| North Korea fires more projectiles as nuclear talks stall Posted: 05 Aug 2019 05:42 PM PDT  North Korea continued to ramp up its weapons demonstrations by firing unidentified projectiles twice into the sea Tuesday while lashing out at the United States and South Korea for continuing military exercises that the North says could derail fragile nuclear diplomacy. South Korea's military alerted reporters to the launches minutes before the North's Foreign Ministry denounced Washington and Seoul over the start of their joint exercises on Monday.
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| UN chief: Islamic State has as much as $300 million to fight Posted: 05 Aug 2019 05:32 PM PDT ![UN chief: Islamic State has as much as $300 million to fight]( "UN chief: Islamic State has as much as $300 million to fight") It said the group is believed to be capable of directing funds to support "terrorist acts" within Iraq and Syria and abroad by mainly using services such as informal money transfer businesses. The Islamic State is also encouraging increased financial self-sufficiency throughout its network of supporters and affiliates elsewhere in the Mideast, Africa and Asia, the report said.
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| UN report: North Korea cyber experts raised up to $2 billion Posted: 05 Aug 2019 04:27 PM PDT  The experts said in a new report to the Security Council that North Korea is using cyberspace "to launch increasingly sophisticated attacks to steal funds from financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges to generate income" in violation of sanctions. Cryptocurrency exchanges deal in virtual money like bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple which use a technology called blockchain.
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| Journalist's death helps to reshape US handling of hostages Posted: 05 Aug 2019 04:11 PM PDT  Diane Foley learned her son's fate not from any government official but from a sobbing journalist who asked if she'd been on Twitter. President Barack Obama soon confirmed the news to the world: James Foley, a 40-year-old American journalist kidnapped in Syria two years earlier, was the American beheaded by Islamic State militants in a video circulating online. For many in the United States, the August 2014 video brought home the extent of the Islamic State's violence and brutality.
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| Opponents of No-Deal Brexit Harden Plans to Block Johnson’s Threat Posted: 05 Aug 2019 04:03 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Opponents of Boris Johnson's threat to crash out of the European Union without a deal on Oct. 31 are hardening their plans to stop him as the new U.K. prime minister seeks to build support with a series of targeted spending pledges.Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn signaled he will call a vote of no-confidence when Parliament returns next month while rebel MP Dominic Grieve said a growing number of his fellow Conservatives will turn against Johnson as the premier's "no-ifs-no-buts" Halloween deadline for leaving the bloc approaches.Grieve, a former attorney general, contradicted a claim by Health Secretary Matt Hancock that Parliament cannot block a no-deal split. If there's enough support for Corbyn's vote of no-confidence, Parliament could force the appointment of a new premier at the helm of a government of national unity, Grieve said."No-deal can be stopped if Parliament wishes to stop it," Grieve told Sky News on Monday evening. In the 14 days after a successful vote of no-confidence "there's nothing a current prime minister can do to stop a new administration being formed if a majority of the House of Commons wanted it,'' Grieve said.He conceded that political divisions would make such a coalition difficult, as party leaders would have to be willing to surrender their political power to compromise with their adversaries. But Grieve said he has been talking to all sides in Parliament about how it might be done.The Times newspaper reported in its Tuesday edition that Johnson would refuse to resign if Parliament voted for a new administration, citing a briefing to officials by Dominic Cummings, his senior adviser. Such a move would break with convention and could drag Queen Elizabeth II into making a decision between the competing factions.Johnson, who was in pro-Brexit Lincolnshire on Monday to announce cash for the National Health Service, said he doesn't want an early general election despite claims his flurry of spending commitments are a sign he intends to call one.Corbyn, who has long demanded a national vote, said he will put down a motion of no-confidence at an "appropriate very early time," after Parliament returns on Sept. 3 and his party "will do everything we can" to stop Britain crashing out of the EU without an agreement."The prime minister seems to be trying to slip no-deal through, slip past Parliament and slip past the British people," Corbyn told reporters in Derbyshire, northern England, Monday. "No-deal will be really serious; serious for food prices, for medical supplies, for trade, for investment."The EU is watching developments in London as it weighs how to handle Johnson, who says he wants a new Brexit agreement but is prepared to walk away without one. Germany doesn't expect Johnson to make good on his no-deal threat and expects Parliament to stop him, according to two government officials in Berlin.The U.K.'s EU partners showed no sign of giving in to Johnson's demands when officials met in Brussels on Monday. Representatives of the bloc's 27 other member states reaffirmed their position that the Brexit agreement can't be re-opened, according to a person familiar with the discussion. The Guardian newspaper reported that they were told a no-deal split is now Johnson's "central scenario."If Johnson loses a no-confidence vote, which could be held as soon as Sept. 4, he would then have 14 days to try to command a majority in the House of Commons -- the benchmark for being prime minister -- and his opponents, including Labour and Grieve, would try to do the same. If neither is able to, Johnson might be forced to call a general election.The Sunday Telegraph reported that Johnson could delay calling the election until after Oct. 31, according to a briefing to staff by Cummings, allowing Britain to tumble out of the bloc by default in the meantime.But any attempt to push through a no-deal Brexit not supported by the House of Commons would put Johnson on a legal and constitutional collision course."The Cummings strategy works if they are prepared to blow through lots of constitutional conventions," Ruth Fox, Director at the Hansard Society, said in an interview. "It's a very, very high-risk strategy."\--With assistance from Kitty Donaldson.To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Edward JohnsonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| North Korea fires projectiles, marking the 4th launch in the last 2 weeks Posted: 05 Aug 2019 03:42 PM PDT  For the fourth time in less than two weeks, North Korea has fired projectiles into the Sea of Japan, a U.S. official said. The two projectiles, fired on Tuesday morning local time, were assessed to be similar to the short-range ballistic missiles tested by North Korea last week, the official said.
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| 'White power ideology': why El Paso is part of a growing global threat Posted: 05 Aug 2019 02:04 PM PDT  More than 175 people have been killed in at least 16 high-profile attacks linked to white nationalism around the world since 2011A prayer vigil in El Paso, Texas, after a shooting at a Walmart in the border town left 22 people dead, on 4 August 2019. Photograph: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty ImagesReports that the suspected gunman at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, saw his mass shooting as "a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas" has prompted bipartisan calls for the US to treat the threat of domestic "white terrorists" as seriously as the threat of attacks by supporters of al-Qaida or Isis.But experts who study racist violence say the attack must be understood not just as a domestic problem within the United States, but as part of a global network of white nationalist radicalization and violence.The escalating global death toll from white nationalist attacks puts a spotlight on the social media companies that have allowed white nationalists to organize on their platforms with little interference, as well as on the clear parallels between white terrorists' justification for their attacks, and the racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric of some mainstream politicians. Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to immigrants and refugees as an "invasion". A global problemA "manifesto" that appeared to be linked to the El Paso attack on Saturday described the growing number of Latinx people in Texas as an "invasion" that threatened the political power of white residents. The shooting, which left at least 22 people dead, is being investigated by federal officials as an act of domestic terrorism.Perpetrators of other recent attacks around the world indicated that they, too, believed that white people were under attack, and that immigrants, refugees and other people of color are "invaders" who put the white race at risk.Supporters of the National Socialist Movement, a white nationalist political group, give Nazi salutes while taking part in a swastika burning in Georgia on 21 April 2018. Photograph: Go Nakamura/ReutersThe Canadian man who opened fire at a mosque in Quebec in January 2017. The American man who plowed his car into a crowd of protesters after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, later that year. The 46-year-old American who allegedly attacked a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018. The Australian man who allegedly killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, this March.Many of these attacks inspired even more acts of violence. The suspected Christchurch shooter, who is accused of livestreaming his murder of dozens of innocent people in New Zealand in March, appears to have inspired at least two additional mass shootings in the United States within five months. In April, another young white man opened fire at a synagogue in Poway, California, killing one woman and injuring three other people. He cited the Christchurch attacks as his model, prosecutors said. On Saturday, the manifesto linked to the El Paso shooting, too, referred to the Christchurch massacre as an explicit inspiration."Too many people still think of these attacks as single events, rather than interconnected actions," the historian Kathleen Belew, author of Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America, wrote in an opinion column on Sunday. "We spend too much ink dividing them into anti-immigrant, racist, anti-Muslim or antisemitic attacks. True, they are these things. But they are also connected with one another through a broader white power ideology." Defining white nationalismAt the center of contemporary white nationalist ideology is the belief that whiteness is under attack, and that a wide range of enemies – from feminists to leftwing politicians to Muslims, Jews, immigrants, refugees and black people – are all conspiring to undermine and destroy the white race, through means as varied as interracial marriage, immigration, "cultural Marxism" and criticism of straight white men.(July 22, 2011) Utøya island and in Oslo, Norway77 killed in a bomb attack, followed by a shooting targeting the island summer youth camp of Norway's Labor party. The shooter, Anders Breivik, wanted to prevent an 'invasion of Muslims' and deliberately targeted politically active young people who he saw as 'cultural Marxists'. More than half of the dead were teenagers. (November 5, 2012) Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, USSix worshippers, including the temple president, Satwant Singh Kaleka, are killed. The shooter, a ''frustrated neo-Nazi' who had played in white power bands, was a regular on racist websites. He had previously talked to one colleague in the US military about a 'racial holy war that was coming'.(September 18, 2013) Piraeus, GreeceRapper and anti-fascist activist Pavlos Fyssas was stabbed to death. A senior member of Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party was imprisoned after confessing to the killing.(April 13, 2014) Overland Park, Kansas, USA former Ku Klux Klan leader shot and killed three people at a Jewish centre and retirement home. One of them just 14 years old. He said he believed Jews were destroying the white race, and that diversity was a kind of genocide. None of his victims were Jewish, but he said he considered two of them to be accomplices to Jewish people.(June 17, 2015) Charleston, South Carolina, USNine people killed during Bible study at a historic black church. The nine victims included elderly longtime church members at the Mother Emanuel AME church, and Clementa Pinckney, a state senator. The shooter, a self-avowed white supremacist, said he wanted to start a race war. (October 22, 2015) Trollhättan, Sweden Three killed in an attack on a local high school. The attacker stabbed students and teachers, targeting those with darker skin, police said. Three died, including 15-year-old Ahmed Hassan, who was born in Somalia and had recently moved to Sweden.(June 16, 2016) Birstall, West Yorkshire, UKLabour MP Jo Cox shot and stabbed to death. A supporter of Britain staying in the EU, Cox was attacked a week before the EU referendum vote in 2016. The man convicted of killing her, a white supremacist obsessed with the Nazis and apartheid-era South Africa, shouted: 'This is for Britain,' 'Keep Britain independent' and 'Britain first' as he killed her.(January 29, 2017) Quebec City, CanadaSix people killed and nineteen injured during evening prayers at a mosque in a shooting which the gunman said was prompted by Justin Trudeau's tweet that refugees were welcome in Canada, and that 'diversity is strength'. The shooter, who said he feared refugees would kill his family, had previously been known as an aggressive online troll with anti-Muslim, anti-refugee and anti-feminist views.