| US will `curb malign Iranian behavior' if it doesn't stop Posted: 19 Dec 2019 05:56 PM PST ![US will `curb malign Iranian behavior' if it doesn't stop]( "US will `curb malign Iranian behavior' if it doesn't stop") The United States renewed its offer to engage in talks with Iran on Thursday but warned it will do everything in its power "to curb malign Iranian behavior" if Tehran continues to destabilize the Middle East. Iranian Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi called the U.S. offer of unconditional talks "disingenuous." The U.S. wants to enter dialogue from a position of strength from maintaining sanctions and maximum pressure, "and not based on equal footing," he said.
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| Evangelical magazine Christianity Today: Trump must go Posted: 19 Dec 2019 05:15 PM PST  A major evangelical Christian magazine founded by the late Rev. Billy Graham on Thursday published an editorial calling for President Donald Trump's removal from office. The editorial in Christianity Today -- coming one day after the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives made Trump the third president in American history to be impeached -- raised fresh questions about the durability of his support among the conservative evangelicals who have proven to be a critical component of his political base.
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| Brexit Cliff That Wasn’t Slashes Car Output as Plants Stand Idle Posted: 19 Dec 2019 04:01 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- U.K. car production slumped close to 17% last month as companies shuttered plants to cope with a Brexit deadline that never came.Auto output declined at more than four times the pace of October as carmakers including Jaguar Land Rover and Toyota Motor Corp. idled assembly lines amid concern a no-deal split from the European Union would disrupt supply chains.In the event, the Oct. 31 Brexit cliff was avoided as Prime Minister Boris Johnson reached a negotiated deal and won an election that means Britain is set to leave the bloc next month. A fresh deadline could weigh on automakers in 2020 after Johnson gave himself 12 months to secure a new trade accord.Auto output has declined in 17 of the past 18 months, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said Friday, with the November decline following a near 45% slump in April, when companies ordered a more comprehensive shutdown to follow an earlier notional Brexit date.Carmakers, which have spent more than 500 million pounds ($651 million) on Brexit contingencies, are seeking tariff-free trade and regulatory alignment with the EU as 55% of U.K.-made autos are exported there. That's especially vital as the industry embraces autonomous and electric models, the SMMT said.To contact the reporter on this story: Siddharth Philip in London at sphilip3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Christopher Jasper, John BowkerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump reportedly blamed Ukraine for election interference because 'Putin told me' Posted: 19 Dec 2019 03:59 PM PST  President Trump may have gotten his opinions on Ukraine from a very biased source.In an attempt to defend himself against impeachment, Trump has claimed that he was right to be skeptical of Ukraine because it interfered in the 2016 election. There's no credible proof of that claim, which has left current and former White House officials thinking Trump got it from Russian President Vladimir Putin himself, The Washington Post reports.Trump was impeached Wednesday on charges of obstructing Congress and abusing power in the course of his dealings with Ukraine. Trump withheld security aid from the country because, as he directly told Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky, he wanted an investigation into the 2016 election. U.S. intelligence has repeatedly concluded that Russia, not Ukraine, was the force behind presidential election interference, and yet Trump and the GOP have attempted to deflect blame toward Ukraine.This mindset, multiple former officials tell the Post, started back in July 2017 after Trump met with Putin at the G7 summit. That's when Trump began claiming Ukraine interfered in the election in an attempt to defeat him, leading "many of his advisers to think that Putin himself helped spur the idea of Ukraine's culpability," the Post writes. Trump reportedly even said "Putin told me" about the Ukraine interference, one former senior White House official recalled. Two other officials remembered that senior official relaying Trump's comment to them, per the Post.More stories from theweek.com Trump accidentally says Democrats will receive an impeachment 'backlash at the box office' Evangelical magazine founded by Billy Graham calls for Trump's removal from office The Trump drama is about to get a whole lot weirder
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| Evangelical magazine founded by Billy Graham calls for Trump's removal from office Posted: 19 Dec 2019 03:16 PM PST  Part of President Trump's base could be taking a step back.The editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, the evangelical magazine founded by Billy Graham, called for Trump's removal from office in an editorial published Thursday. Mark Galli's plea also came with a direct message to the magazine's evangelical readers, particularly those it feels have come to admire Trump too much.In the editorial, Galli says Trump is guilty of the charges the House impeached him for Wednesday night: Trump "attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president's political opponents." As Galli put it, "That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral." This position, he declares, is no different than what the magazine said about former President Bill Clinton "20 years ago when a president's character was revealed for what it was."Still, Galli says, these alleged crimes aren't getting the attention they deserve. That's because "this president has dumbed down the idea of morality in his administration" by having "hired and fired ... convicted criminals," and because he has "admitted to immoral actions in business and his relationship with women." Galli then levies a brutal charge against Trump's character, writing that the president is "a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused." To the evangelicals who still choose to support Trump, well, Galli implores them to "remember who you are and whom you serve."Read the whole editorial here.More stories from theweek.com Trump accidentally says Democrats will receive an impeachment 'backlash at the box office' The Trump drama is about to get a whole lot weirder Trump reportedly blamed Ukraine for election interference because 'Putin told me'
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| Boris Johnson’s Brexit Deal Is Set for First Vote in New Parliament Posted: 19 Dec 2019 02:55 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson's Brexit bill faces its first vote Friday in the House of Commons as the prime minister seeks to drive the legislation through Parliament and take the U.K. out of the European Union on Jan. 31.After Johnson's Conservatives swept to victory in last week's general election, the vote at about 2:30 p.m. is largely a formality, because all Tory candidates vowed to back it. The legislation will then be set to progress through the remaining parliamentary steps in January, after a Christmas recess.The Tories' new 80-seat majority signals an end to the stalemate that's hobbled the government since the 2016 Brexit referendum. By making progress on the divorce before Parliament breaks up, Johnson aims to show he's moving quickly to deliver on pledges that swept his party to electoral wins in seats in northern and central England that haven't voted Conservative in decades."Today we will deliver on the promise we made to the people and get the Brexit vote wrapped up for Christmas," Johnson said in a statement. "After years of delay and rancor in Parliament, we will deliver certainty, and hard-working businesses and people across this country will have a firm foundation on which to plan for the future."Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg late on Thursday said that after Friday's session, the Brexit Bill will return to the chamber for debate on Jan. 7, 8 and 9.Bank of EnglandIn another sign that the wheels of government are turning again after months of stasis, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid is set to formally reveal Friday who will lead the Bank of England after Brexit, according to people familiar with the matter. The Financial Times reported late Thursday that Andrew Bailey, the current head of the Financial Conduct Authority, will take the post.The prime minister on Thursday heralded a "golden age" for the U.K., after unveiling what he described as the "most radical" program of law-making in a generation. The plans, delivered in a speech to Parliament by Queen Elizabeth II, included a spending boost for the National Health Service, infrastructure development and a review of the relationship between government and the courts.Johnson Heralds U.K. 'Golden Age' as He Pushes On With Brexit"This is not a program for one year or one Parliament, it is a blueprint for the future of Britain: Just imagine where this country could be in 10 years' time," Johnson told the House of Commons. "I do not think it vainglorious or implausible to say that a new golden age for this United Kingdom is within reach."The draft law to be debated Friday is the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which will enable the U.K. to leave the EU on Jan. 31 before formally triggering trade talks with the bloc.The revamped bill, similar to one introduced to Parliament by Johnson in October, removes provisions for workers' rights that were intended to win the support of opposition MPs and strips lawmakers of much of their say over leaving the bloc. The new bill also removes a say for MPs over negotiations and stops them from forcing an extension of the implementation period, which is scheduled to end in December 2020.Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn said Johnson was putting jobs, the environment and food standards at risk and accused him of seeking to "sell out" the National Health Service in a "toxic deal with Donald Trump."Johnson "has now deliberately resurrected the threat of no deal at the end of next year, which would decimate industry and destroy people's jobs," Corbyn told the House of Commons on Thursday. "We do not want our NHS given over to U.S. corporations and we don't want expensive medicines with extended patents and we don't want food like chlorinated chicken on our dinner tables either."Johnson vowed action on immigration and tougher sentences for offenders, in a legislative program loaded with the pledges he made to win support in formerly Labour-held districts. Alongside a law to guarantee increased spending on the NHS and commitments to hire more police officers, there are political promises to provide free parking at hospitals and get people home quickly from their holidays if travel companies go bust.(Updates with BoE governor in sixth; Corbyn comment in 11th paragraph)\--With assistance from Jessica Shankleman and Greg Ritchie.To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Presidential hopefuls in Senate say impeachment comes first Posted: 19 Dec 2019 02:44 PM PST  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision to delay sending the impeachment articles to the Senate risks eating further into senators' final weeks of campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination before the first caucus in February. The five senators affected seem unfazed by the delay. Impeachment comes first, they said.
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| Reports indicate Michigan man may be baby abducted in 1964 Posted: 19 Dec 2019 02:30 PM PST  When a woman posing as a maternity-ward nurse snatched a newborn from its mother's arms more than 55 years ago, the case made headlines nationwide and led to a massive search by FBI agents and police. The mystery seemed solved two years later, when police found an abandoned child who appeared to be the missing boy and returned him to the parents, who raised him as their own. Now recent media reports say a man living in rural Michigan may be the child of Chester and Dora Fronczak who was abducted on April 26, 1964, from a Chicago hospital.
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| N.Korea envoy confirmed as Pompeo's number two Posted: 19 Dec 2019 02:26 PM PST  The US Senate on Thursday confirmed North Korea negotiator Stephen Biegun to be the State Department's number two, raising the possibility that the veteran Republican will become the acting top US diplomat next year. Biegun, currently on a trip to Asia as tensions mount with North Korea, was easily confirmed as deputy secretary of state, with 90 votes in favor and three senators, all Democrats, opposed. Biegun's elevation means he would take over as the acting top US diplomat if Secretary of State Mike Pompeo leaves to seek a Senate seat, a prospect that political pundits see as increasingly likely.
