| Soros pledges $1bn to battle 'would-be and actual dictators' Posted: 23 Jan 2020 05:16 PM PST  US financier and philanthropist George Soros on Thursday pledged one billion dollars for a new university network project to battle the erosion of civil society in a world increasingly ruled by "would-be and actual dictators" and beset by climate change. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Soros said humanity was at a turning point and the coming years would determine the fate of rulers like President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping as well as the world itself.
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| Regime Critic Says Saudis Tried to Kidnap Him on U.S. Soil Posted: 23 Jan 2020 04:59 PM PST  A suspected agent of the Saudi government attempted to kidnap a regime critic on American soil, according to the critic and multiple U.S. and foreign sources familiar with the episode. The young Saudi man says the FBI saved him from becoming the next Jamal Khashoggi.Abdulrahman Almutairi is a 27-year-old comedian and former student at the University of San Diego with a big social-media presence. After Almutairi used social media to criticize the powerful Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman over the October 2018 murder and dismemberment of Washington Post contributor Khashoggi, an unidentified Saudi man accompanied Almutairi's father on a flight to collect Almutairi against his will and bring him back to Saudi Arabia, according to The Daily Beast's sources. "The Saudi government realized I was a threat," Almutairi told The Daily Beast, revealing for the first time an ordeal that might have culminated in a whole new crisis: the kidnapping and rendition of a Saudi dissenter on American soil. Only timely intervention from the FBI broke up the plot, two sources say. "If I go back to Saudi Arabia," Almutairi said, "I'll be killed in the airport." Agnes Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, has investigated the Khashoggi killing. She drew attention this week by calling for an inquiry into allegations that MBS hacked Jeff Bezos' phone. Callamard is familiar with Almutairi's story, although they haven't spoken, and considers it credible. She told The Daily Beast that it's part of an ominous trend, particularly now that MBS has skated for Khashoggi's murder. "There is a pattern of the Saudi authorities, particularly over the last two years, targeting individuals—high profile people with a big Saudi audience," Callamard said, "either because they're critical of MBS or the government or not just for what they say but what they don't say, if they're insufficiently supportive."Almutairi has previously spoken about the harassment he received as a critic of the Saudi government, most prominently to PBS' Nick Shifrin, including a mysterious phone call from a Saudi trying to get Almutairi to come home for a "family reunion." But he has not, until now, revealed the attempted capture. "I couldn't afford to speak out earlier, my situation was so intense, and all I wanted was to get out of it," he explained. But over a year later, Almutairi doesn't speak with his family, lives for protracted stretches out of his car, and generally fears for his life. On his YouTube channels, which have 200,000 subscribers between them, and his Instagram, where he has 208,000 followers, he's posting through it. About the only positive thing Almutieri sees emerging from the ordeal was his social-media rebirth as a comedian, something he started as a response to the horrorshow in his mentions. But the harassment may have worked. In the new year, Almutairi told The Daily Beast, he's going to stop speaking out against the Saudi government. "My criticism against the government won't do anything. It'll just turn more people against me," Almutairi said. "I'm trying not to use the term 'political dissident.' I want to influence my country for the better."That desire prompted Almutairi to cheer when MBS took power. As he saw it, the sclerotic, wealth-soaked royal court finally had a dynamic, young reformer on the rise. MBS was out to fix what was wrong with the country: women forbidden to drive, an economy driven entirely by oil extraction. While Almutairi studied finance and marketing at the University of San Diego, he posted videos on his Snapchat and Twitter accounts boosting MBS to his growing legion of followers.With his expenses paid by the Saudis' stipend for subjects' education abroad, Almutairi's life online was about promoting reform within his home country, the sort of liberalization MBS touted. A frequent topic was the rigidity of the Saudi religious establishment, whose dark portrayal of America didn't match the place he saw up close. But his growing audience—one of his recent Arabic-language videos has 842,000 views—became a problem for Riyadh. The Real Reasons Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Wanted Khashoggi 'Dead or Alive'On Oct. 2, 2018, agents of Saudi Arabia murdered and dismembered journalist Khashoggi in Istanbul, a crime the CIA assessed MBS ordered. The brazenness and brutality of the Khashoggi slaying made it one of the biggest stories in the world. Yet for all the damage it momentarily did to the reputation of a prince who melted the heart of New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, MBS quickly saw it saw to it that the crime had no lasting impact. The Trump administration, with which he had cultivated close ties, quickly spared him from consequences. On Oct. 11, 2018, barely a week after Khashoggi's murder, Trump said that sanctioning Saudi weapons purchases from the U.S. would be a self-inflicted economic wound. MBS denied involvement—and still does. And at first Almutairi believed him. "I was in denial," Almutairi remembered. "MBS would never do an atrocity like that." But the accruing reports tying the murder closer and closer to MBS prompted him first to break with his political hero, then to post about his disillusionment—and soon after to denounce MBS online. Death threats quickly piled into his mentions and onto his messaging apps. One picture sent to him contained a beheaded body. Another showed a flayed, severed head. "You will eat a bullet," he said someone texted him, seemingly a reference to MBS' nickname, the Father of Bullets. "They say I'm supported by the Muslim Brotherhood—I'm openly agnostic!" Almutairi said. More disturbing to him was a different kind of text, one that he still receives. "I get 'come home' messages daily," Almutairi said. Whether the Saudi government is behind them, he can't know, but his suspicion lingers. Then someone he describes only as a source in Saudi Arabia told him that his life was in danger—and that living in California did not mean he was safe. It prompted Almutairi to call the police during the week of Oct. 25, 2018. What happened next he would only learn from an FBI official he said he spoke with: Without Almutairi's knowledge, his father flew to Los Angeles, and he wasn't alone. Accompanying his father was someone Almutairi does not know.But they never arrived in San Diego. The FBI was waiting for them at LAX. According to two additional sources familiar with the incident, the FBI intercepted both the senior Almutairi and the unidentified Saudi man and sent them back on a subsequent flight. The FBI declined to comment for this story. Almutairi said that the FBI debriefed him after the airport interception. "I was shown a picture of someone who came with my dad, who I didn't recognize," he said. Almutairi has no way of verifying it, but he believes the man worked for the Saudi royal court. In July, Middle East Eye's Dania Akkad first reported that in November 2018, a timeline consistent with Almutairi's story, the FBI met with at least four Saudi dissidents in the U.S. to warn them of threats to their lives emanating from the kingdom. The dissidents were not named, but one of them, Akkad reported, "runs a popular YouTube channel critical of the Saudi government."The Saudi embassy in Washington did not respond to The Daily Beast's requests for comment by press time.The near-miss was not the end of the harassment. Almutairi deleted his Twitter because of the non-stop threats. As he previously told PBS, he was forced to drop out of school shortly before he was to graduate after the Saudis cut off his scholarship, his $1,800 monthly allowance, and his health insurance. He was without a way to afford his rent, his bills, and his medications. Almutairi took restaurant work, but the low pay required him to visit food pantries. For three weeks he was homeless. "I remember Thanksgiving 2018," he recalls. "I was homeless, sleeping at the beach. I saw everyone with their families and stuff and it almost killed me, psychologically," he said. "It's really hard to process, suffering for what I had said. I wish Saudis would live like Americans. We deserve a better life." These days, Almutairi doesn't speak to most of his family, out of fear that he'll put them in danger. They received messages saying, "you have to get him to stop" making his MBS-critical videos. He is sure that his father was coerced into boarding the plane to Los Angeles. Saudi Crown Prince Appeared to Taunt Jeff Bezos Over Secret Affair Before Enquirer Exposé"Abduction is part and parcel of the way the Saudi government has operated for many years," said Callamard, the U.N. special rapporteur. But until MBS became crown prince two years ago, "most victims were part of the royal family. It appears now that their kidnapping attempts are expanding." Being a Saudi dissident living in America is no protection, she warned: "Absolutely, they will keep trying to lure people in the United States. The only reason why they haven't succeeded is because the U.S. intelligence agencies are doing their job."The impunity with which MBS acts also follows a long pattern. As defense minister, he launched a devastating war in neighboring Yemen—with the active cooperation of the Obama administration—that has decimated the country. He seized power in the kingdom in a move applauded by Friedman and other prominent commentators. On Tuesday, the Guardian reported that before the Khashoggi murder, MBS sent Jeff Bezos a malware-tainted video file over WhatsApp to extract potential blackmail material from the richest man in the world—who happens to own the newspaper that Khashoggi worked for and which has crusaded for accountability on the execution. After the murder, and the Post's aggressive reporting, MBS messaged Bezos "private and confidential information about Mr. Bezos' personal life that was not available from public sources," according to U.N. officials. The MBS message came months before the National Enquirer—whose publisher once issued an MBS-boosting magazine—reported that Bezos was having an affair. All that corroborated a March 2019 op-ed published in The Daily Beast from Bezos security aide Gavin de Becker alleging that "the Saudis had access to Bezos' phone, and gained private information." "At a time when Saudi Arabia was supposedly investigating the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, and prosecuting those it deemed responsible, it was clandestinely waging a massive online campaign against Mr. Bezos and Amazon targeting him principally as the owner of The Washington Post," Callamard and her U.N. colleague David Kaye said in a Wednesday statement. Saudi Arabia's U.S. embassy called allegations that the kingdom was behind the hack "absurd."These days, Almutairi focuses on his two YouTube channels and his Instagram account. "I use comedy to convey positive thoughts and empower young Saudis," he said. "I think I'm a living example: I was once homeless, now I'm not, and I'm starting two companies in California. My story, especially to people who saw it happening on social media, can be inspiring to a lot of Saudis." But his vlogs are pivoting away from Saudi Arabian politics in the new year. Without school, Almutairi is focusing on his comedy. In March, he plans on launching a YouTube show called "America on Wheels," which he envisions as a conversational comedy filmed in his car that introduces a Saudi audience to young Americans and their issues. It sounds like if 'Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee' operated as a tacit rebuke to the Saudi religious establishment. He's also applying to film school at USC."My message to the American people," he said over text, "please don't brush the Saudi people with the same brush you use with MBS. We have no choice but to nod our heads and agree, he is a dictator." But even his comedy contains limits set by his ordeal. He recently passed on an offer to tell jokes in Saudi-allied Dubai. "The UAE? Nah, bro," he said. And while Almutairi may have given up commenting on MBS on social media, that has not left him feeling any safer. Even in sunny California, he constantly wonders what might be coming for him around the next corner, since the threats keep popping up on his phone. Some say things like "we'll pay someone to kill you. It'll look like an accident in LA," Almutairi said. Nonchalantly, he added, "I expect that to happen at any moment." 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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| Trial highlights: Conspiracy theories and fidget spinners Posted: 23 Jan 2020 04:19 PM PST  Democrats argued that President Donald Trump sought a phony investigation of a political rival and pursued a discredited conspiracy theory about Ukraine, while restless senators played with a new toy Thursday during Trump's impeachment trial. Pressing their case for a second day, Democrats said there was no evidence that former Vice President Joe Biden did anything improper in dealings with Ukraine.
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| Trump vs. Bloomberg: Fortunes collide in pricey knife fight Posted: 23 Jan 2020 03:29 PM PST  President Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg could hardly be more different as people, but now they both want the same job: Trump's. Bloomberg is making the case that he is many things that Trump is not: a builder of a financial data and media company that employs 20,000 people, a billionaire whose worth Forbes estimates at $60 billion, a problem-solver with a steady temperament who was elected three times as mayor of the nation's largest city, one of the world's leading philanthropists.
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| Putin's banker: US sanctions on Russia 'are very much unjustified' Posted: 23 Jan 2020 03:28 PM PST ![Putin's banker: US sanctions on Russia 'are very much unjustified']( "Putin's banker: US sanctions on Russia 'are very much unjustified'") "I didn't do any wrongdoing," Russian President Vladimir Putin's banker Andrey Kostin maintained as he made the case for why the sanctions are unfair.
