| Trump Flinches, U.S. Inflation Quickens, Somber Merkel: Eco Day Posted: 13 Aug 2019 04:33 PM PDT ![Trump Flinches, U.S. Inflation Quickens, Somber Merkel: Eco Day]( "Trump Flinches, U.S. Inflation Quickens, Somber Merkel: Eco Day") (Bloomberg) -- Welcome to Wednesday, Asia. Here's the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help get your day started:President Donald Trump bowed to pressure, delaying the imposition of new tariffs on a variety of products until December. Tom Orlik explains why that makes little difference to the broader disputeA key measure of U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly accelerated in July in a broad-based advance, signaling inflation may be firming as the Fed debates whether to lower interest rates further. Yelena Shulyatyeva delves into the detailsChancellor Angela Merkel adopted a more somber tone on the state of Germany's economy, saying a difficult patch lay ahead that the government may have to react toAlready hurting from the U.S.-China trade war, Hong Kong's economy could be facing something much worse than a recession, writes Enda Curran in the latest edition of Terms of TradeAfter two sovereign defaults this century, small business owners in Argentina are well versed in navigating times of crisis. But even they were left floundering by the latest routWe forecast annual U.S. GDP growth at about 2% over the next decade as an aging population limits growth potential. A revival in productivity will pull in the other direction, writes Eliza WingerFormer Fed chief Alan Greenspan says he wouldn't be surprised if U.S. bond yields turn negative. And if they do, it's not that big a dealThe Swiss National Bank may have to do more than pump billions into foreign exchange markets to prevent the franc from appreciating to a damaging levelFurther north, one of the last interest rate hawks could make a stand this weekPrime Minister Boris Johnson's staff talk about an imminent U.K. general election as though it were a fact. But it's still not clear how that will happenTo contact the reporter on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mheath1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net, Chris BourkeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UN urges reluctant EU nations to help stranded migrants Posted: 13 Aug 2019 04:00 PM PDT  The United Nations refugee agency urgently appealed to European governments Tuesday to let two migrant rescue ships disembark more than 500 passengers who remain stranded at sea as countries bicker over who should take responsibility for them. The people rescued while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa are on ships chartered by humanitarian aid groups that the Italian government has banned from its territory. The archipelago nation of Malta also has refused to let the ships into that country's ports.
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| U.K. Gears Up for Brexit-Driven Election That Johnson Can't Call Posted: 13 Aug 2019 04:00 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson's staff talk about an imminent general election as though it were a fact, and on Tuesday, a Conservative politician accidentally published a draft email about his "GE2019 team."But amid growing expectations that the next chapter in the U.K.'s political crisis will see the country go to the polls, it's still not clear how it will happen.The argument for an election is clear. Johnson has a governing majority in Parliament of just one seat, meaning he doesn't have the votes to pass any controversial legislation. It's also far from clear there's majority for any kind of Brexit deal, while MPs are plotting to block his "do or die" plan to take Britain out of the European Union on Oct. 31, without a deal if necessary.Calling an election would stop those plots -- MPs would cease to be MPs and have to fight again for their seats -- and could potentially deliver Johnson a majority. The Conservatives see the prime minister as an electoral asset, a politician who's also a celebrity. If he could argue the election had been forced on him and fight a "Parliament versus the People" campaign, the Tories hope Johnson could sweep up voters frustrated that Brexit hasn't been delivered.Yet the days when prime ministers could go to the monarch and request an election are over. Under 2011 legislation, a national ballot can be called only if two-thirds of MPs opt for one -- or if the government loses a confidence vote. Unless either of those happen, under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act the next election isn't scheduled until 2022.If Johnson wants an election "to break the parliamentary deadlock, or get a mandate for a no-deal Brexit, then he will not only need the support of all of his party but also a sizable chunk of opposition MPs," said Maddy Thimont Jack at the Institute for Government. "A lot depends on when he calls it."Opponents of a no-deal Brexit fear Johnson might go for a date just after Oct. 31, allowing Britain to leave the EU without a deal during the election campaign when there would be no Parliament to stop it. Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has argued this would be "unconstitutional and anti-democratic."A person familiar with Corbyn's thinking, speaking privately, said that if Johnson asked Parliament to vote for an election before Oct. 31, Labour would support it. If he asked for a later date, they said, it would be a much trickier decision. Labour's backing, which Johnson needs given his wafer-thin majority, would likely depend on the prime minister agreeing to delay Brexit.There is a potential way around the 2011 election law: To amend it, requiring only a simple majority in Parliament. But it would also need the agreement of the upper House of Lords, and the timing of Brexit makes this complicated.Farage ThreatAn election while Britain is still an EU member is an unappealing prospect to Conservatives, who have seen their vote eroded by Nigel Farage's new Brexit Party. He would be sure to stand candidates arguing that the Tories couldn't be trusted to get Britain out of the EU, splitting the pro-Brexit vote. Two special elections this year saw the Tories defeated by other parties after the Brexit Party siphoned off anti-EU votes.So if it's hard to see how Johnson can force an election, might Parliament force one on him instead?There's much talk of a confidence vote when Parliament returns next month. If Johnson lost, a 14-day period follows in which someone else could try to form a government, or he could try to win a new confidence vote. An election would be automatically triggered if those efforts fail.For the government to lose a confidence vote, at least one Conservative MP -- though probably more -- would have to vote against their own side. That would see them expelled from the party and unable to stand for it in any subsequent election. Some have said privately they would be willing to do so as a last-resort to avert a no-deal Brexit.Stopping BrexitEven then, it might not mean an election. A memo written by Conservative Brexit opponent Dominic Grieve and Labour's Margaret Becket, seen by Bloomberg, argues that the 14-day period after a confidence vote should be used to change the law and force a Brexit delay. That would then be followed, it's implied in the strategy, by another confidence vote to cancel the election. The memo is clear that their goal is a second referendum on Brexit.That plan could easily go wrong, meaning an election by accident, potentially along with an accidental no-deal Brexit.There is a clear route to an election -- and it's one that will most appeal to Johnson. If he can deliver Brexit, with a deal or without, the parliamentary arithmetic will likely lead him to call one afterward. British political parties prefer to campaign in spring than winter, so he might have to wait.But if he could argue he had solved Brexit, he'll be strongly tempted to seek his own mandate early next year to take on other problems as well.To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Airport Cleans Up After Night of Protest Chaos: Hong Kong Update Posted: 13 Aug 2019 03:41 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong's airport resumed normal operations after a chaotic night of protest in which demonstrators beat and detained two suspected infiltrators and President Donald Trump warned of Chinese troops massing on the border.Only a few dozen protesters remained at Hong Kong International Airport as of 6 a.m. Wednesday, most having caught the last trains away from the airport rather than face dispersal by authorities. Flights appeared to be largely running as scheduled. Earlier Tuesday, hundreds of people staged a sit-in at the departure gates, disrupting flights at Asia's busiest international airport for the second straight day.The interruptions follow a weekend of violence that saw police fire tear gas into a subway station and shoot rubber bullets at close range. Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam warned Tuesday that the city risked sliding into an "abyss" as continuing unrest weighed on the economy.Here's the latest:Airport Works to Reschedule Flights (6:22 a.m.)Hong Kong International Airport had resumed normal operations and was working to reschedule flights, an Airport Authority spokesman said by phone Wednesday. A few dozen protesters were still camped out in the terminals' public areas, with most having cleared out before the trains back to the city centers stopped running. Most banners were gone.Few Protesters Remain at Airport (6 a.m.)Only a few dozen protesters were still camped out in the Hong Kong International Airport's arrival hall early Wednesday, with most having cleared out before the trains back to the city centers stopped running. Most banners were gone and airport seemed to be operating fine, with flight boards showing most flights scheduled to depart.U.S. Urges Respect for Hong Kong's Rights (1:51 a.m.)A U.S. State Department official urged China to adhere to the agreements it made when taking control of Hong Kong from the U.K. and allow the city to "exercise a high degree of autonomy" while respecting freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.The statement -- from an official who asked not to be identified -- was the most forceful to date from the U.S. and followed a tweet from Trump, who said reports from American intelligence agencies show China is moving troops to its border with Hong Kong. It wasn't immediately clear if Trump was referring to new developments or mobilizations that have been underway for the past week."Our Intelligence has informed us that the Chinese Government is moving troops to the Border with Hong Kong," Trump said in a tweet. "Everyone should be calm and safe!"Chinese State Media Reporter Evacuated (12:25 a.m.)A second man who was tied up and beaten by protesters has been evacuated by paramedics. He appeared conscious as he was carried away on a stretcher.Protesters accused the man of being an undercover police officer from the mainland. But the editor-in-chief of the Chinese and English editions of the Global Times said he's a reporter for the paper, which is affiliated with the Communist Party in China. "He has no other task except for reporting," Hu Xijin said in a tweet.Trump Says He Hopes No One Gets Hurt, Killed (12:15 a.m.)China is facing a "tough situation" in Hong Kong, Trump told reporters in New Jersey. "I'm sure it will work out. I hope nobody gets hurt, I hope nobody gets killed."Trump earlier this month referred to the protests in Hong Kong as "riots," adopting the language used by Beijing and suggesting the U.S. would stay out of an issue that was "between Hong Kong and China." That gets harder and harder as the situation escalates.Police Leave the Building, Protesters Dig in (11:46 p.m.)Protesters tied up another man they say was an undercover police officer from the mainland -- this one they accused of pretending to be a reporter.Riot Police Enter Airport (11:20 p.m.)Hong Kong police enter airport wearing riot gear and appeared to make several arrests. They used pepper spray outside the building.Police tweeted that it isn't "a dispersal operation." Officers were seen lingering outside the terminal building after an initial fracas.Injured Man is Evacuated from Airport (11:00 p.m.)Medics carrying the man on a stretcher push their way through crowds to an ambulance waiting outside. Scuffles break out between remaining police and protesters.Protesters Beat Man, Prevent Rescuers From Helping (10:23 p.m.)Protesters beat and tied up a man they say is a mainland police officer who was pretending to be one of them. For the past few hours they have prevented paramedics from evacuating the man while shouting "You'll bear the consequences for your own actions."Ten weeks of protests have seen serious injuries, but so far no fatalities. A death at the hands of protesters would ramp up pressure on authorities to crack down further, and increase the odds that the Chinese government mobilizes mainland forces to help maintain order.First Aiders Help Man Who Appears to Have Fainted (9:31 p.m.)Protesters tied up the hands a man they allege is a mainland public security officer, saying he was masquerading as one of them. Hundreds of people gather round as ambulance and airport staff try to help the man.Remaining Check-Ins Canceled (6:52 p.m.)Hong Kong's airport halted check-ins for remaining departures for a second straight day, the airport authority said in a statement, after protesters blocked outgoing gates in a dramatic sit-in. The cancellation of all check-ins was announced after hundreds of black-shirted protesters sat down in the airport's departure halls. The move came a day after authorities shut the airport amid a mass rally in the arrival hall Monday.China's Leader Faces a Dilemma (6:14 p.m.)It's the question worrying some in Hong Kong: Will Chinese President Xi Jinping send in troops to restore order? Xi now faces a dilemma over whether to wait the protesters out or bring in his forces. The likelihood he'll do that remains low. While Xi could choose to do away with the city's autonomy, there would be immense cost to both the Chinese leader and his country. It could dwarf any fallout from the weekslong protest movement. Among those risk factors is his protracted trade war with the U.S.Mainland Airports Stand To Benefit (5:52 p.m.)The disruptions at Hong Kong's airport could be a boon for its competitors. It drove big gains Tuesday in shares of airports just over the Chinese border. Shenzhen Airport Co. soared by the 10% daily limit, while Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Co. was up 4.5% to a record high. They had also rallied Monday. The unrest may lead global carriers to re-evaluate Hong Kong's role as an international hub and flights allocated there, helping megacity Shenzhen establish itself as a hub in the longer run, Citic Securities Co. said.Cathay Parent Backs Government (5:35 p.m.)Cathay Pacific's parent company, Swire Pacific Ltd., said it has "consistently and resolutely" supported Hong