| For Gaetz to raise Hunter Biden's substance abuse is 'the pot calling the kettle black,' Johnson says Posted: 12 Dec 2019 10:54 AM PST  The House Judiciary Committee debate over articles of impeachment against President Trump took an ugly turn Thursday when Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., brought up Hunter Biden's past drug use.
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| India's top court rejects pleas for review of temple verdict Posted: 12 Dec 2019 04:23 AM PST ![India's top court rejects pleas for review of temple verdict]( "India's top court rejects pleas for review of temple verdict") India's Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed petitions seeking a review of its recent ruling in favor of the building of a Hindu temple on a disputed site in northern India where a 16th century mosque was torn down by Hindu hard-liners in 1992. The November ruling was seen as a major victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which has promised to build a Hindu temple at the demolished site as part of its election strategy for decades.
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| I need a break, says globetrotting Greta Posted: 13 Dec 2019 07:47 AM PST  Tireless teenage activist Greta Thunberg has been crisscrossing the globe by car, train and boat - but not plane - to demand action on climate change. Fresh from being named Time magazine's Person of the Year, the 16-year-old Swede joined thousands of students in the north Italian city of Turin on Friday for a protest to pressure the government to take more action to curb carbon emissions. Thunberg, who refuses to fly, traveled to Turin by train and car from Madrid after attending a U.N. climate summit in the Spanish capital.
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| China Was Biggest Jailer of Journalists in 2019, Group Says Posted: 11 Dec 2019 05:43 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up for Next China, a weekly email on where the nation stands now and where it's going next.China surpassed Turkey to become the biggest jailer of journalists in the world this year, according to a press watchdog group, as Chinese President Xi Jinping steps up efforts to control the mediaChina was holding at least 48 journalists for reasons related to their work, one more than in 2018, the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report on Wednesday. The group's database shows seven of those were arrested this year, including Australian writer Yang Hengjun, and that China has "tightened its iron grip on the press."Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news briefing Wednesday that she couldn't confirm the number of detained journalists, but said that "no one is above the law," whether they are reporters or civil servants.Turkey's jailing of 47 journalists put it second on the group's list. Protests in the Middle East also led to a rise in the number of journalists being locked up in that region, particularly in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The CPJ said that 98% of jailed journalists around the world were "locals covering their own country," and that politics, human rights and corruption coverage was most likely to get reporters in trouble.At least 250 journalists were incarcerated for their work around the world this year, down slightly from 255 last year, according to the committee's annual global survey. After China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the biggest jailers are Eritrea, Vietnam and Iran.'False News'The number of journalists charged with reporting "false news" rose to 30 from 28 last year, with Egypt leading the way under President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. That was compared to one journalist jailed for the charge of fake news in 2012, when press freedom group started tracking the trend. Countries including Russia and Singapore have enacted laws criminalizing the publication of "fake news" in the past year, according to the report.It was the first time in four years that Turkey wasn't the world's top journalist-jailer, although the reduction in the number of prisoners under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan doesn't signal an improved situation for the press, the group said.In China, the world's most populous country, the report cited the recent case of Sophia Huang Xueqin, a freelancer who had been an investigative journalist for Chinese media. She was detained in October after writing about marching with pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong on her blog.The charges against her include "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," a common allegation against critics of the ruling Communist Party, the report said.Dozens more have been arrested in relation to a crackdown in China's western region of Xinjiang, including Ilham Tohti, according to the committee. Tohti is an economist serving a life sentence on separatism charges, and was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament earlier this year.Hua, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, didn't address the condition of local reporters in her response to questions about the report Wednesday."You said 48 journalists were detained? I wonder if you were talking about Chinese or foreign journalists?" she said. "Nearly 600 foreign journalists are leading a happy life here in China."(Updates with Chinese official's remarks in third paragraph.)\--With assistance from Iain Marlow, Lucille Liu and Matt Turner.To contact the reporter on this story: Blake Schmidt in Hong Kong at bschmidt16@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, James Mayger, Colin KeatingeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Stomach flu outbreak terrorizes school in Washington state, sickening over 100 students, staff Posted: 13 Dec 2019 04:31 AM PST  A number of schools from Seattle Public Schools and Vancouver Public Schools were forced to close to disinfect and clean because of the outbreak.
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| A growing number of Republicans say they're satisfied with US healthcare costs — even as insurance prices have surged 20% in the past year Posted: 12 Dec 2019 09:13 AM PST  The poll suggests that heightened partisanship is swaying Republicans on healthcare just as it has been on the economy
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| Rep. Johnson says it's not 'proper' for Rep. Gaetz to discuss Hunter Biden's alleged substance abuse issues during impeachment debate Posted: 12 Dec 2019 09:58 AM PST  Members of the House Judiciary Committee continue to disagree during their consideration of formal articles of impeachment against President Trump.
