| UPDATE 1-Bolton says N.Korea tests didn't violate pledge to Trump, but no word on talks Posted: 31 Jul 2019 05:26 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Bolton says N.Korea tests didn't violate pledge to Trump, but no word on talks]( "UPDATE 1-Bolton says N.Korea tests didn't violate pledge to Trump, but no word on talks") U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday North Korea's recent missile tests did not violate a pledge its leader Kim Jong Un made to President Donald Trump, but Pyongyang had yet to say when working-level talks on denuclearization would resume. North Korea's tests of short-range missiles on Tuesday and last week came despite a meeting between Kim and Trump on June 30 at which they agreed to revive stalled talks. Bolton told Fox Business Network the U.S. side was still waiting to hear from North Korea about arranging the talks.
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| North Korean in custody after crossing heavily fortified border into South Posted: 31 Jul 2019 05:14 PM PDT  A North Korean man has crossed the demilitarised zone into South Korea and was in Seoul's custody early on Thursday. There was no immediate word on the man's identity or the reasons for his apparent defection across the heavily fortified border. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the man was spotted moving towards the South near the Imjin River after crossing the Military Demarcation Line inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) late on Wednesday night. "The military has obtained custody of a person in accordance with procedures," the JCS said in a brief statement. "The unidentified person is a North Korean man and the relevant government agency is questioning him on how he crossed the border and his motives," it added. "No particular North Korean military movement is seen across the border," it continued. FAQ | North Korean defection More than 30,000 North Koreans have escaped from the reclusive state to the South since the two were separated by war more than 65 years ago, according to government data, many of them driven by prolonged economic hardship. Pyongyang is under heavy economic sanctions because of its multiple nuclear tests and missile launches, the latest of which came this week. It denounces defectors – who are an important source for accounts of the regime's brutal treatment of its citizens – as "human scum". Contact between the North and South has been minimal since February, when a second summit between the US and Pyongyang collapsed without an agreement over possible denuclearisation and sanctions relief. South Korea returned three North Koreans on Monday who had crossed the maritime border aboard a fishing vessel. Officials from the South said they thought the fishermen may have wanted to defect but in the end the men chose to return to North Korea. Hundreds of North Koreans make their way to South Korea each year hoping to defect, but unauthorised crossings of the DMZ are rare. The zone is dotted with landmines, fences, guard posts, and other military equipment on both sides of the border. In November 2017, a North Korean soldier was shot multiple times by fellow soldiers as he fled across the border into South Korea, where he was treated by doctors. Another North Korean soldier crossed the border to defect a few weeks later in an incident that led to South Korean guards firing warning shots into North Korea. North and South Korea agreed last year to try to reduce tensions along their border by reducing the number of landmines and guard posts, disarming their guards at a truce village, and imposing a no-fly zone. The border is the Cold War's last frontier, separating the nuclear-armed North from the democratic and economically advanced South.
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| Russian Embassy: Trump offers Putin help in fighting Siberian wildfires Posted: 31 Jul 2019 05:03 PM PDT ![Russian Embassy: Trump offers Putin help in fighting Siberian wildfires]( "Russian Embassy: Trump offers Putin help in fighting Siberian wildfires") The Russian Embassy said Putin was grateful for the offer.
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| US sanctions Iran's foreign minister Posted: 31 Jul 2019 04:52 PM PDT  The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions against Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, effectively slamming the door on the country's top diplomat. The sanctions freeze any of Zarif's assets in the United States or that are controlled by US entities, the government announced, saying it also will curtail his international travel. "Zarif implements the reckless agenda of Iran's Supreme Leader, and is the regime's primary spokesperson around the world.
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| UN experts: Islamic State aims for resurgence in Iraq, Syria Posted: 31 Jul 2019 04:40 PM PDT ![UN experts: Islamic State aims for resurgence in Iraq, Syria]( "UN experts: Islamic State aims for resurgence in Iraq, Syria") Leaders of the Islamic State extremist group are aiming to consolidate and create conditions for an "eventual resurgence in its Iraqi and Syrian heartlands," U.N. experts said in a new report. The panel of experts said in a report to the Security Council this week that the process is more advanced in Iraq, where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and most of the militant group's leadership are now based following the fall of the so-called "caliphate" that he declared in the two neighboring countries. In Syria, where the last IS stronghold was toppled in March, the IS covert network is spreading and sleeper cells are being established at the provincial level, mirroring what has been happening in Iraq since 2017, the report said.
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| Dubai sheikh posts cryptic poem as wife Princess Haya attends court for start of custody battle Posted: 31 Jul 2019 04:10 PM PDT  The ruler of Dubai published an online poem about "shining swords with sharp blades" on the day his estranged wife asked a British judge to make an arranged marriage protection order. The billionaire Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 70, posted a verse online called "Swords of the Excellencies" as Princess Haya attended the High Courts of Justice in London for the start of their bitter legal battle over their two children She was seen in public for the first time on Tuesday after fleeing United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the youngsters earlier this year while apparently "in fear for her life". The vice-president and prime minister of the UAE has applied to the British courts for the "summary return" of his two children from Britain. On Tuesday afternoon - the first day of the preliminary hearing - Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the Family Courts Division, allowed the media to report how the princess was applying for a "forced marriage protection order." The 45-year-old Jordanian princess is also asking seeking a non-molestation order, it emerged. As those details became public triggering headlines around the world, the sheikh, a self-proclaimed poet, posted his latest poem. The verse was uploaded at 4.06pm British time. Princess Haya bint Al-Hussein (R) and her husband Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (L) arrive for the Epsom Derby Credit: Rex The sheikh has earlier published a poem which accused an unnamed woman of "treachery and betrayal". The verse, called 'Live or Die', includes the line: "You no longer have a place with me. I don't care if you live or die." However, in the latest poem released on Tuesday, it has locally been interpreted as an ode to the UAE's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, or MBZ as he is known in the region. "He (his Excellency) has shining swords with sharp blades. In their sheaths, they can cut if drawn," he wrote on his official Instagram page. "For confronting and keeping away the enemies, he has many soldiers. He has protected heroes so that nobody will conspire against them." In Arabic, he appears to be speaking figuratively but it could be viewed as a veiled threat, possibly to regional enemies such as Iran or Qatar, with whom the UAE has had strained relations in recent years. Sheikh Maktoum suggests the UAE has not shown its true power and asks what would happen if this sword were ever to be used. The sheikh, thought to have more than 20 children by six wives, is known regularly to write poetry. Before he and his sixth wife split earlier this year, they were often photographed together with the Queen, a friendship cultivated from their shared passion for horses. The Queen greets Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Credit: AP As the founder of the Godolphin horse racing stable, the Sheikh this year received a trophy from the Queen after one of his horses won a race at Royal Ascot. The break up - likely to result in a £4 billion divorce battle - has become increasingly acrimonious in recent months. It is understood the Princess, the sheikh's youngest wife, flew on a private jet with her children to the UK in April. It is not known why she left, but speculation has focused on how two of the sheikh's children - Princess Shamsa and Princess Latifa - had tried unsuccessfully to flee the emirate. Full details about the orders applied for and the identities of the children discussed in the two-day preliminary hearing, which ended yesterday, cannot be reported for legal reasons. The trial is due to start properly in November.
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| Kelly Craft confirmed as new US envoy to United Nations Posted: 31 Jul 2019 04:03 PM PDT  Kelly Craft won Senate confirmation Wednesday to be the next US ambassador to the United Nations, overcoming Democratic resistance after President Donald Trump tapped her for the high-profile post. Craft has been serving as US ambassador to Canada, where she was involved in negotiations over a revised North American free trade pact. Last month during her confirmation hearings, she pledged to lawmakers that she would recuse herself from climate change talks involving coal at the global body, even as she stood by Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the UN-backed Paris climate accord.
