this front as most others in the party leadership.In the SPD, the crisis is even worse. With a one-digit election result in Thuringia, it's as close as it's ever been to the bottom of its freefall, and it's hard to see how it can bounce back. An increasing number of party members appear to believe salvation lies in dissolving the SPD's coalition with the CDU, which runs Germany now. In Saturday's party leadership ballot, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who is in favor of keeping the coalition alive, just barely won the first round with just under 23% of the vote. This means candidates who are against the coalition won more combined support. The runoff will be held next month, and in December, the SPD will vote on whether to keep working with Merkel; so far, it looks like the party is in despair, torn between staying in an arrangement that erodes its support and quitting to fight an election it's all but certain to lose.German centrists are afflicted by a double curse: Unlike their competitors on the extremes, they're hard put to explain what they stand for — and they lack charismatic leaders who could overcome that disadvantage with the sheer force of personality. They barely have enough time left before the next national election, scheduled for 2021, to get their act together, and it's unclear where new leaders might come from. An early election before 2021 could result in even heavier losses — and, conceivably, a Thuringia-style situation that makes it very hard to form a majority government.That doesn't have to be a tragedy: Germany's Nordic neighbors have long traditions of successful minority cabinets, and perhaps Germany is headed that way, too. Besides, political splintering is the current global trend. But the erosion of Germany's centrist parties, caused by too many years of self-satisfaction, dithering and tempered intellectual ambition, is still a sad, troubling sight to behold. The way things are going, extreme and single-issue parties might eventually look like a more reasonable choice to German voters. To contact the author of this story: Leonid Bershidsky at lbershidsky@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Melissa Pozsgay at mpozsgay@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Leonid Bershidsky is Bloomberg Opinion's Europe columnist. He was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and founded the opinion website Slon.ru.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Governing Germany Is About to Get Messier Posted: 28 Oct 2019 06:17 AM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Recent election results in German states have been dismal for the country's traditionally powerful centrist parties, but even by that standard, Sunday's vote in the eastern state of Thuringia is something else. The centrists haven't just lost big again — for the first time in post-World War II Germany, there's no reasonable path to a working coalition government. Thuringia, with a population of 2.1 million and just two cities of 100,000 people or more, is one of Germany's smaller states. It's where Harry's Inc. makes its razor blades and Daimler AG produces one in three engines, but it's better known as the state that includes Weimar, where the interwar German republic originated. Sunday's election has produced a chaotic outcome somewhat like that of the Weimar Republic election of 1930 in which the center sagged, the extremes grew and a majority coalition couldn't be formed.In the preceding electoral cycle, Thuringia was run by Germany's only minister-president from the far left Die Linke party, Bodo Ramelow. He's not a typical left-wing firebrand, and, despite widespread fears of what he might do when he took the job five years ago, he's demonstrated pragmatic leadership, managing both to increase public sector employment and cut debt. Though Thuringia was next to last among German states in terms of economic growth last year, voters are generally happy with Ramelow's down-to-earth management: He's the nation's fifth most popular regional leader. On election posters, his name featured prominently while his party's was nowhere to be seen. This worked for Ramelow, who earned Die Linke's best ever result in a local election, 31%. But his current coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens cannot continue: Those two parties won 8.2% and 5.2% respectively, less than in 2014, and their seats and Die Linke's in the regional parliament don't add up to a majority. On the center-right, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) won 21.8% and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) garnered 5%. It's all but impossible for them to work with Die Linke, though, and the CDU has publicly pledged never to do it. The nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) overtook the CDU with 23.4% support, but no other party can imagine a coalition with it, especially since the Thuringian AfD is led by one of its most far-right leaders, Bjoern Hoecke.In other words, it's next to impossible to build a cohesive majority government for the region without crossing political red lines. The entire center of the political spectrum -- the CDU, the SPD, the Greens and the FDP — has less combined support than the two extreme parties, Die Linke and AfD. That has never happened before, and though Ramelow's moderate style detracts from the starkness of this picture, it's still a disaster for German centrists, one of the worst one in a long line.Uncharacteristically for 2019, Thuringia hasn't registered a "green wave": This is a state where wind farms are highly unpopular with the largely rural population. The Greens can't pick up the slack for the weakening umbrella parties, the CDU and the SPD. Their increasing inability to hold the center even withe the help of the more reasonable smaller parties creates no end of worry on the federal level.Friedrich Merz, the pro-business politician who lost a hard-fought CDU leadership battle to current Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer last year, tweeted that after