(March 20, 2017) New York, USTimothy Caughman stalked and killed by a white supremacist with a sword. His killer, an American military veteran, said he targeted a random black man on the street in New York City as a 'practice run' for a bigger attack, and as part of a campaign to persuade white women not to enter into interracial relationships.(May 26, 2017) Portland, OregonTwo men were killed and one injured after they tried to intervene to protect young women on a public train who were being targeted with an anti-Muslim tirade. Their alleged killer shouted 'Free speech or die' in the courtroom, and 'Death to Antifa!'(June 19, 2017) Finsbury Park, London, UKOne killed and 12 people injured after a van ploughed into worshippers outside a mosque. The killer shouted 'I want to kill all Muslims – I did my bit' after the van attack, according to witnesses. He had been radicalised online and over Twitter, a judge concluded, and avidly consumed anti-Muslim propaganda from prominent rightwing figures.(August 12, 2017) Charlottesville, Virginia, USHeather Heyer killed and dozens injured after a car ploughed into anti-Nazi protesters. The killer had been obsessed with Hitler as a teenager, according to a former teacher. In phone calls from jail, he was recorded criticising Heyer's mother as a 'communist' and 'one of those anti-white supremacists'.(October 24, 2018) Kentucky, USMan attempted to enter black church before allegedly killing two black people in a supermarket. A witness said that during the attack, the alleged shooter said: 'Whites don't kill whites.'(October 27, 2018) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US11 killed in a mass shooting targeting the Tree of Life synagogue. The alleged shooter had an active profile on an extremist social media site, where he accused Jewish people of trying to bring 'evil' Muslims into the US, and wrote that a refugee aid organisation 'likes to bring invaders in that kill our people'.(March 15, 2019) Christchurch, New Zealand51 people were killed and 49 injured in two consecutive attacks on mosques during Friday prayers. The gunman live-streamed the first attack on Facebook Live. They opened the live stream by urging viewers to 'subscribe to PewDiePie', a meme used by the online alt-right and white supremacists.(April 27, 2019) Poway, CaliforniaOne person killed in mass shooting targeting a synagogue in Poway, California, US. The alleged shooter, 19, from California, opened fire in a synagogue during Passover services, killing a 60-year-old woman and injuring three others. An"open letter" posted on the 8chan extremist message board before the attack included white nationalist conspiracy rhetoric and said the shooter was inspired by the gunman who had opened fire on Muslims at two mosques in New Zealand the month before.Lois Beckett and Martin BelamTo people who believe in white supremacist conspiracies, demographic change is an "existential threat to white people", said Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a professor of education and sociology at the American University, and a senior fellow at the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right.These conspiracy theories refer to demographic shifts in dramatic, violent terms, as a kind of "genocide" or a "great replacement" of one people with another. The idea of "replacement" is central to this movement: "You will not replace us! Jews will not replace us!" white nationalists and neo-Nazis chanted as they marched with flaming torches through Charlottesville, Virginia. It has echoed in the manifestos of mass murderers, and the chants of Charlottesville marchers, since being coined by a French white nationalist writer and conspiracy theorist in 2011.People take part in a rally against hate a day after a mass shooting at a Walmart store, in El Paso, Texas. Photograph: José Luis González/ReutersBut in many of the countries where white nationalist radicalization is a threat – including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – white people are, in fact, not the native population, and are not being displaced.Despite this, recent racist violence in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Europe, is linked by the shared conspiracy that "white people are being displaced from their home countries", said Heidi Beirich, the intelligence director at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization that monitors American hate groups."At the extreme end of white supremacy you have this group of people who believe that the only way to create change is to create a violent societal collapse, that will lead to apocalyptic end times, and a race war, and then eventually to restoration and rebirth," Miller-Idriss said. Attacks closely linked to mainstream politicsThough antisemitism is at the heart of white nationalist conspiracy theories, many different groups are labeled as enemies. In the past decade, deadly attacks linked to white nationalism have been carried out against Muslims, Jews, African Americans at Bible study in a historic black church, leftwing activists and politicians in the United States and across Europe. More than 175 people have been killed in at least 16 high-profile attacks linked to white nationalism around the world since 2011.And although politicians often label white nationalist violence as "senseless", analysts suggest that hate crimes often spike alongside political events like elections. Many of these "senseless" attacks have been carried out during key moments of mainstream political debates over immigration and refugee policy.Jo Cox, a British member of parliament, was assassinated by a far-right extremist in June 2016, in the run-up to the Brexit referendum. Pro-Brexit campaigners claimed at the time that voting to remain in the European Union would would result in "swarms" of immigrants entering the UK, and that it would prompt mass sexual attacks. Cox's killer shouted "Britain first!" as he shot and stabbed her to death.Jo Cox, a British member of parliament, was assassinated by a far-right extremist. Photograph: Jo Cox Foundation/PAThe shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh – the worst antisemitic mass murder in US history – happened during the run up to the midterm elections. At that time, conservative media and Republican politicians were promoting fears of a "caravan" of migrants heading towards the country from Central America. Congressman Matt Gaetz was one of those who suggested that the caravan had been orchestrated by the Jewish financier George Soros.Trump, who spent years questioning the citizenship of America's first black president, has continuously made public comments that include white nationalist rhetoric. He campaigned on a ban on Muslim immigration, a border wall, and in his campaign announcement suggested that Mexican migrants were rapists. As president, he has characterized migrants as invaders in several tweets. At a rally in May, Trump used the term "invasion" to describe the arrival of immigrants at the southern border. At the same rally he raised the prospect of using weapons on immigrants. When Trump asked "How do you stop these people?" someone in the crowd shouted, "Shoot them!" and Trump laughed."When you have politicians using language like invasion and infestation, it reinforces extremist beliefs in a way that makes them more legitimate," Miller-Idriss said. Who mainstreams white nationalist ideas?Conservative and even mainstream media outlets have also played a role in mainstreaming white nationalist ideas. Beirich, of the SPLC, said that the concept of demographic replacement is "definitely cropping up in conservative media", pointing to the Fox News anchors Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham as having broadcast programs which "may not use the same language" but which convey the same basic narrative of "replacement".Although white nationalism is far from a new ideology, today's racist activists have been adept at using social networks to expand their reach and radicalize a new generation of young white men and women. They have worked under a veil of irony and trolling explicitly designed to create uncertainty in the mainstream public about how serious they are. That effort has been extremely successful.Facebook and Instagram only banned content advocating white nationalism, like "The US should be a white-only nation," four months ago. Previously, the company suggested in a post announcing the ban, it had considered white nationalism or white separatism valid political viewpoints, and had believed in the arguments, rejected by experts, that "white nationalism" was not necessarily racist."There is so much material on the web – treatises, tracts, and manifestos – that would have been extraordinarily difficult to get hold of 25 years ago," said Brian Levin, the director for the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.People rally against hate a day after a mass shooting at a Walmart store, in El Paso, Texas. Photograph: José Luis González/ReutersWhatever internet platforms do now to crack down on violent white nationalist content, racist activists from across the world have been able to connect and organize online for more than a decade, with little interference, said Joan Donovan, the director and lead researcher of the Technology and Social Change Research Project at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.That has given them time to share strategies and organize across international borders. "That kind of time, put into this movement, is really dangerous," Donovan said. By the numbersWhile there are no official surveys of hate crimes in the United States, several organizations that monitor them across disparate jurisdictions and reporting standards say that crimes motivated by white supremacy have been rising in recent years.According to a report last week from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism (CSHE) at CSU San Bernardino, there were 17 homicides carried out by white nationalists in the US alone in 2018. This constituted the vast majority of the 22 extremist murders that CSHE counted that year.Earlier in the year, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported that all but one of 50 extremist-linked murders they counted were committed by people with direct links to white supremacist movements or ideologies. The exception was a killing by an Islamic extremist who had previously been involved with white supremacy.Since 9/11, the United States has devoted $2.8tn to counterterrorism, according to the Stimson Center, with almost $500bn going to the Department of Homeland Security in that time period. But the small slice of this devoted to rightwing extremists has been further diminished in the Trump era. Earlier this year DHS disbanded a group of intelligence analysts focused on domestic terror threats, after shutting down programs specifically directed at neo-Nazis and other far right groups.According to the Brookings Institution's Eric Rosand, when it comes to domestic terrorism, "the United States continues to rely almost entirely on the police".At the local level, law enforcement officials across the country have faced scrutiny for failing to take seriously the threat of white nationalist violence, and for sometimes devoting more attention to policing anti-fascist protesters than violent neo-Nazis. Some American law enforcement officials have said they were unprepared to deal with white nationalist violence.Beirich says that "the FBI has admitted that this is the number one domestic terror threat, but then at the same time federal agencies have been focused on Islamic extremism for so long they are way behind the eight ball on this".
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| Putin urges arms talks with US after nuclear pact demise Posted: 05 Aug 2019 01:24 PM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia would only deploy new intermediate-range missiles if the United States does and called for urgent arms control talks to prevent a chaotic arms race following the demise of a key nuclear pact. Putin made his statements after the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty ended Friday, with the U.S. announcing its intention to test and deploy weapons previously banned by the 1987 accord. Russia denies breaching the terms of the treaty.
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| The Latest: Morocco navy rescues 424 migrants in under a day Posted: 05 Aug 2019 01:13 PM PDT ![The Latest: Morocco navy rescues 424 migrants in under a day]( "The Latest: Morocco navy rescues 424 migrants in under a day") Morocco's state-run news agency says Moroccan navy crews rescued 424 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea on Sunday night and Monday. The MAP news agency reported that the makeshift boats carrying the migrants were in trouble when the rescues took place, but it didn't give details. MAP says the rescued migrants included 53 women and 16 minors and some of the hundreds of passengers had serious health conditions.
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| Russia's B-2 Lookalike Stealth Drone Just Flew for the 1st Time Posted: 05 Aug 2019 12:21 PM PDT  Russia's prototype stealth drone has flown for the first time.On Aug. 3, 2019, a Hunter-B jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle took off from a military test site. The flying-wing-shape drone flew for more than 20 minutes at a maximum altitude of around 2,000 feet, reported TASS, a state news organization.Hunter-B's first flight inches Russia closer to fielding fast, armed drones for front-line missions. But there's still a lot of work to do.With its approximately 50-feet wingspan, Hunter-B is in the same class as China's Tian Ying drone, the U.S. Air Force's RQ-170 surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle, the U.S. Navy's experimental X-47B UAV and Boeing's X-45C drone demonstrator.It likely is subsonic. Its shape could give it stealth qualities from some angles, but its unshielded engine nozzle probably means it easily can be detected from behind. "The drone is equipped with equipment for optical-electronic, radio engineering and other types of intelligence," TASS reported.The likelihood of Hunter-B eventually entering squadron service with the Russian air force is "big," Tom Cooper, an independent expert on Russian military aviation, told The National Interest."The Russian military is running multiple UAV-related projects," Cooper said. "Thus the emergence of this project is perfectly normal."A Hunter-B was on the flight line when Russian president Vladimir Putin on May 14, 2019 inspected the country's latest warplanes.
