| Trump Says U.S., Japan Reach Initial Agreement on Tariffs Posted: 16 Sep 2019 05:39 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said his administration has reached an initial trade accord with Japan over tariffs and that he intends to enter into the agreement in coming weeks.In a notice to Congress on Monday, Trump also said the U.S. will be entering an "executive agreement" with Japan over digital trade. There was no mention by Trump if he'll end his threat to slap tariffs on Japanese auto imports as part of the trade deal."My administration looks forward to continued collaboration with the Congress on further negotiations with Japan to achieve a comprehensive trade agreement that results in more fair and reciprocal trade between the United States and Japan," Trump said in the statement released by the White House via email.After meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the G-7 summit in France last month, Trump announced that the two countries had struck a trade deal "in principle." The leaders said they hoped to sign the pact on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York later this month.Abe's government was holding a previously scheduled cabinet meeting Tuesday morning and officials were not immediately available for comment on the deal. Japanese equities opened little changed Tuesday as traders returned from a long weekend. Oil-related stocks such as Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. and Idemitsu Kosan Co. gained after an attack on Saudi Arabia's crude production spurred a surge in oil prices. The Topix index rose 0.1% to 1,610.73 as of 9:21 a.m. in Tokyo, while the Nikkei 225 Stock Average dipped 0.1% to 21,968.75.U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has said the limited trade deal will cover agriculture, industrial tariffs and digital trade. The USTR said on Monday it had no further comment and Trump provided no details about what was in the initial deal.Under an earlier proposal, Japan would cut tariffs on U.S. agricultural products, including beef, pork, dairy products, wine and ethanol. The U.S. would cut levies on some Japanese industrial products, but not on cars. Japanese media has reported that the sides had agreed to lower tariffs on U.S. beef and pork to levels offered to members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.Abe agreed to direct talks in September 2018 after Trump hit Japan's steel and aluminum exports with tariffs and threatened to do the same on all imported cars, including those made in Japan.Trump earlier this year delayed a decision until November over whether to impose new levies of as high as 25% on imported vehicles over national security grounds to allow more time for talks with Japan and the European Union.(Updates with Japan cabinet meeting and markets in fifth and sixth paragraphs)\--With assistance from Teo Chian Wei and Jon Herskovitz.To contact the reporters on this story: Sarah McGregor in Washington at smcgregor5@bloomberg.net;Jenny Leonard in Washington at jleonard67@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net, Sarah McGregor, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| China and US clash over 'belt and road' in Afghan resolution Posted: 16 Sep 2019 05:11 PM PDT ![China and US clash over 'belt and road' in Afghan resolution]( "China and US clash over 'belt and road' in Afghan resolution") China and Russia clashed with the U.S. and other Security Council members Monday over China's insistence on including a reference to Beijing's $1 trillion "belt and road" global infrastructure program in a resolution on the U.N. political mission in Afghanistan. The mission's six-month mandate expires Tuesday and council members met behind closed doors for over 2 1/2 hours Monday, unable to agree on a text because of China's demand.
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| Team Trump: Saudis See This Attack as Their 9/11 Posted: 16 Sep 2019 05:08 PM PDT  Mark WilsonA top State Department official told Congress Monday evening that the Saudis view the massive attack on their oil infrastructure as their 9/11, according to two congressional sources.After a national security meeting this morning, President Donald Trump told reporters that it was "looking" like the attack over the weekend emanated from Iran but that the U.S. would wait for Saudi to conduct an investigation into the strikes. Brian Hook, the Trump administration's special representative for Iran, made the 9/11 during a telephone briefing on Capitol Hill about the administration's latest thinking on the attack. Hook communicated the reaction from Riyadh and said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would be headed to the country soon. Several individuals on the call said Hook's update was thin, but said the administration had made available to lawmakers intelligence about the attack that they could review under a classified setting. CNN first tweeted that Hook told Congressional staffers that the Saudis view this as "their 9/11."The 9/11 reference, made less than a week after the 18th anniversary of the attack which killed over 3,000 Americans, came despite the uncomfortable fact that 13 of the 19 hijackers who attacked the U.S. on that day were Saudi citizens. Last week, the Trump administration pledged to reveal the name of a Saudi official investigated by the FBI for a possible role in the 9/11 attacks. "From an American perspective, it seems like a trivialization of the tragedy of 9/11, and perhaps offensively so, but from a Saudi point of view it is a way of explaining their shock to Americans," said Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute. We're a Lot Closer to War in the Middle East Than You've Been ToldThe White House did not provide comment for this story. However, a source with direct knowledge says that Trump was briefed on the situation in Saudi Arabia with an official using the same 9/11 comparison. Trump appeared "unmoved" by the analogy, the source noted. The National Security Council declined to comment when reached by The Daily Beast.Hook's call comes as President Trump grapples with how to respond to the attacks. That decision is confused, in part, because of the departure of his former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Bolton, one of the main architects of the administration's "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran, was an advocate for maintaining a tough stance with Tehran. Pompeo and Hook, too, are known to favor exerting both economic, political, and possibly military pressure on Tehran. Trump has long said he does not seek war with Iran, but has not said definitively what he envisions as the best way to move forward. The strikes on the Saudi infrastructure have set off a sense of chaos inside the White House and in the halls of the Pentagon as officials draw up proposals for the president on how to respond. Despite the 9/11 rhetoric, the kingdom isn't matching the apparent behind-the-scenes alarm with a similar tone in public. On Monday, the Saudi foreign ministry said it would invite experts from the United Nations to investigate the site of the attack. "I think there is a clear argument to be made that Iran's attack was an act of war. But, at least in public, Saudi Arabia has been very cautious, going out of their way to involve the international community and buy time," Aaron Stein, director of the Middle East program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told The Daily Beast. "I can imagine there are many war decision makers in the kingdom, concerned the air strikes won't solve their problem and just escalate things further."The light touch in public appears to be a stalling move, according to Dr. Afshon Ostovar, a scholar at the Naval Postgraduate School. "Riyadh's somewhat muted statements so far seem designed to to give it time and space to think through its options, both military and diplomatic," Ostovar said. "A military engagement with Iran would inexorably lead to more insecurity, a weak response would embolden the culprits. That's the heart of the Saudi's dilemma. In some sense, that's also the dilemma for Washington."The attack on Saudi oil facilities comes as the Kingdom increasingly finds itself surrounded by Iranian missile capabilities. To the south, since the Saudi-led military coalition first intervened in Yemen's civil war in 2015, Iran has equipped Houthi rebels with short-range ballistic missiles, which the insurgents have used to rocket Saudi territory as far away as the capital in Riyadh. To the north, Shia militias reportedly launched Iranian drones from southern Iraq in attacks against Saudi oil infrastructure back in May and a number of reports have pointed to Iranian ballistic missiles stored in Iraq. And to the east, Iran has continued to develop both its ballistic and cruise missile capabilities despite the "maximum pressure" campaign to squeeze Tehran launched in May of 2018.Houthi officials claimed that the group had carried out the attack on the Abqaiq oil processing facility and the Khurais oil field using 10 drones along with help from an unnamed source of "cooperation from inside the Kingdom."But a number of reports, along with photos of apparent missile wreckage at the scene of the attacks, point to the use of cruise missiles for the attack with Iran, and not Houthi rebels, as the attackers.On Saturday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iran for the attack and tweeted that Iran was responsible and that there was "no evidence the attacks came from Yemen"—a point echoed by Secretary of Energy Rick Perry in a speech on Monday. Satellite imagery released by the Trump administration also appears to contradict the Houthi account of a 10-drone attack. The photos show at least 17 different impact points at the oil facilities struck over the weekend.Experts also say wreckage found in Saudi Arabia points to a cruise missile attack potentially leveraging Iranian technology. "We have broad reason to suspect that the pictures of debris in the Saudi desert show a Quds 1," says Fabian Hinz, an expert on Iranian missiles at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. "The Quds 1, a potentially Iranian-designed cruise missile was first seen with the Houthis and likely does not have the range to reach Abqaiq from Yemen."—with additional reporting by Asawin SuebsaengRead 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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| Boris Johnson’s Brexit Plan Goes to Court After EU Talks End in Chaos Posted: 16 Sep 2019 04:39 PM PDT ![Boris Johnson's Brexit Plan Goes to Court After EU Talks End in Chaos]( "Boris Johnson's Brexit Plan Goes to Court After EU Talks End in Chaos") (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson's Brexit strategy has been on trial ever since he became prime minister eight weeks ago, and on Tuesday his lawyers will defend it in the U.K.'s highest court.Fresh from being lambasted by a fellow European leader after he opted out of a joint news conference Monday, Johnson will see his decision to suspend Parliament under scrutiny in the first of three days of hearings at the U.K.'s Supreme Court in London."People think that we've somehow stopped Parliament from scrutinizing Brexit, what absolute nonsense," Johnson told the BBC in an interview broadcast Monday evening. "Parliament will be able to scrutinize the deal that I hope we will be able to do both before and after the European Council on Oct. 17."Johnson's defiance came after a day of talks that suggested the two sides are no closer to reaching a Brexit agreement. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker complained the U.K. still hasn't put forward any concrete proposals and Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel criticized Johnson after he refused to appear alongside him at a press conference.A noisy demonstration, in which protesters could be heard shouting "dirty liar" as music blared, prompted Johnson's team to ask their hosts in Luxembourg to move the event indoors -- but the request was denied and Johnson decided to leave the chaotic scene.Bettel pressed on alone and, gesturing to the empty podium next to him, said it is time for Johnson to "stop speaking and act" to find a Brexit agreement. The U.K. prime minister and his Conservative Party are responsible for "the mess we're in at the moment," Bettel said."Our people need to know what is going to happen to them in six weeks' time. They need clarity, they need stability and they need certainty," Bettel told reporters. "You can't hold their future hostage for party political gains."'Big Picture'It was an ignominious end to a day that started with Johnson expressing hope for a deal. The U.K. is due to leave the EU on Oct. 31, and Johnson has said he is determined to leave the bloc by then, even if that means doing so with no divorce agreement in place.Undeterred by Monday's setbacks, Johnson said he is still "cautiously optimistic" agreement can be reached."The big picture is that the commission would like to do a deal," Johnson told the BBC in an interview after the talks. The EU president is "highly intelligent" and wants a deal, the premier said. "But clearly it's going to take some work."Juncker's team said the U.K. has still not presented any proposals and it's their "responsibility to come forward with legally operational solutions" to allow the free flow of goods between the Republic of Ireland, which is in the bloc, and Northern Ireland, which is in the U.K.Johnson said he is offering alternative arrangements for the Irish border, the main sticking point in talks with the bloc, though refused to give specifics. "There's a limit to how much the details benefit from publicity before we've actually done the deal," he told the BBC.'Obey the Law'While the atmosphere around the table was friendly, a breakthrough was no closer to being reached, one EU official said.With patience running out in Europe, and his room to compromise strictly limited, Johnson is doubling down on his plan to take the U.K. out of the bloc with no deal at all on Oct. 31, setting up a further showdown with the courts after this week's proceedings.The prime minister's officials have indicated he will defy a new law designed to force him to seek a delay to Brexit rather than allow a no-deal split next month. Instead, they are preparing to go to court to "test" the new legislation.Johnson said he would not breach the law but didn't go into detail of how he would get around the vote in Parliament that requires him to ask the EU for an extension on Oct. 19 if he can't reach a new agreement by then."I will uphold the constitution, I will obey the law, but we will come out on Oct. 31," Johnson said.The constitution will be at the center of proceedings at the Supreme Court this week after Scottish judges ruled against Johnson's suspension of Parliament. It was "an egregious case of a clear failure to comply with generally accepted standards of behavior of public authorities," Judge Philip Brodie said in the ruling.Lawyers for the government will argue that the Scottish court was wrong when it ruled that Johnson's suspension - or prorogation - of Parliament, announced on August 28, was intended to stymie lawmakers' scrutiny of Brexit and was therefore unlawful.The 11 Supreme Court judges will also hear an appeal from a group who failed to convince judges in the English Courts that Johnson's decision was an abuse of power. The hearings are scheduled to run until Thursday and the court may not rule until next week.\--With assistance from Jonathan Browning and Jonathan Stearns.To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The Liar-In-Chief Accuses Iran Of Lying, Highlighting U.S. Foreign Policy Quandary Posted: 16 Sep 2019 04:16 PM PDT  Critics say Trump's serial dishonesty makes it harder to gather allies to counter Iran's likely role in an attack on Saudi Arabia.