Kong's development and remains fully committed to the city.UN Agency Urges Restraint (5:29 p.m.)The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned police for firing tear gas directly at protesters, saying they created "a considerable risk of death or serious injury." It also urged protesters to express their views peacefully. The office "reviewed credible evidence of law enforcement officials employing less-lethal weapons in ways that are prohibited by international norms and standards," spokesman Rupert Colville said in a statement.Departure Gates Closed (4:23 p.m.)The airport closed its north and south departure gates at international Terminal 1, leaving long lines of passengers who had already checked in to wait for further instruction.The closures came as Hong Kong police said at a daily briefing that officers fired 58 rounds of tear gas and seven rounds of rubber bullets as violence escalated Saturday, moves that helped fuel protester anger.Protests Spread to Departures Hall (3:32 p.m.)Hundreds of black-shirted protesters spread to the airport's departures area, bringing passenger check-ins to a crawl. Demonstrators sat on the floor and blocked the route to the terminal's north departure gates as they chanted "Shame on Hong Kong police." A trickle of passengers were still getting through, but others remained in a long line, some sitting warily with their luggage carts. The crew channel was closed off. As the crowd of protesters shifted, the arrivals hall largely emptied out."They shoot press, they shoot first aid, they are HK police," one protester's sign read.Patten: China Intervention Would Be 'Catastrophe' (2:20 p.m.)Hong Kong's last colonial governor, Chris Patten, told the BBC on Tuesday that the government's refusal to formally withdraw the extradition bill and set up an independent inquiry into the protests was to blame for pushing Hong Kong to the abyss. He urged President Xi Jinping and the local government to seek reconciliation avoid forcibly suppressing protests. "That would be a catastrophe," said Patten, who served as governor from 1992 to 1997.Plans for Sunday March Detailed (1:19 p.m.)The Civil Human Rights Front, the group that organized three historically large marches against the extradition bill in June and July, detailed plans to hold a similar public procession at 3 p.m. Sunday. The group's challenge will be maintaining the largely peaceful atmosphere of the earlier events as some protests turn to violence and the police employ more forceful measures to disperse them. It's unclear whether CHRF will get sign-off from the police, who have been withholding approval from some marches.Opposition lawmaker Claudia Mo, a prominent participant in CHRF protests, separately called Lam's contention that she didn't have authority over the police force "irresponsible." "It's very clear right now who is running Hong Kong, and that's Beijing," Mo said.Airport Train Services Cut (12:51 p.m.)Hong Kong's Airport Authority announced that trains between downtown and the terminals would depart less frequently after 1 p.m. in a bid to control crowds. The agency said fewer trains were necessary due to reduced flights at the airport. Trains would run at 15-minute intervals instead of the usual 10-minute span, an agency spokesman said.Travelers Confront Protesters at Airport (11:15 a.m.)Some travelers whose flights were disrupted by the airport protests confronted demonstrators, including one man speaking the Mandarin Chinese dialect preferred on the mainland, who complained that his trip had been delayed by a day. One protester apologized to the man, explaining that the government wouldn't listen to their demands. Others shrugged off the delays.Lam: Police Used 'Lowest Level' Force (10:14 a.m.)Lam said police used the "lowest level of force" when asked why they had fired tear gas in residential areas, as she held a regular question and answer session ahead of a meeting of the city's Executive Council. She urged calm, a refrain in recent weeks as violence between protesters and police worsens and tear gas is regularly deployed in crowded areas across the city.At one point, she was interrupted by reporters as she sidestepped questions on whether she would resign -- a key protester demand -- and whether she had concrete proposals to ease residents' fears."It would take a very long time to restore Hong Kong," she said, choking up. "I again call on everyone to set aside prejudice, and be calm to look at the city, our home -- do we really want to push it into the abyss?"Read more on the potential toll of the unrest on Hong Kong's economyLam Says Hong Kong in Chaos (9:48 a.m.)After her session began, Lam asked the public whether they wanted to see Hong Kong fall into an abyss and said the city was in a chaotic situation.The city's rule of law is being hurt, she said, and non-cooperation events affected the airport and traffic. Lam also said she saw further suffering for the city's economy, and that dialogue between the two sides could resume after violence stops.Protesters Call for Return to Airport (9 a.m.)Some protesters called for a return to the airport at 1 p.m. Tuesday, circulating a flier online calling for people to gather featuring an airplane and blue sky.Hong Kong Airlines vowed its support for the city's government and police and condemned protester violence in a half-page advertisement in pro-Beijing local newspaper Wen Wei Po. It came as state-run Air China Ltd. canceled dozens of scheduled flights to the city on Tuesday, citing issues at the airport in a post to its official account on Chinese social media platform Weibo.Read more from Monday's scene at Hong Kong's airport(A previous version of this story was corrected after the Airport Authority revised its statement to show flights still departing, check-in closed.)\--With assistance from Iain Marlow, Sebastian Chau, Annabelle Droulers, Stephen Engle, Justin Sink and Annie Lee.To contact the reporters on this story: Yvonne Man in Hong Kong at yman9@bloomberg.net;Fion Li in Hong Kong at fli59@bloomberg.net;Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Is a global food crisis avoidable? Posted: 13 Aug 2019 02:36 PM PDT  A dire United Nations report warns that humanity may not be able to create enough food in the future. What steps can mankind take to avoid a global food crisis?
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| Pakistan Urges UN Security Council to Meet on Kashmir Standoff Posted: 13 Aug 2019 02:33 PM PDT ![Pakistan Urges UN Security Council to Meet on Kashmir Standoff]( "Pakistan Urges UN Security Council to Meet on Kashmir Standoff") (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan called on the United Nations Security Council to convene an urgent meeting on India's decision to revoke autonomy for the disputed Muslim-majority state of Kashmir, a move it says could spark a new conflict between the two South Asian nuclear powers.India's recent actions "pose a threat to international peace and security, willfully undermine the internationally recognized disputed status of Jammu & Kashmir," and violate the human rights of the Kashmiri people, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi wrote in a letter Tuesday to the Security Council. There is a "clear and present danger" that India will provoke a conflict with Pakistan to divert attention from its recent actions, Qureshi said.Pakistan's always strained relations with its neighbor are being put to a new test after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended seven decades of autonomy for the disputed state of Kashmir. Kashmir, in the Himalayas, has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence from British rule, and is claimed by both.Modi's move gives India's central government control of the local police and allows Indians outside Kashmir to buy property there. Modi said it would usher in a new era of prosperity for Kashmiris.India has traditionally sought to keep its disputes with Pakistan away from international fora like the UN while Pakistan, asserting that India is violating international law, wants the world body to put the issue on the Security Council's agenda.To contact the reporter on this story: David Wainer in New York at dwainer3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Larry LiebertFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Republican Donors Told to Wait as Pompeo Considers Kansas Senate Run Posted: 13 Aug 2019 02:29 PM PDT ![Republican Donors Told to Wait as Pompeo Considers Kansas Senate Run]( "Republican Donors Told to Wait as Pompeo Considers Kansas Senate Run") (Bloomberg) -- Republican political donors have been told to hold off contributing to the 2020 U.S. Senate race in Kansas in the expectation that Secretary of State Michael Pompeo may decide to run, according to two people familiar with the matter.A Pompeo ally has been advising potential contributors to wait until after the secretary of state makes his decision, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private message communicated to donors. The top U.S. diplomat and former CIA director, who served as a congressman in Kansas's 4th district from 2011-2017, has until June to enter the race.Pompeo has given mixed signals about his intentions. In a July interview with David Rubenstein at the Economic Club of Washington, he said: "It's off the table. As a practical matter, I'm going to serve as secretary of state every day that I get the chance to do so."But asked earlier in the month about running for the Senate, Pompeo told KCMO Radio -- which broadcasts in Kansas -- that "I always need to be open to the possibility that something will change and my path in life will change too."A Pompeo spokeswoman declined to comment.Courted by McConnellAs he weighs his decision, Pompeo has been courted by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other top Republican leaders who are anxious that a Democratic candidate could claim the seat that will open with fellow Republican Pat Roberts's retirement.The race has become crowded with Republican candidates, including immigration hard-liner Kris Kobach and Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, though several candidates have said they'd bow out if Pompeo gets in.Pompeo also has met with Steve Bannon, Trump's former White House strategist, who's close to Kobach, to talk about the Senate race, according to a person familiar with the conversation.McConnell and other Republicans are concerned that former Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius will run -- and win -- if Kobach is the GOP Senate nominee, according to another person.While Pompeo has been equivocal about a possible run, his actions and speeches have only fueled speculation that he's laying the groundwork for a Senate bid -- and possibly a presidential run in 2024.Regular VisitsThe West Point graduate, who was born in California, has continued to do outreach to Kansas officials and voters, regularly visiting his adopted home state. He recently met with the Kansas contingent at a Veterans of Foreign Wars conference in Orlando, Florida. He also plans to return to the state in September to deliver a speech at Kansas State University.One of the people who discussed Pompeo's plans said the secretary of state has also met with potential political donors in New York and California.Pompeo was in Kansas again on Monday, stopping at an International House of Pancakes restaurant to celebrate his mother-in-law's birthday, the Kansas City Star reported. The store's manager told the paper that some customers thought that Pompeo was going to deliver a speech. Instead, he ordered two scrambled eggs, two pancakes, two strips of turkey bacon and a Pepsi.A person close to Pompeo said the secretary, despite his denials, hasn't made a decision on whether to leave the State Department, where he has overseen the Trump administration's negotiations with North Korea and led efforts to ratchet up pressure on Iran. But analysts say he'd be a potent candidate."You have a guy who was director of the CIA, secretary of state, he's a veteran," said Aaron David Miller, a former adviser at the State Department. "On paper, he represents the embodiment of what many Republicans would look to, and I think he understands that."At the same time, Pompeo has sounded out some allies and advisers on the advantages and disadvantages of making a presidential bid from the Senate or the private sector. And he has spoken privately with the same confidantes about the possibility of leaving the State Department later this year.A person familiar with President Donald Trump's thinking said that he's annoyed by all the speculation about a possible run by Pompeo, the only remaining member of Trump's original national security cabinet.Even as Pompeo has maintained his Kansas ties, his speeches and actions at the State Department show how much he also continues to appeal to conservatives he'd want to lure in a Kansas race.Supporters of gay rights were disheartened in June when Pompeo declined to distribute a diplomatic cable to embassies around the world instructing them on how to celebrate Gay Pride Month, a routine practice from years past. He also reversed past policy allowing embassies globally to fly the gay pride rainbow flag from the same flagpole as the Stars and Stripes.While secretaries of state traditionally avoid overt political statements, Pompeo has criticized former President Barack Obama by name. In a speech to the VFW conference in Orlando last month, he accused the former president of "appeasement of the brutal Castro regime" -- a reference to the easing of economic restrictions on Cuba. He then went further, suggesting that past administrations had lost sight of the "American creed.""Perhaps saddest of all, we let the doctrines of global elites dictate our engagement," Pompeo said."I read that and I just thought, 'OK, this is a guy who's got his eye on 2024,'" James Goldgeier, a professor of international relations at American University, said in an interview. "This isn't a guy interested in talking like a secretary of state. He's a guy interested in making connections that help him in his political future."(Updates with more on Pompeo's conversations in eighth paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Nick Wadhams in Washington at nwadhams@bloomberg.net;Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Larry LiebertFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| As Brexit Deadline Approaches, What's Next For UK? Posted: 13 Aug 2019 02:17 PM PDT ![As Brexit Deadline Approaches, What's Next For UK?]( "As Brexit Deadline Approaches, What's Next For UK?") Rebel MPs could try to make a move to stop a no-deal Brexit in the second week of September. President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton has also informed the U.K. prime minister that the U.S. administration will strongly back the U.K.'s exit from the EU in late October, deal or no deal. Bolton said the U.S. supported a no-deal Brexit and added that Washington would propose an accelerated series of trade deals.