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| Could Iran's Mines 'Sink' the U.S. Navy in a War? Posted: 05 Aug 2019 12:05 PM PDT  In the event of war with Iran, the U.S. Navy's small, aging force of Persian Gulf-based minesweepers would struggle to locate and disarm Iran's underwater mines.The consequences for U.S. military operations, not to mention world trade, could be severe.Four of the Navy's 11 1980s-vintage Avenger-class minesweepers sail from Bahrain and, if war broke out, would be responsible for clearing the strategic Strait of Hormuz and other important waterways of mines.But the Avengers suffer from obsolete equipment and a lack of spending. The minesweepers "routinely need repairs," one Navy officer told Pro Publica reporters Robert Faturechi, Megan Rose and T. Christian Miller.The Navy for years has diverted minesweeping funding into the development of multi-mission Littoral Combat Ships. The LCS were supposed to replace the Avengers, but the new ships have proved expensive, unreliable and unsuitable for many of the missions the Navy hoped they would handle.The sailing branch in 2016 canceled development of a dedicated minehunting robot for the LCS. All the while, the Avengers slowly have rusted away."The companies that used to make a variety of spare parts no longer exist," the reporters added. "A sailor recently aboard one ship said the sonar meant to detect mines was so imprecise that in training exercises it flagged dishwashers, crab traps and cars on the ocean floor as potential bombs."Minesweeper USS Devastator with the hull number MCM 6 was non-operational for so long that sailors jokingly referred to her as "Building 6," since she never moved.
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| The Latest: UN chief worried about rising tensions in region Posted: 05 Aug 2019 11:29 AM PDT  U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Monday that over the past few days the U.N. Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan "has observed and reported an increase in military activity along the Line of Control" — the highly militarized line dividing Kashmir between the two countries. The government cut off communications and is deploying thousands of troops in the restive Himalayan region amid fears its actions could spark uprisings.
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| UN probes corruption in its own agencies in Yemen aid effort Posted: 05 Aug 2019 11:07 AM PDT  The United Nations investigators assembled in the departure hall of Sanaa's airport were preparing to leave with precious evidence: laptops and external drives collected from the staff of the World Health Organization. The Houthis had been tipped off by a WHO staffer with connections to the rebel movement who feared her theft of aid funding would be uncovered, according to the six former and current officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the seizure of the computers had not previously been made public. The October 2018 scene at the Sanaa airport is another episode in the continuing struggle over corruption that has diverted donated food, medicine, fuel and money from desperate Yemenis amid their country's five-year civil war.
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| Iran's foreign minister sanctioned after declining Trump's 'chat' invitation Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:40 AM PDT  Mohammad Javad Zarif says he was invited for White House talks and threatened with sanctions if he did not attendMohammad Javad Zarif speaks in Tehran on Monday. Photograph: Wana News Agency/ReutersIran's foreign minister has said he was invited for White House talks with Donald Trump and threatened with sanctions if he did not attend.Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters in Tehran: "I didn't accept and was sanctioned."The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced the imposition of sanctions on Zarif on 31 July, two weeks after the foreign minister visited the US for meetings at the Iranian UN mission in New York.During that trip, he is reported to have met the Republican senator Rand Paul on 15 July, a day after the senator played golf with Trump. According to an account in the New Yorker, Paul conveyed an invitation to the White House for talks. Zarif consulted Tehran, which turned down the offer.Zarif said on Monday he was warned he would be subject to sanctions if he did not accept the invitation."I also said that while [Trump] may want [a] photo op, the US isn't interested in talks; rather, Iran's submission. That will never happen," Zarif said on Twitter."An example of US tactics: Threatening to designate somebody in two weeks unless he accepts your invitation to chat in the Oval Office."It is unclear whether sanctions will have any practical effect on Zarif. He says he does not have assets outside Iran, and the US is obliged to allow him to travel to the UN. US allies have said they will continue to meet and hold talks with the foreign minister.Tehran has stressed that Iran already has agreed a lengthy, detailed agreement with the US, in the form of the 2015 nuclear agreement with five other world powers, which Trump withdrew the US from in May last year.In recent months Trump has repeatedly hinted that if the Iranian leadership was prepared to talk to him directly, they could strike a new deal that would bring Iran great prosperity. In June, he sent that message through Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, but it was rebuffed by Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.The offer reflects his frequently stated belief that he is uniquely gifted as a dealmaker, and appears convinced that he achieved a diplomatic breakthrough with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, despite the fact that North Korea has continued to build its nuclear weapons arsenal after three meetings between Trump and Kim.Tehran has declared it will breach some of the restrictions on its nuclear programme imposed in the 2015 agreement, unless other parties to the deal, the Europeans in particular, compensate Iran for the economic impact of US withdrawal.It has allowed its stockpile of low-enriched uranium to grow beyond the limit laid down in the agreement, slightly increased the level at which it enriches uranium, and declared it will restart activity at its heavy water reactor at Arak.
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| The Latest: UN chief calls for all people to counter hatred Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:35 AM PDT  The statement came from U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday. Guterres recently released a strategy and plan of action on hate speech that seeks to address the root causes and respond more effectively.
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| July hottest month measured, 2019 set to be among warmest years Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:17 AM PDT  "While July is usually the warmest month of the year for the globe, according to our data it also was the warmest month recorded globally, by a very small margin," Jean-Noel Thepaut, head of the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, said in a statement. Compared with the 1981-2010 period, average July temperatures this year rose highest in Alaska, Greenland, Siberia, central Asia, Iran and large swathes of Antarctica. Africa and Australia were also well above average. The new record is all the more notable because the 2016 record followed a strong El Nino, which boosts average global temperates beyond the impact of global warming alone.
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| The Warmaking Game Posted: 05 Aug 2019 09:57 AM PDT  Officials from the Trump administration asked Congress for nearly unlimited power in a recent debate over renewing the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Al Qaeda. In a July 24 meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, State Department Acting Legal Advisor Marik String took a hard line on the president's warmaking authority, attracting the ire of Democrats and setting off several heated exchanges with Sen. Jeff Markley (D-OR).Recent tensions with Iran and a prospective Turkish invasion of northeast Syria, where several thousand U.S. troops are stationed as part of the war against ISIS, have raised questions about the Trump administration's powers under the current AUMF. The administration privately told Turkey in early August that it cannot defend northeast Syria without further congressional authorization, but continues to publicly claim a blank check to use lethal force almost anywhere in the world—and is asking Congress to remove whatever limits still exist.
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| Car bomb collides with vehicles in Egypt capital, killing 20 Posted: 05 Aug 2019 09:43 AM PDT  A car packed with explosives being driven to carry out an attack collided with other vehicles and exploded in central Cairo, killing at least 20 people, the Interior Ministry said Monday, the deadliest attack in the Egyptian capital in over two years. It damaged Egypt's main cancer hospital nearby, shattering parts of the facade and some rooms inside, forcing the evacuation of dozens of patients. It accused a militant group known as Hasm, which has links to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, saying it was moving the car to carry out an attack elsewhere.
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| Turkmenistan leader drives around flaming crater in first new footage since death rumours Posted: 05 Aug 2019 09:25 AM PDT  Turkmenistan state television has shown the country's eccentric stunt-loving president driving near a flaming gas crater in the first new footage of him since he disappeared from view last month, sparking rumours of his death. President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who last appeared in public on July 5, was seen on a Sunday news broadcast behind the wheel of a rally car streaking through the desert of the gas-producing former Soviet republic near Iran and Afghanistan. The car was then filmed spinning in the dust and driving circles around the "Gates of Hell," a 220-foot-wide collapsed natural gas field that has been burning continuously since scientists set it on fire in 1971. The daring exploit was the culmination of 28 minutes of vainglorious footage that also showed the authoritarian leader riding a horse and a bicycle, showing government ministers how to lift weights and apparently shooting bullseyes in a target with an assault rifle. Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov circled the so-called 'Gates of Hell' in a rally-car He seemed to roll three strikes in row while bowling with the mayor of the capital, although cutaway video edits made it impossible to tell how many of these feats he actually achieved. Admiring officials nonetheless broke into reliable applause. Mr Berdymukhamedov's overblown TV antics with fast cars and high-powered firearms are such a fixture of the media in the repressive Central Asian country that any undue absence is cause for confusion and gossip. Hilariously unironic videos like one of him shooting targets while riding a bicycle distract from a increasingly dire economic situation in Turkmenistan, which is suffering from hyperinflation and food shortages, according to a June report by the London-based Foreign Policy Centre. Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has been credited with books about horses and once rapped an ode to his favourite steed Credit: Igor Sasin/AFP/Getty The presidential press service announced in July that Mr Berdymukhamedov was on a month-long holiday and published a video of him playing with cats and grandchildren. Less than a week later, however, rumours began swirling on social media that he had died of liver failure. Other reports said his ageing mother was in critical condition in a German clinic. While officials did not comment on the leader's absence, state television broadcast footage of him inspecting construction projects. Observers noted, however, that it was almost certainly taken from an appearance in May. The latest video, on the other hand, appeared to be entirely fresh. In it, the macho yet creative Mr Berdymukhamedov was also seen signing a manuscript about Central Asian shepherd dogs and sipping a well-earned cup of tea. Foreign literature is mostly banned in Turkmenistan, but the president has been credited with writing some three dozen books about topics like horses, tea and medicinal plants. Dressed in a slightly psychedelic shirt of swirling primary colours, he played piano and drum machine on the recording of a song reportedly written by his grandson called Live, Turkmenistan! Only Forward with the Speed of a Horse! A horse fanatic, he had previously rapped an ode to his favourite steed in a gaudy music video with his grandson, who has sung Turkmenistan's praises in English on occasion. Mr Berdymukhamedov files an assault rifle and throws knives at targets in a previous television appearance Credit: YouTube The personal dentist of Turkmenistan's first post-Soviet leader, Mr Berdymukhamedov came to power in 2006 and quickly established his own personality cult, erecting a golden statue of himself on a horse in the centre of the capital. Turkmenistan is known as one of the most closed countries in the world, with the authorities enforcing an official ideology and cracking down on dissent. It has historically close relations with Russia, which recently resumed gas imports from Turkmenistan after a crippling three-year suspension.
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| Syrian troops resume offensive on rebel stronghold in Idlib Posted: 05 Aug 2019 09:14 AM PDT  The Syrian army said Monday it will resume its offensive against the northwestern Idlib province, the last opposition-held stronghold, accusing insurgents there of violating a recent truce. Opposition activists reported airstrikes had resumed in the southern parts of the enclave, which is located on the Turkish border. Meanwhile, Turkish and American military officials began a two-day set of talks in the Turkish capital, Ankara, about establishing a safe zone in northeastern Syria to address Ankara's concerns about U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish-led forces in that region.
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| Sudanese rebels criticize power-sharing deal Posted: 05 Aug 2019 09:07 AM PDT ![Sudanese rebels criticize power-sharing deal]( "Sudanese rebels criticize power-sharing deal") A Sudanese rebel group says it won't accept a power-sharing deal signed recently between the ruling military council and the pro-democracy movement. The Sudanese Revolutionary Front, a rebel group that is part of the protest movement, argued that the constitutional document initialed late Sunday did not include "basic principles" to achieve peace in Sudan.