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| UK Supreme Court hears cases that PM Johnson's parliament suspension was illegal Posted: 16 Sep 2019 04:01 PM PDT ![UK Supreme Court hears cases that PM Johnson's parliament suspension was illegal]( "UK Supreme Court hears cases that PM Johnson's parliament suspension was illegal") Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government will seek to persuade Britain's top court this week that his decision to suspend parliament until shortly before the date for Brexit was not illegal as Scottish judges concluded last week. The Supreme Court hearings will run until Thursday, with the verdict not expected until Friday at the earliest.
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| UN apologizes for attributing Guernica bombing to Spanish Republicans Posted: 16 Sep 2019 03:35 PM PDT  The United Nations has apologized to Spain for having mistakenly attributed the devastating 1937 bombing of the town of Guernica to Spanish Republican forces, a spokesman said Monday. The aerial bombardment of the town was actually carried out by Nazi German and Italian Fascist forces that were supporting their Spanish ally Francisco Franco. "The United Nations were made aware over the weekend that the UN Gift Management website incorrectly attributed the historical atrocities at Guernica, depicted in the tapestry by Pablo Picasso, to the Republic of Spain," Stephane Dujarric said.
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| US will 'defend' international order being 'undermined by Iran': Pentagon chief Posted: 16 Sep 2019 03:11 PM PDT  US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday that the US military is preparing a response to the attack on major Saudi Arabia oil facilities. After briefing President Donald Trump in the White House, Esper singled out Iran as undermining international order, without directly pinning blame on Tehran for the attack. "The United States military, with our interagency team, is working with our partners to address this unprecedented attack and defend the international rules-based order that is being undermined by Iran," he said in a tweet.
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| Trump says US response to oil attack depends on Saudi Arabia's assessment Posted: 16 Sep 2019 03:06 PM PDT  US secretaries of state and energy both explicitly blamed Iran for the attack but Trump suggests US did not have definitive evidence * Everything you need to know about the Saudi Arabia oil attacksDonald Trump has said the US response to the attack on Saudi oil facilities will depend on the assessment in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and downplayed US dependence on Middle East energy supplies.The US secretaries of state and energy both explicitly blamed Iran for the attack. Unnamed US officials were also quoted in US media outlets as saying Iranian cruise missiles were used in Saturday's attack on an oil field and processing plant. Estimates of the number of missiles used ranged from "nearly a dozen" to "over two dozen".But Trump suggested on Monday the US did not have definitive evidence, adding that he would send the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, to Riyadh to investigate."We're going to find out," Trump said. "There are lots of different pieces to look at."Iran has denied responsibility, and the country's president appeared to endorse a claim of responsibility by Yemen's Houthi rebel group.Speaking in Ankara, Hassan Rouhani said: "Yemeni people are exercising their legitimate right of defence … the attacks were a reciprocal response to aggression against Yemen for years."Intelligence officials in the region said they believed drones or missiles were used in the attack, in what appeared to be a carefully aimed strike at the heart of the Saudi economy."There was hardly a more strategic target they could have hit," said one official. "They've looked at the map and said: 'Where could we cause most damage.' These were the hubs of their production across the country. Those sending the drones well knew the address."In a tweet on Sunday, Trump declared the US was "locked and loaded", but left it to the Saudi government to confirm Iranian involvement and the nature of the US reaction, in an apparent attempt to make the monarchy take full responsibility for any reprisal action.Asked on Monday whether he had pledged to protect Saudi Arabia, the president told reporters: "No, I haven't promised the Saudis that ... We have to sit down with the Saudis and work something out."Later in the day, Trump stressed that if there were to be a retaliatory strike, Riyadh would have to play a leading role, especially when it came to paying for it."The fact is the Saudis are going to have a lot of involvement in this, if we decide to do something," he told reporters. "They'll be very much involved, and that includes payment. And they understand that fully."As to whether diplomacy with Iran had been exhausted, Trump said: "No, it's never exhausted ... You never know what's going to happen ... I know they want to make a deal ... At some point it will work out." The Saudi military spokesman for the Riyadh-led coalition fighting in Yemen that Iranian-made weapons were used in the attack but stopped short of blaming Iran."The investigation is continuing and all indications are that weapons used in both attacks came from Iran," Col Turki al-Maliki told reporters in Riyadh, according to the French press agency, AFP. He said the attacks had not been launched from Yemen and there was an investigation into "from where they were fired".Iraqi officials said that Pompeo told them that the attack was not carried out from Iraqi soil and instead appeared to launched from neighbouring Iran.Two aides to senior Iraqi leaders say Pompeo passed on to the claim in a phone call to the Iraqi prime minister, Adil Abdul-Mahdi, in the early hours of Monday. The call allayed mounting fears in Baghdad that an Iranian proxy force composed of Iraqis might have launched the drones believed to have carried out the devastating strike without the knowledge of the central government.But the Wall Street Journal quoted Saudi officials as saying their US counterparts had not provided enough evidence to conclude definitively that the attack was launched from Iran.On Monday, Trump stressed that it was Saudi Arabia not the US that had been attacked and played down the US national security interest in the Gulf, pointing to the fact that the US has become the world's biggest energy producer."We don't need Middle Eastern Oil & Gas, & in fact have very few tankers there, but will help our Allies!" the president tweeted.A senior White House official – the vice-president's chief of staff, Marc Short – argued that when the president had said the US was "locked and loaded", it was a reference to the country's self sufficiency in energy."I think that 'locked and loaded' is a broad term and talks about the realities that we're all far safer and more secure domestically from energy independence," Short said.The remarks seemed to be aimed at keeping the president's options open on a response to the attack, which knocked out half Saudi production, 5% of global production and triggered a spike in oil prices. But the administration also showed determination that the world held Iran responsible.Like Pompeo, who accused Iran of responsibility for the attack on Saturday, the US energy secretary, Rick Perry, left no room for doubt about culpability."The United States wholeheartedly condemns Iran's attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and we call on other nations to do the same," Perry said during a trip to Vienna. Asked on CNBC what the response should be, Perry said: "I think there will be a coalition effort, both our friends in the Middle East that understand having a crazy neighbor is a real problem … [and] all those countries in that region should have the hair on the back of their necks standing up watching a country attack someone to manipulate the energy market."The UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab tweeted on Monday:> Today, I spoke with my Saudi���� German���� French���� and US���� counterparts to make clear the UK condemns the attack on the Aramco oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. We will work with international partners to forge the widest and most effective response.> > — Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) September 16, 2019Speaking to the UN security council, Britain's Karen Pierce said: "We are still assessing what happened and who is responsible for these attacks. Once this has been established, we will discuss with our allies and partners how to proceed in a responsible manner. We need a united international response to these despicable attacks."Additional reporting by Mohammed Rasool
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| Trump backed off on Iran last time -- but will he again? Posted: 16 Sep 2019 02:51 PM PDT  After giving diplomats whiplash last week with reversals on Afghanistan, Trump now has the world on tenterhooks over his response to a weekend attack on Saudi oil facilities that his top diplomat has blamed on Iran. Just last week, the White House was dangling out the possibility of a meeting between Trump and President Hassan Rouhani, which would mark an extraordinary thaw in US-Iranian relations. Then came Saturday's attack by drones setting ablaze oil processing facilities in Saudi Arabia, a close US ally and a bitter enemy of Iran.
