| Hong Kong Leaders Rebuff Protest Demand as Violence Persists Posted: 19 Jan 2020 05:37 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up here to receive the Davos Diary, a special daily newsletter that will run from Jan. 20-24.Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam's government again pushed back on a key demand of protesters as a downtown rally turned violent, showing the unrest that began last June still has no end in sight.In a lengthy statement on Sunday, a government spokesman recapped failed attempts to implement a promise of universal suffrage since China took control of the former British colony in 1997. It said that Hong Kong's residents need a "clear understanding" that any chief executive elected by all citizens shall also be accountable to Beijing."This is the constitutional order under the 'one country, two systems' principle which should not be ignored," the spokesman said. "The community needs to attain a consensus on these principles, and premised on the legal basis, to narrow differences through dialogues under a peaceful atmosphere with mutual trust.""Any constructive discussion on the issue of constitutional development would be difficult to commence if the aforesaid cannot be achieved," it added.The statement, which mimics the same stance Beijing has held on universal suffrage since 2014, shows that Lam's government still isn't budging on the core demand driving the protests. The unrest has plunged Hong Kong into its first recession since the global financial crisis, with the retail and tourism sectors particularly hard hit.Traffic through Hong Kong International Airport declined across the board last year as protesters conducted sit-ins and disrupted transport routes. The airport handled 71.5 million passengers in 2019, down 4.2% from a year earlier, the Airport Authority Hong Kong said Sunday. Flight movements fell 1.9%, while total cargo throughput declined 6.1% from a year ago to 4.8 million tonnes.Head WoundsThe demonstration on Sunday started peacefully in Chater Garden in the Central business district, with speeches and music drawing in thousands of people. But police ordered the rally to end early, citing violent behavior by protesters who fanned out from the approved meeting area.Four officers were injured, including two from the Police Community Liaison Office, who suffered head wounds after being attacked with wooden sticks and other weapons near the rally, according to police. The officers weren't wearing riot gear and were beaten as they tried to flee, the police said in a statement, accusing protesters of throwing bricks, committing arson and damaging public facilities during a "rampage."The officers weren't wearing riot gear and were beaten as they tried to flee, the police said in a statement. It condemned the violence and said protesters had gone on a "rampage," throwing bricks, committing arson and damaging public facilities.Ng Lok-chun, the police force's senior superintendent of operations, refuted accounts by the organizers to the media that the officers who were attacked had disguised themselves in plain clothes. Ng said that's not true because these officers have been in contact with the organizers in the past."This is certainly ridiculous and irresponsible," Ng said at a late night briefing. "The organizer certainly is acquainted with those injured officers."One of the organizers of Sunday's rally, Ventus Lau of the Hong Kong Civil Assembly team, said his goal was to get the world to focus on the city again after global headlines turned to Taiwan's election and the crisis involving Iran. He also insisted protesters would keep fighting for meaningful elections."If the government refuses to give us universal suffrage, this is a clear sign that they are still suppressing our human rights, our freedom and our democracy," Lau said.During the rally, police scuffled with demonstrators and handcuffed a number of people who blocked roads and set fire to barricades. Tear gas was used to disperse the crowd, Ng said.Eight people who were stopped and searched -- a practice the organizers opposed -- were also arrested for carrying items such as hammers, spanners and batons, which have been used to attack police officers in the past, he said.One of the organizers was also arrested for "repeatedly" obstructing officers, Ng said, without identifying the person. The South China Morning Post said Lau was arrested.'Loves the Country'Beijing has stuck to a proposal for universal suffrage that it outlined in August 2014, triggering the Occupy protests. The plan would've required nominees to be screened by a committee stacked with Beijing loyalists in Hong Kong before being put to a public vote, with a requirement that the person "loves the country and loves Hong Kong."The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office reaffirmed that proposal in September, saying that Beijing would never allow Hong Kong's opposition to pick a leader who wasn't accountable to the central government. "Today, anyone who harbors such an idea will get nowhere," Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, told reporters at the time.The protests were ignited by a bill to allow extraditions to mainland China that the government subsequently withdrew. The demonstrators' demands have broadened to include an independent inquiry into police conduct and universal suffrage for both the Legislative Council and chief executive.Foreign OpinionsLisa Lau, a former member of the Independent Police Complaints Council, the group the government has tasked with finding accountability, said the body is hobbled by a lack of investigative powers, Ming Pao reported Sunday. She added the group has not yet met with the police commander in charge of the July incident in Yuen Long when subway riders were violently attacked, it said.Lam is due to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week to "remind global political, business and media leaders" of the city's resilience. Her government's statement on Sunday also condemned protester calls for foreign governments to sanction alleged human rights offenders from Hong Kong."Foreign governments, legislatures or organizations have absolutely no role in matters relating to the constitutional development of Hong Kong, and should not express any opinion or take any action in an attempt to influence or interfere in the discussions of related matters in Hong Kong," it said.(Updates with details from police statement in eighth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Iain Marlow.To contact the reporters on this story: Eric Lam in Hong Kong at elam87@bloomberg.net;Aaron Mc Nicholas in Hong Kong at amcnicholas2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Ten Kate at dtenkate@bloomberg.net, James LuddenFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| A thousand EU financial firms plan to open UK offices after Brexit Posted: 19 Jan 2020 04:38 PM PST  More than a thousand banks, asset managers, payments companies and insurers in the European Union plan to open offices in post-Brexit Britain so they can continue serving UK clients, regulatory consultancy Bovill said on Monday. The new offices and staff will help mitigate the loss of business going the other way as the current unfettered two-way direct access between Britain and the EU comes to an end in December following a Brexit transition period. As a first step, the companies, who until now have been able to serve UK customers directly from their home base, have applied for temporary permission to operate in Britain after Jan. 31 when the UK leaves the bloc, Bovill said, using figures obtained from Britain's Financial Conduct Authority.
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| London Luxury House Sales Rebound as Buyers Race to Beat New Tax Posted: 19 Jan 2020 04:01 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- London's luxury property market saw a surge in sales last quarter as buyers rushed to snap up houses before Prime Minister Boris Johnson follows through on a campaign promise to slap a new tax on purchases by foreign investors.Deals for the capital's most expensive properties -- those going for 5 million pounds ($6.5 million) and above -- soared by 78% in the last three months of 2019 from the year-earlier period, according to LonRes. The number of sales was the highest in three years, the property research firm said in a report on Monday.The buying spree wasn't limited to the very top of the market. Across London's priciest neighborhoods, such as Mayfair and Chelsea, home sales increased by 34%, the biggest gain since mid-2017.A 3% levy on foreign buyers of homes in England was included in the Conservative Party's manifesto before the December election in which Johnson won a commanding majority in Parliament, allowing him to deliver on his Brexit plans. It's possible Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid could announce it in March as part of the budget. The tax is intended to cool prices and help locals get a foot on the housing ladder."There are early indications that the relative political certainty provided by last month's general election result is starting to boost activity in prime London markets," Tom Bill, head of London residential research at broker Knight Frank, said in a separate statement. "In the 10 working days following the election, Knight Frank transacted more exchanges in prime central London than any equivalent period since December 2016."Another factor driving the fourth-quarter sales surge was confusion surrounding the government's plans for changes to the sales tax, called a stamp duty, which had depressed the market in the preceding months, according to LonRes. That issue dropped off the political agenda as the Brexit-dominated election approached, emboldening buyers to go ahead with purchases in the year's final three months.Some activity has even returned recently to the pinnacle of the market, with Chinese property magnate Cheung Chung Kiu closing in on breaking London's price record with the purchase of a 45-room mansion in Knightsbridge for more than 210 million pounds.\--With assistance from Lucca de Paoli.To contact the reporter on this story: Eddie Spence in London at espence11@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shelley Robinson at ssmith118@bloomberg.net, Patrick Henry, Marion DakersFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Johnson Stays Away From Davos to Push Populist Agenda in U.K. Posted: 19 Jan 2020 04:01 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- As the global rich gather in Davos, Switzerland, Boris Johnson is staying in Britain to remind voters why he called his new administration the "people's government."The prime minister, who is boycotting the annual jamboree of the World Economic Forum, is considering the idea of moving the House of Lords out of London, possibly to York 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of the British capital.The shock revelation emerged a day after Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid warned business leaders to expect divergence from European Union rules after Brexit, whether or not a free-trade deal is concluded by the end of 2020.Johnson will reinforce his vision of a "global Britain" trading freely outside the EU on Monday, when he hosts African leaders at an inaugural summit. He is set to call for the U.K. to be the "investment partner of choice" on the continent.Johnson won a commanding majority in the general election by persuading pro-Brexit districts in northern England and the Midlands to back his Conservative Party for the first time. He did so by promising to take Britain out of the EU on Jan. 31, but he must now deliver economically if he's to retain their support.The premier has spoken repeatedly about "leveling up" across the U.K. and the budget due in March is expected to include billions of pounds of new infrastructure projects to boost the economy of northern England, which has been hit by a decade of austerity and the decline of heavy industry.In a indication of his new focus, ministers on Sunday confirmed that the House of Lords -- the upper, unelected chamber of Parliament -- could be moved permanently to York, an historic city of little more than 200,000 people, or Birmingham in central England. The news was first reported by the Sunday Times.'Do Things Differently'"It's one of range of things we are looking into. It's about demonstrating to people we are going to do things differently," Conservative Party Chairman James Cleverly told Sky TV's "Sophy Ridge on Sunday" show. "The Labour Party lost millions of voters because they failed to listen."Suspicions that Johnson might use his House of Commons majority to sever ties with Brexit hard-liners in his party and deliver a soft divorce appeared to be quashed by Javid in an interview with the Financial Times published Saturday.The chancellor said Britain would no longer abide by EU regulations and businesses needed to adjust, raising the stakes as the government prepares to embark on trade talks with the EU. Johnson has given himself just 11 months to tie up a deal. If he fails, Britain will be headed for another cliff-edge Brexit at the end of the year.Javid's comments prompted dismay among businesses, which fear divergence could cost billions of pounds with sectors such as car making, aerospace and food manufacturing bearing the brunt. Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry lobby group, said alignment had supported jobs and competitiveness in some of the most deprived regions of the U.K.Johnson also appears to be on collision course with businesses over immigration, with reports that the government is proposing to bring in restrictions on low-skilled migrants at the end the year, two years earlier than planned.Africa FocusAs Britain leaves the EU, Johnson is emphasizing the commercial opportunities in fast-growing regions such as Africa. He is due to address the U.K.-Africa Investment Summit in London, with the government promising hundreds of millions of pounds of financing to spur exports and investment.The gathering underscores fears that Britain risks losing out in the region. China, already a huge investor on the continent, hosted dozens of African leaders in 2018 and Russia, an expanding presence, followed suit last year. France and Turkey are also aggressively pushing trade on the continent.Johnson will also highlight his commitment to tackling climate change by announcing an end to U.K. support for thermal coal mining or coal power plants overseas, according to his office.To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Atkinson in London at a.atkinson@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Steve GeimannFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Orban Poised to Win Reprieve as EU Party Divided Over Expulsion Posted: 19 Jan 2020 04:00 PM PST ![Orban Poised to Win Reprieve as EU Party Divided Over Expulsion]( "Orban Poised to Win Reprieve as EU Party Divided Over Expulsion") (Bloomberg) -- The European Union's biggest group is leaning toward delaying an anticipated vote on whether to expel Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's party from its ranks as consensus hasn't been reached.The European People's Party, the largest in the European Parliament, is unlikely to hold an up-or-down on Orban's Fidesz party at a Brussels meeting that starts on Feb. 3, according to EPP sources who asked not to be identified because no official decision has been taken. The EPP suspended Fidesz's membership in March over rule-of-law concerns in Hungary.Playing for time would further drag out the intra-party drama after the EPP endured years of criticism for shielding the Hungarian leader as he eroded democratic checks and balances. The Orban model has since been adopted in Poland and has inspired nationalists in the west, alarming rights advocates about democratic backsliding in the EU.Being a member of the EU assembly's biggest group has perks, including the opportunity to confer with fellow leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel before EU summits when key decisions are taken. Leaving it could reduce Orban's influence over future deliberations, including the distribution of billions of euros in funding.A push to eject Fidesz gained momentum when Donald Tusk took over the reins of the EPP in November. The group entrusted three "wise men," including Tusk's predecessor as EU president and a former Austrian chancellor, to draw up a report on whether Fidesz was still compatible with it. Its conclusions were expected to steer the EPP's decision.But the report, originally due by early January, has yet to be filed and concern over Orban's future moves if he was expelled remain, according to the sources. The "wise men" haven't been able to reach a consensus, according to one of the sources, highlighting divisions inside the umbrella group.Orban has repeatedly said that he'd preemptively quit the group before being ousted and that he'd then most likely form a new group in the European Parliament with populists. On Friday, he said he was "within a centimeter" of doing so after a majority of EPP members backed a European Parliament resolution calling for redoubling efforts to rein in Hungary and Poland over rights violations.The Hungarian leader is hedging his bets. He met this month with Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the power behind Poland's ruling Law & Justice party, to discuss cooperation in EU party politics. And just when the EPP was originally due to discuss Fidesz's status in Brussels next month, Orban is scheduled to speak in Rome at a "national conservatism" forum along the likes of Italian nationalist firebrand Matteo Salvini.\--With assistance from Irina Vilcu.To contact the reporters on this story: Zoltan Simon in Budapest at zsimon@bloomberg.net;Andra Timu in Bucharest at atimu@bloomberg.net;Ben Sills in Madrid at bsills@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net, Andrea Dudik, Michael WinfreyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| AP sources: Security probe targets Trump's Russia adviser Posted: 19 Jan 2020 03:37 PM PST ![AP sources: Security probe targets Trump's Russia adviser]( "AP sources: Security probe targets Trump's Russia adviser") A White House adviser on Europe and Russia issues has been placed on administrative leave pending a security-related investigation, two people with knowledge of his exit said Sunday. Andrew Peek was escorted off the White House compound on Friday, according to one of those familiar with his departure. Peek, former deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq and Iran, has been in the position since November.
