| Turkish forces advance in Syria as US troops come under fire Posted: 11 Oct 2019 06:17 PM PDT  Turkish forces faced fierce resistance from U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish fighters on the third day of Ankara's offensive in northern Syria as casualties mounted, international criticism of the campaign intensified and estimates put the number of those who fled the violence at 100,000. In a complicating twist, Washington said its troops also came under fire from NATO ally Turkey. No U.S. troops were hurt in Friday's explosion at the small U.S. outpost, and the artillery strike marked the first time a coalition base was in the line of fire since Turkey's offensive began.
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| Esper: US is not abandoning Kurds in face of Turkish attack Posted: 11 Oct 2019 06:47 PM PDT |
| The Latest: US Syria outpost vacated after coming under fire Posted: 11 Oct 2019 05:45 PM PDT  U.S. officials say an American outpost in northeastern Syria has been vacated after coming under fire from Turkish artillery. Turkey says it didn't target the U.S. outpost but was responding to fire from Kurdish groups nearby. The Pentagon says U.S. troops in Syria came under artillery fire from the Turks on Friday, in an area where Turkey knows Americans are present.
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| The Latest: US Syria outpost vacated after coming under fire Posted: 11 Oct 2019 05:37 PM PDT  U.S. officials say an American outpost in northeastern Syria has been vacated after coming under fire from Turkish artillery. Turkey says it didn't target the U.S. outpost but was responding to fire from Kurdish groups nearby. The Pentagon says U.S. troops in Syria came under artillery fire from the Turks on Friday, in an area where Turkey knows Americans are present.
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| UK PM Johnson will ask MPs to back any Brexit deal secured from EU -The Times Posted: 11 Oct 2019 05:16 PM PDT ![UK PM Johnson will ask MPs to back any Brexit deal secured from EU -The Times]( "UK PM Johnson will ask MPs to back any Brexit deal secured from EU -The Times") British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will ask parliament to back any Brexit deal that he secures from the European Union within 24 hours of the European summit next week, the Times reported on Saturday. The European Union agreed on Friday to enter intense talks with Britain to try to break the deadlock over Brexit, lifting financial markets with a sign that a deal could be done before the Oct. 31 deadline.
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| Trump’s China Deal Yields Plenty of Questions, and Critics Posted: 11 Oct 2019 04:36 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- With the partial agreement with China that he announced Friday, President Donald Trump is back in dealmaker mode after months of escalation.That doesn't mean, though, that the new grand bargain that Trump once promised with China is any more than a small step closer to reality, or that a curtain is being drawn on the uncertainty his trade wars have brought to the global economy.It also leaves a gnawing question hanging over Trump and the economic fallout from his assault on China and global supply chains as he prepares to face the electorate in 2020: Has it really all been worth it?The surge in Chinese purchases of U.S. farm products that is the biggest win for Trump in the agreement unveiled Friday is one that was first offered by Beijing more than two years ago. It will be accompanied by unspecified commitments on intellectual property and currency and will go some way to repairing the damage done to U.S. agriculture since tit-for-tat tariffs began more than 18 months ago.Together, the package will calm markets and reduce fears of looming trade-driven recessions in the U.S. and global economies, even if Trump said Friday the two sides had yet to commit a deal to paper that he expects he and China's Xi Jinping will sign in Chile a month from now."There's nothing bigger than what we are doing with China," Trump told reporters Friday.But even if it gels in the way that Trump outlined Friday, the agreement is far smaller in scope than what the president himself once envisioned, or what was on the table when talks broke down in May.It also leaves major questions hanging in the wind amid a broader relationship showing plenty of signs of souring -- ranging from the Chinese furor over an NBA executive's backing for the growing protests in Hong Kong to the administration's invocation for the first time this week of human rights to crack down on Chinese tech companies and visas for officials."This deal hardly resolves any of the major underlying sources of trade and economic frictions between the two countries," said Eswar Prasad, a former head of the International Monetary Fund's China team now at Cornell University.What Our Economists Say"There's justified skepticism about whether even a mini-deal will get done. Officials said it will take three to five weeks to finalize the details. Past negotiations have broken down in less time than that."Tom Orlik and Yelena Shulyatyeva, Bloomberg EconomicsRead the full note hereThe contours of the deal unveiled Friday look very similar to ones negotiated by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and even Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that were rejected by Trump over the past two years, said Wendy Cutler, a longtime former U.S. trade negotiator who now heads the Asia Society Policy Institute."It looks more like a 'light' deal than a 'substantial' deal," Cutler said, and remains at risk of being weakened further as negotiators put it down on paper in the weeks to come.After months of escalation, Trump compromised this week and offered a tacit embrace of something he has resisted for months: A partial deal that might yet grow into something more comprehensive but could take as many as three separate phases of negotiations."Doing it in sections and phases I think is, really, better," Trump said Friday, after as recently as last week saying he would agree only to a big deal.That change in strategy reflects a reality that many analysts have warned of from the beginning of Trump's attack on China. While Trump has steadily increased pressure on China with his tariffs, the Chinese have always been reluctant to embrace the wholesale economic changes Trump has demanded."There is still a yawning gap that separates the two sides on core structural issues," said Prasad.Perhaps most importantly, the deal unveiled Friday does not include the game changer the Trump administration once promised would be a foundation of any deal with China: an enforcement mechanism to make sure that Beijing does not renege on its commitments. Trump would offer only that it would be worked out later.It was quickly noticed on Capitol Hill. "After so much has been sacrificed, Americans will settle for nothing less than a full, enforceable and fair deal with China," said Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican who is the party's leading voice on trade in the Senate.Hard IssuesAlso set aside are many of the hardest issues confronting the two economies, including longstanding U.S. complaints about Chinese industrial policy and the government subsidies ranging from cheap electricity to low-interest loans that have fueled China's economic rise.It will keep in place the U.S. tariffs on some $360 billion in imports that have disrupted global supply chains and leave, at least for the time being, a threat for more to come in December. Trump seemed to hint on Friday that he may be willing not to go ahead with those tariffs, which would hit popular consumer items like smartphones, laptops and toys and are quietly opposed by some of his own advisers, who fear they could deepen a slowdown in the U.S. economy going into the 2020 election."I'm skeptical that there is anything that could be objectively called a deal," said Scott Kennedy, an expert on the U.S.-China economic relationship at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "It appears that the U.S. was looking to find a way to avoid raising tariffs in the next couple months and reassure financial markets, and so it was willing to accept only an oral agreement on a narrow range of issues to take this step. Xi Jinping has to be quite satisfied with this outcome."Just what the Chinese have agreed to on intellectual property -- the issue central to the "Section 301" investigation used to justify Trump's tariffs -- was unclear. The main complaints contained in the original report centered on strategies ranging from cyberattacks to joint venture requirements that China uses to unfairly obtain U.S. technology.On the issue of currency manipulation, another longstanding U.S. complaint, Mnuchin on Friday said only that there had been new commitments on transparency and that the U.S. was willing to review its August designation of China as a currency manipulator.People close to the talks say the currency deal, first hashed out earlier this year, closely emulates the commitments to adhere to market-determined exchange rates contained in Trump's renegotiated Nafta, though those allow a dispute resolution process that the China agreement does not yet contain. Critics have already dubbed even the new Nafta provisions toothless.For all of its shortcomings the deal unveiled Friday does have two major things to offer: A potential political victory for Trump and the sort of change of tone that many of his fellow world leaders have been hankering for."Today was a big win for the president," said Stephen Vaughn, a partner at law firm King & Spalding who until earlier this year served as the right-hand man of Trump's trade czar, Robert Lighthizer. "Once again, we see that the United States has enormous leverage in trade negotiations -- when we choose to use it."Even a temporary peace may also have broader benefits."This won't revolutionize the U.S.-China relationship or the terms of trade between us, but it shows that the two countries can work together on an important issue," said Clete Willems, a former economic adviser to Trump who is now at law firm Akin Gump. "Learning to do so is critical to avoid a broad deterioration of all aspects of our relationship, which is not in anyone's long term interest."To contact the reporter on this story: Shawn Donnan in Washington at sdonnan@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Kennedy at skennedy4@bloomberg.net, Sarah McGregor, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 'Shame on Him': Evangelicals Call Out Trump on Syria Posted: 11 Oct 2019 03:12 PM PDT  One called President Donald Trump's decision "an egregious act of betrayal." Another said the policy could be "the biggest mistake of his presidency." A third said Trump "is in danger of losing the mandate of heaven."Conservative Christians have ardently stood by Trump at most every turn, from allegations of sexual misconduct to his policy of separating migrant families at the border and the Russia investigation.But this week, some of Trump's top evangelical supporters broke rank to raise alarms over his move to withdraw troops from Syria, which prompted Turkish forces to launch a ground and air assault against a Kurdish-led militia that has been a crucial ally in the U.S. fight against the Islamic State militant group.As Turkish warplanes began to bomb Syrian towns on Wednesday, prominent evangelist Franklin Graham called for Trump to reconsider his decision, and worried that the Kurds -- and the Christian minorities in the region they have defended -- could be annihilated."We have many friends in the Kurdish areas," said Graham, whose humanitarian organization, Samaritan's Purse, has done relief work in the region. "We know people on the ground."The concern resonated for many conservative evangelicals who have supported Trump, and called into question his much-touted commitment to religious freedom, a top value for his base. The opposition has arrived at an inopportune time for the president: The administration is weathering a heated battle with Congress, and according to a Fox News poll, more than half of voters now support the president's impeachment.Tony Perkins, who leads the Family Research Council, is calling on the administration to actively demonstrate its support for persecuted religious minorities in the aftermath of the withdrawal. "This is inconsistent with what the president has done," he said.Erick Erickson, a well-known conservative evangelical blogger, wrote on Twitter that Trump had committed "an egregious act of betrayal" to the Kurds. "Shame on him," he said.Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network, said he was "appalled" by the president's decision, and added that "the president of the United States is in great danger of losing the mandate of heaven if he permits this to happen." Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who rarely breaks with the president, said it could be "the biggest mistake of his presidency."Current disappointment is unlikely to translate into substantial or lasting opposition. And not all evangelical supporters have taken issue with Trump's decision. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Dallas and a prominent supporter of Trump, said he "happily" deferred to the commander-in-chief, and he praised Trump for carrying through on a campaign promise to end U.S. involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts."Some evangelicals may disagree with the president's decision," Jeffress said, "but I guarantee you there is not one evangelical supporter of the president who would switch their vote and support Elizabeth Warren or Joe Biden over a Syria decision."Franklin Graham stopped short of condemning Trump's policy outright. The evangelist said he communicated with the president or vice president -- he would not specify which leader -- about the troop withdrawal within the last 48 hours, and said he ultimately deferred to their determinations. He declined to give specifics of his conversation."There are so many other issues at stake here," he said, listing things such as Turkey's membership in NATO and U.S. military bases in the country. "It is a very hard decision."Perkins pointed to the administration's other efforts for religious freedom, and said that "one incident doesn't make an administration."Religious freedom, like anti-abortion policy and conservative judges, has often been a point of pride for many of Trump's supporters.At the United Nations last month, Trump earned praise from supporters for highlighting religious freedom instead of prioritizing a major climate summit. As Trump's call with the president of Ukraine roiled Washington last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, an evangelical who often weaves together Christianity and foreign policy, spoke on religious freedom in Rome.This summer, around the time of the Mueller hearings on Capitol Hill, the State Department convened a celebrated gathering to advance global religious freedom.Conservative Christians can point to the administration's priority of defending religious freedom, but action and policy are more revealing than words, said Meighan Stone, an evangelical Christian and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations."If this administration can't be good allies to the Kurds in this battle, where is this policy that is supposed to be protecting persecuted religious minorities around the world?" she asked. "It is nonexistent."When asked about human rights abuses of non-Christian communities, or in regions that are not as tied to biblical history -- for example, how China has targeted Uighurs and other largely Muslim minorities in the autonomous region of Xinjiang -- Graham demurred."I am not familiar with these people," Graham said of the Uighurs, noting that he had not visited the region. "I'd certainly condemn China for, it's not just the Uighurs, they've been destroying churches."Churches across Christian traditions -- Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant -- often share spiritual and personal ties to congregations in the Middle East, praying for their pastors or families by name, or inviting them to speak when they visit the United States.Many church leaders galvanized support in 2014 when Islamic State fighters targeted, killed and raped fleeing religious minorities, including Christians and Yazidis.Now, that fear is remerging and motivating evangelical alarm, explained Jeremy Courtney, who leads a relief effort called Preemptive Love that works in northeastern Syria and in the Al Hol tent camp, which has been described as a growing hotbed of Islamic State fighters and their families."Another way to view it is Christian self-interest, that if ISIS reconstitutes, then there will be another ISIS genocide against Christians, and maybe Arabs get killed, maybe Yazidis will get killed, but the subtle undercurrent is that maybe Christians will get killed," said Courtney, who was raised as an evangelical in Texas and has lived north of Baghdad for almost 13 years."That is a legitimate concern, it is just disturbing to me," he said. "Christians speaking out on this should be concerned about the Muslims who will lose their lives because of this policy as well."The troop withdrawal in Syria is likely to be a topic of conversation this weekend at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, where Trump is scheduled to speak to hundreds of conservative leaders. At the event, evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson, whom Turkey accused of spying and detained for two years, will receive an award marking the one-year anniversary of his release.For many conservative Christians, Brunson has become a symbol of the Trump administration's commitment to protecting persecuted Christians in unfriendly regions. This week, Trump said on Twitter that America's relationship with Turkey "has been very good."In a phone call Thursday evening, Brunson said the decision to withdraw troops from Syria and the ensuing Turkish attack have left him "distressed." He spoke of the refugees he met working in the Syrian-Turkish border region, including friends who had converted to Christianity and who were currently in Kobani, a Syrian town now under Turkish assault."I don't think Turkey is a friend of the West anymore," Brunson said. "This is a point of great concern to me, obviously."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| The Latest: Greta Thunberg joins climate strike in Denver Posted: 11 Oct 2019 02:17 PM PDT  Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg says young people must be prepared to keep striking to call for action on climate change — but she's encouraged by those joining the movement. Thunberg spoke Friday in Denver, where she said she was overwhelmed by a crowd of several thousand people at a climate strike rally. Echoing a line from a speech she delivered at the United Nations last month, she asked several times of leaders, "How dare they?" Some in the Denver crowd repeated the line.