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| North Korea says it tested crucial new rocket launch system Posted: 31 Jul 2019 05:50 PM PDT  North Korea said Thursday leader Kim Jong Un supervised test firings of a new multiple rocket launcher system he sees as soon serving a "main role" in his military's land combat operations. The report by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Thursday disputed the assessment by South Korea's military, which had concluded Wednesday's launches were two short-range ballistic missiles. The launches from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan were North Korea's second weapons test in less than a week and were seen as a move to keep up pressure on Washington and Seoul amid a stalemate in nuclear negotiations.
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| US imposes sanctions on Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif Posted: 31 Jul 2019 03:54 PM PDT  Washington says Zarif was targeted because he is a 'key enabler of Ayatollah Khamenei's policies' Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says US sanctions on him will have 'no effect'. Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Trump administration has imposed sanctions on the Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, striking at the main diplomatic channel between Iran and the West.The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said Zarif had been targeted because he acted on behalf of the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei."Foreign Minister Zarif is a key enabler of Ayatollah Khamenei's policies throughout the region and around the world," Pompeo said in a written statement. "The designation of Javad Zarif today reflects this reality."In a later tweet, Pompeo added: "He's just as complicit in the regime's outlaw behaviour as the rest of [Khamenei's] mafia."Zarif responded quickly on Twitter, shrugging off the significance of the US move."The US' reason for designating me is that I am Iran's 'primary spokesperson around the world' Is the truth really that painful?" he asked. "It has no effect on me or my family, as I have no property or interests outside of Iran. Thank you for considering me such a huge threat to your agenda."The administration had first threatened to sanction Zarif last month, but relented to allow him to visit New York, while strictly limiting his freedom of movement within the city. During his stay in New York, the Iranian foreign minister is reported to have met Senator Rand Paul, who Donald Trump had said was seeking to help negotiations between the two countries.Zarif was the chief Iranian negotiator in the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, from which the US withdrew in May last year. In the face of mounting US efforts to kill the agreement, the Iranian diplomat continued to meet his counterparts from Europe, Russia and China, who have been anxious to keep the deal afloat."The Zarif designation is one of the most ridiculous steps I've seen this administration take. It won't meaningfully affect Zarif's diplomacy, it probably won't result in much in terms of asset freeze or complications for him, and will annoy other world leaders," said Richard Nephew, former principal deputy coordinator for sanctions policy at the state department.
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| US-S. Korea military exercises still on despite North's warnings Posted: 31 Jul 2019 03:47 PM PDT  Joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea will go ahead, a Pentagon official said on Wednesday, after missile tests and calls for the drills' cancellation by North Korea. The affirmation of the annual, joint exercises came amid a series of missile launches by North Korea, one of which it called a "solemn warning to the South Korean warmongers" over the planned military drills.
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| UPDATE 1-No plan to change South Korea-U.S. military exercise, U.S. official says Posted: 31 Jul 2019 03:37 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-No plan to change South Korea-U.S. military exercise, U.S. official says]( "UPDATE 1-No plan to change South Korea-U.S. military exercise, U.S. official says") The United States does not plan to make changes to a military drill with South Korea, a senior U.S. defense official said on Wednesday, despite a series of North Korean missile launches intended to pressure Seoul and Washington to stop joint exercises. The U.S. and South Korean militaries are planning to stage a joint exercise in August, known as Dong Maeng, which is believed to be a slimmed down version of an annual drill once known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, which included thousands of U.S. troops. North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday after two similar missile tests last week, raising the stakes for U.S. and South Korean diplomats hoping to restart talks on North Korean denuclearisation.
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| Ronald Reagan called African UN delegates 'monkeys', recordings reveal Posted: 31 Jul 2019 03:15 PM PDT  In newly released audio, then California governor can be heard making racist remarks on phone call with Richard Nixon In a conversation with Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan called African delegates to the UN 'monkeys'. Photograph: Mike Sargent/AFP/Getty ImagesRonald Reagan made racist remarks about African delegates to the United Nations, calling them "monkeys" and saying they were still "uncomfortable wearing shoes", newly released audio recordings have revealed.Reagan, the actor turned politician who was a popular two-term president, made the comments in a phone call with the disgraced former president Richard Nixon as the two discussed a 1971 vote by the UN to recognize China, instead of the US ally Taiwan. At the time of the call, Nixon was still president and Reagan was governor of California.The two were discussing the Tanzanian delegation's reaction to the vote, after delegates danced in the chamber."To watch that thing on television, as I did, to see those, those monkeys from those African countries – damn them, they're still uncomfortable wearing shoes!" Reagan tells Nixon, who erupts in laughter.The recording was first published in the Atlantic magazine in an article written by Tim Naftali, who directed the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum from 2007 to 2011.The news comes as the current occupant of the Oval Office, Donald Trump, is engulfed in controversy after making racist remarks about the city of Baltimore and a black congressman whose district partially covers the city. Trump – who frequently uses racist or racially charged language – called Baltimore a "rat and rodent-infested mess" and the "worst in the USA".In the Atlantic, Naftali writes that the conversation between the two men had been originally released in 2000 with the racist portion removed "to protect Reagan's privacy".After Reagan's death in 2004, the privacy concerns were eliminated, and last year Naftali requested the full release of the recordings. They were released earlier this month by National Archives, which made them available online.Reagan, a conservative icon, was a strident supporter of Taiwan and "despised" the UN and wanted the US to withdraw from the international organization immediately, according to Naftali.Other recordings show that Nixon paraphrased Reagan's comments as a way of expressing the same opinion without repeating the exact slur.In a subsequent call to his secretary of state, William Rogers, Nixon recounts his conversation with Reagan about the UN delegation from African nations."He saw these, uh, he said these, uh ... these cannibals on television last night, and he says, 'Christ, they weren't even wearing shoes, and here the United States is going to submit its fate to that,' and so forth and so on," Nixon says."The president wanted his patrician secretary of state to understand that Reagan spoke for racist Americans, and they needed to be listened to," Naftali writes in the Atlantic.
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| US sanctions Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Posted: 31 Jul 2019 02:52 PM PDT  Donald Trump last night escalated tensions with Iran by putting sanctions on its foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The United States called Mr Zarif a "propaganda minister not a foreign minister" and said he was "implementing the reckless agenda of Iran's supreme leader". The sanctions effectively shut out Iran's top diplomat, freezing any assets of Mr Zarif in the United States, and is likely to curtail his international travel. US officials indicated he would still be able to travel to and from the United Nations in New York, and said they had not asked allies to stop talking to him. The blacklisting of Iran's chief negotiator could hinder any US attempt to use diplomacy to resolve its disagreements with Tehran over Iran's nuclear programme, and its aggressive activities in the Middle East. However, the US did not close the door on potential nuclear talks, saying that they considered Mr Zarif to not be a significant decision maker. It was unclear whether Mr Zarif had any assets in US jurisdiction that would be affected by the sanctions. Mr Zarif responded to the news on Twitter, saying: "The US reason for designating me is that I am Iran's 'primary spokesperson around the world'. Is the truth really that painful? "It has no effect on me or my family, as I have no property or interests outside of Iran. Thank you for considering me such a huge threat to your agenda." The US' reason for designating me is that I am Iran's "primary spokesperson around the world" Is the truth really that painful? It has no effect on me or my family, as I have no property or interests outside of Iran. Thank you for considering me such a huge threat to your agenda.— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) July 31, 2019 Tensions between the US and Iran have soared recently because of attacks on tankers in the Gulf, and Iran's downing of a US drone. Last month Steve Mncuhin, the US treasury secretary, indicated Mr Zarif would be blacklisted. However, it it was believed at that point Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, was among those against the move. Following the decision, a senior US official said: "President Trump decided enough is enough. He is sending a clear message to the regime its recent behaviour is completely unacceptable. "For far too long Zarif has had this veneer, not great, of being the reasonable interlocutor for the Iranian regime. He is no such thing. "He implements the reckless policy of the supreme leader, and he is the regime's primary spokesman around the world." The official added: "The US has historically placed faith in diplomacy but there are limits to our patience when a nation so routinely flouts these protocols." He said a number of factors had been taken into consideration including Mr Zarif's defence of the execution of gay people. The official said: "Zarif was the point of contact for nuclear negotiation for the previous administration. We do not consider him to be our primary point of contact. He would not be the president's selected point of contact."