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| Central Bankers Are Starting to Get a Little Desperate Posted: 19 Dec 2019 01:56 PM PST ![Central Bankers Are Starting to Get a Little Desperate]( "Central Bankers Are Starting to Get a Little Desperate") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a palaver sauce of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. Sign up here.Today's AgendaSweden tries a wild experiment: raising rates. Boris Johnson has a Bank of England problem. Impeachment hints that the Constitution isn't dead yet. Unicorns can't subsidize your lifestyle any more.Fine, Let's Try Raising Interest RatesOne of 2019's best movies was "Midsommar," about an unorthodox Swedish summer-solstice party. Now real-life Swedes are doing some unorthodox winter-solstice central banking, hopefully with much less human sacrifice.Sweden's Riksbank, zigging while the rest of the world zags, just raised interest rates, despite anxiety about the economy and sluggish inflation. It's a bit of desperation central banking, Mohamed El-Erian explains. Rates around the world are at or below rock bottom, without supercharging growth. Meanwhile savers and banks suffer, which may defeat the purpose of low rates, and wild gambling with cheap money fosters zombie companies and boosts the odds of a blow-up.Ferdinando Giugliano suggests Sweden is panicking about negative rates for nothing. There's no proof they're doing real damage yet, he argues. Hiking rates, meanwhile, could definitely hurt the economy, forcing the Riksbank to reverse its decision.Still, central bankers around the world clearly fear their go-to post-crisis tools of QE and negative rates have lost their edge. One big reason for this, as Mohamed notes, is that fiscal policy hasn't done its share of the work. Central bankers are now openly calling on governments to do more, which is a slippery slope toward uniting the two, writes Alberto Gallo. Central bankers joining forces with politicians may make stimulating economies easier, but at the cost of central-bank independence. And it could make market distortions even weirder and scarier — not in a "Midsommar" way but more like a "Cats" way.Is Everything OK, Bank of England?The U.K.'s central bank, meanwhile, has its own set of problems. Most importantly, it will soon need a new leader to replace its departing rock-star governor, Mark Carney. The list of candidates that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has floated is … uninspiring, suggests Ferdinando Giugliano. The trouble is that the Bank of England needs an especially skillful leader to deal with Brexit — but thanks to Brexit, the best candidates have run screaming the other way.Meanwhile, the BOE is dealing with an embarrassing scandal: A contractor that records its press conferences sold audio to traders to give them an eight-second edge over the poor saps waiting for the slower video feed. This was a silly oversight on the BOE's part, writes Marcus Ashworth, although Carney rarely says anything interesting in these gaggles. And if this helped market efficiency, Matt Levine asks, who did it really hurt? If you're a regular person trading around BOE press conferences, maybe you should reconsider your life choices.Bonus British Reading: Labour is in an existential crisis because it stopped listening to voters. — Matt Singh Representative Democracy Just Needs to Lay Down For a MinuteThe House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump last night, while he was at a rally suggesting the late Rep. John Dingell was in hell. Then the impeachment train stalled before it could even leave the House, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi feuding with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over terms of the eventual trial. Honestly, you could be forgiven for suspecting the American experiment is nearing the end of its useful life. Trump's presidency has certainly put an unusual strain on the Constitution, writes Noah Feldman. But this impeachment, as imperfect as it may be, is a sign the old document still has breath in it.Not that Republicans defending Trump have played a productive role; they rely either on lies or disingenuous complaints about process, writes Jonathan Bernstein. But it's possible the handful of old-school Republicans still in the building — cough, Mitt Romney, cough — could redeem the party, and maybe save its future, by at least taking the Senate trial seriously, writes Frank Wilkinson.Further Impeachment Reading: Trump's own defense has a "royal we" problem. — Jonathan BernsteinUnicorns Can't Keep Coddling YouThe public-market flops of Uber Technologies Inc. and other former unicorns, followed by the spectacular swan dive of WeWork, have venture capitalists doing some soul-searching (OK, maybe not all of them). One upshot is that Uber and its ilk are chasing profitability earlier than they might have liked, writes Shira Ovide. That means they're much less likely to keep burning money to attract customers. This means your car rides, dog walks, food delivery, etc., will be less "disrupted" — meaning more expensive. This trend is spreading through the non-unicorn universe, too, writes Alex Webb: BMW and Daimler just ditched their own car-sharing service.Telltale ChartsIndividual investors keep retreating from leveraged-loan funds, and a new Financial Stability Board report won't ease anybody's worries about them, writes Brian Chappatta.Flight-shaming isn't changing behavior in a meaningful way, writes Leonid Bershidsky. Personal carbon trading could be the answer.Further ReadingThe job market isn't as healthy as it seems because the jobs are increasingly terrible McJobs. — Daniel Alpert and Robert Hockett Someday we'll wonder why we tried to quash vaping; it's better than just letting people smoke cigarettes. — Joe Nocera Why buy expensive U.S. stocks when overseas ones are so much cheaper? — John Authers 2019 was the year cities rose up against nation-states, and the trend's not going away. — Leonid Bershidsky Lebanon's new prime minister is too beholden to Hezbollah to be a change agent. — Hussein Ibish Anarchy's time has come again. — Pankaj Mishra Special Holiday Section: Bloomberg Opinion Book ClubHere are the 11 books you must read (15 if you count each "A Song of Ice and Fire" novel separately) in 2020.ICYMIScottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants an independence referendum.How Wall Street avoids its MeToo reckoning.The optimist's guide to 2020.KickersWakanda is no longer an official U.S. trading partner. (h/t Zoe DeStories)Homo erectus lasted a lot longer than we thought. (h/t Scott Kominers)Trees started rooting much earlier than we thought.Don't sweat the decade's end because time's not real.Note: Please send vibranium and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net.Sign up here and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.To contact the author of this story: Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Tracy Walsh at twalsh67@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Mark Gongloff is an editor with Bloomberg Opinion. He previously was a managing editor of Fortune.com, ran the Huffington Post's business and technology coverage, and was a columnist, reporter and editor for the Wall Street Journal.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| In Nome, Alaska, review of rape ‘cold cases’ hits a wall Posted: 19 Dec 2019 01:29 PM PST  The two cops — the cold case detective from Virginia and the evidence technician from Alaska — had a mission. Sift through more than a decade of grim stories from this small city set between the Bering Strait and Alaska's western tundra. Nome's new police chief, another Virginia transplant, asked the two to untangle whether the city's police department had failed hundreds of people — most of them Alaska Native women — who had reported they'd been sexually assaulted.
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| Egypt rejects Turkey-Libya deal on sea rights, security Posted: 19 Dec 2019 01:07 PM PST ![Egypt rejects Turkey-Libya deal on sea rights, security]( "Egypt rejects Turkey-Libya deal on sea rights, security") Egypt has told the U.N. Security Council it rejects two agreements between Turkey and Libya's U.N.-supported government on maritime rights in the Mediterranean and military cooperation. The maritime deal would give Turkey access to an economic zone across the Mediterranean, over the objections of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt, which lie between Turkey and Libya geographically.
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| Arab League condemns Brazil for trade office in Jerusalem Posted: 19 Dec 2019 12:34 PM PST ![Arab League condemns Brazil for trade office in Jerusalem]( "Arab League condemns Brazil for trade office in Jerusalem") The Arab League on Thursday condemned Brazil's opening of a trade office in the contested city of Jerusalem, warning the move will "seriously damage" Brazil's political and economic interests in the Arab world. At an emergency meeting convened in Cairo, representatives from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq, among other states, criticized Brazil's move as a violation of international law and voiced their continued support for Palestinian claims to the divided city. In a statement, the council said that such a "negative change in Brazilian foreign policy toward Palestinians would seriously damage Arab-Brazilian shared political, economic and diplomatic interests," though did not offer specifics.
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| U.N. Peacekeepers in Haiti Said to Have Fathered Hundreds of Children Posted: 19 Dec 2019 12:11 PM PST  United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti fathered and left behind hundreds of children, researchers found in a newly released academic study, leaving mothers struggling with stigma, poverty and single parenthood after the men departed the country.While the U.N. has acknowledged numerous instances of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers in Haiti and elsewhere, the study on Haitian victims went farther in documenting the scope of the problem in that country -- the Western Hemisphere's poorest -- than had been previously known."Girls as young as 11 were sexually abused and impregnated" by peacekeepers, who were stationed in Haiti from 2004 to 2017, and some of the women were later "left in misery" to raise their children alone, according to the study by two academic researchers."They put a few coins in your hands to drop a baby in you," one Haitian was quoted as saying by the researchers, whose work was published on Tuesday by The Conversation, an academic website supported by a consortium of universities.The study, based on interviews with 2,500 Haitians who lived near peacekeeper bases in the summer of 2017, depicts a trail of abuse and exploitation left by some of the soldiers and civilians who served in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti, known as Minustah, an acronym for its name in French.The resulting children are known as "petits minustahs."Asked for comment, the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations said in a statement that it took the issues raised in the study seriously and that combating sexual exploitation and abuse committed by peacekeepers is a top priority of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres."We have unfortunately seen cases involving Minustah peacekeepers over the past years, although allegations have been generally declining since 2013," the statement said.The United Nations has previously acknowledged that more than 100 Sri Lankan peacekeepers deployed to Haiti exploited nine children in a sex ring from 2004 to 2007, and the men were sent home, but were not punished.The new study, by Sabine Lee, a history professor at the University of Birmingham, and Susan Bartels, a clinician scientist at Queen's University in Ontario, is the latest to document sexual misconduct by international peacekeeping forces, including those stationed in Mozambique, in Bosnia, in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the Central African Republic.Of the people interviewed by the authors, 265 told of children fathered by members of the peacekeeping force, who came from at least 13 countries but mostly Uruguay and Brazil, according to a chart in the study."That 10% of those interviewed mentioned such children highlights just how common such stories really are," they wrote. They noted that over the years, news organizations had reported anecdotal cases in Haiti in which "minors were offered food and small amounts of cash to have sex with U.N. personnel."The authors did not estimate the exact numbers of impregnated women or children left behind. But legal experts and aid workers say the problem has been pervasive, and that the United Nations has failed to assist the women.The Bureau des Avocats Internationaux, a group of Haitian lawyers based in Port-au-Prince, has filed paternity suits on behalf of 10 children said to have been fathered by peacekeepers. Sienna Merope-Synge, a staff attorney at a Boston-based partner organization, the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, said the groups had approached U.N. officials in 2016 about securing child support for the mothers but had received none."The U.N. must be much more proactive," she said. "It shouldn't be on a woman in rural Haiti to seek transnational action for a man in Uruguay."Others were far more critical of the United Nations, seeing the Haiti study as another instance of what they called the organization's male-dominated ethos. Paula Donovan, a co-founder and co-director of AIDS-Free World, a group that has frequently castigated the United Nations over sexual abuse and gender issues, said the study had corroborated her views."This research confirms that standard U.N. practice is to exploit women -- from those subsisting in tents to those presenting at conferences -- and then squash them like bugs if they dare complain about sexual abuse and threaten the U.N. patriarchy's 75-year-old culture of entitlement and impunity," Donovan said in a statement.While some mothers told the researchers of sexual violence by U.N. personnel, most of the stories recounted subtler forms of coercion, with peacekeepers trading small amounts of money or food for sex with women and girls who were often desperately poor. In other instances, women and their relatives described consensual relationships that ended when the peacekeepers left Haiti.The authors said Haitians residing in communities around 10 U.N. bases had been asked "what it's like to be a woman or a girl living in a community that hosts a peacekeeping mission." The Haitians were not asked specifically about potential abuse or sexual relations with peacekeepers, according to the study, but participants raised the issue themselves."I started to talk to him, then he told me he loved me and I agreed to date him," a woman was quoted as saying of her relationship several years earlier with a peacekeeper. "Three months later, I was pregnant, and in September he was sent to his country." She added that she could not pay the fees to send her son to school.The testimonies echoed a pattern seen in Liberia between 1990 and 1998, when thousands of children were reported to have been fathered by international peacekeepers.In Haiti, the peacekeeping mission began as an attempt to bring stability after the 2004 rebellion that toppled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and the United Nations extended it after a catastrophic earthquake ravaged the country in 2010.But the mission itself was devastating, according to human rights organizations and researchers. Peacekeepers have been accused of unintentionally killing dozens of civilians, and some introduced cholera to Haiti after the earthquake, starting an epidemic that killed more than 10,000 people and sickened more than 800,000. The United Nations has apologized for its role in the epidemic but has resisted legal efforts aimed at compensating cholera victims and their families.The study's authors recommended that the United Nations educate its personnel about the economic and social hardships of the mothers and children left behind. They also urged the world body to stop simply repatriating its people who are implicated in sexual exploitation or abuse, rather than turning them over to local authorities.Lee, the lead author of the study, said member states that contribute troops to U.N. peacekeeping efforts also bore direct responsibility to help support the mothers and children."It's not a U.N. problem, it's a Brazilian military problem, or a Uruguayan military problem," Lee said. "The U.N., though, hasn't found a way to hold the troops of the member states to account."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Scientists claim to find ancient seawall off Israeli coast Posted: 19 Dec 2019 12:05 PM PST  An international team of researchers says it has discovered a 7,000-year-old-seawall along Israel's Mediterranean coast, providing evidence that coastal communities protected themselves against rising waters even in ancient times. The study, published Wednesday in the Public Library of Science One journal, said the Neolithic era village, called Tel Hreiz, was abandoned and eventually swallowed by the sea. While seas were rising at a faster rate during the Neolithic period than they are today, the causes were much different, according to co-author Jonathan Benjamin from Flinders University in Australia.