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| SNP to back Labour UK government only with Scottish independence vote-FT Posted: 11 Oct 2019 02:14 PM PDT ![SNP to back Labour UK government only with Scottish independence vote-FT]( "SNP to back Labour UK government only with Scottish independence vote-FT") The Scottish National Party (SNP) would only support a minority Labour UK government if it agrees to authorise a second independence referendum for Scotland, the Financial Times report on Friday. The Telegraph newspaper reported last month that the Scottish lawmakers were prepared to support Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as the next prime minister, after concluding it was the only way to guarantee that a no-deal Brexit was avoided.
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| Pompeo talks religious freedom in Nashville speech Posted: 11 Oct 2019 01:53 PM PDT ![Pompeo talks religious freedom in Nashville speech]( "Pompeo talks religious freedom in Nashville speech") U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday continued to raise the alarm about religious freedoms around the world, receiving a warm welcome in Tennessee as his department faced heightened scrutiny amid the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. The top U.S. diplomat said in a speech to a Christian group in Nashville that 80% of the world lives in areas where people are denied religious freedom. Pompeo also made no mention of this week's Turkish offensive against U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.
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| US hopes to keep Venezuela off UN Human Rights Council Posted: 11 Oct 2019 01:31 PM PDT ![US hopes to keep Venezuela off UN Human Rights Council]( "US hopes to keep Venezuela off UN Human Rights Council") The U.S. is hoping to keep Venezuela from winning a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. A State Department official said Friday that members of the U.N. General Assembly should vote against Venezuela next week because of severe human rights abuses under President Nicolás Maduro. The Maduro government has killed political opponents, has withheld food from supporters of the opposition, holds nearly 500 political prisoners and has shut down independent media outlets, said Jon Piechowski, deputy assistant secretary at the State Department.
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| Iran Attacked Saudi Arabia's Oil Facilities, But Not For the Reason You Think Posted: 11 Oct 2019 01:00 PM PDT  Iran doesn't want war.
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| US deploys troops to Saudi Arabia over Iran threat Posted: 11 Oct 2019 12:58 PM PDT  The Pentagon announced Friday it was bolstering US forces in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh asked for reinforcements following the September 14 drone-and-missile attack on Saudi oil plants which Washington blames on Iran. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that two fighter squadrons and additional missile defense batteries were being sent to Saudi Arabia, for a total of about 3,000 new troops from September this year. The move comes as tensions jumped Friday after Tehran said that suspected missiles had struck an Iranian tanker in the Red Sea off the coast of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
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| US bolsters Saudi defense against Iran with jets, missiles Posted: 11 Oct 2019 12:37 PM PDT  The U.S. is deploying dozens more fighter jets and additional air defenses to Saudi Arabia, beefing up efforts to defend the kingdom against Iran even as President Donald Trump repeatedly insists that America must get out of endless Middle East wars. Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced the deployments Friday just hours after Iran said two missiles struck one of its oil tankers traveling through the Red Sea off the coast of Saudi Arabia. The Pentagon moves are part of a broader response to the suspected Iranian missile and drone attack on Saudi oil facilities on Sept. 14.
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| Trump names Republican veteran as envoy to Russia Posted: 11 Oct 2019 12:15 PM PDT  Donald Trump on Friday named State Department number two John Sullivan to be the US ambassador to Russia, making the veteran Republican a key player in the US president's complicated relationship with Moscow. Trump announced that Sullivan, a genial lawyer who generates little drama, would replace Jon Huntsman, a former presidential contender who kept a comparatively low profile in Moscow as Trump sought warmer ties with President Vladimir Putin. Trump had hinted in August that he would nominate Sullivan, saying he was "respected very much" and recommended by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
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| Brexit Deal in Sight as Negotiators Start to Thrash Out Details Posted: 11 Oct 2019 11:47 AM PDT ![Brexit Deal in Sight as Negotiators Start to Thrash Out Details]( "Brexit Deal in Sight as Negotiators Start to Thrash Out Details") (Bloomberg) -- Follow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story. The U.K. and European Union signaled a Brexit deal is in sight, with negotiators heading into three days of intensive talks in Brussels.On Friday, EU officials said that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had indicated he was prepared to make sufficient concessions to allow detailed talks to begin. Teams from both sides will work over the weekend to explore whether they can arrive at the basis of an accord ahead of a summit of EU leaders that begins Thursday.The pound posted its biggest two-day gain in a decade, while U.K. bank stocks soared -- but both sides cautioned that much work remains to be done if Britain is to leave the EU by Johnson's Oct. 31 deadline.At issue are Johnson's plans to take Northern Ireland out of Europe's customs union and give Stormont, its power-sharing assembly, a veto over the arrangement. The first would trigger the return of checks on goods crossing the border, something Dublin and the EU are opposed to, while the second would hand the Democratic Unionist Party an effective veto over the deal, something unacceptable south of the border.Can Johnson Get a Deal Through Parliament? Silence Is GoldenBut in a meeting with envoys of the bloc's remaining 27 countries on Friday, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, suggested that Johnson is softening his stance on both customs and consent. In what would potentially be a significant climb-down, Johnson acknowledged there should be no customs border on the island of Ireland, two officials said. When asked in a pooled interview for British television, Johnson declined to say whether Northern Ireland will leave the EU's customs union."There is a joint feeling that there is a way forward, that we can see a pathway to a deal" he said. "That doesn't mean it's a done deal. There's work to be done."Compromises ConsideredEU officials think the only solution will be an arrangement that keeps Northern Ireland in the customs union -- the so-called Northern Ireland-only backstop.Negotiators' focus will now be on whether the deal is explicit in that or whether the two sides can come up with a compromise that could see Northern Ireland remain in the customs territories of both the U.K. and the EU, the officials said.While there's no discussion yet of putting a time limit on the arrangements -- something the EU has previously rejected -- one EU official said that it could yet be considered.Any agreement would have to be backed by Parliament in London, where Johnson is reliant on the DUP. The group is staunchly opposed to the region being subject to different customs rules to the rest of the U.K.In a statement, DUP Leader Arlene Foster fired a warning shot against any attempt to keep Northern Ireland in the EU customs union, although, crucially, she didn't go as far as explicitly withholding support from the prime minister."Those who know anything about Northern Ireland will appreciate that these issues will only work with the support of the unionist as well as the nationalist community," she said.'Workable, Realistic Proposal'While negotiations are heading into a new intensive phase, they aren't headed into the full "tunnel," the formal Brussels process by which the actual legal text of an agreement is thrashed out in secret.This suggests that the EU still has reservations about the chances of getting a deal done, and that member states are unwilling to outsource the process entirely to Barnier and his team.The Frenchman will update the EU's national envoys Sunday, with the aim of having something concrete for EU affairs ministers to look at when they meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday to prepare for the summit.For all the fresh optimism, there is still a long way to go.European Council President Donald Tusk said the U.K. hadn't yet "come forward with a workable, realistic proposal." But he added that he had seen "promising signals." The next week will see whether those noises turn into an agreement on paper.(Updates to add EU envoys to meet Sunday in 15th paragraph.)\--With assistance from Dara Doyle, Nikos Chrysoloras and Alexander Weber.To contact the reporter on this story: Ian Wishart in Brussels at iwishart@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Edward Evans, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| This International Day Of The Girl, It’s Time For Men & Boys To Step Up Posted: 11 Oct 2019 11:40 AM PDT  Today, as we mark the eighth annual International Day of the Girl, a United Nations observance that focuses attention and resources on the fight for girls' rights and empowerment, I've actually been reflecting on boys: that is, how we raise boys in this country.All my life, I've been surrounded by strong, brilliant women. I was raised by a hardworking single mom, a grandmother who taught me what everyday activism looks like, and an aunt who showed me what it means to be a fighter. Especially now that I'm a parent myself — a mother of two young girls — I can't imagine anything better than providing my daughters with the same kind of upbringing these phenomenal women gave me.But the more I've thought about the challenges of raising girls in this moment — and about the America I'd like my daughters to grow up in — the more I've compared notes with friends who are raising boys.Why? Because the fight for progress on behalf of women and girls cannot rest exclusively on our shoulders; men and boys have essential roles to play, as well. Restrictive ideas about masculinity and gender roles are transforming, but not quickly enough. And as the national conversation continues to evolve, we must ensure that it doesn't leave boys behind — or let their parents off the hook.Even as infants, boys tend to be touched and held less than girls; by the time they reach adolescence, many are emotionally difficult to reach, stunted by years of overt and implicit pressure to mask their anxieties, prove their "manliness," and fit stereotypes that specifically exclude anything that could be perceived as feminine. According to Liz Plank's powerful new book For the Love of Men, the result is not just inner turmoil but an elevated risk of emotional and interpersonal conflict, or even violence — much of it targeting the women around them.Clearly, we have a responsibility to both boys and girls to do better — for men's own sake, but also because raising healthier, more mindful men has enormous potential to improve the lives of girls and women. As long as men hold a place of privilege and power in our society, they have both the opportunity and obligation to use that position to lift up the people around them. Which is one of many reasons why, throughout my career, I've been vocal about the importance and impact of male allyship.From the young partner at my former law firm who gave me a literal seat at the table during a big meeting, to my all-time greatest champion — my dad — I've always been grateful for those who understand that representation matters. And I've seen, time and again, that men who use their influence to help bring women's voices into the conversation don't diminish their own power; they enhance everyone's.Unfortunately, I've also seen that the opposite is true. In the same way an individual male ally can enhance everyone's power, a man steeped in destructive ideas about masculinity can wreak havoc — and is even, according to Plank, more likely to engage