| Trump Impeached on Abuse of Power Charge: Impeachment Update Posted: 18 Dec 2019 05:34 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- The full House debated and is voting on two impeachment articles accusing President Donald Trump of abusing his power and obstructing Congress's investigation of his actions toward Ukraine.Adoption of the articles would make Trump only the third president in American history to be impeached. The House debate and votes can be watched live here.Here are the latest developments:Trump Impeached on Abuse of Power Charge: (8:32 p.m.)The House voted 230-197 to impeach Trump for abusing his power in his dealings with Ukraine. The chamber will vote next on the second article accusing the president of obstructing Congress's investigation.House Has Votes to Impeach on Abuse of Power (8:22 p.m.)The House has enough votes to impeach Trump for abuse of power. The vote is continuing.House Begins Historic Vote to Impeach Trump (8:09 p.m.)The House began voting on the first article that accuses Trump of abusing his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rival while withholding U.S. aid.GOP Leader Criticizes 'Rigged Process' (7:56 p.m.)As the debate neared its end, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy criticized "a rigged process that has led to the most partisan and least credible impeachment in the history of America.""I understand you dislike the president, his beliefs, the way he governs, and even the people who voted for him," McCarthy said. "Now they are trying to disqualify our voice before the 2020 election."Second-ranking House Republican Steve Scalise said, "This isn't about some crime that he's committed. It's about fear that he will win re-election."Second-ranking House Democrat Steny Hoyer said Trump's backers had offered a "craven rationalization" of his actions, including siding with Vladimir Putin against U.S. intelligence agencies, ordering federal agencies to lie to the public and separating families who arrive at the border."Democrats did not choose this impeachment," Hoyer said. "President Trump's misconduct has forced our constitutional republic to protect itself." -- Billy House'Revenge' and 'Patriotic' Frame Harsh Debate (5:25 p.m.)For the first five hours, Democrats and Republicans stuck mostly to familiar arguments while debating the allegations that Trump abused his power and obstructed Congress's investigation.Republicans agreed the impeachment will occupy a unique place in history. But they said it will be remembered mostly as the day Democrats claimed a false moral supremacy to carry out a plan to overturn a presidential election and the votes of 63 million people."This impeachment circus has never been about the facts," said Representative John Joyce, a Pennsylvania Republican. "This process has always been about seeking revenge for the president's election in 2016 and attempting to prevent him from winning again in 2020."But Democrats argued that they were protecting democracy.Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts said, "What we are doing here today is not only patriotic, it is uniquely American.""This vote may be hard, but we have a mission and a mandate to be on the right side of history," said civil-rights icon John Lewis of Georgia. -- Billy HouseIndependent Amash Cites 'Duty to Impeach' (4:49 p.m.)Representative Justin Amash, an independent who left the Republican Party earlier this year, said he supports impeaching Trump, saying "it is our duty to impeach him.""Impeachment is about maintaining the integrity of the office of the presidency" and ensuring its power is used for proper ends, said Amash of Michigan."Donald J. Trump has abused and violated the public trust by using his high office to solicit the aid of a foreign power, not for the benefit of the United States of America, but instead for his personal and political gain," Amash said."His actions reflect precisely the type of conduct the framers of the Constitution intended to remedy through the power of impeachment," the lawmaker said. -- Billy HouseTrump 'Tried to Cheat,' Chairman Schiff Says (4:17 p.m.)House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff opened the second half of the debate by summing up the allegations against Trump as saying, "He tried to cheat and he got caught.""Donald J. Trump sacrificed our national security in an effort to cheat in the next election," Schiff said. "And for that, and his continued efforts to seek foreign interference in our elections, he must be impeached.""He doesn't care about Ukraine or the impact on our national security caused by withholding military aid to that country fighting for its democratic life," Schiff said. He added, "All that matters to this president is what affects him personally," investigating his political rival and getting "a chance to cheat in the next election.""Even as the articles have made their way to this House floor," said Schiff, "the president and his men plot on." He mentioned Trump's private lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who recently got back from a trip to Ukraine where he continued his investigations. -- Billy HouseSenators Get Trump Letter With Holiday Card (3:40 p.m.)"What a day," Democratic Senator Chris Murphy wrote on Twitter Wednesday at about the three-hour mark of the House impeachment debate.The Connecticut senator said a White House staffer was delivering to senators' offices a package including a copy of Trump's scathing letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a large White House Christmas card, and a smaller Christmas card.Both cards appeared to be signed by Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, though several people responding to Murphy's tweet noted the similarity between his distinctive handwriting and hers.White House Wants 'Full and Fair' Trial (2:42 p.m.)Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said, "I think short versus long is less important than full and fair" when asked by reporters how a Senate trial should proceed.Conway and Eric Ueland, the White House director of legislative affairs, met privately at the Capitol with Republican senators Wednesday as the House was debating the impeachment of Trump.Ueland said, "Full and fair includes careful conversations with Leader McConnell and others," referring to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Neither he nor Conway would say whether the White House will press for calling any witnesses.Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump's strongest backers, said he won't support witnesses being called either by the president or by the House Democratic managers who will present the impeachment case.Instead, Graham said the Senate should move to a final vote after the House managers make their case. The trial will end when 51 senators are ready to end it, he said. -- Laura Litvan, Steven T. DennisTrump 'Has Broken' His Oath, Nadler Says (12:34 p.m.)House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler said Trump has "has broken his oath of office" and Congress can't wait for the November 2020 election to address his misconduct."We cannot rely on the next election as a remedy for presidential misconduct when the president threatens the very integrity of that election," Nadler said. "He has shown us he will continue to put his selfish interests above the good of the country. We must act without delay.""By his actions, President Trump has broken his oath of office," the chairman said. "His conduct continues to undermine our Constitution and threaten our next election. His actions warrant his impeachment and demand his removal from office." -- Billy HouseTrump Did Nothing Wrong, Republican Says (12:25 p.m.)The Judiciary Committee's top Republican, Doug Collins, said the president "did nothing wrong" in his interactions with Ukraine."The people of America see through this," said Collins of Georgia. "The people of America understand due process and they understand when it is being trampled in the people's house.""Why do you call this a solemn occasion when you've been wanting to do this since the gentleman was elected?" Collins said."Today is going to be a lot of things," Collins said. "What it is not is fair. What it is not about is the truth." He added, "Facts don't matter. Promises to the base matter. And today is a promise kept for the majority. Not a surprise." -- Billy House, Ari NatterPelosi Calls Trump an 'Ongoing Threat' (12:17 p.m.)House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened the debate by saying, "If we do not act now, we would be derelict in our duty.""The president used the power of his public office to obtain an improper personal political benefit at the expense of the national security," she said.Trump presents an "ongoing threat to our national security," and his actions also jeopardize the integrity of U.S. elections, the speaker said."It is tragic that the president's reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice," Pelosi said. -- Billy House, Ari NatterHouse to Begin Debate Before Historic Vote (11:57 a.m.)The House passed a procedural measure that allows lawmakers to begin six hours of debate before their historic votes on the impeachment of Trump.The 228-197 vote sets the rules for the debate. Republicans are expected to take a number of actions throughout the day intended to delay or protest the impeachment proceedings. -- Billy HouseVote is 'Democracy Defining,' Democrat Says (10:46 a.m.)In voting on the Trump impeachment articles, the House is being asked to decide "whether the United States is still a nation where no one is above the law," said House Rules Chairman Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat.The House is preparing to vote on a rule that will set the parameters of the six-hour debate that will lead to votes later Wednesday on the two articles of impeachment."It's going to be a deeply partisan vote coming at the end of an unfair and rushed process," said Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the top Republican on the Rules panel. He said Democrats are pushing for impeachment "heedless of where it takes the country and regardless of whether or not they have proven their case."McGovern called Wednesday's impeachment decision "a democracy-defining moment.""History will judge us by whether we keep intact that fragile republic handed down to us by our forebears more than 200 years ago or whether we allow it to be changed forever," he said.The vote on the rule is expected at about noon, and the debate will begin after that. Republicans are expected to take a number of actions throughout the day intended to delay or protest the impeachment proceedings. -- Billy HouseHouse Votes Down GOP Motion to Adjourn (9:35 a.m.)The Democratic-led House defeated a Republican motion to prematurely end Wednesday's session -- the first of what will likely be many attempts by the minority party to stall or protest the impeachment proceedings.The motion failed on a 188-226 vote, with former Republican Justin Amash, now the chamber's only independent, voting with Democrats against the motion. -- Billy HouseHouse Won't Immediately Send Articles to Senate (8:42 a.m.)The two articles of impeachment won't formally be transmitted Wednesday night to the Senate after House passage, Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries said.Nor will Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Judiciary Committee officially release on Wednesday the names on of the proposed Democratic House managers who will prosecute the case in the upcoming Senate trial, Jeffries said.Exactly when those managers will be approved -- and the articles delivered -- isn't clear. The House isn't expected to be in session on Friday, but an official familiar with the matter wouldn't say if those issues would be resolved Thursday.Pelosi can name the managers at any point after the articles pass, according to rules expected to be approved Wednesday morning.Debate and a vote is required on a separate resolution naming the managers, who must be in place to transmit the articles.The lack of immediate transmission to the Senate is different from what occurred during Bill Clinton's impeachment in 1998. After the House passed articles of impeachment against Clinton, an all-Republican delegation led by then-Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde solemnly marched across the Capitol and formally delivered the articles, according to news reports from that time. -- Billy HouseDeGette to Preside Over Floor Debate (8:04 a.m.)Colorado Representative Diana DeGette will preside over the floor debate on articles of impeachment against Trump.DeGette said in a statement that Speaker Nancy Pelosi had tapped her for the role."This is a sad and somber moment in our nation's history and the responsibility to preside over this important debate is something I will not take lightly," she said in the statement.House Ready to Vote on Two Trump Articles (7 a.m.)The House will debate for six hours before holding separate votes on the two impeachment articles, the Rules Committee decided late Tuesday.Trump is accused of pressuring Ukraine's president to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son as well as a discredited conspiracy theory about Ukrainian involvement in the hacking of Democratic servers during the 2016 election, while withholding U.S. aid and plans for a White House meeting.Catch Up on Impeachment CoverageKey EventsThe House Judiciary Committee on Friday approved the two articles of impeachment on 23-17 party-line votes.The House impeachment resolution is H.Res. 755. The Intelligence Committee Democrats' impeachment report is here.Gordon Sondland's transcript is here and here; Kurt Volker's transcript is here and here. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch's transcript is here and here; the transcript of Michael McKinley, former senior adviser to the secretary of State, is here. The transcript of David Holmes, a Foreign Service officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, is here.The transcript of William Taylor, the top U.S. envoy to Ukraine, is here and here. State Department official George Kent's testimony is here and here. Testimony by Alexander Vindman can be found here, and the Fiona Hill transcript is here. Laura Cooper's transcript is here; Christopher Anderson's is here and Catherine Croft's is here. Jennifer Williams' transcript is here and Timothy Morrison's is here. The Philip Reeker transcript is here. Mark Sandy's is here.\--With assistance from Ari Natter, Laura Litvan and Steven T. Dennis.To contact the reporter on this story: Billy House in Washington at bhouse5@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, Anna EdgertonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UN calls for lifting restrictions on Iran diplomats Posted: 18 Dec 2019 03:22 PM PST  The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday called on the US -- which hosts the organization's headquarters -- to lift restrictions on Iranian diplomats. The resolution also condemned the denial of visas to Russian diplomats. Since the summer, Iranian diplomats and ministers have been under strict movement restrictions when they are in the US.
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| Legacy moment: Pelosi leads 'somber' Trump impeachment Posted: 18 Dec 2019 03:12 PM PST  Speaker Nancy Pelosi spent much of the historic day within a few steps of the cloakroom door, away from better-lit seats where the managers and members were debating impeachment. "Today, as speaker of the House, I solemnly and sadly open the debate on the impeachment of the president of the United States," Pelosi said. Like it or not, Pelosi's role leading Trump's expected impeachment will dramatically shape her legacy after more than 30 years in Congress.