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| More than 100 killed in Yemen missile, drone attack Posted: 19 Jan 2020 03:35 PM PST  More than 100 people were killed and dozens wounded in a missile and drone attack blamed on Huthi rebels in central Yemen, officials said Sunday. Saturday's strike follows months of relative calm in the war between the Iran-backed Huthis and Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is supported by a Saudi-led military coalition. The Huthis attacked a mosque in a military camp in the central province of Marib -- about 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of the capital Sanaa -- during evening prayers, military sources told AFP.
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| 2 more Puerto Rico officials fired after warehouse break-in Posted: 19 Jan 2020 01:57 PM PST  Gov. Wanda Vázquez fired the heads of Puerto Rico's housing and family departments Sunday in the latest fallout over the discovery of a warehouse filled with emergency supplies dating from Hurricane Maria. The removal of Housing Secretary Fernando Gil and Department of Family Secretary Glorimar Andújar came a day after the governor fired the director of Puerto Rico's emergency management agency. Vázquez fired him hours after a Facebook video showed angry people breaking into the warehouse in an area where thousands have been in shelters since a recent earthquake.
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| Sanders distances himself from group backing his WH run Posted: 19 Jan 2020 01:53 PM PST  Bernie Sanders said Sunday that outside political groups that can raise and spend unlimited sums backing candidates for public office should be abolished — including those supporting his own bid for the White House. The remarks, made during a candidate forum with New Hampshire Public Radio, are the first substantive response from Sanders after The Associated Press reported earlier this month that Our Revolution's advocacy for his White House bid appeared to skirt campaign finance law.
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| Boris Johnson should negotiate trade deals with individual US states, an ex-trade secretary will say today Posted: 19 Jan 2020 01:30 PM PST  Boris Johnson should negotiate trade deals with individual US states as a backstop while he tries to seal a post-Brexit free trade agreement with America, a former trade secretary will say on Monday. Liam Fox will point out that four US states - California, Texas, Florida and New York - would be members of the G20 if they were independent nations, and that many deals can be struck with states, rather than the US as a whole. While tariffs on goods can only be negotiated by Washington, deals on services, which account for the majority of Britain's transatlantic trade, can be sealed on a state level, unlocking billions of pounds of business for the UK economy. Dr Fox will tell a conference in Geneva that free trade agreements are not "the only mechanism" to generate huge volumes of business between countries such as the UK and the US. He will say that a comprehensive free trade agreement with the US will encounter "unavoidable difficulties" because "the US will, quite correctly, negotiate hard for its own interests" and "is likely to focus on better access for its agricultural products". Liam Fox Many commentators have warned that the Government's insistence that it will not allow products such as chlorine-washed chicken or hormone-fed beef into the country from the US is incompatible with a free trade agreement (FTA), meaning it will be difficult to convince Donald Trump to sign one. However, Dr Fox, who served as International Trade Secretary until last summer, will tell business leaders that Britain should concentrate on removing non-tariff barriers to trade with the US, which would not need an FTA. He says regulatory autonomy after Brexit - as promised by Mr Johnson - will be key to removing long-standing trade barriers. One example he cites is a mutual recognition agreement negotiated by the Government between the Institute for Chartered Accountants of Scotland and two US accountancy bodies covering every US state, which made professional qualifications on either side of the Atlantic compatible with each other and opened up the American market to accountants from Scotland. US trade negotiations | Britain can make deals with individual states over services Services already account for £50bn of exports to the USA, around 60 per cent of the total export market, and similar deals would open up the US market still further. Speaking to The Telegraph ahead of his speech, Dr Fox said: "There are other things in the toolkit apart from FTAs. "We should be concentrating on market access restrictions rather than solely FTAs with countries like America." An FTA would cover tariffs, quotas and fees on goods being traded across the Atlantic, but Dr Fox says that as well as mutual recognition agreements, the removal of regulatory barriers can be done outside an FTA. Dairies in Northern Ireland, for example, were unable to export yoghurt and other dairy-based products to China because of regulations that meant that although China imported milk from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, it would not import Northern Irish yoghurt that incorporated milk from the Republic. The Department for International Trade negotiated the removal of the regulatory glitch, which was worth £250 million to Northern Irish producers. Dr Fox will tell the Spinoza Foundation think tank that such side deals represent "enormous potential for Britain to trade more with the US, beyond the concept of an FTA".
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| Japan’s Abe Resumes Constitution Quest in Bid to Burnish Legacy Posted: 19 Jan 2020 01:00 PM PST ![Japan's Abe Resumes Constitution Quest in Bid to Burnish Legacy]( "Japan's Abe Resumes Constitution Quest in Bid to Burnish Legacy") (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces almost insurmountable obstacles to completing his career-long quest to amend Japan's pacifist constitution. That won't stop him from trying.The premier was expected to open the next session of parliament Monday afternoon with a fresh call to revise the country's U.S.-imposed postwar constitution. Abe has raised the issue at almost public speaking opportunity since the new year, saying he wants to make full use of what he expects will be his final 20 months in office.Success would help burnish Abe's legacy after becoming the country's longest-serving prime minister in November. Rewriting the constitution was one of the founding principles of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which argues the move is needed to give Japan's "self-defense" forces greater legitimacy and secure Tokyo's interests around the globe.While many in the right-leaning LDP view the constitution imposed in 1947 as a symbol of Japan's humiliation after World War II, the document has broad political support. Previous talk of amendments, or changing laws to allow Japanese troops to fight abroad, has led to street protests -- something Abe may want to avoid as Tokyo prepares to host the Summer Olympics.Abe's challenge wasn't made any easier by his failure in July to win a two-thirds majority in parliament's upper house, something that would've helped him push through any change. He must also overcome a pushback from within his ruling coalition."In terms of political priorities, I don't think public interest is necessarily strong," Natsuo Yamaguchi, who leads Abe's Buddhist-backed coalition party, Komeito, told NHK on Jan. 12. "We have to look at this calmly and realistically as we move ahead."Although a change would please Japan's sole military ally, the U.S., which has been prodding Tokyo to take a more assertive security role, it could complicate Abe's other diplomatic efforts. The government is preparing for a state visit this spring by President Xi Jinping of China, where suspicion of Japan's military ambitions still runs deep.South Korea, which has been feuding with Japan over a host of war-related grievances in recent months, has urged its neighbor to "remain within the mold of the pacifist constitution." Meanwhile, North Korean state media denounced Abe's efforts to amend the document in a commentary Wednesday as "a revelation of wicked design to turn Japan into a military giant."Abe has already outlined his proposed changes -- including adding wording to the war-renouncing Article 9 that would make explicit the constitutionality of Japan's Self-Defense Forces. The country maintains almost 250,000 troops, hundreds of fighter jets and dozens of warships, although their activities are constrained by law.Japan spends about 5 trillion yen ($45 billion) annually on defense. It has ramped up its financing each year that Abe has been in office, in an effort to counter the growing capabilities of nuclear-armed neighbors such as China, Russia and North Korea, which has fired missiles over Japan."In recent opinion polls, the people are calling strongly for debate on changing the constitution," Abe told public broadcaster NHK in an interview broadcast Jan. 12. "As lawmakers, we have to accept this," he added. "I am unwavering in my desire to be the one who achieves a revision of the constitution."National ReferendumEven if Abe were to cobble together the two-thirds majority needed in both houses of parliament to pass a change, he would still need to pass a national referendum. Some surveys have shown a growing voter willingness to debate the issue, but there's no clear public consensus for a revision.A poll by the Sankei newspaper and Fuji News Network this month found that 53.5% of respondents were against changing the constitution. A little more than half said they didn't approve of a revision under the Abe administration.Abe enters the year hobbled by scandals that have led to the arrest of a sitting LDP lawmaker accused of taking bribes from a Chinese company seeking to be involved in the local casino industry. He also faces lingering questions over whether he improperly rewarded constituency supporters with invitations to a publicly funded cherry blossom-viewing party.While some in Japan's splintered opposition want to avoid debating the constitution, Shiori Yamao, a lawmaker with the Constitutional Democratic Party and a former prosecutor, said she wanted to start discussions as soon as possible. In a Jan. 16 interview, she expressed concern that a referendum could be held without the public fully understanding the implications."Prime Minister Abe has a concrete proposal that would write the SDF into the constitution," she said. "We are against that. If you just write in that they exist without setting rules for their activities, there will be no constitutional restraints."\--With assistance from Takashi Hirokawa.To contact the reporters on this story: Isabel Reynolds in Tokyo at ireynolds1@bloomberg.net;Emi Nobuhiro in Tokyo at enobuhiro@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Jon HerskovitzFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Governor: 2 police officers die after Hawaii shooting Posted: 19 Jan 2020 12:41 PM PST  A man shot and killed two police officers Sunday as they responded to a home in a leafy neighborhood beneath the rim of a famed volcanic crater near Waikiki Beach, authorities said. The officers were responding to an address where the homeowner, Lois Cain, had recently sought to have a man evicted, court records showed. A neighbor told The Associated Press she saw Cain being loaded into an ambulance with knife wounds.
