| Aide Says Trump Asked About ‘Investigation’: Impeachment Update Posted: 15 Nov 2019 04:22 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- The House Intelligence Committee held its second public hearing on Friday to hear testimony by former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was removed from that post in May by President Donald Trump.The impeachment committees separately met in a closed session with David Holmes, a staff member at the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, about this week's revelation that Trump on July 26 asked Gordon Sondland, ambassador to the European Union, about the status of "investigations" he sought from Ukraine.Here are the latest developments:Aide Says Trump Asked About 'Investigations' (7:20 p.m.)Holmes testified that Sondland told him in July that Trump "did not give a s--- about Ukraine" and that the president only cares about the "big stuff" that benefits Trump "like the Biden investigation that Giuliani was pushing," according to a copy of his opening statement posted online by CNN.Holmes told the impeachment inquiry behind closed doors that Sondland called Trump on July 26 on his cell phone, which Holmes could overhear because Sondland held the phone away from his head apparently because Trump's voice was so loud, according to the statement.Sondland told Trump that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy "loves your ass.""I then heard President Trump ask, 'so he's gonna do the investigation'?" Holmes testified, according to CNN. Sondland said "he's gonna do it," adding that Zelenskiy will do "anything you ask him to."The call occurred one day after Trump spoke with Zelenskiy and asked for investigations, including into Joe Biden.Holmes said he came forward after reading news reports that senior diplomats may have been acting on Ukraine without Trump's knowledge."I came to realize I had firsthand knowledge" about "the question of whether the president did, in fact, have knowledge that those officials were using the levers of our diplomatic power to induce the new Ukrainian president to announce the opening of a particular criminal investigation," Holmes' opening statement said. Aide Testimony Said to Confirm Envoy Account (5:54 p.m.)While Holmes testified behind closed doors, Representative Ted Lieu, a California Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters outside that "everything he says will confirm that what ambassador Taylor said was true."Earlier this week, top U.S. envoy to Ukraine William Taylor testified in public that his aide -- later identified by an official as Holmes -- overheard Trump asking U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland about "the investigations" when the ambassador used his cell phone to call the president.Lieu said Holmes "has some specific quotes that leave no doubt of what the president of the United States was thinking" when he said "investigations." He meant investigations of Joe Biden and the 2016 election, Lieu said.Lieu also criticized the State Department should release notes taken by embassy officials. "If any of those notes exonerated the president, we would have them right now," he said.Republican Mark Meadows questioned whether someone overhearing a phone call can really have firsthand knowledge."We know it's not a firsthand account because this witness, to my knowledge, has never talked to the president. That would be firsthand," Meadows said. "Overhearing a phone call of someone else can be very dangerous if you try to draw too many conclusions from it."Embassy Aide Questioned About Trump Call (4:54 p.m.)Democrats on the three committees leading the inquiry are questioning Holmes about the phone call he overheard between Trump and Sondland that took place in a restaurant "on what looks like a totally unsecured cell phone," said Representative Ted Lieu, a California Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee."Cell phones can be hacked by any foreign government," Lieu said. "It's very disturbing that maybe it wasn't just Holmes that heard this but the Russians and other foreign governments as well."North Carolina Representative Mark Meadows, a Republican on the Oversight Committee, said he didn't expect to learn much from Holmes's testimony "other than a phone call was overheard." He said Democrats still must address what he described as a "fundamental question: why was the aid withheld?"Envoy Was An 'Obstacle' to Trump (3:50 p.m.)In closing the hearing after about six hours of testimony, Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said the entire episode began with an effort to get Yovanovitch out of the way because she was an impediment to the investigation of Joe Biden that Trump and Rudy Giuliani wanted."The fact that they failed in this solicitation of bribery doesn't make it any less bribery," Schiff said. "It doesn't make it any less immoral and corrupt. It just means that it was unsuccessful.""You were viewed as an obstacle that had to go," Schiff said. If people read the transcript of testimony, they'll see "that the president praises the corrupt, Lutsenko," referring to former prosecutor general of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko, who resigned under pressure in August."He condemns the just, you," Schiff said to Yovanovitch. "And then he asks for an investigation of the Bidens. There is no camouflaging that corrupt intent."After the hearing, Republican panel member Elise Stefanik of New York called the session "day two of an abject failure" by Schiff. She said Republicans will keep asking about Joe Biden's son Hunter's membership on the board of Ukraine energy company Burisma Holdings.Stefanik called impeachment "wishful political thinking" by the Democrats and said no impeachable offenses were discussed at Friday's hearing.Envoy Says Ukraine Didn't Try to Aid Clinton (3:09 p.m.)Yovanovitch said that in her view, there was no Ukrainian strategy to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.Republican Jim Jordan of Ohio suggested Trump faced opposition from Ukrainian officials during his 2016 campaign, including in an op-ed article in a Washington publication by the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S.Most clearly wanted Democrat Hillary Clinton to win, he said. Jordan asked Yovanovitch if Trump's concern was justified.She said she couldn't say, but that in her view there wasn't a Ukrainian strategy to interfere in the U.S. election. Politicians sometimes criticize the policies of other foreign leaders or candidates, but that's not election meddling, she said."This happens in politics, and it doesn't necessarily" constitute interference, Yovanovitch said.Embassy Official Arrives for Closed Hearing (2:56 p.m.)Holmes, the political counselor for the embassy in Ukraine who overheard a phone call between Trump and another diplomat, arrived on Capitol Hill for a private deposition behind closed doors.Including his testimony as part of the impeachment inquiry became especially important after William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, said during his public hearing Wednesday that one of his staff members overheard Trump ask Sondland, the U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, about "the investigations."Taylor didn't identify Holmes during the hearing, but officials familiar with the inquiry later confirmed that he was the aide with Sondland at the time.Trump Ally Told Envoy to 'Go Big or Go Home' (2:49 p.m.)Yovanovitch said she reached out to U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland when she realized that Rudy Giuliani was maneuvering against her. She said Sondland told her "I needed to. The best thing to do was to send out a tweet, praising the president, that sort of thing."She said she thought that wasn't in keeping with her role as an ambassador and didn't do so.Asked by Democrat Denny Heck of Washington to assess the impact of the situation on Ukraine, she said, "When we engage in questionable activities that raises a question.""It emboldens those who are corrupt, who don't want to see Ukraine become a democracy, free market economy, a part of Europe, but want Ukraine to stay under Russia's thrall, and that's not in our national security interests," Yovanovitch said.Envoy Cites 'Chilling Effect' of Ouster (1:39 p.m.)Yovanovitch said her ouster as ambassador has had a "chilling effect" within the State Department because officials there can't be sure if the government will support their efforts."That is a dangerous place to be," she said while being questioned by Democrat Terri Sewellof Alabama."It's been a very, very difficult time," Yovanovitch said. "There's a question as to why the kind of campaign to get me out of Ukraine happened, because all the president has to do is to say he wants a different ambassador."Republican Mike Conaway of Texas sought to show that Yovanovitch hasn't been harmed by her dismissal from the ambassadorship. He asked if she continues to get respect from her colleagues at the State Department."I've actually received an outpouring of support," she said.Later, she said that she agrees that presidents "can remove an ambassador at any time for any reason, but what I do wonder is why it was necessary to smear my reputation."Envoy Aware of Hunter Biden Role on Board (1:16 p.m.)Under questioning by a Republican staff lawyer, Yovanovitch said she arrived several months before the 2016 elections, and that Hunter Biden's role on the board of Burisma Holdings energy company wasn't something she focused on. She said she never spoke with him.She was "aware" of the perception problem with Vice President Joe Biden's son being on the board.Republican staff attorney Steve Castor asked whether Yovanovitch knew that Trump thought that elements in Ukraine's government were "out to get him" during the 2016 campaign. She said that wasn't an area of focus while she was ambassador and that she didn't perceive any such effort during the election."People are critical, but that doesn't mean" that a government is trying toundermine a campaign, she said. "Our own U.S. intelligence community has conclusively determined that those who interfered in the election were in Russia."Nunes Says Envoy Lacks First-Hand Knowledge (12:35 p.m.)Top committee Republican Devin Nunes said, "I'm not exactly sure what the ambassador is doing here today," adding that Yovanovitch "is not a material fact witness to any of the accusations being hurled at the president."Under questioning by Nunes, she affirmed that she wasn't involved in Trump's July 25 call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy or Vice President Mike Pence's later meeting with Zelenskiy. She also said she hasn't spoken to Trump or acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney this year.Envoy Calls Trump Tweet 'Intimidating' (10:36 a.m.)Yovanovitch said that it is "intimidating" that Trump tweeted an attack on her while she is testifying to the Intelligence Committee.Told by Chairman Adam Schiff that Trump had just written that everywhere she went "turned bad," she said, "I don't think I have such powers.""I actually think that where I've served over the years I and others have made things demonstrably better, both for the U.S. and the countries I served in," she said.Schiff asked, "Now the president in real time is attacking you. What effect do you think that has on other witnesses' willingness to come forward and expose wrongdoing?""It's very intimidating," Yovanovitch said."Some of us here take witness intimidation very, very seriously," Schiff responded.Yovanovitch also said she had asked the State Department for a public statement of support while false stories were being spread about her work in Ukraine.She said State Department official David Hale told her that the department wouldn't issue a statement because "the president might issue a tweet contradicting that.""They were concerned about a tweet by the president of the United States?" asked Democratic committee lawyer Dan Goldman, who was conducting the questioning."That's my understanding," Yovanovitch said.Envoy Says Trump Comment Sounded Like Threat (10:15 a.m.)Yovanovitch said she was "shocked, appalled, devastated" when she learned that Trump called her "bad news" and said she would "go through some things" during his July 25 call with Ukraine's president."It didn't sound good. It sounded like a threat," she said. "I wondered what that meant. It concerned me."Yovanovitch also said she felt "terrible" when she was recalled to the U.S."No real reason was offered as to why I had to leave and why it was being done in such a manner," she said. "It's not the way I wanted my career to end."She said she had been told return to Washington at once. She was told "there were concerns up the street," which she believed referred to the White House. Yovanovitch said she argued against the return, but eventually did go to Washington.Trump Attacks Yovanovitch During Testimony (10:06 a.m.)During Yovanovitch's testimony, Trump wrote on Twitter: "Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. President's absolute right to appoint ambassadors."Yovanovitch Says Ukraine Policy in Disarray (9:49 a.m.)Yovanovitch said corrupt forces in Ukraine sought to remove her, and said she was "amazed" they found allies among Americans."Our Ukraine policy has been thrown into disarray, and shady interests the world over have learned how little it takes to remove an American ambassador who does not give them what they want," she said."Such conduct undermines the U.S., exposes our friends, and widens the playing field for autocrats like President Putin," she said."I remain disappointed that the department's leadership and others have declined to acknowledge that the attacks against me and others are dangerously wrong," she said, in a clear swipe at Secretary of State Michael Pompeo."This is about far, far more than me or a couple of individuals. As Foreign Service professionals are being denigrated and undermined, the institution is also being degraded. This will soon cause real harm, if it hasn't already," she said.Yovanovitch Says Claims About Her Untrue (9:40 a.m.)Yovanovitch called "untrue" the allegations that she "told unidentified embassy employees or Ukrainian officials that President Trump's orders should be ignored because 'he was going to be impeached' -- or for any other reason."She also said the Obama administration "did not ask me to help the Clinton campaign or harm the Trump campaign, nor would I have taken any such steps if they had."Regarding Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, she said that she had "minimal" contact with him."I do not understand Mr. Giuliani's motives for attacking me, nor can I offer an opinion on whether he believed the allegations he spread about me," she said.Envoy Describes Service Regardless of Party (9:32 a.m.)Yovanovitch opened her testimony by describing herself as an American citizen "who has devoted the majority of my life, 33 years, to service to the country that all of us love."She said her job in the foreign service is to carry out the policies of the president "regardless of which person or party was in power.""I had no other agenda other than to pursue our stated foreign policy goals," Yovanovitch said.Before she began her testimony, Schiff called on the administration to release a number of withheld documents, including notes kept by Bill Taylor, current envoy to Ukraine. He also said he hopes Trump will explain why he told Vice President Mike Pence not to attend Zelenskiy's inauguration.Nunes Reads Transcript of Initial Trump Call (9:26 a.m.)Top committee Republican Devin Nunes, during his opening remarks, read the newly released transcript of Trump's April phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskiy congratulating him on his election as Ukraine's president.Zelenskiy called Trump a "great example" and invited him to attend the inauguration. Trump responded that at the least, a "great representative" would attend.Nunes also said the witnesses being brought before the impeachment hearings are giving second-hand accounts. "In other words, rumor," he said."I'll note that House Democrats vowed they would not put the American people through a wrenching impeachment process without bipartisan support -- and they have none," Nunes said. "Add that to their ever-growing list of broken promises and destructive deceptions."Trump is watching only Nunes's remarks, said White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham."The president will be watching Congressman Nunes' opening statement, but therest of the day he will be working hard for the American people," she said in a statement.Nunes Says Democrats Aim to 'Topple' Trump (9:16 a.m.)The committee's top Republican, Devin Nunes, opened by accusing Democrats of mounting an "operation to topple a duly elected president."Nunes just four years ago became the youngest-ever chairman of the Intelligence panel. He was a member of Trump's transition team, and he's also a fierce partisan. In the session of Congress, Nunes and other Republicans led a two-year effort alleging that the FBI and Department of Justice opened their investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign in order to hurt Trump.Schiff Says Envoy Viewed as 'Obstacle' (9:13 a.m.)Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said in his opening statement that Yovanovitch was recalled from her post because "she was considered an obstacle to the furtherance of the president's personal and political agenda. For that she was smeared and cast aside."Getting rid of her "helped set stage for an irregular channel that could pursue the two investigations that mattered so much to the president, the 2016 conspiracy theory, and most important, an investigation into the 2020 political opponent he apparently feared most, Joe Biden," Schiff said.Schiff Opens Second House Public Hearing (9:08 a.m.)Committee Chairman Adam Schiff opened the hearing by describing Yovanovitch's recall to Washington in April "because she did not have the confidence of the president."The hearings have vaulted Schiff to the national stage, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi picked him over House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler to take the leading role. In Wednesday's hearing, he and other Democrats got what they wanted from the testimony of two career, nonpartisan diplomats who helped frame the impeachment inquiry.House Committee Opens Second Public Hearing (9:06 a.m.)Committee Chairman Adam Schiff gaveled in the panel's second hearing, with Yovanovitch's testimony to begin shortly.Yovanovitch to Testify About Her Ouster (6 a.m.)The public will hear for the first time from Yovanovitch about what she experienced as Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, maneuvered for her ouster.Yovanovitch testified in private on Oct. 11 that she was called back to Washington after a "concerted campaign" by Trump and his allies, including Giuliani, according to a transcript released later.Because she left Ukraine in May, she lacks direct knowledge of Trump's effort during a July 25 phone call to pressure Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for an investigation of Joe Biden and his son.Yovanovitch testified that she felt threatened by the way Trump spoke about her on that call, which was documented by a White House memo later made public. Trump called her "bad news" and said "she's going to go through some things."Catch Up on Impeachment CoverageKey EventsTrump showed a group of Republican senators a transcript of his April 21 call congratulating Zelenskiy on his election as the president of Ukraine. Trump had said Wednesday he planned to release a summary of the call as soon as Thursday, though he hasn't yet done so.The Gordon Sondland transcript is here and here; former special envoy Kurt Volker's transcript is here and here. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch's transcript is here and here; the transcript of Michael McKinley, former senior adviser to the secretary of State, is here. The transcript of William Taylor, the top U.S. envoy to Ukraine, is here and here. State Department official George Kent's testimony is here and here. Testimony by Alexander Vindman can be found here, and the Fiona Hill transcript is here. Laura Cooper's transcript is here; Christopher Anderson's is here and Catherine Croft's is here.Taylor's opening statement is here; Kent's statement is here. Yovanovitch's opening statement is here.\--With assistance from Daniel Flatley, Laura Litvan, Billy House and Evan Sully.To contact the reporter on this story: Steven T. Dennis in Washington at sdennis17@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie AsséoFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| North Korea calls Biden 'rabid dog' that 'must be beaten to death' Posted: 15 Nov 2019 03:44 PM PST  North Korea launched a visceral diatribe against US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, calling the former vice-president a "rabid dog" -- while also borrowing the terminology of Donald Trump. Pyongyang is renowned for its vitriol, but the verbal deluge was unusually ferocious even by its own standards. Biden "had the temerity to dare slander the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK", the North's official KCNA news agency said late Thursday, referring to the country by its official name.
