| Police and protesters clash in Indian capital over citizenship law Posted: 17 Dec 2019 01:32 AM PST  Police fired shots in the air and volleys of tear gas to push back thousands of demonstrators in the Indian capital New Delhi on Tuesday as protests raged against a new citizenship law that has angered the country's Muslims. The situation spiraled out of control after demonstrators threw stones at policemen who were holding them at a barricade, police officer Rajendra Prasad Meena said. In another demonstration in West Bengal state, protesters opposing the new laws hurled a homemade bomb at policemen, injuring three of them.
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| Former Japanese official sentenced for killing reclusive son Posted: 16 Dec 2019 01:06 AM PST  A Tokyo court sentenced a former senior government official to six years in prison on Monday for fatally stabbing his socially reclusive son with a kitchen knife. The Tokyo District Court found Hideaki Kumazawa, 76, a former vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, guilty of repeatedly stabbing his son Eiichiro, then 44, in the neck and chest at his home in Tokyo in June. Kumazawa, who immediately called police and admitted to the killing, pleaded guilty to the crime during the trial.
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| US accuses Russian spy ship of 'unsafe' maneuvers off US east coast for sailing with no warning lights, ignoring other ships, and risking a crash Posted: 17 Dec 2019 02:10 AM PST  It is entirely normal for Russian surveillance ships to patrol international waters, but the erratic behavior of the Viktor Leonov this week is not.
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| Finland’s Millennial PM Warned of Baby Boomer Threat to Finances Posted: 17 Dec 2019 01:03 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- The world's youngest prime minister needs to act quickly to tackle one of Europe's fastest-aging populations.Finland's central bank said on Tuesday that the burden on public finances, as more people head for retirement, is unsustainable and requires a political response. The warning comes just days after 34-year-old Prime Minister Sanna Marin took office.The so-called sustainability gap -- which measures the difference between spending and income -- has widened to 4.7% relative to gross domestic product, from about 3% a year ago, the Bank of Finland said in a report on Tuesday. The biggest contributors to the increase are cooling growth, higher government borrowing and political stalling over health and welfare reform.According to the European Commission, the sustainability gap poses a significant risk to the long-term health of public finances when it exceeds 6%, while a reading of under 2% denotes low risk."One factor currently weighing on the long-term outlook for the public finances is the fact that the baby-boom generation has reached retirement age," the central bank said. "This has increased public pension expenditure, and over the next few years it will also lead to a more rapid increase in expenditure on health care and long-term care of the elderly."Like much of Europe, Finland needs to come to grips with the growing pressures of an aging and shrinking population. In the Nordic nation's case, the issue assumes even greater importance because of its generous welfare state, relatively low immigration and the constraints of euro membership.While recent governments have taken action to address the problem, more needs to be done, said the central bank, which has been issuing similar warnings since the start of the decade.The new government of Sanna Marin, the world's youngest prime minister, has confirmed previous plans to raise the employment rate to 75% of the working-age people, from about 72% now. According to Governor Olli Rehn, the objective is "well-justified.""More determined action should, however, be taken to strengthen the public finances and the prerequisites for employment," he said.The central bank on Tuesday also cut its growth forecasts for the euro area's northernmost economy, to 0.9% in 2020 and 1.1% in 2021. Its previous forecasts pointed to growth rates of 1.5% and 1.3% respectively.(Adds central bank quote in fourth paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Kati Pohjanpalo in Helsinki at kpohjanpalo@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tasneem Hanfi Brögger at tbrogger@bloomberg.net, Nick RigilloFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Supreme Court upholds homeless people's right to sleep on public property outdoors Posted: 16 Dec 2019 12:50 PM PST  The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a ruling that said homeless people have a constitutional right to sleep on public property outdoors if no other shelter is available to them. The justices without comment on Monday turned away an appeal by Boise, Idaho, which said the federal appeals court ruling would leave cities "powerless" to address residents' health and safety concerns.
