| Johnson Pledges Cash to Boost High Streets in ‘Overlooked’ Towns Posted: 14 Nov 2019 04:01 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson made a pitch for votes in "overlooked" towns with a promise to revive high streets through tax breaks for local businesses and reopening provincial railway lines, while the main opposition Labour Party pledged to roll out free full-fiber broadband for all with a plan that includes nationalization of BT Group Plc's Openreach unit.The U.K. prime minister on Friday announced cuts to business rates for shops, pubs and cinemas, and promises 500 million pounds ($644 million) to help restore local rail networks that were cut as a result of 1960s reforms. There was also an announcement of 150 million pounds of funding to help local community groups buy pubs and post offices to rescue them from closure.The target of the fiscal affection is clear: Johnson is trying to win over disaffected Labour voters with a pledge to deliver Brexit and "unleash" the potential of towns and cities nationwide. With the Dec. 12 general election less than a month away, he's relying on winning Labour-held seats in central and northern England to give him the majority he needs in the House of Commons to approve the Brexit deal he's brokered with the European Union."For too long, too many towns and villages across Britain have been overlooked and left behind," Johnson said in a statement. "We will invest in these communities and help people put the heart back into the places they call home. We need to get Brexit done so that we can unleash the potential of all our towns, cities and villages."The premier's largesse, however, was eclipsed by Corbyn's broadband promise, which Labour's finance spokesman estimated would cost 20 billion pounds. It adds to the planned nationalizations of water and energy utilities, the Royal Mail, and the railways. "What was once a luxury is now an essential utility," Corbyn will say in a speech in Lancaster, northern England on Friday.'Vicious Cuts'Johnson's Conservatives named towns in eight constituencies in the north and the Midlands that could benefit from the party's announcement; five of them in Labour-held seats and another two in Tory seats with relatively slim majorities over Labour. The opposition party, for its part, blamed the Tories for budget cuts that deprived councils of funds to spend on local services."A decade of vicious cuts to the services that people in our communities rely on, has taken 60 pence in every pound from council budgets," Labour's communities spokesman, Andrew Gwynne, said in a statement, citing figures from the Local Government Association.Johnson is trying to put a series of electoral missteps behind him after a couple of days in which he's come under criticism from opposition parties and local residents for mishandling floods in northern England, while health statistics showed delays for accident and emergency treatment and hospital care at their highest levels since targets were introduced for both."Any decent health secretary worth their salt would today apologize to patients for the worst A and E waits on record," Labour's health spokesman, Jon Ashworth, said on Twitter, criticizing Health Secretary Matt Hancock for telling BBC radio that "in many ways the NHS is performing better than it ever has."Labour earlier in the week pledged to increase annual health spending by 26 billion pounds over the next five years, 6 billion pounds more than Conservative promises.ImmigrationEven an attempt by the Tories to attack Labour over immigration ended up backfiring when Home Secretary Priti Patel was forced to row back on a pledge that the Tories would cut immigration.Patel released analysis suggesting net immigration would surge to 840,000 under Labour, and tweeted that Tory policies would enable them to "reduce immigration overall." But later in the day, she repeatedly refused to say in a BBC interview whether the Conservatives wanted to cut immigration, replying that they would "control" it. Johnson also refrained from promising to cut immigration, saying only during a campaign event in Bristol that it may come down "in some sectors."Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn, for his part, said he wouldn't put an "arbitrary" target on immigration and that he wanted any system to be "fair," allow key workers into the country, and ensure families aren't kept apart.On Thursday, candidate nominations for the general election closed with a fresh blow to the Tories. After Brexit Party Leader Nigel Farage at the start of the week said he wouldn't stand candidates in 317 seats won by the Conservatives in the 2017 election, the Tories had hoped he might pull back from some of their Labour target seats too, for fear of splitting the pro-Brexit vote.Pressure on Brexit PartyBut Farage instead said he'd fight all Labour-held seats. He faced a setback of his own when just a minute before the close of nominations, Rupert Lowe, the Brexit Party candidate in ultra-marginal Dudley North announced he would not be standing for fear of splitting the pro-Brexit vote. Later, Farage told the BBC that about 285 of his candidates were registered to fight for places in the 650-seat House of Commons.Farage earlier said his candidates "are now coming under relentless phone calls, emails and abuse and being told they should stand down." Brexit Party Chairman Richard Tice later issued a statement saying he'd been "dismayed by the behavior of senior Conservative Party figures" after the party's candidates had "been offered jobs and titles to stand down as candidates." The Tories denied the allegations.To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Justice Minister Attacked; Elderly Worker Dies: Hong Kong Update Posted: 14 Nov 2019 04:00 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping called an end to violence Hong Kong's "most urgent task," as an attack on the city's justice minister and the second protest-related death in a week heightened tensions in the paralyzed financial center.The rare comments by Xi during a visit to Brazil on Thursday came as the U.S. Senate moved to expedite passage of legislation that would support Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters. Earlier, a 70-year-old government contract worker who was struck during a brick-hurling fight between protesters and their opponents died of his injuries.The protests, which have raged for more than five months, flared anew last week after the death of student who fell near a police operation to clear a demonstration. A campaign to disrupt traffic has led to the shooting of a protester and citywide school cancellations, while Chief Executive Carrie Lam's government has denied reports of a plan to institute an unprecedented curfew in a bid to quell unrest.Key developments:Hong Kong justice minister "attacked" in LondonXi urges immediate end to violence70-year-old government worker dies after scuffles; 15-year-old in critical conditionSome trains remain blockedU.S. Senate vows quick vote on Hong Kong legislationHong Kong's government dismisses curfew speculationThe benchmark Hang Seng index closed down 0.9%Here's the latest (all times local):Some trains still suspended (5:55 a.m.)Service between Fo Tan and Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau on the East Rail Line are suspended due to vandalism, railway operator the MTR Corp. said Friday. Trains between Hung Hom and Fo Tan on the same line are running every five minutes. Stations at Mong Kok, Tseung Kwan O, Sai Wan Ho, Tuen Mun and Tung Chung also remain shut.Justice secretary 'attacked' (3:47 a.m.)Hong Kong Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng condemned what her office said was an attack by a "violent mob" that caused her "serious bodily harm" Thursday while she was on an official visit to London. Cheng fell and hurt her arm after being surrounded by a group of about 30 protesters, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported."The secretary denounces all forms of violence and radicalism depriving others' legitimate rights in the pretext of pursuing their political ideals, which would never be in the interest of Hong Kong and any civilized society," Cheng's office said in a statement.Agency 'saddened' by death (2:21 a.m.)Hong Kong's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department confirmed that one of its contract workers had died Thursday from a head injury, expressing "profound sadness" over his death. The elderly worker "was suspected to be hit in his head by hard objects hurled by rioters during his lunch break," the agency said in a statement, adding that it would provide assistance to the victim's family.The government vowed to "make every effort to investigate the case to bring offenders to justice."U.S. Senate advances bill (12:41 a.m.)The U.S. Senate is preparing for quick passage of legislation that would support pro-democracy protesters by placing Hong Kong's special trading status with the U.S. under annual review. The Senate will run the "hotline" on the bill, which is an expedited process to check for last-minute opposition to bringing legislation immediately to a vote, according to Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican.The Senate legislation is different than a version passed earlier by the House of Representatives. That means the two bills would have to be reconciled and passed by both chambers before going to President Donald Trump to be signed into law.Man dies from head injury (11:45 p.m. Thursday)A 70-year-old man who suffered a head injury Wednesday has died, Ming Pao reported, citing the hospital. The case will be investigated by the coroner. He was hit by what appeared to be a brick thrown by protesters, according to the government and police.Separately, a 15-year-old boy underwent brain surgery after sustaining a head injury from what may have been a tear gas canister, local news organization RTHK reported.Xi seeks end to violence (10:25 p.m. Thursday)Xi, currently on a visit to Brazil, said "continuing radical violent crimes in Hong Kong have seriously trampled on the rule of law and social order, seriously undermined Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, and seriously challenged the bottom line of the 'one country, two systems' principle," state broadcaster China Central Television reported in a social media post."Stopping the violence and restoring order is Hong Kong's most urgent task at present," Xi said, reiterating support for Lam. "We will continue to firmly support the chief executive to lead the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in accordance with the law, firmly support the Hong Kong Police in law enforcement, and firmly support the Hong Kong judiciary in punishing violent criminals."Government dismisses curfew talk (7:55 p.m. Thursday)"Rumors" that authorities were planning to implement a curfew over the weekend are "totally unfounded," Hong Kong's government said in a statement, following rising speculation after Lam's late-night meeting with top officials on Wednesday.\--With assistance from Erin Roman, Daniel Flatley, Iain Marlow and Colin Keatinge.To contact the reporters on this story: Fion Li in Hong Kong at fli59@bloomberg.net;Dandan Li in Beijing at dli395@bloomberg.net;Daniel Flatley in Washington at dflatley1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Jon HerskovitzFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UN aid chief: Over 11 million Syrians need humanitarian aid Posted: 14 Nov 2019 02:45 PM PST ![UN aid chief: Over 11 million Syrians need humanitarian aid]( "UN aid chief: Over 11 million Syrians need humanitarian aid") Over 11 million people across Syria need aid — more than half the country's estimated population — and the U.N. and other organizations are reaching an average of 5.6 million people a month, the U.N. humanitarian chief said Thursday. Mark Lowcock told the Security Council that across northern Syria 4 million people are supported by U.N. cross-border deliveries including 2.7 million in the northwest, the last major opposition-held area in the country.
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| UK Liberal Democrats enter election spending race with big pledges on climate Posted: 14 Nov 2019 02:30 PM PST ![UK Liberal Democrats enter election spending race with big pledges on climate]( "UK Liberal Democrats enter election spending race with big pledges on climate") EMBARGOED 2230 GMT Britain's anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats will promise on Friday to spend 100 billion pounds ($128 billion) on tackling climate change if they win a Dec. 12 election. The Liberal Democrats trail Boris Johnson's Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party in opinion polls and are expected to fall a long way short of winning the election outright. Last week, Labour and the Conservatives both set out large increases in infrastructure spending - a sign that whoever wins the election, borrowing is likely to increase.
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| Bolivian Factions Fight for Control as Morales Snipes From Afar Posted: 14 Nov 2019 02:16 PM PST ![Bolivian Factions Fight for Control as Morales Snipes From Afar]( "Bolivian Factions Fight for Control as Morales Snipes From Afar") (Bloomberg) -- Bolivia's interim president, Jeanine Anez, is struggling to consolidate control as lawmakers and former ministers loyal to ousted socialist leader Evo Morales try to reclaim the levers of power.Three days after Morales fled for Mexican exile after accusations of fraud as he sought a fourth term, his opponents and supporters continue to agitate on his behalf. Support from the army, the constitutional court and some foreign governments, including the U.S., means that Anez has the upper hand for now."There are two groups of people claiming to be the government," said Kathryn Ledebur, director of the Andean Information Network, a Bolivia-based think tank. "The armed forces are backing one. I don't know if that's definitive."Anez has appointed a new cabinet and military high command since she staked her claim to office Tuesday. But Morales's MAS party has a majority in both houses of congress, and members are doing everything they can to undermine Anez, who they say has no legal authority to govern.Anez said Thursday that her presidency is "strictly provisional," and has two main objectives: the repeal of a court ruling that allowed Morales to seek a fourth term and the organization of new elections as soon as possible.Power VacuumMorales quit Sunday along with his vice president and the heads of congress. He fled to Mexico and says he's the victim of a "right-wing coup."Anez, who was an opposition senator and second vice president of the body, told congress Tuesday that she would assume the leadership, and that the constitution therefore made her interim head of state after Morales left the country.Since then, Morales's allies have cast about for arguments about why she isn't, and for possible replacements.Pro-Morales Senate leader Adriana Salvatierra announced her resignation Sunday, but there are questions over whether this was valid, because it wasn't submitted in writing and approved by the upper house.Morales's party also elected a new leader of the lower house Thursday who, under the constitution, would be third in line to the presidency after the vice president and the Senate leader.Coup or No Coup, Bolivia's Morales Fell From Grace: QuickTakeMorales's foreign affairs minister, Diego Pary, vowed in a Twitter post that he would continue his ministerial duties. Bolivia's ambassador to the U.N. rejected the demand by Anez's government that he step down, saying he was appointed by the nation's constitutional head of state in a decision that was ratified by the Senate.Morales himself continues to make statements on politics from outside the country. Carlos Mesa, who was runner-up in the Oct. 20 presidential election, called on Mexico's government to stop Morales from abusing his asylum status to stir up trouble.Mexico has denounced Morales's ouster as a coup, as have Cuba and Venezuela, while the U.S. and Brazil have recognized Anez as legitimate. Russia, which had been an ally of Morales, said it would view Anez as leader until new elections are held.Last month's presidential election set off three weeks of violent protests. The crisis reached a head Sunday, when monitors from the Organization of American States said it was unlikely that Morales had really secured enough votes to avoid a second round.Morales initially offered to hold a new election, then resigned after the army publicly withdrew its support.To contact the reporters on this story: Matthew Bristow in Bogota at mbristow5@bloomberg.net;John Quigley in Lima at jquigley8@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Stephen Merelman, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Bosnian immigrant gets 8 years for supporting terrorists Posted: 14 Nov 2019 02:09 PM PST ![Bosnian immigrant gets 8 years for supporting terrorists]( "Bosnian immigrant gets 8 years for supporting terrorists") A Bosnian immigrant living in St. Louis County has been sentenced to eight years in prison and will be deported for raising money to support terrorists. A federal judge sentenced 45-year-old Ramiz Zijad Hodzic on Thursday. Prosecutors say Hodzic sent cash and military equipment to third parties in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere from 2013 to 2015.
