| RPT-U.N. aviation agency ICAO advises Pakistan to suspend issuance of new pilot licenses Posted: 24 Sep 2020 04:30 PM PDT |
| They said it: Leaders at the virtual UN, in their own words Posted: 24 Sep 2020 04:05 PM PDT  Here, The Associated Press takes the opposite approach and spotlights some thoughts you might not have heard — the voices of leaders speaking at the first all-virtual U.N. General Assembly leaders meeting who might not have captured the headlines and the airtime on Thursday, the third day of the 2020 debate. "It is beyond the shadow of doubt that the United Nations remains more relevant now than it was 75 years ago."
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| Africa's week in pictures: 18 - 24 September 2020 Posted: 24 Sep 2020 04:05 PM PDT  A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent and beyond.
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| Zimbabwe leader tells UN that sanctions hurt development Posted: 24 Sep 2020 03:30 PM PDT  Zimbabwe's leader on Thursday appealed at the United Nations for support to end Western sanctions, saying that they set back development goals.
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| Malaysia's Political Jockeying Is a Distraction Posted: 24 Sep 2020 03:00 PM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Once a bastion of political stability in a troubled region, Malaysia faces the prospect of its third government in little more than six months. A war of attrition over the premiership is the last thing the country needs.Gross domestic product shrank 17.1% in the second quarter, the worst performance in East Asia, and deflation is taking root. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin came to power in March, just as the pandemic began rippling through the region. His support never looked very solid. That shaky backdrop has opened the door for the latest leadership challenge. On Wednesday, Anwar Ibrahim, a one-time establishment insider now heading up the opposition, shocked investors by asserting he has more than enough votes in parliament to command a majority and oust Muhyiddin. While Anwar's announcement hasn't been matched by public declarations of support, it was jarring enough to push stocks lower and nudge the currency to a two-week low. The premier says he isn't going anywhere and is focused on trying to contain Covid-19 and lift the economy out of a historic recession — effectively challenging Anwar to put up or shut up. There's no denying Anwar has come close to the apex of power in Malaysia in the past, only to stumble, or get tripped, before the finish line. With an abundance of salon intrigue, the political class at times appears out to lunch on basic governing needs. Within Muhyiddin's camp, backers have engaged in public spats about who gets to contest electoral districts and which supporters get plum public-sector jobs. Four stimulus packages have been passed mostly by decree; other critical things like raising the debt ceiling need legislation. Demonstrating a working majority is critical, but Muhyiddin's is so thin he appears wary of risking a public vote.It wasn't always this way. For most of its six decades of nationhood, the country was able to steer a middle ground in Southeast Asia. One coalition ruled for most of that time and returned at regular elections. By contrast, neighboring Indonesia has been prone to epic crackups that degenerate into communal violence. In Thailand, the military regularly installs and sacks cabinets, and Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines was able to seize power and rule as an autocrat for years before getting overthrown. Now, power in Malaysia risks falling into a disturbing pattern: a few lawmakers switch sides and unseat governments outside of elections.That's what Anwar's gambit would mean. Neither he nor Muhyiddin want the stalemate broken by the monarch — whose role is largely ceremonial — dissolving parliament and calling a fresh election. Each man worries that he would lose. Provincial balloting this weekend in Sabah is the next potential trip wire; the northeastern Borneo state is one of the few local administrations not allied to Muhyiddin's bloc. The return of the state government would be seen as a rebuff of the prime minister and, in theory, a plus for Anwar.The fractured nature of the opposition is also part of the story here. Before March, Anwar looked on course to assume the premiership later this year, such was the gentleman's agreement with then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The two had history: Back in the 1990s, Anwar was also heir apparent to Mahathir, when both held office under a different political grouping, the Barisan Nasional, which had run the country since independence. But Anwar fell out with Mahathir and was jailed. The two men reconciled and united to defeat Barisan, which they claimed had succumbed to graft. Najib Razak, the last Barisan leader to occupy the premier's job, was convicted and sentenced to prison for his role in the 1MDB saga. (Najib has appealed.) The terms of the Mahathir-Anwar peace treaty were that Mahathir, now in his 90s, would stand aside for Anwar after a few years. They could never fully reconcile, however. Their supporters split, enabling Muhyiddin to ascend. Anwar is on the outside wanting desperately back in; Mahathir says he'll wait and see how things pan out.This isn't just a storm within the ethnic Malay community, which has long formed the backbone of politics and policy. The region has much at stake in Malaysian stability. The nation is a major exporter of electronics and tied intimately to the global economic cycle. It sits astride the vital sea lanes of the Straits of Malacca and is one of the claimants on tracts of the South China Sea.Consistency and continuity count for a lot in such a diverse corner of the world. Unfortunately, these virtues tend to get noticed only once they are gone. Soon after Muhyiddin was installed in March, I wrote that Malaysia's politics had come to resemble the divisions over faith, ethnicity and urban-rural cleavage that characterized Brexit and Donald Trump. Malaysia can do better. Considering his reputation as a reformer and champion of civil society, so can Anwar.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Daniel Moss is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian economies. Previously he was executive editor of Bloomberg News for global economics, and has led teams in Asia, Europe and North America.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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| Putin joins Trump as Nobel Peace Prize candidate: report Posted: 24 Sep 2020 02:52 PM PDT  Russian leader Vladimir Putin has reportedly joined President Trump as a dark horse candidate for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. According to Newsweek, the state-owned Russian news agency Tass made the announcement and insisted the Russian government wasn't responsible for nominating its own strongman. A collective of Russian public figures including writer Sergey Komkov were reportedly behind Putin's nomination.
