| U.S., China's Top Trade Officials Make First Contact Since Truce Posted: 09 Jul 2019 05:43 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke on the phone with their Chinese counterparts, marking the first high-level contact after their presidents agreed to resume trade talks last month.The American officials spoke to Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and Commerce Minister Zhong Shan on Tuesday, according to an emailed statement from a U.S. government official who declined to be named in line with policy. Both sides will continue these talks as appropriate, the official said, without offering more details on the next steps.China's Ministry of Commerce confirmed the conversation in a brief statement Wednesday morning, saying the two sides "exchanged opinions on implementing the consensus reached in Osaka" by Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow characterized the discussion as "constructive," and said officials are planning more meetings but that no details have been confirmed. "Hopefully we can pick up where we left off but I don't know that," he told reporters Tuesday.The U.S. officials will continue to speak with their Chinese counterparts on trade issues and perhaps make a trip there "shortly," Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Trump, told reporters in Washington.President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to a tentative pause in their almost year-long trade war after meeting at the Group-of-20 leaders' summit in Japan on June 29, and they directed their negotiators to find a path forward on a deal. The leaders didn't outline a time-frame for negotiations or a deadline to finalize a trade deal.Tentative Cease-fireThe talks broke down in May after the U.S. accused China of reneging on draft commitments, while the two sides remain at odds over significant aspects of a deal.Under the tentative cease-fire, Trump agreed to postpone new tariffs on about $300 billion of Chinese imports, though he left in place the existing 25% duty on about $260 billion of Chinese products. The U.S. president also said he would allow U.S. companies to resume supplying some of their products to Huawei Technologies Co., but added that the Chinese telecommunications-gear-making giant would remain on a Commerce Department trade blacklist over national security concerns.Earlier Tuesday, Kudlow said at an event in Washington that the U.S. government would ease restrictions on Huawei by relaxing the licensing requirements from Commerce. He added that Xi had agreed with Trump to scale up purchases of American products, including soybeans and wheat, along with possibly energy as part of a "good-faith" move to show how open China is to resolving trade differences.(Updates with China reponse, Conway comments in the third, fifth paragraphs.)\--With assistance from Reade Pickert, Alyza Sebenius and Yinan Zhao.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Jenny Leonard in Washington at jleonard67@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Sarah McGregor at smcgregor5@bloomberg.net, ;Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Jeffrey BlackFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Europe urges Iran to stick to troubled nuclear deal Posted: 09 Jul 2019 05:04 PM PDT  European powers urged Iran on Tuesday to reverse its move to increase uranium enrichment, as a French envoy arrived in Tehran to boost efforts to save a landmark 2015 nuclear deal. The accord between Iran and world powers promised sanctions relief, economic benefits and an end to international isolation of the Islamic republic in return for stringent curbs on its nuclear programme. "It must act accordingly by reversing these activities and returning to full JCPoA compliance without delay," said a statement from the European Union and foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain.
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| China Eyes Trump's 2020 Strategy for Clues on Trade War Deal Posted: 09 Jul 2019 04:46 PM PDT ![China Eyes Trump's 2020 Strategy for Clues on Trade War Deal]( "China Eyes Trump's 2020 Strategy for Clues on Trade War Deal") (Bloomberg) -- As the U.S. and China restart trade talks, few in Beijing see a clear pathway to a lasting deal.Pessimism dominated in conversations last week with about a dozen bureaucrats, government advisers and researchers in China's capital following the latest truce between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Most saw Trump's election strategy as being the paramount factor for whether a deal was possible in the short term."Trump's biggest aim is reelection in 2020," said Wei Jianguo, former vice minister of commerce and now a vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. "All of his actions are aimed toward it."More than a year after Trump first levied punitive tariffs on Beijing, the conflict between the world's two-largest economies has only widened as both Trump and Xi face political pressure to resist key demands from the other side. Slowing growth and threats against major companies from both countries have further raised the stakes heading into next year.Many Chinese officials were reluctant to discuss the 2020 election out of fears they could be accused of Russian-style meddling. Yet two schools of thought emerged on Trump's political calculus.Two ViewsOne was that he must deliver a deal on China heading into 2020 to please his base, and would therefore eventually relent to Beijing's demands. The other was that he would drag things out through the campaign, particularly if the economy and stock market held up, since he faced a field of Democrats who basically agree with on getting tough with China.Despite all Trump's provocations over the past few years, some in China actually think he'll give them a better deal. Trump is a pragmatist, this argument goes, and after he wins re-election he would rather make friends with China than keep battling.This view reflects deep-seated concerns among some in the Chinese establishment about the Democrats -- and particularly former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who served as secretary of state for four years during the Obama administration."The Chinese people and think tanks have bad impression of Democrats and Hillary Clinton," said Wei, the former vice commerce minister. "The biggest problem with Trump is that he is unpredictable and doesn't always do what he said he will do, but he gives the impression of being someone you can deal with."Too UnpredictableStill, another prevalent concern is whether Trump is too unpredictable to trust. While the Democrats traditionally care focus more on human rights and collaborate with allies to pressure Beijing, overall they treat China with respect and work through established institutions."I don't think Xi would like to see Trump re-elected," said Shi Yinhong, a foreign affairs adviser to the State Council and director of Renmin University's Center on American Studies in Beijing. "Any Democrat would be less brutal."No matter what happens in 2020, though, most in Beijing agreed that China needs to be prepared for a protracted confrontation. There are many reasons to think that's wise.U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke by phone Tuesday with Chinese counterparts Vice Premier Liu He and Commerce Minister Zhong Shan, the first high-level contact since Xi and Trump shook hands on a truce. But before they move forward, they'll first need to figure out where to pick up the pieces.Both sides differ publicly on how the talks broke down in early May, and Trump's moves since then to both raise tariffs and blacklist telecom equipment giant Huawei Technologies Co. have narrowed the space for Xi to maneuver.Unequal TreatiesThe biggest sticking point from China's perspective is a U.S. demand to keep the punitive tariffs in place until Beijing actually implements reforms to state-owned enterprises and intellectual property. It's politically unfeasible for Xi to accept any deal that doesn't remove the tariffs: Nationalists in the Communist Party are pressuring him to avoid signing an "unequal treaty" reminiscent of those China signed with colonial powers.This debate has picked up in China over the past month, with the party's flagship People's Daily newspaper warning obliquely in editorials that unidentified "capitulators" wanted China "to be a vassal, controlled and working for the United States." The episode has undermined China's trade negotiators, according to Wang Huiyao, an adviser to China's cabinet and founder of Center for China and Globalization.Moreover, Chinese negotiators faced resistance from other departments when the draft text was circulated within the government, Wang said. While neither side has specifically mentioned what caused the talks to break down, American officials have hinted that China reneged on changing laws regarding forced technology transfer and cybersecurity.'Politically Incorrect'"Trump gave the hardliners plenty of space," Wang said, adding that they consisted mainly of officials in the military and security. "It's become politically incorrect to call for a deal."Trump has his own political concerns to worry about. In announcing the truce, he spoke at length about how China would be buying more farm goods from "great patriots" in the Midwest -- even though no details of any purchases have been announced by either side. Officials in Beijing said China pledged to do no such thing before a final deal is struck.But many in Beijing also saw Trump's eagerness to restart trade talks as a sign the U.S. wouldn't push for a more extreme Cold War-style conflict or economic decoupling. The Huawei blacklist was starting to hurt American firms as well, and it didn't make much electoral sense to alienate big business ahead of an election."Trump almost tore down the house, but he didn't burn it," said Shou Huisheng, an associate professor of countries and regional studies at Beijing Language and Culture University. "The current competition is about who is strong, who will dominate the world in the future. It's a chess war."To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Peter Martin in Beijing at pmartin138@bloomberg.net;Dandan Li in Beijing at dli395@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Ten Kate at dtenkate@bloomberg.net, Brendan ScottFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UN report: Climate change is undermining poverty eradication Posted: 09 Jul 2019 04:44 PM PDT ![UN report: Climate change is undermining poverty eradication]( "UN report: Climate change is undermining poverty eradication") A U.N. report says hunger is growing and the world is not on track to end extreme poverty by 2030 and meet other U.N. goals, saying that is mainly because progress is being undermined by climate change and increasing inequality.
