| Iraqis shatter taboos in rage at Iran, but bloodshed may follow Posted: 28 Nov 2019 08:22 PM PST  By torching Tehran's consulates and slapping their muddy shoes against photographs of top Iranian officials, Iraqi protesters have shattered a taboo on public criticism of their influential eastern neighbour. In the latest expression of fury, protesters crowded around the Iranian consulate -- already emptied of diplomats -- in Iraq's shrine city of Najaf late Wednesday.
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| Woman sexually assaulted outside bar ‘while bouncers watched,’ lawyer says Posted: 30 Nov 2019 07:00 AM PST  A woman is suing a bar claiming bouncers stood by and watched as she was sexually assaulted in an alley.Video footage shows a man dressed in black opening the back door of the El Hefe bar and restaurant, in Chicago, followed by another man who appears to be holding the woman by the neck as he leads her out into the alleyway.
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| Pensioners and students gather for Hong Kong protest Posted: 29 Nov 2019 11:55 PM PST ![Pensioners and students gather for Hong Kong protest]( "Pensioners and students gather for Hong Kong protest") Secondary-school students and retirees joined forces at a protest in Hong Kong on Saturday, the first of several rallies planned across the China-ruled city a day after police withdrew from a university that had been rocked by a two-week siege. Police in neighbouring Guangzhou city have arrested a Belizean citizen for allegedly meddling in Hong Kong affairs, the local Communist party newspaper said. Lee Henley Hu Xiang, a Belizean businessman who lives in China, had funded "hostile forces" in the United States and supported activities that led to chaos in Hong Kong, the Southern Daily said.
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| Teacher Fired After Asking Trump to 'Remove' Immigrants Wins Her Appeal Posted: 30 Nov 2019 07:04 AM PST  A high school English teacher in Texas who was fired after she sent tweets to President Donald Trump asking him to rid her school of immigrants in the country illegally should be reinstated or be paid a year's salary, a state agency ruled this week.But the ruling is probably not the last turn in the story, as the Fort Worth Independent School District said that it believed her firing was appropriate and that it would appeal the state's ruling."We stand by our decision because we firmly believe this is in the best interests of all students," Kent P. Scribner, the superintendent of the school district, said in a statement this week.The state found that the teacher, Georgia Clark, should be reinstated and get back pay and employment benefits, or instead of being allowed to return to her job, she could receive one year's salary from the date she would have been reinstated, according to its ruling."The day the petitioner would have been reinstated is the day respondent tenders petitioner payment in full," the commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, Mike Morath, wrote in the ruling.Clark has not received a paycheck from the district since June, a district spokesman said.The district said it would appeal; an appeal would be heard by the state agency that ruled in Clark's favor, a district spokesman said.Efforts to reach Clark, who has worked at the school district since 1998, were unsuccessful Friday. Brandon Brim, her lawyer, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.In an interview with the television station WFAA in September, Clark said she wanted her job back. Asked how she would address the local Hispanic community, Clark said, "If you need someone to help your child graduate, you're looking at her right here."On May 17, in a series of tweets directed to Trump's Twitter account and addressed to "Mr. President," Clark said that her school district was "loaded" with students in the country illegally from Mexico, that her high school had been "taken over by them" and that drug dealers had not been punished.She blamed an assistant principal, whom she referred to as a "Hispanic assistant principal who protects certain students from criminal prosecution."A student separately said that on that same day, Clark had made "ethnically demeaning" comments in class, according to a report from an independent examiner that heard Clark's appeal and recommended that she be reinstated. She was accused of asking for a student's "papers" to go to the restroom, among other statements.On May 22, in more tweets directed to Trump, she wrote, "I really do need a contact here in Fort Worth who should be actively investigating and removing the illegals" from the public school system.The city of Fort Worth has one of the nation's highest Hispanic populations: Almost 35% of its residents identified as Hispanic or Latino in 2018.Clark acknowledged posting the tweets but said she believed they were private messages to Trump, according to the hearing examiner's report. Her Twitter account no longer exists.The school board moved to fire Clark in June, saying the public outcry from parents, students and members of the local community over her conduct in class and on social media "caused substantial disruptions in operations at the campus."In firing Clark, the district cited the May 17 episode in class, the tweets and an episode during the 2013-14 school year, when some students accused Clark of referring to a group of Hispanic students as "Little Mexico" and a white student as "white bread."But the report from the independent examiner rejected the district's rationale. It said students complaining of Clark's conduct in class on May 17 -- the accounts of which she disputed -- were not credible or were motivated by a bias against her.The report said that there was not enough evidence to substantiate the 2013-14 episode and that Clark's tweets were "free speech.""Clark's tweets are statements of a citizen on a matter of public concern protected by the United States Constitution and do not contravene or impair policies or proper performance of the district's functions," the report said.The report said that annual appraisals showed that "she has been evaluated as an excellent teacher consistently throughout her employment" with the district.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Japanese department store under fire over 'period badges' for female employees Posted: 29 Nov 2019 05:36 AM PST  A Japanese department store is under fire over a controversial policy enabling female staff to wear special red badges when they are menstruating. The unusual initiative was recently introduced Daimaru Umeda department store in Osaka, with the goal of encouraging empathy among co-workers when they were on their period. However, the company said that it was now reconsidering the plan following a growing public backlash over the badges, which depict a red manga cartoon character called Seiri-chan (which roughly translates as Miss Period). "We received many complaints from the public," an unnamed male executive at the store told Reuters. "Some of them concerned harassment, and that was definitely not our intention. We're reconsidering plans now." He added that the store had not intended to make the badge compulsory, with the initiative launched to coincide with the opening of its new Women's Wellbeing section. The badge was reportedly available to around 500 female members of staff, with the intention of helping staff recognise when colleagues with their period might need extra help or a break. Seiri-chan, a character with a heart-shaped face and big red lips, has become something of a hit in recent months in Japan, a nation where public talk of women's bodies and periods is often taboo. The brainchild of manga artist Ken Koyama, Seiri chan features in the popular comic Little Miss P – alongside catchily-named characters such as Little Miss PMS and Mr Virginity – and even starred in her own live-action comedy released this month. The workplace has long been a challenging place for Japanese women, with the nation often lagging far behind many other developed countries in terms of gender equality. Female workers are often exposed to deeply traditional gender expectations, as reflected by Japanese women earlier this month demanding the right to wear glasses to work, amid reports that some employers had banned them. Earlier this year, more than 21,000 people also signed a high profile online petition calling for Japanese companies to stop forcing female staff to wear high heels to work.