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| Dozens wounded as Iraqi protesters up pressure on government Posted: 19 Jan 2020 11:50 AM PST  Iraqi security forces wounded dozens of protesters on Sunday as renewed anti-government demonstrations gripped the capital and Iraq's south, activists and officials said. The mass protests had lost steam when soaring U.S.-Iran tensions threatened an open conflict on Iraqi soil in past weeks. As the regional crisis receded, Iraqi activists gave the government a week's deadline to act on their demands for sweeping political reforms or said they would up the pressure with new demonstrations.
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| Argentines remember prosecutor killed while probing attack on Jews Posted: 19 Jan 2020 11:49 AM PST  Argentines paid tribute Saturday to a prosecutor on the fifth anniversary of his unsolved death while probing the bombing of a Jewish community center -- an attack in which he alleged a presidential cover-up to shield Iran in exchange for trade. Prosecutor Alberto Nisman led the probe of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association headquarters, which left 85 dead and 300 wounded. In 2015, his body was found in his Buenos Aires apartment with a gunshot wound to the head, delivered at close range from a handgun found at his side.
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| Iraq protests swell with youth angry at slow pace of reform Posted: 19 Jan 2020 11:45 AM PST  Iraqi youth angry at their government's glacial pace of reform ramped up their protests on Sunday, sealing streets with burning tyres and threatening further escalation unless their demands are met. The rallies demanding an overhaul of the ruling system have rocked Shiite-majority parts of Iraq since October, but had thinned out in recent weeks amid rising Iran-US tensions. Protesters had feared Iraq would be caught in the middle of the geopolitical storm and last Monday gave the government one week to make progress on reform pledges.
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| Democrats navigate sensitive gender politics as voting nears Posted: 19 Jan 2020 11:30 AM PST  Democratic presidential candidates spent the weekend grappling with how to address questions surrounding sexism and gender bias as they sought to balance support for women against concerns of a political blowback. After his wife went public with her own experience of sexual assault at the hands of her doctor, businessman Andrew Yang said that "our country is deeply misogynist." Other White House hopefuls, however, didn't go so far. Billionaire Tom Steyer said that while systemic sexism exists, he "hopes" half of America is not misogynistic.
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| China launches bid to phase out single-use plastics Posted: 19 Jan 2020 10:58 AM PST  China is stepping up restrictions on the production, sale and use of single-use plastic products, the state planner said on Sunday, as it seeks to tackle one of the country's biggest environmental problems. Vast amounts of untreated plastic waste are buried in landfills or dumped in rivers. The United Nations has identified single-use plastics as one of the world's biggest environmental challenges. The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, which issued the new policy, said plastic bags will be banned in all of China's major cities by the end of 2020 and banned in all cities and towns in 2022. Markets selling fresh produce will be exempt from the ban until 2025. Other items such as plastic utensils from takeaway food outlets and plastic courier packages will also be phased out. By end of 2020, the restaurant industry will be banned from using single-use straws. By 2025, towns and cities across China must reduce the consumption of single-use plastic items in the restaurant industry by 30%. Some regions and sectors will also face restrictions on the production and sale of plastic products, although it is not yet clear which geographical areas. China also banned the import of all plastic waste, and the use of medical plastic waste in the production of plastic. The production and sale of plastic bags less than 0.025mm thick will be banned, as will plastic film less than 0.01mm thick for agricultural use. China is already boosting recycling rates and is building dozens of "comprehensive resource utilisation" bases to ensure that more products are reused as part of its war on waste.
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| Houthi rebels kill at least 70 soldiers in Yemen after attack on mosque Posted: 19 Jan 2020 10:54 AM PST  Yemen's president condemned on Sunday an attack by Houthi rebels on a government military camp, as authorities said fatalities had risen to at least 79 troops. Ballistic missiles smashed into a mosque in the training camp in the central province of Marib late Saturday, wounding 81 others during evening prayers, according to Abdu Abdullah Magli, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces. The oil-rich province of Marib lies about 115 kilometers (70 miles) east of the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa. The city is a stronghold of the Saudi-led, U.S.-backed coalition. The missile strike was the bloodiest attack in Marib since the beginning of Yemen's long-running civil war, marking a military escalation in a rare spot of relative stability. The U.N. envoy to Yemen delivered a stern warning about the recent spike in military activity across multiple provinces, noting with "particular concern" the airstrike that hit the military camp. "The hard-earned progress that Yemen has made on de-escalation is very fragile. Such actions can derail this progress", said Martin Griffiths. President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi described Saturday's assault on Muslim worshipers as an act of "blatant aggression" that underscored Houthis' "lawlessness" and "unwillingness" to make peace, according to Saudi Arabia's state-run news agency. He denounced the Houthis as "a cheap Iranian tool in the region." A Shiite Houthi tribesman holds his weapon during a tribal gathering showing support for the Houthi movement, in Sanaa, Yemen Credit: AP Yemen's defense ministry placed the military on heightened alert at nearby bases, directing troops to "take precautions" ahead of imminent battle. "This attack will be answered harshly," Magli warned in a televised statement. Coalition forces said they launched "massive assaults" on rebel targets northeast of the capital, killing and wounding dozens of Houthi fighters. There was no immediate comment from the Houthi faction. Yemen's civil war erupted in 2014 when Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels seized Sanaa, and much of the country's north, ousting President Hadi. The conflict became a regional proxy war months later as a Saudi-led coalition intervened to try and restore Hadi's internationally-recognized government, which rules in exile in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. Both Houthi rebels and Saudi-led coalition forces have been accused of war crimes and rampant human rights abuses in Yemen. Indiscriminate coalition air strikes and rebel shelling have drawn widespread international criticism for killing civilians and hitting non-military targets. The grinding war in the Arab world's poorest country has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced over 3 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine. Meanwhile, fighting has settled into a bloody stalemate.
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| Italy ready to play leading role in monitoring Libya peace-PM Conte Posted: 19 Jan 2020 10:52 AM PST ![Italy ready to play leading role in monitoring Libya peace-PM Conte]( "Italy ready to play leading role in monitoring Libya peace-PM Conte") Italy is ready to take a leading role in monitoring a ceasefire agreement in Libya, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Sunday following the conclusion of a peace conference in Berlin. "Obviously we'll have to go through a United Nations Security Council and then we can define this commitment after that," he said.
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| Britain's Johnson warns Putin over Skripal poisoning Posted: 19 Jan 2020 09:49 AM PST  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday used his first official meeting with Vladimir Putin to warn the Russian leader not to repeat the 2018 chemical attack that almost killed former spy Sergei Skripal. Downing Street said Johnson told the Kremlin chief on the sidelines of a summit on the Libya crisis in Berlin that ties between Moscow and London would not return to normal until Russia ended its "destabilising" activities. Johnson "was clear there had been no change in the UK's position on Salisbury, which was a reckless use of chemical weapons and a brazen attempt to murder innocent people on UK soil," Downing Street said in a statement.
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| Pompeo angry over death of US citizen jailed in Egypt Posted: 19 Jan 2020 09:26 AM PST  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "expressed outrage" to Egypt's president on Sunday at the death of an American citizen who insisted he had been wrongfully held in an Egyptian prison, according to a State Department spokeswoman. Pompeo's sharp remarks signal the U.S. government was putting the death of Mustafa Kassem, 54, following his protracted hunger strike last week, high on the diplomatic agenda. Pompeo raised his concerns to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi about Kassem's "pointless and tragic death" on the sidelines of an international peace summit in Berlin that aims to end Libya's civil war.
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| Illegal crossings plunge as US extends policy across border Posted: 19 Jan 2020 09:24 AM PST  Adolfo Cardenas smiles faintly at the memory of traveling with his 14-year-old son from Honduras to the U.S.-Mexico border in only nine days, riding buses and paying a smuggler $6,000 to ensure passage through highway checkpoints. Father and son walked about 10 minutes in Arizona's stifling June heat before surrendering to border agents. Instead of being released with paperwork to appear in immigration court in Dallas, where Cardenas hopes to live with a cousin, they were bused more than an hour to wait in the Mexican border city of Mexicali.
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| Trump Fans or Not, Business Owners Are Wary of Warren and Sanders Posted: 19 Jan 2020 09:17 AM PST  When it comes to President Donald Trump's economic policies, there is not much that appeals to Grady Cope, the founder of a machining and assembly company in Englewood, Colorado.He does not approve of tariffs, which have disrupted his supply chains and raised costs. He is turned off by the president's disparagement of immigrants. And while small businesses routinely thank the administration for hacking through a regulatory thicket, he said of the pre-Trump rulebook, "I can't think of one time that it affected me or slowed growth."I lean more to the liberal side of things," said Cope, who employs 47 people at his firm, Reata Engineering and Machine Works. Yet even though he supports a higher minimum wage and is open to the idea of "Medicare for All," he is leery of two of the leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination."I probably won't go as far left on issues as Sanders and Warren," he said.Wall Street's disdain for the bottom-up populist campaigns of Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont has gotten a lot of attention. The candidates' full-throated attacks on corporate greed, extreme wealth and banking excesses are backed up by ambitious plans to upend the industry's everyday operations.Wariness extends far beyond an elite financial fellowship, though, to many small and medium-size businesses whose executives are not reflexively Republican but worry that the ascendancy of a left-wing Democrat would create an anti-business climate. In their view, sweeping plans to remake the health care system or slash the cost of higher education will mean higher taxes for businesses and the middle class, no matter what candidates promise.But if policy is an issue, so is tone. In campaign speeches and debates, some said, Sanders and Warren portray businesses as exploiting the American economic system instead of building it and of contributing to income inequality instead of creating wealth.Michael Brady, owner of two employment franchises in Jacksonville, Florida, is one of the independent business executives interviewed who feel unappreciated. "I get up before 6 o'clock every morning and work hard," he said. "I put 200 people to work every week."Brady, 53, said he voted for Barack Obama in 2012 and Trump in 2016. Since then, he said, some of the president's actions and "some of his tweets" have made him cringe.He said he could vote for a Democrat this year. But he finds several of the economic proposals from the party's left wing off-putting, mentioning free college tuition and a nationwide $15-an-hour minimum wage.What particularly irks Brady, though, are some of Warren's statements about successful entrepreneurs' not having built their businesses entirely on their own. Attacks on the country's wealthy elite have also grated."When did the word millionaire or billionaire become a bad word?" he asked. "I cheer those people on because they've lived the American dream."Warren has explained for years that she, too, cheers hard-driven capitalists but adds that as important as private enterprise is, its successes are built on governmental investments like roads, education, police officers and firefighters. And so the winners, she argues, need to share more of their haul.To Brady, though, the comments sound like an insult. "It's strictly the pro-business mentality that drives me to vote," he said.In the meantime, Trump has fueled such feelings by referring to the Democrats as "radical socialists."Democratic moderates warn that a leftward tilt in the party's presidential nomination could alienate potential swing voters like Brady. Some point to Obama's recent warning that "the average American doesn't think we have to completely tear down the system.""Even as we push the envelope and we are bold in our vision, we also have to be rooted in reality," Obama told a group of donors in November.Candidates like former Vice President Joe Biden; former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana; and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota have sought to dominate the political center lane. But none has matched the degree of enthusiasm and devotion that Warren and Sanders have generated among supporters inspired by prospects of visionary change.The belief that voters are yearning for another moderate alternative recently helped motivate former Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York and former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts to reverse their decisions to forgo the 2020 election.The billionaire Bloomberg, who announced his candidacy in November, has emphasized his background as a self-made business executive. In an early advertisement, he described himself as "a middle-class kid who made good." Patrick, a friend of Obama's, has positioned himself as someone who wants to bring people together and looks for middle ground.But even with the first Democratic contests weeks away, the November presidential election can seem far off.Beri Fox, president and chief executive of Marble King in Paden City, West Virginia, possibly the last U.S. manufacturer of toy marbles, said she had not yet focused on the candidates' overall plans, just "bits and pieces."Making sure U.S. companies can compete with China is a priority for her, said Fox, who employs 28 people. She hopes that Trump's confrontational approach on trade will work in the long run but also feels that Biden cares deeply about domestic manufacturers. She has not decided whom to support for president.For some, the battle for the Democratic nomination is still mostly background noise.With so many candidates still in contention, "it just doesn't seem worth my time to pick a heartthrob at this time," said Rick Woldenberg, chief executive of Learning Resources in Vernon Hills, Illinois, a family-owned manufacturer of educational materials and toys.Woldenberg's primary concern is the future of his business, which employs more than 200 people. The 2017 tax cuts engineered by Trump and his party helped generate more cash for investment, he said, but tariffs on imports have been punishing, raising the cost of materials and straining relations with customers and international vendors.He also finds the president's routine combativeness unsettling, not to mention his impeachment."I tend to favor politicians who are more moderate in their views," Woldenberg said. "And I would not consider Trump to be especially moderate."Yet neither are Sanders and Warren, he said. Labeling them "very extreme," he said that expensive plans like Medicare for All would depress the economy and that a wealth tax would be "catastrophic."The generally positive economic outlook, of course, could shift significantly in the coming year. The recent flare-up in tensions between the United States and Iran was a reminder that by the time of the election, international events could eclipse domestic ones.At the moment, though, executives are focused on their businesses.Tom Gimbel, founder and chief executive of LaSalle Network, a Chicago-based employment agency, is looking for a candidate who will promote economic growth."Trump may be a loose cannon on international stuff, but domestically Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are loose cannons on restricting business," Gimbel said. "Giving things away for free is a slap in the face for people who played by the rules. Where does it stop? Are we going to start paying off mortgage debt?"He mentioned several other concerns about Sanders and Warren, including a wealth tax, broader eligibility for overtime pay and pro-worker rulings that could come from a liberal National Labor Relations Board."We don't need the opposite of Trump," Gimbel said. "We don't need an opposite of crazy. We need a moderate."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Trump defenders push 'no crime' as Democrats seek removal Posted: 19 Jan 2020 09:00 AM PST  President Donald Trump's lawyers on Sunday previewed their impeachment defense with the questionable assertion that the charges against him are invalid, adopting a position rejected by Democrats as "nonsense" as both sides sharpened their arguments for trial. "Criminal-like conduct is required," said Alan Dershowitz, a constitutional lawyer on Trump's defense team. Dershowitz said he will be making the same argument to the Senate and if it prevails, there will be "no need" to pursue the witness testimony or documents that Democrats are demanding.