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| U.N. aviation agency ICAO advises Pakistan to suspend issuance of new pilot licenses Posted: 24 Sep 2020 02:31 PM PDT |
| US hits Iran court, judges with sanctions over wrestler Posted: 24 Sep 2020 02:24 PM PDT  The Trump administration on Thursday hit an Iranian revolutionary court and several judges with sanctions in part for their role in the conviction and execution of a young wrestler. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo imposed the sanctions on two judges with Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz as well as three prisons where he said human rights abuses were rampant. Pompeo said Judge Seyyed Mahmoud Sadati was being hit for his involvement in the case of 27-year-old wrestler Navid Afkari who was executed earlier this month despite worldwide appeals for clemency, including from President Donald Trump.
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| UK plans 'Magnitsky'-style sanctions against officials in Belarus Posted: 24 Sep 2020 02:04 PM PDT  Dominic Raab announces move against those responsible for rigged ballot and suppressing protestsThe UK is drawing up "Magnitsky"-style human rights sanctions against officials in Belarus responsible for administering the rigged re-election of president Alexander Lukashenko or directing the violent suppression of subsequent street protests.The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said on Thursday that he will introduce the sanctions in conjunction with the US and Canada, reiterating that Lukashenko's election on 9 August could not be regarded as legitimate.Efforts by the European Union to impose sanctions have been held up by Cyprus's refusal to endorse the move unless sanctions are imposed on Turkey in a separate dispute over drilling rights in the east Mediterranean. The delay has been a humiliation to the EU's efforts to project a coherent foreign policy.Lukashenko was sworn for a sixth term in office on Wednesday in a ceremony without announcements or publicity – apparently in an effort to avoid it becoming a magnet for protesters. Opposition leaders and European politicians immediately denounced his inauguration as illegitimate.Raab told MPs: "We do not accept the results of this rigged election. Second, we condemn the thuggery deployed against the Belarussian people." He said the violence being used by the state was brazen.He added it is "absolutely critical" that those responsible are held to account, explaining: "We are willing to join the EU in adopting targeted sanctions against those responsible for the violence, the repression and the vote-rigging, although the EU process has now been delayed in Brussels."Given that delay, given [Lukashenko's] fraudulent inauguration, I have directed the FCDO [Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office] sanction team to prepare Magnitsky sanctions for those responsible for the serious human rights violations and we're co-ordinating with the United States and Canada to prepare appropriate listings as a matter of urgency."He also said he was releasing £1.5m cash over two years primarily to help local journalists and civil society in Belarus report on the street protests and its violent repression. The UK has already demanded an Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe investigation into the ballot rigging that saw British embassy officials blocked from observing an election that Lukashenko claimed he had won with 80% of the vote.Raab did not say whether the sanctions will hit Lukashenko himself, but the draft EU list covered 20 other officials. Germany has argued lines need to be kept open to the ageing president, but the Lithuanian foreign minister, Linas Linkevičius has personally lobbied Raab in London to include Lukashenko, saying an asset freeze did not preclude holding talks.Lithuania has become the home for much of the Belarus opposition that has been driven out of their country.Raab said the relationship between Lukashenko and the Russian president, Vladimir, Putin is nuanced, but warned it was important not to see Belarus driven under Russia's complete predatory control.Previous sanctions against Belarus security officials were lifted in 2016.Raab said he had told Germany and France about the UK's opposition to Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia but, so far, Germany's foreign office has opposed the suspension of its completion, arguing that many contacts have already been signed.
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| Trump blasted for suggesting he might not honor vote Posted: 24 Sep 2020 01:59 PM PDT  Top Republicans and Democrats pushed back hard Thursday against President Donald Trump's suggestion he might not accept defeat in the November election, warning him the United States was not "North Korea."
