| Trump warns Iran against 'massacre' as protests erupt over jetliner downing Posted: 11 Jan 2020 06:11 PM PST  US President Donald Trump said Saturday the United States was monitoring Iranian demonstrations closely, warning against any new "massacre" as protests broke out after Tehran admitted to shooting down a passenger plane. Iran said earlier it unintentionally downed a Ukrainian jetliner outside Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard, in an abrupt about-turn after initially denying Western claims it was struck by a missile. The firing came shortly after Iran launched missiles at bases in Iraq housing American forces.
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| Aurora, Colorado, Shooting Leaves 3 Juveniles, 2 Adults Injured: Police Posted: 12 Jan 2020 07:03 AM PST  Law enforcement said no one has been arrested yet
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| Young stars at the edge of the Milky Way appear to have come from 2 nearby galaxies. That means a galactic collision could happen sooner than predicted. Posted: 12 Jan 2020 08:44 AM PST  The arrival of new stars from other galaxies heralds a collision. But it could help the Milky Way "thrive," according to a physicist.
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| Your Air Force Never Wants To Battle These Five Air Defense Missiles Posted: 11 Jan 2020 12:30 AM PST  The world's best.
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| Eleven dead and hundreds of thousands without power as storms and tornadoes sweep across US Posted: 11 Jan 2020 04:23 PM PST  At least 11 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands of homes hit by power cuts as storms sweep across parts of the US south and east, bringing snow, hail and hurricane-force winds.More than 1,000 flights have been cancelled as unrelenting rain and gales lash seven states along the east of the country from Texas.
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| Warren Tries to Ease Iowans’ Concerns About Electability Posted: 12 Jan 2020 01:11 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren barnstormed across Iowa this weekend, seeking to put to rest questions about her electability and her ability to build a coalition to defeat Donald Trump.With less than a month before the Feb. 3 Iowa Caucuses, the Massachusetts senator is trying to regain her momentum in a state where she had been the front-runner in the fall. A Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa poll released Friday showed Bernie Sanders in the lead in Iowa, while Warren was virtually tied with Pete Buttigieg. National front-runner Joe Biden was in fourth place.As her campaign put on about 15 events in the state ahead of the Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines on Tuesday, she portrayed herself as the most effective Democratic standard-bearer against Trump in November. She sought to reassure caucus goers that her sweeping progressive agenda wouldn't be an impediment to building a broad coalition if she became the Democratic nominee."All I can say is, Democrats, get a better sales pitch," she said in Mason City, Iowa, on Saturday. "Fear doesn't win. Courage and vision win."Weak Minority SupportWarren has weak support among African-Americans and other minority voters, who form a crucial segment of the Democratic electorate. She has also seen her advantage among women voters slip, though she maintains a base of mostly white, older progressive supporters.She was joined in Iowa by surrogates to help her broaden her appeal. Julian Castro, who dropped out of the 2020 race earlier this year, campaigned with her Sunday in Marshalltown, where more than a third of the population is Hispanic. Castro pitched Warren as a unity candidate who could bring together a diverse coalition."She knows what it's like to struggle," said Castro, who served as Housing and Urban Development secretary in the Obama administration. "She's about making sure that no matter who you are in this country that you have a fair shot. She can bring this party together."Warren also faced questions about her ability to get voters across the ideological spectrum on board with her progressive proposals. At a town hall in Mason City on Saturday, she pointed to polling that shows her wealth tax is popular among Democrats, Republicans and independents, and said many Americans share her mistrust of large corporations like Amazon and Chevron."We may disagree sometimes, but we are in this fight together to build a better America," Warren said.No to 'Factionalism'On Sunday, Warren called out Sanders after a report in Politico that he had instructed his campaign volunteers to tell voters leaning toward her that she would only appeal to "highly-educated, more affluent people" and is "bringing no new bases" into the party."We all saw the impact of the factionalism in 2016 and we can't have a repeat of that," Warren told reporters in Marshalltown on Sunday. "We need someone who will bring our party together."Warren largely stuck to her campaign message at her events in Iowa this weekend: fight corruption, take the influence of money out of Washington and push for "big structural change" to America's economic system to address issues affecting working-class families.To convince voters that her plans are viable, Warren recalled the challenges and opposition she faced from banks when she pitched her idea for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Obama administration."Why can't you make it happen? Because it hasn't happened before?" Warren asked the crowd at a town hall in Mason City. "Well, here's my view of the world: It's going to happen now because it has to happen now. This country is in a crisis."Katie Porter, a U.S. representative from California who is a fifth-generation Iowan, made several campaign stops on Warren's behalf around the state, including a house party with undecided voters in Cedar Rapids.Porter won a historically Republican district in 2018, and was one of a record number of women who won House seats during the midterms. At the town hall in Mason City, she offered voters nail polish in the campaign's liberty green color if they committed to caucusing for Warren.Porter, who took Warren's classes a law student at Harvard, said Warren has been on the side of working families for the majority of her career."Do you know what Elizabeth talked about that very first day of class? She talked about the exact same thing that she's talking about every single day of this campaign," Porter said.The CNN/Des Moines Register Iowa poll had some good news for Warren: Her favorability ratings were high, and almost half of caucus goers said they could be persuaded to support a different candidate. But Warren's national polling paints a different picture. She polls at 14.8%, trailing Biden at 29% and Sanders at 20%, according to Real Clear Politics' average.Momentum SlowedThroughout the summer, Warren's momentum in Iowa seemed unstoppable. She drew larger crowds than any other candidate at events like the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding or the Polk County steak fry. In September, she overtook Biden for the lead in the Iowa poll.But then her surge stalled, as Warren struggled to answer questions about how she would fund her Medicare For All plan. Under pressure from her rivals to be more specific, she spelled out a financing mechanism, and later came out with a proposal that would delay her health care overhaul until her third year in office.By November, a poll showed Buttigieg in the lead in Iowa. Warren's