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| Pakistan seeks urgent UN meeting on India action in Kashmir Posted: 13 Aug 2019 01:53 PM PDT  Pakistan called Tuesday for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council, saying India's decision to strip its part of disputed Kashmir of autonomy poses "an imminent threat" to international peace and could lead to ethnic cleansing and genocide in the Muslim-majority region. Quereshi accused India in a letter to the council obtained by The Associated Press of implementing a "racist ideology" aimed at turning its part of Kashmir from a Muslim-majority into a Hindu-majority territory.
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| Beijing 'preparing tanks at Hong Kong border', warns Trump as protesters clash with police at airport Posted: 13 Aug 2019 01:32 PM PDT  Protesters clashed with riot police at Hong Kong's international airport on Tuesday evening after flights were disrupted for a second day, as Donald Trump warned that China is moving troops to the border. The airport scuffles broke out in the evening between police and protesters, after demonstrators allegedly detained two men suspected of being undercover Chinese officials. Trouble began as about 10-15 regular police officers entered the airport without riot gear to assist paramedics after a man collapsed. The man was accused by demonstrators of being a member of Chinese state security. Protesters then drove the police out of the terminal building. Shortly after, about 50 riot police arrived and clashes broke out in and around the entrance of the airport. Police used pepper spray and made a handful of arrests as scenes briefly turned violent. A policeman was cornered and beaten with his own baton before protesters dispersed when he drew his pistol. Cameramen and photographers film a detained man, who protesters claimed was a police officer from mainland China Credit: Vincent Yu/AP Protesters also detained a second man who they suspected of being an undercover agent. After emptying out his belongings, they found a blue T-shirt that has been worn by pro-Beijing supporters that they said was evidence he was a spy. The editor-in-chief of the Global Times claimed one of the men seen detained and tied to a trolley was a reporter for the Chinese state newspaper. About 30 protesters remained at the airport early on Wednesday while workers scrubbed it clean of blood and debris from overnight. Check-in counters reopened to queues of weary travellers who had waited overnight for their flights. Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, tweeted: "Concerning to see what's happening in Hong Kong and the worrying pictures of clashes between police & protesters at the airport. As I said to Carrie Lam during my call last week, we condemn the violence & encourage constructive dialogue to find a peaceful way forward." Meanwhile, Chinese paramilitary police were assembling across the border in the city of Shenzhen for exercises. While China has yet to threaten sending in the army - as it did against pro-democracy protesters in Beijing in 1989 - the Shenzhen exercises were a sign of its ability to crush the demonstrations, even at the cost to Hong Kong's reputation as a safe haven for business and international exchange. Images on the internet showed armored personnel carriers belonging to the People's Armed Police driving in a convoy on Monday towards the site of the exercises. Mr Trump said in a tweet: "Our Intelligence has informed us that the Chinese Government is moving troops to the Border with Hong Kong. Everyone should be calm and safe!" He retweeted a video purporting to show army trucks queuing in Shenzhen, the Chinese city that borders Hong Kong. Disturbing video taken in Shenzhen just across the boarder with HongKong. Something extraordinarily bad is about happen. ChinaHongKongProtestsDemocracySaveHongKongpic.twitter.com/Gad5R5HVZL— Alexandre Krauss (@AlexandreKrausz) August 12, 2019 The US president, who is embroiled in a major trade dispute with China, added: "Many are blaming me, and the United States, for the problems going on in Hong Kong. I can't imagine why?" Ten weeks of increasingly violent clashes between police and protesters have roiled the Asian financial hub as thousands of residents chafe at a perceived erosion of freedoms and autonomy under Chinese rule. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Hong Kong to exercise restraint and investigate evidence of its forces firing tear gas at protesters in ways banned under international law. China later rejected what it called a "wrongful statement" by the UN, saying it amounted to interference in its domestic affairs. Riot police clashed with pockets of protesters at the airport as demonstrations crippled terminals Credit: THOMAS PETER/ REUTERS At a news conference in the government headquarters complex, which is fortified behind 6-foot (1.8-m) -high water-filled barricades, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said: "Take a minute to look at our city, our home." Her voice cracked as she added: "Can we bear to push it into the abyss and see it smashed to pieces?" Ms Lam's repeated refusals to make any concessions or show sympathy towards protesters, some of whom have been injured as police shoot tear gas and rubber bullets, has only upset them more and boosted public support for the activists plunging the city into its worst political crisis in decades. Chris Patten, the last governor under British colonial rule, said that Hong Kong was "close to the abyss", because Ms Lam refused to withdraw a controversial extradition bill. "I think there is a degree of frustration and anger at the government refusing to give any sensible ground at all, which probably provokes more violence," Mr Patten told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He urged Boris Johnson to take a firmer line with Beijing, and to put pressure on visiting National Security Advisor John Bolton for US help. Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the foreign affairs committee, said the UK should extend citizenship rights to Hong Kong citizens. The White House has also urged "all sides" to avoid violence in Hong Kong. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, on Monday praised protesters for standing up to the Chinese Communist Party, warning that the "world is watching" for any violent crackdown by authorities. Mr Trump earlier said he hoped no one would be killed. The crisis was a "very tricky situation," the president told reporters in New Jersey. "I hope it works out peacefully, nobody gets hurt, nobody gets killed," he said. Hong Kong protests | Read more China this week condemned some protesters for using dangerous tools to attack police, calling the clashes "sprouts of terrorism". They present President Xi Jinping with one of his biggest challenges since he came to power in 2012. Hong Kong legal experts say Beijing might be paving the way to use anti-terrorism laws to try to quell the demonstrations. The clashes at the airport followed an unprecedented airport shutdown on Monday. Again on Tuesday, thousands of black-clad protesters jammed the terminal, chanting, singing and waving banners. Floors and walls were covered with missives penned by activists and other artwork. Initially, the scene was peaceful as knots of protesters spoke to travellers, explaining their aims. "Sorry for the inconvenience, we are fighting for the future of our home," read one protest banner at the airport. "I think paralysing the airport will be effective in forcing Carrie Lam to respond to us ... it can further pressure Hong Kong's economy," said Dorothy Cheng, 17. The weeks of protests began as opposition to a now-suspended bill that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland China, but have swelled into wider calls for democracy. Demonstrators say they are fighting the erosion of the "one country, two systems" arrangement that enshrined some autonomy for Hong Kong since China took it back from Britain in 1997. They want Ms Lam to resign. She says she will stay. Fu Guohao, reporter of GT website is being seized by demonstrators at HK airport. I affirm this man being tied in this video is the reporter himself. He has no other task except for reporting. I sincerely ask the demonstrators to release him. I also ask for help of West reporters pic.twitter.com/sbFb0L3s92— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) August 13, 2019 "My responsibility goes beyond this particular range of protest," Ms Lam said on Tuesday, adding that violence had pushed the territory into a state of "panic and chaos". As she spoke, the benchmark Hang Seng index hit a seven-month low. It shed more than 2%, dragging down markets across Asia. Ms Lam did not respond to questions at a press briefing to clarify if she had the power to withdraw the extradition bill and satisfy a key demand made by the protesters, or if she needed Beijing's approval. Airport authorities had earlier suspended check-in operations. Crowds of protesters continued to swell in the evening. "Terminal operations at Hong Kong International Airport have been seriously disrupted as a result of the public assembly," the airport authority said. Some passengers challenged protesters over the delays as tempers began to fray, while the demonstrators, using a Chinese term of encouragement, chanted, "Hong Kong people - add oil!" Flag carrier Cathay Pacific said: "There is potential for further flight disruptions at short notice". The airline, whose British heritage makes it a symbol of Hong Kong's colonial past, is also in a political bind. China's civil aviation regulator demanded that the airline suspend staff who joined or backed the protests from flights in its airspace, pushing the carrier's shares past Monday's 10-year low. Other Chinese airlines have offered passengers wanting to avoid Hong Kong a free switch to nearby destinations, such as Guangzhou, Macau, Shenzhen or Zhuhai, with the disruption sending shares in Shenzhen Airport Co Ltd surging.
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| Iran supreme leader urges support for Yemen's Houthi rebels Posted: 13 Aug 2019 10:24 AM PDT ![Iran supreme leader urges support for Yemen's Houthi rebels]( "Iran supreme leader urges support for Yemen's Houthi rebels") Iran's state TV reports that the country's supreme leader is urging support for Yemen's Houthis against a Saudi-led coalition that he says is trying to "disintegrate" the country. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with Mohammad Abdul Salam, the spokesman for Yemen's Ansarallah Movement, in Tehran on Tuesday. The group is commonly referred to as the Houthis.
