| Ukraine talks fail to reach breakthrough but Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiy agree to ceasefire Posted: 09 Dec 2019 04:27 PM PST  Much-anticipated peace talks for eastern Ukraine have failed to bring about a breakthrough after a six-hour summit in Paris on Monday. The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France claimed some progress in moving towards settling the long-simmering conflict after a ceasefire was agreed. The talks were the first time that Ukraine's new President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, met Russian leader Vladimir Putin, whom many in Ukraine hold personally responsible for the hostilities in the east. Mr Zelenskiy was elected in April this year and declared putting an end to the protracted armed conflict in the Donbass region as one of his priorities. Just a few months into his presidency, Mr Zelenskiy negotiated a major prisoner swap with Mr Putin, which offered hopes for a breakthrough. Fighting between government troops and Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine's industrial heartland has claimed more than 13,000 lives and displaced over a million people since it began in April 2014 following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. The leaders of Russia and Ukraine met with the mediation of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday and agreed to implement a comprehensive ceasefire and hold a major prisoner exchange between the Ukrainian government and the separatists. President Macron welcomes President Zelenskiy to the Elysee Palace Credit: AFP Although opinion polls show that most Ukrainians favour a peaceful solution to the conflict in the east, many in Ukraine worry that Mr Zelenskiy, a political novice compared to Mr Putin, would find himself making unpalatable concessions to Russia. Monday's talks, during which Mr Putin and Mr Zelenskiy carved out an hour and a half to talk one-to-one, showed that Mr Zelenskiy was committed to what has been described in Ukraine as red lines for settling the conflict in the Donbass. Mr Zelenskiy said at the leaders' joint briefing that he and Mr Putin differed on key issues for political settlement such as handing over control of parts of the Ukrainian-Russian border from the separatist rebels to Ukrainian troops. Ukraine and the West have for years accused Russia of using the porous border for sending the troops and weapons to the separatists, a claim that Moscow has denied. Mr Putin insisted at the briefing that local elections in the rebel-controlled east should be held before the separatists cede control of the border. He added, however, that he was happy that he and Mr Zelenskiy got to meet and that "things are going in the right direction." The leaders agreed to meet in four months' time, and Mr Zelenskiy said that there were no preconditions for the next meeting: "There's no homework." Ukraine, Russia and the separatists with the mediation of Germany and France signed peace accords in 2015, committing to a cease-fire and political settlement. Although the fighting died down, the political settlement never fully materialised and large swathes of eastern Ukraine remain under separatist control. Mr Zelenskiy, a popular comedian who won the presidential vote by a landslide, came into the talks in a weakened position after his country was dragged into an impeachment inquiry in the United States following a whistleblower complaint that President Donald Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine in order to pressure Kiev into investigating a political rival. Mr Zelenskiy, in the early months of his presidency, tried to secure a White House meeting before talks with Mr Putin but as the impeachment inquiry has showed, US officials instead approached his administration about looking into the work of Democratic candidate Joe Biden's son in Ukraine. Mr Zelenskiy had a brief meeting with Mr Trump at the UN General Assembly in September but never had the full-format talks he had hoped for. Ukraine, Russia and the separatists with the mediation of Germany and France signed peace accords in 2015, committing to a cease-fire and political settlement. Although the fighting did die down, the political settlement never fully materialised and large swathes of eastern Ukraine remain under separatist control.
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| Trump to Meet Russian Envoy Lavrov During Washington Visit Posted: 09 Dec 2019 03:16 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday, a discussion certain to draw scrutiny given Trump's history with the Kremlin envoy.A senior administration official said Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo will discuss the state of the bilateral relationship with Lavrov. Russia's Foreign Ministry announced that Lavrov would meet Trump hours before the White House confirmed it.Lavrov is making his first visit to Washington since a trip in 2017 set off a storm of criticism. Trump told Lavrov in an Oval Office meeting that he had relieved pressure from an investigation into his dealings with Russia by firing James Comey as FBI director, according to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report.He also was alleged to have disclosed sensitive intelligence information to his Russian guests, though the White House disputed those reports.In May, Pompeo and Lavrov met in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, where the top U.S. diplomat also held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.While Pompeo called those talks "very productive," relations between the countries remain at the lowest point since the Cold War. While most of official Washington regards Russia as an adversary over its interference in the 2016 election, its military incursion into Ukraine and its support for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, Trump again called for closer ties while at the NATO summit in London last week.Trump has repeatedly advocated for a new arms-control agreement with Moscow and Beijing, despite withdrawing from an accord governing intermediate-range weapons after Russia was alleged to have violated it."With respect to nuclear weapons, I've spoken to President Putin and I've communicated with him," Trump said. "We are -- he very much wants to and so do we -- work out a treaty of some kind on nuclear weapons."Arms TreatyThe visit comes as Trump is facing an impeachment investigation that turns in part on his embrace of a discredited theory that Ukraine rather than Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election. Lavrov arrives a day after the Justice Department's inspector general released the results of an inquiry into the FBI's investigation in 2016 of people associated with Trump's presidential campaign.Russia has criticized U.S. plans to keep troops in Syria and warned that time is running out to extend an existing arms-control agreement called New Start."It's hard to say what the rush is" for the Lavrov meeting, said Vladimir Frolov, a former Russian diplomat and foreign policy analyst. "The only thing would be to get the negotiations started on extending" the New Start agreement, he said.Tuesday's meeting comes a day after Putin meets in Paris with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for talks on ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine.Trump has also said he's considering Putin's invitation to come to the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II on May 9 in Moscow.To contact the reporters on this story: Stepan Kravchenko in Moscow at skravchenko@bloomberg.net;Jordan Fabian in Washington at jfabian6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Alex Wayne, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Putin says Georgian killed in Berlin was himself a killer Posted: 09 Dec 2019 03:08 PM PST ![Putin says Georgian killed in Berlin was himself a killer]( "Putin says Georgian killed in Berlin was himself a killer") Russian President Vladimir Putin said a Georgian man murdered in Berlin in August was himself a killer who took part in bloody acts on Russian soil and that Moscow's requests for Germany to extradite him had not been heeded. Putin said he did not know what happened to the Georgian man, but said that he had been mixed up in organised crime. Russia has denied any involvement and said last week it would retaliate for what it called Germany's "unfriendly" move.
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| Your Evening Briefing Posted: 09 Dec 2019 02:30 PM PST ![Your Evening Briefing]( "Your Evening Briefing") (Bloomberg) -- Want to receive this post in your inbox every afternoon? Sign up here Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are focusing on charges that President Donald Trump abused his office and obstructed Congress as they prepare for articles of impeachment and a subsequent vote on whether to send the case to the Senate for trial. At a hearing Monday on Capitol Hill, lawyers for both parties presented very different interpretations of the facts laid out over weeks of public testimony. It's down to the wire with Brexit: To keep up with the latest news about this week's U.K. election, sign up for our daily newsletter, follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our podcast.Here are today's top storiesThe September mayhem in the U.S. repo market suggested there's a structural problem in this vital corner of finance. It seems that banks and hedge funds fueled it.Despite the growing possibility that he'll be the third U.S. president to be impeached, things are looking good for Trump on this front, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. The FBI was justified in opening a probe of Russian interference in the 2016 campaign and its potential ties to then-Republican candidate Donald Trump, the Justice Department inspector general said.Hugh Grosvenor, the seventh Duke of Westminster, is the U.K.'s third-richest person. He's tried to stay out of the spotlight since inheriting his title, but criticism of his Grosvenor Group is rising over its plan to demolish a London tower that houses some of the city's poorest residents.Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn went so far as to call the 28-year-old billionaire a "dodgy landlord." Meanwhile, Corbyn's opponent in the Dec. 12 U.K. election, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, was put on the defensive over the National Health Service after a newspaper published a picture of a 4-year-old child being treated on the floor of a hospital emergency room.Russia was barred from the Olympics and other competitions for four years after anti-doping officials found a persistent effort on the part of Moscow to cheat by way of drug use—and cover it up.What's Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director is pointing you to the latest episode of the Odd Lots podcast, in which we speak with Srinivas Thiruvadanthai of the Jerome Levy Forecasting Center about his new paper on the folly of inflation targeting. The gist is that over the last two decades, the Fed has focused aggressively on inflation stability, protecting creditors by fighting both recessions (cutting rates and preventing mass defaults) and inflation (hiking rates). The obsessive focus on stability may have had the effect of facilitating more lending, creating a massive buildup in private-sector debt. What you'll need to know tomorrowMorgan Stanley is terminating 2% of its employees. Parental leave is moving ahead in the U.S., but very slowly. How a $1 billion grudge drove a GM lawsuit against Fiat. Another reason why China might want to seal a partial trade deal. Crypto exchange LedgerX just placed its co-founders on leave. Come look inside Citigroup's revamped, swankier headquarters. Here's why your next vacation should be in North Korea.What you'll want to read in Bloomberg PursuitsFor two decades, Colorado businessman and philanthropist Richard Gooding pursued the finest scotch specimens. Gooding, who died in 2014 at 67, amassed 3,900 bottles, including some rarities that may sell for almost $2 million apiece. Soon they will become the largest private whisky collection ever to hit the auction block. In October, Sotheby's auctioned off a 1926 Macallan Fine & Rare 60 Year Old for a record $1.9 million. The Gooding auction will feature two of them, one of which features a label created by the Italian pop art painter Valerio Adami. Only a dozen of those were made. To contact the author of this story: David Rovella in New York at drovella@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| We can rip up the EU rule book, PM Johnson tells UK voters Posted: 09 Dec 2019 02:30 PM PST ![We can rip up the EU rule book, PM Johnson tells UK voters]( "We can rip up the EU rule book, PM Johnson tells UK voters") Prime Minister Boris Johnson will bolster his argument on Tuesday for leaving the European Union early next year, urging voters to return him to power so Britain can "rip up the EU rule book and write a new one for ourselves". Just days before Britain votes in an election he called to try to break the deadlock over Brexit, Johnson will repeat his desire to "finally get Brexit done" on a tour of traditionally Labour supporting areas he hopes to win over. Johnson has put his oft-repeated pledge for a quick Brexit at the heart of his election campaign, hoping to win the backing of those who voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum.