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| Trump Wants South Korea to Pay Up for Protection: Report Posted: 15 Nov 2019 03:13 PM PST  President Trump is demanding that South Korea pay billions of additional dollars for U.S. protection, according to a report Friday at CNN.South Korea is paying about $1 billion this year to cover the cost of keeping roughly 28,000 U.S. troops in the country, and Trump wants to see that increase to $4.7 billion in 2020.Officials at the Pentagon and the State Department aren't sure where the $4.7 billion figure comes from, though they reportedly talked the president down from an even higher request of $5 billion. Trump has long complained about the cost of keeping U.S. forces abroad, and last year canceled joint military exercises with South Korea in what was described as a cost-saving effort. Critics, however, worry that Trump may have other motives, perhaps related to his unusual relationship with Kim Jong-un, the dictatorial leader of North Korea who has continued to test missiles and maintain a nuclear arsenal, despite Trump's claims to the contrary.South Korean officials, along with many military and diplomatic experts in the U.S., expressed concerns that Trump's demand could be seen as a shakedown, or the first step in an effort to withdraw U.S. troops entirely from the Korean peninsula. At a minimum, it suggests that the U.S. will press harder to collect fees from a staunch ally where it has maintained troops since the Korean War.A congressional aide told CNN that the relationship appears to be getting more transactional. "So if we had bombers stop by the peninsula as a show of force, I guess like an Uber driver, we would bill them for the trip," the aide said. And South Korea is wondering where that leaves their relationship with the U.S. The aide said that some Koreans are now wondering, "Are you guys mercenaries now? Is this a business arrangement?"Like what you're reading? Sign up for our free newsletter.
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| Dutch flaunt Brexit booty with EU agency opening Posted: 15 Nov 2019 02:27 PM PST  The Netherlands showed off the spoils of Brexit on Friday as it officially handed over the European Medicines Agency's new building in Amsterdam after the regulator was forced to move from London. The 300-million-euro ($330 million) building -- which boasts features including a 16-storey high wall of 54,000 plants and a rooftop bar -- was built in less than two years after Amsterdam won an EU-wide contest to host the agency. It will now be home to more than 700 staff who have had to make the "painful" move to the Netherlands from London along with their families, following Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union.
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| Trump impeachment inquiry: a timeline of key events so far Posted: 15 Nov 2019 02:11 PM PST  Pelosi launched inquiry on 24 September over allegations that Trump sought the help of a foreign country to harm a political rival * How Trump's hardball tactics put the constitution in perilMembers of the media wait at the stairs for former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch as she testifies in the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump on Capitol Hill on 11 October. Photograph: Carlos Jasso/ReutersThe House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, announced an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump on 24 September. Since then, Congress has been investigating an alleged plot by Trump to use the power of his office to solicit interference from Ukraine in the 2020 election.Democrats say that amounts to an abuse of power impeachable under the US constitution. Republicans have said Trump's conduct was concerning but not impeachable.A vote to impeach Trump on the House floor, which would be held at the conclusion of televised hearings, could play out by the end of the year. If Trump is impeached, the Senate would hold a trial in which a two-thirds majority vote would be required to remove him from office.Here's a timeline of key events so far: April and MayThrough his personal emissary, Rudy Giuliani, Trump applies pressure on Ukraine to announce investigations tied to Joe Biden and his son Hunter. The Ukrainian president-elect, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, meets with subordinates on 7 May to discuss how to stay out of it. 23 MayIn a White House meeting, Trump is unmoved by the enthusiasm of a delegation of officials freshly returned from Zelenskiy's inauguration in Kiev. "He just kept saying: talk to Rudy, talk to Rudy," EU ambassador Gordon Sondland testified. "I don't know what he meant. He kept repeating it, though: 'They tried to take me down, they tried to take me down.'" 3 JulyLt Col Alexander Vindman, the top adviser on Ukraine on the National Security Council, is made aware of the suspension of military aid for Ukraine. In testimony, Vindman said: "But by 3 July, that's when I was concretely made aware of the fact that there was a hold placed by [Office of Management and Budget]." 10 JulyAt a dramatic White House meeting, Trump emissaries ask top Ukrainian officials to investigate Biden, shocking US national security officials. According to multiple accounts, after Sondland makes the Biden request, then national security adviser John Bolton abruptly terminates the meeting, later calling it a "drug deal". Mid-JulyThe Office of Management and Budget informs the Pentagon and state department that Trump has suspended $391m in military aid for Ukraine. According to testimony by senior diplomat in Ukraine Bill Taylor: "In a regular, NSC secure video conference call on 18 July, I heard a staff person from the Office of Management and Budget say that there was a hold on security assistance to Ukraine but could not say why." 25 JulyTrump speaks on the phone with Zelenskiy, reminding him that "the United States has been very, very good to Ukraine" and then asking for a "favor". Trump wants Ukraine to announce investigations designed to make Joe Biden look bad and to cast doubt on Russian tampering in the 2016 US election. Early AugustHigh-level Ukrainian officials are made aware of the suspension of US military aid designed to help in their fight against Russian forces, according to a New York Times report. 12 AugustA whistleblower complaint against Trump is secretly filed to the inspector general of the intelligence community. For six weeks, the Trump administration will block Congress from obtaining the complaint. 16 AugustA security council recommendation that aid for Ukraine be released is raised in a meeting with Trump, according to Vindman. But "the president didn't act on the recommendation". 27 AugustBolton visits Taylor in Kyiv. Taylor brings up his concerns about suspended military aid. Bolton is "very sympathetic", Taylor later testifies, and tells him to send a cable directly to secretary of state Mike Pompeo raising his concerns. 1 SeptemberBilateral meetings in Warsaw. In a "supplement" to his original testimony, Sondland says: "I now recall speaking individually with [Zelenskiy aide Andriy] Yermak, where I said that resumption of US aid would likely not occur until Ukraine provided the public anti-corruption statement that we had been discussing for many weeks." 9 SeptemberTaylor texts Sondland: "As I said on the phone, I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign." 11 SeptemberThe military aid is released. 24 SeptemberPelosi announces a formal impeachment inquiry, accusing Trump of "a betrayal of his oath of office, a betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections". 25 SeptemberThe White House releases a partial "transcript" of the 25 July call, hours before Trump's first face-to-face meeting with Zelenskiy at the United Nations. It's awkward. 26 SeptemberThe whistleblower complaint is released. Citing "more than half a dozen US officials", it presents an accurate version of the Trump-Zelenskiy call and alleges that the White House tried to cover up the call. 4 OctoberKurt Volker, Trump's former special envoy to Ukraine, testifies. Afterwards, investigators release WhatsApp messages showing US diplomats pursuing a "deliverable" for Trump in Ukraine in the form of the Biden and 2016 election-tampering "investigations". 8 OctoberThe White House releases a letter refusing to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry, and accusing Democrats of trying to reverse the result of the 2016 election. 11 OctoberMarie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine, testifies about her shock on learning about an ultimately successful campaign in Ukraine to destroy her ambassadorship, involving Giuliani. "The president did make a decision, but I think influenced by some who are not trustworthy," she testified. When she sought advice on how to stop the attack, she said, she was told to tweet something nice about Trump. 14 OctoberFiona Hill, senior director for Europe and Russia in the National Security Council, testifies. She describes a shadow foreign policy in Ukraine run by Giuliani, describes the 10 July White House meeting, which she attended, and says Bolton told her to take her concerns to the top NSC lawyer. 16 OctoberP Michael McKinley, a top Pompeo deputy, testifies. He says he resigned owing to the "emerging information on the engagement of our missions to procure negative political information for domestic purposes, combined with the failure I saw in the building to provide support for our professional cadre in a particularly trying time." 17 OctoberSondland testifies. He says he took Trump at his word that there was no quid pro quo with Ukraine. He will later return to Capitol Hill to partially or fully reverse that testimony. 22 OctoberTaylor testifies. In a 15-page opening statement, he describes his concern to discover an "irregular, informal policy channel" by which the Trump administration was pursuing objectives in Ukraine "running contrary to the goals of longstanding US policy". 29 OctoberVindman testifies. He describes his alarm at witnessing the White House subvert US foreign policy in favor of Trump's domestic political agenda and says he took his concerns to the top NSC lawyer. 31 OctoberThe House votes on a resolution laying out a process to move impeachment from closed-door depositions to open hearings. Tim Morrison, senior director for Russian affairs at the National Security Council, testifies a day after announcing that he will resign his post in short order. 5 NovemberThe impeachment committees begin releasing testimony transcripts. The overlapping testimonies tell the same story, of demands by US officials of Ukraine steadily ratcheting up between May and September, from a demand to investigate corruption to a demand that "President Zelenskiy to go to a microphone and say 'investigations', 'Biden', and 'Clinton'." 13 NovemberPublic impeachment hearings begin. Ambassador Bill Taylor and deputy assistant secretary of state George P Kent testify. Taylor quotes Trump as demanding "investigations" of Ukraine in a phone call overheard by an aide. 15 NovemberAmbassador Marie Yovanovitch testifies that she felt "shocked and devastated" by Trump's personal attacks on her, and that she was "amazed" corrupt elements in Ukraine had found willing American partners to take her down.Taylor aide David Holmes is deposed behind closed doors. 19 NovemberPence aide Jennifer Williams, Lt Col Alexander Vindman, former envoy Kurt Volker and national security council senior director Tim Morrison to testify. 20 NovemberAmbassador Gordon Sondland, Pentagon official Laura Cooper and under secretary of state David Hale to testify. 21 NovemberFormer national security council senior director Fiona Hill to testify.
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| Biden Takes Pride in North Korea’s Insults: Campaign Update Posted: 15 Nov 2019 01:48 PM PST ![Biden Takes Pride in North Korea's Insults: Campaign Update]( "Biden Takes Pride in North Korea's Insults: Campaign Update") (Bloomberg) -- Call it the Pyongyang primary.Former Vice President Joe Biden has found himself in a war of words with North Korea's dictator after the country's state news agency called Biden a "rabid dog" who "must be beaten to death with a stick, before it is too late.""It seems that murderous dictator Kim Jong Un doesn't like me," Biden responded Friday in statement. "Add him to the list of autocrats who don't want me to be president — right next to Vladimir Putin. I wear their insults as a badge of honor."North Korea was apparently responding to a Biden statement from Oct. 31 criticizing President Donald Trump's North Korea policy after another missile test. "His 'love letters' to murderous dictator Kim Jong Un have delivered little more than made-for-TV moments," Biden said of Trump.The Korean Central News Agency's statement, released Thursday Washington time, also recycled some of Trump's insults for Biden — though with something lost in the translation. Trump's "Sleepy Joe" epithet became "Biden not awakened from a sleep."Bloomberg Plans $100 Million in Anti-Trump Ads (7:15 a.m.)Former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will spend $100 million from his personal fortune for a digital advertising campaign against President Donald Trump ahead of the 2020 election, according to the New York Times.The ads will seek to attack and define Trump in battleground states likely to decide the presidential contest, beginning Friday in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the newspaper reported.Bloomberg has not yet announced whether he will run for president but has taken steps to appear on the Democratic primary ballots in states with early filing deadlines, including Alabama and Arkansas.Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. -- Elizabeth WassermanCOMING UPThe major Democratic candidates -- including Biden, Warren, Sanders and Buttigieg -- are scheduled to appear Sunday at the Nevada Democratic Party's First in the West dinner, a major event that previously has drawn thousands to hear from presidential hopefuls.Ten candidates have qualified for the fifth Democratic debate, on Nov. 20 in Atlanta: Biden, Warren, Sanders, Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Andrew Yang, Tulsi Gabbard, Cory Booker and Tom Steyer.\--With assistance from Elizabeth Wasserman.To contact the reporter on this story: Gregory Korte in Washington at gkorte@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max BerleyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| France to host Putin, Zelensky in bid to end Ukraine conflict Posted: 15 Nov 2019 12:09 PM PST  Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet his Ukranian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris on December 9 for their first face-to-face encounter, seeking to end the half-decade conflict in Ukraine, the French presidency said Friday. The leaders will join French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the four-way summit aimed at resolving the conflict in the east of Ukraine, where pro-Moscow separatists have declared breakaway regions, the Elysee Palace said. Macron, who has been spearheading a drive for peace in Ukraine, had hoped to host the summit in September but it was held up by numerous obstacles that highlighted the difficulty of resolving the conflict.