campaign made changes, opening her town halls to more voter questions. She also tempered her rhetoric on Medicare for All. By the end of the year, her polling had slipped and her fundraising had dipped. Sanders, Biden and Buttigieg all raised more money than her in the final quarter of 2019.Warren is set to face off at the debate stage on Tuesday against five other candidates -- Biden, Sanders, Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer -- giving her a chance to make her mark before the caucus."It's a high stakes game here and she needs to turn some people's minds around very quickly. For Iowa, this is going to be the last big opportunity," said Patty Judge, a former lieutenant governor and secretary of agriculture of Iowa.Warren needs to "get more aggressive, Judge added. "She is a person that will interrupt mid-sentence to tell you what she thinks. That's just Elizabeth."To contact the reporter on this story: Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou in Washington at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley, Ian FisherFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Four wounded in attack on Iraqi military base housing U.S. forces Posted: 12 Jan 2020 12:02 PM PST  Four people were wounded on Sunday in an attack on Balad air base in Iraq, which houses U.S. personnel.
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| In the words of a general: how Iran downed airliner Posted: 11 Jan 2020 06:29 AM PST  The aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Saturday accepted full responsibility for the shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger jet. In remarks aired on state television, Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator who fired on the plane did so independently because of communications "jamming". It came as Iran acknowledged the Boeing 737 had been shot down, after denying for days Western claims that it was likely to have been brought down by a missile.
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| FBI Apologizes to Court for Botching Surveillance of Trump Adviser, and Pledges Fixes Posted: 11 Jan 2020 06:49 AM PST  WASHINGTON -- A chastened FBI told a secretive court Friday that it was increasing training and oversight for officials who work on national security wiretap applications in response to problems uncovered by a scathing inspector general report last month about botched surveillance targeting a former Trump campaign adviser.In a rare unclassified and public filing before the court that oversees wiretapping under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, the FBI also said it would extend its overhaul to requests for orders permitting it to collect logs of its targets' communications and other business records -- not just wiretaps of the contents of phone calls and emails."The FBI has the utmost respect for this court and deeply regrets the errors and omission identified by" the inspector general, wrote FBI Director Christopher A. Wray in a statement included with the filing. He called the conduct described by the report "unacceptable and unrepresentative of the FBI as an institution."Under FISA -- a law for surveillance aimed at monitoring suspected spies and terrorists, as opposed to ordinary criminals -- the government must convince a judge that an American is probably an agent of a foreign power. Because the FISA court hears only from the government, and what it says is never shown to defense lawyers, the Justice Department says it has a duty to be candid and tell judges every relevant fact in its possession.But the Justice Department's inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, uncovered that the FBI had cherry-picked and misstated evidence about the Trump adviser, Carter Page, when seeking permission to wiretap him in October 2016 and in 2017 renewal applications. At the same time, Horowitz determined that the opening of the Russia investigation was legal and found no politicized conspiracy against President Donald Trump by high-level FBI officials.The problems included omitting details that made Page look less suspicious. For example, the court was not told that Page had said to a confidential informant in August 2016 that he had no interactions with Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign manager, even though the FBI suspected Page might be a conduit between Russia and Manafort.The court was also not told that Page had told the CIA about his contacts with Russians over the years, a fact that made that pattern of contacts look less suspicious. The Justice Department, passing on the factual portrait it received from the FBI, had pointed the judges to that pattern as a reason to think that he might be a Russian agent.Horowitz said he did not find documentary or testimonial evidence that FBI officials responsible for compiling the relevant evidence about Page for the court were politically biased against Trump. But he rejected as unsatisfactory their explanations that they were busy on other aspects of the Russia investigation.In a response appended to the inspector general report last month, Wray had already announced that he would make changes aimed at ensuring that the bureau put forward a more comprehensive portrait of the facts about targets when preparing wiretap applications.The new filing, which detailed 12 steps, like enhancing checklists for preparing filings, added granular detail. It came in response to an unusual public order last month. Rosemary M. Collyer, then the presiding judge on FISA court, ordered the FBI to propose fixes to its process by Jan. 10 to ensure the problems would not recur."The frequency with which representations made by FBI personnel turned out to be unsupported or contradicted by information in their possession, and with which they withheld information detrimental to their case, calls into question whether information contained in other FBI applications is reliable," Collyer wrote.On Jan. 1, Judge James E. Boasberg took over Collyer's role on the FISA court. He will now have to evaluate whether the proposed changes are sufficient to restore the judges' confidence in the factual affidavits FBI officials submit or if more is necessary.It is not clear whether Boasberg will take such potential steps as appointing a "friend of the court" to critique the FBI's proposal before he issues any order.The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has said he wants to impose new checks and balances on the FBI's national security surveillance powers, at least when investigations touch on political campaigns, in legislation his panel may take up after Trump's impeachment trial.In his statement with the court filing Friday, Wray called FISA an "indispensable tool for national security investigations" and pledged to work to ensure the accuracy and completeness of FISA applications "in recognition of our duty of candor to the court and our responsibilities to the American people."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| UK police say it was mistake to call climate group extremist Posted: 11 Jan 2020 10:01 AM PST  British police say it was an "error of judgment" to include environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion in an official document that listed extremist organizations. The counterterrorism police unit for southeast England included the climate change protesters alongside Islamic extremists and banned neo-Nazi group National Action in a guide to "safeguarding young people and adults from ideological extremism," The Guardian newspaper reported.