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| Report: US misled public on progress in Afghanistan war Posted: 09 Dec 2019 02:23 PM PST  The U.S. government across three White House administrations misled the public about failures in the Afghanistan war, often suggesting success where it didn't exist, according to thousands of pages of documents obtained by The Washington Post. The documents reveal deep frustrations about America's conduct of the Afghanistan war, including the ever-changing U.S. strategy, the struggles to develop an effective Afghan fighting force and persistent failures to defeat the Taliban and combat corruption throughout the government. "We were devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan — we didn't know what we were doing," Douglas Lute, a three-star Army general who served as the White House's Afghan war czar during the Bush and Obama administrations, told government interviewers in 2015.
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| Pensacola gunman got around a ban on foreigners buying guns Posted: 09 Dec 2019 02:16 PM PST  Generally, foreigners are not allowed to buy guns in the United States. For example, a foreigner who manages to obtain a state hunting license and can show proof of residency in that state can legally buy a gun. "It seems every day we find a new loophole," said Adam Winkler, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law and an expert on gun laws and politics.
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| US, North Korea on collision course as New Year deadline looms Posted: 09 Dec 2019 01:48 PM PST  Tensions are quickly rising between the United States and North Korea, which has ramped up pressure as it demands concessions by President Donald Trump's administration by the end of the year. The United States called a UN Security Council meeting for Wednesday on North Korea's series of rocket launches, the latest return to antagonism as diplomacy languishes. Monday's announcement came two days after North Korea claimed to have carried out a "very important" but otherwise unspecified test, in a hint that it may have further actions in store.
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| U.S. defense policy bill requires nuclear power inspections for Saudi Arabia -sources Posted: 09 Dec 2019 01:41 PM PST ![U.S. defense policy bill requires nuclear power inspections for Saudi Arabia -sources]( "U.S. defense policy bill requires nuclear power inspections for Saudi Arabia -sources") Saudi Arabia and other countries seeking to use U.S. technology to develop nuclear power plants must agree to comprehensive U.N. inspections under legislation to be included in the defense policy bill expected to be announced as soon as early this week, two Democratic congressional aides said on Monday. The measure requires the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, to conduct snap inspections of nuclear power facilities to ensure countries are not developing materials for nuclear weapons. The language is included in the annual National Defense Authorization Act, one of the few pieces of legislation that Congress must pass every year, the two aides said.
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| Diplomats: US backs out of North Korea human rights meeting Posted: 09 Dec 2019 01:19 PM PST  The United States changed its mind and is now refusing to sign a letter that would have authorized the U.N. Security Council to hold a meeting on the human rights situation in North Korea, diplomats said Monday. Without support from the United States, European and other countries that wanted the U.N.'s most powerful body to discuss human rights in North Korea can't go ahead Tuesday because they are now one vote short of the minimum nine "yes" votes required, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions were private.
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| Syria's Assad: OPCW faked a report on attack near Damascus Posted: 09 Dec 2019 12:47 PM PST  Assad's comments to Italy's Rai News 24 came after the director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons expressed confidence in the report into the deadly attack in Syria. OPCW's chief Fernando Arias supported the report issued in March by a fact-finding mission from the watchdog that found "reasonable grounds" that chlorine was used in a deadly attack on the eastern Damascus suburb of Douma.
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| Watchdog finds no 'political bias' in launch of Trump Russia probe Posted: 09 Dec 2019 12:44 PM PST  The FBI was justified in launching an investigation into ties between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia before the 2016 election, a US watchdog has found, undermining the US president's claim it was all a "witch hunt". There is no evidence that the FBI official who opened the probe was motivated by "political bias or improper motivation", according to a long-awaited report from the Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz released on Monday. However the Horowitz report did include a string of criticisms for how the investigation was pursued, in particular over the way it secured a wiretap on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The report found 17 "significant inaccuracies and omissions" in the applications to wiretap Mr Page. The report's authors said they were "deeply concerned" by "so many basic and fundamental errors". The report singled out the way FBI officials used memos from former MI6 agent Christopher Steele about Trump campaign ties to Russia to convince a court to approve wiretaps on Mr Page, asking why concerns over the veracity of his information were not flagged. It noted that Mr Steele had described one of the sources for his explosives memos, which would become public after the election, as a "boaster" who "may engage in some embellishment", yet the comment was not fully passed on. Christopher Steele, the former MI6 agent who wrote explosive memos about ties between the Trump campaign and Russia Credit: Victoria Jones/PA Wire Democrats and Republicans jumped on different parts of the nuanced and lengthy report, which runs for 476 pages, to claim political victory. One of the report's central findings - that the investigation launched into the Trump campaign's Russia ties was justified - undercut the president's repeated claimed that he was the victim of a "witch hunt". The probe morphed into an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller which lasted 22 months and hung over Mr Trump's early years in office, drawing frequent and fierce attacks from the president. But addressing the launch of the probe three months before the 2016 election, the report's authors said "we did not find documentary or testimonial evidence that political bias or improper motivation" influenced the official who made the decision. The US Justice Department's inspector general's report on the origin of contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia Credit: REUTERS/Jim Bourg Referencing the probe's code name, the authors wrote: "We found that Crossfire Hurricane was opened for an authorised investigative purpose and with sufficient factual predication." That conclusion was challenged by William Barr, the US attorney general appointed by Mr Trump in a statement issued alongside the report's release. "The Inspector General's report now makes clear that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a US presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions that, in my view, were insufficient to justify the steps taken," Mr Barr said. Republicans pointed to criticism for how the FBI team pursuing the probe had gone about securing a wiretap into Mr Page, who was a former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign. The report's authors found that members of the FBI team failed to make sure the wiretap applications, submitted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [Fisa], were "scrupulously accurate". Donald Trump wanted to improve relations with Vladimir Putin's Russia when he entered the White House in January 2017 Credit: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais In total across four wiretap applications on Mr Page, who had stepped down from the Trump campaign after controversy over a trip he made to Russia, there were 17 "significant inaccuracies and omissions", according to the report. The report's authors wrote: "We do not speculate whether the correction of any particular misstatement or omission, or some combination thereof, would have resulted in a different outcome." "Nevertheless, the [Justice] Department's decision makers and the court should have been given complete and accurate information so that they could meaningfully evaluate probable cause before authorising the surveillance of a US person associated with a presidential campaign." The report also raised questions about how the FBI investigating team had used confidential human sources who made approaches to Trump campaign figures. Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz Credit: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta The report said there was no evidence of "political bias or improper motivations" in the FBI's deployment of the sources and that none had been placed inside the Trump campaign. However the report's authors said it does raise questions about why the FBI investigators did not notify Justice Department officials before making the decision. Reacting to the report, Mr Trump suggested the FBI behaviour revealed in the report was a "disgrace" and said it was something that had "never happened in the history of our country". Mr Trump said: "It is incredible, far worse than I would have ever thought possible. It's an embarrassment to our country, it's dishonest, it's everything that a lot of people thought it would be, except far worse." On Monday, ABC News also reported that Mr Steele once met Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter, back in 2007 and exchanged emails. The contact came around a decade before Mr Steele would become a frequent target of Mr Trump's ire over the lurid claims detailed in his memos.
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| No reprieve as Samoa measles death toll hits 70, UN sends aid Posted: 09 Dec 2019 12:36 PM PST  A devastating measles outbreak has continued to spread in Samoa, with the death toll reaching 70, as the United Nations on Monday released $2.6 million in emergency aid to combat the epidemic. In New York, the UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Mark Lowcock, announced the aid had been released. "The people of Samoa will not fight this outbreak alone," Lowcock said in a statement.
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| 2020 newcomer Bloomberg stepping onto international stage Posted: 09 Dec 2019 12:31 PM PST  New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg launched his campaign less than three weeks ago, but he is already making his first foreign trip as a presidential candidate. The Democrat will appear Tuesday at a United Nations global climate conference in Madrid, where he'll share the results of his private push to organize thousands of U.S. cities and businesses to abide by the terms of a global climate treaty that the Trump administration is working to abandon. The appearance comes as Bloomberg, a former Republican whose dedication to the environment earned him the designation of special UN envoy for climate action, tries to find his footing in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary election.
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| Steele had 'personal' relationship with Ivanka Trump, DoJ report reveals Posted: 09 Dec 2019 11:55 AM PST  * Former MI6 officer gifted her 'family tartan from Scotland' * Steele was 'favorably disposed' to Trump family, report said The former MI6 officer Christopher Steele had a "personal" relationship with Ivanka Trump and gifted her a "family tartan from Scotland" as a present, the long-awaited report by US Department of Justice inspector general, Michael Horowitz, revealed on Monday.Horowitz's review of the FBI's 2016 investigation into Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign and its links with Russia includes fresh details of Steele's interactions with the FBI, and startling claims about his relationship with the Trumps dating back to the period before he wrote a controversial dossier on Trump.The report did not mention Ivanka Trump by name but her identity was revealed by ABC News.The report said that contrary to what Donald Trump has claimed on Twitter Steele was actually "favorably disposed" to the Trump family. It was "ridiculous" to suggest he was biased against the then Republican candidate or that his memos on collusion, written at the behest of the Washington-based research firm Fusion GPS, were in any way biased, Steele told federal investigators.Steele said he had visited Ivanka Trump at Trump Tower and had been "friendly" with her for "some years". He described their relationship as "personal". The former British government spy had even given her a "family tartan from Scotland" as a present, the report quoted him as saying.ABC also reported that Ivanka Trump even discussed work that Steele's firm – Orbis Business Intelligence – might do for the Trump family business.Earlier this year Steele met with members of the inspector general's team in London and spoke to investigators via Skype. He handed over memos setting out his two meetings in 2016 with the FBI, in which he passed on his dossier which said that the Russians had been seeking to cultivate Trump for some years, and had secretly compromised him in a Moscow hotel room.Horowitz's conclusions were sent to Orbis ahead of the report's publication on Monday. This prompted Steele to issue an unusual statement via his lawyers pushing back against some of the inspector general's key claims.The report concludes the FBI placed too much emphasis on Steele's work. It said Steele's reporting was not done "in bad faith" but sometimes showed a "lack of judgement" and could involve pursuing people with "political risk but no intelligence value".On Monday Steele's Washington-based law firm, Bredhoff & Kaiser, issued a lengthy rebuttal of Horowitz's findings and defended Steele's professional work.It said that the Trump-Russia memos written by Steele in 2016 were derived from "credible and reliable" human sources. Subsequently his reporting was "extensively corroborated", the lawyers said.Some of this confirmation came from testimony given by Carter Page, Trump's former foreign policy aide.Page is at the centre of the Horowitz review. The president appointed Horowitz after Republicans claimed Page was the victim of "illegal" FBI spying in 2016, with a surveillance warrant issued by a federal court in part because of the dossier. The report finds that the FBI made multiple mistakes and errors in its handling of the Page case.Page admitted that in 2016 he met with senior officials from the Kremlin and the oil firm Rosneft in Moscow. This was what the dossier reported, Steele's lawyers pointed out. They added that Steele's memos – published by BuzzFeed – were never "meant to be made public". The report further quotes Steele as saying his field work was meant to be "briefed off of orally" rather than consumed as a "written product".Donald Trump has repeatedly blasted Steele on Twitter, describing him as a "failed spy" and his dossier as "phoney". The dossier says Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, launched a multi-faceted campaign to boost Trump ahead of the 2016 election. Robert Mueller confirmed "sweeping and systematic" Russian interference but cleared Trump of engaging in a criminal-level conspiracy.