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| The 11 Cars We Are Most Excited About Driving in 2020 Posted: 16 Dec 2019 09:31 AM PST |
| The Real Meaning of the Statues on Easter Island Posted: 16 Dec 2019 01:24 PM PST  The stone monoliths have stumped scientists for centuries. Not anymore.
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| Barr taps top prosecutor for key Justice Department role Posted: 16 Dec 2019 05:53 PM PST  Seth DuCharme has worked closely on some of the most high profile federal cases of the last decade.
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| U.S. Expelled Two Chinese Diplomats after Unauthorized Entry into SEAL Team 6 Headquarters Posted: 17 Dec 2019 06:40 AM PST  The U.S. secretly expelled two Chinese diplomats in September after entering a Virginia military base that houses the headquarters of SEAL Team 6, the New York Times reported Tuesday.The diplomats, along with their wives, were detained after the four drove through the outer perimeter of the Dam Neck Annex of Naval Air Station Oceana, south of Virginia Beach. They ignored orders from guards to turn back and were only stopped by fire trucks that were driven to block their path, according to the Times. One of the men is allegedly an intelligence operative with diplomatic cover.The U.S. has refused to comment on the incident or even confirm or deny that it took place. China, however, acknowledged on Monday that the two diplomats were expelled."The US accusation on our officials is completely inconsistent with the truth," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, who was formerly stationed at the country's embassy in Washington. "We urge the U.S. to correct its mistake, withdraw this decision and protect Chinese diplomats' legitimate rights and interests according to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations."Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Uriah Orland told the Times he had no further information about the incident. "We take the security of all our installations very seriously," Orland said.The news comes at a time of escalated tensions between the U.S. and China. The two countries are currently locked in a trade war, and President Trump is currently pushing for a trade agreement that will see both sides reduce tariffs on imports.There have been several other recent U.S.-China espionage incidents, including the sentencing of a former CIA officer who was convicted of spying for China.
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| Family of Tessa Majors rips NYPD sergeants union boss for linking student's murder to marijuana Posted: 16 Dec 2019 10:10 AM PST  Mayor di Blasio tweeted his outrage against an NYPD union leader hours before more than 1,000 mourners gathered to honor Tessa Majors at a vigil.
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| Trump said James Comey could get 'years in jail' after he admitted 'sloppiness' in the FBI's attempts to spy on a Trump aide Posted: 16 Dec 2019 03:02 AM PST  Comey had defended the FBI's conduct in trying to spy on a Trump aide, but told Fox News on Sunday that that he was "overconfident."
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| Malaysia to host major summit of Muslim leaders Posted: 17 Dec 2019 03:06 AM PST  Malaysia will this week host a summit of Muslim leaders billed as a forum to look at the Islamic world's problems, but it will be closely watched for Middle East power plays and their stance on China's Uighur minority. Leaders from Iran, Turkey, and Qatar will be among hundreds of delegates attending the three-day event set to discuss myriad challenges faced by Muslims. The summit has been pushed by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has long championed greater solidarity among the world's Islamic communities -- and wants to boost his country's standing on the international stage.