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| Trump cuts aid for pro-democracy groups in Belarus, Hong Kong and Iran Posted: 24 Sep 2020 01:40 PM PDT  Open Technology Fund, which helped activists evade state surveillance and sidestep web censorship, sees $20m grant pulledThe Trump administration has stopped vital technical assistance to pro-democracy groups in Belarus, Hong Kong and Iran, which had helped activists evade state surveillance and sidestep internet censorship.The Open Technology Fund (OTF) has had to stop all its operations in Belarus, and many of its activities supporting civil society in Hong Kong and Iran, because a congressionally-mandated grant of nearly $20m has been withheld by a new Trump appointee, Michael Pack.The OTF is a small non-profit organisation that develops technologies for evading cyber-surveillance and for circumventing internet and radio blackouts imposed by authoritarian regimes. It provides daily help to pro-democracy movements in installing and maintaining them, with the aim of staying at least one step ahead of the state.The chair of the OTF board, Karen Kornbluh, said the end of funding from the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which Pack has been running since June, would mean that activists living under repressive regimes were at increased risk."They are more vulnerable," Kornbluh told the Guardian. "It means from a US perspective, it's really undermining this core tool that we have for protecting democratic values and protecting those who are seeking their freedoms overseas."She added the freeze also meant that the populations in those countries will find it harder to listen to the Voice of America, the USAGM's flagship broadcaster, and USAGM-funded stations like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia, because it would be more difficult to overcome state jamming methods."We have these agencies and we're kneecapping them," said Kornbluh, a former US ambassador and now director of the digital innovation and democracy initiative at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.Pack had agreed over a month ago to appear before the House foreign affairs committee on Thursday, but cancelled with a few days notice and then ignored a committee subpoena to attend.Since taking over USAGM in June, Pack – an ally of the rightwing ideologue and former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon – purged all the top management and boards of the broadcasters under its control, froze spending, and elevated the profile of pro-administration comment in relation to news.Kornbluh and former USAGM officials testifying before the foreign affairs committee described a climate of chaos and creeping authoritarianism at the agency that was sapping the credibility of VOA, RFE/RL and other US broadcasters, with consequences for US national security.They also said Pack was endangering journalists by refusing to renew the visas for foreign journalists working for VOA, leading to their deportation, potentially to countries where they could be at risk.In some cases, the management has intervened with US immigration and citizenship services to prevent the journalists from securing other visas, and even bought unsolicited tickets home for VOA reporters."They want to demonstrate that as many people as possible are returning back to their countries," one of the affected VOA journalists said. "I feel like we serve his purpose of America First, foreigners out, media are bad. I would never expect that from a democracy."Pack claimed to have an administrative meeting on Thursday which meant he could not attend the congressional hearing, but the committee chair, Eliot Engel, noted that the USAGM meeting appeared to have been called long after Pack first agreed to appear in Congress.Pack's office has suggested that visas and funds were frozen over security concerns, but Kornbluh denied allegations that OTF staff used Zoom and were careless with computer drives. The Fund staff do not use Zoom and uses for the cloud rather than physical drives for storage, she said.Last month, OTF took USAGM to court, resulting in the reinstatement of Kornbluh and its president Laura Cunningham, who Pack had sought to purge, but the congressionally-approved funds have still not been unblocked.Witnesses at Thursday's hearing said Pack's motives for hollowing out the agency were unclear. The USAGM did not respond to a request for comment.In an interview with the rightwing Federalist blog last month, Pack claimed that a dispute over vetting procedures meant that the VOA could be infiltrated by foreign intelligence agencies, suggesting that being a journalist was "a great cover for a spy".At Thursday's committee hearing, Pack was lambasted for echoing the language authoritarian regimes use to justify imprisoning journalists."To assert that spies from foreign intelligence agencies have infiltrated the establishment," Ryan Crocker, a former USAGM board member. "Not only does it discredit our reputation for honesty, it puts everyone out there in the field at danger."Grant Turner, the former chief financial officer and acting USAGM CEO said that Pack's funding freeze had created chaos. At one point, he said there was no money in the agency headquarters to buy toilet roll."Nothing in my 17 years [of government experience] comes even close to the gross mismanagement, the abuse of authority, the violations of law, that have occurred since Michael Pack assumed the role of CEO at USAGM," Turner told the committee.
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| Trump promotes health care 'vision' but gaps remain Posted: 24 Sep 2020 01:25 PM PDT  More than three-and-a-half years into his presidency and 40 days from an election, President Donald Trump on Thursday launched what aides termed a "vision" for health care heavy on unfulfilled aspirations. "This is affirmed, signed, and done, so we can put that to rest," Trump said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissively said Trump's "bogus executive order on pre-existing conditions isn't worth the paper it's signed on."