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| Boris Johnson Has a Bad Day as Health Moves to Center of U.K. Election Posted: 09 Dec 2019 11:50 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- It was the kind of moment Boris Johnson has spent the entire U.K. election campaign trying to avoid. Confronted with a picture of a sick 4-year-old forced to sleep on the floor of a British hospital because of a shortage of beds, the prime minister looked away and tried to change the subject.As the reporter, on camera, continued to try to show Johnson the picture on his phone, the prime minister refused to look, then took the device off him, stuck it in his own pocket, and tried to plow on with his prepared lines. Only when the reporter pointed this out did the prime minister finally look at the picture.Johnson's strategy in this campaign is to try to persuade voters who have traditionally backed the Labour Party that they ought to vote for his Conservatives. The fear has always been that something would happen that would remind them why they hadn't voted Conservative in the past. The prime minister's refusal to look at the picture might be that something.It supports the opposition Labour Party's core message that the Conservatives don't care about the National Health Service and its users, and that a decade of spending constraints have left health and education in crisis.Johnson on Defensive Over Boy on NHS Hospital Floor: U.K. VotesLabour leader Jeremy Corbyn made the point in a speech in Bristol, South West England. "A child with pneumonia, on the floor of a hospital in modern Britain," he said, holding up a newspaper with the picture of the child on the front page. "That is a disgrace. We need to invest in our public services and end austerity."The Conservatives dispatched Health Secretary Matt Hancock to the hospital in question in Leeds, Northern England, but then made matters worse by briefing journalists that a Labour supporter had assaulted Hancock's aide, before video of the incident showed this to be untrue.There are just two days left until people start voting, and every poll has given Johnson's Conservatives a clear lead. His simple message, that with a parliamentary majority he can get Brexit over the line, seems to have been cutting through.But the Tories were burned in 2017, thinking they were heading for a majority before discovering that Labour had done unexpectedly well at holding onto its voters. The video of Johnson refusing to look at the picture of the sick child had been viewed more than 4 million times by Monday evening. If they needed more reasons to be nervous, an ICM Ltd poll showed Labour creeping to the point where a hung Parliament becomes a possibility.U.K. Conservatives at 42%, Labour at 36%: ICM/Reuters PollThe Conservatives have tried to keep potentially troubling spokesmen away from the cameras in this campaign. Jacob Rees-Mogg has disappeared completely after suggesting that victims of a 2017 blaze in an apartment block should have known better than to follow firefighters' advice not to try to flee. And they have tried to keep Johnson himself away from interviews where he can be pushed on detail.Key Election Task for U.K. Tories: Tame Boris JohnsonBut it can only take one slip to derail a campaign.To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| US asks UN to discuss risk of N.Korea 'provocation' Posted: 09 Dec 2019 11:29 AM PST  The United States on Monday called a UN Security Council meeting this week on the risk of North Korean "provocation" as Pyongyang demands US concessions by a year-end deadline. The United States, which holds this month's presidency of the Security Council, is scheduling the session instead of a planned meeting on human rights in North Korea, one of the world's most authoritarian states. This week's meeting will provide "a comprehensive update on recent developments on the Korean Peninsula, including recent missile launches and the possibility of an escalatory DPRK provocation," a State Department spokesperson said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
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| Finland Is Now Completely Run By Women, With Sanna Marin At The Helm Posted: 09 Dec 2019 11:20 AM PST  By almost any metric, Finland, as a country, is thriving. Environmental health? Ranked first in the world, according to the most recent study by Yale's Center for Environmental Law & Policy. World happiness? Yep, Finland tops the list there too. Frozen 2? Was just released to global audiences on December 7 (which, yes, technically takes place in Norway, but you have to imagine that Finland is reaping at least some of the benefits there, so it counts.)So what complicated nexus of political, social and economic factors could help explain the Nordic nation's unqualified success on the world stage? Here's a hunch: Women are running the damn show over there. On Monday, Finland's five party coalition government elected 34-year-old Sanna Marin prime minister. Upon her swearing in on Tuesday, Marin will become the world's youngest sitting prime minister, and will replace outgoing leader Antti Rinne. Rinne resigned on Tuesday over his handling of a dispute involving the country's state-owned postal service."I have never thought about my age or gender," Marin reportedly told the Agence France-Presse news agency. When asked about her victory she said, "I think of the reasons I got into politics and those things for which we have won the trust of the electorate." But she's not the only woman in the country leading the way, literally. With Marin heading the government, all of Finland's five major political parties will now have women at the helm: Katri Kulmuni, 32, leads the Centre Party; Maria Ohisalo, 34, leads the Green League; Li Andersson, 32, leads the Left Alliance; and Anna-Maja Henriksson, 55, leads the Swedish People's Party of Finland.In a tweet celebrating the victory, Alexander Stubb, who served as Finland's prime minister from 2014 to 2015, wrote that having five women leading the government "shows that Finland is a modern and progressive country."In addition to the gendered element of Tuesday's political victories, the relative youth of the newly-elected cabinet is also noteworthy. Of the five women now currently heading the five major parties, four are under the age of 35 — underscoring the vitality of a growing, global youth movement in politics, the ripple effects of which have been strongly felt in the United States. Since the group of four freshman congresswomen known as "the squad" (comprised of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Presley) rose to national prominence after winning their respective elections in the 2018 primary, the question of age has played an increasingly pivotal role in U.S. politics. Not to mention, women are also running the show at the ongoing impeachment hearings. Ocasio-Cortez, perhaps the most visible member of the squad, has been particularly vocal about the importance of having young voices serving among America's elected officials."I have spoken in the past about how youth is not an embodiment of age, but of attitude—a willingness to risk for what is right, among others," Ocasio-Cortez once tweeted. "We also shouldn't be afraid to acknowledge the dearth of young elected officials + those implications."Related Content:Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?Women Are The Stars Of The Impeachment Hearings16 Women Running The WorldThe Story of THAT Angela Merkel & Trump Photo
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| Egyptian whistleblower gets 5-year jail sentence in absentia Posted: 09 Dec 2019 11:06 AM PST ![Egyptian whistleblower gets 5-year jail sentence in absentia]( "Egyptian whistleblower gets 5-year jail sentence in absentia") A self-exiled Egyptian businessman whose allegations of corruption against the country's ruling military sparked rare protests has been sentenced in absentia to five years in prison for tax evasion. Mohamed Ali had released a series of viral videos from Spain earlier this year, pitching himself as a former government insider who witnessed high-level corruption and large-scale misuse of funds as a construction contractor for the military.
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| UPDATE 3-U.N. Security Council to meet over North Korea on Wednesday at U.S. request Posted: 09 Dec 2019 10:37 AM PST ![UPDATE 3-U.N. Security Council to meet over North Korea on Wednesday at U.S. request]( "UPDATE 3-U.N. Security Council to meet over North Korea on Wednesday at U.S. request") The U.N. Security Council will meet on Wednesday, at the request of the United States, over missile launches by North Korea and the possibility of an "escalatory" provocation after Pyongyang conducted what it said was a key test at satellite launch site. The move comes amid growing tensions and stalled talks between the United States and North Korea that Washington hopes will lead to Pyongyang giving up its nuclear and missile programs. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has given President Donald Trump until the end of the year to offer concessions.
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| Lebanon protesters scuffle with lawmaker's bodyguards Posted: 09 Dec 2019 09:56 AM PST ![Lebanon protesters scuffle with lawmaker's bodyguards]( "Lebanon protesters scuffle with lawmaker's bodyguards") Lebanese soldiers had to separate protesters and the bodyguards of a member of parliament after scuffles broke out under heavy rain Monday evening between the two sides in the northern city of Tripoli, leaving at least one person injured. The protesters have since transitioned to demand an end to the rule of the political elite that has run the country following the 1975-90 civil war. The scuffles started after protesters threw bags of trash in front of the home of legislator Faisal Karameh.