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| The White House Motto: Watch Your Back Posted: 15 Nov 2019 12:07 PM PST ![The White House Motto: Watch Your Back]( "The White House Motto: Watch Your Back") There's no honor among thieves nor, apparently, among anxious political hacks who bound themselves to a president with a penchant for subordinating the national interest to his own.Once-eager presidential enablers have turned on one another with feral abandon as the facts of what Trump's flunkies were doing in Ukraine have become clear and the impeachment investigation moves into its public phase.John Bolton, the former national security adviser, appears to be spoiling for a fight. He has a deal worth around $2 million to write a book about his time in the administration, which he left on not-so-friendly terms in September. In a private speech last week, Bolton offered a harsh assessment of the president's foreign-policy chops and suggested that Trump's policy toward Turkey has been driven by personal and business interests, according to NBC News. Bolton's lawyer told impeachment investigators that Bolton has information about "many relevant meetings and conversations" concerning Ukraine that he might be willing to share if the courts give him the go-ahead.Bolton is awaiting the outcome of a lawsuit brought by his former deputy, Charles Kupperman, asking the courts to decide whether a congressional subpoena outweighs the president's order to ignore it.Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, tried to glom onto Kupperman's lawsuit, but Bolton was having none of it. On Monday, a lawyer who represents both him and Kupperman asked a judge to deny Mulvaney's request, citing, among other objections, that Mulvaney may have waived any immunity from testifying when he acknowledged in a news conference last month that Trump had sought a quid pro quo from Ukraine in exchange for military aid and that people needed to "get over it."Mulvaney, who subsequently insisted he hadn't said what he said, was a key player in the pressure campaign to have Ukraine announce an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden, while Bolton reportedly said he wanted nothing to do with "the drug deal" Mulvaney was "cooking up" with Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union.Surprised by the blowback, Mulvaney dropped his court request and now says he will abide by the president's edict not to cooperate.Even so, he has been clashing with Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel, over what each sees as the other's mishandling of the president's impeachment defense. Mulvaney also faces danger from House Republicans looking for someone to blame other than Trump for the Ukraine mess. He is among the most promising scapegoats, according to The Washington Post, along with the president's lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Sondland, two of the principal players. But Mulvaney has implied to people that he knows too much to be fired.Giuliani, now under criminal investigation over his Ukraine dealings, is facing newly revealed accusations from his "associate" Lev Parnas. Parnas says Giuliani directed him to help pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate Trump's political rival.Giuliani is contemplating starting an impeachment-themed podcast, which should terrify everyone concerned.The president, meanwhile, is said to want to fire not only Mulvaney but also the inspector general of the intelligence community, Michael Atkinson, who alerted Congress to the whistleblower complaint, kicking off the impeachment inquiry.More publicly, Trump has been berating Republican lawmakers for suggesting that his behavior toward Ukraine was anything other than "PERFECT" -- as he has taken to ranting on Twitter.While Secretary of State Mike Pompeo isn't under attack from his peers -- yet -- there are warning flags. Last month, his former senior adviser Michael McKinley told investigators that Pompeo ignored his pleas to protect Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine, who became the target of a Giuliani smear campaign that contributed to her ouster from Kyiv -- pleas that the secretary claims never to have heard. Who knows where this could lead?Even White House players not directly tied to impeachment are getting in on the action. Peddling her new memoir, Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations, has been accusing former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and former White House chief of staff John Kelly of having sought her aid in undermining the president's policy aims during their time in the administration. For his part, Kelly says he warned the president before being pushed out that if he were replaced by a "yes man," Trump would end up being impeached. (Looking at you, Mick.)Then there's Anonymous, the senior administration official who published a September 2018 op-ed in The Times, who is out with a new tell-all book painting an unflattering picture of the president and charging, "The White House, quite simply, is broken."To be fair, with so many people having been pulled -- willingly or otherwise -- into Trump's Ukraine scheme, it can be hard for the lackeys to keep their stories straight and avoid incriminating even themselves. For instance, Sondland originally told impeachment investigators that he had no knowledge of a quid pro quo involving Ukraine. Less than three weeks later, he amended his testimony to say that he did recall telling Ukrainian officials that they were unlikely to receive their promised military aid until they publicly announced the investigations sought by Trump. This recovered memory brought Sondland's testimony more into line with that of other witnesses.All this should serve as a warning for the president's many apologists. As the impeachment inquiry grinds on, the circular firing squad is likely to grow still larger -- and potentially armed with higher-caliber ammunition.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| German Citizens Reportedly Detained by Police: Hong Kong Update Posted: 15 Nov 2019 10:36 AM PST ![German Citizens Reportedly Detained by Police: Hong Kong Update]( "German Citizens Reportedly Detained by Police: Hong Kong Update") (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong's No. 2 official promised "more decisive measures" to halt protest violence, as the financial center faced another weekend of unrest after five straight days of road blocks, vandalism and spontaneous marches.Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung outlined the plans hours after city officials confirmed that Hong Kong was heading toward its first annual recession in a decade. Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping had said that bringing the violence to an end is Hong Kong's "most urgent task," while a scuffle involving the city's justice secretary and the second protest-related death in a week heightened tensions.The protests, which have raged for more than five months, flared anew last week after the death of a 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:City's No. 2 promises measures to halt violenceClockenflap music festival canceledProtesters return to city's streetsHong Kong justice minister hurt in LondonXi urges immediate end to disorderGovernment worker dies; 15-year-old still in hospitalSome trains services remain suspendedTwo German citizens reportedly detained by policeHere's the latest (all times local):German Citizens Reportedly Detained by Police (2:31 a.m.)Two German citizens were detained by Hong Kong police amid the continuing protests, Deutsche Welle reported, citing an official at Germany's foreign ministry. The two Germans are receiving assistance from the country's consulate in Hong Kong, according to the report. Police in Hong Kong said two foreign men were detained during a demonstration in Tuen Mun, according to Reuters. Pompeo Urges China to Uphold Its Commitments (1:19 a.m.)U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo deflected a question about what the U.S. would do if China cracks down harder on protesters in Hong Kong. But he urged China to uphold its agreements with Hong Kong and said he's pressed both Beijing and the protesters to engage in non-violent discourse."Honor that commitment," Pompeo said Friday at an event in Houston, Texas, referring to Beijing. "You promised there would be one country, two systems."University heads call for all to 'work together' to bring peace (10:45 p.m.)Nine university presidents urged the government to take the lead in ending the political deadlock and restoring order as their campuses become "major political battlefields," according to a joint statement.Demands that university disciplinary processes can fix the problem are "disconnected from reality" and the government's response so far has not been effective, they said. "We call on all quarters of society to work together to bring peace and order back to Hong Kong."Clockenflap music festival canceled (7:21 p.m.)Hong Kong's most high-profile annual music and arts festival -- Clockenflap -- has been canceled. It was due to be held between Nov. 22-24 and was set to feature artists including Mumford & Sons, Lil Pump and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard."Until this week we were fully committed to delivering the festival. Unfortunately the situation has now made this impossible," Clockenflap's organizers said in a statement to attendees, promising a full refund.City's No. 2 vows more measures (6:07 p.m.)Cheung, the city's chief secretary, promised "more decisive measures" to halt protest violence, including suspending civil servants who are arrested during demonstrations. Cheung -- joined by Civil Service Secretary Joshua Law, Transport Secretary Frank Chan, Education Secretary Kevin Yeung and Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Secretary Patrick Nip -- said departments would step up coordination.Law said that civil servants should make it their their responsibility to suppress violence. While Cheung declined to rule out further invocations of the city's powerful Emergency Regulations Ordinance, he reaffirmed that the city would hold District Council elections as planned Nov. 24.Protesters gather in Chater Garden (5 p.m.)Demonstrators began gathering again in Chater Garden in the city's central financial district, after dispersing earlier following the arrival of riot cops. Police said they had arrested 58 people since Thursday. They fired 194 rounds of tear gas, 58 rubber bullets and 14 bean bag rounds.Overwhelming support for inquiry (4:45 p.m.)Some 80% of Hong Kong adults want the government to set up an independent commission of inquiry to examine the use of force by police throughout Hong Kong's recent unrest, according to a new survey by Hong Kong Public Opinion Program. That's up from 77% earlier this month.An inquiry is one of the five demands that protesters have been chanting about in marches throughout the city for months, but the government has so far ruled out any further political concessions.Hong Kong expects recession (4:30 p.m.)Hong Kong revised down its estimate for economic growth this year, with the government now forecasting the first annual contraction since the global financial crisis a decade ago. Gross domestic product will contract 1.3% in 2019 from the previous year, the government said Friday as it released final output calculations for the third quarter.The government said ending the city's violent unrest is key to an economic recovery.Police classify death as murder (1:31 p.m.)Police upgraded their probe into the injury of a 70-year-old government worker to a murder investigation after the man died overnight. The man was struck in the head by an object during a scuffle Wednesday between protesters who had set up road blocks and others who were attempting to clear them.The man appeared to be filming in the direction of a group of black-clad protesters when one of them "deliberately threw" an object at him, Chan Tin-chu, senior superintendent for criminal investigations in New Territories North, told reporters at a briefing Friday. The victim didn't participate in the argument or the attempt to clear the road blocks, Chan said.Protesters start lunchtime rallies (12:40 p.m.)Groups of protesters begin gathering in the financial district for a lunchtime rally, one of several planned across the city. Many wore masks and carried umbrellas.Protesters also began assembling in the bustling Causeway Bay shopping district and in Tai Koo, on the eastern side of Hong Kong Island.Chinese officials condemn attack (12:15 p.m.)The Chinese government raised strong objections to the U.K. consulate in Hong Kong regarding the attack on the city's justice secretary in London on Thursday. The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong also urged the U.K. government and police to punish those responsible for the attack on Teresa Cheng, according to a statement.Hurt 15-year-old still in hospital (8:56 a.m.)A 15-year-old boy who suffered a head injury from what local media said may have been a tear gas canister was still in Tuen Mun Hospital, the Hospital Authority said. The agency said the boy's family asked that details of his condition -- which was originally listed as critical -- not be disclosed.Six people, ages 17 to 62, had been admitted to various hospitals for treatment for protest-related injuries overnight and this morning as of 7:30 a.m. All are in stable condition. The man shot by police in Sai Wan Ho on Monday is now in stable condition in Eastern Hospital. A man set on fire during an argument with protesters on the same day was still in critical condition at Prince of Wales Hospital.Group blames government for death (7:32 a.m.)A group of anonymous protesters that has occasionally spoken for the leaderless movement expressed "deepest condolences" for the death of a 70-year-old government worker Thursday, but blamed the incident on "police brutality" and government intransigence. "The HKSAR Government must concede to the Five Demands, and return to the table of politics to solve conflicts by political means," the so-called Citizens' Press Conference said in a statement Friday.Meanwhile, another protester group at the Chinese University of Hong Kong offered to remove barricades from the Tolo Highway in exchange for a government pledge to follow through with plans for District Council elections on Nov. 24, according to Radio Television Hong Kong. Students had already reopened one lane in each direction, the South China Morning Post said.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.\--With assistance from Daniel Flatley, Colin Keatinge and Dandan Li.To contact the reporters on this story: Iain Marlow in Hong Kong at imarlow1@bloomberg.net;Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.net;Dominic Lau in Hong Kong at dlau92@bloomberg.net;Erin Roman in London at eroman16@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Chris Kay, Bill FariesFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UN renews C.Africa peacekeeping mission Posted: 15 Nov 2019 10:35 AM PST  The United Nations Security Council extended the UN's peacekeeping mission in the violence-plagued Central African Republic for another year on Friday. It is the first renewal since 14 militias signed up to an eighth attempted peace agreement with the Central African government early this year. One of the world's poorest and most unstable nations, CAR has suffered several violent crises since 2003 when former president Francois Bozize seized power in a coup.
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| Yovanovitch delivers powerful riposte to Trump as he smears her – again Posted: 15 Nov 2019 10:32 AM PST  The ex-ambassador captured gnawing anxiety about the ways in which the president is undermining trust while Trump attacked her in real time Marie Yovanovitch at the end her testimony before the House Intelligence Committee Friday on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/APShe sat ramrod straight with hands folded, soft-voiced yet resolute, vulnerable yet steely. At the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, he was irate, impulsive and menacing as always. Only one of them was unimpeachable.Marie Yovanovitch, an immigrant and a career diplomat, delivered on Friday the profound riposte to Donald Trump that many in America had been hoping for from an impeachment inquiry that could lead to his removal from office.The former US ambassador to Ukraine captured in one morning much of the gnawing anxiety of foreign service professionals about the ways in which the president is undermining trust in America and fracturing the world.But even as Yovanovitch testified about being smeared and ousted, the president went and smeared her again, live, via Twitter. It was not the first time Donald Trump had tried to demean and disparage a woman and prompted Democrats to warn against "witness intimidation".It was the second public hearing of the impeachment inquiry into whether Trump sought to bribe Ukraine to boost his chance of re-election by investigating a political rival, former vice-president Joe Biden. Yovanovitch was abruptly recalled in May after coming under attack from Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, at a time when he was trying to persuade Ukraine to carry out the investigation.In a committee room as chilly as a winter's day in Kyiv, the bespectacled Yovanovitch, wearing black jacket and black trousers, sat at a long, curving desk with cans of Coca-Cola and ginger ale, bottles of water and disposable coffee cups. From her seat, she could see Democrats and Republicans at ornately carved oak desks against a backdrop of blue velvet curtains with gold trim, framed by classical columns, decorative alcoves, clocks with roman numerals and sculpted eagles. Above her was a huge chandelier with two dozen lights. Behind her sat journalists at laptops and members of the public.Marie Yovanovitch, right, sits next to her attorney, Larry Robbins, before testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington DC on Friday. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesThe power of televised impeachment hearings – so evident during Watergate in the 1970s – was realized again as Yovanovitch, far from speaking like a dry bureaucrat like previous witnesses, told a deeply personal story about the country she loves.She delivered a 13-page opening statement, laying out her 33 years of government service under Democratic and Republican presidents, including 13 moves and spells in seven countries, five of them hardship posts, starting with Mogadishu in Somalia. She championed efforts against corruption in Ukraine – making her a target for some there who, astonishingly, found American accomplices.In a cool, clear tone that was a useful antidote to the rage and hysteria of the social media age, Yovanovitch described a "smear campaign" involving Giuliani, reinforced by cable news hosts and the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. Eventually, she recalled, she was told in April 2019 to come back to Washington on the next plane because she no longer had the confidence of the president.Yovanovitch described how professional public servants serve US interests regardless of who occupies the White House. She cited the diplomats killed in the 2012 Benghazi attacks in Libya, tortured in captivity in Iran and injured in mysterious attacks in Cuba."We honor these individuals," she told the hearing. "They represent each one of you here and every American. These courageous individuals were attacked because they symbolized America."Under questioning from Democrats, Yovanovitch said she was "shocked and devastated" when a rough transcript of Trump's phone call with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, revealed the American president was bad-mouthing her to a foreign leader behind her back. "It was a terrible moment. A person who saw me reading the transcript said the color drained from my face."She added in a low voice: "Even now words fail me."In that now infamous phone call, Trump had ominously said of Yovanovitch that "she was going to go through some things".Yovanovitch said: "It didn't sound good. It sounded like a threat."The effect of Trump's comments, she said, "is very intimidating" and both for her and others who might be inclined to publicly attack corruption.There was a surprise to come on a similar theme. As Yovanovitch was still testifying, Trump reached for his retaliatory weapon of choice, Twitter."Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad," he tweeted, pointing to the time she spent in Somalia and in Ukraine, where Trump said "the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavourably about her".Adam Schiff on Capitol Hill in Washington DC on Friday. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty ImagesAdam Schiff, the committee chairman, seized his moment. He told the former ambassador: "The president is attacking you in real time." He read the tweet aloud and asked Yovanovitch for her reaction. Maintaining her dignity throughout, she paused and said: "I can't speak to what the president is trying to do, but I think the effect is to be intimidating."Schiff replied: "Well, I want to let you know, ambassador, that some of us here take witness intimidation very, very seriously."And everyone in the room knew that, not only had Trump once again dug a hole for Republicans, but quite possibly just written a new article of impeachment against himself. It was also a sign of the times.Susan Glasser, a writer at the New Yorker, tweeted: "For those who wondered what an impeachment in the Twitter era will look like, the answer is here: the President attacking a witness and impugning her in real time, as she is testifying. Imagine Nixon hate-tweeting John Dean live."
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| Trump to attend NATO summit in London, days before UK vote Posted: 15 Nov 2019 10:31 AM PST  US President Donald Trump will visit Britain for NATO's 70th anniversary summit next month, the White House said Friday, in a trip falling days before the country votes in a general election. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seeking to retain power in the December 12 election that has been dominated by Brexit -- a hugely divisive plan for which Trump has voiced strong support. The president, who backs a "no deal" Brexit, has already roiled the election campaign by suggesting last month that the terms of Johnson's current EU divorce deal mean London could struggle to continue to trade with the US.