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| Back in Brasilia, Brazil’s Bolsonaro to Resume Duties on Tuesday Posted: 16 Sep 2019 02:35 PM PDT ![Back in Brasilia, Brazil's Bolsonaro to Resume Duties on Tuesday]( "Back in Brasilia, Brazil's Bolsonaro to Resume Duties on Tuesday") (Bloomberg) -- Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro was released from hospital in Sao Paulo on Monday and will return to work on Tuesday, a day earlier than planned, according to a statement from the presidency.A tweet by Government Secretary Luiz Ramos showed Bolsonaro landing in Brasilia on Monday afternoon. Presidential spokesman Otavio Rego Barros had told reporters on Monday morning that Bolsonaro would rest for two days in Alvorada, the presidential palace, while Vice President Antonio Hamilton Mourao would remain in charge. But the office of the presidency issued a statement shortly after Bolsonaro's arrival in Brasilia saying he would resume his duties on Tuesday.Bolsonaro still intends to travel to New York to address the United Nations Assembly General, but he will go a day later than planned, on 23 Sept. A scheduled trip to Asia in October will go ahead as planned.Last week the Brazilian president underwent the fourth operation on his abdomen since his stabbing on the campaign trail in September 2018. Originally due to be released on Friday, doctors recommended postponing the president's return to work to allow him extra time to recover. The hospital confirmed that he would now be free to leave later on Monday, after his physiotherapy. A doctor will continue to supervise his diet and exercise at home.(Updates with Bolsonaro's plans to resume duties on Tuesday)To contact the reporter on this story: Simone Iglesias in Brasília at spiglesias@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Bruce DouglasFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The Cameron Interview, review: Half-hour box-ticking back-and-forth leaves viewers wanting more Posted: 16 Sep 2019 02:33 PM PDT  Wedged into the middle of a Coronation Street double-bill, ITV was treating viewers to a different flavour of soap opera. It was the return of the tragic hero/ notorious villain / sweaty chancer (delete as appropriate etc. etc.) last seen pegging out the front door of his posh digs three years ago. Now he'd finally returned to the scene of the plot twist everyone but him had seen coming, what had David Cameron to say for himself? The answer is both lots and less that might have been hoped for. Marking the publication of Cameron's memoirs, this was a curious grilling of the ex-Prime Minister by News at Ten Presenter Tom Bradby. The most glaring issue was the running time. Just 30 minutes – including a plug for Piers Morgan's shouty interview show and a chilling 'no comment' quote at the end from Cameron's very much former best pal Michael Gove – wasn't nearly long enough to cover the Brexit referendum and its fallout. Let alone the use of chemical weapons in Syria, austerity, the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition and the tragic passing in 2009 of Cameron's six-year-old son. He was close to tears speaking about his deceased son Ivan and slammed Boris and Gove Credit: ITV ITV nonetheless tried to bung it all in. The result was in a box-ticking back-and-forth where Cameron never looked quite as flustered or brow-beaten as viewers might have hoped. He was held reasonably firmly by the collar, never pinned. Bradby would press a bit. And then we were off to another question. Often these were accompanied, This Is Your Life-style, by a video flashback. It was an odd flourish. Cameron surely didn't need reminding what Boris Johnson or Nick Clegg looked like and those at home will have been presumably in the same boat. A flimsy set that resembled an out-of-hours yoga studio didn't help. Nor the decision to cake both Cameron and Bradby in make-up. They were so white you feared they might become invisible if asked to stand against a beige background (except for Cameron's ruddy cheeks, left floating in mid-air). Still, there was the occasional tidbit to hold to the light and scrutinise (though many of the quasi-bombshells had been revealed in advance by ITV). No, Cameron didn't believe Johnson had broken the law by proroguing Parliament. He did however consider it "rather sharp practice" and a tactical error. As was the decision to remove the whip from 21 Conservative MPs. He also felt the Leave campaign had massaged the facts on the hustings: "they got on the bus and they left the truth at home". And if he didn't explicitly apologise for what Bradby was obviously gagging to describe as the "great Brexit cock-up" he did his best to convey his enormous humility and contrition over how everything had played out. "Do I have regrets? Yes," Cameron said in a mea culpa widely circulated in advance. "Am I sorry about the state the country's got into? Yes. Do I feel I have some responsibility for that? Yes. It was my referendum; my campaign; my decision to try and renegotiate." Cameron seemed to have aged not a jot since walking away from politics in the summer of 2016. And it is to his credit that he didn't resort to amateur dramatics to communicate his remorse. If the weird statement couches into which the pair were squeezed looked as if they had been fashioned from flayed alligator hide, there were no crocodile tears to match. The only moment of real emotion was when Cameron was asked about the death of his son Ivan, who had a rare neurological disorder. But then Bradby was cracking the whip again and it was on to the next topic. Cameron deserved longer to reflect on his grief. And this interview desperately required more time to hold to account a former-PM whose decisions have so profoundly impacted on British politics.
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| Brexit Will Put Lives at Risk, Lib Dem Leader Swinson Says Posted: 16 Sep 2019 02:00 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Britons risk dying because of Brexit, Jo Swinson will say in her first conference speech as Liberal Democrat Party leader on Tuesday, as the party steps up its efforts to reverse the result of the 2016 referendum."There is no Brexit that will be good for our country," Swinson will say, according to excerpts of her speech emailed by her office. "Brexit will put lives at risk. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, doctors are worried about the impact that delays at borders will have on the supply of time-sensitive radio-pharmaceuticals. That's cancer patients waiting longer for scans and treatments as a direct consequence of government policy."The party sealed a change in policy on Sunday by confirming it will campaign to halt Brexit altogether in any general election. Buoyed by polls showing support at about 20% nationwide, the Lib Dems are seeking to capitalize on the main opposition Labour Party's nuanced Brexit policies, and win over disgruntled Remain voters from Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives.Swinson will hit out at Johnson's acceleration of preparations for a no-deal Brexit, saying that "planning for no-deal is like planning to burn your house down. You might have insurance, but you're still going to lose all your stuff."She'll point to the economic damage already done by the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, flagging job losses and reduced investment from the automakers Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and Nissan. "And more, if we leave," she will say.To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| On vote eve, Netanyahu vows total West Bank settlement annex Posted: 16 Sep 2019 01:59 PM PDT  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Monday to annex "all the settlements" in the West Bank, including an enclave deep in the heart of the largest Palestinian city, in a last-ditch move that appeared aimed at shoring up nationalist support the day before a do-over election. Locked in a razor tight race and with legal woes hanging over him, Netanyahu is fighting for his political survival. "I intend to extend sovereignty on all the settlements and the (settlement) blocs," including "sites that have security importance or are important to Israel's heritage," Netanyahu said in an interview with Israeli Army Radio, part of an eleventh-hour media blitz.
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| Trump says almost sure Iran behind Saudi attacks Posted: 16 Sep 2019 01:54 PM PDT  US President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran was likely behind strikes on Saudi oil facilities, but that he wanted to be sure and he hoped to avoid war. "It is certainly looking that way at this moment," Trump told reporters when asked if he believes Tehran carried out the attack. The president said "we pretty much already know" and "certainly it would look to most like it was Iran" but that Washington still wanted more proof.
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| Brazil's Bolsonaro leaves hospital after 4th operation Posted: 16 Sep 2019 01:53 PM PDT  Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro left hospital Monday eight days after another operation on his stomach following his stabbing at an campaign rally last year. Bolsonaro, 64, is still scheduled to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 24, where Brazil traditionally delivers the first address. "The President will continue his recovery at home and should follow medical guidelines related to diet and physical activity," said a statement from the Vila Nova Star Hospital in Sao Paulo.
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| Maduro Starts Talks With Venezuelan Parties Not Linked to Guaido Posted: 16 Sep 2019 01:49 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The government of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro is reaching out to smaller political factions after negotiations with the nation's main opposition coalition broke down.The government set up a "national dialog" with some opposition representatives, Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said Monday. The government and these groups called for an oil-for-food program with United Nations oversight, and agreed that lawmakers from Maduro's socialist PSUV party will return to the opposition-controlled National Assembly, according to state TV. The other points of agreement include revamping the electoral body and denouncing U.S.-imposed sanctions.The minority parties that met with the government today include Progressive Vanguard, the Movement for Socialism and Let's Change. These parties backed opposition candidate Henri Falcon in last year's presidential election, which he lost to Maduro, according to the electoral authority. Most of the opposition boycotted the vote, saying it was rigged. After losing control of the assembly more than three years ago, Maduro created a parallel legislative body called the constituent assembly to undermine his opponents.Talks between Maduro's negotiators and opposition leader Juan Guaido aimed at ending the nation's political crisis finished without agreement after four months this weekend. Guaido, who is head of the National Assembly, is recognized by the U.S. and dozens of its allies as Venezuela's legitimate president due to irregularities surrounding Maduro's re-election in 2018.Guaido said Monday that the government ran away from the talks with "cheap excuses". He's demanding that Maduro step down and that a transition government organizes new elections.Venezuela's political crisis and economic collapse have led millions to flee to neighboring country, amid widespread hunger and shortages.To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Bristow in Bogota at mbristow5@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Cancel at dcancel@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Egypt says no progress in talks over Ethiopia's Nile dam Posted: 16 Sep 2019 01:23 PM PDT ![Egypt says no progress in talks over Ethiopia's Nile dam]( "Egypt says no progress in talks over Ethiopia's Nile dam") Egypt says a new round of talks over a soon-to-be-finished Nile River dam being built by Ethiopia have failed to achieve progress. Monday's statement by the Egyptian Irrigation Ministry says the two-day talks with Ethiopia and Sudan did not touch on "technical aspects" of the $5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. It says Ethiopia's delegation refused to discuss an Egyptian proposal on filling and operating what will be Africa's largest hydroelectric dam.
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| Trump says 'probably not' right time to visit Pyongyang Posted: 16 Sep 2019 01:22 PM PDT  US President Donald Trump said Monday that it is "probably not" the right time for him to visit North Korea but he could see doing so sometime in the future. "I don't think we're ready for that," Trump told reporters when asked about visiting Pyongyang for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "The relationship is very good," Trump added, but the time was not right for a visit to Pyongyang.
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| Attack on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure 'may have been an overstep': expert on Iran Posted: 16 Sep 2019 01:17 PM PDT  Iran denies any role in the attack on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure but analysts say evidence points to Iran and they are calling for a response that may include military action against Iran.
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| Russia, Iran, Turkey say Syrian constitution committee ready Posted: 16 Sep 2019 01:16 PM PDT  The leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran announced Monday that an agreement has been finally reached on the composition of a committee tasked with rewriting Syria's constitution as part of a political solution to the country's civil war, now in its ninth year. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told journalists at the end of the meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin and Iran's Hassan Rouhani in the Turkish capital Ankara that differences on one last committee member has been overcome, paving the way for the committee to start working as soon as possible.