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| With the Children on the Ukraine War’s Front Lines Praying for Peace Posted: 09 Dec 2019 09:56 AM PST  KRASNOGORIVKA, Ukraine–The front line is only one kilometer away from the children's soccer club where five- and six-year-old boys were exercising on Monday morning. And the children's music school is even closer, 800 meters, which is to say half a mile. All the windows are covered, since shock waves from explosions have broken them so many times. Machine guns and artillery could be clearly heard while 6-year-old Daria Pamazanova, in a funny hat with teddy-bear ears, was rehearsing at her singing class.Ukraine's Fate Hangs in the Balance at Paris Peace Talks: What You Have to KnowDuring the break Daria told me about the days and nights she spent in the bomb shelter, emphasizing the "bomb" syllable: "When the shooting was especially bad, I came down into the bomb shelter in our garage with my favorite stuffed bear. We have fruit and other food in there. When the firing stopped my father and brother brought over blankets and pillows, and everything from the fridge from the house." At this point Daria's singing teacher began to cry. When Daria walks out of the school with her father, she points at a black metal door to the basement: "Here is where the bomb shelter is for the school," she says with a serious adult expression on her face. This Ukrainian town has been surviving right on the front lines of Ukraine's war with Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region just down the road for more than five years. At least 5,000 people have fled from Krasnogorivka. Many of the IDPs, internally displaced persons, dream of coming back home. On Monday, this important day when the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France,, and Germany sat down for talks in Paris, Ukrainians in the war-torn Mariinka region, some of the most affected by the Donbas war, ask for peace. "We are exhausted, there is nothing more important than to put the full stop and end the fighting, so children and their parents will not be terrified of coming to this school, so these children have a future," the music school's director Natalia Gontarenko said, hoping the message might get through to the negotiators. Meanwhile in Krasnogorivka's 130 children study arts, jazz, classical music, and rock-and-roll here. Life goes on. A big-eyed boy, Motvey Vitman, born during the first days of the war in Donbas in the spring of 2014, was confidently kicking the ball at the soccer club. During his short life bombs and shells destroyed kindergartens and schools here in his hometown, artillery blasts blew out windows in multiple apartment buildings across the street from where he was now playing soccer. Only one kindergarten is functioning out of the four Krasnogorivkra had before the war. Motvey's grandmother, Raisa, put him on her bike and looked toward the front: "How sickening, but we'll bring up great people nevertheless."The shelling of the streets stopped nearly three years ago, but the sound of the front continued to be a daily soundtrack. The town's half-empty rundown buildings don't have heating. People heat homes with coal and wood, like their grandparents did decades ago. In the early days of fighting, Andrei Shapochka, the chief manager of 12 electric stations in the Mariinka region, saw a little boy climbing into the destroyed sport complex to play indoor soccer in the freezing gym with no windows. Shapochka, a man of strong spirit and endless optimism, decided to reconstruct the sport complex for children.These days about 100 of Krasnogorivka's children of all ages play sports at his freshly reconstructed facility. Shakhter, Ukraine's famous soccer team, donated three million Hryvnia ($127,000) to fix the gym. "I don't care who takes control of the separatist part of Donbas, China or Russia, all we want from today's Paris meeting is for them to stop killing people," Shapochka said. He remembered his close friend and neighbor dying in his arms from 21 shrapnel wounds when he did not make it to the bomb shelter. "But the war is a source of big money for people in the region, so our hopes that President Volodymyr Zelensky could manage to stop the war are tiny."Just eight kilometers away from Krasnogorivka civilians of the town of Mariinka continue to suffer from violence. In late November a young woman was shot in the shoulder as she was pushing a carriage with her 18-month=old toddler. Several buildings have burned. The daily news of the ongoing war traumatizes the population. The disillusionment with politicians has increased dramatically in Donbas in the last two years.Two assistants in a small candy shop on Druzhba Street discussed the latest shooting and the Paris peace talks on Monday afternoon. Irina Cherniavskaya, 57, broke down in tears. "My life has passed by! I thought when my kids grow up I will spend a bit of time for myself and that's when the war started. I had to abandon my home and run. Nobody will give me these five years back," she said through sobs. "My 8-year-old niece died of cancer, if not for the war, she might have lived ."People in the streets of Krasnogorivka greeted Shapochka warmly. He is well known for helping people in need. The idea of opening up a kids soccer club just one kilometer away from the front lines might sound insane for an outsider but not for people of Krasnogorivka, where nobody pays attention to artillery blasts. "These shots are at the testing field and this blast is outgoing," explains Vadim, a gloomy grandfather of one of the little boys. We walked along Krasnogorivka's center. Vadim looked at the factory of his former employer. It looked completely run down, abandoned. He doubted that French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel cared much about the children here as they sat down for the talks on Monday. "Putin's and Zelensky's administrations have already agreed on whatever suits them, and the meeting in Paris is just a formality," he added without much hope.Ukrainians Blame Trump for 'Capitulation' in the War With RussiaRead more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| EU's Timmermans says "will not hesitate" to protect EU industry over carbon if necessary Posted: 09 Dec 2019 09:50 AM PST ![EU's Timmermans says "will not hesitate" to protect EU industry over carbon if necessary]( "EU's Timmermans says \"will not hesitate\" to protect EU industry over carbon if necessary") The European Union will not hesitate to impose measures to protect its industries from competitors who do not respect the 2015 Paris Agreement to curb global warming, EU climate commissioner Frans Timmermans said on Monday. In response to a question on the EU's position regarding a possible "carbon tax" on imports from high-emitting competitors, Timmermans said he hoped there would be no need to take such a step as the world moved to implement the Paris accord. "I hope then there will be no need for such a measure, but if it is necessary we will not hesitate to take it," Timmermans told a news conference at a U.N. climate summit in Madrid.
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| AP Exclusive: Troops that defied Maduro have fled Venezuela Posted: 09 Dec 2019 09:50 AM PST  Due to security concerns, lieutenant colonels Illich Sánchez and Rafael Soto wouldn't reveal their location, or say exactly when or how they left Venezuela. "We want to clarify to all of the Venezuelan people that the decision taken April 30 was in fulfillment of the constitution, the republic's laws and our democratic institutions," Sánchez said in a handwritten missive sent to the AP confirming that he and the other 16 troops had all safely left the country. The previously untold story of how Sánchez and Soto managed to dupe their superiors and plot a revolt against Maduro underscores how discontent — and fear — has been running high inside Venezuela's barracks even as the embattled leader clings to power amid punishing U.S. sanctions imposed after a presidential election last year many say was fraudulent.
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| FBI: No link found between cyberattack and Navy base attack Posted: 09 Dec 2019 09:43 AM PST ![FBI: No link found between cyberattack and Navy base attack]( "FBI: No link found between cyberattack and Navy base attack") The FBI said Monday it has found no signs of any link between a cyberattack on computer systems of a Florida Panhandle city and last week's attack at the naval air station there in which a Saudi flight student killed three sailors and wounded eight others. Officials in the city of Pensacola became aware of the cyberattack early Saturday, hours after Friday's shooting at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. Much of the city's computer system remained offline Monday morning, and federal authorities were alerted to the cyberattack as a precaution.
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| US-Iran prisoner exchange sees thaw in tensions as domestic chaos takes centre stage Posted: 09 Dec 2019 09:30 AM PST  Iran and the United States appear to be easing tensions as both countries head into political volatile election years, with the threat of an armed conflict that seemed increasingly likely just months ago fading away.A weekend exchange of detainees between Iran and the United States brokered by diplomats indicated ongoing back-channel discussions among regional and global powers attempting to resolve the standoff between the two countries.
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| EU to debate Mideast policy as 2-state solution hopes fade Posted: 09 Dec 2019 09:22 AM PST  European Union foreign ministers will discuss next month whether the 28-nation bloc should modify its Middle East policy amid growing concern that Israeli settlement activity and U.S. diplomatic moves are undermining hopes for a two-state solution. "If we want a two-state solution we need to help and encourage both parties to enter into a serious and credible negotiation, and this is not the case" at the moment, new EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters Monday after chairing talks between the ministers. Borrell said the ministers "will deeply discuss the situation in the Middle East" when they meet again in Brussels on Jan. 20.