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| Corbyn Signals ‘Early’ Confidence Vote to Block No-Deal Brexit Posted: 05 Aug 2019 09:04 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn signaled he'll call a vote of no-confidence in Boris Johnson's government when Parliament returns in September to prevent the new prime minister taking Britain out of the European Union without a deal.Corbyn said he will put down a motion at an "appropriate very early time," after Parliament returns on Sept. 3."The prime minister seems to be trying to slip no-deal through, slip past Parliament and slip past the British people," Corbyn told reporters in Derbyshire, northern England, Monday. "No-deal will be really serious; serious for food prices, for medical supplies, for trade, for investment."Corbyn could put down a motion of no-confidence as soon as Parliament returns. He has to act fast if he wants to bring down the government -- or force it to abandon its threat to leave the EU without a deal -- before Johnson's deadline of Oct. 31.The European Union is watching developments in London as it weighs how to handle Johnson, who says he wants a new Brexit agreement but is prepared to walk away without one, despite the economic chaos it would bring. Germany doesn't expect Johnson to make good on his no-deal threat and expects Parliament to stop him, according to two government officials in Berlin, potentially weakening the U.K.'s negotiating hand.Digging InThe 27 EU states showed no sign of giving in to Johnson's demands when officials met in Brussels on Monday. Representatives reaffirmed their position that the Brexit agreement can't be re-opened, according to a person familiar with the discussion.If Labour wins a no-confidence vote, which could be held as soon as Sept. 4, Johnson would then have 14 days to try to command a majority in the House of Commons. If he wasn't able to then he might be forced to call a general election, something he said again on Monday he doesn't want to do.Even so, a general election might not be enough to prevent a no-deal exit. The Sunday Telegraph reported that Johnson's senior adviser Dominic Cummings told aides that Johnson could delay calling the election until after Oct. 31, allowing Britain to tumble out of the bloc by default in the meantime.That throws up another set of problems, according to Ruth Fox, Director at the Hansard Society. Having lost a confidence vote in his government, Johnson would effectively be a caretaker leader, limited in what he can instruct the civil service to do under purdah rules governing general elections.Any attempt to push through a no-deal Brexit while not supported by the House of Commons would put Johnson on a legal and constitutional collision course. And in those circumstances there would be a legal question mark over what Johnson could do, both in initiating policy and in the use of government resources, particularly if the policy of the opposition party -- which might win an election -- stands counter to his government's policy.'High-Risk Strategy'"The Cummings strategy works if they are prepared to blow through lots of constitutional conventions," Fox said in an interview. "It's a very, very high-risk strategy."During the 14-day period after a confidence vote, there would be trading between the parties to see if a new government could be formed. The Scottish National Party may seek a second referendum on Scottish independence as a price for propping up a potential Labour government, while the Welsh nationalists of Plaid Cymru list a second public vote on Brexit as their top priority. The Liberal Democrats also want a second referendum.A government of national unity aimed at preventing a no-deal Brexit could conceivably unite Conservative rebels, independents and opposition parties, but with no obvious leader and party machinery, it would be difficult to get off the ground.(Updates with EU position in sixth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Jonathan Stearns and Thomas Penny.To contact the reporter on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Emma Ross-Thomas, Thomas Penny, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Orthodox church files new suit in Jerusalem property battle Posted: 05 Aug 2019 09:03 AM PDT ![Orthodox church files new suit in Jerusalem property battle]( "Orthodox church files new suit in Jerusalem property battle") The Greek Orthodox Church says it has filed a new lawsuit against a Jewish settler group in a bid to overturn an Israeli Supreme Court decision upholding the sale of three properties in predominantly Palestinian parts of Jerusalem's Old City. In June, the court ruled in favor of the Israeli organization, which seeks to increase the Jewish presence in Palestinian areas of the contested holy city. Most Orthodox Christians in Jerusalem are Palestinian, and the sale of the properties to Israelis sparked outrage.
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| UK joins US Strait of Hormuz mission; Iran slams sanctions Posted: 05 Aug 2019 09:00 AM PDT  Britain said Monday that it would join a U.S.-led naval security mission in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran's seizure of merchant vessels has raised tensions with the West. Earlier, Iran's foreign minister lambasted recent U.S. financial sanctions against him, calling the move a "failure" for diplomacy.
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| Britain joins US naval mission to protect international shipping in Gulf amid escalating security crisis with Iran Posted: 05 Aug 2019 08:40 AM PDT  Britain is joining the US in a naval mission in the Gulf to protect international shipping, following a series of tanker seizures by the Iranian military, in a move reflecting the escalating security crisis in the region.Two Royal Navy warships already in the area will be working alongside two American ships to accompany vessels through the Straits of Hormuz, which carries 20 per cent of the world's oil supplies.Whitehall officials insisted the mission will not remain under American control and, in time, will transition to one with European command in which the UK has offered to lead one of the Maritime Task Groups.The new government under Boris Johnson, ministers insisted, will not change its stance towards Iran and will back, not follow, Donald Trump's administration.London continues to stand by Tehran's agreement with international powers, they stressed, and will not follow the US in imposing sanctions against Iran.No other European power, however, has joined the American and British naval initiative so far and the only other European warship in the waters, a French frigate, will continue to operate autonomously.British government sources stated that talks have been held with a number of European allies and a number have expressed an interest in joining a future European commanded operation.But some Western states, including France and Germany, have expressed unwillingness to join a task force led by the Americans.The British decision to join the mission comes three weeks after a British flagged tanker, Stena Impero, was taken over by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. That followed the capture of an Iranian owned tanker, Grace 1, by Royal Marines off Gibraltar.Two British frigates in the Gulf, the destroyer HMS Duncan and frigate HMS Montrose, will continue to accompany UK-flagged and international shipping and two American cruiser-destroyers, stationed at each end of the Straits of Hormuz, will protect British ships when called upon.The two countries will, however, operate, for the time being, under different rules of engagement.Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, said: "The UK is determined to ensure her shipping is protected from unlawful threats and for that reason we have joined the new maritime security mission in the Gulf."The deployment of the Royal Navy assets is a sign of our commitment to our UK-flagged vessels and we look forward to working alongside the US and others to find an international solution to the problems in the Strait of Hormuz."Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, added : "It is vital to secure the freedom for all international shipping to navigate the Strait of Hormuz without delay, given the increased threat. This deployment will reinforce security and provide reassurance for shipping. Our aim is to build the broadest international support to uphold freedom of navigation in the region, as protected under international law."Our approach to Iran hasn't changed. We remain committed to working with Iran and our international partners to de-escalate the situation and maintain the nuclear deal."Iran has, however, repeatedly complained about the British seizure of Grace 1 and demanded the release of its crew and cargo.Speaking at news conference in Dubai, Mohammed Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, accused Britain of collaborating with the US in "economic terrorism".
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| The Latest: Russia says attack on its Syria base injures 4 Posted: 05 Aug 2019 08:36 AM PDT  Russia's military says militants fired three unguided rockets at its air base in Syria, injuring four civilians but causing no damage to the facility. The Russian defense ministry said Monday that the rockets hit a village near the Hmeimeem air base in Latakia province on Syria's Mediterranean coast. The attack comes as the Syrian army says it will resume its offensive on the northwestern Idlib province, the last opposition-held stronghold, accusing insurgents of violating a recent truce.
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| Corbyn Threatens Early Vote to Topple Johnson: Brexit Update Posted: 05 Aug 2019 08:34 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson will face an "early" vote of no-confidence in his government, which could oust the U.K.'s new prime minister and force fresh elections, opposition Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn said. Johnson, meanwhile, has said he doesn't want to call a snap election.Key Developments:Johnson announced 1.8 billion pound ($2.2 billion) boost for the NHSHancock said there shouldn't be an early general election; he also promised an "unhindered" supply of medical supplies after BrexitJohnson is preparing a "people versus the politicians" general election campaign after Brexit, Financial Times reportedPound pares losses of as much as 0.5%; yield on U.K. government bonds reaches record lowGermany doesn't think Johnson can pursue no-deal, as officials expect Parliament to block himEU Officials Reject Johnson's Demand to Re-Open Deal (4 p.m.)The U.K.'s 27 EU partners showed no sign of giving in to Johnson's demands for a new exit agreement when officials met in Brussels to discuss the state of play on Brexit talks on Monday. Representatives from member states reaffirmed their position that the Brexit agreement can't be re-opened, according to a person familiar with the discussion.The officials also confirmed there would be room to amend the non-binding political declaration on future U.K.-EU ties, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the discussion was private. The meeting was a useful chance to reinforce the bloc's position in light of Johnson's harder tone on leaving the EU without a deal, the person said.Johnson: Another Election Is 'Last Thing' I want (3 p.m.)The premier has said he doesn't want to call another election, which isn't quite the same thing as ruling one out. Speaking during a visit to a hospital to promote his health spending pledge, Johnson said voters had had enough of voting."The people of the UK voted in the election in 2015, they had a referendum in 2016 and another election in 2017," he said. "They want us to deliver what they asked for- and that is for us to leave the EU. The last thing I want to do is call another election."The question is whether Johnson's government -- with a working majority of just one member of Parliament -- can survive for long without another national poll.Corbyn Pledges 'Early' Confidence Vote (2:20 p.m.)Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, said he will call for a vote of no confidence in the Government when Parliament returns from summer recess in a bid to block a no-deal Brexit.Labour will call the vote at an "appropriate very early time," Corbyn told the Press Association in an interview. He said he would do everything he can to stop a no deal exit from the EU."The Prime Minister seems to be trying to slip no-deal through, slip past Parliament and slip past the British people," he said. "No-deal will be really serious. Serious for food prices, for medical supplies, for trade, for investment, and drive us straight into the hands of the sort of trade deal that Donald Trump wants to do with Boris Johnson.""There will be a no-confidence motion put at a point when we can win it and a point when we can make sure this Government is not allowed to take this country out of the union with no deal."Johnson: NHS Boost Is 'New Money' (12:35 p.m.)Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Sky News his 1.8 billion pound cash boost for the National Health Service represents "new money," during a visit to Lincolnshire on Monday. The money will be used to reduce waiting times, he said."It's also vital we have a strong economy, he said.Brexit Will Definitely Happen Oct. 31: Slack (12:30 p.m.)Brexit will happen on Oct. 31 "whatever the circumstances," Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman told reporters, declining to comment on whether the government would respect a vote in Parliament seeking to rule out a no-deal split from the European Union.Spokesman James Slack also wouldn't comment on whether Brexit could happen during a general election campaign, calling the issue hypothetical. The question derives from a Telegraph newspaper report that Johnson's senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, told ministers an election date could be set for after the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline if the government lost a confidence vote in Parliament beforehand.The government's priority is to secure a Brexit deal with the EU, while ensuring the U.K. is prepared to leave the bloc without one, Slack said.Bond Markets React to Election Risk (10:30 a.m.)U.K. government bonds rallied, driving benchmark yields to a record low as global risk sentiment worsened and amid growing speculation Johnson is preparing for a general election.Ten-year gilt yields slipped below 0.5% for the first time, while the pound also fell as much as 0.5% on Monday.Scotland Would Vote for Independence, Poll Shows (10 a.m.)Scotland would choose to become independent of the U.K. if given a chance to revisit their 2014 referendum question, polling by Conservative peer Michael Ashcroft showed on Monday. It's the first time in two years Scots support independence, he said.Excluding those who said they wouldn't vote or didn't know, 52% of Scots would choose to secede from the U.K., with 48% opting to stay in the union. That compares with the 55% who opposed independence in the 2014 plebiscite.The poll illustrates the divisions caused by Brexit and follows Johnson's push to leave the European Union on Oct. 31, even without a deal. Ashcroft's polling showed 59% of Scots who voted to remain in the EU would choose to leave the U.K.Hancock: U.K. Doesn't Need Snap Election (Earlier)Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he doesn't think there should be an early general election, responding to mounting speculation the government is preparing for one."I don't want one, I don't think we need one," Hancock told BBC radio on Monday. "We've got to deliver on the result of the referendum and I think the best way to do that is with a deal."Speaking to ITV earlier, Hancock also promised the government is doing whatever necessary to ensure an "unhindered supply of medicines whatever the Brexit scenario."Earlier:Johnson's Spending Puts U.K. Parties on Alert for Snap ElectionThe Plan to Avert Banking Chaos in a No-Deal Brexit: QuickTakePound Seen Hitting 34-Year Low If Johnson Drags U.K. to No-Deal\--With assistance from Charlotte Ryan and Jonathan Stearns.