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| Trump’s Silence on Bezos Hack Shows Risk of Close Ties to Prince Posted: 23 Jan 2020 03:15 PM PST ![Trump's Silence on Bezos Hack Shows Risk of Close Ties to Prince]( "Trump's Silence on Bezos Hack Shows Risk of Close Ties to Prince") (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump is again facing questions about his relationship with Mohammed bin Salman after the Saudi crown prince was accused of spying on Amazon.com Inc. chief Jeff Bezos.The alleged hacking of Bezos -- the world's richest man and owner of the Washington Post -- creates a new foreign policy headache for Trump, whose Middle East strategy has largely hinged on cultivating close ties to the Saudi leader.Trump has shied away from direct confrontation with Prince Mohammed before, publicly rejecting the Central Intelligence Agency's conclusion that he had ordered the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi critic and Post columnist, despite widespread public outcry. And so far, there's been little indication the U.S. will move to penalize Saudi Arabia over the alleged hack of a top U.S. executive.At the same time, Trump has made no secret of his animus toward Bezos. The president has frequently taken aim at him for his newspaper's critical stories of the administration, and Amazon has sued the government, claiming it was denied a major Pentagon contract because Trump considers Bezos a "political enemy." Amazon declined to comment for this story.Saudi officials have denied their involvement. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said "the idea the crown prince would hack Jeff Bezos's phone is absolutely silly."White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said that U.S. officials "obviously take those situations seriously," but stressed that "Saudi Arabia is obviously an important ally." Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declined to discuss the attack in an interview with CNBC on Thursday, but said American companies should "absolutely" continue to conduct business with the kingdom."We do a lot of business with Saudi Arabia," Mnuchin said. "They're obviously a big component of energy. We have an important defense relationship with Saudi. And that's not going to change based upon one article in the paper."The Trump administration's reluctance to publicly condemn the apparent hacking could partially be motivated by a lack of firsthand intelligence. The forensic analysis that found a months-long hacking campaign against Bezos was conducted by investigators hired by the Amazon chief. Two United Nations experts who viewed the findings -- that Bezos was hacked after he received a video file sent from Prince Mohammed's WhatsApp account in 2018 -- have called for an investigation, even though the U.S. government hasn't.Prince Faisal tried to downplay the findings, saying the analysis was conducted by a private company that hasn't been independently vetted and offered "no hard evidence to substantiate the claims it is making."Prince Mohammed has also denied ordering the murder of Khashoggi, saying in an interview with "60 Minutes" he would make no exceptions in prosecuting those responsible for the journalist's death. A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced five people to death and given three others jail time in relation to the killing."When a crime is committed against a Saudi citizen by officials, working for the Saudi government, as a leader I must take responsibility," he said. "I must take all actions to avoid such a thing in the future."The White House appears eager to steer clear of a story that touches on ethical and policy questions that have hounded Trump throughout his time as president.Congressional Democrats have said that a lawyer for Jared Kushner has acknowledged that Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser used WhatsApp to communicate with foreign leaders. CNN has reported those conversations included messages with Prince Mohammed, raising questions over whether Kushner or other U.S. officials could also be victims of hacking, putting classified material at risk.That could prove particularly damaging to Trump, who regularly criticized former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server during the 2016 presidential campaign. The White House declined to respond to requests for comment about Kushner's use of WhatsApp.But the Bezos hack is drawing the spotlight to the broader U.S.-Saudi relationship, which has created a series of foreign-policy controversies for a U.S. president who has fashioned himself as both a uniquely successful negotiator and a champion of withdrawing from perpetual conflicts in the Middle East.Despite the flap over Khashoggi's killing, the U.S. has continued to provide military aid to Saudi Arabia for its military intervention in Yemen -- even though the U.N. concluded Saudi airstrikes inflicted heavy civilian casualties and exacerbated the humanitarian crisis there.Meanwhile, the Trump-ordered killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani -- a move that came after a Houthi drone attack on a state-owned Saudi Aramco oil processing facility -- has caused tension to spike in the region.The Pentagon dispatched some 3,000 troops – including two additional fighter squadrons and supporting personnel – to Saudi Arabia after the drone attacks. Amid criticism that he was adding troops despite his pledge to withdraw from the region, Trump falsely claimed in a Fox News interview that Saudi Arabia had "already deposited $1 billion in the bank" to offset the cost of the deployment.Ned Price, a former CIA intelligence analyst and National Security Council spokesman to President Barack Obama, said the Trump administration's response to the Bezos cyberattack was just a continuation of a policy of public silence while drawing closer to Riyadh in the aftermath of the killing of Khashoggi, a U.S. resident."This time it's a cyberhacking, and the response is the same," Price said. "We heard next to nothing in the way of attribution or even condemnation, and their actions are telling."Price noted that the Obama administration made a point of publicly condemning incidents with significant public interest when intelligence pointed to a clear culprit, such as Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine, or North Korea's hack of emails and documents from Sony Pictures. The Obama administration imposed additional economic sanctions in retaliation for the North Korean hack of Sony, a private business.The Trump administration's response to the Bezos incident will also likely receive additional scrutiny because of the ongoing legal battle over allegations by Amazon that the federal government has treated the company unfairly because of Trump's personal animosity toward Bezos over the Post's journalism.Earlier Thursday, Amazon asked a federal court to temporarily block Microsoft Corp. from working on a $10 billion Pentagon cloud contract. In November, the company alleged that Trump's enmity for Bezos caused the Pentagon to rule against its bid for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, contract.\--With assistance from Spencer Soper.To contact the reporter on this story: Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu, 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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| Lawmakers, professors seek return of Iranian college student Posted: 23 Jan 2020 02:40 PM PST  Federal lawmakers and college professors in Massachusetts are demanding answers after an Iranian student was denied entry into the U.S. despite a court order temporarily staying his removal. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley sent a letter to U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Thursday saying they're concerned Iranian students are being targeted for additional inspections and being swiftly removed from the country at airports and other ports of entry. The American Civil Liberties Union has said at least 10 students have been sent back to Iran after flying into the U.S. since August, when college students typically arrive for classes.
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| Your Evening Briefing Posted: 23 Jan 2020 02:33 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Want to receive this post in your inbox every afternoon? Sign up hereHouse managers expanded their case for the removal of President Donald Trump during the second day of his historic impeachment trial. They told the Senate that his decision to block Congressionally approved military aid for Ukraine (for its defense against Russia) and obstruct a probe of his demand that it interfere with the 2020 campaign were clear violations of the Constitution. "No president has ever used his office to compel a foreign nation to help him cheat in our elections," Representative Jerrold Nadler told the Senate. Democrats are hoping that, as they build their case, it will be harder for Republicans to ignore public support for witnesses and evidence. Bloomberg's Green Daily is where climate science meets the future of energy, technology and finance. Sign up for our daily newsletter to get the smartest takes from our team of 10 climate columnists. Sign up here.Here are today's top storiesTrump is on trial in the Senate, but the Senate is on trial, too. In Bloomberg Opinion, Noah Feldman picks up James Madison's argument that the Supreme Court, rather than the legislative body, should try impeachments.The World Health Organization stopped short of calling the recent coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency. So far, 17 people have died. China has locked down Wuhan, the city of 11 million in which the virus first appeared.The actor Annabella Sciorra testified before a Manhattan jury that Harvey Weinstein acted increasingly menacing towards her, starting with a series of creepy gifts.Banks keep raising the limit on people's credit cards, even if they don't ask. It's been turbocharging profits and leaving customers with the potential to rack up even bigger monthly bills at a time when millions of Americans are already drowning in debt.After years of radical stimulus, bank executives are increasingly calling on central banks to reverse a half decade of negative interest rates.Tesla's legal victory allowing it to sell its electric vehicles in Michigan without using dealers could clear a path for other carmakers.What's Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director says the rally in the S&P 500 has been so intense and unrelenting that Tuesday's 0.27% decline felt like a selloff, and yesterday's 0.03% gain felt like a modest decline. Despite two unexpected developments in 2020—Iran tensions and the new respiratory virus—U.S. equities remain within a whisker of their all-time highs. What you'll need to know tomorrowNYC's popular subway chief abruptly quit after two years on the job. Amateur investors are making risky bets that could wipe them out. A secretive billionaire bought a $262 million London home. Unsold mansions are piling up near Trump's Mar-a-Lago home. This is the rainfall map that can tell you if your home is doomed. Greta Thunberg addressed Davos. Then she called a climate strike. The man billionaires trust to find the perfect, rare classic car.What you'll want to read in Bloomberg GreenChina is touting its climate credentials as it seeks to clamp down on environmental damage at home while demonstrating a commitment to the international order derided by Trump. Beijing has signed up to the Paris Agreement, spent big on clean energy, announced curbs on single-use plastics and made real progress in tackling air pollution. Yet what has become a key driver of the climate agenda globally—activism as popularized by Thunberg—is all-but taboo in China.To contact the author of this story: Josh Petri in Portland at jpetri4@bloomberg.netFor 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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| Doomsday clock lurches to 100 seconds to midnight – closest to catastrophe yet Posted: 23 Jan 2020 02:23 PM PST  * Nuclear and climate threats create 'profoundly unstable' world * Robinson: climate inaction is 'death sentence for humanity'The risk of civil collapse from nuclear weapons and the climate crisis is at a record high, according to US scientists and former officials, calling the current environment "profoundly unstable".They said the rise of "cyber-enabled disinformation campaigns" compounds both threats by keeping the public from insisting on progress.The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced its symbolic "doomsday clock" has moved forward to 100 seconds to midnight, the closest to catastrophe that the scientists have judged the world to be at any point since its creation in 1947, at the outset of the cold war."The world needs to wake up. Our planet faces two simultaneous existential threats," said Mary Robinson, chair of an independent group of global leaders called The Elders, and the former president of Ireland and former UN high commissioner of human rights.Robinson said that countries that don't aim to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions heating the planet and instead exploit fossil fuels are issuing "a death sentence for humanity".She said while public pressure presents a "sliver of hope" for the climate, there is no such pressure on leaders to avert nuclear threats.As long as nuclear weapons are available it is inevitable they will one day be used, "by accident, miscalculation or design", she said.Graphic.Robert Rosner, chair of the Bulletin's science and security board, said society has normalized a very dangerous world, and that "information warfare" is undermining "the public's ability to sort out what's true and what's patently false".Sharon Squassoni, a board member and research professor at George Washington University, noted the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement, which has resulted in Iran reducing compliance. And she said although some thought Donald Trump's unique approach might bring North Korea to the negotiating table, no real progress has ensued.The warning comes as nuclear arms control is in danger of dying out altogether. The Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty lapsed in August after the US accused Russia of cheating and Donald Trump declared he would leave the 1987 treaty altogether. The US has begun testing medium-range missiles similar to the new Russian weapon, although it is unclear where in Europe or Asia they would be based.The death of the INF leaves the New Start treaty as the last remaining limit on the US and Russian deployed strategic arsenals. It was agreed in 2010 by the then Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, and Barack Obama, and it expires in February 2021.It can be extended for five years and Vladimir Putin has said he is willing to agree an extension, but the Trump administration has insisted that China be included. China, whose arsenal is a 20th of the two nuclear superpowers and not as aggressively deployed, has ruled out joining in.The farthest the doomsday clock has ever been from midnight was 17 minutes at the end of the cold war.While nuclear warfare remains a threat, the climate crisis continues to intensify, as the US federal government under Trump has withdrawn from international climate efforts.Last year was the second hottest on record for the Earth's surface. The 2019 average temperature was 1.1C warmer than the average between 1850 and 1900, before the ramp-up of fossil fuel use. Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are on track to push that warming to 3 or 4C. The disruptions are intensifying extreme weather and expected to exacerbate poverty and global unrest."If the Earth warms by what we tend to think of as just a few degrees and human life pushes the planet into the opposite of an Ice Age … or even pushes the climate halfway there, we have no reason to be confident that such a world will remain hospitable to human civilization," said Sivan Kartha, a board member, senior scientist at the Stockholm Environment Institute and author of the fifth and sixth assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Robert Latiff, a board member and retired air force major general, said the Trump administration's "disdain for expert opinion" threatens action on climate change and a host of other science-based issues. New technologies and developments – from "deep fake" videos, to dangerous pathogens and artificial intelligence, all could threaten a fragile global peace.