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| Seeking deeper emissions cuts, U.N. and Britain plan December climate summit Posted: 24 Sep 2020 01:07 PM PDT |
| Democrats to redraft virus relief in bid to jump-start talks Posted: 24 Sep 2020 12:44 PM PDT  House Democrats are going back to the drawing board on a huge COVID-19 relief bill, paring back the measure in an attempt to jump-start negotiations with the Trump administration. Bridging the overall topline gulf would be difficult enough, but fleshing out hundreds of legislative details at the height of the presidential campaign and a heated battle over filling Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat on the High Court could be impossible. The aide requested anonymity to characterize the closed-door talks.
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| Biden's Scranton vs. Park Ave. appeal targets working class Posted: 24 Sep 2020 12:36 PM PDT  Joe Biden stood on the floor of a Wisconsin aluminum plant this week, shed the trappings of his decades in national politics and then took aim at the billionaire New Yorker he wants to evict from the Oval Office. "I've dealt with guys like Donald Trump my whole life, who would look down on us because we didn't have a lot of money or your parents didn't go to college," Biden said, recalling his boyhood roots. Biden has long cultivated his persona as "Middle-Class Joe" with "hardscrabble" roots, but as he turns to the closing stretch of his third presidential bid, the Scranton, Pennsylvania, native is personalizing his pitch as he tries to undercut one of the president's core strengths.
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| Microsoft supports commission calling for re-establishment of US cyber czar Posted: 24 Sep 2020 12:30 PM PDT |
| Putin’s Troll Farm Busted Running Sprawling Network of Facebook Pages Posted: 24 Sep 2020 12:16 PM PDT  Facebook booted three troll networks linked to Russian intelligence and the St. Petersburg-based troll farm involved in meddling in the 2016 election.Nathan Gleicher, Facebook's head of security, told reporters in a press conference that the three networks mainly focused on audiences and issues outside of the U.S. presidential election but that the company had suspended them now out of an abundance of caution because they "could pivot to support a hack-and-leak operation" in the future.While Facebook hasn't seen any evidence that Russia's intelligence services planned to use the suspended networks to amplify hacked content in a hack-and-leak operation, the potential remained an "important risk we should all be watching for in the weeks to come," according to Gleicher.Leaked Documents Show Russian Trolls Tried to Infiltrate Left-Wing MediaThe three networks used Facebook primarily as a means to amplify content from off-platform websites, and to find and recruit authentic and unwitting people to help hype their propaganda, many of them journalists.The first network, linked by Facebook to Russian military intelligence, consisted of a cluster of "214 Facebook accounts, 35 Pages, 18 Groups and 34 Instagram accounts," according to the company, and focused on the "Syrian civil war, Turkish domestic politics, geopolitical issues in the Asia-Pacific region, NATO, the war in Ukraine, and politics in the Baltics, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and the US."Another smaller network involved 5 Facebook accounts, a page, a group, and three Instagram accounts centered around a fictitious Turkey-based think tank dubbed "United World International." Facebook found the group after a tip from the FBI and linked the group to previous activity associated with the Internet Research Agency (IRA). Gleicher told reporters that the company chose to attribute the network to previous IRA activity because it's "not clear whether today if the IRA is still active or if it is in what form."The final network centered around the Strategic Culture Foundation, a Moscow-based think tank that has long been suspected to be a front for Russian intelligence, and similar outlets. In a State Department report released in August, the department's Global Engagement Center described the Strategic Culture Foundation as "an online journal registered in Russia that is directed by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and closely affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs."She Was Tricked by Russian Trolls—and It Derailed Her LifeFacebook appeared to agree with that assessment and described the Facebook assets used by the Strategic Culture Foundation to be linked to Russian nationals, including "those associated with Russian intelligence services."Thursday's move follows a similar announcement from Facebook in August when it suspended another Russian-linked disinformation effort after a tip from the FBI. Law enforcement told the social media company that PeaceData, a news site which purported to be a Romania-based publication focused on anti-corruption and human rights, was a Russian intelligence front. A subsequent Facebook investigation found that the company was linked to the Internet Research Agency, the St. Petersburg-based troll farm responsible for much of Russia's 2016 election meddling.Much like the networks suspended on Thursday, PeaceData relied on unwitting Western journalists in order to amplify their content. Trolls posing as PeaceData editors pitched left-leaning freelancers and encouraged them to re-publish content written for the site at other, more established outlets in an apparent bid to increase their name recognition and legitimacy.According to a Washington Post report, the CIA has concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "probably directing" an influence campaign to damage Vice President Joe Biden's chances in the 2020 election. Earlier this month, the Treasury Department sanctioned Ukrainain member of parliament Andrii Derkach, who has been providing dirt on Biden's son Hunter to a Republican-led Senate investigation, for "attempting to influence the U.S. electoral process."President Donald Trump and his aides, however, have tried to downplay the aggressive role that the intelligence community and other agencies say Russia is trying to play in the 2020 election.Shortly after FBI Director Christopher Wray testified that Moscow was engaged in "very active efforts" to influence the election, Trump berated Wray in a tweet claiming, without evidence, that Beijing was far more involved in meddling. "But Chris, you don't see any activity from China, even though it is a FAR greater threat than Russia, Russia, Russia," he wrote.It's a claim that top Trump aides, including National Security Adviser Robert C O'Brien, Attorney General Bill Barr, and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe have echoed but declined to substantiate.