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: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Boldest Kashmir Move in 70 Years Boosts Modi, Provokes Pakistan Posted: 05 Aug 2019 08:17 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to revoke seven decades of autonomy in the disputed Muslim-majority state of Kashmir has consolidated his position as strongman and started a new chapter in Indo-Pakistan relations.The move to make Kashmir a 'union territory' -- similar to India's capital Delhi -- gives Modi's federal government complete control over the state's local police machinery. The promises made in his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto in the 2014 and 2019 election campaigns -- where he courted the votes of the Hindu majority -- have been kept in less than 100 days of his landslide electoral victory.Withdrawing the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, as the state is formally known, earns Modi a breather from negative news on the country's economy as attention moves away from the government's ill-conceived sovereign borrowing plans, slowing growth and rising joblessness.Yet it risks worsening India's already fraught security relationship with rival Pakistan and raises the possibility of a renewed insurgency in the troubled region."Given that Islamabad has long claimed Jammu and Kashmir, any unilateral move by India that changes the region's status is sure to concern -- and alarm -- Pakistan," said Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based The Wilson Center. "The risks of violence have risen significantly. The bottom line is India may believe that this move will bring more clarity to the Kashmir issue by formally integrating the region into the union of India, but there are all kinds of risks and uncertainties ahead."Islamabad ProtestsPakistan strongly protested against India's actions.In a statement released Monday, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry condemned the move and pledged to exercise all possible options to counter what it described as New Delhi's "illegal steps."Meanwhile Pakistan's parliamentarians are set to hold a joint sitting on Tuesday to discuss the deteriorating situation in Kashmir and India's legislative steps, according to state-run Radio Pakistan.One option for Pakistan is to go to the United Nations Security Council, noted Rustam Shah Mohmand, a former Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan. He said the UN's own resolutions have been violated by India in this case."The ultra-right Hindu ideology triumphed in trampling democracy and human rights," Mohmand said. "India through this act seems to have preempted the agenda of forthcoming Trump-Modi meeting in which Trump was very much likely to offer mediation to India on Kashmir."Last week, India rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump's offer to mediate between the south Asian nation and Pakistan, which have long-running tensions centering on Kashmir, an area that's claimed in full -- and ruled in part -- by both. In late February, Modi's government authorized airstrikes against Pakistan in response to a terrorist attack in Kashmir.Still, Trump's offer to mediate seems to have boosted Pakistan's confidence, said G. Parthasarathy, former Indian high commissioner in Pakistan."Pakistan seems to now be under the impression that they can do anything in the region as long as they give Trump an exit from Afghanistan before US elections," Parthasarathy said. "India today sought to send out a message to Pakistan and Kashmiris that it means business. That things will not continue as before."Kashmir AutonomyUnder Article 370 of the constitution, the state of Jammu and Kashmir enjoyed complete autonomy and the state legislature was free to draft its own laws except in the areas of communications, defense, finance, and foreign affairs, while Indian citizens were prohibited from purchasing land in the state.It was especially drafted in the 1950s after the kingdom of Kashmir agreed to join the Indian republic. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had pledged to scrap the article in its electoral manifestos of 2014 and 2019."Article 370 should have been revoked much earlier," Home Minister Amit Shah told India's parliament Monday. "But it needed political will. And the Modi government has the political will to do it."Kashmir's failure to advance the rights of women, protect children and implement laws and quotas to benefit lower caste citizens meant India's government had to act, said a senior foreign ministry official who asked not to be named as they were not authorized to speak to the media.It is not just about owning land, they said. The federal government had sent $40 billion to Kashmir over the last few decades, yet the state has little to show in terms of development.In the lead up to the controversial step, prominent political leaders in Indian-administered Kashmir -- including former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti -- were placed under house arrest and the Indian paramilitary forces deployed thousands of extra troops across the valley in one of the most widespread security crackdowns in recent years.India also evacuated thousands of tourists, students and pilgrims -- citing terrorist threats -- and restricted phone and Internet services.New Delhi's actions show the opinions of the citizens of Kashmir do not matter, said Khalid Shah, Delhi-based fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. "That's a scary situation for any democracy. My sense is that this will lead to long term political consequences and will prolong the conflict."India's benchmark stock index S&P BSE Sensex dropped 1.1% to the lowest since March 8, while the rupee weakened 1.6% to end at 70.7325 per dollar in Mumbai.Army on StandbyThe Indian Army said Monday it was on standby for any contingency in Kashmir. The official, who asked not to be identified citing rules, said while no additional soldiers had been sent to the region, central security forces had added an extra 10,000 personnel, bringing the total number to 45,000.India's arrest of political leaders without an explanation is "unprecedented," Akhil Bery, South Asia analyst at risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said in an email."It has the potential to embolden Pakistan-based terrorists to begin ramping up attacks again," said Bery. "This also fits into Imran Khan's narrative that India is the one responsible for escalating the tensions -- he managed to convince President Trump of that and this is only going to support his message further."(Recasts throughout.)To contact the reporters on this story: Archana Chaudhary in New Delhi at achaudhary2@bloomberg.net;Ismail Dilawar in Karachi at mdilawar@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Unni KrishnanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The Latest: Britain to join US-led ship security mission Posted: 05 Aug 2019 08:06 AM PDT  Britain says it will work with the United States in a "new international maritime security mission" to protect merchant shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The Ministry of Defense said Monday that Royal Navy vessels will work alongside the U.S. Navy to escort vessels through the busy strait, which has become a flashpoint for tensions between Iran and the West. The U.S. has been asking its allies to take part in a naval mission to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, though European nations have been reluctant.
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| UPDATE 3-UK joins United States for maritime security mission in Gulf Posted: 05 Aug 2019 07:50 AM PDT ![UPDATE 3-UK joins United States for maritime security mission in Gulf]( "UPDATE 3-UK joins United States for maritime security mission in Gulf") Britain on Monday joined the United States in a maritime security mission in the Gulf to protect merchant vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran seized a British-flagged vessel. British officials stressed that there was no change to London's policy on Iran but joining the United States is the most significant non-Brexit foreign policy move to date of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's 12-day-old government.
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| UK to join US-led maritime security mission in Gulf Posted: 05 Aug 2019 07:24 AM PDT ![UK to join US-led maritime security mission in Gulf]( "UK to join US-led maritime security mission in Gulf") Britain said on Monday it was joining a U.S.-led maritime security mission in the Gulf to protect merchant vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz. Last month, Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized a British tanker, Stena Impero, near the Strait of Hormuz for alleged marine violations after Britain seized an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar, accusing it of violating sanctions on Syria. "We look forward to working alongside the U.S. and others to find an international solution to the problems in the Strait of Hormuz," Defence Minister Ben Wallace told reporters.
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| The Latest: Cairo explosion with 20 dead involved a car bomb Posted: 05 Aug 2019 07:20 AM PDT  Egypt's Interior Ministry says the multiple-car crash on a Cairo street in front of the country's main cancer hospital that killed at least 20 people involved a car bomb. Monday's statement by the ministry says an Islamic militant group, known as Hasm, with links with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, was driving the car with the bomb late on Sunday down the Corniche, intending to carry out a militant attack elsewhere in the country when the crash set off the bomb and the explosion took place. Egyptian authorities say a multiple-car crash on a Cairo street in front of the main cancer hospital set off an explosion that triggered a fire outside the building, killing a total of 20 people.
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| Putin urges new arms talks with US to avoid 'chaos' Posted: 05 Aug 2019 07:10 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday urged the United States to begin new arms talks after the collapse of a Cold War nuclear pact between the two world powers. Moscow and Washington tore up the Intermediate Range Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty on Friday, triggering fears of a new arms race. "In order to avoid chaos that has no rules, limits and laws, one needs to once again weigh all possible dangerous consequences and start serious dialogue without any ambiguities," Putin said in a statement.
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| German air force unable to train pilots because of shortage of planes Posted: 05 Aug 2019 06:41 AM PDT  The German air force is failing to meet Nato minimum training requirements because it does not have enough working aircraft for its pilots to fly, it emerged on Monday. Almost half of the Luftwaffe's pilots were unable to meet Nato's target of 180 flight hours last year because their aircraft were grounded by maintenance issues. Only 512 of the air force's 875 pilots were able to meet the target, the German government admitted in a written answer to a parliamentary question. The disclosure will add to concerns among Germany's Nato allies over chronic underfunding. "The Luftwaffe is at a low point," Lt-Gen Ingo Gerhartz, the air force chief of staff, admitted at a defence industry event in Berlin last month. "Aircraft are grounded due to a lack of spare parts, or they aren't even on site since they're off for maintenance." It emerged in February that on average only 39 of Germany's 128 Eurofighter jets and 26 of its 93 older Tornado fighters were available for combat or training last year. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer took over as German defence minister last month Credit: CHRISTOPHE GATEAU/DPA The latest details make clear the scale of the task facing Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, widely seen as Angela Merkel's designated successor, who took over as defence minister last month. The German parliament's own military watchdog warned last year that military equipment shortages are so severe the country cannot meet its Nato commitments. Germany has come under intense pressure from the US to increase defence spending. President Donald Trump has called for it to meet Nato's target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence. But Mrs Merkel's government has since rowed back on pledges to increase defence spending in the face of opposition from her main coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD). Despite pledges from both Mrs Merkel and Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer to move towards the target, current German defence spending remains far short of it at only 1.3 per cent of GDP. There are now concerns that pilots are leaving the air force in frustration at being unable to fly. Six pilots resigned in the first half of last year, compared to a total of 11 in the five previous year "A pilot is only good in in the air, not on the ground. Our air force needs sufficient flying hours," Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, an MP from the opposition Free Democrats (FDP) said.