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| Puerto Ricans Unable to Reach Earthquake Shelters Say They’re Getting ‘No Help from Government’ Posted: 12 Jan 2020 11:27 AM PST  PONCE, PUERTO RICO—Squinting at the blistering sun, Jeanette Fontánez looks overheated and exasperated. "We can't live in our houses because they're cracked," she tells The Daily Beast. "We need soap, mattresses, tents, water, supplies—a little bit of everything, because there's a lot of us here." But as of Saturday afternoon, government officials and agencies had yet to arrive to where the 49-year-old Fontánez has sought refuge: In a public park within walking distance from her home, which she says is unsafe to be inside. "We've been here since Tuesday," says Fontánez, who was there with her 9-year-old daughter. Families are spread throughout the park, some set up near parked cars, other stationed under tarps. 'You're Never Prepared For This': Puerto Rico Reels From Fresh Quake NightmareFontánez is one of an estimated 2,000 Puerto Ricans displaced by an unrelenting streak of earthquakes in the island's southern region beginning Dec. 28 and culminating, at least so far, in Tuesday's 6.4 magnitude event, followed by subsequent tremblors and then, on Sunday morning, an unexpected jump to 5.9. Electrical outages are widespread in the area. Some residents are also without water service.Many families are living within sight of their rattled homes without stepping inside, much less sleeping in them. The constant shaking has compounded fears of being indoors even for those whose houses bear no noticeable ruptures. And the recently restored electricity departed again with Sunday morning's quake. Saturday, an LGBT-led caravan of volunteers arrived to serve meals and hand out water, sanitary wipes, diapers, and other supplies. It was only the second time donations were disbursed at the park, Fontánez says. The supplies they have received may have been surplus items from well stocked shelters being supplied by Puerto Rican authorities, politicians, NGOs, and other groups. But little of that is so far making its way to smaller encampments, like the one in La Luna, says Fontánez. Her appeal is echoed by the families of Barrio Macaná in Guayanilla, another hard-hit municipality, and one where more than 50 percent of residents live below the poverty line. The neighborhood is only about a mile from the downtown area, but many residents lack transportation, and physically, the hilly trek is challenging for a person carrying supplies. These residents need the aid to come to them, says army veteran Diego Cruz, 59. Cruz is among a group of about 10, comprised of immediate and extended family of separate homes who've banded together. This includes three minors, plus an 81-year-old man with a leg amputation whose dilapidated wheelchair badly needs replacing. "If you're going to help and you're going to an encampment that you know is already being given supplies, everything they need, then I don't understand," Cruz says. "What about the people outside that need things, like us? There are people who can't get down [there]."(Representatives of the municipalities of Ponce and Guayanilla dd not return requests for comment for this story.)One home among the group's is especially unsound, Cruz notes, showing The Daily Beast a long, vertical split in the cement on the structure's rear wall, and an apparently unsturdy foundation beneath. At night, the front area of the house—a shared patio between two homes —becomes one big outdoor bedroom, complete with makeshift beds of mattresses atop cinder blocks. As noted in the mission statement of Maria Fund, a nonprofit created to cull funding specifically for local, grassroots organizations in Puerto Rico post-Hurricane Maria, it's the "vulnerable communities" that "are too often underserved by relief agencies." To offset this problem, donations to the overall fund are diffused to an island-wide network of collectives and groups — like La Brigada Solidaria del Oeste (Western Solidarity Brigade), various Centros de Apoyo Mutuo (Centers for Mutual Support), and others — that are more familiar with the needs of local populations.Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico, a nonprofit advocating for the legal rights of low-income communities, is another Maria Fund recipient. The group has organized a petition on Change.org calling on Governor Wanda Vazquez to provide free transportation to shelters and to establish more shelters in unaffected structures in the northern part of the island, away from the earthquake epicenters. Executive Director Ariadna Godreau tells The Daily Beast that the government has not adequately addressing long-term displacement, and is repeating the same mistakes seen post-Maria."The government is preparing as if this is the normal state for refugees: portable bathrooms, portable beds," she says. "Nobody's thinking about how to solve the issue of temporary housing, nobody's thinking about transitional housing. They are trying to make displacement the new normal for these people, who are entitled to housing." Issues around protocol — hygeine, sexual violence, and other risks — in the unofficial camps is another concern expressed by Godreau. Those camps are ultimately the government's responsibility too, she says. "The governor said yesterday at a press conference that people don't want to move. But some people don't want to move because they don't have the alternative, or don't have the transportation." Displaced Puerto Ricans post-Maria spent months in shelters and, Godreau says, were ultimately pressured out by FEMA and government authorities. "They told them you have two options: The shelters are closing… or you have to move to the U.S. That is forcibly displacing people," she says.If residents hoped the swarm of earthquakes was tapering off, Saturday's 8:54 a.m. jolt, which was felt throughout the island, likely renewed anxieties about the duration of this already lengthy natural disaster. Aftershocks have continued since.More than $18 billion in disaster relief funds allocated for Puerto Rico after the devastation of Hurricane Maria, in which upwards of 4,000 people died (many of them post-storm), is still being withheld by the Trump administration.Four deaths total—direct or indirect—have been reported so far in connection with the earthquakes. Low-income populations, the elderly, young children, and people with chronic illnesses and disabilities are most at risk after any natural disaster. "We're thankful, because if the cell phones weren't working, nobody would get here," Cruz says. "Through phone calls and reaching out, that's how people have gotten here. We've had help from different people, but no help from the government." . 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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| This Picture Might Just Depict the Ultimate Military Weapon Posted: 12 Jan 2020 01:25 AM PST  Meet the MLRS.
