| 'What the hell were you thinking?': Trump berated White House staff for not telling him Putin was trying to call him Posted: 02 Jan 2020 01:06 PM PST  During a meeting with a foreign leader, Trump berated an adviser who told him that Putin had called days before. "Are you kidding me?" Trump said.
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| Hong Kong Rings in New Year With Tear Gas, Clashes in Downtown Posted: 01 Jan 2020 03:52 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong began 2020 with a familiar sight: Tear gas, fires, vandalism and roadblocks in busy downtown areas as protesters vowed to maintain their fight for more democracy and less Chinese control.Riot police battled demonstrators into the night after large crowds of mostly peaceful demonstrators flooded streets from Causeway Bay to Central. Tensions escalated after police abruptly ended the rally following clashes outside of a branch of HSBC Holdings Plc, which had recently become a target of protesters.By Thursday morning, the streets were largely back to normal although authorities warned that some downtown traffic lights weren't working properly and some ATMs were damaged. Organizers said more than a million people took part, while police said 60,000 showed up at the lawn area of Victoria Park where the march began -- a number that demonstrators disputed. At least 400 people were arrested, police said, adding that officers ordered the rally to disperse due to damage at a bank branch and the use of petrol bombs."Instead of celebrating New Year's Day like the rest of the world, we are out here in the streets fighting for our government to answer our demands," said Sarah, 28, as a crowd of black-clad protesters sang the anti-government anthem "Glory to Hong Kong.""We will keep coming out month after month, year after year because this isn't just about us -- it's about our children," she said. "This is our home and we are not giving up. We have to stand up against China and against dictatorship."HSBC Condemns Vandalism by Some Protesters: Hong Kong UpdateThe chaotic images mirrored those that have occurred dozens of times since the unrest broke out in June after the Beijing-backed local administration proposed a bill that would allow extraditions to China for the first time. While Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, has since withdrawn the legislation, she has refused to meet additional demands including an independent inquiry into police violence and direct leadership elections.The violence has pushed Hong Kong's economy into recession and forced the cancellation of numerous events, including an annual fireworks display on New Year's Eve. Lam said in a year-end video message that restoring social "order and harmony" should be the city's resolution for 2020, while President Xi Jinping defended China's system for running Hong Kong in an unusually high-profile acknowledgment of its political turmoil."Without a harmonious and stable environment, how can people live in peace and enjoy their work?" Xi asked in a New Year's Eve address, wearing a suit and seated behind a desk. "I sincerely wish Hong Kong well. Hong Kong's prosperity and stability is the wish of Hong Kong compatriots and the expectation of our motherland."On the city's streets, protesters expressed frustration with the approach from China's leaders while pledging to continue the fight. They also attacked HSBC, which closed an account linked to the protests in November, lighting a fire at one branch and vandalizing iconic lion statues outside of its Hong Kong headquarters.Police last month arrested four people for suspected money laundering linked to the pro-democracy protests and froze HK$70 million ($9 million) in funds related to the Spark Alliance, a group that helps protesters pay legal fees. HSBC defended its decision to close the account, saying the move was unrelated to the December arrests and followed a "direct instruction" from the customer.Mysterious Bags of Cash Trigger Major Hong Kong Protest ArrestsIn a statement late Wednesday, HSBC condemned the acts of vandalism and called them "unjustified.""We believe the rule of law is essential to Hong Kong's status as an international financial center and we look forward to the speedy resolution of the issues," it said.HSBC's move to close the account and the arrests linked to Spark Alliance motivated more people to hit the streets on Wednesday, said a 34-year-old protester who gave his name as Tong."HSBC and other companies just want business in China but the whole world is watching and we're going to hold them accountable," he said. "If we keep united and keep hurting the economy and international opinion of Hong Kong, the government will eventually have to listen to us. It will pressure them to give in to us, instead of just listening to the Chinese government."The protest began as a largely peaceful affair featuring families with children and the elderly, similar to others convened by the Civil Human Rights Front. The group has organized some of the largest protests over the last seven months by seeking police permission and strictly adhering to the law.The government even lauded the protesters before police suddenly pulled the plug, saying in a statement that the majority of people behaved "in a lawful, peaceful and rational manner." The government "has all along respected people's rights and freedoms to participate in peaceful processions and assemblies and express views rationally, as these are the important core values cherished by Hong Kong people," it said.But shortly after some demonstrators sought to vandalize a branch of HSBC in Wan Chai, police ordered protest organizers to end the rally. Tens of thousands of people appeared to be on the streets at the time, leading to general confusion among the masses. Protest organizers condemned the decision.Ian Ching, 34, continued to walk toward Central even after the march was called off, saying he didn't agree with the police that the rally had turned violent."I might be walking a bit faster, but I still want to walk through the whole protest route just to show my perseverance with all the Hong Kong people here because we need to defend this place," he said. "It's not curfew after all -- that's why I can walk as a person."Maria Li, 50, had to work on Wednesday and only arrived at the protest at 5:30 p.m. to find that it had been called off."I don't know what's wrong with the police -- we got permission to come and march today," said Li, who dressed in black."It's been seven months and still the government isn't listening to us," she added. "Carrie Lam just does whatever she wants. That's why we need to keep coming out and showing protesters they are not alone."(Updates with details on participants, arrests in third paragraph)\--With assistance from Fion Li.To contact the reporters on this story: Shelly Banjo in Hong Kong at sbanjo@bloomberg.net;Aaron Mc Nicholas in Hong Kong at amcnicholas2@bloomberg.net;Vinicy Chan in Hong Kong at vchan91@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Ten Kate at dtenkate@bloomberg.net, Karen LeighFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| White Supremacist Augustus Invictus Kidnapped Wife at Gunpoint: Cops Posted: 02 Jan 2020 08:44 AM PST  White supremacist Augustus Sol Invictus allegedly kidnapped his wife at gunpoint in front of their children and forced her to travel across state lines, according to police records.Invictus, who legally changed his name from Austin Gillespie, was arrested Monday in Florida on counts of kidnapping, aggravated domestic violence, and possession of a firearm during a crime. The incident began in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on Dec. 12, when he allegedly put a gun to his wife's head and forced her to travel to Florida with him. She was later able to escape back to South Carolina, where she spoke with police.Invictus is a prominent white supremacist and was a speaker at 2017's deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is also a lawyer and failed political candidate, and has been involved in arranging legal defense for other members of the movement. He has previously been accused of domestic violence, the Huffington Post reported in 2017, but never criminally charged.That changed last month, according to a police report reviewed by The Daily Beast.In an interview with police, Invictus' wife told them "Augustus held a gun to her head and forced her to go with him to Jacksonville, FL. This incident took place in the presence of their children," on December 12. After arriving in Florida, she "was able to separate herself from her husband and escape back to Rock Hill with their children."This Satanist Wants to Be Your SenatorIt is unclear how long she was allegedly held in Florida, and whether her children were