| Australia protests Qatar examinations of women passengers Posted: 25 Oct 2020 04:33 PM PDT |
| RPT-China to set five-year plan for steering economy through choppy waters Posted: 25 Oct 2020 04:00 PM PDT |
| Early vote total exceeds 2016; GOP chips at Dems' advantage Posted: 25 Oct 2020 03:05 PM PDT  With nine days before Election Day, more people already have cast ballots in this year's presidential election than voted early or absentee in the 2016 race as the start of in-person early voting in big states led to a surge in turnout in recent days. The opening of early voting locations in Florida, Texas and elsewhere has piled millions of new votes on top of the mail ballots arriving at election offices as voters try to avoid crowded places on Nov. 3 during the coronavirus pandemic. The result is a total of 58.6 million ballots cast so far, more than the 58 million that The Associated Press logged as being cast through the mail or at in-person early voting sites in 2016.
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| Zero Hour Is Coming for Emissions. Believe It Posted: 25 Oct 2020 03:00 PM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- It's only natural to be skeptical when a political leader stands up and makes a promise about a target that's far off, hard to achieve, and lacks a clear pathway.So one reaction to a report that Japan's new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, will pledge next week to reduce the country's net carbon emissions to zero by 2050 might be: Really?After all, public and private Japanese banks are still funding new coal-fired power stations in Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh, exploiting a loophole in Tokyo's previous promise to reduce financing to such projects — a fact that's causing some consternation among European investment funds.For all the publicity garnered by South Korean President Moon Jae-in's Green New Deal and pledge last month of a 2050 net zero target, Korean engineering companies, too, are working with Japanese funders on Vietnam's Vung Ang 2 coal plant.Chinese President Xi Jinping also garnered plenty of positive headlines last month for promising to bring the world's largest emitter to net zero status by 2060 — but China still has 250 gigawatts of coal plants under development, more than the total existing fleets in India or the U.S.Doubts are warranted when so many nations are falling far short of their own climate pledges. At the same time, it can be pushed too far. The promises of political leaders have real-world effects that we're already seeing. On the path to getting the binding and comprehensive emissions policies that the world needs, there will be plenty of partial, vague and unenforceable pledges. Each of them, though, sets a new baseline that will help create the conditions for further, more ambitious policies.Take the broadly accepted target that the world must stabilize atmospheric carbon dioxide at or below 450 parts per million. Until relatively recently, this was generally considered the most radical reasonable option.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 2001 synthesis of scientific research took 450ppm as the lower bound of a range of outcomes stretching up to 750ppm. The influential 2006 U.K. government review of the economics of climate change by Nicholas Stern advised aiming for 500ppm to 550ppm. That ambition was considered bold at the time but is now accepted as grossly inadequate. Similarly, limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius was rarely treated as a serious option until the 2015 Paris Agreement set a target "well below 2 degrees Celsius" at the behest of small island states that risk destruction from higher levels of warming.What target skeptics miss is the feedback relationship between the stated goals of political leaders and the behavior of investors, engineers and lower-level officials whose work will help decarbonize the economy.As should be obvious from the $3.5 billion a year spent on lobbying in the U.S. alone, the decisions of political leaders shape the field of what's possible for businesses. When a politician embraces a net-zero ambition — and especially when, as in the European Union, those words are enshrined into law — the risks associated with carbon-intensive projects go up, while those associated with low-carbon technologies go down. That's particularly the case when, as we're seeing, the path starts to be followed by leaders in multiple countries. Lower-carbon approaches then become more viable. That shift in the technological frontier in turn makes it easier for politicians to set still bolder targets, because the political and economic costs of doing so have declined.We're seeing this sort of virtuous circle playing out. As we've written, the best guide to the path of power sector emissions in the 2010s wasn't the International Energy Agency's politics-as-usual scenario, but the one where radical action was taken to limit atmospheric carbon to 450ppm. Just over a month ago, I greeted PetroChina Co.'s announcement of a 2050 "near-zero" emissions target by fretting that China may be more addicted to coal than oil. That's still a reasonable concern, but Xi's 2060 net zero promise two weeks after that column drastically changes the landscape. Within weeks of that speech, influential Chinese academic research institutes have already released a range of roadmaps that would illustrate how to put those words into action, with coal falling from nearly 70% of primary energy at present to 10% or less in 2050.Any targets laid out by politicians will find themselves up against institutional inertia, unintended consequences and political pushback. That doesn't make them worthless. Political rhetoric changes reality, and even a cursory examination of recent history shows you how quickly that can happen. Not one question was asked on the subject of climate during the 2016 U.S. presidential debates. This year, it's been one of the most-discussed topics.Turning round an oil tanker takes time. That doesn't mean it's impossible. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering commodities, as well as industrial and consumer companies. He has been a reporter for Bloomberg News, Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and the Guardian.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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| Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to humanitarian ceasefire Posted: 25 Oct 2020 02:47 PM PDT  Armenia and Azerbaijan have again agreed to respect a "humanitarian ceasefire" in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict effective Monday, the US State Department announced, after previous attempts to stem the bloodshed in the disputed region failed. World leaders have been scrambling for weeks to broker a truce, with Russian President Vladimir Putin estimating that close to 5,000 people have been killed so far in weeks of fighting over the mountainous province. Both an initial ceasefire negotiated by France and a second brokered by Russia have already broken down. The latest truce would take effect at 8:00 am local time (04H00 GMT) on Monday, according to a joint statement from the US State Department and the so-called "Minsk" group attempting to bring a negotiated end to the conflict. Azerbaijan on Sunday welcomed the agreement in a statement from its ambassador to the US, Elin Suleymanov, while pointing the finger of blame at Armenia.