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| Supreme Court Refuses to Revive City’s Outdoor-Sleeping Ban Posted: 16 Dec 2019 06:31 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a ruling that said homeless people have a constitutional right to sleep on public property outdoors if no other shelter is available to them.The justices without comment on Monday turned away an appeal by Boise, Idaho, which said the federal appeals court ruling would leave cities "powerless" to address residents' health and safety concerns.The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Boise would be violating the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishments by enforcing criminal penalties under its anti-camping ordinance when its three homeless shelters are full."The state may not criminalize conduct that is an unavoidable consequence of being homeless -- namely sitting, lying, or sleeping on the streets," the 9th Circuit said.The ruling, which applies in nine Western states, prompted an outpouring of calls for Supreme Court intervention from cities, states and local business associations. Los Angeles, which has 36,000 homeless people, said the decision "raises daunting practical issues" for large cities.Critics of the ruling filed 20 friend-of-the-court briefs urging review, an unusually large number at that stage of a case.Boise said that because of the ruling, "many municipalities have abandoned efforts to contain the threats to public health and safety posed by encampments rather than face litigation and potential civil liability."The case is City of Boise v. Martin, 19-247.To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, Ros KrasnyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Finland aims to repatriate Islamic State children from Syria 'as soon as possible' Posted: 16 Dec 2019 11:13 AM PST  Finland will try to repatriate children of Finnish mothers who traveled to Syria to join Islamic State "as soon as possible", Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Monday. Finland is one of a number of European Union member states facing a decision over whether to bring home citizens with IS links who are trapped at the al-Hol camp displacement camp controlled by Kurds in northeastern Syria. More than 30 children born to 11 Finnish women are at al-Hol, according to Finnish media, and the fate of the mothers has caused divisions in Finland's five-party coalition government that took office last week.
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| Mexico raises minimum wage by 20%, to $6.50 Posted: 16 Dec 2019 05:51 PM PST ![Mexico raises minimum wage by 20%, to $6.50]( "Mexico raises minimum wage by 20%, to $6.50") Mexico raised its national minimum wage 20% Monday, but it still doesn't amount to even $1 an hour. The Labor Department said the lowest legal wage will be 123.22 pesos a day starting Jan. 1, or about $6.50 at current exchange rates. While the increase well above the 3% annual inflation rate, it is barely enough to keep one person over the poverty line, even though Mexico's constitution says it should be enough to support a worker and his family.
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| Possible mass grave from 1921 massacre found: "It was hell on earth" Posted: 17 Dec 2019 01:45 AM PST  Scientists in Oklahoma are one step closer to finding possible evidence of mass graves linked to the deadly violence of 1921.
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| Starbucks Apologizes after Police Deputies Denied Service in California Store Posted: 16 Dec 2019 12:52 PM PST  Starbucks has apologized for an incident at one of its California locations in which two police officers were allegedly refused service following allegations that the coffee chain maintained an "anti-police" culture.The two Riverside County sheriff's deputies allegedly waited an unreasonable amount of time to be served and were "laughed at" by employees before leaving and going elsewhere for coffee, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said."They tried to get served, they asked if anyone was going to help them, they were laughed at, they were completely ignored — obviously ignored to where other patrons knew they were being ignored," Bianco said in a Facebook video."There is simply no excuse for how two Riverside deputies were ignored for nearly 5 minutes at our store on Thursday evening," Starbucks said in a statement. "We are deeply sorry and reached out to apologize directly to them. We take full responsibility for any intentional or unintentional disrespect shown to law enforcement on whom we depend every day to keep our stores and communities safe.""No customer, in or out of uniform, should ever have that experience at a Starbucks," the coffee franchise added.The sheriff expressed skepticism about the sincerity of the company's apology, saying Starbucks is "doing corporate damage control" and "want to downplay what happened."The incident is not the first time Starbucks has come under fire for an apparent anti-police attitude among its employees. Last month, a Starbucks server in Glenpool, Oklahoma wrote "PIG" on an officer's cup, an incident the company called "absolutely unacceptable." The employee was fired.In another incident over the summer, employees at a Starbucks in Tempe, Arizona asked a group of police officers to leave because another customer said they "did not feel safe" near them."The anti police culture repeatedly displayed by Starbucks employees must end," Bianco added on Twitter.
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| Pawnshop owner linked to Jersey City shooter denied bail on gun charges Posted: 17 Dec 2019 02:43 AM PST  The New Jersey man faces charges of illegally owning firearms. A note with his number was allegedly found on one of the Jersey City shooters.