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| Authorities say 25 Bosnians sent home from camps in Syria Posted: 19 Dec 2019 12:01 PM PST ![Authorities say 25 Bosnians sent home from camps in Syria]( "Authorities say 25 Bosnians sent home from camps in Syria") SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — A group of 25 Bosnian citizens have been sent home from camps in Syria, including former Islamic State fighters and women and children, authorities said Thursday. Bosnia's Security Ministry said in a statement that the group included six women, twelve children and seven former foreign fighters who have been handed over to the Bosnian legal authorities. The men are facing legal proceedings in Bosnia on suspicion of organizing terrorist groups and joining foreign paramilitary formations, Bosnia's Prosecutor's Office said in a statement Thursday.
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| Pentagon: Screenings show no new threats after Navy shooting Posted: 19 Dec 2019 11:59 AM PST  The Defense Department has completed security screenings of all Saudi Arabian students in the U.S. for military training and found no indications of any immediate threats, the Pentagon said Thursday, nearly two weeks after a Saudi student killed three people and injured eight others at a Florida Navy base. Garry Reid, the director for defense intelligence, told reporters that as a result of an ongoing security review, the Pentagon will expand its role in vetting international students who come into the country for military training.
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| Woman offers $7K reward, hires plane in search of stolen dog Posted: 19 Dec 2019 11:43 AM PST  A San Francisco woman is offering a $7,000 reward and has hired a plane to fly over the city to search for her blue-eyed miniature Australian Shepherd stolen from outside a grocery store last weekend. The plane, which cost an additional $1,200 will flying a banner with the website she set up to find her her dog, Jackson, which was stolen Saturday outside a grocery store in the Bernal Heights neighborhood. Emilie Talermo said Thursday she has been doing everything she can to find her 5-year-old dog.
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| US and India pledge cooperation, as Pakistan claims the latter deployed missiles in disputed territory Posted: 19 Dec 2019 11:08 AM PST  The defense cooperation primarily includes increasing troop levels during joint military exercises and promoting the capacity of India's smaller neighbors to participate in U.N. peacekeeping operations.
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| Pope calls for closure of Libyan migrant detention camps Posted: 19 Dec 2019 11:05 AM PST ![Pope calls for closure of Libyan migrant detention camps]( "Pope calls for closure of Libyan migrant detention camps") Francis also encouraged continued sea rescues during a meeting in the Vatican with a group of newly arrived refugees from a camp in Lesbos, Greece. At the end of the encounter, Francis unveiled a modified cross dedicated to migrants made from a life jacket recovered from the Mediterranean by a migrant rescue ship. "How can we not hear the desperate cry of so many brothers and sisters who prefer to risk the stormy seas rather than die slowly in Libyan detention camps, places of ignoble torture and slavery," he asked.
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| Putin Can Teach Trump a Lot About Hanging on to Power Posted: 19 Dec 2019 10:59 AM PST  Every so often, U.S. President Donald Trump makes it clear he not only expects to beat impeachment and win re-election, he'd like to stay in the White House for about ever. Never mind the constitutional prohibition on more than two terms. In September, for instance, he posted on Twitter and Instagram a campaign placard for "Trump 2024." If the American president was not just trolling his opponents, and really does plan to hang around indefinitely, then he could take some pointers from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who celebrated 20 years in power with a press conference on Thursday. But Trump's opponents might learn as well from young Russians who've grown up under Putin and are so desperate for change that half of them would like to leave their country altogether. —Christopher Dickey, World News EditorST. PETERSBURG, Russia—A journalist from Komsomolskaya Pravda, throwing a marshmallow-soft question at Vladimir Putin at the president's annual press conference on Thursday, asked if he believed he was a "historic" personality. Putin answered that the next generation would judge him. "Public opinion will be the best evaluation, but that is in the future," he said. No need to wait. Russia's young people are fed up. Their comedy shows, their rap songs, their painting and their films make a mockery of state censorship and constantly troll Putin's authoritarian style. Russia's State TV Calls Trump Their 'Agent'A leading Russian humorist, Maksim Galkin. recently joked that a whole generation born and brought up under this regime is sure that President Vladimir Putin is not an ordinary human: "They don't know that there could be a different president. They think that the name of this position is called 'putin,' that only Putin can be a putin," he said. "Imagine Putin came out to debates, for just once–himself against himself. We would put two podiums up for him so he could run from one to another to contradict himself." Despite the odds, political humor is returning to Russian life. Two decades ago President Boris Yeltsin passed the rule of Russia to former KGB operatives Vladimir Putin. In 2008, he traded places with his prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, then took back the presidency in 2012—but with a change to the constitution that stretched terms from four years to six years. Every year of his presidency, Putin has answered questions at a big press conference in December, a tradition that many young Russians find boring or infuriating. "Our magician is about to give one more press conference," said blogger Antiplaton. "He's been saying the same thing for 20 years but obviously there are fewer and fewer naïve believers in this country with declining incomes." At his hours-long press conference on Thursday, Putin made news in Russia with a suggestion to change the constitutional rule limiting him from staying for more than two consecutive presidential terms. For now Putin has four more years to go of his current term. Putin made news in the United States, meanwhile, by saying he doubts that Trump's presidency is about to end. "It is unlikely that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would want to deprive of power a representative of their for some, in my view, made-up reasons." Putin, speaking of Trump's opponents, grimaced a bit as if he caught a whiff of some mad smell. "This is a continuation of a political struggle," said Putin, as if he'd been reading the Republicans' talking points (or, some would say, dictating them). "One of the parties that lost the election, the Democratic Party, is trying to achieve results in a new way now, blaming Trump for collusion with Russia—then it turns out there was no collusion, and now they made up some 'pressure on Ukraine.'" Then Putin, already heated up by his own speech, said with a tiny grin: "If they wanted to help, they should have given Ukraine money, given an opportunity to subsidize gas." (The question of Russian natural gas supplied to and pipelined through Ukraine is a complex and contentious one.)Rudy Giuliani—and Russia—Pay Close Attention to This Ukrainian Conspiracy-PeddlerIf Putin has his way with Russia's constitution, we could be having these press conferences for another 11 more Decembers. And then, who knows?"The only possible state ideology is patriotism," Putin told Russians on Thursday. And by his lights patriotism, obviously, is Putinism. Many young Russians don't buy this cynical vision in a country that is being robbed by Putin's closest allies. "You realize—it is more than obvious—that it is time to get away from this country," Danila Poperechny, a popular blogger, told thousands of his spectators. "It is impossible to hear from all the TV screens our deputies screaming that in Europe and America they eat children alive—but that is where all their own children live.""I have wrinkles on my forehead because I live in Russia," the 25-year-old blogger told his audience. Russian bloggers despise Putin's authoritarian ideology, censorship and the fresh examples of multi-billion-dollar corruption that the country learns about every few weeks. Yuriy Dud, a 33-year-old Russian blogger followed by more than 6 million people on YouTube, asked what Poperechny thought of Putin's face. "He has a strange appearance," Poperechny said. "So strange with so much Botox, that many think that this is an over-corrected copy."Arguing with his critics, Putin often says that stability compensates for any mistake in his rule, and it is a fact that Russia shed blood in every decade of the 20th century: millions suffered during the war with Japan, in the World War I, during the October Revolution, the Red Terror, the Civil War, in World War II, during Josef Stalin's purges, in the Perestroika crises and the collapse of the Soviet Union, then in two Chechen wars. Putin's allies praise their leader for bringing Russia up off its knees, but Putin's critics disagree. They see the current ideology as fundamentally corrosive for the government and society.More than half of young Russians say they would like to emigrate. People of all generations and professions protest against hundreds of political arrests across. Is Putin a "historic" figure? Russia's star rapper Oxxxymiron put things another way after the most recent arrests: "We are witnesses of historical hell."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Israel strikes militant targets in response to Gaza fire Posted: 19 Dec 2019 10:34 AM PST ![Israel strikes militant targets in response to Gaza fire]( "Israel strikes militant targets in response to Gaza fire") The Israeli air force struck a number of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip late Thursday in response to the launch of a projectile into southern Israel. The military said it attacked an underground installation, a naval target and a military compound. The airstrikes came shortly after Palestinian militants fired a projectile toward Israel, setting off air raid sirens in southern border communities.