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| Trump's pick for top envoy to the U.N. gets Senate approval Posted: 31 Jul 2019 02:49 PM PDT ![Trump's pick for top envoy to the U.N. gets Senate approval]( "Trump's pick for top envoy to the U.N. gets Senate approval") Some Democrats argued Kelly Craft, the ambassador to Canada, lacks the experience needed for the high-profile diplomatic position at the U.N.
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| Latin America set for feeble growth of 0.5% in 2019: UN Posted: 31 Jul 2019 02:48 PM PDT  Hit by five years of "economic slowdown," Latin America's economy will grow by barely 0.5 percent this year, the United Nations economic commission for the region said on Wednesday, well below the 1.3 percent projected in April. The region is mired in "uncertainty and slowdown," according to Alicia Barcena, executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL). "We've had five years of economic slowdown, this is hugely worrying," added Barcena while presenting the report in Santiago.
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| Trump escalates tensions with Iran by imposing sanctions on foreign minister Posted: 31 Jul 2019 02:36 PM PDT  The US has imposed sanctions on Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif - ratcheting up tensions between the two countries and denting the possibility of diplomatic talks.Mr Zarif - an important figure in the now-abandoned 2015 Iran nuclear deal and an outspoken critic of the US on Twitter - insisted the move would have no effect on him.Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said: "Javad Zarif implements the reckless agenda of Iran's Supreme Leader, and is the regime's primary spokesperson around the world."The United States is sending a clear message to the Iranian regime that its recent behaviour is completely unacceptable."In a tweeted response, Mr Zarif was defiant: "The US' reason for designating me is that I am Iran's 'primary spokesperson around the world'. Is the truth really that painful? It has no effect on me or my family, as I have no property or interests outside of Iran. Thank you for considering me such a huge threat to your agenda."Travel visas - for trips to the United Nations, for example - would be considered on a case-by-case basis, the Trump administration said.The UN's General Assembly takes place in September.In recent months, relations between the two countries have deteriorated rapidly - tankers have been attacked in the Gulf, which the US has blamed on Iran, and an air-strike was planned than aborted by Donald Trump after a US drone was downed by Iran's military.Mr Trump is open to talks with Iran, according to agency reports, but the administration does not see Mr Zarif as a key decision maker.Agencies contributed to this report.
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| Senate confirms Kelly Craft as US ambassador to UN Posted: 31 Jul 2019 02:35 PM PDT ![Senate confirms Kelly Craft as US ambassador to UN]( "Senate confirms Kelly Craft as US ambassador to UN") The Senate has confirmed Kelly Craft to become the next U.S. envoy to the United Nations despite Democratic concerns about her inexperience and potential conflicts of interest. Craft, a longtime GOP activist from Kentucky, is currently U.S. ambassador to Canada.
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| U.S. Sanctions Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif as Tensions Rise Posted: 31 Jul 2019 02:07 PM PDT ![U.S. Sanctions Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif as Tensions Rise]( "U.S. Sanctions Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif as Tensions Rise") (Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions against Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in a provocative move that diminishes the prospects for a diplomatic solution to rising tensions that have brought the U.S. and Tehran to the brink of war.The U.S. said Zarif, viewed as Iran's most skilled diplomat, acts on behalf of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was previously sanctioned."Javad Zarif implements the reckless agenda of Iran's Supreme Leader and is the regime's primary spokesperson around the world," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "The United States is sending a clear message to the Iranian regime that its recent behavior is completely unacceptable."Tensions have been flaring around the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks as Iran lashes out against U.S. sanctions that are crippling its oil exports. Iran is producing oil at the slowest clip since 1986, making U.S. sanctions one of the toughest challenges confronting Iran's economy since the 1979 revolution.The largely symbolic sanctions won't prevent Zarif from traveling to the United Nations in New York for official business. The penalties would block Zarif's access to any property the has in the U.S., though he said in a tweet that he has none so the sanctions will have no effect.Zarif, who has been Iran's foreign minister since 2013, was the lead negotiator in the multinational nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. It was supposed to yield economic advantages for Iran, but instead renewed U.S. sanctions have shattered that expectation since President Donald Trump quit the accord last year.The U.S. sanctions may bolster Zarif's standing in Iran, where hard-liners have long blamed him for helping to craft the nuclear accord. "Thank you for considering me such a huge threat to your agenda," Zarif said in his tweet.Zarif oversees a Foreign Ministry that has "coordinated with one of the Iranian regime's most nefarious state entities, the IRGC-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), which is designated pursuant to terrorism and human rights authorities," according to a statement from the Treasury Department.The Trump administration said last month it was planning to sanction Zarif, who received his bachelor's and advanced degrees at U.S. universities.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has dismissed Zarif's role in setting the government's policy, which he said is driven by Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."Foreign Minister Zarif is no more in charge of what's going on in Iran than a man in the moon," Pompeo said on Bloomberg Television last week. "At the end of the day, this is driven by the ayatollah. He will be the ultimate decision-maker here."Zarif said earlier this month that Iran's leaders know they can't count on Trump losing his 2020 re-election bid."There is a better than 50% chance that he might still be in office, so we will need to deal with him for another six years," Zarif said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.(Adds Zarif's standing in Iran in seventh paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Saleha Mohsin in Washington at smohsin2@bloomberg.net;Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum, Larry LiebertFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran foreign minister says U.S. sanctioned him because he is a "threat" to its agenda Posted: 31 Jul 2019 01:45 PM PDT ![Iran foreign minister says U.S. sanctioned him because he is a "threat" to its agenda]( "Iran foreign minister says U.S. sanctioned him because he is a \"threat\" to its agenda") Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet on Wednesday that the United States sanctioned him because he is a threat to its agenda. The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Zarif, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said on its website. "The US' reason for designating me is that I am Iran's 'primary spokesperson around the world'," he wrote.
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| UPDATE 4-U.S. puts sanctions on Iranian foreign minister Zarif, who says they won't affect him Posted: 31 Jul 2019 01:36 PM PDT ![UPDATE 4-U.S. puts sanctions on Iranian foreign minister Zarif, who says they won't affect him]( "UPDATE 4-U.S. puts sanctions on Iranian foreign minister Zarif, who says they won't affect him") The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, targeting the country's top spokesman and potentially hurting chances of diplomatic talks amid rising tensions between the two countries. Zarif, a critical figure in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, dismissed the action and said it would not affect him. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal last year and ramped up sanctions to put pressure on Iran's economy.