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| Italy’s ‘Miss Hitler’ Among 19 Investigated for Starting New Nazi Party in Italy Posted: 29 Nov 2019 08:03 AM PST  ROME–The tattoo of a Nazi eagle above a swastika that spans the back of Francesca Rizzi leaves no doubt about her political ideology. The 36-year-old winner of an online beauty pageant in which she was crowned "Miss Hitler" was one of 19 people across Italy put under formal investigation this week for illegally forming a Nazi political party. Her co-collaborators include a 50-year-old female civil servant named Antonella Pavin from Padua who dubbed herself "Hitler's Sergeant Major," and a former mobster from the Calabria 'Ndrangheta mafia who was allegedly in charge of militant training.Italy's anti-mafia and anti-terrorism forces spent two years investigating the group, which has ties to a number of other far-right clusters across Europe, including the U.K.'s Combat 18 and similar hate groups in Portugal, Spain and Greece.Armed special forces carried out the sting operation dubbed "Black Shadows" in 16 cities from Palermo to Milan Thursday morning after someone alerted "Miss Hitler" that police were monitoring the group. Fearful she and others involved might destroy or hide evidence, they swooped in. What they found was more than troubling. In 16 of the homes searched, they found similar caches of weapons including grenades and semi-automatic rifles and explosives. They also found Nazi and fascist memorabilia adorned with swastikas and the faces of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, alongside militant training texts designed to teach new members how to target Jewish people and gays. Their party motto, "Invisible, Silent and Lethal," was scrawled on the material. Prosecutors who led the investigation from Caltanissetta, Sicily, said Thursday that the suspects were creating "an openly pro-Nazi, xenophobic, anti-Semitic group called the Italian National Socialist Workers' Party." Pavin posted a notice with the group's logo on her Facebook page in July 2018, saying the group would start "military training" in August. Neo-Nazis' Air-to-Air Missile: An Explosive New Clue to Salvini's Intrigues With the RussiansForming a Fascist or Nazi party is against the law in Italy under post-World War II legislation passed in 1952, when Italy was recovering from the destruction caused by Mussolini's decision to follow Hitler's ideology. More than 7,500 Italian Jews died during the Holocaust. But the resurgence of such hate groups has become increasingly troubling in recent months. In November, 89-year-old Holocaust survivor and senator for life Liliana Segre, was put under armed police protection after receiving more than 200 anti-Semitic messages and death threats a day. Her name reportedly appeared in some of the hate messages found at the homes in Thursday's raids. Last week, new street signs that had just been erected in Rome to honor persecuted Italian Jews were desecrated. Mussolini's Last Laugh: How Fascist Architecture Still Dominates RomeLast summer, police found a cache of weapons including a French-made air-to-air missile in the hands of two Nazi sympathizers in the northern town of Turin. It is not clear if they were part of this particular group. In November, Segre called for a parliamentary committee to combat hate, which passed even though Italy's far-right former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini's Northern League party abstained from the vote. The arrests this week have uncovered an intricate network of hate across the country, with group members communicating on a closed group called "Militia" on the Russian social networking service VK. Among the messages were calls for the "mass castration and extinction" of Jews and gays. Police say they anticipate more arrests. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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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| U.S. Rebukes Zambia for Jailing Two Men for Homosexuality Posted: 30 Nov 2019 04:27 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. ambassador to Zambia said a high court ruling sentencing two men to 15 years in prison for homosexuality was horrifying.Ambassador Daniel Foote urged the government to reconsider laws that punish minority groups."I was personally horrified to read yesterday about the sentencing of two men, who had a consensual relationship, which hurt absolutely no one, to 15 years imprisonment," he said in an emailed statement Friday. "Decisions like this oppressive sentencing do untold damage to Zambia's international reputation by demonstrating that human rights in Zambia" are "not a universal guarantee."The constitution stipulates that the southern African nation is Christian, and laws dating back to Britain's colonial rule of the country that ended in 1964 forbid gay sex."This is the will of the Zambian people, we have to be with the people by abiding by the law," Chanda Kasolo, permanent secretary in the ministry of information, said by phone. "We respect the opinion of the American ambassador. We have to do things the way the people want."The sentencing of the men was particularly disturbing given that "government officials can steal millions of public dollars without prosecution," Foote said. He didn't give detail on which officials allegedly steal funds."Zambia takes great exception to the remarks," both on the court ruling and about government officials, Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Malanji said in a video distributed on social-media websites. The minister will present a formal démarche to Washington by Monday, he said.Zambia is ranked 105 out of 180 countries tracked by Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2018.(Updates with comment from foreign affairs ministry in final paragraph.)\--With assistance from Vernon Wessels.To contact the reporters on this story: Taonga Clifford Mitimingi in Lusaka at tmitimingi@bloomberg.net;Matthew Hill in Maputo at mhill58@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net, Gordon Bell, Helen RobertsonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The First Time Congress Tried to Impeach a President Was a Disaster Posted: 28 Nov 2019 09:30 PM PST  It didn't go as planned...