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| Iran imposes fuel rationing, increases prices Posted: 14 Nov 2019 02:00 PM PST  Iran's state news agency is reporting that authorities have imposed rationing and increased the prices of fuel. IRNA's report early Friday said every private car will have a 60-liter monthly quota at about 13 cents per liter, up from 9 cents. In 2015, Iran stopped fuel rationing that had been in place since 2007.
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| Punish Trump officials for bias against staffer of Iranian heritage – watchdog Posted: 14 Nov 2019 02:00 PM PST  Inspector general recommends disciplinary action for Brian Hook and others, in latest scandal to roil US state departmentBrian Hook, back, with Mike Pompeo in Abu Dhabi in September. The report strongly criticised Hook, who led the US campaign to isolate Iran. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty ImagesThe state department's watchdog has recommended senior Trump officials, including the administration's Iran envoy, be disciplined for discrimination against a career civil servant, in part because of her Iranian ethnicity and the fact that she had served under the Obama administration.The inspector general's report, which strongly criticised Brian Hook, who has led the US campaign to isolate Iran, is one of a series of scandals at the state department contributing to a growing crisis of confidence among the country's diplomats.On Tuesday, NBC News revealed that the official in charge of conflict and stability operations, had fabricated much of her résumé, inventing a role on a UN panel, and falsely implied she had Harvard and Army War College degrees. The official, Mina Chang, even faked a Time magazine cover about herself, but she was put in a post with a $6m budget and which normally requires a top-secret security clearance.The new report also comes in a week in which US diplomats have appeared as key witnesses at congressional impeachment hearings, which has led to their professionalism and integrity being impugned by the president and his supporters, while the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has said nothing to defend them.In his report, details of which were first reported by Politico, the state department's inspector general, Steve Linick, published correspondence and testimony between Hook and other political appointees on removing Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, a civil servant of Iranian descent, from the high-profile policy planning office run by Hook.Top aides to the then secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, circulated a rightwing magazine story that portrayed Nowrouzzadeh as a diehard Obama loyalist who was obstructing the new administration's policies.One of those officials, Julia Haller, who was acting White House liaison officer, noted in an email that Nowrouzzadeh "was born in Iran and upon my understanding cried when the president won" and argued it would be easy to get her suspended. Nowrouzzadeh was born in the US, and when asked for her reason to believe she had cried, Haller cited "office gossip", but said she passed it on because "it could raise a question of "loyalty to the United States".Haller's comments were part of an email chain which was forwarded to Hook, who noted, "This initial info is helpful" and added: "I've emailed friends who tracked the Iran deal for intel on her and waiting to hear back."Nowrouzzadeh was moved out of the policy planning office before her assignment was completed and has since left the state department.In her first public comment on the case, she said on Twitter: "It is my hope that the inspector general's findings pertaining to my case help prompt action that will guard against any further such misconduct by members of this or any future administration."When questioned for the report, Hook, claimed that he had agreed to remove her because he had a replacement in mind, but the inspector general found that to be false. The eventually replacement was not in contact with Hook until after Nowrouzzadeh had been moved and did not start until some months later. The report also notes that Hook's claims about his role were contradicted by other witnesses."The comments regarding her perceived place of birth are particularly concerning. Although these comments were initiated by Ms Haller, they were circulated by others, and they are wholly inconsistent with department policies requiring fair and equitable treatment of employees without consideration of national origin," the inspector general report concluded.It added: "Regardless of whether Mr Hook personally shared the opinions and motivations expressed by Ms Haller and others, the comments about [Nowrouzzadeh] in the articles and emails circulated within the office of the secretary suggest that improper factors likely influenced the requests to end her detail and his acquiescence to those requests."In a response to the inspector general's conclusions, the state department counselor, Ulrich Brechtbuhl, said that Pompeo would "consider whether disciplinary action is appropriate" but defended Hook, saying his consideration of "non-merit factors" in his treatment of staff "would be wholly inconsistent with the professional leadership and behavior we have observed".The report did not find wrongdoing in four other cases it looked into, but in part this was because senior figures would not talk to the inspector general's staff.Ian Moss, a former marine and a state department lawyer who worked in the White House and the office set up by the Obama administration, was assigned in September 2017 to working alongside unpaid interns doing data entry for freedom of information requests. He was repeatedly denied requests for transfer. He described the inspector general (IG) report as a "whitewash"."The IG failed to connect obvious dots. I think that there is an overwhelming amount of information that was in the possession of the IG, that the IG simply disregarded."In particular, Moss said the report covered up the role played in his case by the deputy secretary of state, John Sullivan, who is awaiting confirmation as the new US ambassador to Moscow.He said Sullivan was "completely aware of everything that was going on but is nowhere mentioned in my section of the report, even though I confronted him personally and directly, and he was directly engaged by NSC [national security council] leadership regarding their concern over my treatment over my treatment back at state."The report has come when morale among US diplomats, is already at a low ebb in spite of Pompeo's boasts of bringing "swagger" and a new "ethos" to the state department.But Pompeo has failed to defend his own diplomats in the face of White House attacks on officials who testified to Congress as "radical unelected bureaucrats waging war on the constitution"."This has been a difficult time for our colleagues, because you've never had a situation where … members of our association, have been forced to choose between complying with legal subpoenas from Congress or compliance with a directive of the president of the United States," Eric Rubin, the president of the American Foreign Service Association, said. "That dilemma is unprecedented."A senior US diplomat said: "This a scary time for the foreign service, and for public servants in general."
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| Trump appointees discriminated against Iranian-American employee because of her heritage, watchdog finds Posted: 14 Nov 2019 01:52 PM PST  Donald Trump's appointees at the State Department discriminated against an Iranian-American employee because of her national heritage, the department's watchdog has concluded.As a result, the Inspector General (IG) report has recommended disciplinary action against Brian Hook, Mr Trump's top representative for Iran.
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| State Department probe faults Iran envoy on employee removal Posted: 14 Nov 2019 12:46 PM PST  The State Department on Thursday faulted the US pointman on Iran over the removal of an employee of Iranian origin, voicing alarm that Trump administration officials discussed her ancestry. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed to consider disciplinary action against the envoy, Brian Hook, although strong measures appeared unlikely as management also disputed the report's conclusions.
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| Trump Visit to Moscow for May 9 Would Be ‘Right Step’: Putin Posted: 14 Nov 2019 12:28 PM PST ![Trump Visit to Moscow for May 9 Would Be 'Right Step': Putin]( "Trump Visit to Moscow for May 9 Would Be 'Right Step': Putin") (Bloomberg) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said it would be a "right step" if U.S. counterpart Donald Trump accepts his invitation to attend the upcoming May 9 military parade in Red Square commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II."The presence of the leader of a country which made a major contribution to the fight against Nazism at a ceremony marking the end of World War II, even amid a pre-election campaign, would be a right step," Putin told reporters in Brasilia on Thursday on the sidelines of a summit of BRICS leaders from Russia, India, China, Brazil and South Africa.The Russian leader also warned that the overthrow of Bolivia's socialist president, Evo Morales, and the chaos that it has sparked reminded him of events in Libya following the ouster of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011."There's practically no functioning government, there's no direct foreign intervention, but the country is on the verge of chaos," he said, describing the events as "a worrying signal" for the wider Latin American region. Putin added, though, that he hopes that new authorities in Bolivia will maintain ties with Russia.Speaking about the conflict in Ukraine, Putin welcomed the recent pullback of some forces but called for withdrawing all opposing sides from the line of hostilities. He also stressed the need to extend a temporary law on local self-government in Ukraine's disputed Donbas region that expires at the end of the year.If this doesn't happen, a planned summit of leaders from France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine aimed at cementing efforts to resolve the five-year conflict between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian army won't make sense, he said.To contact the reporters on this story: Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net;Stepan Kravchenko in Brasilia at skravchenko@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Protesters in Iraq celebrate soccer win against Iran Posted: 14 Nov 2019 11:58 AM PST  Thousands of anti-government protesters in Iraq's capital city celebrated with fireworks a 2-1 win over Iran in a much-anticipated World Cup qualifying match, hoping it would return momentum to their movement that has been hit by a deadly security crackdown. Crowds watched the game Thursday on a large screen in Baghdad's main Tahrir Square, the epicenter of demonstrations that have called for the overturning of Iraq's sectarian system and Iranian political influence. Iraq had been due to play two home games in the southern city of Basra against Iran and Bahrain in November, but the oil-rich city has been caught up in the anti-government protests that have gripped Baghdad and the mainly Shiite southern provinces since Oct. 1.
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| Second man dies during week of violence in Hong Kong Posted: 14 Nov 2019 11:56 AM PST  A 70-year-old man became the second to die in a week of unrest in Hong Kong yesterday, after he was reportedly hit with a brick during a clash between pro-democracy protesters and government supporters. The unnamed man was using a lunch break from his cleaning job to clear bricks from the streets that had been thrown in protests when he was caught up in a fresh outbreak of violence. Protests in Hong Kong, now in their sixth month, have turned more violent turn this week after the death of a student who fell from a car park during a police operation last Friday. Students at a Hong Kong university last night sealed the exits to search for undercover police as they fortified barricades, setting the stage for another round of violent clashes. At the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, one of three barricaded by pro-democracy demonstrators, scores of students prepared for confrontation with riot police by stockpiling makeshift weapons including petrol bombs. Pictures of suspected undercover police were passed around by students and on-the-spot searches carried out amid heightened paranoia that authorities were planning to break the campus sieges that began earlier this week. The developments came as China's President Xi Jinping warned that protests threaten Hong Kong's "one country, two systems" principle governing the semi-autonomous city. In rare comments on the violence, Mr Xi said "stopping violence and controlling chaos while restoring order is currently Hong Kong's most urgent task," in comments reported across Chinese state media. Protesters make molotov cocktails while camped out at the city's Polytechnic University Credit: AFP Protesters calling for political reform and a change in leadership again paralysed Hong Kong on Thursday, forcing schools to suspend classes, public transport to halt, and some shops to close. Protesters at Poly University were last night bedding in as an increasingly tense atmosphere fell across the campus. In the kitchen of a canteen, young protesters cracked eggs to make omelettes as others organised the washing up. "The atmosphere in the kitchen is happier, but outside in the frontline it is different," said one of the protesters who identified himself as Mr Luk, 40. "In the kitchen, we put up a happy smile, because then the food tastes better." He added "These kids now, they are fighting for something that our generation used to have." "When we first got here, we didn't even know each other. Even now, we don't know each others names," a protester identified as "Queen" said. "But it's our sense of community and frustration at the government that brought us together. I guess we have to thank Carrie [Lam, the Hong Kong chief executive] for that." Protests kicked off in June against an extradition proposal that many worried would send suspects to face unfair trials in mainland China, where the ruling Communist Party controls the courts – 99.9 per cent of cases end in conviction. Demonstrations have since taken on an anti-China bent, with protesters targeting people and businesses perceived to be pro-Beijing and thus against the protest movement. They've also gone after police, whom protesters meet day and night on the frontlines, as city leaders tasked the force with handling the unrest, rather than make concessions to de-escalate tensions. On Thursday, an influential state-backed Chinese newspaper tweeted saying the Hong Kong government was expected to announce a weekend curfew, later deleting it after its editors said there was "not sufficient" information to back up the report. The Hong Kong government later also dismissed the rumours, calling them "totally unfounded" in a statement. Aside from setting fire to road barricades to disrupt traffic and deter police, protesters have started burning toll booths, buses, and even people. On Monday, a masked man in black poured gasoline and lit on fire a man who was arguing on a footbridge with protesters; he remains in hospital after suffering burns to 40 per cent of his body. On Thursday, China also issued new guidelines for "patriotic education," aimed specifically at young people to forge a stronger national identify, and love and loyalty for the motherland and the ruling Communist Party.