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| Clash at UN Security Council over cross-border aid for Syria Posted: 18 Dec 2019 02:58 PM PST ![Clash at UN Security Council over cross-border aid for Syria]( "Clash at UN Security Council over cross-border aid for Syria") Russia and China are clashing with many other U.N. Security Council nations over the delivery of humanitarian aid across borders and conflict lines to more than 1 million Syrians in mainly rebel-held areas. Since 2014, the Security Council has sent aid through four border crossings — Bab al-Salam and Bab al-Hawa in Turkey, Al Yarubiyah in Iraq, and Al-Ramtha in Jordan. The sponsors of this year's aid resolution — Germany, Belgium and Kuwait — circulated a draft that has been discussed for several weeks that would add a new crossing point in Turkey and extend cross-border operations for a year.
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| Police investigating incident at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club Posted: 18 Dec 2019 02:14 PM PST  Police say they are investigating an incident Wednesday at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, but have not released any specifics. Palm Beach police spokesman Michael Ogrodnick said in an afternoon email, "There is an open investigation," but he did not indicate when specific information would be released. There have been two trespassing incidents at Mar-a-Lago in the last 13 months.
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| Trump Administration Battles New Sanctions on Russia Posted: 18 Dec 2019 01:05 PM PST  The Trump administration is quietly fighting a new package of sanctions on Russia, The Daily Beast has learned. A Trump State Department official sent a 22-page letter to a top Senate chairman on Tuesday making a wide-ranging case against a new sanctions bill. Sen. Lindsey Graham—usually a staunch ally of the White House—introduced the legislation earlier this year. It's designed to punish Russian individuals and companies over the Kremlin's targeting of Ukraine, as well as its 2016 election interference in the U.S., its activities in Syria, and its attacks on dissidents. Graham said the legislation's aggressiveness means it is "the sanctions bill from hell," per Yahoo Finance. Trump World, meanwhile, says it is a mess. The administration's letter says it "strongly opposes" the bill unless it goes through a ton of changes. It argues the legislation is unnecessary and that it would harm America's European allies–potentially fracturing transatlantic support for current U.S. sanctions on Russia. The bill "risks crippling the global energy, commodities, financial, and other markets," the letter says, and would target "almost the entire range of foreign commercial activities with Russia."The Trump administration also argues that the bill would sanction Russian companies for starting their own new energy developments in Russia. And it argues the sanctions could target American banks operating in Russia and harm American asset managers. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the letter but said, "The Administration fully shares the goal of deterring and countering Russian malign influence and aggression." Despite Trump's strong opposition, the bill passed out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday morning. Five senators opposed it, all Republicans: Chairman Jim Risch, Sen. Rand Paul, Sen. Johnny Isacson, Sen. John Barrasso, and Sen. Ron Johnson. The bill, called the "Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019" (DASKA) would level new sanctions against Russian oligarchs, against its banking sector, and against its sovereign debt (which the powerful California Public Employees Retirement System has hundreds of millions of dollars invested). It would also open the door to sanctioning Russia's ship-building industry in response to the Kremlin's capture of Ukrainian sailors and ships as they sailed through the Kerch Strait late last year. And it would sanction some crude oil development projects in Russia, as well as energy projects outside the country backed by Russian state-owned entities. It would also aim to bring more transparency to purchases of high-end real estate, which many foreign nationals use to launder money into the U.S. And it would require that the State Department and the Intelligence Community report to Congress every 90 days on whether or not the Kremlin is meddling in U.S. elections. That last provision drew pointed criticism from the Trump administration, which said it is "designed for failure." It "seems impossible" to certify that the Kremlin isn't meddling in U.S. elections, the letter says, noting that the executive branch always opposes requirements that it prove something isn't happening. The letter also includes a line that could be read as a veiled threat to the Kremlin, and which refers to the administration's current ability to issue new sanctions. "The United States can apply much more economic pain using this powerful range of authorities–and the Administration will not hesitate to do so if Russia's conduct does not demonstrably and significantly change," it says. Business groups, including the Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute, have also raised concerns about the bill. The Chamber said Congress should "refine it further," while API called for outright opposition, according to Yahoo Finance. Democrats and Republicans cheered the passage of the legislation through the committee. "I am committed to working with my colleagues to improve this legislation, but it must be strong to be meaningful," Graham said in a statement. The next step will be a vote on the Senate floor; it is unclear if or when that will happen. The legislation is moving as Trump stares down an impeachment vote. The House of Representatives spent Wednesday afternoon debating whether or not to vote to impeach him. Trump's relationship with Ukraine is at the center of the process; his administration pressured Kyiv to make an announcement on investigations that would have benefited Trump politically. That pressure came while Trump quietly directed his subordinates to withhold military aid that Congress had promised to send to Kyiv. And Trump's European Union Amb. Gordon Sondland told Congress that the administration specifically conditioned a White House visit for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his announcement of probes into the Bidens and into claims that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election. And Trump's relationship with the Kremlin has generated acute concerns on both sides of the Atlantic. Ukrainian officials spent the weekend of Dec. 7 watching Twitter in expectance Trump would announce support for them before they entered peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Instead, they got radio silence–and days later, Trump welcomed Russia's foreign minister to the White House. And Russia's enthusiastic interference in the 2016 election–which the Intelligence Community concluded was designed to help Trump win–precipitated Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Trump spent much of his presidency railing against Mueller and trying to get him fired. Democrats considered impeaching him over those efforts, but House Leadership ultimately demurred. But while Trump himself has long made positive comments about Russia and Putin, his administration sent lethal aid to Ukrainian forces battling Kremlin-backed separatists in the eastern part of their country–a step the Obama administration declined to take."I have been far tougher on Russia," he wrote in a rambling letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday, "than President Obama ever even thought to be." Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| 2020 Democrats prepare to debate in shadow of impeachment Posted: 18 Dec 2019 12:51 PM PST  A winnowed field of Democratic presidential contenders takes the debate stage Thursday for a sixth and final time in 2019, as candidates seek to convince anxious voters that they are the party's best hope to deny President Donald Trump a second term next year. The televised contest ahead of Christmas will bring seven rivals to heavily Democratic California, the biggest prize in the primary season and home to 1-in-8 Americans. Viewership has declined in each round though five debates, and even campaigns have grumbled that candidates would rather be on the ground in early voting states than again taking the debate stage.
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| AFN National Chief Bellegarde Celebrates Declaration by United Nations of an International Decade of Indigenous Languages Posted: 18 Dec 2019 12:19 PM PST  A day after addressing the United Nations General Assembly to call for action to save and strengthen Indigenous languages, Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Perry Bellegarde celebrates today's move by the United Nations to formally declare an International Decade of Indigenous Languages which will begin in 2022.
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| 2 North Koreans Tried to Defect. Did Seoul Send Them to Their Deaths? Posted: 18 Dec 2019 12:14 PM PST  SEOUL, South Korea -- In early November, two North Korean fishermen captured in South Korean waters were escorted to the inter-Korean border, blindfolded and their bodies tied with ropes. There, they were handed over to North Korean authorities.South Korea often reveals the seizure of North Korean fishermen in its waters once it happens. This time, the episode was kept secret -- until an army officer on the border sent a text message reporting the handover to a senior presidential aide and a photographer captured the message on the aide's smartphone.Revelation after shocking revelation has since followed, leaving human rights advocates and groups that include South Korea's bar association agape with outrage.As legislators looked into the matter, officials admitted that the two fishermen, ages 22 and 23, submitted hand-written statements in which they said they hoped to defect to South Korea. But after a few days of interrogation, South Korea concluded that they were not refugees needing protection but "heinous criminals" who butchered the captain and 15 other crewmen on their boat.The two were denied access to lawyers, a court hearing or a chance to appeal the government's decision to repatriate them. Until their blindfolds were taken off at the border, they did not know where they were being taken. When they finally realized it, one of them collapsed, according to lawmakers briefed by officials.For the two men, their return to North Korea could mean their likely execution.Tens of thousands of North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Until now, the South had accepted all defectors, regardless of their criminal records, because North Koreans technically qualified as South Korean citizens under the South's Constitution.For years, the United Nations has lamented widespread lack of due process in North Korea, reporting torture, starvation, murder and other crimes against humanity perpetrated against criminal suspects, especially those forcibly repatriated from abroad. "Forcibly repatriating them was an act against humanity that violated international law," Won Yoo-chul, an opposition lawmaker, told a highly emotional parliamentary hearing last month. "Their repatriation constitutes a murder through willful negligence because South Korea sent them to the North, fully aware that they would be executed there."The case of the two fishermen was also unusual because it marked the first in which South Korea rejected North Korean defectors because of their alleged crimes in the North or because their intent to defect was considered disingenuous.In a joint statement this week, Human Rights Watch and 66 other rights groups accused South Korea of failing in its obligation under international treaties to "protect anyone who would be at substantial risk of torture or other serious human rights violations after repatriation."Few personal details have been revealed about the two North Koreans, except that one was the boatswain and the other a deck hand. But their fateful journey began Aug. 15, when their 17-ton wooden boat with 19 men on board cast off from Kimchaek on the east coast of North Korea, South Korean officials said.The two, together with the ship's chief engineer, mutinied against the captain's abuse on a late October night, killing him with hammers and axes. They then went on a killing spree to hide their crime. They awakened their colleagues two at a time, lured them outside and butchered them, throwing their bodies overboard.They steered their ship back to Kimchaek, hoping to sell the squid and flee inland. When the engineer was arrested by Kimchaek police, the other two fled back to the sea.By the time their boat approached the inter-Korean sea border on Oct. 31, South Korean authorities said they had picked up intelligence that North Korea was looking for them. South Korean patrol boats fired warning shots and broadcast warnings, a standard procedure when a North Korean fishing boat crosses the border without signaling that those on the boat are defecting.The boat repeatedly crossed back and forth across the maritime border for two days, until South Korean navy commandos finally seized it on Nov. 2. Both men quickly confessed to mass murder, providing identical details of the crime during separate interrogations, South Korean officials said. They then said they wanted to defect to the South."We decided to expel them because they were atrocious criminals who could threaten the lives and safety of our people if accepted into our society," said the South Korean unification minister, Kim Yeon-chul, who added that the two "lacked sincerity when they said they wanted to defect."Few matters are that simple on the divided Korean Peninsula, however.Although the South's Constitution claims North Korea as part of its territory, both sides in reality have also recognized each other's territorial sovereignty. They joined the United Nations at the same time, and have held summit meetings and signed agreements to bolster economic and other forms of cooperation. In the past decade, South Korea has returned 185 North Korean fishermen adrift in its waters who wanted to return home. In the same period, North Korea sent home 16 South Koreans who entered the North illegally.In previously holding to its policy of never returning any North Koreans who said they wanted to defect, the South had welcomed people with tainted pasts. At least 270 North Korean defectors living in the South were found to have committed crimes serious enough to disqualify them from government subsidies, including nine who had committed murder or other serious offenses, according to government data."I am just flabbergasted," wrote Joo Sung-ha, a defector-turned-journalist in Seoul, referring to the South's refusal to believe the two North Koreans' stated intention to defect. "If they defected to the South, they had a chance to live, and if they returned to the North, it was 100% certain that they would die. Under such circumstances, wasn't it natural for them to want to defect?"Rights advocates were especially disappointed because the office of President Moon Jae-in coordinated the repatriation. Before winning the presidency, Moon had been a famed human rights lawyer who once defended six Korean-Chinese men who murdered 11 crewmen, including seven South Koreans, on a tuna fishing boat in 1996."President Moon Jae-in and his government are ignoring North Korea's grave human rights abuses in a misguided effort to mollify Kim Jong Un and improve relations with Pyongyang," said Phil Robertson, the Asia deputy director at Human Rights Watch.Instead of hurrying to repatriate the two North Koreans, South Korea should have thoroughly investigated the case, including "whether 'the brutal criminals' were in reality not the abusers but victims of the harsh circumstance of North Korea," Ra Jong-yil, the former deputy director of the South's National Intelligence Service, wrote in the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper.But under its legal system, South Korea could not have prosecuted the two men because the criminal evidence was in the North, officials and other lawmakers said. They feared that letting the two North Korean fishermen stay free in the South would have been a betrayal of the victims of their alleged crime, and might help turn South Korea into a safe haven for criminals on the run from the North."This is one of the best things the Unification Ministry and the National Intelligence Service have done recently," said Lee Seok-hyun, a governing party lawmaker, referring to the agencies involved in the repatriation.Conspicuously absent from the debate, however, are the voices of the two North Koreans who were sent back to their homeland. Since they were returned, North Korea has not spoken a word about their fate.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| UK's Prince Charles to pay first state visit to Israel Posted: 18 Dec 2019 11:59 AM PST ![UK's Prince Charles to pay first state visit to Israel]( "UK's Prince Charles to pay first state visit to Israel") The United Kingdom's Prince Charles will pay his first official visit to Israel next month for a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz at Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. The Prince of Wales's office confirmed Wednesday that he would attend the World Holocaust Forum at the invitation of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on January 23.