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| FBI investigating fire set in Boston ballot drop box Posted: 25 Oct 2020 01:47 PM PDT  A fire was set Sunday in a Boston ballot drop box holding more than 120 ballots in what Massachusetts election officials said appears to have been a "deliberate attack," now under investigation by the FBI. The fire that was set around 4 a.m. in a ballot drop box outside the Boston Public Library downtown, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin's office said.
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| Brexit talks could see Merkel intervene after France refused fishing compromise Posted: 25 Oct 2020 12:45 PM PDT  Brexit talks face a roadblock this week after France refused to compromise on fishing, with Government sources hoping Angela Merkel will intervene to break the impasse. Sources close to the negotiations said that Emmanuel Macron was refusing to soften his stance and had adopted an "egregious" position on the issue. The UK has proposed adopting a similar arrangement to Norway, whereby fishing quotas would be agreed annually in shared fishing zones. However, sources said that Brussels negotiators, under pressure from France, have "not moved at all" leading to fresh deadlock. The Government hopes the German Chancellor will manage to persuade the French President to budge. A Whitehall source said: "We are relatively optimistic but that doesn't mean it won't end in tears. Fisheries is the biggest thing. We are hoping Merkel can unlock Macron on fisheries."
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| Israel to begin human trials of coronavirus vaccine Posted: 25 Oct 2020 12:01 PM PDT |
| UN: 11 migrants drown off Libya; third shipwreck in week Posted: 25 Oct 2020 11:31 AM PDT |
| Tory MPs want a pandemic equivalent of the European Research Group Posted: 25 Oct 2020 10:46 AM PDT  Tory MPs are moving to set up the coronavirus equivalent of the European Research Group (ERG) if the Government fails to come up with a "plan B" to tackle the pandemic. Steve Baker, a former chair of the ERG, which led the Brexit backbench rebellions, is being urged by as many as 90 Tory MPs to adopt the same approach to put the case for an alternative strategy to perpetual lockdowns. It is understood there are businesses and groups outside Parliament willing to fund a "proper operation" to act as a counterweight to the scientific and medical advisers seen as holding sway over large sections of the Government. Prime Minister Boris Johnson (below), defended his coronavirus strategy last week:
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| Health experts question Pence campaigning as essential work Posted: 25 Oct 2020 10:33 AM PDT  Health policy specialists questioned White House officials' claim that federal rules on essential workers allow Vice President Mike Pence to continue to campaign and not quarantine himself after being exposed to the coronavirus. Campaigning is not an official duty that might fall under the guidelines meant to ensure that police, first responders and key transportation and food workers can still perform jobs that cannot be done remotely, the health experts said. A Pence aide said Sunday that the vice president would continue to work and travel, including for campaigning, after his chief of staff and some other close contacts tested positive.
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| Sudan says it will discuss trade, migration with Israel Posted: 25 Oct 2020 10:27 AM PDT |
| Black D.C. archbishop's rise marks a historic moment Posted: 25 Oct 2020 09:54 AM PDT  Washington D.C. Archbishop Wilton Gregory is set to become the first Black U.S. prelate to assume the rank of cardinal in the Catholic Church, a historic appointment that comes months after nationwide demonstrations against racial injustice. Gregory's ascension, announced on Sunday by Pope Francis alongside 12 other newly named cardinals, elevates a leader who has drawn praise for his handling of the sexual abuse scandal that has roiled the church. The 72-year-old Gregory, ordained in his native Chicago in 1973, took over leadership of the capital's archdiocese last year after serving as archbishop of Atlanta since 2005.