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| Corbyn Energizes Labour, Scares Markets With Free Broadband Plan Posted: 15 Nov 2019 10:15 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Jeremy Corbyn has been trying to shift his Labour Party's election campaign off the thorny issue of Brexit and onto his radical plans to shake up the U.K. economy. He finally achieved it on Friday, drowning out Prime Minister Boris Johnson's own media blitz in the process.The promise to provide universal free fiber broadband by nationalizing BT Group Plc's Openreach unit dominated broadcasts and sent telecommunications shares plunging. It's a continuation of Labour's plan to take control of key utilities, with taxes from large multinational companies -- in this case the likes of Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc. -- helping to foot the bill."This is core infrastructure for the 21st century," Corbyn said at a campaign event in Lancaster. "It's too important to be left to the corporations."It is the biggest new pledge of the campaign so far from Labour, with Corbyn comparing his proposed new British Broadband company to the establishment of the U.K.'s revered National Health Service. It also overshadowed Johnson's own events, which included the launch of his campaign bus, a pledge to reopen railway lines closed since the 1960s and two interviews with the BBC.Johnson denounced Labour's broadband plan as a "crazed communist scheme," but the danger for the prime minister is that the proposal will cut through with the voters. Lack of broadband coverage, particularly in rural areas, is a popular complaint and the U.K. lags far behind economic rivals including South Korea, Japan and Spain.The ruling Conservative Party's own plan is to incentivize private companies to extend their networks -- a revamp of a government program that has been criticized for failing to reach communities across the country.Battle Lines Are Drawn in Boris Johnson's Big Election GambleLabour's plan sent shock-waves through financial markets, especially after the party's economy spokesman, John McDonnell, acknowledged it might need the broadband assets of other providers -- including Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media -- to make it work."We'll come to an agreement with them, and it will either be via an agreement on access arrangements, or working alongside us, or if necessary, yes, they can then come within the ambit of British Broadband itself," McDonnell told the BBC on Friday. If no agreement could be reached, the government would pay compensation subject to "commercial negotiation," he said.BT shares fell as much as 3.7% and TalkTalk Telecom Group Plc slipped 2.8% after it paused talks to sell its own fiber project, FibreNation Ltd., following Labour's announcement.But there were other factors in play, including a record payment by BT to retain Champions League soccer rights. BT shares recouped most of their loss later as analysts played down Labour's chances of winning the majority it would need to carry out its plan.There was also criticism of Labour's plan to tax multinational companies based on the size of their U.K. activities. Technology companies often book their U.K. sales through countries such as Ireland or the Netherlands, making taxation based on sales difficult to enforce. Companies could take jobs to other countries to avoid the U.K. tax, analysts said.Nicky Morgan, the Conservative cabinet minister with responsibility for digital services, dismissed Corbyn's plan in a statement as a "fantasy" that "would cost hardworking taxpayers tens of billions" of pounds.Still, Corbyn is unlikely to lose much sleep over the criticism at this stage of the campaign. Free broadband access and making big tech firms pay more tax have popular appeal, and trailing the Tories by double digits in many opinion polls, he needs some bold moves to cut through.In 2017, his promises to re-nationalize rail, water and mail services proved popular with voters and contributed to then Prime Minister Theresa May losing her parliamentary majority. Corbyn will be hoping for even better this time.\--With assistance from Thomas Seal, Thomas Pfeiffer and Giles Turner.To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Ritchie in London at gritchie10@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UN extends peacekeepers in Central African Republic Posted: 15 Nov 2019 09:59 AM PST ![UN extends peacekeepers in Central African Republic]( "UN extends peacekeepers in Central African Republic") The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Friday to extend the U.N. peacekeeping force in Central African Republic for a year, with a mandate to protect civilians, support peace efforts, and assist in preparing for elections starting in 2020. The French-drafted resolution welcomed the Feb. 6 peace agreement signed by the government and 14 armed groups and reiterated the council's support for President Faustin-Archange Touadera and his government in their efforts to promote lasting peace. It urged all signatories to implement the agreement without delay and condemned "in the strongest terms" violations and violence perpetrated by some armed groups and militias throughout the country.
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| UN adds explosive components ban to Somalia arms embargo Posted: 15 Nov 2019 09:28 AM PST  The U.N. Security Council on Friday extended an arms embargo on Somalia and a ban on trade in charcoal, a key source of funds for al-Shabab extremists — and it imposed a new ban on ingredients for explosive devices the group is increasingly using. The vote on the British-drafted resolution was 12-0 with Russia, China and Equatorial Guinea abstaining because of concerns over some of its content including references to human rights and a dispute between Horn of Africa neighbors Eritrea and Djibouti. It also condemned the flow of weapons and ammunition to and through Somalia in violation of the arms embargo.
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| Labour’s BT Nationalization Plan May Be Easier With Hard Brexit Posted: 15 Nov 2019 09:18 AM PST ![Labour's BT Nationalization Plan May Be Easier With Hard Brexit]( "Labour's BT Nationalization Plan May Be Easier With Hard Brexit") (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. Labour Party's plans to nationalize BT Group Plc's broadband network and provide free service for all may force its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, to perform a delicate balancing act with European Union rules -- and maybe even with his Brexit campaign pledges.Some analysts responding to Friday's announcement said the proposal raises legal issues. EU state aid rules aim to stop European governments subsidizing a company at the expense of rivals across the bloc. They prevent states propping up failing firms, paying too much for a troubled company or avoiding taxes or charges that others have to pay.However, the rules don't automatically rule out nationalization, said James Webber, competition lawyer at Shearman & Sterling in London."There may be a debate about their other proposal to also provide free broadband, especially when there is already a competitive market for this," he said. "But even here EU law offers significantly more room than many people think."The purchase price of an asset is a key issue in questions about the legality of state aid. The rules forbid governments from overpaying for businesses, because that could unfairly bolster their competitive position, said Mohammed Khalil, senior consultant on state aid at economics consultancy Oxera. As far as state aid rules go, underpaying is fine, he said.So Corbyn wouldn't be able to fast-track nationalization by splashing out for Openreach, which Jefferies analysts estimate is worth 13.5 billion pounds ($17.4 billion).Human RightsHowever, a Labour government couldn't low-ball BT shareholders either: the bloc's human rights directives, currently mirrored in U.K. law as well as investor protection treaties Britain has signed with other countries, would force the government to pay market rates, said Chris Watson, head of the telecom, media and communication practice at CMS. Otherwise, it risks being accused of unfair confiscation, he said.The Labour Party said the cost of nationalizing Openreach will be 20 billion pounds, and that investors would receive U.K. government bonds as payment for their shares.Even if Corbyn managed to find an acceptable price and nationalize Openreach into a new service, which Labour is calling British Broadband, his EU legal minefields wouldn't be clear.Providing free broadband and undercutting offerings from competitors such as Liberty Global Plc's Virgin Media would disadvantage investors who have bought into Openreach's rivals on the expectation that they'd make a profit. It's hard for BT's rivals to do that if they face a competitor who doesn't charge a price.This could generate legal challenges from stakeholders in the private firms, who may claim that the government is favoring one business in an industry at the expense of others, something that would violate EU state aid rules, said Caroline Ramsay, expert in public procurement and state aid law at TLT LLP."When you go and nationalize an organization that's already competing in a competitive market -- and it is -- that can create a risk of challenge," she said. "However the state decides to keep British Broadband going, it's probably not going to be on a commercial basis. That then means that they could be a beneficiary of state aid."Hard BrexitWouldn't nationalization of Openreach be easier if Britain were no longer a member of the EU? That would give a Labour-led government more flexibility on the price it pays for the asset, and help it worry less about the knock-on impact to competitors like Virgin Media or TalkTalk Telecom Group Plc.But Labour's campaign platform states a preference for a post-Brexit relationship aligned on EU rules. A post-Brexit nationalization plan would likely still need to account for the bloc's state aid and human rights rules.Corbyn could avoid this by changing tack and arguing for a hard Brexit. If so, he would have to give up his central promise for a softer, worker-friendly divorce than what Prime Minister Boris Johnson is proposing.Even with a Brexit deal that devolved antitrust oversight to the U.K., "the Competition and Markets Authority would to some extent be tied by same rules as the European Commission imposes today," said Oxera's Khalil. "So it's only in a very hard, rigid, Brexit no-deal that it may be easier to have more control over your industrial policy."John McDonnell, who is vying to become the next Chancellor of the Exchequer after the Dec. 12 general election, said the party has taken advice from lawyers to ensure its broadband plan fits within European Union state aid rules in case the U.K. is still in the bloc when the plans are carried out.And, when faced with these arguments on state aid, Labour could point to one of Britain's most revered institutions: the National Health Service."The state offers the National Health Service free of charge at the point of consumption, there are private health providers, and I don't see anyone saying the NHS is therefore illegal," said Watson. "So it's not clear to me on what basis offering a basic broadband service for free would be illegal."\--With assistance from Stephanie Bodoni and Aoife White.To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Seal in London at tseal@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net, Jennifer Ryan, Thomas PfeifferFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Chicago gang leader accused of trying to help Islamic State Posted: 15 Nov 2019 09:11 AM PST ![Chicago gang leader accused of trying to help Islamic State]( "Chicago gang leader accused of trying to help Islamic State") A purported street-gang leader from suburban Chicago who became radicalized in prison faces federal charges accusing him of seeking to provide money to Islamic State militants in Syria, according to a complaint unsealed Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Jason Brown, the 37-year-old leader of the AHK gang, could be heard on secret FBI recordings speaking admiringly about beheadings by the Islamic State group, the 27-page complaint says. AHK, which prosecutors say traffics drugs throughout the Chicago area, is comprised of former members of the Black P-Stone, Gangster Disciples and Four Corner Hustlers who converted to Islam, the court filings say.
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| Lebanon’s Divide Flares Anew With Tycoon’s Pick for Premier Posted: 15 Nov 2019 08:38 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- The candidacy of a wealthy Lebanese businessman to become the country's new premier is reinforcing the very rift that's separated demonstrators and the political elites they deem corrupt over weeks of protests.Mohammad Safadi, who's also a former finance minister, has the backing of Lebanon's major political parties after a meeting late on Thursday, but it's a choice that generated an immediate backlash from anti-government demonstrators pressing for deeper reform. Involved in a coastal development that's provoked protests, Safadi has been a member in various governments for over a decade, hardly a harbinger of the change demanded during the unrest.The nomination "shows once again the audacity of the political establishment in dismissing peoples' voices," Sami Atallah, director of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, said on Twitter.Lebanon, one of the world's most indebted nations, has been without a government since Saad Hariri resigned late last month as protesters lashed out over alleged corruption and mismanagement that's pushed the economy to the verge of bankruptcy.It's not only on the streets that Safadi's candidacy is viewed with qualms. Snubbing the proposal, three former prime ministers -- Tammam Salam, Najib Mikati and Fouad Siniora -- issued a joint statement on Friday, saying that given the current situation, they had insisted on reappointing Hariri and called on political parties to support his nomination instead. Safadi was a minister under both Mikati and Siniora.Four weeks in, the uprising in Lebanon has grown into one of the most serious challenges yet to the sectarian power-sharing system that emerged from the ashes of its 1975-1990 civil war. The apparent inability of senior officials to respond to popular demands has further shaken confidence in the economy and seen the currency tumble on the black market.Breaking the Stalemate?A former lawmaker, Safadi hails from predominantly Sunni Tripoli, a northern city that has some of the highest rates of poverty in Lebanon and has witnessed some of the biggest protests. As well as holding the finance portfolio, Safadi has served as minister of public works, transport and economy.Lebanon's political system dictates that the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim, the president a Christian and the speaker a Shiite, while parliament seats are divided among different religious sects.Caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who has also been a target of protests, said Safadi agreed to head the new government if he gets the approval of the parliamentary blocs.In comments to MTV Lebanon, Bassil said consultations could take place Monday and Safadi will be named at the end "or else we will be in this stalemate as we wait for an agreement on a new prime minister."Hariri, HezbollahLocal media reported that Hariri, President Michel Aoun as well as the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and allies all agreed to name Safadi to head the next cabinet. Aoun has yet to set a date for parliamentary consultations to name a new premier.Hariri's Future parliamentary bloc would accept Safadi but is also open to other options, said a prominent member, Hadi Hobeish. Safadi's wife, Violette, is a minister in Hariri's caretaker cabinet.Safadi, 75, wouldn't comment on his possible designation and will wait for consultations to officially name him, a person at his office said.Almost immediately after reports trickled out of Safadi's candidacy, a video was circulated online summarizing his role in a controversial Saudi arms deal and construction along the coast that's been at the center of protests against the illegal privatization of public property. On Twitter, commentators denounced him as part of the political class protesters want to push out.Earlier this month, Safadi denied allegations that he benefited from his status to buy property from the government at an undervalued price and build a posh promenade lined with restaurants and shops in the center of the capital, Beirut. In a statement, Safadi also said the project doesn't infringe on public space.Challenges AboundIf confirmed, Safadi will face formidable challenges, not just from the street. Lebanon is confronting its most serious economic crisis in decades. Banks are closed, trade is stymied by a shortage of hard currency and the pound has depreciated on the black market as concerns rise that the country is heading toward a debt crisis.Yet political squabbling has stalled economic reform plans required to win back investor confidence and unlock some $11 billion in international aid pledged at a donor conference last year.(Updates with statement by three ex-premiers in fifth paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Lin Noueihed in Beirut at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net;Dana Khraiche in Beirut at dkhraiche@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Paul Abelsky, Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UPDATE 1-Claiming to be UK's new 'party of business' UK Lib Dems enter election spending race Posted: 15 Nov 2019 08:33 AM PST ![UPDATE 1-Claiming to be UK's new 'party of business' UK Lib Dems enter election spending race]( "UPDATE 1-Claiming to be UK's new 'party of business' UK Lib Dems enter election spending race") The anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats claimed the mantle of Britain's "party of business" on Friday, setting out their proposed fiscal rules while dismissing rivals' plans for the economy as unrealistic and undeliverable. The two main parties, Boris Johnson's Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn's Labour, have been promising large investment in infrastructure and public services, marking a clear shift towards more borrowing after nearly a decade of austerity. On Friday, the third-placed Liberal Democrats' set out their own plans, promising 100 billion pounds ($128 billion) to tackle climate change, and budget rules that would allow higher capital investment alongside a commitment to a small budget surplus.
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| Ukraine says it’s arrested a top IS commander near Kiyv Posted: 15 Nov 2019 08:33 AM PST ![Ukraine says it's arrested a top IS commander near Kiyv]( "Ukraine says it's arrested a top IS commander near Kiyv") The Ukrainian Security Service says it has arrested Al Bar Shishani, one of the top commanders in the Islamic State group. The service, the SBU, said in a Facebook statement Friday that Shishani, a Georgian national, was apprehended near the Ukrainian capital Kiyv. Since 2012, Shishani had served as a deputy to Abu Omar al-Shishani, the "minister of war" in IS, who was declared dead in 2016.
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| Macron to Host Meeting on Ukraine, Citing ‘Major Progress’ Posted: 15 Nov 2019 08:01 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Want the lowdown on European markets? In your inbox before the open, every day. Sign up here.French President Emmanuel Macron will host the leaders from Russia, Germany and Ukraine on Dec. 9, citing "major progress" in efforts to resolve tensions in Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014."The summit will take place against the backdrop of major progress since last summer in negotiations for the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine," Macron's office said in a statement on Friday. Steps "have included the disengagement of troops in several areas of tension on the line of contact," according to the statement.Macron, who will be meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Paris, said there will be a renewed commitment progress.Talks to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed fighters produced the first major breakthrough this month since a stalled 2015 peace accord.Negotiators in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, agreed on a schedule under which elections would be held in the breakaway regions and a new law passed granting them special status. The plan known as the Steinmeier formula was proposed by Frank-Walter Steinmeier when he was Germany's foreign minister.To contact the reporter on this story: Helene Fouquet in Paris at hfouquet1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Crawford at acrawford6@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo, Raymond ColittFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UK Liberal Democrats say they could back minority government on 'issue-by-issue' basis Posted: 15 Nov 2019 07:56 AM PST ![UK Liberal Democrats say they could back minority government on 'issue-by-issue' basis]( "UK Liberal Democrats say they could back minority government on 'issue-by-issue' basis") Britain's anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats could support a minority Labour or Conservative Party government on an issue-by-issue basis if a Dec. 12 election does not produce a clear winner, the party's finance spokesman Ed Davey said on Friday. "If either of them form a minority government, as is possible, we will vote issue by issue... that will force any government to come to the centre to be more moderate," Davey told an audience in Leeds, northern England. Davey said the party would not vote to make Conservative leader Boris Johnson nor Labour's Jeremy Corbyn prime minister.
