| Trump approves Russia-Europe gas pipeline sanctions Posted: 20 Dec 2019 05:12 PM PST  President Donald Trump on Friday signed off on US sanctions against companies building a Russian natural gas pipeline to Germany that Congress fears will give the Kremlin dangerous leverage over European allies. The sanctions, which are opposed by the European Union, were included in a sprawling defense spending bill Trump signed at a ceremony on Joint Base Andrews, an air force installation outside Washington, DC. US lawmakers have warned the pipeline would enrich a hostile Russian government and vastly increase President Vladimir Putin's influence in Europe at a time of heightened tension across the continent.
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| Bernie Sanders calls out Buttigieg's billionaire fundraising: 'exactly the problem with politics' Posted: 20 Dec 2019 04:43 PM PST  Exclusive: the Vermont senator speaks to the Guardian about his rivals' support from billionaires, and his plan to beat TrumpBernie Sanders on Friday doubled down on criticism of fellow Democratic presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden over the support they've received from billionaire donors, arguing his 2020 rivals' fundraising was "exactly the problem with American politics".Sanders noted that the South Bend mayor, Buttigieg, had accepted support from 40 billionaires throughout his campaign and was "closing in on Biden", the former vice-president who has received donations from at least 44 billionaires. The Vermont senator told the Guardian: "They will tell you, 'It doesn't impact me. It really doesn't mean anything to me.' That is clearly nonsensical. Why would billionaires and wealthy people be making large contributions if it didn't mean something to them?"Sanders appeared cheerful and spoke confidently about the state of his presidential campaign as he sat down with the Guardian and the not-for-profit publication Capital & Main before a climate town hall in Moreno Valley, just outside of Los Angeles. He discussed his odds in the early primary states and his policy priorities in the White House, one day after the final Democratic debate of the year.On Thursday, Sanders had faced off with six opponents in an at times heated debate, which was marked by escalating attacks on Buttigieg, the 37-year-old centrist mayor who has been rising in the polls in early primary states.Buttigieg faced questions over his lack of experience in national politics and repeated criticism for a lavish fundraiser in a California "wine cave". The mayor countered he was willing to accept money from anyone who wanted to defeat Donald Trump.That attitude has created "candidates who are not addressing the needs of working class people, but are working overtime to protect the wealthy and the powerful", Sanders argued on Friday, rattling off statistics on the extreme expansion of income inequality over the last 30 years in the US. "The agenda of the wealthy … is implemented by their campaign contributions and their access to candidates."Sanders also brushed aside concerns from some Democratic pundits, who have drawn comparisons between him and Jeremy Corbyn, the British Labour leader who experienced a stunning defeat in that country's recent elections. "Our opponents will throw every reason in the world against us," Sanders said, arguing his rise is making the Democratic establishment "very, very nervous".> Why would billionaires and wealthy people be making large contributions if it didn't mean something to them?> > Bernie SandersHe continued, "The United Kingdom, last I heard, is not the United States. Brexit is not a major part of what this campaign is about. The issues that I am campaigning on, in fact, are precisely the issues the American people support. Talk about raising the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour. Four years ago when I introduced that concept, it was a radical idea. Not radical anymore."Sanders noted that there was also polling showing broad support for many of his more progressive proposals, including Medicare for All, student debt cancellation and wealth taxes.In his first weeks in office, Sanders said, he'd pursue a wealth tax, infrastructure legislation to spur new job growth, his signature Green New Deal climate plan, efforts to make it easier for workers to unionize and a push to close the wage gap for women. He'd also work on an executive order to ensure that contractors with the federal government pay workers a minimum of $15 an hour. "We have the message to appeal to working people. We are investing in this campaign very heavily in a grassroots effort here in California. It's unprecedented, I think it is fair to say."The Sanders campaign has invested heavily in organizing in California, recognizing the growing importance of the state in the primary race. Roughly 14 million voters will be eligible to participate in the state's 3 March Democratic primary. Sanders has held rallies in cities across the state, and has built a large grassroots infrastructure to spread his message.California polls have shown him performing well among Latino voters, a bloc that will be critical as the race heats up. Sanders and Warren have been near the top in recent polls across the country, though the progressive senators have largely continued to trail Biden, considered the most moderate frontrunner.Among the toughest questions Sanders faced during the debate were several on race and identity. When asked about concerns regarding too many older men in power, he interjected, "And I'm white as well!" adding, "The issue is not old or young, male or female, the issue is working people standing up taking on the billionaire class." When he pivoted to the climate crisis on a question about racism, he earned a rebuke from a moderator.Asked about the nearly all white lineup at Thursday's debate, the senator promised on Friday, "When people turn on the television and see my cabinet and our administration, it will look like America … in terms of racial diversity, ethnic diversity, religious diversity … We've got to work hard to undo the racism and the xenophobia of the Trump administration and one way you do that is to create an inclusive administration."He declined to say whether he would select a vice-president running mate who was a person of color: "It's too early."Asked if he had fun at the debate, the senator sighed. "Fun is the wrong word. It's frustrating! You don't have time to get into the issues."
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| The Former Parcel Courier Who Could Bring Down Angela Merkel Posted: 20 Dec 2019 04:00 PM PST ![The Former Parcel Courier Who Could Bring Down Angela Merkel]( "The Former Parcel Courier Who Could Bring Down Angela Merkel") (Bloomberg) -- Saskia Esken entered a December meeting with her Social Democratic caucus in the glass-domed Reichstag holding the future of Angela Merkel's government in her hand.The little-known former parcel carrier-turned-politician had days earlier been propelled to the top of Germany's oldest party on a pledge to do whatever it took to reverse dismal election results. In the spacious third-floor conference room of the refurbished neo-Renaissance-style parliament building, the 58-year-old college dropout faced the old guard.According to one person in the room, the party veterans warned her not to break with conservative allies. The left-wing hardliner looked at them sternly and said she would give Merkel's grand coalition a last chance. Instead of leaving, she would wrest concessions for greater investment and better wages.She was met with mute applause.Many of the comrades, as party members call each other, had doubts over her real intentions and her ability to negotiate. Indeed, Esken is the wild card in the political survival of Merkel and the party itself.Driven by her own working-class background, Esken is seen as ideologically-driven and headstrong but lacking leadership experience and allies, according to people who know her or have worked with her.After the meeting with her lawmakers, Esken told Bloomberg News that everything had gone well and that the atmosphere had been good. But opinions on her vary."We haven't been enthusiastic about the new leadership. It would be a lie to deny that", says Carsten Schneider, deputy leader of the parliamentary group that Esken belongs to.Long DemiseIn some ways Esken is the antithesis of the stale and stuffy image the party leadership had won over the years and that many members blamed for the party's demise. Nearly two decades ago the SPD was the No.1 political force with more than 40% support. Today, it's a distant fourth with less than 15%.Certainly the demise of the party mirrors that of Social Democrats elsewhere in Europe that have struggled with the rise of populists and Greens. But Esken and her supporters claim that it's the alliance with Merkel's conservatives that blurred the party's profile and accelerated its decline.Today she goes out of her way to highlight her working-class background as an example of the party's return to its roots.Esken worked as a chauffeur and barwoman before she turned to programming software, Esken's raison d'etre centers around issues of social mobility and economic justice. She blasts cut-throat competition for undermining solidarity and advocates higher taxes for the wealthy. One of her main issues is a proposal to hike the minimum wage by at least 30% to 12 euros per hour."Today I'm a lawmaker but I haven't forgotten where I've come from. I know the living conditions of the people for whom we do politics," she told hundreds of delegates at the party convention.Yet even within her own party, many politicians question whether she has the wherewithal to extract concessions from Merkel and turn around her party. Her leadership experience, she has said, is limited to being No. 2 at a parent group in her home state.To be sure, some of the opposition she faces comes from SPD lawmakers worried they could lose their jobs if she pulls out of the coalition and eventually triggers snap elections. Still, other than an endorsement from the Young Socialists, she has no real network and few allies within her ranks, party members say, and has yet to impose her authority.Threats AliveIn the two weeks since she was confirmed as party leader, Esken has sought to reassure coalition partners by saying she wouldn't do anything to destabilize the government. But at the same time she has kept alive the threat that the SPD could still jump ship.When a special committee of coalition partners met last week to negotiate tougher climate measures, one of the key demands of the Esken-led team, Esken herself was noticeably absent. Instead, it was Finance Minister Olaf Scholz who attended a group of representatives from the SPD.Scholz, who lost to Esken with his bid to become party chief, has no intention to follow orders from her but will do what he can to keep the grand coalition together, according to a person familiar with his thinking.All that doesn't bode well for the new leaders of the Social Democrats, who were already mocked by Merkel allies for their radical demands that include giving up the country's famed zero deficit spending."Esken faces the dilemma of either disappointing the base that elected her and she's identified with, or to torpedo the government," said Wichard Woyke, professor of politics at the University of Muenster. "Whatever she does, she's bound to fail because it will bring the party down."To contact the reporter on this story: Birgit Jennen in Berlin at bjennen1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, ;Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo, Raymond ColittFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| DHS watchdog finds no wrongdoing in deaths of 2 migrant kids Posted: 20 Dec 2019 03:52 PM PST  The Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog found no wrongdoing or misconduct by immigration officials in the deaths of two migrant children last December. The Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security released two brief statements Friday evening on the deaths of Jakelin Amei Rosmery Caal Maquin, who died Dec. 8, and Felipe Gómez Alonzo, who died Dec. 24. Border crossings have since declined in recent months following major crackdowns.