with her at the time. Her interview with police took place Dec. 22.Invictus appears to have remained in Florida, where he was arrested as an "out of state fugitive," journalist Nick Martin reported.Police told the Associated Press that Invictus was spotted at a relative's home in Brevard County, Florida, and was arrested at a nearby gym.Invictus has been accused of multiple violent incidents. In 2014, a roommate told Orlando police that Invictus had pointed a gun at him. Invictus claimed he thought the roommate was an intruder, according to a police report reviewed by the Huffington Post. In 2016, one of Invictus' exes told police he had battered her multiple times. She did not report those incidents but eventually went to police after Invictus allegedly threatened to burn her belongings and "shoot her on the spot." He was not charged in the incident.New Proud Boy Rules: Less Fighting, Less WankingHe also allegedly entered an "intimate relationship" with a high school senior who joined a debate team he coached. Invictus abused her over several years, she told police. In one incident, he allegedly slapped and punched her in the head and strangled her. In another, he allegedly punched her, dragged her into a closet by her hair, and strangled her until she lost consciousness. When she awoke, Invictus was allegedly holding a gun to her head and ordered her to "tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now." The woman also told police of alleged sexual violence, and a calendar event titled "annihilate [the woman's name]" in which Invictus implied he would expose her personal information.Invictus threatened defamation lawsuits against the woman and her friend Alexandria Brown after she reported him to police. Brown told the Huffington Post that she feared retaliation from Invictus, and eventually signed a statement acknowledging that she hadn't witnessed the incidents firsthand. "I wish I hadn't signed the retraction, because it was used to imply [the victim's] narrative was fabricated, but I don't actually have any reason to believe she is lying," she said.Brown told The Daily Beast that Invictus' arrest brought relief, alongside new anxieties."I am relieved, vindicated, heartbroken, and afraid of further retaliation. Some of his followers are rumoring that I somehow coordinated this with the FBI, and I have already quite literally almost died from what retaliation I have experienced so far. I am worried that if he is given a short sentence, it will simply make him angrier and more dangerous and imminently free to terrorize people further," she said, noting that the prison system would likely not help rehabilitate him.Police recommended charges of aggravated battery and domestic battery against Invictus after Brown's friend reported him but did not actually file the charges after his accuser failed to meet with a prosecutor.In an interview with an openly fascist show, Invictus denounced women's right to vote.Invictus has pointed to his multiple Hispanic ex-partners to claim that he is not racist despite his extensive involvement in the white supremacist movement, where he has acted as an attorney multiple times. Last year, Invictus founded a legal defense fund aimed at aiding members of the fascist Rise Above Movement. Nevertheless, his involvement with women of color has made him unwelcome in some sectors of the far-right internet, where some racists mocked his arrest this week.Invictus' last brush with headlines came during a doomed Senate bid in 2015, when he ran as a Libertarian candidate to replace Sen. Marco Rubio. His already-longshot campaign tanked when it was revealed that he sacrificed a goat and drank its blood during a pagan ritual.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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| Marianne Williamson lays off 2020 campaign staff nationwide Posted: 02 Jan 2020 01:34 PM PST  Bestselling author and spiritual guru Marianne Williamson has laid off her entire 2020 campaign staff but is pushing ahead with her Democratic presidential bid, two former staffers said Thursday. A former campaign aide told The Associated Press that Williamson laid off her entire campaign staff on Dec. 31 because of financial concerns. The spiritual guru has barely registered in the polls since launching her quixotic bid for president last January .
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| FBI Investigators Say McCabe Apologized for Lying about Clinton-Probe Leak Posted: 02 Jan 2020 07:14 AM PST  FBI investigators claim former deputy director Andrew McCabe admitted to misleading them about his involvement in a media leak and subsequently apologized for the lie, according to newly released transcripts of McCabe's interviews with investigators.The transcripts, released by the Department of Justice Inspector General's office (OIG) — which found McCabe "lacked candor" with investigators in a scathing February 2018 report — detail how McCabe spun a false narrative that he was not responsible for leaking the information cited in a October 2016 Wall Street Journal article that detailed a new probe into Hillary Clinton's email use.Obtained via a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by government-watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the documents, first reported by the Daily Beast, describe McCabe's reversal. Initially, the former deputy director told bureau investigators in May 2017 that he was "disappointed" the story "was appearing in the publication," and was not sure how it leaked to the press.McCabe also denied that he had authorized the article, which included a conversation between himself and a top Obama DOJ official, and presented himself as a "victim" to the agent interviewing him, who at the time "wasn't surprised by his response."But in a follow-up interview on August 18, 2017, after investigators received "conflicting information" in other interviews, McCabe admitted that he had in fact authorized the leak."I need to know from you did you authorize this article? Were you aware of it? Did you authorize it?" the FBI agent said he asked McCabe at the time."And as nice as could be, he said, yep. Yep I did," McCabe said, surprising the agents. "Things had suddenly changed 180 degrees with this," one of the agents present recounted to the OIG.When the agents showed McCabe the portion of his statement from the May interview which stated "I do not know the identity of the source of the information contained in the article. I gave no authority to share any information relative to my interaction with the DOJ executive with any member of the media," McCabe replied that he "didn't ever remember seeing this before.""I told him, I said we sent it to you at least three times or two times," the agent said. And an email record mentioned in the transcript shows the statement was emailed to McCabe on May 12, 2017. McCabe's explanation at the time was "there was a lot going on."In its February 2018 report, the OIG detailed how McCabe had told former FBI special counsel Lisa Page to speak to the Journal, stating that McCabe's intent was "an attempt to make himself look good" after a previous article detailed how McCabe's wife had received nearly $500,000 from a Clinton ally to run for office in Virginia.The OIG also found McCabe's explanation for the discrepancy in his statements to be "wholly unpersuasive," because it was "highly implausible" that McCabe forgot to tell the FBI of the approved leak in May."We therefore concluded that when McCabe told INSD in May that he did not know who authorized the disclosure to the WSJ, it was not due to a lack of memory. In our view, the evidence is substantial that it was done knowingly and intentionally," the OIG wrote.Following the report, McCabe was fired by former attorney general Jeff Sessions.The DOJ is currently mulling charges against McCabe, who was made a CNN analyst in August, after the OIG recommended the charges. The former FBI deputy director is suing the FBI and the DOJ over his firing and has denied intentionally making false statements about his role in the media leaks.
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| 'I did it alone', Ghosn says of Japan escape Posted: 02 Jan 2020 08:59 AM PST  Carlos Ghosn claimed Thursday he organised his dramatic escape from bail in Japan alone as the disgraced auto tycoon enjoyed his first days of freedom in Beirut despite an Interpol arrest notice. Ghosn, who had been under house arrest in Tokyo since April, was believed to be holed up his central Beirut residence, where visitors filed in and out under the scrutiny of TV cameras. Lebanon's state news agency quoted Justice Minister Albert Sarhan as announcing that "the public prosecutor... has received what is known as a red notice from Interpol in the Carlos Ghosn case".