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| Ex-PM Cameron says Johnson believed Brexit would be 'crushed' Posted: 16 Sep 2019 12:53 PM PDT  Former prime minister David Cameron, who quit after calling Britain's EU membership referendum in 2016 -- said Boris Johnson had told him he was sure Brexit would be "crushed like a toad". Cameron has broken a long spell of silence that followed his resignation to promote a tell-all book about who said what as Britain approached the historic vote. "He thought that the Brexit vote would be lost but he didn't want to give up the chance of being on the romantic, patriotic nationalistic side of Brexit," said Cameron.
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| Trump may have dug himself into a hole with his Iran policy Posted: 16 Sep 2019 12:28 PM PDT  Washington and Tehran entered yet another phase of sabre rattling and high tension over the weekend.Following attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities that disrupted the global market, the Trump administration quickly pointed fingers at Iran.
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| Saudi oil attacks: Why would Iran strike now? Posted: 16 Sep 2019 11:55 AM PDT  Who launched the attack? The Houthi militia in Yemen - who are backed and supplied by Iran - initially claimed the attack. But experts and officials are not convinced the grpup has the organisational or operational capability. The US and Saudi Arabia claim they have evidence that Iranian weapons were used and satellite images released by the US reportedly suggested the attack had come from the northwest direction. Why would Iran launch an attack now? As talks with EU members over the ailing nuclear deal stall, Iran needs to show the world the consequences of returning it to its pariah status. While Tehran may be suffering under sanctions, Saturday's attack shows it still has the capability to cause a great deal of damage to its foes in the region. The strikes hit the Saudi kingdom where it hurt the most - its lucrative oil industry, with the knock-on effect on global crude prices. Strikes against Saudi oil plants What will happen to global oil supply? The consequences of the attack are likely to be short lived but depend on the capacity - and willingness - of other producers to pick up the slack. Venezuela and Libya are unable to do so and Iran is constrained by US sanctions. Other Opec members and Russia are not rushing to turn on the taps, happy to enjoy higher prices while they can. Neither can the US - now the world's biggest oil producer due to the shale boom - quickly ramp up supplies as export facilities are not up to scratch. What might a retaliatory attack look like? Riyadh may decide it needs to respond in some limited way to save face considering the gravity of the attack on its soil. If it does, that would probably mean a tit-for-tat, proportionate strike on Iranian energy facilities such as oil refineries. And, that, in turn, would lead to an Iranian response. In a phone call with the US president, the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman made clear the kingdom was "willing and able to confront and deal with this terrorist aggression." What does this mean for the possibility of US talks with Iran? Donald Trump had previously indicated a willingness to meet with Iranian leaders with "no preconditions". That had led to anticipation of a meeting with Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, on the sidelines of the UN general assembly next week. The recent departure of Iran hawk John Bolton as Mr Trump's national security adviser had also seemed to make a meeting more possible. However, following the Saudi oil attack, Iran's foreign ministry said: "This meeting will not happen." And Mr Trump said it was now "incorrect" that he was willing to meet with "no conditions."
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| Putin Offers to Sell Saudis S-400 Missiles to Bolster Defenses Posted: 16 Sep 2019 11:53 AM PDT ![Putin Offers to Sell Saudis S-400 Missiles to Bolster Defenses]( "Putin Offers to Sell Saudis S-400 Missiles to Bolster Defenses") (Bloomberg) -- President Vladimir Putin said Russia is willing to help defend Saudi Arabia by selling it the advanced S-400 anti-aircraft system after major oil facilities in the kingdom came under attack at the weekend, halting half of its crude production."For self-defense, for the defense of one's country, we are ready to provide help to Saudi Arabia, the political leadership of Saudi Arabia," Putin told a joint press conference with the leaders of Iran and Turkey on Monday in Ankara."It is enough to take a wise government decision, as the leaders of Iran did before, buying the S-300, and as President Erdogan did, buying the latest air defense system, S-400 Triumph," Putin said, referring to the Turkish president. "They will protect any infrastructure objects in Saudi Arabia effectively."Riyadh has been in talks with Russia on purchasing the S-400 but going through with the deal would risk U.S. sanctions. Russia's success in persuading President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's administration to buy the S-400 provoked a rift between Washington and Turkey, a NATO member and long-time U.S. ally. In response, the Trump administration suspended Turkey's ability to build and buy the advanced F-35 warplane.In the addition to the immediate loss of oil output, equivalent to 5% of world supply, the attack claimed by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen raised the specter of U.S. retaliation against Iran, which American officials have blamed for the operation.Putin said Yemen's conflict between the Houthis and the United Nations-recognized government backed by a Saudi-led coalition needs to be resolved, pointing to the existence of a "humanitarian catastrophe" in the Middle East country after more than four years of fighting.To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Torrey Clark, Onur AntFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 'Nobody can stop it': Saudi oil attack signals an escalating crisis Posted: 16 Sep 2019 11:42 AM PDT  Trump is letting Riyadh decide about whether to retaliate against Iran – and if that happens, Iranians would likely raise the stakesThis satellite overview shows damage to oil and gas infrastructure from drone attacks at Haradh Gas Plant on 14 September 2019 in Saudi Arabia. Photograph: HO/AFP/Getty ImagesThe attack on Saudi oil facilities is the latest, most violent, example of an escalating series of gambits rival powers in the Gulf aimed at achieving their objectives by all measures short of all-out war.But the chances of avoiding such a devastating conflict diminish each time the stakes are raised.Iran has denied responsibility for the attack on an oil field and refining facility, while the US, Saudi Arabia and their allies have hesitated over the geographical origin of the air strikes. The size and sophistication of the operation however points to a state actor, and it fits a pattern in recent months of increasingly bold Iranian moves intended to raise the costs of the US campaign of maximum pressure and the Saudi war in Yemen.Until now, Iranian harassment of oil tankers traveling through the strait of Hormuz and the downing of a US surveillance drone have appeared calibrated to stop short of triggering a military response. If Iran is indeed behind Saturday's strikes, it marks a significant step towards more reckless action by Tehran, possibly emboldened by the departure of Donald Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, and the desperation of Iran's economic plight."What is clear is that the strategy of bombing Yemenis and starving Iranians into submission is more likely to backfire than bring the desired results," said Ali Vaez, an Iran expert at the International Crisis Group. "Iran has less to lose and is less risk-averse."Trump's tweet about being "locked and loaded" echoed his claim the US was "cocked and loaded" to response to the downing of a US drone in June. But having agreed to launch retaliatory missile strikes then, Trump changed his mind, saying the risk of casualties made it a disproportional response.Now without Bolton at his side making the case for war, Trump appears even more cautious, trapped between not wanting to appear weak and anxious to avoid going to war in the midst of a reelection campaign. His solution to the dilemma on this occasion has been to pass the buck to Riyadh.According to Kirsten Fontenrose, former director for the Persian Gulf in the the national security council, Trump is betting Riyadh will not want to be seen declaring war."The president knows that at the end of August when [deputy Saudi defence minister] Prince Khalid bin Salman was visiting Washington he told senior leaders at State, DoD [defence department] and the CIA that while they support economic squeezing the Iranian regime they do not support going to war. So the president knows that," said Fontenrose, who resigned from the White House last November and is now at the Atlantic Council."So he's probably looking at Saudi to say no no no – let's handle this another way. Really going towards and nobody's interests."Ellen Wald, a Gulf energy expert and author of a book about the Aramco oil company, Saudi, Inc, said Trump's comments have exacerbated Riyadh's dilemma."It really does put a lot of pressure on the Saudi monarchy to initiate a response, potentially a military response, and that's probably really not something that Saudi Arabia is equipped to handle. The Saudi military is is not prepared to fight a protracted war with Iran in any way," Wald said.Meanwhile, fighting a war on behalf of Saudi regime has seldom been so unattractive in the US, following the murder of Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, and Trump's own tweeted reminder on Monday, that the US less dependent than ever on oil flows in the Gulf.However, while it may be in nobody's interests to go to war, the political costs for not responding currently fall most heavily on the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – and his response is unpredictable."We're not dealing with common sense here. We are dealing with the fact that the Saudi's have to retaliate one way or the other one form or the other," said Jean-Francois Seznec, a Gulf expert who teaches at Georgetown University. "Otherwise the position even of the crown prince would be seen as weak in the country and at this point doesn't have many friends even in his own country at the higher level."One option for Riyadh and Washington is a retaliation against a proportionate Iranian target, accompanied by much signalling that it is a limited response. However, Tehran may not see it that way."If they retaliate, the Iranians would have to retaliate even more. And we are just in an inertia of war," Seznec said. "We really are in that situation right now and what's so scary is that people all agree that this is not good for anybody. But there is nobody who can stop it."