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| UPDATE 3-U.N. urges sanctions on Myanmar army businesses, says foreign partners could be complicit Posted: 05 Aug 2019 05:43 AM PDT ![UPDATE 3-U.N. urges sanctions on Myanmar army businesses, says foreign partners could be complicit]( "UPDATE 3-U.N. urges sanctions on Myanmar army businesses, says foreign partners could be complicit") United Nations investigators urged world leaders on Monday to impose targeted financial sanctions on companies linked to the military in Myanmar, and said foreign firms doing business with them could be complicit in international crimes. A panel of human rights experts identified scores of companies tied to the army, which controls vast swathes of Myanmar's economy through holding firms and their subsidiaries, and is accused by the U.N. of executing a campaign with "genocidal intent" against the Rohingya minority. More than 730,000 Rohingya, members of a persecuted Muslim minority, fled Myanmar's Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh amid a military-led crackdown in August 2017 that the U.N. and Western countries have said included mass killings and gang-rapes.
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| China Takes On Trump by Weakening Yuan, Halting Crop Imports Posted: 05 Aug 2019 05:34 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. China responded to President Donald Trump's tariff threat with another escalation of the trade war on Monday, letting the yuan tumble to the weakest level in more than a decade and asking state-owned companies to suspend imports of U.S. agricultural products.The moves antagonized Trump, who used Twitter to accuse China of "currency manipulation" which "will greatly weaken China over time!" He has previously criticized Beijing for not keeping to promises to buy more U.S. crops.Stocks and emerging-market currencies sank on concern a prolonged conflict between the superpowers will weigh on global economic growth, while haven assets including the Japanese yen, U.S. Treasuries and gold climbed. Investors increased bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts."It's among the worst-case scenarios," said Michael Every, head of Asia financial markets research at Rabobank in Hong Kong. "First markets sell off, then Trump wakes up and this all gets far, far worse."In a statement published Monday evening in Beijing, People's Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said China won't use the yuan as a tool to deal with trade disputes."I am fully confident that the yuan will remain a strong currency in spite of recent fluctuations amid external uncertainties," Yi said, adding that the bank will work to ensure "reasonable and legal demand" by companies and the public for foreign exchange.Trump last week proposed adding 10% tariffs on another $300 billion in Chinese imports from Sept. 1, abruptly ramping up the trade war between the world's largest economies shortly after the two sides had restarted talks. Chinese bureaucrats were stunned by Trump's announcement, according to officials who've been involved in the negotiations.The threat of more tariffs came just as Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior members of the Communist Party gathered for a secretive summer getaway in Beidaihe, a seaside town about a three-hour drive from Beijing. Xi had already faced pressure for weeks to take a harder stance on trade -- particularly after the U.S. blacklisted telecom equipment giant Huawei Technologies Co.Editorials in state-run newspapers suggested Xi will reject any deal that either retains punitive tariffs or forces China to make concessions on issues like state-run enterprises that could weaken the party's grip on power.The harder line underlines a growing feeling in Beijing that Trump can't be trusted to cut a deal, and that China would be better off waiting to see if a Democratic presidential candidate -- many of whom have criticized the use of tariffs -- takes office. The halt in agricultural purchases could hurt Trump in politically sensitive states ahead of the 2020 election.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 2.1% on Monday, the biggest drop since October 2018. European shares and S&P 500 index futures also retreated, while the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries declined about 8 basis points to 1.77%, the lowest level since 2016.The onshore yuan weakened 1.4% to 7.0391 a dollar, falling sharply on Monday morning after the PBOC set its daily reference rate at a weaker level than 6.9 for the first time since December."Breaking seven is due to a mix of factors: an escalation of trade war, the softening of China's economy and a willingness for the PBOC to tolerate higher volatility for the yuan," said Larry Hu, head of China economics at Macquarie Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. "The PBOC has entered uncharted waters, so it has to manage expectations carefully."In an earlier statement, the central bank attributed the yuan move to protectionism and expectations of additional tariffs on Chinese goods.By linking today's devaluation with the renewed tariff threat, the PBOC "has effectively weaponized the exchange rate," said Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics in Singapore. "The fact that they have now stopped defending 7 against the dollar suggests that they have all but abandoned hopes for a trade deal."What Bloomberg's Economists Say..."China appears to be posturing for worse to come in the trade war. Letting the yuan weaken past 7 against the dollar suggests it's looking to buffer the economy from a more severe trade shock."-- David Qu, Qian Wan and Ye XieAllowing the yuan to weaken is not without risk for China. A mid-2015 devaluation spurred capital outflows and destabilized global markets, though tighter capital controls this time around should help prevent another exodus.A cheaper currency also risks triggering yet more reprisals from the U.S. president, who has frequently warned that tariffs could go much higher. At a rally in Cincinnati last week he boasted of "taxing the hell out of China" until there's a deal.The biggest damage from the trade war is the hit to business activity and confidence that comes from increased uncertainty, rather than the tariffs themselves, according to Wang Tao, China economist at UBS Group AG. For that reason, the weaker yuan may do little to offset the blow, she said.China's crop imports from the U.S. are another weapon at Beijing's disposal. The country's state-run agricultural firms have now stopped buying American farm goods, and are waiting to see how trade talks progress, people familiar with the situation said, declining to be identified as they're not authorized to speak to the media.Privately owned Chinese firms that had received retaliatory-tariff waivers on American soybeans from Beijing have also stopped buying the commodity due to uncertainty over trade relations, other people said. Corn and soybean futures fell on the news.Trump has repeatedly complained that China hasn't made the "large quantities" of agricultural purchases that he claims Xi promised when they met in Osaka at the G-20 summit.Those accusations are "untrue" as Chinese companies have bought U.S. farm products, including soybeans, Cong Liang, Secretary General of the National Development and Reform Commission, said in an interview with China's state broadcaster on Monday, citing purchases agreed to during a trade truce in 2018. Some deals haven't been completed because the prices are not competitive, he said.China's commerce ministry didn't respond to a fax seeking comment."China is giving up on its softer diplomatic strategy and is no longer willing to be Trump's punching bag," said Chua Hak Bin, an economist at Maybank Kim Eng Research Pte. "Trump's tariffs threats are backfiring and triggering a full-scale trade war."(Updates with Trump statement in second paragraph.)\--With assistance from Steven Yang, Isis Almeida, Niu Shuping, Yinan Zhao, Miao Han, Daniel Ten Kate and Dandan Li.To contact the reporters on this story: Malcolm Scott in Hong Kong at mscott23@bloomberg.net;Kevin Hamlin in Beijing at khamlin@bloomberg.net;Tian Chen in Hong Kong at tchen259@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Malcolm Scott at mscott23@bloomberg.net, Michael PattersonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Japan's Export Strategy Targets South Korea's Ruling Class Posted: 05 Aug 2019 04:45 AM PDT  Japan and South Korea are locked in yet another diplomatic conflict. Japan has threatened to remove South Korea from an export "whitelist" regarding specialty chemicals for hi-tech products. South Korean firms wishing to import these chemicals from Japanese suppliers would now need to apply on a case-by-case basis for purchases. This would threaten South Korean supply chains, provoke delays, and add new transaction costs.Japan claims that these export controls are due to South Korea sanctions leaks regarding North Korea. This is transparently false. As so often, the real issue is outstanding South Korean concerns about Japanese imperial behavior in Korea in the first half of the last century. Japan absorbed Korea in 1910 as a part of its larger Asian imperialist drive. Japanese behavior was harsh, and postwar Japanese governments have struggled to apologize or even admit the army's behavior on the Korean Peninsula. Simultaneously, South Korean nationalism has increasingly taken a distinctively anti-Japanese hue. North Korea curries some sympathy in South Korea, especially on the political left, so it makes for an uncomfortable narrative villain in South Korean historiography. Japan fills that role instead, especially in South Korean film.Japan claims that the South Korea-Japan normalization treaty of the 1965 resolved all imperial-era topics. South Korea claims that new issues have since arisen. Most recently, South Korean courts have permitted war-time forced labor claims against Japanese firms to proceed. Asset confiscation has been threatened. Most observers read Japan's whitelist threat as a pushback on the labor compensation claim.
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| UK PM Johnson's spokesman: We leave EU on Oct. 31 Posted: 05 Aug 2019 03:52 AM PDT ![UK PM Johnson's spokesman: We leave EU on Oct. 31]( "UK PM Johnson's spokesman: We leave EU on Oct. 31") Britain will be leaving the European Union on Oct. 31 no matter what, Prime minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said on Monday, responding to reports that a government adviser had suggested parliament had missed its chance to block a no-deal Brexit. The spokesman also said that Britain would keep reaching out to counterparts in the European Union in search of an exit deal, and that the government hoped the bloc changed its position on the so-called Irish backstop - a sticking point in negotiations. The Sunday Telegraph reported that Dominic Cummings, one of architects of the 2016 campaign to leave the EU, told ministers that Johnson could schedule a general election after the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline if he lost a vote of no confidence in parliament.
