| Trump Holds Off on Labeling Mexican Drug Cartels as Terrorists Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:14 PM PST ![Trump Holds Off on Labeling Mexican Drug Cartels as Terrorists]( "Trump Holds Off on Labeling Mexican Drug Cartels as Terrorists") (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said he's holding off -- at least for now -- on a proposal to classify Mexican narcotics cartels as terrorist organizations, adding that he's doing so as a favor to Mexico's president."All necessary work has been completed to declare Mexican Cartels terrorist organizations," Trump tweeted on Friday night. "Statutorily we are ready to do so.""However, at the request of a man who I like and respect, and has worked so well with us, President Andres Manuel @LopezObrador we will temporarily hold off this designation and step up our joint efforts to deal decisively with these vicious and ever-growing organizations!"Trump's Twitter post appeared as talks with Mexico's government over a new U.S.-Mexico-Canada free-trade agreement had reached a crucial stage.Lopez Obrador's top trade negotiator, Jesus Seade, remained in Washington on Friday in an attempt to resolve final details with the Trump administration.The Mexican foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, praised Trump's move. "On behalf of the Government of Mexico," he wrote on Twitter, "I appreciate President Donald Trump's decision to postpone the designation of organizations as terrorists at the request of President López Obrador, who also respects and appreciates him. Cooperation won, and there will be good results."The proposal to designate the drug crews as terrorist groups emerged amid the outrage over the killing early last month of nine members of a Mormon family with dual American-Mexican citizenship in an attack by cartel gunmen in northern Mexico.Key administration officials are in favor of the policy, according to people familiar with the matter.Under that plan, the State Department would be allowed to designate cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, putting them in the same category as Islamic State and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.Trump said in a tweet after the attack that it was time "for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels.Trump appeared to refer to Mexico's drug cartels during a news conference Tuesday in London, where he was attending a NATO summit: "We'll be looking at other forms of terror. We'll be looking at other countries. We'll be looking at countries that are aggressive, and not just one particular part of this world."(Updates with statement from Mexico's foreign minister, starting in sixth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Eric Martin.To contact the reporter on this story: John Harney in Washington at jharney2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Shepard at mshepard7@bloomberg.net, Kevin Whitelaw, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Supreme Court keeps federal executions on hold Posted: 06 Dec 2019 03:53 PM PST  The Supreme Court on Friday blocked the Trump administration from restarting federal executions next week after a 16-year break. The justices denied the administration's plea to undo a lower court ruling in favor of inmates who have been given execution dates. Two more inmates had been given execution dates in January.
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| Esper sees no immediate need to send more US troops to Gulf Posted: 06 Dec 2019 03:41 PM PST  Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday the Trump administration is keeping a close eye on unrest in Iran and Iraq, but he sees no immediate need to send any substantial number of additional U.S. forces to the region. "Right now we believe we have sufficient capability in the theater to deter what we need to deter," he told reporters flying with him to California.
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| Trump Energy Adviser Leaving White House After Ukraine Subpoena Posted: 06 Dec 2019 03:17 PM PST ![Trump Energy Adviser Leaving White House After Ukraine Subpoena]( "Trump Energy Adviser Leaving White House After Ukraine Subpoena") (Bloomberg) -- An international energy adviser to President Donald Trump, who was sought by congressional Democrats as part of their impeachment inquiry, is leaving the White House, according to three people familiar with the matter.Wells Griffith, who has been serving as a senior director for international energy and environment on the National Security Council, is set to join the Overseas Private Investment Corp. next week, said two of the people. All three asked not to be named discussing a personnel issue.The move is part of a broader effort to streamline the National Security Council, with more matters shifted to the National Economic Council, according to two of the people. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien previously outlined his ambitions to pare NSC staff in an October Washington Post opinion piece.Griffith, a former Energy Department official who also worked on Trump's 2016 campaign, has dealt with an array of international energy matters in his White House role, including sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. Griffith last year also served as the face of the Trump administration at international climate negotiations in Poland, where he was part of a panel touting technology to produce cleaner coal-fired power.Griffith helped broker a deal to export U.S. coal to Ukraine during his tenure at the Energy Department under Trump.Griffith could have a similar portfolio at OPIC, a U.S. government agency that helps finance projects in developing countries. The Trump administration has tried to encourage multilateral development banks and other international lenders to support coal-fired power plants and natural gas."He played a really big role in defining the president's foreign energy policy; he's now in an excellent position to implement it," said George David Banks, a former international energy adviser to Trump.Griffith last month rebuffed a subpoena from House Democrats to be deposed as part of the inquiry into Trump's dealings with Ukraine, citing White House counsel guidance against participating.\--With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs.To contact the reporters on this story: Jennifer A. Dlouhy in Washington at jdlouhy1@bloomberg.net;Ari Natter in Washington at anatter5@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Senior UK diplomat quits, says she will not 'peddle half-truths' over Brexit Posted: 06 Dec 2019 03:14 PM PST  A senior British diplomat in Washington has resigned, saying she did not want to "peddle half-truths" over Brexit for a government she did not trust, CNN reported on Friday. Britons head to the polls on Dec. 12 for an election which will decide the fate of Britain's exit from the European Union. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives have said they will deliver Brexit by the end of January, while the opposition Labour Party, who are trailing in the polls, plans to renegotiate the exit deal and put it to another referendum. Citing a copy of her resignation letter, dated Dec. 3, CNN reported Alexandra Hall Hall, who had been Brexit Counsellor in the British embassy in Washington since 2018, said her position had become "unbearable personally, and untenable professionally". "I have been increasingly dismayed by the way in which our political leaders have tried to deliver Brexit, with reluctance to address honestly, even with our own citizens, the challenges and trade-offs which Brexit involves," she wrote. "It makes our job to promote democracy and the rule of law that much harder, if we are not seen to be upholding these core values at home." A former British ambassador to Georgia who had worked for the foreign office for 33 years, Hall Hall said her decision to quit had nothing to do with being "for or against Brexit, per se". "I am also at a stage in life where I would prefer to do something more rewarding with my time, than peddle half-truths on behalf of a government I do not trust," she wrote. Asked during a televised election debate whether it worried him that a leading British diplomat had made such comments, Johnson said: "I don't know who you're referring to." "What it shows to me is that we need to move on as a country because there are plenty of people who are irreconcilably opposed to Brexit and I think that actually what we should do is respect the will of the people," he added. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed Hall Hall had resigned but a spokeswoman said it would not comment on the detail of an individual's resignation. CNN said Hall Hall's role involved explaining Britain's approach to Brexit to U.S. politicians and that she felt her diplomatic role had been co-opted to deliver messages that were "neither fully honest nor politically impartial". It said she had filed a formal complaint about being asked to convey overtly partisan language on Brexit in Washington.
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| Boris Johnson Is Heading for a Majority, Labour and Tory Officials Say Posted: 06 Dec 2019 02:46 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson is heading for a clear victory in next week's U.K. general election, according to senior officials in both his ruling Conservatives and the main opposition Labour Party.Speaking on condition of anonymity, five senior figures drawn from the two biggest parties said Johnson's campaign promise to "get Brexit done" is winning ground in Labour heartlands in northern England. The officials are familiar with high-level discussions in their parties about the potential outcome.Johnson Edges Snap Poll After Final Leaders Debate: U.K. VotesThat looks likely to result in a Tory majority of between 20 and 35 seats in the House of Commons, officials from both parties said. All Conservative candidates have pledged to vote for Johnson's Brexit deal, meaning even a small majority would in theory ensure the U.K. completes its divorce from the European Union by the Jan. 31 deadline.Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn conceded Friday that his personality divides people into those who like him and those who don't. The Tories have sought to capitalize on that while also trying to minimize the scrutiny Johnson is put under. The prime minister has refused to take his turn in a series of forensic BBC interviews with party leaders, for example.The final televised debate of the campaign did little to change things, with Johnson sticking to his line of focusing on getting Brexit "done," while sweeping aside questions of detail. Corbyn in reply argued that Johnson couldn't be trusted. Each accused the other of racism.While the prime minister avoided jokes and maintained message discipline, Corbyn was more willing to discuss ideas, at one stage setting out his objections to free-market capitalism.A YouGov poll afterward found a statistical tie, with 52% saying Johnson had won and 48% giving it to Corbyn, a difference that fell within the margin of error. The Labour leader was viewed as more trustworthy and more in touch with ordinary people, but Johnson was seen as more likable and more prime ministerial.A summary of recent polls puts the Conservatives on 43% of the vote nationally, and Labour on 33%, a gap that has narrowed over the course of the campaign. Corbyn seemed to have done little to change that in the debate.But with just under a week to go before the vote, nothing is certain. While Johnson is winning where he needs to, many voters have not made up their minds and others could still switch, campaign officials said.Johnson triggered the Dec. 12 snap election after months of deadlock over Brexit in parliament, where his Tory party didn't have a majority. He wanted to force his deal with the European Union into law to ensure the U.K. left the EU by Oct. 31, but lawmakers refused to agree to his fast-track timetable and forced him to request a delay.National PrioritiesThe premier has appealed to voters to give him a majority so he can deliver Brexit -- three and a half years after the referendum -- and move on to the country's other priorities, including investing in the National Health Service and cutting taxes.It's a message targeted particularly at voters in the north and center of England, regions which voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum but which have traditionally heavily backed the Labour Party.Many of these so-called "red wall" seats are now moving to support Johnson's Tories, according to polling, and to the officials in both main parties, who spoke privately about the contest.While Johnson is on course to triumph next Thursday, small moves in support could make the difference between a result that would deliver a landslide and one which would lead to another hung parliament. That's because in Britain's "first past the post" electoral system, the winner takes all in each of 650 electoral districts.Tim Bale, co-director of the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University of London, said the polls suggest next week's election will result in a Tory majority. "At the moment it points to a Tory majority," Bale said in an interview with Bloomberg Radio on Friday. "Corbyn I think has very little time to close that gap."\--With assistance from Roger Hearing, Sebastian Salek and Joe Mayes.To contact the reporters on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net;Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net;Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Alex Morales, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 'All roads lead to Putin': Impeachment ties Ukraine, Russia Posted: 06 Dec 2019 02:44 PM PST  House Democrats are bringing the impeachment focus back to Russia as they draft formal charges against President Donald Trump. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is connecting the dots — "all roads lead to Putin," she says — and making the argument that Trump's pressure campaign on Ukraine was not an isolated incident but part of a troubling bond with the Russian president reaching back to special counsel Robert Mueller's findings on the 2016 election. "This has been going on for 2 1/2 years," Pelosi said Friday.
