| 'The evidence is overwhelming': Combative hearing moves House closer to impeachment Posted: 09 Dec 2019 07:52 AM PST  Democrat Adam Schiff's committee formally presented its findings to the House Judiciary Committee on Monday, bringing the House one step closer to a formal vote to impeach President Trump.
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| Remember When Russian Diesel Submarines Chased Down A British Nuclear Sub? Posted: 09 Dec 2019 04:05 AM PST  Depends if it actually happened.
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| Boston's trauma to be dissected as marathon bomber appeals death sentence Posted: 09 Dec 2019 03:21 AM PST  This city's deepest wound - the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings that killed three and injured hundreds more - will be re-examined Thursday when lawyers for bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev seek to have his death sentence lifted because the jury pool was too traumatized to render a fair verdict. The then-19-year old Tsarnaev and his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan sparked five days of panic in Boston that began April 15, 2013, when they detonated a pair of homemade pressure cooker bombs at the race's packed finish line. The pair eluded capture for days, punctuated by a gunbattle with police in Watertown that killed Tamerlan and led to a daylong lockdown of Boston and most of its suburbs while heavily armed officers and troops conducted a house-to-house search for Dzhokhar.
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| Consulting firm allows Buttigieg to release names of clients Posted: 09 Dec 2019 01:33 PM PST  The McKinsey & Co. consulting firm said Monday that it will allow Pete Buttigieg to identify the clients he served more than a decade ago while the Democratic presidential contender also pledged to open his fundraising events to the news media and provide the names of key fundraising organizers. The moves reflect the growing pressure Buttigieg is under as his campaign gains traction in early voting states, particularly Iowa, less than two months before the Democratic contest begins. The 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is one of the party's most successful fundraisers this year — collecting more than $50 million so far in 2019 — in part by tapping the resources of big donors.
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| China says detained Canadians treated in 'civilised way' Posted: 10 Dec 2019 02:18 AM PST  China defended on Tuesday its year-long detention of two Canadians after Ottawa accused Beijing of "arbitrarily" arresting the men in what was widely seen as retaliation for the arrest of a Huawei executive. Former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor have been languishing in China's opaque legal system since they were apprehended on December 10, 2018, just nine days after the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.
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| 'Old man' Trump is 'bluffing,' says North Korea: KCNA news agency Posted: 09 Dec 2019 12:18 PM PST  North Korea on Monday accused President Trump of "bluffing" and called him "an old man bereft of patience" as Pyongyang ramps up pressure on Washington over stalled nuclear talks.
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| ‘Bomb cyclone’ triggers 75ft wave off California coast Posted: 08 Dec 2019 02:15 PM PST  A 75ft wave was recorded off the Californian coast after a 'bomb cyclone' pounded the West Coast during Thanksgiving week.Scientists from the University of California said it was the tallest wave they had documented in the last 15 years.
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| Ramaphosa Faces Party Bid to Oust Him Over Reforms, Citizen Says Posted: 08 Dec 2019 11:39 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's opponents within the ruling party are plotting to oust him over reforms that they say are failing to benefit the poor, the Citizen reported, citing people it didn't identify.A campaign being led by African National Congress Secretary-General Ace Magashule aims to discredit him over economic policies that his opponents argue are supplanting the party's pro-poor stance, the Johannesburg-based newspaper said.The anti-Ramaphosa faction wants Deputy President David Mabuza to become president, deputized by either Magashule or Water Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, the newspaper said.ANC spokesman Pule Mabe didn't answer calls to his mobile seeking comment.Magashule is an ally of former President Jacob Zuma, whose almost nine-year term was marred by a series of corruption scandals.To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Richardson in Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Benjamin Harvey at bharvey11@bloomberg.net, Vernon Wessels, Alastair ReedFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Meet the lawyer at the center of the Trump universe Posted: 08 Dec 2019 10:35 AM PST  Marc Mukasey has deep, personal connections within President Trump's orbit, and he has worked on a number of high-profile cases involving the president.
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| Pensacola gunman legally purchased Glock 45 used in shooting, FBI says. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blames 'federal loophole' Posted: 08 Dec 2019 04:18 PM PST  The Saudi national who shot and killed three people at NAS Pensacola bought the Glock 45 9mm used in the attack legally, according to the FBI.