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| Life in Walmart El Paso store before the mass shooting shines a light on why it was targeted Posted: 05 Aug 2019 03:32 AM PDT  Two nations physically and culturally come together in El Paso. The bustling Walmart on the city's east side, just minutes from the border with Mexico, exemplified those ties.The store was a border version of Middle America: A large number of Mexican-American families from El Paso crowded into the megastore daily for inexpensive groceries and, late in the summer, back-to-school supplies.Almost as often, families from Mexico drove across the international bridge to buy bargain TVs, cartons of nappies and discount clothing.It was one of the company's top 10 in America: Where most stores of its kind average 14,000 customers a week, the El Paso Walmart, a retail analyst said, saw 65,000.Its racks are stocked with Mexican football jerseys, cans of chillies and salsa and Mexican flags, folded beneath the American and Texas flags on display. The pharmacy's staff members are fully bilingual."It really does feel like a United Nations store," said Burt Flickinger, a retail consultant who has visited and studied the store.This is the border as it is lived everyday, far from the heated national debate over immigration. Children come and go across the international boundary for school, others come for jobs and shopping.It was in this Walmart, on a sunny Saturday morning, where a white gunman angered by what he called the "Hispanic invasion of Texas" chose to carry out a horrific act of violence.Disturbed gunmen have previously targeted American Jews, African Americans, Muslim-Americans, gay Americans and American journalists.Authorities say the El Paso gunman, identified as Patrick Crusius, 21, targeted Mexican and Mexican-American shoppers and workers in the attack on Saturday, killing 20 people and wounding 27 others.While there have been numerous Hispanic victims in several of the mass shootings that have shocked the nation in recent years — including the Pulse nightclub attack in Orlando, Florida, in 2016 — the massacre in El Paso was the deadliest anti-Latino attack in modern US history.The manifesto that a federal law enforcement official said Mr Crusius wrote and posted online minutes before the shooting made his anti-immigrant beliefs clear.He wrote that immigration "can only be detrimental to the future of America," and bemoaned a future in which Hispanics would take control of the local and state governments, "changing policy to better suit their needs".The apparent anti-Latino motive behind the attack stunned residents and officials, who saw the nation's fraught debate over culture and immigration erupting with sudden violence in a city that had been both a focal point of immigration and a place — like many border towns — where the notion of immigration and national identity had rarely felt divisive."What was most shocking to me is not that it was a mass shooting but the motive, the fact that he specifically targeted Mexican-Americans and Hispanics," said Gilda Baeza Ortega, 67, a librarian at Western New Mexico University who was in El Paso visiting her parents. "He came here for us."Across the country, many Latinos were describing the targeted killings as a 11 September moment, and the FBI's announcement Sunday that it had opened a domestic terrorism investigation only reinforced that belief, especially in a city that is 80 per cent Hispanic."This Anglo man came here to kill Hispanics," El Paso's sheriff, Richard Wiles, said. "I'm outraged, and you should be, too. This entire nation should be outraged. In this day and age, with all the serious issues we face, we are still confronted with people who will kill another for the sole reason of the colour of their skin."Before the attack upended the sense of normalcy in El Paso, the Walmart and the shopping area surrounding it lured many people from across the border, as well as many El Paso residents looking for something to do on a weekend afternoon.People from both countries would go to new releases at a cinema not far from the Walmart, shop for discount clothing at a nearby Ross Dress for Less or stop in for happy hour at Hooters.Texas has long been a state where Hispanics have shaped and in many ways defined what it means to be Texan. But in recent years, the old white Texas and the new Hispanic Texas have repeatedly clashed.Some of this tension involves who gets to tell history. Activists and scholars have begun focusing on the legacy of racist campaigns of terror against Latinos in this part of the West, including the killings a century ago of Mexicans by lynch mobs made up of Anglos.Going back further in the debate over any "invasion of Texas," historians note that it was actually carried out by Anglo slaveholders who migrated to the region in the 19th century when it was still part of Mexico, then seceded in 1836 and enshrined white supremacy in the first Texas Constitution.The more recent clashes have led not only to years-long court battles but also to physical confrontations between white and Hispanic politicians on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives.White Republican officials in Texas have publicly expressed alarm about what they describe as an "invasion" of migrants spreading disease at the Texas border.El Paso residents have now seen the most hateful parts of the debate bringing violence to their doors.Adriana Ruiz was among those who left flowers, having picked up a bouquet from another Walmart in El Paso after church."I just..." she said, her voice trailing off. "Right now, my heart is broken."Ms Ruiz, 50, said she was pained by the animosity that had surrounded the national debate about El Paso as it became a ground zero of sorts in recent months as migrants came rushing in from Central America.A hateful act seemed like such a stark contrast to the vibe and texture of the city where she was born and raised. She remembered going to Ciudad Juarez in Mexico on Saturdays with her mother, grandmother and aunts to go shopping."No matter who it is," she said. "We make them feel at home."The shooting, she said, showed that a toxic environment outside El Paso was finding its way into the city. She heard it in the remarks about life in the city that did not reflect what she knew, especially those from Donald Trump, the US president."That is something that came from the top," Ms Ruiz said, referring to the frequent portrayal of the border as a place of crisis that was threatened with invaders from outside."It's idiotic," she said, conceding that her anger had left her stumped for the right words. "I want to say some harsher words, but it's not right."Larry Scott, 40, said he had been in the Walmart on Saturday morning, several hours before the shooting. He had gotten two new tattoos on his left arm recently, including one of the Monopoly man holding a bag of money, and he needed ointment.When he heard about the attack, Mr Scott, who said he serves in the Army and is stationed at nearby Fort Bliss, felt an urge to do something, to somehow pitch in. He came back to the store Sunday, but that offered little consolation.El Paso was not his hometown. He was originally from Dallas, he said. Yet he had grown attached to the city."It's not a big city," he said. "But it's our home. I'm hoping this makes El Paso stronger."The Walmart where the shooting occurred lies on the east side of El Paso along Interstate 10, near a number of hotels, chain restaurants and a mall.Aside from the wares that are aimed at Mexican shoppers, it resembles hundreds of other Walmarts across America. The store does not sell guns, but does sell ammunition, a Walmart spokesman, Randy Hargrove, said.On Sunday, the store remained blocked off by police officers who continued to collect evidence of the massacre inside. The parking lot was still packed, with the same cars that had been sitting there since the shooting the day before.A steady line of cars drove by, some with cameras pressed to their windows. One man walked up, stood silently for a moment, made the sign of the cross and walked away.New York Times
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| Trump Accused of Giving ‘Safe Harbor to Hate’ Posted: 05 Aug 2019 03:23 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Want to receive this post in your inbox every day? Sign up for the Balance of Power newsletter, and follow Bloomberg Politics on Twitter and Facebook for more.This weekend's deadly mass shootings in Texas and Ohio have reignited criticism of President Donald Trump's divisive rhetoric about immigrants and minorities.Several Democratic presidential hopefuls called for reinstating the ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004, while many accused Trump of stoking racial animus — he's described Mexican and Central American immigrants as criminals, gang members and rapists — that encouraged the attacks.Authorities are investigating a possible link between the suspected gunman who opened fire at a Walmart store a few miles from the Mexican border, killing 20 people, and an online manifesto that complained of a "Hispanic invasion" of Texas.Democrats are demanding the Republican-controlled Senate interrupt its August recess to pass background check legislation similar to a measure defeated in 2013 after a shooter killed 20 first graders and six staff members at an elementary school in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. But there's little indication that will happen.While Trump told reporters "hate has no place in our country and we're going to take care of it," Democratic front-runner Joe Biden laid the blame firmly at the president's door, accusing him of giving "a safe harbor to hate from the Oval Office."The double shooting is unlikely to prompt Trump voters to abandon him. The more significant question is whether Democrats choose to make their criticisms this weekend a central 2020 campaign theme, or let it fade into the background.Global HeadlinesStrike! | Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam warned of a "very dangerous situation" as a general strike unfurled across the Asian financial hub following consecutive days of protest over China's growing influence. Demonstrators also snarled the city's busy morning rush hour with actions that left traffic-clogged, subway lines disrupted and dozens of flights canceled — and commuters struggling to get to work.Trade escalation | China responded to Trump's surprise tariff threat by letting its currency fall to its weakest level in more than a decade and asking state-owned firms to suspend imports of American agricultural products, an escalation of the trade war that stands to antagonize the U.S. leader. Beijing's moves come a week after the latest high-level talks concluded in Shanghai.Subscribe to Bloomberg's Terms of Trade newsletter to receive all the big developments in your inbox each weekday.Kashmir crisis | It took Prime Minister Narendra Modi a matter of hours to erase seven decades of autonomous state government in Kashmir, a move that's drawn protests in India's parliament and which risks worsening the deteriorating security relationship with rival Pakistan. In the lead up to the decision, political leaders were placed under house arrest and Indian paramilitary forces deployed thousands of extra troops across the valley.Election alert | Is Boris Johnson preparing for a snap general election at the same time as pushing for Brexit by Oct. 31? The new U.K. prime minister's rapid rollout of spending promises on policing, infrastructure and health care smacks of trying to woo the electorate. Yesterday, Conservative Party Chairman James Cleverly wouldn't rule it out, saying only his party wouldn't initiate an election: a nod to the fact that the most likely route to a poll is a no-confidence vote sparked by the main opposition Labour Party.Subscribe to Brexit Bulletin to stay on top of the divorce talks.Peace at hand | Sudan's ruling military council signed a deal with its political opposition yesterday to share power in a three-year transitional government, the latest step toward democracy after the April overthrow of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir. The accord followed months of street protests that led to a June crackdown on a Khartoum sit-in killing more than 100 people.What to Watch This WeekLook for the Trump administration to potentially publish the final list of Chinese goods that would be subject to a new tariff. Two key votes in Italy's Parliament this week will test the solidity of the fractious government coalition as the prospect of early elections remains on the horizon. The seizure of a foreign oil tanker in the Persian Gulf last week is compounding concerns about the safety of shipping in a region crucial to oil exports. It's the countdown to an Aug. 11 primary for Argentina's presidential election, which is being closely watched by investors. And finally...Saudi Arabia will allow women to travel abroad without permission from a male relative, a major step toward ending a controversial "guardianship" system that renders women legal dependents of men throughout their lives. Yet even as many Saudi women celebrated the decision, some of the female activists who spent years fighting for the change are banned from travel or in jail, accused of undermining the state. \--With assistance from Karen Leigh, Alex Morales, Ruth Pollard and Vivian Nereim.To contact the author of this story: Kathleen Hunter in London at khunter9@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran Signals More Escalation With Warning on Gulf Violations Posted: 05 Aug 2019 02:39 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Iran is responsible for security in the Persian Gulf and is acting more vigorously to protect it, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said, suggesting that a showdown between his country and Western powers over crucial shipping lanes could escalate."We used to overlook some violations but no longer," Zarif said at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. Iran has the longest stretch of coastline with the waterway in the region and is responsible for its security, he added. The remarks indicate that Iran could step up its operations against tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important maritime chokepoint for oil, amid a confrontation with the U.S. over sanctions that have battered the Iranian economy.On Sunday, the Islamic Republic said it had impounded a third vessel last month, a small oil tanker in the Persian Gulf it suspects of smuggling fuel. Iran's state-run Press TV reported that the ship impounded on July 31 was an Iraqi tanker, but Iraq denied that.Iran began capturing vessels two weeks after U.K. forces seized an Iranian tanker on July 4 near Gibraltar. Unraveling DealThe drama in the region's waterways has been a dangerous sideshow to the broader confrontation that broke out last year after U.S. President Donald Trump quit the 2015 multipower nuclear deal with Iran and embarked on a crusade to bring Tehran to its knees by choking off the oil exports that are the lifeline of its economy.In response, Iran has abandoned restrictions on uranium enrichment, downed a U.S. drone and test-fired a ballistic missile. It's also been accused of carrying out a number of attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-third of the world's seaborne oil passes.The U.S. administration has also imposed unprecedented sanctions against Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters. Last week, it also added Zarif to its sanctions list.Zarif was asked to comment on a report in The New Yorker that he had been invited to meet with Trump in the White House last month, with Kentucky Senator Rand Paul extending the offer. He stopped short of denying the report, saying he never discloses details of his meetings.He told reporters that it was his understanding that "Mr. Trump isn't after war," but that National Security Adviser John Bolton and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are.Broader AccordTrump's declared aim is to negotiate a broader accord that would address elements the original deal did not include, such as Iran's ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups in the region such as Lebanon's Hezbollah. Zarif rejected the notion that the U.S. is interested in diplomacy, saying Washington can't expect Tehran to engage in negotiations as long as it engages in "economic terrorism.""We had hundreds of hours of negotiations with Americans," he said. "We are not against talks, but we've had talks already -- maybe the Americans have idle time, but we don't."Iran's plan to continue scaling back its commitment to the nuclear deal is not the same as leaving it, but its next step in reducing compliance won't be its last, Zarif added, saying the European Union "can't cite U.S. sanctions for not meeting obligations."European powers have been working with Iran to try to salvage the accord, but haven't come up with a mechanism that would allow Tehran to skirt the U.S. sanctions on its oil.(Updates with additional Zarif comments from seventh paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Benjamin Harvey in Istanbul at bharvey11@bloomberg.net;Arsalan Shahla in Tehran at ashahla@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Benjamin Harvey at bharvey11@bloomberg.net, ;Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Amy TeibelFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| US, S. Korea defy North's warnings, start joint drills Posted: 05 Aug 2019 01:28 AM PDT  Seoul and Washington began annual joint military exercises on Monday, defying warnings from Pyongyang that the war games will jeopardise nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea. The drills come after Pyongyang tested a series of short-range projectiles in recent days, calling one of them a "solemn warning" to Seoul against pursuing the mainly computer-simulated drills with Washington.