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| Walk-in clinics for opioid addiction offer meds first, fast Posted: 18 Dec 2019 10:57 AM PST  Every time she got out of jail, Jamie Cline started hustling again for heroin, driven by an addiction she didn't understand. While in a jail work-release program, she took a medication called buprenorphine. When she got out of jail, she headed for an Olympia clinic where a doctor is working to spread a philosophy called "medication first." The surprising approach scraps requirements for counseling, abstinence or even a commitment to recovery.
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| Otto Warmbier's parents tell North Korea: 'We're never going to let you forget our son' Posted: 18 Dec 2019 10:49 AM PST  Cindy and Fred Warmbier -- the parents of American college student Otto Warmbier, who died after being detained by North Korea -- have a message for Kim Jong Un's regime. The Warmbiers visited Capitol Hill on Wednesday to mark the passage of legislation named in their son's honor. The Otto Warmbier Banking Restrictions Involving North Korea, or BRINK, Act -- was approved by Congress as part of the enormous defense spending bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
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| Brexit Bulletin: Psychological Edge Posted: 18 Dec 2019 10:43 AM PST  Days to Brexit Deadline: 44(Bloomberg) -- Sign up here to get the Brexit Bulletin in your inbox every weekday.What's Happening? Boris Johnson's Brexit play keeps the European Union on its toes.After three years of confidently dictating Brexit policy to a divided U.K., the EU may be feeling a bit wrong-footed by the U.K. prime minister's vow to prevent the transition period lasting beyond 2020.Forgoing a chance to prolong the transition would revive the threat of an economically disruptive severing of ties with the EU, this time at the start of 2021. That's because after Britain departs by Jan. 31 next year, a free-trade agreement between both sides may well take longer than 11 months to negotiate.Without the luxury of a longer transition to keep the economic status quo in place, the EU may face the prospect of greater internal splits over the strategy for fashioning the future relationship with Britain. This task will involve more than just a free-trade deal, encompassing other matters such as fisheries, aviation and security.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week that, in view of the tight timetable, the EU would need to focus on the top economic issues in the negotiations next year. On Tuesday, Sabine Weyand, the commission's director general for trade, echoed the point by saying "we have to look at those issues where failing to reach an agreement by the end of 2020 would lead to another cliff-edge situation."Yet Weyand also made clear the EU's preference is to negotiate simultaneously on as many of the matters in the future relationship as possible. "All this needs to be coordinated so that we maximize our negotiating leverage, because that is what each side tries to do in a negotiation," she said.Intentionally or not, Johnson seems to have gained a psychological advantage over the EU in the wake of his landslide election victory.Today's Must-ReadsBloomberg's Alex Morales and Kitty Donaldson show us what to expect from Johnson's new government. Brexit may be fast approaching, but it could take a while to notice any changes to life in the U.K., writes Bloomberg's Edward Evans. Tony Blair became the latest Labour party figure to round on Jeremy Corbyn following his landslide defeat in last week's election, report Bloomberg's Robert Hutton and Greg Ritchie.Brexit in BriefTold You So | Emily Thornberry has entered the race to succeed Corbyn as Labour leader, telling the Guardian that she warned the party's top brass that supporting a Brexit election would be an "act of catastrophic political folly." Read Bloomberg's guide to the politicians vying for the party's top job.Legal Eagles | The U.K. will extend the power to overturn rulings by the European Court of Justice, a move that could harm negotiations over any future trade deal with the EU, according to the Times.Brussels Warning | The European Parliament could block a Brexit deal because of the way the U.K. is treating EU citizens, according to Guy Verhofstadt, its Brexit coordinator.Close Call | The viral video starring Johnson delivering a campaign message in a parody of 'Love Actually' almost didn't happen, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. Cuts Coming? | Traders have ramped up bets that the Bank of England will lower interest rates at the end of 2020 after Johnson reignited fears of a hard Brexit.Want to keep up with Brexit?You can follow us @Brexit on Twitter, and listen to Bloomberg Westminster every weekday. It's live at midday on Bloomberg Radio and is available as a podcast too. Share the Brexit Bulletin: Colleagues, friends and family can sign up here. For full EU coverage, try the Brussels Edition.For even more: Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access for our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close.(354013648)To contact the author of this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Caitlin Morrison at cmorrison59@bloomberg.net, Chris KayGuy CollinsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| U.S. Concedes Defeat on Nord Stream 2 Project, Officials Say Posted: 18 Dec 2019 10:30 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has little leverage to prevent the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project between Russia and Germany from being completed, two administration officials said, acknowledging the failure of a years-long effort to head off what officials believe is a threat to European security.The massive $11-billion project is just weeks away from completion and has led President Donald Trump to call Germany "a captive to Russia." He has criticized the European Union for not doing more to diversify imports away from the nation that supplies more than a third of its gas.Senior U.S. administration officials, who asked not to be identified discussing the administration's take on the project, said sanctions that passed Congress on Tuesday as part of a defense bill are too late to have any effect. The U.S. instead will try to impose costs on other Russian energy projects, one of the officials added.The admission is a rare concession on what had been a top foreign-policy priority for the Trump administration and highlights how European allies such as Germany have been impervious to American pressure to abandon the pipeline. It also shows how the U.S. has struggled to deter Russia from flexing its muscles on issues ranging from energy to Ukraine to election interference."It has been a commercial project, but with a huge geopolitical dimension attached to that," Peter Beyer, who is German Chancellor Angela Merkel's trans-Atlantic policy coordinator, told Bloomberg Television in an interview in Berlin on Wednesday. "I'm expecting that the sanctions, if Donald Trump is going to sign that bill, will not have a big effect on that project."The administration is hoping to sharpen its focus on Russia when Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, who was confirmed as ambassador to the country last week, heads to Moscow next month. The post has been vacant since early October, when former envoy Jon Huntsman stepped down, and ties between the two countries have only continued to sour.On a visit to Poland in February, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said the Nord Stream 2 project "funnels money to Russians in ways that undermine European national security."Trump has indicated that he'll sign the legislation passed Tuesday. The penalties on companies building the project, led by Russian energy company Gazprom PJSC, would be effective immediately, according to a Senate Republican aide.Some 350 companies are involved in building the undersea link, most notably the Swiss company Allseas Group SA, whose ships are laying the last section of pipe in Danish waters.The sanctions targets vessels that lay the pipeline as well as executives from companies linked to those ships. They could be denied visas and have transactions related to their U.S.-based property or interests blocked.The sanctions bill includes a 30-day "wind-down period" that allows targeted companies to halt their operations after the law comes into effect. Yet that could give Gazprom just enough time to finish work.The last section of pipe can be completed by about Jan. 11, well before the end of the period, according to Anna Borisova, an analyst at BloombergNEF in London. Nord Stream 2 will be in a position to be commissioned between April and June 2020, after additional connection work and testing, she said."The project seems safe," Borisova said. "We don't see major risks."Trying to stymie that strategy, U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson sent a letter to AllSeas CEO Edward Heerema Wednesday warning the company that it would face "crushing and potentially fatal" sanctions if it continued work on the pipeline. The senators said that the 30-day "wind-down" period was not intended to give AllSeas time to finish the project."If you were to attempt to finish the pipeline in the next 30 days, you would devastate your shareholders' value and destroy the future financial viability of your company," they wrote.The new pipeline is set to ship as much as 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually directly to Germany, doubling capacities of the existing Nord Stream link. The U.S. and Eastern European nations see it as a threat to the Ukrainian transit route that has been in place for decades, bringing revenues to the smaller Former Soviet Union nation. The new link theoretically gives Russia the ability to bypass Ukraine as a transit corridor.Gas traders in Europe are watching carefully for the date when work will finish and gas flows will start through Nord Stream 2. Its importance has increased along with tensions between Russia and Ukraine, which are negotiating a renewal for the 10-year gas transit contract that expires this month. Officials from the two countries plan and the European Commission plan to discuss the matter in Berlin on Thursday.The completion of Nord Stream 2 could would bring fresh supplies of gas to Europe's already glutted market. That would make it more difficult for the U.S. to gain a bigger foothold in shipping cargoes of liquefied natural gas by tanker into Europe.U.S. sales of the fuel made up 26% of imports in November. Flexible terms for contracts from U.S. producers mean that they will sell to where prices are highest, meaning more cargoes may head to Asia in the coming months.Beyer recognized the need for Europe to buy the fuel from a wider range of sellers."From a European standpoint, not only German, we need to diversify our energy interests," he said. "We are also interested in receiving LNG from the United States of America."(Updates to add U.S. senators' letter starting in 14th paragraph)\--With assistance from Patrick Donahue, Daniel Flatley, Anna Shiryaevskaya and Olga Tanas.To contact the reporters on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net;Nick Wadhams in Washington at nwadhams@bloomberg.net;Lars Paulsson in London at lpaulsson@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, ;Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Turkey's protection of Hamas is a huge blow to peace in the Middle East Posted: 18 Dec 2019 10:01 AM PST  The latest reports that Turkey is now permitting senior Hamas commanders to order attacks against Israel from Istanbul is not surprising. It is however highly disappointing and represents a huge setback in the quest of the US, the UK, and their western allies to bring about a more peaceful Middle East. It might be recalled that in mid-2014, three Israeli teenagers were abducted by Hamas operatives in the West Bank and subsequently murdered. The mastermind of the attacks was Salah al-Arouri, who moved to Turkey after residing in Syria, and issued orders to Hamas from Turkish soil. He shifted his residence multiple times, moving to Qatar and Beirut, but ultimately he would come back to Turkey where he engaged in dispatching Palestinians in the field. According to its own charter, Hamas is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded in Egypt in 1928, but later expanded to many countries. Geopolitically, the movement backed the recovery of lost Islamic territories from Spain (what they still call Andalus) to the Balkans. Hamas | Israel's public enemy no. 1 Its leader in 1966 was assassinated in an Egyptian prison, at which point some of its most important leaders moved to Saudi Arabia, where they became active in founding what was to become al-Qaeda. Turkish Islamists have been known to speak about a need to take revenge for the Ottoman defeat at the Gates of Vienna in 1683. Hamas is an organisation with shifting loyalties. During the early 1990s, it took money from Saudi Arabia and after the 9/11 attacks Iran became its main benefactor, and to a lesser extent Qatar. A poster found by the Israel Defense Forces around 2003 in educational institutions in the West Bank pictured the founder of Hamas alongside Chechen commanders like Khattab and Shamil Basayev, as well as the al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. President Putin cannot derive any comfort from these associations, as Russia draws closer to the Turkish leadership. In the last few years, while the West crushed Isil in Syria and Iraq, it still persists organisationally in Northern Sinai where it is involved in an insurgency war with the Egyptian Army. Sometimes Hamas competes with Isil, but they also cooperate. All this suggests that analysts of the trends in Turkey should be pessimistic about the future. The main centre of Hamas overseas operations cannot be a member of Nato. Yet there is a greater threat to the entire Middle East emerging in Iran. The Iranians, who pretend to be allies of a more radical Turkey, remain its main adversary. In recent years, Tehran has been infiltrating Turkey, seeking to convert whole villages in the eastern parts of the country to Shiism - a practice the Iranians followed in Morocco, Sudan and in Egypt. Israel recalls Ottoman policies of protecting Jewish refugees who were oppressed in Western Europe, especially after the Spanish Inquisition. Turkey does not need to put itself on a collision course with Israel. It needs to look back to its own rich history and rid itself of the likes of Hamas in order to take its place in the world order that will emerge in the remainder of the present century. Ambassador Gold served as Israel's ambassador to the United Nations and as the Director-General of its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
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| Feds: Man whose number found on NJ shooter was selling arms Posted: 18 Dec 2019 09:49 AM PST  A bail hearing for a man whose number was found in the pocket of one of the perpetrators of last week's fatal attack on a Jewish market was halted and abruptly postponed Wednesday after prosecutors said they had evidence he was selling firearms from his pawn shop. Investigators had previously disclosed that they found several weapons in a search last week of Ahmed A-Hady's home and a pawnshop owned by his family. On Monday, U.S. Magistrate Joseph Dickson gave the parties two additional days to present arguments for whether A-Hady should be detained pending a trial or released on bail.