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| Fugitive Turkish bee condemned to death by government sparks international row Posted: 31 Jul 2019 01:30 PM PDT  For a solitary creature who prefers not to travel, accidentally ending up 2,000 miles from home was probably bad enough without provoking an international row. That, however, has become the plight of the fugitive Turkish bee condemned to death by the UK Government. A major Istanbul newspaper yesterday called for the insect's life to be spared, after the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) ordered its destruction. "Don't kill the "Turkish bee"", ran a headline in Hurriyet, a popular daily, while a well-known Turkish literary figure also criticised the policy. It came as the head of Turkey's beekeepers union accused foreign tourists of removing wildlife. Believed to be of the rare Osmia avosetta species, the bee captured public attention after taking up residence in and around the conservatory of a Bristol family recently returned from holiday. Ashley and Louise Toy believe it snuck into one of their cases during their stay in Dalaman. Despite the bee appearing to be happy spending its time constructing colourful sacks out of flower petals, Defra said the animal should be killed to protect native British species. It has now disappeared. Operatives from Defra's Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) attended the house on Wednesday night to collect the sacks, just as the scientist who originally discovered the species begged officials to preserve them. The Turkish media has picked up on the buzz around the Turkish bee. Hürriyet daily today reports on the Telegraph story with the headline, "Don't kill the 'Turkish bee'." pic.twitter.com/RkuPeg1Qt7— Raziye Akkoç (@RazAkkoc) July 31, 2019 Dr Jerome Rozen, from the American Museum of Natural History, said they "probably" contained fertilised eggs. "They need to have their head examined if they're going to destroy the brood chambers," he told The Daily Telegraph. We need to have a proper look at them to get to the bottom of this." The saga is now being covered as far away as Nigeria. A solitary species of Mason bee, Osmia avosetta is rare in constructing sacks out of petals and mud, stocking them with food and nectar, then sealing and burying them in the earth to allow the larvae to grow over winter. Dr Rozen made zoological history when he discovered the bees 5,000 feet up a remote southern Turkish mountain in 2009. He urged Defra officials to preserve the colourful brood chambers, if only to establish whether the bee is Osmia Avosetta or something else. "If it has made a brood chamber then it's likely it contains larvae," he said. "Normally you would expect a bee to emerge from it sometime next year." Defra said APHA had secured the brooding sacks and would take them to a laboratory before deciding what to do next. Officials fear foreign species may harm native honey bees Credit: Alamy The British Beekeepers Association has warned that the foreign bee could endanger already imperiled British species by spreading viruses or even multiplying and eventually out-competing them. Ziya Sahin, President of the Union of Beekeepers in Turkey said: "Many animal lovers and nature lovers come. "They are able to catch a variety of insects and bees and take them away in cages. They come here to do this very intentionally." However, there is no suggestion the Toys deliberately brought the bee into the UK. Buket Uzuner, a Turkish novelist and environmental campaigner, also voiced her concern, tweeting satirically about the decision to exterminate a Turk entering Britain "without a visa and passport". Osmia avosetta was discovered virtually simultaneously in Turkey and Iran. Their nests tend to be situated spaced out over fairly barren patches of earth. Defra has warned holidaymakers to check their bags thoroughly before traveling home. Since 2004, Britain has endured repeated invasions of highly aggressive Asian hornets, which kill native bees.
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| US 'has intelligence Hamza bin Laden is dead' Posted: 31 Jul 2019 12:58 PM PDT  The United States has received intelligence that Hamza bin Laden, the son and possible successor of the former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is dead, according to reports. There were no details of how, or where, the reported death occurred, or whether the US had itself confirmed the information, NBC News reported. Asked whether Hamza bin Laden was dead, Donald Trump, the US president, said: "I don't want to comment on it. I don't want to comment on that." Three US officials confirmed the intelligence had been obtained, but gave no details of whether the US was involved in causing Hamza bin Laden's death, NBC News reported. Five months ago the US state department announced a $1 million reward for information on his location, and described Hamza bin Laden, who is aged about 30, as an "emerging al-Qaeda leader." In a statement at the time the US government added: "He has released audio and video messages on the internet, calling on his followers to launch attacks against the United States and its Western allies, and he has threatened attacks against the United States in revenge for the May 2011 killing of his father by US military forces." Osama bin Laden was shot dead by US Navy Seals in May 2011 in a raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Hamza bin Laden was not discovered at the compound. He is believed to have been the 15th of Osama bin Laden's roughly 20 children. Hamza bin Laden spent his early childhood with his parents in Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Afghanistan. Following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks he was sent to Iran. After his father's death he became known as the Crown Prince of Jihad, calling for jihadists to unite, and for the overthrow of the Saudi royal family. In one of the recordings he released after his father's death, Hamza bin Laden said: "If you think that the crime you perpetrated in Abbottabad has gone by with no reckoning, you are wrong." He reportedly married the daughter of Mohammed Atta, the leader of the September 11, 2001 hijackers. And Ayman al-Zawahiri, his father's successor as leader of al-Qaeda, described him as a "lion". Al-Qaeda was believed to be hoping to use his name as a propaganda tool as it sought a resurgence in the wake of the destruction of the caliphate of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
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| The Cannabis Sustainability Inquiry: Could Marijuana And Hemp Offer The Solution To The World's Toughest Environmental, Social, And Economic Problems? Posted: 31 Jul 2019 11:42 AM PDT ![The Cannabis Sustainability Inquiry: Could Marijuana And Hemp Offer The Solution To The World's Toughest Environmental, Social, And Economic Problems?]( "The Cannabis Sustainability Inquiry: Could Marijuana And Hemp Offer The Solution To The World's Toughest Environmental, Social, And Economic Problems?") As a nascent (legal) consumer industry, the cannabis industry has a chance to invent itself from the ground up in the image of modern-day social, economic, and environmental sustainability. In March 2020 the United Nations is set to vote on what may be the termination of a half-Century of Treaty ban on Cannabis medicines. The World Health Organization is actively in the process of unprecedented scientific assessment of Cannabis, cannabinoids and Cannabis derivatives to begin to separate global stigma of the plant from the potential, its truly untapped medicinal, health-oriented public benefits.
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| U.N. Security Council to meet on N.Korea missile launches -diplomats Posted: 31 Jul 2019 11:35 AM PDT ![U.N. Security Council to meet on N.Korea missile launches -diplomats]( "U.N. Security Council to meet on N.Korea missile launches -diplomats") Britain, Germany and France have asked the United Nations Security Council to meet behind closed doors on Thursday on North Korea's latest missile launches, diplomats said. North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles early on Wednesday, the South Korean military said, only days after Pyongyang launched two similar missiles intended to pressure South Korea and the United States to stop upcoming military drills. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believed the missile launches were "just another reminder of the importance of restarting talks on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
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| Israel approves Palestinian construction in West Bank Posted: 31 Jul 2019 11:30 AM PDT  The Israeli Cabinet unanimously approved a proposal to build over 700 housing units for Palestinians in addition to 6,000 Israeli settlement housing units in the West Bank. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government advanced the proposal late on Tuesday, according to an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the closed-door meeting. A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responded to the development by saying that the Palestinians don't need Israeli permits to build on land that Israel occupied.
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| 2nd person dies from Ebola in Congo's city of Goma Posted: 31 Jul 2019 11:29 AM PDT  A second person died Wednesday of Ebola in Congo's major crossroads city of Goma, again raising fears the virus could spread beyond the country's borders as the outbreak enters a second year. The death "in such a dense population center underscores the very real risk of further disease transmission, perhaps beyond the country's borders, and the very urgent need" for more global support, United Nations agencies said in a joint statement marking a year of the outbreak. The man in his 40s was a miner returning home from an area of northeastern Ituri province where no Ebola cases in this outbreak have been recorded, World Health Organization officials told reporters.
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| Putin calls in army to fight Siberia forest fires Posted: 31 Jul 2019 11:27 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called in the army to fight forest fires that have been raging across vast expanses of Siberia for days, enveloping entire cities in black smoke. The acrid smoke has affected not only small settlements but also major cities in Western Siberia and the Altai region, as well as the Urals such as Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, and disrupted air travel. "After reviewing a report from the emergency situations minister, Putin instructed the ministry of defence to join the effort to extinguish the fires," the Kremlin's press service told Russian media.
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| Mike Pompeo arrives in Asia amid North Korea missile tests, denuclearization doubts Posted: 31 Jul 2019 11:26 AM PDT  Less than a day after North Korea test fired a new barrage of ballistic missiles, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has arrived in Asia for a major summit. One month ago, during President Donald Trump's historic visit to the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, Kim Jong Un agreed to working-level negotiations in a matter of weeks, Pompeo told reporters on the plane Tuesday.