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| Johnson on Defensive Over Boy on NHS Hospital Floor: U.K. Votes Posted: 09 Dec 2019 09:10 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced onto the defensive over the U.K.'s National Health Service after a newspaper published a picture of a 4-year-old child being treated for pneumonia on the floor of a hospital emergency room.Johnson initially refused to look at a picture of the boy when confronted with it in an ITV interview, but later apologized for the poor treatment and said only his Conservatives could solve the free-to-use health system's problems. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Johnson's party had failed to properly support the NHS during its nine years in power and pledged to increase investment.Must Read: Britain's Latest Battle of Hastings Is Really About the EconomyFor more on the election visit ELEC.Key Developments:Labour's John McDonnell lays out Labour's early priorities in speech in LondonJohnson denies knowledge of online tricks ahead of Thursday's voteLabour leader Jeremy Corbyn appeals for support for the NHS at rally in BristolThe BBC will hold a Question Time debate for an audience of under-30s to be broadcast at 8.30 p.m.The chance of a Conservative majority has risen to 80% -- the highest level so far -- according to BetfairHealth Secretary 'Horrified' by Hospital Photo (5 p.m.)Health Secretary Matt Hancock apologized for the hospital treatment of four-year-old Jack Williment-Barr, who was taken to the emergency department with suspected pneumonia and photographed lying on a pile of clothes on the floor because no bed was available (see 2:45 p.m.).Hancock said in a broadcast interview that he was "horrified" when he saw the photo."It's not good enough and I've apologized."Hancock said Leeds General Hospital had already realized there was problem with space on the unit and had committed to trebling its size next year. He denied the situation was a result of under-funding by Conservative governments, but rather a result of increased demand on the NHS.Corbyn Blames Tories for Child on Floor (3 p.m.)Jeremy Corbyn blamed Boris Johnson's Tories for causing the crisis in the National Health Service that saw a 4-year-old boy being treated for pneumonia on the floor of an emergency department (see 2:45 p.m.)."The Tories have had nine years to fund the NHS properly, it's time to bring their regime to an end," Corbyn said at a rally in Bristol, western England, as he questioned Johnson's commitment to the U.K.'s free-to-use health service. "Elect a Labour government that's determined to fund it properly."Corbyn also repeated his claims the NHS is under threat in a trade deal with the U.S. after Brexit and warned that Johnson would "sell-out" the widely loved service by allowing access for U.S. corporations and pharmaceutical companies.Johnson Takes Reporter's Phone in NHS Row (2:45 p.m.)Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced questions all day over the case of four-year-old Jack Williment-Barr, who was taken to the emergency department with suspected pneumonia.The boy became an instant symbol of the pressures on the National Health Service after he was photographed in a newspaper lying on a pile of clothes on a hospital floor because no bed was available.On Monday, Johnson was asked for his reaction to the photograph during an interview with ITV News journalist Joe Pike. Johnson said he hadn't seen the picture, so Pike showed it to him on his phone. The premier then took Pike's phone and put it in his pocket, declining to look at the image."I'll study it later," Johnson said. Later, he gave the journalist back his phone and said he was sorry for the ordeal the boy had suffered."It's a terrible, terrible photo and I apologize obviously to the family and all those who have terrible experiences in the NHS," Johnson said. "But what we are doing is supporting the NHS."Johnson Denies Knowledge of Web 'Diversions' (2:30 p.m.)Boris Johnson was cornered by factory workers at a question-and-answer session in northeast England who asked him about allegations his Conservative Party paid Google to route searches for Labour's manifesto to a fake website it set up to criticize the opposition party's program.Repeatedly asked about the claims, Johnson said he knew nothing about it and accused the other parties of trying to divert attention away from Brexit, which he described as the key issue in the election."We're accused of interfering with the internet or whatever else, it might be a lot of distractions are being brought into this debate," Johnson said. The other parties are "throwing up more diversions to conceal what this is all about," he told staff.The Conservatives ran into criticism in the first televised debate when they changed the name of their official twitter feed to look like a fact-checking service that was critical of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.Johnson Says Nissan Safe After Brexit (2:15 p.m.)Boris Johnson said the U.K.'s motor manufacturers will be protected after Brexit, suggesting their supply chains won't be disrupted by Britain's divorce from the European Union.On a visit to Sunderland in northeast England, which is home to a Nissan factory that's the country's largest car-making plant, the premier was asked whether he can guarantee its continued existence."Of course. It's absolutely vital we protect supply chains, we protect Nissan Motors, we make sure people continue to want to invest in our country," Johnson said. "As we come out it's all protected from the point of view of big motor manufacturing investors in our country."McDonnell: No Blank Check for Shareholders (11:45 a.m.)Labour economy spokesman John McDonnell said the amount he would pay to nationalize key industries would not amount to a "blank check" for shareholders after he was asked if there was a price a Labour government would be unwilling to pay. He said he expects the process of bringing sectors under public control to be a "smooth transition.""We'll go through the normal exercises every other element of private ownership have been done in the past," he said. "Parliament will determine the price and bonds will be issued for shares."McDonnell: Won't Be Capital Flight If Labour Win (11:35 a.m.)John McDonnell rejected the idea there would be a run on the pound or capital flight if Labour wins Thursday's election."In fact, my fear is the pound will start going up because of our investment plans," McDonnell, Labour's economy spokesman, said in response to a question at a campaign event in central London. "When Labour comes into power we'll be implementing our manifesto, we'll have a large-scale investment program where private investors will be able to get a decent rate of return, but we will not be ripped off."McDonnell took a swipe at the Tories' economic record by referencing sterling's performance under recent Conservative governments. The pound fell significantly in the aftermath of the 2016 Brexit referendum, and remained volatile as negotiations with the EU proceeded."It's interesting when people start talking about runs on the pound and all the rest of it," he said. "I'd just ask them to explore the recent history of the pound under the Tory government and suggest to commentators the instability brought about by a combination of incompetent management of the economy, exaggerated claims about what's potentially available in terms of a Brexit deal, the threat of a no-deal.""The market recognizes we have a prime minister whose word cannot be trusted," he said.McDonnell Lays Out Labour's First 100 Days (11:15 a.m.)Labour economy spokesman John McDonnell said he would put forward a budget "which ends austerity once and for all" on Feb. 5, if his party wins. He also said Labour would start the process of bringing the water and energy sectors under public ownership within their first 100 days."This is the budget that will save the NHS, that starts to rebuild the public services the Tories have brought to their knees," McDonnell said in a speech in a central London. "When they attack me, or Jeremy, we know it's not really about us. It's about you, they hate the people of this country."McDonnell also said he agreed with the DUP on the issue of Boris Johnson's trustworthiness. "I agree with Arlene Foster -- you won't hear those words very often," he said, in reference to the DUP leader saying Johnson broke his word on Brexit and cannot be trusted (see earlier). "You can't trust him, you can't trust a word he says," McDonnell said.Johnson: Tories Making Case in 'Every Seat' (9 a.m.)Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his Conservative party is trying to make the case for power in "every seat" as it seeks a majority in the House of Commons in Thursday's general election.In an interview with LBC radio from Grimsby, where the Conservatives are trying to take a seat from Labour, Johnson was asked if he wanted to break through Labour's so-called red wall of seats in the Midlands and Northern England. "Of course, because we're a one-nation Conservative Party and we want to make our case everywhere in the country," Johnson replied.Johnson's travels in the final days of the campaign show the party is trying to secure seats that have been Labour preserves for decades, an illustration of how Brexit has changed Britain's electoral politics.Read more: Britain's Brexit Election Is Now a Referendum on Jeremy CorbynDUP's Foster: Johnson Broke His Word (Earlier)Democratic Unionist Party Leader Arlene Foster said Boris Johnson broke his word on Brexit and suggested she'd struggle to trust him in the future."It says more about the person who broke their word than me and the leadership of the unionist party," Foster told BBC Radio when asked if voters should conclude she'd lost the fight for a Brexit deal that keeps Northern Ireland on the same terms as the rest of the U.K. On the subject of taking Johnson at his word in the future, she said: "Once bitten, twice shy."She said contrary to the premier's assurances, tax officials told her team the Brexit deal would necessitate checks on goods coming from Great Britain to Northern Ireland -- regardless of whether they were destined for Ireland. She said she'd listened to Rishi Sunak on the radio just before her own interview (see earlier). "He very carefully didn't say that there would be unfettered access" for trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, Foster said.Minister Sees EU Trade Deal Ready by 2021 (Earlier)The U.K. will meet its deadline to broker a new trade agreement with the European Union by the end of 2020, meaning there's no need to prepare for a no-deal exit, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rishi Sunak said. He said the outline of the deal is already enshrined in the withdrawal agreement."The trade deal, the outlines of it, the framework of it, is already there, contained in the political declaration in quite a lot of detail," Sunak told BBC radio. "We can go on and sort the details of that over the course of next year."He also pushed back against the suggestion that new trade barriers will be put up between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. "The prime minister has been unequivocal," he said. "There will not be checks, there will be no new barriers to trade."McDonnell Challenged by Billionaire Caudwell (Earlier)Labour's finance spokesman John McDonnell was challenged in a radio conversation with billionaire Phones4U Co-founder John Caudwell, who accused the main opposition party of "destroying confidence." Caudwell said he and other wealthy people were likely to leave the country if Labour won Thursday's election, because of the party's "destructive" rhetoric.Labour, Caudwell said, would "create an environment where wealthy people feel like they're almost pariahs."McDonnell replied that Labour was not against entrepreneurs and that all the party wanted to do was create a fair society and end "grotesque" inequality. "We've had a lot of discussion about how we redistribute wealth; we need to have a proper discussion about how we create it," he said.Swinson Swings Back to People's Vote (Earlier)Liberal Democrat Leader Jo Swinson said her party is publishing legislation to pave the way to a second referendum on European Union membership so Parliament can act quickly after the election."The most likely way we can stop Brexit is through a people's vote," Swinson told BBC Radio on Monday. "There's a much brighter future ahead if we are able to remain in the European Union."It's a change of direction for the Liberal Democrats, who have campaigned on a platform to cancel Brexit altogether -- though Swinson said that remains the policy in the event of a Liberal Democrat majority. She also reiterated she would not support Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister, but held out the prospect that in a hung parliament, the Labour leader might change.Earlier:Johnson Returns to Key Brexit Message as Polls Put Him AheadRemainers' Dreams Are Dying in Boris Johnson's Brexit ElectionBritain's Latest Battle of Hastings Is Really About the EconomyTo contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Greg Ritchie in London at gritchie10@bloomberg.net;Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UPDATE 3-UK PM Johnson criticised for response to photo of sick child Posted: 09 Dec 2019 08:40 AM PST ![UPDATE 3-UK PM Johnson criticised for response to photo of sick child]( "UPDATE 3-UK PM Johnson criticised for response to photo of sick child") British Prime Minister Boris Johnson came under fire on Monday for his response to being shown a photo of a sick child lying on a hospital floor ahead of the Dec. 12 election. Johnson's Conservatives lead the opposition Labour Party in opinion polls, with Brexit and the future of the country's public health service the two most prominent campaign issues.
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| As election nears, UK PM Johnson criticised for response to photo of sick child Posted: 09 Dec 2019 08:29 AM PST ![As election nears, UK PM Johnson criticised for response to photo of sick child]( "As election nears, UK PM Johnson criticised for response to photo of sick child") British Prime Minister Boris Johnson came under fire on Monday for his response to being shown a photo of a sick child lying on a hospital floor ahead of the Dec. 12 election. Later during a campaign visit, he was taken to task by a voter who challenged his Conservative Party over a spoof website to distract voters from the opposition Labour Party's policy programme. Johnson's Conservatives are leading Labour in opinion polls, with Brexit and the future of the country's public health service the two most prominent campaign issues.
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| UPDATE 1-Biden campaign attacks Trump policy on Saudi Arabia, North Korea Posted: 09 Dec 2019 07:50 AM PST ![UPDATE 1-Biden campaign attacks Trump policy on Saudi Arabia, North Korea]( "UPDATE 1-Biden campaign attacks Trump policy on Saudi Arabia, North Korea") Democrat Joe Biden's presidential campaign launched new attacks on Donald Trump on Sunday, advocating a re-evaluation of U.S.-Saudi relations and calling North Korea's apparent weapons test a "rebuke" to the U.S. president in a statement to Reuters. The statement comes as Trump faces pressure to examine his administration's approach to Riyadh after law enforcement officials said a Saudi Arabian Air Force lieutenant killed three people at a U.S. Navy base in Pensacola, Florida, before being fatally shot. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Trump on Sunday the kingdom would aid an investigation into the shooting, the Saudi state news agency reported.