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| Merkel voices 'deep shame' on first visit to Auschwitz Posted: 06 Dec 2019 02:12 PM PST  Angela Merkel visited the former Auschwitz Nazi death camp on Friday for the first time as chancellor and said admitting Nazi crimes was a key part of Germany's identity that could combat growing anti-Semitism.
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| Warning Iran, US slaps sanctions on Iraqi paramilitary leaders Posted: 06 Dec 2019 02:08 PM PST  The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on three Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary leaders over a deadly crackdown on protests in the country, as it warned Tehran to stay out of its neighbor's affairs. The move comes as President Donald Trump's administration, which considers Iran an arch-enemy, voices alarm at rising attacks on US forces' bases in Iraq blamed on armed Shiite groups backed by Tehran's clerical regime.
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| Johnson Edges Snap Poll After Final Leaders Debate: U.K. Votes Posted: 06 Dec 2019 01:52 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- A snap YouGov poll found that Boris Johnson narrowly beat Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn by 52% to 48% as the leaders went head-to-head in the final debate before the Dec. 12 election. The Conservatives still enjoy a healthy lead in national opinion polls.Ahead of the debate, the premier accused Corbyn of trying to "fiddle" the result of the second Brexit referendum the Labour leader wants by allowing European Union nationals to vote. Corbyn in turn said Johnson is misleading voters over the impact of the divorce agreement with Brussels.Must Read: Johnson Is Heading for a Majority, Labour and Tory Officials SayFor more on the election visit ELEC.Key Developments:Corbyn accuses Johnson's government of misleading voters on the impact of his Brexit dealJohnson-Corbyn debated on BBC TV. A YouGov snap poll gave Johnson a win by 52% to 48%BBC interviewer Andrew Neil attacked Johnson for refusing to be interviewed by him, accusing him of avoiding scrutinyBetting odds show a 71% chance of a Conservative majority, according to LadbrokesYouGov announces it will publish its last polling using the MRP model on Tuesday at 10 p.m.YouGov Snap Poll: Johnson 52%, Corbyn 48% (9:35 p.m.)A snap YouGov poll of 1,322 voters who watched the debate gave a narrow victory to Johnson over Corbyn by 52% to 48% -- the same margin by which Leave won the 2016 Brexit referendum.The voters were asked "Leaving aside your own party preference, who do you think performed best overall in tonight's debate?" Those who didn't express a preference were excluded from the published result, which the pollster said should be regarded as a draw as it falls within the margin of error."The public remains divided on who won the debate, just as with last month's head-to-head, with most Labour voters thinking Jeremy Corbyn won, most Conservative voters thinking Boris Johnson won, and very few people changing their minds," YouGov's Chris Curtis said in a statement. "But given the Conservatives went into this debate in the lead, they will hope the lack of a knockout blow means they can maintain this until voting day."Johnson and Corbyn Trade Barbs on Racism (9:25 p.m.)Johnson attacked Corbyn over anti-semitism in the Labour Party, saying his unwillingess to stand up for Jewish people was a 'failure of leadership'.Corbyn defended himself, saying antisemitism is an evil and he does not ever use racist language at any time. He sought to contrast himself with Johnson, who's come under pressure for past offensive remarks."A failure of leadership is when you use racist remarks to describe people in other countries and parts of our society," Corbyn said.Debate Focuses on London Bridge Attack (9:15 p.m.)Boris Johnson said it was "extraordinary and wrong" that terrorist Usman Khan, who killed two people in an attack near London Bridge last week, was out of jail on automatic release, and said his government would change sentencing laws so terrorists serve their full sentences.Corbyn used the topic to criticize Johnson on the criminal justice system, saying police numbers had been cut and the probation and prison services under-funded. "You end up with a breeding ground for all the horrors of the future," Corbyn said.Johnson contested the point, saying the Tories are putting 'a huge amount of cash' into justice, and that is only possible through a strong economy.Leaders Clash Over Capitalism (9:05 p.m.)The two leaders traded blows over their visions for the economy after they were asked about their attitudes to capitalism.Corbyn said democratic socialism "has raised the living standards of the poorest" where it has been pursued around the world and had lifted the U.K. after World War II. "Our labour government will do the same again," he said.Johnson said he would champion free-market capitalism. "I believe in supporting businesses," he said and criticized Labour's economy spokesman John McDonnell, who has said that he wants to foment the overthrow of capitalism.Corbyn hit back that under nine years of Tory government inequality has got worse. "150 billionaires in the county and more people than ever living in poverty," he said.Leaders Spar Over NHS Privatization (9:00 p.m.)During a lengthy section of the debate on the National Health Service, Jeremy Corbyn pledged to end privatization in the NHS, and repeated his accusations that a Conservative government would allow it to creep into the NHS through a trade deal with U.S. President Donald Trump.Johnson, for his part, rejected the notion as "pure Bermuda triangle stuff" and said "under no circumstances" would his government allow the NHS to be sold off.Corbyn pointed to trade talks between the Tories and Trump's administration over the past two years, and asked, to applause from the audience, "why did the talks go on for two years? It doesn't take two years to say no to privatizing the NHS."Corbyn and Johnson Clash Over Hospitals (8:55 p.m.)Corbyn criticized Johnson's claim that the Tories would build 40 new hospitals."He seems to have a problem with the figures," Corbyn said, saying only six new hospitals are actually proposed under the Conservative plans.Johnson hit back, saying seed funding is in place for new developments, and 40 new hospitals would be in place within 10 years. He also defended his party's record running the free-to-use service, which he said is admired around the world."It's not credible to make those kinds of statements," Corbyn said of Johnson's hospital claims. Corbyn said the NHS is at a 'crisis point', and his party would invest 40 billion pounds in the service.Johnson and Corbyn Spar Over Brexit Plans (8:45 p.m.)Boris Johnson said Britain would leave the EU by Jan. 31 under a Conservative government, allowing it to do things like "control our immigration system for the first time in a long time" and "improve animal welfare".Corbyn said he'd give the British people a final say on Brexit within 6 months, and warned that Johnson would not get a trade deal with the EU by the end of 2020, meaning "queues up the M20 in Kent" and "job losses on a huge scale"."He knows he can't get a deal quickly with the U.S. because of the way in which the U.S. political system works," Corbyn said. "He will walk out of the EU into a relationship with nobody, and that's where the chaos will come"Johnson, Corbyn, Make Opening Pitches (8:35 p.m.)Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn made their opening statements in the BBC head-to-head debate, with both rolling out the platforms they've espoused throughout the campaign.Corbyn promised to build a society "with real opportunity for all" which would involve those with the "broadest shoulders" paying a bit more in tax.Johnson, for his part, promised to "unleash" Britain's potential if granted a parliamentary majority, and stressed the need to avoid a hung parliament, which he said would lead to fresh referendums on Scottish independence and EU membership.Blair Urges Tactical Voting to Stop Johnson (5:45 p.m.)Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair urged voters "constituency by constituency" to choose the candidate best placed to stop Boris Johnson and give them their support."Don't give Boris Johnson a majority, he doesn't deserve it," Blair, who said he would be voting Labour, told a rally in central London. "It's not Brexit that's getting done, we're getting done."The former prime minister said it is "undemocratic" to decide the fate of Brexit through a general election when so many other issues are at stake and said a hung-parliament, in which no party has a majority, would be the best outcome. "Better a parliament that's hung for want of a majority than a country that's hung for want of leadership," he said. "I beg you with all my heart and all my mind, choose wisely."U.K. Diplomat Quits Over Brexit 'Half-Truths' (4:05 p.m.)A senior British diplomat in the U.S. has quit, criticizing the U.K. government over Brexit, CNN reported.Alexandra Hall Hall, the lead envoy for Brexit in the British Embassy in Washington, told colleagues she couldn't "peddle half-truths" for political leaders she doesn't trust, CNN reported, citing her letter of resignation.She said her departure was unrelated to Brexit in itself -- but was a reflection of her frustration at how it is being carried out, the network said. A spokeswoman for the foreign office said it would not comment on the details of an individual's resignation.DUP Lambast Johnson over Northern Irish Impact (2:30 p.m.)The Democratic Unionist Party issued a statement saying the internal Treasury document released by Jeremy Corbyn (see 10:30 a.m.) further proves Boris Johnson's Brexit deal will damage Northern Ireland. The DUP, which propped up Theresa May's government, crucially refused to support the prime minister's deal when he tried to get it through parliament in October."This latest leak from Her Majesty's Treasury is further demonstration that the prime minister's deal would be bad for Northern Ireland," said Jeffrey Donaldson, the party's chief whip. "The DUP warned the prime minister about this. Despite his protestations, the facts are in black and white. That is why we opposed the deal in the House of Commons and why Northern Ireland needs the deal changed."The DUP accused Johnson of selling-out loyalists in Northern Ireland to get his agreement with the EU. The deal "siphons off" the province from the rest of the U.K. by introducing checks on trade across the Irish Sea, the party's Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson said at the time.Tory Lead Narrows, Corbyn Unpopular: Poll (1:05 p.m.)The Conservatives hold a 12-point lead over Labour, narrowing by four points from two weeks ago, according to the latest Ipsos Mori poll for the Evening Standard newspaper. Support for Johnson's Conservatives stood unchanged at 44%, while Labour gained four points at 32%.Johnson's net personal ratings are at -20, lower than Theresa May's a week before she lost her majority in 2017. But he can take solace from the fact that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's are significantly worse. His net rating is -44, lower than at this stage of the 2017 campaign and the lowest for a major party leader going into an election since records began, according to Ipsos Mori.Tories: Document Released by Corbyn 'Flash Analysis' (1 p.m.)The Conservative Party said the Treasury document released by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (see 10:30 a.m.) was produced immediately after Boris Johnson's Brexit deal was struck with Brussels and represents a "flash analysis" and is "based on a partial reading of the final deal."The party also said the document has not been seen by either Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid or Johnson. "It is an incomplete analysis," the party said in an emailed statement.Former Tory PM Major Backs Rebel Candidates (12:45 p.m.)Former Conservative Prime Minister John Major endorsed three former Tory ministers -- David Gauke, Dominic Grieve and Anne Milton -- each of whom disobeyed Johnson over Brexit and are running against the party's official candidates."Let me make one thing absolutely clear: none of them has left the Conservative Party, the Conservative Party has left them," Major said in an emailed statement ahead of an event Friday where he's expected to appear alongside former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair. "Without such talent on its benches, Parliament will be the poorer, which is why -- if I were resident in any one of their constituencies -- they would have my vote."Major repeated his call for a second referendum on Brexit. Boris Johnson called Major's intervention "very sad" during a campaign event in Kent. "I think that he's wrong and I think he represents a view that is outdated," he said.Johnson Denies Brexit Means N. Ireland Checks (12 p.m.)Boris Johnson dismissed as "complete nonsense" Labour's statement that his Brexit deal would mean checks on goods passing between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, though he said he hadn't read the government document Jeremy Corbyn's party produced earlier (see 10:30 a.m.) to back up its position.Speaking to journalists at a campaign event in Kent, Johnson said voters should "believe exactly what I say" on Brexit, and repeated his assertion that there would be no checks on goods traveling between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. -- unless they were destined for the Republic of Ireland.But the Treasury document released by Corbyn matches