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| Russia and China veto UN motion to extend humanitarian aid in Syria Posted: 20 Dec 2019 03:22 PM PST  Russia and China have blocked a UN Security Council resolution that would have extended for a year cross-border humanitarian aid to four million Syrians. Humanitarian aid currently flows into Syria through UN-designated checkpoints without the formal permission of the regime in Damascus, but that authority is due to expire on January 10. Germany, Belgium and Kuwait presented a resolution extending that authority for a year, winning the support of 13 council members but drawing the vetoes of Russia and China. A competing Russian resolution that would have granted a six-month extension while reducing the number of UN crossing points was rejected, having failed to get the minimum nine votes. Russia is a close ally and supporter of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian President, and has used its veto 14 times on Syrian issues since the start of the country's civil war in 2011. Syria has been ripped apart by its civil war which has raged since 2011 Credit: ABDULAZEZ KETAZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Vassily Nebenzia, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, said the latest resolution was "obsolete" because the authorities in Damascus have "retaken control of most" of Syria's territory. But the UN humanitarian relief department says the aid remains crucial as the situation on the ground has deteriorated over the past year and Syria is heading into winter. Four million Syrians directly benefit from the cross-border aid shipments while 11 million benefit from international aid after eight years of war. Kelly Craft, the US ambassador, said she was "in a state of shock" after the vetoes. "Today we took a huge step backwards in credibility where it really matters," Ms Craft said. "I am deeply and profoundly disappointed at the outcome of today's meeting." Anne Gueguen, France's deputy permanent representative, called the Russian veto "irresponsible", insisting that there was no alternative to providing aid across Syria's borders. The latest resolution failed just as tens of thousands of civilians flee the northwestern Idlib region due to heavy bombardments by Assad's government, backed by Russia, in the last bastion of the jihadist opposition. The UN said aid is crucial to helping the millions of displaced Syrians Credit: AAREF WATAD/AFP/Getty Images The resolution that was vetoed called for a one-year extension of the authorisation to ship humanitarian relief supplies into Syria – in effect since 2014 – through three checkpoints, two in Turkey and one in Iraq. Hoping to overcome Russian opposition, the resolution's sponsors on Wednesday dropped a request for a fourth point of entry on the Jordanian border, which has hardly been used since 2018. Earlier in the week, Russia offered a competing draft resolution calling for a six-month extension, but only via the two Turkish checkpoints. Put to a vote Friday, that proposal was rejected, with the United States, France, Britain, Poland, Peru and the Dominican Republic voting against. Germany, Belgium, Kuwait and Indonesia abstained. Zhang Jun, China's ambassador, said: "If you're so concerned about Syria, then why didn't you vote in favor of the Russian draft?" But the British ambassador, Karen Pierce, said that the vetoes showed an unwillingness to help Syrians. "There is time to sort it out if everybody is willing to do so," Ms Pierce said. "I found the crocodile tears from the Russians and Syrians about what will now happen on the ground merely yet another example of the breathtaking hypocrisy we have seen on this."
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| UN: No new meeting yet on drafting new Syria constitution Posted: 20 Dec 2019 03:08 PM PST ![UN: No new meeting yet on drafting new Syria constitution]( "UN: No new meeting yet on drafting new Syria constitution") The U.N. special envoy for Syria told the Security Council on Friday that he won't convene another session of a 45-member body that is supposed to draft a new constitution for Syria until the government and opposition agree on an agenda. Geir Pedersen, who is facilitating meetings of the constitutional committee in Geneva, said he hopes to consult the government in Damascus soon, as well as the opposition. Pedersen said the first meeting of the 150-member constitutional committee ended successfully, but there are several lessons from the second meeting with the smaller drafting body.
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| Trump touts 'very good' Xi phone call Posted: 20 Dec 2019 02:23 PM PST  President Donald Trump touted a "very good talk" Friday with Xi Jinping on a deal to resolve their trade war, while Chinese media said Xi had complained about US interference in Hong Kong and elsewhere. Trump tweeted that China "already started large scale" increases in purchases of US farm goods, in line with the deal. Xi welcomed the progress, state news agency Xinhua reported.
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| Trump adviser: Expect more aggressive poll watching in 2020 Posted: 20 Dec 2019 01:15 PM PST  One of President Donald Trump's top re-election advisers told influential Republicans in swing state Wisconsin that the party has "traditionally" relied on voter suppression to compete in battleground states, according to an audio recording of a private event obtained by The Associated Press. The adviser said later that his remarks referred to frequent and false accusations that Republicans employ such tactics. Justin Clark, a senior political adviser and senior counsel to Trump's re-election campaign, made the remarks on Nov. 21 as part of a wide-ranging discussion about strategies in the 2020 campaign, including more aggressive use of Election Day monitoring of polling places.
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| Trump Believes Ukraine Interfered with 2016 Election Because Vladimir Putin Told Him So: Report Posted: 20 Dec 2019 12:30 PM PST  Trump Believes Ukraine Interfered with Election Because Putin Told Him So: Report
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| Johnson's Brexit deal secures first win in new parliament Posted: 20 Dec 2019 12:25 PM PST  Britain's new parliament on Friday gave its initial approval to a revised EU divorce deal that sets up a high-stakes clash with Brussels over the sides' future ties. The 358 to 234 vote paves the way for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to deliver on his winning general election promise to "get Brexit done" without further delays on January 31. A snap poll last week gave Johnson's pro-Brexit Conservatives a commanding majority of 365 seats in the 650-member lower House of Commons.
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| Whoo's there? Georgia family discovers owl in Christmas tree Posted: 20 Dec 2019 11:51 AM PST  A Georgia family got a real hoot from its Christmas tree: More than a week after they bought it, they discovered a live owl nestled among its branches. Katie McBride Newman said Friday that she and her daughter spotted the bird on Dec. 12. "It was surreal, but we weren't really freaked out about it," McBride Newman said.
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| Prominent US Evangelical magazine calls for Donald Trump to be removed from office Posted: 20 Dec 2019 11:29 AM PST  The first crack in Donald Trump's support among America's huge Evangelical community emerged as the prominent magazine Christianity Today called the president's conduct "profoundly immoral" and said he should be removed from office. Up to one quarter of US voters identify as Evangelical Christians and they have been a foundation of Mr Trump's support. He took over 80 per cent of the Evangelical vote in the 2016 election. Leading figures in the movement have stood by him ever since, as he appointed religious conservative judges to the US Supreme Court. But in an editorial supporting impeachment Christianity Today, which was founded in 1956 by the late televangelist Billy Graham, said: "The facts in this instance are unambiguous: the president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president's political opponents. "That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral." It urged Evangelicals supporting the president "in spite of his blackened moral record," to remember "loyalty to the Creator of the Ten Commandments" and "your witness to your Lord and Saviour". Mr Trump, it said, was "morally lost and confused." The Illinois-based publication, which has 80,000 print subscribers, has been described as the "flagship magazine" of Evangelicalism. Following the publication of the article, entitled "Trump should be removed from office," its website crashed. On Twitter, Mr Trump responded that it was a "far-Left magazine" which "hasn't been involved with the Billy Graham family for many years" and would "rather have a radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion and your guns" as president." He added: "No president has done more for the Evangelical community, and it's not even close." Mr Trump said he would not be reading the publication again, and wrote its initials as "ET" rather than "CT". The editorial was written by Mark Galli, the editor-in-chief, who is retiring next month. Donald Trump and Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son Credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images Mr Trump was backed by Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son and himself a prominent evangelist. He said it was "unfathomable" and his father, who died last year, would have been "very embarrassed" that the magazine had become a "Leftist elite within the Evangelical community." Mr Graham added: "I have not previously shared who my father voted for in the past election, but because of this article, I feel it is necessary to share it now. "My father knew Donald Trump, he believed in Donald Trump, and he voted for Donald Trump. He believed that Donald J. Trump was the man for this hour in history for our nation." Mr Trump later attacked Christianity Today again on Twitter, accusing it of "looking to those of the socialist/communist bent to guard their religion." He added: "Thank you to Franklin Graham for stating that his father, the late great Billy Graham, voted for me in the 2016 Election. I know how pleased you are with the work we have all done together!" The row came as a former White House official claimed Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, had personally convinced Mr Trump, against the conclusions of every US intelligence agency, that Ukraine, rather than Russia, interfered in the 2016 US election. Mr Trump reportedly became more convinced of Ukraine's culpability after a private meeting with Mr Putin at the G20 summit in Hamburg in July 2017. Donald Trump in 2017 shored up Evangelical support by addressing the 2017 Values Voter Summit for social conservative activists Credit: Al Drago/UPIPHOTOGRAPH BY UPI / Barcroft Images "Putin told me," Mr Trump subsequently said to a former White House official, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile, the impeachment of Mr Trump was in limbo after the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to proceed to a trial in the Senate. Mr Trump will be tried over allegations that he attempted to coerce Ukraine into launching a corruption investigation into Joe Biden, his political rival. However, as Congress broke up for its Christmas recess Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat Speaker of the House, declined to send the two articles of impeachment to the Senate. Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, said they were at an "impasse" with the two parties at loggerheads over the format of the trial. Democrats want to call White House officials as witnesses. Some Republicans want no witnesses, others want to call Mr Biden. Mr Trump called for an "immediate trial" and said the delay showed Democrats have "zero proof of anything." Fewer than half of Americans want Mr Trump removed from office, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday.