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| Hong Kong Protesters Rehearse for ‘Anti-Communist March’ Posted: 12 Jan 2020 02:36 AM PST |
| Joe Biden holds a commanding lead among black voters, new poll shows Posted: 11 Jan 2020 10:22 AM PST  In one of the most extensive studies so far on the views of the 2020 presidential race among black voters conducted by The Washington Post and non-partisan research firm, Ipsos, former Vice President Joe Biden is holding on to a commanding lead over the rest of the Democratic field.Biden picked up 48 percent of the vote in the survey, which amounts to a whopping 28 point lead over the next candidate in line, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Voters referenced Biden's experience and ability to take on President Trump head to head as some of the reasons he's garnered their support to date. In the South, which could be a key region for picking up delegates in the primaries, Biden's doing even better at 53 percent.> NEW: WaPo/Ipsos poll of black Democratic voters> > Biden 48% > Sanders 20% > Warren 9% > Bloomberg 4% > Booker 4% > Yang 3% > Buttigieg 2% > Steyer 2%> > (769 Black Dem registered voters, MoE: +/- 4 points) https://t.co/SpI6PfAIj4> > — Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) January 11, 2020The notable exception to Biden's dominance is age. Black voters between 18 and 34 support Sanders at 42 percent, thanks to his policies on housing and student debt, for example, per the Post. Still, Biden remains in second place among the demographic with 30 percent. > This is part of @JoeBiden's big weaknesses with younger voters: "Though Biden leads his rivals by more than 2 to 1 overall, he trails Sanders by 42 percent to 30 percent among black Democrats ages 18 to 34."> > — Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) January 11, 2020The Post-Ipsos survey was conducted online between Jan. 2-8 from a sample of 769 Democratic-leaning black voters. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points. Read more at The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com The death of rock's master craftsman NFL's future, present on display Sunday thanks to a pair thrilling QB matchups Pelosi says delaying articles of impeachment achieved 'very positive' results
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| Relatives of massacre victims torn over future in Mexico as most flee Posted: 11 Jan 2020 05:44 PM PST  The gangland ambush by cartel gunmen in November on a dusty road in northern Mexico left three mothers and six children dead, their charred vehicles riddled with bullets, and a once-strong faith deeply shaken in the picturesque hamlets the families have called home for generations. "La Mora will never be the same," said 27-year-old holdout Kendra Miller, whose brother Howard lost his wife Rhonita and their four children in the attack. Today, roads in and around La Mora are patrolled by hundreds of heavily-armed soldiers, helicopters buzzing overhead.
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| Architecturally Bound: 20 of the World’s Most Stunning Libraries Posted: 12 Jan 2020 09:00 AM PST |
| How the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow stretch of water where ships carry $1.2 billion of oil every day, is at the heart of spiraling tensions with Iran Posted: 12 Jan 2020 03:17 AM PST  Iran could exact its revenge on the US and its allies by shutting or harassing tankers in the strait, which would heavily disrupt oil markets.
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| Key points in the US-China 'phase one' deal Posted: 11 Jan 2020 06:33 PM PST  After nearly two years of bare-knuckle battling, US President Donald Trump is set to sign a "phase one" trade deal with China on Wednesday. US and Chinese officials said the agreement includes protections for intellectual property, food and farm goods, financial services and foreign exchange, and a provision for dispute resolution. "Importantly, the agreement establishes a strong dispute resolution system that ensures prompt and effective implementation and enforcement," US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said.
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| Australian village ready for 'The Beast' to burn on through Posted: 11 Jan 2020 09:17 PM PST  As the sky darkened and the smoke billowed through the village, it seemed to those hunkering at the fire station that "The Beast" would finally roar through. The weary volunteer firefighters of Burragate returned to bed early Saturday after a week of worry and false alarms. Resident Joe Alvaro put it more bluntly.
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| America Needs More Aircraft Carriers, And Britain's Royal Navy Has An Idea Posted: 11 Jan 2020 10:15 PM PST  Is leasing an option?