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| In swipe at US, BRICS hit out at protectionism Posted: 14 Nov 2019 11:46 AM PST  Brasília (AFP) - Five of the biggest emerging economies railed against protectionism on Thursday as they vowed to overcome "significant challenges" facing multilateralism, in a swipe at US tariffs and unilateral action. The joint declaration by BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- came on the second day of the annual gathering, which Brazilian host President Jair Bolsonaro used to boost ties with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. "Trade tensions and policy uncertainty have taken a toll on confidence, trade, investment and growth" in the global economy, said Bolsonaro, as he read out the declaration that also touched on global conflicts, including Syria, and the Paris climate pact.
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| Trump and the Military: A Dysfunctional Marriage, but They Stay Together Posted: 14 Nov 2019 11:40 AM PST  WASHINGTON -- Days after President Donald Trump's abrupt decision to withdraw 1,000 U.S. troops from Syria, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saw a way to turn it around.The businessman in Trump had focused on the Syrian oil fields that, if left unprotected, could fall into the hands of the Islamic State group -- or Russia or Iran. So Milley proposed to a receptive Trump that U.S. commandos, along with allied Syrian Kurdish fighters, guard the oil.Today, 800 U.S. troops remain in Syria."We're keeping the oil," Trump told reporters Wednesday before his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. "We left troops behind, only for the oil."That is a far cry from where Trump was last month, when he ordered the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from northern Syria. But now, for the second time in less than a year, the Pentagon has softened the president's initial decision."I credit Milley with convincing the president to modify his Syria decision," said Jack Keane, the former Army vice chief of staff, who spoke several times with Trump and Milley last month during the frenzied days of the president's zigzagging Syria policy.Nearly three years into the Trump presidency, the Pentagon is learning how to manage a capricious president whose orders can whipsaw by the hour. Top Defense Department officials have acquired their education the hard way, through Trump's Twitter bullying of Iran and North Korea, letdown of allies in Syria, harsh attacks on the Atlantic alliance and public support for commandos the military has charged with war crimes. Trump, top Pentagon officials say, is unpredictable, frustrating and overly focused on spectacles like military parades.But there is much these officials like about the president.They are happy with the annual budget boost he gave them -- to $716 billion this year from $585 billion in 2016 -- and are pleased he has done away with what they considered micromanaging by Obama White House officials. Trump has also given commanders in combat zones a far freer hand to conduct raids. And among a big portion of the rank and file, those service members who mirror Trump's conservative base, he remains very popular.In many ways, the U.S. military remains the part of the government most responsive to the president across a large and fractious administration, because civilian control of the armed forces is embedded in the Constitution and the psyche of every soldier. But for Trump, the other side of that coin is that the military respects the coequal branches of government, as Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman demonstrated in recent days when, against the wishes of the president, he testified in the House impeachment proceeding.New Freedom, and New FalloutOnce Trump took office, he gave the Pentagon and military commanders more running room. He allowed the Pentagon to speed up decision-making so the military could move faster on raids, airstrikes, bombing missions and arming allies in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. The Pentagon, after eight years of chafing at what many generals viewed as the slow decision-making and second-guessing by the Obama White House, at first embraced the new commander in chief.But with the new freedom came repercussions. Trump deflected blame onto the Pentagon if things went wrong. After a botched raid in Yemen in January 2017, which led to the death of Chief Petty Officer William Owens, a member of the Navy SEALs known as Ryan, Trump appeared to blame the military -- a stunning departure from previous presidents, who as commanders in chief have traditionally accepted responsibility for military operations that they ordered."They explained what they wanted to do, the generals, who are very respected," Trump told Fox News after the raid. "And they lost Ryan."On another issue important to the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and the Army secretary, Ryan McCarthy, have reached out quietly to Trump in recent days to ask that he not interfere in several war crimes cases. Defense Department officials are concerned that presidential pardons could undermine discipline across the ranks. The Army, for instance, is prosecuting a Green Beret, Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn, in the killing of a man linked to the Taliban in Afghanistan; Trump has indicated he may pardon him. "I do have full confidence in the military justice system," Esper told reporters.And in the case of Syria, the Pentagon gave Trump an unexpected gift in return: the U.S. commando raid that led to the death of the Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, which so elated the president that he tweeted the news as soon as U.S. troops were out of harm's way.The next day, Trump triumphantly mentioned Milley four times during his 48-minute news conference on the raid, calling him "incredible" for his work and thanking him by name before any other senior administration officials.Commanders have also learned to carefully parse their comments, wary of having their words construed as subtle criticism of the president.During a news conference, Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the head of the U.S. Central Command, declined to repeat Trump's assertion that the Islamic State leader was "whimpering" before he detonated his suicide vest after U.S. troops raided his compound.But McKenzie backed up Trump's characterization of al-Baghdadi as a coward. "He crawled into a hole with two small children, blew himself up," the general said. "So, you can deduce what kind of person it is based on that activity."Defense Department officials also make sure to speak more frequently about how important it is to get NATO allies in Europe to "pay their fair share," echoing Trump's more transactional view of how that alliance should proceed. By emphasizing payment, rather than simply saying that the Pentagon wants European governments to bolster their own internal military budgets -- a more accurate description of NATO policy -- U.S. officials couch something they wanted anyway in language that will appeal to the president.On the Korean Peninsula, the United States and South Korea have continued to conduct joint military exercises despite Trump's announcement that such "war games" be suspended pending nuclear negotiations with North Korea. Stopping the exercises completely, Defense Department officials say, would hurt military readiness in the event the United States does end up at war with the North. The military now conducts them at a smaller scale level and no longer makes them public.In Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, the commander of the war effort there, is preparing to shrink the U.S. presence. Trump has said he wants all the troops withdrawn, but has given no timetable. Miller now has plans that could reduce the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan to 8,600 troops, from roughly 12,000 to 13,000 -- a move, U.S. officials say, that will allow Trump to say in his 2020 reelection campaign that he is bringing the troops home. But it will leave what commanders consider an adequate number on the ground.Clashes Over SyriaThe relationship between Trump and the military has been the most fraught over Syria policy.The problems began last December, when Trump first tried to bring what were then 2,000 U.S. troops home from Syria and Jim Mattis, his first defense secretary, resigned in protest. In the storm that followed -- Republicans, Democrats and some of Trump's own advisers said he was pulling out of the fight before the Islamic State was defeated for good -- Trump backtracked and agreed to leave some 1,000 U.S. forces. But over the past year, Pentagon officials let them operate almost in secret to avoid calling attention to the fact that Defense Department officials had talked the president out of his initial order.In early October, after a phone call with Erdogan, Trump signaled he had had enough, and announced he was pulling out those remaining troops. Once again there was another outcry from Republicans, Democrats and Trump's own national security advisers, who said he was paving the way for a Turkish offensive against the United States' longtime allies, Kurdish fighters, who had carried the brunt of the fight against the Islamic State. In particular, the military did not want to abandon the Kurds."The idea of walking away from that sacrifice, that is something that really bothers," said Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee. "You want to salute and follow the orders of the duly elected political authorities, but you also don't want to betray the sacrifice of your comrades. That puts the military, at least their hearts, in a tough place.""The decision to betray the Kurds punches a huge hole in the current way we fight terrorists which is by, with and through allies," said Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., who is on the Armed Services Committee and a former senior Pentagon official.Milley, along with Esper, looked quickly at how to yet again make the case to Trump that U.S. forces still had work to do in Syria. The military's Central Command had drafted two alternate plans.One proposal would have kept a small force to help control a small swath of the border between Iraq and Syria, about 10% of the area. Another option would try to keep control of a larger part of the country -- more than half of the area the U.S. and Kurdish fighters currently controlled.But after Trump told Milley he wanted to keep the oil fields, the Pentagon quickly "operationalized" a new plan wrapped around using U.S. forces and their Kurdish allies to protect the oil and to keep it from falling into the hands of the Islamic State, officials said. From Brussels, where he was attending a NATO meeting, Esper was on the phone with Milley completing details of the new plan.Milley, for his part, has been advised by friends to maintain a low profile, and not to appear to be contradicting Trump's decisions or strategy. Known for long monologues, Milley has also learned to be concise with Trump, offering clear opinions but allowing the president to dominate the conversation.By the end of October, Trump was on board with the Pentagon plan. At Game 5 of the World Series, he was in one of the luxury boxes at Nationals Park surrounded by Republican members of Congress and top aides. The conversation turned to Syria.Trump talked about how he was revising his plans for Syria, repeatedly telling lawmakers that U.S. forces would remain there. Why? Because America was "keeping the oil."Senior military and Defense Department officials say that in some cases, it is simply a matter of talking in a way that will appeal to Trump, while prosecuting a similar national security policy as they did under President Barack Obama."The Pentagon has figured out that they can couch things to manage Trump's biases in some ways," said Derek Chollet, a former assistant secretary of defense in the Obama administration. "Don't make it about saving the Kurds, make it about saving the oil."At the moment, the Pentagon is left trying to continue the strategy in a patchwork fashion, with Milley's move to keep U.S. troops in Syria helping Kurdish fighters protect oil fields the latest piece.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Key UN committee condemns North Korean violations of rights Posted: 14 Nov 2019 11:22 AM PST ![Key UN committee condemns North Korean violations of rights]( "Key UN committee condemns North Korean violations of rights") The resolution, sponsored by the European Union and joined by the United States and others, was approved by consensus by the General Assembly's human rights committee, with a bang of the chairman's gavel. The resolution condemns North Korea's "ongoing systematic, widespread and gross violations of human rights," including those that a U.N. commission of inquiry says may amount to crimes against humanity.
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| Trump's impeachment isn't about Russia Posted: 14 Nov 2019 11:06 AM PST ![Trump's impeachment isn't about Russia]( "Trump's impeachment isn't about Russia") President Trump's alleged misconduct, the behavior that has occasioned the impeachment inquiry against him, is corruption. It is that he used the power of his office for personal benefit, manipulating the delivery of congressionally apportioned military aid to Ukraine in an ultimately failed effort to coerce Kyiv to do oppo research on a potential electoral opponent.Though foreign policy provides the setting for this charge, it is not its substance. The scandal here is not about Trump administration policy toward Russia and Ukraine -- not really. The president is not facing impeachment because he was too dovish toward Moscow.But at the first public impeachment hearing against Trump on Wednesday, testimony from House Democrats and multiple witnesses repeatedly suggested otherwise. Listen to these testimonies in a vacuum and you might be forgiven for coming away convinced the problem here is that Trump wants to let Russia march across Europe and straight on to Cleveland."In 2014, Russia invaded the United States ally, Ukraine, to reverse that nation's embrace of the West and to fulfill Vladimir Putin's desire to rebuild a Russian empire," House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in his opening statement, thus raising from the beginning the specter of Trump's suspiciously insufficient opposition to Putin.Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent was more explicit. "The United States has very clear national interests at stake in Ukraine," he announced, likening Ukrainians fighting Russian forces to American revolutionaries taking on the redcoats. Kent's introduction was far more policy statement than testimony about the actions of the president. He gave an extensive apologia for U.S. military aid to Ukraine "to fight Russian aggression in the defense, energy, cyber, and information spheres," concluding that we "cannot allow our resolve to waver, since too much is at stake."Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor spoke likewise. "Ukraine is a strategic partner of the United States ... on the frontline in the conflict with the newly aggressive Russia," he argued, insisting as a matter of principle that "we must support Ukraine in its fight against its bullying neighbor. Russian aggression cannot stand."Taylor described registering objections with various administration officials about how Russian imperialism would be emboldened if U.S. material support for Kyiv were to waver. "The message to the Ukrainians and the Russians we send with the decision on security assistance is key. With the hold, we have already shaken their faith in us," he said, adding, "I also said I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with the political campaign.""I also said." But whether Trump "with[e]ld security assistance for help with the political campaign" is the matter at hand. How the United States should react to Russian aggression is not the question.There would be no impeachment inquiry without the allegation of a campaign-related quid pro quo. The abuse of power is the whole thing. Though certainly very important in its own right, in the narrow purview of this investigation, the policy is irrelevant. If Trump did what he is accused of doing, it was corrupt (and, yes, impeachable) no matter one's opinion of the military aid. (Indeed, I oppose the aid allotment for reasons I'll discuss in a moment but nevertheless agree the president should be impeached if he delayed it for personal political advantage.)And there is no reason to believe Trump's apparent bribery attempt was shaped by a uniquely weak stance on Russian aggression. As Barbara Boland helpfully chronicles at The American Conservative, Trump has provided lethal aid to Ukraine that his predecessor steadily declined to offer. The Obama administration made a compelling case against "inject[ing] more weapons and engag[ing] in tit-for-tat," especially at risk of "get[ting] into a proxy war with Russia," administration officials explained at the time."The fact is that Ukraine, which is a non-NATO country, is going to be vulnerable to military domination by Russia no matter what we do," Obama himself argued in an Atlantic interview which summarized his position as: "Ukraine is a core Russian interest but not an American one, so Russia will always be able to maintain escalatory dominance there." Obama was correct. As we've seen over and over in the Middle East, dumping American guns into a conflict does not move it toward resolution. Obama made the right call here -- it is wildly reckless and counter to U.S. interests to escalate conflict with Russia over Ukraine. Arguably, it's not in global interests either, given that Washington and Moscow alike have nuclear arsenals capable of destroying the world.More to the immediate point, though, military aid to Ukraine is a Trump policy, and only a 1-year-old policy at that. The president didn't withhold these funds because he's soft on Russia, and this inquiry doesn't depend on that anyway. Impeachment hinges on whether Trump was corrupt, a question we can settle regardless of Russia policy.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.More stories from theweek.com The coming death of just about every rock legend The president has already confessed to his crimes Why are 2020 Democrats so weird?