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| Baltimore County Police Officer Charged With Sexually Assaulting Three Women Posted: 09 Dec 2019 02:09 PM PST  A Baltimore County cop has been charged with sexually assaulting at least three women, including one he allegedly tricked into going to his house after claiming he was ordering her a car to her friend's home, court documents state. Baltimore County Police Officer Michael Westerman, 25, was charged Sunday with two counts of second-degree rape and three counts of second-degree assault. He is currently being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center after he was denied bail on Monday.According to charging documents obtained by The Daily Beast, Westerman is accused of sexually assaulted three women using a series of predatory tactics to isolate them. One woman said she was scared to report the alleged serial rapist because he was a police officer. Dallas Police Up Charges Against White Bartender Who Brutally Beat Black Woman"The allegations made in this case are reprehensible and are not representative of the values and ethics of the Baltimore County Police Department," Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt said in a Sunday statement, adding Westerman "has been suspended without pay."Authorities said an investigation into Westerman, who joined the force in 2013, began on Oct. 16 after the special victims unit received "information concerning the allegations." One 22-year-old woman, according to the charging documents, said she met Westerman on Oct. 4, 2017, outside a bar called White Marsh, according to the charging documents.The woman, who was not identified, said she left the bar to pass out in her car after Westerman bought shots for a crowd. She told police that she planned to stay in her car until she was sober enough to drive home. Instead, the woman said she woke up to the police officer and one of her female friends knocking on her car window.Westerman allegedly stated he was going to order her an Uber to take her to her friend's house, the women said."You are going to Uber us back to my house, right?" the woman asked Westerman, who allegedly responded, "Yes." Illinois Police Chief Shared Photos From Secret Recordings of Sexual Encounters: ProsecutorsInstead, Westerman drove the trio back to his house, where he allegedly raped one of the women, the charging documents state. The woman stated she tried to stop Westerman when he got on top of her, but he "told her that he liked it when she pushed at him and when she told him to stop."After the assault, the 22-year-old said she woke up to find "her pants were on the floor," according to the document. She then told her friend what had happened and the two left immediately, according to police. Another 20-year-old woman told authorities she was drinking at the officer's home on June 8, 2019 when she fell asleep in his guest bedroom. She alleged the cop woke her up and forced her to have sex with him—but she didn't initially report the incident because "she knew Defendent Westerman was a Baltimore County Police Officer."Two weeks later, authorities allege Westerman sexually assaulted another 22-year-old woman at a birthday party. That woman, who described herself as the officer's friend, said he took her to a "secluded area" in Middle River, where "he wanted to show or tell her something." Instead, the cop allegedly grabbed and tried to kiss her twice before she left with a relative, charging documents state.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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| Up to 13 feared dead in volcanic eruption off New Zealand Posted: 08 Dec 2019 06:37 PM PST  A volcano off the New Zealand coast erupted Monday with a towering blast of ash and scalding steam as dozens of tourists were exploring its moon-like surface, killing five people and leaving eight others missing and feared dead, authorities said. Helicopter crews landed on White Island despite the danger and helped evacuate the dozens of survivors, some of them critically injured. The missing and injured included New Zealanders and tourists from Australia, the U.S., China, Britain and Malaysia, the prime minister said.
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| Suu Kyi in court as genocide case set out against Myanmar Posted: 09 Dec 2019 10:37 PM PST  Mass rapes, the burning alive of Muslim Rohingya families in their homes and the killing with knives of dozens of children were described by Gambia's legal team as it set out its genocide case against Myanmar at the U.N.'s highest court on Tuesday. Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate, looked on impassively as the alleged atrocities were detailed on the first of three days of hearings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The case was instituted by Gambia against Buddhist-majority Myanmar in November.
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| Isil 'matchmaker' who lured British teen bride to Syria is deported to France Posted: 09 Dec 2019 08:51 AM PST  Turkey has deported to France the "Islamic State matchmaker" who lured a British teen bride to Syria as part of a drive to send foreign fighters back to their countries of origin. Tooba Gondal, 25, is among 11 French nationals that Turkey repatriated early on Monday, according to France's Centre for Analysis of Terrorism, CAT, citing official sources. A French judicial source confirmed that four women and their seven children had arrived in France. Two of the women returned were already targeted by arrest warrants and will soon face a judge, while the other two were sought by police and have been placed in custody, the French source said. The children have been taken into care. Ms Gondal, from Walthamstow, east London, has been "detained for questioning" and faces terror charges, said CAT. She will then likely be detained while awaiting trial. She was born in France but moved to UK capital as a child and had British residency. A source close to the family told The Telegraph they were upset by the UK's decision to refuse her return. "Her kids most certainly will go into foster care away from her and any of her family in Britain," said the source. Tooba Gondal, known as the 'Islamic State matchmaker' pictured before leaving for Syria in 2015 Ms Gondal has been accused of acting as an online recruiter and "matchmaker" for the terrorist group by luring women to Syria to marry Isil fighters. Among them was reportedly Bethnal Green schoolgirl Shamima Begum. She used social media to post images of herself wearing a burqa and holding an assault rifle. In October, Ms