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| Magnitude 5.9 aftershock rocks Puerto Rico Posted: 11 Jan 2020 11:32 AM PST  A magnitude 5.9 quake shook Puerto Rico on Saturday, causing further damage along the island's southern coast.
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| Venezuela’s Maduro Starts Year With a 67% Minimum Wage Hike Posted: 10 Jan 2020 06:15 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- President Nicolas Maduro ordered a 67% increase in Venezuela's monthly minimum wage, the first this year and the eleventh in the past 24 months.The presidential decree, announced by pro-government lawmaker Francisco Torrealba on Twitter, boosts the minimum wage to 250,000 bolivars ($3.61 at the official exchange rate), up from 150,000 bolivars. In addition, workers will receive a food bonus of 200,000 bolivars, for a total minimum income of 450,000 bolivars, according to Torrealba's publication of an image from an extraordinary edition of the Official Gazette dated Jan. 9.The new hike, which applies retroactively as of Jan. 1, threatens to refuel hyperinflation after restrictive monetary policies helped slow the pace of price increases in 2019. Still, the increase is well below the 275% hike of Oct. 2019, which lifted the minimum wage enough to buy about 4 kilograms of beef. The new salary, however, is not enough to buy one kilogram at current prices.The country's historic economic crisis has seen the annual rate of consumer price increases surge to at least quadruple digits. According to data from the National Assembly, the annual inflation rate was 13,476% in November 2019. Bloomberg's Café con Leche Index estimates annual inflation at 9,900% as of Jan. 8.Price increases quickly destroyed the value of the previous minimum wage increase in Oct. The government has directed its efforts to controlling the price of the dollar by reducing liquidity in the financial system and restricting bank loans. Maduro earlier this month vowed to lower inflation in 2020 to a single digit.The broad dollarization of the Venezuelan economy has also contributed to making salaries in bolivars worthless. A dollar costs around 81,000 bolivars at the black market rate. According to local research firm Ecoanalitica, $2.7 billion in physical dollars are circulating in the country, three times the value of bolivars in both cash and deposits. Ecoanalitica director Asdrubal Oliveros expects greenbacks to make up 70% of commercial transactions in 2020.To contact the reporter on this story: Nicolle Yapur in Caracas Office at nyapur1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Patricia Laya at playa2@bloomberg.net, Robert Jameson, Jose OrozcoFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Once overlooked, Bernie Sanders now has momentum. Here's why his camp thinks this time, he can win Posted: 12 Jan 2020 01:40 PM PST  Sanders has demonstrated consistency in polling and his campaign points to stronger numbers among young black voters and Hispanic voters.
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| Libya ceasefire call brings lull in heavy fighting Posted: 12 Jan 2020 02:00 AM PST  A ceasefire in Libya initiated by Turkey and Russia saw a lull in heavy fighting and air strikes on Sunday, though both warring factions accused each other of violating the truce as skirmishes continued around the capital Tripoli. Libya, which has been mired in turmoil since the toppling of strongman Muammar Gaddafi, has had two rival governments since 2014. In the latest international attempt to stem the violence, the Turkish and Russian presidents had called for the ceasefire to start on Sunday, more than nine months into an offensive on Tripoli by the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by commander Khalifa Haftar.
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| A Japanese woman was asked to take a pregnancy test before flying to a US island that has become popular for birth tourism Posted: 12 Jan 2020 03:51 PM PST  More tourists gave birth in Saipan than residents in 2018, as the island has become popular for pregnant women wishing to give birth to US citizens.
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| Hong Kong denies entry to Human Rights Watch director Posted: 12 Jan 2020 08:01 AM PST  Hong Kong authorities barred the head of Human Rights Watch from entering the Chinese territory Sunday, the advocacy group said. Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch's executive director, had planned to launch the organization's annual world report in Hong Kong this week. The report's focus is China's efforts to "deliberately undermine the international human rights system," Roth said in video posted to his Twitter.
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| These Are the 5 Iranian Leaders You Should Know About Posted: 11 Jan 2020 01:45 AM PST  What are they planning?
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| Tortoise who saved species by fathering hundreds returns to Galapagos Posted: 11 Jan 2020 08:41 AM PST  A tortoise who helped save his species from extinction by having hundreds of children will be released into his homeland after spending eight decades away, conservation authorities have said.Diego earned a reputation for having lots of sex during a captive breeding scheme for giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands, and the 100-year-old has now reportedly fathered over 800 children.
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| Israel to begin testing laser weapon to shoot down rockets Posted: 11 Jan 2020 05:50 AM PST  The Israeli military will soon begin testing a new laser weapon to shoot down incoming missiles and drones, the Israeli ministry of defence has announced. Israel's government said it had made "a breakthrough" in the futuristic technology and is expecting to begin demonstrating its use later this year. "We are entering a new age of energy warfare in the air, land and sea," the ministry said. "Throughout the year 2020 we will conduct a demo of our capabilities." While the technology has proved enormously costly to develop, Israel hopes that once it is functional it will be a cheaper alternative to expensive interceptor missiles. Israel's advanced Iron Dome missile defence system costs about $80,000 (£61,211) for each missile it fires to intercept an incoming rocket. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) believes the new laser will cost as little as $1 per shot once functioning. Israel unveils laser-based missile interception system https://t.co/HJIlEXOJ03pic.twitter.com/duFY1FlloG— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) January 8, 2020 The laser weapon also has the advantage of never running out of ammunition as long as it has a steady supply of electricity, according to the Times of Israel. Israeli defence planners have long feared they could run out of Iron Dome missiles if forced to fight an extended conflict on two fronts. One limitation of the laser weapon is that its effectiveness diminishes on cloudy days or when there are other forms of atmospheric interference. "We can only shoot down with a laser what we can see," said Brigadier General Yaniv Rotem. The ministry said the laser was meant to complement the Iron Dome system but would not replace it. Israel is working on three different systems for the laser weapon. One would be a stationary system meant to protect cities from rockets fired by Hamas or Hizbollah, while a second would be a smaller, mobile system to protect troops in the field. The third would be mounted on an aircraft and intended to shoot down high-flying missiles that are above cloud level and therefore beyond the reach of ground-based laser systems.