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| This 1 Picture Should Terrify the Army and Marines: 1 Million North Korean Soliders Posted: 31 Jul 2019 10:39 AM PDT  Pyongyang would be no pushover in a war. While analysts often focus on the so-called Democratic People's Republic of Korea's arsenal of ballistic missiles, the real threat emanating from the North comes in the form of heavy artillery and special operations forces, which could wreak havoc on the South. In the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula, Pyongyang's ground forces are the greatest threat to the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the U.S. forces stationed there—short of nuclear weapons.Recommended: This Video Shows What Happens if Washington, D.C. Is Attacked with Nuclear WeaponsRecommended: 8 Million People Could Die in a War with North KoreaRecommended: Why North Korea Is Destined to Test More ICBMs and Nuclear Weapons
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| UAE and Iran hold rare talks in Tehran on maritime security Posted: 31 Jul 2019 10:20 AM PDT  For the first time in six years, officials from Iran and the United Arab Emirates met in Tehran to discuss maritime security amid an increase in tensions in the Persian Gulf, both countries confirmed Wednesday. This week's meeting was significant because the UAE, a close ally of Iran's top rival Saudi Arabia, had downgraded ties with Tehran in 2016.
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| UK court to hear Dubai royal custody dispute on Nov. 11 Posted: 31 Jul 2019 10:04 AM PDT  The dispute between Dubai's ruler and his estranged wife is set to be heard before a British court in November. A full hearing of the case regarding the welfare of the two children of Princess Haya, 45, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 70, has been set for Nov. 11. Princess Haya, daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan, applied Tuesday for protective orders using laws intended to safeguard victims of forced marriage and domestic abuse.
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| Boris Johnson’s Belfast Brexit Message Leaves Dublin and EU Cold Posted: 31 Jul 2019 10:02 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson went a long way toward cementing his working majority in the U.K. Parliament with a visit to Northern Ireland on Wednesday, but did little to break the Brexit impasse with Dublin and Brussels.The new prime minister met with the region's main political parties in Belfast on the latest leg of a nationwide tour after taking office last week. He reiterated his plan to leave the European Union on Oct. 31 with or without a deal, while promising not to add infrastructure at the Irish border -- the U.K.'s land frontier with the bloc -- in any Brexit scenario.Only the Democratic Unionist Party, which props up the government in Westminster, came out unequivocally in support of Johnson's strategy. Leader Arlene Foster called it "sensible" and echoed his demand for a Brexit deal that both removes the backstop -- a fallback provision in the agreement designed to keep the border with Ireland free of checks -- and doesn't "break up the United Kingdom."Johnson's rejection of the backstop, a key element of the divorce deal his predecessor Theresa May negotiated with Brussels, has put the U.K. on a collision course with the EU and made a no-deal Brexit -- the scenario most feared by businesses -- more likely. The U.K. is due to leave the bloc in just three months' time.Border ProblemJohnson's pledge not to add physical infrastructure on the Irish border, without offering a solution for how customs checks can be done, is particularly challenging to the Republic of Ireland and the EU. It puts the onus on them to find a solution to what will become an external frontier for the bloc's single market, while likely souring any talks on a future trade deal.Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Ireland "isn't going to be bullied" on the backstop and needs to stand firm. There is "total support" from the EU on the issue, he said in an interview with the Irish Mirror newspaper.Johnson's unwillingness to pursue a compromise on the backstop also triggered anger from his opponents in Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald said Brexit is changing minds on the issue of a united Ireland, and called on the U.K. government to lay out what it sees as the threshold for a referendum on unification."If you are democratically intent on it, who are we to stop you?" McDonald said of Brexit on BBC Radio. "But you can't wreck Ireland in the process."The Ulster Unionist Party, even though it opposes the backstop, also used a meeting with Johnson to raise its opposition to leaving the EU without a deal, the Belfast Telegraph reported, citing leader Robin Swann.Reassuring AlliesThe opposition of some of Northern Ireland's parties won't worry Johnson because he's gained the approval for his "do or die" Brexit stance from the only one that matters in terms of votes in the Westminster Parliament -- the DUP. Even a plunge in the pound hasn't derailed that in the past few days."We are stepping up a gear and increasing the pace of our preparations as we get ready to leave the EU" on Oct. 31, Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said in a statement after meeting executives from companies including General Electric, BAE Systems and Tate and Lyle Sugars in London.Nevertheless, Johnson's tour of the four U.K. nations -- which he dubbed the "awesome foursome" -- has not yielded wholly positive headlines. From boos in Edinburgh to a backlash from sheep farmers in Wales and calls for a united Ireland in Belfast, his promise to use Brexit to boost British unity looks a difficult challenge.To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart Biggs in London at sbiggs3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Alex MoralesFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Libya says largest oilfield closed, second time in 10 days Posted: 31 Jul 2019 09:27 AM PDT ![Libya says largest oilfield closed, second time in 10 days]( "Libya says largest oilfield closed, second time in 10 days") Libya's national oil company says it has suspended operations at the country's largest oil field following the closure of a pipeline valve, the second halt in just over a week. Wednesday's statement by the National Oil Corporation says an unidentified group on Tuesday closed the pipeline linking the Sharara oilfield to the port of Zawiya, on the Mediterranean coast. It's controlled by the self-styled Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Hifter.
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| The Latest: Germany won't take part in US-led Gulf mission Posted: 31 Jul 2019 09:23 AM PDT  Germany's foreign minister is ruling out his country's participation in a proposed U.S.-led mission to protect maritime traffic in the Persian Gulf area. The U.S. recently asked allies to contribute to a mission to secure maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil shipping corridor, in the wake of increased Iranian aggression in the area. Germany had already expressed skepticism, saying that priority must be given to de-escalation of tensions and diplomatic efforts.
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| Putin calls in army to fight Siberia forest fires Posted: 31 Jul 2019 09:00 AM PDT Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called in the army to fight forest fires that have been raging across vast expanses of Siberia for days, enveloping entire cities in black smoke. The acrid smoke has affected not only small settlements but also major cities in Western Siberia and the Altai region, as well as the Urals such as Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, and disrupted air travel. "After reviewing a report from the emergency situations minister, Putin instructed the ministry of defence to join the effort to extinguish the fires," the Kremlin's press service told Russian media.
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| Reagan made racist remarks in taped conversation with Nixon Posted: 31 Jul 2019 08:37 AM PDT  Then-California governor Ronald Reagan made racist remarks about Africans, calling them "monkeys" in a newly-discovered taped conversation with US president Richard Nixon. The tape of the October 1971 phone call was unearthed by Tim Naftali, former director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, and his findings were published online on Wednesday in The Atlantic magazine. The tape is of a call Reagan placed to Nixon after the United Nations voted to recognize the People's Republic of China.