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| U.N. says officials barred from using WhatsApp since June 2019 over security Posted: 23 Jan 2020 01:44 PM PST  United Nations officials do not use WhatsApp to communicate because "it's not supported as a secure mechanism," a U.N. spokesman said on Thursday, after U.N. experts accused Saudi Arabia of using the online communications platform to hack the phone of Amazon chief executive and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos. The independent U.N. experts said on Wednesday they had information pointing to the "possible involvement" of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the alleged 2018 cyberattack on the billionaire Amazon.com Inc chief. The report alleges that Bezos' iPhone was hijacked by a malicious video file sent from a WhatsApp account used by the crown prince.
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| Militant sentenced to 19 years for role in Benghazi attacks Posted: 23 Jan 2020 01:43 PM PST  A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a Libyan militant to more than 19 years in prison for his role in the 2012 Benghazi attacks that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador. A jury convicted Mustafa al-Imam last year of conspiring to support the extremist militia that launched the fiery assaults on the U.S. compounds but deadlocked on 15 other counts. Al-Imam was sentenced to a total of 236 months behind bars.
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| Canada's TSB says Iran has invited it to examine black boxes Posted: 23 Jan 2020 01:29 PM PST  Canada's Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it has been invited by Iran to participate in the download and analysis of the flight recorders from the downing of a Ukraine International Airlines jet "whenever and wherever" that takes place. Iran has acknowledged that its armed forces fired two Russian anti-aircraft missiles at the jetliner that crashed after taking off from Tehran's main airport earlier this month, killing all 176 people on board. Fifty-seven Canadians died and 138 of the passengers were headed to Canada.
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| The New Iranian General to Watch Posted: 23 Jan 2020 01:24 PM PST ![The New Iranian General to Watch]( "The New Iranian General to Watch") In the wake of Qassem Soleimani's death, Iran promotes a hardened veteran of its Lebanon campaign. Here's what it means.
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| In Hong Kong, Choosing Restaurants Has Become a Political Act Posted: 23 Jan 2020 01:00 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- In deciding where to dine out in Hong Kong these days, many local residents are turning to a Yelp-like mobile app: Not for reviews of food or service, but to separate "yellow" from "blue" eateries.After more than seven months of unrest, even choosing a restaurant has become political in Hong Kong. Of 3,000 eateries listed on the app, more than 1,300 are yellow and 1,600 are blue -- including cafes, tea places and snack shops. The yellow hue represents outlets viewed as pro-democracy or supportive of the protests, an association dating to the city's Umbrella Movement in 2014. Blue refers to pro-government or pro-Beijing leanings.The effort to politicize restaurants, many of which are small and locally owned, is part of the protest movement's strategy of forcing businesses and residents to pick sides as they pressure the government for more freedoms. Even if some shop owners pretend to be yellow, which is occurring more amid the blue boycott, this helps keep up the protest momentum, said Kelvin Lam, a former Greater China economist at HSBC and now a member of the District Council."That's already a good thing to have in this environment," Lam said.While economists say the strategy is unlikely to have a significant economic impact, boycotting police-linked businesses is exacerbating tensions in the former British colony. Restaurant traffic over the Lunar New Year holiday is also likely to be hit due to worries about the spread of the new SARS-like coronavirus."WoLeiEat," which means "to eat with you" in Chinese, was developed by a 25-year-old information technology worker who asked to be identified by his first name King. Available to Android phone users in October and iPhone users in November, it's had about 600,000 downloads in three months and 70,000 active users a day, he said.King, who is pro-protester, said he wants people to use the app to "tell the government what we want." He's now expanding the list to include other retailers, such as beauty salons and stationery shops.The color coding is based on whether businesses supported a general strike and whether they help protesters, such as by providing free food. A higher yellow score is awarded to outlets seen as actively supporting the pro-democracy protests.Political FightTommy Wu, a senior economist at Oxford Economics Hong Kong Ltd., said the yellow vs. blue divide is "more about demonstrating one's political ideology rather than making a real impact" on the economy.Even with the help of the "WoLeiEat" mobile app, customers may find distinguishing a yellow restaurant from a blue one tricky since there is no precise definition and people contributing to reviews often make arbitrary remarks. Being listed as a blue shop risks becoming the target of vandalism."Customers making their own decision -- I don't think it's a problem," said Tommy Cheung, a lawmaker representing the catering industry. "The only problem is if you throw petrol bombs at the shops when they represent a different political stance."Buying CakesVicky Tam, a Hong Kong professional who is getting married this month, illustrates the divide. She has switched her wedding cake order -- worth about HK$8,500 ($1,094) -- from Maxim's Cakes, the city's biggest bakery chain with about 180 stores. She's instead using another local chain, Saint Honore Cake Shop."As a so-called WoLeiFei, this is the least thing I can do," Tam said, referring to a Cantonese term for protesters who aren't on the front lines and view themselves as peaceful. She joined a boycott of the group after comments made in September by Annie Wu Suk-ching, the eldest daughter of Maxim's Group founder James Wu.Speaking at the United Nations representing the Hong Kong Federation of Women, Annie Wu said a "small group of radical protesters," using "systematic and calculated violent acts" didn't represent the views of all 7.5 million Hong Kong residents. She went on to say in an interview with the Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party newspaper, that she had "given up" on Hong Kong's young people.Her comments led to outrage by protesters in Hong Kong and prompted vandalism of Maxim's restaurants and shops, including Starbucks outlets. Maxim's Caterers Ltd. runs more than 1,300 eateries mainly in Hong Kong and Macau, including 160 Starbucks coffee shops. The company had annual revenue of HK$20.27 billion at the end of 2018, according to an auditing document.Maxim's Group representatives declined to comment after multiple calls from Bloomberg News. On Thursday, Maxim's Group pointed to a September statement in response to news reports mentioning Annie Wu, which said the "group hereby states that Ms. Wu is not employed in any position or capacity at the company."A 35-year-old human resources manager, who asked to be identified by her surname Yip, said she used to be a regular diner at Peking Garden, a Chinese restaurant owned by Maxim's. She said she no longer will "spend a penny" at Maxim's restaurants, adding she makes her restaurant choices according to the "WoLeiEat" app and lists shared on social media.Blue WorriesBut other restaurant managers say they are being targeted unfairly. Ken Cheung runs a seafood restaurant in Tuen Mun that was labeled as blue because policemen were seen dining there."We serve customers regardless of their professions," Cheung said. "People labeled us as blue, but there is no basis."Snack chain Best Mart 360 Holdings Ltd. has been a target of vandalism against blue outlets, with Chairman Lin Tsz Fung saying in an interview in November that more than 70 of 102 stores were vandalized, in more than 180 instances.The company has been hit because protesters claimed Lin has ties to pro-Beijing gangs from the Chinese province of Fujian, which he has denied. The company said in a Jan. 15 stock exchange filing that it plans to open more shops away from Hong Kong -- in Macau and mainland China.Simon Wong, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said most restaurants don't want to be part of a political fight."Nearly 70% of the food ingredients are from mainland China," he said. "If restaurants stop using them, they can't even open for business."Read More: Hong Kong's Protesting Teens Face Arrest, Bullets, Foster CareSome yellow shops say they are trying to help the protest movement in another way: Hiring young people whose employment prospects are adversely affected by the political rift. Still, the majority of the available jobs -- such as waiters and shop assistants -- are low-skilled positions."I would do whatever I can," said Vincent Hung, who owns Brew Note Coffee Roaster, a yellow shop in the North Point area. "Like employing protesters, even just one or two."\--With assistance from Justin Chin, Sheridan Prasso, Hannah Dormido, Josie Wong and Kiuyan Wong.To contact the reporters on this story: Vinicy Chan in Hong Kong at vchan91@bloomberg.net;Alfred Liu in Hong Kong at aliu226@bloomberg.net;Shawna Kwan in Hong Kong at wkwan35@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Fion Li at fli59@bloomberg.net, Jodi Schneider, Chris KayFor 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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| George Soros to Start $1 Billion School to Fight Nationalists, Climate Change Posted: 23 Jan 2020 12:59 PM PST ![George Soros to Start $1 Billion School to Fight Nationalists, Climate Change]( "George Soros to Start $1 Billion School to Fight Nationalists, Climate Change") (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire George Soros said he will commit $1 billion to start a global university to fight authoritarian governments and climate change, calling them twin challenges that threaten the survival of our civilization.The Open Society University Network will offer an international platform for teaching and research, the 89-year-old said Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The university will be launched through a partnership of the Soros-backed Central European University and Bard College."As a long-term strategy our best hope lies in access to quality education, specifically an education that reinforces the autonomy of the individual by cultivating critical thinking and emphasizing academic freedom," Soros said.In his speech and a follow-up question and answer session, Soros covered a wide-range of issues, including the "overheated" U.S. economy, the dominance of Facebook Inc. and the autocratic rule of Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump, who he called a "con man and the ultimate narcissist.""Taking into account the climate emergency and worldwide unrest, it's not an exaggeration to say that 2020 and the next few years will determine not only the fate of Xi and Trump, but also the fate of the world," he said.Soros also once again criticized Facebook for its failure to police the social media network."There's nothing to stop them, and I think there is a kind of informal mutual assistance operation or agreement developing between Trump and Facebook," Soros said. "Facebook will work together to re-elect Trump and Trump will work to protect Facebook.Trump, he said, is responsible for overheating the economy. "An overheated economy can't be kept boiling for too long," he said.Soros has hit on these themes in previous Davos speeches. Last year, the philanthropist warned of the "mortal danger" of China's use of artificial intelligence to repress its citizens under the leadership of Xi, whom he called the most dangerous opponent of democracies.He has also lashed out at social-media giants including Facebook and Google, saying they need to be regulated. Last year he compared them to gambling companies that foster addiction among users and said that they exploit the data they control.Soros has become a lightning rod for his political views and philanthropic efforts. A longtime supporter and financial backer of progressive causes and Democratic politicians, he's become a target of right-wing activists.Soros closed his hedge fund and converted his firm into a family office. The $25 billion Soros Fund Management now mostly manages money for the Open Society Foundations, a worldwide network of philanthropies.(Adds Facebook remarks in sixth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Clea Simos.To contact the reporter on this story: Katherine Burton in New York at kburton@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Mamudi at smamudi@bloomberg.net, Alan Mirabella, Melissa KarshFor 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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| US general says troop surge in Middle East may not end soon Posted: 23 Jan 2020 12:46 PM PST  Over the past eight months, the United States has poured more than 20,000 additional troops into the Middle East to counter the escalating threat from Iran that peaked with the recent missile attack on American forces in Iraq. "You're here because I requested that you come," Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie told sailors and Marines aboard the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship, his voice booming over the ship's loudspeaker.
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| Over 100 state lawmakers accused of misconduct in 3 years Posted: 23 Jan 2020 12:20 PM PST  State lawmakers across the U.S. have reached a troubling milestone for allegations of sexual misconduct, even as they have taken significant steps to try to prevent and investigate such behavior. Recent complaints filed against Michigan state Sen. Peter Lucido mean at least 101 state legislators now have been publicly accused of sexual harassment or misconduct since the start of 2017, according to an Associated Press review. "Training doesn't guarantee that harassment will stop," said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
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| UN says death toll from tribal clashes in Abyei reached 32 Posted: 23 Jan 2020 12:02 PM PST ![UN says death toll from tribal clashes in Abyei reached 32]( "UN says death toll from tribal clashes in Abyei reached 32") The death toll from an attack on a village in the disputed Abyei region on the Sudan-South Sudan border has risen to at least 32 people, a U.N. humanitarian agency said Thursday. Armed men allegedly from the Sudan-allied Misseriya tribe Wednesday stormed the Dinka village of Kolom, about 9 kilometers (5.5 miles) northwest of Abyei. More than two dozen others were wounded in the attack, said the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA.