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| Taiwan's Military Chief Among 8 Dead After a Helicopter Carrying Leaders Crashed Posted: 02 Jan 2020 01:02 AM PST  Air Force General Shen Yi-ming and seven others have died after a helicopter made a crash landing in a mountainous region south of Taipei
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| Australia bushfires: Residents refuse to shake prime minister Scott Morrison's hand as mass evacuation begins Posted: 02 Jan 2020 05:24 PM PST  The Australian prime minister was heckled out of a fire-ravaged town in New South Wales on Thursday, as a mass evacuation of the region got under way ahead of worsening conditions. Video of the visit to Cobargo, on the south coast, showed Scott Morrison insist a woman shake his hand as she criticised him over the government's response to the crisis. "I am only shaking your hand if you give more funding to the RFS (Rural Fire Service)," she said as he turned away. "So many people have lost their homes. We need more help." The prime minister was soon ushered to his car by minders when other residents began shouting at him. "You won't be getting any votes down here buddy," one called out. A firefighter also refused to shake Mr Morrison's hand. Video footage showed Mr Morrison trying to grab the man's hand, who then got up and walked away, sparking an apology from the prime minister. A local fire official explained that the man had lost his house while defending others' homes. Read more | Australia's bushfire crisis Even a state politician from his own Liberal party whose seat is in the region took a swipe at the prime minister. "To be honest, the locals probably gave him the welcome he probably deserved," said New South Wales transport minister Andrew Constance. Mr Morrison said on Friday he didn't take the attacks personally. "I understand the hurt, the anger and the frustration," he said in an interview on 3AW radio. "Whether they're angry with me or they're angry about their situation, all I know is that they're hurting and it's my job to be there to try and offer some comfort and support," he said. Anger over the government's handling of the crisis has grown since the outbreak of wildfires, which have so far killed at least 17 people, including nine since Christmas Day, and destroyed 1,400 homes. In Victoria, 28 people are currently unaccounted for. In Cobargo, a 29-year-old dairy farmer and his father, 53, were killed earlier this week as fires swept through the village. Mr Morrison has overseen more than $12.9m cuts to the state's fire service in the latest budget, and has been criticised for rejecting calls to professionalise the service. New South Wales has declared a state of emergency, starting from Friday, and told tourists to leave a 155-mile stretch of the state's southern coast as temperatures were expected to reach 40 degrees celsius on Saturday. The army began evacuations in what the state's transport minister said was the "largest mass relocation of people out of the region that we've ever seen". But tens of thousands were still stranded by Thursday night as roads became gridlocked, with shops and fuel stations running out of supplies. A long queue forms at a Woolworths supermarket in Ulladulla, New South Wales The navy was called in to assist in getting people out of the town of Mallacoota, in the neighbouring state of Victoria, where 4,000 people were trapped on the beach for days after the fire devastated much of their town. Rob Rogers, NSW's Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner, said firefighters were struggling to combat the fires. "The message is we've got so much fire in that area, we have no capacity to contain these fires," he told ABC. "We just need to make sure that people are not in front of them." In addition to the loss of human life, homes and farmland, ecologists from the University of Sydney estimate almost half a billion mammals, birds and reptiles have been lost this fire season, with the toll expected to rise. At least 17 people were reported to be missing on Thursday across Victoria. The body of Mick Roberts, who had been unaccounted for since Monday, was found dead in his home in Buchan, East Gippsland, on Wednesday, his niece said. Australia fires gallery "He's not missing any more ... sorry but his body has been found in his house… Very sad day for us to (start) the year but we're a bloody tight family and we will never forget our mate and my beautiful Uncle Mick," she wrote on Facebook . Brie Kingsely, a Melbourne resident, witnessed the sheer scale of the crisis while driving from Sydney to get home. She told The Telegraph the entire six-hour journey was "smoke-ridden". "I drove from Sydney to Melbourne. At the worst of it I was 10km from an active, 100 thousand-hectare out of control fire next to the Hume Highway," she said. "It wasn't closed, but basically smoke-ridden for six hours." A tender from HMAS Choules motors through smoke haze off the coast of Mallacoota Credit: AP Mr Morrison said the crisis was likely to last for months. "It (fires) will continue to go on until we can get some decent rain that can deal with some of the fires that have been burning for many, many months," he told reporters on Thursday. Australia's capital, Canberra, recorded the worst air quality of any city in the world on Thursday, an astonishing outcome for a city of just 400,000 people. An elderly woman who arrived in the city by plane died shortly after, and family believe it was related to smoke inhalation, though that is yet to be confirmed.
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| Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher has launched a lifestyle brand after Trump reversed a military court's sentence Posted: 02 Jan 2020 04:37 AM PST  Edward Gallagher, who was charged with murder and acquitted, now has a lifestyle brand with T-shirts, hoodies, and drinking accessories.
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| Australia’s Wildfire Crisis: Key Numbers Behind the Disaster Posted: 02 Jan 2020 02:32 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Australia is in the grip of deadly wildfires burning across the country, triggering an emotive debate about the impact of climate change in the world's driest-inhabited continent. The unprecedented scale of the crisis, and images of terrified tourists sheltering on beaches from the infernos, has shocked many Australians.With summer only just beginning and the nation affected by a prolonged drought, authorities fear the death toll will continue to mount as more homes and land are destroyed. Here are some key details of the crisis:How many people have died?Since the fire season began months ago during the southern hemisphere winter, 20 people have died and with 28 people missing in Victoria state, authorities fear the death toll will rise. Among the fatalities are volunteer firefighters, including a young man who died when his 10-ton truck was flipped over in what officials have described as a "fire tornado." Australia's worst wildfires came in 2009 when the Black Saturday blazes left 180 people dead.How big an area has burned?Massive tracts of land have burned. More than 12 million acres (5 million hectares) have been destroyed -- that's more than twice the size of Wales, and larger than Denmark. In New South Wales state alone, 8.9 million acres of forest and bush has been destroyed, while more than 1.8 million acres has been burned in Victoria. The fires are so large they are generating their own weather systems and causing dry lightning strikes that in turn ignite more. One blaze northwest of Sydney, the Gospers Mountain fire, has destroyed more than 1.2 million acres -- about seven times the size of Singapore.The scale of the blazes dwarfs the California wildfires in 2018, which destroyed about 1.7 million acres, and about 260,000 acres in 2019.How many homes have been destroyed?Some 1,365 homes have been destroyed in New South Wales alone this fire season and the tally is rising daily as the fires continue to burn and authorities assess damage. Scores of rural towns have been impacted, including the community of Balmoral about 150 kilometers southwest of Sydney, which was largely destroyed before Christmas.What's the economic impact?That's still to be assessed. The Insurance Council of Australia says about 4,300 claims worth A$297 million ($208 million) have been lodged. Consultancy SGS Economics and Planning has estimated that Sydney's economy loses as much as A$50 million each day it is blanketed with a toxic haze from smoke billowing in from the fires. An inquiry into the Black Saturday fires estimated the cost at A$4.4 billion. More broadly, the economy faces pressure from increasingly severe heat and storms from climate change, threatening industries ranging from agriculture to property to tourism. Australia's Climate Council estimates cumulative damage from reduced agricultural and labor productivity might reach A$19 billion by 2030, A$211 billion by 2050 and a massive A$4 trillion by 2100.\--With assistance from Jason Scott.To contact the reporter on this story: Edward Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Edward Johnson at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net, Jason ScottFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 'Captain America' actress Mollie Fitzgerald has been charged with killing her mother in Kansas Posted: 02 Jan 2020 04:36 AM PST  The actress who played Stark Girl in 2011's "Captain America: The First Avenger" is accused of stabbing her mother to death in her Kansas home.
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| Iraqi troops secure U.S. Embassy following attack Posted: 02 Jan 2020 10:15 AM PST  Elite Iraqi troops were deployed to secure the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday, after a pro-Iran mob laid siege to it on Tuesday in dramatic scenes that overshadowed months of antigovernment grassroots protests.
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| The 8 Most Beautiful Castle Gardens in Europe Posted: 02 Jan 2020 06:00 AM PST |
| Lebanon receives Interpol arrest warrant for ex-Nissan boss Ghosn Posted: 01 Jan 2020 09:29 PM PST  BEIRUT/TOKYO (Reuters) - Lebanon received an Interpol arrest warrant on Thursday for former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, while Turkey launched an investigation into his daring escape from Japan via Istanbul. Ghosn has become an international fugitive after he revealed on Tuesday he had fled to Lebanon to escape what he called a "rigged" justice system in Japan, where he faces charges relating to alleged financial crimes. Sources close to Ghosn said a delay to a trial and a strict ban on communicating with his wife motivated him to go ahead with a plan to use a private security company to smuggle him out of Japan via private jet.