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| UN envoy gloomy on Syria's constitution talks Posted: 20 Dec 2019 10:58 AM PST  The UN envoy to Syria on Friday gave a pessimistic assessment of efforts to amend the war-torn country's constitution, in contrast to upbeat comments last month. A United Nations-brokered constitutional review committee consists of 150 delegates -- divided equally among President Bashar al-Assad's government, the opposition and civil society. "I see no reason to convene another session of the small body," envoy Geir Pedersen said in a video link to the UN Security Council.
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| 'Vast majority' of vaping illnesses blamed on vitamin E Posted: 20 Dec 2019 10:49 AM PST  Health officials now blame vitamin E acetate for the "vast majority" of cases in the U.S. outbreak of vaping illnesses and they say doctors should monitor patients more closely after they go home from the hospital. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the updated advice Friday. The new medical advice is based on a close look at about 3% of vaping illness patients who returned to the hospital after discharge and seven who died after hospital discharge.
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| UN defeats rival resolutions to keep Syria cross-border aid Posted: 20 Dec 2019 10:39 AM PST ![UN defeats rival resolutions to keep Syria cross-border aid]( "UN defeats rival resolutions to keep Syria cross-border aid") The U.N. Security Council on Friday rejected rival resolutions that would continue the delivery of humanitarian aid across borders to more than 1 million Syrians every month in mainly rebel-held areas, leaving future deliveries in question as winter arrives. A resolution co-sponsored by Germany, Belgium and Kuwait and supported by the U.N. humanitarian office that would have extended the mandate for deliveries for six months and cut one of four crossing points received 13 "yes" votes in the 15-member council, but was vetoed by Russia, the Syrian government's closest ally, and China.
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| Cyprus rallies neighbors to buck Turkey-Libya maritime deal Posted: 20 Dec 2019 10:34 AM PST ![Cyprus rallies neighbors to buck Turkey-Libya maritime deal]( "Cyprus rallies neighbors to buck Turkey-Libya maritime deal") The president of Cyprus said Friday that he's in touch with the leaders of Egypt, Israel, Greece and Lebanon to formulate joint diplomatic action aimed at countering a Turkey-Libya maritime border deal that they say flouts international law and ratchets up regional tensions. President Nicos Anastasiades said joint action doesn't include a military option, but rather a concerted effort on a diplomatic level to negate the the aims of the "unlawful" agreement. Anastasiades said the agreement has also been condemned by Arab nations, European Union member states and other countries he didn't specify, adding that announcements on specific actions could be expected shortly.
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| Pelosi invites Trump to deliver State of Union on Feb. 4 Posted: 20 Dec 2019 10:28 AM PST  President Donald Trump will deliver the State of the Union to a joint session of Congress on Feb. 4. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to the president on Friday formally inviting him to deliver the address at the U.S. Capitol. "In the spirit of respecting our Constitution, I invite you to deliver your State of the Union address before a Joint Session of Congress," Pelosi wrote.
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| Syrian troops make new push into rebel-held northwest Idlib Posted: 20 Dec 2019 10:24 AM PST  Government troops Friday captured four villages in Syria's northwest as part of a new ground offensive to push into rebel-held Idlib province, Syria's military and opposition activists said. The offensive has already forced thousands of civilians to abandon their homes and flee for their lives. Overnight, government forces and its Russian ally launched hundreds of air and ground strikes on the southern and eastern countryside of Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, apparently paving the way for the ground push.
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| Germans Aim to Kneecap U.S. Sanctions on Russia Posted: 20 Dec 2019 09:57 AM PST  Late on Friday, President Donald Trump is set to sign legislation sanctioning a gas pipeline project that would run from Russia to Germany. The Ukrainian government has worked to stop the project. The German government, meanwhile, opposes the sanctions. In a final series of meetings aiming to stave them off, Berlin officials made statements that frustrated both Ukrainian and U.S. officials, according to five sources with knowledge of the talks. The Germans have intimated that the U.S. will have a harder time holding together Western sanctions on Russia if it blocks the Nord Stream 2 (NS2) pipeline, according to three of those sources, and they suggest the American action could endanger crucial gas transit talks among Germany, Ukraine, and Russia. Trump Administration Battles New Sanctions on RussiaBerlin also says success of those talks is vital to American national security, and that this justifies shielding the project from the sanctions designed to stop it. One U.S. government official said the Germans "are threatening Ukraine and jeopardizing transatlantic security by holding out the possibility of a gas transit deal in order to extort us into allowing a malign Russian project to continue." A German embassy spokesperson said those gas transit talks are nearing "the critical final stage" and Berlin hopes that Trump will waive the sanctions:"The remaining technical details are currently still being finalized between the two parties," the spokesperson said. "So the negotiations have now reached the critical final stage. Precisely because we are united in the goal of long-term substantial gas transit through Ukraine, we should not now strain the negotiations through unilateral actions. Rather, we should work together to ensure the future transit of gas through Ukraine. It is therefore crucial that the NS2 sanctions are not imposed before (or after) the trilateral negotiations are successfully concluded and, instead, a national security waiver, as envisaged under the law, is granted."The private conversations between German and U.S. officials have covered a maze of often byzantine topics: pipeline construction, gas transit negotiations, and sanctions enforcement. But at the heart of it all is a simple question: What kind of relationship will Western Europe have with Russia? For Ukraine, it's existential; Kyiv views completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as an urgent national security threat. Meanwhile, German government officials have pounded the halls of Congress lobbying members to withhold their opposition. Senate Republicans Push Ahead With Probe of 'Ukraine Collusion,' Despite Warnings It's a Kremlin Operation"The Ukrainians see German efforts to undermine Nord Stream 2 sanctions as a direct threat to their defense and national security," said a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's administration. Opponents of the project argue that Russia uses its vast reserves of cheap gas as a vector of malign influence. Among its tactics: shutting off gas of its geopolitical rivals. But efforts to sanction it have been slow moving. And while many members of Congress are loath to oppose in public anything viewed as anti-Kremlin, Sen. Rand Paul has criticized the sanctions as an attack on America's European allies. "If we continue down this road––of drawing lines in the sand and treating our friends the same way we treat our adversaries––then we will have no one to blame but ourselves when we find ourselves with fewer friends," he wrote in a letter that The Daily Beast obtained. According to two people present for meetings and a third briefed on them, German officials indicated that the new sanctions could constrain their ability to help the U.S. hold together its current sanctions on Russia. The U.S. rolled out those sanctions after Russian military intervention in Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. The Germans indicated that they are already struggling to hold together the European Union consensus in support of those sanctions, according to one source who was present for a meeting between American and German officials. They intimated they may not be able to continue to do so if the U.S. blocks the pipeline project.A second source said German officials were blunt about the American need for help holding the line on Russia. "We are the people propping these sanctions up, and you need us," said one source who was in the meetings, paraphrasing the Germans.The U.S. government, along with Central and Eastern European countries, has opposed the pipeline, arguing it will grow Russian President Vladimir Putin's influence over Europe. Kyiv is acutely concerned about the pipeline; currently, Russian gas flowing to Europe goes through Ukraine, which gives Kyiv a measure of leverage over Moscow––which it uses to stave off Russian efforts to escalate violence in the Eastern part of the country. Ukraine also makes more than $2 billion a year in transit fees to move the gas, a meaningful sum of money to the nation's war-wracked economy. The movement of that gas has been the focus of trilateral talks among Germany, Russia, and Ukraine since 2014. The Russians want the Ukrainians to abandon multi-billion-dollar arbitration claims they have made in Stockholm, according to two sources familiar with the talks; in exchange, the parties have discussed the possibility of continuing to move some gas through Ukraine after the construction of Nord Stream 2. It is unclear how any such agreement would be enforced.In their conversations with Americans, German officials have indicated that sanctions on the pipeline could threaten those talks. But Ukraine sources say the claim is meaningless, since no deal is final. A European Union official tweeted on Dec. 19 that the three parties have agreed in principle on a new gas transit deal, but a source close to Ukraine's state-owned energy company Naftogaz––a participant in the talks––said nothing has been signed. The Germans' invocation of the trilateral talks has angered some U.S. government officials. Germany expelled two Russian diplomats earlier this year after a man traveling on a Russian passport assassinated a former Chechen fighter in Berlin. One of those expelled diplomats was actually a Russian intelligence officer who tried to persuade German officials to lobby for the pipeline project, according to an investigation by the German newspaper Bild and the investigative organization Bellingcat. American lawmakers, meanwhile, are pushing the company building the pipeline to stop as soon as Trump signs the bill. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) sent a letter to the CEO of AllSeas––the shipping company laying the final leg of the pipeline––demanding compliance with the sanctions as soon as they are signed:"You face a binary choice: stop NOW, and leave the pipeline unfinished (the express intention of the sanctions legislation, which we authored), or make a foolish attempt to rush to complete the pipeline and risk putting your company out of business forever."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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| Jordan, Egypt faulted for deaths of US-trained sniffer dogs Posted: 20 Dec 2019 09:49 AM PST ![Jordan, Egypt faulted for deaths of US-trained sniffer dogs]( "Jordan, Egypt faulted for deaths of US-trained sniffer dogs") Bomb-detection dogs sent by the United States to Jordan and Egypt got sick and in some cases died because of improper care, according to a State Department report released Friday. The State Department Office of Inspector General recommended that two U.S. agencies stop sending the specially trained dogs to the two countries until they have plans in place to make sure they are taken care of and monitored to ensure their well-being. The two agencies, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Bureau of Counter-terrorism, agreed to the recommendation and said earlier this month they had taken actions to protect the dogs, according to the OIG.