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| Taiwan Still Has a Giant World War II-Era Artillery Gun (Pointed at China) Posted: 13 Dec 2019 12:49 AM PST  Could it fight?
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| Rashida Tlaib Blames Black Nationalist’s Jersey City Killing Spree on ‘White Supremacy’ Posted: 12 Dec 2019 09:22 AM PST  Democratic Representative Rashida Tlai on Wednesday blamed "white supremacy" for Tuesday's deadly shooting in Jersey City perpetrated by a couple with suspected ties to a black supremacist group."This is heartbreaking. White supremacy kills," the Michigan Democrat wrote in a since-deleted tweet addressing the shooting. Tlaib deleted her tweet later on Thursday.A man and woman exited a stolen van Tuesday afternoon and fired gunshots into a kosher grocery store in Jersey City, killing a police detective and three others. Investigators believe the couple were former members of the Black Hebrew Israelites, a group known to have antipathy towards white and Jewish people. The couple were shot and killed on the scene.Authorities said the male shooter had previously posted anti-Semitic content online and had targeted the kosher grocery store. Law enforcement investigating Tuesday's shooting also discovered a pipe bomb in the stolen vehicle the couple drove. The male suspect, 47, was an Army veteran previously incarcerated for a weapons offense, and the female suspect, 50, was his girlfriend."From our standpoint, there is no question that this is a hate crime," Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop said.Tlaib, one of the first two Muslim congresswomen, has been vocal in calling out others she believes are engaging in racism, including President Trump."This President targeted people solely based on their ethic background, their faith, disability, sexual orientation and even source of income," the congresswoman charged on Tuesday.
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| FAA boss said concerned Boeing eager for quick return of Max Posted: 12 Dec 2019 02:03 PM PST ![FAA boss said concerned Boeing eager for quick return of Max]( "FAA boss said concerned Boeing eager for quick return of Max") The head of the Federal Aviation Administration is concerned that Boeing is pushing for an unrealistically quick return of its grounded 737 Max and that there is a perception the company is pressuring the regulator, according to a senior FAA official. The official told Congress of FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson's concerns on Thursday, shortly before Dickson met with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg and another Boeing executive.
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| Exclusive: Protest-free Macau to win financial policy rewards from China Posted: 11 Dec 2019 10:09 PM PST  MACAU/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Macau next week to announce a raft of new policies aimed at diversifying the city's casino-dependent economy into a financial center, according to over a dozen interviews with officials and corporate executives. The move is seen by officials and executives in Macau as a reward for having avoided the anti-government protests that have gripped nearby Hong Kong over the past six months. The policies include the establishment of a yuan-denominated stock exchange and the acceleration of a renminbi settlement center already in the works, as well as the allocation of land for Macau to develop in neighboring mainland China, they said.
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| South Africa’s Worst Polluter Eskom Wants Emission Exemptions Posted: 12 Dec 2019 12:28 AM PST ![South Africa's Worst Polluter Eskom Wants Emission Exemptions]( "South Africa's Worst Polluter Eskom Wants Emission Exemptions") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Next Africa newsletter and follow Bloomberg Africa on TwitterEskom Holdings SOC Ltd., South Africa's biggest polluter, has asked for additional emission exemptions at two of its biggest plants, a request that will increase environmental protests against the state-owned utility at a time when it's already being slammed for rolling power cuts.Eskom, which is struggling to meets its costs and has 454 billion rand ($31 billion) in debt, has applied to the environment ministry to delay complying with sulfur dioxide emission limits at its Medupi coal-fired plant by five years. It's also seeking permission not to install emission reduction equipment at its Matimba plant at all, saying it's not cost-effective.Emissions of particulate matter, which cause respiratory disease, are already at a 20-year high since equipment at the utility's Kendal plant was damaged during a strike. While independent studies allege that Eskom's pollution kills about 2,000 people a year, the company puts the number at 320. Environmentalists have taken the government to court over its failure to rein in emissions from the utility."The exemptions sought by Eskom for just these two power plants would cause an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 premature deaths over the remaining life of the plants, a health burden and economic burden that far exceeds the costs of the equipment required to comply with the standards," said Finland-based Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst for the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.Acid RainIn addition to respiratory problems, sulfur dioxide has been linked to low birth weight and causes acid rain.With a combined capacity of more than 8,700 megawatts, or about a fifth of current total capacity, Medupi and Matimba are crucial to Eskom. The company operates 15 coal-fired plants, with many of them nearing their de-commissioning dates. As a result of that and inadequate maintenance, South Africa has this week been hit by record power cuts that have prompted public anger and an apology from President Cyril Ramaphosa.The Centre for Environmental Rights says Eskom's applications are illegal as these had to be made by the end of March 2019."This is Eskom's fifth application to delay compliance with national air pollution laws that primarily exist to protect people's health, children in particular," said