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| Greek police find 1.25 tons of cannabis hidden in date paste Posted: 23 Jan 2020 12:00 PM PST ![Greek police find 1.25 tons of cannabis hidden in date paste]( "Greek police find 1.25 tons of cannabis hidden in date paste") Greek authorities say they found more than a ton of processed cannabis camouflaged among a shipment of date paste headed by sea from Lebanon to Libya, police said Thursday. A police statement said the drugs were discovered on Jan. 16 in a ship's container on a freighter that had stopped at Greece's main port of Piraeus. The statement said the raid was carried out in cooperation with U.S. and Saudi authorities.
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| Why Bernie Sanders Went on the Attack Against Joe Biden Posted: 23 Jan 2020 11:47 AM PST  DES MOINES, Iowa -- When Joe Biden released a video Tuesday night suggesting that Bernie Sanders' campaign was engaging in "dishonest attacks" over Biden's record on Social Security, it created an opportunity that some Sanders advisers had hoped for months would come.The Sanders campaign's in-house advertising team had already created a video attacking Biden's record on Social Security but had not released it, waiting for the right moment, aides said. Internally, some feared it might be perceived as negative campaigning. But after watching Biden's video, Sanders and his advisers agreed: It was go time.The decision to release the video, which used Biden's own words from years ago about freezing Social Security, constituted part of a striking shift for Sanders. Through much of 2019, he had resisted mounting forceful attacks on Biden, seeing it as a risky tactic and counter to Sanders' policy-focused brand. Although some of Sanders' aides have been in attack mode for months, firing salvos on social media at Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sanders has largely avoided going on offense himself, dodging questions from reporters meant to instigate and distancing himself from supporters' negative comments.Yet as the Iowa caucuses approach, with his advisers urging him to be more aggressive, a resurgent Sanders has been more assertive against Biden, infusing his campaign with a harder edge."When people want to attack, we will counterpunch, and we will counterpunch very aggressively," Faiz Shakir, Sanders' campaign manager, said in an interview Wednesday.Social Security, he added, "was one of the areas that we had always planned on having a distinction that never fully got an opportunity to air itself.""Now," he said, "we're having that opportunity."Using the airstrike that killed one of Iran's top military commanders as an opening, Sanders has ramped up his criticism of Biden's vote to authorize the war in Iraq. And he has begun highlighting Biden's record on Social Security, a new line of attack that Sanders' advisers believe will help him appeal to older voters, particularly African Americans -- Biden's most devoted constituency -- and women.The intensifying attacks have coincided with strong showings for Sanders in several recent polls. A national poll conducted for CNN that was released Wednesday showed Sanders with a narrow lead ahead of Biden. It was the first time Sanders has led nationally since Biden entered the race last April, though his lead was within the poll's margin of error. (A second national survey conducted by a different pollster shows Biden in front.)Sanders' offensive has also led to more frequent sparring and heightened tensions between the campaigns.Over the weekend, Biden accused the Sanders campaign of deliberately distorting his record on Social Security, prompting Shakir to issue a scathing attack on Biden. On Monday, Sanders apologized to Biden after a top surrogate for the Sanders campaign published an op-ed that claimed the former vice president had "a big corruption problem."Biden later thanked Sanders on Twitter for the apology, adding, "These kinds of attacks have no place in this primary. Let's all keep our focus on making Donald Trump a one-term president."The truce was short-lived. Biden continued to fundraise off the candidates' clashes.And Tuesday night, there were the dueling videos over Social Security. "Bernie's campaign is not telling the truth," Biden's video said.Sanders' video, which he quickly tweeted out Tuesday night in response, features Biden saying in the past that he wanted to freeze federal spending, including Social Security. "When I argued if we should freeze federal spending, I meant Social Security as well," Biden said. The video then cuts to Sanders declaring, "We are not going to cut Social Security; we're going to expand benefits."In his decades serving as a senator from Delaware, Biden at times supported freezes and proposals that worried some Social Security advocates. He has also released a plan that calls for strengthening Social Security and expanding certain benefits.On Wednesday morning, in an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Biden demurred when asked if the attacks from the Sanders campaign were dishonest. But in suggesting that his past statements on Social Security were being taken out of context, he invoked Sanders' record on gun control, an area that has previously drawn scrutiny for the senator from Vermont."It's like my going back and pointing out how Bernie voted against the Brady Bill five times while I was trying to get it passed when he was in the House, or how he voted to, you know, protect gun manufacturers," Biden said. "It's the only group in America you can't sue. I mean, he's made up for that. He's indicated that was past."Biden was referring to Sanders' opposition in the 1990s to a bill that required background checks for gun purchases as well as his 2005 vote for a bill that shielded gun manufacturers and dealers from liability lawsuits.As a group of reporters congregated around Biden at a campaign event in Mason City, Iowa, on Wednesday, Ed O'Keefe of CBS News pressed Biden on why his campaign had continued to criticize Sanders even after Sanders had apologized for his surrogate's op-ed. "Why wasn't his apology enough?" O'Keefe asked.Biden responded sharply."Why, why, why, why!" Biden repeated, briefly grabbing O'Keefe's lapels. "You're getting nervous, man! Calm down. It's OK. He apologized for saying that I was corrupt. He didn't say anything about whether or not I was telling the truth about Social Security."Sanders' newly combative posture has been met with some relief inside his campaign: With the two men competing for an overlapping slice of working-class voters, some top aides have been quietly urging Sanders to draw more explicit contrasts with the former vice president. Not only would such an offensive help Sanders whittle away at Biden's support, some advisers believe, but it would also satisfy supporters and donors to Sanders who crave a fight. Some also think he pulled punches against Hillary Clinton in 2016, to his detriment.Since autumn, they have encouraged him to go after Biden aggressively on the debate stage, a strategy Sanders followed tepidly. During the debate last week in Des Moines, some advisers had prodded Sanders to confront Biden on Social Security and were frustrated the topic did not come up.Sanders seemed to telegraph his willingness to engage in rougher campaigning during a question-and-answer session with reporters this month in Iowa City."We will contrast records -- nothing wrong with that," he said. "That is what a serious campaign is about."Aides said Sanders has been true to his word, highlighting differences in his record while adhering to his long-standing opposition to personal attacks."Sen. Sanders' career has been one of saying, 'I can win on the merits of our positive argument and the values and the vision that we have for this country,'" Shakir said, adding that to the extent the campaign has gone after other candidates, "we have done so on record and on the issues.""What he has always felt very strongly is, we don't do negative character attacks," Shakir said.There have been other instances of sniping between the two campaigns. Earlier in the race, with the Iowa caucuses a distant date on the horizon, Sanders and Biden took aim at each other over health care, with both arguing that their position was the only one that made sense. Sanders backs "Medicare for All," a single-payer program that would eliminate private insurance, while Biden views such a proposal as too costly and complex and instead favors fixes to the existing health care system and the addition of a public option.Sanders has also criticized Biden over his support for the North American Free Trade Agreement from almost the moment Biden jumped into the race.But unlike those clashes, which played out before many voters had tuned into the race, their recent fights have taken place in the caldron of primary season, with media attention at a high point and their fate in the Iowa caucuses at stake.On Wednesday, Sanders officials marveled that Biden was perpetuating an argument they believe only favors them. Protecting Social Security is a perennial issue in general election campaigns because it affects so many voters and polls as a top priority, especially with the sort of older caucusgoers Biden is counting on in Iowa. But it has scarcely come up in this contest, in part because so much of the Democratic debate has centered on health care.Sanders' aides had all but given up hope that their relentless baiting of Biden on the topic would draw a response. Then a voter raised the issue with Biden over the weekend, prompting him to accuse the Sanders campaign of doctoring a video against him, which revived the issue.Still, it was unclear whether the former vice president's campaign wanted to fully engage on the fight -- until Tuesday, when it released the video condemning Sanders' attacks. That spurred Shakir to pronounce it the first negative commercial of the primary.And it was all the prompting Sanders needed to return fire.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Targeted killings up as 8 wounded in Iraq protest violence Posted: 23 Jan 2020 11:29 AM PST  Government inaction over the rising number of assassinations targeting anti-government demonstrators and supporters is stirring fear and resentment, activists said Thursday. Iraqi security forces, meanwhile, fired tear gas to disperse protesters on a vital Baghdad highway, injuring eight. The latest episode of unrest comes one day ahead of a planned "million-man" march called for by influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to push for the removal of foreign troops from Iraq.
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| UN agency: China virus 'too early' for emergency declaration Posted: 23 Jan 2020 10:42 AM PST  A viral illness in China that has sickened hundreds of people and prompted Chinese authorities to effectively shut down at least three cities is not yet a global health emergency, the World Health Organization said Thursday. The U.N. health agency issued its evaluation after Chinese authorities moved to lock down three cities indefinitely earlier in the day and canceled major public celebrations and gatherings in Beijing during the Lunar New Year holiday period to try to contain the evolving outbreak. The steps taken by China to shut down cities with more than 18 million people are unprecedented in public health, as countries typically shy away from such extreme measures.
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| Trump: Mideast peace plan likely rolled out in days Posted: 23 Jan 2020 10:30 AM PST  President Donald Trump said Thursday that he'll likely release his long-awaited Mideast peace plan before his meeting early next week at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main political rival Benny Gantz. The plan, which would be rolled out as Trump's Senate impeachment trial continues on Capitol Hill, is expected to be pro-Israel, which would please U.S. evangelical and Jewish voters. It also comes as Netanyahu seeks immunity from Israeli lawmakers from charges stemming from corruption investigations.
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| Lawmaker targeted by Lebanese protests rejects calls to quit Posted: 23 Jan 2020 10:00 AM PST  A Lebanese lawmaker and former foreign minister who has been a frequent target of protesters in the economically troubled country saidThursday he understands his people want change, but he says he's not going anywhere until voters drive him out. Gebran Bassil was officially replaced as foreign minister this week with the appointment of a new technocratic government backed by his party and the allied Hezbollah group. Bassil emerged as a power broker in Lebanese politics over the last decade.
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| The world is less than 2 'minutes' from doomsday, atomic scientists warn Posted: 23 Jan 2020 09:47 AM PST  Apocalyptic doom is apparently closer than it's ever been before.Every year, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announces the world's status on its "doomsday clock," which reveals just how close all of humanity is to certain destruction. And after putting it at a dangerous two minutes from apocalypse for the last few years in a row, scientists upped their prediction to an unprecedented 100 seconds on Thursday.The greatest threats to humanity, as outlined by the Bulletin, are "nuclear war and climate change," which are "compounded by a threat multiplier — cyber-enabled information warfare — that undercuts society's ability to respond." The scientists specifically called out how 2019 saw the end of "several major arms control treaties and negotiations," while "political conflicts regarding nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea remain unresolved and are, if anything, worsening."As for climate change, scientists acknowledged "public awareness of the climate crisis grew over the course of 2019, largely because of mass protests by young people around the world." But "government action" hasn't risen to meet that public push, and even the UN has "put forward few concrete plans to further limit the carbon dioxide emissions," the statement continued. Altogether, this puts the world closer to a metaphorical midnight than ever before in the clock's 73-year history.More stories from theweek.com Democrats walked right into Mitch McConnell's trap 5 brutally funny cartoons about Mitch McConnell's impeachment rules Virologist who helped identify SARS on coronavirus outbreak: 'This time I'm scared'
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| State Department Seeks Maximum Pressure On Iran In Syria Posted: 23 Jan 2020 09:12 AM PST  The Trump administration is resurrecting the push against Assad as part of its quiet war on Iran.