in sexual harassment.I've been focusing on this even more over the past few weeks, as we marked the anniversary of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's telling her story before the nation during Brett Kavanaugh's U.S. Supreme Court nomination hearings. Her testimony centered on Kavanaugh's behavior when he was a boy — a high-school student living under his parents' roof.Kavanaugh's treatment of Dr. Ford and other girls his age ranged from boorish and demeaning to (alleged) sexual assault. And his response as an adult was not to display empathy, humility, responsibility, accountability, or even emotional maturity; instead he raged on national television and attacked survivors, as if he were the victim.Of course, no parent can prevent their child's ultimate actions. But surely the example set by now-Justice Kavanaugh — both in his treatment of girls and women years ago and in his behavior at last September's hearing — is not an example we'd want any of our children to follow.I thought about my daughters a lot as I watched coverage of Dr. Ford's brave testimony. I had been particularly concerned about the message this hearing would send to survivors and young girls everywhere — and the need for male voices to join the chorus of solidarity with Dr. Ford. So, inspired by a group of 1,600 Black women who'd run an ad in support of Anita Hill three decades earlier, I helped organize a "1,600 Men" campaign that gathered more than 13,000 signatures — and raised enough money to run our own full-page ad in The New York Times — declaring that countless men in America "follow in the footsteps of those courageous women," and that "women should no longer have to carry these burdens alone."That's why I'm celebrating this year's International Day of the Girl by urging male allies to get off the sidelines and into this fight: because it's not enough to raise our daughters to keep overcoming barrier after barrier (though they certainly can, and we'll certainly keep teaching them). It's past time to teach our sons they have a responsibility to tear down barriers down, too.Meena Harris is a lawyer, the head of strategy at Uber, and the founder of the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign, a female-powered organization that brings awareness to intersectional social causes. You can also find her on the 2020 campaign trail with her aunt, Sen. Kamala Harris.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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| Thousands of US troops deploying to Saudi Arabia: Pentagon Posted: 11 Oct 2019 11:04 AM PDT  The United States is deploying an additional 2,800 U.S. forces to Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of Iran's attack on Saudi oil facilities in September, the Pentagon announced on Friday. The deployment includes fighter squadrons, early detection aircraft, and air defense systems. The new forces will join the 200 American service members that are part of the Patriot air defense battery and radars sent to Saudi Arabia in late September in response to the Sept. 14 attack that the United States blames on Iran.
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| Can Boris Johnson Get a Deal Through Parliament? Silence Is Golden Posted: 11 Oct 2019 10:47 AM PDT ![Can Boris Johnson Get a Deal Through Parliament? Silence Is Golden]( "Can Boris Johnson Get a Deal Through Parliament? Silence Is Golden") (Bloomberg) -- Follow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story. If Boris Johnson can manage to produce a Brexit deal in the next fortnight, can he get Parliament to vote for it? From the U.K. prime minister's point of view, the lack of noise is probably a good thing.Theresa May's negotiations with the European Union were conducted against a soundtrack of angry warnings from members of Parliament in her Conservative Party. She'd better not sell them out, they said, and even before she had a deal, many of them were committed to voting against it -- Johnson included.But on Friday there were no warning shots fired on the news channels, no delegations walking up Downing Street to lay down the law with the prime minister. For the toughest Conservative Brexiteers, the calculation has changed.There are 28 Conservative MPs who have so far refused to vote for any Brexit deal. In March, when others, including Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg, gave way and backed May's agreement, they refused to give in. They named themselves the "Spartans," after the Greek warriors who fought the Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.Until a month ago, the Spartans were content to promise to vote against any Brexit deal they didn't like, believing the alternative would be to leave the EU without any deal at all on Oct. 31 -- an outcome some of them actively want. The passage of a law intended to stop a no-deal Brexit -- known as the Benn Act -- has made them wonder whether that's still realistic.Extension ThreatInstead of leaving the EU this month, they fear the U.K. will be forced to seek a further extension to talks. That could see them fighting an election where Nigel Farage's Brexit Party splits the Conservative vote and them losing power altogether, leading to another Brexit referendum.Bluntly, the question for the Spartans is whether a Brexit they don't like is better than no Brexit at all.The same question applies to Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, who along with the Spartans refused to back May. They too were staying quiet. Johnson had spoken to DUP leader Arlene Foster and his office was keeping the party informed.Foster issued a noncommittal statement Friday afternoon, though made clear the party hadn't made up its mind. If Johnson can keep them on board, the support of most of the Spartans will be secure.Invisible BorderThe DUP's choice is complicated because a no-deal Brexit would harm their voters, many of whom have got used to doing business across Ireland's invisible border. Though the party has opposed anything that might create a boundary in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K., they were ready to bend that principle when Johnson asked them at the start of the month.But even if the DUP ultimately denounces the deal, the Spartan wobble could mean they find themselves lonelier than they were in March. That too could affect their thinking. If Johnson managed to pass a deal without them, the limits of their influence would be exposed.Brexit Deal in Sight as Negotiators Start to Thrash Out DetailsAlso crucial to Johnson's chances are the Labour Party. Around 30 Labour MPs have in the past been willing to sign letters urging a Brexit deal, but far fewer have ever voted for one. This month, though, 19 signed a letter urging the EU to work with Johnson. That might indicate a willingness to actually vote with him.If Johnson could line up the Spartans, the DUP and more than a handful of Labour MPs, he would have a chance of getting his deal through.Many of the 22 MPs who left the Conservatives last month would be ready to vote for a deal, though not all. If it's a deal that they think would result in a distant relationship with the EU, their support isn't guaranteed.It's far from a certainty. Much depends on what the actual agreement, if there is one, looks like. But for Johnson, for now, the silence is golden.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, Thomas Penny, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Israel calls on Russia to ease tourist's drug sentence Posted: 11 Oct 2019 10:08 AM PDT ![Israel calls on Russia to ease tourist's drug sentence]( "Israel calls on Russia to ease tourist's drug sentence") Israel said Friday it has asked Russia to show leniency to an Israeli tourist arrested on drug charges and has rejected an apparent swap involving a detained Russian national subject to extradition to the U.S. Naama Issachar, 26, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison Friday after being arrested at Moscow's international airport in April. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Friday that he has spoken about the matter with Russian President Vladimir Putin and asked for the sentence to be commuted and for the conditions of her detention to be eased.
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| US to send 3,000 troops to Saudi Arabia as it withdraws from Syria Posted: 11 Oct 2019 09:54 AM PDT  The United States is to send an additional 3,000 troops to Saudi Arabia "to assure and enhance" the country's security in the wake of the Aramco oil attacks, the Pentagon announced on Friday. Mark Esper, the defence secretary, said the US was sending two more Patriot missile batteries, one THAAD ballistic missile interception system, two fighter squadrons and one air expeditionary wing. It came as Iran claimed yesterday that one of its oil tankers had been struck with missiles off the coast of Saudi Arabia in an incident shrouded in mystery. The new deployment means that, since May, the US has sent an additional 14,000 members of the armed forces into the region. "Secretary Esper informed Saudi Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Muhammad bin Salman this morning of the additional troop deployment to assure and enhance the defense of Saudi Arabia," the Pentagon said. "As we have stated, the United States does not seek conflict with the Iranian regime, but we will retain a robust military capability in the region that is ready to respond to any crisis and will defend US forces and interest in the region." The announcement came just days after Mr Trump declared all US troops would be pulled out of Syria, complaining about "ridiculous endless wars". Mr Trump had campaigned on a promise to get US servicemen out of the Middle East, putting America First, and the decision is unlikely to go down well with his base. Iranian state television said the explosion damaged two storerooms aboard the unnamed oil tanker Credit: twitter Iranian media claimed its vessel was hit on Friday morning about 60 miles from the Saudi port of Jeddah, causing it to leak oil into the Red Sea. The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) said the ship was damaged but stable and denied reports it had been set ablaze. Tensions have been high since the Spring after an Iranian tanker suspected of carrying crude to Syria in violation of EU sanctions was seized off Gibraltar. In retaliation, Iran's Revolutionary Guard impounded British-flagged tanker Stena Impero. Then last month Saudi's oil fields were hit by a large-scale missile and drone attack it blamed on Tehran, which saw production plummet and oil prices soar. Iran's foreign ministry claimed the vessel, which was first named as Sinopa before it was identified as the Sabiti, had been "targeted twice" but did not provide further details. On Friday morning, an unnamed source told Iran media the vessel was struck by missiles "probably" originating from Saudi Arabia, but Iran's national oil company later denied the claim. Pictures released on Iranian media later showed no discernible damage and no evidence of any fire. TankerTrackers, which monitors oil exports, told the Telegraph there was no independent evidence to suggest the vessel had been hit. Iranian tanker attack "Had she been struck, they wouldn't be sailing back as fast as they are sailing right now. She's moving at 10 knots an hour," they said. "(Iran is) fishing for higher prices, trying to remind the world that geopolitical risk is its way of controlling the oil market." Oil prices surged two per cent on the news. Publicly available ship tracking records show both ships are currently in the Red Sea. The Sinopa turned its transmitter on earlier this week for the first time in more than 50 days. The Sabiti, meanwhile, turned its tracker on early Friday after nearly 60 days of no transmissions. It is common for Iranian tankers to turn off automatic identification systems (AIS) to avoid detection - often to evade international sanctions or harassment from Saudi Arabia. TankerTrackers said this suggested the Sabiti, laden with one million barrels of oil may have been heading for Syria. However, it declared the Gulf as its destination. Thina Margrethe Saltvedt, an analyst at Nordea Markets, said it was not the particulars of the latest incident that were worrying traders but the fear of worse to come. "The risk premium is rising... not because the tanker per se contains enough oil to squeeze the market," she said. "But the risk that this incident will be retaliated or more attacks would come either in Iran, Saudi Arabia or Iraq."