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| Senate Panel Advances U.S. Sanctions for Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Posted: 31 Jul 2019 08:27 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced legislation Wednesday that would impose sanctions on undersea construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for shipping gas from Russia to Germany.The bill, introduced by Texas Republican Ted Cruz and New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, was approved by the committee 20-2 with bipartisan support. It will be up to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to schedule a vote in the full Senate."Russia has a bad history of using energy as a weapon," said Cruz shortly before the vote. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin "gets his revenue for military adventurism and hostility" from oil and gas.The Nord Stream 2 project has divided the European Union, with nations led by Poland concerned about Russia's Gazprom PJSC tightening its grip on the region if the new pipeline comes online. President Donald Trump has also criticized the project, calling for the bloc to diversify its energy supply sources and buy liquefied natural gas from North America.Trump in June said that Germany was making a "tremendous mistake" by relying on the pipeline to supply its gas."We're protecting Germany from Russia, and Russia is getting billions and billions of dollars in money from Germany," Trump told reporters at the White House during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda. At the same meeting, Trump said he's considering using U.S. sanctions to stop construction of the pipeline.The legislation sponsored by Cruz and Shaheen would target vessels that lay the pipeline and sanction executives from companies linked to those vessels. It would deny visas to those individuals and block transactions related to their U.S.-based property or interests. The bill would also penalize entities that provide insurance to the project.GOP Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky argued against the measure, saying, "There's a great deal of consternation over this proposal among our European allies."Shaheen said Wednesday that the only companies that would be affected are Allseas Group SA of Switzerland andSaipem SpAof Italy. To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Flatley in Washington at dflatley1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Anna Edgerton, Laurie AsséoFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Johnson’s EU Adviser Meets Officials in Brussels: Brexit Update Posted: 31 Jul 2019 08:03 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Follow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story. Boris Johnson's EU adviser is in Brussels for the first time and will reinforce the new prime minister's core message: the U.K. will leave the European Union with or without a deal on Oct. 31. Johnson himself is visiting Northern Ireland where he promised not to put up a hard border if there's no divorce deal.Must read: U.K.'s Johnson Won't Back Down on Brexit Despite Plunging PoundKey Developments:Johnson met Northern Irish politicians as he tried to get parties to restore devolved institutions Premier's Brexit adviser David Frost headed to Brussels for his first face-to-face talks there with EU officials Pound rose 0.5%, though it's still down 4% this monthLeadsom Says U.K. Stepping Up Brexit Plans (3:30 p.m.)The U.K. is stepping up preparations for Brexit, including for a no-deal outcome, Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said after meeting with corporations including General Electric, BAE Systems and Tate and Lyle Sugars. She said her top priority is to help businesses of all sizes prepare for Britain's departure from the European Union on Oct. 31."While there are challenges, business leaders were optimistic and clear that none are insurmountable," Leadsom said in a statement. "We are stepping up a gear and increasing the pace of our preparations."Other companies represented included JML Group, Laing O'Rourke, Scottish Power, Ineos, and JD Wetherspoon, whose chairman, Tim Martin, campaigned for Leave in the 2016 referendum. The new business secretary is due to meet with business organizations on Thursday.Ireland 'Won't be Bullied,' Varadkar Says (1:20 p.m.)Ireland "isn't going to be bullied" on the backstop issue and will stick to its position, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said in an interview with the Irish Mirror newspaper published Wednesday.We are going to need to stand firm, he said, adding that there is "total support" from the EU. His call with his U.K. counterpart Boris Johnson on Tuesday "went reasonably well," he said.Johnson: U.K. Will Not Put Infrastructure on Border (1 p.m.)The U.K. will not put infrastructure or carry out physical checks at the Irish border regardless of how Britain leaves the European Union, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told leaders of Northern Ireland's main political parties on Wednesday, according to a statement from his office.Johnson reiterated his promise to leave the EU on Oct. 31 "come what may," a Downing Street spokesperson said, and "restated his intention to do so with a deal." The prime minister also told the political leaders he was committed to the Belfast peace agreement and to strengthening the union of the U.K. -- and Northern Ireland's place in it.The primary focus of Johnson's meetings was to boost the restoration of power sharing in Northern Ireland and to help get its devolved institutions up and running, according to the statement.Johnson's Brexit Adviser in Brussels for Talks (12:30 p.m.)David Frost, Boris Johnson's Brexit adviser, is in Brussels for talks with EU officials, the prime minister's office said.Frost will repeat the message the premier gave to Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker -- that the U.K. wants a deal but the withdrawal agreement must be reopened and the backstop scrapped.EU spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt said they would be introductory meetings. "It's a new sherpa, our officials always meet with the sherpa so it's a meeting on that basis," she told reporters.Donaldson Convinced of Johnson's Determination (10:30 a.m.)Boris Johnson is "absolutely" prepared to to take the U.K. out of the EU by Oct. 31, without a deal if necessary, DUP lawmaker Jeffrey Donaldson said. Johnson is focused on delivering Brexit rather than a general election, Donaldson, who had dinner with the U.K. Prime Minister on Tuesday, told RTE Radio.Donaldson suggested putting a time limit on the backstop as a potential compromise, rather than abolishing it outright as Johnson has demanded, and said he discussed the issue with Johnson on Tuesday night. The DUP, which props up Johnson's government, does not want a no-deal Brexit but will accept it if need be, Donaldson said.Speaking after Donaldson on RTE, Irish Agriculture Minister Michael Creed repeated his government's stance that the backstop cannot be time limited.Poll Lead for Johnson (10 a.m.)The latest survey of voting intention in a general election by YouGov (for the Times newspaper) showed Boris Johnson's Conservative Party maintain its double-digit lead over the main opposition Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn.The Tories are on 32%, according to the survey of 2,066 adults on July 29-30, with Labour on 22%. That compares with 31% and 21% respectively in the equivalent survey conducted July 25-26. The Liberal Democrats are on 19%, down a percentage point, and Nigel Farage's Brexit Party on 13%, showing no change from earlier in the month.On the issue of preference for prime minister, Boris Johnson was backed by 42%, compared to 21% for Corbyn -- 34% of respondents couldn't choose between the two, according to YouGov.Leadsom to Meet With Company Executives: Sky (9:45 a.m.)U.K. Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom is planning to meet on Wednesday with executives from companies including JD Wetherspoon and Tate & Lyle, which have previously expressed support for Brexit, Sky News reported, citing people it didn't identify close to the minister.Brexit Changing Minds on Unification: Sinn Fein (8:30 a.m.)Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald said Brexit is changing minds in Northern Ireland on the issue of a united Ireland, and said the U.K. must lay out what it sees as the threshold for a so-called border poll or referendum on unification."Brexit has raised fundamental questions around the wisdom and sustainability of the partition of our island," McDonald told BBC Radio 4, adding that even some unionists are willing to have the conversation on unification. "It's changed the entire political dynamic."McDonald said she wishes Britain wasn't leaving the European Union, referring to it as a "piece of astonishing political and economic self-harm.""If you are democratically intent on it, who are we to stop you?" she said. "But you can't wreck Ireland in the process."Earlier, Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster said there's "no evidence" of demand for a border poll in Northern Ireland.Foster Says Dublin Must 'Get Real' (7:40 a.m.)Arlene Foster, leader of the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, said Boris Johnson is focused on getting a Brexit deal and it's time for the government in Dublin to "get real."She had dinner with Johnson on Tuesday evening. They didn't discuss the confidence and supply agreement, which sets out the terms of the DUP's support for the minority Conservative government. They did discuss Brexit, she said in an interview with ITV.Foster is not in favor of a no-deal exit, but said the EU's attempt to divide Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom is unacceptable. The DUP opposes the so-called backstop, which aims to prevent a border with the Republic of Ireland but keeps the U.K. tied to EU rules. Johnson has vowed to rip it up.Johnson is also trying to get the parties in Northern Ireland to restore the devolved assembly and executive, which have been suspended since 2017. But Brexit, and the DUP's relationship with the Conservative government, are obstacles, according to the other main Northern Irish party Sinn Fein.Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill said the relationship between the DUP and the U.K. government is "toxic" and that Brexit is being "foisted upon us.""The British government are playing fast and loose with our peace process," she told ITV.Adults Needed: Smurfit CEO (7:30 a.m.)The CEO of Smurfit, an Irish paper and packaging maker, is hoping the "adults will take over and make sure" there's a Brexit deal."It's a really important issue for us that there is a deal," CEO Tony Smurfit told Bloomberg TV.Earlier:Sterling's Slump May Not Sow Seeds of Economic Upswing This TimeJohnson Aims to Meet Brexit Bus Pledge With Health-Care Boost\--With assistance from Thomas Penny, Tim Ross, Stuart Biggs and Jessica Shankleman.To contact the reporters on this story: Peter Flanagan in Dublin at pflanagan23@bloomberg.net;Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Emma Ross-Thomas at erossthomas@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iraqi parliament asked to lift immunity of 21 lawmakers Posted: 31 Jul 2019 07:42 AM PDT ![Iraqi parliament asked to lift immunity of 21 lawmakers]( "Iraqi parliament asked to lift immunity of 21 lawmakers") Iraq's top judicial authority has requested the parliament lift immunity for 21 lawmakers, including 10 wanted on charges of corruption. Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council said in a statement on Wednesday that it would not disclose the names of the lawmakers while the investigations are ongoing. The unprecedented request comes two weeks after the U.S. imposed sanctions on two former provincial governors for engaging in corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets.