Timothy Lloyd, an attorney at the Centre for Environmental Rights. "We dispute the lawfulness of this belated application for weaker emission limits."While Eskom planned to cut sulfur dioxide emissions at its 228-billion-rand Medupi plant from 2025, it's now asked the ministry to postpone that to 2030. Installation at Medupi of flue-gas desulfurization equipment, which reduces sulfur-dioxide emissions, at a cost of 38 billion rand has yet to begin and will only be completed by 2030, said Bryan McCourt, the manager of Eskom's Air Quality Centre of Excellence.Air QualityThe delays are due to issues with construction and project management, he said. Medupi was initially scheduled to be completed by 2015 at about at third of its current projected cost of about $15 billion. In its application, Eskom also seeks exemptions on emissions of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter at Matimba, citing a lack of money and water availability issues. McCourt said fitting Matimba with a flue-gas desulfurization plant wouldn't considerably improve air quality.Instead of complying with the government's planned limit of 1,000 milligrams of the pollutant per normal cubic meter, already double an earlier plan and significantly higher than limits in India and China, Eskom wants to increase its current limit of 3,500 milligrams per normal cubic meter at Medupi to 4,000 milligrams. At Matimba, it wants a limit of 4,000 milligrams at a plant that's scheduled to close between 2038 and 2042. The exemption would last until decommissioning.If the permission is not granted the plants could be forced to close, according to regulations.McCourt said Eskom got permission from the ministry to submit the application by the end of November. Albi Modise, a spokesman for the ministry, didn't answer a call to his mobile phone.In addition to sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, Eskom accounts for about two-fifths of South Africa's greenhouse gas emissions. South African is the world's 14th largest emitter of the gases, matching the U.K., which has an economy eight times the size.(Adds Medupi cost in 10th paragraph)\--With assistance from Hilton Shone.To contact the reporter on this story: Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: John McCorry at jmccorry@bloomberg.net, Pauline Bax, Hilton ShoneFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The US and NATO are preparing for Russia to go after troops in the field and at home Posted: 13 Dec 2019 07:43 AM PST  NATO is designed for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace operations, but on the fringes of those, hybrid activity poses a new kind of challenge.
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| Eagle v octopus: Canadians rescue bird locked in battle with giant mollusc Posted: 12 Dec 2019 09:17 AM PST  Employees at a fish farm in Vancouver intervened when an eagle tried to eat a large octopus, resulting in a battleA bald eagle on Canada's west coast has learned that its eyes may be bigger than its stomach after it was nearly drowned by an octopus it tried to eat.After hearing shrieks coming from the water on the north-western tip of Vancouver Island, employees at a fish farm investigating the noises happened upon a bird and cephalopod locked in battle.The octopus, which had turned a deep crimson, had wound its tentacles tightly around the eagle, which was floating helplessly at the surface."At first we just watched and we didn't know if we should interfere because, you know, it's Mother Nature," said John Ilett, an employee at Mowi West Canada, told CTV News.But realizing the eagle was likely to drown, the crew ultimately decided to intervene.Ilett maneuvered a pike pole in the water to pull the octopus over to the boat. The crew managed to haul both aboard, disentangling the bird from the strong tentacles, before tossing the octopus back into the water."That was amazing. Look at the size of this [expletive]," said one worker as the octopus hovered briefly at the surface."Holy [expletive]," another worker adds as the crew laughs in disbelief.Workers said the octopus was the largest theyhad ever encountered, and probably measured more than four and a half feet across.But much larger individuals lurk in the deeps: octopuses in the region – including the giant Pacific octopus – can grow to more than 25ft in diameter.After the eagle was pried from its grasp, the octopus dove back into the depths, its colours subtly shifting from reddish to brown.The shaken eagle perched warily on a nearby log before flying off."It was a very cool situation," said Ilett. "I've been out here 20 years and that's one of the coolest things I've ever seen."
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| Trump goes on Twitter tear with more than 100 tweets as House debates articles of impeachment Posted: 12 Dec 2019 10:29 AM PST  Donald Trump spent the morning frantically tweeting as the House Judiciary Committee moved forward on articles of impeachment, with more than 100 tweets and retweets during the proceedings.It was a busy morning for his account, and the president's Twitter activity ran the gamut: He tweeted early to express his displeasure with climate activist Greta Thunberg being named TIME's person of the year. Then, as midday approached, he expressed high hopes for a trade deal with China.
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| F-35: Would You Spend $1,500,000,000,000 On a Plane That Can't Fly? Posted: 12 Dec 2019 10:26 AM PST  That's what the U.S. government did on the F-35.
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| Europe tells US to back off over Russian pipeline Posted: 12 Dec 2019 07:27 AM PST  Europe on Thursday warned Washington to mind its own business after US lawmakers gave initial approval to a bill that would sanction contractors working on a Russian pipeline to the continent. "The (European) Commission objective has always been to ensure that Nord Stream operates in a very transparent and in a non-discriminatory way with the appropriate degree of oversight," he said. The 9.5 billion euro ($10.6 billion) Nord Stream 2 pipeline will run under the Baltic Sea and is set to double shipments of Russian natural gas to Germany.