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| Street Protests Might Bring Down Putin—Or Make Him Even More Dangerous to U.S. Posted: 13 Aug 2019 09:36 AM PDT  Vasily Maximov/GettyThe well-known Russian political scientist Valery Solovey has talked a lot recently about possible political change in his country, but he was particularly emphatic in a tweet on Sunday, the day after 60,000 Russians protested on the streets of Moscow: "I have a growing feeling that this fall mass protests will enter a self-sustaining trajectory. This is even faster than I expected and what I have publicly talked about. The underbrush of mass discontent has become parched. And the government is stubbornly bringing a match to it."But does Solovey's scenario—based on the premise that the Putin regime has gone too far in suppressing peaceful protesters—take into account the huge punitive machine that the Kremlin has to douse the flames it is igniting? A Missile Explosion, a Radiation Spike, and Kremlin Secrecy Bring Back Memories of ChernobylNot only are Putin's loyal siloviki (those who run the "institutions of force") showing no hesitation in unleashing their might against the democratic opposition; the rank and file forces under them are zealously following orders and unlikely to rebel. As one responder to Solovey tweeted:"No one has explained to ordinary police officers what would happen to them when the power changes, so they will continue to come down furiously with their clubs. After all, they, like Putin, are very afraid of revolution."This video of police on Saturday beating up a young woman illustrates the point and has caused a huge stir in the Russian independent media. She later was hospitalized with a concussion:Russia's mass street protests over election fraud in 2011-12 shook the Kremlin to its core and were a nightmare for Putin, who blamed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the unrest. She publicly expressed "serious concern" about irregularities in the 2011 Duma election, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper among others has suggested Putin's enduring grudge against Clinton may partly explain his aggressive support for Trump in 2016.Mindful of those protests eight years ago, Putin has long been preparing for another such outbreak, which this time began in July and was fueled by the decision of Russia's Central Election Commission to ban numerous independent candidates from running in Moscow's municipal election on September 8. In 2016, Putin created a National Guard (Rosgvardia), which reports directly to him and numbers an estimated 350,000 men, including special forces and internal troops that used to be under the MVD (the Ministry of Internal Affairs). A Battered Professor Leads Moscow's Growing Grassroots Protests Against PutinDesigned to quell mass unrest, Rosgvardia is headed by Viktor Zolotov, a KGB veteran who became a close Putin ally when the two worked for the St. Petersburg mayor, Anatoly Sobchak, in the early '90s. (Zolotov was Sobchak's bodyguard.) The FSB (Federal Security Service) not only arrests and investigates Russian citizens for such crimes as "extremism," and corruption; it also has its own special forces, which are designated mainly for anti-terrorism, but could be called upon to suppress public disorders. FSB chief Aleksandr Bortnikov, who joined the KGB in Leningrad in 1975, is a direct protégé of Putin. The MVD, which operates the regular police, is also loyal to Putin. MVD chief Vladimir Kolokoltsev is not a "piterskii" (part of Putin's St. Petersburg clan), but he is a dedicated career cop, (he formerly headed the Moscow police) known for coming down hard against real or perceived lawbreakers. And finally, the powerful Russian Investigative Committee, which recently opened a criminal case against Aleksei Navalny's Foundation Against Corruption (FBK) on charges of money laundering, is also under Putin's thumb. Its chief is Aleksandr Bastrykin, a fellow law student with Putin at Leningrad State University in the '70s and a long-time Putin crony. (The Kremlin has reportedly awarded staffers from the Investigative Committee a 20 percent pay raise.) Navalny, a leading opposition figure, and several of his colleagues are languishing in jail for organizing unauthorized protests; if the Investigative Committee's criminal case against them proceeds, they could end up in labor camps, like Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the exiled former head of the oil company Yukos, who was arrested in 2003 on Putin's orders and spent 10 years behind bars.The Putin regime may have overreacted in its response to the protests, with the bungled jail poisoning of Navalny recently, the thousands of arrests, and the excessive, indiscriminate use of force against protesters. The whole crisis might have been avoided if the authorities had allowed at least a few candidates to appear on the Moscow ballot, which would have hardly threatened the Kremlin's grip on the city's government. But the siloviki have good reason to maintain their resolve. They are all incredibly corrupt, as demonstrated in the numerous exposes by Navalny's FBK, and would suffer bad consequences if Putin's regime fell. (Recall the fate of the corrupt Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovich, who was forced to flee to Russia by the seat of his pants in 2014.) As for ordinary policemen and guard troops, rather than getting their news from the internet, where Navalny and others make their case against the Kremlin, they apparently watch state-controlled television, which portrays the protesters as pawns of the West. Radio Liberty's Mike Eckel wrote last week: "Conspiracies of foreign intelligence agency meddling have also trickled down to the precinct level for Moscow police. One man who was detained during the protests, even though he said he was merely a bystander, was berated by an officer during his two days in police custody: 'Guys, you understand nothing. You're being controlled. It's the CIA that is manipulating you… The protests are just the beginning. This is part of a protracted campaign to oust the regime and seize Russia's resources.'"As in 2011-2012, the authorities prefer to see the current ferment as Western inspired, rather than to question their own policies. After the August 3 street demonstrations, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. Embassy in Moscow of encouraging turnout and "interfering in the internal affairs of our country" because the embassy published a map of the planned route: In fact, the Americans intended the map as a warning to its citizens to stay away from the protests. And on Sunday, Roskomnadzor, the government agency that oversees the internet, demanded in a formal complaint that Google prohibit users of YouTube, its subsidiary, from posting notifications about the protests. Roskomnadzor threatened Google with an "adequate response" in case of refusal to comply with its requirements: "The Russian Federation will regard this as interference in the sovereign affairs of the state, and also as hostile and hindering the conduction of democratic elections in Russia."Russian journalist Iulia Latynina (forced to flee Russia in 2017 because her life was threatened) observed after Saturday's protests: "It is very interesting to watch [on YouTube] the riot police, because they have the special tactics and strategy of a war against their own people. These police went through combat coordination, that is, they know how to act… They beat people as if they were going after Germans at the entrance to the Kremlin." Latynina claims that members of the riot police and the security organs think of themselves as a righteous sect, surrounded by enemies who are supported by the U.S. State Department. Their violence is arbitrary because it doesn't matter to them whether the person who is arrested or beaten is just an innocent bystander or an oppositionist. Drawing parallels with Stalin's terror, Latynina concludes: "We have a lot of commentators who say: 'This violence is ineffective. It only makes people angry.' Well guys, sorry, please. Of course, violence is effective… and the history of our country, unfortunately, is direct evidence of this. Look what Stalin did. Stalin destroyed the Russian people and not only the Russian people but the Soviet people, all the people that were there. How many rebellions were there against Stalin?" Former FSB lieutenant-colonel Gennady Gudkov, who used to serve in the Russian Duma, seems to share Latynina's pessimism. In a blog for radio Echo of Moscow on Sunday, Gudkov wrote: "If we discard the version that the Kremlin and its inhabitants are completely crazy, then we are left with one single impression: that the regime ordered its police to act extremely cruel with only one purpose—to anger society, sow indignation, hatred, and a desire to take revenge." Gudkov goes on to explain that the Kremlin's end game may be to provoke enough public unrest to justify the declaration of a state of emergency, which would result in a cancellation of all future elections, complete censorship of the press and the internet, a shutdown of the independent media, and even curfews. "One gets the impression," Gudkov continued, "that today the regime deliberately acts on the principle of 'the worse, the better.' If so, then you and I have entered the last stage of Putin's rule: the masks are dropped, the image in the world is gone, there is only one way—a la North Korea and the complete 'freezing' of public life for decades. And holding on until there are no longer enough forces, money, and ammunition for the fighters of the 'Rosgvardiya.' A bloody road to nowhere."Whatever the likelihood of these grim prognoses, which probably give the Kremlin too much credit for having a strategy, the authorities are keeping up some appearance of abiding by the rules. On Saturday, when police with black masks arrested Lyubov Sobol, a lawyer and producer of videos for Navalny's FBK, as well as a would-be candidate for the Moscow elections, they came with policewomen. Thirty-one-year-old Sobol, who has been on a hunger strike for over three weeks in protest against the election commission's decision, tweeted later: "The female police were hauled along just 'for show.' They were under the command of other officers… The police car that took me away stopped literally around the corner and let the policewomen out." Sobol, the mother of a toddler, was released only after several hours of questioning, so she missed the demonstration. On the way home she thanked all the protesters for their solidarity with the opposition and urged them not to give up. On Monday, the FBK posted a stunning expose, revealing the extensive corruption of a key member of the Central Election Commission, Boris Ebzeyev. Noting that Navalny and several colleagues are sitting behind bars and that its offices were raided last week, the FBK voiced defiance: "They are obviously trying to destroy us and make it so that we cannot go about our business—the fight against corruption. But this, of course, will not work. And to be honest, it only infuriates and energizes us." The democratic opposition is calling for another street demonstration on August 17, despite the fact that the Moscow mayor's office has refused to authorize it. Political scientist Solovey observed in May that revolutions aren't made by majorities, but by ambitious minorities "who suddenly understand that they have a chance to do now what they could not do earlier." Maybe he is right, after all. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Merkel Puts the First Crack in Her Opposition to Fiscal Stimulus Posted: 13 Aug 2019 08:47 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. Chancellor Angela Merkel adopted a more somber tone on the state of Germany's economy, saying a difficult patch lay ahead that the government may have to react to."It's true, we're heading into a difficult phase," Merkel said at a town hall event in the northern city of Stralsund. The government will closely monitor second quarter economic development and then look at the third quarter, she said. "We will react depending on the situation."It is the first time Merkel suggested the government may need to become more proactive in to respond to the country's economic slowdown, saying that she didn't see the need for a growth package "so far".In recent weeks there have been growing calls in business and politics for the chancellor to adopt stimulus measures. Merkel's Christian Democratic-led bloc as well as her junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats, have plummeted in opinion polls ahead of key regional elections next month.Economic growth this year is forecast at just 0.6%, as fallout from the trade war hits Germany's export-driven industry. Growth slowed from 2.2% in 2017 to 1.4% in 2018. Second-quarter GDP data is due tomorrow, and economists predict the economy contracted 0.1% in the three months through June."Domestic demand is still somewhat propping up the economy," said Merkel, reiterating that she would not seek another public office after her term ends in 2021.Based on details from the draft 2020 budget proposal published by parliament today, the government will stick to its policy of not increasing net debt.(Adds details and context throughout.)\--With assistance from Zoe Schneeweiss.To contact the reporters on this story: Birgit Jennen in Berlin at bjennen1@bloomberg.net;Brian Parkin in Berlin at bparkin@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Raymond ColittFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Khmer Rouge tribunal: Death stops defendant's appeal Posted: 13 Aug 2019 08:33 AM PDT ![Khmer Rouge tribunal: Death stops defendant's appeal]( "Khmer Rouge tribunal: Death stops defendant's appeal") The U.N.-assisted tribunal trying leaders of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge on charges of genocide and other crimes affirmed Tuesday it will cease legal proceedings against Nuon Chea, the communist group's No. 2 leader who died aged 93 on Aug. 4 while his conviction was under appeal. A statement by the tribunal's Supreme Court Chamber cited Cambodian law and international criminal tribunal precedent as the basis for its ruling. It also acknowledged a request by Nuon Chea's defense team to clarify how ending the appeal due to Nuon Chea's death affects "the trial judgment and underlying convictions" -- whether it leaves his conviction standing, or nullifies it.
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| Russian authorities clear villages near nuclear test site as it emerges radiation levels rose after recent blast Posted: 13 Aug 2019 08:32 AM PDT  As concerns over another possible nuclear incident in the Russian Arctic grow, authorities in Arkhangelsk region have asked residents of a town near a missile test range to evacuate their homes tomorrow while the military conducts "planned activities," it has been reported. "We have received a notification... about the planned activities of the military authorities," the Interfax news agency quoted local authorities as saying. "In this regard, residents of Nyonoksa were asked to leave the territory of the village from August 14." The town was the site of a mysterious blast on August 8. Initial reports suggested the explosion went off at the test range, but more recent official statements place the incident on a platform just offshore. The nature of the blast, which killed five nuclear scientists, has not yet been established. Russia nuclear map However, suspicion has generally fallen on a failed test of Russia's Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile - called "Skyfall" by Nato. The weapon was announced by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, in a speech last year. Donald Trump, the US president, on Monday night claimed America has a more advanced version of the weapon. The Kremlin, in its first comments on the situation, countered by saying Mr Putin has made it clear that Russia has the best technology in this field. The evacuation of Nyonoksa suggests that, despite an apparent failure of some kind of nuclear or radioactive device last week, the Russian military is preparing for another test. People gather for the funerals of five Russian nuclear engineers killed by a rocket explosion in Sarov Credit: Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM via AP Moving locals out of the area is seen as tacit recognition that something dangerous is being tested. The Ministry of Defense has repeatedly said no toxic substances were released in last week's explosion. This was contradicted by monitors in the nearby town of Severodvinsk, who reported a brief jump in radiation levels. The Severodvinsk city government statement quietly disappeared from the city government's website over the weekend. But, on Tuesday, Russia's federal weather service confirmed that radiation levels jumped to 16 times their normal level on August 8 for a period of two hours. The TASS news agency reported Tuesday that medics who treated those wounded by the August 8 explosion have been sent to Moscow for medical examinations. Unconfirmed videos of the medical response teams last week showed them wearing hazmat suits.
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| Heavy rainfall floods parts of Sudan, 6 killed Posted: 13 Aug 2019 08:30 AM PDT ![Heavy rainfall floods parts of Sudan, 6 killed]( "Heavy rainfall floods parts of Sudan, 6 killed") Flooding triggered by heavy rains inundated hundreds of houses in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and elsewhere in the country, killing at least six people Tuesday, the state-run news agency said. In Khartoum, the Sudanese Professionals' Association said rains over the weekend caused floods that destroyed or damaged more than 1,300 homes on the southern outskirts of the city, where the White and Blue Nile rivers meet. The Health Ministry said at least 12 provinces have been affected by torrential rains since earlier this month.