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| Cyprus court releases 3 employees of firm owned by Israeli Posted: 20 Dec 2019 09:34 AM PST ![Cyprus court releases 3 employees of firm owned by Israeli]( "Cyprus court releases 3 employees of firm owned by Israeli") A Cyprus court on Friday denied a police request to detain three people in order to assist its investigation into the business dealings of a high-tech surveillance equipment company owned by an Israeli former intelligence officer. According to the state-run Cyprus News Agency, Larnaca Distict Court judge Dona Constantinou told a hearing that she saw no reason to justify ordering the three employees of the Cyprus-registered company WiSpear to be taken into custody. The judge said it was unlikely the two men and one woman would now try to influence witnesses more than a month into the police investigation.
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| US 'prepared for whatever' from NKorea: top Pentagon general Posted: 20 Dec 2019 09:09 AM PST  The Pentagon's top general said Friday the US military is ready for anything from North Korea in the face of Pyongyang's ominous promise of a "Christmas gift" if Washington does not act to ease tensions. "Korea is one of those places in the world where we've always maintained high levels of readiness," said General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The US alliance with Japan and South Korea is "rock-solid," he said.
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| Letter: Officers felt unsafe enacting Trump asylum crackdown Posted: 20 Dec 2019 09:05 AM PST  U.S. border officers charged with turning away asylum seekers under Trump administration policy accused their leadership of misleading the public and disregarding concerns for their own safety, according to documents released to The Associated Press. A March 2019 letter sent to the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection demanded that he intervene to ensure the agency's front-line employees at one Texas bridge "are not injured or killed" enforcing the policy limiting the number of asylum seekers allowed in the U.S. The letter further challenges claims repeatedly made by President Donald Trump's top immigration officials that his efforts to limit asylum have improved public safety while treating migrants humanely. It was written by David Atkinson, the Hidalgo, Texas, chapter president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents CBP employees at official ports of entry.
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| UN experts slam reported 'torture' of detained Iran protesters Posted: 20 Dec 2019 08:56 AM PST  A group of independent UN rights experts strongly criticised Tehran Friday, warning thousands could still be detained after a deadly crackdown on mass protests last month and voicing alarm at reports that inmates have been tortured. The UN expert on the rights situation in Iran, along with more than a dozen experts -- on issues ranging from torture to freedom of assembly -- said they were "shocked at reports of the ill-treatment of those detained during the protests". The UN rights office said earlier this month that at least 7,000 people had reportedly been arrested in Iran since the mass demonstrations erupted in November.
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| Pope, UN issue message on migrants, climate, nuclear weapons Posted: 20 Dec 2019 08:31 AM PST ![Pope, UN issue message on migrants, climate, nuclear weapons]( "Pope, UN issue message on migrants, climate, nuclear weapons") Pope Francis and the U.N. chief issued a joint year-end message Friday urging the world to remember children dying of hunger, migrants seeking safety and a planet threatened by nuclear weapons and climate change. Francis hosted Secretary-General António Guterres at an audience and the two issued a joint video message from the pope's private library.
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| U.K. Minting Brexit Coins Again After Delays Triggered Meltdown Posted: 20 Dec 2019 08:20 AM PST ![U.K. Minting Brexit Coins Again After Delays Triggered Meltdown]( "U.K. Minting Brexit Coins Again After Delays Triggered Meltdown") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.The U.K. government reckons it will be third time lucky for its ill-fated Brexit coins.Earlier this year, then Chancellor Philip Hammond planned a batch of 50 pence coins to commemorate the original March 29 Brexit day. When the U.K.'s exit from the European Union was delayed, his successor Sajid Javid produced about one million of the seven-sided coins stamped with the Oct. 31 date.But those coins had to be melted down when Brexit was put off once more.Now Prime Minister Boris Johnson has a majority in Parliament and the U.K. is on course to leave the EU on Jan. 31, so Javid is trying again.According to a Royal Proclamation, Queen Elizabeth II has approved new coins to be minted with the Jan. 31 exit date.A spokesman for the Treasury said the new coin will be released on the day the U.K. leaves the bloc.To contact the reporters on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net;Edward Evans in London at eevans3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Britain is one big step closer to Brexit Posted: 20 Dec 2019 08:19 AM PST  The U.K. House of Commons on Friday voted 358 to 234 in favor of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit bill. This major step toward Britain's departure from the European Union, planned for the end of January 2020, comes just a week after Johnson's Conservative Party dramatically swept the general elections."We now have a deal that reflects both the single largest democratic exercise in British history in the referendum and the defining issue of the general election," said Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay. "It is time to end the delay, to come together and heal our divisions and above all listen to the people we serve."Six Labour Party members broke ranks to vote in favor of the bill, but while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn agreed it is time to "move on" from debating the referendum, he opposed the measure. Critics to Johnson's left have accused him of perpetrating an "executive power-grab" by changing the bill to assign negotiation powers previously held by Parliament to government ministers, among other revisions.The Brexit bill will undergo further consideration in the House of Commons in early January before proceeding to the House of Lords. Read a breakdown from The Guardian of the next steps in the process here, and see analysis from The Week's William Gritten on likely Brexit implications of Johnson's recent triumph.More stories from theweek.com Rise of Skywalker dominates box office despite devastating reviews George Conway has a savage new nickname for post-impeachment Trump Watch the absurdly slow crash of 2 mammoth cruise ships
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| US watching North Korea for 'Christmas gift' missile launch Posted: 20 Dec 2019 08:12 AM PST  A significant launch or test would mean the end of North Korea's self-imposed moratorium and raise tensions in the region. It would also be a major blow to one of the Trump administration's major foreign policy initiatives: the drive to get North Korea back to negotiations to eliminate its nuclear weapons and missiles. Earlier this month, the North conducted what U.S. officials say was an engine test.
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| An Impeached Trump Can’t Be Trusted on North Korea Posted: 20 Dec 2019 08:00 AM PST  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- President Donald Trump's all-but-certain acquittal in his impending Senate impeachment trial will likely embolden him in all sorts of ways, some more frightening than others. One deal he will be sorely tempted to make, after three years of erratic and mostly unproductive diplomacy, is to accommodate his "friend" Kim Jong Un and ease sanctions on North Korea. It will be up to Congress to stop him."If I weren't president, you'd be at war with North Korea," Trump said in September. It's certainly true that the U.S. and North Korea aren't trading blows across the DMZ. It's demonstrably false that, Trump's extravagant claim notwithstanding, "there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea." This is despite three meetings with Kim, a couple of "beautiful" letters, the U.S. and South Korean suspension of various military exercises, and the muting of criticism of the North's abominable human-rights record.If anything, North Korea has become a more formidable adversary since Trump took office. As a recent United Nations report makes clear, it has "continued to enhance its nuclear and missile programs." In Trump's first year in office, it conducted numerous intercontinental and medium-range ballistic missile launches and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. (Also recall that Kim had his half-brother assassinated in Malaysia with a VX nerve agent drawn from the world's third biggest chemical-weapons stockpile.) Even after Kim said in April 2018 that tests of nuclear bombs and ICBMs were no longer necessary, North Korea has violated UN sanctions by launching short-range missile and stockpiling more fissile material. This year's 20 missile launches will almost match its record 24 launches in 2016.Less notorious but no less disturbing have been North Korea's increasingly aggressive cyber attacks. One brazen and sophisticated hack took over the infrastructure for ATM machines and enabled North Korean agents in 20 countries to make 10,000 cash withdrawals over the course of five hours. Since 2017, banks from Chile to Kuwait have reported the regime's cybertheft of tens of millions of dollars, along with thwarted attempts involving even bigger sums. Its hackers also filched more than $150 million from various crypto-currencies circulating in South Korea, Slovenia, India, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia.Sadly, Trump has fractured what used to be a fairly united global front against such misdeeds and provocations. His downplaying of North Korea's short-range missile launches, for instance, irked Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. His willingness to use the U.S. military presence in Japan and South Korea as leverage in trade negotiations has shaken the trust of allies, as have his extortionate demands for host-nation support that, in the case of South Korea, actually exceed the cost of keeping U.S. forces there. His trade war with China, whatever its other mixed benefits, has undermined China's willingness to work with the U.S. to pressure its neighbor. At the UN, a combination of U.S. high-handedness and neglect has badly damaged the existing UN sanctions regime, which both Russia and China are trying hard to loosen.To be sure, Trump deserves credit for seeking to end the stalemate that has prevailed on the Korean peninsula. But his impulsiveness, lack of vision and chaotic management style have nullified his summitry's positive impact, leaving dashed expectations on the part of North Korea and no clear path forward for the U.S.Earlier this month North Korea signaled a potential return to brinkmanship, threatening the unchecked pursuit of its nuclear and missile programs unless the U.S. agrees to ease sanctions. That possibility casts a shadow over Trump's re-election campaign, depriving him of a prized talking point.Congress is rightly alarmed over the current impasse and Trump's possible willingness to take whatever deal he can get. In the National Defense Authorization Act sent to the White House for signature last week, a bipartisan group of senators added a raft of new sanctions on North Korea. They need to go further than that, and there's a model for doing so: the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, which gave Congress the ability to review the agreement, required the president to regularly certify Iran's compliance, limited his ability to waive sanctions and expedited the process for re-imposing statutory sanctions in the event of a breach. The Senate passed it 98-1; the House, 400-25.Republican senators who vote to acquit Trump on impeachment will have to live with the consequences of their actions. Asserting Congress's oversight over any North Korean deal — and more broadly, over this administration's erratic foreign policy — could at least help to make those consequences less dire for the rest of the world.To contact the author of this story: James Gibney at jgibney5@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Newman at mnewman43@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.James Gibney writes editorials on international affairs for Bloomberg Opinion. Previously an editor at the Atlantic, the New York Times, Smithsonian, Foreign Policy and the New Republic, he was also in the U.S. Foreign Service from 1989 to 1997 in India, Japan and Washington.