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| Families of Mexico massacre victims face backlash after cartel shooting Posted: 29 Nov 2019 09:46 AM PST  Members of a U.S.-Mexican religious community who lost relatives in a gangland massacre this month have come under fire from supporters of Mexico's government for pressing the United States to declare drug cartels terrorist groups.
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| Third occupant of Spain 'narco-sub' arrested: police Posted: 29 Nov 2019 12:54 PM PST  The third occupant of a submarine seized off the Spanish coast carrying three tonnes of cocaine worth 100 million euros ($110 million) was arrested on Friday, police said. Police intercepted the 20-metre (65-foot) submarine -- thought to be the first of its kind captured in Europe -- off the northwestern region of Galicia on Saturday. Two Ecuadorans were arrested as they tried to escape from the submarine, but the third occupant managed to flee from police.
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| Behind in polls, Taiwan president contender tells supporters to lie to pollsters Posted: 29 Nov 2019 12:32 AM PST  The main opposition contender for Taiwan's Jan. 11 presidential election said on Friday people should lie to pollsters to trick the ruling party into thinking they were going to win. Han Kuo-yu, standing on the presidential ticket for the Kuomintang party which favors close ties with China, is running a double-digit deficit in opinion polls behind President Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Han told reporters late on Thursday there were "many really strange polls" and even "fake polls" and people should refuse to answer calls from pollsters.
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| Millions Around The World Strike on Black Friday for Action on Climate Change Posted: 29 Nov 2019 02:16 PM PST  The protests are meant to raise awareness of overconsumption and demand action at the U.N.'s COP25, which begins in Spain next week
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| DR Congo buries 27 massacre victims as anger mounts Posted: 29 Nov 2019 10:16 AM PST  The Democratic Republic of Congo town of Oicha on Friday buried 27 victims of the latest massacre in the country's volatile east, with hundreds paying homage while lashing out at security forces for failing to stop attacks. The vast majority of the killings have been carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militia that has plagued the Democratic Republic of Congo's east since the 1990s.
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| This Is America's Role in Saudi Arabia's Power Struggle Posted: 29 Nov 2019 12:00 PM PST  Did you know that Saudi-Iranian oil rivalry was shaped by American power?
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| Iraqi PM offers resignation after security forces carry out 'bloodbath' killing of protesters Posted: 29 Nov 2019 05:12 AM PST  Iraq's embattled prime minister offered his resignation on Friday, following the bloodiest day in weeks of unrest. Adel Abdel Mahdi, who took up the post of premier last year, said he would submit to the parliament a formal letter requesting my resignation to "preserve the blood" of Iraqis. Demonstrators greed the news with cheers, throwing rice and dancing to music in Baghdad's Tahrir (Liberation) Square. "Long live the revolution, long live the heroes. Thank you to the people," one protester said over a loudspeaker. Mr Mahdi's decision came hours after Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's top Shia Muslim cleric, gave a sermon urging lawmakers to reconsider their support for the government, in a major boost to Iraqi demonstrators who have taken to the streets against a ruling class. "It's our first victory, and we're hoping for many more," shouted one demonstrator. "It's also a victory for the martyrs who fell," he said. An Iraqi anti-government protester waves a national flag close to a concrete barricade amidst clashes with security forces along the capital Baghdad's Rasheed street Credit: AFP Mr Mahdi's resignation was one of the protesters' demands, but it is unlikely to see them leave the streets after the crackdown by security forces. More than 45 were reported dead in just a 24-hour period between Wednesday and Thursday night, in an unprecedented level of violence against protesters by the government. Some 26 people were killed in the southern city of Nasiriyah after security forces tried to clear one of the main bridges into the city, 12 were killed in the holy city of Najaf and four in the capital, Baghdad. The demonstrations are the largest the country has seen in decades, but also the deadliest, with nearly 400 people killed and more than 15,000 wounded since they began last month. Iraq's "enemies and their apparatuses are trying to sow chaos and infighting to return the country to the age of dictatorship ... everyone must work together to thwart that opportunity," Mr Sistani said. The government "appears to have been unable to deal with the events of the past two months" and "parliament, from which the current government emerged, must reconsider its choices and do what's in the interest of Iraq," he said, urging them to stop killing protesters. Iraqi protesters carry the Iraqi national flag and shout slogans shortly after the resignation of Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel-Mahdi Credit: REX The unrest in Iraq's south was unleashed after protesters stormed the Iranian consulate in Najaf late on Wednesday, accusing the neighbouring country of propping up Iraq's government. Tehran demanded Iraq take decisive action against the protesters, saying it was "disgusted" by developments. In response, Mr Mahdi, who has received Iran's support, ordered military chiefs to deploy in several provinces to "impose security and restore order" - but chaos reigned instead. Men in civilian clothes opened fire at demonstrators and tribal fighters deployed in the streets in their defence. "We had blocked off the roads and bridges over the past four days and security forces moved in on us to try to open up the bridges. They opened fire leading to a bloodbath," said Hussein, a 32-year-old lawyer from Nasiriyah. "What's happening in Nasiriya is unbelievable. Nothing justifies this use of violence against us. We, the people, are extremely angry. Our blood is boiling. Our brothers were killed unjustifiably. Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International's Middle East research director, also used the word "bloodbath" to describe the crackdown in Nasiriyah and accused security forces of "appalling violence against largely peaceful protesters".