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| Bulletproof vest did not fail in fatal shooting of Houston police officer, chief says Posted: 12 Dec 2019 12:16 PM PST  Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo says body armor didn't fail Sgt. Christopher Brewster, who was killed while responding to a domestic violence call
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| Malaysia seizes Vietnamese oil tanker that was tracked in North Korea Posted: 12 Dec 2019 03:43 AM PST  KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A Vietnamese oil tanker which Reuters reported visited North Korea in February has been seized by Malaysia after it was found adrift off the Malaysian coast, maritime agency officials said. Refinitiv shipping data quoted by Reuters showed the Viet Tin 01 arrived just outside the harbor of Nampo on North Korea's western coast on Feb. 25 carrying 2,000 tonnes of gasoline, shortly before talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi. It was not clear whether the tanker unloaded cargo at Nampo.
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| Elizabeth Warren Takes on Democratic Rivals on Fundraising in Speech Posted: 12 Dec 2019 05:05 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Elizabeth Warren took an unusually aggressive stance against her moderate rivals for the Democratic nomination in a speech billed as an economic address on Thursday."We know that one Democratic candidate walked into a room of wealthy donors this year to promise that 'nothing would fundamentally change' if he's president," Warren said, referring to Joe Biden."We know that another calls the people who raise a quarter-million dollars for him his 'National Investors Circle' and he offers them regular phone calls and special access. When a candidate brags about how beholden he feels to a group of wealthy investors, our democracy is in serious trouble," Warren said, referring to Pete Buttigieg.For months, the Massachusetts senator refrained from directly criticizing her rivals in the race for the Democratic nomination. But Warren has seen her poll numbers slip both nationally and in the first two primary states. With the Iowa caucuses only a couple of months away, she's taking on her rivals.In her speech, Warren vowed to root out corruption in Washington and Wall Street and protect workers and unions but reiterated that she believes in markets with fair rules. That's why millionaires and billionaires see her as a threat, she said."They believe that I'm the biggest threat to a corrupt system that has enriched them at everyone else's expense. And they're right."While Warren didn't mention the other candidates by name, she referenced comments that Biden made to affluent donors at a campaign fundraiser in June, telling them that he wanted their support and -- perhaps unlike some other Democratic presidential candidates -- wouldn't target their wealth."Truth of the matter is, you all know, you all know in your gut what has to be done," Biden said. "We can disagree in the margins. But the truth of the matter is, it's all within our wheelhouse and nobody has to be punished. No one's standard of living would change. Nothing would fundamentally change," he said.Biden, however, has proposed tax changes including treating capital gains as income, capping deductions for the wealthy and raising the top individual tax rate.Warren also took aim at Buttigieg, criticizing him for "blocking reporters from entering those fancy, closed-door" fundraisers. Under pressure from Warren, Buttigieg agreed on Monday to open his fundraisers.Biden and Buttigieg and their surrogates raise money from Wall Street and Silicon Valley donors at posh fundraisers. Warren has eschewed such events in favor of small, mostly online donations, although she accepts $2,800 donations from individuals, the maximum a person can contribute.In a veiled reference to Buttigieg and Biden, Warren accused "some candidates" of betting on a "naive hope that if Democrats adopt Republican critiques of progressive policies or make vague calls for unity that somehow the wealthy and well-connected will stand down."Buttigieg senior adviser Lis Smith responded Thursday afternoon by accusing Warren of pushing "the politics and divisiveness that is tearing this country apart," while maintaining that Buttigieg "will heal our divides and rally Americans around big ideas" as president.Biden fired back at Warren at a fundraiser in Palo Alto, California, though without mentioning her name, referring to her only as "one of my opponents." "If we can't unify the country you all ought to go home now, because nothing's going to happen except by executive order. And last time I knew it, a president is not allowed to say, 'This is how I'm changing the tax structure, this is how I'm changing the environment,'" he said. "You need to actually get a consensus in the constitutional process. And we can unify the country."Warren also went after billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who entered the race for the Democratic nomination in late November, while she reiterated the necessity for a 2% wealth tax on fortunes over $50 million."It's no secret that I'm not a fan of Michael Bloomberg trying to buy the Democratic presidential nomination," Warren said. "A wealth tax on millionaires and billionaires isn't about being punitive or denigrating success. It's about laying the foundation for future successes."Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.(Updates with Biden campaign response in new 14th, 15th paragraphs.)\--With assistance from Sahil Kapur.To contact the reporter on this story: Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou in Washington at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Sara FordenFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| US soldiers and airmen helped clean up Venice after the historic city was hit by the worst flooding in 53 years Posted: 12 Dec 2019 01:15 PM PST  Fifteen airmen, 14 soldiers, and three military family members and civilians helped Venetians clean up after the flood.