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| Egypt says offshore gas discoveries bolster ties with Cyprus Posted: 31 Jul 2019 07:02 AM PDT ![Egypt says offshore gas discoveries bolster ties with Cyprus]( "Egypt says offshore gas discoveries bolster ties with Cyprus") Egypt's foreign minister says hydrocarbon finds in the eastern Mediterranean have bolstered an already "strong partnership" with neighboring Cyprus. Minister Sameh Shoukry said after talks Wednesday with Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides that Egypt looks forward to working with Cyprus in fully utilizing energy reserves. Egypt's top diplomat said he's hopeful the establishment of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum will help open new avenues of cooperation and policy coordination between the two countries.
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| Germany rejects US call to join Gulf taskforce Posted: 31 Jul 2019 06:44 AM PDT  Germany has rejected US pressure to send warships to protect shipping in the Persian Gulf from seizure by Iran. Olaf Scholz, the German vice-chancellor, publicly confirmed on Wednesday that his country would not take part in a US-led naval taskforce. Mr Scholz, who is who is deputising for Angela Merkel while she is on holiday, warned of the danger of the world "sleepwalking into a much larger conflict". "We want to talk about how to address the situation with our French and British partners in Europe, but there is no discussion of a mission as requested," he said. Calls for the joint taskforce have intensified following the seizure of the British-flagged Stena Impero tanker in the Strait of Hormuz last month. The tanker remains in Iranian hands, with the commander of the British warship that is already accompanying UK-flagged ships on this route saying yesterday that Tehran appeared to be testing the Royal Navy's resolve. "The Iranians seem to be keen to test our resolve, test our reactions most of the time," William King, commander of the HMS Montrose, told the BBC, adding that over 27 days patrolling the region he had experienced 85 "interactions with Iranian forces". Germany reportedly rejected calls to take part in the planned taskforce last week, but this is the first time the German government has commented publicly . Mr Scholz said a naval taskforce would be "getting ahead of events", and that Germany's priority was to prevent an escalation in the Gulf. "The worst thing would be a real military conflict. Then shipping would really be in jeopardy," he said. Mr Scholz, the leader of Angela Merkel's main coalition partner, rejected suggestions the German government is divided over the US request. His centre-Left Social Democrats (SPD) have a track record of opposing German involvement in military operations abroad, while Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) have been more open to the idea. But in this case Mrs Merkel's government is believed to be reluctant to back a naval taskforce for fear any incident could be used by hardliners in the Trump administration as a pretext for war with Iran. Along with Britain and France, Germany has been keen to rescue the nuclear deal agreed with Iran by Barack Obama, which Mr Trump withdrew from last year. Germany has come under intense pressure from the US over military spending in recent years amid President Trump's attempts to make Nato's European members pay more towards the cost of their defence. Mr Trump has been highly critical of Europe's biggest economy over its failure to meet Nato's target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who is widely seen as Mrs Merkel's designated successor, recently pledged to meet the target when she took over as defence minister. "We made a clear commitment to Nato's two percent goal. I know that we can't get there from one day to the next, but I'm just as clear on the fact that we must get there in the end," she said.
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| Has a Color Revolution Come to Russia? Probably Not. Posted: 31 Jul 2019 06:32 AM PDT  The protests that have broken out in Moscow and in other parts of Russia have excited those anxiously awaiting the next popular manifestation that will trigger a colored revolution in Russia itself. This sort of short-term gaming provides for interesting speculation, but is missing the larger, long-term picture. Whether a particular protest is successful in changing anything or not (for instance, getting candidates registered for a municipal election or preventing a park from being used as a construction site for a new cathedral) is less crucial than seeing how two trendlines—the 2024 succession question and the entry into adulthood of Russia's first truly post-Soviet generation—are intersecting.Russians are apt to protest, particularly against poor economic performance, but what seems to make this most recent set of demonstrations different is that it is occurring against the backdrop of the first forays into defining how Russia will be governed when Vladimir Putin's second set of presidential terms expires. It bears remembering that there was unrest and unease in Russia prior to the 2008 "solution" to the presidential term limit conundrum (the decision to have prime minister Dmitry Medvedev switch roles with Putin). This time, this process is starting much earlier, partly because Putin is older (and the chances of illness or incapacity are higher) and because the Kremlin political technologists have still not, in the past eleven years, been able to create a stable political process that can smoothly process leadership transitions.
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| Rights group says prisoners go on hunger strike in Egypt Posted: 31 Jul 2019 06:16 AM PDT  The international rights group on Wednesday called on authorities to investigate the prisoners' allegations of torture and other abuses. The detainees are being held at a Cairo prison known as the Scorpion, where a number of political figures have been jailed over the course of a sweeping crackdown on dissent in recent years.
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| Reagan called Africans 'monkeys', unearthed recording reveals Posted: 31 Jul 2019 06:12 AM PDT  Ronald Reagan shared a racist exchange with Richard Nixon in a newly unearthed phone conversation from 1971 in which the former president describes African delegates to the United Nations as "monkeys". Speaking with Mr Nixon, who was then president, a day after the UN voted to admit The People's Republic of China into the global organisation, Mr Reagan said: "To see those, those monkeys from those African countries — damn them, they're still uncomfortable wearing shoes!"Mr Reagan was the Republican governor of California at the time, and was calling Mr Nixon at the White House to complain about UN members who voted against the US position. Tim Naftali, the former director of the Nixon Presidential Library and a clinical associate professor of history at New York University, published the recordings in The Atlantic after they were previously sealed for privacy reasons. The explosive recordings were originally released by the National Archives in 2000, though they were later withdrawn due to a court-ordered review. The former president's death "eliminated the privacy concerns," Mr Naftali said. "I requested that the conversations involving Ronald Reagan be re-reviewed," he added. "Two weeks ago, the National Archives released complete versions."According to Mr Naftali, "Nixon used Reagan's call as an excuse to adapt his language to make the same point to others. Right after hanging up with Reagan, Nixon sought out Secretary of State William Rogers."Mr Nixon then went on to describe the African delegates to his secretary of state as "cannibals," adding, "Christ, they weren't even wearing shoes."Mr Naftali said Mr Nixon "never changed his mind about the supposed inherent inferiority of Africans". The unearthing of racist comments shared between two US leaders arrived after weeks during which Donald Trump has launched a series of incendiary insults at politicians and civil rights leaders of colour in remarks largely viewed as racist. "The most novel aspect of President Donald Trump's racist gibes isn't that he said them," Mr Naftali said, "but that he said them in public."