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| State Department probe faults Iran envoy on employee removal Posted: 14 Nov 2019 10:47 AM PST A State Department investigation Thursday faulted the US pointman on Iran over the removal of an employee of Iranian origin, voicing alarm about discussion of her ancestry. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed to consider disciplinary action against the envoy, Brian Hook, although strong measures appeared unlikely as management also disputed the report's conclusions. Under pressure from lawmakers, the State Department's inspector general probed the early removal of Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, a career employee and US citizen, from the Office of Policy Planning, the internal think tank that sets priorities for US diplomacy.
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| EU launches legal case against Britain over commission post Posted: 14 Nov 2019 10:45 AM PST  The EU on Thursday launched a legal case against Britain for failing to nominate a commissioner, in the midst of a British election campaign already dominated by Brexit. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm "has today sent a letter of formal notice to the United Kingdom for breaching its EU treaty obligations by not suggesting a candidate for the post of EU Commissioner," a statement said. Britain's departure from the bloc has been postponed from October 31 until January 31, so under EU rules it is supposed to put forward a candidate for the new commission led by Ursula von der Leyen.
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| Report: Over 130 attacks on medical facilities in Yemen war Posted: 14 Nov 2019 10:20 AM PST  Over 130 attacks on medical facilities in Yemen's civil war could constitute war crimes by all parties to the conflict, a database project said on Thursday. The Yemen Archive said that the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-aligned rebels was allegedly responsible for 72 attacks, while the rebels, known as Houthis, were blamed for at least 52 attacks. Yemen's bloody war, which has been fought to a stalemate, has led to one of the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
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| Fed not focused on daily ups, downs of trade deal: Williams Posted: 14 Nov 2019 10:16 AM PST  The U.S. Federal Reserve will not make policy based on day to day developments in U.S.-China trade policy or on Britain's exit from the European Union, a U.S. central banker said on Thursday, in part because businesses do not make their decisions that way either. "For me, it's not about the ups and downs on a given day, or even within a given day, around negotiations whether on trade, or on Brexit or anything else, because those tend to move around quite a bit," New York Fed President John Williams said at a conference on monetary policy and global uncertainty at the San Francisco Fed. Monetary policy can take a year to work its way into the economy, he said, so the Fed has to take a longer view.
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| Fed not focused on daily ups, downs of trade deal -Williams Posted: 14 Nov 2019 09:40 AM PST ![Fed not focused on daily ups, downs of trade deal -Williams]( "Fed not focused on daily ups, downs of trade deal -Williams") The U.S. Federal Reserve will not make policy based on day to day developments in U.S.-China trade policy or on Britain's exit from the European Union, a U.S. central banker said on Thursday, in part because businesses do not make their decisions that way either. "For me, it's not about the ups and downs on a given day, or even within a given day, around negotiations whether on trade, or on Brexit or anything else, because those tend to move around quite a bit," New York Fed President John Williams said at a conference on monetary policy and global uncertainty at the San Francisco Fed. Monetary policy can take a year to work its way into the economy, he said, so the Fed has to take a longer view.
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| The Latest: UN sends envoy to help with Bolivia crisis Posted: 14 Nov 2019 09:37 AM PST  U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is sending a personal envoy to Bolivia to support efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Andean nation's political crisis. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric says new envoy Jean Arnault is traveling to Bolivia on Thursday.
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| Farage Rejects Tory Calls to Clear Path for Johnson: U.K. Votes Posted: 14 Nov 2019 09:30 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Nigel Farage said he will fight all Labour-held seats, despite calls to stand his Brexit Party candidates down and clear the path for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to win a majority and deliver Brexit.The pound earlier gained on speculation Farage could pull out of more seats -- but fell after he confirmed he would not. His decision makes it more difficult for Johnson to win the seats he needs to take from Labour if he is to secure a majority in Parliament for the Conservatives.On Monday, Farage announced he would not contest seats that the Tories won at the last election in 2017. But Conservatives and pro-Brexit campaigners said this did not go far enough and urged him to stand aside in the seats the Tories are targeting.Johnson is trying to win a clutch of key districts that Labour currently holds but which also voted for Brexit in the referendum in 2016. Johnson now faces competition from Farage's team for the support of these crucial pro-Brexit voters.Key Developments:Farage says he won't give Johnson any more help and will compete with Tories to win Labour-held seatsSecurity minister Brandon Lewis pledges to publish report on Russia meddling after electionPolling expert John Curtice says Tories might need a bigger lead to get a majority, while Labour almost certainly won't get a majorityNominations for candidates closed at 4 p.m.Must read: Black Ice and Blue Lips: U.K. Braces for Rare Winter ElectionCorbyn Won't Set 'Arbitrary' Immigration Target (5:15 p.m.)Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn said he wouldn't set 'arbitrary' targets on immigration and he wants a "fair system" that doesn't keep families apart and allows people with needed skills into the U.K.."Putting arbitrary figures on it as successive governments have done doesn't work," he said in a BBC TV interview. "We have to be realistic that in this country we have 40,000 nurse vacancies, we have a great shortage of doctors, we have shortages of many skills and they cannot be met very quickly because we're not training enough people, so there's going to be immigration in the future."Corbyn also said "as a point of principle, I want people to be able to be reunited with their families and I want British people to be able to work across Europe as they are at the present time."EU Takes Action Over U.K. Commissioner (5:10 p.m.)The European Commission threatened a lawsuit against the U.K. for its failure to send Brussels a candidate to be its next commissioner. Britain said on Wednesday that it couldn't make a nomination during an election campaign.The commission, the EU's executive arm, has given the U.K. until Nov. 22 to respond. In theory, the U.K. could be fined for breaching the EU treaties but that's a long process that would go beyond the country's currently scheduled Jan. 31 departure date.A new commission, which is meant to comprise an official from each of the 28 EU countries, is slated to start work on Dec. 1 for a five-year term.Nominations Close With A Brexit Withdrawal (4 p.m.)Nominations closed for candidates to stand in the Dec. 12 election, one minute after the Brexit Party candidate in ultra-marginal Dudley North announced he would not be standing.Rupert Lowe, who was due to contest the seat, which Labour won by just 22 votes in 2017, said he feared he would split the vote and help Jeremy Corbyn to win power.The Green Party, which reached a deal with the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru not hinder each other's chances in 60 seats, said it will be fielding 500 candidates in the election.Labour Slams Record Hospital Waiting Times (12.45 p.m.)The main opposition Labour Party attacked Boris Johnson's Conservatives over the latest National Health Service data, which shows record waiting times for accident and emergency patients and missed cancer treatment targets."Any decent health secretary worth their salt would today apologize to patients for the worst A and E waits on record," Labour's health spokesman, Jon Ashworth, said on Twitter. "Today proves we need the 40 billion pound cash rescue plan Labour has for the NHS."Ashworth's comments come after Health Secretary Matt Hancock tried to argue the poor figures illustrate the dangers of handing responsibility for the state-run health service to a Labour government. "The last thing our NHS can afford is Labour's plans for a four-day week and uncontrolled and unlimited immigration," he said.Proper funding and protection of the U.K.'s National Health Service is always a key battleground in British politics, and is expected to be especially important in the run up to the Dec. 12 election. Chris Hopson, CEO of NHS Providers, said he was "worried that the NHS is under this degree of pressure at this point, well before the full onset of winter."Polls Suggest Tories Should Win, Curtice Says (12:10 p.m.)"With a ten-point lead the Tories ought to win an overall majority -- but that's not a prediction," John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, told reporters in London.Curtice is one of the most respected election experts in the country and masterminded the official exit polls, which accurately predicted the last two surprise results on election night."But because the Brexit Party are standing down in Conservative-held seats it could simply be a case of the Tories piling up more votes in the seats they are going to win anyway and therefore the lead the Tories may need in the polls in order to get an overall majority could be greater than the six or seven points that we currently anticipate."The Tories have been hovering around 39% in the polls to Labour's 29% in the first fortnight of campaigning.Curtice told another event in London that Corbyn would almost certainly not win a majority. "The chances of Labour winning a majority are as close to zero as it is possible to be," he said.Farage Won't Stand Down in Labour Seats (11:43 a.m.)Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage indicated he won't stand down his candidates in key Labour-held seats the Conservatives are targeting. "We're going to stand up and fight Labour in every seat in this country, be in no doubt" he said at a campaign event in Hull.He attacked Corbyn's Labour for being out of touch with its traditional Labour heartlands in the north of England. "The Labour party is more about Hoxton" in a fashionable district of London, than it is Hull, he said. "They have been taking over by the north London intellectuals."Farage said his candidates "are now coming under relentless phone calls, emails and abuse and being told they should stand down." He added: "That's a complete and utter disgrace."Brexit Party Candidates Say They Won't Quit (11:20 a.m.)The highly anticipated Brexit Party event in Hull today has so far proved relatively uneventful. They've announced Michelle Dewberry, a previous winner of the U.K. version of TV show "The Apprentice,", as their candidate for Kingston Upon Hull West."Standing in this election was a tough choice for me to make," she said. "But ultimately, I believe passionately that there are many people in Hull West and Hessle who have been let down by Labour. As for the Tories, they have shown, year after year, that they do not care about the north."Despite speculation, there has been no sign that Farage will stand down candidates in key Conservative target seats, with Dewberry urging the crowd to "not fall for all this nonsense about tactical voting." Farage and party chairman Richard Tice are due to speak soon.EU Mulls Reaction to U.K. Commissioner Snub (10:45 a.m.)The legal services of EU institutions are assessing the implications of the U.K's refusal (see earlier) to nominate a candidate for the bloc's executive arm, three diplomats said in Brussels. While European law dictates that the new EU Commission can't be confirmed and sworn in until it has 28 members, European Parliament lawyers are of the opinion that a single member state can't bloc the functioning of institutions, one of the officials said.The second official said that at this stage, there are no concerns about complications in the functioning of the Commission, adding that the U.K. letter was expected. "The Council now has to reflect on this," the third official said, after reminding that the U.K. is in breach of its commitment -- under the Brexit extension deal -- to nominate a commissioner.A spokesman for the bloc's executive arm declined to comment further than reiterating that the U.K. had committed to both nominating a commissioner and to not disrupting the functioning of EU institutions.Hogan: Standards Key to EU-U.K. Trade Deal (10 a.m.)Incoming European Union trade commissioner Phil Hogan said an agreement on regulations and standards will be central to EU-U.K. talks on a free trade deal, and that the bloc is "ready to go" on negotiations once the withdrawal agreement is ratified."I think the British public will demand and expect that their govt will sign on to EU standards, because we have the highest standards in the world," Hogan said in an RTE radio interview.Lewis: Tories Committed to Cutting Migration (8:30 a.m.)Home Office minister Brandon Lewis said a Conservative government would be committed to reducing net migration using a points-based visa system -- though he declined to say by how much -- and said his party's estimate that Labour's policy would allow more than 800,000 migrants every year is an underestimate."We want to target net migration so that people can see that we've got control," Lewis told BBC Radio 4. He also tried to shift the blame to the Liberal Democrats -- the Conservative Party's coalition partners from 2010 to 2015 -- for the government's failure to control immigration in those years.Lewis also said the government will publish Parliament's long-awaited report into Russian influence on U.K. democracy after the election. He was answering a question on Russian links to the Conservative Party; former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said this week she was "dumbfounded" the government would wait until after voters have already cast their ballots before releasing the report.Labour Not Split on Immigration: Pidcock (7:30 a.m.)It's a "false flag" to say Labour is split over its immigration policy, the party's employment spokeswoman Laura Pidcock said, emphasizing that stricter regulations would answer the concerns of workers that their pay and conditions are being undercut by immigrants.Len McCluskey, leader of Unite, Labour's biggest labor union backer, said on Wednesday that the Labour conference vote to retain free movement of people in the EU was not "a sensible approach" and that he would argue against it appearing in the party's manifesto.McCluskey "is the leader of the trade union that I am a member of, he talked very clearly about there not being an environment where national terms and conditions can be undermined by exploitative bosses," Pidcock said. "The issue is not about migrant labor, the issue is about what kind of legislative environment we have for workers, and we will create one where all workers are protected."Brexit Party Will Help Tories: Farage (Earlier)Nigel Farage said his Brexit Party's role is to hold Boris Johnson to his promises and not soften his line on leaving the EU.Johnson "has made a promise, the job of the Brexit Party is to hold him to account," Farage said in an interview with the BBC. "If we trusted the Conservative Party we'd never have had a referendum," he said. "All the change that's happened in the Conservative Party" has been down to the Brexit Party and its predecessors, he said.Farage said his party will continue to aggressively target Labour seats and he will be campaigning in the West Midlands and north of England in the coming days."This election will be decided by tactical voting decisions across the country," Farage said. "In 2015 the effect of the UKIP vote helped the Conservatives," he added. "We took more Conservative votes in the south and south east and more Labour votes in the north."Liberal Democrats Won't Help Gauke (Earlier)The Liberal Democrats won't stand aside for former Conservative Cabinet minister David Gauke, who is standing as an independent, because he wants a "soft Brexit," Luciana Berger told BBC radio.Berger appeared not to be aware that Gauke, who asked on Wednesday for the Liberal Democrat candidate to stand down in his district, has shifted his position to favoring a second referendum and pledged to campaign for Remain.Gauke repeated his pledge after Berger spoke: "Let me reiterate what I said yesterday about Brexit. My preference was for the country to come together behind a soft Brexit. But that's not going to happen -- it's no longer an option," Gauke wrote on Twitter. "The best option now is a confirmatory referendum on the PM's deal. I would campaign to remain."The Liberal Democrats also won't step down to help any candidates who "want to get Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street," said Berger, who quit the Labour Party over Corbyn's leadership. The deadline for nominations is 4 p.m. on Thursday.U.K. Refuses to Nominate EU Commissioner (Earlier)The U.K. formally told the European Union it won't nominate anyone for the bloc's executive arm, in what Brussels may see as a clear breach of the terms under which the Brexit extension was granted. Adding insult to injury, the U.K. only responded after EU Commission president-elect sent two letters to Boris Johnson, reminding him of the U.K's legal obligations as a member state.The development puts the EU in an awkward legal situation. The new EU Commission can't be confirmed and sworn in unless it has 28 members, one from each state. Under the bloc's treaty, a unanimous decision by member states is required to alter this clause, and the U.K signaled it won't object.Altering the composition of the Commission could land the EU in a difficult legal situation if the Tories don't win the election, and the U.K doesn't leave the EU at the end of January after it has been stripped of its commissioner. "It's uncharted waters," a senior official in Brussels said.Earlier:Voting in the Dark: U.K. Politicians Fight Rare Winter ElectionElection Adds to Woes for Sluggish U.K. Property MarketImmigration Row Reopens Old Brexit Scars: U.K. Campaign Trail\--With assistance from Stuart Biggs, Nikos Chrysoloras, Peter Flanagan, Thomas Penny and Alex Morales.To contact the reporters on this story: Greg Ritchie in London at gritchie10@bloomberg.net;Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net;Ian Wishart in Brussels at iwishart@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| GOP senators confronted Erdogan over video, participants say Posted: 14 Nov 2019 09:14 AM PST  In a contentious Oval Office meeting, a band of GOP senators rebuffed the effort by Turkey's president to depict anti-Islamic State Kurd forces as terrorists, with White House allies taking a harder line against Recep Tayyip Erdogan than did President Donald Trump. Participants said Erdogan played a propaganda video for Republican senators attending Wednesday's meeting, drawing a rebuke from Sen. Lindsey Graham and others, as first reported by Axios.