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| AP PHOTOS: New virus curfew brings silence to Milan streets Posted: 25 Oct 2020 08:21 AM PDT  After 11 p.m., Milan is a ghost town. Milan, Italy's business hub and the capital of the wealthy Lombardy region, has seen the sharpest rise in infections as the coronavirus once again is spreading out of control. In its latest update, the Health Ministry reported Saturday that more than 1,127 COVID-19 patients were in ICUs across Italy, including 213 in Lombardy.
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| Foreign students show less zeal for US since Trump took over Posted: 25 Oct 2020 08:13 AM PDT  On a recruiting trip to India's tech hub of Bangalore, Alan Cramb, the president of a reputable Chicago university, answered questions not just about dorms or tuition but also American work visas. The session with parents fell in the chaotic first months of Donald Trump's presidency. After an inaugural address proclaiming "America first," two travel bans, a suspended refugee program and hints at restricting skilled worker visas widely used by Indians, parents doubted their children's futures in the U.S.
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| UK military seizes tanker that reported violent stowaways Posted: 25 Oct 2020 08:05 AM PDT  The U.K. military seized control of an oil tanker that dropped anchor in the English Channel after reporting Sunday it had seven stowaways on board who had become violent. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel authorized the action in response to a police request, the British Ministry of Defense said.
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| For transgender activists, election stokes hopes and fears Posted: 25 Oct 2020 07:02 AM PDT  "The stakes are extremely high," said Shannon Minter, a transgender attorney with the National Center for Lesbian Rights. "It seems clear that President Trump intends to use the full power of the presidency and the executive branch to inflict maximum damage on the transgender community."
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| Minority communities question election-year push by EPA Posted: 25 Oct 2020 06:59 AM PDT  Theresa Landrum lives in southwest Detroit, where residents complain frequently about dirty air. Landrum, a Black retiree from General Motors and a longtime anti-pollution activist, wasn't impressed when Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler recently pledged $200,000 to promote "community health initiatives" in her section of the city during his blitz of visits to battleground states in the presidential election campaign. Under President Donald Trump, the EPA has slashed support for some some programs and regulatory protections benefiting disadvantaged communities.
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| British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert detained in Iran moved out of desert prison Posted: 25 Oct 2020 06:43 AM PDT  Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the British-Australian academic who has been detained in Iran for the past two years, has been moved from the notorious desert prison of Qarchak to an unknown location. Her move was first reported by the Iranian Association of Human Rights Activists, who said that she was moved, along with all of her belongings, on Saturday. A source close to the case confirmed the move, but did not know any further details. There has been no official word from the Iranian government. Dr Moore-Gilbert, a lecturer in Islamic Studies, was arrested for espionage after attending a conference in Qom in 2018. She was charged in a secret trial and given 10 years imprisonment. Both Dr Moore-Gilbert and the Australian government reject the charges, which they say are politically motivated. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claim that someone she interviewed for a research project flagged her as suspicious so they stopped her from returning to Melbourne. Qarchak prison, in the desert on the eastern outskirts of Tehran, has a reputation for being the most dangerous of the country's women's prisons. Dr Moore-Gilbert had been moved from Evin prison in Tehran to Qarchak in August, which activists at the time believed to be a "punishment". It was not immediately clear where Dr Moore-Gilbert has been taken. Just 11 days prior to her movement she had been transferred to Ward Eight (formerly known as the Mothers' Ward) of Qarchak, alongside at least 15 other political prisoners. While those campaigning for her release see her move as a sign of hope, not knowing where the mystery location she has been sent to or the reason behind the move, gives little to base it on.
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| Black contractor braves threats in removing Richmond statues Posted: 25 Oct 2020 06:07 AM PDT  Devon Henry paced in nervous anticipation, because this was a project like nothing he'd ever done. An accomplished Black businessman, Henry took on a job the city says others were unwilling to do: lead contractor for the now-completed removal of 14 pieces of Confederate statuary that dotted Virginia's capital city. "You did it, man," said Rodney Henry.
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| Tear gas fired as thousands mark one year of Iraq protests Posted: 25 Oct 2020 05:21 AM PDT  Thousands of people took to Iraq's streets on Sunday to mark one year since mass anti-government demonstrations swept the country, with police firing tear gas in central Baghdad to stop protesters from crossing strategic bridges and both sides reporting injuries. Protesters marched in the capital and several southern cities — including Najaf, Nasiriyah and Basra — to renew demands for an end to corruption by Iraq's political establishment. When dozens of protesters attempted to scale cement barriers on Jumhuriya and Sinak bridges, security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowds.