what government ministers, including Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay, have previously conceded: That some checks will be necessary on goods traveling in both directions.At the event, Johnson attacked Corbyn's decision not to pick a side in the second Brexit referendum the Labour leader has pledged to hold if he wins the election. He also repeated the line that the divorce deal with Brussels allows the country to leave the EU "as one whole U.K." It's a line his former Northern Irish allies, the Democratic Unionist Party, do not agree with.Corbyn Says He's a 'Marmite' Choice for Voters (11 a.m.)Jeremy Corbyn acknowledged he's a divisive figure among voters, a trait that's borne out regularly in opinion polls. Following his speech in central London on Friday, he compared himself to Marmite -- a spread made from yeast extract that's long been sold in the U.K. under the slogan "love it or hate it."Asked whether he's turn-off for voters, Corbyn replied: "I think Marmite's really good for you. Some people like it and some people don't."Must Read: Britain's Brexit Election Is Now a Referendum on Jeremy CorbynCorbyn has the lowest leadership satisfaction rating for any opposition leader since 1977, according to a recent poll by Ipsos Mori. Even some of his allies have commented on the issue. "There have been some reservations about Jeremy on the doorstep, because every single leader of every single political party is not to everyone's taste," Labour's education spokeswoman Angela Rayner told Sky News last month.Labour: Document Shows Threat to N. Ireland (10:30 a.m.)The document presented by Jeremy Corbyn is a Treasury assessment of the economic and political impacts of the Northern Ireland protocol -- the part of Boris Johnson's Brexit deal covering how goods moving across the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain are checked and taxed.According to the document, customs declarations and physical checks will be "highly disruptive" to the Northern Irish economy. The Treasury also says that 98% of Northern Irish exporters to Great Britain are small-to-medium sized enterprises, who are "likely to struggle to bear" the cost of these changes.In terms of imports to Northern Ireland, high street goods are likely to increase in price. Johnson's deal will constitute "tariff equivalents of 30% on purchases in Northern Ireland," according to the document.The document also appears to cast further doubt on Johnson's repeated assertions that his withdrawal agreement takes the U.K. "whole and entire" from the EU. It's not a new dispute -- the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, which propped up the Tories in government, declined to back the Brexit deal because they said it treats the province differently to the rest of the U.K.The deal "has the potential to separate Northern Ireland in practice from whole swathes of the U.K.'s internal market," the document reads.Corbyn Says Johnson Hiding Truth on Brexit Deal (10 a.m.)Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn unveiled what he called a confidential government document he said proves that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is hiding the truth about the impact of his Brexit deal on the U.K.In a speech in London, Corbyn said the 15-page document "drives a coach and horses" through Johnson's claim that there will be no border in the Irish Sea after Brexit and that it was a "great deal" for Northern Ireland. It shows, he said, that the government has admitted there will be customs declarations and security checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of Great Britain."Johnson's deal will be disastrous for businesses and jobs across the whole U.K.," Corbyn said. "And the government's confidential report confirms this."Gove Defends Johnson Swerving Neil Interview (9 a.m.)Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove denied that Boris Johnson is avoiding accountability by being the only major party leader not to do a televised interview with BBC journalist Andrew Neil. "The prime minister has done more than 100 interviews during the campaign so far," Gove told BBC Radio. "It's an unprecedented amount of scrutiny that the PM has allowed to happen."Neil himself challenged Johnson to agree to an interview at the end of his grilling of Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage on Thursday. "We have an interview prepared -- oven-ready, as Mr. Johnson likes to say," he said.Click here for Neil's monologue."The theme running through our questions is trust, and why at so many times in his career in politics and journalism, critics and sometimes even those close to him have deemed him to be untrustworthy," Neil said. "The prime minister of our nation will, at times, have to stand up to President Trump, President Putin, President Xi of China. It was surely not expecting too much that he spend half-an-hour standing up to me."Labour campaign coordinator Andrew Gwynne sent a complaint to the BBC Thursday, accusing the public broadcaster of being "complicit in giving the Conservative Party an unfair electoral advantage." He said Labour had arranged party leader Jeremy Corbyn's interview on the understanding Johnson had agreed the same terms.Johnson has also declined an invitation to be questioned by ITV's Julie Etchingham as part of her series of leader interviews. ITV said they will run a profile of Johnson featuring archival footage instead.Earlier:Britain's Brexit Election Is Now a Referendum on Jeremy CorbynU.K. Election Primer: Britain's Economic Future Held in BalanceThe Big Brexit Bet That Hasn't Paid Off: Therese Raphael\--With assistance from Thomas Penny, Jessica Shankleman and Greg Ritchie.To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Joe Mayes in London at jmayes9@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The Cat Is Back: Shop Baby Phat’s New Collection Posted: 06 Dec 2019 01:00 PM PST  Nostalgia never looked so good. Back in March, on International Women's Day, Kimora Lee Simmons announced that she personally purchased her streetwear label Baby Phat with plans to relaunch come summer. After a teaser collection with Forever21, now, the cat is officially back: Baby Phat's first drop just went live exclusively on its website.The first collection has 10 to 15 styles, including an updated version of its now-iconic velour tracksuit. In the drops to follow, shoppers can expect windbreakers, oversized hoodies, and knitwear separates. Everything will be priced between $70 and $300. The timing couldn't be more perfect."When I created Baby Phat 20 years ago, it was because women – especially women of color – had no voice at all in the streetwear category," Simmons said. "It's in our DNA that this brand is created for women, by women – which was rare then and still is today once you really look closely at who truly owns and controls many womenswear brands on the market."It felt like an organic time to share her big secret during her keynote at the United Nations Women Global Innovator for Change in March. "It's a personal allegory for 'look how far we've come' and a reminder to women everywhere to expose young girls to entrepreneurial endeavors and bring them along with you," Simmons said.Simmons' daughters, Ming Lee, 19, and Aoki Lee, 16, were also a catalyst for the brand's return. "I think it's a huge opportunity to teach by example: to always keep growing and pushing yourself to evolve," Simmons continued. "Baby Phat is our family business in a lot of ways, and I'm excited for them to participate in a hands-on way to rebuild it alongside me." She continued: "Our strategy is tied to embracing all the exciting things that have happened in the market so that Ming Lee and Aoki Lee can tell their story to a new generation young women, some of whom may not have even been born during our first go around.""I think it's really exciting to see how Baby Phat lives in 2019," Aoki Lee Simmons said in a press release announcing the launch. "We have this whole online shopping and social media universe that didn't exist before. From the first day we announced that there was a Baby Phat relaunch in the works, back on International Women's Day in March, we have had women clamoring for new tracksuits via comments and DMs on Instagram — or begging us to restock our [Forever 21] capsule collab. There's so much passion and we take all the feedback to heart. We get to interact with Baby Phat fans in a way the brand never got to do before." Did you hear? Unbothered, the community made by and for Black millennial women, is launching a newsletter hitting your inbox monthly. Join us in celebrating the dopeness of Black womanhood and sign up here.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?Kimora Lee Simmons On The Legacy Of Baby PhatKimora Designed Her Daughter's Prom DressSolange On Redefining Americana & Black Cowboys
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| Gunmen in cars kill at least 15 and injure scores more in Baghdad protests Posted: 06 Dec 2019 12:42 PM PST  Gunmen in cars opened fire on Friday in Baghdad's Khilani Square leaving at least 15 people dead and 60 wounded, Iraqi security and medical officials said. At least two of the dead were policemen. Protesters fearing for their lives ran from the plaza to nearby Tahrir Square and mosques to take cover. It wasn't immediately clear who did the shooting. The attack came as anti-government demonstrators occupied parts of Jumhuriya, Sinak and Ahar bridges in a standoff with security forces. All the bridges lead to or near the heavily-fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq's government. "We are under live fire now with electric power cut, the wounded and martyrs are here and the bullets were fired in Sinak Bridge," said one protester, who did not give their name for fear of retaliation. The attack came a day after a string of suspicious stabbing incidents targeting demonstrators left at least 13 wounded in Baghdad's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of Iraq's leaderless protest movement. Those attacks by unknown perpetrators occurred as demonstrators supporting political parties and Iran-backed militias withdrew from the Square . The incidents on Thursday fueled paranoia among protesters, who immediately implemented self security measures to uncover saboteurs within the square. At least 400 people have died since the leaderless uprising shook Iraq on October 1, with thousands of Iraqis taking to the streets in Baghdad and the predominantly Shiite southern Iraq decrying corruption, poor services, lack of jobs and calling for an end to the political system that was imposed after the 2003 U.S. invasion. Security forces dispersed crowds with live fire, tear gas and sonic bombs, leading to fatalities. Pressure from the protests, now in its third month, lead to the resignation of Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi last week following Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's calls for parliament to withdraw its support for his government. Earlier on Friday, Iraq's highest Shiite religious authority called for the formation of a new government within the allotted deadline, and without foreign interference, as the clock ticks down on lawmakers to select a new premier. Thousands of anti-government protesters from across southern Iraq had joined demonstrators in Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protest movement in the capital, hours after the sermon, according to security officials. "We hope the head of the new government and it's members are chosen within the constitutional deadline and according to the aspirations of the people and away from outside influence," the Grand Ayatollah said in his weekly Friday sermon in the holy city of Najaf. The sermon is always delivered by a representative. He added that the Shiite religious establishment would not take part in the government formation process. Parliament had 15 days since his stepping down was formally recognized by lawmakers last Sunday to name a new nominee, per the constitution. Since the US invasion of 2003, government formation in Iraq has been based on brokering consensus among political factions and their foreign allies, primarily the U.S. and Iran. President Barham Salih launched talks immediately after Abdul-Mahdi's resignation by making rounds with different political blocs. Iranian General Qassim Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force and the architect of its regional security apparatus, also came to Baghdad to meet with key officials. Lawmakers made headway in passing a key reform bill to change the membership of Iraq's controversial Independent High Electoral Commission, the body tasked with overseeing polls, in a session Thursday night. Anti-government protesters consider IHEC a corrupt and partisan institution and its commissioners working in favor of political parties. The new law seeks to select commissioners primarily from the judiciary. Protesters are also calling for early elections and reforms to have a greater influence in electing their representatives. Al-Sistani, Iraq's most powerful religious figure whose opinion holds sway over Iraqis, also said peaceful protesters should increase their ranks and push out saboteurs, while respecting the role of the "indispensable" security forces. Following the sermon, thousands of protesters traveled to Baghdad from across southern Iraqi provinces and marched on Tahrir Square, including from Dhi Qar, Diwanieh, Karbala, Najaf, Babylon and Missan, security officials said, chanting the slogan "Sistani, we are his soldiers." Security officials requested anonymity in line with regulations.