Thuringia, the party can no longer "ignore or just sit out" its poor election results. Indeed, AKK, as she is known, hasn't done much to convince the party base that she can win elections. In Thuringia, local party leader Mike Mohring tried to battle the AfD on its home turf, campaigning on security and anti-wind farm themes, but ended up beaten by the nationalists who were more believable on both subjects. The question of credibility and firm convictions is emerging as the toughest for the CDU as Merkel, the master architect of compromises, prepares to leave the stage, and AKK appears as adrift on this front as most others in the party leadership.In the SPD, the crisis is even worse. With a one-digit election result in Thuringia, it's as close as it's ever been to the bottom of its freefall, and it's hard to see how it can bounce back. An increasing number of party members appear to believe salvation lies in dissolving the SPD's coalition with the CDU, which runs Germany now. In Saturday's party leadership ballot, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who is in favor of keeping the coalition alive, just barely won the first round with just under 23% of the vote. This means candidates who are against the coalition won more combined support. The runoff will be held next month, and in December, the SPD will vote on whether to keep working with Merkel; so far, it looks like the party is in despair, torn between staying in an arrangement that erodes its support and quitting to fight an election it's all but certain to lose.German centrists are afflicted by a double curse: Unlike their competitors on the extremes, they're hard put to explain what they stand for — and they lack charismatic leaders who could overcome that disadvantage with the sheer force of personality. They barely have enough time left before the next national election, scheduled for 2021, to get their act together, and it's unclear where new leaders might come from. An early election before 2021 could result in even heavier losses — and, conceivably, a Thuringia-style situation that makes it very hard to form a majority government.That doesn't have to be a tragedy: Germany's Nordic neighbors have long traditions of successful minority cabinets, and perhaps Germany is headed that way, too. Besides, political splintering is the current global trend. But the erosion of Germany's centrist parties, caused by too many years of self-satisfaction, dithering and tempered intellectual ambition, is still a sad, troubling sight to behold. The way things are going, extreme and single-issue parties might eventually look like a more reasonable choice to German voters. To contact the author of this story: Leonid Bershidsky at lbershidsky@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Melissa Pozsgay at mpozsgay@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Leonid Bershidsky is Bloomberg Opinion's Europe columnist. He was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and founded the opinion website Slon.ru.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran TV: 5 people stabbed to death in family home in north Posted: 28 Oct 2019 05:46 AM PDT ![Iran TV: 5 people stabbed to death in family home in north]( "Iran TV: 5 people stabbed to death in family home in north") Iran's state TV is reporting that five people were stabbed to death in a house in the northern Gilan province, including four members of the same family. Monday's report quoted deputy prosecutor Aliasghar Heidarnejad as saying the victims were a father, mother, grandfather and daughter, as well as the daughter's friend. In was the deadliest domestic killing incident in Iran since March, when a man shot seven members of his wife's family dead in the southwestern city of Dezful.
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| UPDATE 2-New tuberculosis treatment for developing countries to cost $1,040 Posted: 28 Oct 2019 05:37 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-New tuberculosis treatment for developing countries to cost $1,040]( "UPDATE 2-New tuberculosis treatment for developing countries to cost $1,040") A newly approved three-drug treatment for tuberculosis will be available in 150 countries including India and South Africa, priced at $1,040 for a complete regimen, more than twice the cost proposed in the past by advocacy groups for other treatments. The United Nations-backed Stop TB Partnership said on Monday that BPaL would be obtainable in eligible countries through the Global Drug Facility (GDF), a global provider of TB medicines created in 2001 to negotiate lower prices for treatments. Tuberculosis was responsible for 1.5 million deaths in 2018.
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| Cryptocurrencies Remain Bullish Following China's Praise For Blockchain Posted: 28 Oct 2019 05:25 AM PDT ![Cryptocurrencies Remain Bullish Following China's Praise For Blockchain]( "Cryptocurrencies Remain Bullish Following China's Praise For Blockchain") The cryptocurrency market saw a significant spike in prices after a long bearish market. China's President Sends Bitcoin On A Bull Rally China's President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting of the country's ...
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| UPDATE 1-U.S. Treasury's Mnuchin says U.S. will ramp up pressure on Iran Posted: 28 Oct 2019 05:05 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-U.S. Treasury's Mnuchin says U.S. will ramp up pressure on Iran]( "UPDATE 1-U.S. Treasury's Mnuchin says U.S. will ramp up pressure on Iran") Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday the United States would increase economic pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme, making the pledge during a Middle East trip that includes visits to U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia. Sanctions reimposed on Tehran by President Donald Trump after he withdrew the United States from world powers' 2015 nuclear pact with Tehran have dried up Iranian oil revenues and cut Iranian banks' ties to the financial world.