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| McConnell and Pelosi set for showdown over next steps of Trump impeachment Posted: 19 Dec 2019 10:28 AM PST  * Not clear when articles of impeachment will reach Senate * Pelosi threatens delay until she receives assurances of fair trialAs Washington awoke on Thursday to the realisation that it had impeached the third US president in American history, the capital remained racked with uncertainty about what will come next in an impeachment process defined by almost total partisanship and rancor.The two most powerful figures in the US Capitol, the Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Republican majority leader in the US Senate, Mitch McConnell, almost immediately engaged in a huge showdown over who will have control over the impending congressional impeachment trial of Donald Trump over his dealings with Ukraine. In a historic vote, the House of Representatives approved late on Wednesday two articles of impeachment against the president – abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.As she tried to give the proceedings a grave, nonpartisan tone, Pelosi abruptly silenced Democrats in the House with a sharp look and gesture as they began breaking into applause after the articles passed.Then minutes later, in a night-time press conference, Pelosi indicated that she may delay designating House 'managers' who officially deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate, which then triggers the trial of the president, as a way of leveraging influence with Republican leaders and cajoling them into staging a substantive trial.Of late, senior Republicans, including McConnell, have signaled a summary trial and acquittal of Trump in the Senate.He has said he is co-ordinating every step with the White House – the head of the jury in cahoots with the defendant – and has rebuffed Democratic demands that key witnesses including the former national security adviser John Bolton be called to testify."So far we haven't seen anything that looks fair to us. Hopefully it will be fair, and when we see what that is, we'll send our managers," Pelosi said.On Thursday morning, McConnell took to the floor of the Senate to say the House had done something no other Congress has ever done — impeached a president who hasn't "committed an actual crime". He slammed Pelosi's threat of delaying tactics."House Democrats may be too afraid to even transmit their shoddy work product to the Senate," he said. "Looks like the prosecutors are getting cold feet in front of the entire country, and second guessing whether they want to do the trial."He added that articles of impeachment are the "thinnest and the weakest" in American history. "Nothing else comes close."Trump himself had a light official schedule on Thursday so characteristically took to Twitter, once again calling the impeachment process a witch hunt. He'd scoffed the night before, at a rally in Michigan as the vote went through in Washington, at the grave fate that befalls few presidents and has now, indelibly, befallen him.Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were impeached in 1868 and 1998, respectively, but not removed from office. Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 over the Watergate scandal before the House voted on his likely impeachment.At his annual press conference on Thursday, Russian president Vladimir Putin poured scorn on the articles of impeachment – the equivalent of congressional charges or indictments – saying they were based on "made-up reasons" and offering the opinion that Trump would almost certainly be acquitted at trial in the Senate.In Ukraine, at the center of the impeachment battle after details emerged that Trump tried to pressure its president into investigating his political rival Joe Bidena spokesman for president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said impeachment was an "internal issue" and "Ukraine does not interfere in the internal affairs of any state".Back in the US, such is the vast chasm now dividing the two main parties in Congress that even some Trump opponents have begun to call for the articles of impeachment to be withheld from the Senate indefinitely. That would leave Trump in a state of limbo, with the dark cloud of impeachment hanging over his head while investigations continued.Until Pelosi's latest move, a Senate trial had been expected in early to mid January, just as the 2020 presidential election campaign gets into full swing with the first Democratic primaries to choose the party's nominee due to begin in early February.Pelosi said on Thursday morning that the reaction of Republicans: "Reminded me that our founders, when they wrote the constitution, they suspected there could be a rogue president. I don't think they suspected we could have a rogue president and a rogue leader in the Senate at the same time."Trump's line of attack, judging from an early morning tweet, was to underline and reinforce the overwhelming partisan divide. He seized on the fact that no Republican had broken ranks in the dual impeachment vote, the final tally of which was 230 to 197 on abuse of power and 229 to 198 on obstruction.The Democrats saw two of its ranksmembers cross party lines on both impeachment votes – Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey and Collin Peterson of Minnesota – and a third, Jared Golden of Maine, voted against charging Trump with obstruction."100% Republican Vote," Trump tweeted. "That's what people are talking about. The Republicans are united like never before!"In Ukraine, at the center of the impeachment battle after details emerged that Trump tried to pressure its president into investigating his political rival Joe Biden, a spokesman for president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said impeachment was an "internal issue" and "Ukraine does not interfere in the internal affairs of any state".
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| Boris Johnson Plans 'Radical' U.K. Remake After Big Election Win Posted: 19 Dec 2019 10:16 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson heralded a "golden age" for the U.K. as he pressed on with his plan to deliver Brexit on Jan. 31, with the first vote on his deal with European Union scheduled for Friday.The prime minister set out what he described as the "most radical" program of law-making in a generation after last week's election victory. The plans, delivered in a speech to Parliament by Queen Elizabeth II, included a spending boost for the National Health Service, infrastructure development and a review of the relationship between government and the courts."This is not a program for one year or one Parliament, it is a blueprint for the future of Britain: Just imagine where this country could be in 10 years' time," Johnson told the House of Commons. "I do not think it vainglorious or implausible to say that a new golden age for this United Kingdom is within reach."The Withdrawal Agreement Bill, the piece of legislation needed for the U.K. to leave the EU on Jan. 31 before formally triggering trade talks with the bloc, will be voted on for the first time in the House of Commons on Friday. The government announced the Department for Exiting the European Union will be closed at the end of January, to signal that Brexit will be "done."The revamped bill, similar to one introduced to Parliament by Johnson in October, removes provisions for workers' rights that were intended to win the support of opposition MPs and strips lawmakers of much of their say over leaving the bloc.Taking Back ControlIn the three-and-a-half-years since the 2016 referendum, the House of Commons wrested control of the process from the government, forcing ministers to seek the approval of lawmakers before making agreements with the EU. The new bill removes a say for MPs over negotiations and stops them from forcing an extension of the implementation period, which is scheduled to end in December 2020.In a symbol of Johnson's complete control of the process and how much the Brexit debate has moved on, The Independent Group for Change, set up by a cross-party group of pro-EU MPs, announced it was closing down after failing to win any seats in the Dec. 12 election."It was always better to have fought and lost than never to have fought at all," the group said. "We have no regrets about standing up and speaking truth to power when the country needed it."Johnson, who also promised action on immigration and tougher sentences for offenders, is seeking to act fast to cement the support of people in areas of Britain that have traditionally voted for the opposition Labour Party. His legislative program is loaded with the pledges he made to win support in those districts.Election PledgesAlongside a law to guarantee increased spending on the NHS and commitments to hire more police officers, there are political promises to provide free parking at hospitals and get people home quickly from their holidays if travel companies go bust.Read more: U.K. to Crack Down on Russian, North Korean SpiesJohnson is also pushing ahead with potentially radical constitutional reforms. After opponents of Brexit successfully went to the U.K. Supreme Court to block Johnson's Brexit plans, he will launch a review into the relationship between the country's governing institutions, setting up a battle with the judiciary and Parliament over Britain's constitution."We will set up a Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission to consider the relationship between Government, Parliament and the courts and to explore whether the checks and balances in our constitution are working for everyone," the government's briefing document said.The program also promised legislation to support the U.K.'s position as a center for financial services. Laws will ensure the country keeps its regulatory standards and stays open to international markets after leaving the EU.Security, DefenseJohnson, who had a controversial term as foreign secretary before becoming prime minister, will also personally lead a review of the U.K.'s security, defense and foreign policy. The focus will be on better integration and use of money to combat developing threats "from smartphones to autonomous drones," a briefing document said.Other measures include:A Trade Bill to allow international deals after Brexit and give the U.K. powers to "transition" trading arrangements while it is in the process of leaving the EU.Fiscal rules that commit the government to balancing the day-to-day budget and limiting investment to 3% of gross domestic product. The rules will allow the government room to increase borrowing for investmentLegislation upgrading the government's power to scrutinize and intervene in mergers and acquisitions seen to threaten national securityNew Espionage bill to allow security services to disrupt hostile state activity; U.K. is also considering a register for foreign agents in the countryScrapping the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act -- the law sets the date for a general election once every five years. Under Johnson's plan, the prime minister would have power to decide the timing of future electionsA 100 billion-pound ($131 billion) national infrastructure strategy to be set out alongside the government's first budget, focusing on transport, decarbonization and digital infrastructurePutting into law a new funding settlement for the NHS and speeding up access to cutting-edge drugs, making it easier for hospitals to manufacture innovative personalized medicinesLaws to speed up roll-out of gigabit-per-second broadband\--With assistance from Jessica Shankleman, Kitty Donaldson, James Paton and Alex Morales.To contact the reporters on this story: Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.net;Greg Ritchie in London at gritchie10@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Vladimir Putin Defends Donald Trump, Says President Is Being Impeached for 'Far-Fetched' Reasons Posted: 19 Dec 2019 10:10 AM PST  Russian President Vladimir Putin Defends Donald Trump
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| Trump celebrates Rep. Van Drew's switch from Democrat to GOP Posted: 19 Dec 2019 10:03 AM PST  President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a New Jersey Democrat who broke with his party to vote against Trump's impeachment, is officially switching parties and becoming a Republican. Van Drew on Wednesday broke with his party and voted against impeaching Trump — a move that bolstered GOP attempts to depict Democrats as divided on the matter. Republicans voted unanimously against it.