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| Iran Says It Expects Tanker Held by U.K. to Be Released Soon Posted: 13 Aug 2019 08:24 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Iran expects an oil tanker seized by the U.K. in the Strait of Gibraltar in July will be released soon, the semi-official Fars News agency reported Tuesday, a move that could help to ease concerns about the safety of shipping routes in the Middle East."Official and unofficial documents have been exchanged to resolve the matter and we hope the problem will be dealt with in the very near future," Fars cited Jalil Eslami, deputy for maritime affairs at Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization, as saying. The future of a U.K.-flagged tanker that Iran seized later in the Persian Gulf depends on "the necessary judicial processes," Eslami added.Iran's Grace 1 tanker was seized by the Royal Navy on suspicion it was sending crude oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions. Tehran denied breaking sanctions and two weeks later impounded the U.K.-flagged Stena Impero near the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important chokepoint for oil.Gibraltar's Supreme Court is scheduled to hold its next hearing on the vessel on Thursday, according to the official Gibraltar news service in Spain. The current detention order for the ship expires late on Saturday, local media reported. A spokesperson for the U.K. Foreign Office said that the "ongoing investigation" into the Grace 1 was a matter for Gibraltar authorities. The tanker seizures and other suspected Iranian operations against shipping in the Persian Gulf region have inflamed a crisis between Iran and the West triggered by the Trump administration's decision to quit the multiparty nuclear deal with Iran a year ago and renew crippling economic sanctions. Iran has responded by abandoning some restrictions on uranium enrichment imposed by the 2015 accord.The frictions on the seas have led the U.S. and U.K. to mount a joint mission to protect commercial shipping lanes in the Middle East. Reports of Israeli involvement in that mission have drawn fire from Tehran, and on Tuesday, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corp's naval forces warned against "any illegal presence in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, especially Israel's.""We in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps are in charge of providing security for the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, and there is no need for strangers," Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said, according to the semi-official Iranian Students' News Agency.Last week, Israel's Ynet website reported that Israel is providing intelligence and other, unspecified assistance to U.S.-led efforts to protect Persian Gulf shipping routes. It cited Foreign Minister Israel Katz's remarks to parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee.Israel considers Iran to be its most formidable enemy, due to its nuclear work, ballistic missile program and support for anti-Israel militant groups in the Middle East. Iranian officials have also referred multiple times to Israel's annihilation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lobbied hard against the nuclear deal, and pressed President Donald Trump to abandon it.Israel has been striking Iranian targets in Syria over the past few years in an effort to limit the Islamic Republic's presence in its immediate neighborhood, and according to recent reports, has expanded those operations to hit Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.(Updates with Thursday hearing at Gibraltar court in fourth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Alex Morales and Charles Penty.To contact the reporter on this story: Arsalan Shahla in Tehran at ashahla@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| RPT-Germany plans CO2 pricing to help with climate goals -Merkel Posted: 13 Aug 2019 08:05 AM PDT ![RPT-Germany plans CO2 pricing to help with climate goals -Merkel]( "RPT-Germany plans CO2 pricing to help with climate goals -Merkel") Germany will introduce some sort of carbon emissions pricing to achieve its climate goals, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday, adding that she favours issuance of CO2 certificates to reduce such emissions. "We will need a pricing system for carbon emissions," Merkel said in a panel discussion in the Baltic Sea town of Stralsund.
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| Germany plans CO2 pricing to help with climate goals -Merkel Posted: 13 Aug 2019 07:42 AM PDT ![Germany plans CO2 pricing to help with climate goals -Merkel]( "Germany plans CO2 pricing to help with climate goals -Merkel") Germany will introduce some sort of carbon emissions pricing to achieve its climate goals, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday, adding that she favours issuance of CO2 certificates to reduce such emissions. "We will need a pricing system for carbon emissions," Merkel said in a panel discussion in the Baltic Sea town of Stralsund.
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| Merkel: No need for fiscal stimulus package right now Posted: 13 Aug 2019 07:14 AM PDT ![Merkel: No need for fiscal stimulus package right now]( "Merkel: No need for fiscal stimulus package right now") German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday she did not see any need for a fiscal stimulus package to counter the effects of a slowing economy, but she added that Berlin would continue to pursue a high level of public investment. The problem regarding public spending in Germany is not the level or timing of state investments, but rather bottlenecks such as skilled labour shortages and relatively long and slow planning processes, Merkel added.
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| How the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow stretch of water where ships transport $1.2 billion worth of oil every day, is at the heart of spiraling tensions with Iran Posted: 13 Aug 2019 06:59 AM PDT  The US blames Iran for two tanker explosions and a drone shooting near the Strait of Hormuz. Some 21 million barrels of oil pass through it every day.
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| Gibraltar says no immediate plan to release Iranian tanker Posted: 13 Aug 2019 06:33 AM PDT ![Gibraltar says no immediate plan to release Iranian tanker]( "Gibraltar says no immediate plan to release Iranian tanker") A senior official in Gibraltar is denying reports that an Iranian tanker seized near the British overseas territory is poised to be released. The tanker was seized last month in a British Royal Navy operation off Gibraltar, on the tip of southern Spain.
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| Detained Kyrgyzstan ex-president charged with murder over special forces death Posted: 13 Aug 2019 05:07 AM PDT  The head of Kyrgyzstan's security forces accused ex-president Almazbek Atambayev on Tuesday of planning to stage a coup, state news agency Kabar said, following a deadly clash last week with police sent to his house to arrest him. Mr Atambayev surrendered on Thursday when police raided his home and detained him for questioning over a corruption case, laying bare a power struggle with his successor Sooronbai Jeenbekov that is pushing the Central Asian nation to the brink of political crisis. Mr Atambayev's supporters had repulsed a similar raid the previous day in which a deputy commander of an elite special forces unit was killed. In an indictment related to the botched raid, prosecutors on Tuesday charged him with murder, hostage-taking and causing mass unrest, Kabar said. Mr Atambayev has dismissed criminal investigations against him as politically motivated and illegal. Supporters of former president Almazbek Atambayev fight with riot police near Atambayev's house in Koi-Tash Credit: AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin National security chief Orozbek Opumbayev on Tuesday accused the former president of seeking bloodshed. "Then, blaming it on the authorities, he would have been able to stage a coup," Kabar quoted Opumbayev as saying. Mr Opumbayev said Mr Atambayev shot at security officers with his sniper rifle, fatally wounding one of them. Mr Atambayev, whose lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment, said last week he had fired off several shots, but most were warning ones directed into the air. Mr Atambayev, who served as president of the former Soviet republic between 2011 and 2017, backed his then-ally Mr Jeenbekov's presidential bid, hoping to retain political influence. But Mr Jeenbekov purged Atambayev loyalists from his cabinet last year, prompting a falling-out between the two which was followed by several criminal probes targeting Mr Atambayev and his close associates. Kyrgyzstan has been a close ally of Moscow and hosts a Russian military airbase. Mr Atambayev met Vladimir Putin last month but the Russian president subsequently endorsed Mr Jeenbekov in public.
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| Libya officials: Fighting around Tripoli resumes, truce over Posted: 13 Aug 2019 05:01 AM PDT ![Libya officials: Fighting around Tripoli resumes, truce over]( "Libya officials: Fighting around Tripoli resumes, truce over") Fighting around Tripoli resumed overnight, following a two-day truce observed during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, Libyan officials said Tuesday. The two-day cease-fire — proposed by the U.N. — was the first since the self-styled Libyan National Army led by commander Khalifa Hifter launched an offensive in April to capture Tripoli from a U.N.-supported but weak government. Tripoli health officials said no civilian casualties were reported on Tuesday.
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| Mexicans protest over alleged rape of teenage girls by police officers Posted: 13 Aug 2019 04:25 AM PDT  Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Mexico City calling for justice for two teenage girls who were allegedly raped by police officers.The first case involves a 17-year-old girl who said four policemen raped her in their patrol car in Azcapotzalco, in the Mexican capital's north, on 3 August. The saga has sparked outrage after the city lawyer, Ernestina Godoy, last week admitted the officers have yet to have been charged because officials are waiting for the victim to identify the perpetrators.In the other case, just six days later, a 16-year-old girl said a policeman raped her in a museum in the city centre. A policeman was arrested on Thursday.Around 300 protesters, who were predominantly women, descended on the city's security headquarters and the capital's prosecutor's office on Monday. They voiced their anger at the two recent cases – shouting "justice" and "they don't protect us, they rape us" at officers.The demonstrators, equipped with pink glitter and spray paint, advanced on the prosecutor's office and smashed its door and left a pig's head outside.Mexico's security minister Jesus Orta Martínez was enveloped in pink glitter when he tried to reassure the women both cases would be properly investigated.Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico City's first elected female mayor, branded the demonstration a "provocation". At a press conference, she said the authorities would carry out justice but labelled the demonstrators provocateurs.She said: "We are not going to fall for any provocation, this was a provocation. They wanted the government to use violent methods and in no way will we fall for it. There will be an investigation and the prosecutors' office will resolve it".Ms Sheinbaum said "due to the seriousness of the case" the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City would be involved in the investigation.Violence against women is prevalent in Mexico – according to United Nations figures, an average of nine women are believed to be murdered every day.According to the Mexican Institute of Statistics and Geography, 44 per cent of women have suffered violence from a partner and 66 per cent of women have experienced some form of violence during their life. The country's criminal code specifically references femicides – defining the crime as one "that deprives a woman of her life for gendered reasons" and citing evidence of it as including signs of sexual violence, "degrading" injuries, a history of violence at home, work or school.In October 2018, Mexicans were left shocked by news of a couple who admitted to having murdered more than 20 women in Ecatepec, a suburb northeast of Mexico City. This case thrust the subject of femicide into the national spotlight once again – with local media branding the couple the "monsters of Ecatepec".Femicide is defined around the world as the deliberate killing of a woman or girl because of their gender. The United Nations notes these gender-related murders may come after other violent acts including domestic abuse – describing the climate in Latin America as one of "high tolerance" towards such "normalised" attacks.According to the United Nations, Latin America has the world's highest rates of femicide.
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| Gibraltar government source denies tanker will leave on Tuesday Posted: 13 Aug 2019 04:12 AM PDT ![Gibraltar government source denies tanker will leave on Tuesday]( "Gibraltar government source denies tanker will leave on Tuesday") A highly placed Gibraltarian government source denied on Tuesday an Iranian news agency report which said the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 would be leaving the British overseas territory on Tuesday. British Royal Marines seized the tanker on July 4 off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory of Gibraltar on suspicion of violating EU sanctions by taking oil to Syria, which Tehran denies. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency quoted unidentified Gibraltar authorities as saying the tanker would bee freed on Tuesday evening.
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| Kremlin: Putin doesn't think Moscow protests significant Posted: 13 Aug 2019 04:09 AM PDT  The Kremlin on Tuesday broke weeks of silence on opposition protests and police violence in Moscow, saying that President Vladimir Putin does not see the increasing wave of discontent as anything significant. The Russian capital has been gripped by three consecutive weekends of large-scale opposition protests, with police arresting and detaining more than 1,000 people. Giving the Kremlin's first official comments on the protests in Moscow, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Putin has not spoken out about the demonstrations because he does not think there is anything "exceptional" about them.