Gondal told the Telegraph how she managed to escape from Ain Issa camp with her two infant children, along with hundreds of other foreign suspected Isil women in a mass prison break after Turkey launched its offensive. She expressed a desire to be sent to the UK or Turkey. "I want to go home, see my family," the former Goldsmiths, University of London, student said via WhatsApp messages. "But if I am not able, I want to seek refuge in Turkey." Married and widowed three times while living in Isil's "caliphate", she was banned from re-entering the UK last November by a Home Office exclusion order, but her three-year-old son is entitled to citizenship because of his British father. However, her 18-month-old daughter's late father was Russian. Last month, Turkey stepped up the return of suspected foreign Isil members - either held in Turkish prisons or in Syria - back to their countries of origin, saying Turkey was "not a hotel" for foreign fighters. The Turkish interior ministry on Monday confirmed it had sent 11 French relatives of suspected "terrorist fighters" back home. According to CAT, one of the deported women was Amandine Le Coz, who had been married to a Moroccan militant killed in Syria. She joined Isil with her husband in 2014. The French foreign ministry and interior ministry declined to comment. The mother-of-two, seen here with a Kalashnikov, was denied return to the United Kingdom with her children Credit: Telegraph Turkey stepped up its deportation of foreign fighters after criticism from Western countries, in particular, France, over its military offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria. The move has created a conundrum for European governments over how to manage the return of radicalised militants, some of them battle-hardened. Britain, which has taken one of the strongest stances against the return of its nationals, has deprived many of them of their citizenship. Under a 2014 accord between France and Turkey, Paris agreed to take back jihadists trying to return home from Syria via Turkey and incarcerate them at home. Some 300 French nationals have been thus returned in the past five years. However, France is keen on foreign suspects being sent for trial near to their place of arrest - notably Iraq, where several of its nationals have recently been handed death sentences. America last month clashed with Europe over the issue, with Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state, insisting they needed to "hold them to account". "Coalition members must take back the thousands of foreign terrorist fighters in custody and impose accountability for the atrocities they have perpetrated," he said in a meeting of the international coalition against Isil in Washington DC. Ankara says it has around 1,200 foreign Isil members in custody. There are understood to be around 10 British men, 20 women and 30 children, currently detained in Kurdish-run camps and prisons around north-east Syria.
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| Missile Race: Does America or China Dominate the South China Sea? Posted: 10 Dec 2019 01:25 AM PST  Here's how they compare.
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| Pete Buttigieg's real 'black problem': He has been convicted of white privilege Posted: 10 Dec 2019 12:15 AM PST  Acknowledge the original sin, but also that white men risked their lives to end slavery and a black man led the way to gay marriage equality.
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| Marijuana Allegations Brings Call for Probe Into Serb President Posted: 09 Dec 2019 03:48 AM PST ![Marijuana Allegations Brings Call for Probe Into Serb President]( "Marijuana Allegations Brings Call for Probe Into Serb President") (Bloomberg) -- A top aide of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic requested an investigation into his boss and his brother in a bid to clear them from opposition-led allegations that they're linked to an illegal marijuana farm.Opposition parties are struggling to make a dent in the dominant position of Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party as the Balkan state heads into general elections next spring. His opponents have led sporadic street rallies over the last year to protest against what they say is an autocratic style of governing that stifles media freedom and opens deals to businessmen allies.The new allegations follow last month's seizure of almost 4 tons of greenhouse-cultivated marijuana at an organic farm near the capital. Police arrested the owner, who had sought state subsidies for growing non-psychoactive hemp. While there's no clear evidence that he got financial support, activists accused Vucic and his brother of protecting the farmer."There can be only one truth," Milos Vucevic, the vice president of Vucic's party, told reporters in Belgrade Monday after filing a request to prosecutors. The aim is to knock down "heinous lies and slander and to establish if those who made the accusations actually lied," he said.Opinion polls show Vucic, who started his political career serving under late strongman Slobodan Milosevic, is by far the country's most popular politician. Opposition parties say that he has unfairly used his position to harness state media to amplify his messages and marginalize his rivals."The whole point is to show who's lying," Vucic told private Pink TV on Sunday. "You just have to stop that and show people what what kind of liars these people are."To contact the reporter on this story: Misha Savic in Belgrade at msavic2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Irina Vilcu at isavu@bloomberg.net, Michael Winfrey, Andrea DudikFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| GOP counsel Steve Castor brought a reusable grocery bag instead of a briefcase to an impeachment hearing Posted: 09 Dec 2019 09:22 AM PST  "That time your lawyer makes a stop at the Whole Foods hot bar on his way to defend you in Congress," comic Lizz Winstead tweeted.
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| India's lower house passes contentious nationality bill Posted: 09 Dec 2019 05:41 PM PST  India's lower house passed controversial legislation early Tuesday that will grant citizenship to religious minorities from neighbouring countries, but not Muslims, amid raucous scenes in parliament and protests in the country's northeast. "This bill is in line with India's centuries old ethos of assimilation and belief in humanitarian values," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, adding that he was "delighted" about its passage. "This is not a bill that is discriminatory," Home Minister Amit Shah said.