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| The Latest: UN council to say well done in person to Ahmed Posted: 11 Oct 2019 09:49 AM PDT  South Africa's U.N. Ambassador Jerry Matjila, the council president for October, told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York on Friday that the award to Ethiopia's prime minister is "appropriate" and "timely" — not only for ending the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea but for his efforts in trying to bring peace to the Horn of Africa and South Sudan. The U.N.'s most powerful body is scheduled to meet Ahmed, Ethiopia's prime minister, during a visit to Addis Ababa.
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| Yandex Hit as Kremlin Backs Limits on Foreign Stakes in IT Firms Posted: 11 Oct 2019 09:22 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The Kremlin is backing a draft law to restrict foreign ownership of Russia's largest internet company, Yandex NV, and other local tech firms on national security grounds, despite warnings from providers that it will harm their businesses.The presidential administration supports proposals by Anton Gorelkin, a United Russia deputy in the lower house of parliament, that would limit foreign ownership in "significant information resources" to 20%, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing internal issues. Yandex fell 17% in U.S. trading Friday, its biggest decline in a year."As global IT corporations are seeking a monopoly and conquering new markets, it's essential that we retain national companies in this sphere," Gorelkin said at public hearings on the draft law late Thursday. "If we say the invisible hand of the market will do everything by itself, then our technology companies may end up in the hands of larger corporations."Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov didn't respond to a request to comment. The Bell online news service earlier reported that the Kremlin supported Gorelkin's bill, which imposes the same limit on IT companies as the one on Russian media in a 2014 law signed by President Vladimir Putin.Yandex, which has expanded from Russia's largest search engine to embrace services including taxis and food-delivery, has a free-float of 85% of its shares in the U.S. The draft law would hurt investments and restrict international development for Russian companies if passed in its current form, Yandex General Director Elena Bunina said at the hearings. Oleg Tumanov, founder of Russian online film and TV streaming service Ivi, said the proposed law would kill his company that's been developing for a decade with help from foreign investors."Yandex will be hit for a couple more days because of margin calls," said Alexander Losev of Sputnik AM. "Investors are scared of any news about internet restrictions."It's up to the government to determine which companies would be covered by the legislation, though Yandex is likely to be among them, and it may choose to set a higher threshold in individual cases, Gorelkin said on the sidelines of the hearings.'Good Prospects'The measure, which is being prepared for first reading in the lower house of parliament, "has good prospects," Gorelkin said. It's supported by the state communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, and the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service, "while divisions with the Communication Ministry can be resolved in a working group," he said."This law is about national security. Data is the new oil," said Igor Ashmanov, a government-linked IT expert who heads a company specializing in information technology. "What's good about foreign investments? The Russian government is planning to spend billions to develop the digital economy."While Yandex's founder Arkady Volozh and some of its developers have a special class of shares that gives them voting control in the company, "if something happens - they leave the company or, god forbid, die - these rights disappear and Yandex turns into an American pumpkin," Ashmanov said.(Updates prices, adds quote in sixth paragraph)\--With assistance from Yuliya Fedorinova, Alex Nicholson and Olga Voitova.To contact the reporters on this story: Ilya Arkhipov in Moscow at iarkhipov@bloomberg.net;Ilya Khrennikov in Moscow at ikhrennikov@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net, Tony Halpin, Alex NicholsonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Pentagon sends new wave of troops to Saudi Arabia even as Trump calls for ending wars Posted: 11 Oct 2019 09:15 AM PDT  The Pentagon is sending a fresh wave of troops to Saudi Arabia to help defend the kingdom against Iran, despite President Donald Trump's repeated pledges to end the U.S. military's commitments in the Middle East. "I have ordered the deployment to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of two additional fighter squadrons and supporting personnel," including two batteries of soldiers manning Patriot air-defense missiles and another Army unit manning a larger air-defense missile system, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters at the Pentagon today.
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| More Potential Whistleblowers Are Contacting Congress Posted: 11 Oct 2019 09:13 AM PDT  New potential whistleblowers are coming forward to the House Democrats' impeachment inquiry, two congressional sources tell The Daily Beast. They seem to be emboldened by the actions of the whistleblower whose explosive account of President Donald Trump's phone call to Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky about investigating Trump's domestic political rivals ignited the impeachment inquiry. Another whistleblower is known to have come forward. Congressional investigators are currently vetting the new accounts they've received for credibility. Accordingly, knowledgeable sources would not discuss where in the government these new would-be whistleblowers come from, nor what they purport to have to say. It's also unknown if their accounts are as significant as that of the intelligence whistleblower whose alarm over President Trump's July 25 phone call sparked the impeachment probe. Investigators often encounter cranks as well as those with genuine knowledge of wrongdoing. Nor is it clear if these new ostensible whistleblowers have contacted any inspectors general, as the original two whistleblowers did."There are clearly numerous whistleblowers out there and many people who possess firsthand relevant information who could come forward, and I expect some will," said attorney Mark Zaid, who represents those two whistleblowers (and also represents The Daily Beast in freedom-of-information lawsuits). Russia's Fingerprints Are All Over Trump's Ukraine Whistleblower ScandalOne knowledgeable source said that the daily accumulation of revelations about Trump's willingness to use U.S. foreign relations for his personal political benefit has prompted more people to approach Congress. Two associates of Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani have been arrested and charged with campaign-finance violations arising from their Ukraine dirt-digging effort. The Financial Times reported that Trump China adviser Michael Pillsbury said he received "quite a bit of background" on Joe Biden's son after Trump publicly called for China to aid his domestic political prospects. The Washington Post reported that Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor, and Trump attempted to quash a prosecution of a Turkish national—represented by Giuliani and important to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan—for violating Iran sanctions.Investigators are using the soon-to-expire congressional recess to vet the accounts they're getting. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who chairs the House Intelligence committee, a locus of the impeachment probe, told The Daily Beast this month that he did not want to comment on whether investigators had heard from additional whistleblowers. Schiff noted that his committee rarely acknowledges receiving whistleblower complaints because "people can reverse-engineer who whistleblowers are" given an abundance of identifying information. I Was a Whistleblower. The Trump Whistleblower Is About to Go Through Hell."The only thing I can say, and I don't want to suggest too much by this, is we began discussions with other committees investigating these issues, when the first news started breaking about Giuliani seeking foreign help in Ukraine to aid the president's campaign," Schiff said. The revelations come while Congress interviews the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine the administration removed, Maria Yovanovitch, despite the White House's announced refusal to cooperate with the House Democratic inquiry. Other cracks in that front have emerged. On Friday, Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union implicated in the Ukraine pressure campaign, announced through his lawyers that he will defy State Department instructions against talking to Congress. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Ethiopian Premier Abiy Wins Nobel Peace Prize for Eritrea Accord Posted: 11 Oct 2019 09:09 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end almost two decades of conflict with neighboring Eritrea.Abiy was honored for his "efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea," the Oslo-based Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement Friday. It's the second successive year the prize has gone to an African -- in 2018, Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege was the joint winner of the award for his work against sexual violence."It is a prize given to Africa, given to Ethiopia and I can imagine how the rest of Africa's leaders will take it positively to work on peace-building processes in our continent," Abiy said in an audio recording of the Nobel committee informing him of the award.Abiy, 43, became Africa's youngest leader when he was appointed prime minister in March 2018. He immediately set about implementing a swathe of economic and political reforms aimed at opening up the economy to increased foreign investment and freeing up the political space for opposition parties.Three months later, he made an historic visit to the Eritrean capital, Asmara, and met President Isaias Afwerki, to close a bloody chapter in the nation's history: a 1998-2000 border war between the two states claimed as many as 100,000 lives. The nations clashed sporadically over the ensuing years, arming rebel groups in each others' countries.While the rapprochement persuaded the United Nations to lift decade-old sanctions on Eritrea, there's been scant progress since then. Four border crossings opened at the time of Abiy's visit have since been closed without explanation. Territorial demarcations outlines by a 2002 boundary commission -- an initial condition of peace between the two countries -- remain unimplemented.At home, Abiy's unbanning of Ethiopian opposition and rebel groups, has stoked political fragmentation and long-suppressed rivalries among ethnic communities. That's led regional groups to intensify calls for more self-determination.Abiy's changes have also faced growing opposition from anti-government groups and within the ruling party, which has factionalized under his rule. In June, attacks that claimed the lives of five senior government officials highlighted the extent of the challenges facing Abiy.Abiy has also begun implementing measures to attract more foreign investment to Ethiopia, with plans to open up the state-controlled telecommunications and other industries to private investors. That's piqued the interest of companies including Orange SA, MTN Group Ltd. and Vodafone Group Plc.Ethiopia will be the fastest-growing economy in Africa this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, and globally only Bhutan, Yemen and Brunei will grow faster. The nation's Eurobonds due December 2024 have returned 13.2% this year, more than the 13% average for sub-Saharan African sovereigns. Only Angola, Cameroon and Congo have offered better returns out of 17 nations on the continent that have sold Eurobonds.Born on Aug. 15, 1976, in the small town of Beshasha in Ethiopia's Oromia state, Abiy holds masters degrees in business administration and transformational leadership and a PhD in traditional conflict resolution. He's served as a lieutenant-colonel in the Ethiopian National Defense Force, an acting director of the country's cyber-security intelligence agency and science and technology minister.Past laureates include former U.S. President Barack Obama and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The peace prize, along with awards in literature, physics and medicine, was created by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel and first awarded in 1901. The economics prize, set to be revealed on Monday, was instituted by the Swedish central bank.(Updates with comment by Abiy in third paragraph)\--With assistance from Sveinung Sleire, Mike Cohen, Rene Vollgraaff and Robert Brand.To contact the reporters on this story: Nizar Manek in Nairobi at nmanek2@bloomberg.net;Mikael Holter in Oslo at mholter2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jonas Bergman at jbergman@bloomberg.net, Paul Richardson, Gordon BellFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| EU and Boris Johnson Hint a Deal Can Be Done: Brexit Update Posted: 11 Oct 2019 09:00 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.The Brexit negotiations have taken a step forward with detailed talks set to begin for the first time since Boris Johnson became U.K. prime minister. The pound and U.K. banking stocks surged.After months of war-like rhetoric and threats, Johnson made a vital breakthrough in talks with Irish leader Leo Varadkar on Thursday, paving the way for detailed negotiations to start in Brussels.The two negotiating teams now have a weekend of intensive work ahead of them, examining draft legal text as they try to thrash out a deal in time for the summit of EU leaders on Oct. 17-18.But while the mood has brightened dramatically, the deal is not yet done. For one thing, it's not clear what concessions -- if any -- Johnson has promised the EU, and whether he can get any deal through Parliament in London. The critical issue remains how to avoid a "hard" border, with customs checkpoints, at the land frontier between Ireland and the U.K after Brexit."There is a joint feeling that there is a way forward that we can see a pathway to a deal," Johnson told broadcasters on Friday. "That doesn't mean it's a done deal. There's work to be done."Key developments:Michel Barnier briefs EU ambassadors, but won't reveal details of the U.K. concessionsEU agrees for detailed talks to intensify as negotiators aim for a dealBarnier hosted U.K. Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay for "constructive" meeting in BrusselsJohnson is keeping his Northern Irish Allies in the Democratic Unionist Party informed of his negotiations as they are key to ensuring any deal can pass a vote in ParliamentPound surges; RBS and Lloyds shares jumpThe DUP Responds (4:40 p.m.)Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster has finally given her reaction to Johnson's latest offer. She reiterated her requirement that any deal must have the consent of the unionist community and fired a warning shot against any attempt to keep Northern Ireland in the EU's single market. But, crucially, she didn't go as far as to explicitly rule out supporting the prime minister. She said the party will use its "pivotal role" and "considerable influence" in Parliament to influence the outcome. "There will need to be a clear acceptance that the economic and constitutional integrity of the whole of the United Kingdom will have to be respected as we leave," she said. "As a consequence of the mandate given to us by voters in 2017 the DUP is very relevant in the Parliamentary arithmetic and regardless of the ups and downs of the Brexit discussions that has not changed."The DUP is in a formal arrangement to support Boris Johnson's minority Conservative government and keep it in power. While it only has 10 votes in the House of Commons, some hardline Conservative MPs have indicated they will only back a Brexit deal if the DUP supports it too.U.K. Welcomes EU Talks Decision (3:45 p.m.)Boris Johnson's office issued a statement welcoming the decision by the 27 other EU member states and saying his government is looking forward to negotiations "in the coming days.""We welcome this decision, following the constructive meeting between the Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and Michel Barnier this morning, and building on the meeting between the prime minister and the Taoiseach yesterday," Johnson's team said in the statement. "We look forward to these intensified discussions in the coming days."Industry Groups Raise Fears About Johnson's Plan (3:40 p.m.)The U.K.'s aerospace, automotive, chemicals, food and drink and pharmaceutical sectors are concerned about Johnson's plans for post-Brexit trading arrangements, the BBC reported, citing a letter sent by the group to the government. The plans can pose "serious risk to manufacturing competitiveness," the letter said.In the letter, the industry representatives express their "growing concern" that British negotiators have dropped existing commitments to maintain regulatory alignment with the EU in relevant sectors. They also demanded reassurances that industry interests will be prioritized.Boris Johnson Is Elusive (2:57 p.m.)Johnson struck a cautious, yet optimistic note, in his first public comments since his meeting with Varadkar."There is a joint feeling that there is a way forward that we can see a pathway to a deal," the British prime minister told broadcasters in a pooled interview on Friday. "That doesn't mean it's a done deal. There's work to be done."He went on to say it "would be wrong of me to giving a running commentary on the negotiations. With the greatest possible respect I think, look at everything I've said previously. I think you can draw your own conclusions from that. But let's our negotiators get on."Pressed on what solutions he had proposed for the contentious Irish border question, Johnson said: "I can certainly tell you that under no circumstances will we see anything that damages the ability of the whole of the United Kingdom to take full advantage of Brexit, and I think that's what people would expect, and that's what I think we can achieve."The pound, in the meantime, keeps rising. It's now up 2%.The Devil Is in the Detail (2:06 p.m.)Barnier told the ambassadors that the U.K. had made concessions on both customs and consent without going into detail, an official said. Several ambassadors told him that the only thing that would work would be if the U.K. accepted the need for a Northern Ireland-only backstop, similar to the one thrashed out by the two sides last year, but Barnier refused to confirm that this was the plan, the official said.The issue about consent revolves around how the people of Northern Ireland should give their democratic consent to any agreement. It would involve some kind of regular sign-of from the region's assembly.Question Is What Might the U.K. Have Given Up (1:47 p.m.)The U.K. conceded on some key issues that were standing in the way, an EU diplomat said following the debrief with Barnier. We are now looking to weekend negotiations, the diplomat representing one of the bloc's member states, added.A second official, who was present in the debrief, said Barnier didn't clarify what these U.K concessions might be. It's an important question given how the U.K. depends on a Northern Ireland unionist party for backing in parliament.The EU Commission's negotiator hinted that they are related to customs, and that we are heading toward a solution almost identical to the original Northern Ireland-only backstop, the ambassador said, asking not to be named, as the debrief wasn't public.The bad scenario for this weekend is a backtracking from the U.K, in which case Barnier said he 'd discontinue the talks, the ambassador said. The good scenario is to bring a deal which resembles the original Northern Ireland-only backstop proposal of February 2018.In the latter case, a short technical extension may be required, the diplomat said.The meeting with Barnier was tense, with the French ambassador getting annoyed at one point because of the leaks to the media.Nothing Has Changed on Irish Border (1:38 p.m.)Let's stay cautious. That is the message that resonated from the EU as speculation amped up on whether or not the divorce talks were headed into the final sprint.After meeting with his U.K. counterpart Stephen Barclay on Friday, Barnier told ambassadors from the 27 member states that there has been enough progress for talks to intensify.That isn't quite the same as entering the so-called "tunnel" -- the formal Brussels process by which the actual legal text of an agreement is thrashed out in secret -- but it's a sign both sides recognize a deal is still possible.Is It All Headed Into Secret Talks? (1:30 p.m.)So, EU envoys were briefed about a "possible convergence" between Ireland and the U.K, but a lot remains to be negotiated, a participant in the debrief with Barnier said. Ambassadors will reconvene either Sunday or Monday to take stock of the situation, the official said. The gist is to steer clear of using the word, tunnel, which implies a secretive process.What is obvious is that enough progress has been made to keep negotiating through the weekend with the aim of reaching a deal, instead of declaring talks dead today as Tusk said the plan was.Johnson Keeping Foster in Brexit Loop (12:30 p.m.)Boris Johnson has spoken to Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, about his Brexit proposals, according to a U.K. official.His office is keeping the DUP informed of the status of talks, aware that the party's support for any deal could be crucial to it passing though The House of Commons.Pound Optimism Continues as Banks Surge (11:55 a.m.)The pound is now headed for its biggest two-day rally since before the Brexit vote in June 2016. The latest step higher came after a European Commission spokeswoman labeled the talks "constructive" (see 11:20 a.m.).Its not just the currency where optimism is mounting. Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc are up more than 9 %.Barclay-Barnier Meeting 'Constructive,' EU Says (11:20 a.m.)The European Commission was tight-lipped about the outcome of Friday morning's meeting between EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and U.K. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay, with a spokeswoman saying only that the talks were "constructive.""You can assume they exchanged ideas, discussed many different angles," Mina Andreeva told reporters in Brussels. "If there's a will then of course there's a way, otherwise people wouldn't be working on this."A U.K. spokesman used the same word to describe the talks.Brexit Talks May Enter Tunnel, Varadkar Says (11 a.m.)U.K. and EU negotiators may now enter the so-called tunnel for Brexit talks, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told reporters in Dublin.The focus is now on Brussels, he said, adding that he expects the U.K. will make more detailed proposals. The less said publicly about the talks the better, he said.DUP Lawmaker Warns on Stormont Veto (10.35 a.m.)Removing the so-called Stormont lock from any Brexit deal would leave Northern Ireland's unionists "marooned," Democratic Unionist Party lawmaker Jim Wells warned in an RTE radio interview.Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith's suggestion that no one party in the region would have a veto through a vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly "does worry me," Wells said, adding that "nothing will work unless unionism is signed up to it."Acknowledging there had been a change of mood in the talks after Varadkar and Johnson's meeting on Thursday, Wells, who is a member of the suspended Assembly, made clear that any plan which would force Northern Ireland to follow EU rules would be "unacceptable."Pound Rises Again on Brexit Optimism (10:25 a.m.)The pound has surged 2.5% since Wednesday's close, with traders jumping on the signs of Brexit optimism.It gained 0.6% to $1.2511 Friday, with Donald Tusk's comments (see 10 a.m.) adding to the momentum. Deutsche Bank said Thursday evening it was no longer negative on the U.K. currency following a "pivotal moment" in Brexit talks.Options show sentiment on the pound over the next month is now the most positive since Bloomberg began compiling the data in 2003.Ireland: Detailed Talks Will Start (10:05 a.m.)While Thursday's meeting between Johnson and Varadkar was positive, the "real detailed negotiation and technical work now will begin and that will be in Brussels," Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said.Speaking on Newstalk radio, Donohoe pointed to the issue of allowing the region of Northern Ireland to give or withhold "consent" for any new customs system as a crucial area for discussion in the talks. There are differing views in the region on the issue, he said.EU's Tusk Says 'Promising' Signals for a Deal (10 a.m.)EU Council President Donald Tusk gave some mixed messages over the chances of a Brexit deal, saying the U.K.'s proposals aren't yet realistic but there are "promising signals.""Unfortunately we are still in a situation in which the U.K. has not come forward with a workable, realistic proposal," Tusk said in a televised statement in Cyprus. "A week ago I told Prime Minister Johnson that if there was no such proposal by today I would announce publicly there are no more chances" of a deal at next week's summit of EU leaders.But Tusk said there was some positive news out of Thursday's meeting between Johnson and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar."I have received promising signals from the Taoiseach that a deal is still possible," he said. "Technical talks are taking place in Brussels as we speak. Of course there's no guarantee of success and the time is practically up, but even the slightest chance must be used."AB InBev Shelves U.K. Expansion On Brexit Fears (9:40 a.m.)Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev SA put on hold plans to roughly double the size of its U.K. headquarters amid growing uncertainty over Brexit.The Belgian owner of Budweiser and Corona had been in talks to lease additional space in London's Bureau building, where it already occupies the top four floors, two people with knowledge of the matter said.Fianna Fail Expects Talks to Resume (9.15 a.m.)The leader of Ireland's main opposition party expects U.K. and EU negotiators to resume formal Brexit talks after Irish PM Leo Varadkar and U.K. leader Boris Johnson met on Thursday.Micheal Martin, who leads the Fianna Fail party, said he would be disappointed if talks don't restart. "In good diplomacy there has to be accommodation and you can't have one side losing face against the other," he told RTE radio.Martin's party is in a confidence and supply arrangement with the government, so is consulted on most major government decisions. He is likely to have been briefed on Thursday's meeting.Barclay and Barnier Meet in Brussels (8:30 a.m.)U.K. Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay has arrived at the European Commission in Brussels for talks with the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier. The two will explore where things stand after Thursday's meeting between the prime ministers of the U.K. and Ireland and discuss whether to restart more intensive talks.There's no scheduled time for the meeting to end but Barnier is due to address EU ambassadors at 12:30 p.m. Brussels time.Earlier:Brexit Hopes Rise as U.K. and EU Take a Step Closer to a DealBoris Johnson's Irish 'Pathway' Is Full of Holes: Lionel LaurentImagine Brexit Heaven. It Isn't Easy, I've Tried: John Authers\--With assistance from Tim Ross, Charlotte Ryan and Peter Flanagan.To contact the reporters on this story: Ian Wishart in Brussels at iwishart@bloomberg.net;Nikos Chrysoloras in Brussels at nchrysoloras@bloomberg.net;Tiago Ramos Alfaro in London at talfaro1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Raymond ColittFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UPDATE 2-Banks ramp up bets on Brexit deal as mood music improves Posted: 11 Oct 2019 08:36 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-Banks ramp up bets on Brexit deal as mood music improves]( "UPDATE 2-Banks ramp up bets on Brexit deal as mood music improves") Major investment banks said on Friday they had become more optimistic on the prospects for a Brexit deal, following an upbeat meeting between British and Irish leaders that buoyed the pound. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Thursday a withdrawal agreement could be clinched by the end of October, which would allow the United Kingdom to leave the European Union in an orderly fashion. EU negotiator Michel Barnier and his British counterpart Stephen Barclay, meanwhile, held a "constructive" meeting on Friday, both the British and EU sides said.