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| U.K. Parliament Flexes Muscle as Johnson Doubles Down on No-Deal Posted: 09 Jul 2019 04:03 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Members of Britain's Parliament delivered a sharp warning to the country's next prime minister: they will not allow him to pursue a no-deal Brexit without a fight.In a dramatic result Tuesday evening, MPs narrowly passed a measure aimed at stopping the U.K.'s future leader forcing the country out of the European Union without an agreement, against their wishes. The result sets up another potential crisis in British politics in the weeks and months ahead as the U.K.'s leaders grapple with the intractable tensions of Brexit.Minutes after the vote, the two men vying to become prime minister clashed on television over the same issue that dominated the debate in the House of Commons: whether they would be willing to close down Parliament in order to deliver Brexit -- with or without a deal -- by the deadline of Oct. 31.Boris Johnson, the front-runner in the leadership contest, refused to rule out suspending Parliament if it's the only way to complete Brexit on time, while his rival, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, rejected the idea.With the opposition Labour Party committing itself to opposing any Brexit plan put forward by either of the two men, all Britain's politicians seemed to be digging themselves into more entrenched positions, and the possibility of compromise looked further away than ever.Routes to ResolutionThe U.K. is due to leave the EU by the end of October, but Parliament is deadlocked and refusing to pass a deal. Both Johnson and Hunt have rejected the other possible routes to a resolution, such as a referendum or a general election. Unless something gives, Parliament may have to choose between a no-deal Brexit or bringing down the government.While he's the clear favorite to succeed Theresa May as prime minister, Johnson, if he does win, will find MPs set against his strategy. Johnson argues that the U.K. needs to look as if it's serious about no-deal in order to persuade the EU to shift its position."If we go into these negotiations from the beginning with a plan to allow that deadline yet again to be fungible, to be a paper-mache deadline, I'm afraid that the EU will not take us seriously," Johnson told the debate. "Nor will business understand that they must prepare for no-deal."Parliament's LineSeveral ministers have said Parliament would block a no-deal Brexit, and on Tuesday night, Johnson was asked if he'd be willing to suspend Parliament to push one through. "I'm not going to take anything off the table," he replied.Just an hour earlier, the House of Commons voted to pass a measure proposed by rebel pro-EU Conservative Dominic Grieve to make it harder for the premier to suspend Parliament. The vote was tight -- passing by 294 votes to 293 -- and a subsequent part of Grieve's plan was narrowly rejected, but MPs had shown they were willing to act to stop a no-deal split from the EU.Hunt dismissed the idea of suspending Parliament. "When that has happened in the past, when Parliament has been shut down against its will, we actually had a civil war," he said.The foreign secretary accused Johnson of being a people-pleaser, rather than a leader. "Being prime minister is about telling people what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear," he said. The leader must be "honest" with people about the "challenges" ahead, Hunt said.Labour, 'Brilliant Quality'One of those challenges is the hardening position of the Labour Party. Without a majority in the Commons, any prime minister can only get a Brexit deal through if they can pick up some Labour votes.But the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Tuesday yielded to pressure from activists to oppose Brexit. He said the party would now support a second referendum on any Tory proposal, and would campaign to remain in the EU in that referendum. That's not a good sign for Conservatives hoping that Corbyn would let some of his MPs back a Brexit deal in order to get the issue resolved.Johnson avoided questions about whether he supported Britain's ambassador to the U.S., Kim Darroch, who is under attack from Donald Trump over comments about the U.S. administration in leaked diplomatic cables.Johnson said he admired Hunt's ability to change his mind. Hunt had his response ready."I really admire Boris's ability to answer the question," Hunt said. "You ask him a question, he puts a smile on your face, and you forget what the question was. It's a brilliant quality for a politician, maybe not a prime minister."To contact the reporters on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net;Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@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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| UPDATE 1-U.S. wants military coalition to safeguard waters off Iran, Yemen Posted: 09 Jul 2019 03:24 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-U.S. wants military coalition to safeguard waters off Iran, Yemen]( "UPDATE 1-U.S. wants military coalition to safeguard waters off Iran, Yemen") The United States hopes to enlist allies over the next two weeks or so in a military coalition to safeguard strategic waters off Iran and Yemen, where Washington blames Iran and Iran-aligned fighters for attacks, the top U.S. general said on Tuesday. Under the plan, which has only been finalized in recent days, the United States would provide command ships and lead surveillance efforts for the military coalition. Allies would patrol waters near those U.S. command ships and escort commercial vessels with their nation's flags.
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| Trump gives warm welcome to Qatar amid Persian Gulf disputes Posted: 09 Jul 2019 03:00 PM PDT  President Donald Trump gave a warm White House welcome Tuesday to the leader of Qatar amid a bitter rift between the tiny, energy-rich nation and its fellow American allies in the Persian Gulf and rising tensions with Iran. Trump clasped hands with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and called him a friend while recognizing the country's extensive military partnership with the U.S. and billions of dollars in purchases from American companies. "They are investing very heavily in our country," Trump said.
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| U.K.’s Johnson Refuses to Back Envoy in Role Amid Diplomatic Row Posted: 09 Jul 2019 02:47 PM PDT ![U.K.'s Johnson Refuses to Back Envoy in Role Amid Diplomatic Row]( "U.K.'s Johnson Refuses to Back Envoy in Role Amid Diplomatic Row") (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson, the front-runner to become the next U.K. prime minister, refused to commit to keeping the British ambassador in Washington in his role amid a diplomatic spat that saw Donald Trump call the envoy "a stupid guy."While U.K. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt accused the U.S. president of being "disrespectful," Johnson said Trump had been "dragged into a British political debate." Though he didn't think it was "necessarily the right thing" for the president to tweet the remarks."The wacky Ambassador that the U.K. foisted upon the United States is not someone we are thrilled with, a very stupid guy," Trump tweeted Tuesday. "I don't know the Ambassador but have been told he is a pompous fool."The tweets followed a tirade late Monday in which Trump froze out the envoy, Kim Darroch, saying the White House "will no longer deal with" him. Trump also criticized Prime Minister Theresa May over her handling of Brexit. "What a mess she and her representatives have created," he said.'I Alone'During a debate Tuesday evening in which Hunt and Johnson went head to head as rivals to become prime minister, the foreign secretary said he'd keep Darroch in his role as envoy until he's due to retire.Johnson said it would be "presumptuous" of him to commit to keeping Darroch on as ambassador. "I, and I alone will decide who takes politically sensitive jobs such as ambassador to the U.S.," Johnson said in the debate.Earlier Tuesday, Hunt tweeted "allies need to treat each other with respect as @theresa_may has always done with you."The row was triggered by the publication of diplomatic cables in the Mail on Sunday newspaper in which the ambassador called the U.S. president "inept" and "incompetent," and Trump's White House "uniquely dysfunctional."That prompted the White House to cancel an invitation for Darroch to attend a dinner with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the emir of Qatar, according to a U.S. official. May's office also said Darroch wasn't attending meetings Tuesday between Trade Secretary Liam Fox and U.S. officials, though he was "supporting" the visit.May had earlier sought to quell the rising tensions. Her spokesman, James Slack, told reporters in London the "selected" memos do not reflect the closeness and esteem with which the U.K. holds the relationship. He also said Darroch has the "full confidence" of the prime minister.'Unvarnished Assessments'The U.K. government was in contact with the U.S. on both Monday and Tuesday, Slack said."We have also underlined the importance of ambassadors being able to provide honest, unvarnished assessments of the politics in their country," Slack told reporters.Handling the fallout of a major diplomatic spat with Britain's most important foreign ally will be an early headache for either Johnson or Hunt."I've got a good relationship with the White House and I have no embarrassment in saying that," Johnson said in a pooled TV interview at a campaign visit in Manchester, northern England. "It's very important we have a strong relationship with our most important ally. It is, has been, will be for the foreseeable future our No. 1 political, military, friend and partner."Leak ProbeThe Cabinet Office is leading a cross-government investigation into the leak of the memos.Hunt earlier acknowledged the possibility that the leak might be the result of a hack by a hostile government."Of course, it would be massively concerning if it was the act of a foreign, hostile state," he told The Sun newspaper. "I've seen no evidence that that's the case, but we'll look at the leak inquiry very carefully."Trump made a state visit to the U.K. last month and met with May, who will step down after failing to persuade Parliament to adopt her Brexit plan.Darroch has been in his post since January 2016. U.K. ambassadorial postings can vary in length, but typically last four years, according to the Foreign Office, which declined to say when the envoy was due to leave Washington. That timing suggests Darroch might be expected to leave his assignment early in 2020. If that happens, it would mean Johnson or Hunt would have to make a decision on a replacement within a few months of taking office.Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee announced Tuesday that it will hold an urgent inquiry into "secure communications and the handling of classified information."(Updates with comment from Hunt and Johnson from second paragraph.)\--With assistance from Kitty Donaldson, Justin Sink, Robert Hutton and Joe Mayes.To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, ;Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Emma Ross-ThomasFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| US proceeding with plan for coalition to deter Iran threats Posted: 09 Jul 2019 02:45 PM PDT  The United States will move ahead with plans to build a coalition of nations to monitor and deter Iranian threats against commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf area and in a heavy trafficked waterway between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford said the Pentagon has developed a specific plan, and that he believes it will be clear within a couple of weeks which nations are willing to join the effort.
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| Treasury targets 2 Lebanese lawmakers, Hezbollah official Posted: 09 Jul 2019 02:39 PM PDT  It's the first time that the U.S. has targeted lawmakers currently seated in Lebanon's parliament. Trump administration officials said Treasury's action makes clear that there is no dividing line between Hezbollah's political and militant wings. The U.S. designated lawmakers Amin Sherri and Mohammad Raad as well as Hezbollah security official Wafiq Safa under a U.S. executive order, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.
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| U.S. wants North Korea freeze as beginning, not end, of denuclearization Posted: 09 Jul 2019 02:31 PM PDT ![U.S. wants North Korea freeze as beginning, not end, of denuclearization]( "U.S. wants North Korea freeze as beginning, not end, of denuclearization") The United States would hope to see a freeze in the North Korean nuclear program as the start of a process of denuclearization, the State Department said on Tuesday, ahead of fresh talks with Pyongyang supposed to take place this month. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had a surprise meeting at the end of June in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas and agreed to resume a working-level dialogue, stalled since a failed summit in Vietnam in February. The Trump administration has dismissed a New York Times report that said an idea was taking shape among U.S. officials to seek to negotiate a nuclear freeze by North Korea, rather than its complete denuclearization, thereby tacitly accepting it as a nuclear state.
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| UK leadership hopefuls clash over Brexit promises Posted: 09 Jul 2019 02:29 PM PDT  Boris Johnson stood accused Tuesday of having nothing to offer Britain but "blind optimism" as he and his rival for the premiership clashed over Brexit in a bad-tempered TV debate. Johnson is the runaway frontrunner to replace Theresa May later this month, wooing voters with a promise to take Britain out of the European Union on October 31 whatever happens. "If we want to make a success of Brexit it's not about blind optimism, it's about understanding the details that will get us the deal that's right for country," said Hunt, the current foreign minister.