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| UPDATE 2-Kremlin shrugs off Moscow protests, backs tough police response Posted: 13 Aug 2019 04:02 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-Kremlin shrugs off Moscow protests, backs tough police response]( "UPDATE 2-Kremlin shrugs off Moscow protests, backs tough police response") The Kremlin on Tuesday shrugged off five weeks of street protests in support of free elections in Moscow, saying the situation had not warranted comment from President Vladimir Putin and voicing strong support for the tough police response. The demonstrations over a planned election for the Moscow city legislature in September have turned into the biggest sustained protest movement in Russia since 2011-2013, when protesters took to the streets against perceived electoral fraud.
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| Hong Kong Risks an Economic Fate Worse Than Recession Posted: 13 Aug 2019 04:00 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Want to receive this post in your inbox every day? Sign up for the Terms of Trade newsletter, and follow Bloomberg Economics on Twitter for more.Already hurting from the U.S.-China trade war, Hong Kong's economy could be facing something much worse than a recession.With protests continuing to disrupt the territory's retail and tourism industries — and bringing the airport to a standstill on Monday — analysts say it wouldn't take much to tip the economy into negative territory. Total merchandise trade is more than triple Hong Kong's gross domestic product.Yet that's only half the story. Hong Kong is an important gateway for capital, too. So the bigger fear is the damage done to Hong Kong's standing as a conduit between China and the rest of the world. Even if its economic relevance to China has faded over time, it's still an important valve for foreign money flowing into and out of the world's second-biggest economy.Analysis by Bloomberg Economics forecasts a recession in the second half and warns of a risk of an erosion in the high standards of corporate governance and rule of law that underpin its status as an international financial hub. That would significantly undermine the city's long-term growth prospects, Bloomberg economist Qian Wan writes.Here's some data from Bloomberg Economics on why Hong Kong still matters for China and global trade:Some 58% of China's outbound investment — including for President Xi Jinping's signature Belt and Road Initiative — is channeled through Hong Kong. The city's nearly $5 trillion stock market could become home to a potential listing for e-commerce giant Alibaba, underscoring Hong Kong's continued importance as source of IPO fund raising for mainland firms. While bond issuance in Hong Kong is small, it is also a significant source of funds for Chinese companies. The Shanghai-Hong Kong Connect shows the continued importance of Hong Kong as a channel for the managed opening of China's capital markets.Worldwide, Hong Kong was ranked the seventh-biggest container port by volume last year. In the first half of 2019, its throughput was down 8.1% versus the same period last year.A hit to Hong Kong's status as a financial and trade hub would reverberate around a region already showing increased signs of damage from the tariffs that the U.S. and China are lobbing at each other. Singapore was the latest to sound the alarm on Tuesday when the government cut its forecast for economic growth this year to almost zero.Charting the Trade WarA jump in U.S. Customs receipts tied to higher American tariffs on Chinese imports is noticeable when isolated from the overall budget picture but it remains a tiny portion of the Treasury's total revenue. The nation's budget deficit widened in the first 10 months of the fiscal year to $867 billion, as spending advances at more than double the pace of the money the government is bringing in. Today's Must ReadsReady to deal | National Security Adviser John Bolton said the U.S. is ready to offer Britain sector-by-sector trade deals to help the country after a no-deal Brexit from the European Union. Cars stalling | Passenger vehicle sales in India dropped the most in nearly two decades, a decline that extended to a ninth straight month amid a slowdown in Asia's third-largest economy. Fueling a dispute | The EU imposed tariffs on biodiesel from Indonesia to counter alleged subsidies to producers in the Asian country, risking retaliation in a long-running dispute. Lobbying for Huawei | The Chinese telecom giant hired a law firm to lobby on trade as the U.S. pressures allies to blacklist the company at the heart of the trade war with Beijing. Lacking confidence | Investor sentiment in Germany's economy worsened for a fourth month after disappointing figures raised recession risks, with more bad news expected Wednesday.Economic AnalysisSingapore outlook | Trade battles put the city-state hub for Asian trade on track for a recession. Frontier headwinds | The U.S.-China spat is weighing on the growth products for emerging economies. Coming UpAug. 16: EU trade balanceLike Terms of Trade?Don't keep it to yourself. Colleagues and friends can sign up here. We also publish Balance of Power, a daily briefing on the latest in global politics.For even more: Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access for full global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close.How are we doing? We want to hear what you think about this newsletter. Let our trade tsar know.To contact the author of this story: Enda Curran in Hong Kong at ecurran8@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net, Zoe SchneeweissFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Xi’s Tough Choice Over Ending Hong Kong Unrest Posted: 13 Aug 2019 03:08 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.China's signaling it's prepared to send in security forces to suppress the uprising in Hong Kong. The question now is what President Xi Jinping will do.State-run media have posted videos of the People's Armed Police assembling across the border in Shenzhen, while Chinese officials describe the protests as a "color revolution" and "terrorism" — a term used to justify the repression of minority Muslims in Xinjiang.The demonstrators too have raised the stakes, with actions to inflict economic pain as they push for leader Carrie Lam's resignation and other demands to loosen Beijing's grip on the city.Yet Xi has good reasons to sit tight and hope the unrest runs out of steam.Hong Kong serves as a crucial center for Chinese state-run companies to raise funds and store the wealth of powerful figures on the mainland. Military action could not only wreck its reputation as a reliable commercial hub, it might invite international sanctions that would slow China's economic growth at a time when Hong Kong's economy is headed for a recession and a trade deal with U.S. President Donald Trump looks increasingly unlikely.If Xi wanted, he could quickly do away with Hong Kong's autonomy and send in troops overnight. But the price of doing so may be much higher than the unrest itself.Global HeadlinesDump everything | Predictions of a market selloff should Argentine President Mauricio Macri stumble in Sunday's primary became reality, as investors dumped stocks, bonds and the peso yesterday. With the very real prospect of a return to protectionist policies after October's presidential elections, markets are openly speculating whether South America's second-largest economy might be heading for another default.Russia protests | Vladimir Putin is facing the biggest challenge to his presidency since 2012, after as many as 60,000 people joined a Moscow protest in support of opposition candidates barred from September's city council elections. Weekly demonstrations that began last month are growing despite police crackdowns and mass detentions. With Putin's approval rating in decline after years of falling incomes, there's an "overall sense of injustice," one analyst said.Cutting off aid | The White House is intensifying efforts to block the distribution of several billion dollars in foreign assistance, imposing daily limits on spending until it can ask Congress to cancel the funds later this month, Nick Wadhams reports. The move is the latest development in Trump's multi-year battle to cut aid, even over the objections of Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, one of his most loyal cabinet members. Tightening restrictions | The Trump administration expanded its immigration crackdown with a new rule that could block applicants from receiving green cards if they use government benefits or are likely to. The policy may fall hardest on low-income legal immigrants who perform much of the country's menial labor on farms and in the service industry. Opponents say it could cause individuals to forgo public assistance they're entitled to for fear of reprisal.Drawing a line | Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo said citizens are worried Rodrigo Duterte is "selling out" to Beijing and called on the president to take a stronger stand to protect the country's sovereignty in the disputed South China Sea. Robredo, who's keeping her options open regarding the presidential race in 2022, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV's Haslinda Amin there's a fear "we might wake up one day and many of our territories are no longer ours."What to WatchU.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said Washington and London can negotiate a free trade deal sector by sector if a comprehensive agreement takes too long after the U.K. leaves the European Union. After several days of campaigning in Iowa, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are shifting to New Hampshire, where the Democratic presidential primary next February is set to play a crucial in their bids for the party's nomination. Thailand's ruling coalition moved closer to losing its razor-thin majority after a party pulled its support less than a month after the cabinet was sworn in. The parliament is now almost equally divided between Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha's supporters and the opposition.And finally ... President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's decision to abandon construction of a $13 billion airport for Mexico's capital is proving to be a little short sighted. Mexico City's airport has recorded a 52% increase in aborted landings in the first five months of the year, while landings thwarted because other planes were still on the runway climbed even faster — by 84%. And now a key component to AMLO's alternative plan — diverting some commercial air traffic to a nearby military base — is bogged down in Mexican courts. \--With assistance from Kathleen Hunter, Alan Crawford, Anthony Halpin and Robert Hutton.To contact the author of this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Hong Kong at dtenkate@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Karl MaierFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Hong Kong airport cancels flights as Carrie Lam warns of 'path of no return' Posted: 13 Aug 2019 03:06 AM PDT  Pro-democracy protesters forced flight cancellations in Hong Kong for the second day in a row as the city's chief executive Carrie Lam warned mass demonstrations were pushing the city "into an abyss." One of the world's busiest airports halted check-ins for departing flights at 4.30pm as protesters again flooded terminals, lining up luggage trolleys at the security checkpoint and blocking people trying to catch their flights. Arriving flights were still expected to land as the evening set in. Activists have now occupied the airport for five consecutive days as mass demonstrations in Hong Kong enter their third month, despite pleas from city authorities for public order to be restored. "Let's set aside differences and spend one minute to look at our city and our home," said Ms Lam on Tuesday morning in a direct appeal to protesters. "Could we bear to push it into an abyss where everything will perish?" "Violence, no matter if it's using violence or condoning violence, will push Hong Kong down a path of no return," she said, at times appearing to be on the verge of tears, saying that "sincere dialogue" could begin only once chaos ended and calm returned. Carrie Lam defended the conduct of police in 'extremely difficult circumstances' Credit: Reuters Ms Lam's repeated refusals to make any concessions or show sympathy toward protesters, some of whom have been injured as police shoot tear gas and rubber bullets, has only upset them more and boosted public support for the activists plunging the city into its worst political crisis in decades. Chris Patten, the last governor under British colonial rule, said that Hong Kong was "close to the abyss", because Ms Lam refused to withdraw a controversial extradition bill "I think there is a degree of frustration and anger at the government refusing to give any sensible ground at all, which probably provokes more violence," Mr Patten told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He urged Boris Johnson to take a firmer line with Beijing, and to put pressure on visiting National Security Advisor John Bolton for US help. Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the foreign affairs committee, said the UK should extend citizenship rights to Hong Kong citizens. Quite a moment between @jamespomfret from @Reuters and Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam. Lam evades his question, then says "I have already answered the question." pic.twitter.com/6pUmyuLB5A— Andrew Peng (@TheAPJournalist) August 13, 2019 Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Hong Kong on Tuesday to exercise restraint and investigate evidence of its forces firing tear gas at protesters in ways banned under international law. The White House has also urged "all sides" to avoid violence in Hong Kong. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, on Monday praised protesters for standing up to the Chinese Communist Party, warning that the "world is watching" for any violent crackdown by authorities. By Tuesday evening, most airport shops and restaurants had closed, leaving hungry visitors stuck in the airport to line up at a hot water dispenser to heat instant noodles purchased from a convenience store that remained open. Alice Leung, 20, said she supported the protesters despite being forced to cancel her trip to Taipei. "Hong Kong people are angry, so they want to go to the airport to make some noise and let people from other countries know what's happening." "We had debated about cancelling our trip," said Nicole Macarchuk, visiting from San Francisco, who had seen an official travel advisory from the US government about the protests. In an attempt to get from Hong Kong to their next stop in Vietnam, the family of 4 held 12 boarding passes with three airlines, all of which were severely delayed. "But everything was prepaid, and we were looking forward to coming...bad educated guess, unfortunately." Protesters hold papers of conscience, left, and justice Credit: PHILIP FONG/AFP On Monday, thousands crowded into the airport to express anger at the police for using escalating force to disperse crowds. Over the weekend, tensions ramped up significantly as officers shot tear gas into subway stations for the first time after mass demonstrations began early June. More than 600 arrests have been made in connection with the protests. Some wore eye patches, waving signs that said "Hong Kong is not safe" and "Shame on the police," to grow public awareness after a woman thought to have been shot by a beanbag round in her right eye was hospitalised. Other protesters chanted, "Democracy is a good thing!" in a nod toward concerns that freedoms long enjoyed in the former British colony were eroding under Beijing's rule. Hong Kong protests | Read more Protesters first took to the streets against an extradition proposal that would have sent suspects to face trial in mainland China, where the Communist Party controls the courts. The extradition bill was suspended by city leaders - but not formally withdrawn, leading demonstrators to worry that left room for lawmakers to quickly table and pass the legislation in the future. Demands have since expanded to include broader political reforms, such as direct leadership elections. Airlines are dealing with a backlog of stranded passengers as all departing and arriving flights were cancelled Monday by the afternoon, and hundreds of additional flights were cancelled Tuesday morning. A pro-democracy protester holds a placard Credit: PHILIP FONG/AFP The airport occupations comes amid ominous signs from Beijing that the government is considering military intervention – a move that raises fears of a bloody Tiananmen Square-style bloody crackdown in 1989. Chinese state media outlets have released videos showing armoured personnel and trucks purportedly driving through Shenzhen, a Chinese city that borders Hong Kong. Beijing officials continue to escalate their rhetoric, denouncing the demonstrations as "serious criminal acts with sprouts of terrorism emerging." "Terrorism is a term to remind Hong Kong people that the People's Liberation Army is an option," said Ivan Choy, a political scholar and professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
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| Iran claims UK may release captured Grace 1 oil tanker soon, suggesting Britain is close to a U-turn on the ship swap idea it previously rejected Posted: 13 Aug 2019 02:59 AM PDT  Jalil Eslami, deputy head of Iran's port authority, said according to state media that the UK "is interested" in releasing the Grace 1 oil tanker.