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| Did Navy Base Shooter Mohammed Alshamrani Have Murder on His Mind in April? Posted: 08 Dec 2019 02:36 PM PST  The Saudi airman who killed three and wounded eight at Naval Air Station Pensacola began the 15-week process of buying the murder weapon back in April, officials told The Daily Beast."He'd been thinking about this for a long time it looks like," one senior law enforcement official said.The FBI said at a press conference Sunday that it is treating Friday's attack by Mohammed Alshamrani, a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force, as an act of terrorism but have not determined if he was motivated by an "ideology" or if he had help.They have pieced together a timeline of his movements before he killed three American military members and wounded eight others—from the gun purchase, to a visit to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City last month, to a dinner party where he showed other Saudis video of mass shootings, the officials said.FBI Treating Pensacola Navy Shooting as TerrorismAs of Sunday afternoon, the senior law enforcement official and investigators had no indication that the other Saudi trainees were involved in the shooting. They are said to have told investigators they noticed nothing unusual about Alshamrani during the New York trip from Nov. 28 to Dec 1.Alshamrani had been back in Florida for three days when he hosted the Dec. 4 dinner party for his fellow Saudis, and showed them the macabre videos.Several Saudis were seen taking cellphone videos near the shooting scene, but the sources said they seem to have been gawkers who had begun filming just as anyone might on seeing the arrival of numerous emergency vehicles."Nothing before the fact, nothing during," the official said of the footage found in the trainees' phones.Three young U.S. service members were killed in Alshamrani's ambush before deputies fatally shot the gunman. Officials have said he used a legally purchased handgun, but sources have provided new details about how he got the gun.In mid-April, Alshamrani obtained a Florida hunting license he would use to take advantage of a loophole in federal law, that allows foreign nationals with a valid visa to acquire firearms if "in possession of a hunting license or permit lawfully issued in the United States."He selected a 9mm Glock 45 semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine at a gun shop in the Pensacola area."What are you going to hunt with a Glock 45 with an extended magazine?" one investigator wondered. "People."Pensacola Air Base Shooter Screened Mass Shooting Videos at Dinner Party Before Attack: OfficialThe gun shop is said to have checked with authorities to confirm the validity of the visa Alshamrani received when he arrived in America in August of 2017 from Riyadh for military training. By the end of this July, Alshamrani had completed purchase of the weapon, which he could not legally carry onto the Naval Air Station in Pensacola where he was to begin flight instruction. He also would not have been able to carry the Glock aboard a plane when he returned to his country after completing his U.S. training.. "I'm not sure he's got the status to bring a gun back to Saudi," a senior law enforcement official told the Daily Beast. He presumably did not have the gun with him when he flew to New York on Nov. 28, just before Thanksgiving, with either two or three fellow Saudi trainees. There, he met up with three other Saudis who have been undergoing military training elsewhere in the U.S.The law enforcement sources said the Saudis stayed at a lower-end hotel in midtown Manhattan and visited the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the famous Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, and the 9/11 museum. "All the places they went were all the places the tourists go see what this country's all about," an investigator observed. The investigator further noted that the museum has on display pictures of the 19 hijackers attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001. Fifteen of them were Saudi citizens.Pensacola Navy Base Victim 'Saved Countless Lives' When Saudi Trainee Opened Fire, Brother SaysOne of the remaining questions about Alshamrani is whether he acted on his own or was some kind of sleeper agent recruited and groomed to get into a position where he could kill American military personnel on American soil.If the answer is the latter, it raises another question: Why wouldn't the groomers wait until Alshamrani could wield a weapon capable of causing even more damage than his Glock?"Get him up in an F-15 and crash it into a building or drop a bomb," the senior official said.On his trip to New York, Alshamrani had to pass through metal detectors not just at the airports, but also at the 9/11 museum and the Statue of Liberty. He underwent no such screening at NAS Pensacola early Friday morning.With the extended magazine in the Glock and other magazines on his person, and Alshamrani might have killed many more than three had the people he shot and the deputies who then shot him not shown such courage—exactly the kind of bravery demonstrated 18 years ago by so many of those honored by the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. 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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| Former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov dies at 83 Posted: 10 Dec 2019 02:22 AM PST  The former mayor of Moscow and one of the founders of Russia's ruling United Russia party, Yuri Luzhkov, has died at the age of 83. Russia's Ren TV channel reported Tuesday that Luzhkov died in Munich, Germany, where he was undergoing heart surgery. Luzhkov, a political heavyweight of the Boris Yeltsin era, was the mayor of Moscow for 18 years and was one of the founders of the United Russia party, Russian President Vladimir Putin's longtime political platform.
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| Former Boeing employee who warned about 737 problems will testify at hearing Posted: 09 Dec 2019 05:58 PM PST  A former Boeing Co employee who warned of problems with 737 production will testify on Wednesday at a U.S. House hearing on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) review of the grounded 737 MAX. Former Boeing employee Edward Pierson, who had worked as a senior operations manager in the flight tesat and evaluation unit, will testify before the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Pierson's concerns were referenced at an Oct. 30 hearing - though he had not been named previously.
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| Elizabeth Smart's dad, Ed, in first interview since coming out as gay: 'There is no cure' Posted: 09 Dec 2019 11:25 AM PST  Ed Smart told Gayle King he wanted to speak out publicly because he wanted to reach out to other gay men "who are struggling in the same spot."