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| US puts Hezbollah lawmakers on sanctions blacklist for first time Posted: 09 Jul 2019 02:20 PM PDT  The US Treasury placed two Hezbollah members of Lebanon's parliament on its sanctions blacklist on Tuesday -- the first time Washington has taken aim at the Iran-allied group's elected politicians. Stepping up its effort to build global pressure on the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement, the Treasury named MPs Amin Sherri and Muhammad Hasan Raad to a terror-related blacklist, saying that Hezbollah uses its parliamentary power to advance violent activities.
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| UK Tory contenders trade blows; Labour backs new Brexit vote Posted: 09 Jul 2019 01:58 PM PDT  The two men vying to be Britain's next leader traded verbal blows in a televised debate Tuesday about who is more likely to break the country's Brexit deadlock and lead the U.K. out of the European Union. About 160,000 Conservative Party members are voting for a successor to Prime Minister Theresa May, who announced her resignation last month after failing repeatedly to get Parliament to back her divorce deal with the EU. The two finalists, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, both used their only televised debate to argue that they were best placed to negotiate Britain's twice-postponed exit, currently scheduled for Oct. 31.
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| Saudi princess tried in absentia for alleged Paris beating Posted: 09 Jul 2019 01:36 PM PDT  The only daughter of Saudi Arabia's King Salman was put on trial in absentia Tuesday in Paris for allegedly ordering her bodyguard to strike a plumber she suspected of taking photos and video at the Saudi royal family's apartment in the French capital. Prosecutors allege Princess Hessa bint Salman became enraged when she saw the plumber allegedly capturing her image, fearing the pictures could be used to harm her as the Saudi monarch's daughter due to her country's conservative traditions. The princess' lawyer said she was not present because correspondence was sent to the Paris address, not to the royal palace in Saudi Arabia.
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| UN rights expert urges US action over Khashoggi killing Posted: 09 Jul 2019 01:34 PM PDT  The United Nations human rights expert who conducted an independent probe into the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Tuesday urged the US to act on her damning findings. Agnes Callamard, a UN special rapporteur who concluded that Khashoggi's death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October was "an extrajudicial execution" by the Gulf kingdom, criticised the United States over its inaction.
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| Johnson Faces Showdown with Parliament on No Deal: Brexit Update Posted: 09 Jul 2019 12:39 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Members of Britain's House of Commons voted to back a plan designed to prevent the next prime minister forcing through a no-deal Brexit against the wishes of Parliament. The result was dramatic: Dominic Grieve's amendment was passed by just one vote.Key Developments:Parliament backed amendment that aims to stop the next PM suspending the legislature to push through no-deal, by the narrowest possible margin: 294 votes to 293Leadership favorite Boris Johnson declines to say if he would quit if he fails to deliver Brexit by his "do or die" deadline of Oct. 31Johnson and leadership rival Jeremy Hunt go head-to-head in ITV debateLabour backs a new referendum on any exit deal, and would campaign to stay in EU rather than leave on terms negotiated by the ToriesJohnson Open to Suspending Parliament (8:30 p.m.)In a punchy response, Johnson insisted he will not rule out the radical step of suspending Parliament in order to deliver Brexit on time. Hunt earlier said he would not contemplate such a move. A previous suspension of Parliament resulted in a "civil war," Hunt said.Johnson, the favorite, said he would not "take anything off the table" in his determination to deliver on the vote of the 2016 referendum campaign. That sets up a potentially major conflict with MPs, who earlier voted to back a move to stop the next prime minister suspending Parliament in order to force through a no-deal Brexit.Johnson Won't Promise He'll Quit if Brexit Delayed (8:15 p.m.)Boris Johnson refuses to say if he'd resign if he failed to take the U.K. out of the EU by Oct. 31 -- the deadline he has repeatedly said must be met. Asked repeatedly by his opponent Jeremy Hunt, Johnson said making such a pledge would weaken his negotiating position."I don't want to hold out to the EU the prospect that they might encourage my resignation to come out of the deal," he said, appearing in the ITV televised leadership debate.Hunt responded: "My worry is that you're setting a fake deadline because we'll end up with an election before we have Brexit."MPs Vote to Stop PM Forcing Through No-Deal (7:38 p.m.)MPs have moved to stop the next prime minister attempting to force through a no-deal Brexit against their wishes by suspending Parliament. The plan went through by just a single vote.The Commons voted by 294 to 293 in favor of the amendment from Conservative MP Dominic Grieve. This requires Parliament to meet between September and December.The significance is less about whether Parliament can be suspended, and more because it shows some Conservative MPs are willing to act block a no-deal Brexit.Boris Johnson has said he won't rule out suspending Parliament if it's the only way to ensure Brexit is delivered on time by the deadline of Oct. 31. Such a move would create a huge constitutional row. Tuesday's vote suggests the next prime minister could find he has less room for maneuver than he expects on Brexit.Parliament Backs Gay Marriage in N. Ireland (5:30 p.m.)The U.K. Parliament has voted to introduce gay marriage and liberalize abortion rules in Northern Ireland. These moves are both opposed by the Democratic Unionist Party, which props up the Conservative government.But with the Northern Ireland Assembly suspended amid political deadlock, MPs in London are taking the opportunity to push through measures that they support. The vote doesn't immediately change the law on either issue, but the government said it would follow the will of Parliament.Government to Oppose Grieve Plan to Stop No-Deal (4:35 p.m.)The government will oppose the Grieve amendment (see 1:30 p.m.) which would require a minister to report to Parliament fortnightly from October, a person familiar with the matter said. The proposal aims to make it harder for the next prime minister to suspend Parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit.Ireland Says No-Deal Brexit Could Mean Harder Border (4 p.m.)In its latest update of contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit, the Irish government said the backstop agreed with Theresa May is the"only viable solution on the table" that avoids a hard border, including physical infrastructure and related checks and controls.It added that discussions with the European Commission with a view to minimizing the negative consequences of no deal are on-going, but any arrangement will clearly be "sub-optimal," and no one has yet come up with any alternatives that meet the same goals as the Withdrawal Agreement.Corbyn Avoids Setting Election Position on Brexit (3:30 p.m.)Jeremy Corbyn avoided an opportunity to explain what Labour's Brexit policy would be in a general election. Instead, in a BBC interview, he focused on the party's approach now.As things stand, he said, Labour supports a second referendum, in which it would campaign against Brexit. However, he argued this doesn't make Labour an anti-Brexit party."We respect the result of the referendum,'' he said. "We'll decide our policy when the election comes. But at this moment we will do everything we can to prevent no deal and give people a choice whether it's that or remain within the EU.''Labour to Support Grieve Amendments (3 p.m.)Labour will tell its members of Parliament to vote for the amendments proposed by Tory backbencher Dominic Grieve, according to a person familiar with the matter.The proposed amendments to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill in effect would open up the new prime minster to a legal challenge if he chooses to suspend Parliament.Johnson Joins Trump's Attack on May's Brexit Deal (2:35 p.m.)Boris Johnson added his voice to Donald Trump's criticism of Theresa May's approach to Brexit, saying there's a chance to do things differently and get away from the "failed old can-kicking approach," according to comments from a pooled interview distributed by the Press Association.Asked whether the president was right to criticize May's approach to the talks, Johnson replied: "I have said some pretty critical things about the Brexit negotiations so far and that's one of the reasons I am standing tonight and one of the reasons I am putting myself forward."What the Amendments Mean (1:30 p.m.)The pound extended losses on the news that one of the amendments put down by Conservative MP Dominic Grieve aimed at stopping Parliament from being suspended -- prorogued, in official language -- has been blocked. But that one isn't the only amendment put down with that aim.Grieve himself said he was relaxed. "Although one of them hasn't been selected, the others do prevent prorogation during this period, and will be pursued."The bit of Grieve's plan that has been lost is the amendment that specified what would happen if the next prime minister tried to suspend Parliament anyway. If the rest of Grieve's amendments pass, the likeliest outcome of an attempted suspension is that the government would be taken to court for failing to comply with the law.In that situation, you'd also be likely to have Parliament defying the executive and meeting anyway -- perhaps in a nearby building -- and a full-blown constitutional crisis.It's also worth noting that this bill has to pass the House of Lords as well, so if Grieve's amendments go through today, there may well be an attempt to reinsert the missing one, or something similar, when the bill gets to the Lords.Parliament to Vote on Move to Stop No-Deal (12:45 p.m.)MPs in the House of Commons will debate an amendment to the Northern Ireland Bill to require Parliament to sit between October and December in a move intended to stop the new prime minister from suspending the House of Commons to force through a no-deal Brexit.The amendment, being proposed by pro-EU Tory lawmaker Dominic Grieve, was selected for debate and will be voted on by MPs on Tuesday evening.An additional clause from Grieve which would have required the Queen to recall Parliament if it had been suspended hasn't been selected for debate.Does Labour Move Make Referendum More Likely? (12:30 p.m.)Both contenders to succeed Theresa May as prime minister have said they oppose a second Brexit referendum, so it is unlikely they would whip their MPs to support one. And, even if enough Tories rebelled and supported an opposition motion, the continuing division in the Labour Party would mean it wouldn't necessarily go through.When the House of Commons voted on April 1 in a series of "indicative votes" to establish which Brexit proposals had the most support, a referendum on any deal agreed with the bloc was defeated by 292 votes to 280, with no vote recorded for 77 MPs.While Jeremy Corbyn has now publicly shifted his position, there are a significant number of Labour MPs who would rebel rather than back another referendum. And, significantly, Labour doesn't commit to holding such a vote if it wins a snap general election – in fact, Corbyn says he still believes in Labour's "compromise" plan and seems to suggest he would try to renegotiate on their terms.If the SNP or the Liberal Democrats held the balance of power in a coalition with Labour after any election, they might put a referendum on the top of their list of demands for supporting the government.Labour to Back Remain vs. No-Deal, Tory Deal (11:25 a.m.)Jeremy Corbyn challenged the next prime minister to put their Brexit deal to a second