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| The Latest: Trump 'doesn't really feel' he's being impeached Posted: 18 Dec 2019 09:33 AM PST  Those were the words spoken by President Donald Trump as he opened a campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan, on Wednesday night. Back in Washington, the House of Representatives was nearing a historic vote to impeach him. Trump appeared on a stage flanked by two Christmas trees after he walked through a makeshift brick fireplace.
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| Tennessee governor says state will keep resettling refugees Posted: 18 Dec 2019 09:16 AM PST  Tennessee won't stop resettling refugees, Republican Gov. Bill Lee said Wednesday, rejecting the option offered to states by President Donald Trump's administration. The issue forced Lee, who campaigned on his Christian beliefs, to consider his own experience helping refugees and weigh it against the will of fellow Republicans in the Legislature. GOP lawmakers had sued the federal government over its refugee resettlement program and legislative leaders hoped Lee would accept Trump's offer.
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| Emirati diplomat says promoting tolerance takes time Posted: 18 Dec 2019 08:11 AM PST  The United Arab Emirates has been on a yearlong, nationwide project to promote and brand state efforts under the theme of "tolerance," but as 2019 comes to an end, a leading Emirati diplomat said Wednesday there's still more work to be done. Assistant Minister of Culture and Public Diplomacy at the Foreign Ministry Omar Ghobash said intolerance is "exceptionally deep rooted" in the region. "We need to begin to figure out what are the sources of that intolerance," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.
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| Political coverage row puts BBC funding under threat Posted: 18 Dec 2019 07:51 AM PST  Britain's new government is taking aim at the BBC, accusing it of bias in reporting the recently concluded elections that gave Prime Minister Boris Johnson a sweeping mandate. The row over perceived partiality from the corporation and ensuing threats about its licence fee funding have erupted before but this time come against a backdrop of tensions about Brexit. The issue is likely to dominate the brief of newly-reappointed culture minister Nicky Morgan in the run-up to talks in 2022 about whether to maintain the licence at current levels.
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| Boris Johnson’s Program for Government: What to Expect Posted: 18 Dec 2019 07:22 AM PST ![Boris Johnson's Program for Government: What to Expect]( "Boris Johnson's Program for Government: What to Expect") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will lay out his government's legislative priorities on Thursday, with a focus on delivering Brexit while funding health care, education and policing.The list of bills the government intends to put to Parliament over the coming months will be read out by Queen Elizabeth II on her throne in the House of Lords. It's likely to include all the legislation he announced in October's Queen's Speech -- before the general election campaign was called. "The prime minister has been very clear on what he believes the priorities of the country are, which is the NHS, tackling violent crime, leveling up across the U.K. and getting Brexit done," Johnson's spokesman, James Slack, told reporters on Wednesday. "I would expect the Queen's Speech to reflect that."In October, Johnson outlined 26 bills he planned to bring forward -- most importantly the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (known as WAB) that seeks to deliver Brexit. The government intends to introduce that to the House of Commons on Friday. There will then be time scheduled straight after the Christmas recess to see it through the parliamentary stages necessary to pass it into law, Johnson's office said.So what legislation can we expect?BrexitJohnson's new majority of 80 means he should be able to get the WAB through Parliament in time to deliver Brexit by the current deadline of Jan. 31. But Britain's withdrawal from the EU also requires legislative changes to be made in other areas. The Queen's Speech in October outlined Brexit-related bills on agriculture, fisheries, trade, immigration, financial services and international law.Health CareJohnson put the National Health Service at the core of his domestic agenda during the election campaign as he sought to annex what is traditionally the opposition Labour Party's strong suit. He's promised to pass a law committing to spending an extra 34 billion pounds ($45 billion) per year on health care by 2024. Bills outlined in October center on medicines and the establishment of an independent body to investigate serious health care incidents. He's also promised to recruit more nurses, and says he wants a cross-party consensus on solving the U.K.'s social care crisis.Policing and SecurityJohnson's plans from October include bills on sentencing, foreign offenders, serious violence, police protection, extradition and prisoners. The premier has also promised to boost police numbers.InfrastructureDuring the election campaign, Johnson promised to put forward legislation to promote gigabit-capable broadband across the country during his first 100 days in office. Pledges from the October Queen's Speech include bills on air traffic management, airline insolvency and to help deliver the next stage of the High Speed Rail Two (HS2) network. At the same time, the government promised to reform railways and devise a national infrastructure strategy.Families and IndividualsThis week, the government has indicated it'll strip provisions on workers' rights out of the WAB -- but include them in a separate employment bill that includes protections for workers. Promises from October include bills on domestic abuse, divorce, tips, pension funds and building safety standards. There was also a pledge to compensate immigrants from the Caribbean, in the so-called Windrush generation, over difficulties they faced in proving their lawful status in the U.K.OtherBills can be expected on the environment, animal welfare and to redress historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland.To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Serbia investigative news portal says editor banned from UAE Posted: 18 Dec 2019 07:17 AM PST ![Serbia investigative news portal says editor banned from UAE]( "Serbia investigative news portal says editor banned from UAE") A prominent Serbian investigative news portal said Wednesday that its editor-in-chief has been detained in Abu Dhabi and deported back to Serbia without being allowed to take part in a U.N. anti-corruption meeting. Stevan Dojcinovic told his KRIK news portal that United Arab Emirates' immigration authorities informed him he had been 'blacklisted' and would not be allowed into the country. "They said that I was not blacklisted by the United Arab Emirates but that it was a request from another government, but they did not tell me which one," he said.
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| Manafort's NY fraud case tossed over double jeopardy concern Posted: 18 Dec 2019 07:07 AM PST  A New York judge threw out state mortgage fraud charges against Paul Manafort, ruling Wednesday that the criminal case was too similar to one that has already landed President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman in federal prison. The ruling was a blow to what had widely been seen as an attempt by Manhattan's district attorney, a Democrat, to hedge against the possibility that Trump would pardon Manafort for federal crimes.
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| Merkel defends Germany's UN voting record on Israel Posted: 18 Dec 2019 07:05 AM PST  Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday defended Germany's voting record on Israel at the United Nations, arguing that supporting the country doesn't mean backing all of its actions. The Jerusalem Post reported last week that the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center criticized Germany's ambassador to the U.N., Christoph Heusgen, for casting "anti-Israel votes" among other things.
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| Life After Corbyn? The Politicians Vying to Become Labour Leader Posted: 18 Dec 2019 06:38 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.The U.K. Labour Party is looking for a new leader after Jeremy Corbyn announced his plan to resign in the wake of last week's heavy election defeat.The process is expected to begin in January, with his successor given the task of trying to unite a party that has become bitterly divided over Corbyn's socialist policies and accusations of antisemitism. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair -- the only person to lead Labour to an election victory in 45 years -- has urged a wholesale change of approach.Despite Corbyn's failure to win at a national level, his popularity among Labour members will be critical in deciding who follows him. Here are some of the potential candidates:Rebecca Long-Bailey, 40: The Chosen OneIf you were going to build a new Labour leader from scratch, Rebecca Long-Bailey would probably tick most of the boxes: she's a young and media-savvy woman hailing from a northern constituency with a safe majority.Crucially, she's also loyal to the current leadership, even standing in for Corbyn at Prime Minister's Questions in June. With the party's membership still remaining firmly to the left of Labour's MPs, this could prove crucial in gaining her the support needed to win the contest.Long-Bailey is close friends with fellow leadership hopeful Angela Rayner, and there have been suggestions they could be the party's next power duo, akin to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.Angela Rayner, 39: The One With the Back StoryRayner was at the forefront of the party's election campaign, regularly facing the cameras and leading rallies across the country. Known for her no-nonsense interview style, her backers think she will appeal to traditional supporters Labour has lost in recent years.In her shadow cabinet role, she spearheaded Labour's National Education Service, which the party hoped would do for education what the National Health Service did for health. She also has a back story unlike almost any other British politician serving today, leaving school at the age of 16 while pregnant.Given she's on good terms with the leadership but also not a fully fledged member of the hard-left faction of the party, she might be a compromise candidate who can unite Labour's ideological wings. However, there's one factor that might deter Rayner from putting her hat in the ring: she's a friend and flatmate of fellow leadership front-runner Long-Bailey, so may go for deputy instead. Labour contests have a habit of tearing apart close friendships, and even family. Just ask the Miliband brothers, David and Ed.Jess Phillips, 38: The Corbyn CriticKnown for her blunt and witty speeches, 38-year-old Jess Phillips has said she may put her name forward. Despite sharing many of the same left-leaning views as Corbyn, she's been a vocal critic of the leader, saying he wasn't capable of winning a majority for Labour. For that reason she's proved divisive -- hated by many Corbyn supporters who saw her as undermining his efforts.Phillips, from Birmingham in central England, is characteristically a lone wolf and something of a contrarian. While backing a second Brexit referendum, she declined to join the People's Vote campaign, and she's on friendly terms with Conservative Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg.Lisa Nandy, 40: Cheerleader for TownsLisa Nandy is emerging as one of the "soft-left" front-runners, telling the BBC she's "seriously" thinking about running because Labour's "shattering defeat" left towns like Wigan, where she's been the MP since 2010, feel like "the earth was quaking."A former charity worker, Nandy is media-friendly and her northern roots will be seen as an advantage as Labour seeks to re-engage with traditional voters who abandoned the party in the general election. She co-founded the Centre for Towns, a think tank that aims to revive smaller urban areas.A Corbyn opponent, Nandy quit as Labour's energy spokeswoman in 2016 to join an attempt to overthrow him, and served as co-chair in Owen Smith's failed leadership campaign. She campaigned against Brexit in the 2016 referendum, but since then has argued the EU divorce must be delivered and voted for Johnson's deal in October. She said she will not back it when it is put before Parliament again as Johnson's government is no longer interested in making cross-party compromises to improve the bill.Keir Starmer, 57: The Arch RemainerCorbyn's Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said he is "seriously considering" running for the leadership. He hasn't always been loyal to the current leader -- particularly when it comes to the question of the U.K.'s relationship with the European Union. Starmer backed Corbyn's rivals in the 2015 and 2016 leadership contests and is one of the party's most vocal Remainers.While he has been accused of being out of touch with working class Leave voters in northern England, he's arguably closer to them than Corbyn, who was privately educated.He also has an impressive career behind him. As a young lawyer, he advised two environmental activists in the long-running "McLibel" case after they distributed a factsheet critical of the McDonald's burger chain. While McDonald's won the suit, Starmer represented the activists in a subsequent successful case against the U.K. government in the European Court of Human Rights. He went on to be Director of Public Prosecutions, for which he was knighted.He has positioned himself as a middle-ground candidate who is neither a Corbynite or a Blairite. "I don't need someone else's name, some past leader, tattooed to my head to make decisions," he said in a BBC radio interview. Starmer also warned the party not to "oversteer" as a result of the election defeat, arguing that Labour should "build on" Corbyn's anti-austerity message and radical agenda.Emily Thornberry, 59: Corbyn's NeighborEmily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, was the first to publicly state her intention to run for leader. Writing in the Guardian newspaper, she underlined one of her key strengths: the fact she has a direct record against Boris Johnson. Describing her time opposite Johnson as his shadow while he was foreign secretary, Thornberry said she "took the fight to him every day and pummeled him every week... He hated it, especially coming from a woman."A strong media performer with experience in both Ed Miliband's and Corbyn's senior leadership teams, Thornberry pushed hard for Labour to back holding a second referendum on Brexit.Old gaffes may come to haunt her, however. She was forced to resign her shadow cabinet post in 2014 after tweeting a picture of a white van and English flags which was seen as mocking working-class voters -- the very people Labour needs to win back.She represents Islington South, neighboring Corbyn's own Islington North and members may question whether another Londoner is the right choice to win back support for Labour across the country. Thornberry said members shouldn't judge candidates on "where they live in our country" but instead on whether they have the "political nous and strategic vision" needed.Yvette Cooper, 50: The InquisitorAfter Jeremy Corbyn's election as leader in 2015, Yvette Cooper stepped back from front-line politics for the first time in nearly 17 years. But the decision didn't keep her away from the spotlight as she won a vote of MPs and became chairwoman of the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, where her forensic scrutiny gained her plaudits from both sides of the aisle.In the chamber, too, Cooper has distinguished herself with eloquent contributions testing the government. She tabled what became known as the "Cooper Amendment" in January, depriving the Treasury of tools in the event of a no-deal Brexit, and inflicting an embarrassing defeat on Theresa May's government.One of the many Labour MPs who arrived in Westminster after the party's 1997 victory, she held senior positions in the governments of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. But a record of experience is a record to scrutinize, and members may see Cooper as being too aligned with the 'New Labour' period of the party's history, which Corbyn railed against. Cooper argues Labour needs to take an entirely new path, telling the BBC "both the left and right of this party are seen as internationalist, not patriotic," and this is losing them support, particularly among older voters.Dawn Butler, 50: The LoyalistLoyal to Corbyn, Dawn Butler was one of the 36 Labour MPs to back him when he ran for leader in 2015. Though she's also been prepared to rebel against the leadership, quitting the frontbench in 2017 to vote against Article 50, which triggered the process of the U.K. leaving the EU.The 50-year-old was the third black woman to become an MP when she was elected in 2005 and says she has faced discrimination, including once being mistaken for a cleaner by another MP.She's currently Labour's women and equalities spokeswoman, and was largely responsible for Labour's Race and Faith manifesto, which was criticized for containing just a handful references to antisemitism. She's also not immune to gaffes. During one interview during the election, she claimed there were 3,000 rough sleepers in her Brent constituency, rather than the actual number of 30.(An earlier version corrected details about the 'McLibel' court case in 14th paragraph)To contact the reporters on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net;Greg Ritchie in London at gritchie10@bloomberg.net;Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Mahathir: Islamic conference in KL to tackle Islamophobia Posted: 18 Dec 2019 06:36 AM PST  Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Wednesday an Islamic conference that includes leaders from Iran, Turkey and Qatar is aimed at tackling Islamophobia and finding solutions to challenges facing the Muslim world. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrived in Malaysia on Wednesday for the Kuala Lumpur Summit, which will also include the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, a high-level delegation from Indonesia and Islamic scholars.