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| Nikki Haley claims Dylann Roof 'hijacked' the 'heritage' of the Confederate flag in church massacre Posted: 06 Dec 2019 12:32 PM PST  Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that white supremacist Dylann Roof "hijacked" the Confederate flag by carrying out a mass killing of African-Americans in a Charleston, S.C., church in 2015.
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| Nikki Haley claims otherwise innocuous Confederate flag was 'hijacked' by killer Posted: 06 Dec 2019 12:27 PM PST  * Critics call Dylann Roof's acts 'completely consistent' with flag * Haley: battle flag represented 'service and sacrifice and heritage'The former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley faced a storm of criticism on Friday after she said the Confederate battle flag represented "service and sacrifice and heritage" before it was "hijacked" by Dylann Roof, the gunman who killed nine African American people in a Bible study class in Charleston in June 2015."Nonsense," the civil war historian Kevin M Levin wrote on Twitter. "Tell that to the white men who in 1920 forced a young African American man to kiss a Confederate flag before they lynched him."The Confederate soldiers who fought under the flag during the civil war of 1861-65 fought to preserve slavery and white supremacy. South Carolina was the first state to secede from the union over the issue, in December 1860, and the first shots of the war were fired in the state in April the following year."Roof's actions," said the Atlantic writer Adam Serwer, "were completely consistent with the cause of that flag and all the 'service, sacrifice and heritage' associated with it. The Confederate flag represents treason in defence of human bondage and white supremacy, it always has, and always will."Roof's manifesto and pictures of him posing with the flag were revealed on a website after the shooting at Mother Emanuel AME church in Charleston on 17 June 2015.As the Guardian reported at the time: "Under a section entitled 'An Explanation', the website appears to allude to the forthcoming massacre."'I have no choice,' it states. 'I am not in the position to, alone, go into the ghetto and fight. I chose Charleston because it is [the] most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to Whites in the country.'"The website also contained "what appears to be a manifesto filled with racist diatribe about blacks, Jews and Hispanics".Haley, a Republican and Donald Trump's first ambassador to the United Nations, was speaking to Glenn Beck, host of the rightwing website and podcast The Blaze.Haley has released a book, With All Due Respect, and has been widely touted as either a replacement for Vice-President Mike Pence on the 2020 ticket or a Republican presidential candidate herself. Her conversation with Beck was due to be broadcast in full on Saturday."South Carolina fell to our knees when this happened," Haley told Beck. "This is one of the oldest African American churches. These … people were amazing people, they loved their church, they loved their family, they loved their community."And here is this guy that comes out with this manifesto, holding the Confederate flag, and had just hijacked everything that people thought of."We don't have hateful people in South Carolina," Haley claimed. "There's always the small minority that's always gonna be there but people saw [the flag] as service and sacrifice and heritage, but once he did that there was no way to overcome it."At the time of the Charleston shooting, Beck himself said flying "the Confederate flag makes no sense whatsoever" and there were "no ifs, and, or buts" that slavery was the central issue of the civil war.Haley was defended by Bakari Sellers, an African American Democratic politician from South Carolina, who wrote that though "Twitter will hate me for this. I know Nikki Haley and believe she misspoke. She knows the pain associated with the flag."But Haley makes similar claims in her book, saying Roof "robbed the good-intentioned South Carolinians who supported the flag of this symbol of heritage and service" and saying she "worried that allowing the killer to define what the flag represented for everyone was a surrender".Haley eventually presided over the removal of the flag from the South Carolina capitol, after protests and attempts to tear it down.On Friday, Levin said she should not "push this painful history under the rug for political purposes. In the end, you did the right thing by calling for the removal of the flag in 2015, but this dishonours the memory of the Charleston Nine."Haley also told Beck she resisted the politicisation of the shooting."The national media came in droves," she said. "They wanted to define what happened, they wanted to make this about racism, they wanted to make it about gun control, they wanted to make it about [the] death penalty."And I really pushed off the national media and said: 'There will be a time and place where we talk about this but it is not now, we're gonna get through the funerals, we're gonna respect them and then we will have that conversation.'"And we had a really tough few weeks of debate but we didn't have riots, we had vigils. We didn't have protests, we had hugs. And the people of South Carolina stepped up and showed the world what it is to have grace and strength in the eyes of tragedy."In a tweet on Friday, Haley linked to a transcript of her remarks on the flag in 2015 and said it "was a painful time for our state. The pain was and is still real. Below was my call for the removal of the Confederate flag & I stand by it. I continue to be proud of the people of SC and how we turned the hate of a killer into the love for each other."She also retweeted defences of her remarks to Beck.Roof remains in prison, having been sentenced to death.
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| 'This is about Russia': Trump impeachment inquiry leaves 'roads to Putin' untravelled Posted: 06 Dec 2019 12:27 PM PST  Shortly after her Thursday morning announcement that the process of drafting articles of impeachment against president Donald Trump would commence, House speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Mr Trump's withholding of military aid to Ukraine was yet another instance of his taking actions that ultimately benefit the interests of Russian leader Vladimir Putin."This isn't about Ukraine. This is about Russia. Who benefited by our withholding that military assistance? Russia," Ms Pelosi said. "All roads lead to Putin. Understand that."
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| Iran nuclear deal parties meet as accord nears collapse Posted: 06 Dec 2019 12:03 PM PST  The signatories to the Iran nuclear deal stressed their commitment to the faltering accord during crunch talks in Vienna on Friday, as Tehran vowed to continue to breach limits on its nuclear programme. Envoys from Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and Iran took part in the three-hour-long meeting. Since May, Iran has taken a series of measures, including stepping up uranium enrichment, in breach of the 2015 deal, with another such move likely in early January.
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| Mexicans fleeing violence form new encampment on border Posted: 06 Dec 2019 11:49 AM PST  An exodus of migrants fleeing drug cartel violence and corruption in Mexico has mired hundreds of immigrants in ramshackle tent camps across the border from El Paso and brought new chaos to a system of wait lists for asylum seekers to get into the U.S. Migrant tent camps have been growing in size at several border crossings in Ciudad Juarez, driven by a surge in asylum seekers from regions in southern Mexico gripped by cartel violence. One camp in Juarez is populated by about 250 Mexican asylum seekers, who are living in increasingly cold conditions as they wait for U.S. authorities to let them in to the country.
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| Germany's SPD shifts left but gives Merkel coalition 'a chance' Posted: 06 Dec 2019 11:21 AM PST  The new, leftist leaders of Germany's Social Democrats offered Angela Merkel's struggling coalition a lifeline at a key congress on Friday but vowed to push for more action on climate protection and public investments. Delegates at the SPD conference in Berlin rejected a motion to immediately quit the coalition, averting a political crisis. Instead, the overwhelming majority of the 600 delegates backed a plan by co-leaders Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken to open "discussions" with Merkel's CDU/CSU conservatives on demands that will determine the fate of the alliance.
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| Officials list pot vape brands reported in US outbreak Posted: 06 Dec 2019 11:18 AM PST  Health officials investigating a nationwide outbreak of vaping illnesses have listed, for the first time, the vape brands most commonly linked to hospitalizations. Dank Vapes was the brand used by 56% of the hospitalized patients nationwide. Other product names at the top of the list from CDC were TKO (15%), Smart Cart (13%) and Rove (12%).
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| Warren, Buttigieg scrap puts Democratic divide on display Posted: 06 Dec 2019 11:12 AM PST  Elizabeth Warren has spent weeks absorbing attacks from moderate rivals looking to blunt her surging campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. After a Democratic Party fundraiser in Boston on Thursday night, Warren blasted Pete Buttigieg, who is emerging as a leading moderate candidate in the lead-off Iowa caucuses set for Feb. 3. "I think that Mayor Pete should open up the doors so that anyone can come in and report on what's being said," Warren said.
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| Nikki Haley Suggests Confederate Flag Meant ‘Sacrifice and Heritage’ Until Dylann Roof ‘Hijacked’ It Posted: 06 Dec 2019 11:08 AM PST  Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley seemed to suggest on Friday that the Confederate flag did not have racist overtones until Dylann Roof "hijacked" it with his 2015 murder of nine black churchgoers.Speaking to Blaze TV's Glenn Beck, Haley recounted her decision as South Carolina governor to remove the Confederate battle flag from the State House following Roof's massacre at the Emanuel AME church in Charleston. "Here is this guy that comes out with this manifesto, holding the Confederate flag," she said. "And had just hijacked everything that people thought of—we don't have hateful people in South Carolina. It's a small minority; it's always going to be there.""People saw it as service, and sacrifice, and heritage," the ex-governor continued. "But once he did that, there was no way to overcome it. And the national media came in droves—they wanted to define what happened. They wanted it to make this about racism. They wanted to make it about gun control. They wanted to make it about the death penalty."Apparently, according to Haley, the media at the time wanted to make the mass slaying of nine black people—an admittedly targeted racist attack, as laid out in Roof's manifesto—about race.While Haley's insistence that a flag long associated with slavery and sedition was actually just about "heritage" until only recently was immediately met with ridicule and mockery, her remarks to Beck are actually pretty much in line with how she equivocated on the issue when she removed the flag four years ago.Claiming at the time that many South Carolinians held up the flag as "a way to honor ancestors," she added that "while an integral part of our past" it "does not represent the future of our great state."Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| US hits Iran-backed Iraqi militia leaders with sanctions Posted: 06 Dec 2019 10:33 AM PST  The Trump administration on Friday slapped sanctions on three Iran-backed Iraqi militia leaders for violent suppression of protests that have wracked the country. The Treasury and the State Department also hit a wealthy Iraqi businessman with sanctions for bribery and corruption. The militia leaders targeted by the sanctions are accused of ordering their forces to open fire on demonstrators protesting widespread corruption and misgovernance.