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| Scottish court to hear no-deal Brexit suspension case next month Posted: 13 Aug 2019 02:50 AM PDT ![Scottish court to hear no-deal Brexit suspension case next month]( "Scottish court to hear no-deal Brexit suspension case next month") A legal bid to prevent British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suspending parliament to stop lawmakers blocking a no-deal Brexit will be heard at a Scottish court next month. A group of about 70 lawmakers from opposition parties are backing a bid to have Scotland's highest civil court rule that Johnson cannot ask Queen Elizabeth to prorogue, or suspend, parliament before Britain leaves the European Union on Oct. 31. The case had its first court outing on Tuesday at which the Court of Session decided that a substantive hearing would take place on Sept. 6, said lawyer Jo Maugham from the Good Law Project which is supporting the challenge.
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| UPDATE 1-Next boss says Britain can avoid no-deal Brexit disorder - BBC Posted: 13 Aug 2019 02:37 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Next boss says Britain can avoid no-deal Brexit disorder - BBC]( "UPDATE 1-Next boss says Britain can avoid no-deal Brexit disorder - BBC") Britain can avoid disorder and chaos in the event of a no-deal Brexit because a step-up in the government's contingency planning meant the economy was better prepared, the boss of clothing retailer Next said on Tuesday. Next chief executive Simon Wolfson, a prominent leave supporter, told the BBC he hoped new Prime Minister Boris Johnson could secure a deal with the European Union before the Oct. 31 exit date.
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| Lawmakers' Challenge to No-Deal Brexit Plan Gets Fast Court Date Posted: 13 Aug 2019 02:24 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Follow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story. A Scottish court challenge to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's proposal to suspend Parliament will be heard on Sept. 6 under an accelerated timetable, a judge said Tuesday.A group of more than 70 British lawmakers want the court in Edinburgh to say it wouldn't be legal to ask the Queen to suspend Parliament. Johnson has refused to rule out the possibility of suspending parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit.There will be a procedural discussion on Sept. 4 before the main hearing two days later, the judge said.To contact the reporters on this story: Alastair Reed in Edinburgh at areed12@bloomberg.net;Jonathan Browning in London at jbrowning9@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran says in touch with Britain over seized tanker Posted: 13 Aug 2019 02:14 AM PDT  Iran's port authority said Tuesday it has been in contact with British authorities as part of efforts to secure the release of a tanker seized off Gibraltar. Gibraltar -- a British overseas territory -- seized the Grace 1 supertanker on July 4 with the help of British Royal Marines on suspicion it was shipping oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions. A court in Gibraltar is to decide the fate of the ship on Thursday, when an order for its detention lapses.
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| UPDATE 1-ING says Brexit heading towards delay, with 40% chance of an UK election Posted: 13 Aug 2019 01:55 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-ING says Brexit heading towards delay, with 40% chance of an UK election]( "UPDATE 1-ING says Brexit heading towards delay, with 40% chance of an UK election") ING, one of Europe's largest banks, said on Tuesday its central assumption was Brexit would be delayed, with a 40 percent chance of a national election in the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who took power last month, has pledged to leave the European Union on Oct. 31 without an agreement on the terms of Britain's departure, unless the EU agrees to renegotiate a deal reached by his predecessor Theresa May. The EU has refused to do that.
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| Duterte Seen by Public as ‘Selling Out’ to China, Deputy Says Posted: 13 Aug 2019 01:07 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo said citizens were worried Rodrigo Duterte was "selling out" to Beijing and called on the president to take a stronger stand to protect the country's sovereignty in the disputed South China Sea.Robredo, who is keeping her options open regarding the presidential race in 2022, said in an interview Tuesday the president had not taken advantage of an international tribunal ruling that affirmed the Philippines' economic rights in a maritime zone also claimed by China."I understand why our new administration is more friendly to China, but I think there should be a clear line as far as protecting our territory and sovereignty," Robredo told Bloomberg TV's Haslinda Amin in Manila. "The president has made a lot of statements which gives a sense we are acquiescing to what China wants."The public is afraid, she said, "we might wake up one day and many of our territories are no longer ours." Robredo hopes Duterte will raise the ruling in his meeting with China President Xi Jinping this month, and urged greater transparency in loans and deals with Beijing.U.S. presence in disputed waters is "a source of comfort," Robredo added, but the Philippines should not rely on any foreign power. "Friendships with both the U.S. and China will be beneficial."Weighing CandidacyRobredo is in the unusual position of serving as both the vice president and the main opposition leader, due to Philippine rules in which the president and vice president are elected separately. She has been on the receiving end of attacks from Duterte, whose critics have been jailed or ousted since he came to power in 2016.She said she was ready for the presidency but would decide later on whether to stand as the opposition Liberal Party's main candidate in elections three years from now, when Filipinos will vote on Duterte's successor."If you ask me now, I have no plans, but I am leaving everything open," the vice president said. "I wouldn't have ran for the vice presidency if I didn't feel I was ready for the presidency."At the height of questions about his health last month, Duterte said he doesn't want Robredo to succeed him, describing her as "not capable of running a country." The vice president has led opposition to Duterte's drug war that has killed thousands.Robredo, 54, entered politics as a congresswoman in 2013 -- a year after her husband, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, died in a plane crash. A lawyer with an economics degree, she pushed for bills requiring officials to fully disclose their wealth and allowing citizens to participate in local policy making.The vice president won on an anti-poverty platform, promising to help those in the fringes of society. However she has received below-majority popularity ratings in the first three years of her term based on surveys from Social Weather Stations, while Duterte's rating recently hit a new high of +68.Election Challenge"Robredo is not presenting the full dose of the alternatives to Duterte," said Segundo Romero, a political scientist at Ateneo de Manila University. "If you look at social media, opposition to Duterte is already high decibel, yet the opposition leader stays at mid-range. That's why she's not generating the high levels of approval."Robredo has said she's determined to finish her six-year term in the face of an election protest from Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the late dictator's son whom she narrowly defeated in 2016. Duterte prefers Marcos as his elected successor.The second woman to win the post, Robredo is also under investigation by the Justice Department after the police filed a sedition complaint against her for supposedly plotting with priests and opposition members to oust Duterte. A supporter of the president also earlier threatened to impeach her for supporting a probe on the drug war. She's described the charges as "trumped up."Other HighlightsOn the economy: "There's a sense that growth has been seen as an end by many economic managers, well in fact it should only be a means to an end. We can't claim growth to be effective if many of our people are still poor."On bilateral talks with China: "I am not too hopeful with that because of the history. We have tried that track already for a long time."On the opposition party: "The midterm elections was a time to humble ourselves and realize that perhaps many of the things we're doing are not responsive to what the people need."On Duterte's popularity: "People think he's very authentic. We haven't had a president this casual. He's different from previous ones. I think it's refreshing for people."(Updates throughout.)To contact the reporter on this story: Andreo Calonzo in Manila at acalonzo1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecilia Yap at cyap19@bloomberg.net, Ruth Pollard, Daniel Ten KateFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| ING sees 40% chance of an election, 25% chance of a 'no-deal' Brexit Posted: 13 Aug 2019 12:21 AM PDT ![ING sees 40% chance of an election, 25% chance of a 'no-deal' Brexit]( "ING sees 40% chance of an election, 25% chance of a 'no-deal' Brexit") ING, one of Europe's largest banks, said on Tuedsay it saw a 25 percent chance of a no-deal Brexit and a 40 percent chance of an election in Britain. "Deal or no-deal a general election looks increasingly likely," ING economist James Smith said.
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| Trump makes ‘bizarre’ nuclear-powered cruise missile claim after Russia explosion Posted: 12 Aug 2019 11:18 PM PDT  Donald Trump has claimed in the US possesses "advanced" nuclear-powered cruise missiles, in a suggestion rapidly dismissed by experts.As funerals were held for five Russian nuclear engineers killed in a rocket test last week, the American president said his administration was "learning much" from the accident.He tweeted: "The United States is learning much from the failed missile explosion in Russia. We have similar, though more advanced, technology. The Russian 'Skyfall' explosion has people worried about the air around the facility, and far beyond. Not good!"The post raised a number of possibilities: that Mr Trump had casually revealed the existence of a secret US nuclear programme; that he had misunderstood the nature of his country's nuclear arsenal; or that the claim was a baseless brag.America explored the development of a nuclear-ramjet-powered projectile during the Cold War but the scheme – Project Pluto – was abandoned for being unstable and dangerous, given it would exhaust radiation and cause massively damaging shockwaves while flying at low altitude.Joe Cirincione, a US nuclear weapons and policy expert, said on Twitter: "This is bizarre. We do not have a nuclear-powered cruise missile program. We tried to build one, in the 1960's, but it was too crazy, too unworkable, too cruel even for those nuclear nuts Cold War years."On Monday, thousands of people attended the funerals of the scientists killed while testing a nuclear-powered engine in the Arkhangelsk region four days earlier.Nuclear agency Rosatom said the explosion occurred while the engineers were testing a "nuclear isotope power source" for a rocket engine. Authorities in nearby Severodvinsk, a city of 183,000, reported a brief spike in radiation levels after the explosion.Russian media speculated that the device being tested was the Petrel nuclear-powered cruise missile announced by Vladimir Putin in March 2018.Mr Putin claimed the weapon would have an unlimited range and could fly fast enough to evade defence systems. The president also claimed the missile had successfully undergone initial testing but observers believed this was unlikely.Additional reporting by AP
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| Syria's Aleppo symbol of Assad's wins and of enduring war Posted: 12 Aug 2019 11:05 PM PDT  Members of the al-Ali family were walking home from shopping when several shells slammed into the busy street on the western edges of the Syrian city of Aleppo. It was one of multiple attacks by rebels firing from Aleppo's outskirts that killed more than a dozen civilians last month. Nearly three years have passed since President Bashar Assad's forces gained full control of Aleppo, sweeping out rebels who had held the eastern half of the city through years of fighting.