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| Brexit is being delayed ... again Posted: 28 Oct 2019 05:02 AM PDT ![Brexit is being delayed ... again]( "Brexit is being delayed ... again") Another day, another Brexit delay.The European Union has agreed to the three-month Brexit extension British Prime Minister Boris Johnson requested, which will delay the deadline from Oct. 31 to Jan. 31, The Washington Post reports. European Council President Donald Tusk announced this agreement Monday, and it's set to be formally granted later in the day, The New York Times reports. This comes after the U.K. Parliament on Oct. 22 rejected Johnson's Brexit timetable a little over a week ahead of the Oct. 31 exit date. Johnson had been required by law to ask the European Union for the January extension. It's yet another delay for Brexit, which has been pushed back three times now, NBC News reports. The original referendum over Britain's exit from the European Union had its three-year anniversary in June. Johnson, NBC News notes, said in September he would rather be "dead in a ditch" than ask for another Brexit delay. The January delay still needs to be signed off on by Johnson, and the Post notes that Britain could leave the European Union beforehand should a separation deal be ratified; the January delay is referred to as a "flextension." Johnson is pushing for a December election "in a bid to break the Brexit deadlock in Parliament," the Times notes, although he needs two-thirds support in the House of Commons.
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| Jewish groups voice fear over German far-right surge Posted: 28 Oct 2019 04:38 AM PDT  Jewish community leaders in Germany voiced alarm Monday over a surge in support for the far-right AfD in a regional election Thuringia state, just weeks after an anti-Semitic attack. Led by one of its most radical figures, Bjoern Hoecke, the anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim Alternative for Germany party doubled its score from the previous election in 2014 to 23.4 percent in the ex-communist region, knocking Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party off second spot. The head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, said the AfD's success could no longer be dismissed merely as "protest votes" because there was no denying the hard-right extremist ideology of Thuringia's AfD branch.
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| What’s in a Deal? The Brexit Extension’s Key Points Summarized Posted: 28 Oct 2019 04:27 AM PDT ![What's in a Deal? The Brexit Extension's Key Points Summarized]( "What's in a Deal? The Brexit Extension's Key Points Summarized") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.The European Union agreed to grant the U.K. up to three more months to finalize its departure from the bloc. The decision, which is subject to approval by the British government, will be formally endorsed by EU leaders via a written procedure by Tuesday or Wednesday.The terms of the extension are detailed in a six-page-long legal decision, and a two-page declaration explaining the reasoning behind the delay. Here are the main points:Brexit will take place on the first day of the month following the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, "or on 1 February 2020, whichever is the earliest." In practice, this means that the U.K. can withdraw either on Dec. 1 or Jan. 1, if the House of Commons and the European Parliament ratify the exit deal before these dates.The Withdrawal Agreement isn't up for renegotiation during the extension period. Note that EU leaders took a similar decision when they granted the previous extension in April -- but broke their rule after Johnson's government, which has different red lines from its predecessors, took office.The U.K. must nominate a candidate for EU Commissioner after the extension is granted. However, the wording of the documents suggests that the confirmation process for the British candidate may not be finalized before the end of January, meaning the U.K. won't actually get to have a commissioner.The EU reminds the U.K. that it still has the right to revoke Brexit.EU governments warn that the U.K should do nothing which is seen as sabotaging the bloc during the extension period.The EU warns that any unilateral commitment, statement or other act by the U.K. should be compatible with the letter and the spirit of the Withdrawal Agreement, and must not hamper its implementation.The extension cannot be used to start negotiations on the future relationship between the EU and the U.K.To contact the reporter on this story: Nikos Chrysoloras in Brussels at nchrysoloras@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Edward EvansFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| New tuberculosis treatment for developing countries to cost $1,040 Posted: 28 Oct 2019 04:23 AM PDT  The United Nations-backed Stop TB Partnership said on Monday that BPaL would be obtainable in eligible countries through the Global Drug Facility (GDF), a global provider of TB medicines created in 2001 to negotiate lower prices for treatments. Tuberculosis was responsible for 1.5 million deaths in 2018. The new cocktail, which will treat extensively drug-resistant strains of the illness, consists of drug developer TB Alliance's newly-approved medicine pretomanid, in combination with linezolid and Johnson & Johnson's bedaquiline.
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