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| An Impeached Trump Can’t Be Trusted on North Korea Posted: 20 Dec 2019 08:00 AM PST  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- President Donald Trump's all-but-certain acquittal in his impending Senate impeachment trial will likely embolden him in all sorts of ways, some more frightening than others. One deal he will be sorely tempted to make, after three years of erratic and mostly unproductive diplomacy, is to accommodate his "friend" Kim Jong Un and ease sanctions on North Korea. It will be up to Congress to stop him."If I weren't president, you'd be at war with North Korea," Trump said in September. It's certainly true that the U.S. and North Korea aren't trading blows across the DMZ. It's demonstrably false that, Trump's extravagant claim notwithstanding, "there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea." This is despite three meetings with Kim, a couple of "beautiful" letters, the U.S. and South Korean suspension of various military exercises, and the muting of criticism of the North's abominable human-rights record.If anything, North Korea has become a more formidable adversary since Trump took office. As a recent United Nations report makes clear, it has "continued to enhance its nuclear and missile programs." In Trump's first year in office, it conducted numerous intercontinental and medium-range ballistic missile launches and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. (Also recall that Kim had his half-brother assassinated in Malaysia with a VX nerve agent drawn from the world's third biggest chemical-weapons stockpile.) Even after Kim said in April 2018 that tests of nuclear bombs and ICBMs were no longer necessary, North Korea has violated UN sanctions by launching short-range missile and stockpiling more fissile material. This year's 20 missile launches will almost match its record 24 launches in 2016.Less notorious but no less disturbing have been North Korea's increasingly aggressive cyber attacks. One brazen and sophisticated hack took over the infrastructure for ATM machines and enabled North Korean agents in 20 countries to make 10,000 cash withdrawals over the course of five hours. Since 2017, banks from Chile to Kuwait have reported the regime's cybertheft of tens of millions of dollars, along with thwarted attempts involving even bigger sums. Its hackers also filched more than $150 million from various crypto-currencies circulating in South Korea, Slovenia, India, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia.Sadly, Trump has fractured what used to be a fairly united global front against such misdeeds and provocations. His downplaying of North Korea's short-range missile launches, for instance, irked Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. His willingness to use the U.S. military presence in Japan and South Korea as leverage in trade negotiations has shaken the trust of allies, as have his extortionate demands for host-nation support that, in the case of South Korea, actually exceed the cost of keeping U.S. forces there. His trade war with China, whatever its other mixed benefits, has undermined China's willingness to work with the U.S. to pressure its neighbor. At the UN, a combination of U.S. high-handedness and neglect has badly damaged the existing UN sanctions regime, which both Russia and China are trying hard to loosen.To be sure, Trump deserves credit for seeking to end the stalemate that has prevailed on the Korean peninsula. But his impulsiveness, lack of vision and chaotic management style have nullified his summitry's positive impact, leaving dashed expectations on the part of North Korea and no clear path forward for the U.S.Earlier this month North Korea signaled a potential return to brinkmanship, threatening the unchecked pursuit of its nuclear and missile programs unless the U.S. agrees to ease sanctions. That possibility casts a shadow over Trump's re-election campaign, depriving him of a prized talking point.Congress is rightly alarmed over the current impasse and Trump's possible willingness to take whatever deal he can get. In the National Defense Authorization Act sent to the White House for signature last week, a bipartisan group of senators added a raft of new sanctions on North Korea. They need to go further than that, and there's a model for doing so: the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, which gave Congress the ability to review the agreement, required the president to regularly certify Iran's compliance, limited his ability to waive sanctions and expedited the process for re-imposing statutory sanctions in the event of a breach. The Senate passed it 98-1; the House, 400-25.Republican senators who vote to acquit Trump on impeachment will have to live with the consequences of their actions. Asserting Congress's oversight over any North Korean deal — and more broadly, over this administration's erratic foreign policy — could at least help to make those consequences less dire for the rest of the world.To contact the author of this story: James Gibney at jgibney5@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Newman at mnewman43@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.James Gibney writes editorials on international affairs for Bloomberg Opinion. Previously an editor at the Atlantic, the New York Times, Smithsonian, Foreign Policy and the New Republic, he was also in the U.S. Foreign Service from 1989 to 1997 in India, Japan and Washington.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Russia Says Shooter at Moscow Spy Headquarters Was Lone Wolf Posted: 20 Dec 2019 07:54 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Russian investigators said a single man was responsible for a Thursday evening attack on the Federal Security Service's headquarters in central Moscow that killed two of the agency's employees.One of the victims lost his life at the scene and the second died in the hospital from wounds he received in the attack, Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement Friday. Five others, including one civilian, were wounded and the shooter was killed, it said.The committee identified the attacker as 39-year-old Evgeny Manyurov, a Moscow region resident. Initial reports said as many as three men were involved in the attack, and videos posted on social media showed officers conducting random searches of people in the area following the shooting."It seems that this man wasn't interested in politics," Alexei Makarkin, deputy head of the Moscow-based Center for Political Technologies, said. "This is unlikely to lead to the tightening of the screws" unless people start praising him in social media, he said.The brazen attack in a heavily-policed area filled with government agencies and restaurants about a half mile from the Kremlin came around the same time President Vladimir Putin was attending a concert nearby in honor of the Russian security services.At that event, Putin praised the security services, saying they had prevented 54 terrorist crimes, including 33 attacks, since the beginning of the year.The FSB, as the security service is known, was last targeted in October 2018, when a 17-year-old anarchist injured 3 officers when he blew himself up during an attack on the intelligence service's Arkhangelsk office, leading to a nationwide crackdown of people critical of the agency.(Updates death toll in first paragraph)\--With assistance from Ilya Arkhipov.To contact the reporters on this story: Jake Rudnitsky in Moscow at jrudnitsky@bloomberg.net;Stepan Kravchenko in Moscow at skravchenko@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Torrey Clark at tclark8@bloomberg.net, Tony HalpinFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Brexit Bulletin: Brexit, Done? Posted: 20 Dec 2019 07:48 AM PST  Days to Brexit Deadline: 42(Bloomberg) -- Sign up here to get the Brexit Bulletin in your inbox every weekday.What's Happening? It's happened: 1,275 days after Britain voted to leave the European Union, Parliament has overwhelmingly backed the prime minister's Brexit plan.A debate on Brexit in Parliament — and an entirely predictable result. If that feels unusual, it's because it marks such a contrast with the scenes of chaos in Westminster before the election.The Withdrawal Agreement Bill passed its most important stage in the House of Commons on Friday, by 358 votes to 234. It's a watershed moment, and marks the end to the debate about whether Brexit should happen. Convention dictates that the House of Lords will not now oppose it. The U.K. is leaving the European Union on Jan. 31.What's remarkable, though, is the scale of the Remainers' defeat. Under the latest iteration of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, MPs won't get to vote on any future U.K.-EU trade deal or to extend the transition period. Nor will the rights of workers be protected. Had Remainers voted in favor of the bill as presented during the last Parliament, they could have had all this.Johnson risked everything on an election — and won. Backing a snap poll didn't turn out well for opposition parties. The Independent Group has scattered. The People's Vote is dead. The Liberal Democrats are leaderless. Labour's Jeremy Corbyn is hanging around, grim-faced, waiting for his successor to be named. Parliament has been all but written out of Brexit; Johnson has taken complete ownership.There are bigger fights ahead in 2020, particularly over trade and what economic direction the country will take. These arguments are critical, but Johnson's hope is that they won't attract the same amount of venom as Brexit 1.0, and will allow him to move the debate on.That may be a welcome Christmas present for those voters fed up with three-and-a-half years of argument about Europe. But it doesn't mean Brexit is by any means done.We've reached the end of another dramatic year in Brexit. We're taking a break until the next chapter begins in January. Thanks to all our readers for following this story with us. We'll see you in 2020.Today's Must-ReadsAndrew Bailey will replace Mark Carney as Bank of England governor on March 16. He is the perfect choice for Brexiters, Marcus Ashworth writes for Bloomberg Opinion. The coming year will be dominated by talks on a U.K.-EU trade deal. These are the key dates to watch, and here's a guide to the likely flashpoints. Boris Johnson cannot be the worst prime minister Britain has ever had: David Cameron's "dismal legacy," ensures he claims that title, Tortoise's Chris Cook argues.Brexit in BriefUpwards Revision | The U.K. economy grew more strongly than previously estimated in the third quarter on the back of the dominant services sector, figures published Friday showed. Gross domestic product rose 0.4% instead of 0.3%, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists had expected growth to remain unrevised.Car Slump | U.K. car production slumped by almost 17% in November as companies shuttered plants to cope with a Brexit deadline that never came. There was a bigger slump in April, after companies ordered a more comprehensive shutdown ahead of the earlier March 29 departure date.Crossing Continents | With Brexit now coming sharply into focus, asylum seekers are trying ever-harder to reach the U.K., Bloomberg's Caroline Alexander and John Ainger report. Almost three times as many people attempted to cross the English Channel in the first nine months of 2019 than in the whole of 2018, French officials say.Border Changes | Remember the Irish border? Well, it's still there. Dr Katy Hayward of the UK in a Changing Europe think-tank explains Brexit will be very different for Northern Ireland compared with what it means for the rest of the UK.Election, Charted | Another offering from UK in a Changing Europe today: Five charts that explain how Remain lost and Leave won the general election.And, Finally | It's the holiday season, so we have a present for you. Regular readers will remember the ups and downs (or, in fact, downs and ups) of the Brexit saga. We've chronicled them all here for you ever since August 2016. So as the year winds down here's a chance to find some of your old favorites.Want to keep up with Brexit?You can follow us @Brexit on Twitter, and listen to Bloomberg Westminster every weekday. It's live at midday on Bloomberg Radio and is available as a podcast too. Share the Brexit Bulletin: Colleagues, friends and family can sign up here. For full EU coverage, try the Brussels Edition.For even more: Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access for our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close.To contact the author of this story: Edward Evans in London at eevans3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Adam Blenford at ablenford@bloomberg.net, Guy CollinsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Putin bristles at Western criticism of 1939 Soviet-Nazi pact Posted: 20 Dec 2019 07:40 AM PST  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday strongly rejected Western criticism of a 1939 Soviet pact with Nazi Germany, arguing that Western powers, not the Soviet Union, were responsible for trying to appease the Nazis. World War II still evokes painful memories in Russia, which lost an estimated 27 million in the war. The Kremlin is anxious to see the nation's sacrifices and its role in defeating the Nazis duly recognized as the nation prepares to mark the 75th anniversary of the victory next May.