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| US marks King holiday amid fears of deep racial divisions Posted: 19 Jan 2020 08:34 AM PST  To commemorate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Nicholas Thomas and more than 100 other volunteers will board up vacant houses, install school safety signs and make other improvements to a Detroit neighborhood. As Thomas fans out across the neighborhood with hammer and nails, King's legacy of peace and racial and social justice will be foremost in his mind. As the nation marks the holiday honoring King, the mood surrounding it is overshadowed by deteriorating race relations in an election season that has seen one candidate of color after another quit the 2020 presidential race.
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| U.S. Agencies Stonewalling to Avoid Trump’s Ire, Democrat Says Posted: 19 Jan 2020 07:26 AM PST ![U.S. Agencies Stonewalling to Avoid Trump's Ire, Democrat Says]( "U.S. Agencies Stonewalling to Avoid Trump's Ire, Democrat Says") (Bloomberg) -- Congress is being stonewalled by intelligence agency officials who refuse to testify in public for fear of drawing President Donald Trump's ire, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said."Part of their job is to speak truth to power," Representative Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, said Sunday on "This Week" on ABC. "The intelligence community is reluctant to have an open hearing," Schiff said, "because they're worried about angering the president."Schiff's committee has in the past held annual public hearings to discuss global security threats, with leaders at the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency among those testifying. A hearing hasn't been set for this year.Document disclosure is another problem area, he said."The intelligence community is beginning to withhold documents from Congress on the issue of Ukraine. They appear to be succumbing to pressure from the administration," he said. The Senate Intelligence Committee a year ago heard from the heads of key agencies, including the CIA and NSA, who said North Korea and Islamic State remained critical security threats. In response, Trump called the agency heads "extremely passive and naive" in a tweet to his millions of followers. Schiff said the NSA is refusing to provide "potentially relevant documents" on Ukraine, and also withholding documents that may be relevant for senators in Trump's upcoming impeachment trial. "That is deeply concerning," he said.The lawmaker said the CIA may be on the same course, but didn't elaborate."We are counting on the intelligence community not only to speak truth to power, but to resist pressure from the administration to withhold information from Congress because the administration fears that they incriminate them," he said.To contact the reporter on this story: Steve Geimann in Washington at sgeimann@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Matthew G. Miller at mmiller144@bloomberg.net, Ros KrasnyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Yemeni president condemns rebel attack as death toll rises Posted: 19 Jan 2020 06:46 AM PST ![Yemeni president condemns rebel attack as death toll rises]( "Yemeni president condemns rebel attack as death toll rises") Yemen's president condemned on Sunday an attack by Houthi rebels on a government military camp, as authorities said fatalities had risen to at least 79 troops. Ballistic missiles smashed into a mosque in the training camp in the central province of Marib late Saturday, wounding 81 others during evening prayers, according to Abdu Abdullah Magli, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces. The U.N. envoy to Yemen delivered a stern warning about the recent spike in military activity across multiple provinces, noting with "particular concern" the airstrike that hit the military camp.
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| Bodies of Ukrainian victims of downed plane repatriated from Iran Posted: 19 Jan 2020 06:42 AM PST  Around a thousand people including President Volodymyr Zelensky bid farewell to Ukrainians who died in a plane mistakenly shot down by Iran during a spike in tensions with Washington. Zelensky laid flowers on the flag-draped coffins of the 11 Ukrainian victims -- nine flight crew and two passengers -- during the solemn ceremony at Kiev's Boryspil airport and briefly spoke to their relatives. The caskets were to remain for several hours at the terminal so that relatives, Ukraine International Airlines staff and ordinary Ukrainians could say their last goodbyes.
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| Couple together for nearly 65 years die on the same day Posted: 19 Jan 2020 06:24 AM PST  Jack and Harriet Morrison's beds were placed next to each other in their final hours, allowing them to hold hands, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Harriett, who was 83, died later on Jan. 11. "They went to a little diner and never separated from that day on," Wagener said.
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| Clones help famous elm tree named Herbie live on, for now Posted: 19 Jan 2020 06:15 AM PST  A massive elm tree nicknamed Herbie is long gone, but it is going to live on, thanks to cloned trees that are being made available to the public. At 110 feet and more than 200 years, Herbie was the tallest and oldest elm in New England and survived 14 bouts of Dutch elm disease because of the devotion of his centenarian caretaker, Frank Knight, the late tree warden of Yarmouth, Maine. The duo became famous after Knight spent half of his life caring for the tree, which he referred to as "an old friend." Knight realized he couldn't save the town's elms as they succumbed by the hundreds to Dutch elm disease.
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| Candidates seek new caucus voters in trailer parks, rallies Posted: 19 Jan 2020 05:43 AM PST  Bernie Sanders is sending organizers to convenience stores across Iowa and staking out drug stores and even nursing homes. Pete Buttigieg has a more technocratic model. The approaches are as different as the two men themselves, but represent one of the most important tactical pieces of a presidential campaign in Iowa: getting people to attend the caucuses for the first time.
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| Brexit, Facebook, Endowments and Other Errors Posted: 19 Jan 2020 05:00 AM PST  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Every year for the past decade I have been making a list of what I got wrong. This act of contrition allows me to own my mistakes, recognize my fallibility and learn from the experience. I hope you find some value in doing the same exercise.Let's get to the errors:No. 1. Trading commissions: Last February, I cited a Morningstar survey that found that "fees fell 8 percent in 2017, the largest one-year decline ever reported." It seemed, according to data on fees, that the point of diminishing returns had been reached. "The race to zero may be reaching its natural limits," I wrote.Boy, did Charles Schwab Corp. prove me wrong.Although commission-free trading has been around awhile, it was either a niche product or offered as a teaser for other products. After investment giant Schwab said in October that it would offer commission-free trading, everyone from Fidelity to Vanguard to TD Ameritrade followed suit.One caveat: There is no free lunch, and free trading means that offsetting fees may be hidden or buried in the fine print. I continue to believe that, at least in finance, cheap is better than free. No. 2. University endowments underperform: Each October, many college endowments release their investment performance data for the past fiscal year. I wrote about the Ivy League endowments and how they had failed to beat benchmark returns.But I made an assumption that the benchmark these endowments were being compared against was a globally diversified portfolio. I was wrong. As it turns out — buried in a footnote of the research I relied on — the benchmark used for the study was a domestic portfolio. This is not a good comparison because the endowments invest globally. It stands to reason that they would look like laggards in a period of U.S. market outperformance versus the rest of the world. The lesson learned: The footnotes matter — a lot.No. 3. Brexit: I have been saying that the British will eventually come to realize that Brexit is a self-destructive and needless exercise and eventually would reverse the referendum mandating that the U.K. leave the European Union. I said it here, here and here.The election as prime minister of Boris Johnson, an opportunistic Brexiteer, pretty much means that the exit is going to be fast-tracked in a way that his predecessor, Theresa May, could never manage. There is no need to wait for it to be official: I was wrong about Brexit. The only argument left is whether the U.K. will leave the EU with or without a deal setting the terms of the departure.No. 4. Fiduciary rule: I have long argued that the brokerage industry owes consumers a higher level of care than now on offer and that putting client interests first should be the standard. In other words, rules should require brokers to serve as fiduciaries rather than as the glorified used-car salesmen that they historically have been.Despite opposition from the brokerage industry to any rule change, investors have been voting with their dollars and hiring financial advisers that conform to this better standard. It is all but inevitable, I wrote, that this fiduciary standard would be adopted by the industry, albeit with a nudge from the government.But I underestimated what the deeply motivated and deep-pocketed brokerage industry can accomplish in a deeply corrupt Washington. For now, rules requiring the adoption of the fiduciary standard are on hold.No. 5. Facebook didn't flip the 2016 election: I made a mistake on the long-running debate about the role of a weaponized Facebook in the 2016 election, arguing that very few people change their minds based on social media. Mostly, I argued, social media is a giant echo chamber and that people aggressively avoid ideas that challenge their established opinions.Given how close the 2016 election was — decided by a tiny share of the votes cast in three or four states — I am willing to admit that maybe Facebook content did persuade a few people to change their votes or stay home. Theoretically, this could have swung the election. And while I was predisposed to discount the role of social media in 2020, I now believe it could matter a lot. Let's hope the 2020 election isn't so close that the role of social media even matters.To contact the author of this story: Barry Ritholtz at britholtz3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Greiff at jgreiff@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Barry Ritholtz is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is chairman and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management, and was previously chief market strategist at Maxim Group. He is the author of "Bailout Nation."For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Cyber Strife Between U.S. and Iran Is Nothing New Posted: 19 Jan 2020 05:00 AM PST  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Experts are warning that the U.S. should expect more cyberattacks by Iranian hackers in retaliation for the death of General Qasem Soleimani in a targeted drone strike. Maybe they're right. But let's not kid ourselves: Iran would be launching lots of cyberattacks anyway.And the danger of escalation would be ever-present.So far, despite the warnings, security researchers report that little has yet materialized. But that doesn't mean nothing major will happen. Iranian's official and semi-official hackers are among the best in the world, and both the U.S. government and private industry are bracing for possible attacks. Crucial sites are much better protected than they were a few years ago, but no protection will ever be perfect.Infrastructure, always an attractive target, has long been a focus of Iran's hackers, particularly the group known as APT33 or Refined Kitten. Recent news reports have singled out Refined Kitten's constant "password-spraying," the relatively low-tech tactic of flooding infrastructure targets with common passwords(1) in the hope that some will work. However, those attacks aren't a response to the current crisis; they've been going on at least since 2018.