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| Constitutional integrity of UK must be respected in Brexit deal - DUP Posted: 11 Oct 2019 08:33 AM PDT ![Constitutional integrity of UK must be respected in Brexit deal - DUP]( "Constitutional integrity of UK must be respected in Brexit deal - DUP") The small Northern Irish party supporting the British government insisted on Friday that no barriers to trade be erected between it and mainland Britain in any Brexit deal and that the United Kingdom must leave the European Union as one. Reminding Prime Minister Boris Johnson that it was "very relevant" to the parliamentary arithmetic in London, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster added that any deal that aligns the British-run region to parts of the EU's single market must have democratic consent within Northern Ireland.
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| UPDATE 4-U.S. says deploying more forces to Saudi Arabia to counter Iran threat Posted: 11 Oct 2019 08:32 AM PDT ![UPDATE 4-U.S. says deploying more forces to Saudi Arabia to counter Iran threat]( "UPDATE 4-U.S. says deploying more forces to Saudi Arabia to counter Iran threat") The United States announced the deployment of additional American military forces to Saudi Arabia on Friday to bolster the kingdom's defenses after the Sept. 14 attack on its oil facilities, which Washington and Riyadh have blamed on Iran. The large deployment, which was first reported by Reuters, includes fighter squadrons, an air expeditionary wing and air defense personnel, the Pentagon said. Together with the 200 forces to Saudi Arabia announced last month, the deployment totaled about 3,000 troops, it said.
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| EU and UK intensify Brexit talks ahead of key summit Posted: 11 Oct 2019 08:21 AM PDT  British and EU negotiators agreed Friday to intensify efforts to find a new Brexit withdrawal agreement, just days before a key European summit. European Union member states will review progress on Monday, following a meeting between influential leaders French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The stepped-up negotiations came after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar held a meeting Thursday both sides dubbed "promising".
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| How's The Consumer Doing? Financial Sector Earnings Next Week Could Help Tell Us Posted: 11 Oct 2019 08:07 AM PDT ![How's The Consumer Doing? Financial Sector Earnings Next Week Could Help Tell Us]( "How's The Consumer Doing? Financial Sector Earnings Next Week Could Help Tell Us") During Q2 earnings season, Financial sector results helped renew investor confidence in the U.S. consumer. The question heading into Q3 is whether banking executives still see the same kind of strength, and if they think it can continue amid trade wars, Brexit, and signs of weakness in the U.S. economy.
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| Britain’s Emergency Plan for Brexit: Riot Control and Traffic Jams Posted: 11 Oct 2019 07:00 AM PDT  What happens if Britain leaves the European Union on October 31st?: Riots and food shortages. That's the expectation of British officials who have devised a worst-case emergency plan to respond to potential chaos caused by Brexit.
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| What America's betrayals of Kurdistan and Yemen have in common Posted: 11 Oct 2019 06:57 AM PDT ![What America's betrayals of Kurdistan and Yemen have in common]( "What America's betrayals of Kurdistan and Yemen have in common") Donald Trump has finally done something that genuinely upsets very nearly everyone. In green-lighting a Turkish incursion into northern Syria against the Kurds, our staunchest in-region allies against the Islamic State, the president has prompted a chorus of outrage not only from the usual quarters but from evangelical leaders, our own front-line troops, and normally-supportive Republican senators.The outrage is understandable, but the decision was entirely predictable and in keeping with the president's avowed instincts. Trump has been complaining about wanting to leave Syria for months. He has no history of loyalty to those he does business with, and no sympathy for the underdog in a fight. His acquiescence to Turkey's interests mirrors perfectly his support for the Saudi intervention in Yemen: in both cases, he sided with the dominant regional power seeking to crush a popular ethnic uprising in a neighboring country that they feared could spill over into their territory.The comparison may seem odd on the surface. The Kurds have been a valued American client for years while the Houthis are regularly dismissed as Iranian proxies. Moreover, America has actively supported the Saudi war, while we are only getting out of the way of the Turkish military. But the Saudis have driven the Houthis far more completely into Iranian arms than they had been prior to the decimation of their country, and America's initial support for the Yemen war was far less enthusiastic than it ultimately became under Trump. We will see what happens in Syrian Kurdistan, but our abandonment will logically lead the Kurds to seek regional patrons who might provide more reliable support, based on a genuine mutual interest. The most likely such patron: Iran.America's continued efforts to contain or even overthrow the Iranian regime forms the crucial backdrop to our presence in Syria in the first place. Prior to the emergence of the Islamic State, America was half-heartedly engaged in a proxy war to overthrow the Syrian government in favor of a collection of opposition groups, many of them with Sunni Islamist connections. That effort, in turn, was at least as much about toppling an Iranian ally as about promoting a mythical Syrian democracy. ISIS, though, was deemed so dangerous that we were not willing to allow it time to consolidate power; our previous priority of replacing the Assad regime was subordinated to the need to destroy the new menace.Subordinated -- but not abandoned. The United States settled on the Kurds as our best allies in the fight against the Islamic State partly because they were by far the best-disciplined and most-committed fighters -- contrary to continued fantasizing by intervention advocates, there were no other plausible proxies available -- but also because they were a genuinely independent force in the conflict. Victory for the Kurds would not mean victory for Assad -- or for Assad's Iranian patron.Siding with the Kurds, though, meant antagonizing Turkey, which has been fighting an insurgency by the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) on and off for decades. As a consequence, even after the fight against ISIS was largely won, American troops needed to remain in the area, both to deter the Turks from intervening to crush the Kurds and to deter Iran from engaging in its own meddling.By its nature, there was no natural end-game to this deployment. The Kurds have a better claim than most to a state of their own: They are a distinct ethnic group that has been brutally oppressed by the various states in which they live, and they have a strong sense of identity and a martial spirit that would serve them well in defending any country that they won. But they are not capable of winning a country of their own on their own. They were a match for the Islamic State, but not for a regional powers like Turkey. In the absence of any regional patron, they needed a defender from outside the region willing to stand against all sides: the U.S.Playing that role appeals to Americans' romantic natures. But romance is not a stable basis for a long-term relationship, and the negative consequences of underwriting Kurdish ambitions are potentially substantial. And America has betrayed long-suffering allies before when supporting them was no longer in our interests. Consider the Poles: After all they had suffered during World War II, they hardly deserved to have Stalin seize half their territory and to have their own government subordinated to effective Soviet control. But the United States was not going to follow up one world war with another, not even to secure the independence of the country whose defense prompted the global conflagration in the first place.Today's Washington remains remarkably eager for another war, and both our support for and our abandonment of the Kurds have been decisively shaped by that dynamic. While President Trump has so far proven more gun-shy than many of his party's leaders would prefer, if there is any strategic rationale whatsoever for his support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen and for Turkey's incursion into Syria, it is that both allies are regional rivals of Iran. Unfortunately, as with Saudi Arabia's catastrophic Yemen war, the Turkish war in Kurdistan is likely to push its victims into Iranian arms, and inflame its domestic insurgency to boot.A cleverer administration would use this very prospect to caution Ankara, and perhaps even find space for Kurdish autonomy in a delicate balance between Turkish and Iranian interests. But that would require accepting Iran's place as a major regional actor with legitimate interests to be balanced. So long as we are determined to make hostility to Iran the center of our foreign policy for the region, we will be readily manipulated by regional powers into supporting their most brutal efforts at suppression -- or we will have to keep putting our own troops in harm's way, and never leave.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.
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| Turkish invasion raises fears of Islamic State prison break Posted: 11 Oct 2019 06:57 AM PDT  In the sprawling al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, Islamic State wives and widows have set up special courts, stabbed to death at least two people accused of apostasy and wielded knives and pistols in clashes with their Kurdish guards. Now, as Turkish troops invade northern Syria and the U.S. abandons its Kurdish allies, there are renewed fears of a prison break in the camp that could give new life to the extremist group. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who captured much of northeastern Syria from IS with close U.S. military support, are mobilizing to stop the Turkish invasion and say they may not be able to spare enough forces to secure al-Hol, home to tens of thousands of IS-linked women and their children, and other detention camps holding more than 10,000 male militants, including some 2,000 foreign fighters.
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| Pakistan's PM to visit Iran, Saudi Arabia to ease tensions Posted: 11 Oct 2019 06:51 AM PDT  Pakistan's foreign minister says Prime Minister Imran Khan will travel to Iran's capital Saturday before traveling on to Saudi Arabia to try and ease tensions between the two Islamic countries. Shah Mahmood Qureshi made the announcement Friday, while talking to reporters in the city of Multan. Qureshi said Pakistan wants to remove misunderstandings between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
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| Johnson declines to say whether N.Ireland will stay in EU customs union after Brexit Posted: 11 Oct 2019 06:49 AM PDT ![Johnson declines to say whether N.Ireland will stay in EU customs union after Brexit]( "Johnson declines to say whether N.Ireland will stay in EU customs union after Brexit") British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday he did not want to give a running commentary on Brexit talks when asked whether Northern Ireland would be leaving the EU customs union amid hopes an agreement can be found before an Oct. 31 deadline. "I think it would be wrong of me to give a running commentary on the negotiations," he said.