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| Iraq's top cleric calls for quick formation of government Posted: 20 Dec 2019 07:23 AM PST  Iraq's top Shiite cleric called Friday for the speedy formation of a government and early elections as ongoing political wrangling caused Parliament to miss a deadline to name the next premier. Blast walls were erected by security forces on a bridge leading to the presidential palace in the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq's government. The move came in anticipation of future demonstrations there as discontent over President Barham Saleh's inability to name the next premier mounts among anti-government protesters.
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| Johnson Wins Vote on Deal, Urges MPs to Move On: Brexit Update Posted: 20 Dec 2019 07:08 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Boris Johnson's Brexit deal sped past its first hurdle in Parliament on Friday, putting the U.K. on course to leave the European Union next month. MPs voted by 358 to 234 for it to proceed to its next stage.Opening the Commons debate on his deal, the prime minister declared his legislation offers "no possibility" of any further delay, with the transition period due to end on Dec. 31, 2020. That sets the clock ticking on U.K.-EU trade talks, which are likely to dominate British politics next year.Read more: Johnson's Brexit Bill Clears First Hurdle in U.K. ParliamentKey Developments:MPs vote by 358 to 234 to pass the second reading of the Withdrawal Agreement BillCommons now voting on the timetable for the Bill passing through its remaining stagesJohnson says Brexit Bill offers "no possibility" to extend transition period past Dec. 31, 2020Brexit bill then enters committee stage, with passage through Parliament expected to be completed in JanuaryAndrew Bailey appointed to succeed Mark Carney as Bank of England governorParliament enters Christmas recess at end of Friday businessTimetable to Pass Brexit Bill Approved (2:55 p.m.)The program motion, which outlines the timetable for remaining stages of the bill, passed the Commons by 353 votes to 243.This was the hurdle which halted Johnson in October, as he tried to ram his deal through Parliament at breakneck speed. This time round, with a newly-elected majority, he had no such trouble.The motion passing means the remaining stages of Johnson's Brexit bill will be debated over three days once MPs return from the Christmas recess on Jan. 7.Brexit Deal Passes First Hurdle (2:35 p.m.)The House of Commons voted 358 to 234 in favor of the second reading of government's EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill, setting the U.K. on course to leave the EU on Jan. 31.Barclay: "Time to End the Delay" (2:15 p.m.)Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay closed Friday's debate, arguing lawmakers should pass the bill in the name of democracy."We now have a deal that reflects the single largest democratic exercise in British history in the referendum, and the defining issue of the general election," he said. "It is the time to end the delay, to come together and heal our divisions, and above all to listen to the people we serve."Barclay also said his government's deal would "unlock confidence" for businesses, and by extension boost the U.K. economy.After his speech, MPs left the chamber to vote on the bill. A result is expected at about 2:30 p.m.Starmer Warns Over Detail (2 p.m.)Labour Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said while the U.K. will be leaving the European Union as a result of last week's election result, the latest manifestation of Johnson's Brexit bill was worse than the one he put before Parliament in October.Starmer warned Conservative lawmakers to "be careful" in scrutinizing the Brexit process and not blindly follow their government. "Doing things because the government has a majority doesn't mean those things are right," he said, before referencing the "moral disgrace" of Johnson removing a commitment to support unaccompanied child refugees from his proposed legislation (see 9:55 a.m.).The section of the bill forbidding ministers from extending the transition period beyond the end of 2020 is "reckless and ridiculous," he said. It puts the U.K. at risk of "a bare bones deal or no deal at all," he told lawmakers."As a result of the general election, as a result of the majority the government's got and the mandate the government has got, we are leaving the EU," Starmer said in Parliament. "Whatever side we were on, or no side at all, the leave-remain argument goes with it."DUP Warns Over Impact on N Ireland (11 a.m.)Jeffrey Donaldson, Westminster leader of Northern Ireland's Brexit-backing Democratic Unionist Party, said the government's deal threatens to undermine Northern Ireland's economy and peace process.He questioned Johnson's claim there will be unfettered access for traders between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K., and said a new Joint Committee for the region would effectively give the EU a veto over arrangements for Northern Ireland.He also criticized the prime minister's claim that the Northern Ireland Assembly, which hasn't sat since 2017, would have a veto over the process."Economic prosperity goes hand in hand with political stability in Northern Ireland. The peace process can't be just about the politics of Northern Ireland, it has to be about prosperity of Northern Ireland as well," he said. "Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and I want the prime minister to treat my part in the same way as the other parts in terms of leaving the European Union."Benn: Deal an Economic "Gamble" (10:45 a.m.)Labour MP Hilary Benn, who chairs Parliament's Brexit Select Committee, slammed the government for failing to provide economic assessments of different Brexit scenarios to allow politicians to make informed decisions."It is extraordinary we still do not have an economic assessment of the single most important decision we're going to take -- the nature of that future relationship -- which has been presented before the house. Nothing, silence," Benn said. "It's a gamble on our nation's economy."Benn added that if Johnson insists on no alignment with EU rules (see 10:20 a.m.), it will make trade negotiations "not more simple, but much much more complicated."Euroskeptic Tory Calls for Clean Break (10:20 a.m.)Former Conservative Trade Secretary Liam Fox urged Boris Johnson to ensure the U.K. is fully independent from EU regulations after Brexit, in a sign the prime minister cannot assume he'll have full Tory support if the quick trade deal he wants with the EU leaves Britain too closely aligned to the bloc."There are those in the forthcoming negotiations who will say that for access to the single market, Britain must accept dynamic realignment. In other words, we must change our rules with the EU," Fox told the House of Commons. "Can I say to the prime minister, he will have 100% support from the Conservative Party by ruling out any concept of dynamic alignment which would leave Britain in a worse place in terms of taking back control."Johnson has a healthy majority of Conservative MPs after last week's election, and his Withdrawal Agreement Bill should pass comfortably. But he may need to be more careful when it comes to negotiating a future relationship with the EU before the end of 2020 -- close alignment will facilitate a quick deal, but could alienate MPs on his own side of the House.Corbyn: Bill 'Hard-Wires' No-Deal Brexit Risk (10 a.m.)Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn criticized Boris Johnson's withdrawal bill for failing to remove the risk of a no-deal Brexit at the end of 2020. Johnson's new bill contains a clause intended to ensure the U.K. will not be able to ask for an extension to the transition period, due to end on Dec. 31 2020, during which Johnson says he will negotiate a trade deal with the EU."We warned before the general election the Prime Minister's Brexit deal was a terrible deal for our country, and we still believe it's a terrible deal today," Corbyn said. "This deal does not bring certainty for communities or for business or the workforce. In fact, it does the opposite, and hard-wires the risk of a no-deal Brexit next year."Johnson Scrutinized on Child Refugees (9:55 a.m.)Labour MP Lisa Nandy -- who supported Johnson's deal in principle in October -- criticized the new withdrawal bill for appearing to abandon a commitment to protect child refugees after Brexit. The so-called Dubs clause -- named after Labour peer Alf Dubs -- required the U.K. to seek an arrangement with the EU so 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 such a settlement.While acknowledging Johnson has "won a mandate to get Brexit done," Nandy said he had not earned the right to "shoehorn into this legislation measures that are a direct attack on the most vulnerable children" in the world. "If he thinks people in towns like mine, who believe that we [should] deliver Brexit, want to see us turn our backs on decency and tolerance and kindness and warmth and empathy, he is wrong," she said.Johnson said the U.K. will continue to receive unaccompanied refugee children but the bill is the wrong place to make the commitment.Johnson Urges Country to Move On (9:40 a.m.)Boris Johnson urged the U.K. to move on and put away the labels of "Leaver" and "Remainer" and build a united future after Brexit as he opened a debate on his exit deal with the European Union.He claimed Brexit will be "done" on Jan. 31 -- in spite of the need for trade talks with the bloc -- and said there will be no extension of the transition period beyond December 2020."Now's the moment, as we leave the European Union, to reunite our country and allow the warmth and natural affection that we all share for our European neighbors to find renewed expression in one great new national project," Johnson told lawmakers. "This bill and this juncture in our national story must not be seen as a victory for one party over another or one faction over another. This is the time we move and discard the old labels of leave and remain."EU Parliament Sees Jan. 29 Ratification Date (9 a.m.)European Parliament vice president Pedro Silva Pereira expects the Brexit deal ratification process to be concluded by Jan. 29, with the U.K. due to leave the European Union two days later."We've always respected the choice of the British people, but it is true that it was a very long process," he told BBC Radio. He warned that there's a "very short time-frame available" to conclude a trade deal by the end of 2020."Eleven months to negotiate such a complex trade agreement is unprecedented," he said. "The key issue will be what kind of regulatory disalignment we will have."Barclay Heralds 'Historic Day' in Parliament (Earlier)Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said the Conservative Party's resounding general election victory proves voters want the government to get on with Brexit and "start the healing process."Friday's "historic" session in the House of Commons "is an opportunity after three years of dither, of delay, of divisiveness, to actually deliver and step forward and move this legislation to leave by 31 January, and be able to then start bringing the country back together," Barclay told the BBC.The government has said Barclay's Brexit Department will be dissolved on Jan. 31 once the U.K.'s split from the European Union has happened, but before the start of formal trade talks with the bloc.Earlier:Boris Johnson's Brexit Deal Set for First Vote in New ParliamentAfter Johnson Gets Brexit Done, a Bigger Battle Begins in EuropeBoris Johnson Creates His Own Davos-on-Thames: Lionel Laurent\--With assistance from Jessica Shankleman.To contact the reporters on this story: Greg Ritchie in London at gritchie10@bloomberg.net;Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| International prosecutor preparing to open Palestinian probe Posted: 20 Dec 2019 07:02 AM PST  The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court took a major step Friday toward opening an investigation into alleged war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories, asking judges to outline the geographic scope of a future investigation. The announcement ended years of preliminary investigations into alleged crimes by both Israeli forces and Palestinians and signaled that Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is preparing to open a formal probe.