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| Libya parliament dubs Turkey military support 'high treason' Posted: 02 Jan 2020 12:18 PM PST  Libya's parliament on Thursday denounced as "high treason" Turkey's prospective military intervention in support of the UN-recognised Tripoli-based government. Libya has been beset by chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with rival administrations in the east and the west vying for power. The elected parliament in the east is allied with military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who is at war with the UN recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Fayez al-Sarraj.
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| Attack on US Embassy exposes widening US-Iraq divide on Iran Posted: 02 Jan 2020 07:36 AM PST  The New Year's Eve attack on the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad has exposed a deepening divide between the United States and Iraq over Iran's role there, even as the Pentagon embarks on a more aggressive mission to counter Iranian influence across the Mideast. "The game has changed," Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Thursday, telling reporters that violent acts by Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq — including a rocket attack on Dec. 27 that killed one American — will be met with U.S. military force. Esper said they are "defensive support" that can be used if there is more trouble in Baghdad or elsewhere in the region.
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| Armed, even in church: Texas shooting is about a lot more than Jack Wilson's heroism Posted: 01 Jan 2020 05:33 AM PST  Jack Wilson is a hero. But why were so many other parishioners armed? And how did the shooter get his gun, given his criminal history?
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| Stunning images from space reveal the shocking extent of Australia's bushfire crisis Posted: 02 Jan 2020 02:18 PM PST  Australia's fires have lasted for months, burned millions of acres, and belched out a smoke plume that could cover half of Europe.
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| New Year's Eve sees gun violence across nation, concluding record-high year of mass killings Posted: 01 Jan 2020 12:03 PM PST  2019 was a deadly year for gun violence, and New Year's Eve was no different. Within hours of the new decade, many people had lost their lives.
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| Trump Says Trade Signing Set For Jan. 15; China Silent Posted: 02 Jan 2020 06:20 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said he will sign the first phase of a trade deal with China on Jan. 15, sealing an agreement that sees the Asian nation raising purchases of American farm goods in exchange for lower tariffs on some of its products. The date has yet to be confirmed by the Chinese side."The ceremony will take place at the White House," Trump said on his Twitter account Tuesday, adding he will be going to Beijing, where talks will begin on the second phase of the deal.Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang on Thursday referred a question on the signing to the Ministry of Commerce. The commerce ministry did not respond to an earlier fax seeking comment.Despite the lack of clarity on the signing date, Beijing is still indicating it also wants the deal. A commentary on the front page of People's Daily on Tuesday said, "it is every one's wish that China and the U.S. will sign the phase one agreement."The deal, announced Dec. 13, sees the U.S. suspending plans for new tariffs on $160 billion of Chinese imports including smart-phones and toys and reducing some existing levies. China agreed to increase its purchases of American agricultural products and has made new commitments on intellectual property protections, forced technology transfers by U.S. companies and currency practices. The move at least temporarily calms fears of an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies.The precise terms of the 86-page agreement have not been revealed. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Dec. 13 he expected to sign the accord together with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Liu He, in early January in Washington, and that it would be released publicly then.(Corrects Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs comment in third paragraph.)\--With assistance from Miao Han and April Ma.To contact the reporter on this story: Ana Monteiro in Johannesburg at amonteiro4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Jeffrey Black, Jiyeun LeeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Mexico vows to stand firm on granting asylum in Bolivia Posted: 02 Jan 2020 05:54 AM PST  Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday pledged to stick by his government's decision to give asylum to several people in Mexico's embassy in Bolivia, which has sparked a dispute with the interim administration in La Paz. "It's a matter of principle," Lopez Obrador told reporters at a regular government news conference. To hand over the people would mean abandoning what Mexico regards as a "sacred" right to grant asylum, he added.
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| Trump's Nightmare: Could North Korea Sink a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier? Posted: 01 Jan 2020 01:00 AM PST  Perhaps more of one than you think.
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| Elizabeth Warren Unveils Plan to Help People with Disabilities Posted: 02 Jan 2020 08:11 AM PST  'As President, I will work in partnership with the disability community to combat ableism,' Sen. Warren says
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| Star Wars, Ranked Posted: 02 Jan 2020 08:00 AM PST |
| Belgian judge suspends warrant for Catalonia's Puigdemont Posted: 02 Jan 2020 05:40 AM PST  The arrest warrant targeting Carles Puigdemont has been suspended by Belgian judicial authorities because of the Catalan separatist leader's immunity as a European lawmaker, his lawyer said Thursday. Paul Bekaert told The Associated Press that the Belgian judge in charge of the case also suspended the warrant issued against former Catalan cabinet member Toni Comin. The two are wanted in Spain for their role in an illegal 2017 secession bid by the Catalan government and separatist lawmakers.
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| 5 commercial fishermen are believed to be dead after their crabbing vessel sank on New Year's Eve Posted: 02 Jan 2020 08:41 AM PST  Five commercial fishermen were believed to have died after their crabbing vessel sank on New Year's Eve in the Gulf of Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard said after ending a search and rescue operation amid high winds and heavy seas.
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| Carlos Ghosn said his family didn't help with his Houdini-like escape from Japan to Lebanon Posted: 02 Jan 2020 09:26 AM PST  Ghosn fled Japan on Sunday evening local time with the help of a private security company, Reuters reported, ultimately arriving in Lebanon.