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| U.S. Senate Readies Quick Vote on Trade Status: Hong Kong Update Posted: 14 Nov 2019 08:46 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- China's President Xi Jinping said "continuing radical violent crimes" in Hong Kong have "seriously trampled on the rule of law" and that "stopping the violence and restoring order" is the city's "most urgent task" at present.Separately, the U.S. Senate moved to expedite passage of legislation that would support pro-Democracy protestors in Hong Kong by putting the city's special trading status under U.S. law under annual review.Earlier, a 70-year-old man who suffered a head injury in scuffles was reported to have died, according to Ming Pao.Xi's latest comments came after Hong Kong's government dismissed speculation it would impose a weekend curfew. China's state-owned Global Times newspaper had deleted a tweet that reported the city's authorities were gearing up to announce widespread restrictions.The initial tweet and ensuing deletion came after the government said all schools would be suspended through Sunday amid a fourth straight day of chaos. The city's subway operator has partially suspended service and protesters continue to block roads, as residents wonder what could come next.The financial hub has been paralyzed since Monday morning, when a demonstrator was shot during protests, igniting city-wide rallies and violent clashes. The situation has worsened in the days since, with most major universities canceling classes and companies telling employees to work from home.The protests, which have been raging for five months in pursuit of greater democracy in the former British colony, first intensified Friday after a student died of injuries sustained near a protest. Chief Executive Carrie Lam held a late-night session with her advisers and government ministers last night, according to reports, and may be considering further measures. She has previously vowed not to give in to violent demonstrations.Key developments:U.S. Senate vows quick vote on Hong Kong legislationXi says "crimes" have "trampled" on rule of lawHong Kong's government dismisses curfew speculationMTR Corp. announced some rail line closures on Thursday morningLam reportedly met with senior officials Wednesday nightSome roads remain blocked by protesters70-year-old man dies after scuffles; 15-year-old in critical conditionLocal stocks fell, with the benchmark Hang Seng index closing down 0.9%Here's the latest (all times local):U.S. Senate Prepares to Vote on Trade Status Bill (12:41 a.m.)The Senate is preparing for quick passage of legislation that would support pro-democracy protesters by placing Hong Kong's special trading status with the U.S. under annual review.The Senate will run the "hotline" on the bill, which is an expedited process to check for last-minute opposition to bringing legislation immediately to the floor for a vote, according to a statement Thursday from Republican Senator Marco Rubio.The current Senate legislation is different than a version passed earlier by the House of Representatives. That means the two bills would have to be reconciled and passed by both chambers before going to President Donald Trump to be signed into law.Man dies after suffering head injury (11:45 p.m.)A 70-year-old man who suffered a head injury Wednesday has died, Ming Pao reported, citing the hospital. The case will be investigated by the coroner. He was hit by what appeared to be a brick thrown by protesters, according to the government and police.Separately, a 15-year-old boy underwent brain surgery after sustaining a head injury from what may have been a tear gas canister, local news organization RTHK reported.Xi says 'crimes' have 'trampled' on rule of law (10:25 p.m.)China's President Xi, currently on a visit to Brazil, said "continuing radical violent crimes in Hong Kong have seriously trampled on the rule of law and social order, seriously undermined Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, and seriously challenged the bottom line of the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle," state-run broadcaster CCTV reported in a Weibo post. "Stopping the violence and restoring order is Hong Kong's most urgent task at present."Xi reiterated China's support for Hong Kong's Chief Executive Lam. "We will continue to firmly support the Chief Executive to lead the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in accordance with the law, firmly support the Hong Kong Police in law enforcement, and firmly support the Hong Kong Judiciary in punishing violent criminals."Government dismisses curfew rumors (7:55 p.m.)"Rumors" that authorities were planning to implement a curfew over the weekend are "totally unfounded," Hong Kong's government said in a statement, following rising speculation after Lam's late-night meeting with top officials on Wednesday.No curfews at current stage, HK01 says (6:16 p.m.)Hong Kong won't impose curfews at the current stage or cancel District Council elections scheduled for Nov. 24, local news site HK01 reported, citing an unidentified person close to the government."No one can guarantee what will happen in the long run. If Hong Kong's situation worsens to a civil war, then anything can happen. But at this moment, the government has no plans to impose curfews or cancel the District Council elections," the report quoted the person as saying.Global Times editor explains deletion (5 p.m.)The editor-in-chief of the Global Times, Hu Xijin, said on Twitter that he checked how one of his reporters obtained information about the impending curfew, and decided to delete the tweet. "My conclusion is that the information is not sufficient to support this exclusive news," said Hu, who is closely followed on Twitter for pronouncements that have accurately predicted Chinese government policies and sometimes move markets.Global Times deletes curfew tweet (4:03 p.m.)China's state-owned Global Times newspaper deleted a tweet in which it had said Hong Kong's government was expected to announce a curfew this weekend.Global Times warns of curfew (3:30 p.m.)The Global Times tweeted that Hong Kong's government was expected to announce a curfew this weekend, citing unnamed sources.Protesters gather in Central (1:45 p.m.)A large group of demonstrators gathered in the Central financial district for the fourth-straight day, while other protesters amassed at a rally in Tai Koo, on the eastern side of Hong Kong Island.Many people in Central were holding up their hands with five fingers outstretched, a way to signify support for the protesters' five demands that include an independent inquiry and universal suffrage. They also blocked some traffic in the area.Schools suspended again (11:50 a.m.)Hong Kong's Education Bureau said the suspension of all schools would continue Friday to Sunday, citing safety reasons. Schools were also suspended Thursday.Cheung says meeting had no specific purpose (11:13 a.m.)A gathering held by Lam late Wednesday with senior officials was a regular meeting and didn't have a specific purpose, Radio Television Hong Kong reported, citing the city's No. 2 official, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, as saying in response to a question from a lawmaker at the city's legislature.Local media has speculated that the government discussed new contingency measures during the meeting, amid the escalating violence.Hong Kong boosts police force (10:45 a.m.)Cheung said it has supplemented its police force with about 100 officers from the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department to serve as "special police" on a voluntary basis. The move will help relieve the burden on Hong Kong's regular force, which has been dealing with mass protests and intense clashes with protesters for more than five months, Cheung said in a Legislative Council meeting.U.S. agency slams Hong Kong authorities (10:30 a.m.)The U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which reports to both Congress and the president on Chinese human rights issues, said it condemns the Hong Kong authorities for "excessive force" and that threats to delay upcoming local elections "will only enhance grievances."In a series of Twitter posts, the body said it's also concerned about Beijing's plan to exert more control over Hong Kong and suggested China may be allowing the growing turmoil in the city as part of a broader strategy."The escalating violence in HongKong is extremely concerning and the premeditated attack on university campuses, where over 1k rounds of teargas were used, raises disturbing questions as to whether the Chinese govt's strategy is to create more chaos & new protests," it said.Protesters use bows and arrows (10 a.m.)Protesters used bows to fire arrows at police officers early Thursday, prompting a volley of tear gas in reply, according to a police statement. Demonstrators fired arrows starting around 6:40 a.m. and also threw flower pots, the police said, adding that no officers were injured.Dozens injured in clashes (9 a.m.)Nineteen people were admitted to the hospital with injuries overnight and this morning as of 7:30 a.m., a Hospital Authority spokesman said. On Wednesday, the spokesman added, 67 people were admitted to the hospital as a result of clashes, with the youngest being a 10-month-old baby and the oldest aged 81. The Hospital Authority confirmed earlier reports that a 15-year-old and a 70-year-old remained in critical condition.Tear gas fired (8:45 a.m.)Police fired tear gas during the morning commute on Thursday at demonstrators gathered on the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus in Kowloon, not far from the entrance to the cross-harbor tunnel that connects the peninsula to Hong Kong Island.MTR suspends some service (8 a.m.)The city's subway operator MTR Corp. has suspended parts of some lines, including the East Rail Line, West Rail Line and the Tung Chung Line. It has also closed the Mong Kok, Sai Wan Ho and Tseung Kwan O stations, according to the company. The Airport Authority Hong Kong is also aware of attempts to disrupt the Airport Express on Nov. 14, and urged passengers to pay attention to traffic updates and check with their airlines.Man seriously injured (2 a.m.)An elderly man remained in critical condition after sustaining serious injuries when he was hit in the head by a hard object thrown by "masked riotors," the local government said in a statement last night. Police received information around noon Wednesday that the 70-year-old man was allegedly hit by a brick in Sheung Shui, in Hong Kong's New Territories, according to a police statement. No one has been arrested and police are seeking information from witnesses.\--With assistance from Erin Roman.To contact the reporters on this story: Iain Marlow in Hong Kong at imarlow1@bloomberg.net;Dominic Lau in Hong Kong at dlau92@bloomberg.net;Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.net;Daniel Flatley in Washington at dflatley1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Ten Kate at dtenkate@bloomberg.net, Chris Kay, Colin KeatingeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Report: State Department employee wrongly removed from job Posted: 14 Nov 2019 08:09 AM PST ![Report: State Department employee wrongly removed from job]( "Report: State Department employee wrongly removed from job") A State Department employee working on Iranian policy was improperly removed from her post by officials who took into account her ethnic background, perceived political views and prior role in the Obama administration, according to a report Thursday from the agency's inspector general. The internal watchdog's report recommends internal discipline for officials involved in removing the employee in the early days of the Trump administration. The State Department says it disagrees with the inspector general's conclusions, but has made changes, including developing a training course on professionalism.