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| Israeli government approves Bahrain normalization deal Posted: 25 Oct 2020 05:15 AM PDT  The Israeli Cabinet approved the normalization deal with the Arab Gulf state of Bahrain on Sunday, a week after the two countries agreed to establish formal diplomatic ties. The deal next requires ratification by the Knesset, Israel's 120-seat parliament. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the government ministers green-lit "preparation of peaceful, diplomatic and friendly relations between the state of Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain."
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| Despite Trump, Election-Security Effort Is Robust Posted: 25 Oct 2020 05:00 AM PDT |
| Malaysia's king rejects PM's proposal to declare emergency Posted: 25 Oct 2020 04:54 AM PDT  Malaysia's king on Sunday rejected a proposal by embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to declare a state of emergency to fight a new outbreak of the coronavirus. The plan by Muhyiddin, which involves suspending Parliament, has sparked national outrage, with critics slamming the move as an undemocratic means for him to hang on to power amid challenges to his leadership. The palace said in a statement that Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah "is of the opinion that there is currently no need for His Majesty to declare a state of emergency in this country or any part of Malaysia."
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| Pope names 13 new cardinals, including 1st Black US prelate Posted: 25 Oct 2020 04:31 AM PDT  Pope Francis on Sunday named 13 new cardinals, including Washington D.C. Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who would become the first Black U.S. prelate to earn the coveted red hat. In a surprise announcement from his studio window to faithful standing below in St. Peter's Square, Francis said the churchmen would be elevated to a cardinal's rank in a ceremony on Nov. 28. Francis asked for prayers so the new cardinals "may help me in my ministry as bishop of Rome for the good of all God's faithful holy people."
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| Iraqis rally to revive year-old revolt against the system Posted: 25 Oct 2020 04:18 AM PDT  Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets Sunday on the first anniversary of a revolt against a political system failing to deliver basic services and against the growing influence of pro-Iran militias.
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| Seychelles election: Wavel Ramkalawan in landmark win Posted: 25 Oct 2020 04:12 AM PDT  The opposition wins the presidency for the first time since independence from the UK.
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| At least 14 civilians killed by booby traps in Egypt’s Sinai Posted: 25 Oct 2020 04:01 AM PDT |
| Thai protesters rally ahead of parliamentary debate Posted: 25 Oct 2020 03:23 AM PDT  Thousands of pro-democracy protesters gathered in Thailand's capital again on Sunday, seeking to keep up pressure on the government a day before a special session of Parliament that was called to try to ease political tensions. The rally took place at the busy Rajprasong intersection, in the heart of Bangkok's shopping district. Few protesters turned out in the first hour of the rally, but their numbers later swelled to several thousand, who listened to rude denunciations of the government in chants, speeches and even songs.
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| Putin's troubles Posted: 25 Oct 2020 02:55 AM PDT  Holed up in his mansion, Russia's authoritarian leader is facing serious challenges both at home and abroad. Here's everything you need to know: Why is Putin in trouble? Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed to have achieved his wildest dream in the 2016 U.S. election, when the Russia-friendly Donald Trump narrowly won the presidency while benefiting from a concerted Kremlin campaign to hack and release Democratic emails and sow disinformation. Similar Russian interference helped bolster nationalist parties in Europe, including those that supported Britain's exit from the EU. While the former KGB agent succeeded in weakening Western democracies and dividing NATO, Russia itself has not materially benefited from his interference in other countries' politics. U.S. sanctions damaged the Russian economy and badly hurt the oligarchs on whom Putin depends. Over the past six months, plunging oil prices and coronavirus shutdowns have deepened the damage, leaving the Russian economy crippled. At home, a botched attempt on dissident Alexei Navalny's life has galvanized the opposition, while abroad, unrest in former Soviet countries — which Moscow considers its sphere of influence — is mounting.What unrest? Moscow is worried about the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the ethnic-Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia has sizable minorities of both Armenians and Azerbaijanis, as well as a mutual defense pact with Armenia, while Turkey is openly supporting Azerbaijan. Putin has called for a cease-fire but has refused to get involved. In Kyrgyzstan, anti-government protesters last week toppled the pro-Russian president, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, just two weeks after Putin, in a rare in-person meeting, promised to "do everything to support you as head of state." Most threatening is the uprising in Belarus, a country that Russia is bound to in a nominal federal union. Putin's support for