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| Hydropower industry awarded $20 million in EU funds Posted: 09 Dec 2019 07:48 AM PST ![Hydropower industry awarded $20 million in EU funds]( "Hydropower industry awarded $20 million in EU funds") A consortium of 19 hydropower companies and organizations said it will receive European Union funding of 18 million euros ($20 million) to research the green energy form's role, as the 28-member bloc seeks to become carbon neutral by 2050. The deal will be announced on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations climate conference in Madrid, a day before the new European Commission lays out its "European Green Deal" policy to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent. The consortium includes EDF, Voith, and General Electric Hydro, as well as universities across Europe.
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| Intl' engineers help Albania check quake-damaged buildings Posted: 09 Dec 2019 07:44 AM PST  Albania's prime minister on Monday hailed the work of Israeli engineers who have come to the country to help in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that destroyed thousands of buildings. The Israelis are among scores of foreign engineers and experts who have come or will be headed to the country to help determine whether buildings left standing can still be inhabited or to help construct buildings to replace those that were destroyed. On Monday, Prime Minister Edi Rama was in the western port city of Durres, encouraging residents to have confidence in the work of the engineers.
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| Kosovo files IS terror charges against man, wife and mother Posted: 09 Dec 2019 07:39 AM PST ![Kosovo files IS terror charges against man, wife and mother]( "Kosovo files IS terror charges against man, wife and mother") Kosovo prosecutors filed terrorism charges Monday against three ethnic Albanians who returned to the small European country in May after allegedly joining the Islamic State group in Syria. Prosecutors said the three are a man, his wife and his mother.
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| Saudi gunman tweeted against US before naval base shooting Posted: 09 Dec 2019 07:38 AM PST  The Saudi gunman who killed three people at the Pensacola naval base had apparently gone on Twitter shortly before the shooting to blast U.S. support of Israel and accuse America of being anti-Muslim, a U.S. official said Sunday as the FBI confirmed it is operating on the assumption the attack was an act of terrorism. Investigators are also trying to establish whether the killer, 2nd Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani, 21, of the Royal Saudi Air Force, acted alone or was part of a larger plot. "We are, as we do in most active-shooter investigations, work with the presumption that this was an act of terrorism," said Rachel J. Rojas, the special agent in charge of the FBI's office in Jacksonville.
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| Heavy rain causes floods, paralyzes Lebanon's capital Posted: 09 Dec 2019 07:25 AM PST ![Heavy rain causes floods, paralyzes Lebanon's capital]( "Heavy rain causes floods, paralyzes Lebanon's capital") A rainstorm paralyzed parts of Lebanon's capital Beirut on Monday, turning streets to small rivers, stranding motorists inside their vehicles and damaging homes in some areas. Despite spending billions of dollars since the 1975-90 civil war on improving infrastructure, Lebanon still suffers hourslong electricity cuts every day, and many people rely on tanker trucks to bring water to their homes. The rain began to fall Sunday morning and has affected the entire country, but Beirut and its suburbs were hit the worst.
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| The Winner Of Miss Universe 2019 Represents More Than Just A Title Posted: 09 Dec 2019 07:06 AM PST  South African contestant Zozibini Tunzi was crowned Miss Universe at this year's pageant after taking part alongside more than 90 women in Atlanta, GA. Her eloquent and informed answers on social issues propelled her to the winning title followed by Madison Anderson from Puerto Rico and Sofia Aragon from Mexico as runners up. And, this is the first time in history that Miss Universe, Miss America, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA are all black women. Tunzi's win in particular is a vital moment for representation for all women.During the program, contestants are asked questions on a variety of topics ranging from social media to climate change to what they hope the future holds. Tunzi's answer stood out when she was asked what young girls should be taught today. Her answer was leadership — she encouraged people to give women opportunities and to teach girls the importance of taking up space. "I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me — with my kind of skin and my kind of hair — was never considered to be beautiful," she said in her last response. "I think it is time that that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine."So, who is the powerful new voice crowned Miss Universe 2019? Tunzi is a public relations specialist and model who grew up on the East Cape of South Africa. Before entering the Miss Universe pageant, she was working on her masters degree in public relations and passionately campaigning against gender-based violence.As part of her campaign for Miss Universe, Tunzi partnered with HeForShe, a United Nations-run organization that encourages men to get involved in the fight for gender equality. Tunzi asked men from South Africa to write messages of support to women which were later printed on pieces of ribbon and made into her national costume for Miss Universe. Tunzi is only the third woman from South Africa to ever win Miss Universe. She is also the first black woman to be awarded the title since Leila Lopes in 2011.> Remember that time on the 9th of August when I said I would call on all men to stand with women in the fight against Gender-Based Violence? That day has now come. > I am so excited to launch my campaign. Together with @unwomenSA I am challenging you to stand with women. pic.twitter.com/lJ8znNLJOo> > — Zozibini Tunzi (@zozitunzi) November 11, 2019Despite this major victory, Miss Universe has received criticism over the years for what people believe are outdated practices. Many question whether Miss Universe, and pageants in general, have a place in today's society. Attempting to assume a more modern position, Miss Universe places more focus on the contestants' achievements. This year, the panel of judges was made up of seven women.But Tunzi hopes to reinvent this title, not only encouraging representation, but fully embodying it. Tunzi reflected on her award saying she felt a door has been opened adding, "May every little girl who witnessed this moment forever believe in the power of her dreams and may they see their faces reflected in mine."Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?Vogue Is Aiming To Champion Diversity In 2020What Kamala Harris Means To Women Of ColorOn The Runway, Oslo Grace Is A Gender Shapeshifter
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| 650 House seats, 3 days to go: the UK election in numbers Posted: 09 Dec 2019 06:54 AM PST  The government's lack of a majority meant it struggled to pass key measures needed for Britain to leave the European Union. Labour is trying to downplay Brexit and focus on its plans to spend more on health care, education and social welfare, nationalize utilities and key industries and give everyone free internet access. 96: The number of years since Britain last had a December election.
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| Boris Johnson Snatches Reporter’s Phone to Avoid Looking at Photo of Sick Child Posted: 09 Dec 2019 06:49 AM PST  There are hundreds of ways Boris Johnson could have handled this interview—and he may well have picked the worst one.Days ahead of Thursday's general election, when the Conservative prime minister is hoping to secure a majority to be able to force through his Brexit project at the start of next year, Johnson suffered a deeply uncomfortable campaign-trail gaffe under tough questioning from a reporter.The journalist, Joe Pike from ITV News, used his short time with the prime minister to show Johnson a photograph of a boy who, sick at a hospital with suspected pneumonia, was reportedly forced to lie on a pile of coats rather than a hospital bed due to shortages. Brexit aside, the future of the country's National Health Service has been the key issue during the campaign.Instead of showing some sympathy for the child and promising to look into the situation, the prime minister looked deeply uncomfortable and repeatedly averted his gaze from Pike's phone screen. After repeated requests from the reporter to comment specifically on the photo, Johnson snatched the phone away from Pike and slipped it into his pocket."You've refused to look at the photo," said Pike to Johnson. "You've taken my phone and put it in your pocket, Prime Minister. His mother says the NHS is in crisis, what's your response to that?"Johnson, seemingly becoming aware of how dreadful the scene will look when it was shown on television, looked very flustered, removed the phone to look at the photo, and finally expressed some sympathy."I'm sorry... It's a terrible, terrible photo and I apologize, obviously, to the family and all those who have terrible experiences in the NHS. But what we are doing is supporting the NHS and, on the whole, I think patients in the NHS have a much better experience than this poor kid has had."Johnson concluded the interview: "I'm sorry for taking your phone."Johnson's Conservative Party is widely expected to win Thursday's election, although Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party has been closing the gap between them in most polling over recent weeks.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Vandals damage cars in Arab neighborhood of east Jerusalem Posted: 09 Dec 2019 06:46 AM PST  Vandals slashed the tires of over 160 vehicles and sprayed slogans such as "Arabs=enemies" in a Palestinian neighborhood of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, Israeli police said Monday. Elsewhere, Palestinian residents of the volatile West Bank city of Hebron staged a general strike to protest the construction of a new Jewish settlement there. Masked suspects operated under the cover of darkness to vandalize the cars in east Jerusalem's Shuafat neighborhood and spray-painted Hebrew graffiti on a nearby wall, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
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| Supreme Court leaves Kentucky's ultrasound law in place Posted: 09 Dec 2019 06:43 AM PST  The Supreme Court on Monday left in place a Kentucky law requiring doctors to perform ultrasounds and show fetal images to patients before abortions. The justices did not comment in refusing to review an appeals court ruling that upheld the law. Enforcement of the law had been on hold pending the legal challenge but will begin shortly, said Steve Pitt, general counsel to Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin.
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| North Korea calls Trump 'erratic' old man over tweets Posted: 09 Dec 2019 06:42 AM PST  North Korea insulted U.S. President Donald Trump again on Monday, calling him a "heedless and erratic old man" after he tweeted that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wouldn't want to abandon a special relationship between the two leaders and affect the American presidential election by resuming hostile acts. A senior North Korean official, former nuclear negotiator Kim Yong Chol, said in a statement that his country wouldn't cave in to U.S. pressure because it has nothing to lose and accused the Trump administration of attempting to buy time ahead of an end-of-year deadline set by Kim Jong Un for Washington to salvage nuclear talks.
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| UPDATE 1-Iran ready for full prisoner swap, "ball is in the US’ court" - Zarif Posted: 09 Dec 2019 06:39 AM PST ![UPDATE 1-Iran ready for full prisoner swap, "ball is in the US' court" - Zarif]( "UPDATE 1-Iran ready for full prisoner swap, \"ball is in the US' court\" - Zarif") Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday the Islamic republic is ready for a full prisoner exchange with the United States, tweeting: "The ball is in the US' court". "After getting our hostage back this week, fully ready for comprehensive prisoner exchange," Zarif said. The United States and Iran on Saturday swapped prisoners - American graduate student Xiyue Wang, detained for three years on spying charges, and imprisoned Iranian stem-cell researcher Massoud Soleimani, accused of sanction violations - in a rare act of cooperation between two longtime foes.