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| UPDATE 2-Sterling hits six-month high against the euro in late rally Posted: 14 Nov 2019 08:08 AM PST ![UPDATE 2-Sterling hits six-month high against the euro in late rally]( "UPDATE 2-Sterling hits six-month high against the euro in late rally") "I can see it's moving up but we're not sure why," said Morten Lund, senior currency strategist at Nordea. Expectations that Britain's ruling Conservative Party might win a majority in a Dec. 12 election has fuelled investors' optimism that the Brexit impasse will finally end. "If you look at the polls and everything, it seems to me that it's more likely than not that the election will result in a Conservative majority and if that's the case, I suspect that Brexit will completely come off the headlines," said Luca Paolini, Pictet Asset Management's Chief Strategist.
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| Commentary: Fighting Food Waste By Mapping Food Supply Chains Posted: 14 Nov 2019 07:56 AM PST ![Commentary: Fighting Food Waste By Mapping Food Supply Chains]( "Commentary: Fighting Food Waste By Mapping Food Supply Chains") This year, World Food Day fell on October 16. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released a new report about world hunger, based on data from 2016. In that report, the FAO says it is replacing its previous measures of food waste and food loss with two new indicators, the Food Loss Index, and the Food Waste Index.
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| Syrian troops begin deploying along border with Turkey Posted: 14 Nov 2019 07:18 AM PST  Syrian government forces started deploying Thursday in areas close to the Turkish border in the country's northeast as part of an agreement reached between Russia and Turkey, state media reported. News agency SANA said troops were deploying between the towns of Jawadiyeh and Malkiyeh, also known as Derik, while state-run TV said Syrian border guards will be positioned at six points near to the frontier. Since the agreement was reached, Russia and Turkey began joint patrols along a narrower strip directly on the Turkish-Syrian border.
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| Asylum-seekers storm UN refugee office in S.Africa Posted: 14 Nov 2019 06:53 AM PST  Hundreds of asylum-seekers who have staged a sit-in protest outside the UN refugee agency in Pretoria for five weeks on Thursday barged into the premises, the agency said. Several hundreds scaled the perimeter wall of the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in an upmarket suburb of the capital, an AFP photographer said. The UNHCR said around 150 foreign nationals "have forced their way into the compound this morning" and that its staff were "safely evacuated out of the building".
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| Germany’s Scholz Rejects Calls to Boost EU’s Post-Brexit Budget Posted: 14 Nov 2019 06:44 AM PST ![Germany's Scholz Rejects Calls to Boost EU's Post-Brexit Budget]( "Germany's Scholz Rejects Calls to Boost EU's Post-Brexit Budget") (Bloomberg) -- Explore what's moving the global economy in the new season of the Stephanomics podcast. Subscribe via Apple Podcast, Spotify or Pocket Cast.German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz pushed back against calls from some member states to increase the European Union's post-Brexit budget, saying spending should be capped at the current level.Scholz told Bloomberg's "Future of German Growth" event in Berlin that he wants the trillion-euro ($1.1 trillion), seven-year budget to remain at 1% of the bloc's gross domestic product. He urged EU nations to agree a deal well before Germany takes over the bloc's presidency in the second half of next year, saying that otherwise some spending programs could be affected.The current proposal is "not a very reform budget," Scholz said in an on-stage interview with Bloomberg Senior Executive Editor for Economics Stephanie Flanders. It's unusual when "you do not dispute the things you did in the past, you just discuss what you want to have extra," he said.Britain is a net contributor to the EU and some richer members are calling for the hole it will leave in the bloc's finances to be covered by cuts for the 2021-2027 period. Poorer ones want everyone else to pay more."If we just stick to what we have, 1% of GDP, it is an increase and a big increase which will also mean billions of extra money each year to be financed by many countries and also by Germany," Scholz said.The EU's outgoing budget commissioner, Guenther Oettinger, said Thursday he sees Germany's proposal for 1% of GDP as a "starting point and not as the end point of the discussion.""Nobody from Germany has told me yet where I should make cuts in the budget," he told reporters, adding that the "chances are good" for an agreement in the spring.Scholz said the EU should move "away from unanimous votes" in some areas of policy making: "For example in foreign policy there must be the ability to have majority votes for a decision," the German finance minister said.\--With assistance from Arne Delfs.To contact the reporters on this story: Birgit Jennen in Berlin at bjennen1@bloomberg.net;Stephanie Flanders in London at flanders@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Iain Rogers, Chris ReiterFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran's top leader grants mass jail pardon on Islamic holiday Posted: 14 Nov 2019 06:26 AM PST ![Iran's top leader grants mass jail pardon on Islamic holiday]( "Iran's top leader grants mass jail pardon on Islamic holiday") Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has pardoned thousands of prisoners including 32 activists and others being held on "security" charges. Thursday's report by judiciary website Mizanonline.com said the 32 prisoners are mainly journalists and university students, without providing further details. The pardon of more than 35,00 prisoners followed the Islamic holiday marking the Prophet Muhammad's birthday.
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| UN envoy: As Venezuela exodus drags on many won’t go back Posted: 14 Nov 2019 06:09 AM PST  The Venezuela migration crisis has now entered a new stage in which many of those fleeing their country's devastating economic downturn and political turmoil are increasingly unlikely to return, a United Nations special envoy said. Eduardo Stein told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the exodus of over 4.6 million Venezuelans has now permanently changed Latin America – and that even if there were an immediate resolution, many Venezuelan would likely stay abroad. The U.N. refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration made an appeal to the international community this week urging foreign nations and institutions to donate $1.35 billion to help 317 humanitarian and development organizations respond to the crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2020.
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| Unearthed Audio Ties Suspects in MH17 Shootdown Over Ukraine to Russian Officials: Investigators Posted: 14 Nov 2019 05:57 AM PST  Maxim Zmeyev/ReutersA Dutch-led team of independent prosecutors has released a damning new set of audio recordings that it says captures conversations between separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine and top Russian officials that took place just days before Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down in July 2014.The recordings appear to prove that the separatist units accused of shooting down the plane were in almost daily contact with senior Kremlin and Russian military officials at the time.Russia has denied any involvement in the fatal disaster, which took place over a Russian-held region of eastern Ukraine in July 2014.Investigators say the jet, which was carrying 298 people, was brought down by a Russian BUK missile system deployed by the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade, which was based in the western Russian city of Kursk. The calls, which were caught on tape, allegedly capture talks between Alexander Borodai, the self-proclaimed prime minister of the Russian-backed separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Igor Girkin, the group's defense minister, and Russian officials Sergei Aksyonov and Vladislav Surkov. Aksyonov was appointed by Russia as the leader of Crimea after Russia annexed the peninsula in March 2014. Surkov is Putin's aide in the Presidential Executive Office and a chief adviser.The Moscow Times English-language Russian news outlet and AFP report that in three of the calls, the Donetsk separatists are overheard admitting they are protecting Russian interests. They also say they are acting on orders of Russia's intelligence agencies. "I'm carrying out orders and protecting the interests of one and only state, the Russian Federation," Borodai is heard saying. "That's the bottom line."In a different call just days before MH17 went down, a DPR commander is heard saying that the "men are coming with a mandate from Shoigu," referring to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. "We have called your one three times. In short, he has already given an order to whatshisname... They agreed on providing us [...] after receiving an order from the person beginning with "Sh"... Do you know him?" a commander is heard saying. Borodai responds, "No, I do not. Who is this?"The commander responds, "Shoigu, Shoigu."The rebel commander is then is heard saying the men will "kick the local warlords out of the units," and "people from Moscow" will take over the command. After the plane went down, Surkov is heard promising Borodai that Russian reinforcements will arrive soon. The Dutch-led international team of investigators, which goes by the acronym JIT, says the tapes show Russian influence over the Donetsk leaders. "Mutual contacts intensified in the first half of July 2014," JIT wrote in a statement. "There was almost daily telephone contact between the leadership of the DPR and their contacts in the Russian Federation."The investigators go on to say that the phone calls are alarming. "The indications for close ties between leaders of the DPR and Russian government officials raise questions about their possible involvement in the deployment of the BUK," JIT said. Murder charges in the MH17 investigation were brought by the JIT over the summer against Russian nationals Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky, and Oleg Pulatov, as well as Ukrainian citizen Leonid Kharchenko. The trial is scheduled to begin in March 2020. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Scholz Says No Need for German Stimulus After Dodging Recession Posted: 14 Nov 2019 05:41 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Explore what's moving the global economy in the new season of the Stephanomics podcast. Subscribe via Apple Podcast, Spotify or Pocket Cast.Germany's economy is growing slowly, but isn't in a crisis and doesn't need a boost from additional spending, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said after the country averted a technical recession in the third quarter."It is good to know that we have the strength to do something if it's necessary. But it's also good to know that we don't have a crisis," Scholz said at a Bloomberg News event in Berlin, adding the Europe's largest economy showed resilience amid global trade tensions.Germany narrowly dodged its first recession in almost seven years with a surprise expansion of 0.1% in gross domestic product in the third quarter, data showed earlier Thursday. Still, annual expansion has slowed from 2.5% two years ago to only around 0.5% this year, as trade woes, weaker global growth and turmoil in the automobile industry weighed on the export-dependent manufacturing sector.Waning global expansion was also evident elsewhere on Thursday. Japanese growth cooled sharply in the third quarter, and China reported falling exports, slower expansion in factory output and consumption coming off the boil.Germany's economic slowdown had prompted increasing calls, including from the U.S. administration and the International Monetary Fund, for Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to loosen its pursue strings, especially with negative interest rates creating an incentive to borrow.If a crisis hits, Scholz said that Germany would be prepared to carry out "timely and targeted" measures, such as expanding support for unemployed people. But there "never was a special reason" for a discussion on fiscal stimulus in Germany.Scholz and the government's chief economic advisers have argued that additional stimulus at a time of already expansionary fiscal and monetary policy would be counterproductive because the slowdown is mostly due to external factors, such as trade disputes."Looking at the German economy, which is really resilient and globally active, you have to understand there's slower growth in the world," said Scholz. "This has an impact on the economy in Germany. That's obvious."There have been some signs recently that the economy may be through the worst of its downturn. Business sentiment appears to have stabilized, and investor confidence about the outlook is improving."We still have very high employment," Scholz said. "It's slower growth but it's not a crisis."Averting a recession could boost Scholz's bid to head his Social Democratic party in a leadership election this month and weaken the argument of his detractors that the SPD, the junior partner in Merkel's government, should quit the coalition.The administration has been plagued by infighting and leadership struggles ever since Merkel stepped down as party leader late last year. She said she wouldn't run again after her fourth term ends in 2021 at the latest.Her successor to lead the Christian Democrats, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, has stumbled in her attempts to make a name for herself and failed to boost the party's support in opinion polls. Last month she faced an outright rebellion by party members wanting her to step aside in the race to succeed Merkel.Scholz, a 61-year-old labor lawyer who was also mayor of Hamburg, is experienced and savvy but also seen as rather stiff and old school, particularly among younger Social Democrats.(Adds additional comments from Scholz in sixth paragraph)\--With assistance from Iain Rogers.To contact the reporters on this story: Birgit Jennen in Berlin at bjennen1@bloomberg.net;Stephanie Flanders in Berlin at flanders@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Raymond Colitt, Chris ReiterFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Erdogan says Turkey won’t dispose of Russian S-400s Posted: 14 Nov 2019 05:36 AM PST  Turkey is willing to purchase U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems but will not agree to disposing of the Russian S-400 system it has already bought, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday. Speaking to reporters on board his plane on his way back from a meeting with Donald Trump in Washington, Erdogan said the U.S. president was engaged in "sincere efforts" to resolve disputes between the NATO allies. Turkey took delivery of the Russian S-400 system this year, dismissing warnings from the United States that it poses a threat to NATO security.