referendum, and said Labour will campaign to remain in the EU in a vote on a no-deal exit or Conservative Brexit that doesn't protect jobs or the economy.The announcement follows a meeting of the shadow cabinet to agree on a settled Brexit position. Pressure has been building on the party leadership to shift its position, with the majority of grassroots members in favor of staying in the EU. The major trade unions that fund Labour and help set its policy agreed to back a second referendum on Tuesday.In a letter to Labour Party members, Corbyn repeated his preference for a general election "to end austerity and rebuild our country for the many not the few."There is no explicit mention in Corbyn's letter about Labour's plan for dealing with Brexit if it wins a snap election before the U.K. leaves the bloc, but he offered a hint when he referred to the party's attempt to reach a deal with Prime Minister Theresa May."Labour set out a compromise plan to try to bring the country together based around a customs union, a strong single-market relationship and protection of environmental regulations and rights at work," he wrote. "We continue to believe this is a sensible alternative that could bring the country together."EU Moves to Make No-Deal More Palatable (11:15 a.m.)The European Union has taken a further step to make a potential no-deal Brexit more palatable by rubber stamping a plan to continue funding projects in Britain signed before the U.K. leaves the bloc. It would be contingent on the U.K. continuing to pay its contribution to the EU's 2019 budget.Finance ministers meeting in Brussels signed off on the plan to prevent a sudden break in EU-funded programs in areas such as agriculture and research.Much uncertainty surrounds what would happen if the U.K. leaves without a deal, and Tuesday's decision is "without prejudice to an agreement to be negotiated in a no-deal scenario on a financial settlement between the EU and the U.K., which would have to cover the entirety of mutual obligations resulting from the U.K.'s EU membership," the EU said.Ireland Accepts Need for Border Checks in No-Deal (Correct)Ireland has accepted the need to set up checks with Northern Ireland in a no-deal Brexit scenario, people familiar with the matter said.The government accept that checks, especially on livestock, will be required if the U.K. crashes out of the European Union, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans haven't yet been discussed with cabinet. The location of any checks is still to be determined, one of the people said.Bloomberg earlier reported that the government would accept that checks would have to be at or close to the border. A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said that was "incorrect." Updated contingency plans will be published in full later Tuesday, after the cabinet has had its discussion, the spokesman said.Tory Rivals 'Underestimate' Chances of No-Deal (8:50 a.m.)Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt risk underestimating the chances of a no-deal Brexit, while the European Union shouldn't rely on Parliament stopping it, according to former Conservative Party leader William Hague."It's going to be a very close run thing whether it can do so,'' Hague said on BBC radio on Tuesday.Hague, who is backing Hunt to be prime minister, also said Britain shouldn't tie itself to the specific Brexit date of Oct. 31, as it may need more time for negotiations with the bloc.Earlier:Anti-Brexit Tory Tries to Stop Next PM Suspending ParliamentThe Tory Rivals Jockeying to Become Britain's Next ChancellorU.K. Economy Probably Shrank for First Time in Seven YearsU.K. Businesses See Damage From Post-Brexit Immigration Plans(An earlier version corrected a story on Irish border.)\--With assistance from Dara Doyle, Kitty Donaldson, Alex Morales, Ian Wishart and Joe Mayes.To contact the reporters on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net;Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Emma Ross-Thomas at erossthomas@bloomberg.net, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump ramps up attacks on UK ambassador, calls him 'wacky,' foreign minister calls his comments 'disrespectful' Posted: 09 Jul 2019 12:28 PM PDT  The president also offered additional criticism for outgoing U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May for failing to achieve a Brexit deal after she "went her own foolish way" instead of listening to his advice.
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| Senate Intel Eyes Social Media Manipulators Who Pitched Team Trump Posted: 09 Jul 2019 12:24 PM PDT  Win McNamee/GettyA few months into Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, his team reviewed a strange pitch. It came from a company called Psy Group, which had links to Israeli intelligence, and it laid out how fake social media accounts could manipulate the American election. That outreach caught the attention of Robert Mueller's team. And now, the Senate Intelligence Committee—which is still investigating foreign interference in the 2016 election—has reached out to the company's founder for questioning, according to two sources familiar with the outreach. Royi Burstien, the founder and ex-CEO of Psy Group, isn't alone, according to two people familiar with the matter; the committee also sent an inquiry to Joel Zamel—a self-styled Mark Zuckerberg of the national-security world who reportedly owned Psy Group. The Israeli-Australian discussed Psy Group's "Campaign Intelligence and & Influence Services Proposal" with Donald Trump Jr. during the campaign, and campaign staff also reached out to the company about social media manipulation to help Trump win the White House. Zamel also attended meetings during the transition that included discussions about how to undermine and ultimately take down the regime in Iran, according to communications reviewed by The Daily Beast. Top Trump World power brokers, including Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn, were present for the talks. And a top Saudi spy, who has since taken the fall for the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, participated in the talks as well. So the nature of Trump World's relationships with Psy Group, Zamel, and Burstien has long raised questions––especially given that another Zamel company, Wikistrat, gamed out in 2015 how a foreign government could meddle in U.S. elections, per internal documents The Daily Beast obtained. Special Counsel Mueller's team interviewed multiple Psy Group employees, but the unredacted portions of his Russia report don't reference the company. The Senate Intelligence Committee's interest means the public may still learn more about the dynamics. Saudi Spy Met With Team Trump About Taking Down IranA spokesperson for the Senate Intelligence Committee declined to comment, citing a blanket policy against discussing witness engagements. Attorneys for Psy Group and for Zamel did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Burstien did not comment for this story. Psy Group, in liquidation as of last year, has employed a handful of people who formerly worked for and with Israeli intelligence, including Burstien. Former employees of the firm said federal agents questioned them last year about the firm's financial structure, its ownership and its communications with Team Trump during the 2016 campaign. Several Psy Group individuals said their lawyers told them in 2018 that they were no longer of interest to the FBI.The New York Times reported last year that former Trump campaign advisor Rick Gates reached out to Psy Group in 2016 about online manipulation plans. According to the Times, the plans, which had a price tag of about $3 million, included the possibility of Psy Group using online avatars to impact the vote. One of the proposals included intelligence officers who would use social media accounts to examine the political leanings of 5,000 delegates to the Republican National Convention, the Times reported.In 2016, Zamel became increasingly connected to the Trump team and led conversations with transition officials and advisors, including Donald Trump Jr. and former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince, about his company helping other Middle Eastern players, such as Saudi Arabia, use economic, information, and military tactics for weakening the government in Tehran.The Senate Intelligence Committee's probe has distinguished itself from other investigations in two ways: First, it's been almost entirely non-controversial, for the most part avoiding the kind of criticism that Fox News hosts and congressional Republicans lobbed at Mueller's team. And second, it's the longest Russia probe by far; Chairman Richard Burr and Vice Chairman Mark Warner announced its inception before Trump was even inaugurated. And months after the closure of Mueller's probe, it's still underway. Team Trump Had Many Ties to Israeli Intel Firm in Mueller's CrosshairsThe probe is bipartisan, and free from the public internecine sniping that plagued the House Intelligence Committee's Russia investigation. A rare moment of controversy came in May, when news broke that the committee subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr. to testify. The president responded by complaining about committee leadership, but his son ultimately met with investigators. Warner and Burr split earlier this year on a key issue: their findings. In an interview with CBS in February, Burr said the committee had found no evidence of collusion between Trump World and the Russian government. But Warner disputed Burr's comment. "Respectfully, I disagree," he said, per CNN. The probe's scope does not overlap with Mueller's. As The Daily Beast has reported, it is looking at matters Mueller never scrutinized, including Kremlin-backed efforts to court NRA leadership in the lead-up to the 2016 campaign. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| UPDATE 2-UK lawmakers back plan to hinder a no-deal Brexit push Posted: 09 Jul 2019 11:59 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-UK lawmakers back plan to hinder a no-deal Brexit push]( "UPDATE 2-UK lawmakers back plan to hinder a no-deal Brexit push") British lawmakers on Tuesday narrowly approved a measure that could make it harder for the next prime minister to force through a no-deal Brexit by suspending parliament, although the move stopped short of an outright block. Boris Johnson, the favourite to take over as Conservative party leader and run Britain's departure from the European Union, has argued the country should leave the EU on Oct. 31 even if no formal transition deal has been agreed. This has raised speculation that Johnson could suspend parliament to prevent lawmakers, a majority of whom have expressed their opposition to a no-deal Brexit, from thwarting his "do or die" exit plan.
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| UK lawmakers back plan to hinder a no-deal Brexit push Posted: 09 Jul 2019 11:38 AM PDT ![UK lawmakers back plan to hinder a no-deal Brexit push]( "UK lawmakers back plan to hinder a no-deal Brexit push") British lawmakers approved the first of several measures that could make it more difficult for the next prime minister to force through a no-deal Brexit by suspending parliament, although the moves stopped short of an outright block. Lawmakers voted 294 to 293 on Tuesday in favour of a change to legislation passing through parliament which would require the government to make fortnightly reports on progress towards re-establishing Northern Ireland's collapsed executive.
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| Israeli minister likens Jewish intermarriage to 'Holocaust' Posted: 09 Jul 2019 11:36 AM PDT ![Israeli minister likens Jewish intermarriage to 'Holocaust']( "Israeli minister likens Jewish intermarriage to 'Holocaust'") Israel's new education minister has likened intermarriage among North American Jews to the Holocaust in a recent Cabinet meeting. A spokesman for Education Minister Rafi Peretz confirmed Tuesday that Peretz said that "assimilation is like the Holocaust" in a July 1 session. Peretz is leader of a religious nationalist political party and former chief rabbi of the Israeli military.