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| North Korean news agency calls Biden a 'rabid dog' after campaign ad implies Kim Jong Un's a 'tyrant' Posted: 15 Nov 2019 07:55 AM PST  After a campaign ad for Former Vice President Joe Biden implied Kim Jong Un was a "tyrant," North Korean state media responded on Thursday by blasting the 2020 Democratic candidate. "Anyone who dare slanders the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK can never spare the DPRK's merciless punishment," said the commentary, which was translated by North Korea's news agency.
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| Donald Trump to meet Queen at Buckingham Palace ahead of general election Posted: 15 Nov 2019 07:03 AM PST  Donald Trump will meet The Queen for the second time this year when he visits the UK at the beginning of December. The US President and the First Lady Melania Trump will travel to Britain for a three-day visit from Dec 2 to Dec 4 and will meet Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace which will tie into their Nato commitments. In a statement from the White House, a spokesman said: "Seventy years after its founding, NATO remains the most successful Alliance in history, guaranteeing the security, prosperity, and freedom of its members. "President Trump looks forward to meeting with the other NATO Heads of State and government to review the Alliance's unprecedented progress on burden-sharing, including adding more than $100 billion in new defense spending since 2016. "The President will also emphasize the need for the NATO Alliance to ensure its readiness for the threats of tomorrow, including those emanating from cyberspace, those affecting our critical infrastructure and telecommunications networks, and those posed by terrorism." The announcement comes amid political tension on both sides of the Atlantic, with the campaign for the British general election hotting up in the UK and Mr Trump facing an impeachment inquiry in Washington. Donald Trump's state visit to the UK US President Donald Trump travelled to Britain for a three-day state visit in June this year. Accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, the president arrived aboard Air Force One having already created a considerable degree of political turbulence with comments on the then Tory leadership race, Brexit and the Duchess of Sussex. On his second day, at a press conference with then prime minister Theresa May, he revealed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had requested a meeting, but was rejected. Donald Trump's UK state visit, in pictures It later emerged that the president held a 20-minute phone call with the soon-to-be Tory leader Boris Johnson and met with Brexit party leader Nigel Farage, among others. On his third day Mr Trump, and First Lady Melania, joined the Queen and Prince Charles, Mrs May and other world leaders, at a commemoration of the D-Day landings in Portsmouth with veterans. The event was to tell the story of D-Day through musical performance, testimonial readings and military displays, including a fly-past of 25 modern and period aircraft. The Queen then bid farewell to Mr and Mrs Trump before they travelled to Ireland to meet Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.
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| North Korea Masters Sanctions Evasion as Kim’s Deadline Nears Posted: 15 Nov 2019 07:02 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- North Korea is poking holes through a global web of sanctions and generating enough cash to keep its nuclear weapons program moving along as a year-end deadline Kim Jong Un set to reach a deal with the U.S. approaches -- with little progress in sight.Instead of "concrete, verifiable steps toward denuclearization" -- a mantra of President Donald Trump's policy toward Pyongyang -- Kim has yet to make any concessions on his nation's nuclear program. The ability of the North Korean leader to find ways around United Nations sanctions is making it difficult for America's "maximum pressure" campaign to deliver on what the Trump administration has promised."The problem is there is wiggle room, and while the sanctions are effective at squeezing the economy over the long run, I don't believe Chairman Kim Jong Un sees them as a challenge in the short term," Hugh Griffiths, who led the UN's panel of experts on North Korea until earlier this year, said in an interview.Kim has repeatedly threatened to find a "new way" if negotiations with the U.S. fail to progress by year-end, and recent talks in Stockholm lasted less than half a day. That timeline may reflect the American political calendar as much as Kim's own. Trump could be hard-pressed to secure progress on North Korea while facing a possible impeachment trial and running for re-election.Also making a year-end breakthrough less likely: the chief U.S. negotiator, Stephen Biegun, is Trump's pick to be the No. 2 official at the State Department. While the formal nomination hasn't yet been sent to the Senate, Biegun's largely been unable to meet his North Korean counterparts this year.Keeping Up With Plot of the Trump-Kim Nuclear Show: QuickTakeThe result is a deadlock for diplomacy, which could be just what Kim wants. The U.S. is pushing hard to bring North Korea back to negotiations and South Korea was taking North Korea's deadline "very seriously," South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong told reporters on Sunday."We have nothing to show for several years of diplomacy except for a far more capable North Korea and a less robust U.S.-South Korea relationship," said Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. "He is uninterested in denuclearization. He's interested in keeping nuclear weapons, keeping ballistic missiles and getting out from under sanctions. And it seems to me he's making some progress."Underscoring the delicate state of U.S.-South Korea ties, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday that Seoul needs to contribute more to host U.S. troops there. That followed Trump's demands that South Korea pay about $5 billion to continue hosting U.S. troops, above the current level of about $1 billion per year."Korea is a wealthy country, and could and should pay more to offset the cost of defense," Esper said at the start of an eight-day trip through Asia. He said he wants talks with Seoul finished by the end of the year.North Korea has fired off at least 20 missiles in a dozen different military tests since breaking a testing freeze in May, with the maneuvers seen by experts as improving Kim's ability to launch quick strikes through new weapons that could eventually deliver nuclear warheads.Yet that doesn't mean Kim will resume testing of long-range missiles or walk away from talks with the U.S. immediately after his deadline, as those options also pose risks to his regime.While they haven't forced Kim into making nuclear concessions, U.S.-led sanctions have had a significant impact on his besieged economy. North Korea's exports plunged 86% to just $240 million in 2018, while imports fell 31% as gross domestic product contracted 4.1%, according to estimates from South Korea's central bank.Griffiths said the volume of North Korean coal sales had fallen sharply as countries like China and Russia keep the country's ships away from their ports. But Pyongyang has found loopholes, like delivering coal at sea in ship-to-ship transfers. That takes advantage of the lack of inter-agency cooperation in some East and South Asian countries who are less adept at coordinating among port authorities, safety inspectors and coast guards.In the first four months of this year, North Korea raked in $93 million via 127 deliveries of prohibited coal shipments, according to evidence provided to the UN panel of experts. That revenue stream helps it ease the pain of sanctions.Even with its isolated and restricted economy, North Korea can afford to push ahead with its nuclear aspirations because its 1950s-era program is relatively cheap and it spends more than 20% of GDP on the military. The country has spent about $100 million to test more than 30 ballistic missiles since 2011, according to South Korean estimates.North Korea has also been successful in breaching UN-imposed caps on oil imports. In a letter in June to the UN, the U.S. said the regime had already exceeded the 500,000 barrels of oil permitted. North Korea has been so successful in importing refined petroleum that the most recent UN report said "overall stable prices for gasoline and diesel" show "a lack of domestic shortages."Cyber AttacksThen there's North Korea's growing mastery of cyber attacks and financial theft. According to the UN, North Korean agents have amassed about $2 billion by stealing money from financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges. Griffiths said his own panel was hacked several times.Citing the growing sophistication, Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, who also served on the UN panel, pointed to one example in which North Korean cyber operatives gained access to the ATM networks of an undisclosed country, prompting 10,000 cash distributions to individuals across more than 20 countries in five hours.North Korea doesn't "have to jump through hoops to arrange complicated evasion schemes," Kleine-Ahlbrandt said in comments reported by the website 38 North. "Instead, it can just hack into a bank to steal money."Trump has shrugged off the more recent North Korean weapons tests, saying Kim has lived up to his pledge to halt tests of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles.'Love Letters'At the same time, North Korea continues to argue that the U.S. is failing to take steps needed to achieve a breakthrough. Pyongyang has called U.S.-led joint military drills with South Korea a "breach" of agreements reached with the U.S. Washington isn't taking seriously the year-end deadline, North Korea's state-run news agency warned.Susan Rice, a former national security adviser to President Barack Obama, said Trump has allowed Kim Jong Un to keep on developing his program by sending him "love letters" without getting anything "concrete" in return."The pressure is now off North Korea, and the Russians and the Chinese have eased sanctions," Rice said on Nov. 7 at "The Year Ahead" conference in New York hosted by Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News. "And the American people have been lulled into a false sense of security."(Updates to add comments from Pentagon chief Esper from eighth paragraph)\--With assistance from Jihye Lee, Jon Herskovitz and Glen Carey.To contact the reporter on this story: David Wainer in New York at dwainer3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Former top diplomat to Russia suggests 'Putin has the transcript' of Trump's Ukraine call Posted: 15 Nov 2019 06:58 AM PST  New reports suggesting Donald Trump called his EU ambassador on an unsecured line while he was visiting Ukraine could mean that "Vladimir Putin has the transcript", according to the former top US diplomat to Russia.Michael McFaul, who served as the US ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, slammed the White House for its "incredibly sloppy" dealings involving Ukraine.
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| Judge: US-born woman who joined Islamic State not citizen Posted: 15 Nov 2019 06:58 AM PST  A federal judge has ruled the U.S. government was correct when it determined a woman who joined the Islamic State group was not an American citizen despite her birth in the country. "This is not the end of our client's legal options," said Christina Jump, a lawyer with the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America. Hoda Muthana was born in New Jersey in October 1994 to a diplomat from Yemen and grew up in Alabama.
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| The Latest: Iraq: 2 more protesters killed in Baghdad Posted: 15 Nov 2019 06:34 AM PST  Iraqi security and medical officials say two protesters have been killed and at least 25 others wounded in ongoing confrontations with security forces in a central Baghdad square. The officials say the protesters were killed when police fired live ammunition and tear gas at hundreds of protesters who removed concrete barriers and streamed into the Khilani Square, which has been at the center of clashes for the past days.
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| Trump Boasted About ‘Great’ Ukrainians at Miss Universe Pageant on First Zelensky Call Posted: 15 Nov 2019 06:26 AM PST  If President Trump believes a rough transcript of him telling anecdotes about the Miss Universe pageant to foreign leaders will distract the impeachment inquiry, it looks like he's sorely mistaken.Since last week, Trump and his White House staff have signaled they were ready to unveil this week a transcript of the president's first call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump had conspicuously previewed the move multiple times, boasting of his alleged transparency and supposedly exculpatory new information. On Friday, we found out why. In a transcript of the searingly banal conversation, the two men discuss almost nothing of substance, with Zelensky boasting about the quality of the food in Ukraine and Trump saying he met some "great people" from the country when he owned the Miss Universe pageant.The only hint of the coming storm is where Trump is quoted as saying: "When you're settled in and ready, I'd like to invite you to the White House. We'll have a lot of things to talk about."Transcript Shows WH Made Up Details of Trump's Zelensky CallThe call, made prior to his now-infamous, scandalous "quid pro quo" conversation in July, was infinitely normal. The kind of routine congratulations that used to be routine before Trump moved into the Oval Office. "It'll be something the president can play with for a few days… at least [after its release]," one senior administration official noted, candidly.The one memorable part of the transcript comes after Zelensky invites Trump to attend his inauguration ceremony. The Ukrainian president tells his U.S. counterpart: "There's no word that can describe our wonderful country. How nice, warm, and friendly our people are, how tasty and delicious our food is, and how wonderful Ukraine is."Trump, clearly scrabbling around for something to say, responds: "When I owned Miss Universe, they always had great people. Ukraine was always very well represented."Outside of Trumpworld, and even by many within, the release was widely interpreted as a barely veiled attempt at distraction and an effort to change the subject from impeachment and scandal to something more innocuous."I will be releasing the transcript of the first, and therefore more important, phone call with the Ukrainian President before week's end!" Trump posted to Twitter on Tuesday morning.The tenor and tone of the April 21 call had been previously described in Lt Col. Alexander Vindman's testimony before House impeachment investigators. Vindman, who was on the call, described it as "positive." "The President expressed his desire to work with President Zelensky and extended an invitation to visit the White House," he testified, according to transcripts released last week. Later in the deposition, Vindman was asked by the House majority's counsel to compare the call to the now infamous conversation Trump had with Zelensky in July."April 21st [call] was complementary, positive," Vindman said. "He repeatedly praised President Zelensky for the significant landslide victory he had achieved. And, in general, I think there was, you know, probably a little bit of humor exchanged." By July 25, Vindman said the tone had changed, saying Trump spoke "lower" and the "atmospherics and the tone were not the same." Vindman said that in the intervening months he had spoken to Russia's Vladmir Putin as well as Hungary's Viktor Orban, both well known to have adversarial relationships with Ukraine. Vindman said he could remember if Ukraine came up in the conversation with Putin, but confirmed that Trump had spoken to Orban about Ukraine. And he did not have positive things to say. "[W]hat I, I guess, found, You know, interesting and troubling about President Orban is, at this point, President Zelensky had had a number of positive interactions with world leaders," Vindman said. "You know, again, in my role as a coordinating interagency policy, I get reports from colleagues from foreign — representatives of foreign capitals telling me about the interactions they had. And in aII cases, they were positive. And, frankly, Victor Orban's was in great contrast to that." Vindman said that while Bolton was opposed to the meeting with Orban, Mulvaney helped set it up. Asked why Bolton didn't want Trump to meet with Orban, Vindman answered, "According to my recollection, and this would have been probably — most certainly as a result of a discussion with Dr. HilI, the kind of information that President Orban was communicating was not just inaccurate, but it also would undermine efforts to organize our national security policy in a more constructive manner." "Toward Ukraine?" Vindman was asked. "Toward Ukraine," he answered.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Huawei Could Face Outright 5G Network Ban by Merkel's Own Party Posted: 15 Nov 2019 06:11 AM PST ![Huawei Could Face Outright 5G Network Ban by Merkel's Own Party]( "Huawei Could Face Outright 5G Network Ban by Merkel's Own Party") (Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel is coming under pressure from her own party to impose an outright ban on Chinese equipment supplier Huawei Technologies Co. from the country's 5G network.The demand is part of a motion signed by 500 of her fellow Christian Democrats to be presented at the party conference next week, according to a copy obtained by Bloomberg News. They call for alternative solutions from European providers.Urged by hawks in Germany's intelligence service and the U.S. administration, the government recently agreed to ratchet up restrictions on Huawei that would block its components from the core network but allow them in less sensitive areas. Concerns in Washington and Berlin are over the risks of Huawei's ties to the Chinese government and 5G's susceptibility to sabotage or espionage.Merkel to Ratchet up Huawei Restrictions in Concession to HawksCDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, like Merkel, opposes an outright ban of Huawei, and an approval of the motion by a majority of the 1,000 delegates would be seen as a vote against them. Both women have come under pressure this year after a series of election defeats and quarrels over policies.Huawei has insisted that it poses no risk to infrastructure in Europe's largest economy, saying there's no reason to exclude a company that's served the telecommunications industry without fault for years.The CDU party conference takes place in Leipzig Nov. 22 and 23. (Adds place and time of party meeting in sixth paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Arne Delfs in Berlin at adelfs@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Raymond Colitt, Iain RogersFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran moves on ultra-cheap petrol, starts rationing Posted: 15 Nov 2019 06:09 AM PST  Iran imposed petrol rationing and raised pump prices by at least 50 percent Friday, saying the move aims to help the needy with cash handouts and is not due to a budget deficit. The Islamic republic provides some of the most heavily subsidised petrol in the world, with the pump price previously standing at just 10,000 rials (less than nine US cents) a litre. "Increasing petrol prices is to the people's benefit and also to help the society's strata under (economic) pressure," President Hassan Rouhani told a cabinet meeting, quoted by state news agency IRNA.