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| The Syrian Defector Who Got Congress to Act Posted: 18 Dec 2019 06:30 AM PST  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- For anyone looking to prevent Syria's Bashar al-Assad from securing a final victory in the civil war he started in 2011, it has been a dispiriting few months.President Donald Trump abruptly ordered a full withdrawal of U.S. forces in northern Syria in October, and then gave a green light to Turkey to occupy the territory. Even though the U.S. sent troops back to guard Syria's oil fields a few days later, the president's declaration that he was ending the "endless war" in Syria was a boon to Syria's strongman and his Russian and Iranian patrons.Now there is a sliver of good news. New sanctions on Assad's regime, along with Russian and Iranian entities that have assisted its war on Syrian civilians, are set to become law as part of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. That counts as a victory for a coalition of human-rights activists, Syrian-Americans and members of Congress from both parties who have pushed for these sanctions for years.The sanctions provision, initially known as the Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act, is named after a Syrian defector who smuggled thousands of photographs out of the country in 2013, exposing the regime's mass killings, torture and other war crimes. His code name was Caesar. (A 2016 New Yorker profile details how he did it, using flash drives that he hid in his socks.) The photos are stomach-turning evidence that Assad's prisons and hospitals were abattoirs, where prisoners were hung by their wrists, beaten, burned and murdered.It would take a year for Caesar to finally tell his story before Congress, and when he did he had to wear a disguise. His 2014 testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee spurred a handful of lawmakers from both parties to take action, eventually leading to the so-called Caesar bill.The provision has two key components. It would place financial sanctions on Syrian leaders and organizations as well as any Russian or Iranian individuals or entities that have engaged in significant transactions with the regime. The point is to make any business with Assad's government toxic until it accounts for its war crimes against civilians.The bill would also penalize the regime and its foreign backers who are engaged in reconstruction in regime-controlled areas. This may seem counterproductive. But reconstruction in areas controlled by Assad's forces enables ethnic cleansing. In these areas, says Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force and Caesar's translator during his 2014 hearing, Syrian residents are being forced to leave, replaced by people loyal to Assad and Iran.In light of Assad's atrocities, one might think it would have been fairly easy for the Caesar bill to become law. But it took five years. Initially President Barack Obama's administration was nervous that sanctioning Iranian and Russian entities and individuals would make it harder to negotiate a cease-fire and a political resolution to the conflict. More recently the roadblock was Senator Rand Paul, a libertarian Republican who opposes an interventionist foreign policy.Ironically, the Caesar bill got the momentum it needed in October — after Trump announced the Syria withdrawal he would later reverse. That prompted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to announce his support for the bill. His office later worked to make sure the legislation was included in the National Defense Authorization Act.On Tuesday that legislation passed the Senate, following its passage last week in the House. Trump is expected to sign it into law. It is too late to stop the atrocities documented by Caesar, and military intervention is no longer a politically viable option. But at least the law will put the Assad regime on notice for its crimes. As Representative Adam Kinzinger told me: "We can use the power of the American economy to hold the regime accountable."To contact the author of this story: Eli Lake at elake1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Newman at mnewman43@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The Syrian Defector Who Got Congress to Act Posted: 18 Dec 2019 06:30 AM PST  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- For anyone looking to prevent Syria's Bashar al-Assad from securing a final victory in the civil war he started in 2011, it has been a dispiriting few months.President Donald Trump abruptly ordered a full withdrawal of U.S. forces in northern Syria in October, and then gave a green light to Turkey to occupy the territory. Even though the U.S. sent troops back to guard Syria's oil fields a few days later, the president's declaration that he was ending the "endless war" in Syria was a boon to Syria's strongman and his Russian and Iranian patrons.Now there is a sliver of good news. New sanctions on Assad's regime, along with Russian and Iranian entities that have assisted its war on Syrian civilians, are set to become law as part of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. That counts as a victory for a coalition of human-rights activists, Syrian-Americans and members of Congress from both parties who have pushed for these sanctions for years.The sanctions provision, initially known as the Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act, is named after a Syrian defector who smuggled thousands of photographs out of the country in 2013, exposing the regime's mass killings, torture and other war crimes. His code name was Caesar. (A 2016 New Yorker profile details how he did it, using flash drives that he hid in his socks.) The photos are stomach-turning evidence that Assad's prisons and hospitals were abattoirs, where prisoners were hung by their wrists, beaten, burned and murdered.It would take a year for Caesar to finally tell his story before Congress, and when he did he had to wear a disguise. His 2014 testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee spurred a handful of lawmakers from both parties to take action, eventually leading to the so-called Caesar bill.The provision has two key components. It would place financial sanctions on Syrian leaders and organizations as well as any Russian or Iranian individuals or entities that have engaged in significant transactions with the regime. The point is to make any business with Assad's government toxic until it accounts for its war crimes against civilians.The bill would also penalize the regime and its foreign backers who are engaged in reconstruction in regime-controlled areas. This may seem counterproductive. But reconstruction in areas controlled by Assad's forces enables ethnic cleansing. In these areas, says Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force and Caesar's translator during his 2014 hearing, Syrian residents are being forced to leave, replaced by people loyal to Assad and Iran.In light of Assad's atrocities, one might think it would have been fairly easy for the Caesar bill to become law. But it took five years. Initially President Barack Obama's administration was nervous that sanctioning Iranian and Russian entities and individuals would make it harder to negotiate a cease-fire and a political resolution to the conflict. More recently the roadblock was Senator Rand Paul, a libertarian Republican who opposes an interventionist foreign policy.Ironically, the Caesar bill got the momentum it needed in October — after Trump announced the Syria withdrawal he would later reverse. That prompted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to announce his support for the bill. His office later worked to make sure the legislation was included in the National Defense Authorization Act.On Tuesday that legislation passed the Senate, following its passage last week in the House. Trump is expected to sign it into law. It is too late to stop the atrocities documented by Caesar, and military intervention is no longer a politically viable option. But at least the law will put the Assad regime on notice for its crimes. As Representative Adam Kinzinger told me: "We can use the power of the American economy to hold the regime accountable."To contact the author of this story: Eli Lake at elake1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Newman at mnewman43@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran says opposes US-Taliban talks Posted: 18 Dec 2019 06:24 AM PST  Iran's top security official said Wednesday the Islamic Republic opposed US negotiations with Afghanistan's Taliban, as the talks excluded the Afghan people and government. "Any strategy, any decision or plan without the participation of the Afghan people is wrong and doomed to failure," said Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
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| 8 Portuguese men charged with fighting for IS in Syria Posted: 18 Dec 2019 05:29 AM PST ![8 Portuguese men charged with fighting for IS in Syria]( "8 Portuguese men charged with fighting for IS in Syria") Prosecutors in Portugal said Wednesday they were bringing terror charges against eight Portuguese men suspected of fighting for the Islamic State group in Syria. Prosecutors said in a statement the men were suspected of involvement in the 2012 kidnapping by the group of British war correspondent John Cantlie and Dutch photographer Jeroen Oerlemens. The case was opened in 2013 after Portuguese authorities received information about the kidnappings from British authorities.