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| UK Brexit envoy quits, slamming politicians' 'half-truths' Posted: 06 Dec 2019 10:32 AM PST  Alexandra Hall Hall resigned as the embassy's Brexit counselor with a letter slamming the British government's use of "misleading" arguments and reluctance "to address honestly" the challenges and trade-offs involved in the U.K.'s departure from the European Union. The diplomat's resignation letter is dated Dec. 3 and was made public just six days before Britons vote in a general election dominated by Brexit.
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| Asylum-seekers who crossed in Arizona returned to Mexico Posted: 06 Dec 2019 10:28 AM PST ![Asylum-seekers who crossed in Arizona returned to Mexico]( "Asylum-seekers who crossed in Arizona returned to Mexico") The U.S. government said Friday it had sent nine Venezuelans — including two families — back to Mexico after they tried to make an asylum claim by driving up to a customs officer instead of lingering south of the border on a list waiting to be called up under a Trump administration policy targeting asylum-seekers. Advocates say the asylum-seekers forced wait on a list under a Trump policy known as metering are desperate and afraid of waiting in Mexico for months before they're even given a chance to make an asylum claim.
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| Slain UPS driver's family questions police response to chase Posted: 06 Dec 2019 09:38 AM PST  Relatives of a UPS driver killed after robbery suspects took him hostage on a wild police chase across South Florida questioned Friday why officers had to unleash a torrent of gunfire when the truck got stuck in rush-hour traffic. Both suspects, 41-year-old cousins Lamar Alexander and Ronnie Jerome Hill, were killed along with the driver, Frank Ordonez, and another motorist, 70-year-old Richard Cutshaw, who was waiting at a busy intersection when officers ran up and opened fire from behind the cars of innocent bystanders.
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| US slaps sanctions on Iran-linked Iraqis over protest abuses Posted: 06 Dec 2019 09:37 AM PST  The United States on Friday announced sanctions on three Iranian-linked Iraqi militia leaders for allegedly assisting the crackdown on demonstrations that have swept the country. The United States imposed sanctions on three Iraqis -- Qais al-Khazali, Laith al-Khazali, and Hussein Falil Aziz al-Lami -- who are part of Popular Mobilization Forces, or Hashed al-Shaabi, a Shiite militia movement close to Iran.
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| German SPD Gives Merkel a Reprieve But Signals Tough Talks Ahead Posted: 06 Dec 2019 09:23 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Want the lowdown on European markets? In your inbox before the open, every day. Sign up here.The new leaders of Germany's Social Democratic Party signaled a readiness to stick with Chancellor Angela Merkel's government but pledged a tough stance in defending a list of fresh demands.Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans, a pair of outspoken government critics and Berlin outsiders, were confirmed as party leaders during a convention in Berlin on Friday. They had won a leadership contest last weekend against a tandem led by coalition loyalist Olaf Scholz, Merkel's finance minister and vice chancellor.Their unexpected victory threw the future of Merkel's rule into doubt. But they subsequently softened their stance and put forward a list of legislative proposals that was approved by the convention late on Friday. The motion sets out conditions for the party to remain in government, including an increase in the minimum wage, additional investments, and tougher action on climate change."I was and I remain skeptical about the coalition," Esken told delegates. "We are giving the coalition a chance to continue. Nothing more and nothing less, however long it may last."In a speech aimed at her own leftist constituents, Esken made demands that went beyond what the party leadership had agreed the day before, saying that a 12 euro ($13) minimum wage is the minimum the SPD should strive for and that "massive" investments are required.Official SPD Wish ListWalter-Borjans and Esken both adopted a tough tone that could herald difficult negotiations, questioning Merkel's commitment to a balanced budget and mocking calls for increased defense spending by the leader of her Christian Democratic Party.Germany needs a development and investment program, at least 10 years long and worth an additional 45 billion euros ($50 billion) per year, Walter-Borjans said. "If the black zero and the break on debt stand in the way of a better future for our children, then it must go," he said in reference to Germany's zero-deficit spending policy.A former finance minister from North-Rhine Westphalia, Walter-Borjans signaled an SPD shift to the left, saying it once again needs to become the party of income redistribution. He called for increased controls of big business and criticized calls by CDU chief Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer for more defense spending."AKK wants a European aircraft carrier. With us Social Democrats that won't be built," he told delegates. Finance Minister Scholz, who has stuck to fiscal discipline despite calls for increased spending, reaped strong applause when he was mentioned by the party's outgoing interim leader but was mentioned only in passing by the incoming duo.The three-day convention marks the SPD's latest effort to get itself on track after reluctantly entering a coalition to support Merkel for her fourth term two years ago. While the party's leaders have softened their campaign pledges, they will still be under pressure from a restive base and negotiations with Merkel's bloc won't be easy.Reopening a climate package that took months to secure may find little support from the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU. Equally, increasing the minimum wage could become a major bone of contention.The head of the Christian Democratic-led bloc in the Bundestag, Ralph Brinkhaus, congratulated the new SPD chief, bidding for "good and constructive" cooperation with them.Pushing too hard could be risky as pulling out of the coalition could trigger a snap election. That could be disastrous with support for the SPD on par with the far-right AfD. The CDU, led by the embattled Kramp-Karrenbauer, also has little incentive to seek an early national ballot, and Merkel is keen to see out her tenure, especially with Germany set to hold the rotating European Union presidency in the second half of next year.The dynamics of the convention will give an indication of how much time Merkel has left, even if the SPD's new leadership is stepping back from the brink for the time being.(Updates with delagates' approval of coalition demands in third paragraph)\--With assistance from Chris Reiter.To contact the reporter on this story: Birgit Jennen in Berlin at bjennen1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, ;Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Raymond Colitt, Iain RogersFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Another day, another crisis: PM Johnson mounts defensive UK election campaign Posted: 06 Dec 2019 09:21 AM PST ![Another day, another crisis: PM Johnson mounts defensive UK election campaign]( "Another day, another crisis: PM Johnson mounts defensive UK election campaign") Another campaign day, another crisis for Prime Minister Boris Johnson in his quest to hold onto office and, as he repeated to an audience in southeastern England on Friday, to "get Brexit done" and "get Britain out of neutral". Faced with accusations he has lied to the public over his Brexit deal, Johnson rubbishes the criticism, sticking firmly to his script that his "fantastic deal" to leave the European Union is the only one that will see the whole of Britain exit quickly. It is part of what is a largely defensive strategy before the Dec. 12 election, in which Johnson often has to respond to accusations from his main challenger, opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, rather than setting the agenda.
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| At Auschwitz, Merkel bows head to Holocaust victims Posted: 06 Dec 2019 09:11 AM PST  Stony-faced and dressed in black, Germany's chancellor walked in silence along the railway tracks that brought prisoners to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp. On the historic visit, her first as chancellor, a visibly moved Angela Merkel on Friday spoke of her "deep shame" at the "inconceivable" crimes of the Nazis during World War II. "I bow my head before the victims of the Shoah (Holocaust)," she said.
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| U.S. has not yet decided whether to hold U.N. meeting on N.Korea rights abuses Posted: 06 Dec 2019 09:03 AM PST ![U.S. has not yet decided whether to hold U.N. meeting on N.Korea rights abuses]( "U.S. has not yet decided whether to hold U.N. meeting on N.Korea rights abuses") The United States has not yet decided whether to hold a United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss human rights abuses in North Korea on Tuesday, said U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Craft after even the prospect of such a meeting angered Pyongyang. At least eight members of the 15-member council support a request for a meeting and the final decision rests with the United States, diplomats said.
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| As Dems zero in on White House, Trump racks up court losses Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:59 AM PST  President Donald Trump knows he has fierce Democratic adversaries in Congress. Taken together, the court rulings eviscerate the administration's muscular view of executive power just as the impeachment inquiry against Trump accelerates.
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| US flu season arrives early, driven by an unexpected virus Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:37 AM PST  The U.S. winter flu season is off to its earliest start in more than 15 years. An early barrage of illness in the South has begun to spread more broadly, and there's a decent chance flu season could peak much earlier than normal, health officials say. The last flu season to rev up this early was in 2003-2004 — a bad one.