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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| Trump Campaign Uses Russian Footage in Ad—Again Posted: 24 Sep 2020 12:07 PM PDT  An advertisement for President Donald Trump's reelection campaign emphasizes that he is the only candidate whose economic plan will be "made in the USA"—but part of the ad itself was made in Russia.Eight seconds into Trump's latest ad boosting his work on the economy, wordily titled "We built the greatest economy in world history and now we're doing it again!", the spot cuts from standard images of factory workers in hard hats and children playing in fields to a conveyor belt with cardboard boxes digitally superimposed with the label "MADE IN USA."That animation, according to a review of Shutterstock, was actually made—along with "MADE IN IRAN" and "MADE IN UAE" versions—by Russia-based photographer and illustrator Novikov Aleksey.The Trump campaign, which did not respond to a request for comment about the source of the footage, has previously run into trouble with the use of B-roll in its digital and on-air advertisements. In the same advertisement as the Russia-sourced animation, Trump uses footage of an Illinois steel plant that laid off hundreds of workers in the spring, according to a report in Vice News.Earlier this month, an online advertisement that ran over the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and asked Americans to "support our troops" included stock footage and images of Russian fighter jets and military weapons. In August, the campaign used altered images of Democratic opponent Joe Biden to show him "isolated" in the "basement" of his home in DelawareRead 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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| AP Explains: Powerful grand juries stay shrouded in secrecy Posted: 24 Sep 2020 12:05 PM PDT  The announcement that no police officers would be charged in the death of Breonna Taylor threw a spotlight on the role of grand juries, which are shrouded in secrecy yet wield enormous power in courthouses across the U.S. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Wednesday that two officers who shot at 26-year-old Taylor after barging into her apartment on a warrant were justified because Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, had fired one shot at them. The grand jury did charge another officer, Brett Hankison, with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing shots that went into another home with people inside.
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| Kremlin critic Navalny's apartment seized, his aide says Posted: 24 Sep 2020 10:58 AM PDT |
| Trump's UN speech was a bizarre feat of gaslighting and fantasy Posted: 24 Sep 2020 10:33 AM PDT  It only made sense if you see the world as Trump does – a world where he can do no wrong, and completely divorced from facts Seventy-five years after its founding, the United Nations is facing an unprecedented challenge in helping countries respond to a devastating pandemic. And President Donald Trump – leader of the world's most powerful country, which helped establish the UN – is sabotaging efforts to collectively tackle the pandemic and other threats that the UN was created to solve.This year, the pandemic forced the UN to conduct diplomacy virtually. World leaders had to pre-record their speeches for the 75th general assembly, highlighting in stark fashion the grave challenges that all countries face today from Covid-19, as well as the tall task the UN has in marshaling an effective global coordination effort.Trump's pre-recorded speech was fitting for a president who has decimated US credibility like few of his predecessors: speaking into the void, Trump spun a fantastical tale of a world in which the United States is leading the charge against all manner of evil, from the pandemic to China to Iran. Like much of Trump's rants on Twitter or on stage, his speech to the UN only made sense if you see the world as Trump does – a world where he can do no wrong, and completely divorced from the facts.The facts, unfortunately, show a president who has exacerbated multiple crises roiling his own country, and who has made the world a more dangerous place.Trump has purposely downplayed the pandemic and its deadliness – despite knowing better – and has refused to appropriately prepare and respond to the crisis. As a result, more than 200,000 Americans so far have died – more than 20% of the world's recorded deaths from Covid-19 come from America, which has roughly 4% of the world's population. And while the pandemic continues to kill Americans and people around the world, Trump's administration has refused to participate in global efforts to fight the pandemic, whether in the World Health Organization or through collaborative efforts with other countries to develop and distribute a vaccine.When it comes to China, Trump has only weakened America's ability to address the real challenges that China poses. Instead of working with allies to pressure China over its trade practices, human rights abuses, or military aggression, Trump has alienated America's allies. He launched a trade war that cost American jobs. He has withdrawn American leadership – from the UN, from the WHO, and other efforts to build and enforce norms that protect America – allowing China's global influence to grow. And Trump has repeatedly sacrificed America's interests to China in favor of helping himself, including by asking China's President Xi Jinping to interfere in US politics to advantage Trump politically.Trump, amazingly, attempted to claim that he has a good record on the environment, while the reality is that his administration has intentionally reversed gains America