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| Supportive Papers Ignore Johnson’s Bad Day: U.K. Campaign Trail Posted: 09 Dec 2019 10:45 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Boris Johnson definitely had a bad Monday, challenged about the National Health Service and looking like he really didn't want to know. But he still enjoys the electoral advantage of a Conservative politician.The front pages of the right-leaning Times, the Telegraph, the Mail and the Express all ignore the viral story of the prime minister refusing to look at a picture of a child sleeping on the floor of a hospital, in favor of Johnson's suggestion that he might change how the BBC is funded. On Tuesday, the Tories will try to move the story on and hope that voters' don't linger on it.Must Read: Johnson Has a Bad Day as Health Moves to Center of U.K. ElectionFor more on the election visit ELEC.Coming Up:Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will be in Carlisle at around 3 p.m.Johnson will be campaigning in Staffordshire at around 3.30 p.m. and will hold a rally in the north west around 8 p.m.YouGov will release an update of their MRP poll for The Times at 10 p.m.Polls:ICM poll conducted for Reuters shows: Conservatives 42%; Labour 36%; Liberal Democrats 12%Latest ComRes poll conducted for Remain United: Conservatives 43%; Labour 36%; Liberal Democrats 12%Here's a summary of recent polls.Catching Up:Corbyn is closer to becoming prime minister than many think, the Telegraph reports, citing an internal party memo that fears a loss of 12 Tory seats would mean Johnson's ejection from Downing Street.The Financial Times reports that John McDonnell will likely serve as Labour's interim leader if the opposition loses the election and Corbyn steps down.The Conservatives have released an ad parodying the movie "Love Actually," with Johnson taking the part originally played by Andrew Lincoln, of a man desperate to run away with his best friend's wife.It's not the first such ad of the election:The Markets:The pound was little changed at 1.3153 per dollar at 6:21 a.m. on Tuesday.The Conservatives retain an 80% chance of an overall majority, according to Betfair.\--With assistance from Peter Flanagan.To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Chris Kay, Guy CollinsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump impeachment charges finally unveiled as president accused of abuse of power and obstruction Posted: 10 Dec 2019 06:13 AM PST  The House Judiciary Committee has announced it would proceed with articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, charging the president with obstruction of Congress and abuse of power surrounding his dealings with Ukraine."Today, in service to our duty to the Constitution and to our country, the House Committee on the Judiciary is introducing two articles of impeachment, charging the president of the US, Donald J. Trump, with committing high crimes and misdemeanours", House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler said on Tuesday morning. "No one, not even the president, is above the law."
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| China's diplomatic push in Asia sees mixed results: study Posted: 09 Dec 2019 09:18 PM PST  China has spent billions of dollars to project soft power in Asia but it has struggled to win the hearts and minds of ordinary citizens in parts of the region, a study said Tuesday. President Xi Jinping doubled China's foreign affairs budget in six years from 30 billion to 60 billion yuan ($8.5 billion) to bolster its global diplomacy, according to the AidData research lab at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. "Public diplomacy is a critical ingredient in Beijing's toolkit to neutralise potential threats, overcome internal disadvantages, and outmanoeuvre regional competitors," said the report, carried out with the Asia Society Policy Institute and the China Power Project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
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| Saudi who killed 3 sailors was infuriated by ‘Pornstache’ nickname Posted: 09 Dec 2019 07:24 AM PST  The Saudi air force trainee who killed three sailors at a U.S. Navy base last week reportedly made an official complaint about being called "Pornstache" by one of his instructors.
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| Deadly India fire in one of thousands of illegal factories Posted: 08 Dec 2019 10:24 PM PST  Day laborers in one of New Delhi's most congested neighborhoods demonstrated against unsafe working conditions on Monday, a day after at least 43 people were killed in a devastating fire at an illegal factory there. Tens of thousands of such spaces have been closed in a drive spurred by a decades-old court case, but a Delhi Municipal Corporation census counted more than 30,000 illegal factories last year. Sunday's tragedy illustrates authorities' struggle to control the proliferation of illegal factories in ancient parts of the city that were long exempt from regulation, despite the Supreme Court order to close them or revamp the surrounding city infrastructure, including widening roads and installing water service, according to New Delhi's master plan.
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| A 29-year-old mayor is giving his city's poorest residents a basic income of $500 per month. He says the program is a success so far. Posted: 10 Dec 2019 05:07 AM PST  Preliminary results show that most participants in Stockton, California's basic-income trial used their stipends to buy groceries and pay their bills.
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| Look Out Russia, The U.S. Army's M-1A2C Abrams Tanks Are Getting An Upgrade Posted: 09 Dec 2019 02:00 PM PST  The latest Abrams is here.