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| U.K. Speeds Toward Brexit as Johnson Wins Key Vote on His Deal Posted: 20 Dec 2019 07:01 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal easily cleared its first Parliamentary hurdle on Friday, setting the U.K. on a fast-track course to leave the European Union in six weeks.The House of Commons voted 358 to 234 in favor of the government's EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill on Friday -- the first demonstration of Johnson's power over Parliament since he won an emphatic victory in the Dec. 12 general election. After three years of division following the Brexit referendum of 2016, the prime minister appealed for unity as the U.K. heads out of the EU on Jan 31. "Now is the time to act together as one reinvigorated nation, one United Kingdom, filled with renewed confidence in our national destiny, and determined at last to take advantage of the opportunities that now lie before us," he said, as he opened the debate. "This bill and this juncture in our national story must not be seen as a victory for one party over another or one faction over another. This is the time we move and discard the old labels of leave and remain."Johnson's newly won majority allowed him to break through the gridlock and political turmoil that has dominated British politics since the 2016 referendum. Before the election his minority government repeatedly lost votes on Brexit and he even tried to suspend parliament to stop lawmakers blocking his plans. MPs later voted to speed the remaining stages of the bill through the House of Commons over three days after the Christmas recess.Johnson repeated his claim that Brexit will be "done" on Jan. 31, but he will still need to negotiate a long-term trade deal with the EU, which the proposed legislation says must be completed by the end of 2020. Opposition MPs warned him that's a bigger challenge as it will give him only 11 months to reach an agreement.Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn said such a strict end to the agreed transition period with the EU would leave the U.K. at risk of ending up with no deal at all with its biggest trading partner."This deal does not bring certainty for communities or for business or the workforce. In fact, it does the opposite, and hard-wires the risk of a no-deal Brexit next year," he said. "We warned before the general election the Prime Minister's Brexit deal was a terrible deal for our country, and we still believe it's a terrible deal today."There were also signs that Tory Brexiteers will continue to put pressure on Johnson over the shape of the future deal. Former Trade Secretary Liam Fox said the U.K. must be free of EU regulations and cautioned against any plans for alignment with the bloc's rules in return for access to its single market after Brexit.And Jeffrey Donaldson, Westminster leader of Northern Ireland's Brexit-backing Democratic Unionist Party, who kept Johnson's predecessor Theresa May in power but have described Johnson's deal as a betrayal, said it threatens to undermine the region's economy and fragile peace process.Checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea would undermine the union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, he told lawmakers. "Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and I want the prime minister to treat my part in the same way as the other parts in terms of leaving the European Union," he said.(Updates with next stages in fifth paragraph)To contact the reporters on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net;Greg Ritchie in London at gritchie10@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Moscow security services gunman named as member of shooting club Posted: 20 Dec 2019 06:54 AM PST  Russian authorities on Friday identified the gunman who killed two intelligence officers and injured five more people in Moscow as a member of a shooting club. The shooter, identified by investigators as 39-year old Yevgeny Manyurov, opened fire near the headquarters of the FSB intelligence agency in central Moscow on Thursday evening. Investigators said on Friday that Mr Manyurov killed one intelligence agent on spot and shot six more people, five of them intelligence agents. One more officer died in hospital later. The FSB did not report the gunman's motive, and the Investigative Committee that handles high-profile crimes said it is looking into what happened but would not describe it as a terrorist attack. Vladimir Putin, the president, has not spoken about the shooting. Police on Thursday found weapons including two rifles at the man's home in the Moscow suburb of Podolsk. Mr Manyurov was a member of a shooting club and had a valid gun licence, according to public records. He came in third in a shooting competition in November. Policemen were stationed outside the Russian Federal Security Service headquarters in Lubyanskaya Square Credit: Alexander Shcherbak\\\TASS via Getty Images Media outlet Baza interviewed Mr Manyurov's mother before the FSB arrived to take her in for questioning. The man who was mostly recently working as a security guard had no friends and has been pursuing shooting as a hobby for a few years, according to his mother. Oleg Solovich of the Moscow City Shooting Sports Club told the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper on Friday that Mr Manyurov was a bad shooter and trained at the club for just three months. Authorities on Thursday evening locked down the Lubyanka area - home to the headquarters of the FSB, formerly known as the KGB - which is also a popular destination for bars and restaurants and was busy with holiday shoppers. Street shootings are highly unusual in Moscow, and the attack happened on the eve of the Day of the Russian Intelligence Community. Mr Putin who had given his annual press conference just hours earlier was at the gala concert for the Intelligence Day at the Kremlin Palace just a kilometer away when the attack happened. On Friday, Mr Putin, a former FSB chief, was hosting leaders of several former Soviet republics in St Petersburg and did not make comment about the incident.
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| UK charges US diplomat's wife over teen's death in crash Posted: 20 Dec 2019 06:28 AM PST  An American diplomat's wife who left the U.K. after being involved in a road accident that killed a British teenager has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, British prosecutors said Friday. The Crown Prosecution Service said it had begun extradition proceedings against Anne Sacoolas. The decision to charge Sacoolas, who has claimed diplomatic immunity, has caused tensions between the U.K. and the United States.
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| UN experts call on Iran to release detained protesters Posted: 20 Dec 2019 06:17 AM PST ![UN experts call on Iran to release detained protesters]( "UN experts call on Iran to release detained protesters") A group of independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council called Friday for Iran to release all people detained during recent unrest. In a joint statement issued by more than a dozen of the human rights experts, the group said that of an estimated 200,000 people who took part in recent protests in Iran, some 7,000 are believed to have been arrested and that thousands remain in detention. "We are shocked at reports of the ill-treatment of those detained," the experts said.
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| Chief: City employee targeted co-worker in deadly shooting Posted: 20 Dec 2019 06:14 AM PST  WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A deadly shooting at a city building in Winston-Salem, North Carolina was an act of "workplace violence" by one city employee who targeted a co-worker he'd disliked for a long time, police said Friday. Winston-Salem Police Chief Catrina Thompson told news reporters the gunman at a city building was killed during a gunfight with police officers who responded to the scene.
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| Smog forces schools shut again in Iran's Tehran province Posted: 20 Dec 2019 06:13 AM PST  Schools in Iran's Tehran province will be closed for the next two days over rising levels of air pollution, authorities announced on Friday, following similar measures last week. The decision was made in a meeting of an emergency committee on air pollution and announced by deputy governor Mohammad Taghizadeh, according to state TV. "Considering the level of air pollution, citizens are asked to refrain from unnecessary movements across the (capital) city (of Tehran) and use public transport," Taghizadeh said.