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| As Talks With Putin Loom, Ukraine Looks in Vain for U.S. Help Posted: 14 Nov 2019 05:23 AM PST  KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainians are used to hearing the West call for stability in their country. This fall, the roles have reversed."Ukraine would very much like to see a stable political situation in the States," said Alexander Turchynov, the previous Ukrainian president's national security adviser. The relationship between Kyiv and Washington, he added, "is a question of life and death for us."As the impeachment spectacle unfolds in Washington, attention is focused on President Donald Trump and the ramifications for domestic politics. But the scandal is having a major effect on Ukraine, weakening President Volodomyr Zelenskiy's position as he hopes to start face-to-face talks in coming weeks with President Vladimir Putin of Russia over ending the war with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.Putin has sent signals that he is prepared to dial down tensions with Ukraine, especially since this could help him escape from economic sanctions imposed by Europe and the United States. But he wants to end the war on his terms, and thanks to the disarray in U.S. policy in Ukraine, politicians and officials in Kyiv say, the chances of that are improving.In that respect, Ukraine seems to have joined a long list of foreign policy issues where Trump has intervened in such a way as to advance the Kremlin's interest, whether in pressuring NATO, withdrawing from Syria, pushing Brexit, siding with right-wing European populists or defending Russia against charges of meddling in the 2016 election."We are not interested in any chaos within the United States political system because we are really, really relying on it," said lawmaker Bohdan Yaremenko, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Ukrainian Parliament and a Zelenskiy ally. Less American engagement in Ukraine, Yaremenko said, would offer Russia a "clear sign that they could allow themselves more in Ukraine -- to be more aggressive, more active."Sitting on the East-West divide, Ukraine has sometimes been called the new Berlin Wall. The ouster of its Russia-friendly president in 2014 seemed to mark a turning point, aligning Kyiv with the West. Now, the Kremlin seems poised, if not to reverse the tide, at least to shift it more in its favor.In one sign of Moscow's increasing leverage, Zelenskiy recently reached out for a direct meeting with Putin, without Western leaders present as intermediaries. In another, business tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky -- one of the country's most influential figures -- said he favored rebuilding ties with Russia.In the past, U.S. diplomats worked closely with Kyiv in any talks with Moscow. They presented a united front to the Kremlin, cajoled the European Union to maintain sanctions and tried to reassure a nervous Ukrainian public. Kurt D. Volker, the State Department special envoy for Ukraine, traveled to the country frequently, held talks with Russian officials and agitated on behalf of Kyiv at the White House, on Capitol Hill and in Europe.But with American policy and personnel scrambled by revelations about Trump's push for Ukraine to investigate Democrats, the United States is now largely absent from the political and diplomatic process over resolving the war in the east, Ukrainian and Western officials in Kyiv say.Since this spring, as Trump's pressure campaign built toward its highest pitch, at least nine officials who had a hand in Ukraine policy have either resigned or become distanced from the Trump administration after testifying in the impeachment inquiry: Volker; John Bolton, the former national security adviser; Fiona Hill, the former adviser on Europe and Russia at the White House; Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine; Michael McKinley, a senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council; and diplomats Gordon D. Sondland, William B. Taylor Jr. and George P. Kent.Only Taylor is still active in Ukraine, serving as the acting U.S. ambassador. On Wednesday, Taylor testified to the House Intelligence Committee, which is leading the impeachment inquiry, that his aide was told in July that Trump cared more about "investigations of Biden" than he did about Ukraine.But Ukrainian and Western officials in Kyiv said they doubted that Taylor spoke for Trump, who dismissed the veteran diplomat as a "Never Trumper" after he offered damaging testimony in the impeachment inquiry.Americans had been "providing this backup and legitimacy of the Ukrainian position," said Oksana Syroid, who heads a Ukrainian political party, Self Reliance, that supports closer ties with Washington.But with the expanding cloud of controversy surrounding U.S.-Ukraine relations, Ukraine is now "kind of naked," Syroid said. "We are alone confronting Russia."Zelenskiy in recent weeks has pushed forward with a plan for the mutual withdrawal of troops at several points on the front lines of the war in coordination with the separatists. The moves, which have not gone smoothly, are meant to pave the way for Zelenskiy's first official meeting with Putin."We have to resolve all the issues by looking each other in the eyes, not by talking on the phone," Zelenskiy said recently in explaining the need to meet with Putin.No date has been set for the meeting, but Zelenskiy's administration sees a window of opportunity to negotiate. The Kremlin has taken some conciliatory steps, such as exchanging prisoners with Kyiv, while Russians are growing tired of the war and of Western sanctions, Yaremenko, the Zelenskiy ally in Parliament, said.Many Ukrainians are already nervous about their inexperienced president negotiating with Putin. Some 20,000 people marched in the Ukrainian capital last month to protest Zelenskiy's peace plan, warning of an imminent "capitulation."Four-way summits between Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia took place five times under Zelenskiy's predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, during the Obama administration. At the time, State Department officials were coordinating almost daily with the Europeans and Ukrainians to present Moscow with a united front.Syroid said she believes both Democrats and Republicans are now thinking twice about even communicating with Ukrainians for fear of being bound up in the impeachment maelstrom. Some officials in Kyiv said Ukraine had become "toxic" in Washington.Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union who played a key role in managing Ukraine policy, told congressional investigators that he pointedly ignored a "Hello, how are you?" text message this fall from a top adviser to Zelenskiy."I just didn't want to respond once the matter had become contentious," Sondland said, according to the transcript of his deposition released on Nov. 5.Ukrainians are now baffled about whom they should speak with in Washington. State Department officials are discussing whether to divide the role of Ukraine envoy among several diplomats instead of replacing Volker, who was working part time in the job, and without pay."Right now, there is no one," Turchynov, the former national security adviser, said, "who knows in detail the situation in Ukraine and can at any moment give advice, consult, have our back and pass on objective information about events happening in the country to the highest political level in America."The shadow cast onto Ukraine by the impeachment process has not gone unnoticed in Moscow. The revelations about the Trump administration's pressure campaign back up a core element of the Kremlin's propaganda about U.S. involvement in Ukraine: that faraway Washington only sees the country as a means to its own ends, without caring for the well-being of regular Ukrainians.Similarly, Trump's orders that U.S. troops abandon their Kurdish allies in northeastern Syria but guard the country's oil fields played into the longtime Russian message that America is an unreliable ally and that its interests in the Middle East are just pecuniary.Putin has already taken strategic advantage of Trump's erratic foreign policy to emerge as a kingmaker in the Middle East. One question now is how Putin might seek to capitalize on the confusion over U.S. support for Ukraine. Despite the war, many Ukrainians still have close personal or cultural ties to their eastern neighbor, and a September poll found that 54% of Ukrainians have a positive view of Russia.For now, many Ukrainians insist that the impeachment-related tumult has not shaken their long-term faith in America, and they note the strong voices of support they have received from Congress and from the officials testifying in the impeachment inquiry.But signs of a possible shift are emerging. One senior European official who works closely on Ukraine policy said that Ukrainians suffered from a misguided belief that the United States would fix everything. Now, the official said, Ukrainians ought to finally recognize that the EU is their closer, more reliable partner.On Oct. 28, one of Ukraine's business newspapers, Delovaya Stolitsa, published a column that concluded with a similar point:"It's clear that today Ukraine's vectors need to be moved closer to a balance of relationships with the leading players (other than Russia, of course), and their less infantile governments, which don't drag other countries into their no-holds-barred political fights."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| North Korea say US offered to resume nuke talks in December Posted: 14 Nov 2019 05:21 AM PST  North Korea on Thursday said the United States has proposed a resumption of stalled nuclear negotiations in December as they approach an end-of-year deadline set by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the Trump administration to offer an acceptable deal to salvage the talks. In a statement released by state media, North Korean negotiator Kim Myong Gil didn't clearly say whether the North would accept the supposed U.S. offer.
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| Woman arrested after criticizing Egypt’s president Posted: 14 Nov 2019 05:10 AM PST ![Woman arrested after criticizing Egypt's president]( "Woman arrested after criticizing Egypt's president") Egyptian authorities have arrested a woman who voiced harsh criticism of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and his wife in a series of online videos, police and judicial officials said on Thursday, as the Egyptian government prepared to defend its human rights record during a major U.N. rights review. In recent weeks, Mohamed appeared in several videos on YouTube where she dismissed el-Sissi as an "unsuccessful" president and mocked Egypt's first lady Instissar el-Sissi. Using profane language, the videos denounced the misuse of public funds and deplored her country's poor human rights records.
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| Trade Talks Hit Bump as China Resists U.S. Demands on Agricultural Purchases Posted: 14 Nov 2019 04:11 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. A U.S. demand that China spell out how it plans to reach as much as $50 billion in agricultural imports annually has become a sticking point in negotiations on a phase one trade deal, according to people familiar with the matter.Chinese negotiators are resisting a proposal from American officials that it provide monthly, quarterly and annual targets for purchases, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing the private talks. China also insists that the two sides must agree to rollback tariffs in phases if a deal is reached, the people said. U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier he had not agreed to ease any levies.A teleconference between deputy-level officials scheduled for late Wednesday night in Washington was expected to cover issues beyond agriculture such as intellectual property, forced technology transfer and enforcement, people familiar with the matter said.There have been small signs that China and the U.S. are easing restrictions on imports of each other's goods. On Thursday, China lifted a ban on American poultry that began in 2015, saying it would allow imports from qualified suppliers.The move comes after the U.S. Department of Agriculture made a similar decision to allow Chinese poultry into the U.S.Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, in a statement on Thursday, said the government estimates American producers will be able to export more than $1 billion worth of poultry to China annually. However, optimism that the U.S. and China are close to a limited trade deal has faded in recent days due to uncertainty over whether Washington would agree to rollback tariffs and also how any agreement would be enforced. Trump has said that the U.S. will substantially increase tariffs on China if the first step of a broader agreement isn't reached.China has also taken actions that could signal imports of U.S. farm goods are in jeopardy if talks sour. While China restarted purchases of some agricultural products as talks progressed, it is now delaying the unloading of American soybeans at its ports, the people said, which could slow down further purchases.About 1.8 million tons of soybeans, mostly for state reserves, are being held up at China's ports. Local buyers have to pay a hefty deposit to customs before they can collect refunds on the 30% tit-for-tat tariffs which China adopted because of the trade war. The deposits can cost as much as 60 million yuan ($8.5 million) per cargo and unloading can take about 28 days.China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs did not immediately respond to faxes seeking comment on the enforcement mechanism and port delays respectively.The two sides are conducting thorough talks on a phase one deal and removing existing tariffs is an important condition for an agreement, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesman reiterated at a regular briefing on Thursday. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that China is wary of putting a numerical commitment into writing, citing people familiar.Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had planned to sign the partial agreement at an international conference this month in Chile that was later canceled because of social unrest in that country. A new site for the signing hasn't been announced.U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Chinese spending on U.S. farm goods will scale to an annual figure of $40 billion to $50 billion over two years as part of a partial trade agreement, though China has not publicly committed to that value and time frame.(Updates with conference call in third paragraph)\--With assistance from Dandan Li, David Watkins, Miao Han, Mike Dorning and Jenny Leonard.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Niu Shuping in Beijing at nshuping@bloomberg.net;Steven Yang in Beijing at kyang74@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: John Liu at jliu42@bloomberg.net, ;Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net, Sharon Chen, Anna KitanakaFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Saudi Arabia discussing Yemen truce in informal talks with Houthis - sources Posted: 14 Nov 2019 03:57 AM PST ![Saudi Arabia discussing Yemen truce in informal talks with Houthis - sources]( "Saudi Arabia discussing Yemen truce in informal talks with Houthis - sources") DUBAI/NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is intensifying informal talks with the Iran-aligned Houthi movement on a ceasefire in Yemen, sources familiar with the discussions said. The talks were launched in Jordan in late September, three of the sources said, with Riyadh taking sole responsibility for military efforts by the Arab alliance fighting in Yemen after the exit of its main partner, the United Arab Emirates. The discussions began after the Houthis offered to halt cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities if the Saudi-led coalition ended air strikes on Yemen, they said.
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| Report: Over 130 attacks on medical facilities in Yemen war Posted: 14 Nov 2019 03:48 AM PST ![Report: Over 130 attacks on medical facilities in Yemen war]( "Report: Over 130 attacks on medical facilities in Yemen war") Over 130 attacks on medical facilities in Yemen's civil war could constitute war crimes by all parties to the conflict, a database project said on Thursday. The Yemen Archive said that the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-aligned rebels was allegedly responsible for 72 attacks, while the rebels, known as Houthis, were blamed for at least 52 attacks. Yemen's bloody war, which has been fought to a stalemate, has led to one of the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
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| UPDATE 2-EU assembly holds up Hungarian nominee for commissioner, Brexit muddies waters Posted: 14 Nov 2019 03:44 AM PST ![UPDATE 2-EU assembly holds up Hungarian nominee for commissioner, Brexit muddies waters]( "UPDATE 2-EU assembly holds up Hungarian nominee for commissioner, Brexit muddies waters") The European Commission launched a legal case against Britain on Thursday after London, in the throes of a Brexit-focused election campaign, served notice it would not name its representative to the European Union's new executive body. The dispute added to the political muddle dogging the final stages in the formation of a new Commission after the bloc's parliament refused to swiftly ratify Hungary's appointee, an ally of his country's eurosceptic nationalist prime minister.