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| 2 victims were killed and police fatally shot a man wearing a hoax explosive vest in a terrorist attack at London Bridge Posted: 29 Nov 2019 05:47 PM PST  London Metropolitan Police closed London Bridge and London Bridge Station is also closed. City of London police shot the man, who died at the scene.
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| Russia and China deepen ties with River Amur bridge Posted: 29 Nov 2019 06:06 AM PST ![Russia and China deepen ties with River Amur bridge]( "Russia and China deepen ties with River Amur bridge") Russia and China have finished building the first road bridge linking their two countries, Russian officials said on Friday, in the latest sign of warming relations. The bridge across the River Amur will connect the cities of Blagoveshchensk in Russia's Far East and Heihe in northeastern China and is intended to increase the volume of freight traffic and agricultural products between the two countries. It is expected to open in spring 2020, Russia's Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic said.
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| Democrats have loathed John Bolton for years. Now, he could be their star witness against Trump. Posted: 30 Nov 2019 06:35 AM PST  The White House is said to be terrified of what John Bolton could reveal if he testifies in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump.
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| World-famous free solo climber Brad Gobright falls 1,000 feet to his death Posted: 29 Nov 2019 05:45 AM PST  World-famous free solo climber Brad Gobright has died after falling 1,000 feet during a climb in Mexico.
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| Climate activists turn attention to Black Friday: 'Shoppers cannot ignore the climate emergency' Posted: 29 Nov 2019 10:37 AM PST  Young activists worldwide planned to hold hundreds of demonstrations on Black Friday to protest overconsumption and draw attention to climate change.
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| Why the LDS Church Joined LGBTQ Advocates in Supporting Utah's Conversion Therapy Ban Posted: 29 Nov 2019 04:24 PM PST  Utah Gov. Gary Herbert proposed a new rule banning therapists from practicing LGBTQ conversion therapy on minors that is supported by LGBTQ advocates and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).
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| Romania halts sheep rescue from capsized ship Posted: 30 Nov 2019 06:36 AM PST  Five days of efforts to pull sheep from a capsized ship saved 254 of the animals, but the operation ended with the death of many thousands more, rescue services said Saturday. The cargo ship Queen Hind capsized last Sunday as it left the southeastern port of Midia with 14,600 sheep bound for Saudi Arabia. "As soon as the situation allows for it, the ship will be set upright and towed back to a quay," said Ana-Maria Stoica, spokeswoman for Romania's General Directorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU).
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| Is Israel Taking Advantage of Regional Confusion to Expand Its Territory? Posted: 29 Nov 2019 05:00 PM PST  Four unanswered questions about Israel's West Bank settlements.
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| Hong Kong elders, youths vow to keep up pro-democracy fight Posted: 30 Nov 2019 12:44 AM PST  Hundreds of silver-haired activists joined young Hong Kong protesters for a unity rally Saturday, vowing that their monthslong movement will not fade away until there is greater democracy in the Chinese territory. The rally at a park downtown was among several peaceful gatherings by protesters this week to keep up pressure on the government amid a lull in violence following a local election victory by the pro-democracy bloc and the gaining of U.S. support for their cause. A local boys' band belted out songs to tell protesters that "the whole Hong Kong is supporting you." Speakers reminded the crowd that it wasn't time to celebrate and that the fight for real autonomy must persist.