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| Jeremy Corbyn should never have apologised over anti-Semitism claims, says French far-Left ally Posted: 15 Dec 2019 03:27 PM PST  French far-Left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon has sparked uproar by claiming Jeremy Corbyn should never have apologised over "churlish" anti-Semitism accusations, which he claimed were trumped up by the chief rabbi and Israeli Right. Mr Mélenchon, who came fourth in France's 2017 presidential election, claimed that the UK Labour leader lost a part of the electorate during his election campaign by showing "weakness" over such allegations. In a blog, he said: "(Corbyn) had to endure, unaided, churlish anti-Semitism claims from England's chief rabbi and various influence networks linked to Likoud (the hard Right party of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu". "Instead of riposting, he spent his time apologising and making pledges. In both cases, he showed weakness, which worried popular sectors (of the electorate)," he said. The Labour defeat "must serve as a lesson", said Mr Mélenchon, an MP who leads the France Unbowed party. "Corbyn spent his time being insulted and stabbed in the back by a handful of Blairite MPs. Instead of riposting, he took it on the chin." Jeremy Corbyn was personally accused of 11 counts of anti-Semitism in a leaked Jewish Labour Movement dossier this month Credit: TOBY MELVILLE/Reuters Earlier this month, Mr Corbyn was personally accused of 11 acts of anti-Semitism in an extensive leaked dossier detailing an alleged "cover-up" within the Labour Party over its treatment of Jews. The submission compiled by the Jewish Labour Movement alleges Mr Corbyn "has repeatedly associated with, sympathised with and engaged in anti-Semitism". But Mr Mélenchon dismissed such allegations and said that in France he would never let himself "be influenced by lobbies of any sort - be they financial or from a sectarian community." He then went on to slam what he called the "arrogant and sectarian dictates" of the Crif, France's Jewish umbrella group. The Crif slammed the claims, saying they were reminiscent of "Vichy rhetoric about the Jewish conspiracy". They were, it said, "a shocking and surprising hotchpotch: what link is there between the Crif and the British elections?," asked Crif president Francis Kalifat. The "media-hungry" Marxist's "conspiracy theory drift speaks volumes about his thought processes". The French government condemned Mr Mélenchon's comments, with education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer branding them "foul" and liable to "fuel anti-Semitism". French interior minister Christophe Castaner denounced Mr Mélénchon's comments as "foul" Credit: LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP Christophe Castaner, the interior minister, called them "shocking and inappropriate". After winning almost 20 per cent of the vote in the first round of France's 2017 presidential elections, Mr Mélenchon's popularity has nosedived following a string of controversial outbursts. Last week, he was handed a three-month suspended prison term and an €8,000 (£6,700) fine for intimidating officials investigating his funding. In October 2018 prosecutors launched searches of his party offices and home. Mr Mélenchon was filmed shouting "I am the Republic!" at a police officer and shoving him. With colleagues he then tried to break into the party HQ.
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| West Point investigating 'white power' hand signs by cadets Posted: 16 Dec 2019 07:41 AM PST  The US Military Academy at West point said Monday it is investigating the apparent display of "white power" hand gestures by cadets this weekend during the nationally televised annual Army-Navy football game. "The US Military Academy is fully committed to developing leaders of character who embody the Army values," West Point Superintendent, Lieutenant General Darryl Williams, said in a statement. Before the game Saturday, which was attended by President Donald Trump, at least two West Point cadets and a US Naval Academy midshipman were seen holding out their hands in an inverted "OK" gesture that has become popular with white supremacist groups.
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| 11 striking photos from 2019 show the US military in action around the world Posted: 16 Dec 2019 02:03 PM PST  Check out the year's best military images that show US troops jumping from planes, flying jets in close formation, fighting an intense blaze and more.
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| Philippine court dismisses case seeking $3.9 billion of Marcos wealth Posted: 16 Dec 2019 02:14 AM PST  A Philippine court threw out a high-profile, 32-year-old forfeiture case on Monday involving the family of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, citing insufficient evidence to order the return of $3.9 billion of allegedly ill-gotten wealth. The country's anti-graft court decided in favor of the Marcoses for the fourth time since August, with judges ruling that photocopied documents could not be used as evidence, so the case would not proceed. It has been referred to widely as the "mother" of cases in a three-decade effort by a special presidential panel to recover an estimated $10 billion allegedly siphoned off by Marcos and a family that had lived lavishly during his 20 years in power, 14 of which were ruled under martial law.