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| Trump impeachment: Historic committee vote on president's 'abuse of power' postponed Posted: 12 Dec 2019 09:28 PM PST After a contentious session debate lasting all of Thursday, House judiciary committee chair Jerrold Nadler postponed voting on articles of impeachment against Donald Trump until 10am on Friday.
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| Meet The J-10 Fighter: China's Very Own F-16 That Is Now For Sale Posted: 12 Dec 2019 10:00 AM PST  It's a bit behind the curve in terms of what modern air forces are flying.
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| Cory Booker Announces He Will Not Qualify for Next Democratic Debate Posted: 12 Dec 2019 10:52 AM PST  Senator Cory Booker (D., N.J.) said Thursday that he does not expect to qualify for the sixth Democratic primary debate next week but assured his supporters that he still has a path to victory."While I may not be on the debate stage next Thursday, thanks to the outpouring of support over the past few weeks, we know there's a path to victory, and we no longer need the debate stage to get there," the New Jersey Democrat wrote on Twitter.Democratic 2020 candidates must meet the Democratic National Committee's newly tightened qualifying criteria before midnight on Thursday. Booker has met one of the criteria, garnering 200,000 separate donors. However, the senator is far from achieving the DNC's polling requirement of 4 percent support in four national or early primary and caucus state polls approved by the DNC, or 6 percent in two approved polls in early states. The polls must be published between October 16 and December 12.Booker currently polls at less than 2 percent nationally, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls. The next primary debate would be the first time he has failed to make it onto the stage.Booker has vowed to fight on despite the setback. His campaign was showered with donations after Senator Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) dropped out somewhat abruptly earlier this month."We're still here," said Addisu Demissie, Booker's campaign manager. "We're definitely fighting an uphill battle, but we're fighting."The next Democratic debate will be hosted on December 19 in Los Angeles by PBS NewsHour and Politico. So far the candidates expected to qualify are former vice president Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, South Bend, Ind. mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Amy Klobuchar, tech businessman Andrew Yang, and billionaire Tom Steyer.
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| New Zealand military team recovers 6 more bodies after White Island volcano eruption, pushing death toll to 14 Posted: 13 Dec 2019 06:25 AM PST  The volcano's continued venting previously delayed plans by authorities to recover the bodies. Scientists believe another eruption is possible.
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| Pakistan throws 'treason' charges at 250 lawyers for treason in hospital assault Posted: 12 Dec 2019 04:06 PM PST  Pakistan on Thursday leveled "treason" charges against 250 lawyers who were part of a mob that stormed a hospital in the eastern city of Lahore the previous day, kicking and punching doctors and staff and trashing equipment and property, police said.
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| George P. Bush says GOP can't let 'racist' episodes slide Posted: 12 Dec 2019 01:28 PM PST  Republican George P. Bush, the only member of the Bush dynasty still in public office, condemned Thursday recurring episodes of what he described as racist or hateful rhetoric within the Texas GOP, and ripped what he called false accusations fanned by his Hispanic heritage. Bush, Texas' land commissioner, first denounced a white GOP state legislator who suggested "Asian" challengers on the ballot in 2020 were motivated by race.
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| Turkey adds former Palestinian politician Dahlan to most wanted list Posted: 13 Dec 2019 04:26 AM PST  Turkey has added exiled Palestinian politician Mohammed Dahlan to its "red list" of most-wanted terrorism suspects, offering a reward of up to 10 million lira ($1.75 million) for information leading to his capture, the Interior Ministry said on Friday. Arrest warrants have been issued for Dahlan on accusations of playing a role in the 2016 attempted coup in Turkey, seeking to change the constitutional order by force, and various spying-related charges, the ministry said in a statement. Dahlan has also recently been an outspoken critic of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
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| Taiwan Probes Security Lapse Allowing Chinese to Enter Illegally Posted: 11 Dec 2019 07:53 PM PST ![Taiwan Probes Security Lapse Allowing Chinese to Enter Illegally]( "Taiwan Probes Security Lapse Allowing Chinese to Enter Illegally") (Bloomberg) -- Taiwanese authorities believe thousands of mainland Chinese, including government officials, may have illegally entered Taiwan over the past two years, highlighting a security risk to the island ahead of a national election.More than 5,000 Chinese citizens are suspected of entering Taiwan illegally between 2017 and 2019, Taipei District Prosecutors Office spokeswoman Chen Yu-ping said by phone. Many of the arrivals are believed to have been government officials, according to the Taipei-based Central News Agency.Taiwanese prosecutors are now investigating 20 travel agencies and 10 civic associations for assisting Chinese nationals to travel to Taiwan under false pretenses, CNA reported Wednesday.The travel agencies were suspected of passing the personal details of prospective mainland visitors along to local associations, who in turn issue invitations allowing visitors to secure travel permits from Taiwan's immigration authorities.The investigation into the possible national security lapse comes a month before Taiwanese voters head to the polls to elect their president. President Tsai Ing-wen, who has received a boost in the polls amid anti-China protests in Hong Kong, is up against Han Kuo-yu, of the more Beijing-friendly Kuomintang, in January's vote.Since Tsai came to power in 2016, Beijing has ratcheted up the diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan in an attempt to force her to accept its negotiating framework that both sides are part of "one China." Tsai, whose Democratic Progressive Party supports independence, has refused to do so.To contact the reporters on this story: Samson Ellis in Taipei at sellis29@bloomberg.net;Adela Lin in Taipei at alin95@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Iain MarlowFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Sumatran tiger kills farmer in Indonesia Posted: 12 Dec 2019 11:12 PM PST  A Sumatran tiger has killed an Indonesian farmer, police said Friday, in the third fatal attack by the critically endangered species in less than a month. The 55-year-old was set upon by the big cat at a coffee plantation in South Sumatra province on Thursday. "All of sudden, the tiger pounced on the victim," local police chief Ferry Harahap told AFP on Friday.