longtime President Alexander Lukashenko, accused of rigging his re-election, has alienated many Belarusians. Huge weekly protests against Lukashenko show no sign of letting up, and Putin's nightmare is that the protests could embolden his own opponents.Who are Putin's opponents? In June, Russia changed its constitution to allow Putin, who has governed since 1999, the ability to run for two more terms — effectively making him a czar and abandoning all pretense of democracy. That amendment, Tatiana Stanovaya told Foreign Policy, signals a new era in Putin's rule that is "much more conservative, less tolerant, more repressive." The following month, Sergei Furgal, the popular governor of the far-eastern region of Khabarovsk, was arrested on politically motivated charges, and the region erupted in weeks of protest. Days later, Navalny released an investigative report on his blog detailing the corruption and vast wealth of Putin's envoy to the far-east regions, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev, further inflaming anti-Kremlin sentiment there. That may have been the impetus for Putin to attempt to kill Navalny. On Aug. 20, the activist was poisoned with an even deadlier strain of the banned nerve agent Novichok that almost killed double agent Sergei Skripal in London in 2018.Why go after Navalny? Russia has long been "a country where members of the opposition die violently," says Sam Greene, the director of the Russia Institute at King's College London. Navalny has been a particularly irritating and dangerous opponent. His popular blog and YouTube videos, slickly produced and wryly comical, have exposed in startling detail how top Kremlin officials, including Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, amassed vast wealth through corrupt dealings. Lately he has begun organizing strategies for "smart voting," helping the opposition solidify around whichever candidate has the best chance against the Kremlin. His poisoning brought more EU sanctions, further hurting the economy.How badly off is Russia's economy? Western sanctions have erased more than 6 percent of Russian GDP since the 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. This year alone, the ruble has lost 20 percent of its value. Russia is largely dependent on oil and gas sales, and the plunge in global oil prices — exacerbated by a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia — has cost it tens of billions in revenue. The pandemic is delivering another major blow. Putin lifted the country's shutdown in May, and the virus has spread rapidly, giving Russia the fourth-highest total of infections in the world. Poverty and hunger are widespread. "There is mounting internal discontent, to say the least, over the economy," economist Igor Nikolayev told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. "I have the feeling that this is going to make authorities increasingly nervous, and the risk of a domestic crackdown is becoming greater."What about the U.S. election? U.S. intelligence warns that Putin is again interfering on the side of Trump, using "a range of measures" to spread disinformation about Joe Biden and his son Hunter and to undermine confidence in the validity of the vote. Yet given the Democrat's lead in the polls, Moscow is also preparing for a Biden win. State TV openly mocks Trump as Putin's poodle, while Putin himself has begun extending overtures to Biden, praising him for supporting an extension of the New START arms treaty. That is "a very serious element," said Putin, "of our potential collaboration in the future."The pandemic in Russia Infections are soaring in Russia, which now has more than 1.4 million cases and is adding some 15,000 a day. Officially, the death toll is 24,000 people, likely a severe undercount. Yet limits on gatherings are few, and schools have reopened. Masks and gloves are required on the Moscow subway, but shops and restaurants are open almost as usual, with workplaces instructed to require just 30 percent of employees to work remotely. Having failed to contain the virus, Russia is pinning its hopes on vaccines. It has already approved two different vaccines for large-scale trials and is using them before the trials have ended. Putin, meanwhile, is taking no chances. He has sequestered himself at his palatial mansion outside of Moscow and sees only visitors who have quarantined for at least two weeks. Even then, the Kremlin has said, everyone who is granted an audience with Putin must first pass through a "disinfection tunnel" that sprays visitors with a fine mist of chemicals.This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.More stories from theweek.com Trump loses on the merits Who won the final 2020 debate? Call it a draw. Get ready for Trump TV, America
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| Egyptians vote in second day of parliamentary elections Posted: 25 Oct 2020 02:20 AM PDT  Egyptians on Sunday trickled into polling stations on the second day of voting for the country's parliamentary election, amid a slight uptick in daily recorded coronavirus cases. The vote is likely to produce a toothless House of Representatives packed with supporters of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi that further rubber-stamps his policies, leaving the former military general with almost unchecked powers. A trickle of voters wearing face masks were seen in five polling stations visited by The Associated Press in the city of Giza, part of the Greater Cairo area and home to the famed Great Pyramids, with turnout relatively higher than Saturday's vote.