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| Japanese Women Face a Future of Poverty Posted: 11 Jan 2020 12:00 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- At first glance, things seem to be getting better for Japanese women. In an economy that's historically lagged other developed nations when it comes to female workforce participation, a record 71% are now employed, an 11 point leap over a decade ago.The Japanese government boasts one of the most generous parental leave laws in the world and recently created a "limited full-time worker" category aimed primarily at mothers looking to balance job and family. And one of the most important needs for working families—child daycare—is slowly being expanded.But even with these advantages, Japanese women—whether single or married, full-time or part-time—face a difficult financial future. A confluence of factors that include an aging population, falling birth rates and anachronistic gender dynamics are conspiring to damage their prospects for a comfortable retirement. According to Seiichi Inagaki, a professor at the International University of Health and Welfare, the poverty rate for older Japanese women will more than double over the next 40 years, to 25%.For single, elderly women, he estimated, the poverty rate could reach 50%.In Japan, people live longer than almost anywhere else and birth rates are at their lowest since records began. As a result, the nation's working-age population is projected to have declined by 40% come 2055.With entitlement costs skyrocketing, the government has responded by scaling back benefits while proposing to raise the retirement age. Some Japanese responded by moving money out of low-interest bank accounts and into 401(k)-style retirement plans, hoping investment gains might soften the blow. But such a strategy requires savings, and women in Japan are less likely to have any.Japan's gender pay gap is one of the widest among advanced economies. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Japanese women make only 73% as much as men. Japan's demographic crisis is making matters worse: Retired couples who are living longer need an additional $185,000 to survive projected shortfalls in the public pension system, according to a recent government report.A separate study did the math for Japanese women: They will run out of money 20 years before they die. Dire pension calculations published by Japan's Financial Services Agency in June 2019 caused such an outcry that the government quickly rejected the paper, saying it needlessly worried people. But economic observers said the report was dead-on: Japan's pension system is ranked 31st out of 37 nations due in part to underfunding, according to the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index. Takashi Oshio, a professor at the Institute of Economic Research at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, said private pensions and market-based retirement investments are now much more important than they once were. Machiko Osawa, a professor at Japan Women's University, was more blunt: The days of being "totally dependent on a public pension" are over.But there are additional obstacles for Japanese women. Although 3.5 million of them have entered the workforce since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in 2012, two-thirds are working only part-time. Japanese men generally see their compensation rise until they reach 60. For women, average compensation stays largely the same from their late twenties to their sixties, a fact attributable to pauses in employment tied to having children or part-time, rather than full-time, work. Since the mid-2000s, part-time employment rates have fallen for women in more than half the countries that make up the OECD. But in Japan, the trend is reversed, with part-time work among women rising over the past 15 years.One of Abe's stated goals is to encourage more women to keep working after giving birth, part of his so-called Womenomics initiative. But according to a recent government study, almost 40% of women who had full-time jobs when they became pregnant subsequently switched to part-time work or left the workforce. Machiko Nakajima's employment trajectory is typical of this state of affairs. Nakajima, who used to work full time at a tourism company, left her position at age 31 when she became pregnant. "I had no desire to work while taking care of my kid," she said in an interview. Instead, Nakajima spent a decade raising two children before returning to work. Now 46, the mother of two works as a part-time receptionist at a Tokyo tennis center. Though her husband, who also is 46, has a full time job, Nakajima said she fears for her future, given the faltering pension system. "It makes me wonder how I'm going to live the rest of my" life, she said. "It's not easy to save for retirement as a part-time worker." According to government data, the monthly cost of living for a Japanese household with more than two people is 287,315 yen ($2,650). Some 15.7% of Japanese households live below the poverty line, which is about $937 per month. More than 40% of part-time working women earn 1 million yen ($9,100) or less a year, according to Japan's Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry. The lack of benefits, job security and opportunity for advancement—hallmarks of full-time employment in Japan—make such women financially vulnerable, particularly if they don't have a partner to share expenses with. Yanfei Zhou, a researcher at the Japan Institute for Labor Policy & Training and author of a book on the subject, "Japan's Married Stay-at-Home Mothers in Poverty," contends there's a gap of 200 million yen ($1.28 million) in lifetime income between women who work full-time and women who switch from full-time to part-time at the age of 40."It's not easy to save for retirement as a part-time worker," she said. Single mothers need to make at least 3 million yen annually, or about $27,600—numbers you can't hit "if you work part-time." In Japan, public pensions account for 61% of income among elderly households. The system provides basic benefits to all citizens and is funded by workers from age 20 to age 59—and by government subsidies. Many retirees get additional income from company pension plans. While widows can claim some portion of a deceased spouse's pension, the number of unmarried Japanese is steadily rising, having more than tripled since 1980. The latest survey showed the rate for women is 14% versus 23% for men.One "reason why women's