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| 'Let me explain it to you: wars, people die': Republican lawmaker fires back at Democrat after being accused of downplaying Ukrainian deaths Posted: 12 Dec 2019 10:31 PM PST  "That's the most ridiculous comment, and there's been a lot of them here," Collins said. A nearby Republican lawmaker replied: "You got that right."
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| Man dresses as mother to take driving test after she failed three times Posted: 13 Dec 2019 03:23 AM PST  A man has been arrested for attempting to take a driving test on his mother's behalf – by dressing like her in a bold attempt to fool examiners.Heitor Márcio Schiave, 43, wore a stuffed bra, floral top, long skirt, earrings, and a handbag to impersonate his mother at the State Department of Traffic in Novo Mutum Parana, in the Brazilian Amazon.
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| Scandinavian woman 'forced to withdraw rape claim' in case similar to British teen's Cyprus ordeal Posted: 12 Dec 2019 09:40 AM PST  A Scandinavian woman says she was forced by Cypriot police to withdraw a rape claim or face arrest, in a striking parallel to the case of a British teenager who was allegedly gang raped on the Mediterranean island. The Scandinavian woman said police officers questioned her aggressively for several hours after she was raped by two men outside a nightclub. The officers accused her of lying and said that if she did not withdraw the rape claim they would arrest her and send her to prison. Her account bears striking similarities to the alleged treatment of a British teenager who is on trial in Cyprus, accused of concocting a claim of gang rape by Israeli tourists in the resort town of Ayia Napa. She made the initial complaint in July but 10 days later, after being questioned without a lawyer for eight hours in a police station, signed a retraction statement. The alleged gang rape of the British teenager happened in the resort of Ayia Napa Credit: AFP On trial for public mischief, she faces up to a year in prison and a fine of €1,700 if found guilty. She has pleaded not guilty. The judge in the case is expected to hand down his verdict on December 30. The 19-year-old British woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has told the trial that officers threatened to arrest her and her friends unless she retracted the claims of being gang raped by a group of young Israeli men. After reading about the Ayia Napa case, the Scandinavian woman decided to come forward with her account of similar treatment at the hands of the Cypriot police 20 years ago. It is the first time she has spoken publicly of the assault and has previously only discussed it with her doctor and her husband. Now aged 43, she was 21 when she met the men in a nightclub in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, in January 1998. They offered to give her a lift to her hotel. Instead, they raped her in a car park. "I fought for my life and thought I was going to die," she told The Telegraph. She went to the nearest police station to report the rape and was taken to a hospital for an examination. She was then taken to a police station for questioning. "The main investigator was extremely brutal and aggressive. I was in big shock so I had some difficulties remembering details. "This made him very angry. He then started accusing me of making the whole story up to receive money from my insurance company." The same allegation was made by in court by Cypriot police against the British woman. Both alleged victims said they were mystified by the accusation because they did not think that holiday insurance covered rape and had no intention of claiming any financial compensation. "I was very afraid and felt trapped in the room with them. They treated me as a big criminal. They kept me in the police station for many hours. They told me that if I didn't withdraw the rape allegation they would arrest me and send me to prison. So I did and they let me go," said the Scandinavian woman, who asked to remain anonymous. She said she was still deeply affected by the ordeal and had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder – just like the British teenager who is on trial. "The treatment I received from police was terrible," she said. Michael Polak, a British lawyer representing the teenager in the trial Credit: AFP Michael Polak, a British lawyer representing the British woman, told The Telegraph: "This case bears remarkable similarities to the teenager's case. It raises serious questions about the investigation of rape in Cyprus and the treatment of rape complainants there." In a report in 1998, a Norwegian newspaper claimed that police on the island routinely dismissed rape claims, treating the victims as liars. The report quoted a Norwegian tour operator who said that "police never take rape claims seriously. All such claims are treated as false." "Police have a theory that tourists make such allegations so they can claim expenses for their holiday," the report said. A senior Cyprus police officer was quoted as saying: "Why rape when it's so easy to find somebody to have sex with?" At a hearing on Thursday, a Cypriot defence lawyer denied that the teenager had made up the rape complaint. Ritsa Pekri criticised police for failing to download all the social media messages sent by the Israeli men on their mobile phones and said officers failed to secure the crime scene properly. The prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that there had been no rape, Ms Pekri said, calling on the court to acquit the woman. But Adamos Demosthenous, the prosecutor, insisted the British girl had accused the Israelis of raping her because she felt humiliated and ashamed after learning that she had been filmed while having sex with one of them. He called on the judge to convict her.