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| US, India And Other Major Trade Partners Demand Compensation For Brexit-Related Trade Loss Posted: 15 Nov 2019 06:04 AM PST ![US, India And Other Major Trade Partners Demand Compensation For Brexit-Related Trade Loss]( "US, India And Other Major Trade Partners Demand Compensation For Brexit-Related Trade Loss") At the World Trade Organization meeting in Geneva, major economic powers like the U.S., India and Brazil that trade with the U.K. have raised concerns on the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, as their commercial losses mount over the extension of the divorce deadline. While the spotlight on Brexit has largely revolved around trade complications that will arise between the U.K. and the European Union (EU), seldom have the disruptions that this decision causes to countries trading with these two economic powerhouses been discussed. The subject of contention is a WTO system called the "tariff-rate quotas" that currently allows member countries to strike specific tariff slabs on their imports – depending on the product and the volumes being traded.
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| Congo’s president hopes Ebola outbreak will end this year Posted: 15 Nov 2019 05:46 AM PST  Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi says he's hopeful the Ebola outbreak in his country will end in the coming weeks. Over 2,000 people have died in the outbreak which the United Nations declared an international emergency in July. Speaking in Berlin after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Tshisekedi said he's willing to work with any country interested in Congo's vast natural resources, including China and Russia.
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| Boris goes head-to-head with Buckethead and Binface in UK vote Posted: 15 Nov 2019 05:32 AM PST  When Britain goes to the polls on December 12, all eyes will be on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to see if he can secure a parliamentary majority to help push through his Brexit deal. Lord Buckethead -- who bills himself as "mankind's greatest hope for survival" and "a low-budget Darth Vader with a heart" -- is a familiar figure on the British political scene, having stood against prime ministers since 1987. In 2017, he came seventh in the constituency of former PM Theresa May and gained worlwide fans when he celebrated his 249 votes by "dabbing" on stage.
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| Germany Sticks to Debt-Free Budget Posted: 15 Nov 2019 05:06 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 will maintain its disciplined approach to spending as lawmakers look set to confirm the government's balanced budget for 2020, despite calls for fiscal stimulus to boost the country's slowing economy.After all-night discussions, the budget committee of the lower house of parliament signed off on plans to spend 362 billion euros ($399 billion) next year, a slight increase from the proposed 360 billion euros, according to documents from the committee. The bill will go to the floor of the legislature in the week starting Nov. 25."It remains: no new debt," Eckhardt Rehberg, the budget expert for Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party, said in an emailed statement on Friday. "Germany has no financing problem. We have the necessary income to finance the right priorities: climate protection, internal and external security, education and research, and social security."While Germany dodged a technical recession in the third quarter by eeking out an unexpected 0.1% expansion, growth remains anemic. The country has determinedly rejected calls to boost spending even though negative interest rates provide an incentive to raise debt.At a Bloomberg News event in Berlin on Thursday, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said Germany would be prepared to carry out "timely and targeted" measures, such as expanding support for unemployed people, in the event of a crisis -- but there isn't one.Separately, Der Spiegel magazine reported Friday that the federal government's budget surplus will be just less than 10 billion euros this year, boosted by stronger-than-expected tax revenue and favorable interest rates. The magazine cited preliminary finance ministry estimates. A ministry spokeswoman declined to comment.(Adds 2019 budget surplus report in final paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Birgit Jennen in Berlin at bjennen1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Chris Reiter, Iain RogersFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Fuel rations, price hike hit Iranians amid plunging economy Posted: 15 Nov 2019 04:48 AM PST  Across the capital, Tehran, long lines of cars waited for hours at pumping stations following the changes in energy policy, which state media announced around midnight without any prior warning to the public. The U.S. withdrew from Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers last year, and re-imposed crippling trade sanctions that have sent the Iranian economy into free-fall. In several locations, Iranian police were seen deployed near gas stations.
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| 'Crazed Communist scheme,' PM Johnson says of Corbyn's plan for BT Posted: 15 Nov 2019 04:44 AM PST !['Crazed Communist scheme,' PM Johnson says of Corbyn's plan for BT]( "'Crazed Communist scheme,' PM Johnson says of Corbyn's plan for BT") British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn's plan to nationalise BT's network was a "crazed Communist scheme". Johnson, speaking before a campaign bus emblazoned with the slogan "Get Brexit Done", said delivering Brexit would clear Britain's arteries. "It will be something that clears our arteries, it will unblock our system, it will get us back on our feet and able to take advantage of all the things that we want to get from Brexit," he said.
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| UPDATE 1-German parliament approves climate protection law Posted: 15 Nov 2019 04:34 AM PST ![UPDATE 1-German parliament approves climate protection law]( "UPDATE 1-German parliament approves climate protection law") The German lower house of parliament approved on Friday a major climate protection package which aims to ensure Germany will meet its 2030 target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The package, agreed after months of haggling between the Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and her Social Democrat coalition partners, has already been criticised as inadequate in view of the urgent challenges posed by climate change. Environment minister Svenja Schulze said the measures, which compel ministries to take additional steps to cut emissions if Germany falls behind on its climate goals, plugged a major gap in Germany's legislative framework.
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| REFILE-UK Liberal Democrats enter election spending race with big pledges on climate Posted: 15 Nov 2019 04:34 AM PST ![REFILE-UK Liberal Democrats enter election spending race with big pledges on climate]( "REFILE-UK Liberal Democrats enter election spending race with big pledges on climate") 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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| Airbus Chief Pledges to Stay in U.K. If Brexit Deal Goes Through Posted: 15 Nov 2019 04:33 AM PST ![Airbus Chief Pledges to Stay in U.K. If Brexit Deal Goes Through]( "Airbus Chief Pledges to Stay in U.K. If Brexit Deal Goes Through") (Bloomberg) -- Airbus SE Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury said the latest Brexit deal between Britain and European Union should pave the way for the aerospace giant to carry on making plane wings in the U.K.The British division, which employs 14,000 people and supports 110,000 supplier jobs, is "very competitive" and will remain a focus for wing production so long as a no-deal split is avoided, Faury said in an interview."We have a very strong industrial and technical base in the U.K.," the CEO, who took over in April, told Bloomberg Television on Friday. "We are very happy with what we have. There is no reason to move production out of the U.K."Faury's comments mark a softening of Airbus's rhetoric on Brexit compared with predecessor Tom Enders, who was one of the most vocal critics of the schism among European business chiefs. The Toulouse, France-based company has been approached by at least seven governments looking to poach future wing work, people familiar with the matter said last year.Faury said shifting production away from Airbus plants near Bristol and Chester would also be extremely difficult. "There are huge industrial systems," he said. "You can't just move them."The CEO said Airbus's concerns have centered on short-term risks from a no-deal Brexit, seen as likely to disrupt supply chains and comprise a complex manufacturing system that draws on parts from plants spread across Europe.The current withdrawal agreement, which could see Britain leave the EU on Jan. 31 if Prime Minister Boris Johnson wins a Dec. 12 election, would remove that hurdle, he said, while cautioning that the shaping of a future trade relationship to follow transitional arrangements remains a challenge for negotiators."There's a lot of work to be done," Faury said. "But there's a lot of hope that, based on the withdrawal agreement, there will be a healthy relationship between the U.K. and the EU, and we are trying to play a role in explaining what is necessary."\--With assistance from Siddharth Philip and Francine Lacqua.To contact the reporters on this story: Guy Johnson in London at gjohnson87@bloomberg.net;Tara Patel in Paris at tpatel2@bloomberg.net;Christopher Jasper in London at cjasper@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Ukraine’s Anti-Russia Azov Battalion: ‘Minutemen’ or Neo-Nazi Terrorists? Posted: 15 Nov 2019 04:03 AM PST  KYIV, Ukraine—When Deputy Secretary of State George Kent spoke at the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment hearings this week, he painted a powerful picture of Ukrainian bravery in the face of Russian aggression. In 2014, when "Russia invaded Ukraine" and occupied 7 percent of its territory, Ukraine's state institutions were "on the verge of collapse," he said. But "Ukrainian civil society answered the challenge. They formed volunteer battalions of citizens, including technology professionals and medics. They crowd-sourced funding for their own weapons, body armor, and supplies. They were the 21st-century Ukrainian equivalent of our own Minutemen in 1776, buying time for the regular army to reconstitute."But Kent most likely did not have in mind the most famous—and infamous—of those volunteer units, the Azov Battalion, which 40 members of Congress have asked the State Department to designate as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Some of its members are neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and avowed anti-Semites.Are the Azov fighters, in fact, "Minutemen" or monsters, freedom fighters or terrorists? Or in some cases both? The Frightening Far-Right Militia That's Marching in Ukraine's Streets, Promising to Bring 'Order'Angry demonstrations here about those congressional efforts to get Azov declared an "FTO" suggest just how complicated and treacherous the political and military landscape has become in this nation fighting for survival. It is another factor—along with the extortionate, allegedly impeachable games played by the Trump administration—weakening the position of President Volodymyr Zelnsky as he struggles to achieve an equitable peace with Vladimir Putin.The congressional letter addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and pushed by freshman Rep. Max Rose (D-NY), portrays Azov as part of an ultra-right-wing "global terrorist network" analogous to al Qaeda or the so-called Islamic State, but one bent on attacking Muslims, Jews, and people of color. The letter notes that the man who carried out the mosque massacres in New Zealand last March, killing at least 50 worshippers, claimed he trained with the Azov. His livestreamed slaughter then inspired murderers in the United States who targeted a synagogue in Poway, California, and Hispanic shoppers in El Paso, Texas.The Oct. 16 letter quoted a tweet a week before by Rita Katz, director of SITE Intelligence and a Daily Beast contributor, after the synagogue attack in Halle, Germany, on Oct. 9. Katz noted "the similarity between this video" in Halle and the New Zealand attacker's, concluding it was "another installment from a global terrorist network, linked together via online safe havens much like ISIS." Symbolically, at least, Azov has become a rallying point for the neo-Nazi international community.The State Department response to the letter was non-committal, denying that its failure to designate various foreign groups as terrorist organizations had anything to do with "ideology or motives."* * *In many ways Oleksandr Konibor, a self-professed admirer of far-right movements in Europe, is typical of the Ukrainians who heeded the call to fight for their country by joining the Azov Battalion in 2014. "It was a tragic time for our country and in some ways a wonderful time for us," said Konibor, a 34-year-old teacher. To be sure, some members of Azov wore swastikas their uniforms and a patch associated with the unit looks like a variation on Nazi symbols. Other members were fringe Pagan worshipers, former convicts, unemployed men, or merely adventure-seekers. In those early "Minuteman" days, nobody was very picky about who picked up a gun to fight the Russians. The Azov fought shoulder-to-shoulder with a unit of Chechen Islamist fighters, who had their own reasons to come to the front. What united them, in fact, was not so much far-right ideology as a willingness to be in the trenches. Konibor said he joined not for reasons of ideology but to defend his country and because he liked spending time with men from the soccer clubs he belonged to. In Ukraine, in the years since the fighting began, the Azov has come to be viewed as a unit of misfits whose flaws, however obvious, were cleansed by the crucible of combat.After the congressional letter was reported here last month, Azov soldiers staged protests in Kyiv. Veterans with stern faces, their wives and girlfriends holding roses in their hands, gathered in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They held signs saying, "Ukraine's defenders are not terrorists." Ukrainian officials and members of parliament pushed back against the initiative on Capitol Hill. They concede Azov includes marginal figures but it is now also formally part of Ukraine's armed forces, having been incorporated into the National Guard, and should not be identified as a terrorist group. The letter to Pompeo was pretty unequivocal, however, and notes that Congress specifically prohibited the Azov from receiving arms, training, or other assistance from the United States in 2018."I am sure that the congressmen who wrote the appeal had not seen a single Azov soldier," Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Anton Geraschenko told The Daily Beast, adding that some members of Congress have been invited to Ukraine. Geraschenko insisted that there was "no proven evidence" of any connection between Azov and the Christchurch shooter, even though the shooter had painted an Azov insignia on one of his rifles.The unit's supporters here argue that accepting the letter's characterization is bending to Russian propaganda, which casts all Ukrainian soldiers as neo-fascists. And Russian media rejoiced at the congressional letter: The American establishment is getting tired of Ukraine, reports said. The battalion's founder, Adriy Biletskiy, has a two-decade history in far-right movements and has spent time in prison for murder—on trumped-up charges, he says. In the past, he played a leading role in the far-right Patriot of Ukraine and Social National Assembly. When the war began in 2014, as George Kent noted, Ukraine's army was in miserable condition and authorities did not stop Azov from using banners and chevrons featuring Nazi symbols, including the wolfsangel insignia associated with the Nazi SS. This is a tragic reminder of Ukraine's past. Some 1.5 million Jews were killed here during World War II. "Ukraine is where the Holocaust began," Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy, wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece a week after President Zelensky's inauguration. "The new government in Ukraine should also play a more expansive role in acknowledging the Holocaust as part of its national history."For now, however, when Azov members publicly admire Hitler, authorities are reluctant to condemn them.* * *Last year , the Zaborona media group reported on the lives of Azov soldiers in eastern Ukraine. "One day we saw a flag of Nazi Germany in the window at the Azov military base in the city of Mariupol," Zaborona founder Yekateryna Sergatskova told The Daily Beast. "Before the war, many of the Azov guys sympathized with Russia's neo-Nazi groups; I still wonder why Azov is fascinated with Hitler, it could be that the worshipping of Nazi Germany's ideology is their revolt against Stalinism, against the communist regime." Last year, battalion founder Biletskiy personally took an oath from hundreds of Azov veterans and far-right activists joining his National Corps militia—a far-right political movement promising "to establish order in Ukraine."Some Azov veterans see their mission in the most radical way. According to an investigative report by Bellingcat, Ukrainian supremacists translated the hate-filled manifesto by the Christchurch shooter into Ukrainian and sold the pamphlets for $4 a piece at Azov's literature club.Is America Training Neonazis in Ukraine?"Several American and European citizens have served in Azov, and even more Russian citizens joined the battalion in 2014-2015," Vyacheslav Likhachev, Ukraine's leading expert on far-right movements, told The Daily Beast. "Yes, numerous Azov soldiers share neo-Nazi ideology but the U.S. congressmen cannot blacklist the entire regiment of the interior forces, it would be the same as to accuse the state of Ukraine of terrorism." To make their point, Azov veterans and their supporters started "A Veteran Is Not a Terrorist" campaign, criticizing Rep. Max Rose for initiating the letter to Pompeo. Yelena, a slim, rather gloomy looking waitress waiting for her boyfriend, an Azov soldier, to come home from the war, told The Daily Beast, "I am sure Rep. Rose is sitting in his office, he has not smelled any gunpowder." (In fact, Rose is a decorated combat veteran of the U.S. Army who served as a platoon leader and was wounded in Afghanistan.) "Right at this very moment, my husband and other Azov guys are defending Ukraine from Russian aggression," said Yelena. "They are heroes and not terrorists like ISIS."Authorities in Kyiv say they will stand by veterans, and hope to talk the U.S. government out of any designation of Azov as a terrorist organization. Those opposed to this labeling think of soldiers as heroes, no matter how far right their ideology. Volunteer Natalia Voronokova and her team have been providing medicine, food, and ammunition for Azov soldiers since the early days of the war."I have seen Azov on the battlefield," she said. They endured hardships and losses. "And as for their subculture, that is their choice."—Anna Nemtsova reported from Kyiv. Christopher Dickey reported from Paris.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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| 10 things you need to know today: November 15, 2019 Posted: 15 Nov 2019 03:45 AM PST ![10 things you need to know today: November 15, 2019]( "10 things you need to know today: November 15, 2019") 1.The first two witnesses gave "devastating" public testimony in the House's impeachment inquiry on Wednesday, providing "evidence of bribery" and abuse of power by President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a news conference Thursday. "The bribe is to grant or withhold military assistance in return for a public statement of a fake investigation into the elections," she said, referring to how Trump seemingly conditioned Ukraine aid on an investigation targeting Democrats. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) called Pelosi's bribery allegation "ridiculous," saying the aid was released despite "a justified concern" that top Ukrainian officials opposed Trump and favored Hillary Clinton in 2016. State Department official George Kent and longtime diplomat William Taylor testified Wednesday. Ousted U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch appears Friday. [NBC News, The Hill] 2.A gunman opened fire on fellow students at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, on Thursday, killing two students and wounding three others. Authorities said security video showed the suspect, a 16-year-old male student, pull a .45-caliber handgun out of his backpack and shoot five people around him before shooting himself in the head. He was hospitalized in grave condition. Two law enforcement sources identified the suspect as Nathaniel Berhow, 16. Authorities identified the deceased students as a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. Two of the wounded students are 14 years old, and the other is 15. "We send our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those tragically lost," President Trump tweeted, "and we pray for the speedy recovery of the wounded." [Los Angeles Times, Fox News] 3.The Senate on Thursday confirmed White House counsel's office lawyer Steven Menashi, one of President Trump's most controversial judicial nominees, to serve on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. The vote was 51 to 41, with moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine joining Democrats voting no. Democrats criticized Menashi for his early writings at Dartmouth and elsewhere that he said he regretted because of their "lack of balance and provocative tone." The Judiciary Committee's ranking Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), questioned Menashi over his work with Trump adviser Stephen Miller on the administration's hardline immigration policy. Menashi provoked bipartisan frustration by refusing to answer key questions. His confirmation flipped a key court to a conservative majority. [CNN, Politico] 4.President Trump on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to step in to block the Manhattan District Attorney's investigation of his personal finances. Trump wants the justices to prevent Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. from enforcing a grand jury subpoena seeking eight years of Trump's tax returns from his accounting firm, Mazars USA. Trump's legal team says that prosecutors can't demand the documents because sitting presidents are immune from investigation. A lower court ruled that the subpoena for the returns was proper and ordered Trump's accounting firm to comply. In a separate case on Wednesday, an appeals court ruled that Congress should have access to the records. Trump's lawyers said after that ruling that they were considering taking it to the Supreme Court, too. [The Washington Post] 5.Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) on Thursday conceded the state's gubernatorial election to Democrat Andy Beshear, Kentucky's attorney general. Beshear declared victory last week after the initial vote count showed him up by roughly 5,000 votes, but Bevin refused to give in, demanding a statewide recanvassing. After the state's 120 counties reviewed the vote count and confirmed Beshear's victory, Bevin held a news conference and said he would not contest the count, recognizing that "the actual number is going to fluctuate somewhat, but not so significantly that it's going to change the outcome of this election." Bevin had been facing calls from Republicans in the state to concede. President Trump endorsed Bevin and held a rally in support of him the day before the election. [CNN] 6.A second U.S. Embassy staffer in Kyiv overheard a cellphone call Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, had with President Trump about the need for Ukraine to conduct "investigations," The Associated Press reported Thursday. The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, William Taylor, first reported the July 26 call on Wednesday during the first public hearing in the House's impeachment inquiry. He said one of his staffers overheard the call and told him about it after he gave his recent closed-door deposition to House impeachment investigators. The call occurred the day after the controversial call in which Trump pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch investigations targeting Democrats. That call was reported by a whistleblower and triggered the impeachment investigation. [The Associated Press] 7.North Korea made an implicit threat to resume banned long-range missile and nuclear tests, saying it felt "betrayed" that the U.S. was continuing joint air drills with South Korea. Pyongyang called the exercises an "undisguised breach" of an agreement President Trump struck with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore last year. North Korea said it was no longer bound by its commitment to hold off on further tests until the end of this year so the U.S. could develop proposals to resume talks on exchanging curbs to North Korea's nuclear program for sanctions relief. "We, without being given anything, gave things the U.S. president can brag about but the U.S. side has not yet taken any corresponding step," North Korea's State Affairs Commission said. [The Washington Post] 8.Amazon said Thursday it is contesting the Pentagon's decision to award Microsoft a cloud computing contract worth up to $10 billion. President Trump has frequently criticized Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos. Trump also bashes The Washington Post and notes that Bezos owns it. Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy said it would be hard for a federal agency to be fair in its contracting process when the president is attacking one of the companies competing for the deal. "Numerous aspects of the (Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud) JEDI evaluation process contained clear deficiencies, errors, and unmistakable bias," Jassy said. "It is important that these matters be examined and rectified." The challenge was widely expected. [Reuters] 9.Attorney General William Barr on Thursday called for the Federal Communications Commission to bar rural wireless carriers that receive money from an $8.5 billion government fund from purchasing equipment or services from Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp. Barr said in a letter to the FCC released Thursday that the Chinese tech giants "cannot be trusted." Barr said Huawei and ZTE posed a security threat by skirting the U.S. embargo on Iran. The U.S. also has warned Huawei gear could be used to spy for Beijing. The FCC is scheduled to vote on Nov. 22 on a proposal requiring carriers in the program to replace equipment from the two companies. Huawei and ZTE did not immediately release comments on Barr's letter. [Reuters] 10.Italy declared a state of emergency in Venice on Thursday due to its worst flooding in more than five decades. High tides and a storm surge driven by strong winds raised flood levels to 6 feet, 2 inches on Tuesday, and 3 feet, 8 inches on Thursday. The high water caused extensive damage. The crypt at the thousand-year-old St. Mark's Basilica filled with water, and a third of Venice's raised walkways were destroyed. "It hurts to see the city so damaged, its artistic heritage compromised, its commercial activities on its knees," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday. More flooding is expected. Two people died on the island of Pellestrina, one of them electrocuted trying to start a pump in his home. [BBC News]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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| ‘Everyone Is Angry’: Police Aggression Fuels Hong Kong Protests Posted: 15 Nov 2019 03:42 AM PST !['Everyone Is Angry': Police Aggression Fuels Hong Kong Protests]( "'Everyone Is Angry': Police Aggression Fuels Hong Kong Protests") (Bloomberg) -- A traffic cop rode his motorcycle into a crowd of demonstrators. A group of officers pepper-sprayed a woman in the face. Riot police slammed a Citigroup Inc. staffer to the ground.This week saw a litany of alleged police abuses quickly go viral on social media. But only one of the officers involved was suspended -- with pay. And that was only the first publicly announced punishment of an officer in five months of unrest.The incidents contributed to anger that sparked a week of unprecedented chaos in Hong Kong, where the lack of accountability for police abuses has become a key reason many protesters are hitting the streets. And while officers are facing increasingly violent demonstrators armed with Molotov cocktails, bricks and even flaming arrows, fears are growing that police tactics -- and the lack of an independent agency with sufficient power to investigate the protests-- are actually making the violence worse."What we can see is a pattern of escalation whereby police tactics have functioned to radicalize the population," said Clifford Stott, a member of the expert panel appointed by Hong Kong's government to examine the city's Independent Police Complaints Council."We know on a scientific level that these things escalate, polarize and entrench conflict," said Stott, who is a policing expert at the U.K.'s Keele University and has advised forces around the world. "And what we would see, and what we would expect, is exactly what we're beginning to see -- an increasingly forceful level of intervention by the police and then by the government."Bows, ArrowsThe police have consistently defended officers, saying they are using appropriate force at a time of rising violence from protesters. That includes a traffic cop who shot a protester during a confrontation at a busy intersection during the morning commute on Monday."Many people point their fingers at the police and play the blame game, accusing us of provoking violence in universities and causing social unrest," said John Tse, chief superintendent of the Police Public Relations Branch. "We have stressed repeatedly that police officers are in a reactive mode. If rioters did not commit dangerous and destructive acts, there is no reason for the police to respond with force."This week, demonstrators shocked the city by setting a man on fire after an argument, while others beat a truck driver trying to clear a roadblock. Overnight, a 70-year-old man died after being hit earlier in the week by a brick thrown in a street clash that police blamed on "rioters." On Thursday, police said students shot arrows at officers, while the city's justice secretary was injured on a trip to London after being surrounded by "a violent mob."Protesters have also set up flaming street barricades, vandalized subway stations, lobbed petrol bombs, and attacked police officers with metal pipes and wrenches."It's unfair to just focus on the traffic cops -- what about the rioters who set an innocent bystander on fire?" said Regina Ip, a pro-establishment lawmaker. "They have been working extremely long hours for five months with very little support. I really object strongly to anyone who picks on our police."'Gone Nuts'Still, protesters say the police abuses are giving them renewed support among the general public. That was evident this week when police fired tear gas in the Central financial district at lunch time, causing office workers and bystanders to flee in thick clouds of fumes."Before, it's mostly students on the streets, but now you can see professionals, lawyers," said a man with the surname Chan, a 30-something professional who works in insurance who was at a protest in Central. "Everyone is angry about the violence."In one widely circulated incident, a trio of cops detained a Citibank employee in Central, who said he worked in a nearby office. They berated and swore at him in an increasingly angry exchange. The man, arguing against his arrest, eventually tried to flee and was tackled. He grabbed a baton and swung it as he went down, appearing to yell "Hong Kong people, resist!""The Hong Kong police have gone nuts," said Claudia Mo, a pro-democracy lawmaker. "I can only expect things to get worse."Torture AllegationsAs the protests have dragged on, the accusations have gradually piled up, with little sign that an investigation will be independent enough. While more than 4,000 protesters have been detained in the chaos and 600 have faced charges -- some carrying sentences of up to 10 years -- the traffic cop who drove his motorcycle into protesters was the first officer whose suspension was publicly announced.A poll by the Chinese University of Hong Kong in October found 52% of respondents gave the police zero out of 10 when asked to rank how much they trusted the police, with nearly 70% supporting a large-scale reorganization of the force.Hong Kong police tactics have also drawn harsh condemnation from U.S. and U.K. lawmakers, as well as the United Nations. An Amnesty International report alleged police beat up and even "tortured" detained protesters -- accusations the police denied. Police have also been criticized for the way they've handled probes into rape and sexual assault allegations by protesters.Part of the problem is the IPCC, which is dominated by pro-government figures and doesn't feature a single opposition or pro-democracy lawmaker. Chief Executive Carrie Lam has said the council's investigation into police conduct makes it unnecessary to have an independent inquiry as demanded by the protesters and supported by most of the public.The IPCC endorsed 2,872 allegations against police, according to its 2017-2018 report, mostly for neglect of duty and misconduct. Just 7% were "substantiated" and none led to criminal proceedings, while 10 cases led to disciplinary review and 120 cases led to warnings.Opposition lawmaker Lam Cheuk-Ting, a former investigator of the Independent Commission Against Corruption in Hong Kong, said the IPCC won't suffice because "they don't have legal power to investigate," including the powers to summons, search and to force police to testify. He also echoed concerns of the UN Human Rights Committee, which criticized the IPCC in 2013 for a lack of independence.IPCC Chairman Anthony Francis Neoh declined an interview request for this story.'Shortfall' of PowersIp, the pro-establishment lawmaker, said there is police accountability in Hong Kong. She pointed to a case where seven officers were jailed for beating a pro-democracy activist during the 2014 Occupy Central protests.That case was also a cautionary tale for the government. During the prosecution, some 33,000 current and former officers gathered in support of the accused officers, signaling the force's support for the government wasn't unconditional.The government also appointed a panel to advise the government on the IPCC, which included the academic Stott. He later tweeted there was a "shortfall in IPCC powers, capacity, and independent investigative capability necessary to match the scale of events and the standards required of an international police watchdog operating in a society that values freedoms and rights."Ken Tsang, the man who was beaten during the Umbrella Movement, said the IPCC is "rubbish" and that he instead filed a claim in the court system."It's just a way for police to refuse or control investigations of police," Tsang said of the IPCC. "My case was nothing special compared to what protesters face today. These cops in black kick and punch and even shoot at old and young. And they're not being charged with anything."\--With assistance from Erin Roman, Foster Wong and Aaron Mc Nicholas.To contact the reporters on this story: Iain Marlow in Hong Kong at imarlow1@bloomberg.net;Blake Schmidt in Hong Kong at bschmidt16@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Daniel Ten KateFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| U.S. Warns Against Russia’s Growing Role in Libya War Posted: 15 Nov 2019 03:23 AM PST ![U.S. Warns Against Russia's Growing Role in Libya War]( "U.S. Warns Against Russia's Growing Role in Libya War") (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. urged Libya's Russian-backed eastern commander Khalifa Haftar to end his offensive on Tripoli and said it would support the internationally-backed government against any effort by Moscow to exploit the months-long conflict in the OPEC member."The U.S. delegation, representing a number of U.S. government agencies, underscored support for Libya's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia's attempts to exploit the conflict against the will of the Libyan people," the State Department said in a statement.The warning is the strongest to come from the U.S. since Haftar marched on the capital in April, signaling growing concern over the deployment of Russian mercenaries to the North African oil-exporter.It comes days after Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, who heads the UN-backed government, called on the U.S. to help.Libya's Prime Minister Says Russia Mercenaries Will Drag Out WarA private army linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin has been fighting on the front lines of the Libyan war for nearly three months, the latest projection of Russian power following a decisive military intervention on the side of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.More than 100 mercenaries from the Wagner group headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, also known as "Putin's chef" for his Kremlin catering contracts, arrived at a forward base in Libya in the first week of September to bolster Haftar, whose forces have been bogged down on the outskirts of the capital since April.Their numbers have since risen to more than 1,400 troops involved in direct fighting and manning artillery, according to three Western officials. Wagner has also brought in pilots. One official said 25 pilots, trainers and support crew had been deployed. Two others said the pilots were flying missions in refurbished Sukhoi-22 jets belonging to Haftar.Russia has officially denied the presence of Wagner troops in Libya.Libya Uncovers Alleged Russian Plot to Meddle in African VotesLibya has been wracked by violence ever since the NATO-backed ouster of Moammar Qaddafi in 2011. Years of instability 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 reunite the divided country, which has dueling governments in Tripoli and the east.The U.S. has mostly watched from the sidelines as conflict raged in the country that sits on top of Africa's largest proven oil reserves. It's sent mixed messages about its Libya policy, officially calling for a cease-fire even as President Donald Trump indicated support for Haftar in a phone call at the beginning of the offensive.Its latest message, however, suggests a more decisive shift in policy with the launch of a "U.S.-Libya Security Dialogue." It came after a meeting in Washington attended by the Libyan interior and foreign ministers."This is more a reaction to the Russian presence in Libya than an endorsement of the Government of National Accord itself," said Emad Badi, a Libya researcher and non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute."There are two main issues now: whether this reactive approach will lead to anything constructive, and whether the sentiment expressed in the U.S. State Department is shared by other policy levers in the U.S. institutional apparatus."