(2)The dates matter. What's often called the "shadow war" between the U.S. and Iran has been going on for a long time. Last June, for instance, the U.S. retaliated for Iranian attacks on oil tankers and the downing of a drone by launching cyber assaults against "an Iranian intelligence group" believed to be involved. The U.S. action also followed a spike in efforts by Iranian hackers to breach computer systems at, among others, the Energy Department and U.S. national laboratories.It's tempting to blame the shadow war on the policies of President Donald Trump, but the battle was joined long before he took up residence in the Oval Office. The Iranian efforts are usually dated to 2009, when the "Iranian Cyber Army" successfully attacked Twitter, proclaiming on the site's homepage "U.S.A. Think They Controlling And Managing Internet By Their Access, But They Don't, We Control And Manage Internet By Our Power."The hacks continued throughout the Obama administration. In 2013, for instance, Iranian hackers "infiltrated the control system of a small dam less than 20 miles from New York City." The next year, they attacked a Las Vegas casino owned by Sheldon Adelson. In 2016, the U.S. announced indictments against seven hackers said to be working on behalf of Iran's Revolutionary Guard who were alleged to have "conducted a coordinated cyberattack on dozens of U.S. banks, causing millions of dollars in lost business."Moreover, Iran never needed any provocation to unleash its hacking squads. In November of 2015, the New York Times reported "a surge in sophisticated computer espionage" by hackers based in the Islamic Republic, including "a series of cyberattacks against State Department officials." Those attacks came four months after the signing of the Iran nuclear deal.My point isn't that the accord somehow caused the attacks, perhaps by emboldening Iran. That's nonsense. My point is that the existence of the accord didn't prevent the attacks or even reduce their frequency or scope. Nor should anyone have expected such a result. In the Middle East, for better or worse, the U.S. and Iran are rivals, each seeking to exercise influence in the world's most volatile region. As every disciple of conflict theory knows, rival powers often find it in their interest to cooperate on particular issues. But the fact that rivals sometimes cooperate – as the U.S. and Iran did, for example, in the battle against Islamic State — doesn't suddenly make them allies. Neither did the nuclear deal.From the point of view of both countries, a battle in cyberspace feels far safer than one fought out with force of arms. One might suppose that because the U.S. is the dominant online player, a fight in the digital realm would be to its liking. But there are reasons to be wary.In an important recent essay in The Atlantic, Stanford's Amy Zegart points to the paradox of U.S. tech dominance: "The United States is simultaneously the most powerful country in cyberspace and the most vulnerable country in cyberspace," she writes. The more widespread and complex your systems, she argues, the greater the possibilities for a hacker to find a way in: "In the virtual world, power and vulnerability are inextricably linked."And exploiting the opponent's online vulnerabilities is a tricky and dangerous business. Few conflicts stay in the shadows forever. The trouble is, it's impossible to predict when or how the battle will burst into the open. Here one is reminded of Nobel Laureate Thomas Schelling's description of "limited war" as being like fighting while in a canoe. "A blow hard enough to hurt," he wrote in Arms and Influence, "is in some danger of overturning the canoe." Once both canoes capsize and everybody's in the water, there's no way to tell who'll drown.So far, the cyber-blows exchanged by Iran and the U.S. haven't been hard enough to hurt in any deep and profound sense, even during the current atmosphere of crisis. The canoes have stayed afloat. One expert interviewed by the Washington Post suggested that all we're likely to see is "small-scale interruptions and nuisance activities with limited impact" – in a word, vandalism. That's what happened earlier this month, when Iranian hackers successfully defaced the website of the Federal Depository Library Program with a tribute to Soleimani. And if by chance you haven't heard of the Federal Depository Library Program, that's the point.But the fact that the cyber war between the U.S. and Iran has remained in the shadows so far doesn't mean it always will. No matter who wins the 2020 presidential election, the battle war won't go away.Neither will the risk of overturning the canoe.(1) If your password is on this list, then it's common, and you should change it.(2) Refined Kitten, like other Iranian hacker groups, has also targeted companies involved with national security. One "soft" Refined Kitten technique involves posting fake notices about jobs in the defense industry, evidently in the hope of vacuuming up information from applicants.To contact the author of this story: Stephen L. Carter at scarter01@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Sarah Green Carmichael at sgreencarmic@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Stephen L. Carter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of law at Yale University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. His novels include "The Emperor of Ocean Park," and his latest nonfiction book is "Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America's Most Powerful Mobster." For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| No escape: Senators to be quiet, unplugged for Trump trial Posted: 19 Jan 2020 04:59 AM PST  The first time the proclamation was used, in the 1868 trial of President Andrew Johnson, lawmakers couldn't have imagined life in the modern era. The pace of today's politics would have been hard to foresee even in early 1999, at the start of the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, when smartphones didn't exist. The normally chummy senators won't even be allowed to talk at length to people nearby or walk on certain areas of the Senate floor.
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| Four decades of conflict with Iran, explained Posted: 19 Jan 2020 03:50 AM PST  Iran and the U.S. have been enemies since 1979. Why? Here's everything you need to know:What is the state of relations? For four decades, the U.S. and Iran have been locked into what is essentially an ongoing, low-grade war. Since its inception in 1979, the Shiite theocracy, now run by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a council of top clerics, has considered the U.S. the "Great Satan" — an intruder in the Middle East and a primary obstacle to the mullahs' goal of sustaining and spreading their Shiite Islamic revolution. Speeches and sermons often end with the chant "Death to America!" Iran sponsors a network of Shiite militias and parties in countries across the Middle East, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Badr Organization in Iraq, and it is sworn to the destruction of key U.S. ally Israel. Over the years, Iranian-backed terrorists have attacked U.S. troops and killed hundreds of Americans. From Iran's point of view, the U.S. has sought to destroy its regime almost from its inception, surrounding it with military bases in Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, and the Gulf states and crippling its economy through punishing sanctions.When did problems begin? It all started in 1953, under President Eisenhower, when the CIA and British intelligence led a coup against elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, who had nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. The shah, modern reformer Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was installed as head of state and restored British and U.S. access to oil. The shah created a secret police force, SAVAK, to keep various leftist and religious opposition groups in check, but its authoritarian abuses further embittered Iranians who considered the shah a puppet of the West. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a fundamentalist cleric who had been banished to France, inspired massive protests that forced the shah to flee, enabling the ayatollah to return and set up a theocratic government. When President Jimmy Carter allowed the ailing shah to come to America for medical treatment, enraged Iranian students broke into the U.S. Embassy, taking 52 American diplomats hostage for a gut-wrenching 444 days.What happened under Reagan? The U.S. and the Iranian theocracy struggled, often violently, for influence in the region. In 1983, a Hezbollah truck bomb killed 241 Americans, mostly Marines, who were on a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon to support the Christian-led government. President Reagan then withdrew U.S. soldiers from Lebanon. Iraq's Saddam Hussein, meanwhile, launched a war against Iran that cost 500,000 lives, with the U.S. providing support to Iraq as the lesser of two evils. Amid heightened tensions, the U.S. Navy mistakenly shot down an Iranian passenger jet in the Persian Gulf in 1988, killing all 290 people on board. It was during this period that Iran decided to develop nuclear weapons.How did the nuclear program start? Iran began working with Pakistan, China, and Russia to develop nuclear technology, insisting it would be used only for electrical generation. But in 2002, Iranian dissidents revealed that Iran had built a uranium enrichment plant at Natanz that could be used to help build a bomb. Over the ensuing years, Iran repeatedly evaded United Nations inspectors and lied about the extent of its activities. After the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, largely to establish a pro-Western democracy in the region, Iran began supporting Iraq's Shiite militias, who killed hundreds of U.S. soldiers with improvised bombs. When President Barack Obama took office, he sought to broker a deal with Iran; in 2015, U.S. negotiators and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani — a relative moderate — reached an agreement to curtail Iran's nuclear program.What was in the nuclear deal? Iran agreed to slash the number of its uranium centrifuges — machines that can spin that element into a highly enriched form usable in nuclear bombs — and submit to intrusive inspections, in exchange for the lifting of sanctions and the release of some $50 billion in frozen Iranian assets held abroad. The deal — backed by the EU, Russia, and China — would have prevented Iran from enriching significant amounts of uranium until at least 2031. For three years, the U.N. and EU said that Iran was complying fully with the treaty. But many Republicans, including presidential candidate Donald Trump, objected that the restrictions on enrichment would expire after 15 years, and complained that it did nothing to restrict Iran's support for terrorism abroad.What did President Trump do? Trump pulled the U.S. out of the pact in May 2018 and reimposed devastating sanctions on Iran, including an embargo on Iranian oil. This policy of "maximum pressure," the administration says, is intended to force Iran to negotiate a more comprehensive deal and agree to end all aggressive actions in the region. But with its economy deeply damaged, the Iranian regime became even more aggressive. It sabotaged several Western oil tankers, then shot down a U.S. drone, and in September, through its Houthi proxy in Yemen, Iran bombed two key oil installations in Saudi Arabia. In Iraq, Iranian-backed militias tried to storm the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Trump responded by authorizing a drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, the powerful leader of the Quds Force who oversaw Iran's network of allied militias. The killing of Soleimani, said Ali Vaez, director of the Iran program for the International Crisis Group, is "the death knell of the Iran nuclear deal and any prospect of diplomacy between Iran and the U.S."Iran's thwarted democracy movement Several times over the past two decades, Iran's long-suffering people have risen up against their repressive regime, only to meet with brutality. In 2009, Iranian voters who believed the re-election of hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president was rigged poured into the streets by the millions, chanting "Where is my vote?" After months of protest, the Iranian Green Movement was squelched by mass arrests, with the regime jailing and torturing the ringleaders. Some made false confessions that they were working for the U.S. Smaller protests followed in 2018, and then, last November, new mass protests broke out over a rise in gas prices, and the regime responded by firing on unarmed protesters, killing hundreds and arresting some 7,000. Once Soleimani was killed, though, pro-regime Iranians poured into the streets to mourn him. They've now been supplanted by democracy protesters enraged by Iran's shooting down of a Ukrainian commercial jet.This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, try the magazine for a month here.More stories from theweek.com 5 scathingly funny cartoons about the Bernie Sanders-Elizabeth Warren feud Fox News' Chris Wallace says Lindsey Graham's view on impeachment witnesses 'directly contradicts' his 1999 position Giuliani says he'd 'love' to testify in Senate impeachment trial
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| Bodies of Ukrainian victims of downed plane repatriated from Iran Posted: 19 Jan 2020 03:21 AM PST The flag-draped coffins of the 11 Ukrainians who died in a plane mistakenly shot down by Iran during a spike in tensions with Washington arrived in Kiev on Sunday. President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Oleksiy Goncharuk and other officials attended the solemn ceremony at Kiev's Boryspil airport to see caskets with the remains of the downed plane's nine Ukrainian flight crew and two passengers being removed from the aircraft. Ukraine International Airlines staff, some in tears, stood on the tarmac clutching flowers, according to live video footage.