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| Report: Kurdish militants kill 3 elite Iran Guard members Posted: 09 Jul 2019 11:27 AM PDT ![Report: Kurdish militants kill 3 elite Iran Guard members]( "Report: Kurdish militants kill 3 elite Iran Guard members") Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency is reporting that Kurdish militants have killed three members of the elite Revolutionary Guard in the country's northwest. The Tuesday report said armed members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party also wounded a Guard member after they opened fire on a Guard vehicle in an ambush in a village near the Iran-Iraq border town of Piranshahr, some 700 kilometers (450 miles) west of the capital Tehran. The area has seen occasional fighting between Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists as well as militants linked to the extremist Islamic State group.
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| Caught between US and Iran, Europe struggles with diplomacy Posted: 09 Jul 2019 10:30 AM PDT  "Iran has stated that it wants to remain within the JCPOA," the countries said in a statement. Europe is under pressure from the U.S. to abandon the accord entirely, as Washington did unilaterally last year, and it also is being squeezed by Iran to offset the ever-crippling effects of American economic sanctions. "For the Europeans, it's going to be difficult not to lose credibility in their position with Iran and also with Washington, by not being too soft, but at the same time acknowledging that there is some truth to what Iran is saying," said Adnan Tabatabai, a political scientist with the Bonn-based CARPO think tank on Middle Eastern affairs.
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| Trump news: President speaks out about Jeffrey Epstein relationship, after lashing out at 'very stupid' UK ambassador Posted: 09 Jul 2019 10:26 AM PDT  Donald Trump's Russian-born business associate Felix Sater testified before the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, as the president resumed his row with UK ambassador to the US Sir Kim Darroch, and lashed out at the "mess" Theresa May has made of Brexit. In one of his latest angry Twitter diatribe, the president called Sir Kim "wacky", "a very stupid guy" and "a pompous fool" before laying into Ms May for going "her own foolish way" and ignoring his advice on Britain's departure from the EU. "A disaster!" he concluded.A meeting between his Commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, and Liam Fox was later cancelled. It was not immediately clear why, but officials told The Independent that the Brexit-related deal was being rescheduled.Mr Trump talked up his environmental credentials at the White House on Monday night, during which he was brutally fact-checked by Fox News (and others), before sitting down to dinner with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who was caught up in a prostitution scandal earlier this year, just days after his former friend Jeffrey Epstein was arrested and accused of sex crimes involving underage girls.The US president later said that he and Mr Epstein had a falling out roughly 15 years ago. Mr Epstein is known for having a close relationship with Bill Clinton as well, and managed to get a favourable plea deal on previous charges in Florida, when he was being accused by Alexander Acosta. Mr Acosta is now the secretary of Labour.Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
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| Ross Perot Was a Billionaire Who Cared About the Little Guy—No, Really Posted: 09 Jul 2019 10:09 AM PDT  MPI/GettyTexas multi-billionaire H. Ross Perot, who died June 9 at the age of 89 after a five-month battle with leukemia, catapulted into national consciousness during the 1992 presidential campaign. That was the year he ran as an independent in a race that ultimately pitted him against Republican George H.W. Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton. His campaigns, first that year as an independent and then as a Reform Party candidate in 1996, were the most successful bids for the presidency by a third-party candidate in United States history. Some argued that it was his success—he won 19 percent of the vote in 1992—that caused the political apparatus of the United States to change the rules (or rig the system, depending on your point of view) to make third-party candidacies far less threatening to the two-party system.I first heard of Ross Perot when I was a 13-year-old girl living in a small Texas town outside of Ft. Hood, where my Army dad was stationed after we'd left Germany, never thinking that our lives would intersect in any conceivable way. The year was 1984, and I was in the flag corps of my school's marching band. Our band played the half-time shows at the Friday night football games. And if you know anything about Texas, you know that football is king.Ross Perot had become a specter over those Friday nights. Though he was a business magnate, having worked as a salesperson for IBM before founding Electronic Data Systems, then Perot Systems, he was also a man who wanted to take a hand and have a say in current events. He had been involved in attempting to free U.S. prisoners that he believed had been left behind in Vietnam. He tried to help free American hostages in Iran. And he had become a strong influence in Texas politics and lawmaking.In 1984, Democratic Governor Mark White appointed Perot to head an education panel. Perot learned that rural students were missing nearly 30 days of education instruction to participate in Future Farmers of America shows of livestock, like chickens. Many were subsequently failing their courses. Perot became notorious for his dramatic arguments that kids who didn't pass their academic coursework couldn't compete in extracurricular activities like livestock competitions or school-sponsored sports. He gave fiery speeches on the topic while carrying a rubber chicken, to prove his point of course.Texas football coaches and other school officials charged with educating young people had become notorious for passing along students who couldn't even read or write, if they were great players on the field. Perot and other legislators believed that No Pass No Play was in students' best interests. By the time I'd begun 7th grade, Ross Perot was a name already known to us in middle school as the patriarch of No Pass No Play, which meant simply that if a football player didn't pass his classes, he was ineligible to play that Friday night. Perot had said that for minority students in particular, social promotion was "the cruelest trick. We institutionalize economic segregation for life."The iconoclastic, opinionated, and influential Perot had messed with Texas football. Yet, it seemed his efforts really were an attempt to support those who were disenfranchised.No Pass No Play became the law of the land in Texas. But like a lot of well-intentioned policies, it had unintended consequences. In fact, it affected me in my sophomore year, despite the fact that I was not an athlete of any sort.In 1986, my Dad had retired from the military and we moved to Houston. Texas was in the midst of an oil-crisis-induced recession, and it was an awful time for my Dad to retire to take a job at Exxon in Houston, a job that disappeared once we moved there. We subsequently lost our house and had to live with family. The pain and anguish, as well as the culture shock of leaving the small town we'd come to love, affected every aspect of our lives. I'd begun to fail for the first time in school. In fact, I failed my favorite class, English, with a 69.Although I'd made it from district to regional competition in the University Interscholastic League Ready Writing contest—the only underclassman and the only African American in the district to do so—No Pass No Play meant that I was now ineligible to compete. Writing had been my refuge during an extremely difficult time in the life of my family. The irony of not being able to compete in a writing competition because of failing English was lost on no one. That my failure had more to do with the context of my life at the time than my inability or unwillingness to do my homework was.H. Ross Perot had messed with my life.But I'd go on to major in English anyway, and I was 21, in my third year of college, when I began to hear the name H. Ross Perot again, in 1992. This time, he was bringing his maverick voice to bear on national issues. The biggest one he's remembered for is his perhaps prescient opposition to NAFTA. Perot's argument in the 1992 televised debate was, "We have got to stop sending jobs overseas. It's pretty simple: If you're paying $12, $13, $14 an hour for factory workers and you can move your factory south of the border, pay a dollar an hour for labor... have no health care—that's the most expensive single element in making a car—have no environmental controls, no pollution controls, and no retirement, and you don't care about anything but making money, there will be a giant sucking sound going south." In the end, Perot was less concerned about corporations making money in the short term, and more concerned about a sustainable economy, one in which the little guy could still count on well-paying jobs.It was not unlike his crusade for disenfranchised Texas students. Or his support of tax breaks for smaller business owners, rather than large corporations. Or his support of Planned Parenthood because of their health services for poor women. Or his support of LGBTQ rights.Perot's failure to capture enough votes to win the presidency notwithstanding, he made an indelible impression on the American public.Then In 1996, this young woman, who failed high school English and was thwarted from her goal of competing in a regional writing competition by policies supported by H. Ross Perot, parlayed her English degree into her first job: as a technical writer at the Fortune 500 Company Perot Systems. It was a good company to work for, but it didn't take me very long to recognize that learning tech speak and writing administrator guides for high-tech software was not for me. So, I left to go back to school to get my master's degree. To finance it, I took a well-paying proofreading job at Perot's first Fortune 500 company, EDS.H. Ross Perot had messed with my life yet again.As I reflect on the life and times of H. Ross Perot and the pivotal moments his life intersected with mine, I'm reminded of how he insisted that fresh creamer be stocked in Perot Systems' workers' lounges, instead of the packets of non-dairy creamer that were cheaper and easier to provide. In spite of popular opinion, Perot believed non-dairy creamer to be unsafe for consumption. His insistence on providing the good stuff for those who worked for him was another example of his many attempts to look out for the little guy.It's a perspective rare among America's billionaires these days.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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| A Korean Peace Treaty Would Create a Constitutional Crisis Posted: 09 Jul 2019 10:00 AM PDT  Women Cross DMZ Executive Director Christine Ahn recently argued that the rapprochement between President Donald Trump and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un merited concluding the Korean War of the 1950s. That conflict was ended by an armistice, not a peace treaty. Legally, a state of war still exists.It is an intriguing idea and one seemingly self-apparent. The two Koreas have not fought a major armed conflict since the war ended in 1953. Conventional deterrence on the peninsula has stable for decades. And nuclear deterrence, a new state between the United States and the North, is likely to be stable as well. Adapting to a nuclear North Korea is not a bad option among all the poor options for responding to Northern nuclearization and certainly superior to strikes, which could lead to a major war. Unfortunately, there are two significant hurdles that have made it difficult for the Koreas to agree on a peace treaty.First, strategically, the biggest problem is the continuing military standoff along the military demarcation line. North Korea continues to station about one million soldiers near Seoul. Treaty advocates argue that a termination of the war would allow the North to retrench, but without previous retrenchment, it is hard to imagine the South Korean and U.S. militaries—and national security communities—supporting a treaty. There is a thorny, chicken-or-the-egg problem of sequencing here.
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| Russia's Putin says wind power harmful to birds and worms Posted: 09 Jul 2019 09:48 AM PDT ![Russia's Putin says wind power harmful to birds and worms]( "Russia's Putin says wind power harmful to birds and worms") Russian President Vladimir Putin questioned on Tuesday the use of wind power, saying wind turbines were harmful to birds and worms. Russia, a world-leading producer of fossil fuel, is lagging other countries in its development of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind-powered energy. Wind power is rarely used in the country to generate electricity.