retirement savings is lower than men's is that the lifetime salary is low," said Yoshiko Nakamura, a financial planner and president of Alpha and Associates Inc. "Traditionally, many women chose to limit their workload in order to take advantage of social security spousal benefits, and that created many 'women's jobs' that pay less than 1 million yen." Japan has historically created incentives for married women to limit their employment to such non-career track jobs; lower pay means they (and their husbands) can take advantage of spousal deduction benefits. For example, the government gives a 380,000 yen ($3,133) tax deduction to a male worker if his wife earns less than about 1.5 million yen ($13,700) per year.The private sector does it, too. Many companies give employees a spousal allowance as long as their partner earns less than a certain amount. Some 84% of private companies in Japan offer workers about 17,282 yen per month ($159) as long as their spouse earns less than a certain amount annually—usually 1.5 million yen, though the ceiling is lower for most companies.Yumiko Fujino, who works as an administrative assistant, should have been happy when the government raised the minimum wage. But she wasn't: In order for her husband to keep receiving spousal benefits, she had to cut back on her hours. These limits are known among married women in Japan as the "wall." Unless a wife is making enough money on a part-time basis to afford income taxes and forgo spousal benefits, it doesn't make sense to work additional hours. But to work those kind of hours means less time for kids, which is usually the point of working part-time in the first place. Women who qualify for the spousal benefit, Fujino said, "think less about retirement security and more about the current cost of living." Abe's government is considering changes that would require more part-time workers to contribute to the pension program and mandate that smaller companies participate as well. Takero Doi, professor of economics at Keio University, said the expansion would be a small step toward giving women a financial incentive to work more.Yoko Kamikawa, a former gender equality minister, agreed that the current pension system—last updated in the 1980s—should be expanded to include part-time workers. Forty years ago, single-income households made up the overwhelming majority in Japan. Since then, Kamikawa said families have become more diverse.Machiko Osawa, a professor at Japan Women's University, went farther, saying social security should be based around individuals, not households. "Marriage doesn't last forever," she said. "Women used to rely on their husbands for financial support, but now there's the danger of unemployment, and more men are in jobs where their pay doesn't rise." "It's not easy to save for retirement as a part-time worker." However, one of the biggest reforms proposed by Abe, "limited full-time worker" status, doesn't always work as advertised. "Limited full-time" employees often face the same workload they would if they were full-time. Junko Murata, 43, a mother of two, said juggling both work and taking care of her children proved too difficult, so she eventually returned to a part-time job. While an increasing number of companies have been giving women the opportunity to work more flexible hours after they return from maternity leave, some women complain of being marginalized, with few opportunities for career growth and advancement. A government survey released last year offered a bleak outlook. It showed no improvement in gender equality in the workplace, with some 28.4% of women saying they are treated equally at work, up only 0.2 percentage points since 2016. Yasuko Kato, 42, returned to work as a part-time accountant three years ago, but said there's been little change in her responsibilities.Because she drops off and picks up her kids, she works from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. "I have no extra time at work," she said. But because of a chronic staff shortage, she doesn't get any help from full-time employees. As a result, Kato said "it's difficult to raise my hand for a new role."\--With assistance from Isabel Reynolds, Lisa Fleisher and Kurumi Mori.To contact the author of this story: Marika Katanuma in Tokyo at mkatanuma@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: David Rovella at drovella@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| U.S. investigation reportedly to result in expulsion of some Saudi military students Posted: 12 Jan 2020 07:32 AM PST  The United States is planning to expel more than a dozen members of Saudi Arabia's military who are training at U.S. military installations, multiple sources told CNN.The decision was reportedly reached after an FBI investigation following a shooting last month at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida, in which a member of the Saudi Royal Air Force killed three U.S. service members on the base. The FBI and Justice Department declined to comment.The Saudis who are expected to be expelled aren't accused of aiding in the shooting, which has been treated by law enforcement as a terrorist incident, but some are reportedly believed to have connections to extremist movements, per CNN. Others were reportedly found to possess child pornography, a defense official said.The Saudi government has reportedly been cooperative and even reportedly helped U.S. investigators link particular social media accounts to individuals. One of the major findings of the investigations appears to be a social media conversation, in which some military members expressed support for extremism. Read more at CNN and The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com The death of rock's master craftsman NFL's future, present on display Sunday thanks to a pair thrilling QB matchups Pelosi says delaying articles of impeachment achieved 'very positive' results
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| These will be the 20 safest airlines in 2020, according to experts Posted: 11 Jan 2020 05:31 AM PST  Although the past year has seen numerous high-profile aircraft crashes, air travel continues to be one of the safest modes of transportation.
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| Trump Can't Win In Iraq Because Iran Is Winning The Middle East's Information War Posted: 11 Jan 2020 11:00 PM PST  It is one thing for Iranians to believe their own media. The problem is that across much of Iraq and the Levant, the Iranian narrative is widely accepted.