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| Rick Gates Seeks to Avoid Jail at Sentencing for Conspiracy Posted: 09 Dec 2019 06:21 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Former Trump campaign official Rick Gates asked a judge to spare him from prison, put him on probation and order him to do community service for his crimes of conspiracy and lying to federal investigators.In a court filing Monday, Gates said he has accepted responsibility "in every way possible." He's scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington on Dec. 17.Gates was a critical witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. He was the star prosecution witness in the trial of his former boss Paul Manafort, who was convicted of bank and tax fraud in August.Gates was Manafort's right-hand man in his political consulting firm and worked with him for a decade, lobbying on behalf of Ukraine before joining him on Trump's presidential campaign. Gates remained on the Trump campaign after Manafort resigned in August 2016.He also testified in the trials of one-time White House counsel to Barack Obama, Gregory Craig, and Republican operative Roger Stone.Gates said his "cooperation likely represents the most extensive undertaking by any cooperating defendant in the work of the OSC or any matters arising out of, or related, to the activity of that office."Additional and specific details of Gates's cooperation are under seal, according to the filing.Nine letters of support from family and friends, urging Berman to show leniency, were included with the filing. Many described him as a religious man, committed to his family. One letter was filed under seal.Gates also asked that the judge doesn't impose a fine."Mr. Gates has remained unemployed since his indictment, and in lieu of any income with which to support his family and maintain their home, he has had to deplete savings and investment accounts, including college savings plans for his children," according to the filing.The case is U.S. v. Richard W. Gates III, 17-cr-201, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).(Updates with letters of support)To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Schneider in Los Angeles at jschneider5@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider, Peter BlumbergFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Mexico rejects US trade deal proposals on steel, aluminum Posted: 09 Dec 2019 12:09 AM PST  Mexico's foreign minister said Sunday the country would not accept a US proposal for steel and aluminum production under the new trade deal, saying it would leave Mexico at a disadvantage. During a meeting with senators to discuss details of negotiations for the United States-Mexico-Canada treaty (USMCA), Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the US proposed that 70 percent of steel for automobile production come from the North American region. The proposal would put Mexico "at a very great disadvantage," said Ebrard, because cars produced in Mexico also use components made in Brazil, Japan and Germany.
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| New Zealand volcano: Six confirmed dead as police launch investigation Posted: 10 Dec 2019 03:28 AM PST  The rise of 'volcano tourism' – a disaster waiting to happen In pictures: White Island erupts Subscribe for just £1 per week - 50% off New Zealand police will conduct an investigation into the deaths of at least six people on White Island after a volcano erupted on Monday. John Tims, the deputy police commissioner, confirmed that two of the 47 people on the island at the time of the eruption were British nationals. He said six people are confirmed dead and eight missing, presumed deceased: "I would strongly suggest that there is no one that has survived on the island." Asked if the investigation would focus on the tour operators to the island, Tims said: "We'll look into if there was anyone criminally responsible for the deaths and injuries. It's early days yet. So we're just going to have to work through the evidence, talk to people, and conduct the investigation." Dr Pete Watson, of the Ministry of Health, said of the 31 injured, 27 had very serious burns covering more than 30 per cent of their body . "Not all of the patients will survive," he said. Dr Watson said the National Burns Unit in New Zealand saw, in one day, the equivalent workload to a year under normal circumstances. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has sent a team to work for foreign diplomatic missions in New Zealand to assist family members of the dead, missing and injured. Three of the dead are believed to be Australians. The bodies of the dead have been transferred to Auckland for post mortems to be carried out. Hopes are fading for the eight people still missing. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand's Prime Minister, said there were "no signs of life" on White Island after reconnaissance flights. In a press conference on Tuesday, police said that there were no survivors on the island and that bodies remaining around the volcano were covered in ash. White Island victims | Where were they from? Ms Ardern said tourists from Australia, the United States, Britain, China and Malaysia were among the missing and injured, along with New Zealanders. She has said there would be a government inquiry into the incident. "To those who have lost or are missing family and friends, we share in your unfathomable grief in this moment of time and in your sorrow," Ms Ardern said at a news conference in Whakatane, a town on the North Island's east coast, about 50km (30 miles) from White Island. What we know so far Six people confirmed dead British citizens among those missing and injured At least 31 treated for injuries At least eight people remain missing No sign of life detected by helicopter Island too dangerous for rescue attempts Volcano erupted just after 2.10pm local time Ash plume