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| Yemen's rebels sentence 30 to death on espionage charges Posted: 09 Jul 2019 09:37 AM PDT ![Yemen's rebels sentence 30 to death on espionage charges]( "Yemen's rebels sentence 30 to death on espionage charges") A Yemeni lawyer says a rebel-controlled court has sentenced 30 people to death on charges they committed espionage for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels. Abdel-Majeed Sabra says the criminal court in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday acquitted six others in the case, which dates back to 2016. The verdicts against the 30, mainly academics, professionals and students from the Muslim Brotherhood group in Yemen, the Islah party, can be appealed.
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| US puts Hezbollah lawmakers on sanctions blacklist for first time Posted: 09 Jul 2019 09:25 AM PDT The US Treasury placed two Hezbollah members of Lebanon's parliament on its sanctions blacklist on Tuesday -- the first time Washington has taken aim at the Iran-allied group's elected politicians. The Treasury named MPs Amin Sherri and Muhammad Hasan Raad to a terror-related blacklist, saying that Hezbollah uses its parliamentary power to advance its alleged violent activities. Also placed on the blacklist was Wafiq Safa, a top Hezbollah official close to Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.
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| The Latest: French FM says US can ease tensions with Iran Posted: 09 Jul 2019 09:23 AM PDT ![The Latest: French FM says US can ease tensions with Iran]( "The Latest: French FM says US can ease tensions with Iran") French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says the U.S. can help encourage dialogue with Iran to ease growing tensions even though it withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran. Speaking to the French Senate, Le Drian said that Iran's decision to surpass two accord threshholds, for stockpiling weakly enriched uranium and enriching uranium beyond the 3.67% limit, amounts to "a bad reaction to a bad decision," a reference to the U.S. withdrawal. France wants to create a "space for dialogue" to de-escalate a potentially dangerous situation, he said, and President Emmanuel Macron spoke both to the Iranian leader and President Donald Trump for that reason.
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| UN envoy arrives in Syria amid violent clashes in the north Posted: 09 Jul 2019 09:11 AM PDT  Geir Pedersen spoke with reporters in the Syrian capital Damascus shortly after arriving from neighboring Beirut. "I'm looking forward to have what I believe are constructive discussions on how to move the political process forward," Pedersen said, adding he would also discuss ways to end the fighting in northwestern Idlib province.
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| Cruel Britannia: The Row Between Trump and the Ambassador Posted: 09 Jul 2019 08:45 AM PDT  President Donald Trump announced in a Monday afternoon Twitter salvo on that he would "no longer deal with" British ambassador Kim Darroch, who had criticized the president as "uniquely dysfunctional" in recently leaked comments from 2017. British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt responded that Trump's comments were "disrespectful and wrong." He added that if he becomes prime minister, then "our ambassador stays." With his comments, Hunt waded into the mounting controversy over Darroch's remarks. But at a moment when Britain is flailing in its attempt to reach a sucesssful Brexit, the pound continues to sink, and a leadership crisis has engulfed the Tory party, the dispute with Trump comes at a particularly awkward moment for the United Kingdom. It would appear to confirm rather than ease apprehensions about Whitehall's ability to conduct diplomacy successfully. Perhaps Boris Johnson, who is the leading candidate to become prime minister, can restore the special relationship and strike a trade deal with Trump. But for now, relations look like they will be rockier than ever.Darroch had questioned the U.S. president's mental capabilities in a secret June 2017 cable to British national security advisor Mark Sedwill, calling Trump "clumsy and inept" and warning that the Trump administration could "end in disgrace." Likening the president to Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in The Terminator, the ambassador claimed that Trump could "emerge from the flames, battered but intact," but also warned that the United States may "do some profoundly damaging things to the world trade system" or engage in an ill-advised military intervention.
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| Australian student released by N. Korea denies being a spy Posted: 09 Jul 2019 08:29 AM PDT ![Australian student released by N. Korea denies being a spy]( "Australian student released by N. Korea denies being a spy") An Australian student who was held in North Korea for a week and then deported denied being a spy on Tuesday and expressed sorrow that he won't be able to return to finish his graduate studies at Kim Il Sung University. North Korea said on Saturday that it detained Alek Sigley because he had spread anti-state propaganda and engaged in spying by providing photos and other materials to news organizations with critical views toward the North. It said it deported Sigley last Thursday after he pleaded for forgiveness for his activities.
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| Dubai's best luxury hotels for a 'seven-star' stay, from beach butlers to lavish designer spas Posted: 09 Jul 2019 08:15 AM PDT  Sail-shaped landmark Burl Al Arab was dubbed the world's first seven-star property. With so many contenders in Dubai's luxury market, those able to rise to the top set global benchmarks in hospitality. Helipads and grand tourer transfers aren't enough to stand out – the little details decide things. Cashmere blankets at Bulgari Dubai and Natura Bissé bath products at Mandarin Oriental Jumeira are just some the assets that furnish the rooms that so many wish they could call home. Burj Al Arab Jumeirah Dubai, United Arab Emirates 9Telegraph expert rating Regularly touted as the world's most luxurious hotel – it's Dubai's only seven-star property – with an eye-catching aesthetic and fleet of Rolls-Royce Phantoms, Burj Al Arab has always delivered on decadence. Seamlessly stretching more than 300ft out into the sea, the sleek outdoor terrace features two pools – including a saltwater one that seems to melt into the horizon – flanked by 32 butler-serviced cabanas and 120 luxurious day sunbeds. The hotel's interiors, meanwhile, scream opulence with a soaring atrium flanked by golden columns, vibrant colours, lashings of gold leaf and more than 30 different types of marble. Read expert review From £706 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com • An insider guide to Dubai The Bulgari Resort & Residences Dubai Dubai, United Arab Emirates 9Telegraph expert rating Inspired by an upscale Mediterranean village, this private island retreat just off the Dubai coast is the work of renowned Milan-based architectural firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and has been created with the same level of craftsmanship and precision as a Bulgari jewellery piece. Rare raw materials like green onyx from Iran and Mongolian black granite are complemented by displays of heritage Bulgari pieces. Facilities include a serene outdoor pool, beach club with Burj Khalifa views, and a sumptuous spa. A highlight is the is the sleek Il Ristorante by three Michelin-starred chef Niko Romito overlooking the glittering marina. Read expert review From £262 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com • The best spa hotels in Dubai Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai Dubai, United Arab Emirates 9Telegraph expert rating Mandarin Oriental has outdone itself with its first foray into the UAE, with five stunning pools, a private beach, deluxe spa and impeccable service throughout the hotel. The fitness centre offers beach-based classes and the region's first Outrace frame. Rooms come with marble bathrooms, rain showers, bronze lampstands and sumptuous orange or teal upholstery popping against a pearl-hued backdrop. Most of them have balconies or terraces, aimed at either the Arabian Gulf or Dubai's city skyline. Don't miss acclaimed chef Jose Avillez's menus at Tasca which feature dishes from his Michelin-starred Portuguese restaurants. Read expert review From £176 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com • The best restaurants in Dubai Jumeirah Al Naseem Dubai, United Arab Emirates 9Telegraph expert rating This fashionable resort offers a fresh interpretation of Arabian style in a luxurious palette of cream and gold, with pale drapes ruffling in the breeze of colonial-style wooden fans and giant potted palms flourishing in corners. Glass walls present a picture-perfect view of Burj Al Arab, and the low-rise resort unfolds beneath it, dotted with azure pools, turquoise parasols and landscaping by Bill Bensley. On arrival, staff present guests with rolls of frosty jasmine-infused flannels and iced tea. A wide range of pools include one concealed within an Ibiza-worthy Summersalt Beach Club. Most impressively, Jumeirah Al Naseem has its own turtle rehabilitation lagoon. Read expert review From £245 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com • The best family-friendly hotels in Dubai Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach Dubai, United Arab Emirates 9Telegraph expert rating If first impressions are everything then the bright lobby at this elegant beachfront hotel – filled with freshly cut flowers in Murano crystal vases and a giant two-floor picture window framing views across the manicured lawns to the ocean – certainly leaves a lasting one. The property melds classic Four Seasons style with opulent Middle Eastern touches like gold-leaf ceilings, shimmering mosaics and marble floors. Stylish beach and pool attendants waft by hourly with complimentary refreshments like blueberry muffins, melon bowls and citrus shooters – unless you have pressed the 'do not disturb' button by your sun lounger. Read expert review From £169 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com • Where to go shopping in Dubai Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah Dubai, United Arab Emirates 9Telegraph expert rating Helicopter tours from the hotel's helipad and water bed recliners in the spa hint at the opulence in this palatial pile, which proudly faces the sail-shaped silhouette of Burj Al Arab across the Arabian Gulf. A clock tower in the reception area adds old-world charm to a glossy grey marble atrium, and Peacock Alley is a catwalk of afternoon teas with a pianist setting the tone. The facilities are beyond expectation with a tennis court, a water sports centre, three temperature-controlled pools and a spa par excellence. All rooms have balconies and almost all have sea views. Bathrooms come with twin sinks and sublime Salvatore Ferragamo toiletries. Read expert review From £117 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com • The best Dubai beach hotels Taj Dubai Dubai, United Arab Emirates 9Telegraph expert rating It may be in the business district, but this bastion of modern luxury is all about pleasure. Little touches reinforce that sense of being looked after; leg cushions to elevate the knees for added comfort on four-poster cabanas are a prime example. Indoors, there's a designer gym and Jiva Spa offering authentic Ayurvedic therapies. More than 3,000 Indian sculptures and artworks adorn rooms, restaurants and public spaces in this glossy skyscraper. Other than the magnificent Maharaja Suite, Taj Dubai's rooms are without balconies but Downtown views and elegant décor with Indian accents compensate for the absence of private outdoor space. Read expert review From £80 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com • The best things to do in Dubai Palazzo Versace Dubai Dubai, United Arab Emirates 8Telegraph expert rating In Dubai, where too much is never enough, this sprawling, blingy, behemoth is gloriously OTT, but top-notch dining and first-rate staff manage to make the whole experience enjoyable. If you're a fan of the "Medusa Madness" style of Versace Home Collection you'll be in absolute heaven as you revel in your inner Donatella. If not, you might think you've ended up in a posh south Florida condo complex, circa 1987. There's a large infinity "lagoon" pool that looks out over the Creek and a Versace spa, plus good fine dining options including Enigma which hosts rolling three-month stays for visiting Michelin-starred chefs. Read expert review From £142 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com • The world's most expensive hotel suites Four Seasons Hotel Dubai International Finance Centre Dubai, United Arab Emirates 9Telegraph expert rating Far smaller than the region's standard five-star hotel receptions, this 106-key conversion is almost 'boutique' – a rarity in Dubai. Every inch is suitably polished and gilded, and crowd-pulling restaurants and bars have dazzling Dubai skyline views. There's a glass-sided rooftop pool that garners a lot of likes on Instagram and the spa offers world-class products and treatments: Neom's warm wax candle massages are superb and the Platinum Hydrafacial rehydrates airplane-dried complexions in 60 minutes. Some therapies can also be enjoyed alongside the rooftop pool. Read expert review From £149 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com • An insider guide to Dubai Armani Hotel Dubai Dubai, United Arab Emirates 9Telegraph expert rating The design is so cohesively Armani, it's easy to picture yourself at one of Giorgio's stylish house parties – and that's the intention. Sculptural flower arrangements inject rare shocks of colour in an otherwise uniformly sable and taupe palette, and with muted lighting it's easy to get lost in the almost identical maze-like corridors. Armani/Spa, on the third floor, offers elegant domed treatment suites and thermal therapies in the form of a dry-heat laconium, steam room and sauna. Out on the terrace, there's a pool, bar and sun loungers. Charming Lifestyle Managers take the role of both butler and concierge, and can arrange everything from delivery of irons to massage appointments. Read expert review From £209 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com Contributions by Lara Brunt, Sarah Hedley Hymers, Will Hide and Jenny Johnson