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| Germany to make anti-Semitism a specific hate crime as Jews 'no longer feel safe' Posted: 29 Nov 2019 09:02 AM PST  Germany is to tighten its laws against anti-Semitic hate crimes in the wake of last month's failed attack on a synagogue by a far-Right gunman. "I am ashamed that Jews no longer feel safe in Germany and that so many are even thinking of leaving the country," Christine Lambrecht, the justice minister, told German MPs. "We have to send a clear signal against anti-Semitism." Under the planned changes, crimes with an anti-Semitic motive will attract heavier sentences. The move comes after a synagogue in east Germany narrowly escaped becoming the scene of a massacre last month. Stephan Balliet, a German national who released a far-Right "manifesto" before the attack, failed in his attempts to break into the synagogue which was packed with 51 people marking Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. He later turned his gun on bystanders, killing two people. While the Halle attack was the highest profile incident, it was by no means an isolated case. Just days before, a Syrian man was stopped by security guards as he tried to enter Berlin's best known synagogue armed with a knife and shouting "Allahu akbar" and "F*** Israel". Anti-Semitic crimes across Germany rose by 10 per cent to a total of 1,646 last year, but it is the figures for violence that are most alarming. Violent anti-Semitic crimes rose by 60 per cent, with 62 offences leaving 43 people injured. More than 50 people were trapped inside the synagogue while the gunman tried to gain entry Credit: Craig Stennett for the Telegraph They include the case of an Israeli man who was attacked and whipped with a belt while wearing a Jewish kippah skullcap in central Berlin in April last year. Adam Armoush, an Israeli Arab who lives in Berlin, is not Jewish but was wearing the kippah in an attempt to prove Berlin was safe for Jewish people. In the wake of that incident felix Klein, the German government's anti-Semitism commissioner, issued a warning to Jewish men not to wear skullcaps in public for their own safety. Mr Klein later retracted his warning after a public outcry. In another case in July last year, a Jewish Syrian man wearing a Star of David pendant was attacked and beaten by a group of people when he stopped to ask for a light for his cigarette in central Berlin. Anti-Semitic incidents last year also include one an attack on a Jewish restaurant in the east German city of Chemnitz. Masked men broke surrounded the entrance to the restaurant and broke the windows with stones while the owner was trapped inside. Current German laws recognise discrimination against a particular group of people as an aggravating factor in any crime that can lead to a heavier sentence. But the planned changes will explicitly name anti-Semitism for the first time. The change is part of a package introduced after the Halle synagogue attack. Other measures include laws obliging social media networks to inform the authorities of online threats and incitement to hatred. "This is an important step towards consistent punishment of anti-Semitic crimes," said Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. "With the planned amendment to the law, the federal government is living up to its commitment to fight anti-Semitism resolutely and protect Jewish life." "Anti-Semitic offences are not just attacks on individual people of the Jewish faith, they always an attack on our values, on our constitutional state, and on our democracy as a whole," said Georg Eisenreich, the regional justice minister for Bavaria, where prosecutors recently announced they will prioritise anti-Semitic crimes.
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| Pakistani man aims to bring shade to Iraq's Arbaeen pilgrims Posted: 29 Nov 2019 03:16 AM PST  A retired Pakistani industrialist sent thousands of saplings to Iraq on Friday to bring shade to pilgrims, an idea formed when his relatives returned from a holy site with sunburn. Mohammedi Durbar, 85, wants to plant nearly 50,000 trees along the entire 80-km (50-mile) pilgrimage route between Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala. Among the worshippers last year were Durbar's grandson and daughter-in-law, who returned to Pakistan tanned and with photographs showing a barren landscape.
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| The US fertility rate has dropped for the fourth year in a row, and it might forecast a 'demographic time bomb' Posted: 29 Nov 2019 12:45 PM PST  Russia, Japan, and Spain are all dealing with their growing elderly populations and declining birthrates. The US could be next.
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| We Aid the Growth of Chinese Tyranny to Our Eternal Shame Posted: 29 Nov 2019 03:30 AM PST  We can't say we didn't know.Reports of the repression of Muslims living in northwestern China have been leaking out for years in drips and drabs. Satellite photos picked up the construction of massive prison facilities in the Xinjiang province. The BBC was even invited into one of the "thought transformation camps," from which inmates are released a few hours a week, to see the program of patriotic re-education. Inmates were frank with the Beeb's reporters that religious activity — including prayer — was banned inside the building.Now, in the last week, a more complete picture of Beijing's repression campaign has emerged. Leaked memos have revealed some of the details of China's modernized and tech-supported religious persecution of Muslims in Xinjiang. These are the first Venona cables of our generation. They make certain what sharp observers must have guessed: China uses cutting-edge technology to identify, classify, and detain Muslims for re-education in the old-school argot of totalitarian Communism. President Xi Jinping has instructed the party members and public officials involved in this repression to show "absolutely no mercy" and make ample use of the "organs of dictatorship" to accomplish their mission.The leaked memos include lines that will be cited as exculpatory in the future — they show Xi counseling against proposals to "eradicate" Islam entirely. But the larger picture painted by the documents is one of state apparatus mobilized in the service of repression, aiming to make up for lost time in which Uighurs and Kazaks were allowed to worship, practice, and believe as they pleased. "The weapons of the people's democratic dictatorship must be wielded without any hesitation or wavering," Xi is quoted as saying.Distressingly, Xi could occasionally sound like some of the West's "New Atheists" when talking about his fellow citizens. "People who are captured by religious extremism — male or female, old or young — have their consciences destroyed," he says. They "lose their humanity and murder without blinking an eye."There really isn't any mistaking the strategy here: The ethnic balance of southern Xinjiang is to be transformed through the state-aided resettlement of Han Chinese in the region. While there are token concessions to the idea of allowing Uighurs to retain their religion, the use of Turkic languages has been discouraged. China is attempting to deprive Uighurs of their ethnolinguistic identity, the very rudiments of their nationality. These efforts have unsurprisingly inspired intermittent riots and violence in recent years, which have in turn been used to justify the expansion of the re-education camps.The most chilling aspect of this repression is the use of information technology. An incredible, Orwellian surveillance system is used to monitor the movements of Xinjiang's people. The cameras are placed prominently throughout cities such as Kashgar and surrounding towns to remind people that they are being watched. Algorithms are deployed to facilitate the classification and selection of Uighurs for the camps.It's a tyranny that we have helped to enable. China's prosperity and technological progress, generated in no small part by its ability to trade in such high volume with the United States, have empowered its government to do this. Our desire to keep trading with China obliges the president of the United States to remain silent about this barbarity.In short, the leaked documents make clear that the West desperately needs to recover its ability to privilege political and moral aims over the immediate exigencies of the market, which can tolerate even this kind of repression and in fact may operate more smoothly alongside it. The power of China's tyranny grows in parallel with our fatalism about it, and our determination to be consoled by its economic upside. But enough is enough.