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| China moves to phase out single-use plastics Posted: 19 Jan 2020 03:21 AM PST ![China moves to phase out single-use plastics]( "China moves to phase out single-use plastics") China is stepping up restrictions on the production, sale and use of single-use plastic products, the state planner said on Sunday, as it seeks to tackle one of the country's biggest environmental problems. Vast amounts of untreated plastic waste are buried in landfills or dumped in rivers. The United Nations has identified single-use plastics as one of the world's biggest environmental challenges.
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| Trump to Mingle With Elites in Davos as Impeachment Trial Opens Posted: 19 Jan 2020 03:00 AM PST ![Trump to Mingle With Elites in Davos as Impeachment Trial Opens]( "Trump to Mingle With Elites in Davos as Impeachment Trial Opens") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up here to receive the Davos Diary, a special daily newsletter that will run from Jan. 20-24.Donald Trump is heading back to Davos, poised to hail his economic record as vindication of an "America First" agenda to the world's elite while lawmakers back home weigh his impeachment.Barring a last-minute change of plans, Trump is scheduled to deliver opening remarks at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, his second visit to the annual gathering of business chieftains, central bankers and foreign leaders. The president, who has increasingly embraced the elites he chided in his rise to power as a populist, will celebrate his trade deal with China while warning against socialism -- likely a welcome message at the world's foremost capitalist confab.But the backdrop of this year's speech will be the U.S. Senate's trial on two articles of impeachment, set to open Tuesday as Trump meets with other leaders in Davos. The Republican-led chamber will almost certainly acquit the president, but the trial may produce surprises and will thrust impeachment into Trump's 2020 re-election campaign.Trump has sought to highlight his trade and economic victories in a bid to drown out impeachment, and Davos will give him another stage to do that, if only briefly. The visit is not without risk -- he skipped it in 2017 out of concern that the well-heeled Davos crowd was the wrong fit for a man elected on a nationalist, anti-elites message. Trump has tried to bridge the discord by saying he's soliciting investment."We have tremendous world leaders and we also have great business leaders and we want those business leaders all to come to the United States," he said Thursday at the White House. He said he'd meet with business executives and other government leaders in the Swiss ski resort."We have tremendous, powerful room for growth," he said.Trump's signing of a China trade deal last week presaged his Davos playbook, as he hobnobbed in the East Room of the White House with prominent executives, billionaires and campaign donors. At one point, he asked a JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive to thank him for their robust earnings. Cheering on the success of mega-firms, along with a signature tax-cut law that handed a $32 billion windfall to big banks, hasn't stopped Trump from casting himself as a champion of the everyman. His political base remains as loyal as ever.The White House has signaled Trump's Davos speech will echo his emerging re-election narrative -- celebrating recent trade deals, the strength of the stock market and Trump's push for increased defense spending by NATO allies. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway also hinted he'll draw a contrast with the field of Democrats vying to challenge him this year."He's got a lot to talk about it, to really take on the perils of socialism right there in Davos," Conway said Thursday. "A lot of the world's economy can exhale now that China and the U.S. have completed phase one of the trade deal."The U.S. has not said which leaders and executives Trump will meet on the sideline of the forum. Other "world-class speakers" the WEF promoted in advance of the conference included teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, whom Trump has insulted on Twitter. She'll attend a pair of panels the day the president is set to speak.German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- whom Trump has complained does too little in Ukraine and Iraq is too soft on Iran's regime -- will be the highest-profile world leader in attendance other than the president. Trump will return to Washington on Wednesday, an official familiar with the plans, leaving the rest of the forum to a U.S. delegation led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is at the center of the scandal that led to Trump's impeachment, is scheduled to attend, but may cancel as he continues to grapple with fallout after Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet. It's unknown if the two will meet.Trump's first Davos appearance in 2018 oscillated between a vintage, raucous version of Trump in meetings with national leaders and business executives and more subdued remarks in his formal speech. He touted his agenda but added: "America First does not mean America alone." Trump pulled out of last year's forum, citing a government shutdown.\--With assistance from Mario Parker.To contact the reporter on this story: Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Justin BlumFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Cut off from family, unable to travel: how US sanctions punish Iranian Americans Posted: 19 Jan 2020 03:00 AM PST  As penalties create hardship for Iran's residents, Iranians in US also suffer consequences: 'The sanctions are still chasing me'Following the US assassination of a top Iranian general earlier this month and Iranian airstrikes against US military bases in Iraq, Donald Trump once again imposed biting sanctions against the regime in Tehran. To Iranian Americans, many of whom have lived under sanctions in Iran or have family members there suffering through economic hardship, the fresh round of penalties is a painful reminder of the collateral consequences of escalating conflict.Iranian Americans across the United States told the Guardian about their worries for their family members and friends affected by US sanctions. And they spoke of the ways the policies affect their own lives, work and communities in the US. "I was raised under sanctions my entire life," said Nazanin Asadi, 34, who left Iran for California in 2014 and now works as a law clerk in Orange county. "After moving to the US permanently, I can't believe the sanctions and these laws are still chasing me … I don't want my community to suffer."The threats of a full-blown war following Trump's 3 January order to kill Gen Qassem Suleimani caused anxiety among some Persian communities in the US, especially for Iranian families who have been torn apart by Trump's travel ban. Trump backed away from additional strikes, but his administration implemented a fresh wave of sanctions, targeting senior Iranian officials and the country's textile, construction, manufacturing and other sectors.The US has imposed sanctions for decades, targeting Iran's energy sector and a range of exports of goods and services. Trump had already expanded sanctions against Iran in 2018 with his withdrawal from the nuclear deal signed under Barack Obama.Under sanctions law, people are forced to apply for specific licenses when they seek to be exempted from prohibited transactions, and even for allowed activities, there are complicated reporting requirements. In practice that means hundreds of thousands of Iranian Americans with family and financial ties to Iran can face a complex set of burdens and hurdles in their lives, jobs and education."These sanctions are supposed to be targeting the government of Iran and certain individuals, but end up targeting the average person and your own citizens," said Mehrnoush Yazdanyar, a California attorney who helps Iranian Americans navigate sanctions. "You're sanctioning your own legal permanent residents, and in doing so, you're alienating them." 'It is a daily stress'Yazdanyar's law offices in southern California, a region home to the largest Iranian population outside of Iran, have assisted thousands of clients in sanctions-related matters over the years. Families often can't send money back and forth, creating significant hurdles for Iranian Americans who want to support their parents or families in Iran who want to help their loved ones pursue their education or other dreams in America.While the regulations are supposed to allow some financial transactions through third parties, many attempting to navigate the process can end up in legal trouble or with closed or frozen bank accounts, she said.Asadi, who grew up in Iran, was accepted to the University of Southern California law school and moved here with dreams of becoming a judge. But with the sanctions blocking her parents from offering her financial support, she had to pay her own way through her education, working multiple jobs while studying."I couldn't afford my life, I couldn't pay my expenses," she said. "It was too much pressure emotionally and financially."She scraped by and managed to graduate, and she now works with Yazdanyar helping people dealing with sanctions. But when Asadi wants to help her own parents in Iran, who are disabled, she has no way to offer them funds, pay for their medications or even buy them gifts: "We cannot support each other."That feeling of guilt is even worse when there's a threat of war, Asadi added: "I'm paying taxes to the government who purchases military equipment to bomb my parents in Iran … If war happens, what should I do?"Pirouz Kavehpour, a University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), engineering professor, who is also Iranian American, said he had repeatedly seen his Iranian students lose access to their bank accounts due to sanctions, derailing their research and education."It's a daily stress … We're international. We're already on thin ice. If you don't perform well, you will be sent back," he said. "You're a kid here and you need to live off fast food … and then you're told by a random guy in a bank field office: 'Don't even think about getting the money.'"With a large wave of Iranian Americans arriving in the US after the 1979 revolution, some are also now inheriting family businesses or properties back in Iran from relatives who have died, but it is often a nightmare process to attempt and recoup the assets, said Erich Ferrari, a Washington DC-based attorney who handles sanctions cases.Even those who try to do everything right, reporting the transactions and getting proper licenses, can end up facing investigations by the US government, he said. Law enforcement monitors money transfers, and in some cases Iranian Americans have found the FBI at their doors asking questions: "There's always a threat looming."Ferrari said he had seen family relationships fall apart in the process, adding: "They are trying to do something that is beneficial to the US, and divest themselves from Iran and bring their money here." Research and charity work thwarted: 'How does the US benefit?'In addition to the recent wave of Iranian students who have been denied visas at the last minute, under sanctions law, faculty members are also barred from traveling to Iran for research or other work without approval from the US treasury department."I've been invited many times to give a talk in Iran … but we are not allowed," said Kavehpour, the UCLA professor. He noted that Iran could benefit from working with UCLA experts on autism research, but that it would be impossible to set up any collaboration.Aysan Rangchian, a 28-year-old Iranian PhD student at UCLA, said Iranian students often don't even apply for conferences anywhere outside of the US for fear of consequences. Iranian students can also struggle to get grants and funding: "This is making the US less appealing for international students."Last year, Iranian researchers faced criminal prosecution when they attempted to do stem-cell research in the US. As a result of that process, potentially groundbreaking science will not go forward here, said Yazdanyar: "How did the United States benefit from this?"Yazdanyar has also represented a not-for-profit organization that helps orphaned children across the world, including in Iran. Even when the group received a specific license to send aid to Iran, financial institutions in third countries have declined to assist with the transfer due to concerns about sanctions. That means humanitarian aid has been delayed and blocked, she said.During floods in Iran last year, it was painful that the sanctions blocked Iranian Americans from being able to offer basic donations, said Assal Rad, a research fellow with the National Iranian American Council, who lives in Orange county. She said that while the impact of sanctions on Iranian Americans paled in comparison with what Iranian citizens suffer, the rules added to this "constant feeling that your identity is under attack"."Whether sanctions, the travel ban, or your loyalty being questioned … it's really isolating," she said, adding of sanctions: "It's an ineffective policy that is also harming Americans themselves."
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| Iraq protests swell with youth angry at slow pace of reform Posted: 19 Jan 2020 02:48 AM PST  The youth-dominated rallies demanding an overhaul of the ruling system have rocked Shiite-majority parts of Iraq since October, but had thinned out in recent weeks amid the geopolitical storm of rising Iran-US tensions. On Sunday the anti-government protest movement was re-ignited with hundreds of angry young people descending on the main protest camp in Baghdad's Tahrir Square as well as the nearby Tayaran Square. Others burned tyres to block highways and bridges, turning back cars and leading to traffic jams across the city.
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| Bodies of 11 Ukrainians killed in Iran plane crash sent home Posted: 19 Jan 2020 02:40 AM PST  The bodies of the 11 Ukrainians who died when an Iranian missile shot down a passenger plane have arrived in Ukraine on Sunday for a farewell ceremony. Iran acknowledged three days later that the plane was mistakenly hit by an anti-aircraft missile. On Sunday, the bodies were brought to Kyiv's Boryspil Airport aboard a Ukrainian air force plane.