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| Lithuania holds parliamentary vote as pandemic hits jobs Posted: 25 Oct 2020 01:56 AM PDT  Lithuanians voted Sunday in a parliamentary runoff where the winner will have to tackle a growing health crisis and high unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic. In Sunday's second round, 68 of the 141 seats in Lithuania's legislative assembly, the Seimas, are up for grabs. The other seats were allotted after the first round, which saw the conservative Homeland Union party winning 23 seats, or 24.8% of the vote, while the ruling Farmers and Greens party only grabbed 16 seats, or 17.5%.
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| Afghanistan claims killing an al-Qaida leader wanted by FBI Posted: 25 Oct 2020 12:37 AM PDT  Afghanistan claimed Sunday it killed a top al-Qaida propagandist on an FBI most-wanted list during an operation in the country's east, showing the militant group's continued presence there as U.S. forces work to withdraw from America's longest-running war amid continued bloodshed. The reported death of Husam Abd al-Rauf, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Muhsin al-Masri, follows weeks of violence, including a suicide bombing by the Islamic State group Saturday at an education center near Kabul that killed 24 people. Meanwhile, the Afghan government continues to fight Taliban militants even as peace talks in Qatar between the two sides take place for the first time.
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| Ukraine's local elections test leader and his young party Posted: 25 Oct 2020 12:23 AM PDT  Ukrainians were voting Sunday in local elections that are considered a test for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a former comedian who took office last year vowing to bring peace, uproot endemic corruption and shore up a worsening economy. Zelenskiy was elected president by a landslide in April 2019 after campaigning on promises to end fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in the country's east. Despite his lack of prior political experience, he quickly cemented his grip on power by calling a parliamentary election that resulted in his party winning a strong majority.
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| India's festive season spawns fears of renewed virus surge Posted: 25 Oct 2020 12:19 AM PDT  Just weeks after India fully opened up from a harsh lockdown and began to modestly turn a corner by cutting new coronavirus infections by near half, a Hindu festival season is raising fears that a fresh surge could spoil the hard-won gains. "I'd be very worried about what we are going to see in India," said Dr. Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown University's School of Public Health and a leading infectious disease expert. The festivals draw tens and thousands of people, packed together shoulder-to-shoulder in temples, shopping districts and family gatherings, leading to concerns among health experts who warn of a whole new cascade of infections, further testing and straining India's battered health care system.
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| New storm Zeta a hurricane threat to Mexico, US Gulf Coast Posted: 24 Oct 2020 11:06 PM PDT  Newly formed Tropical Storm Zeta strengthened Sunday in the western Caribbean and will probably become a hurricane before hitting Mexico's resort-dotted Yucatan Peninsula and the U.S. Gulf Coast in coming days. Zeta was the earliest named 27th Atlantic storm recorded in an already historic hurricane season. The system was centered about 275 miles (445 kilometers) southeast of Cozumel island early Sunday evening, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
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| The Glue of the United Kingdom Is Slowly Dissolving Posted: 24 Oct 2020 11:00 PM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Six years ago Scotland voted by a 10-point margin to stay part of the U.K. Yet the last nine consecutive opinion polls show the backing for leave as high as 58 per cent, and averaging at 53 per cent. This sustained lead for independence spells trouble for Boris Johnson's government, which fears demands for a second referendum will become overwhelming.The Scottish National Party is expected to sweep to victory in local elections in May 2021, giving it an outright majority in the Edinburgh Assembly. The SNP has already been trying in the Scottish courts to circumvent a Johnson veto on another referendum. Whatever happens, the nationalists will ramp up their provocations.Last week Bloomberg News revealed that Hanbury Strategy, a consultancy firm close to the Conservatives, had drawn up a detailed plan for ministers to defeat the nationalists. The main tidbit in the leaked memo was the advice that the government should "coopt the European Union" into arguing that an independent Scotland would struggle to rejoin the bloc. That would be an embarrassing last resort for an administration hellbent on Brexit, with or without a trade deal. The EU wouldn't easily be coopted by Johnson.The last independence referendum was meant to settle the issue of the Union for a generation. Yet now it's in peril again. The threat has international ramifications.The end of the United Kingdom would raise a question about Britain's standing in the world, a deeper one than that posed by Brexit. If Northern Ireland were ever to vote to join the Irish