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| Boris Johnson’s Foray Into Brexit Talks Ends in Retreat From Protests Posted: 16 Sep 2019 11:22 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson said he is optimistic about reaching a deal with the European Union even though a day of Brexit talks descended into disarray as he canceled a news conference after it was ambushed by protesters.A noisy demonstration, in which protesters could be heard shouting "dirty liar" as music blared, prompted Johnson's team to ask their hosts in Luxembourg to move the presser indoors -- but the request was denied.Johnson departed the chaotic scene, leaving behind an empty lectern, while Luxembourg's prime minister, Xavier Bettel, went on to address the media alone, laying into his British guest and branding Brexit a "nightmare."It was an ignominious end to a day that started with the British leader expressing hope for a deal. The U.K. is due to exit the EU on Oct. 31, and Johnson has said he is determined to leave the bloc on time, even if that means doing so with no divorce agreement in place.Snails or Sorbet?Johnson traveled to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for his first face-to-face talks since becoming prime minister. The two men met for lunch, though even the menu was contentious. British officials had earlier suggested the meal would include snails, salmon and cheese, whereas in fact it consisted of chicken, pollock and sorbet.While the atmosphere around the table was friendly, a breakthrough was no closer to being reached, one EU official said."The big picture is that the commission would like to do a deal," Johnson told the BBC in an interview after the talks with Juncker. The EU president is "highly intelligent" and wants a deal, the premier said. "But clearly it's going to take some work."Juncker's team said after the meeting that the U.K. has still not presented any proposals and it is their "responsibility to come forward with legally operational solutions" to allow the free flow of goods between the Republic of Ireland, which is in the bloc, and Northern Ireland, which is in the U.K.No ShowJohnson, whose office said talks between the two sides will now take place every day, said he is offering alternative arrangements for the Irish border, the main sticking point in talks with the bloc, though he refused to give specifics. "There's a limit to how much the details benefit from publicity before we've actually done the deal," he said.Why Johnson's Brexit Path Can't Avoid Irish Border: QuickTakeIt was after talks with Luxembourg's prime minister that Johnson's day went awry. He decided it would be better to avoid the confrontational scenes and left Bettel standing next to Johnson's empty podium, denouncing the "mess" of Brexit to a cheering crowd of protesters."There are no concrete proposals at the moment on the table," said Bettel, who had talked with the EU's lead negotiator, Michel Barnier, before meeting with Johnson. "We need written proposals," he said, before telling the absent Johnson to "stop speaking and act."'Going to Happen'Johnson's office asked for the news conference to be moved inside so it wouldn't be drowned out by the protesters, but Bettel's office refused, according to U.K. officials speaking on condition of anonymity.With patience running out in Europe, and his room to compromise strictly limited, Johnson is doubling down on his plan to take the U.K. out of the bloc with no deal at all on Oct. 31.Johnson's officials have indicated he will defy a new law designed to force him to seek a delay to Brexit rather than allow a no-deal split next month. Instead, they are preparing to take their fight to court to "test" the new law.In his interview with the BBC, the prime minister repeatedly refused to rule out battling through the courts in order to ensure the U.K. leaves the EU on time.Johnson said he would not breach the law but didn't go into detail of how he would get around a vote by Parliament requiring him to ask the EU for an extension on Oct. 19 if he can't reach a new agreement by then."Our first priority, if I may say so, just to try and look on the bright side for a second or two, is to come out with a deal," Johnson said.Earlier in the day, Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne hadn't shared his British counterpart's optimism. In an interview with CNBC, he said the EU must accept that a no-deal Brexit is "going to happen."(Updates with Finnish prime minister in final paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.net;Stephanie Bodoni in Luxembourg at sbodoni@bloomberg.net;Jonathan Stearns in Luxembourg at jstearns2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| French foreign minister arrives in Sudan to meet new leaders Posted: 16 Sep 2019 11:11 AM PDT ![French foreign minister arrives in Sudan to meet new leaders]( "French foreign minister arrives in Sudan to meet new leaders") France's foreign minister on Monday said his country would support Sudan's new leaders in their efforts to achieve peace with rebel groups, and work to end the African country's international pariah status. Jean-Yves Le Drian landed in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, weeks after the formation of the first civilian-led government since the military ousted former President Omar al-Bashir in April. Le Drian said France would work to convince armed groups to reach a peace agreement with the civilian-led government after the two sides charted a roadmap for their peace talks.
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| IS leader calls on fighters to free detained comrades Posted: 16 Sep 2019 10:23 AM PDT  The leader of the Islamic State group released a new alleged audio recording Monday calling on members of the extremist group to do all they can to free IS detainees and women held in jails and camps. The purported audio by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in which he also said that his group is carrying out attacks in different countries, was his first public statement since April, when the shadowy leader appeared in a video for the first time in five years. With a $25 million U.S. bounty on his head, al-Baghdadi is the world's most wanted man, responsible for steering his chillingly violent organization into mass slaughter of opponents and directing and inspiring terror attacks across continents and in the heart of Europe.
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| No breakthrough in Brexit talks as Johnson dodges reporters Posted: 16 Sep 2019 09:57 AM PDT  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson failed to convince EU leaders on Monday he has a serious plan for a Brexit deal, then ducked out of a planned news conference under a chorus of abuse from protesters. Before setting off for talks in Luxembourg, Johnson had compared himself to comic book giant Hulk, but when anti-Brexit protesters gathered he left Prime Minister Xavier Bettel to field questions solo. A visibly angry Bettel pointed in bitter amusement at the empty podium in front of the British flag beside him as he warned that Britain had failed to come up with any credible way to revive the Brexit withdrawal deal.
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| Oil prices jump by 20% after weekend attacks on Saudi facility Posted: 16 Sep 2019 09:50 AM PDT  Global oil prices spiked 20% when markets reopened on Monday, after a weekend attack on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities suspended the production of 5.7 million barrels a day. State-run oil company Aramco said in a statement that work was underway to restore production. The U.S. has blamed Iran for launching nearly a dozen cruise missiles and over 20 drones from its territory into a key Saudi oil facility on Saturday.
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| Johnson Says Divorce Talks at ‘Difficult Moment’: Brexit Update Posted: 16 Sep 2019 09:33 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Follow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story. Boris Johnson skipped a planned press conference with his Luxembourgish counterpart Xavier Bettel, which was set up close to a noisy group of anti-Brexit protesters. In his absence, Bettel called Brexit a "nightmare" and said it was up to Johnson to find a way out of the impasse.Earlier, the U.K. prime minister met European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to discuss the divorce agreement. Johnson told the BBC a deal "will take some work," while the EU said a breakthrough is no closer.Key Developments:Johnson misses news conference with Luxembourg's Xavier BettelBoth sides put out read-outs on meeting that show no breakthroughU.K. Foreign Secretary said EU must show flexibility to get a dealPound extended losses as Bettel spokeRead more: Bettel Rips Into U.K and Calls Brexit Situation a 'Nightmare'EU Says Breakthrough No Closer (5.25 p.m.)The talks between Boris Johnson and Jean-Claude Juncker over lunch in Brussels were friendly -- but that doesn't mean a breakthrough is any closer, an EU official said. The European Commission statement issued after the lunch was meant to signal the lack of anything fundamentally new.Johnson didn't bring any concrete proposals which would replace the controversial Irish backstop while still meeting the EU's objectives, the commission said.Lib Dems Would Campaign to Rejoin EU: Davey (5:05 p.m.)If Boris Johnson succeeds in taking the U.K. out of the European Union on Halloween, the Liberal Democrats will go into any general election campaigning to rejoin the bloc, according to the party's finance spokesman Ed Davey."If there is an election directly after he crashes us out and the chaos is hitting, people are going to say 'who's going to save us from this?' And the only policy that's credible is to rejoin," Davey said when asked by Bloomberg what the party's post-Brexit message would be. The same would also be true even if the U.K. leaves with a deal, he said, because the country would be in a Brexit transition period and "won't really have left."Davey's statement is far more definitive than that of his party leader, Jo Swinson, who on BBC radio on Monday was reluctant to be drawn on the issue. Davey said he thought the EU would be open to readmitting the U.K. on its current terms, and that his party wouldn't want Britain to be in the Euro, or in the Schengen area.Johnson Refuses to Rule Out Court Battle (5 p.m.)In an interview with the BBC, the prime minister repeatedly refused to rule out taking his battle to court in order to ensure the U.K. leaves the EU on Oct. 31. He said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with the bloc but that an accelerated timetable for talks will be needed.Speaking after a working lunch with Juncker, Johnson said: "He is a very, highly, highly intelligent guy and I think that he would like to get a deal if we possibly can, but clearly it's going to take some work."The premier also refused to rule out suspending Parliament once again to deliver on his pledge. "We will obey the law but we will come out -- and -- we will come out I should say on October 31."Johnson gave scant details on how he planned to get a deal with the bloc, saying he wanted checks away from the border in Northern Ireland. "It's all doable with energy and goodwill," he said.Johnson Says Brexit in 'Difficult Moment' (3:40 p.m.)Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his government is "working very hard" to get a Brexit deal, but added it is a "difficult moment" and, while both sides are talking, a divorce agreement "isn't necessarily in the bag."It wasn't immediately clear from the pooled TV interview if the comments were before or after the meeting with his Luxembourgish counterpart Xavier Bettel. But it's clear that both sides remain far from reaching a deal.After Johnson canceled his press conference appearance alongside Bettel (see 3:05 p.m.), an official in his office, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.K. had repeatedly asked for the event to moved inside, away from the protesters, but was told by the Luxembourg side it wouldn't be.Bettel Blames U.K. For Brexit 'Mess' (3:15 p.m.)A very animated Bettel drew repeated rounds of applause and cheers from anti-Brexit protesters gathered next to the outdoor venue as he held no punches in his press conference after his meeting with Johnson."This is a nightmare," he said. "Imagine you are a European citizen in London, and you don't know what the future will look like."He was asked if Johnson would obey the law and about the idea that he might not. Bettel's response: "This would not happen in Luxembourg."Johnson Dodges Press Conference With Bettel (3:05 p.m.)A planned joint news conference at 2 p.m. London time was delayed by almost an hour after Johnson's talks with Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.Two podiums had been set up outside and the loud heckling by anti-Brexit opponents could have potentially embarrassed the U.K. leader. Demonstrators could be heard shouting "dirty liar" and music blared.In the end Johnson was seen leaving, and his Luxembourgian counterpart addressed reporters alone.Johnson, Juncker Held "Constructive" Talks (2:40 p.m.)The leaders agreed discussions would intensify and meetings would soon take place "on a daily basis," according to a statement by a U.K. government spokesperson. The read-out from the European side spoke about remaining "available to work 24/7" while underlining that no "legally operational solutions" had been put forward yet by the Brits.If no agreement is reached at the next summit of EU leaders on Oct 17-18, Johnson is set to pursue a course of leaving the bloc without one, in defiance of a new law designed to force him to seek an extension to the deadline. Johnson's team expect the legal battle will go to court.Umunna: Lib Dems Can Win 200 Seats (12:30 p.m.)Fresh from his first speech to his new party, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Chuka Umunna said internal polling shows the party could secure 100 seats at a general election with a swing of just 1.5 to 2%, while a 5%-swing could yield 200 seats."We're not complacent, we're not drunk on our success," Umunna said. "We want to continue to expand the bandwidth and draw people into the party."That's still far short of the 326 seats needed for a majority, and suggests there's work to do if the Liberal Democrats are to stand a chance of forming a government -- something Party Leader Jo Swinson said Sunday is their aim.Ireland Channels Playwright Over Brexit Impasse (12:25 p.m.)Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe channeled playwright Samuel Beckett to describe the path yet to come in the Brexit process. "I can't go on, I will go on," he said in a speech in Dublin on Monday, echoing a famous line from Beckett's "The Unnameable."Donohoe reiterated that even if the U.K. leaves the European Union without a deal, the Irish border question will have to be resolved before any talks on a future trade deal, and that Boris Johnson's intention to diverge from EU rules makes the backstop more important again.He also made clear the Irish government is open to "modifications, improvements or alternative arrangements that would secure the same outcomes" as the backstop, "while amplifying the forms of consent and inclusion that underpin the Good Friday Agreement."That may be a reference to the vexed issue of the Democratic Unionist Party's blocking powers in Northern Ireland's power-sharing assembly, which could prevent the alignment on EU rules needed to avoid a hard border.Labour Defector Umunna Gets Lib Dem Cheers (11:20 a.m.)Loud cheers greeted Chuka Umunna as he took to the stage at the Liberal Democrats' annual conference in Bournemouth. The defector from the main opposition Labour Party opened with an unashamedly pro-European message, and said he couldn't feel more welcome in his new party.Brexit is "the battle of our times," he said, trumpeting the policy agreed by the Liberal Democrats on Sunday that if the party comes out on top in the next general election, they'll call off Britain's departure from the European Union.He said the Liberal Democrats will take seats off the ruling Conservatives in every part of the country at the next election, and also attacked Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who Umunna said was relaxed about Brexit.Liberal Democrat luminaries including party leader Jo Swinson and former leader Menzies Campbell sat in the front row -- alongside Angela Smith, Umunna's fellow defector from Labour. At the end of his 20-minute speech, he received a standing ovation and came off the stage to hug Swinson.Johnson, Juncker, Barnier Arrive for Lunch Meeting (11 a.m.)Boris Johnson, Jean-Claude Juncker and the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier have arrived at "Le Bouquet Garni" restaurant in the center of Luxembourg for their lunch meeting.Asked by waiting reporters about the likely outcome, Juncker replied only: "We will see."Johnson and Juncker shook hands and posed for photographs beforehand, with anti-Brexit protesters gathered nearby.Brexit Deal Is 'Imperative': U.K. Minister (10:15 a.m.)Getting a Brexit deal is an "absolute imperative" for the British government, City Minister John Glen said in an interview with Bloomberg TV, though he added the administration is also focused on leaving the European Union on Oct. 31 and has done an "enormous amount" of no-deal planning."We've got to get a clear resolution so that businesses can plan," Glen said.Finland: No-Deal Brexit Is 'Going to Happen' (9:40 a.m.)In an interview with CNBC, Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne said the European Union must accept that a no-deal Brexit is "going to happen."Rinne said he told his British counterpart Boris Johnson "some weeks ago" that the only Brexit deal available is the one negotiated with his predecessor, Theresa May, and there is little appetite in the EU for an extension beyond Oct. 31 "if there is no possibility to see a new solution.""I hope if he's going to ask for more time it means that he has something to say," Rinne said of Johnson.Lib Dems: We Can Stop Brexit (8:25 a.m.)Jo Swinson, leader of the U.K.'s pro-EU Liberal Democrats, said she believed it's still possible to stop Brexit and will work to achieve this.She declined to say whether her party would campaign to rejoin the European Union if an election takes place after the U.K. has left the bloc.The Liberal Democrats, who are holding their annual conference, are a small but growing opposition party. They have benefited from MPs defecting to join them as Brexit splits the two larger parties, most recently with the arrival of former Tory leadership candidate Sam Gyimah.EU Must Show Flexibility, Raab Says (7:40 a.m.)Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that Johnson's message to the European Union on Monday will be: "We will go for the deal, but we are also going to be very clear with our EU partners that we are leaving at the end of October."In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Raab suggested Johnson won't be taking detailed proposals to change the issues around the Irish border that Britain objects to. "There'll be a tendency to try and rubbish things we put forward in order to try and exact further demands," he said. "We're not going to get involved with that."He said the U.K. didn't want to "play into the posturing that accompany any negotiations." Raab ruled out asking for any more extensions to the proposed transition period, currently scheduled to finish at the end of 2020. He said Britain wanted "finality."Asked if the government would obey the law passed by Parliament this month to force Johnson to seek an extension to negotiations if he doesn't have a deal, Raab said there was no question of disobeying the law, but that the law itself was "deeply flawed."Earlier:Johnson Talks Up a Brexit Deal as He Heads for Juncker Meeting'Order, Order!': U.K. Parliament Speaker Isn't Bowing Out MeeklyTo Prorogue or Not to Prorogue, Top Judges Get the QuestionBrexit Bulletin: Over a Lunch of Snails\--With assistance from Nick Rigillo, David Goodman, Robert Hutton, Leo Laikola, Stephanie Bodoni and Dara Doyle.To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Luxembourg at jstearns2@bloomberg.net;Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Oil, Security Pros React To Saudi Drone Attack: 'There Are No Easy Answers Here' Posted: 16 Sep 2019 09:18 AM PDT ![Oil, Security Pros React To Saudi Drone Attack: 'There Are No Easy Answers Here']( "Oil, Security Pros React To Saudi Drone Attack: 'There Are No Easy Answers Here'") U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Tweet the administration has "reason to believe" who was behind the Saudi attacks. Trump may order a "proportional response" if it can be established Iran was responsible for the attack or Iranian technology was used, Robert Johnston of Eurasia Group said on an interview aired during CNBC's "Squawk Box" Monday. While a response could be ordered against Iranian oil infrastructure as retaliation, Trump has shown a willingness to avoid escalating military tensions in the region.
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| Trump, top officials meet on how to respond to attack on Saudi oil facility blamed on Iran Posted: 16 Sep 2019 09:17 AM PDT President Donald Trump and senior administration officials met at the White House on Monday to discuss how to respond to the attack on a Saudi oil facility that the U.S. has blamed on Iran, according to three senior administration officials. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was expected to present evidence that ties Iran to the weekend's attacks, according to the Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff Marc Short.
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| Gibraltar to hold general election on eve of Brexit Posted: 16 Sep 2019 09:14 AM PDT  Gibraltar's chief minister on Monday dissolved parliament and called a general election next month, saying the territory needs "strong leadership" ahead of Britain's scheduled departure from the European Union on October 31. Speaking to a news conference, Fabian Picardo called for the vote to be held on October 17 to ensure a strong government was in place to tackle the fallout from Brexit. "Gibraltar will need settled and strong leadership going into Brexit, especially if there is also to be an election in the UK and potentially in Spain thereafter," said Picardo who was elected for a second term in 2015.
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| U.K. Parliament Speaker Isn’t Bowing Out Meekly Posted: 16 Sep 2019 09:10 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Follow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story. John Bercow is spending his final weeks as Speaker of the House of Commons in the same way he's spent the previous decade: putting himself at the center of events and making life difficult for the British government.Bercow, who announced his impending retirement last week, is the most controversial speaker in decades, possibly centuries. To his fans, he's a defender of democracy, standing up for Parliament against government attempts to sideline it. To critics, he's an opponent of Brexit who has bent the rules in an effort to stop Britain from leaving the European Union.Parliament's vitriolic Brexit debates have elevated Bercow, 56, whose shouts of "Order, order" and refusal to invite President Donald Trump to address the chamber made him something of a celebrity. Due to stand down once a successor is elected in November, Bercow used an appearance in New York on Monday to make his case once again, that whatever happens to the U.K., Parliament won't be excluded."In a parliamentary democracy, Parliament cannot be ejected from the center stage of the attempted dispute resolution process," Bercow told New York University students. "There are three ways to proceed in the election of Brexit: Leave with a deal. Leave by resolution of Parliament with no deal. Or put the matter back into the melting pot."In the U.K. Parliament, the Speaker is supposed to be a neutral umpire. But even before Brexit polarized British politics, Bercow was despised by many Conservative lawmakers. He'd been one of them but won the speakership after a long courtship of Labour votes, and they argued that he continued that path in office.Bercow's argument is that he has aimed to restore the reputation of the Commons. He took over the job in 2009, after a scandal about the expenses claimed by MPs forced the resignation of his predecessor.In an effort to win back respect for MPs, Bercow encouraged them to hold the government to account. Where previously Parliament had often been the last place where a topical issue might be discussed, Bercow was enthusiastic in forcing ministers to come and explain themselves. That this change coincided with the arrival of a Conservative-led government explains much of the perception that he is anti-Tory.That dissatisfaction reached a new level this year as Bercow made a series of rulings against the government, overturning the usual rules of how Parliament works. He allowed the government's opponents to take control of business, but enforced them when blocking former Prime Minister Theresa May from bringing her Brexit deal back repeatedly for more votes.'No Apology'Other criticisms are more personal. Unsurprisingly for a Parliamentarian, Bercow likes the sound of his own voice. His frequent appeals for brevity in others are often comically lengthy. More serious are allegations of bullying leveled against him by some former staff, which he vehemently denies."If ever there was a politician who contained multitudes, it was John Bercow as Speaker," said Philip Cowley, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London. "Almost single-handedly, he managed to pull the House of Commons back into a more central role in the nation's political discussion, while also doing much to change the way it worked internally.At the same time, "his personal behavior was much-criticized, and he leaves the post of Speaker much more politicized than when he came in to office," Cowley said.Announcing his retirement, Bercow tried to write his own epitaph: "Throughout my time as Speaker I have sought to increase the relative authority of this legislature, for which I will make absolutely no apology to anyone, anywhere, at any time."As he sees it, he has only been on the side of Parliament. And whatever his critics say, this points to the fundamental problem for both May and her successor as prime minister Boris Johnson: Neither has had the support of Parliament.