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| American Airlines apologizes after forcing passenger to change 'Hail Satan' shirt Posted: 12 Dec 2019 01:26 PM PST  American Airlines is apologizing after a passenger says she was forced to remove her "Hail Satan" shirt or leave the flight.
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| Death toll in aircraft carrier fire in Russia rises to 2 Posted: 13 Dec 2019 05:35 AM PST  A crew member who went missing during a fire on Russia's only aircraft carrier was found dead Friday, raising the death toll from the blaze to two, the nation's military officials said Friday. The fire on the Admiral Kuznetsov broke out during welding work at a shipyard in the Arctic port of Murmansk on Thursday and spread quickly through the carrier's internal compartments. The military reported two crew members dead, and authorities in Murmansk said 11 other people were injured.
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| Washington state seeks to ban sale of 'assault weapons,' high capacity magazines Posted: 12 Dec 2019 04:46 PM PST ![Washington state seeks to ban sale of 'assault weapons,' high capacity magazines]( "Washington state seeks to ban sale of 'assault weapons,' high capacity magazines") If successful, Washington would become the seventh U.S. state to ban assault weapons, which it defines as semi-automatic rifles with at least one military feature, and the ninth to limit the capacity of ammunition magazines. "We should be making it harder for those who want to inflict mass violence and destruction upon innocent people," Governor Jay Inslee said in announcing the gun-control push.
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| Naive Brazil to Rethink Relations With U.S., Bolsonaro Ally Says Posted: 13 Dec 2019 02:00 AM PST ![Naive Brazil to Rethink Relations With U.S., Bolsonaro Ally Says]( "Naive Brazil to Rethink Relations With U.S., Bolsonaro Ally Says") (Bloomberg) -- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was "naive" to align fully with the U.S. and should change course, the head of the powerful agribusiness caucus in Brazilian Congress said.Alceu Moreira, a Bolsonaro ally and the president of the Parliamentary Agriculture Front, said two developments have prompted a review of Brazilian foreign policy: The continuation of a U.S. ban on Brazilian raw meat; as well as President Donald Trump's decision to prioritize Argentina's bid to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development after publicly endorsing Brazil's membership."That's when we stopped being naive," Moreira said in an interview at Bloomberg's office in Brasilia. "Being naive is when I think that, just because I like you, you should like me back in the same way. Now I see that I like you but you don't actually like me that much."Read more: All-In Trump Bet Backfires for Bolsonaro Amid Tariff ThreatsSince taking office in January, Bolsonaro has abandoned Brazil's longstanding diplomatic tradition of multilateralism in favor of full-throated alignment with the U.S. and Israel. To date, however, the policy has yielded few gains for Brazil, prompting unease among some prominent supporters of the administration.New ApproachAs a top lobbyist for Brazil's thriving agribusiness sector, Moreira said he is assisting the government in setting a new approach, without providing details.In October, the U.S. told Brazil that it would maintain a ban on fresh-beef imports from Latin America's largest economy. The U.S. suspended imports in 2017 after finding meat containing blood clots and lymph nodes. Brazil said the findings were abscesses stemming from a reaction to components of a vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease. After the U.S. measure, Brazil reduced the vaccine dose and changed the feed stock in an effort to see the ban overturned.Last month, an official from the agriculture ministry said Brazil was "100% confident" that the U.S. would remove the ban. But Trump's decision last month to reinstate tariffs on Brazilian steel and aluminum, which took the Bolsonaro's government by surprise, poured cold water on Brazilian expectations that the U.S. would soon resume fresh beef imports.According to Moreira, Trump's tough stance is a response to pressure from American farmers, who compete with Brazilian exporters in global markets."The Americans are losing market share on a daily basis and have no room to really increase production," the lawmaker said. Meanwhile, he added, Brazil has the technology and land to dramatically increase productivity and attend to the world's growing demand for food, especially from China."It used to take three years and two months to produce 240 kilos of beef," he said. "Now it takes only one year and eight months."European RelationsBrazil's agricultural potential also affects its relation with Europe, Moreira said.Countries like France and Ireland are blocking the implementation of a trade deal between the European Union and the South American trade bloc Mercosur by blaming Bolsonaro for Amazon fires as cover for their fear of competitors, according to him.Read more: Tears of Joy as Mercosur Leaders Celebrate Historic EU DealBut on the other hand, European countries need to put the deal into practice to guarantee access to abundant, affordable agricultural products. "It's a matter of food security," Moreira said.He added Brazilian farmers will likely benefit from a recent government-backed bill that seeks to ease restrictions on foreign land ownership to stimulate agriculture. The bill, currently in Brazil's Senate, would lift current restrictions, but set limits on the size of property foreigners could buy. It would also block land purchases in border areas.Senator Iraja Abreu, author of the project, says that approval of the bill would attract 50 billion reais ($12.2 billion) per year in investments for agribusiness and encourage job creation.To contact the reporters on this story: Samy Adghirni in Brasilia Newsroom at sadghirni@bloomberg.net;Simone Iglesias in Brasília at spiglesias@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Walter Brandimarte at wbrandimarte@bloomberg.net, Bruce DouglasFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Dems: Postponing impeachment vote was tactical Posted: 13 Dec 2019 06:37 AM PST  After a marathon session of debate, the House Judiciary Committee abruptly postponed a historic vote late Thursday on articles of impeachment against President Trump.