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| Brexit Talks Move to Critical Phase as Barnier Signals Progress Posted: 11 Oct 2019 06:00 AM PDT ![Brexit Talks Move to Critical Phase as Barnier Signals Progress]( "Brexit Talks Move to Critical Phase as Barnier Signals Progress") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.The Brexit negotiations inched forward, with the European Union's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, recommending that detailed talks can begin in earnest. The pound and U.K. banking stocks surged.After meeting with his British counterpart Stephen Barclay on Friday, Barnier told ambassadors from the 27 member states that there has been enough progress for discussions to intensify. But the EU stopped short of taking the talks into the so-called "tunnel" -- the formal Brussels process by which the actual legal text of an agreement is thrashed out in secret. Instead, the diplomats will reconvene early next week for a progress update.The move follows Thursday's meeting between U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar aimed at breaking the deadlock. The two leaders said they could see a pathway to a deal. It isn't clear what concessions were made.Brexit latest: EU-U.K. Negotiations Intensify as Deadline LoomsJohnson had proposed to take Northern Ireland out of the EU's customs union and give Stormont, its power-sharing assembly, a veto over the deal. He may now water down the veto and suggest a so-called customs partnership instead.The two sides need to reach an agreement before next week's EU summit for Johnson to meet his self-imposed deadline of Oct. 31 for Britain to leave. Any pact would also have to be backed by Parliament in London -- where Johnson is reliant on the Democratic Unionist Party to pass legislation.But the DUP may oppose any changes to Johnson's initial plan. Removing the so-called Stormont lock would leave Northern Ireland's unionists "marooned," DUP lawmaker Jim Wells warned in an RTE radio interview on Friday. The prime minister has briefed DUP Leader Arlene Foster about his proposals, according to a U.K. official.In the market, many are taking these developments to be a game-changer: the pound jumped by the most over two days since 2009, while U.K. bank stocks and domestically focused equities soared. Sterling's jump may catch out hedge funds and asset managers that have amassed a near-record short position on the British currency, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data.\--With assistance from Ian Wishart and Nikos Chrysoloras.To contact the reporter on this story: Edward Evans in London at eevans3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Heather Harris at hharris5@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Turkish Lira, Bonds Sink After Putin Doubts Syria Operation Posted: 11 Oct 2019 05:52 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The lira fell with Turkish government bonds as Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed concern over Ankara's military campaign into northeast Syria, compounding a volatile week marked by an international backlash to the Turkish incursion.The currency fell to a session low just past 5.88 per dollar after Putin said he wasn't sure if the Turkish army would be able to quickly take the situation under control, according to comments carried by Interfax. The yield on the two-year government note jumped 22 basis points to 15.05%, nearing a high touched earlier this week.The losses come after what traders described as aggressive dollar sales earlier in the week by state banks to steady the lira, which has declined almost 3% this week. It slumped to as low as 5.8982 on Thursday, the weakest level since late August.Turkish troops began a major incursion into northeastern Syria on Wednesday to combat American-backed Kurdish forces, prompting the U.S. congress to threaten to sanction Turkey. Penalties will also be debated next week at the European Union leaders' meeting, France's EU Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin said on Friday.To soften the blow, state lenders sold at least $3.5 billion of foreign currency to support the lira this week, according to three people with knowledge of matter who asked not be named because the information isn't public. The banks sold around $1.5 billion on Thursday alone, the people said.The lira was trading 0.3% weaker at 5.8542 per dollar as of 2:56 p.m. in Istanbul after touching a session low of 5.8828. It was the only emerging-market currency to weaken against the dollar on Friday.To contact the reporters on this story: Constantine Courcoulas in Istanbul at ccourcoulas1@bloomberg.net;Asli Kandemir in Istanbul at akandemir@bloomberg.net;Kerim Karakaya in Istanbul at kkarakaya2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, ;Dana El Baltaji at delbaltaji@bloomberg.net, Robert Brand, Marton EderFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| To Free Client, Giuliani Pushed Tillerson for Help Posted: 11 Oct 2019 05:33 AM PDT  During a contentious Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump and then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in 2017, Rudy Giuliani pressed for help in securing the release of a jailed client, an Iranian-Turkish gold trader, as part of a potential prisoner swap with Turkey.The request by Giuliani provoked an immediate objection from Tillerson, who argued that it would be highly inappropriate to interfere in an open criminal case, according to two people briefed on the meeting.The gold trader, Reza Zarrab, had been accused by federal prosecutors of playing a central role in an effort by a state-owned Turkish bank to funnel more than $10 billion worth of gold and cash to Iran, in defiance of U.S. sanctions designed to curb Iran's nuclear program.But at the White House meeting in early 2017, Giuliani and his longtime friend and colleague, former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, pushed back on Tillerson's objections.Rather than side with his secretary of state, Trump told them to work it out themselves, according to the two people briefed on the meeting. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.In the end, no such prisoner swap took place. But the episode has opened a new chapter in Giuliani's efforts to interject himself into the Trump administration's diplomacy while at times representing clients with a direct interest in the outcome.The Oval Office meeting occurred before Giuliani became Trump's personal lawyer for the special counsel's Russia investigation. In recent weeks, Giuliani's campaign to press Ukrainian officials to investigate the son of one of Trump's political rivals, former Vice President Joe Biden, has thrust him into the middle of the House impeachment inquiry. And on Wednesday, two of Giuliani's associates in that campaign were arrested on charges of violating federal campaign finance laws.Giuliani, in an interview Thursday, defended his actions in the gold trader case, which were first reported Wednesday by Bloomberg.Giuliani, well known for his hawkish views on Iran, said he had been willing to represent Zarrab because the proposed prisoner swap would have secured the release of an American pastor who was being held in Turkey on terrorism-related charges the United States considered fabricated.He likened his efforts -- which also included apprising Jeff Sessions, then the attorney general, of what he wanted -- to maneuvers during the Cold War to trade enemy spies for Americans detained overseas.Giuliani questioned how his actions were any different. "It happened to be a good trade," he said. "I expected to be a hero like in a Tom Hanks movie."But his involvement, as a private citizen and friend of the president in the months after Trump passed him over for the role of secretary of state, left some in the administration uncomfortable, given the strained and complicated relationship between the United States and Turkey.Giuliani's moves also ran counter to a long-running effort to curb Iran's nuclear program as the United States was trying to punish players, like Zarrab, who helped the regime evade sanctions.The Zarrab case, called the single largest evasion of Iranian sanctions in U.S. history, revolved around a scheme by the Turkish bank in 2012 and 2013 to send billions of dollars in gold and cash to Iran in exchange for oil and natural gas.Zarrab, who has Turkish and Iranian citizenship, was arrested in Florida in March 2016 on a family trip to Disney World, and was accused of an illicit operation that relied on false documents and front companies to move the assets to Iran from the accounts of Halkbank, the second-largest state-owned lender in Turkey.Getting him out of the United States was a high priority for Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, because Zarrab had information that would later implicate senior bank officials, as well as Turkish government officials, in the scheme.Indeed, after the prison swap failed, Zarrab became a key witness and testified that in 2012, Erdogan, then Turkey's prime minister, had ordered that two Turkish banks be allowed to participate in the sanction-evasion scheme. Giuliani said that he was brought into the effort by Mukasey, who had been hired by Zarrab's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman.The two men had been pressing their case with Trump in the Oval Office in early 2017 when Tillerson joined the conversation, according to the two people briefed on the meeting. Tillerson, who could not be reached for comment, was surprised to find Giuliani and Mukasey at what he thought would be a regular private meeting with the president, the people said.Trump asked Giuliani to tell Tillerson what he wanted, which prompted Tillerson's objections.Mukasey's spokesman did not return a request for comment.Giuliani, in the interview Thursday, disputed the account provided to The New York Times of the discussion he had with Tillerson about Zarrab -- and the assertion that Tillerson replied that such a step was inappropriate. But Giuliani did not specify what aspects of the account he found inaccurate, saying he could not discuss the meeting because of attorney-client privilege."This is a completely malicious story coming from the consistent attack on me to try to destroy my credibility," Giuliani said.He added that at the time, "nobody ever complained" to him from the Trump administration about his role in the case.Giuliani and Mukasey were persistent in the effort. Court filings show that they discussed the matter with State Department officials in Turkey before meeting with Erdogan himself, and that Sessions and Preet Bharara, then the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, were informed "on a confidential basis."Giuliani argued in court filings that "none of the transactions in which Mr. Zarrab is alleged to have participated involved weapons or nuclear technology, or any other contraband, but rather involved consumer goods, and that Turkey is situated in a part of the world strategically critical to the United States."And Mukasey, in an April 2017 court filing, asserted that "senior U.S. officials have remained receptive to pursuing the possibility of an agreement."But officials at the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan remained opposed to the Zarrab trade, as did Tillerson. Giuliani, in the Thursday interview, said he wasn't sure why the proposal fell apart.What's clear is that Zarrab pleaded guilty in October 2017 to the charges, and became a key witness in federal criminal cases prosecuted in New York that led to the conviction of Mehmet Hakan Atilla, an executive at Halkbank.During Atilla's criminal trial in late 2017, the judge overseeing the case criticized Giuliani's role in trying to secure Zarrab's freedom, noting that such a move might benefit Iran."Most respectfully, the Giuliani and Mukasey affidavits appear surprisingly disingenuous in failing to mention the central role of Iran in the indictment, and indeed, failing to mention Iran at all in their affidavits," the judge, Richard M. Berman, said, citing statements in which the men suggested Zarrab's release might help the United States.Atilla was sentenced to 32 months in prison. But he was released early from jail in July and then returned to Turkey, where he was greeted at the airport like a hero in Istanbul by Turkey's treasury and finance minister, Berat Albayrak, who is also Erdogan's son-in-law. Zarrab's whereabouts has not been disclosed by the U.S. government.The American pastor, Andrew Brunson, was also released, without a trade involving Zarrab, in October 2018. The move was credited with an overall improvement in relations between Trump and Erdogan.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Oil prices spike after 2 missiles hit Iranian tanker Posted: 11 Oct 2019 05:32 AM PDT ![Oil prices spike after 2 missiles hit Iranian tanker]( "Oil prices spike after 2 missiles hit Iranian tanker") Oil prices jumped by 2 percent early Friday after Iranian state news IRNA reported that two missiles had hit an oil tanker belonging to the National Iranian Oil Company in the Red Sea off the Saudi Arabian coast, CNBC reports. Saheb Sadeghi, head of public relations at the National Iranian Tanker Company, said the projectiles "possibly" were fired from Saudi territory, although Tehran did not immediately say who it blamed for the attack. Regardless, analysts said the incident could further raise tensions in the region. "This latest incident, if confirmed to be an act of aggression, is highly likely to be part of the wider narrative of deteriorating relations between Saudi and the U.S. and Iran," private maritime security firm Dryad Maritime said.