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| U.K. to Crack Down on Russian, North Korean Spies and Saboteurs Posted: 19 Dec 2019 09:48 AM PST ![U.K. to Crack Down on Russian, North Korean Spies and Saboteurs]( "U.K. to Crack Down on Russian, North Korean Spies and Saboteurs") (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to overhaul the U.K.'s security laws to bring them in line with the U.S. in a crackdown on spies, saboteurs and hackers working for foreign states such as Russia, North Korea and Iran.Plans include making it illegal to secretly work for a foreign power to undermine Britain through political disruption or spreading disinformation -- such as fake news during election campaigns -- according to a briefing alongside Thursday's Queen's Speech setting out the government's legislative agenda.Before the election, Johnson refused to publish a report by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee into allegations of foreign interference in British elections. The panel examined the revelation that Russia-based Twitter accounts posted more than 45,000 messages about leaving the European Union in just 48 hours during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign. The report is expected to be published once the committee is up and running again next year.During the campaign, Johnson defended his decision not to publish the report. "There's absolutely no evidence that I've ever seen of any Russian interference in U.K. democratic processes," he told workers during a visit to the northeast of England on Nov. 20.In a more brutal example of Russian activity in Britain last year, the attempted poisoning of a spy in the city of Salisbury left a woman dead and the issue of international arrest warrants for two suspected Russian agents. Ministers are considering enforcing a register of foreign agents on British soil, Johnson's office said.As part of a wider review of legislation, the government is also examining an update of the Official Secrets Act, which is more than a century old."We want to ensure that piece of legislation is the right piece of legislation to deal with the threats we face today, from hostile states in particular," Johnson's spokesman, James Slack, told reporters.The government will also examine the 1351 Treason Act -- originally drafted in Norman French -- to make it easier for modern juries to convict terrorists.The act was last used in 1945 to prosecute William Joyce, known as Lord Haw-Haw for his Nazi propaganda broadcasts to Britain during World War II. He was hanged, but the crime now comes with a punishment of a lifelong jail term.(Updates with comment from Johnson's spokesman in seventh paragraph)\--With assistance from Jessica Shankleman.To contact the reporter on this story: 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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| Hezbollah-Endorsed Professor to Lead New Lebanese Government Posted: 19 Dec 2019 09:38 AM PST ![Hezbollah-Endorsed Professor to Lead New Lebanese Government]( "Hezbollah-Endorsed Professor to Lead New Lebanese Government") (Bloomberg) -- A former education minister put forward by Hezbollah and its allies was named as Lebanon's new prime minister Thursday, tasked with forming a government to lead the country out of one of its biggest crises in decades.President Michel Aoun appointed Hassan Diab, 60, after he received the most votes in parliamentary consultations that lasted much of the day. It is unclear, however, whether the computing professor will be accepted by protesters who have been in the streets for two months demanding the removal of a political elite they blame for 30 years of corruption and economic mismanagement. Within minutes of his appointment, demonstrators, who have called for a technocratic government to clean up politics and rescue the economy, began to stream into the streets in Beirut, Tripoli and the southern city of Nabatieh calling on Diab to step down.The country has been without a functioning government since late October, when former Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned in the face of the protests.Diab's formidable challenges are not limited to the streets, however. Lebanon is confronting one of its most serious financial and political crises since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, with the economy paralyzed, the currency sinking and foreign investors increasingly concerned the government will be forced to default on its debt next year.Politicians have also been split on what the next government should look like. Iran-backed Hezbollah and its Christian allies in Aoun's party have insisted that political parties be represented in the cabinet whereas protesters insist on independent experts.Accepting the appointment in a speech at the presidential palace, Diab said everyone, including the protesters, would be represented in the new cabinet and consultations would begin Saturday."All our efforts must be geared toward preventing a collapse, restoring confidence and protecting national unity," Diab said. "I will hold talks with former prime ministers and all parliamentary blocs as well as political forces, parties and the popular movement."Lebanon Steps Up Fiscal Engineering to Buy Time in Debt Crisis"An independent"A vice-president of the American University of Beirut and professor of computer engineering, Diab emerged as a possible candidate late Wednesday after Hariri once again said he didn't want the job. Two previous candidates, including a former finance minister and a construction magnate, publicly withdrew their nominations after facing opposition in the streets or failing to secure political backing.Under Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, the position of prime minister goes to a Sunni Muslim, but Diab does not have much support in that community.He secured the backing of Hezbollah and its allies, garnering 69 votes. The Future bloc of Hariri as well as most other Sunni parliamentarians refused to name a candidate; in total, 43 lawmakers refused to vote. Nawaf Salam, a former ambassador to the United Nations, received 14 votes. University professor Halimah Kaakour received one vote."After Hariri's withdrawal and to avoid a vacuum, we named Hassan Diab," MP Ibrahim Azar, a member of parliament speaker Nabih Berri's bloc, told reporters after meeting the president. Berri, a Hezbollah ally, had repeatedly said he favored Hariri, a three-time prime minister aligned with Saudi Arabia.As night fell, a small group of men gathered outside Diab's home in Beirut protesting his appointment and saying he did not represent the Sunni community nor the protest demands.Nationwide demonstrations began on Oct.17 after the government said it would impose fees and raise taxes to plug its budget deficit. Banks closed for more than a week and have since tightened restrictions on transfers and withdrawals to preserve dollars.Lebanon's central bank has been rationing dollars for months, causing the local currency to depreciate by a third on the black market and putting pressure on a currency peg in place since for more than two decades, amid fears that one of the world's most indebted countries may be forced to restructure its bonds.Hariri has asked European and Arab countries along with the U.S. for import credit to prevent food shortages in a country almost entirely reliant on imports. The measures by banks made it almost impossible for importers to get dollars as some credit lines were frozen.(Updates with Diab's comments, designation)To contact the reporter on this story: Dana Khraiche in Beirut at dkhraiche@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Russian constitution could be changed to stop president returning after two terms, Vladimir Putin suggests Posted: 19 Dec 2019 09:31 AM PST  Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, on Thursday dodged a direct question on whether he intends to stay in power beyond 2024 but indicated that he was open to discussing amendments to the constitution that could allow him to rule indefinitely. Mr Putin, whose approval ratings are close to 70 per cent, has occupied the Kremlin for four terms since he was first elected in 2000 but had to step down in 2008 because of constitutional limitations. There is currently no legal way for the 67-year-old president to run again in 2024 when his fourth term ends, and speculation has been rife about what could be done to keep him in the top spot. One of the options would be to change the number of presidential terms written in the constitution or hand more powers to the government, parliament or a new body for Mr Putin to lead. Throughout his marathon press conference on Thursday, Mr Putin was asked several times if he was going to stay in power or if he was supportive of an idea to devolve powers to the government or parliament. Mr Putin staged his annual marathon press conference Credit: Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP Mr Putin stopped short of saying if he intended to stay in charge beyond 2024 but said he was aware of ongoing discussions about reconsidering the roles of the president, government and parliament that could reshuffle the Russian power structure. "All of that could be done but only after a solid preparation and a thorough discussion in society," he told the press conference in Moscow which ran for more than four hours. Mr Putin's vague remarks have been widely read as the start of a Kremlin-led public debate on possible succession strategies. "Putin doesn't want to give answers: he wants to leave this question hanging in the air," Tatyana Stanovaya, nonresident scholar at the Moscow Carnegie Center and head of the R.Politik political analysis firm, told the Daily Telegraph. Asked about possible changes to the Constitution, Mr Putin said he would support the idea of capping the number of presidential terms to just two, without the mention of two consecutive terms that allowed him to run for a third term in 2012. To some, Mr Putin's remarks about the terms cap sounded like an indication that he will not seek re-election in 2024. "He is not running," Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of state-owned TV channel RT, tweeted during the press conference. Stanovaya said, however, that this doesn't mean that Mr Putin will retire at the end of his term. She added: "he has distanced himself from the future reform... Let's see what society says." This would leave it up to parliament and the courts to come up with a new political framework for him.
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| Johnson Promises ‘New Golden Age’ for Britain: Brexit Update Posted: 19 Dec 2019 09:26 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Boris Johnson said Brexit hands the U.K. the opportunity to "renew itself" and herald a "golden age" as he began what his government described as a fast track process to ratify the divorce deal with Brussels and take Britain out of the European Union on Jan. 31.Along with Brexit, Johnson announced a "radical" program to cement promises made in the Conservative Party's victorious election campaign, including a funding boost for the state-run National Health Service, tougher sentences for criminals and a crackdown on foreign spies.Key Developments:House of Commons votes to sit on Friday to vote on Brexit billGovernment plans to close Brexit department on Jan. 31U.K. to Crack Down on Russian, North Korean Spies and SaboteursMust read: Johnson Announces His 'Radical' Agenda for U.K. After BrexitShort-Lived Independent Group Shuts Down (5 p.m.)The Independent Group for Change began the process of closing down, less than a year after the breakaway political party was formed. The party -- initially made up of an informal coalition of seven MPs who left the Labour Party in February before being joined by several former Conservative MPs -- won no seats in last week's election. Several of their founding members, including Chuka Umunna and Luciana Berger, left the party after the European elections in May."From the outset we hoped more Labour and Conservative MPs would share our courage and leave their respective political parties," said Anna Soubry, the Independent Group's leader and former Tory MP. "We have no regrets about standing up and speaking truth to power when the country needed it. It was always better to have fought and lost than never to have fought at all."Government to Act Early on Election Law (5 p.m.)The government will seek to repeal the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act fairly early in its legislative program, according to a U.K. official.The legislation was passed in 2011 to shore up the then-coalition government between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. But it makes it harder for the government to trigger an election -- a source of frustration for Boris Johnson, who wanted an early poll but couldn't secure Parliament's support to hold one.Repealing the act will make it easier to call a snap election. Returning to the old system, each Parliament won't last for longer than five years and an election is called if the government loses a confidence vote, according to the official.Johnson Under Fire Over Child Refugees (4:50 p.m.)Labour's Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer slammed the government for appearing to abandon a commitment to protect child refugees post-Brexit. The so-called Dubs clause -- named after Labour peer Alf Dubs -- required the U.K. to seek an arrangement with the EU so that an unaccompanied child refugee in the EU would be allowed to join a relative in the U.K., and vice versa. Johnson's new Brexit bill removes the obligation to negotiate this new settlement.But Johnson's spokesman, James Slack, told reporters the government remains "committed to ensuring children claiming asylum can be reunited with family members in U.K. or EU," but that the issue is one that the U.K. will deal with in future negotiations. The government is "committed to reaching that agreement," he said.Dubs, who fled to the U.K. as a child to escape the Nazis, defended Jeremy Corbyn's record on antisemitism during the election campaign, describing comments made by the U.K.'s Chief Rabbi -- calling the Labour leader unfit to be prime minister -- as going "too far."Johnson Reappoints Goldsmith as Environment Minister (4:40 p.m.)Zac Goldsmith, the junior environment