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| House of Lords Could Move to North of England Under Proposal Posted: 19 Jan 2020 02:32 AM PST ![House of Lords Could Move to North of England Under Proposal]( "House of Lords Could Move to North of England Under Proposal") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Moving the House of Lords out of London is one of a number of ideas under consideration to make sure every part of the U.K. "feels properly connected to politics," Conservative Party Chairman James Cleverly said.The Sunday Times reported that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is planning to locate Parliament's upper chamber permanently in York in northern England and has ordered work to begin on the practicalities of a move. Birmingham in the Midlands is also in the running, it said.When asked about the report on Sky TV's "Sophy Ridge on Sunday" show, Cleverly said: "We might. It's one of range of things we are looking into. It's about demonstrating to people we are going to do things differently. The Labour Party lost millions of voters because they failed to listen."Johnson has spoken repeatedly of "leveling up" across the U.K. after traditional Labour strongholds in the north backed the Conservatives for the first time in the Dec. 12 general election.The Palace of Westminster, home of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, is due to be vacated for several years from the mid-2020s to allow billions of pounds of restoration work to the Victorian-era buildings to take place.Speaking on BBC TV's Andrew Marr Show, International Development Secretary Alok Sharma backed moving the 795-member Lords, saying the Conservatives should use their strong parliamentary majority to bring the government "closer to the country as a whole."But Labour lawmaker Nadia Whittome dismissed the idea. "Working-class people don't care about the unelected House of Lords," she told Marr. "We want jobs, proper investment and meaningful decentralization of power. This is superficial. It's tinkering around the edges."(Adds comment from government minister in sixth paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Atkinson in London at a.atkinson@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Sara Marley, James AmottFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| ‘OK, Now What?’: Inside Team Trump’s Scramble to Sell the Soleimani Hit to America Posted: 19 Jan 2020 02:04 AM PST  In the hours after the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3, U.S. officials in the White House, Pentagon, and State Department worked overtime on assembling a plan to handle the fallout, only to watch senior administration officials and the president himself scuttle their effort in real time on national television. The ensuing days became a mad dash to reconcile the intense intra-administration tensions over what the intelligence actually said about Iranian plots, and how best to sell their case to the American public. At the very top was a president who stewed and complained to staff about how the killing he'd just ordered might negatively affect his re-election prospects and ensnare him in a quagmire in the Middle East of his own creation.The plan to take out Soleimani had been approved months earlier by President Donald Trump after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and then-National Security Adviser John Bolton pushed for more to be done to manage Iran's aggression in the Middle East. But the president for years tried to avoid a direct military confrontation with Tehran, and hitting Soleimani was a move that could edge the two countries closer to war.When an American contractor was killed in Iraq in late December, President Trump's national security team presented him with a slew of options on how to respond, and killing Soleimani was on the list. National security advisers reminded the president that he had publicly drawn a line in the sand, saying that if the regime killed Americans there would be severe consequences. Still, the strike was a departure from the regular Trump playbook and officials knew it would take a robust effort to explain not only the reasoning behind the attack but also the administration's goal on Iran."There was this sudden nature about it all. Yeah, it had been in the works for some time. But it didn't feel like we were all thinking the same on how to move forward," said one U.S. official, referring to the strike on Soleimani. "It was like, 'OK, now what?'" For more than a week, Trump, Pompeo, Vice President Mike Pence and officials from the national security community, including at the Pentagon, held twice-daily meetings and conference calls to make sure all government agencies were on the same page regarding messaging, according to two individuals familiar with those conversations.Despite that effort, what resulted appeared to be an uncoordinated effort to justify an action by national security officials who were varied in their answers about the pre-strike intelligence and who struggled to define the administration's strategy on Iran post strike.That internal confusion on how to re-frame the administration's approach to dealing with Iran led to weeks of what appeared to be frequent mixed messaging, critiques about the administration's apparent lack of strategy, calls from Congress for more robust intelligence briefings—and allegations that Trump and his lieutenants were actively misleading a nation into a sharp military escalation.This article is based on interviews with 10 U.S. government officials and several former administration officials. The State Department and White House House did not comment on the record for this story.Worry over the "counterpunch"For several days following Soleimani's assassination, Pentagon officials warned Trump and his national security advisers that Iran had a variety of responses it could carry out to make the Americans pay. Among them, sources said, were Iranian attacks on senior U.S. military officers overseas, or violence targeting American outposts in countries like Iraq. Their bottom line was that Iran would hit back, and hit back hard. The president worried aloud to his team about how the strike could impact the way voters viewed him in the upcoming election. After all, avoiding costly foreign wars in the Middle East had been one of the key promises— and points of contrast—he made as a candidate in 2016. One official told The Daily Beast that in meetings at the White House Trump was "preoccupied" with ensuring that his public statements on Iran—notably that he would not drag the U.S. into a war with the country—would hold following the assassination. Once Soleimani was gone, Trump was adamant that the administration "get things back to normal" with Iran, one official told The Daily Beast. According to another U.S. official, senior administration officials, including President Trump, were framing the strike as a de-escalatory measure even before the attack was ordered. The idea was that if the U.S. didn't hit Soleimani, more people would die because Iran would continue to carry out attacks in the region.Trump's insistence on returning to "normal" with Iran directly after he ordered the death of the Islamic republic's top military leader underscores this president's wild vacillations between diplomatic overtures and teasing violent retribution, where a call for peace one moment could be followed by a threat to destroy Iranian cultural sites—a tactic that is considered a war crime under international law.The president inquired about this not long before greenlighting, then abruptly calling off, military strikes on Iran that he approved knowing the body count was estimated to be high.And even as he publicly celebrated this massive escalation with Iran and aggressively campaigned on, and fundraised off of, his decision, Trump continued to lament privately to close allies that it would be "crazy" to plunge America into another invasion or full-blown war in the Middle East, according to two people who spoke to Trump in the days following the Soleimani hit.He then pledged he would not "let it happen" on his "watch." Of course, none of the president's stated reservations about starting a new war, or his stated desire to bring soldiers home, kept him and his administration from deploying thousands more American troops to the region as the U.S. and Iran walked up to the brink of all-out warfare early this month.The Soleimani strike, though, forced the president to pause, even just briefly, to consider whether what he had ordered would have lasting, irreversible consequences—repercussions he'd never meant to bump up against."You know, he's sincerely grappling with this, which is good. I mean, war should be hard and we should grapple with it. I just don't want any one person to say, okay, I've grappled with it we should do it," Sen. Tim Kaine told The Daily Beast in an interview about the escalating tension in Iran. Since the Soleimani strike, the Virginia Democrat has led a bipartisan push in the Senate to rein in Trump's authority to wage war in Iran without congressional approval. "If I were president I shouldn't have the ability to just on my own say, let's do this," Kaine added. "It should be deliberative, because that's what the troops and their families deserve."President Trump's concerns were fed, in part, by comments from lawmakers and other analysts that the strike on Soleimani could lead quickly to a major, sustained conflict."We need to get ready for a major pushback. Our people in Iraq and the Middle East are going to be targeted. We need to be ready to defend our people in the Middle East," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in an interview with The Daily Beast the night of the strike. "I think we need to be ready for a big counterpunch.""Overselling the intel"In the first week after the Jan. 3 strike, officials appeared on television and radio shows in an attempt to frame the Soleimani strike as an act of de-escalation. Just hours after the strike, Brian Hook, the special representative for Iran, went on BBC World Service radio saying that killing Soleimani was designed to "advance the cause of peace."Officials at the State Department, in coordination with the White House, drafted talking points advising those who would appear in the media to underscore Soleimani's "malign activities" and his role in killing American troops over the years, according to two U.S. officials. But the White House wanted to advance a different argument—one that wasn't about what Iran had already done, but what U.S. officials claimed Iran was about to do. They said the U.S. killed Soleimani because he was planning "imminent" attacks that would harm American interests. That talking point in particular was emailed out to officials across the Pentagon, White House, and State Department, and even to several GOP lawmakers' offices repeatedly the week of the strike, according to several officials who spoke to The Daily Beast. It became, for a time, the central rationale the administration offered for the assassination. On the night of the hit, the Pentagon said only that Soleimani was "actively developing plans" for an unspecified attack. By Sunday Jan. 5, Pompeo said on several morning talk shows that there were actually "constant threats" from Iran, rather than a specific one the strike preempted. And officials told a varying story about how many Americans could be killed. That next week, in briefings to Congress, the administration struggled to explain what exactly the alleged "imminent" attack was. Senators left a closed-door briefing Wednesday, Jan. 8, unconvinced, angry, and warning that the intelligence put forward did not match how senior officials described it. And when the dissatisfied lawmakers pressed for a clearer picture, Graham ended the briefing even though several members had yet to ask their questions."It was right when things were really starting to get heated and Graham just said something like, 'Hey don't you all have to get back to the White House?'," the source said.For Kaine, the problem wasn't the intel, it was some of the messengers. "I think the intel has been strong. But I think some of the political people have been overselling the intel," said Kaine. "What I heard of the political folks doing seems to me to be significantly beyond what the intel says."Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL), a member of the House intelligence committee who received a separate classified briefing on the Soleimani strike, said he "saw nothing related to imminence.""To exaggerate your view of what intelligence means is dangerous," he told The Daily Beast. "This was either a misrepresentation or a degree of incompetence in analyzing the intelligence."Senators were also displeased with how the administration's briefers, including Pompeo, answered questions about Iraq and its parliament vote to oust American troops from the country after the Soleimani assassination. According to two people in the room, the briefers dismissed questions about the Baghdad vote, telling lawmakers "don't worry about it," according to an individual who was in the room. "One of them said 'that's just how the Iraqis talk. We will take care of it.'""When you take strikes… in Iraq over their objections, there's going to be consequences to that. And that's the kind of thing where you got to be thinking down the board. If they object to us using Iraq as a field of battle… but we're saying yeah, we're doing it anyway. Well, what do you think is going to happen?" Kaine told The Daily Beast in reference to the briefing. "I certainly didn't get much sense that they had thought through, like, oh, they are probably going to kick us out of the country."Trump on Jan. 9 told reporters that the intelligence actually showed that Iran was "looking to blow up our embassy." The next day, he went bigger in a Fox News interview, saying that there "probably would've been four embassies." But two days after that, on Jan. 12, Trump's claim was put into question by his own defense secretary. In an interview on CNN's State of the Union, Mark Esper conceded that he had not in fact seen a piece of intelligence "with regard to four embassies." But, in an apparent attempt to cover for Trump, Esper said the president "believed that it probably and could have been attacks against additional embassies."According to two officials who spoke to The Daily Beast, Trump was outwardly frustrated by critiques of his embassy claim, telling his close confidants that he was furious with Esper's performance on CNN.Lawmakers on Capitol Hill called on the Trump administration to explain the president's remarks, demanding briefings with Pompeo and other administration officials—which were scheduled this week and then canceled without explanation. According to two senior U.S. officials, Trump and Pompeo spoke about the need to avoid answering more questions about the embassy threats."This whole episode has been one of mixed messages. Mixed messages is a function of no real strategy," said Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), a member of the House Intelligence Committee. "When you don't have a strategy, you get all sorts of confusing events on top of each other.""Aggressive opinions"Officials who spoke to The Daily Beast said part of that confusion on messaging came as a result of abundant input by GOP lawmakers with "aggressive opinions on how to handle Iran," as one official put it. In the days after the assassination, Trump spoke with Republican leaders in the Senate and the House, picking their brains on how to redefine the administration's years-long policy of maximum pressure—a campaign to wage economic warfare on Tehran. Some of those same senators had publicly and behind closed doors denounced the administration's maximum pressure campaign. They argued that the campaign wasn't doing enough to change Iran's behavior. In the days leading up to the strike, Graham spoke with President Trump. "I won't get into the details," Graham told The Daily Beast. "But he told me Soleimani was a target and that they had caught him red-handed." Graham said he had advocated for the president to take a tougher military stance against Iran following the attacks on the Saudi oil refineries in September."I didn't have any specific targets in mind," Graham said. "I just thought we needed to be doing more."Several national security officials who spoke to The Daily Beast said there was a push by GOP lawmakers, including Graham, in the days after the strike to fundamentally re-vamp the administration's maximum pressure campaign by adding a military component."If there are any more threats against Americans or our interests then we should hit refineries and oil infrastructure inside Iran," Graham said. "The military option should be on the table." The campaign was not initially designed to include military power as a form of maximum pressure, according to two former Obama administration officials. Instead, its architects envisioned it as a means of economic strangulation, whereby Iran would be put under such crippling sanctions that it would opt to transform its foreign policy and take an unspecified grand bargain that the administration began offering after abandoning the nuclear deal in 2018. Graham told The Daily Beast that he is working on an alternative to the Obama administration's 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. "I'm not surprised the President has close relationships with these folks," Kaine told The Daily Beast, referring to GOP lawmakers. "But it makes me nervous. Rather than senators pressuring the president, hey, go after Iran, let them make the case on the floor of the Senate."After two weeks of shifting talking points on Iran, re-defining the administration's policy, Pompeo seemed to edge the closest to articulating a clear response on the administration's policy when he appeared for a speech at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University on Jan. 13."President Trump and those of us on his national security team are re-establishing deterrence… against Iran. The goal is twofold. First we want to deprive the regime of resources. And second we just want Iran to act like a normal nation," he said, sighing. "Just be like Norway."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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| Iran backtracks on plan to send flight recorders to Ukraine Posted: 19 Jan 2020 01:50 AM PST  The Iranian official leading the investigation into the Ukrainian jetliner that was accidentally shot down by the Revolutionary Guard appeared to backtrack Sunday on plans to send the flight recorders abroad for analysis, a day after saying they would be sent to Kyiv. The same official was quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Saturday as saying the recorders would be sent to Ukraine, where French, American and Canadian experts would help analyze them. Iranian officials previously said the black boxes were damaged but usable.