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| Senator calls for sanctions about American jailed in Lebanon Posted: 23 Jan 2020 08:47 AM PST ![Senator calls for sanctions about American jailed in Lebanon]( "Senator calls for sanctions about American jailed in Lebanon") U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire is drafting sanctions legislation to hold Lebanese officials accountable for jailing an American citizen without any charges as his health takes a turn for the worse. "Time is of the essence and the Lebanese government needs to understand there will be consequences for his continued detention," Shaheen, a Democrat and member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said in a statement this week. Amer Fakhoury, 57, a restaurant owner in Dover, New Hampshire, who became a U.S. citizen last year, has been jailed since Sept. 12 in his native country.
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| Even "bare bones" EU-UK deal will be complex, tough to clinch -diplomats Posted: 23 Jan 2020 08:42 AM PST  Wrapping up even a "bare bones" deal on the future relationship between the European Union and Britain will be fraught with complexity and, with so little time to get it done, a painful "hard" Brexit on Dec. 31 cannot be ruled out, diplomats said. A basic agreement would have to include a free trade pact, a deal on preserving a "level playing field" of rules and standards to guarantee fair competition, and a governance structure to expand the relationship later. After Britain formally leaves the EU on Jan. 31, it enters a transition period until the end of 2020 during which it will remain an EU member in all but name while both sides try to hammer out a deal on their future relationship.
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| Brexit Bulletin: Law of the Land Posted: 23 Jan 2020 08:27 AM PST  Days to Brexit: 8(Bloomberg) -- Sign up here to get the Brexit Bulletin in your inbox every weekday.What's Happening? The Withdrawal Agreement Bill received royal assent, making Brexit on Jan. 31 a matter of U.K. law.Seventeen words brought an end to the British side of this phase of the Brexit saga. In a statement to the House of Commons, Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans delivered the news to listening lawmakers: "Her Majesty has signified her royal assent to the following act: European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020."Royal assent brings to a close the crisis that paralyzed U.K. politics after the country voted to leave the European Union in June 2016. Former Prime Minister Theresa May failed to get her version of the deal through the House of Commons after reaching an agreement with the EU in November 2018. Her successor, Boris Johnson, succeeded only after winning a large majority in last month's general election.With the U.K. due to slip out of the EU at 11 p.m. London time next Friday, all that remains is for the European Parliament to rubber-stamp the deal. That was due to move a step closer on Thursday afternoon via a vote of the assembly's constitutional affairs committee, a group of the parliament's most influential members. The panel was expected to nod the deal through.The full EU parliament, which officially has a veto over the deal, will vote on Jan. 29. It will almost certainly follow the committee's lead. The U.K. is scheduled to leave the EU two days later.Beyond BrexitClimate activist Greta Thunberg should go back to school and study economics, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. These billionaires made their fortunes by trying to stop climate change. The £200 million ($262 million) London mansion bought by Cheung Cheung Kie earlier this month isn't even his most valuable property.Brexit in BriefRule Makers | U.K. financiers are asking the government to revamp regulations to attract global business after Brexit. Watchdogs should have the power "to make the U.K. a better place to do business" through a new mandate to support London's financial hub against rivals, according to the International Regulatory Strategy Group, a panel backed by the City of London.Diverging Views | Speaking at Davos on Thursday morning, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid tried to reassure business over Britain's post-Brexit ties with the EU. "We won't diverge just for the sake of it," he said. That's despite telling the Financial Times last week that "there will not be alignment" with EU rules after Brexit.Off-Piste? | Did Javid speak out of turn at Davos when he said that talks for a U.K.-EU trade deal will take priority over any agreement with the U.S.? Today's Bloomberg Westminster podcast discusses his motivations.Time Is Tight | The clock is ticking for the EU and the U.K. to hammer out a trade deal by the end of the year, according to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. "It's an awfully short amount of time so I hope that coming next summer, June, July, that Boris Johnson will at least contemplate extending, if necessary, this transition phase," Rutte said in a Bloomberg TV interview in Davos. "I'm Still Here" | Steve Bray, otherwise known as the "Stop Brexit Guy" was a fixture outside Westminster during the height of the U.K.'s Brexit tension, often disrupting live TV interviews. On Thursday he took his protest to Brussels, joining a small rally outside the European Parliament, the Brussels Times reports. "I came to Brussels just to visit this parliament," the Times reported him as saying. "I'm still here because I still care."Want to keep up with Brexit?You can follow us @Brexit on Twitter, and listen to Bloomberg Westminster every weekday. It's live at midday on Bloomberg Radio and is available as a podcast too. Share the Brexit Bulletin: Colleagues, friends and family can sign up here. For full EU coverage, try the Brussels Edition.For even more: Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access for our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close.To contact the authors of this story: Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.netIan Wishart in Brussels at iwishart@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Adam Blenford at ablenford@bloomberg.net, Chris KayFor 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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| Angela Merkel Says Fight Against Climate Change ‘Matter of Survival’ Posted: 23 Jan 2020 08:11 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she's worried about the growing conflict between young campaigners for a cleaner planet and those who reject global warming.Their stances have become "irreconcilable" and led to a gap in dialog just when nations need collective actionon climate change, Merkel said Thursday in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos."The question of achieving the Paris Agreement goals could be a matter of survival for the whole continent and that is why there is pressure to act," said Merkel. Scientific evidence is clear and emotions should not be confused with facts, she said.Merkel's comments follow remarks By Greta Thunberg, the teenage activist behind an international wave of student climate strikes. She told leaders that the rate of global warming should make them start to panic. President Donald Trump blasted the "prophets of doom" on the same day in the Swiss resort village in a speech which focused squarely on the U.S. economy.In an oblique reference to young environment activists, Merkel said those who are campaigning for a more trenchant policy to counteract global warming deserve a hearing. The "impatience of young people" must be addressed, she said.Europe and beyond faces a "decade of action," said Merkel, citing words said previously by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of the United Nations.Merkel is making climate policy a focus of her last full year as chancellor of Europe's biggest economy. In the wake of mass protests, her administration sought to kick start a stalled climate agenda with a series of measures to help get Germany achieve steep cuts in carbon emissions.Germany, which is also Europe's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, has lagged meeting its climate targets. It aims to cut emissions 40% by this year compared with 1990 levels, yet needs to close a big gap to get there.The moves include placing levies on transportation, investing heavily in railways and applying a timetable for power companies to exit coal. Yet critics say the measures are too little and too late, and that tax payers ought not to be paying billion-dollar compensations to utilities.(Updates and rewrites from first paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Raymond Colitt in Berlin at rcolitt@bloomberg.net;Brian Parkin in Berlin at bparkin@bloomberg.net;Arne Delfs in Berlin at adelfs@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Jonathan TironeFor 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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| Russia says it missed U.N. deadline to repatriate N.Korean workers Posted: 23 Jan 2020 08:05 AM PST ![Russia says it missed U.N. deadline to repatriate N.Korean workers]( "Russia says it missed U.N. deadline to repatriate N.Korean workers") Russia said on Thursday it had missed a United Nations deadline to repatriate North Korean workers due to what it called objective difficulties, but said it was scrupulously complying with U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang. A 2017 U.N. Security Council resolution demanded that all countries send home all North Korean workers by Dec. 22 last year to stop them earning foreign currency for North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. The United States has estimated Pyongyang was earning more than $500 million a year from nearly 100,000 workers abroad, of which some 50,000 were in China and 30,000 in Russia.
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| Queen gives assent for Britain to leave EU Posted: 23 Jan 2020 07:41 AM PST  Queen Elizabeth II gave her formal assent Thursday for Britain to end its decades-long involvement in the European Union and seek a more independent but uncertain future at the end of the month. The head of state's ceremonial approval of the withdrawal legislation allows Britain to leave its closest neighbours and trading partners after years of bickering and three delays. Two top EU officials in Brussels are expected to sign the separation treaty on Friday and Prime Minister Boris Johnson -- the pro-Brexit figurehead of Britain's seismic 2016 referendum -- will put his name on it in the coming days.
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| A court nudge for redemption in Myanmar Posted: 23 Jan 2020 07:26 AM PST ![A court nudge for redemption in Myanmar]( "A court nudge for redemption in Myanmar") A U.N. tribunal orders Myanmar to protect the Rohingya minority as it weighs a charge of genocide. The decision hints at hope of reform within the country's military.
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| Islamic leaders make 'groundbreaking' visit to Auschwitz Posted: 23 Jan 2020 07:25 AM PST  Muslim religious leaders joined members of a U.S. Jewish group at Auschwitz on Thursday for what organizers described as "the most senior Islamic leadership delegation" to visit the site of a Nazi German death camp. The secretary general of the Muslim World League, Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, and the CEO of the American Jewish Committee, David Harris, led the tour to the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial in Poland.
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| AP Explains: How climate change feeds Africa locust invasion Posted: 23 Jan 2020 07:12 AM PST  Locusts by the millions are nibbling their way across a large part of Africa in the worst outbreak some places have seen in 70 years. Is this another effect of a changing climate? An unprecedented food security crisis may be the result.