republic, the damage could be limited: The status of the North has been unsettled since partition in 1921. But if Scotland were to secede that would be the end of the extraordinarily successful 307-year-old partnership that created the British Empire and fought two world wars.Post-independence, London would lose its Scottish nuclear submarine bases and its permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council might be challenged. The rump U.K. would be diminished, in self-confidence and size.Independence would impoverish the Scots, too. That argument clinched the vote last time and its force has redoubled since Covid-19. Sooner or later the Conservatives must make it again. But is Johnson the right man to do it?Before the pandemic, the Treasury in London already subsidized Edinburgh by up to 12 billion pounds ($13 billion) a year. Scotland's implicit budget deficit pre-crisis was 8.6% of gross domestic product, about 6 percentage points higher than the U.K. as a whole, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies. Post-Covid, the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates those numbers could balloon to a 19% implicit deficit. Total borrowing was already equivalent to £2,776 per person in Scotland as opposed to £855 for the U.K.Pre-Covid even the SNP's own Sustainable Growth Commission proposed holding down growth in public spending to 0.5%, "implying cuts to areas other than health, social care and pensions." Post-Covid that would mean sharp tax increases and spending cuts.As it stands, London's subsidies play into the nationalists' hands, allowing them to implement popular — and expensive — policies. They bankroll spending on services that are largely devolved to the Scottish government: the abolition of prescription charges, university tuition fees and free personal care for the elderly. Scotland spends 22% more per person on education than England, with no better results. Some 10 percent of Scottish pupils are thought not to have been in education regularly since the start of the Covid outbreak.Even if Scotland gained EU admission — a big if given Europe's fear of encouraging separatists — the country would have a hard border with the rest of the U.K. over which 60% of its exports flow.Yet heart can overrule head when the self-determination of a proud people is the issue.There are three reasons for the recent pro-independence surge. Scots voted against Brexit by almost two to one and were dismayed by their vastly more populous southern neighbor's decision to leave. That has pushed many pro-Europeans into the independence camp. Second, not since Margaret Thatcher has an English Conservative been so disliked north of the border as Johnson. His louche, blustering image doesn't sit well with puritan Scots. Scottish Tories ask whether his heart is in Unionism or English nationalism.Lastly, Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish nationalist leader, has become a commanding figure during the crisis. Her administration's many Covid failures replicate the blunderings of Westminster, but her reassuring language has boosted her standing. She has deployed Scotland's devolved powers over health to eye-catching effect. London has discovered to its consternation that all the nations of the U.K., minus England, can go their own way in this epidemic. Historians see the glue of Union slowly dissolving. Linda Colley's influential book "Britons," published 30 years ago, observed that the causes that kept the two nations together — Protestantism, empire and fear of invasion from the continent — had vanished. But there are no inevitables in history. Unionists must put up a fight.The Conservatives have one important ally: The opposition Labour Party 's leader, Keir Starmer, has so far ruled out a bargain with the SNP in return for their future support in forming a government. But Johnson isn't the man to lead a crusade to preserve the U.K. Michael Gove, his Scottish-born cabinet minister, holds the brief. Although a talented administrator, Gove is too hot-blooded in his attachment to the Union and is burdened with other responsibilities, including Brexit.Ruth Davidson, a recent Scottish Conservative leader with a cult following, relished combat with Sturgeon and often bested her before giving up full-time politics after starting a family and falling out with Johnson over Brexit. She is amusing and punchy — the most convincing figure the Tories have to make the case that breaking up the Union would be bad for both sides of the border . Johnson needs to find the right woman or man fast. Otherwise Scottish independence might turn into a bad idea whose time has come.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Martin Ivens was editor of the Sunday Times from 2013 to 2020 and was formerly its chief political commentator. He is a director of the Times Newspapers board. 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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| Trump aide says 'we're not going to control the pandemic' Posted: 24 Oct 2020 10:04 PM PDT  The coronavirus has reached the upper echelons of the White House again, with an outbreak among aides to Vice President Mike Pence just over a week from Election Day. A top White House official declared: "We're not going to control the pandemic." Officials on Sunday also scoffed at the notion of Pence dialing back in-person campaigning despite positive tests among several people in his office.