minister who lost his seat in last week's general election, will be given a seat in the House of Lords and will retain his ministerial position, the government said in an emailed statement.Goldsmith will be a minister in both the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for International Development, and he won't be paid for the role.While Goldsmith's role isn't a Cabinet job, he had been among a number of junior ministers to attend. The government didn't say if he would continue to do so.May Says 'Huge Responsibility' After Tory Win (4:20 p.m.)Boris Johnson's Conservatives have a "huge responsibility" to deliver on their promises to voters after their victory in last week's general election, the premier's predecessor, Theresa May, told the House of Commons on Thursday."We must work flat out to repay that trust," said May, who was forced from power over her failure to deliver Brexit. "We must ensure that every decision we take in this House, we remember those communities who have lent that vote."May said the Tories must deliver both on Brexit and on their manifesto commitments on schools, health care and infrastructure. She also urged Johnson to remember those voters who had switched form Labour when he negotiates new trade deals."Good trade deals will be ones that protect the jobs of those who have put their faith in us," May said. "We do need to deliver on all of these issues for people and particularly for the communities who have lent us their vote, because these are the communities who have felt most left behind by globalization. These are the communities who all too often have borne the brunt when rights and standards are not protected."Johnson Rallies U.K. to Renew Itself (3:50 p.m.)Boris Johnson ended his address to Parliament with a flourish, calling on politicians to renew trust with the public. "I say to the people of this country: we owe you," he said. "We know it. And we will deliver.""As we engage full-tilt now in this mission of change, I am filled with invincible confidence in the ability of this nation, our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to renew itself in this generation as we have done so many times in the past."He called for an end to parliamentary deadlock, saying: "The time has come for change, the time has come for action, and it is action the British people will get."Johnson Suggests He'd Back N. Ireland Bridge (3:40 p.m.)Boris Johnson suggested he'd back building a bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland, telling the House of Commons to "watch this space."Johnson -- known for his taste for big infrastructure projects -- was asked about the prospect by Democratic Unionist Party MP Ian Paisley."As for his desire for a bridge to connect the two biggest isles in the British isles, all I can say is it is a very interesting idea," the premier said. "I advise him to watch this space and indeed watch that space between those islands, because what he has said -- it has not fallen on deaf ears."Johnson Says 'Golden Age' in Reach (3:35 p.m.)Boris Johnson promised his government will spark the "biggest transformation of our infrastructure since the Victorian age," reach trade deals around the world and create jobs nationwide.The premier is seeking parliamentary approval for the legislative program his government will pursue, as outlined by Queen Elizabeth II earlier in the day. He said the U.K. would embrace a "new age" of electric cars and planes and said British scientists will use "new gene therapies to cure the hitherto incurable.""This is not a program for one year or one Parliament, it is a blueprint for the future of Britain: Just imagine where this country could be in 10 years time," he said. "I do not think it vainglorious or implausible to say that a new golden age for this United Kingdom is within reach."New Powers for Courts Over EU Law (3:30 p.m.)The new version of the Withdrawal Bill will empower lower courts to overturn rulings of the European Court of Justice. In previous versions, that power had been reserved for the Supreme Court.The move may make it easier for British judges to roll back EU rulings on subjects from employment discrimination to the environment after Brexit.Johnson: People Want Country to Move On (3:25 p.m.)Boris Johnson opened his address on the Queen's Speech by calling on lawmakers to honor their promises to the electorate, first by getting Brexit done and then by passing his party's legislative agenda."This is the moment to repay the trust of the people who sent us here," he said. "If there's one resounding lesson of this election campaign, one lesson I heard in every corner of these islands, it's not just that the British people want to get Brexit done -- though they do. They want to move politics on and move the country on, building hospitals, renewing our schools, modernizing our infrastructure, making our street safer, our environment cleaner, our union stronger."He said his "people's government" will unite the nation, first by enshrining in law additional NHS funding.Corbyn Slams Johnson Over No-Deal Threat (3:20 p.m.)Jeremy Corbyn slammed Boris Johnson for seeking to ban any extension of the Brexit transition period beyond the end of 2020, saying it would damage the economy."He has now deliberately resurrected the threat of no deal at the end of next year, which would decimate industry and destroy people's jobs," Corbyn told the House of Commons. "That threat is now written into the Withdrawal Agreement Bill."Corbyn also resurrected key arguments from the campaign trail for the Dec. 12 election, in which Labour posted its worst performance since 1935, accusing the premier of seeking to "sell out" the National Health Service and put at risk protections for the environment, food and workers in a "toxic deal with Donald Trump.""We do not want our NHS given over to U.S. corporations and we don't want expensive medicines with extended patents and we don't want food like chlorinated chicken on our dinner tables either," Corbyn said. "We know the prime minister's deal won't put Brexit to bed, it'll just be the beginning of years of more drawn out negotiations."Corbyn: Johnson Mimicking Labour Policies (3:15 p.m.)Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Queen's Speech was heavily influenced by his own party's policy agenda, showing the impact he had made on the political debate -- even though his party lost the election."In this Queen's Speech, this government has tried to mimic some of the priorities and, interestingly, much of the language of Labour polices, but without the substance," he told the House of Commons. "On austerity, on investment, on regional inequality, on the National Health Service, we can see how we forced the terrain to shift. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, even if it's very pale imitation."He called on the Conservatives to fund the NHS "properly" -- rather than the "gimmick" of enshrining its funding package into law.Workers' Rights Removed From Brexit Bill (3.10 p.m)A section on protecting workers' rights that had been included in the October version of the Withdrawal Bill -- in part as a concession to encourage Labour MPs to back the legislation -- is not in the new bill (see 3p.m.).Instead, Boris Johnson's government has promised a separate Employment Bill that it says will protect and improve rights after Brexit. It was included in the Queen's Speech earlier Thursday and includes a plan to strike "the right balance between the flexibility that the economy needs and the security that workers deserve."New Brexit Bill: The Key Differences (3 p.m.)At first glance, here are the key differences between the new European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill and the one Boris Johnson put before Parliament in October:Deleted:Clause 30 on MPs having a veto over extending the implementation periodClause 31 on Parliament's oversight in negotiations for future relationshipClause 34 and Schedule 4 on the protection of workers' rightsAdded:Clause 33 banning Ministers from agreeing to an extension of the transition periodClause 35 banning the use of written procedure by the Joint Committee to adopt decisions between meetingsClause 37 on arrangements with EU about unaccompanied children seeking asylumBrexit Bill Has First Reading (2:50 p.m.)Boris Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement Bill, intended to deliver on his pledge to leave the European Union on Jan. 31, was presented to Parliament and had its first reading before members of the House of Commons debate and vote on it on Friday.The bill includes a clause to ban ministers from delaying the transition period beyond the end of December 2020: "A minister of the Crown may not agree in the Joint Committee to an extension of the implementation period."The Joint Committee refers to a panel of representatives of the EU and of the U.K. which is responsible for implementing the withdrawal agreement.Queen's Speech Unveils Johnson's Plan for Government (Earlier)Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out his agenda for government in what he described as the "most radical" program of law-making in a generation after last week's "seismic" election victory.Leading on his commitment to leave the European Union on Jan. 31, the legislative program, delivered by tradition in a speech to Parliament by Queen Elizabeth II, also includes campaign promises on spending on the National Health Service, infrastructure development and a review of the relationship between government and the courts.British business leaders generally welcomed the Queen's Speech, though stressed more details were needed in the months ahead. "The Government's legislative plans will give businesses some encouragement that Westminster is finally starting to think about growth and investment again, but the real test will be in the detail that follows," said Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce.Sturgeon Demands Legally-Binding Referendum (Earlier)Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon vowed to hold a legal and internationally recognized referendum on independence as she stepped up calls for the British government to allow her to do so in the wake of Brexit. Her Scottish National Party won 48 of Scotland's 59 districts in the U.K. election last week on a manifesto demanding another referendum on the issue in 2020."The election last week put beyond any reasonable argument our mandate to offer people in Scotland that choice," Sturgeon said in a speech in Edinburgh. "The Scottish Government believes that right should be exercised free from the threat of legal challenge."U.K. Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove rejected the Scottish Parliament's calls for another referendum, telling the BBC the SNP should respect the result of the 2014 vote. "I think the whole of this general election shows that if you have politicians who don't respect referendum results, the public don't like that," he said.Earlier:Johnson Announces His 'Radical' Agenda for U.K. After BrexitTo contact the reporters on this story: Greg Ritchie in London at gritchie10@bloomberg.net;Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@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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| Canada court allows son of Russian spies to keep citizenship Posted: 19 Dec 2019 09:19 AM PST  Canada's Supreme Court ruled Thursday that he son of a Russian spy couple who lived clandestine lives in Canada and the United States can keep his Canadian citizenship. Alexander Vavilov was born in Toronto, which would typically qualify him for Canadian citizenship.
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| Is Nancy Pelosi’s Impeachment Pin As Cryptic As We Think? Posted: 19 Dec 2019 08:58 AM PST  On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted in favor of two articles of impeachment, making Donald Trump the third impeached president in the history of the United States. And during the proceedings, it would appear that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi may have been trolling Trump with her Mace of the Republic pin, one of the oldest symbols of the American government.The pin is a smaller version of the ceremonial staff, a bundle of metal rods that represents authority and solidarity, and rests by the speaker's desk when the House is in session. Historically, it's used to restore order in the chamber. The actual staff has been a part of many significant events in this country's history. But to us, it looks like Pelosi is wearing the nail that she intends to hammer into Trump's presidency, ending it. > Pelosi making a statement with her outfit. > > She's dressed in all black and wearing her power broach: the Mace of the Republic, which symbolizes the legislative authority of the House of Representatives. > > Here's Pelosi on the House floor with her broach vs a pic of the mace. pic.twitter.com/D0lw3ciR7S> > — Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) December 18, 2019Vox notes, "Worn as a brooch, it delivers the unspoken message that Pelosi is the authoritative figure of the House. It asserts the political power she holds in office as speaker — particularly notable given that just yesterday, Trump accused her and House Democrats in a rambling letter of 'declaring open war on American Democracy.'"This isn't the first time Trump has been shaded with a well-placed brooch and a woman with an agenda. Last summer, Queen Elizabeth II may have been throwing shade at Trump with three different brooches during his state visit to Buckingham Palace in July, including one that she wore to her mother's funeral. And that's not where it stops. The suit she wore with the funeral pin is the same one she wore to Parliament following the Brexit vote, which @SamaruiKnitter, a jewelry blogger who explained the significance of the pieces on Twitter, referred to as Queen Elizabeth II's "Official Outfit of Don't Wanna."Now, six committees will present evidence to Pelosi as House Speaker to be reviewed by the Judiciary Committee and make the final call on whether or not Trump says in office — and we can't wait to see what Pelosi wears. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?Did Queen Elizabeth II Just Shade Donald Trump?Did Queen Elizabeth Just Shade President Trump?Is This How Melania Trump Protests Her Husband?