has made in recent years in combating climate change. From announcing that America would leave the Paris climate agreement to rolling back myriad regulations aimed at reducing carbon emissions, Trump has set the world back in its efforts to solve the planet's most existential crisis.Trump's Iran policy has been counterproductive and dangerous. To kick off UN general assembly week, Trump's top cabinet officials announced new sanctions on Iran, and in the process reminded everyone just how isolated the United States is when it comes to Iran. America's own allies – the UK, France, and Germany – responded to the latest Trump sanctions by noting that America was no longer a member of the nuclear deal, and therefore could not invoke the deal's terms to impose "snapback" sanctions. Since withdrawing the United States from the deal that stopped Iran's nuclear weapons program, Iran has accelerated its program in ways that the nuclear deal had halted.In today's world, countries must partner to solve shared challenges. The United Nations and other multilateral organizations are where America can rally the world to take concrete action, whether it's to reduce carbon emissions or to pressure China over its human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. The American people recognize this reality – a recent poll by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs reported that 62% of Americans believe that "the coronavirus outbreak has made it clear that it is more important for the United States to coordinate and collaborate with other countries to solve global issues."Instead of using these institutions to America's advantage, Trump has attempted to tear them down, from announcing the withdrawal of the US from the WHO in the middle of a pandemic to removing the US from the Global Migration Compact amid the worst displaced persons crisis ever, to name just a couple of examples.People around the world don't trust Trump or Trump's America. A recent Pew Research Center poll made clear that, in many countries considered America's closest friends, "the share of the public with a favorable view of the US is as low as it has been at any point since the Center began polling on this topic nearly two decades ago", and Trump has a lower approval rating than both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. When the world doesn't respect or trust America, others won't work with America in pursuing its goals.The pandemic could not be a more striking illustration of how desperately the world needs a robust UN. And the consequences of the Trump administration's rejection of multilateralism and undermining of America's credibility abroad is a powerful reminder that principled American leadership in the UN and international bodies is essential to solving our greatest challenges.
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| ‘You are not in North Korea’: Pelosi blasts Trump over refusal to promise peaceful transfer of power Posted: 24 Sep 2020 10:27 AM PDT  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reminded President Trump on Thursday that he's "not in North Korea" after he refused to promise that there'll be a peaceful transition of power in the event he loses the election in November. In a press conference on Capitol Hill, Pelosi called Trump's dithering on the fundamental issue "very sad" and noted that he often offers praise for the authoritarian leaders of North Korea, Russia and Turkey. "But I remind him: You are not in North Korea, you are not in Turkey, you are not in Russia, Mr. President, and, by the way, you are not in Saudi Arabia," she said.
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| At UN, China, Russia and US clash over pandemic responses Posted: 24 Sep 2020 10:09 AM PDT  The United States butted heads with China and Russia at the United Nations on Thursday over responsibility for the pandemic that has interrupted the world, trading allegations about who mishandled and politicized the virus in one of the few real-time exchanges among top officials at this year's COVID-distanced U.N. General Assembly meeting. The remarks at the U.N. Security Council's ministerial meeting on the assembly's sidelines came just after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres decried the lack of international cooperation in tackling the still "out-of-control" coronavirus. The sharp exchanges, at the end of a virtual meeting on "Post COVID-19 Global Governance," reflected the deep divisions among the three veto-wielding council members that have escalated since the virus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in January.
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| If world handles climate like COVID-19, U.N. chief says: 'I fear the worst' Posted: 24 Sep 2020 09:58 AM PDT |
| Hermès to Sell Special United Nations Tie Posted: 24 Sep 2020 09:57 AM PDT |
| Yemen's president urges Houthis to allow humanitarian aid Posted: 24 Sep 2020 09:25 AM PDT  Yemen's embattled and exiled president on Thursday urged his government's rival, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, to stop impeding the flow of urgently needed humanitarian aid following a warning from the U.N. humanitarian chief last week that "the specter of famine" has returned to the conflict-torn country. President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's plea came in a prerecorded speech to the U.N. General Assembly's ministerial meeting being held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It aired more than a week after Human Rights Watch warned that all sides in Yemen's conflict were interfering with the arrival of food, health care supplies, water and sanitation support.
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| Crowd jeers as Trump pays respects at court to Ginsburg Posted: 24 Sep 2020 09:23 AM PDT  President Donald Trump was booed Thursday as he paid respects to late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The president and first lady Melania Trump — both wearing masks — stood silently at the top of the steps of the court and looked down at Ginsburg's flag-draped coffin, which was surrounded by white flowers. Ginsburg's death has sparked a controversy over the political balance of the court just weeks before the November presidential election.