(Updates with Bercow comments in New York in fourth paragraph)\--With assistance from John P. Jones, Alexander H Gittleson and David Wainer.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, Tony Czuczka, James LuddenFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Saudi Arabia Has No Excuse for Its Military Failures Posted: 16 Sep 2019 09:02 AM PDT ![Saudi Arabia Has No Excuse for Its Military Failures]( "Saudi Arabia Has No Excuse for Its Military Failures") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- President Donald Trump has declared that, once it has been verified that Iran was indeed responsible for last weekend's attack on major Saudi Arabian oil facilities, the U.S. is "locked and loaded." To do what, exactly, is unclear.Trump has previously threatened the Islamic Republic with "overwhelming force," but only if it attacked American targets. Last month, he ordered — and then canceled — an American bombing run against Iranian sites, but that was in response to the downing of an American drone. Trump's close circle is now bereft of its fiercest proponent of bombing Iran — freshly fired John Bolton — and his remaining political and military advisers will likely urge caution. With the United Nations General Assembly opening in New York this week, Trump will have an ideal platform from which to unleash rhetorical fusillades, instead of real bombs, against Iran. Perhaps that will satisfy him.But while he waits for confirmation of the Islamic Republic's culpability, Trump should also use the UN meetings to have a frank conversation with Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, about the kingdom's failure to defend its most important oil installations.Why was the Saudi military not "locked and loaded" ahead of the attacks, which are being described as the kingdom's Pearl Harbor moment? Why hasn't it done enough to protect infrastructure critical not only for the kingdom but for the world economy?The Abqaiq attacks should not — could not — have come as a surprise. Since the Saudis led an Arab coalition into war against the Houthi rebels in Yemen four years ago, retaliatory strikes have grown in frequency and sophistication.The Houthis may have started the war as a ragtag militia, but they have been receiving training and assistance from Iran and its other proxies — Hezbollah, most notably — as well as progressively deadlier weapons, including drones and cruise missiles. The Saudi-led coalition, meanwhile, has not only failed to dislodge the Houthis from Sana'a, but also has been unable to impose a blockade on arms supplies to the rebels.With Iranian assistance, the Houthi attacks have gone from being random to specifically targeted, and especially against Saudi infrastructure, like airports and oil installations, reaching deeper into Saudi territory. The Saudis have only occasionally been able to intercept Houthi missiles. The rebels have made no secret of their desire to keep inflicting economic pain on their sworn enemies to the north.The Saudis, too, have enemies to the north. Riyadh has also known that Iran's proxies in Iraq have been receiving weapons capable of striking hundreds of miles away. Earlier this summer, an Iraqi group used drones to bomb a Saudi oil pipeline.The nature of asymmetric warfare is that militias with disruptive — and cheap — weapons technology can catch a powerful military force by surprise. But that explanation is too facile to cover for what happened at Abqaiq.The Saudis have had plenty of time to harden the defenses of their critical infrastructure. They should by now have the ability to detect attacks, especially those coming from hundreds of miles away. Riyadh, remember, is one of the world's largest spenders on military hardware. It even harbors ambitions of building a major defense industry.And so, while President Trump ponders an adequate response to the attacks (having already committed to putting American boots on the ground in Saudi Arabia, and to selling American missile-defense systems to the Saudis), he is owed not just an explanation from the crown prince — who, it just so happens, is also the minister of defense — about what the kingdom is doing to protect itself. He should also make clear that Saudi Arabia needs to do much, much more.To contact the author of this story: Bobby Ghosh at aghosh73@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Gibney at jgibney5@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Bobby Ghosh is a columnist and member of the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board. He writes on foreign affairs, with a special focus on the Middle East and the wider Islamic world.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump Must Embrace Diplomacy With Iran Posted: 16 Sep 2019 08:52 AM PDT  For the last year and a half, the United States has been attacking, through economic and political pressure, the part of the world's energy supply that comes from Iran. The retaliatory attack on Saudi Arabia's oil supply should come as no surprise.
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| Donald Trump says it is 'looking like' Iran was behind Saudi Arabia oil attack Posted: 16 Sep 2019 08:48 AM PDT  Saudi Arabia and the United States claimed they had evidence Iran was behind the weekend attack on the kingdom's oil facilities on Monday. Col Turki al-Malki, Saudi's military spokesman, said Iranian weapons were used in Saturday's strikes on the Khurais oilfield and the Abqaiq refinery, the world's largest petroleum processing plant. However, he did not openly blame Iran for the attack – which has knocked out five per cent of global crude oil production – suggesting the Saudis are trying to calm the increasingly tense situation before it spills into war. Instead he said Riyadh would investigate where the drones were launched as he did not believe the Iran-backed Houthi militia who are fighting the Saudi-backed government in Yemen, was responsible for the attack as they had claimed. "This strike didn't come from Yemen as the Houthi militia are pretending," Col al-Malki said. "It was a massive and highly sophisticated attack." A satellite image shows an apparent drone strike on an Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia Credit: Planet Labs Experts also said it was unlikely to have been the militia. "This wasn't done by an amateur, to put it very mildly," tweeted Carl Bildt, co-chairman of the European Council on Foreign Relations. At a press conference on Monday night, Donald Trump, the US president, said "it certainly would look" like Iran was behind the attack but added "we'll let you know" as "that's being checked out right now". "I'm not looking to get into a new conflict but sometimes you have to," he added. Asked if a "lethal" US military strike would be a proportional response against those responsible, Mr Trump replied: "I would say yes." "I'll have a stronger message, or maybe no message, depending on the results. There's no rush," he said. "Personally, I'm not concerned at all, we have military power the likes of which the world has never seen." Strikes against Saudi oil plants Severe damage to the Abqaiq plant has halted production of 5.7 million barrels of crude a day briefly causing the biggest jump in oil prices since the 1991 Gulf War. On Sunday, Mr Trump had tried in vain to reassure Americans there would not be a knock-on effect. "PLENTY OF OIL!", he tweeted, followed by, "We don't need Middle Eastern Oil & Gas, & in fact have very few tankers there, but will help our Allies!". He warned Iran that the US was "locked and loaded", although he said he would take his cue from Saudi Arabia on how to respond. The US later downplayed the president's comments, with a White House official saying "locked and loaded" was "a broad term" that referred to protecting the US from energy dependence. Mr Trump has said he does not want war with Iran, despite pursuing a "maximum pressure" policy towards the nation which is refusing to sign a new treaty that would place indefinite curbs on its nuclear programme. Smoke is seen following a fire at an Aramco factory in Abqaiq Credit: Reuters Britain condemned the attack on the oil facilities as "a wanton violation of international law" but said it was necessary to determine the facts before pursuing a response. Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, said: "In terms of who is responsible, the picture is not entirely clear." Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, clearly placed the blame on the Yemeni rebels. "The people of Yemen have been forced to respond, they are only defending themselves," he told the Turkish media.
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| Dutch-based court files new charges against Hariri suspect Posted: 16 Sep 2019 08:41 AM PDT  A U.N.-backed court based in the Netherlands unveiled new charges Monday, including terrorism and intentional homicide, against a Hezbollah fighter who also is accused of assassinating former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon announced that a judge has confirmed a new five-count indictment accusing Salim Jamil Ayyash of three bombings targeting Lebanese politicians in 2004 and 2005. Hezbollah denies involvement in Hariri's assassination.
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| Higher Flight Costs Coming in Germany to Curb Emissions Posted: 16 Sep 2019 08:28 AM PDT ![Higher Flight Costs Coming in Germany to Curb Emissions]( "Higher Flight Costs Coming in Germany to Curb Emissions") (Bloomberg) -- Germany's main political parties are coalescing around proposals to increase the cost of flying, potentially doubling the tax on short-haul flights to slash greenhouse gas pollution.Alarmed that the country is falling short of emissions-reductions pledges it made under the Paris Agreement on climate change, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats are drawing up policies with their Social Democrat coalition partners and focusing on air transport for some of the most dramatic reductions.A proposal by Merkel's CDU to double levies on domestic flights was announced by the party's finance expert, Andreas Jung, in a press conference in Berlin. They're part of a broader package that ministers are due to consider at a Sept. 20 meeting of Merkel's cabinet meeting dealing with climate policies."We want a doubling of the ticket tax for domestic flights which would build on the current regulation," Jung said. "And in the current regulation, feeder flights are exempt. This exemption would be continued."Endorsing the policy on aviation would add to momentum within Europe to hit the aviation industry with stricter emissions rules. The French government in July unveiled taxes of as much as 18 euros on flights departing from France, sending airline shares lower.Germany's BDL industry group which represents the nation's airlines isn't happy with a "go-it-alone-in-Europe" proposal. "We doubt it will dent emissions at all -- we need an international approach that tackles CO2 output directly," said BDL spokesman Ivo Rzegotta in Berlin.The levy on flights currently starts at 7 euros ($7.70) per seat and rises to as much as 40 euros with the distance traveled."We want to double the existing ticket tax of 7.40 euro for domestic flights," Jung said. "The previous plan for short domestic flights is no longer in the proposal, so that there will only be a doubling of ticket taxes."The ambition is for ticket prices to more accurately reflect the environmental cost of flying compared to train travel and to make those choices more transparent to consumers. Some of the measures were first reported by local media.Olaf Scholz, the government's finance minister and a lawmaker from the Social Democrat Party, said in an interview with Germany's Bild Zeitung that he favors increasing taxes on airplane tickets."This we want to increase," Scholz said in an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper. "That is, technically speaking, the cleanest solution."The move could alter the competitive landscape between Germany's national carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG and the low cost carriers Ryanair Holdings Plc and Easyjet Plc. Earlier this summer, Lufthansa Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr blasted his rivals for offering tickets as low as 10 euros each, saying prices that low are economically and ecologically irresponsible.Analysts have said Lufthansa would likely benefit from an increase in the cost of flying. The introduction of Germany's first ticket taxes in 2011 forced Ryanair to retreat from the German market, with Lufthansa increasing its market share at the Irish carrier's expense.While new passenger jet aircraft are more fuel efficient, pollution from the industry are rising as more people chose to fly. Carbon emissions from Lufthansa and Ryanair rose to a record last year as passenger volumes increased -- even though they both made fuel efficiency gains by using newer jets, sustainability reports from both companies showed.