reached 12,000ft (3,657m) White Island is New Zealand's most active volcano A crater rim camera, owned and operated by New Zealand's geological hazards agency GeoNet, showed one group of people walking away from the rim inside the crater just a minute before the explosion. Other webcams showed the explosion that shot an ash plume about 12,000 feet (3,658 m) into the air. "It's now clear that there were two groups on the island - those who were able to be evacuated and those who were close to the eruption," Ms Ardern added. GNS Science, New Zealand's geoscience agency, warned there was a 50/50 chance of another eruption in the next 24 hours, as the volcano vent continued to emit "steam and mud jetting". My god, White Island volcano in New Zealand erupted today for first time since 2001. My family and I had gotten off it 20 minutes before, were waiting at our boat about to leave when we saw it. Boat ride home tending to people our boat rescued was indescribable. whiteislandpic.twitter.com/QJwWi12Tvt— Michael Schade (@sch) December 9, 2019 Eyewitnesses have detailed the horrific burns suffered by some survivors. Geoff Hopkins, whose tour group was just leaving the island at the time of the eruption, said he helped pull critically injured survivors into a boat. Hopkins, 50, who was given the tour as a birthday gift, said many of the survivors had run into the sea to escape the eruption. "They were just so massively burnt," he told the New Zealand Herald. "People were in shorts and T-shirts so there was a lot of exposed skin that was massively burnt." Hayden Marshall-Inman was among those confirmed dead Russell Clark, an intensive-care paramedic worker, said the scene looked like the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, "just blanketed in ash". "It was quite an overwhelming feeling," Mr Clark told TVNZ. "There was a helicopter on the island that had obviously been there at the time, with its rotor blades off it. I can only imagine what it was like for the people there at the time. They had nowhere to go. We didn't find any survivors." Stories are emerging of the heroism of those who tried to save people caught in the disaster. A local boat skipper, Paul Kingi, was hailed for putting his life in danger to rescue victims. In a post on the Pursuit Fishing Charters page, owner Rick Pollock said Mr Kingi left the island "only minutes before the eruption" and when it happened he was "the first back on, rescuing and assisting numerous injured back onto the waiting boats". "He went back again and again, ignoring the toxic environment and personal risk, until he was satisfied there were no more obvious survivors remaining," Pollock said. "This superhuman effort doesn't surprise me in the least as I've seen this fine man in action on numerous occasions, always controlling a bad situation. "I'd like to recognise Paul for what he is on this occasion, nothing less than a hero." Ms Ardern read a statement to New Zealand's parliament in which she paid tribute to the emergency services and the families of the victims. New Zealand volcano "To our international partners and friends, we will do everything we can to support you as you have supported us in times past. "In particular, our family in Australia has been heavily impacted. We feel the pull of our bond acutely at this time." Scott Morrison, Australia's Prime Minister, said three Australians were feared to be among the confirmed fatalities, with 13 among the injured. "I fear there is worse news to come," Mr Morrison said. Gallery New Zealand volcano Laura Clark, Britain's High Commissioner to New Zealand, confirmed on Twitter that two British women were among the injured in hospital. Royal Caribbean confirmed late on Monday that several passengers on its a 16-deck cruise liner, Ovation of the Seas, were on a day trip to the island but did not provide further information. Janet Urey, 61, a nurse from Richmond, Virginia, said her son Matthew, 36, and his wife, Janet, 32, were cruise passengers injured in the eruption while on their honeymoon. "The phone rang at midnight. Then I heard a voicemail come on. It was my son. He said, 'Mom ... this is not a joke. A volcano erupted while we were on the island. We're at the hospital with severe burns.'" Ms Urey said she was frustrated by the lack of information from the cruise ship he was on and from authorities. "I have not heard a word from the cruise people," she said.
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| Hong Kong's leader unbowed after massive weekend protest Posted: 09 Dec 2019 07:17 PM PST  Hong Kong's leader on Tuesday again ruled out further concessions to protesters who marched peacefully in their hundreds of thousands this past weekend, days before she is to travel to Beijing for regularly scheduled meetings with Communist Party leaders. The six-month protest movement has five demands, including that the leader of the semi-autonomous city and lawmakers all be directly elected and that police actions against protesters be independently investigated. "As for other demands, we really have to stick by certain important principles," she said.
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| Brazil's Bolsonaro calls activist Thunberg a 'brat' Posted: 10 Dec 2019 09:21 AM PST  Brazil's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro called Swedish climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg a "brat" on Tuesday after she criticized mounting violence against indigenous people in which two Amazon tribesmen were shot dead three days ago. The teen activist retorted by changed the biographical description on her Twitter account to "Pirralha".
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| Photo shows Jeffrey Epstein went to royal party dressed as a Navy SEAL Posted: 09 Dec 2019 01:45 PM PST  Jeffrey Epstein attended Prince Andrew's costume party in a US Navy SEAL officer's uniform. Some of the medals appear to be fictional.