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| Brexit Bulletin: Marmite Men Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:35 AM PST  Days to General Election: 6(Bloomberg) -- Sign up here to get the Brexit Bulletin in your inbox every weekday.What's Happening? Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn go head-to-head one final time, as the Labour leader accuses the prime minister of misleading the public.It's been almost 100 years since the market town of Newcastle-under-Lyme, in England's West Midlands, elected anything than a Labour member of Parliament. It's now on the point of voting Conservative, driven by support for Brexit and anger at political deadlock in London."I've worked in the mines and I've worked with laboring men all my life," Arthur Jim Nixon, 77, said when the local Conservative candidate, Aaron Bell, knocked on his door. "I like Boris [Johnson, the prime minister]. I don't like this Labour Party because they criticize Jews. Live and let live."Newcastle is just one block in Labour's so-called "Red Wall," a previously impregnable band of constituencies running across the middle of the U.K. from North Wales to almost the East coast of England. As pollsters have projected — and as we found in our reporting — it's now an edifice that Johnson's Tories are trying to topple. Thirty-five of the 50 Labour seats with the slimmest margin of victory last time are in places that backed Brexit and most of them are in the Midlands or north of England, according to John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University in Glasgow and the U.K.'s most prominent psephologist.Labour expects to lose some seats, though its not clear how many, according to a senior party official. Internal polling and feedback from voters suggests the Conservatives are on course for that majority, the person said. Why? Because Corbyn was unpopular on the doorstep, the Labour campaign was incoherent and its policy promises were not credible, the official said.Corbyn and Johnson go head-to-head in a final televised debate this evening. It comes with the prime minister under fire for avoiding tough questions on his honesty from the BBC's Andrew Neil, and Corbyn acknowledging that he's a "Marmite" figure: "Some people like it and some people don't," he said today.This election is coming down to a question of trust — and of taste.Today's Must-ReadsFive senior figures from both the Conservative and Labour parties believe Johnson is heading for a majority, Bloomberg's Tim Ross reports.Across British industry, Brexit remains a dirty word — unless you're a customs agent, Bloomberg's Joe Mayes reports.Brexit has transformed Belfast into a key election battleground, giving long-time rivals even more reasons to trade insults.Brexit in BriefTrading Brexit | Traders are betting on a Conservative Party majority as the market's preferred outcome — one predicted by every poll. But be careful: These forecasts have been wrong before, and some asset gains are starting to look overdone.Border Checks | Corbyn accused Johnson's government of misleading voters on the impact of his Brexit deal, brandishing a leaked document and saying that checks on goods would be needed between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Johnson dismissed Labour's statement as "complete nonsense."Tory Lead Narrows | Today's Ipsos MORI/Evening Standard poll puts the Conservatives on 44%, Labour on 32% and the Liberal Democrats on a "disastrous" 13%. Party leader net approval ratings are also worth digesting: Johnson sits on -20, while Corbyn plumbs the depths at -44.Major Issue | Former Conservative Prime Minister Sir John Major urged voters to re-elect three MPs who were forced out of the party after rebelling against Johnson's Brexit plans in Parliament. Major backed David Gauke, Dominic Grieve and Anne Milton, who are all standing as independents. Uncharted Waters | The European Union's trade chief signaled that post-Brexit Britain and the EU would struggle to reach a free-trade agreement before the end of 2020. "We have no accurate way to predict how long it will take," Phil Hogan was due to say on Friday in Dublin. "We are entering completely uncharted waters."Who Will Win? | Forget Brexit. Stop stressing about the election. The only contest that matters today is Bloomberg's hunt for the best mince pie in Britain. We asked top London baker Lily Vanilli. Her conclusion? Price and quality aren't always correlated.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 authors of this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.netRobert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Adam Blenford at ablenford@bloomberg.net, Chris KayFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Angela Merkel warns of new wave of anti-Semitism as she visits Auschwitz Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:21 AM PST  Angela Merkel warned of a rising new wave of hatred and anti-Semitism across Germany and Europe as she visited Auschwitz to honour the victims of the Holocaust on Friday. Speaking at the concentration camp where 1.1m people were murdered by the Nazis, the overwhelming majority of them Jewish, Mrs Merkel pledged that Germany would never forget its historical responsibility for the Holocaust. "Remembering the crimes, naming the perpetrators, and giving the victims a dignified commemoration, that is a responsibility that does not end," she said. "It is not negotiable; and it is inseparable from our country. Being aware of this responsibility is an integral part of our national identity." Mrs Merkel used her first official visit to Auschwitz, which lies in modern Poland, to send a clear warning about rising anti-Semitism. "These days it is necessary to say this clearly. Because we are experiencing worrying racism, increasing intolerance, a wave of hate crime," she said. "We pay particular attention to anti-Semitism, which threatens Jewish life in Germany, in Europe and beyond." Mrs Merkel is only the third postwar German chancellor to visit Auschwitz, and followed in the steps of Helmut Schmidt and her mentor, Helmut Kohl. Mrs Merkel spoke in front of images of Holocaust victims Credit: KACPER PEMPEL/REUTERS Dressed in black and accompanied by Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, she visited the gas chambers and held a minute's silence at the Death Wall, where thousands of prisoners were executed. She spoke movingly of how it felt to stand on the ramp, where Jewish prisoners arriving by train were selected for the gas chambers. "Being here today and speaking to you as German Chancellor is anything but easy for me. I am deeply ashamed of the barbaric crimes perpetrated here by Germans - crimes that transcend the limits of all things," she said. "In horror at what has been done to women, men and children in this place, you have to be silent...And yet silence must not be our only answer. This place obliges us to keep the memory alive. We need to remember the crimes that were committed here and to make them clear." Mrs Merkel was speaking at ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation and pledged a donation of €60m (£51m) towards its works to preserve the camp as a memorial and warning to future generations. The timing of her visit was clearly prompted by the recent rise in anti-Semitism in Germany. A bloodbath was narrowly averted in October when a lone far-Right gunman failed to gain entry to a synagogue packed with people marking Yom Kippur in the eastern German city of Halle. Mrs Merkel laid a wreath at the Death Wall where thousands of prisoners were executed Credit: LUKASZ GAGULSKI/EPA-EFE/REX Violent anti-Semitic crimes rose by 60 per cent in Germany last year, with 62 offences leaving 43 people injured. Solemn events are planned next month to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops at the end of the war. There has been speculation in Germany that Mrs Merkel chose to attend Friday's lower-key ceremony in case she is forced from power before then. Her coalition is looking increasingly fragile after her partners in the Social Democrats (SPD) elected two left-wing candidates to be its new leaders. Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken, who were officially confirmed as joint leaders by the SPD party conference on Friday, have threatened to pull the party out of Mrs Merkel's coalition. But they appeared to back away from the threat at Friday's party conference, calling instead for negotiations on new government spending. "With this propsal, the coalition will have a realistic chance of continuing - no more and no less," Ms Esken told delegates.
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| Norwegian Air becomes world's first airline to sign UN climate treaty Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:15 AM PST  Norwegian Air has become the first airline in the world to sign the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, pledging to become climate neutral by 2050. As part of its commitment, the low-cost carrier has launched a carbon offsetting feature directly in the booking process that calculates the carbon emissions of flights and allows customers to purchase offsets from the airline's partner CHOOOSE, a climate-tech company based in Oslo. The carbon offsetting feature is neither new nor novel.
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| Green Party manifesto 2019: A summary of key policies Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:14 AM PST  The Green Party has revealed the details of its general election manifesto, titled If Not Now, When? The party has announced 10 new laws that would be ready to be implemented if co-leaders Sian Berry and Jonathan Bartley won an against-the-odds majority on Dec 12. Here is an at-a-glance look at what is in the 89-page manifesto. Environment The manifesto pledges a £100million-per-year investment plan to deliver a Green New Deal over the next 10 years. It would look to totally overhaul the use of fossil fuels by switching transport and industry to renewable energy sources, while upgrading household heating systems and planting 700 million trees within a decade. The party wants to use the measures to create a net-zero carbon economy by 2030. Brexit The pro-European Union party has re-committed itself to a second referendum and to campaign for Remain. It says staying in the bloc would help "lead the fight against the climate emergency". General Election 2019 | Key questions, answered Crime Restorative justice would be expanded to allow those affected by crimes to meet offenders as part of a bid to cut the prison population by 50%. Misogyny would be made a hate crime under a Green-led administration and the personal use of drugs, including some Class A substances, would be de-criminalised. Heroin would be available on prescription and cannabis clubs would be permitted, allowing marijuana to be grown and consumed by adults. Welfare The Greens would introduce a universal basic income, providing every UK citizen with £89 per week in state funding. It would provide a boost to those in work and leave no-one on benefits worse off, according to the manifesto. Health Party leaders have promised to increase funding for the NHS by at least £6 billion each year until 2030 - a 4.5% increase on the 2018/19 budget. Privatisation in the NHS would also be abolished, while mental health care would be put on an "equal footing" with physical care. Education The party pledges to boost education funding by at least £4 billion per year and to lay down a long-term aim of reducing classes to 20 pupils and below. Ofsted would be replaced with a "collaborative system of assessing" schools and a new law would put onus on teaching children about climate change. In higher education, tuition fees would be scrapped and those who paid £9,000 a year to study would have their debt wiped. General election 2019 | Manifestos
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| US envoy: US has `other tools' if Iran's bad actions go on Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:14 AM PST  Craft also told her first press conference since arriving at the United Nations in September that all 15 members of the U.N. Security Council are united in their concern about any more ballistic missile launches by North Korea, saying there have been 13 launches since May and Pyongyang's actions are a serious global issue. North Korea has ramped up its missile tests in recent months, and experts say the launches are likely to continue as a way to pressure Washington into meeting Pyongyang's demand for new proposals to revive nuclear diplomacy by leader Kim Jong Un's deadline at the end of December.