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| Wife says missing Egyptian activist to face questioning Posted: 20 Dec 2019 05:15 AM PST  An Egyptian human rights activist who was missing for 10 days will appear before a local prosecutor, his wife said Friday. The rights group he works for said it believes his arrest is the latest targeting of human rights workers by the government. There was no immediate confirmation from authorities on the case of Ahmed Abdel-Fattah, 40, or the charges against him.
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| Poll: Americans grateful at holidays _ and a bit stressed Posted: 20 Dec 2019 05:03 AM PST  Wade Holcomb has a lot to be grateful for this year. In addition to graduating college and getting a job, he also has a beautiful 4-month-old girl — who will be celebrating her first Christmas with her dad clearly wrapped around her tiny fingers. Holcomb is among the 7 of 10 Americans who say "grateful" describes them extremely well or very well over the holidays, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
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| Lebanon’s vital tourism industry takes huge hit amid turmoil Posted: 20 Dec 2019 04:41 AM PST  Lebanon's unprecedented economic and financial crisis has taken a huge toll on the hospitality sector, a mainstay of the Lebanese economy, with hundreds of restaurants closing and hotel occupancy plummeting. The protests were initially ignited by new proposed taxes, but are largely about the three-decades long corruption and mismanagement stemming from the ruling political elite. At a news conference in Beirut on Thursday, Pierre Achkar, president of the Lebanese Hotel Federation for Tourism, said more than 150,000 hotel owners, partners, employees and their families face an imminent threat due to the economic crisis.
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| Ebola vaccine approved by FDA Posted: 20 Dec 2019 04:41 AM PST  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has for the first time approved a vaccine for the prevention of the deadly Ebola virus disease. The agency announced the approval of Ervebo, a single-dose, injectable vaccine manufactured by American pharmaceutical company Merck. The announcement, made Thursday, comes a month after the European Union and the World Health Organization, the global health arm of the United Nations, both approved the Ebola vaccine.
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| Ebola vaccine approved by FDA Posted: 20 Dec 2019 04:41 AM PST  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has for the first time approved a vaccine for the prevention of the deadly Ebola virus disease. The agency announced the approval of Ervebo, a single-dose, injectable vaccine manufactured by American pharmaceutical company Merck. The announcement, made Thursday, comes a month after the European Union and the World Health Organization, the global health arm of the United Nations, both approved the Ebola vaccine.
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| The daily business briefing: December 20, 2019 Posted: 20 Dec 2019 04:33 AM PST ![The daily business briefing: December 20, 2019]( "The daily business briefing: December 20, 2019") 1.The House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the renegotiated deal intended to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, handing President Trump a bipartisan victory a day after impeaching him. The 385-41 vote came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) secured concessions, including strict labor standards and environmental provisions. Pelosi said the revised deal was "light years" ahead of the one the Trump administration worked out with Canada and Mexico. Republicans also rallied behind the agreement, eager to deliver a key 2016 campaign promise of Trump, who repeatedly bashed NAFTA as a U.S.-job killer because it encouraged companies to move jobs to Mexico where labor is cheaper. "Another promise made, another promise kept," said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). The deal goes to the Republican-controlled Senate next. [The Associated Press] 2.The Senate on Thursday passed the $1.4 trillion spending deal needed to prevent a partial government shutdown when current funding expires at midnight Friday. The legislation, which the House approved earlier in the week, will keep government agencies funded through September. President Trump is expected to sign the deal, separated into security and domestic spending packages, in time to meet the deadline. The package includes a military and civilian federal worker pay raise and repeal of three health-care taxes intended to help pay for the Affordable Care Act. It also keeps border wall funding at $1.37 billion, far below the $8.6 billion the Trump administration had sought. A showdown over the wall funding resulted in a government shutdown at the end of last year. [CNN] 3.U.S. stock index futures fluctuated between slight losses and gains early Friday after rising to fresh records on Thursday. Stocks got a lift Thursday when Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was certain the U.S. and China would sign their "phase one" trade deal in early January. If finalized, the agreement include tariff relief and increased purchases by China of U.S. agricultural goods, reducing damage from the trade war between the world's two largest economies. The news partially overshadowed mixed economic data, and helped to offset the potential of market fallout from the House vote to impeach President Trump. [CNBC] 4.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is putting his Brexit bill to a vote in Parliament on Friday in the first test of his new parliamentary majority. The House of Commons agreed to his plan in principle in October, but rejected his effort to rush it through so he could stick with the old deadline for leading the U.K. out of the European Union. The clash with the opposition Labour Party over the timing led to a general election last week that gave Johnson a larger 80-seat majority to break the deadlock. If Johnson's bill is approved, both chambers of Parliament will hold further debate in early January, with final approval that could result in the U.K. leaving the EU on Jan. 31. [CNBC] 5.The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a bill seeking to discourage robocalls by toughening enforcement and making phone companies give customers free tools to block scammers. The House approved the measure earlier this month. President Trump is expected to sign the legislation. The bill would expand preventive efforts being pushed by the Federal Communications Commission and state attorneys general. Maureen Mahoney, policy analyst for Consumer Reports, said the measure was a good start in cracking down on the billions of scam calls Americans get every week, but cautioned that "robocalls are not going to disappear overnight." [The Associated Press]More stories from theweek.com Rise of Skywalker dominates box office despite devastating reviews George Conway has a savage new nickname for post-impeachment Trump Watch the absurdly slow crash of 2 mammoth cruise ships
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| Iran Needs Humanitarian Aid. Trump Should Help. Posted: 20 Dec 2019 04:01 AM PST ![Iran Needs Humanitarian Aid. Trump Should Help.]( "Iran Needs Humanitarian Aid. Trump Should Help.") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- It was the smallest of gestures, and might easily have been missed if it wasn't for the identities of those involved. In the chamber of the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, the American ambassador to the UN walked over to her Iranian counterpart to offer condolences.Kelly Craft was responding to a speech by Majid Takht-Ravanchi, in which the Iranian ambassador mourned the death of Ava, a two-year-old girl in Tehran, whose doctors had been unable to procure bandages for skin blisters caused by a rare genetic disease. Takht-Ravanchi blamed U.S. sanctions — specifically, their impact on supplies of essential medicines. It would've been easy enough to dismiss the story as a disingenuous play for sympathy, and an opportunistic attempt to deflect blame by a regime that has in recent weeks slaughtered hundreds of its own citizens — including children. But Craft was right to express compassion for the plight of ordinary Iranians. In fact, a bigger, more meaningful gesture is long overdue: making sure no other Ava need die for her government's faults. Medicines and foodstuffs are exempted from the U.S. sanctions on Iran, but the prospect of punishment has spooked potential suppliers, and especially foreign banks. Although this problem is easily fixed, President Donald Trump's administration has been shamefully tardy in doing so.What it will take is for the U.S. to green-light a proposed Swiss channel for humanitarian trade, and to expand the channel's mandate to include non-Swiss suppliers. The channel has been in the works for more than a year. The most obvious European beneficiaries would be Swiss drugmakers Roche Holding AG and Novartis AG, and the food group Nestle SA, which have a long history of trade with Iran. But there's no logical reason other companies, even American ones, shouldn't be allowed to use the conduit.U.S. authorities have blocked the channel, mainly by dragging their feet in clarifying what they would and would not allow through it. Some progress was announced in October, and still more earlier this month.This isn't good enough. While it's true that the Iranian regime uses the sanctions as a convenient cover for its own failings — and some of the medical shortages are of its own making — there's no gainsaying that trade restrictions inflict real pain on many people. Human-rights groups have documented how the sanctions harm Iranians' right to health.At the same time, they have encouraged European governments to seek alternative routes such as Instex, a so-called "special purpose vehicle" designed to sidestep the American financial system. It hasn't worked yet. But it has put the Trump administration in the unedifying position of threatening its allies over humanitarian trade.American intransigence on this has also given Iran a stick with which to beat the Europeans. When not shedding crocodile tears over Ava, the regime in Tehran threatens to ratchet up its enrichment of uranium, unless Europe opens up trade channels. By clearing the legal and bureaucratic path for the Swiss channel, the Trump administration would not only be doing the right thing by the Iranian people, it would be revealing the regime's threats for what they are: nuclear blackmail. It would also free the Europeans to impose sanctions of their own, guilt-free.All of this is long overdue. But if politics requires a propitious moment for the big gesture, it so happens that one is close at hand: January marks the 40th anniversary of Switzerland's role as the de-facto representative of American interests in Tehran. It's hard to think of a better time to announce a Swiss-American humanitarian channel.And should the channel need a name, something more meaningful than "Instex," something that conveys a political message as well as a humanitarian one ... how about Ava? To contact the author of this story: Bobby Ghosh at aghosh73@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Timothy Lavin at tlavin1@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Bobby Ghosh is a columnist and member of the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board. He writes on foreign affairs, with a special focus on the Middle East and the wider Islamic world.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Impeachment of Trump voted top 2019 news story in AP poll Posted: 20 Dec 2019 04:00 AM PST ![Impeachment of Trump voted top 2019 news story in AP poll]( "Impeachment of Trump voted top 2019 news story in AP poll") The drive by the Democratic-led House of Representatives to impeach President Donald Trump was the top news story of 2019, according to The Associated Press' annual poll. Trump also figured in the second and third biggest stories of the year: the fallout over his immigration policies and the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into whether his election campaign coordinated with Russia. Congress held a series of nationally televised hearings during the inquiry, culminating with a party-line vote Wednesday evening to impeach an American president for the third time in U.S. history.
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