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| China and America Are Going Navy Crazy (As in Building Lots of New Warships) Posted: 16 Dec 2019 11:47 PM PST  Who has the advantage?
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| Surging Netanyahu rival launches party leadership challenge Posted: 16 Dec 2019 02:47 AM PST  Veteran Israeli politician Gideon Saar officially launched his bid to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as head of the ruling Likud party amid rising support. Netanyahu is Israel's longest-serving leader, but he's been weakened by a corruption indictment that may force him out of office, as well as back-to-back failures to form a government this year. Saar's leadership bid marks the first serious internal challenge to Netanyahu in his decade-plus in power.
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| Former Virginia Governor: “By the time the November 2020 election comes around, impeachment will be long forgotten” Posted: 16 Dec 2019 09:13 AM PST  Former Virginia Governor and co-chair of the Bill and Hillary Clinton presidential campaigns Terry McAuliffe joins Yahoo News Editor in Chief Daniel Klaidman and Chief Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff to discuss the current impeachment strategy, its effectiveness and whether the Democrats are just going through the motions.
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| Greta Thunberg clapped back at Deutsche Bahn after it appeared to accuse her of staging a picture of her sitting on the floor of an 'overcrowded' train Posted: 16 Dec 2019 02:39 AM PST  The 16-year-old Thunberg was traveling home from Madrid by train after attending the UN climate conference.
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| Police officer forced homeless man to lick urinal or face arrest, court hears Posted: 17 Dec 2019 07:42 AM PST  A police officer in Hawaii has pleaded guilty to forcing a homeless man to lick a toilet to avoid his arrest.John Rabago had previously denied the charges against him and another officer, Reginald Ramones, but Rabago admitted in federal court on Monday that he trapped Sam Ingall in a restroom in January 2018 and gave him an ultimatum: lick a urinal or face arrest.
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| Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin defends controversial pardons, blames outrage on 'political opportunism' Posted: 16 Dec 2019 05:43 AM PST  In an interview with The Courier Journal, Bevin dismissed critics calling for investigations but said he would welcome a federal investigation.
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| Thousands sign Hiroshima petition to save A-bomb buildings Posted: 16 Dec 2019 08:23 PM PST  Thousands of people have signed an online petition against the planned demolition of two early 20th-century buildings that remained intact after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima devastated the Japanese city. A local government official confirmed to AFP on Tuesday they had received the petition signed by 12,000 citizens calling for the preservation of the buildings that stand 2.7 kilometres (2 miles) from the 1945 blast.
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| Explainer: A fractured kingdom - Scotland's paths to independence Posted: 17 Dec 2019 02:41 AM PST  Prime Minister Boris Johnson's promise to take Britain out of the European Union next month could jeopardize a much older union: the United Kingdom which binds together England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. After centuries of dreams about independence, Scottish nationalists now see Brexit as their ticket to secession, and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is due to set out the case for a new independence referendum this week. Johnson says the question of Scottish independence was settled in 2014 when voters rejected independence by 55% to 45% in what was described as a once-in-a-generation referendum.
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| How Good Is Russia's New Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik-B "Hunter" Stealth Drone? Posted: 17 Dec 2019 04:21 AM PST  We take a look at this secretive Russian platform.
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| Police: Elected official's wife dumped drink on reporter Posted: 16 Dec 2019 08:50 AM PST  The wife of a local elected official in Georgia faces criminal charges after she reportedly dumped a drink on a reporter's head at a county meeting. Abbey Winters, the wife of Chattooga County Commissioner Jason Winters, intentionally poured a drink over the head of AllOnGeorgia reporter Casie Bryant just before a county budget meeting was to start around 11 a.m. Friday, witnesses told police. Winters, 35, "said something to the effect of the Victim 'deserved it,'" according to the incident report from the Summerville Police Department.