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| Kleptopia review: power, theft and Trump as leader in Putin’s own image Posted: 24 Oct 2020 10:00 PM PDT  Tom Burgis's study of dark global realities casts a wide net, from Washington to Moscow, Kazakhstan and the Congo * Opinion: $2tn in possible corrupt activity and KleptopiaIn a year dominated by a US presidential election between a kleptocrat and a democrat, a book about world-class thieves laundering trillions ought be the perfect bedtime reading for anyone curious about the unprecedented amounts of money that have been looted and hidden over the last 20 years.Tom Burgis, a reporter for the Financial Times, is certainly an impressive investigator. He works hard to explain how myriad financial institutions, from the Bank of New York to Merrill Lynch and HSBC, have tried to deceive regulators and wash the ill-gotten gains of countless dictators.The oligarchs of Putin's Russia are big players in these pages. So are Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, British bankers turned regulators, a trio of Central Asian billionaires, and no fewer than 30 other major characters, all listed at the beginning.This results in so many competing storylines that it becomes almost impossible to keep track. We bounce back and forth, from the Russian and Italian gangsters of Brooklyn to the oil fields of the former Soviet Union, from the platinum mines of Zimbabwe to the copper and cobalt of the Congo.> Burgis draws useful parallels between Putin's kleptocracy and Hitler's GermanyThere are long sections about the wholesale theft of natural resources in post-Soviet Russia and the birth of the oligarchs, all of whom were forced to become Putin's partners – or face imprisonment or death. For example, the purchase of a three-quarter stake in Yukos, for $350m, made Mikhail Khodorkovsky the richest man in Russia. Five years later, the vast oil company with 100,000 employees was worth $12bn. Khodorkovsky was arrested, jailed and eventually sent into exile.Burgis draws useful parallels between Putin's kleptocracy and Hitler's Germany, each home to both a "normative state" that generally respects its own laws and a "prerogative state" that violates most of them.According to the German-Jewish lawyer who was the author of the theory in the 1930s, "Nazi Germany was not a straightforward totalitarian system. It retained some vestiges of the rule of law, chiefly in matters of business, so that the capitalist economy had the basic rules it needed to keep going. But the prerogative state – Hitler's political machinery – enjoyed … 'jurisdiction over jurisdiction."> Trump helped to construct a new 'global alliance of kleptocrats'. Their whole goal is the privatization of powerPutin has used his jurisdiction over everything to vanquish almost all of his enemies. And since Donald Trump has been collaborating with Russians in one way or another for almost 40 years, our kleptocrat-in-chief does finally make an appearance in Kleptopia, on page 250. After we've read a lot about Felix Sater, a second-generation Russian mobster connected to several schemes including the Trump Soho in lower Manhattan, Trump is identified as the "crucial ingredient" in Sater's "magic potion for transforming dirty money".Once the ratings of The Apprentice had washed away the public memory of multiple bankruptcies and "reinvented" his name as "a success", Trump's role in real estate deals became simply to "rent out his name"."The projects could go bust," Burgis writes, and "they usually did – but that wasn't a problem." The money had completed "its metamorphoses from plunder to clean capital".Then there was the notorious sale of Trump's Palm Beach mansion, to Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev for $95m, more than twice what Trump paid a few years before. According to Michael Cohen, Trump's former fixer, Trump thought the real buyer was Putin – a story which hasn't gotten nearly as much attention as it should.With his election as president, as Burgis puts it, Trump helped to construct a new "global alliance of kleptocrats". Their whole goal is the privatization of power, and they control "the three great poles" – the US, China and Russia.In our new world of alternate facts, corruption is "no longer a sign of a failing state, but of a state succeeding in its new purpose". The new kleptocrats have subverted their nations' institutions, "to seize for themselves that which rightfully belonged to the commonwealth".This is a ghastly and very important story. But the secret to great storytelling is knowing what to leave out. If Burgis had found a more focused way to tell this one, he would have written a much more powerful book.
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| Senate votes to advance Barrett; confirmation expected Mon Posted: 24 Oct 2020 09:25 PM PDT  Senate Republicans voted overwhelmingly Sunday to advance Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett toward final confirmation despite Democratic objections, just over a week before the presidential election. Barrett's confirmation on Monday was hardly in doubt, with majority Republicans mostly united in support behind President Donald Trump's pick. Republicans are excited by the chance to install a third Trump justice on the court, locking in a conservative majority for years to come.
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| Eyes turn to Texas as early voting surge surpasses 2016 Posted: 24 Oct 2020 09:16 PM PDT  Texas has already cast nearly 7 million votes, more than anywhere in America, and Glen Murdoch couldn't get his ballot in fast enough after becoming a U.S. citizen this summer. "I was champing at the bit," said Murdoch, who moved to Austin from Australia shortly after President Donald Trump took office, and cast a ballot last week to vote him out. It's a rush to the polls in Texas like seldom seen before.
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| Pence to keep up travel despite contact with infected aides Posted: 24 Oct 2020 08:50 PM PDT  Vice President Mike Pence plans to maintain an aggressive campaign schedule this week despite an apparent outbreak of the coronavirus among his senior aides, the White House says. Pence's chief of staff, Marc Short, and "a couple of key staff surrounding the vice president" have tested positive for the virus, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Sunday. The vice president, who along with his wife, Karen, tested negative on Sunday, according to his office, is considered a "close contact" of the aides under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria but will not quarantine, his spokesman said.
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