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| Erdogan attends Srebrenica victims commemoration in Bosnia Posted: 09 Jul 2019 08:11 AM PDT  SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Thousands of people, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, attended a commemoration ceremony in Sarajevo on Tuesday before the 24th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, the worst mass killing in Europe since World War II. The ceremony in front of the Bosnian presidency building in the capital honored 33 newly identified victims of the July 11-22, 1995 massacre whose remains will be buried at a memorial site near Srebrenica at a formal ceremony on Thursday. More than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed in and around the U.N.-protected enclave by Bosnian Serb troops during the civil war in July 1995.
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| CORRECTED-WRAPUP 1-Europeans call for urgent meeting of Iran nuclear deal parties Posted: 09 Jul 2019 08:11 AM PDT ![CORRECTED-WRAPUP 1-Europeans call for urgent meeting of Iran nuclear deal parties]( "CORRECTED-WRAPUP 1-Europeans call for urgent meeting of Iran nuclear deal parties") European powers accused Iran on Tuesday of "pursuing activities inconsistent with its commitments" under a 2015 nuclear deal and called for an urgent meeting of the parties to the agreement to discuss Tehran's compliance. Britain, Germany, France, Russia, China and Iran are the remaining parties to the deal - known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) - which was abandoned by the United States last year.
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| Trump's spat with the UK reveals the bottomless depths of his insecurities Posted: 09 Jul 2019 08:06 AM PDT  The leaking of Ambassador Darroch's emails are embarrassing. But not nearly as embarrassing as president who can't distinguish his friends from his foes'This isn't exactly what the British like to call the special relationship between the two old allies.' Photograph: Alex Brandon/APInept and dysfunctional are two of the more diplomatic words you could choose to describe the Trump administration.Colossally moronic and self-defeating might be more accurate, but would surely count as a tad unvarnished.So it is more than a little ironic that the British ambassador to Planet Trump should have turned into the diplomatic equivalent of the walking dead for saying what the entire world (outside the Oval Office) knows to be true about the 45th president of the United States.If there were lifetime Oscars for stating the blindingly obvious, Sir Kim Darroch would surely need to prepare his acceptance speech for reporting that Donald Trump was "radiating insecurity."Trump radiates insecurity much like the Chernobyl reactor scatters gamma rays: obviously and without regard to anyone's safety.If there were any dispute about Darroch's statements of fact, Trump himself – God bless his colossally moronic and self-defeating nature – confirmed them with a couple of tweets.Yes, tweets: that most statesmanlike forum in which to rebuke the rowdy rabble of rejects, losers and lowly ambassadors."I do not know the Ambassador but he is not liked or well thought of in the US," tweeted the commander-in-chief. "We will no longer deal with him."Admit it: you don't even notice this mindless stream of consciousness any more. It's like the sight of a garbage truck crushing a street's worth of kitchen waste. You have chosen to avert your gaze.For good measure, and to complete the historical record, Trump explained his Cyrano de Bergerac-style insults with some context about British leadership."I have been very critical about the way the UK and Prime Minister Theresa May handled Brexit," the presidential thumbs typed for our pleasure. "What a mess she and her representatives have created. I told her how it should be done, but she decided to go another way."Sorry to break this to you, Mr President, but you're not the only one to be struck with this precious insight. There are pub bores in Birmingham that could have told you this some time ago."While I thoroughly enjoyed the magnificent State Visit last month," Trump concluded, "it was the Queen who I was most impressed with!"You and the rest of Britain. From the surviving Sex Pistols to the intellectuals who want to end the monarchy. It's a low bar right now, but they're hoping it's temporary.In the real world that exists beyond the sofas on the set of Fox and Friends, the British ambassador is nothing if not a world-class diplomat.For years Darroch has blended into the background with a blandness as forgettable as Theresa May's keynote speeches. Until the last few days, he left no footprint visible to future historians.He entertained a scrupulously bipartisan crowd on mind-numbingly frequent occasions, just like all his predecessors. He organized a state visit that was most memorable for the set of ill-fitting tails Trump obviously snatched from the nearest thrift store.If he was not liked or well thought of, it is a mystery why Trump's own staffers enjoyed all the free drinks and food offered at Darroch's residence for the last couple of years.Of course the leaking of Darroch's emails are embarrassing. But not nearly as embarrassing as president who can't distinguish his friends from his foes.Is there a loyal American ally left in the world who has been treated with as much love and affection as the Stalinist tyrant of North Korea? And no, the bone saw-wielding Saudis don't count.Even in normal times, diplomacy is surely one of the least diplomatic jobs in the world. Behind a veneer of insincerity lie the cold realities of powerful countries abusing their inferiors – or worse, ignoring them altogether. It doesn't have to be this way, but it mostly is.In the old days, the diplomats themselves could compensate for all the simmering resentment and ritual abuse by sharing precious intelligence with the bosses back home. But that was before the bosses could read The New York Times online or read all the tweets from an unhinged foreign leader.Back in the days of the bromance between Bush and Blair, London's instructions to its Washington ambassador could not have been more clear. "We want you to get up the arse of the White House and stay there," said the prime minister's chief of staff.This isn't exactly what the British like to call the special relationship between the two old allies. It's not what most people would consider much of a relationship at all.But it has been the reality of the transatlantic alliance since World War Two. The Brits used to balance this sycophancy with some pro-European blather and a bloody-minded sense of cultural superiority.At least that's the basis for the only half-stirring moment of joy in the otherwise abominable Love Actually: that cathartic point when a British prime minister tells an American president to get his dirty hands off his love interest, actually. It's all so very Rule Britannia.Back in the fantasy world that is Trump's so-called diplomacy, the Brits are now faced with two miserable options, much like its choices of how to leave the EU.Either London admits its impotence and forces Darroch out of his job early. Or it leaves him in place with a president who treats him like he ought to treat a bone saw-wielding Saudi or an email-hacking Russian.Naturally Trump has already chosen Darroch's successor, as well as May's for that matter. He long ago suggested Nigel Farage should be his British ambassador to himself, and Boris Johnson to be his Churchill.If that doesn't work out, he can always carve up Europe, Yalta-style, with his best friend in Moscow. That should teach the unpopular ambassador a thing or two about diplomacy. * Richard Wolffe is a Guardian US columnist
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| Texan billionaire Ross Perot, who took two runs at US presidency, dies at 89 Posted: 09 Jul 2019 08:03 AM PDT  H Ross Perot, the feisty Texas technology billionaire who rattled US politics with two independent presidential campaigns in the 1990s that struck a chord with disgruntled voters, died on Tuesday at the age of 89, his family said. "Ross Perot, the ground-breaking businessman and loving husband, brother, father and grandfather, passed away early Tuesday at his home in Dallas, surrounded by his devoted family," the Perot family said in a statement. Perot's fortune was estimated at $4.1 billion by Forbes magazine in April 2019. Perot was a natural salesman who made a fortune in computer services but he was an unlikely and unconventional politician. He was short with buzz-top haircut, spoke with a folksy Texas drawl and had protruding ears that even he joked about. He was blunt and assertive and his success in business made him accustomed to getting his way. Perot was so gung-ho that when two of his employees were jailed in Iran in 1978, he organized a team of commandos from his employees and hired a former Green Beret colonel to break them out. Perot leaped into the 1992 presidential race as an independent and quickly found a lode of Americans turned off by the Republican and Democratic parties. His overarching issue was curbing the government's deficit spending - an issue he referred to as the "crazy aunt in the basement" who no one wanted to talk about. His outsider campaign, much of it financed by his own money, featured 30-minute television "infomercials." With his charts, self-deprecating humor and down-home economic remedies, Perot led a Gallup Poll five months before the election with 39 percent, compared to 31 percent for incumbent Republican George HW Bush and 25 percent for Democrat Bill Clinton. Perot's shockingly strong performance as a third-party candidate in the 1992 presidential race helped seal Democrat Bill Clinton's victory over incumbent George HW Bush Credit: HENNY RAY ABRAMS / AFP A month later, however, Perot stunned the political world by withdrawing from the race. He re-entered several weeks later saying he had dropped out because Republican tricksters had been plotting to disrupt his daughter's wedding. Perot finished with a respectable 19 percent of the vote in the presidential election, trailing Clinton's 43 percent and Bush's 37.5 percent. Perot stayed active in politics by speaking out against the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying it would create a "giant sucking sound" of American jobs going to Mexico. For his 1996 White House run, Perot started the Reform Party but captured little more than 8 percent of the popular vote, as well as causing a rift in the political movement he founded. Many voters said they had come to perceive Perot as overbearing, volatile, paranoid and egotistical - even if they had liked his ideas. By 2000, Perot had mostly faded from the national political radar. Henry Ross Perot was born on June 27, 1930, in Texarkana, Texas, and raised in the height of the Depression. He graduated in 1953 from the US Naval Academy, where he first learned about computers. After his naval service, Perot joined IBM as a computer salesman in 1957 and quickly made a reputation for himself. In 1962 he met his yearly sales quota by Jan. 19. Disenchanted that his bosses did not like his ideas, Perot started his own company, Electronic Data Systems Inc in Dallas, a move that would make him a billionaire by age 38 by handling data processing for customers such as the Medicare system, NASA and other government entities.