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| UN official: Bosnia authorities expose migrants to suffering Posted: 24 Sep 2020 09:22 AM PDT  SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — With harsh weather fast approaching, the number of migrants and refugees who are sleeping rough in Bosnia keeps rising because of the persistent refusal by authorities at different levels of government in the country to coordinate their work and embrace "rational" solutions, a U.N. migration official said Thursday. Peter Van der Auweraert, the Western Balkans coordinator and Bosnia representative of the International Organization for Migration, told The Associated Press that instead of helping the U.N. agency to expand accommodation for migrants, some local authorities in the country are now even restricting access to housing that is already available. Of around 8,500 migrants stuck in Bosnia, 2,500 are forced to sleep outside "in squats, forests, streets (and) abandoned buildings," mostly in the northwestern Krajina region, which shares a highly porous 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) border with European Union member Croatia.
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| UAE, Israeli cyber chiefs discuss joining forces to combat common threats Posted: 24 Sep 2020 09:05 AM PDT  The establishment of formal Israel-UAE ties over the last month - spurred in part by common worries about Iran - unleashed a flurry of bilateral deals, including on cyber technologies, Israeli exports of which were valued at $6.5 billion in 2019. "We are threatened by the same threats ... because of the nature of the region, because of the nature of our new, 'outed' relations and because of who we are - strong economically and technologically," Igal Unna, head of Israel's National Cyber Directorate, told UAE counterpart Mohamed al-Kuwaiti in an online conference.
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| Ministers 'seek alternatives' for UK sat-nav Posted: 24 Sep 2020 09:05 AM PDT  The government says it is after all ideas for a sovereign satellite-navigation system post-Brexit.
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| At UN, Africa urges fiscal help against virus 'apocalypse' Posted: 24 Sep 2020 09:04 AM PDT  African nations came out swinging on the third day of the United Nations annual gathering of world leaders Thursday, calling for dramatic fiscal measures to help economies survive the coronavirus pandemic — which one leader called the "fifth horseman of the apocalypse." Africa's 54 countries estimate they need $100 billion in support annually for the next three years, pointing out that it's a fraction of the trillions of dollars some richer countries are using to revive their economies. As some world powers go their own way during the crisis — what Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa called "the blind pursuit of narrow interests" — the African nations that make up more than a quarter of U.N. members are leaning hard into multilateralism.
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| Trump niece files suit saying family cheated her of millions Posted: 24 Sep 2020 08:36 AM PDT  Donald Trump's niece followed up her best-selling, tell-all book with a lawsuit Thursday alleging that the president and two of his siblings cheated her out of millions of dollars over several decades while squeezing her out of the family business. Mary L. Trump sought unspecified damages in the lawsuit, filed in a state court in New York City. The lawsuit alleged the president, his brother Robert, and a sister, the former federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry, portrayed themselves as Mary Trump's protectors while secretly taking her share of minority interests in the family's extensive real estate holdings.
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| Carney backs call for climate risk to be baked into company financial accounts Posted: 24 Sep 2020 08:29 AM PDT |
| TVO Original Series ‘Striking Balance’ (Season 2) Invites Viewers to Explore Sustainable Communities and Economies in Canada’s Biosphere Reserves starting October 4 Posted: 24 Sep 2020 08:23 AM PDT |
| US envoy wants dialogue with Iran on Afghanistan Posted: 24 Sep 2020 08:19 AM PDT  The US negotiator on Afghanistan said Thursday he would welcome talks with Iran on ending the Afghan conflict, accusing Tehran of seeking to bog down its arch-enemy in its longest war.
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| Controversial UK bill threatens EU trade deal: Irish FM Posted: 24 Sep 2020 08:15 AM PDT  Ireland's foreign minister Simon Coveney on Thursday said Brussels will not rubberstamp an EU-UK trade agreement if London keeps threatening to breach its Brexit divorce deal.
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| In sign of frustration, US shortens sanctions waiver to Iraq Posted: 24 Sep 2020 08:06 AM PDT  The United States has extended a sanctions waiver that enables Iraq to continue importing gas from Iran but this time granting a significantly shorter waiver period, Iraqi officials and the U.S. State Department said Thursday. The development is a sign of unease in U.S.-Iraq relations amid near-daily attacks targeting American presence in the Mideast country and underscores the standing U.S. demand that Baghdad wean itself off dependence on Iranian oil.