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| Gambian exiled ex-president demands return in leaked recording Posted: 11 Jan 2020 04:50 PM PST  Former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh, forced into exile in 2017, has been heard in a leaked recording demanding that his right to return be respected by the authorities. Jammeh has hardly been heard from since fleeing to Equatorial Guinea. In a statement published at the time of his exile, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations committed to working with the Gambian government to ensure Jammeh's security and rights, in particular his right to return.
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| Storms sweep southern US, Midwest as death toll rises to 11 Posted: 11 Jan 2020 10:49 AM PST  Severe storms sweeping across southern portions of the U.S. and up into the Midwest were blamed Saturday in the deaths of at least 11 people, including two first responders, as high winds, tornadoes and unrelenting rain battered large swaths of the country. Storm-related fatalities were reported in Texas due to icy weather, in Alabama from a deadly tornado and in Louisiana, where winds were so strong that a trailer home was lifted off its foundation and carried several hundred feet. A man drowned in Oklahoma and the storms even touched the Midwest with at least one death on an icy highway in Iowa.
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| Friends and foes gather in Oman to mourn Qaboos Posted: 12 Jan 2020 03:34 AM PST  World and regional leaders, many at odds with one another, met Oman's new ruler on Sunday to offer condolences for the death of Sultan Qaboos whose quiet diplomacy during five decades in power helped calm regional turbulence. The rulers of Qatar and the United Arab Emirate, which are locked in a protracted dispute, were among those who visited the royal palace in Muscat as was the foreign minister of Iran, which is an arch-foe of U.S.-allied Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
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| 6 Democratic Candidates Will Face Off in the Last Debate Before the Iowa Caucuses. Here's What to Know Posted: 12 Jan 2020 04:00 AM PST  The first debate of 2020 will take place in Des Moines on Jan. 14 ahead of the Iowa Caucus. Here's what to expect.
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| Ukraine demands punishment for Iran downing plane Posted: 11 Jan 2020 07:56 AM PST  Ukraine on Saturday demanded that Iran punish those who downed Flight PS752 and compensate victims while praising Tehran for cooperating with an "objective" investigation.
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| The Best Podcasts for Avid Conspiracy Theorists Posted: 11 Jan 2020 09:00 AM PST |
| U.K. Jews Say Rift With Corbyn’s Labour Will Take Decade to Heal Posted: 11 Jan 2020 04:01 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Antisemitism became so rife in Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party it will take at least 10 years to repair the "destroyed" relationship with the U.K.'s Jewish community, a key representative group warned."I don't think you can underestimate the impact of the culture that exists in the Labour Party at the moment," Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said in an interview. "There has been a lot of relief that they didn't win the election."The stark message comes as the main U.K. opposition party begins the process to replace Corbyn, who announced he would step down after the landslide election defeat to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives on Dec. 12. Labour has been dogged by accusations of antisemitism since Corbyn became leader in 2015, and his election campaign was dramatically undermined when Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis questioned whether he was fit to run the country."The relationship between Labour and the Jewish community, once rock solid, has been all but destroyed," the Board of Deputies said in a statement. "Rebuilding will take more than mild expressions of regret."The group, made up of elected representatives from almost 300 synagogues and local Jewish organizations nationwide, published a list of 10 pledges it wants the next leader to make. They include using an independent body for the party's disciplinary process and ensuring anyone suspended or expelled from Labour over antisemitism is deprived of a platform for their views.'Resolve'The pledges "give Labour a clear route to navigate its way from the anti-Jewish racism which has blighted the party," said van der Zyl, laying the blame for the problem squarely with Corbyn. "It's going to require a huge amount of resolve from the leadership."Several candidates for the leadership have expressed the need to address discrimination against Jewish people in the party, which is currently under investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.Current front-runner Keir Starmer, Labour's Brexit spokesman, listed antisemitism as one of the main reasons the party lost the election. "Cumulatively, we lost the public's trust in the Labour Party as a force for good and a force for change," he told the BBC.Another candidate, Jess Phillips -- a member of the Labour Friends of Israel parliamentary group -- is a strong critic of Corbyn and has slammed his "woeful response" to the antisemitism crisis.The deadline for nominations in the Labour leadership contest is on Monday, with the winner due to be announced on April 4."I hope that we can see change," said van der Zyl. "Many people historically had a very deep connection with Labour, including my own family. But many people are now completely disenfranchised, and have got no political home."To contact the reporter on this story: Olivia Konotey-Ahulu in London at okonoteyahul@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| China set to strengthen cooperation with Zimbabwe Posted: 12 Jan 2020 12:57 PM PST  China's foreign minister Wang Yi on Sunday pledged to strengthen cooperation with Zimbabwe despite a spat over bilateral aid figures in November. The two countries butted heads after Zimbabwe's government said it had only received $3.6 million in aid from Beijing in 2019 -- 40 times lower than the figure claimed by China. Yi met his Zimbabwean counterpart Sibusiso Moyo on Sunday during the final leg of an Africa tour that also took him to Egypt, Djibouti, Eritrea and Burundi.
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| The Cold War Produced Some Truly Terrifying American And Russian Weapons Posted: 11 Jan 2020 08:30 AM PST  Here are the top 5.
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