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| Centrist Democrats need a 2020 reality check before it's too late Posted: 02 Jan 2020 02:00 AM PST  In obsessively pursuing white, middle-class midwestern voters, Democratic leaders are setting their party up for disaster • Julián Castro drops out of 2020 race, plus the rest of the day in US politics – live Let's start the new year with a reality check. Remember that dad, uncle or neighbor, who told you over Christmas how much he dislikes Trump's rude language and that he might vote for the Democrats, if only they nominate a "moderate" candidate and not a "socialist"?Well, he is going to vote for Trump.This election year will be (again) filled with columns and op-eds from NeverTrump Republicans giving (unsolicited) advice to the Democratic party. They will argue that the Democratic party can win the presidential elections, but only if they nominate a "moderate" Democrat, who can win over the many Republicans they know that are appalled by Trump. But you can forget about these Max Boots, Jennifer Rubins, and (particularly) Bret Stephenses. These pet conservatives of the liberal media represent no relevant electoral base.You can also ignore the reports from "non-partisan" thinktanks – like the Niskanen Center – which show that many Republicans are much more "centrist" than Trump and his Republican party. Polarization in the US is not about party policy but about party identification. In particular it is about negative party identification – and most of these "centrist" Republicans despise or distrust the Democratic party, irrespective of whether it is led by Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders.Moreover, as long as the US economy is doing well – however shallow the foundations of that prosperity – these people are going to go with Trump, who has provided them with lower taxes and a booming stock market.By focusing so much resource and strategy on pursuing the "Midwestern voter" (ie, centrist, middle-class whites), Democratic leaders are setting their party up for potentially disastrous failure. Trump is no longer the risky outsider he was in 2016. He is a known quantity; he may not be especially liked, but for many voters he has delivered where it matters: the pocketbook.Democrats are not going to win over enough "moderate Republicans" to defeat Trump. Nor will suburban white mothers do the trick. The only way to win in 2020 is by mobilizing (potential) new voters and (recent) non-voters. Fortunately, there are more than enough of them. Almost half of Americans do not vote.However, new voters and non-voters are disproportionately non-white and non-suburban. Many of them are not even registered, or – thanks to Republican purges of voting rolls – no longer registered. This is particularly relevant to African Americans, who – contrary to popular perception – actually have rather high voter turnout, higher than other minorities, but are disproportionately affected by voter suppression (including incarceration).Despite the efforts of some organizations, most notably Stacey Abrams' new group Fair Fight, Democrats devote most of their time to reaching already registered voters, rather than registering new voters. Imagine how much the millions of dollars of Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer could have achieved had they spent that money on registering new voters rather than vanity campaigns.For the Republicans, the 2020 strategy is simple and straightforward: discourage or even disenfranchise minority voters, and mobilize white voters. Both campaigns are well underway and so far very successful. The Democrats seem to take minority voters for granted, yet again, despite low turnout in the 2016 elections. While there is a lot of talk about immigration and racism, the campaign is getting whiter and whiter.Hispanics openly lament the neglect they experience from almost all Democratic candidates. Given their growing numbers – Hispanics are on track to become the largest group of non-white voters in 2020, and not just in traditionally Democratic states – ignoring them early in the campaign, just because early primary states are so white, is extremely short-sighted.Perhaps Democrats assume that Hispanics will automatically support any Democrat over Trump, because of his inhumane immigration policies and racist remarks about Mexican immigrants. But, while many Hispanics are concerned about their place in (Trump's) America, they are not single-issue voters.In fact, if you remove immigration as an issue, many Hispanics fit socio-culturally and socio-economically as well with Republicans as with Democrats. In fact, in the 2018 midterm elections, the gap was closing rapidly in some key (potential swing) states. Unsurprisingly, given the conservatism of the Cuban-American community, the gap was smallest in Florida – there, just 54% of Hispanics voted for the Democratic candidates for Senate and Governor. In the governor's races in Arizona and Texas, however, the percentages were the same.The 2020 elections will not be about changing minds about who to vote for but about whether to vote. The damage done to voter registration in the South alone, following the gutting of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, could swing elections. The Democratic electorate the Republicans will "allow" to vote in November will not be enough to defeat Trump; Democrats must protect and expand their base before it's too late. * Cas Mudde is a Guardian US columnist and the Stanley Wade Shelton UGAF professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia. His latest book is The Far Right Today
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| Nigeria’s Buhari Reiterates He Won’t Seek Third Term Posted: 01 Jan 2020 01:06 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Next Africa newsletter and follow Bloomberg Africa on TwitterNigerian President Muhammadu Buhari reaffirmed he will leave office in 2023, addressing concerns he wants to change the constitution to seek a third term.Buhari, 77, won a second four-year mandate in March, the last he's permitted under the constitution of Africa's largest oil producer. With speculation already mounting over who the ruling All Progressives Council and opposition People's Democratic Party will select to fight the next presidential contest, Buhari has repeatedly rebuffed suggestions that he plans to compete."I will be standing down in 2023 and will not be available in any future elections," Buhari said in a New Year's letter to Nigerians published on Wednesday. "But I am determined to help strengthen the electoral process both in Nigeria and across the region."Nigeria's rules make it difficult to modify the constitution. Any amendment requires backing from two-thirds of lawmakers in both chambers of parliament, as well as the approval of the House of Assembly in at least 24 of the country's 36 states.Other aging west African leaders have recently indicated they're considering staying on beyond two-term limits.Guinea's Alpha Conde, 81, announced a plan this month to introduce a new constitution that could enable him to extend his rule. And Ivory Coast's leader, Alassane Ouattara, 77, has said he'll stand for a third term if certain candidates from his generation also run, and that a constitutional change made in 2016 allows him to do so.To contact the reporter on this story: William Clowes in Abuja at wclowes@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Mike Cohen, Guy CollinsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Nike seeks to keep marketing executives out of Michael Avenatti trial Posted: 02 Jan 2020 12:19 PM PST  Nike Inc asked a judge to block Michael Avenatti from having five of its sports marketing officials testify at his upcoming criminal trial, calling their testimony irrelevant to whether the California lawyer tried to extort the company. In a Thursday filing in Manhattan federal court, Nike called Avenatti's subpoenas for testimony from sports marketing chief John Slusher and others part of an effort to "put the government's and Nike's conduct on trial," and distract jurors from his own conduct. Lawyers for Avenatti did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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| Why America's Navy Could Use A New Battleship Posted: 01 Jan 2020 05:00 AM PST  Thick armor is important.
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| Why This Indian State Is Witnessing the Country's Most Violent Anti Citizenship-Law Protests Posted: 01 Jan 2020 06:02 AM PST  Hindu monk Yogi Adityanath, who has served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh since 2017, has overseen a brutal crackdown on protesters.