\--With assistance from Lin Noueihed.To contact the reporters on this story: Samer Khalil Al-Atrush in Cairo at skhalilalatr@bloomberg.net;Nick Wadhams in Washington at nwadhams@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, ;Rosalind Mathieson at rmathieson3@bloomberg.net, Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Living in the Year of Unforeseen Consequences Posted: 15 Nov 2019 02:45 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Want to receive this post in your inbox every day? Sign up for the Balance of Power newsletter, and follow Bloomberg Politics on Twitter and Facebook for more.Europe just witnessed two low-key political developments that may have far-reaching consequences.The European Union's executive threatened legal action against the U.K. after Boris Johnson's government refused to nominate an EU commission member. Despite Brexit, the U.K. is obliged to put up a candidate, and its failure to do so seemed to catch the bloc off guard. The standoff might delay the new EU commission from taking office Dec. 1 and risks further stoking tensions.In Luxembourg, the European Investment Bank — the EU's lending arm — opted to stop funding fossil-fuel projects and favor more support for clean energy. EIB director Werner Hoyer called the decision a "quantum leap" in ambition to tackle the No. 1 issue on "the political agenda of our time."Both developments, while not entirely out of left field, underscore how unforeseen events can force governments' hands. Just look at the violent protests in Hong Kong or the political unrest unleashed from Iraq and Lebanon to Bolivia and Chile. Climate protests have erupted in cities across the globe this year.Oscar Wilde wrote that to expect the unexpected is a sign of a thoroughly modern intellect. More than a century later, it's advice that politicians would do well to heed.Global HeadlinesSpotlight on | Rudy Giuliani's role in back-channel efforts to pressure Ukraine will come under closer scrutiny today as the House impeachment investigation hears public testimony from Marie Yovanovitch, who was abruptly ousted as U.S. ambassador to Kyiv in May following what she has described as a smear campaign Giuliani directed.Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, also is being investigated by federal prosecutors for possible campaign finance violations and failure to register as a foreign agent, Chris Strohm and Jordan Fabian report.White-collar protests | Hong Kong professionals joined lunchtime protests in the financial district for the fifth straight day, capping a week of unprecedented violence that began with a demonstrator being shot and seriously injured on Monday and then saw the death of a government employee who police say was hit by a brick. Chinese President Xi Jinping condemned the unrest, which once again threatens to drag into the weekend, as university and school closures left the city practically paralyzed. Click here for more on the economic toll.The U.S. Senate is preparing for quick passage of legislation to show support for the protesters by placing Hong Kong's special trading status with the U.S. under annual review.Sanctions master | North Korea is poking holes through a global web of sanctions and generating enough cash to keep its nuclear weapons program moving along as a year-end deadline Kim Jong Un set to reach a deal with the U.S. approaches — with little progress in sight. Kim has yet to make any concessions on his nation's nuclear program, making it difficult for America's "maximum pressure" campaign to deliver on what the Trump administration has promised.Crunching the numbers | The economic experts that 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is careful to cite on the costs of her multi-trillion-dollar policy proposals actually disagree among themselves about how or whether those plans will work. And it highlights Warren's challenge in convincing voters that she can generate enough revenue to provide free health care, free public college, universal childcare, forgive a portion of student loans and mitigate climate change.The Democratic National Committee has announced the 10 candidates who will participate in the fifth Democratic primary debate in Atlanta on Wednesday.China's influence | Sri Lankans face a stark choice as they elect a new president Saturday. Gotabaya Rajapaksa's powerful family has a history of authoritarian rule and is likely to take the country closer to Beijing. His main rival — Sajith Premadasa, from the current ruling alliance — promises more freedoms but faces a credibility test over security lapses that led to deadly bombings on Easter.What to WatchLebanon's major political parties agreed to name businessman and ex-finance minister Mohammad Safadi as the new premier, local media reported, but anti-government demonstrators immediately rejected the choice. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is asking companies that mine and buy copper and cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo to do more to fight corruption and child labor. Bolivian 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.Pop quiz, readers (no cheating!). Britain is under increasing pressure to return its last African colony. What is it? Send us your answers and tell us how we're doing or what we're missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net.And finally ... Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's unusual request for his ministers to put aside their squabbles and find a way to rescue a bankrupt steel mill in the southern city of Taranto has laid bare the intense pressure on his fragile coalition. As Ross Larsen and Alessandro Speciale explain, the premier is scrambling for a solution to an industrial crisis — precipitated in part by his own allies — that's dominated front pages for weeks and provided fodder for the opposition. \--With assistance from Muneeza Naqvi and Iain Marlow.To contact the author of this story: Alan Crawford in Berlin at acrawford6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Kathleen Hunter at khunter9@bloomberg.net, Karl MaierFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| ‘More Decisive’ Moves to Halt Violence Planned: Hong Kong Update Posted: 15 Nov 2019 02:40 AM PST !['More Decisive' Moves to Halt Violence Planned: Hong Kong Update]( "'More Decisive' Moves to Halt Violence Planned: Hong Kong Update") (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong's No. 2 official promised "more decisive measures" to halt protest violence, as the financial center faced another weekend of unrest after five straight days of road blocks, vandalism and spontaneous marches. Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung outlined the plans hours after city officials confirmed that Hong Kong was heading toward its first annual recession in a decade. Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping had said that bringing the violence to an end is Hong Kong's "most urgent task," while a scuffle involving the city's justice secretary and the second protest-related death in a week heightened tensions. The protests, which have raged for more than five months, flared anew last week after the death of a 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:City's No. 2 promises measures to halt violenceProtesters return to city's streetsHong Kong justice minister hurt in LondonXi urges immediate end to disorder Government worker dies; 15-year-old still in hospitalSome trains services remain suspendedHere's the latest (all times local):City's No. 2 vows more measures (6:07 p.m.)Cheung, the city's chief secretary, promised "more decisive measures" to halt protest violence, including suspending civil servants who are arrested during demonstrations. Cheung -- joined by Civil Service Secretary Joshua Law, Transport Secretary Frank Chan, Education Secretary Kevin Yeung and Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Secretary Patrick Nip -- said departments would step up coordination. Law said that civil servants should make it their their responsibility to suppress violence. While Cheung declined to rule out further invocations of the city's powerful Emergency Regulations Ordinance, he reaffirmed that the city would hold District Council elections as planned Nov. 24.Protesters gather in Chater Garden (5 p.m.)Demonstrators began gathering again in Chater Garden in the city's central financial district, after dispersing earlier following the arrival of riot cops. Police said they had arrested 58 people since Thursday. They fired 194 rounds of tear gas, 58 rubber bullets and 14 bean bag rounds.Overwhelming support for inquiry (4:45 p.m.)Some 80% of Hong Kong adults want the government to set up an independent commission of inquiry to examine the use of force by police throughout Hong Kong's recent unrest, according to a new survey by Hong Kong Public Opinion Program. That's up from 77% earlier this month.An inquiry is one of the five demands that protesters have been chanting about in marches throughout the city for months, but the government has so far ruled out any further political concessions.Hong Kong expects recession (4:30 p.m.)Hong Kong revised down its estimate for economic growth this year, with the government now forecasting the first annual contraction since the global financial crisis a decade ago. Gross domestic product will contract 1.3% in 2019 from the previous year, the government said Friday as it released final output calculations for the third quarter.The government said ending the city's violent unrest is key to an economic recovery.Police classify death as murder (1:31 p.m.)Police upgraded their probe into the injury of a 70-year-old government worker to a murder investigation after the man died overnight. The man was struck in the head by an object during a scuffle Wednesday between protesters who had set up road blocks and others who were attempting to clear them.The man appeared to be filming in the direction of a group of black-clad protesters when one of them "deliberately threw" an object at him, Chan Tin-chu, senior superintendent for criminal investigations in New Territories North, told reporters at a briefing Friday. The victim didn't participate in the argument or the attempt to clear the road blocks, Chan said.Protesters start lunchtime rallies (12:40 p.m.)Groups of protesters begin gathering in the financial district for a lunchtime rally, one of several planned across the city. Many wore masks and carried umbrellas.Protesters also began assembling in the bustling Causeway Bay shopping district and in Tai Koo, on the eastern side of Hong Kong Island.Chinese officials condemn attack (12:15 p.m.)The Chinese government raised strong objections to the U.K. consulate in Hong Kong regarding the attack on the city's justice secretary in London on Thursday. The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong also urged the U.K. government and police to punish those responsible for the attack on Teresa Cheng, according to a statement.Hurt 15-year-old still in hospital (8:56 a.m.)A 15-year-old boy who suffered a head injury from what local media said may have been a tear gas canister was still in Tuen Mun Hospital, the Hospital Authority said. The agency said the boy's family asked that details of his condition -- which was originally listed as critical -- not be disclosed.Six people, ages 17 to 62, had been admitted to various hospitals for treatment for protest-related injuries overnight and this morning as of 7:30 a.m. All are in stable condition. The man shot by police in Sai Wan Ho on Monday is now in stable condition in Eastern Hospital. A man set on fire during an argument with protesters on the same day was still in critical condition at Prince of Wales Hospital.Group blames government for death (7:32 a.m.)A group of anonymous protesters that has occasionally spoken for the leaderless movement expressed "deepest condolences" for the death of a 70-year-old government worker Thursday, but blamed the incident on "police brutality" and government intransigence. "The HKSAR Government must concede to the Five Demands, and return to the table of politics to solve conflicts by political means," the so-called Citizens' Press Conference said in a statement Friday.Meanwhile, another protester group at the Chinese University of Hong Kong offered to remove barricades from the Tolo Highway in exchange for a government pledge to follow through with plans for District Council elections on Nov. 24, according to Radio Television Hong Kong. Students had already reopened one lane in each direction, the South China Morning Post said.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.\--With assistance from Erin Roman, Daniel Flatley, Colin Keatinge and Dandan Li.To contact the reporters on this story: Iain Marlow in Hong Kong at imarlow1@bloomberg.net;Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.net;Dominic Lau in Hong Kong at dlau92@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| South African police disperse refugees protesting attacks Posted: 15 Nov 2019 02:26 AM PST  Shield-carrying South African police on Friday removed about 150 refugees who the United Nations refugee agency said forced their way into its compound while protesting recent anti-immigrant attacks. The police action in the capital, Pretoria, followed one last month in which police arrested and dispersed hundreds of refugees and asylum-seekers, including children, who had camped for weeks outside the U.N. agency's office in Cape Town. A U.N. statement said they want protection and relocation to a safer country.
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| American IS suspect repatriated from Turkish-Greek border Posted: 15 Nov 2019 01:49 AM PST  An American citizen suspected of being an Islamic State group member was deported to the U.S. on Friday after spending five days in no man's land between Turkey and Greece, the Turkish interior minister said. Two German IS suspects were also removed from Turkey on Friday, the minister added. Since the start of the week, Ankara has stepped up the return of suspected foreign IS members back to their countries of origin.
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| US senators urge passage of Hong Kong democracy bill as violence in city rises Posted: 15 Nov 2019 01:30 AM PST  US Senator Marco Rubio and Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, initiated a "hotline" process for the Senate to pass their Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act on Thursday.The strategic procedure carried out by the upper chamber's leadership checks for last-minute opposition to an attempt to bring a bill immediately to the floor for a vote.If no senators voice opposition to side stepping a formal vote, the bill passes."The world witnesses the people of Hong Kong standing up every day to defend their long-cherished freedoms against an increasingly aggressive Beijing and Hong Kong government," Rubio said in a press release."Their cries have been met with violence, and young Hong Kong lives have tragically been lost."Now more than ever, the United States must send a clear message to Beijing that the free world stands with Hongkongers in their struggle," Rubio's release said."I thank leaders McConnell and Schumer for their support, as well as Chairman Risch, Ranking Member Menendez and Senator Cardin for their strong partnership on this legislation and look forward to its enactment."Rubio's comments came after China's state-run Xinhua news agency earlier on Thursday quoted Chinese President Xi Jinping as reiterating that Beijing supported the Hong Kong police's use of force to quell the "continuing radical violent crimes".US Senator Marco Rubio and Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, launched a "hotline" process for the Senate to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. Photo: AFP alt=US Senator Marco Rubio and Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, launched a "hotline" process for the Senate to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. Photo: AFPEarlier in the day, China's state-owned Global Times newspaper had published a post on its Twitter account asserting that Hong Kong authorities were preparing to announce the imposition of a weekend curfew. The tweet was later deleted."The world needs to see that the United States will stand up and tell the Chinese Communist Party that what they are doing to the people of Hong Kong is wrong," Risch said."After more than two decades of broken promises, it is time to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its erosion of Hong Kong's autonomy. The US stands with the people of Hong Kong, and I look forward to continuing to work with Senate leadership and my colleagues across the aisle to move this bill swiftly."In 2007, Beijing said it would grant universal suffrage to the city in 2017, but that plan was scrapped when the Chinese capital said in 2014 that the candidates had to be chosen by a "nominating committee".Protesters attack the University MTR Station on the East Rail Line and a train carriage near Chinese University of Hong Kong in Sha Tin on Wednesday. Photo: Felix Wong alt=Protesters attack the University MTR Station on the East Rail Line and a train carriage near Chinese University of Hong Kong in Sha Tin on Wednesday. Photo: Felix WongHong Kong increasingly has become a battleground between police and protesters since June, when mass peaceful marches targeted a government proposal, since shelved, to allow the city's criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China.Those protests have since morphed into a larger activism, with Hongkongers demanding the right to vote for their own city leaders.This week, the pro-democracy protests have taken a dark turn. On Wednesday, a 15-year-old boy was hit in the head by what appeared to be a tear-gas canister, according to the city Hospital Authority.A day earlier, a battle between police and protesters turned the a top university's campus into a combat zone.On Monday, a Hong Kong police officer shot a protester, while in a separate incident, protesters apparently set on fire a man who had expressed support for police outside an MTR station.US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell echoed Rubio and Risch in a tweet on Thursday, urging the US government to act quickly to protect the protesters.""The Senate needs to stand with Hong Kong, and I hope we can take action soon"" McConnell said.""I was encouraged by a productive conversation with [Rubio on Wednesday] on legislation to further help the people of Hong Kong."The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act would give the president a mandate to impose sanctions on foreigners determined to be responsible for the extrajudicial rendition to the mainland, arbitrary detention, torture, or forced confession of people in Hong Kong, as well as for other gross violations of human rights in the city.A poster at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Sha Tin expresses support for the proposed US democracy bill amid a demonstration on Wednesday. Photo: Felix Wong alt=A poster at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Sha Tin expresses support for the proposed US democracy bill amid a demonstration on Wednesday. Photo: Felix WongIn addition, the bill would task the Executive Branch to develop a strategy to protect American citizens and others in Hong Kong from rendition or abduction to China, and to report annually to Congress any violations of US export control laws and United Nations sanctions occurring in the city. ""Only international sanctions could impose some constraints on those who order to shoot and those who follow order to shoot. Senate needs to act as soon as possible on the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act"" said Victoria Tin-bor Hui, a board member of Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC), a Washington-based pro-democracy non-profit organisation.Samuel Chu, an HKDC managing director, praised Rubio's effort to institute a hotline process that would speed up the bill's passage in the Senate."The quickest way for the Senate to move would be to seek unanimous consent using a hotline," he said."If the Hong Kong bill is hotlined, and that can be done as soon as today, I firmly believe that the full Senate will stand united for Hong Kong"""There is no time to waste, as every day we wake up to new images of a violent crackdown, increased bloodshed, mass arrests and suppressions on the streets, on university campuses, in private residences and even houses of worship"" Chu said.This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2019 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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