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| Merkel Says Meeting Paris Climate Goals Is ‘Matter of Survival’ Posted: 23 Jan 2020 07:10 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up here to receive the Davos Diary, a special daily newsletter that will run from Jan. 20-24.There are many things Europeans can't agree on but when it comes to the urgency of dealing with climate change, a stream of leaders from the euro bloc spoke with one voice on the ski slopes of Davos.German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed the titans of the corporate world on Thursday at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting and reminded participants that it was a "matter of survival'' for her continent to meet its goal of emissions-reduction goals.On the same day that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Swedish activist Greta Thunberg she should study economics, Merkel weighed in to say that young activists pushing for change should be taken seriously. Her warning was echoed by other leaders from the region present."If we can get this right, we will not get fewer jobs, we will get more jobs," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said during a panel discussion when asked about a national plan in the Netherlands to lower its carbon emissions.Merkel, a physicist by training who served as a minister for the environment in the 1990s, said the scientific evidence was clear and that emotions should not be confused with facts. Rutte said "it's not an easy way ahead" as a lot of work has to be done to actually cut carbon emissions by enough to make a difference.If it wasn't for a pressing political crisis back home, Italy's Giuseppe Conte would have today given a speech at Davos focused on sustainable development. But representing the challenges of the Mediterranean countries was Greece's Kyriakos Mitsotakis."The climate is important for Greece as the eastern Mediterranean is particularly vulnerable to climate change," he said. Greece is a coastal nation and 90% of our tourism infrastructure is on the coast.\--With assistance from Paul Tugwell, Joost Akkermans and Arne Delfs.To contact the reporter on this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson in London at fjackson@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Rosalind Mathieson at rmathieson3@bloomberg.net, Caroline AlexanderFor 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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| Merkel, Mnuchin Diverge on Generation Thunberg: Davos Update Posted: 23 Jan 2020 07:04 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up here to receive the Davos Diary, a special daily newsletter that will run from Jan. 20-24.The rich and powerful are in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum's 50th annual meeting, and the gathering is being closely watched to see how the global elite aims to tackle problems they helped create, above all climate change.Germany's Angela Merkel called on world leaders to work together to fight global warming and take the views of concerned young people seriously, saying time is running out to protect the planet.U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, meanwhile, questioned whether Swedish activist Greta Thunberg is qualified to talk about economic issues linked to climate change and told 17-year-old to go and study the subject in college.Thunberg has called a climate strike for Friday at 11 a.m. local time near the forum.To get all the highlights delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Davos Diary newsletter. Here's the latest (time-stamps are local time in Davos):RBC Says Fossil Fuels Necessary in Green Shift (5 p.m.)Royal Bank of Canada Chief Executive Officer David McKay said any shift to a more climate-friendly economy still depends on fossil fuels."We have a longer-term transition as we change the energy source, we move to a greener economy, but it is a transition," McKay told Bloomberg TV. "You need fossil-based fuels to make that transition -- they're not going away overnight."U.S. Has 'Perfect' Justification for Auto Tariffs: Ross (4:35 p.m.)The U.S. wants to negotiate a trade deal with the European Union but will apply tariffs on car imports from Europe if deemed necessary, according to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross."We have a perfect justification to put tariffs on if we wish to," Ross said in a Bloomberg TV interview. "The president had decided it was better to negotiate. We've had very constructive negotiations with the German car manufacturers, with the Koreans and with the Japanese.""If people do silly things, if they do protectionist and discriminatory things like the pillar one of the digital service tax, we're obviously going to respond," Ross said, referring to plans by France. "The clear intent was to be discriminatory. We have other laws that also enable us to retaliate against discriminatory behavior. If there is discriminatory behavior, we will fight back."Booms and Busts Are Not Dead: Solomon (3:25 p.m.)David Solomon, the chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said the U.S. economy is "in good shape" and Davos delegates he has spoken with are generally upbeat about the outlook for this year."I would say that there will be booms and busts again at some point, although I don't see one anytime soon," Solomon told Bloomberg TV."I'd say I see and I hear what I call kind of a confident, middle-of-the-road view of the current economic environment," he added. "The overwhelming likely scenario is that the economy chugs along this year."Merkel Says Recession Danger Receding (3 p.m.)The danger of Germany slipping into recession is receding thanks to an easing in tensions between major global trading partners, Merkel said."I think we should be happy that the first phase of a trade deal between the U.S. and China has been agreed," she said during a Q&A session after her speech."With each step -- an orderly British exit from the European Union, with trade deals and no trade war, less protectionism -- we are reducing the danger of a recession," Merkel added. "At a time when we have a lot of trade conflicts, you see that global economic growth slows."Europe can contribute to growth and stability and foster confidence in the euro by completing the integration of its banking system and capital markets, the German leader said.Merkel Rejects Excluding Suppliers from 5G (2:55 p.m.)Excluding individual suppliers, like China's Huawei Technologies Co., from fifth-generation mobile networks would not necessarily make them more secure, Merkel said."I don't think I make myself particularly secure if I shut out an entire supplier and don't know how they are developing," she said during a Q&A session."To be honest, we have already dealt with spying and industrial espionage in former times, and in that sense I wouldn't change the equipment completely," she added. "But we do have to be careful."NATO Chief Urges Europe, U.S. to Stick Together to Meet China Challenge (2:50 p.m.)China's rise makes it even more important that Europe and the U.S stay together, NATO Secretary General said in a Bloomberg TV interview, in a thinly-veiled plea for a de-escalation in the transatlantic trade spat. As long as Europe and the U.S. cooperate "then we are safe and secure" and can meet any potential challenge, Jens Stoltenberg said."There are opportunities, but also some challenges, because China is now the second largest defense spender in the world and they are investing heavily in new very advanced weapon systems," Stoltenberg added.NATO's chief stopped short of calling China a strategic adversary or calling for an outright ban of Chinese companies from the procurement of 5G network equipment. He did, however, warn that a cyber attack against an ally could trigger NATO's collective defense clause, which obliges all member states to respond to the attacker.Standard Chartered Says Anxiety "Very High" Over China Virus (2:50 p.m.)Standard Chartered Plc is taking extra precautions to protect Chinese staff from an outbreak of the SARS-like coronavirus, according to Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters, who had intended to travel next week to Wuhan, a city that has been locked down by authorities trying to halt the spread."When someone gets a cold now, question is whether it's something much worse," he said in a Bloomberg TV interview. "We are staying close to our clients and helping them understand exposures."The bank is "identifying working capital needs if things progress as they have done over the past 24 hours," given that "tourism and transportation industries are at some risk coming into Chinese new year"Tackling Climate Change 'Matter of Survival': Merkel (2:45 p.m.)German Chancellor Merkel said meeting emissions-reduction goals could be a "matter of survival" for Europe and young activists pushing for change should be taken seriously."The question of achieving the Paris Agreement goals could be a matter of survival for the whole continent and that is why there is pressure to act," Merkel said in a speech. "Time is pressing, and we must be careful as the older members of society that we treat the impatience of youth in a positive and constructive way."The German leader said she was concerned about the conflict between campaigners for a cleaner planet and those who don't believe in global warming. She said the scientific evidence is clear, and emotions should not be confused with facts.Mitsotakis Says Turkey-Libya Deal Unacceptable (2:34 p.m.)Turkey's maritime border agreement with Libya is unacceptable and illegal, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, amid growing tension in the eastern Mediterranean."Turkey has been difficult to deal with," Mitsotakis said in a Bloomberg interview. "There's a constant state of provocation, which leads Turkey nowhere.""We don't need Turkey's permission" to supply Europe with Cypriot, Israeli or potential Greek gas, Mitsotakis said earlier in Davos. The pact signed by Libya and Turkey has an impact for the planned EastMed pipeline project, he said.Time is 'Worry' in EU, U.K. Trade Talks: Dutch PM (1:45 p.m.)The clock is ticking for the EU and the U.K. to hammer out a trade deal by the end of the year, according to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.To agree on a trade deal "we need to agree on level playing field and all the other issues," the Dutch leader said in a Bloomberg TV interview. "It's an awfully short amount of time so I hope that coming next summer, June, July, that Boris Johnson will at least contemplate extending, if necessary, this transition phase."Coming to an arrangement is "very difficult and there is still the risk that you will have a cliff edge scenario' like we had experienced last year."U.S., China Must Adjust for Stable World: Singapore PM (1:30 p.m.)Both the U.S. and China must make adjustments if they are going to reach a lasting phase-two trade deal that benefits the rest of the world, according to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.The U.S. must decide whether to create rules that allow "the best man" to win or only let America come out on top, Lee said in an interview with Bloomberg's Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait."America First means you do the best for the United States," Lee added. "So do you do the best by prospering in the world, and there are other countries who are doing well, or do your best by being a big country in a troubled world? And I'm not sure that the second is a very good answer."Maersk Sees Flat Global Trade Growth in 2020 (1:24 p.m.)Global trade will likely expand in line with 2019's growth of "slightly less than 2%," A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S Chief Executive Officer Soren Skou said in a Bloomberg TV interview.The reason why freight rates have "gone up quite substantially" since October is mainly the introduction of new more environmentally friendly fuel. "Many of our customers recognize that it's good for everybody that we go to a cleaner fuel," Skou said.Trump Policies Good for Business, Moelis Says (1:21 p.m.)U.S. President Donald Trump's policies and deregulation moves have been good for business and generated "substantial rewards," Moelis & Co. founder Ken Moelis said in a Bloomberg TV interview.Trump has done a good job of telling the story of how the U.S. economy is booming, with low unemployment, Moelis said, adding that despite "a lot of hand-wringing" in the U.S., the country remains a "tremendous place" with great laws, great capital markets and innovation.Men's Hiring Bias Slammed by Finnish PM (1:04 p.m.)Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said it's now clear that women need laws to protect them from discrimination in the work place and the issue can't be left in the hands of the private sector."You need laws and structures that lead the way to gender equality," 34-year-old Marin said during a panel debate. "It doesn't just happen by itself." The concern is that an unconscious bias kicks in, steering men in a position to hire toward "similar-minded and similar-looking people" who are deemed to be "more qualified."Dutch Finance Minister Says Brexit Risks EU Power (1 p.m.)After Brexit, the EU risks becoming a weak player in global politics, because the U.K.'s departure offsets the bloc's balance, according to Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra."When there is a balance between France, Germany, and the U.K., we in the Netherlands are at ease," Hoekstra said in a Bloomberg TV interview. "That balance is now gone, and for the European Union, both in economic terms, but also in geopolitical terms, Brexit is very bad news."Saudi Arabia Must Act on Emissions: Minister (12:30 p.m.)Saudi Arabia must advocate for solutions to tackle climate change as one of the world's largest energy producers, according to Energy Minister Abdulaziz Bin Salman."We cannot sit on our hands as a producer without advocating for something that brings a solution to the emissions issue," he said during a panel discussion. "We can't see all components of sustainability and market stability without also being involved in the other debate which has to do with climate change."Facebook Says Bezos Hack May Highlight Phone Vulnerabilities (12:13 p.m.)The hack of Amazon.com Inc. billionaire Jeff Bezos's phone, allegedly via a WhatsApp message, brings to light potential security weaknesses in smartphone operating systems, according to Facebook Inc. Vice President Nicola Mendelsohn.The company would take allegations that its service was used in a hack very seriously and would look into it, Mendelsohn, who helps run Facebook's Europe, Middle East and Africa business, said in a Bloomberg TV interview.The Idea of a Waste-Free Global Economy Is Catching On (11:50 a.m.)When British yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur was promoting the idea of the circular economy on the sidelines of Davos in 2012, the big attraction was curiosity about what she was up to after her sailing career.Eight years on, firms such as Adidas AG, Unilever NV, and BlackRock Inc. are embracing MacArthur's vision. Her foundation is pushing an economic system where product lifespans are extended and components used repeatedly. The idea is to replace the "linear" model of growth -- extraction, production and disposal -- and reduce the strain on the planet's limited resources."We had our own event in one of the hotels, and to be honest most people came because they were intrigued about what I might be doing," said MacArthur, who once held the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe. "Things have changed enormously since then."Deutsche Bank Expects ECB Review to Be 'Constructive' (11:07 a.m.)Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing is "hopeful" that the planned strategy review by the European Central Bank will lead to change.The ECB's decision to cut interest rates below zero was right at the time, but "we missed the exit," he said on a panel. Negative rates are leading to a widening gap between winners and losers as only a small share of the population benefits, Sewing said, adding that monetary policy is "reaching its limits."U.S.-Europe Risk Trade Flare-Up Over Cars, Digital Tax (10:43 a.m.)The U.S. and Europe looked set for a renewed clash over everything from car tariffs to digital taxes in a sign that a new American focus was emerging following President Donald Trump's trade truce with China.Commerce Secretary Ross said the U.S. was still considering slapping levies on European auto imports even as it hopes for a "peaceful resolution" of differences. Mnuchin declined to say if he was still pushing for an optional digital tax after an agreement for a global framework was reached with France on Wednesday.Mnuchin Tells Thunberg to Go to School (10:35 a.m.)Mnuchin questioned whether Thunberg is qualified to talk about economic issues linked to global warming.Asked at a press conference to comment on the debate over the economics of climate change spurred by the teenager, Mnuchin quipped: "Is she the chief economist?" He then said: "After she goes and studies economics in college, she can go back and explain that to us."Mnuchin has repeatedly clarified the U.S.'s climate stance after Trump took a swipe at environmental "alarmists" in his speech Tuesday. "There's a misinterpretation as to what our view is," Mnuchin said. "The U.S. administration very clearly believes in clean air and clean water."Canada in Strong Fiscal Position: Morneau (10:30 a.m.)Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau said low interest rates mean central banks have less room to maneuver and suggested fiscal policy needs to play a greater role in addressing economic challenges."I think we have to be realistic" about expectations of central banks, Morneau said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. "Their ability to be effective in the case of challenges is different than it was in the last real challenge."Canada is managing its "fiscal framework very well," which makes it "resilient in the face of challenges," Morneau added."What we see is that Canada has taken a very responsible approach," he added. "Whether you're a rating agency or someone looking at our ability to deal with financial issues or concerns, we're in a particularly strong position. Probably the strongest position among G-7 countries because of our very strong balance sheet to start with."Allow Venezuela to Unleash Its Potential: Guaido (10 a.m.)Juan Guaido, Venezuela's opposition leader, called for a return to democracy in the South American nation so that it can fully exploit its oil reserves and "unleash" its potential."What we want is a free Venezuela, a democratic Venezuela which respects human rights, where you can invest, where we can also make the most of our oil reserves and so that we can really unleash the potential that we have," Guaido said in a speech. "We want to mobilize people despite the terror unleashed by the dictatorship."Nigeria Says OPEC Ready to Cut Further (9:49 a.m.)OPEC's production cuts are enough for now to avoid an oversupply, but ministers will convene again in March and will be ready to make further cuts if necessary, Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva said in a Bloomberg TV interview, adding that the country would like to see oil prices between $60 and $70 a barrel."We see a lot of optimism in the market" amid easing of trade tensions between U.S. and China," Sylva said. "If the U.S. and China are able to consummate a good deal at the end of the day, we expect that there'll be demand growth."Cantor's Jain Concerned by Negative Rates (9:38 a.m.)Cantor Fitzgerald LP President Anshu Jain said there are long-term adverse consequences linked to investing in trillions of dollars of negative yielding debt."If you wind up investing at negative yields in effect locking in a loss, that will have repercussions," Jain said in an interview. "Of greater concern for me is repercussions for insurers and pension funds, and these will be felt for years to come."Italian Coalition is Stable, Gualtieri Says (9:20 a.m.)The stability of Italy's ruling coalition will not be affected by Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio stepping down as head of his party, according to Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri."Di Maio will remain the foreign affairs minister and the parties have said they are strongly committed to the stability of the government. So nothing will change," Gualtieri told Bloomberg TV."What we can have is a continuation of this alliance or a strengthening of this alliance, these are the only two options," he added. "We have very strong numbers in the parliament in both chambers and the government will continue until the end of the legislative term."Kaeser's Wish for Trump: Listen to the Kids (8:45 a.m.)At a Tuesday dinner that Donald Trump held with business executives, Siemens AG Chief Executive Officer Joe Kaeser said he told the U.S. president he had three things to say: a compliment, a request, and a wish.The compliment was on how Trump has spurred U.S. Economic growth. The request was for Siemens to be treated like a U.S. company on government projects because of its 50,000 American workers. His request was to urge the president to listen to young people's demand to protect the climate."They may not be able to help us. They're young people -- they have a problem and they don't know how to solve it, but shouldn't we bring them to the table," Kaeser said he told Trump, adding that his daughter Ivanka Trump responded that it was something that they might look into.Merkel Succession Team to Be Decided This Year (8:42 a.m.)Germany's Christian Democrats want to assemble their team to succeed Chancellor Merkel by the end of this year, the party's chairwoman said in a Bloomberg TV interview.Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who is also Merkel's defense minister, said that now isn't the time for a cabinet reshuffle as proposed by a party ally earlier in the month."For 2021, the CDU needs a new team for the future, with new faces, and we'll put that in place this year. For me, that's a more important perspective than a short-term change," she said.Debt Buildup Reaching Danger Point: Georgieva (8:40 a.m.)IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned that debt in some countries is at dangerous levels."The buildup of debt is reaching a point where for some borrowers it's a present danger -- for example poorer countries," Georgieva told Bloomberg TV. "43% of low income countries are already at or close to debt distress."Low interest rates "means high, high appetite for yield," Georgieva said, adding that "high appetite for yield means high appetite for risk."The global economy is in a better place than in October, when the IMF published its latest forecasts, and central banks have done what they can to support growth so it's up to governments to step up, Georgieva said.Germany Must Spend Cash More Quickly: AKK (8 a.m.)Germany needs to speed up the process of spending government funds, and surplus cash should be invested "sensibly" in infrastructure and the military, according to German Defense Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer."If we look at our budget and our investment right now, then we see that we have no problem with money, we have enough money," Kramp-Karrenbauer, who is also the head of Chancellor Merkel's party, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV."The problem is that we are too slow and too complicated in the process. Not enough is invested as a result and this is the construction site we need to work on," she said.Merkel's government agrees that surpluses "shouldn't be tucked away for a rainy day" but instead directed toward "investment in technologies of the future, in our infrastructure," Kramp-Karrenbauer added.Coronavirus Only 'Real Threat' to Markets: Prince Max (7:45 a.m.)There is nothing "really threatening" on the horizon for markets, with the possible exception of the coronavirus, according to Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein, chief executive officer of LGT Group Foundation."I think there is a little bit more downside risk than upside chances," Prince Max said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. "But the market has been resistant so hopefully we will enjoy a good market for a little bit longer."LGT is hoping for the long-term trend of negative rates to eventually reverse, Prince Max added. "But realistically our expectations for this year for a significant rate change is not there," he said. "So we are not too optimistic on that front."\--With assistance from John Follain, Birgit Jennen, Craig Stirling, Cagan Koc, Yuliya Fedorinova, Javier Blas, Fergal O'Brien, Oliver Sachgau, Patrick Donahue, Jenny Leonard, Saleha Mohsin, Viren Vaghela, Haslinda Amin, Francine Lacqua, William Horobin, Reema Alothman, Matthew Martin, Philip J. Heijmans, Sotiris Nikas, Nikos Chrysoloras and Doug Alexander.To contact the reporters on this story: Iain Rogers in Berlin at irogers11@bloomberg.net;Chris Reiter in Berlin at creiter2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net;Simon Kennedy at skennedy4@bloomberg.netFor 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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| UK officials are pushing for a Trump trade deal to be Britain's top priority after Brexit Posted: 23 Jan 2020 06:49 AM PST  UK officials want Boris Johnson to strike a rapid Brexit trade deal with Donald Trump.
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| New Lebanese minister says he won't permit attacks on police Posted: 23 Jan 2020 06:28 AM PST  Lebanon's new interior minister said Thursday he won't permit attacks on security forces amid angry rioting that has gripped the country's capital amid a deepening economic crisis. Mohammed Fahmi spoke during a handover ceremony from the outgoing minister, two days after an emergency government was formed. "I will not allow the attack on security forces who are carrying out their duties" to protect the country's laws and properties, he said.
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| Putin unveils Leningrad siege monument in Jerusalem Posted: 23 Jan 2020 06:08 AM PST  Russian President Vladimir Putin inaugurated Thursday a bronze monument in the heart of Jerusalem commemorating the citizens and defenders of Leningrad during the Nazi siege of the city. Putin, one of dozens of world leaders in Jerusalem to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, insisted that Russians as well as Jews were victims of World War II. Putin, whose brother died in the siege, thanked Israel for the "significance" it is paying to the history of the war.
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| How Jeff Bezos' iPhone X Was Hacked Posted: 23 Jan 2020 05:42 AM PST  SAN FRANCISCO -- On the afternoon of May 1, 2018, Jeff Bezos received a message on WhatsApp from an account belonging to Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.The two men had previously communicated using WhatsApp, but Bezos, Amazon's chief executive, had not expected a message that day -- let alone one with a video of Saudi and Swedish flags with Arabic text.The video, a file of more than 4.4 megabytes, was more than it appeared. Hidden in 14 bytes of that file was a separate bit of code that most likely implanted malware, malicious software, that gave attackers access to Bezos' entire phone, including his photos and private communications.Those details were part of a forensic analysis that Bezos had commissioned to discover who had hacked his phone, an iPhone X. He has been on a singular quest to find out who penetrated the device after he said The National Enquirer's parent company threatened to release his private photographs and texts in early 2019. Those pictures and messages showed Bezos, who was married at the time, with another woman, Lauren Sanchez. The analysis did not connect the hack to The Enquirer.The forensic report on Bezos' phone was at the heart of a United Nations statement Wednesday raising concerns about the digital tactics of Crown Prince Mohammed. The analysis essentially accused the Saudi prince of using malware created by a private cybersecurity company to spy on and to intimidate Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post. The Post, which has published coverage critical of the Saudi government, had employed Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident Saudi writer who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in late 2018.The report's conclusions renew questions about the shadowy world of private hackers for hire. For the right client, or the right sum, such hackers apparently infiltrated the phone of one of the world's wealthiest and most powerful men. The report did not say which private cybersecurity company was used, but suggested that the Tel Aviv-based NSO Group and Milan-based Hacking Team had the capabilities for such an attack.The hack also exposed how popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp have vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit. In October, WhatsApp sued the NSO Group in federal court, claiming that NSO's spy technology was used on its service to target journalists and human rights activists. WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, has patched the flaw that the malware used.Many technical mysteries remain about the infiltration of Bezos' phone, including what type of malware was used. The forensic report did not detail whether Bezos had opened the file that was sent to him via Crown Prince Mohammed's WhatsApp account. Cybersecurity experts said some malware did not require anyone to click on the file for it to install on a phone."This case really highlights the threats that are posed by a lawless and unaccountable private surveillance industry," said David Kaye, the U.N. special rapporteur who was a co-author of Wednesday's statement. "The companies who are creating these tools are extremely crafty and aggressive, and it's a cat-and-mouse game at this point."The details of the hack could not be independently verified by The New York Times. Bezos has pushed a theory of Saudi involvement with the threats from The Enquirer, without providing proof, since early 2019. The Enquirer's parent company has said Sanchez's brother, Michael, was the sole source of the texts and intimate photos it acquired.NSO said it was not involved in any hack of Bezos' phone. Hacking Team did not respond to a request for comment. WhatsApp declined to comment, as did FTI Consulting, the company that Bezos' security team hired to examine his phone and that wrote the forensic analysis. Amazon declined to comment on behalf of Bezos.The Saudi Embassy in Washington has said that accusations that the kingdom was involved in hacking Bezos' phone were "absurd."Malware that was created for the explicit purpose of prying into private online communications, also known as spyware, has become a $1 billion industry. While companies like the NSO Group and Hacking Team have been accused of deploying their spyware with governments to examine dissidents and others, smaller companies also sell simpler versions of the software for as little as $10, allowing people to snoop on their spouses or children.Ron Deibert, the director of Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, which was not involved in the Bezos investigation, said the Amazon chief's situation was "a reminder that the proliferation of commercial spyware is a global security problem for all sectors, from government and businesses to civil society."Over the years that he has run Amazon, Bezos has largely kept private. That changed when The National Enquirer published photos and messages last year between him and Sanchez, a TV anchor. Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie Bezos, later got a divorce.On Feb. 7, 2019, Bezos went public with what he said were troubling developments connected to The Enquirer. In a post on Medium, he accused The Enquirer of trying to blackmail him with his own text messages and photos and said he had asked Gavin de Becker, a private investigator, to determine how his phone had been hacked.Ten days later, de Becker was advised by a "leading intelligence expert" to conduct a forensic analysis of Bezos' iPhone and to look for Saudi fingerprints in the hack, according to notes in the report. The report did not identify the intelligence expert who reached out to de Becker.De Becker, who declined to comment, hired FTI Consulting on Feb. 24, 2019, to examine Bezos' phone. FTI was initially asked to look into several text messages that Bezos had received from the WhatsApp account of the Saudi prince. In mid-May 2019, Bezos handed over his iPhone X and asked FTI to run a full analysis on it, according to the report.FTI zeroed in on an April 2018 dinner in which Crown Prince Mohammed and Bezos had exchanged phone numbers in Los Angeles. After that, FTI found, the WhatsApp account of the prince initiated contact with Bezos repeatedly and without prompting.The May 2018 message that contained the innocuous-seeming video file came out of the blue, the report said. In the 24 hours after it was sent, Bezos' iPhone began sending large amounts of data, which increased approximately 29,000% over his normal data usage.In additional notes to the report, which were obtained by The New York Times, investigators said several phone apps were being used during the time that data was leaving the phone. Those included the Safari web browser and the Apple Mail program, both of which Bezos did not appear to be using heavily himself. Bezos did not have iCloud backup enabled on the phone, the notes added, which would have also explained large amounts of data leaving the phone.Messages sent by Crown Prince Mohammed's WhatsApp account starting in late 2018 soon began to suggest that the sender had intimate knowledge of Bezos' private life. On Nov. 8, 2018, the report said, Bezos received a message from the account that included a photo of a woman resembling Sanchez.The photo was captioned, "Arguing with a woman is like reading the software license agreement. In the end you have to ignore everything and click I agree."At the time, Bezos and his wife were discussing divorce, which would have been apparent to anyone reading his text messages.In mid-February 2019, Bezos held a series of phone calls with his security team about the Saudis' alleged online campaign against him, the report said. Two days later, Bezos received a message from Crown Prince Mohammed's WhatsApp account that read, in part, "there is nothing against you or Amazon from me or Saudi Arabia."The report listed spyware known as Pegasus, developed by the NSO Group, and spyware called Galileo, developed by Hacking Team, as the two most likely tools used to carry out the attack. The report added that Saud al-Qahtani, a close adviser of Crown Prince Mohammed, owned a 20% stake in Hacking Team.The FTI report was not definitive about the hack, but said it had "medium to high confidence" that the message from the prince's WhatsApp account was the culprit. In notes to the report, FTI said it was still attempting a more thorough analysis of the iPhone, including by jailbreaking it, or bypassing Apple's control system on the phone.Some cybersecurity experts said more information about the hack was needed to verify the report's conclusions. Bill Marczak, a cyber expert at Citizen Lab, said in a blog post Wednesday that technology existed for decrypting the WhatsApp messages to see more detail about the video file that was sent.Agnes Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur who also co-wrote Wednesday's statement, said the episode was "a wake-up call to the international community as a whole that we are facing a technology that is very difficult to track, extremely powerful and effective, and that is completely unregulated."She said Bezos' experience should sound alarms because even with his wealth and resources, it took months of investigation by specialists to figure out what had happened -- a luxury few others have."It basically means that we are all extremely vulnerable," she said.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| El-Sissi dubs Egypt 'oasis of stability' amid clampdown Posted: 23 Jan 2020 05:33 AM PST  Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said Thursday his country has become "an oasis of security and stability" under his rule, amid reports of a new clampdown on dissent in the lead-up to the eighth anniversary of the 2011 pro-democracy uprising. El-Sissi, who became president in 2014, spoke at the annual ceremony celebrating Police Day, which falls on Jan. 25. Meanwhile, human rights activists have complained that authorities are randomly stopping people in downtown Cairo, the epicenter of the 2011 uprising, for fear that similar demonstrations could erupt.