(Adds air industry comment in sixth paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: William Wilkes in Frankfurt at wwilkes1@bloomberg.net;Brian Parkin in Berlin at bparkin@bloomberg.net;Arne Delfs in Berlin at adelfs@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net, Raymond ColittFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Bettel Rips into U.K and Calls Brexit Situation a ‘Nightmare’ Posted: 16 Sep 2019 08:16 AM PDT ![Bettel Rips into U.K and Calls Brexit Situation a 'Nightmare']( "Bettel Rips into U.K and Calls Brexit Situation a 'Nightmare'") (Bloomberg) -- Xavier Bettel of Luxembourg launched into a full-throttle attack on Boris Johnson's government that drew cheers and claps from anti-Brexit protesters gathered nearby.His voice rattling with emotion, the Luxembourgian leader described Brexit as a "nightmare." Bettel has been among the most outspoken critics of the U.K. in the European Union, but his tone and how vocal he was in public stood out."Imagine you are a European citizen in London, and you don't know what the future will look like," he told reporters. He denounced the mess as the U.K.'s making -- "homemade problems" -- and said Johnson had told him there would not be a second referendum.The pound extended losses as Bettel spoke, falling as much as 0.8%.A planned joint news conference was delayed by almost an hour. Two podiums had been set up outside and the loud heckling by anti-Johnson protesters would have potentially embarrassed the U.K. prime minister.About 100 demonstrators could be heard shouting "dirty liar" and "Hey Boris, leave our rights alone" as music blared.In the end Johnson was seen leaving, and Bettel took center stage alone.After Johnson declined to appear alongside Bettel, an official in his office, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.K. had repeatedly asked for the event to moved inside -- but was told by the Luxembourg prime minister's team that it wouldn't be.Speaking in a pooled television interview, Johnson said the press conference was canceled over fears "our points might have been drowned out."'Difficult Moment'He also denied that the U.K.'s attempts to negotiate a new divorce deal are a sham, but acknowledged "this is a difficult moment.""It isn't necessarily in the bag, there will be hard work to be done," he said.Meanwhile Better was asked at one point if Johnson would obey the law. If no agreement is reached at the next summit of EU leaders on Oct 17-18, Johnson has said he will leave the bloc without one -- in defiance of new legislation designed to force him to seek an extension to the deadline.What did Bettel think about that?Bettel's response: "This would not happen in Luxembourg."(Updates with Johnson comment in ninth paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Stephanie Bodoni in Luxembourg at sbodoni@bloomberg.net;Jonathan Stearns in Luxembourg at jstearns2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, ;Rosalind Mathieson at rmathieson3@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Saudi Arabia Says Iranian Weapons Used to Attack Oil Facilities Posted: 16 Sep 2019 08:12 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia said preliminary findings show Iranian weapons were used in the attack on one of its key oil installations, but stopped short of directly blaming the Islamic Republic for the strikes that cut its crude output by half and rattled oil markets.Ongoing investigations of "debris and wreckage" show "it belongs to the Iranian regime," Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, told reporters in Riyadh on Monday. He said initial findings suggest the attack was not launched from Yemen, contradicting claims by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels that they carried out the attack using a swarm of long-range drones with more sophisticated engines."We are working right now to spot the launch point of those attacks," he said.Saturday's attacks caused an unprecedented surge in oil prices and cast a shadow over preparations for the sale of a stake in Saudi Aramco that could be the world's biggest initial public offering.While President Donald Trump hasn't directly blamed Iran for the attacks, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has. Two U.S. officials said the location of the damage and weapons used suggest the attack was not launched by the Houthis, who have been fighting the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen for four bruising years.Al-Maliki said evidence of Iranian involvement would be released, without saying when. Iran denied involvement."Accusing Iran of the attacks is in line with the U.S.'s maximum-lies policy," said Abbas Mousavi, spokesman at the foreign ministry in Tehran. "Such accusations are unsurprising, unacceptable and baseless."Russia, a leading Iranian ally in the Middle East, called on countries not to rush to conclusions over who was responsible, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.In a tweet on Monday, Trump cast doubt on Iran's denials of responsibility, citing the Islamic Republic's claim that a U.S. drone shot down over the Persian Gulf in June was actually over Iranian waters."Remember when Iran shot down a drone, saying knowingly that it was in their "airspace" when, in fact, it was nowhere close," Trump wrote. "They stuck strongly to that story knowing that it was a very big lie. Now they say that they had nothing to do with the attack on Saudi Arabia. We'll see?"During that incident, Trump said he called off a retaliatory military strike on Iran at the last minute, after learning about potential casualties that he said would be out of proportion to the destruction of a U.S. drone.Yet over the weekend Trump raised the specter of a military confrontation with Iran, saying that the U.S. is "locked and loaded depending on verification" that Tehran staged the attack. He then said he'd wait for Saudi comments on who was responsible.There were a total of 19 impact points at the world's biggest crude-processing facility at Abqaiq and at an oil field in Khurais, and equipment used in the incidents that's been recovered so far was inconsistent with the Houthi claims, the U.S. officials said. The Houthis had said they used unmanned aerial vehicles in the attack.Oil posted its biggest ever intraday jump, briefly surging above $71 a barrel after the strike removed about 5% of global supplies and raised the specter of more destabilization in the region.The U.S. president promised to help allies following the attacks, saying he'd do so despite America not being as reliant on Middle East oil. The crisis comes as Trump's White House operates without a national security adviser. John Bolton, who had the post, was dismissed last week.The Houthis on Monday said oil installations in Saudi Arabia remained a target for weapons that could reach anywhere in the kingdom."We assure the Saudi regime that our long hand can reach wherever we want, and whenever we want," Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement. "We warn companies and foreigners not to be present in the facilities that were hit in the strikes because they are still within range and may be targeted at any moment."Difficult ChoiceThe Trump administration and Saudi leaders now face a difficult choice in how to respond to Iran or its proxies without triggering a broader conflict that could spiral out of control with potentially devastating consequences for global oil markets and the world economy. Neither country has tipped its hand.Trump will "be quite reluctant to start a war with Iran over Saudi Arabia," said Ali Vaez, Iran Project Director at the International Crisis Group. "But Iran has increasingly less to lose and so is becoming less risk averse which means Trump's policy of maximum pressure has backfired. At this stage, if there were a direct retaliation against Iran, the Iranians would find the draw of retaliation irresistible and we could enter a tit-for-tat situation that could easily spiral."Trump officials had recently floated the idea of talks between the president and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani at the United Nations General Assembly this month, after more than a year of escalating tensions between the two countries following the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal.Mousavi on Monday confirmed Rouhani would travel to New York, but said he had "no plans" to meet Trump. Iran has consistently said that no progress was likely in improving ties without the U.S. first removing sanctions on Iranian oil exports.While analysts estimate Saudi Arabia may be able to restore half of the lost production as early as Monday, Trump said on Twitter Sunday that he's authorized the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if needed "in a to-be-determined amount sufficient to keep the markets well-supplied."The stock of about 645 million barrels of crude and petroleum products could help meet demand during the time it would take for the Saudis to repair the facilities. Trump also told U.S. agencies to expedite permitting approvals of oil pipelines.\--With assistance from Lin Noueihed.To contact the reporters on this story: Vivian Nereim in Riyadh at vnereim@bloomberg.net;Abbas Al Lawati in Dubai at aallawati6@bloomberg.net;Bill Faries in Washington at wfaries@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, ;Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Wide UK-EU rift over Brexit terms kicks pound lower Posted: 16 Sep 2019 08:11 AM PDT ![Wide UK-EU rift over Brexit terms kicks pound lower]( "Wide UK-EU rift over Brexit terms kicks pound lower") The pound retreated further from last week's gains following a heated remarks by Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel on Monday showing that the gap between the British and European Union positions on Brexit remained far apart. Bettel lashed out right after talks with Boris Johnson, saying his British counterpart had failed to propose serious alternatives to unlock a Brexit deal before the Oct. 31 divorce date and seeking to blame the bloc for the "nightmare".
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| President orders 'blind unilateral escalation' in Iran after attack halves Saudi oil production, as he defends Kavanaugh amid impeachment calls Posted: 16 Sep 2019 08:05 AM PDT  Donald Trump has been warned he cannot declare war without congressional support following the bombing of Saudi Arabian oil facilities.The strikes, which destroyed half of the kingdom's oil production capacity, were claimed by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
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| UPDATE 2-Venezuela's Guaido considering attending UN general assembly -envoy Posted: 16 Sep 2019 07:46 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-Venezuela's Guaido considering attending UN general assembly -envoy]( "UPDATE 2-Venezuela's Guaido considering attending UN general assembly -envoy") Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido is considering attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York this month to step up pressure on socialist President Nicolas Maduro but has not yet reached a decision, the opposition's envoy to the United States said on Monday. It would only be the second trip abroad by Guaido, head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly since he invoked Venezuela's constitution in January to assume an interim presidency, arguing Maduro's 2018 re-election was illegitimate. It is an option," Carlos Vecchio, Guaido's envoy to the United States, told a small group of reporters at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington.
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| The Latest: Official downplays imminent action against Iran Posted: 16 Sep 2019 07:38 AM PDT  A top White House official is downplaying the threat of imminent action against Iran after President Donald Trump said the U.S. is "locked and loaded" following a drone attack on Saudi Arabia that cut into global energy supplies.
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| UK PM Johnson says Brexit deal "not in the bag" but can see rough shape of it Posted: 16 Sep 2019 07:35 AM PDT ![UK PM Johnson says Brexit deal "not in the bag" but can see rough shape of it]( "UK PM Johnson says Brexit deal \"not in the bag\" but can see rough shape of it") There is the good shape of a Brexit deal but it is not necessarily "in the bag", British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday following a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Luxembourg. "Yes there is a good chance of a deal, yes I can see the shape of it, everybody can see roughly what could be done," Johnson told reporters.
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| US strike on Iran would be disastrous for the region — and likely for the US Posted: 16 Sep 2019 07:33 AM PDT  The US is accusing Iran of attacks on a key Saudi oil facility. Experts warn a US strike on Iran would be counterproductive — even dangerous.
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| Trump edges closer to blaming Iran for Saudi oil attack Posted: 16 Sep 2019 07:30 AM PDT  The president said 'certainly it would look' like Iran was responsible for the drone strike.
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