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| Trump impeachment drama: have midwestern voters changed their minds? Posted: 18 Dec 2019 05:02 AM PST  Voters in Missouri and Iowa speak to Chris McGreal before a historic vote: 'Someone's lying about this impeachment thing'Clark Lyles has spent much of the Donald Trump impeachment hearings in front of his television, and he has come to two conclusions.Lyles, a 60 year-old African American from Sedalia, Missouri, reckons the president is guilty of everything he is accused of – and probably a whole lot more. But Lyles also thinks that while it would be gratifying to see the Senate remove Trump from office, it would be better if the voters did it."You can't have all this dirt around you, and people around you going to prison, and you not be dirty yourself. I hope to see him get put out of office. But I think it's better if the voters remove him. If the voters remove him, it's more of a statement on what he did. Otherwise it's just politics," he said. "I don't think Congress should impeach him out of office. It's to let him know that he needs restraints put on him until the election."But Lyles is not confident either will happen because he doesn't think enough people are paying attention."A lot of my friends are telling me, you're watching this too much. I'm watching this because I want to see what Trump's up to. He scares me with this love for Putin and Kim Jong-un. They think if it's not affecting them directly, they don't care. It is affecting them but they don't see it," he said.Across middle America, the impeachment hearings have been met with anger, uncertainty and indifference. Opinion polls show a narrow majority in favour of impeachment but they also make clear that the hearings are not changing a lot of views about the president. Overwhelmingly, Democrats support impeachment and Republicans do not. Independents are split.In northern Iowa, Holly Rasmussen, who voted for Obama twice and then Trump in 2016, has only recently started taking note of the hearings after a report on a morning television news show caught her interest."I think it's just political right now, because I have not paid close attention. But if I watched it as faithfully as a lot of people do I'd go pretty crazy. I thought Real Housewives has drama. My goodness!" said the spa owner in the small Iowa city of Cresco.Rasmussen said she thinks the president is "picked on", although she reckons that sometimes he brings that on himself with his confrontational manner. But she doesn't know what to make of the charges against him in part because when she has tried to disentangle what is going on in Congress all she sees is accusation and counter-accusation."I was watching it the other day and the Republicans were constantly saying things were out of order. It just seemed like they were bickering," she said. So far Rasmussen has not heard anything that has diminished her support for the president.Pat Murray, a retired factory worker who works part time at a radiator repair shop in Cresco, is a Democrat who is still waiting to see how the evidence shakes out."Someone's lying about this impeachment thing. Either the Democrats are really screwed up and they've gone the wrong way or Trump did what he did and the Republicans are trying to muddy waters and say that it's not that big a deal," he said.Murray said the defining issue for him is whether Trump in any way endangered the country and Americans."If the president of the United States put his agenda ahead of me or any other American for one second he broke his oath, then he should be impeached. It's not an argument of 'It wasn't that bad'," he said.Murray said he is trying to work out the truth by watching conservative Fox News and liberal MSNBC."It's really kind of hilarious because it's two different stories. One cannot be telling the truth. It's just obvious. I don't always know which one. I would side with the Democrats because I'm one of them but by the same token we're not always telling the truth either," he said.Still, while Murray said the truth should come out, he's concerned at what cost."This impeachment's done nothing but divide us more. People who were dug in are really dug in now," he said.That's certainly true of Dale Morris, who describes himself as a Trump supporter but not a Republican, in Johnson county, Kansas, part of a district that swung away from the president in last year's midterm congressional elections."It's all manufactured. You don't think every president calls in favors? You can bet your life Democrats have done this plenty," he said. "It's really a waste of time which harms Nancy Pelosi and Congress more than it hurts the president. There's so many things Congress should be dealing with, and instead they're having a kangaroo court."Murray too is worried that the hearings have further eroded the authority of Congress but for different reasons."My thought was at least we have checks and balances in our government. And now we're going through this impeachment, Trump's going to get this thing thrown upside down by muddying the waters. I'm worried that the checks and balances are gone," he said.
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| Rights group slams Greek migrant camp conditions for minors Posted: 18 Dec 2019 04:40 AM PST  Hundreds of unaccompanied children are living in "inhuman and degrading" conditions in a migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, putting their mental and physical well-being at risk, an international human rights organization said Wednesday. Human Rights Watch researchers visited the Moria camp in mid-October and interviewed 22 of the 1,061 unaccompanied children who were registered there at the time. The children they interviewed, the youngest of whom were age 14, described having little or no access to care and specialized services.
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| Novo Nordisk Pars Awarded the Best Place To Work in Iran for 2019 Posted: 18 Dec 2019 04:16 AM PST  Novo Nordisk Pars was recognized as the best place to work in Iran for 2019 according to the annual Workplace program driven by the global research firm Best Places To Work. Best Places to Work program is an international certification program providing employers the opportunity to learn more about the engagement and satisfaction of their employees, benchmark people practices against the highest standards in working conditions and honor those who deliver an outstanding work experience.
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| 10 things you need to know today: December 18, 2019 Posted: 18 Dec 2019 03:28 AM PST ![10 things you need to know today: December 18, 2019]( "10 things you need to know today: December 18, 2019") 1.President Trump on Tuesday accused Democrats of running a "partisan impeachment crusade" against him. Trump said in a scathing six-page letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that the scheduled Wednesday vote on two articles of impeachment amounted to an "attempted coup" against him that would hurt Democrats in next year's elections. "History will judge you harshly as you proceed with this impeachment charade," Trump wrote. Trump also lashed out at leaders of the FBI, calling them "totally incompetent and corrupt." Trump ignored testimony from witnesses within his own government who described his alleged effort to pressure Ukraine into investigating Democrats, and said he never abused his power. Pelosi called the letter "ridiculous." The full House is expected to vote along party lines to impeach Trump. [The New York Times] 2.Rick Gates, who served as an aide on President Trump's 2016 campaign, was sentenced to 45 days in jail on Tuesday after pleading guilty last year to lying to the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team. Gates also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy against the U.S. The close associate of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort cooperated with the federal investigation into Russian election meddling. He could have faced nearly six years in prison, but his sentencing was delayed because he cooperated with investigators. His lawyers last week asked that he be sentenced only to community service and probation, because of his "extraordinary assistance" to Mueller's investigators. [Axios, The Washington Post] 3.The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday ordered the FBI and the Justice Department to describe reforms they will enact in response to a highly critical report from the DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz. In the report, Horowitz said he found "significant errors or emissions" made by FBI agents applying for warrants to surveil Carter Page, a former adviser to President Trump's 2016 campaign. Horowitz reported that he found instances in which agents seeking warrants on Page failed to pass on potentially exculpatory evidence, behavior that was "antithetical to the heightened duty of candor" expected in FISA dealings. The FBI reacted to the FISA order by saying that FBI Director Christopher Wray already "ordered more than 40 corrective steps to address" Horowitz's recommendations. [ABC News] 4.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) clashed on Tuesday over how President Trump's likely impeachment trial would work. McConnell, the Senate's top Republican, flatly rejected Schumer's request to subpoena new witnesses. McConnell said Schumer was "dead wrong" on how the proceedings should go. Schumer said Republicans hadn't provided "one solid reason, one simple reason" for refusing to have Trump administration witnesses testify. The dynamic differed sharply from the one between the leading Democrats and Republicans in then-President Bill Clinton's trial in 1999, when the two sides negotiated a bipartisan process in a bid to protect the integrity of the Senate. [The Washington Post] 5.Paul Manafort, who once served as President Trump's campaign manager, has been hospitalized for what was described as a "cardiac event," his lawyer said Tuesday. Manafort, 70, is serving a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence for financial crimes uncovered in former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling. He reportedly has been in the hospital since Thursday. Manafort has a court appearance scheduled for Wednesday, but his attorney, Todd Blanche, said he would not be able to go. News of his illness came hours after his former deputy, Rick Gates, was sentenced to 45 days in jail for making false statements to the FBI. He got a light sentence after cooperating with Mueller's investigators. [Politico] 6.Congress on Tuesday approved more than $300 million to fund military housing reforms in a bid to end complaints of slum-like conditions for some of the 200,000 military families living on bases. The measures were included in the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual military spending bill. The reforms amount to the biggest overhaul to the military's housing system in two decades, Reuters reported. The changes include ways to prevent landlord fraud, and protection from retaliation for people who report problems. The reforms came after complaints about problems including mold and pest infestations, and Reuters reporting on poor living conditions. "This would not have happened if the military had not turned its eye away from managing these contracts," Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said. [Reuters] 7.The Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday that the party's next presidential debate will take place Thursday as scheduled following the resolution of a labor dispute at Loyola Marymount University, where the event will be held. The clash between hospitality workers at the university and Sodexo, a food service provider that employs workers at the university, had threatened to disrupt the debate. After Unite Here Local 11, the union representing the workers, informed Democratic candidates last week about a strike, all of the debate participants said they would boycott the forum to avoid crossing the picket line. The union said in a statement that it had reached a tentative agreement with Sodexo, including "a 25 percent increase in compensation" and "a 50 percent drop in health-care costs." [Politico, Los Angeles Times] 8.The House on Tuesday signed off on a $1.4 trillion spending deal aiming to prevent a possible government shutdown. The legislation would keep the government funded through September. The Senate still has to pass the legislation and get it to President Trump for his signature before midnight Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown. The spending package is split into two bills, one focused on the military and national security, and the other on domestic programs. Along with wrapping up all 12 federal appropriations bills, the package includes a grab-bag of policy changes, including raising the tobacco-purchase age to 21 and funding gun safety research. Also, the Senate cleared a defense policy bill earlier Tuesday that will create Trump's Space Force and give federal workers paid parental leave. [The Washington Post] 9.Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Peugeot on Wednesday signed a deal to merge the two companies, creating the world's fourth-biggest automaker. The $50 billion merger was described as a 50-50 tie-up when the companies unveiled it in October, but Peugeot will get one more seat on the board, and its CEO, Carlo Tavares, will lead the combined company. Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley will have a role, but it was not immediately announced. The new company's scale will create $4.1 billion in annual savings and help the car manufacturers face challenges, such as meeting tougher emissions rules and shifting to new driving technology. "The merged entity will maneuver with speed and efficiency in an automotive industry undergoing rapid and fundamental changes," the companies said in a joint statement. [The Associated Press, Reuters] 10.Liberal groups held demonstrations in cities across the country on Tuesday on the eve of the House vote on impeaching President Trump. Protesters in New England chanted "Dump Trump," and counterparts in Florida waved signs with slogans such as "Impeach Putin's Puppet." Organizers said there were more than 600 protests from Hawaii to Maine − mostly small groups but with a crowd estimated in the thousands in New York's Times Square − aiming to show "our lawmakers that their constituents are behind them to defend the Constitution." In Tucson, hundreds of protesters were met by a smaller group of pro-Trump counterprotesters wearing red "Make America Great Again" hats. The two sides exchanged chants of "lock him up" and "four more years." [The Washington Post, The New York Times]More stories from theweek.com The Trump impeachment's failure before launch The Trump administration is reportedly trying to block Lindsey Graham's proposed Russia sanctions Democrats are sleepwalking into a Biden disaster
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| Britain may be completely different to the US – but we can still learn from its election Posted: 18 Dec 2019 03:16 AM PST  Boris Johnson is not Donald Trump and Jeremy Corbyn is not Bernie Sanders. But some of the same deeper trends are at work When I began my postgraduate studies at Cambridge University in the late 1980s, I believed that the British were more or less like Americans but with different accents. I soon learned that I was profoundly mistaken. As one of my fellow American students (a Texan) exclaimed with wide-eyed wonder during our first week at the university, "I used to think that Monty Python was a comedy. It ain't – it's a documentary!"Britain has become considerably more Americanized since that time, though the differences between the two societies still are such that it's difficult for Americans to draw simple lessons from the recent UK elections. Boris Johnson and Donald Trump are both rightwing populists and fabulists, but otherwise have little in common. Bernie Sanders may at times sound like a Brooklyn version of Jeremy Corbyn, but Corbyn is considerably to Sanders' left in terms of both economics and foreign policy. Even so, there is sufficient resemblance between our political systems to attempt a few generalized conclusions.Since Johnson is such a loose cannon, it's hard to predict how he will govern or whether there are lessons in his victory for the Republican party. It's likely that he will make Brexit a reality, if only because the Tories benefited so greatly from the perception that the British elite was anti-democratically thwarting its implementation. Brexit, in my view, was a misguided response to legitimate fears about the unequally distributed costs of globalization that are shared by many citizens in this country; hopefully we can find a way to address them in a less self-damaging way.Brexit aside, Johnson ran on a form of One Nation conservatism that the Republican party should imitate but probably won't. Both Tories and Republicans have abandoned austerity, but Republicans directed most of their deficit spending toward tax cuts for corporations and the ultra-rich. Ideologically constrained Republicans are unlikely to echo Johnson's pledge for greater investment in education, science, infrastructure and socialized medicine, let alone his call for a new department to tackle climate change, even though such policies would be perfectly consistent with a sane version of Trumpian economic nationalism.Unsurprisingly, I consider Corbyn a case study of the disaster that befalls a progressive party which chooses a leader who's too far left. The problem was not Corbyn's socialism as such. Some of his policies for raising taxes on corporations, financial transactions and the rich were popular and arguably necessary responses to post-crash capitalism's failure to provide rising living standards for all. But economic radicalism typically goes hand-in-hand with other forms of leftwing extremism. Corbyn eventually became deeply unpopular as the public became more aware of the antisemites, Stalinists and terrorist sympathizers who surrounded him.Labour's massive defeat under Corbyn was thoroughly predictable. Indeed, as long ago as June 2015, the conservative journalist Toby Young was calling for Tories to join the Labour Party in order to help Corbyn win the leadership race. He observed that Labour militants always claimed that the party lost national elections because it put forward candidates like Michael Foot, Neil Kinnock, Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband who were insufficiently Marxist; nominating Corbyn would put that theory to the test. Young foresaw that "with Corbyn at the helm, Labour's loss will be so catastrophic – so decisively humiliating – that the Left of the party might finally be silenced for good". He also foresaw that Boris Johnson would be the beneficiary of a Corbyn defeat.Beyond the unique liabilities of Corbyn, however, Labour's electoral collapse stems from a transformation common to other center-left parties in many western democracies. Like the Democratic party in the United States or the Social Democratic party in Germany, Labour began as a working-class party but now is dominated by university-educated, upper-middle-class professionals. The latter tend to be considerably more progressive than the former on cultural issues such as immigration and identity. This middle class also tends to live in booming metropolitan areas while the downwardly mobile working class is left behind in declining rural areas and Rust Belt towns.Did Corbyn's middle-class supporters reflect, in the wake of his defeat, that perhaps they ought to try to empathize to a greater extent with working-class concerns? No doubt some did, but the more common response was to chalk up their losses to the alleged racism, sexism and xenophobia of the working class.This blame-casting is unhelpful for winning back a majority and represents, in a way, the latest manifestation of longstanding middle-class condescension toward the white working class. The sociologist Richard Hoggart, who grew up an orphan in the grim poverty of the back-to-backs in south Leeds, noted that many middle-class people angrily deny the persistence of class feeling "because the class-styles they themselves practise are so embedded in their backgrounds and training that they quite fail to recognise them; they seem like ordinary, neutral, normal ways of going about things".> Urban middle-class parties of the left ought to be on guard against this sort of covert class discriminationMichael Young, the British sociologist who coined the term "meritocracy" in 1958 – and, incidentally, the father of Toby Young – anticipated that moving toward a system that would advantage bright, college-educated professionals would be problematic for the Labour party (in which he served as chief theoretician). Labour stood for social justice and mutual support in the face of an unfair class system; a system that sorted everyone on the basis of their merits would erode that social solidarity. And, as the beneficiaries of meritocracy passed their benefits on to their children, they would form a new aristocracy lacking sympathy for those who failed to get ahead. A meritocratic society, Young thought, would become increasingly unequal and ultimately would end in revolution.Urban middle-class parties of the left ought to be on guard against this sort of covert class discrimination. A Democratic party that really aspired to be a One Nation party would care about the opioid crisis that has killed 140,000 Americans over the past two years. But it went unmentioned in the last Democratic presidential debate, presumably because the epidemic primarily afflicts white working-class communities that mostly vote Republican.Numerous commentators have pointed out that it's easier for conservative parties to move left on economics than it is for progressive parties to move right on culture. However, sociologists Rob Willer and Jan Voelkel have found that voters respond best to hypothetical candidates who combine highly progressive policies with the invocation of conservative themes like patriotism, family and community. Perhaps putting progressive policies in the service of traditional values would be the way to bridge the divide between middle-class and working-class concerns.Jeremy Corbyn's defeat had much to do with his unique unpopularity. But there's something for both Republicans and Democrats to learn from the British elections, and Democrats may have the most to gain.