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| Biden Vows to Ban Standardized Testing in Public Schools If Elected Posted: 16 Dec 2019 10:52 AM PST  Former vice president Joe Biden indicated on Saturday that he would ban standardized testing in public schools if he were elected president.Biden's pledge came as a response to a question from an audience member at the MSNBC Public Education Forum."Given that standardized testing is rooted in a history of racism and eugenics," the audience member asked, "if you are elected president, will you commit to ending the use of standardized testing in public schools?""Yes," Biden responded. "As one of my friends and black pastors I spend a lot of time with . . . would say, you're preaching to the choir, kid.""Teachers should be able to determine the curricula in their schools," Biden went on. "Now, I'm not trying to be nice, there's some lousy teachers out there, okay? . . . I'm not saying every teacher's a great teacher. What I am saying is, you know what it takes to communicate to a child what in fact they need to know."Biden is currently leading the Democratic presidential race in national polls, but trails in the first two state primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire.Biden has retained his national lead in part due to wide support among black voters in southern states such as South Carolina. The former vice president's current challenger for the more moderate wing of the Democratic party, Pete Buttigieg, has failed so far to gain adequate support among black voters.
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| 2 Jacksonville, Florida, siblings vanished while playing in their front yard on Sunday Posted: 17 Dec 2019 07:56 AM PST  Braxton, 6, and Bri'ya Williams, 5, were playing in their front yard on Sunday in Jacksonville, Florida when they disappeared.
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| Report: US to send asylum seekers to Honduras, blocking them from making a claim in America Posted: 17 Dec 2019 06:28 AM PST  A migration deal will allow immigration authorities to send asylum seekers to Honduras and prevent them from reapplying in the U.S., a report says.
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| Seoul appoints 'Mr Smile' as prime minister Posted: 17 Dec 2019 01:24 AM PST  South Korean President Moon Jae-in appointed an anodyne former parliamentary speaker known as "Mr Smile" as prime minister Tuesday, after a previous cabinet appointment triggered a corruption scandal and mass protests. Chung Sye-kyun -- a six-term lawmaker and former commerce minister -- earned the soubriquet for his mild demeanour, and local reports say he has six times been voted the "most gentlemanly lawmaker" by reporters covering the National Assembly. "He has always pursued politics that listen, by valuing dialogue and compromise with his gentle personality," Moon said.
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| China Plans to Buy Ethanol, Count Hong Kong Trade in U.S. Pledge Posted: 17 Dec 2019 01:04 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Further details are emerging on how China would increase imports from the U.S. by as much as $200 billion over the next two years in order to meet its commitments under the phase one trade deal announced last week.That accord, yet to be officially signed, includes reaching purchases of $40 billion to $50 billion per year in agricultural commodities, a level some analysts have doubted is feasible. To help attain that figure, Beijing plans to restart purchases of ethanol by lifting or waiving trade war tariffs on the fuel, said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing the plans.In addition, China is considering re-routing trade that currently passes through Hong Kong to mainland ports, the people said. That could enable around $10 billion a year in goods transshipped there from the U.S. to be directly booked in the mainland, boosting the tally. The U.S. does not count shipments that go through Hong Kong as part of its trade with China.Leaders are carefully weighing how to approach addressing the so-called entrepot trade via Hong Kong, as it would be a further blow to the city's embattled economy and risks worsening political tensions there, one of the people said.China's Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to a fax seeking comment.China will also grant more regular waivers on retaliatory tariffs to local buyers of U.S. farm products including soybeans and pork, the people said. In November, China lifted its ban on U.S. poultry shipments as part of trade negotiations, with the U.S. estimating exports would top $1 billion a year.Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has said the Chinese made detailed commitments on agriculture that would see them purchase at least an additional $16 billion annually in commodities on top of the pre-trade war level of $24 billion and endeavor to buy as much as $50 billion annually. But detailed purchase targets on each commodity won't be made public, he said.Importing corn-based ethanol from the U.S. would help China make up for a slowdown in domestic production and meet a goal of expanding the blending of the cleaner fuel into gasoline in the world's largest car market.China imported about 200 million gallons of U.S. ethanol in 2016, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, but that door was shut in 2018 when taxes on imports were raised to around 70% because of the trade dispute. The U.S. exported a total of $2.4 billion of ethanol in 2017, a report by the Renewable Fuels Association showed.\--With assistance from Miao Han and James Mayger.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Niu Shuping in Beijing at nshuping@bloomberg.net;Steven Yang in Beijing at kyang74@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey Black at jblack25@bloomberg.net, Sharon ChenFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Pakistan's Khan says millions of Muslim refugees could flee India Posted: 17 Dec 2019 02:11 AM PST  Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday that millions of Muslims could flee India due to the curfew in the disputed territory of Kashmir and India's new citizenship law, creating "a refugee crisis that would dwarf other crises". "Our country will not be able to accommodate more refugees," he added, urging the world to "step in now".