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| TUI says robust business outweighs 737 MAX grounding, upholds outlook Posted: 12 Aug 2019 11:01 PM PDT ![TUI says robust business outweighs 737 MAX grounding, upholds outlook]( "TUI says robust business outweighs 737 MAX grounding, upholds outlook") European travel and tourism operator TUI said on Tuesday that robust business outweighed problems with the grounding of Boeing's 737 MAX jets in its third quarter and it upheld its earnings outlook for the full year. TUI stuck to its guidance for underlying earnings before interest, taxes, and amortisation (EBITA) to fall by up to 26% from last year when it was 1.177 billion euros ($1.32 billion). TUI Chief Executive Fritz Joussen cited efficiency drives and cost reductions, but noted uncertainty around Brexit, aviation overcapacity to Spain and delayed bookings in the summer.
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| Next CEO Wolfson says no-deal Brexit would not lead to disorder and chaos - BBC Posted: 12 Aug 2019 10:54 PM PDT ![Next CEO Wolfson says no-deal Brexit would not lead to disorder and chaos - BBC]( "Next CEO Wolfson says no-deal Brexit would not lead to disorder and chaos - BBC") The chief executive of Next Simon Wolfson said a no-deal Brexit would not lead to disorder and chaos as the British government's contingency planning meant the economy was better prepared. "We are a long way from disorder and chaos," Chief Executive Wolfson told the BBC. Wolfson, the boss of one of Britain's biggest clothing retailers, said the government of Theresa May had failed to adequately prepare for a no-deal, a situation he said was now being addressed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
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| Moscow Protests Are Getting More Dangerous – for Putin Posted: 12 Aug 2019 09:00 PM PDT ![Moscow Protests Are Getting More Dangerous – for Putin]( "Moscow Protests Are Getting More Dangerous – for Putin") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- On Saturday, the Russian opposition held the biggest rally Moscow has seen since 2012: According to White Counter, a group that makes it its business to count participants at such events, between 50,000 and 60,000 people turned out. That, however, is still a far cry from gaining the support of the silent majority in a city of more than 12 million, the way protesters appear to have done in Hong Kong. The Kremlin's version of events for that silent majority is that the protests are instigated from abroad.The current wave began last month, when anti-regime candidates were illegally excluded from a Moscow City Council election scheduled for Sept. 8. Since few people care about the largely powerless city legislature, the initial rallies attracted only a few thousand people when they weren't permitted by the authorities; an officially sanctioned rally on July 20 drew 22,500 people. The official permission makes a difference: It's safe to attend a sanctioned event. By contrast, the Kremlin and the city authorities chose to suppress unauthorized protests with brute force, using thousands of riot police in full gear, and on July 27, a post-Soviet record was set with more than 1,300 people detained in Moscow.The violence, most of it directed at very young people – some too young to vote – failed to arouse the same kind of anger as in Kiev in 2013, where the cruel beating of a group of students set in motion events that led to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's fall the following February. What it did, however, was shift the protests' central issue from the election to the disproportionate use of force. Police are traditionally disliked and distrusted in Russia because of widespread cruelty and corruption, and photos and videos of people being beaten have led a number of celebrities, especially those already less than loyal to the Kremlin, to take a moral stand.The Aug. 10 event was officially permitted, and a number of musicians and social network influencers called on their fans and followers to attend it. YouTube star Yury Dud, whose interview channel has more than 5.7 million subscribers, wrote an Instagram post explaining why he decided to take part in the rally: "Let's think critically, let's doubt, let's ask questions and let's not accept it as normal when innocent people are thrown in jail or brutally beaten by police." Almost half a million people "liked" the post.Rapper Miron Fyodorov, known as Oxxxymiron, was another celebrity who joined the rally for similar reasons (his post about it drew more than 270,000 likes); the total number of subscribers and followers behind the "influencers" who promoted the event exceeded 30 million.Of course, even in a city like Moscow, where fads tend to spread like wildfire and a mortal fear exists of being unfashionable, social media likes and follower counts don't convert readily into real-world political action. Given all the celebrity support and the guaranteed safety from police violence, 60,000 was a disappointing turnout (to be fair, it's holiday season, and it rained). But 60,000 isn't the limit, though, if the beatings continue. After the official rally ended, police mobilized to prevent a spontaneous continuation, and one officer was filmed hitting a woman in the stomach. This caused a new group of pop stars to demand an end to the violence; among them the rapper Egor Bulatkin (Egor Kreed), who on Saturday performed at a festival hastily organized by the Moscow authorities to distract Muscovites from the rally.But for the authorities to apologize for the beatings, much less end them, or to show any sign of yielding to the protesters would be an impossible sign of weakness. During the rally, President Vladimir Putin, clad in a leather jacket, was hanging out in occupied Crimea with his tame group of bikers, the Night Wolves.Putin's trademark manner of ignoring the reverse gear has forced his allies to look for ways to justify the violence. The official line that has emerged in the last couple of weeks is to cast the protests as fruit of a Western conspiracy. The foreign ministry last week called in the top U.S. and German diplomats in Moscow to remonstrate with them for alleged incitement of Russians to attend the protests (one example was a warning to U.S. citizens to steer clear of an unsanctioned march, which described its planned route).Andrey Klimov, a member of the Russian parliament's upper house who heads the legislature's commission for the prevention of foreign interference, has accused Oxxxymiron, who is a dual Russian and U.K. citizen, of acting in Western interests. He has also accused YouTube of sending Russians unsolicited notifications calling on them to attend the Aug. 10 rally, an accusation the Russian web censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, has echoed despite a lack of evidence.State TV channels, too, have been covering the protests as inspired by Russia's foreign adversaries.Few Muscovites will take this spin at face value. Young people certainly won't: They're more likely to trust their generation's stars, the rappers, comedians and YouTubers, than middle-aged, sour-faced Putinists spewing "patriotic" rhetoric. But they'll hear an unspoken part of the message – the threat that if they join the protests, they'll be treated as traitors, a category of people Putin despises and will not spare.The regime and the protesters are locked in a battle for the silent majority. The Kremlin and the Moscow authorities have fear and indifference on their side as riot police continue eagerly to follow their orders and some popular artists still agree to take part in lavish, free-attendance shows scheduled for the same time as the rallies and marches. The opposition has a clear moral advantage, which leads to a growing sense among influencers that they can't stay neutral if they want to keep their young audience. So far, the authorities have been winning the tug of war, but not decisively: After all, the protests have been growing rather than subsiding. More cruel beatings, and especially an accidental death, conceivably could lead to an out-of-control escalation. Putin is taking a risk by allowing the violence to continue. To contact the author of this story: Leonid Bershidsky at lbershidsky@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Tobin Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Leonid Bershidsky is Bloomberg Opinion's Europe columnist. He was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and founded the opinion website Slon.ru.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Steve Bannon’s Populist Dream Shattered By Matteo Salvini’s Power Play Posted: 12 Aug 2019 07:39 PM PDT  Simona Granati/Corbis/Getty ImagesROME—Not long after Europe's first foray into true populism with the formation of a maverick Italian government by far-right League leader Matteo Salvini and anti-establishment Five Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio, Steve Bannon was gloating.Bannon told The Daily Beast that the world would be watching this populist experiment. He predicted then that such a ballsy move pairing such opposites was third only to Brexit and Trump's election in terms of experimental politics. The man often referred to as the architect of the Trump presidency had put a fair amount of time and effort into Italy, which he saw as a great test case for his brand of disruptive populism. "If it works in Italy, it is going to work everywhere," he said last summer. "If it works in Italy, it shows that it is going to break the backs of the globalist."Inside Steve Bannon's Alt-Right Circus: A Trip to Rome to Rally Like-Minded ThinkersNow, just a year into the government's five-year mandate, Bannon's dream has turned into a nightmare and Italy is already heading for what looks like a post-populist era with heavy overtones of old-style fascism. Last week, on the eve of Ferragosto, this country's most important summer holiday week, Salvini pulled the plug on the 65th government since the fall of Benito Mussolini in World War II. And Bannon, meanwhile, has bailed, telling the daily Corriere Della Sera last week that "not all marriages work." "I think that the marriage between Salvini and Di Maio was a noble experiment," he said. "I'd like to see it continue—it would be great—but I understand why it might not happen." Now that the end is nigh, new elections could vault Salvini, a Trumpian character complete with Russian sympathies, racist vibes, and an obsessed social media following, into full power. And Europe is once again watching Italy with bated breath, wondering what post-populism will do for the Eurozone just weeks before Great Britain is set to leave the E.U. Salvini, during his trial run as a team player in the coalition government with the Five Star Movement, cooled his long-held Euroscepticism and pretended, at least superficially, to want to work for a more perfect European Union.But during the campaign leading up to European parliamentary elections in May, which many analysts predicted would lead to the exact power play Salvini pulled last week, he hinted that the European project needed to be fixed from the inside out or scrapped entirely. That campaign rhetoric helped double his support from 17 percent to 34 percent, and that is troubling to many who hope the European Union can heal its fault lines after Brexit. "He has no principles," former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta told AFP over the weekend. "One day, he can say he wants Europe, the next that he wants to leave. With Salvini, an Italian 'Brexit' is not impossible."Meet the Most Dangerous Man in ItalyIf Salvini is able to pull off what even three years ago would have been an unthinkable rise to power for someone who has quoted Mussolini and worn (like the Fascists of old) a black shirt to a public rally, the other great beneficiary, after himself, will be Vladimir Putin. For one, Salvini is a staunch supporter of all things Putin, he has been photographed posing for photos in Red Square wearing his favorite Putin T-shirt, and he has led a battle cry for Europe to lift sanctions on Russia. For months, Salvini has been embroiled in a scandal involving dirty oil and Russian money that was dominating the headlines until he pulled this power play late last week. An expose in Italian newsmagazine L'Espresso last February charged that "secret meetings, travel, email, handshakes and millionaires' contracts" dominate the scheme. "On one side of the table one of Salvini's loyalists, on the other precious intermediaries of the Putin establishment. In the middle: fuel."The next steps for Salvini, the Italian government and the future of Europe are not entirely clear, but whatever happens in the short term will almost certainly lead to new elections that, at the moment, Salvini could clinch.Parliamentary leaders have been called back from their summer holidays where they met in Rome on Monday to lay out a basic plan forward, which will ultimately be under the stewardship of President Sergio Mattarella, who may try to fit the various puzzle pieces of the coalition together or dissolve parliament entirely. Salvini has called for a confidence vote, which could be held as early as next Monday, which will set the crash course for the months ahead. Once the government falls, elections have to be held within 50 to 70 days, which is something many Italians are not eager to do too soon. Italians generally hold elections in the spring. The last time they held an autumn vote was in 1919, paving the way for Mussolini's rise to power.Bannon is ready to support a Salvini-led government, which will focus on some of the tenets of the Trump administration including migration, security and the economy.Speaking to Corriere Della Sera from the New Mexico-Mexico border where he is part of a group called "We Build The Wall," Bannon said he wished the best for his Italian friend who he now believes is the "best leader" Italy needs to move forward. "Salvini dresses up much better than me now," he joked. "He looks like a Hollywood star, he's fit." Whether that star power will be good for Italy–or Europe for that matter–is an entirely different matter. CORRECTION: A typographical error in an earlier version of this story misidentified the leader of the Five Star Movement who is, in fact, Luigi Di Maio. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. 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| Trump says US learning 'much' from Russia missile test blast Posted: 12 Aug 2019 06:14 PM PDT  President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States is learning "much" from a deadly blast during a Russian missile test that caused elevated radiation levels. "The United States is learning much from the failed missile explosion in Russia. Experts have linked the blast -- which killed at least five people -- to the 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, known by NATO as SSC-X-9 Skyfall and touted by President Vladimir Putin earlier this year.
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