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| Australia Faces Extinction but its Leaders Still Don’t Want to Know Posted: 02 Jan 2020 08:38 AM PST  "The whole town is on fire! Head for the beaches!"But wait… aren't those fireworks over Sydney Harbour Bridge?Such are the mixed signals as Australia proves, once more, that living at the front line of climate change—i.e., half the place seems to be on fire—hasn't taught its politicians anything.In Mallacoota, a coastal resort in southeastern Australia, the fires came in the night, and 4,000 people fled for safety to the beach. Volunteer firefighters formed a last line of defense. At 8 a.m., one resident said, "It should have been daylight but it was black like midnight and we could hear the fire roaring… we were terrified for our lives." Ash was raining on the beach. At the same time the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, was fielding calls to cancel one of the city's most famous events, the New Year's Eve firework display launched from Sydney Harbour Bridge. Bush fires were ringing the city to the west, casting a pall in the sky, but she refused: The display would "give hope to people at a terrible time."A look at the current fire map shows the whole continent of Australia ringed with flame. This is the driest continent on earth, and it is now being cooked by global warming. After the driest spring on record it has had the hottest day, with average highs across the whole country above 107 degrees. As the apocalypse closed in on Mallacoota, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, was AWOL: At first his office denied he was on holiday in Hawaii, but when a picture emerged of him there, drinking beer with tourists on a beach, he was forced to head back home.In New South Wales, the state that includes Sydney, nine million acres have been burned up since November and 900 homes destroyed.As well as being hot and dry, much of Australia is also largely flat. Alice Springs, a legendary town in the interior, is an exception, at 1,800 feet above sea level. Last week the temperature there reached 113 degrees. "That's pretty insane," said Dr. Andrew Watkins, head of long-range forecasting at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.Australia's politicians seem to have no learning curve. Morrison, declaring that this was no time to discuss climate policy, said, "We have been through these terrible disasters before, and we have come through the other side."Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said climate concerns were being stoked by "raving inner-city lefties."Australia remains heavily committed to coal-fired power stations and has one of the highest per capita greenhouse gas emission rates. In fact, the 2020 World Climate Change Performance Index, just released, ranks Australia last of the 57 countries it monitors for their climate policies and said that it was actually going backwards under Morrison's Conservative government. But the opposition Labour party has also been attacked for pro-coal policies. There is a bone-headed zealotry to climate denial in Australia. Morrison has even gone so far as suggesting that environmental protest groups should be outlawed if they stage demonstrations. Nonetheless there have been no Trump-style purges of scientists from government departments. Dr. Watkins, the long range forecaster, has explained that a warming of the atmosphere over Antarctica is exacerbating the Australian droughts: "There is nothing left to evaporatively cool the air."At the same time, Australia is actually planning increases in fossil fuel production that would mean that by 2030 Australia, with 0.3 percent of the global population, will be responsible for 13 percent of globally generated greenhouse gases.One of the people pushing this program is Gina Rinehart, the 65-year-old chair of a mining and extraction conglomerate with a net worth of $14.8 billion. With her coal mines producing more than 60 million tons a year, Rinehart has opposed carbon pollution taxes and has sponsored trips to Australia by climate change denier Christopher Monckton, a right wing British politician who is also an advocate for quack cures for multiple sclerosis, herpes, and flu. In 2012 Rinehart complained that Australia's workforce was not competitive enough and cited African workers as a shining example: "Africans want to work and are willing to work for less than two dollars a day. Such statistics make me worry for this country's future." Julia Gillard, who was then prime minister, responded: "It's not the Australian way to toss people two dollars and then ask them to work for a day."The magnetic physical beauty of Australia is based, literally, on its fragility. The continent lives very close to the fine line between supportable life and extinction. When you drive into the outback, as I have done, and into the endless flatness of red desert, and eventually come to a small road town, it's evident that this outpost of life can have no physical roots: It sits directly and rudely on the earth's crust.There is something gloriously defiant in the apparition, like a mirage that has suddenly become solid. A tin-roofed motel, a bar, a small school house, a few hundred people making a barely viable but happy life—and, usually, boasting one incongruous, well irrigated little piece of England, a soft, green cricket pitch.This is in miniature a diagram of how the whole country was built, from Sydney to Alice Springs—creating a fragile hold on a knowingly precarious basis. To endure, it needed a compact between the settlers and the hard face of nature. This was understood by the original inhabitants. Aboriginal culture worked out its own successful model of sustainable life.But no such compact has been made or even suggested by Australia's current political and industrial axis. There is something unique at work here, an ingrained cowboy hubris that is depressing to see—a kind of resurgent warrior philistinism in denial of irrefutable science.Nobody has better defined this species than the great Australian satirist Barry Humphries. No, not his best-known creation, the terrifying, ball-breaking matriarch Dame Edna Everage.I'm talking about the Honorable Les Patterson, the grandly titled Australian cultural attaché to the Court of St. James, whose job specification is to promote Australia as a place "with more culture than a penicillin factory" and as a "thinking organism." In this bibulous vulgarian, leering with unbridled testosterone and misogyny, Humphries identifies and impersonates a type—not a stereotype—that lives on in the country's political class.Nonetheless it would be an act of gross hypocrisy to see their behavior only as an Australian aberration. The country's obtuse political leaders set an example that other reactionary regimes in countries as varied as Brazil and Poland are all too ready to emulate as they, too, protect their fossil fuel interests. And then, of course, there is us. Our continent has far greater ecological resilience than Australia, but our stewardship of it is just as careless as theirs. Under Trump's calculated demolition of science-based regulations, America is on the same path to the apocalypse. It's simply happening a lot more slowly. 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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| A Florida woman drowned her dog in the bathtub for barking too much, police say. She faces felony animal cruelty Posted: 02 Jan 2020 06:32 AM PST ![A Florida woman drowned her dog in the bathtub for barking too much, police say. She faces felony animal cruelty]( "A Florida woman drowned her dog in the bathtub for barking too much, police say. She faces felony animal cruelty") Florida woman Margaret Kinsella allegedly drowned her dog in the bathtub for excessive barking. She now faces a felony animal cruelty charge.
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| Delta flight attendants say their chemically treated Lands' End uniforms are giving them migraines, hair loss, and boils — and now they're suing the retailer Posted: 02 Jan 2020 12:49 PM PST  In a court case filed on December 31, employees of Delta Air Lines allege their Lands' End uniforms are making them sick.
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| Judge Recuses Himself from Hunter Biden Paternity Case Without Explanation Posted: 02 Jan 2020 12:03 PM PST  Arkansas Judge Don McSpadden recused himself without explanation Tuesday from Hunter Biden's paternity case after ordering the son of former Vice President Joe Biden to hand over all income records over the past five years.McSpadden, of Independence County's circuit court, had said that the handing over of financial information was in the well-being of 1-year-old "Baby Doe," the child of Biden and Lunden Alexis Roberts, the plaintiff in the case. McSpadden also ordered that the financial information be under seal and only available to the attorneys in the case.Other individuals have attempted to use the case to get access to Biden's financials.Private investigator Dominic Casey filed a motion to intervene on December 27, claiming that access to Biden's financials show a "counterfeiting scheme" in Ukraine that accumulated a $150 million fortune. Another man, "defrauded investor" Joel Caplan, filed a different motion to intervene on behalf of other investors who were allegedly swindled by Biden in a "systemic, formulaic and Biblically-sized multi-billion dollar stock scheme" called "The China Hustle." Caplan filed 64 pages of "exhibits" on Tuesday.McSpadden recused himself before ruling on either motion.Brent Langdon, Biden's attorney, called Casey's filing "a scheme by a non-party simply to make scandalous allegations" in a motion filed Monday.Roberts said in her case filed in May that Biden fathered her child during a past relationship, which Hunter Biden initially denied and refused to submit for a paternity test. But after a DNA test proved Biden was indeed the father in November, he did not contest the paternity.Roberts has asked the court to make Biden pay the $11,000 cost of her paternity case.McSpadden's order Tuesday didn't provide a specific reason for his recusal, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported."One of the clearest indicators of a judge's integrity is when he or she recuses from a case," Roberts's attorney Clinton Lancaster said on the news. "It highlights the ethos and values that make the judiciary such a powerful, separate branch of government. Our client sincerely thanks Judge McSpadden for his time and attention to what has become a difficult and convoluted child support matter."According to Rule 2.11 of the Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct, "A judge shall disqualify himself or herself in any proceeding in which the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned."