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| The Trump impeachment's failure before launch Posted: 18 Dec 2019 03:00 AM PST  Anyone who aims to understand our political moment needs to account for the remarkable fact that on the day before he was scheduled to become only the third president in American history to be impeached by the House of Representatives, President Trump hit his highest level of aggregate approval in 33 months.Yes, that level of approval in the polls — 43.5 percent — is quite low by historic standards. But Trump's polling has been marked by two tendencies almost from the beginning of his presidency: His support has been quite low, but it has also been incredibly consistent. He floated between 36 and 38 percent approval for most of his first year in office. Ever since, he's bounced around in the narrow range between 39 and 42 percent. But on December 17, 2019, as the House prepared to vote on two articles of impeachment, Trump broke out of that rut to hit his highest peak in a very long while.It wasn't supposed to be like this. Over and over those favoring impeachment have told us to remember 1974. Nixon maintained strong support from Republicans in Congress, conservative intellectuals, and voters in the country at large all through 1973 and most of the first half of the following year, as revelations from the Watergate investigation piled up and the president became implicated in ever-greater acts of wrongdoing. Finally, in the late spring and summer, it all began to crumble, with support for impeachment and removal building fast. The same was bound happen with Trump. All Democrats needed do is present the evidence in gripping public hearings and wait for the implosion.But it hasn't happened. How come?Some will point to polarization and the fact that the country is far more deeply divided than it was 45 years ago. That's certainly true, but it doesn't tell us much. Everything that takes place right now unfolds in a polarized context. Why would Trump come through weeks of public testimony with his approval not just holding steady among fervently loyal Trump supporters but actually surging to its highest level since March 2017? Polarization alone can't explain why the president appears to be gaining strength as Democrats make their most concerted case for removing him from office.What does explain it is a constellation of mutually reinforcing facts and developments over the last few weeks.For one thing, the economy is continuing to grow solidly instead of slipping into the recession that seemed to be lurking in the shadows a few months ago. For another, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn got clobbered in the U.K. election, giving a serious morale boost to American conservatives who may have been contemplating drifting away from an unappealing president as he prepares to head into a difficult re-election contest.Then there's the case that Democrats have made against Trump, which has been less compelling than many expected when the Ukraine revelations first broke wide open in late September. My first thought upon reading the rough transcript of Trump's call with President Volodymyr Zelensky was that Trump was clearly attempting to use foreign aid to extort his Ukrainian counterpart into digging up dirt on Trump's domestic political rival in order to give him an advantage in the 2020 election. That seemed like a self-evident abuse of power.But then why did hearings in the House spend so much time focusing on what is clearly a policy dispute between the president and the career civil service? Congressional Democrats, the intelligence community, and leading members of Washington's permanent bureaucracy (including its diplomatic corps) have been obsessed to the point of borderline derangement with Russia ever since the 2016 election. Many of these people find the president's solicitude toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as his lack of enthusiasm for supporting Ukraine in its multipronged struggles with Moscow, thoroughly unacceptable.That's certainly a legitimate view — but it's a disagreement with the White House over foreign policy. And presidents should not be threatened with impeachment and removal from office over policy disputes. The place for policy disputes is the political arena, where voters get to listen to competing sides and then make a decision at the ballot box about which should prevail. By allowing hearings devoted to impeachment to drift repeatedly in the direction of policy conflicts, Democrats ended up making it look like they were out to punish Trump for daring to disagree with them over how to handle Russia and Ukraine. I suspect that has inspired some voters to dismiss the worst accusations against the president.Finally, there are two utterly damning stories that have appeared over the past week: first, the inspector general's scathing report on the alarmingly unprofessional conduct of the FBI's Russia investigation, and The Washington Post's "Afghanistan Papers," on the mountain of lies that have been told by three administrations about the prospects for success in what is now easily the longest war in American history.It's impossible to know precisely how much either or both of these stories have influenced public opinion in recent days. What is clear is that both stories severely undermine any effort to portray the American political establishment — and especially the centrist, bipartisan, "permanent Washington" establishment that has been gunning for Trump in the impeachment hearings — as admirable or trustworthy. Together, the IG report and the Post's "secret history" of the war in Afghanistan portray this establishment as sloppy, ignorant, mendacious, and prone to endorse and act on conspiracies that validate its unexamined biases.Reading either or both of these reports, or just listening to coverage of the basic findings of each investigation, leaves one with the unmistakable impression that America's political leadership is deeply, pervasively corrupt. That certainly doesn't exonerate Trump of his own flagrant acts of corruption. But it does force us to assess the relative gravity of his transgression. Yes, it's very bad that the president acted like a two-bit mob boss trying to shake down a vulnerable member of the democratic neighborhood. But is it categorically worse than administrations of both parties lying to the American people about a war for close to two decades? Or secret courts approving surveillance warrants on the basis of uncorroborated, politically motivated nonsense?Why is the president riding (relatively) high in the polls as the House prepares to impeach him? Maybe because a significant portion of the country has come to doubt that anyone in the nation's capital has the requisite moral stature to stand in judgment of anyone else's misconduct.Even Donald Trump's.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.More stories from theweek.com The Trump administration is reportedly trying to block Lindsey Graham's proposed Russia sanctions Democrats are sleepwalking into a Biden disaster Trump administration proposes new asylum restrictions on International Migrant Day
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| Lebanon's caretaker PM no longer candidate for post Posted: 18 Dec 2019 02:38 AM PST  Lebanon's caretaker prime minister said Wednesday he's no longer a candidate for the post, eliminating himself from consideration with no clear alternative on the eve of scheduled consultations between the president and parliamentary blocs for naming a new premier. The move by Saad Hariri comes amid much uncertainty and heightened tensions following recent violence. There were several days of confrontations involving security forces and anti-government protesters as well as supporters of Lebanon's two main Shiite groups, Hezbollah and Amal.
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| Macron, under strike pressure, mulls changes to pension plan Posted: 18 Dec 2019 02:34 AM PST  The French government launched negotiations with labor unions Wednesday on potential changes to a landmark pension reform bill that sparked crippling transportation strikes and protests across the country. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe met with union leaders and employer group representatives after French President Emmanuel Macron asked his government to hold talks on possible amendments to the reform package. The leader of the CGT union, Philippe Martinez, acknowledged a "deep disagreement" with the prime minister after their meeting.
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| China's First Home-Built Aircraft Carrier Goes Into Service Posted: 18 Dec 2019 01:42 AM PST ![China's First Home-Built Aircraft Carrier Goes Into Service]( "China's First Home-Built Aircraft Carrier Goes Into Service") China commissioned into active service its first homegrown aircraft carrier at a military base in Sanya, on the southern island of Hainan, near the South China Sea on Tuesday. President Xi Jinping, around 5,000 Chinese soldiers, and some other guests, attended the ceremony, which was aired by state broadcaster China Central Television on Tuesday evening.