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| The Hormuz Crisis Shows U.S. Alliances Are Weak Posted: 31 Jul 2019 05:27 AM PDT ![The Hormuz Crisis Shows U.S. Alliances Are Weak]( "The Hormuz Crisis Shows U.S. Alliances Are Weak") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The matter of a naval mission to the Persian Gulf is a test of whether the U.S. – or at least Donald Trump – has any serious allies in Europe other than, perhaps, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Germany, at least, isn't on board.The administration has formally asked Germany, France and the U.K. to join a naval mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz and combat Iranian aggression. In Berlin, U.S. embassy spokeswoman Tamara Sternberg-Greller added a taunt: "Members of the German government have been clear that freedom of navigation should be protected. Our question is, protected by whom?"Germany wouldn't take the bait. It has rejected the request. So the answer is: "Not by us."Unlike in France or the U.K., German troop deployments must be approved by parliament, and nearly all political forces there are aligned against taking part in any U.S. mission against Iran.Most importantly, neither party in the ruling coalition is in favor. The usually pacifist Social Democrats' argument, voiced by the parliamentary group's foreign affairs spokesman Nils Schmid, is that any European force in the Persian Gulf would be hostage to a situation over which it has no control. It would essentially mean committing to take part in any conflict on the side of the U.S. "We wouldn't be able to pull out should the U.S. decide to escalate," Schmid argued.Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party takes a more ambiguous stance. While it's not interested in joining a U.S.-led operation, it's open to a European mission. Norbert Roettgen, a CDU member who heads the German parliament's foreign affairs committee, tweeted on Wednesday:The CDU's position, though, is that any such mission should only observe the situation rather than get militarily engaged. Of the three top European military powers – France, Germany and the U.K. – Germany has the least interest in whatever happens in the Strait of Hormuz. The country gets most of its oil from Russia and other countries that don't route shipments through the area, so its energy security is unaffected by any turmoil there.France, for its part, hasn't announced a decision yet. President Emmanuel Macron spoke with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday in an effort to reduce the tensions with the U.S. A decision on whether to commit actual ships to any U.S.-led operation or some alternative European effort may come after a meeting of European and U.S. military representatives Britain will convene on Wednesday. France gets much of its crude oil from the Persian Gulf: Saudi Arabia is its top supplier. So, unlike Germany, it has a direct interest in the region. This at least partly explains Macron's hesitation.Schmid has a point, however, that is as valid for France as it is for Germany. Given Trump's volatile temper and his hawkish advisers, sending warships to the Gulf carries the risk of getting embroiled in yet another U.S. war in the Middle East.France, like Germany, was lucky to be able to dodge the Iraq imbroglio in 2003, though not the 2011 North Atlantic Treaty Organization's intervention in Libya. The benefit of Europe's involvement in that operation remains questionable: Anarchic Libya served as a key embarkation point for asylum seekers heading for Europe in 2015.It is the U.K. that has the most skin in the game. Iran continues to hold a British tanker, the Stena Impero, and Saudi Arabia is the country's main supplier of aviation fuel.Given the U.K.'s own insufficient forces in the Gulf, and the reduced state of the Royal Navy, its eagerness to work with the U.S. is understandable. Unlike Germany and France, Britain has never sought strategic autonomy from Washington. Even so, it took Johnson's takeover of the U.K. government for the country to come forward as a willing participant in any U.S. operation. He may be right to work with the U.S. if his European partners don't: America is more powerful than they are, and Johnson is determined to take the U.K. out of the EU soon, anyway.There's little doubt that the U.S. is capable of securing the Strait of Hormuz without any help at all from Europe. But its difficulty in getting such help shows the hollowness at the heart of the transatlantic alliance. Years of U.S. foreign policy misadventures have made key NATO allies too cautious to get involved even when the U.S. isn't proposing an all-out war on some distant country but merely an operation to secure a major shipping route from an adversary that is unlikely to take on a broad Western coalition.Even so, it's probably for the best that the U.S. decided to wade in. Had it kept out, the Europeans could have spent weeks and weeks discussing a joint operation of their own without deciding on anything.To contact the author of this story: Leonid Bershidsky at lbershidsky@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Leonid Bershidsky is Bloomberg Opinion's Europe columnist. He was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and founded the opinion website Slon.ru.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UK PM Johnson stands by peace, no hard border whatever Brexit result - spokeswoman Posted: 31 Jul 2019 04:54 AM PDT ![UK PM Johnson stands by peace, no hard border whatever Brexit result - spokeswoman]( "UK PM Johnson stands by peace, no hard border whatever Brexit result - spokeswoman") British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Northern Irish parties on Wednesday he would stand by the government's commitment to the Irish peace agreement and a pledge not to return to a hard border whatever the result of Brexit, a spokeswoman said. "The discussions also included Brexit, where the prime minister made clear that the UK would be leaving the EU on October 31st come what may, and restated his intention to do so with a deal," the spokeswoman said in a statement.
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| Russia Steps Up Crackdown as Putin Opponents Plan New Protest Posted: 31 Jul 2019 04:20 AM PDT ![Russia Steps Up Crackdown as Putin Opponents Plan New Protest]( "Russia Steps Up Crackdown as Putin Opponents Plan New Protest") (Bloomberg) -- Russian authorities raided the homes of people involved in a Moscow demonstration, stepping up a crackdown that threatens to be the harshest since officials crushed large-scale protests in 2012.Interior Ministry officers and Federal Security Service agents were searching for information on electronic devices that proved participation in the unauthorized protest or how it was organized, the state-run Tass news service reported Wednesday, citing an unidentified law enforcement official. More than 1,400 were detained at Saturday's protest that was violently dispersed by police, and at least 60 have been jailed.The mass searches followed the breakdown of negotiations between officials and opposition leaders about the location for another planned demonstration in the capital on Aug. 3. Police detained a representative of the Libertarian Party political group that had sought permission for the event as he left the talks on Tuesday. He was jailed Wednesday for 30 days for involvement in an earlier protest.Activists are urging supporters to join the unsanctioned rally anyway, setting up the prospect of renewed clashes with riot police. The wave of dissent was sparked by the authorities' refusal to register numerous opposition candidates for Moscow city council elections in September. The harsh police response comes as President Vladimir Putin grapples with rising discontent among Russians amid a slump in living standards over the past five years.Many anti-Kremlin activists are already in jail including opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who said he may have been the target of an attempt to poison him in prison that resulted in his hospitalization Sunday for a major allergic reaction. His personal doctor wasn't permitted to visit him in prison on Wednesday, according to his spokeswoman.'Dangerous Scenario'The escalating confrontation is leading to "an extremely dangerous scenario, threatening outbreaks of uncontrolled violence" that may harm hundreds of people, the Vedomosti newspaper warned in an editorial Wednesday. It drew comparison with mass unrest in 1905 that forced Czar Nicholas II to issue his October Manifesto granting civil rights including an elected parliament.The Kremlin is seeking ways for Putin, 66, to stay in power after 2024, when he has to step down under the constitution. Russia also holds State Duma elections in 2021, with the Kremlin determined to maintain control of the lower house of parliament for the pro-Putin United Russia party that's become deeply unpopular with voters.Navalny was jailed for 30 days last week after he called for people to join the unauthorized election protest. Other prominent activists including Ilya Yashin and former Duma deputy Dmitry Gudkov were jailed after Saturday's demonstration.The Investigative Committee on Tuesday opened a criminal case into the protests and characterized them as mass unrest, leaving participants vulnerable to sentences of up to 8 years in prison and organizers facing as long as 15 years. Prosecutors used the same charge in the 2012 crackdown against protesters opposing Putin's return to the presidency, and a court jailed one opposition leader for four and a half years.The stand-off over the Moscow vote should be viewed as a "rehearsal" for the State Duma polls, said Alexei Makarkin, deputy head of the Moscow-based Center for Political Technologies. While the authorities risk inflaming anti-government sentiment with their heavy-handed tactics, "the problem with decision-making in Russia is the permanent fear of appearing weak," he said.Officials offered a small concession Tuesday, when the Moscow election commission agreed to review the application of one rejected candidate, Sergei Mitrokhin of the liberal Yabloko party.But Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin defended the tough police response to the July 27 rally and said in a TV interview that they will act in the same way on Saturday."We will ensure order in the city," Sobyanin said. "It can't be otherwise."(Updates with activist being jailed in third paragraph.)\--With assistance from Scott Rose.To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Tony HalpinFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Ronald Reagan Makes Racist Comment To Richard Nixon In Newly Released Audio Posted: 31 Jul 2019 04:05 AM PDT  Reagan made the offensive comment about African delegates at the United Nations in a 1971 phone call.
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