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| Impeaching Donald Trump is not enough. The case for conviction Posted: 19 Dec 2019 08:41 AM PST  The US Senate must show America, and the world, that there are consequences for presidents who abuse their powerDonald Trump has been impeached. For the sake of American democracy and national security, the Senate must convict and remove him from office.The articles of impeachment make a powerful and clear case: The president abused his power, extorting Ukraine to help Trump's campaign by fabricating smears about his potential political opponent and withholding US assistance from Ukraine until the campaign help was received. Then, when the House of Representatives began investigating the president's actions, the president engaged in obstruction of Congress by ordering the executive branch not to comply with congressional subpoenas.The facts – as made clear by the record of the call between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, witness testimony, and the evidence compiled by the House intelligence and judiciary committees – indisputably back up the accusations made in the articles.And while the impeachment is focused on Trump's actions on Ukraine, the reasons why he must be convicted and removed from office go far beyond this incident. As the articles of impeachment state: "President Trump … has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office …" Ukraine was not Trump's first attempt to get foreign help for his campaign; it was "consistent with President Trump's previous invitations of foreign interference in United States elections."> Trump's scheme is to get foreign countries to help his re-election campaign, and if he gets away with it, he will undermine the upcoming electionFirst was Russia. Let's recall: Trump aided the efforts of a foreign power – Russia – to attack and undermine America's 2016 election in order to help himself win; Trump publicly asked Russia to hack the emails of his campaign opponent, which Russia did later that very day; Trump's campaign met with Russian representatives to receive dirt on Hillary Clinton; and then Trump repeatedly obstructed the investigation into the collusion. Special counsel Robert Mueller outlined it all in his report.While Mueller was finalizing his investigation, Trump and his associates were in the midst of an effort to extort Ukraine into smearing Trump's potential political rival, former vice-president Joe Biden. The day after Mueller testified before Congress, Trump asked Zelenskiy for a "favor" to smear Biden and resuscitate a debunked conspiracy theory about the 2016 election. Trump enlisted US government officials to pressure Ukraine by withholding US military assistance and a White House meeting with the new Ukrainian president until Ukraine announced an investigation that would help Trump.Then, in the midst of the Ukraine scandal, Trump asked China to help his campaign by investigating Biden. Turns out Trump may have been asking China for this help for a while, with one report stating that Trump discussed Biden with Chinese president Xi Jinping and an informal Trump adviseor on China claiming that he discussed the issue with Chinese officials. You heard that right: the president of the United States also asked perhaps America's greatest geopolitical competitor to help his re-election campaign.While asking for campaign help from foreigners is against the law – and a grave abuse of power – it is part of Trump's playbook. If the Senate does not convict and remove him from office, he is likely to continue doing it, just as he has continued doing it during the impeachment process – Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, visited Ukraine again this month to continue the attempt to get foreign campaign help for Trump.This impeachment process is not just about Trump's abuse of power – it's also about preserving the integrity of the 2020 election. Trump's scheme is to get foreign countries to help his re-election campaign, and if he gets away with it, he will undermine the upcoming election. The House judiciary committee's impeachment report makes clear that Trump's actions undercut the very fundamentals of American democracy: "Foreign interference in the American political system was among the gravest dangers feared by the founders of our Nation and the Framers of our Constitution." And if Trump gets away with this, what will stop other politicians from soliciting foreign help?Not convicting Trump would be devastating for our national security. More than once Trump has sold out America for personal gain and shown that he is willing to keep doing it. Trump's actions are an open invitation to America's adversaries to attempt to erode US national security for the price of advancing Trump's personal interests.Key members of the congressional GOP seem to have made their decision to stick by Trump no matter how great his sins. And perhaps the outcome of a trial is a foregone conclusion. But even if the trial does not end in conviction, it can achieve many things: it can make clear to the American people how dangerous Trump's actions are; it can reveal further information about Trump's misdeeds by demanding testimony from acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former National Security adviser John Bolton, or information about the involvement of two indicted individuals, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, in the Ukraine scandal; and it can force senators to decide whether they are loyal to a single man or to the constitution and the public interest.Most of all, a Senate trial will show that there are consequences for presidents who abuse their power. Even if he is not removed from office, a trial can help instill some faith that the foundations of our democracy are not completely broken and send a signal to the world that America is fighting back against those who would undermine it from within.
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| At Least One Dead in Shooting at Russia’s FSB Security Service Headquarters Posted: 19 Dec 2019 08:37 AM PST  At least one person is reported to be dead in Moscow after a shooter opened fire Thursday evening at the highly secure headquarters of Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB, according to several Russian news outlets.Heavy gunfire erupted outside the Russian spy agency in Lubyanka Square, where social-media footage shows several police officers running near the building with assault rifles. A Federal Security Service security officer was fatally shot during the attack, according to the agency, and the gunman involved was "neutralized."According to Reuters, the shooting incident may have been planned to coincide Putin's commemorative speech for Russia's day of the security services."An unknown person opened fire near building 12 on the Bolshaya Lubyanka street," the security agency said in a statement, according to the Interfax news agency. "Some people were injured."The Health Ministry said that five other people were wounded in the shooting, including two Federal Security Service personnel, the Interfax news agency reported. The building is in a neighborhood that is known to be in one of the most highly secured parts of Moscow. One witness told Reuters she had heard shots fired in the same area and sirens, gunfire, and screams were heard by several people. In addition to the FSB building, Lubyanka Square is also a busy shopping destination popular with tourists and about a five-minute drive from the Kremlin.Robert Anchipolovsky, a musician told The Associated Press he was on the way to his concert in Moscow when the shooting began. "I thought it was fireworks and then I saw how police started to fall on the tarmac and crouch down," said Anchipolovsky, who filmed the incident from his car.The attack came on the same day President Vladimir Putin gave his annual televised news conference, in which he hailed Russia's continued political stability. Putin himself is a former agent of the KGB, the predecessor agency of the FSB. As the gunfire started, he was at a gala at the Kremlin to celebrate "Security Agency Worker's Day," a government website reported."Today we honor the people who have chosen a very difficult but also very important path for the state and society; those who staunchly defend Russia's national interests and security, uncover and neutralize internal and external threats, and protect the lives, rights and constitutional freedoms of all Russians," Putin said in his Security Agency Worker's Day speech.At around 7:15 p.m. local time, the news outlet Meduza reported that FSB press officers said a gunman had also been killed, and officials were working to establish his identity. The outlet said its correspondent continued to hear gunfire in the area after that time.Fifteen minutes later, the "siren" alert, indicating the search for an active shooter, was activated throughout the capital, according to Baza. The agency also activated their "fortress" plan—which puts all buildings in total lockdown.Russian investigators have opened criminal proceedings into the attempted murder of law-enforcement officers after the incident, Reuters reported. 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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| US denounces Iran rights abuses, imposes sanctions on judges Posted: 19 Dec 2019 08:20 AM PST  The United States is imposing sanction s on additional senior Iranian officials for human rights abuses as the Trump administration increases its "maximum pressure campaign" on the Tehran government. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced the recent violent crackdow n by Iranian authorities against widespread protests, and the Treasury Department on Thursday targeted two top Iranian judges with penalties. Pompeo assailed Iranian officials for "hypocrisy" by depriving citizens, particularly ethnic and religious minorities of their constitutional rights.
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| Russian security officer dead, 5 injured in Moscow shooting Posted: 19 Dec 2019 08:16 AM PST  An unidentified gunman opened fire Thursday outside the Moscow headquarters of Russia's top security agency, killing one officer and wounding five others, officials said. The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said the assailant was acting alone and didn't enter its building. Earlier, it said the assailant had been "neutralized" — a term usually used by Russian officials when an assailant is killed.
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| Gunman attacks Russian security service headquarters in Moscow Posted: 19 Dec 2019 08:01 AM PST  A gunman opened fire on the headquarters of Russia's FSB security service in central Moscow on Thursday evening in a rare shooting incident that the FSB said had left at least one of its employees dead. The attack happened shortly after President Vladimir Putin had delivered his annual news conference and while he was speaking at a Kremlin event designed to celebrate the work of the security services. The FSB suspected the attack may have been planned to coincide with Putin's evening speech, a source close to the FSB told Reuters. The FSB, Russia's domestic security service, said it had "neutralised" the gunman and was working to establish his identity, the Interfax news agency reported. It was not immediately clear what his motive was. Footage posted on social media showed automatic gunfire hitting the walls of the FSB's main building on Lubyanka Square in central Moscow. Sirens, gunshots and screams were heard by people in the area, which is also a busy shopping district popular with tourists that is a short walk from the Kremlin. The FSB, which Putin used to head, said several people had been wounded in the attack. Interfax cited the Health Ministry as saying five people had been hurt, some of them seriously, including two FSB employees. Police vehicles block a street near the Federal Security Service building Credit: REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov Russian investigators said in a statement they had opened a criminal case into the attempted murder of law enforcement officers. Putin was aware of the incident, Russian news agencies cited the Kremlin as saying. Reuters reporters heard several gunshots during the evening, followed by what sounded like an explosion amid unconfirmed reports that sappers were defusing explosive devices left behind by the gunman. Unverified videos shared on social media showed several people resembling police officers holding assault rifles running along a nearby street. One witness told Reuters he had seen the lifeless body of what he thought was a police officer lying in the street. "The shooting began around 17:40," one witness told Reuters. "I saw a member of the traffic police running down the road, hiding behind vehicles." Five ambulances were seen leaving the cordoned-off area.