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| A former top US commander revealed that no one could tell him what 'winning' looked like in Afghanistan Posted: 11 Dec 2019 10:19 AM PST  Confidential documents exposed a hard truth about the war — the US-led coalition has lacked a clear and effective mission from the start.
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| The 25 Best Adventure Games Posted: 12 Dec 2019 06:00 AM PST |
| Bad News for Taiwan: China Has Russia's S-400 Missiles Posted: 12 Dec 2019 10:00 AM PST  RIP Taipei's Air Force?
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| Murderer becomes 22nd person executed in US this year Posted: 11 Dec 2019 08:08 PM PST  A Texas man who killed a prison officer was executed late Wednesday, bringing to 22 the number of people put to death in the US this year. Travis Runnels, 46, was pronounced dead at 7:26 pm (0126 GMT), the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said, after a lethal injection at Huntsville prison north of Houston. Runnels made no final statement, the department said.
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| Steve Bannon: Tucker Carlson Is Trump’s Most Influential National-Security Adviser Posted: 11 Dec 2019 07:01 PM PST  No wonder Donald Trump's third national security adviser John Bolton, along with several four-star generals and distinguished career diplomats, fled the administration with their tails between their legs."If you don't think Tucker Carlson has more influence on national security policy than many of the guys on the National Security Council, you're wrong," Stephen K. Bannon declared Wednesday tonight to a small group of wealthy Manhattan elites in a baronial Fifth Avenue apartment.Thus, at a meeting of the Common Good lecture series in the modern art-festooned living room of New York plutocrat Richard Cohen, the president's exiled former chief strategist revealed that America's global interests are being guided by a Fox News host, a favorite of white nationalists, who recently proclaimed on his primetime show that he "roots for" Russia and Vladimir Putin over the Russia-occupied fledgling democracy of Ukraine."President Trump processes information" differently than his predecessors, Bannon said by way of explaining the strange attraction of a preppy polemicist and inveterate smartass with zero foreign-policy experience. "He understands the concept that mass communication is going to overwhelm kind of what reality is, right?"Bannon went on: "So he gets—like chairmen and CEOs here—that not every person is briefed the same way. He's not gonna sit through the 500-page McKinsey [report]. He's not gonna sit there with Mayor Pete walking him through his McKinsey analysis, right? He gets his information in different ways. And he does get a lot of information from television."Bannon, who admitted his relationship with Trump is far from warm—"We're not friends," he said—claimed, among other predictions, that the impeached 45th president will be re-elected next November with 40 percent of the Hispanic vote. He called himself a Trump admirer, even though "I hated being in the White House every second of every day." But Bannon largely succeeded in what he seemed to believe was his main goal at Wednesday's event: upsetting his audience. "His second term," he said about Trump, "is going to be even more transformative than his first."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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| Pentagon watchdog investigating $400M border wall contract Posted: 12 Dec 2019 08:32 AM PST  The Defense Department's internal watchdog is investigating a $400 million border wall contract awarded to a firm that used multiple appearances on Fox News to push for the job. The Pentagon's inspector general sent a letter Thursday to House Homeland Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson telling him the contract awarded to North Dakota-based firm Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. would be audited. Thompson, D-Miss., asked for the review last week, in part over concerns the proposals did not meet operational requirements and prototypes came in late and over budget.
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| Senior China diplomat says U.S. seriously damaged hard-won mutual trust Posted: 12 Dec 2019 06:11 PM PST  Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said on Friday that the United States had seriously damaged the hard-won mutual trust between the countries by criticizing Beijing over issues such as Hong Kong and the treatment of Muslim Uighurs. "Such behavior is almost paranoid, and is indeed rare in international exchanges, seriously damaging the hard-won foundation of mutual trust between China and the United States, and seriously weakening the United States' international credibility," said State Councillor Wang.
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