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| QUOTEBOX-'Neoliberalism is a death cult': quotes from climate activists in Madrid Posted: 09 Dec 2019 06:33 AM PST ![QUOTEBOX-'Neoliberalism is a death cult': quotes from climate activists in Madrid]( "QUOTEBOX-'Neoliberalism is a death cult': quotes from climate activists in Madrid") Teenage activist Greta Thunberg and a group of young climate campaigners from across the world addressed a United Nations summit on climate change in Madrid on Monday. It was Thunberg's first official appearance at the meeting of nearly 200 states tasked with fleshing out the rules of the 2015 Paris Agreement on limiting global temperature rises.
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| Activist Thunberg turns spotlight on indigenous struggle at climate summit Posted: 09 Dec 2019 06:33 AM PST ![Activist Thunberg turns spotlight on indigenous struggle at climate summit]( "Activist Thunberg turns spotlight on indigenous struggle at climate summit") Teen activist Greta Thunberg turned a spotlight on the struggles of the world's indigenous peoples against climate change on Monday, appearing at a U.N. summit alongside other young campaigners furious at the West's failure to tackle the crisis. Indigenous communities from the United States to South America and Australia have mounted increasingly vocal campaigns against new fossil fuel projects in recent years, finding common cause with the young European activists inspired by Thunberg. Pursued by a media scrum ever since arriving at the two-week conference last week after crossing the Atlantic by catamaran, Thunberg stayed largely silent during her first official appearance at the summit, to allow a young Native American, a Ugandan, a Philippine and a Pacific islander to speak.
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| British Rohingya activist fears retaliation over Hague genocide trial Posted: 09 Dec 2019 06:32 AM PST  One of the UK's most prominent Rohingya activists says he fears for his young family's safety after reports that ardent Myanmar government supporters have been looking for his home address ahead of the opening on Tuesday of a genocide trial in the Hague. Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi will personally appear at the International Court of Justice to defend her country's regime from accusations of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority during the military's brutal ethnic cleansing campaign in Rakhine State in 2017. Tun Khin, the president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, believes he is being targeted as an outspoken critic of the military's actions. He intends to attend this week's ICJ case in support of the Gambian-led lawsuit which charges genocide, including mass murder and rape. "I am very concerned to have received reports from different sources that some members of the Burmese community in the UK, including someone close to the Burmese embassy, have been trying to find out my home address," he alleged on Twitter this weekend. Tun Khin believes he is being targeted for his activism Credit: Juan Mabromata/AFP A frenzy of nationalistic support for Ms Suu Kyi's response to the genocide case had provoked a dangerous atmosphere, he claimed. "This creates a climate where supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi see any criticism of the government as unacceptable, even to the point where some will use threats and violence." Mr Tun told the Telegraph he had filed a police report, revealing that his home had been targeted during an earlier wave of state violence against the Rohingya in 2012, when his door was smashed. "I worry that this time is much more dangerous than that time because this is a big case," he said, adding that he feared his two young children could be kidnapped. Among those offering support have been Labour MP Rushanara Ali and Human Rights Watch, whose deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said the potential threat needed to be "taken very seriously." The Myanmar embassy did not respond to requests for comment. Myanmar citizens have been praising Aung San Suu Kyi for defending their national interests Credit: Reuters Mr Tun called the Hague trial - one of the most high-profile international legal cases in a generation – a "historic moment" for the Rohingya minority. "The Rohingya have been facing serious discrimination, persecution and the destruction of the whole community for many years," he said. Ms Suu Kyi, who has won plaudits at home by pledging to "defend the national interest" was pictured smiling as she walked through the airport in the nation's capital, Naypyitaw, on Sunday. Thousands rallied in support of her court bid in the city over the weekend and a prayer ceremony was held in her name. Multiple demonstrations will be held in Myanmar during the three days of hearing this week when the Gambian legal team will ask the 16-member panel of United Nations judges at the ICJ to impose "provisional mesuares" to protect the Rohingya before the case can be heard in full.
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| El Salvador’s President Bukele Is Riding a Rare Wave Posted: 09 Dec 2019 06:00 AM PST ![El Salvador's President Bukele Is Riding a Rare Wave]( "El Salvador's President Bukele Is Riding a Rare Wave") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- At a time when many Latin American leaders are pariahs, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele is a puzzle. Aged 38, the former one-term mayor of the capital San Salvador handily won the presidency in February, besting contenders from the two parties that have owned politics for the last three decades. His own party, Nuevas Ideas, is so new, it has no seats in congress. And yet, six months on, Bukele has this nation of 6.5 million people in thrall, his opponents off balance and international leaders on speed dial.Bukele commands 88% approval ratings, down a notch from his 93% approval in September. A polished communicator, he capitalized on a nation disenchanted with crony politics as usual: El Salvador's political parties are among the least trusted on the institutional approval index of Vanderbilt University's Latin American Public Opinion Project. His enviable ratings also owe to his marketing acumen. "Bukele styled himself as an avenger for a new generation, with no ideological bent but fed up with an elite from Jurassic Park," said Salvadoran economist Alberto Arene. Upon taking office, he fired off executive orders via Twitter, directing his new cabinet members to deep-six officials whose appointments he attributed to nepotism. The refreshing style plays well at home and beyond. He drew applause by snapping a selfie to kick off his address to the United Nations General Assembly in September.This story isn't entirely new. Witness the success of disruptive outsiders such as Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro or Mexico's Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who relied heavily on plain talk and social media to vault into office. But Central and South American palaces are full of yesterday's newcomers. Ecuador's Lenin Moreno (with 14% approval) and Colombia's Ivan Duque (26%) both surprised the establishment with their policy initiatives only to fumble before popular outrage. After waves of protests, 84% of Chileans disapprove of President Sebastian Pinera. Even Lopez Obrador, who boasted 85% approval in February, has seen his aura dim as growth has stagnated and violent crime flourished. After 11 erratic months in office, Bolsonaro, hailed as "the myth" by loyalists, is more loathed than liked.Bukele might learn something about perishable glory from Mauricio Macri, the onetime Argentine maverick who promised to rescue South America's second economy from errant populism only to exit amid recession, acrimony and disillusion.Bukele knows that leadership cannot run on charm alone. His agenda hums with ambition – and caveats. Pledging to mop up corruption from the start, Bukele announced an independent anti-graft commission, a savvy move in a country that ranked 105th among 180 nations in Transparency International's index of corruption perceptions.The inspiration, clearly, came from neighboring Guatemala, where an analogous United Nations-sponsored investigatory commission, CICIG, aggressively pursued corruption, only to provoke a political backlash and the group's expulsion early this year for supposedly overstepping its bounds. Prudently, perhaps, El Salvador's investigative body, CICIES, will operate under the wing of the Organization of American States, which favors conciliation and consensus. That could mitigate blowback; but critics charge that it could also limit prosecutorial reach. Yet to be defined are the new body's mandate, funding and structure.Bukele has been dexterous in external relations, quickly reaching out to Washington. In September he implausibly agreed to designate El Salvador, alongside Guatemala and Honduras, as a third-country haven for Central American migrants seeking entry in the U.S. Never mind that most northbound asylum seekers seek to avoid El Salvador due to its gang violence. The goodwill sealed by Bukele's cordial — nay, fawning — visit to the White House (where he also essentially endorsed Trump's re-election), paid off. Last month, the Trump administration reversed itself and agreed to renew Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans hoping to regularize their immigration status in the U.S. At the same time Bukele has shown he's eager to play the international field. Following the previous government's decision to forsake diplomatic ties with Taiwan for China, he recently returned from a trip to Beijing to announce a "gigantic" investment deal backed by China.Bukele also will need allies at home. El Salvador's economy has been stuck in low gear for years, expanding at around 2% a year, lagging its two Northern Triangle neighbors. Bukele must find a way to raise productivity, diversify the economy and wean the country from its dependence on expatriate dollars. Remittances alone kick in 22% of El Salvador's gross domestic product, a nest egg that could shrink if the U.S. economy slows or TPS is rescinded.First, however, he will have to enlist a congress controlled by political rivals. His core support comes from third-party allies, who occupy 11 of 84 legislative seats. Meantime, he's gambling on a recruiting drive to attract enough members to his Nuevas Ideas party, to field a strong legislative slate for next year's midterm elections.Bukele has shown the initiative and the popular enthusiasm needed to carry his agenda forward into policy. But as too many of his struggling peers have discovered, without political cadres and floor votes those assets can quickly turn to duds. There's no app for that.To contact the author of this story: Mac Margolis at mmargolis14@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Gibney at jgibney5@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Mac Margolis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin and South America. He was a reporter for Newsweek and is the author of "The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier."For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| El Salvador’s President Bukele Is Riding a Rare Wave Posted: 09 Dec 2019 06:00 AM PST ![El Salvador's President Bukele Is Riding a Rare Wave]( "El Salvador's President Bukele Is Riding a Rare Wave") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- At a time when many Latin American leaders are pariahs, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele is a puzzle. Aged 38, the former one-term mayor of the capital San Salvador handily won the presidency in February, besting contenders from the two parties that have owned politics for the last three decades. His own party, Nuevas Ideas, is so new, it has no seats in congress. And yet, six months on, Bukele has this nation of 6.5 million people in thrall, his opponents off balance and international leaders on speed dial.Bukele commands 88% approval ratings, down a notch from his 93% approval in September. A polished communicator, he capitalized on a nation disenchanted with crony politics as usual: El Salvador's political parties are among the least trusted on the institutional approval index of Vanderbilt University's Latin American Public Opinion Project. His enviable ratings also owe to his marketing acumen. "Bukele styled himself as an avenger for a new generation, with no ideological bent but fed up with an elite from Jurassic Park," said Salvadoran economist Alberto Arene. Upon taking office, he fired off executive orders via Twitter, directing his new cabinet members to deep-six officials whose appointments he attributed to nepotism. The refreshing style plays well at home and beyond. He drew applause by snapping a selfie to kick