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| Giraffes among 10 animals killed in 'tragic' Ohio safari wildlife park fire Posted: 29 Nov 2019 12:12 PM PST  Officials said ten animals were killed at the African Safari Wildlife Park in Port Clinton, Ohio, in the Thanksgiving Day fire.
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| Airlines are joining in on Black Friday and Cyber Monday with major flight sales — here's how you can save Posted: 29 Nov 2019 01:52 PM PST  Delta, American Airlines, Southwest, Emirates, and more have posted Black Friday and Cyber Monday flight deals. We expect more sales, too.
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| The China Challenge Continues to Mount Posted: 29 Nov 2019 01:00 PM PST  This is why the West must ensure the maintenance of peace, security of borders, and world trade.
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| Justice Department's 2016 Trump campaign report to be released Posted: 30 Nov 2019 07:14 AM PST  An internal watchdog's report on Justice Department surveillance of President Trump's 2016 campaign is set to be released in early December, about the same time as a likely House vote on whether to impeach him.
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| Vietnam receives last of 39 remains of trafficking victims Posted: 29 Nov 2019 07:10 PM PST  The last remains of the 39 Vietnamese who died while being smuggled in a truck to England last month were repatriated to their home country on Saturday. Photos by the official Vietnam News Agency showed the arrival at the Hanoi airport of 16 bodies and seven urns, which had been flown from London. The 31 men and eight women are believed to have paid human traffickers for their clandestine transit into England.
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| Chileans suffering eye trauma from protests march on presidential palace Posted: 28 Nov 2019 10:37 AM PST  A group of Chileans who claim to have suffered eye trauma in confrontations with the security forces rallied outside the presidential palace on Thursday to call for President Sebastian Pinera to "take responsibility" for human rights violations during the ongoing protests. "We cannot return to the impunity of 1973," she said, referring to the year General Augusto Pinochet led a coup in Chile.
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| Berlin airport to open in 2020 after nine-year delay Posted: 29 Nov 2019 07:15 AM PST  Berlin's new international airport is set to open on October 31, 2020, its operating company said Friday, after an embarrassing nine-year delay owing to structural problems and corruption. "The BER will open on 31.10.2020," Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg (FBB) said on Twitter, using the international code for the airport. FBB said chief executive Engelbert Luetke Daldrup had informed the airport operator's board of the new date.
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| Ilhan Omar's Republican opponent in Twitter ban over 'hanging' posts Posted: 28 Nov 2019 12:33 PM PST  * Danielle Stella post featured 'stick figure hanging from gallows' * Republican aiming to unseat Omar charged with felony theftIlhan Omar introduces Bernie Sanders at a rally in Minneapolis earlier this month. Photograph: Evan Frost/APA campaign account for Danielle Stella, a pro-Trump Republican candidate for Congress, was banned from Twitter after it published a violent comment about the Democrat she hopes to unseat next year, Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar.Stella's campaign Twitter account, @2020MNCongress, featured at least two posts involving the idea of Omar being hanged, according to the Washington Times, which broke the story of her suspension.embedThe tweets concerned an unsubstantiated allegation that Omar – one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress – shared sensitive information with Qatar, which then wound up with Iran.A spokesperson for Omar previously told the Jerusalem Post of the claim: "Since the day she was elected, Saudi Arabian trolls and mouthpieces have targeted Omar with misinformation and conspiracy theories."An initial tweet from Stella's campaign account reportedly said: "If it is proven [Omar] passed sensitive info to Iran, she should be tried for treason and hanged."The Washington Times said the account "subsequently tweeted the link to an article that aggregated her remark, accompanied by a crude depiction of a stick figure hanging from gallows".The @2020MNCongress account cannot be viewed. Text on the page reads "account suspended" and "Twitter suspends accounts which violate the Twitter Rules".In a statement, Twitter told the Guardian: "The account was permanently suspended for repeated violations of the Twitter Rules."Stella said in a statement: "My suspension for advocating for the enforcement of federal code proves Twitter will always side with and fight to protect terrorists, traitors, pedophiles and rapists."The Guardian revealed that Stella has been arrested twice this year over accusations that she shoplifted some $2,300 in goods from Target and $40 in items from a grocery, Stella has maintained her innocence.She has made claims about Omar before, claiming she broke the law by telling immigrants how to avoid authorities. Lawmakers who don't "uphold the rule of law", Stella said, should be kicked out of office.A spokesperson for Omar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Since winning election to Congress last year, Omar has attracted rightwing attacks and fringe conspiracy theories as well as outright threats of violence. The congresswoman said this April she faced an increase in death threats after Trump accused her of downplaying September 11.On 19 November, New York man Patrick Carlineo pleaded guilty in relation to calling Omar's office and telling a staffer: "Why are you working for her, she's a [expletive] terrorist. Somebody ought to put a bullet in her skull. Back in the day, our forefathers would have put a bullet in her [expletive]."Omar, who came to the US as a Somali refugee, appealed for "compassion"."As someone who fled a war zone, I know how destabilizing acts of political violence can be," she said in a letter to the judge. "That his threat of violence relied on hateful stereotypes about my faith only made it more dangerous … it was a threat against an entire religion, at a time of rising hate crime against religious minorities in our country."She added: "We must ask: who are we as a nation if we respond to acts of political retribution with retribution ourselves? The answer to hate is not more hate; it is compassion."