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| Iran's Zarif says US can't build Gulf coalition as allies 'ashamed' Posted: 05 Aug 2019 01:20 AM PDT  The United States is unable to build a naval coalition to escort tankers in the Gulf because its allies are too "ashamed" to join it, Iran's foreign minister said Monday. "Today the United States in alone in the world and cannot create a coalition. Countries that are its friends are too ashamed of being in a coalition with them," Mohammad Javad Zarif told a news conference in Tehran.
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| Iran's Air Force Just Lost a Fighter Jet: U.S. Made F-4 Phantom Just Went Down Posted: 05 Aug 2019 12:22 AM PDT  On Aug. 4, 2019, around 12:30 hrs local time, the F-4E Phantom II inventory of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) became a little smaller after a 61st TFS F-4E crashed near Tangestan beach, north-west of home base 6th Tactical Air Base Bushehr (Iran).Luckily both crew members managed to eject in time and parachuted safely to mother Earth.Their unfortunate Phantom crashed into the Persian Gulf. Regular patrol flights of F-4Es are common in the region, but this crash comes amid tensions in the Gulf region between the US and Iran.Earlier, on Aug. 4, Iran announced it had captured a foreign oil tanker, which, according to their statement, was smuggling fuel to an unnamed Arab state in the region. Possibly, the F-4E was involved in a top cover mission when things went wrong. A spokesman of the IRIAF said the crew of the crashed F-4E reported technical issues before they ejected.
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| Centuries-old bazaar in Syria's Aleppo making slow recovery Posted: 04 Aug 2019 11:48 PM PDT  Bit by bit, Aleppo's centuries-old bazaar is being rebuilt as Syrians try to restore one of their historical crown jewels, devastated during years of brutal fighting for control of the city. The historic Old City at the center of Aleppo saw some of the worst battles of Syria's eight-year civil war. Government forces finally wrested it away from rebel control in December 2016 in a devastating siege that left the eastern half of Aleppo and much of the Old City — a UNESCO world heritage site — in ruins.
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| China Is Playing Trump on Trade Posted: 04 Aug 2019 11:38 PM PDT ![China Is Playing Trump on Trade]( "China Is Playing Trump on Trade") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The logic behind China's decision to ask its state-owned enterprises to halt imports of U.S. farm goods would, at one level, seem blindingly obvious. Leaders in Beijing may have a more complex game in mind, though. After U.S. President Donald Trump last week threatened to impose tariffs on another $300 billion of Chinese imports, in large part because China had supposedly reneged on a promise to ramp up agricultural purchases, President Xi Jinping could hardly afford to look like he was bending before the pressure. Chinese state agricultural firms will wait to see how trade talks progress before resuming purchases from the U.S., people familiar with the situation told Bloomberg News Monday.Economically, this was one of the easiest decisions Xi could possibly have made. The fact is that agricultural trade between the two nations has been declining since well before Trump launched his trade war. U.S. farm exports to China peaked all the way back in 2012. Exclude the wood, paper and pulp industries, where trade has remained fairly constant, and the decline is even more dramatic: The $13.93 billion China imported in 2018 was barely more than half the $25 billion in 2014.China pointedly isn't making similar threats over aircraft, machinery, electronics, precision equipment and cars. Each accounts for a larger share of imports than farm goods but are far more difficult to replace using other suppliers. The de facto ban has the additional benefit of maximizing political impact. President Donald Trump has made no secret of the fact that farm trade is close to his heart – hardly surprising, given how important swing states in the Midwest grain belt such as Iowa and Wisconsin were to his 2016 election victory. Chinese agricultural purchases were the most well-trailed part of the pact that Trump's trade negotiators were working on before the talks blew up in May and Trump appears to regard resuming them as more or less a precondition to any further agreement.Making a show of cutting this particular area of bilateral trade at a time when the American farmer is reeling from the after-effects of this year's floods is a potent way for Beijing to jab its fingers in Washington's eyes. (Today's decision to let the yuan weaken past 7 to the dollar should similarly support Chinese exports and worsen the U.S. trade deficit that Trump cares so much about.)The move could be more than a short-term attempt to lash out, however. When negotiations appeared to be making progress, China was only too happy to hint that it would beef up its farm purchases. But any trade discussion ultimately comes down to a bargain. By withdrawing apparent concessions now, Beijing is creating chips it can trade away again at a future date.For all that China is a relatively slight importer of U.S. farm commodities -- behind Canada, Mexico, the European Union and Japan in the already trade-war affected 2018, and only just ahead of South Korea -- its potential is still enormous. Removing all barriers could lift the value of U.S. agricultural exports to China by $53 billion, twice the size of the $25 billion import trade in 2014 and enough to increase overall overseas purchases from U.S. farms by half, according to a study last year led by Minghao Li of Iowa State University.That's quite the carrot. At this point, even if trade talks do resume as scheduled in September, the chances of China agreeing to the kind of long-term structural reforms the U.S. has been demanding appear to be fading. Xi may be betting that Trump, desperate for a win on the campaign trail, will at some point agree to a smaller deal focused primarily on concrete Chinese purchases he can tout. Opening the checkbook then should be as easy as closing it now. To contact the author of this story: David Fickling at dfickling@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering commodities, as well as industrial and consumer companies. He has been a reporter for Bloomberg News, Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and the Guardian.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| China Is Playing Trump on Trade Posted: 04 Aug 2019 11:38 PM PDT ![China Is Playing Trump on Trade]( "China Is Playing Trump on Trade") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The logic behind China's decision to ask its state-owned enterprises to halt imports of U.S. farm goods would, at one level, seem blindingly obvious. Leaders in Beijing may have a more complex game in mind, though. After U.S. President Donald Trump last week threatened to impose tariffs on another $300 billion of Chinese imports, in large part because China had supposedly reneged on a promise to ramp up agricultural purchases, President Xi Jinping could hardly afford to look like he was bending before the pressure. Chinese state agricultural firms will wait to see how trade talks progress before resuming purchases from the U.S., people familiar with the situation told Bloomberg News Monday.Economically, this was one of the easiest decisions Xi could possibly have made. The fact is that agricultural trade between the two nations has been declining since well before Trump launched his trade war. U.S. farm exports to China peaked all the way back in 2012. Exclude the wood, paper and pulp industries, where trade has remained fairly constant, and the decline is even more dramatic: The $13.93 billion China imported in 2018 was barely more than half the $25 billion in 2014.China pointedly isn't making similar threats over aircraft, machinery, electronics, precision equipment and cars. Each accounts for a larger share of imports than farm goods but are far more difficult to replace using other suppliers. The de facto ban has the additional benefit of maximizing political impact. President Donald Trump has made no secret of the fact that farm trade is close to his heart – hardly surprising, given how important swing states in the Midwest grain belt such as Iowa and Wisconsin were to his 2016 election victory. Chinese agricultural purchases were the most well-trailed part of the pact that Trump's trade negotiators were working on before the talks blew up in May and Trump appears to regard resuming them as more or less a precondition to any further agreement.Making a show of cutting this particular area of bilateral trade at a time when the American farmer is reeling from the after-effects of this year's floods is a potent way for Beijing to jab its fingers in Washington's eyes. (Today's decision to let the yuan weaken past 7 to the dollar should similarly support Chinese exports and worsen the U.S. trade deficit that Trump cares so much about.)The move could be more than a short-term attempt to lash out, however. When negotiations appeared to be making progress, China was only too happy to hint that it would beef up its farm purchases. But any trade discussion ultimately comes down to a bargain. By withdrawing apparent concessions now, Beijing is creating chips it can trade away again at a future date.For all that China is a relatively slight importer of U.S. farm commodities -- behind Canada, Mexico, the European Union and Japan in the already trade-war affected 2018, and only just ahead of South Korea -- its potential is still enormous. Removing all barriers could lift the value of U.S. agricultural exports to China by $53 billion, twice the size of the $25 billion import trade in 2014 and enough to increase overall overseas purchases from U.S. farms by half, according to a study last year led by Minghao Li of Iowa State University.That's quite the carrot. At this point, even if trade talks do resume as scheduled in September, the chances of China agreeing to the kind of long-term structural reforms the U.S. has been demanding appear to be fading. Xi may be betting that Trump, desperate for a win on the campaign trail, will at some point agree to a smaller deal focused primarily on concrete Chinese purchases he can tout. Opening the checkbook then should be as easy as closing it now. To contact the author of this story: David Fickling at dfickling@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering commodities, as well as industrial and consumer companies. He has been a reporter for Bloomberg News, Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and the Guardian.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| AP: UN workers accused of fraud, theft in handling Yemen aid Posted: 04 Aug 2019 11:26 PM PDT  An Associated Press investigation has found that more than a dozen United Nations aid workers deployed to deal with the humanitarian crisis caused by five years of civil war in Yemen are being accused of graft — joining with combatants on all sides to enrich themselves from an international outpouring of donated food, medicine, fuel and money. The AP obtained U.N. internal investigative documents, and interviewed eight aid workers and former government officials. The upshot: internal auditors from the World Health Organization are investigating allegations that unqualified people were placed in high-paying jobs, hundreds of thousands of dollars were deposited in staffers' personal bank accounts, dozens of suspicious contracts were approved without the proper paperwork, and tons of donated medicine and fuel went missing.
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| CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-U.N. urges sanctions on Myanmar army businesses, says foreign partners could be complicit Posted: 04 Aug 2019 11:10 PM PDT ![CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-U.N. urges sanctions on Myanmar army businesses, says foreign partners could be complicit]( "CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-U.N. urges sanctions on Myanmar army businesses, says foreign partners could be complicit") United Nations investigators urged world leaders on Monday to impose targeted financial sanctions on companies linked to the military in Myanmar, and said foreign firms doing business with them could be complicit in international crimes. A panel of human rights experts identified scores of companies tied to the army, which controls vast swathes of Myanmar's economy through holding firms and their subsidiaries, and is accused by the U.N. of executing a campaign with "genocidal intent" against the Rohingya minority. More than 730,000 Rohingya, members of a persecuted Muslim minority, fled Myanmar's Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh amid a military-led crackdown in August 2017 that the U.N. and Western countries have said included mass killings and gang-rapes.
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