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| AP-NORC poll: Support for racial injustice protests declines Posted: 24 Sep 2020 08:00 AM PDT  As the decision in Kentucky to bring charges against only one of three police officers involved in the raid that killed Breonna Taylor sparks renewed protests nationwide, a new survey finds support has fallen for demonstrations against systemic racism. The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 44% of Americans disapprove of protests in response to police violence against Black Americans, while 39% approve. The new survey was conducted Sept. 11-14, before Wednesday's announcement that a lone Louisville police officer would be charged in the Taylor case, but not for her actual death.
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| US parents delaying preschool and kindergarten amid pandemic Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:57 AM PDT  Claire Reagan was feeling overwhelmed as her oldest child's first day of kindergarten approached and with a baby on the way. "I was stressed about everything and then thought 'Why does he need to start kindergarten?' And it was like a weight was lifted," said Reagan, a 36-year-old high school teacher in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, Kansas. Thousands of parents around the U.S. have made similar decisions, having their children delay or skip kindergarten because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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| For North Korea, UN membership is a key link to larger world Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:47 AM PDT  To pay close attention to North Korean diplomacy is to notice the many ways it upends the stereotype of the isolated, nuclear-armed wildcard of Northeast Asia. Along with scattered embassies throughout the world, the North also has a permanent mission at the United Nations in New York, where one of its diplomats will dutifully, if virtually, join other world leaders speaking at the annual U.N. General Assembly. The United Nations makes a point of welcoming all nations, regardless of political persuasion.
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| The Latest: UN panel says corruption hits the poor hardest Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:25 AM PDT  A U.N. panel says tax abuse, corruption and money laundering are draining hundreds of billions of dollars from governments that could help the world's poor. A report from the high-level panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity published Thursday said governments can't agree on the problem or the solution. In addition, the panel estimated that $7 trillion in private wealth is hidden in tax haven countries, with 10% of world GDP held offshore, and that money laundering amounts to around $1.6 trillion per year, or 2.7% of global GDP.
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| Russia's season of war games unites West-weary allies Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:22 AM PDT  President Vladimir Putin will on Friday oversee massive military exercises as Russia stages a series of drills with China and other allies amid fresh tensions with the West.
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| Trump pays respects to late Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:19 AM PDT  President Donald Trump paid respects to late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Thursday morning, just two days before he announces his nominee to replace her on the high court. The president and first lady Melania Trump — both wearing masks — stood silently at the top of the steps of the court and looked down at Ginsburg's flag-draped coffin, surrounded by white flowers. The death of the liberal-leaning justice has sparked a controversy over the balance of the court just weeks before the November presidential election.
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| Kellogg Company Significantly Reduces Food Loss and Organic Waste Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:15 AM PDT  According to the United Nations World Food Programme, roughly one-third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. Through Kellogg's commitment to create Better Days for 3 billion people by the end of 2030, Kellogg today announced that since 2016, it has reduced its total organic waste by 13.4% and total waste per pound of food produced by 5.7%. Furthermore, in 2019, just 1.1% of food handled across its manufacturing operations went unused globally, which was provided to local food banks and farmers for animal feed.
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| Coronavirus corruption in Kenya: Officials and businesspeople targeted Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:13 AM PDT  Millions of dollars meant for buying Covid-19 medical supplies are alleged to have been misused.
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| Kenosha shooter's defense portrays him as 'American patriot' Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:08 AM PDT  The way lawyers for Kyle Rittenhouse tell it, he wasn't just a scared teenager acting in self-defense when he shot to death two Kenosha, Wisconsin, protesters. "They're playing to his most negative characteristics and stereotypes, what his critics want to perceive him as — a crazy militia member out to cause harm and start a revolution," said Robert Barnes, a prominent Los Angeles defense attorney.
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| U.S. renews waiver for Iraq to import Iranian energy, for 60 days Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:08 AM PDT |
| Australian offers free coffee, chat from his kitchen window Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:05 AM PDT  It all started when Rick Everett walked out of his home in Sydney and put up a sign on his kitchen window that read: "Free coffee to combat the virus." "Think of it as popping over to your mates for a coffee only it is a friend you have not met yet," he wrote on a sign.
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| Records: Mail delivery lags behind targets as election nears Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:01 AM PDT  The slice of Michigan that covers Detroit, its suburbs and towns dependent on the auto industry is coveted political terrain in one of this year's most important presidential swing states. It also has another distinction as home to one of the worst-performing U.S. Postal Service districts in the country. In Michigan and beyond, states are seeing record-breaking interest in mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic.
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| In Taylor case, limits of law overcome calls for justice Posted: 24 Sep 2020 06:57 AM PDT  "Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor" became a rallying cry this summer, emblazoned on T-shirts worn by celebrities and sports stars while protesters filled the streets demanding police accountability. In the end, none of the officers were charged with Taylor's killing, although one was indicted for shooting into a neighboring home that had people inside. The outcome demonstrates the vast disconnect between widespread public expectation of justice and the limits of the law when police use deadly force.
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