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| Lawsuit: Alabama Sheriff 'Big John' Williams shot in parking lot 'without provocation' Posted: 30 Nov 2019 07:19 AM PST  Suspect William Chase Johnson faces murder charges. He is the son of a Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputy.
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| Saudi laws continue to hold women back from travel despite MBS reforms Posted: 28 Nov 2019 09:58 AM PST  Scanning the departures board at Riyadh's international airport, Eman tried to find her gate as she struggled with an oversized suitcase. She had travelled countless times before but always with her father, who had taken care of everything. It was the first time the 26-year-old had flown alone and she was finding it all a bit daunting. "My father didn't like me going on trips without him or my brother, and I had always respected his wishes," Eman, who asked that her surname not be published, told the Telegraph. "He was worried about what I would do if I had too much independence." Under Saudi Arabia's guardianship system, women had to rely on the permission of male relatives to leave the country and, in some cases, even to leave the home. But a royal decree issued in August ruled that women over the age of 21 could travel abroad and apply for a passport without a guardian's permission. Eman felt emboldened by the decree to tell her father that she would be travelling alone this time for a business meeting in Beirut, where she hoped to find new clients for her fledgling beauty company. A Saudi woman displays her new driving license, at the General Department of Traffic in the capital, Riyadh, after the kingdom lifts the ban on women driving in June last year Credit: AP "He wants my business to succeed, but he is still a bit old-fashioned," she said. "The guardianship laws are partly about protecting women, but I think part of it is has always been about control." Things have been changing quickly in the ultra-conservative kingdom as the young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pushes to modernise the country. In less than a year, MBS, as he has become known, has dropped Saudi's draconian ban on women driving, done away with the "hai'a" which policed their dress and sanctioned mixed gender gatherings. But despite the reforms, women in Saudi told the Telegraph that the country's laws continue to work against them to prevent them from travelling. Male guardians can still file cases of filial "disobedience", a crime which can lead to forcible return to their guardian's home or imprisonment in a women's shelter. Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun (C) accompanied by Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chryistia Freeland (R), arrives at Toronto Pearson International Airport after escaping her "abusive" family Credit: Reuters A legal provision known as "taghayyub" in Arabic, meaning "absent", could also be invoked if a woman runs away from home without permission. Just this month it was reported that Princess Basmah Bint Saud Bin Abdul Aziz, the youngest daughter of deposed King Saud, was arrested trying to board a flight from the city of Jeddah to Geneva. The princess' US lawyer said that following her detention the 55-year-old, who had campaigned for women's rights among other issues, "just fell off the radar" and has not been heard from since. "Even if they get to the airport with their documents and there is no physical restriction on their travel, women's fathers or husbands could call up airport officials and tell them that they had been 'disobedient'," Rothna Begum, women's rights researcher for the Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. "There are still many parts of the law that continue to work against women." Ms Begum said the decision marked a big step towards dismantling the guardianship system, but cautioned that women's rights were yet to be fully enshrined. "The decree does not appear to positively affirm women's right to travel abroad, as is their right under international law, and because it is not specific in its wording there are loopholes," she said. Dua (L) and Dalal (R) al-Showaiki used Twitter to document their escape from their family from Turkey In another example, divorced mothers also spoke of how they feared they would not be able to travel with their children. More often than not in Saudi men win primary custody in a divorce, meaning mothers are required to get the permission of the father to fly with their children. One woman, who holds dual Saudi-Canadian citizenship, said she wanted to her two children to see her parents in Ottawa but her ex-husband had not given her permission for them to go. The royal court decision followed a series of high-profile cases of Saudi women attempting to flee the kingdom. Critics say they likely put pressure on a crown prince increasingly concerned about his image abroad, which has already been dented by the mass arrest of women's rights activists and the brutal murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year. Eighteen-year-old Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun barricaded herself in a hotel room in Bangkok in January claiming she had been imprisoned and abused by her father back in Saudi and wanted to claim asylum. A few months later, sisters Dua, 22, and Dalal al-Showaiki, 20, escaped during a family holiday in Turkey, claiming they too had suffered at the hands of their father and were being forced into arranged marriages. The rights of women have been held back not only by the country's laws, but by its deep religious conservatism. In Saudi's male-dominant culture, men largely have ultimate authority over women and many are resistant to the reforms. Jawhara, 30, a housewife from Riyadh told this paper during a recent visit that she was lucky to have a supportive husband, but said there were many more women that do not. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has led the reforms to modernise Saudi but has also faced criticism for the mass arrest of women's rights activists Credit: AFP "I think modern families like mine will allow their daughters, sisters, mothers and wives to travel freely, but you must keep in mind the reserved parts of society which makes up a significant chunk of the country," she said, not wishing to give her full name. "While change from the top matters there must also be change within the society itself. Women will continue to try to escape as long as they're treated like second-class citizens and I am glad they now have the means to." The number of Saudis seeking asylum abroad has increased sevenfold in recent years. Saudis made at least 815 asylum claims worldwide in 2017, which includes both men and women, compared with 195 in 2012, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency's database. Rights group say this can be partly attributed to the opening up of social media in the kingdom, which has exposed women to freedoms experienced in the West. Toby Cadman, a British human rights lawyer who is helping Dua and Dalal's claim for asylum, told the Telegraph that he has been contacted by more than 10 Saudi women asking for help, several of which since the August decree. "I had one recently who was the daughter of a Saudi diplomat in Africa. The woman was unmarried and in her 30s, so still considered to be under the protection of her father," said Mr Cadman, co-founder of law firm Guernica 37. "She was effectively being kept under lock and key in the compound." Mr Cadman gave her the advice to try to escape, but her father had her passport and she was too afraid of the punishment she would receive if she was caught. "For her, and many others like her, it made little difference that the laws had changed," he said. In the case of Dua and Dalal, whose situation became public after they launched a Twitter campaign asking for help, the sisters' parents have gone to some lengths to bring them home. The father, whom they describe as controlling and abusive, asked the Saudi embassy to help facilitate their return. Staff told the sisters to come to the consulate to collect new passports, which Mr Cadman believes was a rouse. Mr Cadman said there were common themes in all the cases: men fearing a loss of control over the women under their "guardianship" and familial honour. "The new decree makes almost no difference at all to the average woman in Saudi," he said. "It cannot just be a change in the law, it needs to be a change in the mindset, a change in thinking. That will take some time." Additional reporting by Nadia al-Faour
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| Donald Trump Sees Another Opportunity to Teach Cuba a Lesson Posted: 29 Nov 2019 05:30 AM PST  Is Trump using "health attacks" on US diplomats in Havana as an excuse to punish Cuba?
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| Japan Won’t Sign China-Backed Trade Deal If India Doesn’t Join Posted: 28 Nov 2019 08:15 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. Japan is not considering signing a Chinese-backed regional trade pact without India, the top Japanese negotiator said Friday, ahead of a series of diplomatic exchanges in the coming weeks that include a visit to Delhi by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.India announced this month it was withdrawing from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, citing the deal's potential impact on the livelihoods of its most vulnerable citizens. China said that the 15 remaining countries decided to move forward first and India was welcome to join RCEP whenever it's ready."We aren't thinking about that at all yet," Deputy Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Hideki Makihara, said in an interview with Bloomberg. "All we are thinking of is negotiations including India."Abe has sought to beef up ties with India across a range of fields to balance China's regional dominance. Japanese and Indian foreign and defense ministers hold their first joint meeting in a so-called 'two plus two' format this weekend. Both countries are also part of four-way security talks with Australia and the U.S. called the Quad, a move that Beijing has complained could stoke a new Cold War.Japan Seeks to Keep India in China-Backed Regional Trade Pact"It is meaningful from the economic, political and potentially the national security point of view," Makihara said of the inclusion of the world's largest democracy in the pact. "Japan will continue to try to persuade India to join."Trade Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama will accompany Abe on next month's trip to India, Makihara said.The other countries taking part in the RCEP talks are Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.China has sought to accelerate the RCEP deal as it faces slowing growth from a trade war with the U.S. An agreement would further integrate Asia's economies with China just as President Donald Trump's administration urges nations in the region to shun Chinese infrastructure loans and 5G telecommunications technology.To contact the reporter on this story: Isabel Reynolds in Tokyo at ireynolds1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Jon Herskovitz, Muneeza NaqviFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UK police explain decision on Prince Andrew case Posted: 28 Nov 2019 06:31 PM PST  London police are defending the decision not to pursue a full investigation of allegations made against Prince Andrew by a woman who says she was trafficked by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Police acknowledged Thursday that they received a complaint in 2015 from a woman alleging she was the victim of trafficking for sexual exploitation. The woman, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, has said she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex three times with Prince Andrew starting in 2001, including once in London.
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| Indonesian gymnast dropped after told 'she's no longer a virgin' Posted: 29 Nov 2019 03:13 AM PST ![Indonesian gymnast dropped after told 'she's no longer a virgin']( "Indonesian gymnast dropped after told 'she's no longer a virgin'") An Indonesian female gymnast training for a major sport event has been sent home on grounds she was no longer a virgin, her family said on Friday, a claim rejected by officials who insisted it was over disciplinary issues. "The coach said my daughter always goes out late with her male friends and their interrogation showed she was no longer a virgin," her mother Ayu Kurniawati told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Indonesia's East Java province. Indonesia's sports ministry denied the claim on Friday, saying the dismissal was due to performance and disciplinary issues.
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| Inside Dubai's VIP private terminal for the superrich that costs $11,000 an hour to use Posted: 29 Nov 2019 08:20 AM PST  Jetex offers fully bespoke aviation for the superrich. Inside the terminal, customers can enjoy a games room, sleep pods, and a private piano player.
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