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| Ex-SR-71 Blackbird Crew Members Break the Silence on Some of Their Craziest Experiences Posted: 09 Jul 2019 08:00 AM PDT  Russian and Chinese trawlers patrolled the seas near the base at Okinawa and carefully monitored all U.S. flights. Because of the nature of this particular mission, it was decided that the flight occur with a higher than normal load of 65,000 pounds of fuel, and under radio silence.The following stories appear in John Altson book The Black Line.Four Concurrent Emergencies on LandingBecause SR-71 air refueling was both difficult and dangerous, Blackbird pilot Lieutenant Colonel Bredette (BC) Thomas welcomed an assignment that did not require refueling. It should have been easy – A 45-minute flight over North Korea then back to Okinawa. It was his first tour in Okinawa and he had been an SR-71 pilot for about one year.
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| Israeli city names downtown roundabout after Trump Posted: 09 Jul 2019 07:31 AM PDT ![Israeli city names downtown roundabout after Trump]( "Israeli city names downtown roundabout after Trump") An Israeli city has named a traffic circle after President Donald Trump, just weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government renamed a Golan Heights settlement after the president. Rami Greenberg, mayor of Petah Tikva, a city 6 miles (10 kilometers) east of Tel Aviv, said Tuesday the naming aims to show "gratitude to President Donald Trump, the U.S. president who was the biggest fan of the state of Israel," for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017 and the occupied Golan Heights as Israel's earlier this year.
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| Putin opposes sanctions against Georgia Posted: 09 Jul 2019 07:25 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday he was against imposing sanctions on Georgia after MPs backed economic measures in Russia's latest row with the neighbouring Caucasus country. "With regard to sanctions against Georgia, I would not do this out of respect for the Georgian people," Putin told journalists in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. Earlier Tuesday Russian lawmakers adopted a resolution in favour of introducing economic sanctions against Georgia, as tensions between Moscow and Tbilisi rise.
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| Netanyahu warns Israel's jets 'can reach' Iran Posted: 09 Jul 2019 07:22 AM PDT  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tuesday that Israel's fighter jets "can reach anywhere in the Middle East, including Iran," in his latest comments directed at his country's arch-foe. While visiting an air force base where he inspected F-35 jets made by US firm Lockheed Martin, Netanyahu issued a video with one of the planes behind him. "Recently, Iran has been threatening the destruction of Israel," he said at the Nevatim air base in southern Israel.
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| Macron seeks lead EU role in Iran crisis Posted: 09 Jul 2019 07:17 AM PDT  French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to lead European diplomatic efforts to find a face-saving solution to the latest crisis between Tehran and Washington, with the EU looking to buy time and soothe tensions, diplomats and experts say. Macron dispatched an envoy to Tehran for the second time in a month on Tuesday in another attempt to convince the Iranian government to come back into compliance with a landmark 2015 deal limiting its nuclear programme. After President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the United States out of the deal in May 2018, Iran has begun enriching uranium to higher levels, leading to fears the faltering accord could be doomed.
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| UN says death toll from Libya fighting passes 1,000 Posted: 09 Jul 2019 07:16 AM PDT ![UN says death toll from Libya fighting passes 1,000]( "UN says death toll from Libya fighting passes 1,000") The battle between rival militias for the Libyan capital has killed more than 1,000 people since it began in April, the U.N. said Tuesday, a grim milestone in a stalemated conflict partly fueled by regional powers. Forces loyal to Khalifa Hifter, a veteran army officer, opened an offensive on Tripoli in early April, advancing on the city's southern outskirts and clashing with an array of militias loosely affiliated with the U.N.-recognized government. Hifter's self-styled Libyan National Army is the largest and best organized of the country's many militias, and enjoys the support of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia.
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| REFILE-UPDATE 1-Freed Australian denies North Korean spy charges, says no plans to return Posted: 09 Jul 2019 06:56 AM PDT ![REFILE-UPDATE 1-Freed Australian denies North Korean spy charges, says no plans to return]( "REFILE-UPDATE 1-Freed Australian denies North Korean spy charges, says no plans to return") The Australian student released last week after being detained in North Korea said on Tuesday Pyongyang's accusation that he was a spy was "pretty obviously" false, but that his work in the country was probably over. Alek Sigley, 29, who was studying in the North Korean capital, had been missing since June 25 before he was abruptly expelled from the country on July 4 after Swedish officials helped broker his release. North Korean state media later issued a statement saying Sigley had admitted to committing "spying acts" by working with foreign media, including NK News, a website that specializes in North Korea.
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| Chemical weapons watchdog members voice concerns over Syria Posted: 09 Jul 2019 06:42 AM PDT  Member states of the global chemical weapons watchdog voiced concern Tuesday that Syria may still possess such weapons after inspectors discovered traces of what could be a byproduct of a nerve agent or poison gas at a Syrian research facility. In a report submitted to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons' Executive Council, the organization's director-general said the traces were found late last year at Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Centre in Barzah.
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| UPDATE 1-BMW has moved some engine output from UK due to Brexit Posted: 09 Jul 2019 06:16 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-BMW has moved some engine output from UK due to Brexit]( "UPDATE 1-BMW has moved some engine output from UK due to Brexit") BMW has moved some engine output from Britain due to Brexit, its production chief said on Tuesday, in a further sign of the decisions firms are having to take to handle uncertainty over the UK's exit from the European Union. Britain is due to leave the bloc on Oct. 31 and Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson, who are both vying to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, have said they are prepared to leave without an agreement, although it is not their preferred option. Free trade agreements also often require a minimum amount of local content at around 55 to 60 percent with British components counted alongside other European Union parts at present.
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| China demands US halt plan to sell £1.8bn of arms to Taiwan Posted: 09 Jul 2019 06:01 AM PDT  China has demanded the US halt its plan to sell $2.2 billion (£1.8bn) in arms to Taiwan, warning the deal could damage US-China relations at a time the two countries are seeking to resolve a longstanding trade dispute. The Chinese foreign ministry on Tuesday expressed "strong dissatisfaction" over US weapons sales to Taiwan, a self-governing democratic island that Beijing has long claimed as its own territory. The planned sale is a "rude interference with Chinese national affairs and a severe infringement on Chinese sovereignty," said foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang. The US State Department earlier this week approved the sale of 108 Abrams tanks and 250 Stinger surface-to-air missiles, despite the often stated objections of China. Included in the package are also mounted machine guns, ammunition, Hercules armoured vehicles and heavy equipment transporters. US lawmakers were notified of the possible sale on Monday, and could still vote to block it. The tanks would significantly upgrade Taiwan's aging fleet and help the island "meet current and future regional threats," said the State Department. The purchases would come at a time when China has used more bellicose rhetoric to describe its interest in taking over Taiwan. In January, Chinese president Xi Jinping said that Beijing would not rule out the use of military force to ensure the "unshakable historic task" of the complete reunification of Taiwan with the mainland. China has also sought to isolate Taiwan by pressuring the few nations – mostly island states in the Pacific – that still recognise Taipei to break off their diplomatic ties and instead accept that the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing is the rightful government. Taiwan, an island of 23.5 million people, broke away from China in 1949, and has no formal diplomatic relations with the US, though Washington is bound by law to help provide the island with necessary defence capabilities. The US remains Taiwan's main arms supplier. In March Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's president, said that Washington had responded favourably to Taipei's request to purchase more weapons from the US. Additional reporting by Yiyin Zhong
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| Australian student released from N.Korea says spy charges 'obviously' false Posted: 09 Jul 2019 05:57 AM PDT ![Australian student released from N.Korea says spy charges 'obviously' false]( "Australian student released from N.Korea says spy charges 'obviously' false") The Australian student released last week after being detained in North Korea said on Tuesday Pyongyang's accusation that he was a spy was "pretty obviously" false. North Korean state media had accused Alek Sigley of espionage and incitement by working with foreign media, including NK News, a website that specializes in North Korea. "The allegation that I am a spy is (pretty obviously) false.
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