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| Speaker Shifts View About Impeachment: No-Go to No Choice Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:04 AM PST  WASHINGTON -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi was planning to deliver back-to-back eulogies at funerals here and in South Carolina during a busy weekend of late September travel when she saw an explosive headline in The Wall Street Journal: "Trump Repeatedly Pressed Ukraine to Investigate Biden's Son."For months, Pelosi had resisted calls for impeachment. It would be nearly another week before the release of a whistleblower's complaint detailing Trump's push for Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son -- and days before nervous moderates told her they were ready to back an impeachment inquiry they had shunned all year.But the news of Trump's repeated entreaties for Ukraine to investigate a leading political rival was too much for Pelosi. The speaker's mind was made up to embark on proceedings that could lead to the impeachment and removal of the 45th president of the United States.Now, Pelosi has taken a substantial leap forward in an evolution that began when she assumed the speakership in January and reached a critical turning point on that Saturday in September. On Thursday, she announced she had directed her lieutenants to draft articles of impeachment against Trump.The decision, delivered in a somber tone punctuated by unusual flashes of emotion -- "Don't mess with me," she told a reporter who asked if she hates the president -- demonstrated how thoroughly Pelosi had transformed from impeachment skeptic to impeachment warrior.Just nine months ago, Pelosi declared flatly in an interview with The Washington Post Magazine that she was "not for impeachment" because it would be "so divisive to the country that unless there's something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don't think we should go down that path.""He's just not worth it," Pelosi added with a disdainful flourish.Congressional Republicans have repeatedly thrown that comment back at Pelosi. On Thursday they said they thought she caved to the impeachment demands of the progressive left."I think she has lost control," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. "In March, she said it wasn't going to be successful unless it was bipartisan, and she totally abandoned that."But at her weekly news conference on Thursday, Pelosi told reporters the president had given Democrats no choice: "He is the one who is dividing the country on this. We are honoring the Constitution of the United States."As the speaker turned to leave the lectern, James Rosen, a correspondent for the conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group, shouted out to ask if she hated Trump. Pelosi spun around to address him, her finger wagging, her voice quivering."As a Catholic, I resent your using the word hate in a sentence that addresses me," she said sharply. "I don't hate anyone. I was raised in a way that is a heart full of love and always pray for the president. And I still pray for the president. I pray for the president all the time. So don't mess with me when it comes to words like that."People close to the speaker say that she has said privately what she often says publicly: She has never been eager to impeach the president. She worried that vulnerable moderates would lose their seats, that it would tear the country apart. And it was a distraction from the poll-tested agenda Democrats had campaigned on: lowering the cost of prescription drugs, raising the minimum wage, fighting corruption and gun violence."She came to where we are today with real reluctance -- that was genuine," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., a close Pelosi ally. "It was fear of the division of the country and fear of re-litigating the last election."How Pelosi got to "where we are today" is in part the story of her sense of timing, her methodical approach to decision making and her ability to read the sensibilities and political needs of her fractious and often unruly caucus. As Washington's most powerful Democrat, she is the only lawmaker in the Capitol who can, and routinely does, go toe to toe with the president.On Thursday, after the speaker called Trump "a coward" during her fiery exchange with Rosen, the president fired back on Twitter, accusing Pelosi of having "a nervous fit."Earlier, Pelosi struck a somber tone as she announced that the House would move forward with impeachment articles. Her brief speech, delivered from a teleprompter against the backdrop of a row of six American flags in a corridor outside her office suite in the Capitol, was the speaker's equivalent of a presidential address from the Oval Office. She chose the same spot, and the same format, when she announced the opening of the House inquiry in September, days after she saw the headline that persuaded her to move forward."She's fond of quoting Thomas Paine, 'The times have found us,'" Rep. Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in an interview. "But they have found no one more than her. She really was made for this hour, but I think she also recognized when that hour was right for the country to go down this road to impeachment."Pelosi has kept a tight rein on the impeachment process. On the night before the Intelligence Committee convened its first public impeachment hearing last month, the speaker line-edited Schiff's opening statement, suggesting that he change a word to sharpen his point.Schiff planned to introduce Ambassador William B. Taylor Jr., the top diplomat in Ukraine who was a crucial witness, as a graduate of West Point. She changed "was" to "is," arguing that the present tense made for a stronger credential."She has been very hands-on," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., a member of the Judiciary Committee who also leads the House Progressive Caucus. "She knows exactly what's happening or her office is involved in all of the decisions, and she works to try to find a balance where the caucus will come together.""Once the speaker is on board with a strategy," Jayapal added, "she is completely on board."From the very day that Democrats took power in Washington in January -- and even before -- Pelosi has faced pressures from all sides of her caucus. On her left, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the liberal firebrand freshman from Michigan who campaigned on a vow to impeach the president, was caught on videotape using an expletive for Trump as she described her desire to oust him from office.On her right, moderate first-term members like Reps. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia -- both of whom won narrowly in Trump-friendly districts -- wanted nothing to do with impeachment. Pelosi knew that if they lost their seats, Democrats would lose the majority -- and with it, her speakership.Even after Robert Mueller, the special counsel who investigated Russia's interference in the 2016 election, came out with his report in April detailing several instances of possible obstruction of justice by Trump, Pelosi was reticent. From her travels around the country -- she is gone almost every weekend, often raising money for Democrats -- she had concluded that neither the public nor her Democratic members were ready."What's instructive to her?" asked Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, Pelosi's fellow Democrat from California and a close friend of the speaker. "It's the public sentiment -- the quote of Abraham Lincoln which she has repeated so many times I wish I had a dime for every time she said it, that public sentiment is everything and without it, very little can be achieved."Despite Pelosi's own reticence, Democrats say she has never pressured them to take a stand on impeachment one way or another -- a point she reiterated during a rare members-only, no-aides-allowed private meeting with her rank and file Wednesday morning.Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., a member of the Intelligence Committee, recalled how he had approached Pelosi in June -- long before most Democrats had embraced impeachment -- to inform her he was coming out in favor of an inquiry."She said, 'You know, you need to do what you think is right for your district,'" Himes said. "She has been studiously neutral until the point of, you know, September, when it became clear that what the president had done was a very serious abuse of power."On Sept. 20, a Friday, The Wall Street Journal came out with a report detailing how Trump, at eight separate moments during a telephone call in July, had pressed President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine to work with Rudy Giuliani, his personal lawyer, to investigate the Bidens. Soon after, The New York Times posted a similar article.Pelosi was to deliver a eulogy for Cokie Roberts, the well-known Washington television correspondent, the next day. And on Sunday, she was to travel to Columbia, South Carolina, to speak at the funeral of Emily Clyburn, the wife of Rep. James Clyburn, the No. 3 House Democrat.Although Pelosi kept her own counsel, aides said that her tone changed over that weekend and it became clear that she was planning to make an announcement about impeachment. She briefly thought of doing so the next Monday morning, before flying to New York for a dinner and panel discussion on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly.But Pelosi decided to hold back; she wanted to take the pulse of her caucus one more time, and members were still back home in their districts.That Monday evening, while Pelosi was in a holding room at the St. Regis Hotel in New York, she took a conference call with moderate Democrats, all with national security backgrounds -- including Slotkin and Spanberger -- who told her they had submitted an op-ed to The Washington Post calling for an impeachment inquiry.As she flew back to Washington late that night, the speaker was seen reading the Washington Post piece on the plane. In midflight, she wrote the first draft of a speech that said Trump had "seriously violated the Constitution," and that the House would investigate -- the most consequential decision of her second speakership. She delivered it the next day.As she told reporters on Thursday, "The facts of the Ukraine situation just changed everything."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| City of Conflict Turns Into Key Election Battleground Posted: 06 Dec 2019 07:57 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- It doesn't take much to bring old tensions back to the surface in a city that's synonymous with sectarian conflict.As campaigning before the U.K. election on Dec. 12 heads into the final stretch, lampposts in Belfast are adorned with the red, white and blue of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party's posters. Sinn Fein, formerly the political wing of the Irish Republican Army and the DUP's most bitter adversary, is campaigning under the slogan "Time for Unity," or reunification with Ireland. Both sides trade insults about alleged links to paramilitary forces.Brexit may have blurred the lines between political tribes in the U.K., but in Northern Ireland it's entrenched them even more. In Belfast, the stakes are even higher than usual in a city still divided by "peace walls" to keep the two sides apart. The DUP's ability to keep the three seats it won here in 2017 could have implications beyond the troubled province. "Sinn Fein see the opportunity to replace two strong unionist MPs with two nationalist MPs," said Emma Little-Pengelly, DUP member of parliament for south Belfast. "They hope to have two representatives pushing out unionists and pushing again for a united Ireland."Northern Ireland was back front and center of the national campaign on Friday, when Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of misleading voters on the impact of his Brexit deal on the region.The DUP has played an outsized role in British politics over the past two years by giving the governing Conservative Party a parliamentary majority. Its refusal to support successive deals with the European Union was a key factor in the political impasse that the latest election is aimed at breaking. That means the traditional fight between the DUP and Sinn Fein, which barely used to resonate outside the province, is now amplified in importance.Outside a Conservative majority, a hung parliament is the most likely outcome of next month's election, according to bookmaker Paddy Power. That might put the DUP again in a position of kingmaker. Sinn Fein, meanwhile, refuses to take up seats in the U.K. Parliament because it doesn't recognize British sovereignty over Northern Ireland.DUP leader Arlene Foster told business leaders in Belfast this week that she saw a chance to exert significant influence in London after the election, pointing out her party had won "billions of additional investment" through their previous deal with the Conservatives.QuicktakeBritain's Election Gamble — What You Need to Know"For the DUP, the message is we could hold the balance of power again so vote for us to show we are strong supporters of the union," said Bill White, who runs Belfast-based polling company Lucid Talk. "There's an element of knocking on the doors, and saying keep Sinn Fein out. On the other side, Sinn Fein say vote for us to keep the pressure for a border poll, keep the Brits out."Smaller Northern Irish parties were wiped out in the 2017 election. The DUP won 10 seats in total, an increase of two. Sinn Fein took seven districts, up from four at the previous election.For many nationalists, next week's vote is another chance to ramp up the pressure on the British government to hold a "border poll" within five years, or a referendum on reuniting Ireland. For unionists, it's a battle to stem the green tide which they say threatens to engulf their British identity. The political editor of the Belfast Telegraph newspaper, Suzanne Breen, told the BBC's Newsnight show that the vibe of the campaign was not "in the gutter, it's in the sewer" and reminiscent of the worst times of the conflict. Read More: The 310 Miles Breaking BrexitGerry McDonnell, who describes himself as a "pro-nationalist" voter, blames Brexit for letting the Irish unity genie out of the bottle.The question of Irish reunification is back on the agenda "big time now — not only just nationalists, but for some unionists too," McDonnell, speaking as he left Belfast's electoral office in the historic Cathedral Quarter. "Even unionist businessmen and farmers are considering it. That would never have happened 30 years ago."After the Catholic-dominated Republic of Ireland gained independence in 1922, the mainly Protestant north remained in the U.K. By the 1970s, low-level tit-for-tat violence erupted into the full-blown conflict known as the "Troubles," which left more than 3,500 people dead.It largely ended with the 1998 Good Friday Peace Agreement, though attacks still occur. In Ballymena, about 25 miles from Belfast, last month, a man was attacked with a bat by a masked gang waving a knife in what police describe as a random sectarian attack. Tensions still simmer in Belfast too—this week, police officers in the city were targeted in a grenade attack.Read More: The End of the U.K. Might Be NearingPolitically, nationalists have been gaining on the unionists in recent decades. Indeed, two losses for the DUP would "push the momentum for a border poll," said White, the pollster.The division is particularly vivid in north Belfast. John Finucane, the city's mayor whose lawyer father was murdered by loyalist gunmen, is challenging DUP Deputy Leader Nigel Dodds, who was involved in an attack by the IRA in 1996. A policeman guarding Dodds while he visited his son in hospital was shot.More recently, Dodds played a pivotal role in challenging the U.K. government's Brexit agreement that would treat Northern Ireland differently to the rest of the U.K., a red line for his party. Other nationalist and unionist parties have stood aside to allow a straight fight in the district.Likewise in the more affluent area of South Belfast, where Little-Pengelly of the DUP is being challenged by Claire Hanna of the Social Democratic and Labour Party after Sinn Fein decided not to risk splitting the vote. The DUP responded by issuing a press release asking if convicted terrorists would be campaigning for Hanna."They have to paint me as the pantomime villain," said Hanna. "The DUP message is the union is under threat. They don't want to talk about Brexit."\--With assistance from Kitty Donaldson.To contact the author of this story: Dara Doyle in Dublin at ddoyle1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Rodney Jefferson at r.jefferson@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Pearl Harbor shooting unfolded in 23 seconds in packed area Posted: 06 Dec 2019 07:13 AM PST  The U.S. Navy sailor who fatally shot two people at Pearl Harbor before killing himself was unhappy with his commanders and had been undergoing counseling, a military official said Friday. Gabriel Romero, 22, also faced non-judicial punishment, which is a lower-level administrative process for minor misconduct, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters not made public. In a second attack at a Navy base this week, a shooter opened fire in a classroom building Friday at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida — leaving four people dead, including the assailant, and multiple people wounded.