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| Meet Thomas Massie, the one US lawmaker to dissent on Uygur and Hong Kong democracy votes that targeted China Posted: 18 Dec 2019 01:30 AM PST  It is not difficult to see why US Representative Thomas Massie, feted in mainland China and reviled among many in Hong Kong, has come to be known as the "Mr No" of Capitol Hill.Of the past 100 votes he has cast, the Republican from Kentucky has pressed the red "nay" button in the House of Representatives 71 times.Massie, 48, has said that he doesn't resent the moniker provided it is spelled correctly " "Mr. K-N-O-W" " and has argued that members of Congress are often given insufficient time to study a bill before having to vote on it.Yet that wasn't the explanation he gave for two recent high-profile votes on legislation targeting China over its human rights record " dissent that won him condemnation from human rights campaigners and praise from at least one Chinese government official."When our government meddles in the internal affairs of foreign countries, it invites those governments to meddle in our affairs," Massie wrote on Twitter, explaining his objection to any legislation that sanctioned foreign governments.Massie's was the sole dissent in the House's passage of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act in November and the Uyghur Intervention and Global Humanitarian Unified Response (UIGHUR) Act in December, each of which received more than 400 votes in favour.Among other things, the Hong Kong bill, which is now law, directs the US government to identify and sanction individuals deemed responsible for violating "internationally recognised human rights" in the territory, where protests against the city's government and the rise of Beijing's influence have raged since June.The UIGHUR Act, currently under consideration in the Senate, would require the administration to sanction Chinese officials found responsible for or complicit in human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region under the Global Magnitsky Act. Such action would seize the individuals' US-based assets and block them from entering the United States.As part of small groups of Republicans, Massie struck down sanctions on Turkey for its invasion of Syria at the end of October, as well as legislation that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia in 2017.Yet he was entirely alone in his dissent over human rights in China " one of the few issues that has united a bitterly partisan Washington.It would be hypocritical to take such drastic action against China while continuing to do business with it, said Massie, asking his followers on Twitter to "please consider whether you committed enough to the issue that you would personally go a week without buying something made in China".The lawmaker himself, who is serving his fourth term, is no stranger to accusations of contradiction.He staunchly defends the rights of US citizens to live life as they wish, yet believes the country's Civil Rights Act should not afford protections to LGBTQ people because " according to a brief he and other lawmakers submitted to the US Supreme Court " they are defined by "actions, behaviours or inclinations" rather than "immutable characteristics" like race.He drives a Tesla adorned with Kentucky's signature "Friends of Coal" number plates.And while he and his family used local timber and stone to build their own off-the-grid house running on solar-generated power, he disagrees with broadly held scientific consensus that human activity is the leading cause of climate change.He also believes concerns that the world could face a catastrophic shortage of inhabitable land within this millennium are more far-fetched than the flat-earth theory.Until his recent dissenting votes, Massie was perhaps best known on the internet for his grilling of climate action campaigner and former secretary of state John Kerry during a congressional hearing this year.In one exchange, Massie accused Kerry of feigning scientific expertise because he holds a degree in political science, a humanity."I think it's somewhat appropriate that somebody with a pseudoscience degree is here pushing pseudoscience in front of our committee today," said Massie to ripples of laughter from the public gallery."How do you get a bachelor of arts in a science?"During a hearing about climate change, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told former Secretary of State John Kerry his political science degree from Yale is "pseudoscience." pic.twitter.com/lr6X0VtIad" CBS News (@CBSNews) April 10, 2019Massie's office did not respond to multiple interview requests.A staunch advocate of reducing the government's role in the lives and choices of Americans, Massie traces his live-and-let-live philosophy to the culture of rural northeastern Kentucky, where he and his family live on a farm raising 50 head of cattle.People there "don't worry about what somebody's doing in their holler if they don't worry about what you're doing in your holler," Massie said in an 2018 documentary, Off the Grid, by the libertarian group Free the People.Advocates of a firm US response to alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong did not take kindly to Massie's treatment of China as any old "holler" " a Southern variant of "hollow", or small valley.Online, he was railed with insults, including accusations of being a traitor and a Nazi sympathiser.But among the Uygur-American community living in and around Washington, many of whom have spent recent weeks lobbying lawmakers in the Senate to support the UIGHUR Act, hopes were for a constructive dialogue."We have a message for him," said Virginia-based human rights campaigner Tumaris Almas, who hopes to arrange a meeting with Massie to persuade him that a strong congressional response on the Xinjiang issue is needed " even though his dissenting vote was inconsequential.Uygur activists like Almas, who is vice-president of the Uyghur American Association, say opposition to so-called "interference" in China's affairs misses one crucial point: that the Chinese government is already interfering in the internal affairs of the US by coercing overseas Uygurs into silence about their relatives' plights."We are facing threats by the Chinese government already," said Almas, who came to the US in 2014 and whose parents remain in Xinjiang. "It affects every aspect of our lives, even [though] we live on US soil."Almas said that in August 2018, she was approached by a man who urged her to keep "good relationships" with the Chinese embassy in the US and cease her activism, otherwise her parents back in Xinjiang would be "endangered". More recently, she said, her parents contacted her through WeChat to ask her to stop her campaigning, which she believes they did under pressure from local authorities.Almas' claims are consistent with the accounts of numerous other Uygurs living abroad who have received messages, either from their relatives in Xinjiang or people apparently working at the behest of local authorities, pressuring them not to speak out.Indeed, the UIGHUR Act makes specific mention of Chinese efforts to "harass" members of the Uygur diaspora, especially journalists working on Xinjiang issues.In China, meanwhile, reaction to Massie's dissent has been overwhelmingly positive.Zhao Lijian, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official and one of the Chinese government's most vocal defenders on Twitter, praised Massie in a retweet of the lawmaker's explanation for voting against the UIGHUR Act."Well said," Zhao wrote. "The only sane person in US Congress."Many on Weibo, China's Twitter equivalent, agreed."There is hope that he will be the 'Chinese people's old friend in the future'," wrote one user, employing a Communist Party expression for foreign leaders deemed friendly to China."The truth is not in the hands of the few, the truth is in the hands of one. I am touched," said another.Thomas Massie at work on his farm in Kentucky, from Free the People's documentary "Off the Grid". Photo: YouTube alt=Thomas Massie at work on his farm in Kentucky, from Free the People's documentary "Off the Grid". Photo: YouTubeFew acknowledged that Massie had told Fox Business that he agreed with "90 per cent" of the Hong Kong bill, taking issue only with its provision on sanctions.Tao Wenzhao, a researcher focusing on US-China relations at the China Academy of Social Sciences, the country's national think tank, said "there is a high degree of agreement when it comes to citizens and officials" on issues like Hong Kong, regardless of how American politicians may vote."Chinese citizens cannot see any country, including the UK and US, interfere in Hong Kong after 1997," Tao said.Yet despite protests by Beijing that the Hong Kong and Uygur bills are a violation of Chinese sovereignty, both only codify how the US should treat Chinese officials who have interests in the US and do not call for direct intervention in China's domestic governance.A small number of mainlanders who spoke out against Massie's vote contested the congressman's definition of interference in internal affairs.A man surnamed Mai, who was born and raised on the mainland but now lives in Hong Kong, argued that barring Chinese officials from entering the US for human rights violations did not amount to interfering, adding that he supported such sanctions.Massie "has his reasoning and freedom to do so, but [the vote] suggests that ... he lacks leadership and global vision in a time when human rights are on the table again," said Mai.A young woman from Guangdong province surnamed Cai, who supports Hong Kong's protesters and asked that her full name not be used for fear of official retaliation, said she knew little about Massie until hearing news of his vote."Antipathy," she said, when asked to describe her reaction to his dissent."That one politician who voted against the act shows how little support the Communist Party has," Cai said. "I don't think there is any well-grounded reason to believe the acts are somehow foreign interference."This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2019 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| As South Sudan Nears a Peace Pact, Communal Violence Spreads Posted: 18 Dec 2019 12:40 AM PST ![As South Sudan Nears a Peace Pact, Communal Violence Spreads]( "As South Sudan Nears a Peace Pact, Communal Violence Spreads") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Next Africa newsletter and follow Bloomberg Africa on TwitterSouth Sudan's foes moved closer to implementing a peace deal this week, yet the long-elusive pact may do little to halt rural clashes over grazing land and water that have killed more than 100 people in the past month.Conflict is escalating in the central and northwestern parts of the country. The United Nations mission in the country was forced to send troops to quell violence in the Bahr el Ghazal region after fighting left 79 people dead. Groups have threatened revenge.The national agreement is seen as key to rebuilding the East African nation's oil industry and shattered economy after a five-year civil war. President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar agreed on Tuesday to meet a mid-February deadline to form a unity government after two previous attempts failed.But the communal clashes are a stark reminder of the tensions across the country."The intensity of the violence shows just how great South Sudan's challenges remain even in a best-case scenario of the national peace process solidifying," said Alan Boswell, a researcher on South Sudan with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. "In some areas, the state has effectively lost control as community militias battle it out over grazing land, cattle, or tit-for-tats."The world's newest country has been mired since late 2013 in a conflict that's claimed almost 400,000 lives, forced 4 million others from their homes and caused an economic crisis. While political violence has largely subsided, inter-communal clashes continue to result in the killing and injuring of civilians, cattle raiding and the looting of property, according to the UN mission.Heavily ArmedPlans to intervene to root out the violence have been hampered by a lack of personnel, resources and the proliferation of weapons in civilian hands, police spokesman Daniel Justin Buolo said by phone."There is always a plan to ensure that these communal conflicts are resolved but as you know, the conflict has left us without the resources for huge operations," Buolo said. "We don't have forces in all those areas where the cattle keepers are always heavily armed."Still, creating a unity government should allay fears of a return to full-scale conflict. It may help the nation rebuild its economy and boost production from fields estimated to hold the third-biggest reserves of oil on the continent. Crude production has almost doubled to 200,000 barrels a day since hostilities eased 14 months ago -- still down from 350,000 barrels before the conflict.Kiir and Machar have committed to resolve difference around the number of states in the country and their boundaries, as well as security arrangements during a 36-month transitional period. The announcement came a day after the U.S. imposed sanctions on two cabinet ministers for "obstructing the reconciliation process." Revenge attacks are likely to keep communal violence alive for some time to come, according to 28-year-old Matur Akol, a cattle herder recovering in a military hospital in Juba after being shot in the leg during the raid in Wau in the Bahr el Ghazal region."If you find your brother or any person from your side killed in fighting, you have a good reason to go and take revenge," he said.(Adds U.S. sanctions of cabinet ministers in third-last paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Okech Francis in Juba at fokech@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Gordon Bell at gbell16@bloomberg.net, Paul RichardsonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| It's sizzling: Australia experiences hottest day on record Posted: 17 Dec 2019 11:52 PM PST  Australia experienced its hottest day on record and temperatures are expected to soar even higher as heatwave conditions embrace most of the country. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said the average temperature across the country of 40.9 degrees Celsius (105 Fahrenheit) Tuesday beat the record of 40.3 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) from Jan. 7, 2013. "This hot air mass is so extensive, the preliminary figures show that yesterday was the hottest day on record in Australia, beating out the previous record from 2013 and this heat will only intensify," bureau meteorologist Diana Eadie said in a video statement on Wednesday.
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| Protests of Indian law grow despite efforts to contain them Posted: 17 Dec 2019 10:33 PM PST  From campuses along India's Himalayan northern border to its southern Malabar Coast, a student-led protest movement against a new law that grants citizenship on the basis of religion spread nationwide on Wednesday despite efforts by the government to contain it. The law provides a path to citizenship for Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and other religious minorities who are in India illegally but can demonstrate religious persecution in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Critics say it's the latest effort by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist-led government to marginalize India's 200 million Muslims, and a violation of the country's secular constitution.
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| Volunteers step in to keep asylum seekers healthy on border Posted: 17 Dec 2019 10:02 PM PST  Calderon is part of a movement of health professionals and medical students from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border that is quietly battling to keep asylum seekers healthy and safe while their lives remain in flux.
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| Tokyo court awards damages to female journalist in rape case Posted: 17 Dec 2019 09:18 PM PST  A Tokyo court awarded damages to a freelance journalist on Wednesday in a high-profile rape case that had been dropped by Japanese prosecutors, a landmark ruling that was welcomed by equal rights activists but underscored legal and social hurdles in a country where sexual assault victims continue to be stigmatized. The Tokyo District Court ordered Noriyuki Yamaguchi, a former newsman at TBS Television known for close ties to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other conservative politicians, to pay 3.3 million yen ($30,150) to journalist Shiori Ito, who filed a civil suit against him seeking compensation for physical and psychological pain. Ito, who has become the face of Japan's slow-moving #MeToo movement, filed the civil suit in 2017 after prosecutors decided not to press charges against Yamaguchi.
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| Trump impeached by US House on charge of abuse of power Posted: 17 Dec 2019 09:14 PM PST  President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday night, becoming only the third American chief executive to be formally charged under the Constitution's ultimate remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors. The historic vote split along party lines, much the way it has divided the nation, over the charges that the 45th president abused the power of his office by enlisting a foreign government to investigate a political rival ahead of the 2020 election. The House was also voting on a charge that he then obstructed Congress in its investigation.
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| What to watch as Trump impeachment moves to House floor Posted: 17 Dec 2019 09:12 PM PST  American history is happening in the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrats are driving President Donald Trump to the brink of impeachment Wednesday as the House takes up charges Trump abused his power and obstructed Congress in pressuring Ukraine to investigate political rivals and refusing to cooperate with the ensuing congressional probe. The nation's 45th president is on track to become only the third commander in chief to be impeached.
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| Sanders, Bloomberg test different paths to a California win Posted: 17 Dec 2019 09:10 PM PST  No two Democratic presidential candidates are putting as many resources into the fight for California as Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire businessman and former New York mayor, and Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator. Sanders is marshaling his passionate volunteers to win the biggest prize of the presidential primary season, while Bloomberg arrives with a virtually unlimited checkbook after a late entry in the race. Bloomberg is focused on television advertising, long viewed as the best way to reach voters in the state that is home to 40 million people, while Sanders is focused on door-to-door campaigning on the ground.
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