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| Iran may review cooperation with IAEA if EU pressure mounts -TV Posted: 19 Jan 2020 01:22 AM PST ![Iran may review cooperation with IAEA if EU pressure mounts -TV]( "Iran may review cooperation with IAEA if EU pressure mounts -TV") Iran will review its cooperation with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog over any "unjust" measures, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani said after EU powers last week triggered a dispute mechanism under Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal. "We state openly that if the European powers, for any reason, adopt an unfair approach in using the dispute mechanism, we will seriously reconsider our cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency," State TV quoted Larijani as saying.
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| Two Officers Injured as Rally Ends in Violence: Hong Kong Update Posted: 19 Jan 2020 01:11 AM PST ![Two Officers Injured as Rally Ends in Violence: Hong Kong Update]( "Two Officers Injured as Rally Ends in Violence: Hong Kong Update") (Bloomberg) -- Two Hong Kong police officers were beaten at a rally in the city center that was dispersed as it descended into confusion and violent clashes.The officers, from the Police Community Liaison Office, both suffered head wounds after being attacked with wooden sticks and other weapons near the gathering in Chater Garden in the Central business district. The meeting of thousands of protesters started peacefully with speeches and music but was dispersed when police ordered an end to it, citing violent behavior by protesters.Sunday's events followed a relative lull in the past weeks, after seven months of sometimes-violent protests that were ignited by a bill to allow extraditions to mainland China. The demonstrators' demands have broadened to include greater democracy and an independent inquiry into police conduct.Here's the latest (all times local):Venue cleared (5 p.m.)The Chater Garden venue was virtually cleared of the throngs of demonstrators gathered earlier for a rally scheduled to run until 10 p.m. The meeting was meant to reinvigorate the Hong Kong protest movement, with a list speakers from trade unions, religious groups and student associations.Objects thrown at officers (4:30 p.m.)Police said that they asked the organizers to suspend the rally in response to violence from some people at the scene. Objects were thrown at officers, according to a statement.Police scuffled with demonstrators who spilled into roads and set fire to barricades. Officers handcuffed a number of people. At least one person was bleeding from a head wound.'Refocus on Hong Kong' (2:30 p.m.)One of the organizers of Sunday's rally, Ventus Lau of the Hong Kong Civil Assembly team, said at the event: "Today we believe we need to make the world focus on Hong Kong again. In the past few weeks, maybe they've been focusing on Iran or even on the Taiwan election. But now, it is time to look at Hong Kong again.""It is 2020, the year of the Legislative Council election. If the government refuses to give us universal suffrage, this is a clear sign that they are still suppressing our human rights, our freedom and our democracy," he said.Air traffic drops (11:30 a.m.)Traffic through Hong Kong International Airport declined across the board last year as months of ongoing unrest, including protest-related closures at the transit hub.The airport handled 71.5 million passengers in 2019, down 4.2% from a year earlier, the Airport Authority Hong Kong said in a press release Sunday. Flight movements fell 1.9% while total cargo throughput declined 6.1% from a year ago to 4.8 million tonnes.Some of the more violent clashes seen in Hong Kong happened at the airport and its rail link last year as protesters organized sit-ins that led to the delays and cancellation of hundreds of flights.Watchdog limitations (Sunday 8 a.m.)Lisa Lau, a former member of the Independent Police Complaints Council, said the body's lack of investigative powers is an impediment to investigating the protests, and added the group has not yet met with the police commander in charge of the July incident in Yuen Long when subway riders were violently attacked, Ming Pao reported Sunday.Wong calls for support (3 p.m.)Activist Joshua Wong said the number of participants in Sunday's march is crucial to continue informing the international community of Hong Kong's ongoing struggle. Speaking to local media, he said the movement needs to maintain a sufficient level of demonstrators at the marches to ensure the world's attention does not wane.Ventus Lau told Radio Television Hong Kong that protesters must be aware they might be involved in clashes with police.Demonstrators "may be stopped and searched by the police or you may face clashes between the police and the citizens," given past experiences, he said.Pro-establishment support (Saturday 2 p.m.)More than 100 people gathered in Kowloon Tong Saturday to protest what they see as anti-government bias from local broadcaster RTHK. Elsewhere, about 50 pro-police supporters rallied outside the Mong Kok police station, presenting officers with gifts to show their support.\--With assistance from Kari Lindberg.To contact the reporters on this story: Eric Lam in Hong Kong at elam87@bloomberg.net;Aaron Mc Nicholas in Hong Kong at amcnicholas2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Stanley JamesFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Violence escalates in Beirut as protesters clash with police Posted: 19 Jan 2020 12:53 AM PST  Security forces fired tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets in clashes Sunday with hundreds of anti-government protesters outside Lebanon's Parliament, as violence continued to escalate in a week of rioting. At least 114 people were injured in the protests, according to the Red Cross and the Lebanese Civil Defense teams, with 47 taken to hospitals for treatment. Most of the wounds were from rubber bullets, some in the face and upper body, an Associated Press reporter said.
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| North Korea Picks Army Man Who Led Korean Talks as Top Envoy Posted: 19 Jan 2020 12:49 AM PST ![North Korea Picks Army Man Who Led Korean Talks as Top Envoy]( "North Korea Picks Army Man Who Led Korean Talks as Top Envoy") (Bloomberg) -- North Korea named a former army officer who led military and high-level talks between the two Koreas as its top diplomat, Yonhap News reported, in a move that could change the course of stalled nuclear negotiations between Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump.Foreign envoys in Pyongyang were notified late last week that Ri Son Gwon replaced Ri Yong Ho as foreign minister, Yonhap said, citing various sources it didn't identify. Ri Yong Ho had served as the top diplomat since 2016.South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a text message that the government is trying to confirm whether the foreign minister was replaced and Ri Son Gwon's official title has been changed. The move, which is yet to be announced in North Korea's state media, is likely to be confirmed to resident diplomats at an event scheduled for Jan. 23 in Pyongyang, NK News reported separately.Ri Son Gwon, former chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, became known to South Koreans after he led a delegation to high-level inter-Korean talks in January 2018. He was accused of being rude to a visiting group of South Korean conglomerate chiefs later that year, appearing to rebuke them for not taking enough action to boost business development between the two sides.The apparent replacement comes days after the isolated nation publicly declared that it won't rely on its leader's personal relationship with Trump as it doesn't intend to trade its nuclear weapons for a halt in sanctions.Since the failure of working-level denuclearization talks in October in Stockholm, Pyongyang hasn't responded to Washington's continued demands for another talk and instead stepped up tensions verbally and with weapons tests.'Crucial' TestMost recently, it said late last year that it successfully conducted a "crucial" test at a long-range projectile launch site and had boosted its nuclear-deterrent capabilities, without elaborating on details.Kim declared in a speech at the start of the year that a lack of U.S. response in nuclear talks meant he was no longer bound by his pledge to halt major missile tests and would soon debut a "new strategic weapon." Declining to go into detail, Kim also left the outside world guessing what "new path" he will take, and how he will deal with the U.S. in 2020.Ri Son Gwon served as a senior colonel in 2010 and last appeared in the North's state media when the KCNA reported in April he was elected as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee along with Choe Son Hui, first vice-minister of foreign affairs. He previously also led a working-level military dialogue between the two Koreas in 2011.Ri has no direct experience of dealing with the U.S., nor is an official with the traditional elite-diplomat background, said Cheong Seong-chang, a researcher at the Sejong Institute in South Korea, casting doubts over a possible breakthrough in the U.S.-North Korea talks."I think the North will take a harder line against the U.S.," Cheong said. It "will be under greater influence of the military, which has urged to strengthen its position as a nuclear power," he said.The replacement of foreign minister also coincides with Seoul's sudden turn to improve inter-Korean ties as the Kim-Trump talks for denuclearization remain in deadlock and rising cracks in South Korea's relations with the U.S.South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he would help on projects such as individual tourism with North Korea if they require approval from the United Nations to exempt them from sanctions. His Unification Ministry later said the government is considering allowing South Korean individuals to travel to North Korea to expand inter-Korean exchanges in the private sector.U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said such a push by Seoul should be discussed with the U.S., and his comment was immediately denounced by Moon's office as "very inappropriate."(Updates with comments from South Korea's Unification Ministry and analyst from third paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Kanga Kong in Seoul at kkong50@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Virginia Van Natta, Jiyeun LeeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran warns of repercussions for IAEA over European moves Posted: 19 Jan 2020 12:47 AM PST  Iran's parliamentary speaker on Sunday warned of unspecified repercussions for the UN's nuclear watchdog if European nations that launched a dispute mechanism against the Islamic republic act "unfairly". Britain, France and Germany launched a process last week charging Iran with failing to observe the terms of the 2015 deal curtailing its nuclear programme, while Tehran accuses the bloc of inaction over US sanctions. The EU three insisted they remained committed to the agreement, which has already been severely undermined by the US exit from it in 2018 and its reimposition of unilateral sanctions on key sectors of Iran's economy.
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| Israel building underground defense system on Lebanon border Posted: 19 Jan 2020 12:41 AM PST  Israel's military said it began construction of an underground defense system Sunday along its northern frontier with Lebanon to protect against cross-border tunnels. The infrastructure project will identify underground acoustic and seismic activity indicating tunnel digging, accompanied other defensive measures, said Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman. Israel destroyed a series of what it said were attack tunnels last year, dug under the border by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
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