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| Protests at Gaza-Israel fence resume after 3-week pause Posted: 06 Dec 2019 06:52 AM PST ![Protests at Gaza-Israel fence resume after 3-week pause]( "Protests at Gaza-Israel fence resume after 3-week pause") Thousands of Palestinians demonstrated along the Gaza-Israel frontier Friday as the territory's Hamas rulers resumed the regular protests after a three-week pause. The renewed weekly protests came as leaders from Hamas and the smaller but more radical Islamic Jihad were in Cairo, talking with Egyptian mediators about cementing a cease-fire with Israel that is expected to ease Gaza's 12-year-old blockade. The health ministry said 14 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire, four of them with live gunshots.
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| Saudi student opens fire at Florida Naval base, killing 3 Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:54 AM PST  An aviation student from Saudi Arabia opened fire in a classroom at the Naval Air Station Pensacola on Friday morning, killing three people in an attack the Saudi government quickly condemned and that U.S. officials were investigating for possible links to terrorism. The assault, which ended when a sheriff's deputy killed the attacker, was the second fatal shooting at a U.S. Navy base this week and prompted a massive law enforcement response and base lockdown. Twelve people were hurt in the attack, including the two sheriff's deputies who were the first to respond, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said.
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| Gas explosion in Slovakia tower block kills 5, injures 40 Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:49 AM PST  A gas explosion in an apartment building in eastern Slovakia killed at least five people and injured more than 40 Friday. Firefighters rescued people trapped in the building, which officials said is still in danger of collapse. It was unclear where the rescues took place, but firefighters initially said some people had fled to the roof, and seven military helicopters joined in the rescue.
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| An election is no solution when Trump, Russia and Republicans are determined to steal it Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:43 AM PST ![An election is no solution when Trump, Russia and Republicans are determined to steal it]( "An election is no solution when Trump, Russia and Republicans are determined to steal it") Trump's shakedown of Zelensky looks a lot like a payoff to Putin that's also an invitation for help in 2020. The remedy is impeachment and removal.
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| Ivory Coast Opposition Leader Slams France’s Influence Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:36 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Ivory Coast, the largest economy in francophone West Africa, is too focused on doing business with France and should open up its market to investors from a wider range of countries, an opposition leader said."Sixty years after Ivory Coast gained independence from France, French companies still dominate trade," Mamadou Koulibaly, a 62-year-old former parliament speaker who plans to run for president next year, said in an interview.A former French colony, Ivory Coast has retained close political, economic and cultural ties since gaining independence in 1960. Under President Alassane Ouattara, who assumed office in 2011 after a French and United Nations military intervention, those ties have flourished.As the country recovered from a decade of civil conflict with large infrastructure projects that eased congestion and helped fuel a real-estate boom, French companies have been at the forefront of a building frenzy. Bouygues SA is working on a $1.5-billion commuter train in the commercial capital, Abidjan, and on weekends, shoppers flock to brand new supermarkets operated by France's Carrefour SA.At the same time, Ouattara has courted investors from across the globe and enabled Chinese newcomers to build roads, set up a nationwide pay-TV network and complete the Soubre hydropower plant. China Road & Bridge Corp. this year won a $134 million contract for a bridge in Abidjan. Nearby, a Moroccan company is transforming the city by building a lagoon promenade near the business district of Plateau.Anti-French Rhetoric "Whether they're from Russia, Chicago or Guangzhou, working with other investors to reduce the influence of France is in Ivory Coast's best interests," Koulibaly said.Previously a prominent member of the Ivorian Popular Front of ex-President Laurent Gbagbo, Koulibaly broke away to set up his own movement, Lider, in 2011. His decision came months after the end of a brief civil war triggered by Gbagbo's refusal to accept defeat in 2010 presidential elections. Koulibaly was one of few Gbagbo loyalists who didn't take sides in the conflict, which proved the most violent in the country's history.Under Gbagbo's 2000-2010 rule, relations with France became strained when Paris brokered a peace accord between his government and a rebel group that had seized the northern half of the country. Anti-French rhetoric peaked in 2004 as mobs went on a rampage through the main cities, attacking symbols of French influence and intimidating mainly white foreigners. The French army evacuated about 8,000 people before calm was restored.One of Koulibaly's collaborators, Swiss-Cameroonian national Nathalie Yamb, was expelled earlier this week for posting comments on Twitter the government considered "malicious" and "incompatible with the national interest." She's known to be hostile toward France and French President Emmanuel Macron.Koulibaly is also a longtime critic of the CFA franc, which was established after World War II to help France import goods from its colonies. The currency, used by eight West African nations, is pegged to the euro and its convertibility is guaranteed by the French Treasury."The CFA is part of the closed market that I want to get rid of," he said. "The argument that the currency is good for business between France and Ivory Coast simply doesn't hold. By removing the CFA we might upset France, but we'll open up our market to Nigerians, Russians and the Chinese, who will be very pleased."For now, Koulibaly is still looking for funding for his political campaign -- and said he won't turn down help from Russia, which is trying to expand its influence on the continent. His trip in October to the first Russia-Africa summit in Sochi hasn't yet resulted in a deal, he said."I'm open to anyone who's prepared to finance my campaign, whether its businessmen from Russia, China or the U.S.," Koulibaly said. "What I offer in return is access to the Ivorian market and the possibility to come and invest here under the same conditions as everyone else."(Adds expulsion of adviser in ninth paragraph)To contact the reporters on this story: Katarina Hoije in Abidjan at khoije@bloomberg.net;Pauline Bax in Johannesburg at pbax@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Pauline Bax, Gordon BellFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Abandoned baby giraffe befriended by dog in Africa dies Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:35 AM PST  A baby giraffe that was befriended by a dog after he was abandoned in the wild has died, a South African animal orphanage said Friday. "Our team is heartbroken," the orphanage said. Jazz the giraffe collapsed after hemorrhaging in the brain, The Rhino Orphanage said in a Facebook post.
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| UPDATE 3-German Social Democrats give Merkel coalition a chance Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:22 AM PST ![UPDATE 3-German Social Democrats give Merkel coalition a chance]( "UPDATE 3-German Social Democrats give Merkel coalition a chance") Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) voted on Friday to give their coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel a chance of survival, setting out relatively modest demands as their price for staying in government with the conservatives. Some party members want to quit government and rebuild in opposition. The conservatives say they will not renegotiate the 2018 coalition deal but the relatively modest demands set out by the SPD's new leaders appear to avoid a direct confrontation with Merkel's CDU/CSU bloc.
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| Djibouti Launches Its Official Election Campaign for Non-permanent Membership of the UN Security Council Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:18 AM PST  The Republic of Djibouti has announced, in New York, that it is starting its official campaign for election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. In June 2020, the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly will have to elect five of the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council for the period 2021-2022. One of these five seats is statutorily allocated to Africa and, according to the tradition of regional rotation adopted by the African Union, it is now East Africa's turn to apply.
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| UN human rights chief denounces Iran security forces for using "severe violence" against protesters Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:15 AM PST ![UN human rights chief denounces Iran security forces for using "severe violence" against protesters]( "UN human rights chief denounces Iran security forces for using \"severe violence\" against protesters") Iranian security forces have shot at protesters from helicopters and a rooftop and have aimed at peoples' heads in using "severe violence" to quell anti-government unrest last month, U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Friday. The U.N. Human Rights Office has received information indicating that at least 208 people have been killed, including 13 women and 12 children, during the demonstrations and at least 7,000 people arrested, the statement said. Iranian authorities confirmed for the first time this week that security forces killed demonstrators during what rights groups have said was the deadliest anti-government unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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| EU’s New Trade Chief Warns of Persistent Brexit Economic Risks Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:15 AM PST ![EU's New Trade Chief Warns of Persistent Brexit Economic Risks]( "EU's New Trade Chief Warns of Persistent Brexit Economic Risks") (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. The European Union's trade chief signaled that post-Brexit Britain and the EU would struggle to reach a free-trade agreement before the end of 2020, highlighting the persistent risk of U.K. commercial ties with the bloc being severed in a disruptive way."We have no accurate way to predict how long it will take to negotiate a deal with the U.K. because there is no precedent," Phil Hogan said in the text of remarks due to be delivered on Friday in Dublin. "We are entering completely uncharted waters."The remarks signal that economic uncertainty will continue to plague the U.K. even if Prime Minister Boris Johnson wins a national election next week and gains the British Parliament's approval of a Brexit agreement by a Jan. 31 deadline.Under the terms of the withdrawal accord, a transition period preserving the economic status quo would run until the end of 2020 and could be prolonged by as long as two years while both sides negotiate a free-trade deal. A decision to prolong the transition phase would have to be taken by the middle of next year.Tricky Negotiations"A number of British newspapers quoted me out of context to indicate that I believed a deal was achievable before the end of 2020," Hogan said. "The most productive thing the U.K. government could do at this point is to focus on content, not timing."The negotiations promise to be tricky because they will involve trying to ensure a close degree of economic integration that nonetheless will fall short of the benefits offered by EU membership. It took the EU five years to strike market-opening accords with Japan and Canada and two decades to get a deal with the Mercosur group of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.Hogan said the EU and U.K. have the advantage of already enjoying barrier-free commerce. At the same, he said, little is known about Britain's goals on post-Brexit ties to the bloc."We are absolutely not starting from scratch; we should be able to square off many areas of alignment relatively quickly, due to the high level of convergence already in place," Hogan said. "We are still in the dark as to what type of free-trade agreement the U.K. will ultimately want. So the urgent priority for the next government must be to outline its preferences, and then carefully define its offensive and defensive interests for each stage of negotiations."On a separate priority for Hogan, who took office as the EU trade commissioner this week, he vowed to work to uphold the World Trade Organization system being challenged in different ways by the U.S. and China while citing the need for a revamp of the WTO to make it more effective."The WTO is no longer fit for purpose in today's highly integrated and technology-driven global economy," he said. "We urgently need to reform the WTO to make it relevant and operational again."To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Richard BravoFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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