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| Pound Volatility Jumps Most Since Brexit Vote on Election Risk Posted: 14 Nov 2019 03:30 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Pound traders are bracing for swings of as much of 3% on the result of December's election that will set the course of Brexit.A gauge of volatility in the currency over the next month, which now covers trading on the day after the Dec. 12 vote, has awoken from a recent slumber to climb the most since the 2016 Brexit referendum. That implies the currency could either rally to about $1.32 or slide to $1.25, according to pricing in options markets.The U.K. currency, a barometer for Brexit risk, has remained largely unmoved this week to trade around $1.2850 even after a series of disappointing economic data releases. The key for the pound is the election, given potential outcomes include a government backed by the Brexit Party and its no-deal strategy, a left-wing coalition that could seek to radically overhaul the economy or a hung Parliament that risks prolonging a stalemate in Westminster."Things could get a bit livelier around the pound as the election comes into view," said Valentin Marinov, head of Group-of-10 currency research and strategy at Credit Agricole SA.Polling currently shows the ruling Conservative Party in the lead, but the election remains difficult to predict, with smaller parties in focus and Brexit throwing up the possibility people will vote differently.Investors have been opting to sell short-dated volatility and buy the potential for longer term swings, Marinov said. That has pushed the spread between two-week and one-month contracts also to the widest since June 2016. As buying protection against swings becomes more expensive, bets targeting an even bigger rally to $1.36 within three months may make sense, Marinov said."The wide spread highlights that selling short-dated vol may have reached a limit," he said. "Everyone is still focusing on the polls where support for both Tory and Labour is growing."A Bloomberg survey of strategists and investors last week found the pound could climb more than 4% to $1.34 after the December vote if the Conservatives win. A Labour majority win, though seen as highly unlikely, would send it slumping more than 4% to $1.23.\--With assistance from Tanvir Sandhu.To contact the reporter on this story: Charlotte Ryan in London at cryan147@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Dana El Baltaji at delbaltaji@bloomberg.net, Neil Chatterjee, William ShawFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Major roads reopened in Lebanon after 2-day closure Posted: 14 Nov 2019 03:14 AM PST  Lebanese troops reopened major roads around Lebanon Thursday after a two-day closure triggered by a TV interview with President Michel Aoun in which he called on protesters to go home. The roads linking Beirut with the country's south and north were opened shortly before noon Thursday, as well as others around the country. Protesters have been holding demonstrations since Oct. 17 demanding an end to widespread corruption and mismanagement by the political class that has ruled the country for three decades.
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| Devin Nunes is bravely defending Trump. That's bad news for the president Posted: 14 Nov 2019 03:00 AM PST  The ex-dairy farmer isn't exactly the cream of the cream: his bizarre claims on the president's behalf have backfiredDevin Nunes, left, and the minority counsel Steve Castor confer during Wednesday's hearing. Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesIf you were on trial on national television, facing the possible loss of your job and the probable loss of what remains of your reputation, you might not place your fate in the hands of Devin Nunes.Nunes is a one-time dairy farmer who now milks the bursting udders of an entire herd of conspiracy-minded cows.Mad cow disease had the rare power to leap across species through an unusually mysterious vector known as a prion. Mad Devin disease appears similarly devastating to the human brain through an unusually mysterious vector known as Vladimir Putin.> Nunes led the herd in arguing that this is a victimless crime – the Ukraine president got his stupid missiles anyhowThe California congressman – who somehow qualified as the most senior Republican on the House intelligence committee – opened his defense of Donald Trump with a long moo about Moscow and the Democrats' interest in the Mueller investigation."After the spectacular implosion of their Russia hoax on July 24, in which they spent years denouncing any Republican who ever shook hands with a Russian," Nunes explained, "on July 25 they turned on a dime and now claim the real malfeasance is Republicans' dealings with Ukraine."This was a curious turn, even for the nonsensical Nunes. In the court of American public opinion (where we're told this impeachment thing will really play out), the concept of innocent Russian handshaking is not entirely obvious.It also seemed like a rookie mistake to suggest that the impeachment of the president was an indictment of all Republican dealings with the former Soviet Union."In the blink of an eye, we're asked to simply forget about Democrats on this committee falsely claiming they had 'more than circumstantial evidence' of collusion between President Trump and the Russians," Nunes said, reviving the Democrats' case against Donald Trump in ways that didn't seem entirely helpful to Donald Trump.Among the things Nunes wanted us never to forget was "them trying to obtain nude pictures of Trump from Russian pranksters who pretended to be Ukrainian officials" and something about "fabrications of Trump-Russia collusion from the Steele dossier".Thanks to Nunes, these nude Trump pictures are now seared into our collective minds.Lest we forget, when Nunes was actually running the intelligence committee, he used its resources to turn on the US's intelligence community for having the temerity to investigate Russia's interference in the 2016 election.Less the cream of the cream, Nunes is more like the curd of the absurd. This sadly is the bovine bedlam we're all committed to for the next 12 months of American politics.It's a place where the best defense of Trump exhorting a foreign leader is that he was somehow rooting out corruption; where he was supposedly investigating foreign interference in the 2016 election when he was bribing a foreign government to interfere in the 2020 election; where the FBI and CIA have undermined themselves; and where the Democrats have been colluding with the Russians.Nunes led the herd in arguing that this is a victimless crime – the Ukraine president got his stupid missiles anyhow. In fact Nunes was really arguing that impeachment is the criminal victimization of a poor helpless crusader for truth, justice and good government, who happens to live in the people's house on Pennsylvania Avenue.By some miracle of telekinesis, Nunes's brain created a White House video featuring our humble hero, who insisted that his own impeachment wasn't all it seemed on live television."What's going on now is the single greatest scam in the history of American politics," said the real estate guy who is something of an expert in scams.Trump placed impeachment at the heart of the mother of all big government conspiracies involving Democrats taking away everyone's guns, healthcare, votes, freedom and judges. The Democrats currently control the House of Representatives, which is an awesome branch of government, but not quite that awesome."It's all very simple," said our very simple president. "They're trying to stop me because I'm fighting for you."This may come as news for anyone who is not circling the barnyard. Trump was apparently fighting for regular Americans when he was extorting the Ukraine president to smear Joe Biden.Trump and Nunes are obviously hoping that voters cannot see through the fog on this farm. These hearings are so darn complicated and foreign, maybe Americans will never remember whether four legs are good or bad.This is the latest in a long line of so-called defense strategies that have run the gamut from unlikely to unbelievable. First came the wild fabrications: Trump's phone call with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, was supposedly perfect, and the whistleblower doesn't exist. Then came the wild conspiracies: the Democrats were themselves fabricating evidence in secret hearings that somehow included Republicans. We spent an epoch or two debating Latin tit-for-tats. Now we have arrived at the stage of debate that involves hurling turds at a wall in the hope of finding something adhesive.As with most TV shows, the impeachment hearings are less about substance and more about style. The Democrats carefully cast as their first witnesses a pair of diplomats who seemed to have stepped out of a kinder, gentler era of American values.William Taylor, the US ambassador to Ukraine, is a Vietnam veteran who previously served in the same position under President George W Bush. Taylor looks like he was chiseled whole out of granite, and he tolerated no end of Republican stupidities with a stony certitude. It was frustratingly hard for Trump's allies to chip away at his central revelation that Trump himself was personally interested only in the Bidens, not Ukraine.George Kent, a bow-tied foreign service official in charge of the entire European and Eurasian region, was so steadfastly committed to old-fashioned American democracy that he was happy to express his unease with Hunter Biden's business interests in Ukraine. Sadly for Trump, these good government types take a seriously dim view of a president corruptly using American military aid to manipulate American elections.The first day of the public impeachment hearings was not a fair fight. Against these diehard diplomats, the GOP relied on Jim Jordan, who just can't seem to shake off the stench of sex abuse at Ohio State University, where he used to coach wrestling.Then there was the flustered questioning from John Ratcliffe, a Texas Republican who was briefly Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence – until he was overwhelmed by his own problematic relationship with the truth on his personal résumé."Are either of you here today to assert there was an impeachable offense in that call?" Ratcliffe barked at the two unimpeachable witnesses. "Shout it out – anyone?"As Taylor tried to explain that it's for congressmen to answer, Ratcliffe withdrew his own question."This is your job," said Taylor, speaking on behalf of us all. If only Republican members of Congress understood the strange foreign language these career diplomats speak.• Richard Wolffe is a Guardian US columnist
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| Libya’s Prime Minister Says Russia Mercenaries Will Drag Out War Posted: 14 Nov 2019 02:59 AM PST ![Libya's Prime Minister Says Russia Mercenaries Will Drag Out War]( "Libya's Prime Minister Says Russia Mercenaries Will Drag Out War") (Bloomberg) -- Libya's internationally recognized prime minister said Russian mercenaries backing his rival, Khalifa Haftar, will drag out a months-long war in the North African oil producer, and urged the U.S. to act to restore peace.Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj said he had raised the matter with Russian officials during an October conference in Sochi. "We expressed our concern over the increase of foreign fighters in Libya in general, that this would increase the duration of the war," Sarraj said in an interview in Tripoli on Wednesday.Hundreds of mercenaries with the Russian Wagner group, headed by President Vladimir Putin's associate Yevgeny Prigozhin, are fighting alongside Haftar's eastern-based Libyan National Army in a stalled offensive to take the capital, Tripoli, and dislodge Sarraj's government, according to Western and Russian officials. Russia and Haftar's Libyan National Army officially deny the presence of mercenaries in Libya.Libya has been wracked by violence ever since the NATO-backed ouster of Moammar Qaddafi in 2011. The years of instability that followed allowed Libya to become a breeding ground for Islamist radicals, and a magnet for migrants hoping to reach Europe. Haftar launched his campaign on Tripoli just as the United Nations was laying the groundwork for a conference meant to reunited the divided country, which has dueling governments in Tripoli and another in Tobruk allied with Haftar.Wagner troops had fought in Ukraine and Syria before deploying in September to Libya. A person close to the Kremlin told Bloomberg at the time that Russia was distancing itself from the administration in Tripoli and expected Haftar, who already controls eastern and southern Libya and much of its oil fields, to gain the upper hand after his initial failure to push into the capital in April."These security companies are private companies but we all know that in those states, such companies do not act without the permission of their governments," Sarraj said. He said he's also raised concerns about billions of Libyan dinars printed in Russia and supplied to Haftar and the Tobruk government.'Financing war'"This is a method of financing the war," he said, noting Malta's seizure of a ship carrying Libyan banknotes believed to have been destined for Haftar.By throwing its weight behind the commander, Russia joins a crowded field of regional powers that have intervened to support either side. The United Arab Emirates and Egypt have backed Haftar, while Turkey supports Sarraj's government.The U.S. has mostly watched from the sidelines as the conflict raged in the country that sits on top of Africa's largest proven oil reserves. It's sent muddled messages about its Libya policy, officially calling for a cease-fire even as President Donald Trump indicated support for Haftar by taking a phone call with him in the midst of the commander's April assault on Tripoli."The United States as a democratic country holds the banner of defending human rights. It has to intervene to stop the aggressor's militias from committing systematic violations against civilians," Sarraj said, calling on Washington to "participate in a clear manner in restoring security and stability."More than 1,000 people have been killed in the fighting.The UN is leading talks for a fall conference in Berlin that would call for a cease-fire and include countries that back both sides. Sarraj said his government would accept a truce if Haftar's forces withdrew, and hold elections.The talks leading up the Berlin summit, which has yet to be scheduled, also include negotiations of economic reforms, including transparency in the country's main financial institutions that would partly address key grievances in the east. Sarraj said his government had already begun to enact reforms.But "there can be no economic reforms when a whole parallel currency is being printed," he said referring to the Russian-minted dinars.To contact the reporter on this story: Samer Khalil Al-Atrush in Cairo at skhalilalatr@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UPDATE 4-N.Korea rebuffs U.S. offer of December talks, urges halt in military drills Posted: 14 Nov 2019 02:20 AM PST ![UPDATE 4-N.Korea rebuffs U.S. offer of December talks, urges halt in military drills]( "UPDATE 4-N.Korea rebuffs U.S. offer of December talks, urges halt in military drills") North Korea said on Thursday it had turned down a U.S. offer for fresh talks, saying it was not interested in more talks merely aimed at "appeasing us" ahead of a year-end deadline Pyongyang has set for Washington to show more flexibility in negotiations. Kim Myong Gil, North Korea's nuclear negotiator, said in a statement carried by the country's official KCNA news agency that Stephen Biegun, his U.S. counterpart who jointly led last month's failed denuclearisation talks in Stockholm, had offered through a third country to meet again.
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| Turkey deports American IS suspect stuck at Greek border Posted: 14 Nov 2019 02:20 AM PST  An American man suspected of being a member of the Islamic State group is being repatriated to the United States after spending three days in a no man's land between Turkey and Greece, Turkey's Interior Ministry said Thursday. The United States agreed to take him in and will provide him with travel documents, the ministry said, adding that the repatriation was underway. The move comes a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington.
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