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| Central African Republic’s Ousted Leader Bozize Back From Exile Posted: 19 Dec 2019 07:54 AM PST ![Central African Republic's Ousted Leader Bozize Back From Exile]( "Central African Republic's Ousted Leader Bozize Back From Exile") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Next Africa newsletter and follow Bloomberg Africa on TwitterFormer Central African Republic President Francois Bozize returned to the nation this week after a six-year exile following his ouster in 2013."While his presence poses some questions that will be handled with respect by the government and the international community, Francois Bozize is a central African citizen and former president who deserves respect, owing to his rank," Minister of Communications Ange Maxim Kazagui said in a statement on Thursday.The former leader's son, Francis Bozize, declined to comment about speculation that his father was considering contesting presidential elections due next year. He was barred from running in 2015. The country is currently led by Faustin-Archange Touadera.Conflict has been rife in a nation that the United Nations ranks as one of the world's poorest. Bozize seized power in 2003 and was ousted a decade later in a coup that saw armed groups seize control of large parts of the country and prompted a UN peacekeeping mission.To contact the reporter on this story: Elie Smith in Johannesburg at esmith351@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Gordon Bell at gbell16@bloomberg.net, John BowkerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Warring sides reach humanitarian agreement on key Yemen town Posted: 19 Dec 2019 07:49 AM PST  Yemen's warring parties agreed Thursday to create humanitarian corridors in the key port city of Hodeida, which remains the main entry point for food and aid in a country witnessing the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The agreement follows two days of U.N.-mediated talks between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition. A coordinating committee sanctioned by the world body said in a statement that both parties were working on redeploying forces to improve humanitarian access and enable movement of civilians.
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| Trump ally Meadows won't run again, may join White House Posted: 19 Dec 2019 07:31 AM PST  Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, a top conservative ally of President Donald Trump, said Thursday he won't seek reelection next year. Now in his seventh year in the House, Meadows has been a leader of hard-right conservatives who repeatedly defied and bedeviled two GOP House speakers. Meadows' name has been floated inside the White House at times as a possible replacement for Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.
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| Putin drops cryptic hint on 2024 exit in press marathon Posted: 19 Dec 2019 07:24 AM PST  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday dropped a cryptic hint seen by some as a sign he may not serve another term while also staunchly defending his Kremlin policies in a marathon news conference. Clocking in at four hours and twenty-five minutes, the question-and-answer session was one of the longest ever held by Putin in a format that has become an annual end-of-year tradition for the Russian leader. Putin -- who will shortly mark two decades since Boris Yeltsin dramatically handed him the presidency at the start of 2000 -- faced the media with Russia still isolated internationally and speculation growing about his own plans when his mandate ends in 2024.
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| Putin Defends Trump Against ‘Spurious’ Impeachment by Democrats Posted: 19 Dec 2019 07:04 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin rode to the defense of Donald Trump by dismissing the "spurious" impeachment of the American leader as an attempt by his political opponents to oust him.The vote against Trump in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives reflects a continuing "domestic political battle" in the U.S., Putin told his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on Thursday. "The party that lost the election, the Democratic Party, is trying to reach its goal by different means," he said.Trump's presidency is far from over, since Republican lawmakers who control the Senate "are unlikely to want to drive out of power a representative of their own party," he said.Putin, who has repeatedly rejected findings by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia intervened to help get Trump elected in 2016, mocked the Democrats for targeting Trump over allegations he abused his office by pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate his rival Joe Biden. At their summit in Helsinki last year, Putin told reporters that he'd wanted Trump to win the election.The Kremlin leader's marathon press conference lasted more than 4 hours and was attended by more than 1,000 journalists from around Russia and the world. Increasingly resembling his annual phone-in with ordinary Russians eager to secure his help in resolving local problems, the president faced questions mostly on domestic issues including pensions, rubbish disposal and the high cost of flights between Moscow and Russia's far east. Many participants held up large signs to try to attract his attention to their local region.In a break from tradition, Putin moved straight to questions from journalists without delivering opening remarks that usually have focused on the state of the Russian economy. That may be because a long-awaited rebound in living standards that he promised at last year's event hasn't materialized. Economic growth isn't expected to exceed 1.3% this year, well below the 1.8% that Putin forecast at the 2018 press conference.Putin brushed off a question on when living standards will rise after five years of falling incomes. He said boosting economic growth and productivity is a priority, but didn't offer any solutions.The Federal Statistics Service revised up income data for the first nine months of the year just before the press conference, citing new information from government agencies. The central bank has warned that Russia won't be able to significantly revive the economy without structural reform.Putin endorsed possible constitutional changes but remained coy about his plans beyond 2024, when his current term ends and he is legally bound to step down. He said he was aware of proposals to increase the powers of parliament and adjust those held by the traditionally strong president and weaker prime minister.Two Terms"I understand the logic of those who are suggesting these things," Putin said. "But all this can only be done after serious preparations and a wide discussion within society, and it should be done very carefully."He did suggest that he supported calls to change the constitution to prevent future presidents from doing what he's done, by limiting them to two terms in total and not two consecutive terms under the current rules.Putin has been in power since 2000 and is in his fourth term as president. Between his second and third terms, he ceded the presidency to Dmitry Medvedev and served as Prime Minister for four years to 2012.He also avoided a direct response when a BBC Russian service reporter asked when he would admit that two public figures whose projects rely on support from his friends, state companies and officials are his daughters. Saying the journalist "named one woman, and a second one," Putin said the question mistakenly implied they were the beneficiaries of the businesses they run.Other highlights included:Putin expressed disappointment at the Trump administration's refusal to respond to Russian offers to extend the New START nuclear treaty, which expires in 2021. If there's no new arms-control agreement, "there won't be anything to halt the arms race," he warned.He hit back at criticism from Germany, which expelled two Russian diplomats after accusing Moscow of failing to cooperate in the investigation into the murder of a Chechen man in Berlin. Putin, whose government kicked out two German embassy staff in response, denounced Zelimkhan Khangoshvili as a "killer," accusing him of killing 98 people and of links to a deadly bombing in the Moscow subway.Any attempt to re-open the 2015 peace accord intended to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine will mean "we end up in a total dead-end," Putin said. He added that he's "alarmed" at recent comments on the issue by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.Putin said Russia is "on the way" toward sealing a natural gas transit deal with Ukraine, potentially alleviating the risk of supply disruptions in the New Year.He questioned the scientific consensus that human activity is the cause of climate change as Moscow experiences the highest December temperatures for 133 years. Still, he acknowledged the climate is changing and said Russia needs to maximize efforts to fight it.\--With assistance from Natasha Doff, Stepan Kravchenko, Evgenia Pismennaya, Irina Reznik and Jake Rudnitsky.To contact the reporters on this story: Ilya Arkhipov in Moscow at iarkhipov@bloomberg.net;Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Tony HalpinFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UL Announces Commitment to the UN Global Compact's Ten Principles Posted: 19 Dec 2019 07:00 AM PST  Every company aspires to make an impact in the world. The United Nations Global Compact developed 10 principles to help guide a company's impact and transform the world we live in. The Ten Principles provide a blueprint to help shape a global culture where we end extreme poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity now and in the future.
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| Turkey denies allowing Hamas to operate on Turkish soil Posted: 19 Dec 2019 06:57 AM PST ![Turkey denies allowing Hamas to operate on Turkish soil]( "Turkey denies allowing Hamas to operate on Turkish soil") Turkey on Thursday denied accusations that a militant Palestinian group is using its territory to plan attacks against Israel. The denial came following media reports that claimed that Turkey was turning a blind eye as commanders of the Hamas group were allegedly ordering attacks against Israel from Istanbul. The Turkish Foreign Ministry rejected the report on its Twitter account.
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| Trump faults Pelosi for uncertainty over impeachment trial Posted: 19 Dec 2019 06:01 AM PST  President Donald Trump is lashing out at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after she threw uncertainty into the impeachment process by refusing to say, repeatedly, when or whether she would send two impeachment articles to the Republican-controlled Senate for a trial. "Now the Do Nothing Party want to Do Nothing with the Articles & not deliver them to the Senate," Trump tweeted Thursday morning. The House impeached Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstructing Congress stemming from his pressure on Ukraine to announce investigations of his political rival as he withheld U.S. aid.
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| Trump accidentally says Democrats will receive an impeachment 'backlash at the box office' Posted: 19 Dec 2019 05:51 AM PST  Who would have taken President Trump for a box office prognosticator?He briefly became one with a gaffe at his Wednesday night rally, which occurred at the same time the House of Representatives passed articles of impeachment charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The president meant to declare that Democrats will experience a backlash in the 2020 election for impeaching him, but instead, he briefly got the worlds of entertainment and politics all mixed up."They'll receive a big backlash at the box office," Trump said of House Democrats, before trying to casually correct himself moments later by referencing "that ballot box on November 3rd," as if that's what he said the first time.Then again, if Trump did mean box office, it wouldn't be out of character. He declared in August that "Hollywood is racist" and that "what they're doing with the kind of movies they're putting out, it's actually very dangerous to our country."Or perhaps he was actually talking about the Democrats' decision to hold a presidential debate on the opening night of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, predicting a huge surge in ticket sales from those who are specifically choosing not to tune in. As Trump might say, who can figure out the true meaning of the box office comment? Enjoy! > Pres. Trump: House Democrats "look like a bunch of fools…They'll receive a big backlash at the box office." https://t.co/O9l3h6v4WW pic.twitter.com/3mxqYeprIi> > -- ABC News (@ABC) December 19, 2019More stories from theweek.com Evangelical magazine founded by Billy Graham calls for Trump's removal from office The Trump drama is about to get a whole lot weirder Trump reportedly blamed Ukraine for election interference because 'Putin told me'
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| Bowing out in 2024? Cryptic Putin comment reignites speculation Posted: 19 Dec 2019 05:44 AM PST  Russian President Vladimir Putin may have dropped a major hint on Thursday about not running again in 2024, with a cryptic remark that the wording in the constitution on presidential mandates should be amended, observers said. One of the key intrigues as Putin, 67, held his annual marathon press conference was whether the Russian leader believes that his fourth term in office should be his last. After succeeding Boris Yeltsin and serving two terms from 2000 to 2008, Putin got around this by handing the presidency to his ally Dmitry Medvedev in 2008 and then serving four years as prime minister.
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| 6 big questions ahead of Democrats' final debate of 2019 Posted: 19 Dec 2019 05:38 AM PST  Just seven Democrats will take the stage for the sixth and final round of presidential debates in 2019. There are essentially four front-runners, each with his or her own glaring flaws. Forgive us for asking this question first, but why are Democrats debating this week at all?
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| Libyan intelligence acknowledges it arrested journalist Posted: 19 Dec 2019 05:35 AM PST ![Libyan intelligence acknowledges it arrested journalist]( "Libyan intelligence acknowledges it arrested journalist") Libya's intelligence body said it arrested a prominent local journalist, acknowledging the detention four days after his disappearance, which brought international criticism. Journalist Reda Fhelboom disappeared after his arrival in the capital Tripoli from neighboring Tunisia. Fhelboom's disappearance Saturday drew the attention of local and international human rights advocates.
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