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| The daily business briefing: October 11, 2019 Posted: 11 Oct 2019 05:23 AM PDT ![The daily business briefing: October 11, 2019]( "The daily business briefing: October 11, 2019") 1.High-level U.S. and Chinese negotiators met Thursday for their first talks since July aiming to end the trade war between the world's two biggest economies. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, representing the Trump administration, met with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the USTR office after a series of warnings by economists that the tit-for-tat tariffs the two sides have been exchanging could tip the global economy into a recession. President Trump has threatened to hike tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods on Oct. 15 if there's insufficient progress. Trump, who plans to meet China's vice premier on Friday, said the first of an expected two days of talks went "very well." [Reuters, MarketWatch] 2.Oil prices jumped by 2 percent early Friday after Iranian state news IRNA reported that two missiles had hit an oil tanker belonging to the National Iranian Oil Company in the Red Sea off the Saudi Arabian coast. Saheb Sadeghi, head of public relations at the National Iranian Tanker Company, said the projectiles "possibly" were fired from Saudi territory, although Tehran did not immediately say who it blamed for the attack. Regardless, analysts said the incident could further raise tensions in the region. "This latest incident, if confirmed to be an act of aggression, is highly likely to be part of the wider narrative of deteriorating relations between Saudi and the U.S. and Iran," private maritime security firm Dryad Maritime said. [CNBC, CNN] 3.General Motors CEO Mary Barra met secretly with United Auto Workers leaders this week in an attempt to find a way to end a strike by more than 46,000 UAW members, the New York Post reported Thursday. It was Barra's first direct talks with UAW leaders since the union called the strike on Sept. 15 seeking better pay and benefits, and job security. The Post reported that Barra on Wednesday asked UAW president Gary Jones and Terry Dittes, the union vice president leading the strike negotiations, to come to her office. A day earlier, GM officials pulled out of a meeting that had been scheduled to discuss job security and bringing back manufacturing jobs that had been shifted from the U.S. to Mexico, the newspaper reported. [New York Post, The New York Times] 4.U.S. stock index futures jumped early Friday after President Trump said the first day of U.S.-China trade talks went "very well." Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq all were up by about 1 percent. The optimism came after dramatic stock fluctuations caused by contradictory reports that made it unclear whether there was any hope the world's two biggest economies could reach an agreement to end their damaging tit-for-tat tariffs. "Even a partial deal could be a huge boost for stocks, especially following this week's scary headlines," Ken Berman, founder of Gorilla Trades, said in a note. "The Chinese delegation is scheduled to leave Washington tomorrow, so another day of volatile swings might be ahead." [CNBC] 5.A federal appeals court said Thursday that Deutsche Bank has indicated that it does not have President Trump's personal tax returns, which Democratic-controlled congressional committees have demanded. The German bank was the only big financial institution that was willing to lend money to Trump for nearly two decades. Democratic-controlled congressional committees have subpoenaed Deutsche Bank seeking financial records for Trump, his companies, and his family. Trump responded by suing the bank to prevent it from releasing any documents. That litigation still is being reviewed by the courts. Last month, media outlets asked the appeals court to unseal a Deutsche Bank letter identifying two Trump family members whose returns it did have, but the court rejected that request on Thursday. [The New York Times]
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| UPDATE 1-Banks turn more optimistic on Brexit deal as mood music improves Posted: 11 Oct 2019 05:08 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Banks turn more optimistic on Brexit deal as mood music improves]( "UPDATE 1-Banks turn more optimistic on Brexit deal as mood music improves") Major investment banks said on Friday they had become more optimistic on the prospects for a Brexit deal, following an upbeat meeting between the British and Irish leaders that buoyed the pound. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Thursday said that a withdrawal agreement could be clinched by the end of October, which would allow the United Kingdom to leave the European Union in an orderly fashion. EU negotiator Michel Barnier and his British counterpart Stephen Barclay, meanwhile, held a "constructive" meeting on Friday, both the British and EU sides said.
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| 10 things you need to know today: October 11, 2019 Posted: 11 Oct 2019 05:00 AM PDT ![10 things you need to know today: October 11, 2019]( "10 things you need to know today: October 11, 2019") 1.Two associates of Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's personal lawyer, have been arrested for allegedly trying to funnel foreign money to U.S. politicians, including a pro-Trump re-election committee, prosecutors revealed Thursday. The suspects, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, helped Giuliani in his effort to dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden in Ukraine. Prosecutors say Fruman and Parnas gave $325,000 to the pro-Trump political action committee America First Action, falsely reporting the money came from a natural gas company. They also allegedly donated to a congressman they were asking to help get the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine ousted. Trump was not implicated in the case, but it contributed to rising pressure he faces as he fights impeachment. [Reuters, The Washington Post] 2.Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his "efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation and for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea," the Nobel Institute said Friday. Ahmed worked out a deal with Eritrea President Isaias Afwerki to end two decades of conflict. "An important premise for the breakthrough was Abiy Ahmed's unconditional willingness to accept the arbitration ruling of an international boundary commission in 2002," the Nobel Institute said. Ahmed also lifted a state of emergency, legalized outlawed opposition groups, and granted amnesty to thousands of political prisoners in his first months in office. Another leading contender for this year's peace prize — the 100th to be awarded — was Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. [CNBC] 3.High-level U.S. and Chinese negotiators met Thursday for their first talks since July aiming to end the trade war between the world's two biggest economies. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, representing the Trump administration, met with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the USTR office after a series of warnings by economists that the tit-for-tat tariffs the two sides have been exchanging could tip the global economy into a recession. President Trump has threatened to hike tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods on Oct. 15 if there's insufficient progress. Trump, who plans to meet China's vice premier on Friday, said the first of an expected two days of talks went "very well." [Reuters, MarketWatch] 4.German Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht said Thursday that a deadly shooting at a synagogue in the city of Halle was a far-right terror attack. Lambrecht said the suspect, 27-year-old Stephan Balliet, had nine pounds of explosives in his car and had planned a massacre. He faces two counts of murder and nine of attempted murder. The attack was livestreamed via Twitch, allegedly by Balliet, and watched by about 2,200 people. The man in the video blamed Jews for social problems, including those associated with immigration. German authorities said the attacker shot victims outside after trying unsuccessfully to get into the synagogue, where 60 people were attending a Yom Kippur service. The attacker wanted to "kill as many people as possible of Jewish faith," prosecutors said. [BBC News, NBC News] 5.President Trump on Thursday accused Democrats of trying to "overthrow our government," speaking at his first rally since the launch of the House impeachment inquiry over Trump's effort to pressure Ukraine into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden. "They want to erase your vote like it never existed," he said in Minneapolis' Target Center. "They want to erase your voice, and they want to erase your future." Trump called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) "really stupid," and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) an "America-hating socialist." Trump also attacked Biden, a leading Democratic presidential candidate, repeating unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct by Biden and his son Hunter in Ukraine, with his supporters chanting, "Lock him up!" Outside, protesters called for locking up Trump. [The Associated Press] 6.Four national security officials were so worried about the Trump administration's effort to pressure Ukraine for political purposes that they went to a White House lawyer to voice their concerns, The Washington Post reported Thursday, citing U.S. officials and other people familiar with the matter. The officials were disturbed by the abrupt removal of U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch in May, Rudy Giuliani's sharing of bizarre conspiracy theories about Ukraine, and suggestions that President Trump wanted the Ukrainian government to give him material that could hurt former Vice President Joe Biden, a political rival. Officials said their worries mounted after Trump's July call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump asked for Ukraine to investigate Biden as a "favor." [The Washington Post] 7.Oil prices jumped by 2 percent early Friday after Iranian state news IRNA reported that two missiles had hit an oil tanker belonging to the National Iranian Oil Company in the Red Sea off the Saudi Arabian coast. Saheb Sadeghi, head of public relations at the National Iranian Tanker Company, said the projectiles "possibly" were fired from Saudi territory, although Tehran did not immediately say who it believed to be behind the attack. Regardless, analysts said it was likely to further raise tensions in the region. "This latest incident, if confirmed to be an act of aggression, is highly likely to be part of the wider narrative of deteriorating relations between Saudi and the U.S. and Iran," private maritime security firm Dryad Maritime said. [CNBC, CNN] 8.The Washington Mystics defeated the Connecticut Sun 89-78 on Thursday night, earning the team's first WNBA championship in franchise history. It all came down to Game 5, with Emma Meesseman of the Mystics ending the night with 22 points; she was also named Finals MVP. For the Sun, Jonquel Jones finished with 25 points and nine rebounds. The Mystics have been in the league since 1998, and it wasn't until 2017 that they made it to the playoffs. During their first-ever appearance in the Finals last season, the Mystics lost to the Seattle Storm. [CBS Sports] 9.A Florida judge on Thursday sentenced Michael Drejka to 20 years in prison for killing a man who shoved him in a dispute over a handicapped-accessible parking spot. The victim, Markeis McGlockton, confronted Drejka, who was berating McGlockton's girlfriend for parking in the spot outside a convenience store, and Drejka pulled a pistol and shot him. Drejka's lawyers unsuccessfully argued that Drejka was within his rights under Florida's "stand your ground" law. McGlockton's father, Michael McGlockton, said after Drejka's conviction in August that the resolution of the trial will let the family "start putting the pieces back together and move on." [CNN] 10.Simone Biles continued her domination of women's gymnastics on Thursday, winning her record fifth all-around world championship title, ending her floor routine with a mic-drop gesture for emphasis. "It wasn't my best routine," she said, "but we just thought it would be fun." Biles has now won two more all-around titles than any other female gymnast. Her 2.1-point margin of victory was her biggest yet at the world championships, and matched the spread in her 2016 Olympic gold-medal win. The all-around gold brought her total number of world championship medals to 22, adding to her record and putting her one shy of tying the overall record for men and women set by Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo. [The Associated Press]
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| In Syria, history repeats itself for displaced Kurds Posted: 11 Oct 2019 04:33 AM PDT  For the second time in two years, Jihan and her family had to pack their bags and abandon their home in northern Syria because of a Turkish invasion. "We don't know where to go," she said, moments after reaching the school in the city Hasakeh which the autonomous Kurdish administration turned into a shelter. According to the United Nations, 70,000 people have had to flee their homes since Turkey launched a cross-border offensive on Kurdish-controlled areas on Wednesday.
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| Turkey's refugee plan met with widespread skepticism Posted: 11 Oct 2019 04:23 AM PDT  In the face of widespread international criticism for his military foray into northern Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains defiant, standing by his pledge to return as many refugees as possible to a border corridor that will be carved out by force. On Wednesday, Turkey sent its military into northern Syria after announcing plans to create a buffer zone which pushes back Kurdish militants and potentially allows some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees settled in the country to return. The offensive was launched after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of American forces in northern Syria, a decision that has been fiercely criticized around the world and within his Republican Party.
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| Uber launches boat service in Nigeria's megacity Lagos Posted: 11 Oct 2019 04:08 AM PDT  Global ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] on Friday launched a pilot test of a boat service in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos to attract commuters seeking to avoid the megacity's notoriously congested roads. The United Nations predicts that Nigeria's population will more than double to 400 million by 2050, which would make it the third most populous country in the world after China and India. The combination of population growth and congestion has made Nigeria, and more broadly West Africa, attractive to foreign transport companies.
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| WHO anti-cholera vaccination campaign begins in Sudan Posted: 11 Oct 2019 04:08 AM PDT ![WHO anti-cholera vaccination campaign begins in Sudan]( "WHO anti-cholera vaccination campaign begins in Sudan") The World Health Organization has launched a vaccination campaign in two southeastern provinces in Sudan to contain a cholera outbreak following flash floods that swept the country in late August. Friday's statement from the WHO says more than 1.6 million people, aged 1 year and above, will be vaccinated over the next five days in the Blue Nile and Sennar provinces, where 262 of the suspected cholera cases and eight deaths have been reported since Sept. 8. The statement says the campaign is the outcome of cooperation between Sudan's federal ministry of health, the WHO, UNICEF and the global vaccine alliance, Gavi.
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| Uber launches boat service in Nigeria's megacity Lagos Posted: 11 Oct 2019 03:57 AM PDT ![Uber launches boat service in Nigeria's megacity Lagos]( "Uber launches boat service in Nigeria's megacity Lagos") Global ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc on Friday launched a pilot test of a boat service in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos to attract commuters seeking to avoid the megacity's notoriously congested roads. The United Nations predicts that Nigeria's population will more than double to 400 million by 2050, which would make it the third most populous country in the world after China and India.
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| Iran says oil tanker struck by missiles off Saudi Arabia Posted: 11 Oct 2019 03:35 AM PDT  Two missiles struck an Iranian tanker traveling through the Red Sea off the coast of Saudi Arabia on Friday, Iranian officials said, the latest incident in the region amid months of heightened tensions between Tehran and the U.S. There was no word from Saudi Arabia on the reported attack and Saudi officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "This latest incident, if confirmed to be an act of aggression, is highly likely to be part of the wider narrative of deteriorating relations between Saudi and the U.S. and Iran," private maritime security firm Dryad Maritime warned.
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