off his address to the United Nations General Assembly in September.This story isn't entirely new. Witness the success of disruptive outsiders such as Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro or Mexico's Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who relied heavily on plain talk and social media to vault into office. But Central and South American palaces are full of yesterday's newcomers. Ecuador's Lenin Moreno (with 14% approval) and Colombia's Ivan Duque (26%) both surprised the establishment with their policy initiatives only to fumble before popular outrage. After waves of protests, 84% of Chileans disapprove of President Sebastian Pinera. Even Lopez Obrador, who boasted 85% approval in February, has seen his aura dim as growth has stagnated and violent crime flourished. After 11 erratic months in office, Bolsonaro, hailed as "the myth" by loyalists, is more loathed than liked.Bukele might learn something about perishable glory from Mauricio Macri, the onetime Argentine maverick who promised to rescue South America's second economy from errant populism only to exit amid recession, acrimony and disillusion.Bukele knows that leadership cannot run on charm alone. His agenda hums with ambition – and caveats. Pledging to mop up corruption from the start, Bukele announced an independent anti-graft commission, a savvy move in a country that ranked 105th among 180 nations in Transparency International's index of corruption perceptions.The inspiration, clearly, came from neighboring Guatemala, where an analogous United Nations-sponsored investigatory commission, CICIG, aggressively pursued corruption, only to provoke a political backlash and the group's expulsion early this year for supposedly overstepping its bounds. Prudently, perhaps, El Salvador's investigative body, CICIES, will operate under the wing of the Organization of American States, which favors conciliation and consensus. That could mitigate blowback; but critics charge that it could also limit prosecutorial reach. Yet to be defined are the new body's mandate, funding and structure.Bukele has been dexterous in external relations, quickly reaching out to Washington. In September he implausibly agreed to designate El Salvador, alongside Guatemala and Honduras, as a third-country haven for Central American migrants seeking entry in the U.S. Never mind that most northbound asylum seekers seek to avoid El Salvador due to its gang violence. The goodwill sealed by Bukele's cordial — nay, fawning — visit to the White House (where he also essentially endorsed Trump's re-election), paid off. Last month, the Trump administration reversed itself and agreed to renew Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans hoping to regularize their immigration status in the U.S. At the same time Bukele has shown he's eager to play the international field. Following the previous government's decision to forsake diplomatic ties with Taiwan for China, he recently returned from a trip to Beijing to announce a "gigantic" investment deal backed by China.Bukele also will need allies at home. El Salvador's economy has been stuck in low gear for years, expanding at around 2% a year, lagging its two Northern Triangle neighbors. Bukele must find a way to raise productivity, diversify the economy and wean the country from its dependence on expatriate dollars. Remittances alone kick in 22% of El Salvador's gross domestic product, a nest egg that could shrink if the U.S. economy slows or TPS is rescinded.First, however, he will have to enlist a congress controlled by political rivals. His core support comes from third-party allies, who occupy 11 of 84 legislative seats. Meantime, he's gambling on a recruiting drive to attract enough members to his Nuevas Ideas party, to field a strong legislative slate for next year's midterm elections.Bukele has shown the initiative and the popular enthusiasm needed to carry his agenda forward into policy. But as too many of his struggling peers have discovered, without political cadres and floor votes those assets can quickly turn to duds. There's no app for that.To contact the author of this story: Mac Margolis at mmargolis14@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Gibney at jgibney5@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Mac Margolis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin and South America. He was a reporter for Newsweek and is the author of "The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier."For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| U.N. expert urges Ethiopia to stop shutting down internet Posted: 09 Dec 2019 05:56 AM PST ![U.N. expert urges Ethiopia to stop shutting down internet]( "U.N. expert urges Ethiopia to stop shutting down internet") A United Nations expert on the freedom of expression said he has urged Ethiopian officials to stop shutting down the internet. David Kaye, the U.N.'s special rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, told reporters in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, that he is concerned with the frequent internet shutdowns carried out by the government.
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| 28-Year-Old Atop One of World’s Oldest Fortunes Faces Backlash Posted: 09 Dec 2019 05:39 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Hugh Grosvenor, the seventh Duke of Westminster, is the U.K.'s third-richest person and considered by some its most eligible bachelor.He's tried to stay out of the spotlight since inheriting his title in 2016, but these days it's almost impossible for a billionaire, especially one with a global property empire, to remain in the background.Criticism is mounting for the Duke and his Grosvenor Group Ltd. The firm faces opposition to its plans to demolish a London tower that houses some of the city's poorest residents, attracting negative headlines as rising inequality becomes an increasingly hot topic. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in October blasted the 28-year-old as a "dodgy landlord," part of a broad-based attack on U.K. billionaires and the "rigged system."This leaves the Grosvenor Group in an unenviable position with this week's election.If the Conservative Party under Boris Johnson wins the Dec. 12 vote, then Brexit will follow, potentially devaluing London property.Polls in Sunday's U.K. newspapers all give the Conservatives a clear lead over Labour, though they differ by how much.But if Labour can form a government, the family's fortune may face an existential threat. Corbyn is campaigning on higher taxes for the wealthy, restrictions on landlords and has also suggested public registers for the type of trusts that discreetly manage the wealth of the Grosvenor family and other dynastic clans.A Labour government "would require far more transparency of wealth, particularly with trusts," said Richard Murphy, professor of international political economy at City University of London. The Duke "didn't choose to be what he is, as it's an accident of birth, but he is a personification of a form of property ownership whose time has now passed."A spokesman for the Duke of Westminster declined to comment.The Grosvenors have faced starker challenges than a firebrand Labour government, surviving through wars and political shifts.They trace their lineage back almost 1,000 years to a relative of William the Conqueror, who invaded England from Normandy in 1066. Their initial wealth was accumulated through mines and minerals, but they owe their modern fortune to a 17th century marriage. Sir Thomas Grosvenor received 500 acres of swamp and orchard to the west of the City of London as a dowry from the parents of his 12-year-old bride.Mayfair and Belgravia are now hotspots for some of London's most well-heeled tenants, including luxury retailers, art galleries and hedge funds.Grosvenor Group has expanded to 60 cities worldwide and managed assets totaling 12.3 billion pounds ($15.9 billion) at the end of last year. But the company's core is still London.Hugh became the head of his family's estate when his father Gerald died from a heart attack at 64. According to the will, the sixth Duke of Westminster left 616 million pounds after debts and liabilities, with 20,000 pounds for each of his three daughters, who may receive additional income through the Grosvenor family trusts.Gerald's guns, fishing equipment and cars passed to Hugh, who also received his title. U.K. laws effectively limit that part of inheritance to males. That gave Hugh a personal fortune now estimated at $11.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.Hugh had a very different upbringing than his father, who attended Harrow School and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Gerald loved fast cars, women and champagne at breakfast, according to "The Reluctant Billionaire," a 2018 book by Tom Quinn.The current duke was educated at Ellesmere College, a private school near the Welsh border, and graduated from the University of Newcastle six years ago with a degree in Countryside Management.Hugh then joined the Grosvenor Estate's graduate program, working in each segment of his family's holdings, which also includes rural estates in the U.K. and Spain. Today, as Duke, Hugh is a trustee of the Grosvenor Estate. Grosvenor Group's CEO Mark Preston has ultimate responsibility though for the fortune of Britain's richest landlord.At the heart of it all is Grosvenor Square, a leafy public space in London bordered by embassies, celebrity-chef restaurants and hotel suites costing more than $5,000 a night. This month, silk roses dot the square, adding a festive touch to the center of Mayfair.That attention to detail hasn't gone unnoticed by local residents.Grosvenor Estate "looks after and upgrades the public realm," said Camilla Dell, founder of Black Brick Property Solutions, which buys real estate on behalf of the wealthy. "Pedestrian streets are widened, and they've been very conscious the shops are quality and different from one another."But these improvements have helped push up prices so much that the areas are now synonymous with the international elite. One four-bedroom apartment in Grosvenor Square is on the market for 17 million pounds, and a nearby terraced house is offered at 65 million pounds.Home prices in this region are the highest in London. The same areas also have the city's starkest income inequality, according to anti-poverty group Trust for London.The Grosvenor Estate's philanthropic arm aims to tackle some of the harshest effects of inequality across its holdings by supporting charities that target homelessness. It also provides office space in London for non-profits, including the Childhood Trust, which focuses on poverty.But tensions are building, especially where Grosvenor Group interacts with the less affluent.A few blocks from Sloane Square, Belgravia, one of London's exclusive areas, Grosvenor Group wants to demolish high-rise apartment blocks to build a residential complex with new shops, restaurants and double the existing affordable homes.Tenants housed by the local council in one tower set for demolition are furious at the prospect of being uprooted when the building's lease expires in 2023. Supported by local Labour politicians, the residents have campaigned against the plans and more than 200,000 people have signed a petition supporting their cause.It was a similar story when Grosvenor Group last year proposed building about 1,300 units in Bermondsey, southeast London, aimed at workers without the means to buy a home and too much income to qualify for social housing. The area's Labour-run council rejected the plans in February, criticizing Grosvenor Group for being "off the mark" in numbers of affordable homes.The firm has filed a fresh application to London's governing body, which has the power to overrule local authorities and is expected to hold a public hearing on the matter by the end of the year.But even if these latest plans go through, the spotlight will remain on the Duke of Westminster and his empire."With these huge fortunes, power has become extraordinary concentrated in the U.K. and goes virtually unchallenged," said John Christensen, chair of Tax Justice Network, an advocacy group that pushes for financial transparency. "That has created a country of two parts with a tiny, very wealthy and powerful elite and the rest who are struggling and by and large all the tax provisions are geared to taxing those who are not elite. It's a massive distortion."(Updatates with polls in sixth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Jack Sidders.To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Stupples in London at bstupples@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Pierre Paulden at ppaulden@bloomberg.net, Steven CrabillFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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