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| Russia's Su-35 Is Too Good For Its Own Good Posted: 16 Dec 2019 11:45 PM PST  And its shaking up Russian defense planning.
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| $1.4T spending package crammed with unrelated provisions Posted: 16 Dec 2019 08:59 AM PST  House leaders on Monday unveiled a $1.4 trillion government-wide spending package that's carrying an unusually large load of unrelated provisions catching a ride on the last train out of Congress this year. A House vote is slated for Tuesday on the sprawling package, some 2,313 pages long, as lawmakers wrap up reams of unfinished work — and vote on impeaching President Donald Trump. The legislation would forestall a government shutdown this weekend and give Trump steady funding for his U.S.-Mexico border fence.
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| The US military wants to deliver drinking water to troops in the desert by sucking it out of the air Posted: 16 Dec 2019 01:32 PM PST  DARPA is trying to figure out how to extract water from the ambient air as a way to provide drinking water to troops on the move in really dry areas.
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| Almost 200 Rohingya caught fleeing Bangladeshi camps by boat Posted: 16 Dec 2019 04:20 PM PST  Almost 200 Rohingya Muslims sailed more than 1,500 kilometres to escape Bangladesh refugee camps only to be arrested by Myanmar's navy, the country's military said Tuesday. The boat seizure came just days after Myanmar's leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi addressed the UN's top court to deny allegations of a genocidal campaign against the ethnic minority. With the monsoon over and seas relatively calm, increasing numbers of Rohingya Muslims are once again risking their lives attempting to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.
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| Starbucks apologizes for third 'anti police' incident in six months, this time in California Posted: 15 Dec 2019 05:20 PM PST  Starbucks apologized for employees' refusal to serve deputies in Riverside, California, the company's third such incident with police in six months.