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| Embattled Tunisia Edges Closer to Elusive Government Posted: 02 Jan 2020 07:40 AM PST ![Embattled Tunisia Edges Closer to Elusive Government]( "Embattled Tunisia Edges Closer to Elusive Government") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Next Africa newsletter and follow Bloomberg Africa on TwitterTunisia's prime minister on Thursday unveiled a proposed government of technocrats, including a veteran Finance Ministry official, which authorities hope will help end the political limbo delaying sorely-needed reforms in the North African nation.Prime Minister-designate Habib Jemli tapped Abderrahmane Kochtali, the Finance Ministry's secretary-general, to head the key ministry, while veteran diplomat Khaled Shili, a former ambassador to Jordan, would take the Foreign Ministry.The proposed cabinet mostly comprises independents -- an apparent bid by Jemli to bridge a fractured parliament in which no one party holds the majority. He disclosed the names in a televised press conference almost 24 hours after he had submitted the list to President Kais Saied. Saied forwarded the list to parliament on Thursday.Veteran Islamist to Head Tunisia Parliament Amid Coalition TalksJemli was picked as prime minister in November by Ennahda, the moderate Islamist party that won the most seats in the previous month's legislative elections. None of the parties, however, won a majority and Jemli has struggled to draw up a coalition government because larger groups such as the populist Heart of Tunisia refused to join forces.The prime minister-designate said Thursday he was "sure" the majority of parliament would support his choices.Other cabinet nominees include:Fadhel AbdelKafi: Planning, Development and International Cooperation MinistryHédi Kédiri: Justice Ministry; retired judge and former head of the Supreme Judicial CouncilSofien Sliti: Interior Ministry; currently spokesman of the country's counter-terrorism judiciary bodyMongi Marzouk: Industry MinistryRene Trabelsi: retains Tourism MinistryThe lack of a clear winner in the legislative elections late last year reflected the challenges confronting Tunisia, whose 2011 uprising against President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali triggered the Arab Spring revolts in the region.Saied, himself a political outsider, was elected in a resounding chorus of voter rejection of the establishment. A constitutional law expert, he vowed to usher in a new era of change for the country.But the results of the parliamentary vote and the subsequent bickering in coalition talks about forming a government had stunted any effort to enact change in a country that's under pressure to cut spending and create desperately needed jobs.At the same time, Tunisia, which secured a $2.9 billion IMF loan in 2016, is under pressure to cut costs while trying to appease an increasingly frustrated population clamoring for jobs and opportunities.(Recasts and updates throughout with details)To contact the reporter on this story: Jihen Laghmari in Cairo at jlaghmari@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tarek El-Tablawy at teltablawy@bloomberg.net, Amy TeibelFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Highway workers make astonishing find amid epic pile of wind-blown tumbleweeds Posted: 02 Jan 2020 07:26 AM PST  Unfortunate drivers in Washington found themselves struggling in all new conditions while traveling on New Year's Eve. While combinations of wind, rain, snow or ice often force road closures in January, the culprit from Tuesday night and Wednesday morning was a new one: tumbleweeds.Starting around 9 p.m., local time, and extending into New Year's Day, portions of State Route 240 near West Richland, located in the south central part of the state, were shut down after strong winds blew hundreds of tumbleweeds onto the roadway. According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger, wind gusts reached nearly 50 mph in nearby areas."The strong winds began to pick up in earnest around midday Tuesday, with winds sustained between 20 and 30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph at times," Deger said.Photos and video from the incident showed numerous abandoned vehicles being unearthed on Wednesday morning. Drivers were forced to flee their cars and ring in the new year under far different circumstances than they likely intended.The wall of natural debris reportedly soared to heights of 20 to 30 feet and closed the highway in both eastbound and westbound directions, according to Washington State Patrol Trooper Chris Thorsan."In the 20 years that I have worked here, I have never seen it as bad as this," Thorson told National Public Radio. "I've never seen six to eight cars, including a semi-truck, actually stopped and trapped on a highway because of tumbleweeds."The strong winds continued into Wednesday morning, only complicating the cleanup efforts for crews."The strongest winds were recorded shortly after 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, when a rain shower moved through," Deger said. "The duration of the strong winds was likely a contributing factor to the hundreds of tumbleweeds that built up and buried cars."While no injuries were reported, the tumbleweeds caused traffic nightmares and forced the state to utilize multiple snow plows and other forms of equipment to remove the weeds. Trooper Thorson told The Seattle Times that snow plows drove slowly in order to avoid crashing into potentially hidden, buried cars.Thorson told a resident on Twitter that the vehicles became stuck when drivers were forced to slow down and eventually stop due to the thistles.> Basically.... cars (and one semi truck) drive in and then slow down due to low visibility on the roadway, then eventually stop. Then you get covered in tumbleweeds because of high winds nearing 50 mph.> > -- Trooper C. Thorson (@wspd3pio) January 1, 2020
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| Russia Is Having Trouble Building The Submarines It Needs Posted: 01 Jan 2020 06:30 PM PST  The Russian navy — already badly depleted since the collapse of the Soviet Union — can't quickly replace most of its existing nuclear submarine fleet, which is approaching the end of its collective lifespan.
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| What Kim Jong Un's Latest Threats Say About His Trump Strategy Posted: 01 Jan 2020 11:23 AM PST  SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, has long threatened to "find a new way" if the United States persists with sanctions. And when North Korea announced his "revolutionary" new way Wednesday, the strategy revealed both a defiance and a deep caution in confronting President Donald Trump.Kim vowed, in a lengthy policy statement, to expand his country's nuclear force, making vague threats to show off a "new strategic weapon" in the near future and "shift to a shocking actual action." He warned that North Korea would not be bound by a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range ballistic missile tests.But he also moderated those threats by leaving out the specifics. Kim did not explicitly say that he was formally lifting the test moratorium or that he was terminating diplomacy. Instead, he said his efforts to expand his nuclear weapons capabilities could be adjusted "depending on the U.S. future attitude."It's a wait-and-see approach that leaves room for more negotiations.Analysts say that Kim is making a calculation against the backdrop of the political uncertainty in the United States, where Trump faces both a Senate impeachment trial and an election. The North Korean leader, they said, does not necessarily want to rush to strike a deal that could be overturned if Trump does not win a second term."Kim Jong Un continues to hedge his bets," said Jean H. Lee, a North Korea expert at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. "I think we'll see Kim continue to find ways to provoke Washington as a way to gain the upper hand in future nuclear negotiations without directly challenging President Trump."As he waits, Kim can continue to play the role of tough guy, increasing the stakes in his nuclear brinkmanship. North Korea can expand its nuclear arsenal, produce more bomb fuel, build more nuclear warheads and improve its missile capabilities.Less predictable is whether or when Kim might deliver an infuriating message to Trump by testing a nuclear weapon or intercontinental ballistic missile.Such a test could precipitate another "fire and fury" response from Trump. When Kim last conducted such tests, in 2017, Trump threatened to "totally destroy North Korea," inciting fears of possible war.Tensions eased after North Korea declared a test moratorium in April 2018. And after Trump met with Kim in Singapore later that year, the president said the two "fell in love."That moratorium remains the best outcome Trump can cite from his on-and-off diplomacy with Kim -- one that the North Korean leader may be wary of yanking away too soon.By treading carefully, Pyongyang also avoids more economic pain. Launching a long-range missile would set off another round of United Nations sanctions, and such tests could also provoke China and Russia at a time when Kim strongly needs their help to blunt the pain of current internationals measures.Those sanctions required China, Russia and other countries to send North Korean workers home by late last month, depriving Kim's government of a key source of hard currency. North Korea also increasingly depends on Chinese tourists as an alternative source of income, and Kim has recently built a number of tourist zones to attract them.In his policy report this week, Kim acknowledged that his country's efforts at economic reform faced "grave problems" and were "not making visible progress," according to the state news media. He also reported "evil practices and stagnation" in key industries and criticized his economic officials for "merely shouting the slogan of self-reliance" while lacking leadership and "responsibility" to revamp the economy.Kim also indicated that he was preparing for a "protracted" standoff with Washington, exhorting North Koreans to accept it as "a fait accompli that we have to live under the sanctions." After 18 months of faltering diplomacy, he said he was convinced that his country should stick to "self-reliance" rather than embracing the "brilliant transformation" of its economy that Trump promised if Pyongyang abandoned its nuclear weapons.Kim also called on his people "never to barter the security and dignity" that the North's nuclear deterrent provided, "even though we tighten our belts."With that, he was essentially admitting that his previous approach with Washington has failed.In 2012, in his first public speech as the country's leader, Kim had promised that North Koreans would "never have to tighten their belts again." When he convened the party's Central Committee the following year, he declared the parallel pursuit of economic growth and a nuclear arsenal. And in an April 2018 committee meeting, Kim said that he had completed his nuclear force and could therefore now halt nuclear and ICBM tests and focus entirely on economic growth.Kim met Trump in Singapore two months later. But talks between the two broke down last February in Vietnam, and the two leaders failed to reach a denuclearization deal. Kim returned home empty-handed, without the sanctions relief that his country badly needed to achieve economic growth.That stasis led to the deadline set by Kim, who warned that the United States had until the end of 2019 to offer concessions. Pyongyang promised a "Christmas gift" if Washington did not make progress on lifting sanctions, making an implicit threat that North Korea might return to its old ways and end the self-imposed moratorium.But the deadline also showed how desperately Kim wanted economic relief. By shifting to a harder line, Kim was juggling an increasingly tricky balancing act."Kim's long buildup to his New Year message has inadvertently made North Korea look constrained," said professor Leif-Eric Easley at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. "He tries to use China and Russia for financial benefit, but doesn't want to appear dependent or beholden. He pushes his military engineers to develop more sophisticated weapons, but has to consider the risks of tests failing. He wants to increase diplomatic pressure on South Korea and the United States, but knows a major provocation is likely to bring more sanctions upon his regime."On New Year's Day, Kim did not face his people with a nationally televised speech as he had done in previous years. Instead, the state news media carried his policy statement, which came after a four-day meeting of the Workers' Party's Central Committee, North Korea's highest decision-making body.Kim's new guidelines meant that "North Korea will give up denuclearization talks with the United States, accept a prolonged standoff and sanctions as reality, and strengthen its self-empowerment, including its nuclear and missile capabilities," said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at South Korea's Sejong Institute.And Kim does appear to be giving the hard-line military a more prominent role in his government, even if it is unclear when and whether he will test an ICBM.North Korea's state news media recently reported that he was expediting the development of new weapons technologies, such as solid-fuel missiles that are harder to intercept and a new submarine-launched ballistic missile."We should expect that elements of the regime favor tests of several new systems, which likely include new solid-fuel and intercontinental-range missiles, as well as new warhead designs," said Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington."As talks stalled," Mount said, "these elements will have steadily gained in influence."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Fleeing war, poverty, African migrants face racism in Egypt Posted: 01 Jan 2020 09:46 PM PST  Two Sudanese sisters, Seham and Ekhlas Bashir, were walking their children home from elementary school in a Cairo neighborhood when a group of Egyptian teenagers crowded around them. The harassment brought up traumatic memories of detention, torture and rape they said they experienced at the hands of militias in Sudan's Nuba mountains. Egypt has for decades been a refuge for sub-Saharan African migrants trying to escape war or poverty.