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| Russian MPS give quick first approval to Putin reforms Posted: 23 Jan 2020 05:29 AM PST  Russian lawmakers on Thursday unanimously approved a sweeping constitutional reform bill put forward by President Vladimir Putin in its first reading, after less than two hours of debate. All 432 lawmakers present in the lower house State Duma voted in favour of the bill, just three days after the amendments were presented to parliament. Putin made the call for reforms last Wednesday and it was quickly followed by the resignation of the government and the appointment of a new premier and cabinet.
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| Greece: Island mayors in Athens to protest migrant situation Posted: 23 Jan 2020 05:14 AM PST  The "anxiety and indignation" of Greek island residents living at the forefront of a migration crisis are justified, Greece's migration and asylum minister said Thursday, and vowed to address d ramatic overcrowding on island camps and the increasing number of new arrivals. Residents and business owners on the islands of Lesbos, Chios and Samos have held two days of protests and went on strike to demand that the government tackle severe overcrowding at migrant camps that are all grossly over capacity. Local mayors and the regional governor traveled to Athens to meet with Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis Thursday to press their demands.
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| Top UN official says Myanmar must follow order on Rohingya Posted: 23 Jan 2020 05:10 AM PST ![Top UN official says Myanmar must follow order on Rohingya]( "Top UN official says Myanmar must follow order on Rohingya") A top United Nations official who deals with human rights in Myanmar said Thursday that the international community must continue to put pressure on the Southeast Asian nation to follow any decision by the International Court of Justice regarding its treatment of minority Rohingya Muslims. U.N. Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee spoke in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, ahead of the court's verdict in The Hague, Netherlands. The court read its verdict later Thursday, ordering Myanmar take all measures in its power to prevent genocide against the Rohingya.
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| US expects UK trade deal 'this year': Mnuchin Posted: 23 Jan 2020 05:02 AM PST  US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday said a post-Brexit trade deal between the United States and Britain was a top priority and he expected such an agreement by the end of the year. The top US economic official made his comments before heading to London to lay out ways the two countries could reach a quick accord after the UK leaves the EU on January 31. Responding to Mnuchin's remarks, the spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson declined to offer a timetable.
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| U.S. extradition battle over Huawei's Meng ends first phase but Canada court fight continues Posted: 23 Jan 2020 04:48 AM PST  The first phase of battle over whether Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou should be extradited to the United States wrapped up on Thursday after four days, with lawyers for Meng challenging prosecution claims that her alleged actions are a crime in Canada. In a Vancouver courtroom, lawyers for Meng opposed the Canadian prosecutor's arguments saying her alleged actions are not a crime in Canada because the charges of bank fraud are dependent on violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. Canada had no sanctions against Iran when the extradition process began.
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| Top UN court rules that Myanmar must prevent genocide of Rohingya minority Posted: 23 Jan 2020 04:39 AM PST  The U.N.'s International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Myanmar must "take all measures within its power" to prevent the genocide of its embattled Rohingya minority Thursday, in a move hailed by human rights groups. The Gambia, a small West African country, filed the lawsuit against Myanmar in November on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a coalition of countries with significant Muslim populations, asking the ICJ to investigate whether Myanmar's government has violated the Geneva Convention. The Court also ruled that Myanmar must take measures to present the destruction of evidence and ensure that its military and any militia units do not commit any acts that serve as "direct and public incitement to genocide." The Rohingya, a Muslim-majority ethnic minority, "remain extremely vulnerable" and were at "serious risk of genocide," the ruling judges added.
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| The daily business briefing: January 23, 2020 Posted: 23 Jan 2020 04:36 AM PST ![The daily business briefing: January 23, 2020]( "The daily business briefing: January 23, 2020") 1.Concerns about China's coronavirus outbreak continued to weigh on global markets on Thursday as health officials scrambled to contain the pneumonia-like virus' spread. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down while those of the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were flat. Asian and European shares slipped. The death toll from the virus has risen to 17 with cases now reported in several countries. Chinese authorities have placed residents in Wuhan, a city of 11 million that is the epicenter of the virus, under a travel ban, with the restrictions promptly expanded to two nearby cities. The World Health Organization is holding an emergency meeting on Wednesday on whether to declare a global health emergency like the 2003 SARS outbreak. [CNBC, The Associated Press] 2.In a victory for fossil fuel producers and real estate developers, the Trump administration on Thursday will remove an Obama-era regulation that protected 60 percent of the country's waterways. Under President Trump's new rule, landowners will be able to dump pollutants, including fertilizers and pesticides, into waterways and destroy wetlands for construction projects, The New York Times reported Wednesday. Trump called the regulation — which he likely encountered as a real estate developer and golf course owner — "horrible" and "destructive," and repealed it in September. The Trump administration has eliminated or weakened dozens of environmental regulations and laws, including those that protect endangered species and combat pollution. [The New York Times] 3.A United Nations report released Wednesday concluded with "medium to high confidence" that an account belonging to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman infected Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos' phone with malware, allowing the theft of a massive amount of data. The crown prince reportedly sent the world's richest man an infected video link over WhatsApp after the two exchanged contact information on bin Salman's tour of the U.S. in early 2018. The U.N. investigators called for further investigation, saying the alleged hacking appeared to have been part of an effort by Saudi Arabia to "influence, if not silence" The Washington Post's reporting on the kingdom. Saudi Arabia has previously denied targeting Bezos' phone. An investigation by experts hired by Bezos also concluded Riyadh was likely responsible. [The Associated Press, The Washington Post] 4.Arizona's largest utility provider announced Wednesday that it will phase out coal power just after the end of the decade. The company, Arizona Public Service Co., currently relies on its coal-fired Four Corners Power and Cholla Power plants for 22 percent of its electricity production. Cholla is scheduled to close in 2025. Four Corners previously was supposed to shut down in 2038, but APS said Wednesday it had moved up the closure to 2031. CEO Jeff Guldner said the company would completely shift to carbon-free power by 2050. The U.S. is the second biggest emissions producer in the world, with a quarter of the pollution coming from energy production. [AZ Central] 5.Amazon filed a motion Wednesday asking a court to halt a $10 billion cloud computing deal between the Defense Department and Microsoft. Amazon wants the court to keep the deal from going through while it challenges the contract. Amazon was an early favorite to get the job, known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud, or JEDI, which aims to give members of the military better access to data and technology in remote areas. Amazon Web Services, the company's cloud division, said it is "common practice" to delay contracts when a protest is pending. The company, which has accused President Trump of anti-Amazon bias, said "numerous evaluation errors and blatant political interference" affected the decision on the JEDI contract. [Reuters]More stories from theweek.com Democrats walked right into Mitch McConnell's trap 5 brutally funny cartoons about Mitch McConnell's impeachment rules Virologist who helped identify SARS on coronavirus outbreak: 'This time I'm scared'
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| Lebanon’s New Government Is Set Up to Fail Posted: 23 Jan 2020 04:32 AM PST ![Lebanon's New Government Is Set Up to Fail]( "Lebanon's New Government Is Set Up to Fail") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- After more than three months of political wrangling amid the backdrop of massive street protests, Lebanon finally has a new government. But the cabinet assembled by Prime Minister Hassan Diab, almost entirely composed of Hezbollah's allies, is unlikely to succeed.Indeed, it may have been set up to fail by its own backers.Hezbollah cannot be comfortable with an arrangement that puts it—along with its Maronite allies in the Free Patriotic Movement—front and center of the new government. The Iran-backed group has historically preferred a time-tested arrangement of power without responsibility: its rivals nominally ran the government, but allowed Hezbollah to maintain its independent militia and to exercise its will on all issues it deemed crucial.In the new setup, Hezbollah finds itself in the unfamiliar position of responsibility. This means it risks being directly blamed for the state's dysfunction, which it can do very little to fix.Even most credible and competent government, with full public support, would be hard-pressed to deal with Lebanon's multiple crises, especially with a looming default on bond payments. The lira has collapsed in value and banks have been forced to restrict the ability of ordinary account holders to withdraw their money, particularly in U.S. dollars. Basic services are moribund. The supply of electricity has become intermittent, and a telecommunications crisis, including Internet outages, seems probable.Diab's government was born under a bad sign—several bad signs, in fact. His nomination was met with intense opposition from the protesters, and this has grown even more intense since the 20-member cabinet was announced. It is also politically lop-sided: instead of the traditional blend of pro- and anti-Hezbollah factions, Diab is banking on only one side of the Lebanese equation.Worse, the formation of the cabinet was midwifed by discredited political figures closely associated with the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, including Jamil Al-Sayyed, who was driven out of the political centerstage after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. If the growing Iranian influence in Beirut wasn't bad enough, many Lebanese will be even more alarmed and dismayed by the return of Syrian leverage in their country's politics.It is certain to inflame the protesters, who for months have been demanding radical reforms and denouncing the entire social and political elite of the country. One of their few clear demands has been for a technocratic government of experts rather than political cronies. Diab claims to have assembled exactly such a "rescue squad," but in fact his cabinet is almost composed mainly of political operatives or their proxies. Not even the large number of women in prominent roles will buy him much credibility on the street.Nor can Diab expect much foreign help in bailing Lebanon out of its financial problems. The U.S. and Europe will be very cautious in providing aid to a pro-Hezbollah government. Diab says he's headed to the Gulf Arab states soon, but they too will be uncomfortable with a pro-Iranian militia calling the shots in Beirut.None of this can have escaped the attention of Hezbollah and its allies: They must know that this government cannot last very long. But they did not have a better option.All political elites have been discomfited by the protests but Hezbollah stood to lose more than most from real reform. Setting Diab up for failure is the first step in a process that, it hopes, will restore the status quo. This has been Hezbollah's goal since the protests began last fall. Its ideal outcome was for former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who resigned in October, to return to the job.Now, Hezbollah is likely calculating that once Diab fails, it can step forward and propose, in the name of national unity, the reinstatement of Hariri, or the elevation of another politician acceptable to the international community—who would allow things to go back to the way they used to be.The main obstacle to this will probably be the protesters, who may well hold out for a more thorough-going reform of Lebanon's political structures and traditions. If so, Hezbollah will have to offer something more substantial than Diab's government as a sacrificial lamb.To contact the author of this story: Hussein Ibish at hussein.ibish@gmail.comTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Bobby Ghosh at aghosh73@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Hussein Ibish is a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. 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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