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| Beijing Pushes for Removal of Foreign Tech in More State Offices Posted: 08 Dec 2019 11:36 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. The Chinese government is taking further steps to remove foreign technology from state agencies and other organizations, a clear sign of determination for more independence amid escalating tensions with the U.S.Beijing will likely replace as many as 20 million computers at government agencies with domestic products over the next three years, according to research from China Securities. More than 100 trial projects for domestic products were completed in July, the brokerage firm said. The Financial Times newspaper said the Communist Party's Central Office earlier this year ordered state offices and public institutions to shift away from foreign hardware and software.The government under President Xi Jinping has been trying for years to replace technologies from abroad, and particularly from the U.S. Bloomberg News reported in 2014 that Beijing was aiming to purge most foreign technology from its banks, the military, government agencies and state-owned enterprises by 2020. The country's Made in China 2025 plan also set out specific goals for technology independence, although the policy has been de-emphasized after contributing to trade war tensions.U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive policies against China and its leading companies have given the effort renewed urgency. His administration banned U.S. companies from doing business with Huawei Technologies Co. this year and blacklisted other Chinese firms."The trade war has exposed various areas of Chinese economic weakness, which Beijing seems determined to rectify," said Brock Silvers, managing director of Adamas Asset Management. "If the decision pushes Trump to finally come down hard with a more forceful ban of Chinese tech, however, China may one day regret having gone so public with its policy so soon."While the current push is narrow in scope, it is designed as part of the broad, long-standing effort to decrease China's reliance on foreign technologies and boost its domestic industry. The goal is to substitute 30% of hardware in state agencies next year, 50% in 2021 and 20% in 2022, China Securities estimated, based on government requests and clients' budgets.The research, from September, detailed Beijing's goals. The FT reported the number of computers to be replaced could reach 30 million, attributing the figures to China Securities. The newspaper said the goal is to use "secure and controllable" technology as part of the country's Cyber Security Law passed in 2017.Starting next year, key industries such as finance, energy and telecom will test more domestic products in trials that may last years, the firm said. Chinese banks are supposed to shift from International Business Machines Corp. and Oracle Corp. to more diversified X86 architecture suppliers and then eventually to fully made-in-China hardware. China has decided to adopt ARM architecture for its domestic hardware, China Securities said."The China-U.S. trade war could also help to breed a new market for home-made products," China Securities analyst Shi Zerui wrote.Still, Beijing's push has proven difficult because its domestic industry hasn't yet shown itself capable of matching foreign technologies in certain sectors. Particularly hard to replace, for example, are semiconductors from suppliers like Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp., as well as software from Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc."While large suppliers such as Microsoft and IBM are undoubtedly worried, many high-end components, like chipsets, can't be easily replaced," Silvers said.\--With assistance from Debby Wu.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Gao Yuan in Beijing at ygao199@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net, Vlad SavovFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Republicans Turn Up Heat on Gordon Sondland in Impeachment Hearing Posted: 09 Dec 2019 07:27 PM PST  Republicans sought to discredit EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland, a key witness in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
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| Why a journalist’s murder is shaking the Maltese government Posted: 09 Dec 2019 05:22 AM PST ![Why a journalist's murder is shaking the Maltese government]( "Why a journalist's murder is shaking the Maltese government") The investigation into journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder inspired protests against Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who will resign in January.
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| 5-Year-Old Carries Baby in Subzero Cold After They Are Abandoned, Police Say Posted: 09 Dec 2019 05:17 AM PST  A 5-year-old, wearing just socks and light clothing, carried an 18-month-old through subzero temperatures in the Yukon Flats of Alaska after the power went out at the home where they had been left alone, according to the authorities.The power failure scared the older child, who then carried the baby to a home about half a mile away in Venetie, Alaska, Tuesday, the Alaska State Department of Public Safety said in a statement Friday.At the time, the temperature was about 31 degrees below zero, officials said, and both children suffered unspecified injuries from the cold. It was not immediately clear how the younger child had been dressed.The children are expected to make a full recovery, Ken Marsh, a department spokesman, said Sunday.To reach the remote community, which has a population of 166 and is nearly 150 miles north of Fairbanks in interior Alaska, troopers had to charter a plane, Marsh said."It took 12 to 16 hours for them to actually get there," he said. "Fortunately, we were confident that the children were in good hands because a neighbor had taken them in and we had spoken with the neighbor."An investigation led to the arrest of Julie Peter, 37, who was charged with endangering the welfare of a minor, officials said.Efforts to reach Peter were unsuccessful.The investigation revealed she had "deserted" the children in her home with no adult supervision, officials said. It was not clear whether Peter was related to the children or if the children were related to each other.Officials did not release the details of those relationships because the victims were minors, Marsh said.Venetie experiences extreme temperatures throughout the year but especially in the winter.From November to March, the temperature typically dips below zero and extended periods of temperatures of minus 50 to minus 60 degrees are common, according to the Tanana Chiefs Conference, an Alaska Native nonprofit that serves the 42 villages of interior Alaska.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Supreme Court rejects a challenge to free speech about Berkeley cellphone law Posted: 10 Dec 2019 07:31 AM PST  The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a free speech challenge brought by a trade group against a regulation issued by the California city of Berkeley that requires cellphone retailers to tell customers of certain radiation risks.
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| Court to hear resentencing bid in Arizona death penalty case Posted: 09 Dec 2019 08:29 AM PST  The U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal Wednesday by an Arizona death row inmate who is seeking a new sentencing trial, arguing the horrific physical abuse that he suffered as a child wasn't fully considered when he was first sentenced. The appeal of James Erin McKinney could affect as many as 15 of Arizona's 104 death row inmates. Attorneys say the Arizona courts used an unconstitutional test in examining the mitigating factors considered during the sentencing trials of the inmates.
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