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| Hottest Job in Argentina: Helping the 1% Hide Their Cash Abroad Posted: 17 Dec 2019 04:35 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Franco Reinson has never been busier, fielding calls and holding meetings in his office in downtown Buenos Aires. The wealth adviser can thank President Alberto Fernandez, who is making rich Argentines very nervous."They're afraid that the new government will be aggressive with its tax policies," said Reinson, the chief accounting officer at Amicorp's local subsidiary which specializes in organizing and administering trusts which have surged in popularity. Most of the firm's clients have just one request: help them protect the savings they've stashed overseas.They have good reason to worry. Fernandez, a left-leaning populist, is bringing the country back to the days of the Peronists, the movement born in the 1950's under Juan Domingo Peron that favors social spending and local industry. In his first speech as president, he made it clear."In order to eliminate hunger we will ask for greater solidarity from those who have more capacity to give it," Fernandez said on Dec. 10.Those simple words justify the concerns among affluent Argentines, according to economist Martin Tetaz."It's more taxes on personal assets," Tetaz wrote on Twitter. "If he were talking about export taxes he would say 'those who produce most,' if he were talking about income taxes, he would say 'those who make the most."'Argentines didn't have to wait long to see the first measures. Fernandez's cabinet chief, Santiago Cafiero, told La Nacion newspaper on Dec. 14 that a bill will be sent to Congress to outline tax policies which will include an increase on personal property tax and higher rates for those with assets abroad.Farmers have already gotten ahead of export tax increases by unloading as much of their wheat, soybean and corn crop before the new government took office. Last weekend, Argentina confirmed the rise in export taxes to fund new government's spending. At the same time, officials announced a so-called tourism tax will be imposed to charge Argentines an extra 30% to buy international air tickets, pay for their monthly Netflix subscriptions or use their credit cards outside the country among other transactions.Argentines have long stashed their money outside of the country to protect savings from the boom-to-bust cycles that have cursed the agriculture giant for decades. They currently have more than $300 billion of savings abroad, according to data from the statistics institute Indec. New stringent rules that require certain countries to share bank account data have made it harder to find fiscal paradises around the world which is why the trust is becoming a hot product for the wealthy.An Economy Ministry spokesman declined to comment, adding that any details will be announced with the contents of the bill.Little known in the country until just recently, the irrevocable trust is in high demand. The instrument is normally structured for people close to retirement age who want to give control and benefit of their assets to others, until the end of their life. But now wealth advisers are even hearing of adults as young as 30-years-old with no heirs seeking out the instrument."There was a frenzy after the August primary elections and demand exploded after the new exchange controls," said Martina Caunedo, a lawyer at MBP Partners, which advises large banks and fund managers in Buenos Aires.From 2018 to 2019, MBP Partners went from mainly advising companies on infrastructure investments and financing abroad to plan family fortunes.Argentina already has a high tax load, close to 30% of gross domestic product, which is substantially higher than the Latin American average of 22.8%, according to the Argentine Institute of Fiscal Analysis."The country has a real tangle of taxes, fees and contributions: 163 taxes at the three levels of government (national, provinces and municipalities)," Nadin Arganaraz, director of the institute, said. The tax load is close to 33% of income for individuals and reaches 50% when they do everything within the formal economy.The high tax pressure has typically lead Argentines to try to hide part of their wealth in foreign currency outside of the country.A challenge to the strategy to hide wealth from the new government, is that many Argentines were persuaded to take part in a sprawling tax amnesty plan under former President Mauricio Macri in 2016. In that process they paid a flat rate of up to 15% to declare what they had abroad with the expectation they would be safe from further taxation for now."Those who brought their assets back into the country during the tax amnesty, now want to take them abroad again," Caunedo said.Read More: What Argentina's Economic Crisis Means for Policy, in 7 ChartsWith Argentina on the brink of default yet again and the economy in recession with inflation running at 50% annually, Fernandez doesn't have many options on where to raise revenue to spend on the poor. The most viable appears to be squeezing more money from the rich.Fernandez told the Telefe network late Monday that taxes on personal assets held abroad will be double the 2015 level, meaning the rate could be as high as 2.5%. The measure is intended to persuade Argentines to bring their cash back to the country, he said."That's a lot of money," Mariano Sardans, CEO of wealth manager FDI in Buenos Aires, said. "For one person, this means the total of what they could obtain with the return on a bond investment or the rental of an apartment abroad."For some, the solution is to change residency or move abroad to skirt the impact of Fernandez's tax policies, Martin Litwak, head of a boutique legal and tax advisory firm with offices in Miami, said. For those seeking a change of residency, they must live 180 days a year in their host country."Argentina is exporting wealth: thousands are leaving the country to live outside, others take their businesses abroad and others put their money in these trusts," Sardans said. "The government is set to lose taxable assets."(Adds Fernandez comment in 20th paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Ignacio Olivera Doll in Buenos Aires at ioliveradoll@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Cancel at dcancel@bloomberg.net, Anne ReifenbergFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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