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| Pentagon: Anyone who tries to overrun the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad will 'run into a buzz saw' after violent protests Posted: 02 Jan 2020 12:43 PM PST  The Pentagon warned on Thursday morning that anyone who tries to breach the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad would face a "buzz saw."
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| Wanted: Weirdos and misfits - aide to UK's Johnson is hiring Posted: 02 Jan 2020 01:51 PM PST  The senior adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who plotted Brexit and steered his boss to last month's election triumph, is on the lookout for "weirdos and misfits with odd skills" to help bring new ideas to Britain's government. "We want to improve performance and make me much less important — and within a year largely redundant," Dominic Cummings said in a post on his blog https://bit.ly/2rQjaAv on Thursday. Cummings, who has made no secret of his disdain for much of the way Britain's civil service operates, said he had been lucky to have worked with some fantastic officials in recent months.
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| Last year the British Army wanted 'snowflakes' — now it wants binge-drinkers and nervous Nellies Posted: 02 Jan 2020 08:30 AM PST  The British Army is pushing forward with its unconventional recruitment approach in hopes of encouraging more millennials into the ranks.
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| Ursula von der Leyen, the EU’s Centripetal Force Posted: 01 Jan 2020 10:00 PM PST ![Ursula von der Leyen, the EU's Centripetal Force]( "Ursula von der Leyen, the EU's Centripetal Force") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Centrifugal or centripetal, which force will prevail in the European Union in 2020? A lot suggests it'll be the former, with the EU drifting apart. Its third-biggest member state is preparing to exit. Populists are railing against Brussels and want their "sovereignty" back. Conservatives in the north balk at deeper integration of the euro area.One woman who wants to nudge the EU in the opposite direction is Ursula von der Leyen, the new president of the European Commission. The EU needs "a centripetal force, coming again and again as the uniter," she once told me, when she was still defense minister of Germany.She stretched that point into an extended metaphor. A mother of seven, she has almost superhumanly balanced her career and her sprawling, often unruly family. The EU is like such a family, she told me. It's not a nation, and therefore won't ever have one "leader." But it shares a common destiny, even if it's always at risk of being pulled apart. That's why it needs a uniter. A mom, basically.Von der Leyen, who is considered a feminist in her party, the Christian Democratic Union, wears the mom label proudly. In that as in other respects, she seems to have taken a page out of Chancellor Angela Merkel's book. For years, von der Leyen was rumored to be interested in succeeding Merkel. More plausibly, she was simply taking notes: Merkel, during much of her 14-year reign, was known to Germans as "Mutti."The similarity is one of style, not substance. Merkel, though capable at managing international crises, has never expressed a bold policy vision. Von der Leyen, by contrast, has already outlined several big goals for the EU. She wants to lead a "geopolitical commission" that can stand up to the U.S. and China. She's determined to give Europe a digital upgrade and migration reform. Above all, she promises a "European Green Deal" to make the whole union carbon neutral by 2050.She can only announce such visions, however, not execute them. That's because she has a surprisingly fluid role, one that's badly understood outside of Brussels. The commission is often called the EU's executive. But it's less like a government and more like a civil service that also participates in ambassadorial rites. Running it is hard enough, because it consists of a "college" of 26 other commissioners who view their portfolios as personal fiefs. Fitting it into the EU's overall institutional architecture is even harder.First, there's the European Parliament, which von der Leyen got off to a bad start with because of the way she got her job. She was chosen by EU leaders in several rounds of back-room horse trading, after French President Emmanuel Macron dropped her name. Parliament was so miffed at being sidelined, it confirmed von der Leyen only by a nail-biting nine votes, then rejected three candidates for her commission, delaying its inauguration by a month.Then there's the Council of the European Union, in which ministers of member states co-legislate with the commission. And there's the European Council, in which national leaders gather, club-like, to set overall policy direction and hammer out compromises. (To make the confusion sublime, there's also a Council of Europe, which has nothing to do with the EU at all.)The European Council is in effect a collective EU presidency. Besides the 28 (soon 27) leaders, it also includes von der Leyen and the body's own president, currently Charles Michel, a former Belgian prime minister. One problem in recent years was that von der Leyen's predecessor, Jean-Claude Juncker, and Michel's, Donald Tusk, didn't get along. That impeded cooperation between their institutions.Underneath such rivalries hums a constant din of general bickering — within the parliament, among national leaders, and between the institutions. The cast ranges from bone-dry Eurocrats to wanton gadflies and flamboyant prima donnas. The relationship currently being watched is that between the "Jupiterian" Macron and the matter-of-fact pastor's daughter Merkel. Brussels really is like an unruly family.One European leader who has excelled in this environment is in fact Merkel. Over the years, she perfected the art of taking steam out of the blustering of other leaders. She doesn't rise to provocations and sits out tantrums before gently allowing even unreasonable interlocutors to climb down from their trees. She has been a stabilizing presence.Von der Leyen has served in three of Merkel's cabinets (as minister of families, labor and defense). Both women grasp intuitively that female leaders have no need to arm-wrestle with the alpha males, either metaphorically or literally, as Macron did with U.S. President Donald Trump. If anybody can hold the EU together, then, it may well be von der Leyen. Born in Brussels as daughter of a German politician who was then helping to negotiate the Treaty of Rome, the foundation of what is today the EU, she's fluent in French and English and has the "ever closer union" in her blood.She also knows that holding families and unions together is in large part about atmospherics. That time I came to interview her — it was in December — she cut me off, then left and came back with a lighter. She lit up a candle on the Advent wreath between us. "There," she said. Then she exhaled, smiled and talked politics.To contact the author of this story: Andreas Kluth at akluth1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Timothy Lavin at tlavin1@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Andreas Kluth is a member of Bloomberg's editorial board. He was previously editor in chief of Handelsblatt Global and a writer for the Economist. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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