| Romney says Bolton revelations make it 'increasingly likely' Senate will call witnesses Posted: 27 Jan 2020 07:59 AM PST  Mitt Romney said he thinks new revelations from former Trump national security adviser John Bolton will increase the number of Republican senators who will vote in favor of calling at least Bolton to testify in the Senate impeachment trial.
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| Mother of Jailed Israeli Backpacker Hopes for Russia Pardon Posted: 27 Jan 2020 02:39 AM PST ![Mother of Jailed Israeli Backpacker Hopes for Russia Pardon]( "Mother of Jailed Israeli Backpacker Hopes for Russia Pardon") (Bloomberg) -- The mother of an Israeli woman imprisoned on drug-smuggling charges in Russia said she's hopeful President Vladimir Putin will pardon her daughter.Naama Issachar, a 26-year-old U.S.-born Israeli army veteran, was sentenced in October to 7 1/2 years for carrying a small amount of hashish in her luggage on a transit flight via Moscow after a backpacking trip to India. Her plight has become a cause celebre in Israel, where it's widely seen as politically motivated.Putin met with Issachar's mother, Yaffa, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday, on the sidelines of an international forum on the Holocaust. He assured her that "everything will be all right," and on Sunday, Naama Issachar applied for a presidential pardon, her lawyers said.When asked in a text message exchange whether she expects her daughter to return to Israel soon, Yaffa Issachar replied: "I hope so." The request for a pardon has been received and "all necessary legal procedures are being carried out at the moment so the president can take a decision on this issue in the nearest future," Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters on a conference call Monday.A decision to free Issachar, who's been in detention since April, could bolster Netanyahu, who's been indicted on corruption charges and is fighting for his political survival at the country's third election in less than a year in March.The Kremlin said last week that Israel and Russia are also making progress in settling a dispute over the ownership of Russian Orthodox Church property in Jerusalem, which Israel's Haaretz newspaper said could form part of a quid pro quo to secure Issachar's release.The Russian leader has previously rebuffed multiple pleas from Netanyahu for Issachar's sentence to be commuted.Her case for a time became entangled with that of a Russian national, Alexei Burkov, whom Israel extradited to the U.S. in November on charges including hacking and credit card fraud. Russia had offered to swap the two, according to Natan Sharansky, a former Soviet dissident and Israeli politician.(Adds Putin spokesman's comment in 4th paragraph)To contact the reporters on this story: Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net;Irina Reznik in Moscow at ireznik@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Tony HalpinFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Here's what Arizona State University is telling students after a case of the Wuhan virus was confirmed there Posted: 27 Jan 2020 09:13 AM PST  According to an email sent to students, Arizona State University is contacting anyone who was possibly exposed to the person who has the virus.
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| South Carolina shooting: Two dead and four wounded after gunman opens fire in bar Posted: 27 Jan 2020 08:24 AM PST  Two people are dead and at least four are wounded following a shooting at a South Carolina bar on Sunday morning.The Darlington County Coroner's Office identified Dicaprio Collins, 21 and Bryan Robinson, 29 as the victims of the shooting at Mac's Lounge in Hartsville, South Carolina.
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| Aging Iran airliner crash-lands on highway, injuring only 2 Posted: 26 Jan 2020 10:52 PM PST  An aging Iranian passenger airliner carrying 144 people crash-landed on a runway and skidded onto a major highway next to an airport Monday, the latest crash in the Islamic Republic as U.S. sanctions bar it from parts or new aircraft. Authorities said two people suffered injuries in the hard landing of the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 flown by Caspian Airlines in Mahshahr, a city in Iran's oil-rich southwestern Khuzestan province. Passengers, apparently in shock, calmly exited the aircraft with their carry-on baggage out of a door near the cockpit and another over the plane's wing, video from Iran's Civil Aviation Network News showed.
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| 'Chernobyl 2020:' Chinese people are comparing the government's delayed response to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak to the Chernobyl disaster and the HBO series about it Posted: 27 Jan 2020 09:31 AM PST  Chinese people are criticizing their government's slow response to the Wuhan coronavirus online, comparing its handling of the outbreak to Chernobyl.
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| U.N. criticizes Iraq trials of ISIS 'members', including human shields Posted: 28 Jan 2020 06:05 AM PST ![U.N. criticizes Iraq trials of ISIS 'members', including human shields]( "U.N. criticizes Iraq trials of ISIS 'members', including human shields") The United Nations raised "serious concerns" on Tuesday about the trials of hundreds of alleged Islamic State members in Iraq, some of whom merely prepared meals, offered medical services or even acted as human shields for the jihadist group. Iraq has processed thousands of cases under its anti-terrorism law - including of detainees from outside the Middle East transferred from neighboring Syria - in the aftermath of a 2014-17 war against Islamic State militants.
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| Wisconsin family trapped in Wuhan amid coronavirus outbreak Posted: 27 Jan 2020 05:07 PM PST  The United States will evacuate some Americans in Wuhan on a flight out of the quarantined city Wednesday morning.
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| Pro-Life Dem Confronts Buttigieg over Party’s Commitment to Abortion: ‘We Have No Part in the Party’ Posted: 27 Jan 2020 05:45 AM PST  South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg was confronted by a pro-life Democratic voter over the party's position on abortion during a Fox News town hall event on Sunday."I am a proud pro-life Democrat," audience member Kristin Day said. "Would you support more moderate platform language [regarding abortion] in the Democratic Party to ensure that the party of diversity and inclusion really does include everybody?" Currently, the Democratic party platform supports abortion up to nine months into pregnancy."I support the position of my party, that this kind of medical care needs to be available to everyone, and I support the Roe vs. Wade framework that holds that early in pregnancy there are very few restrictions and late in pregnancy there are very few exceptions," Buttigieg responded. "The best I can offer is that we may disagree on that very important issue and hopefully we will be able to partner on other issues."The exchange happened two days after President Trump became the first U.S. president in history to address the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C."Unborn children have never had a stronger defender in the White House," Trump told the audience at the march.The highest-ranking Democrat to address the march was Louisiana state representative Katrina Jackson, who wrote legislation in 2014 that restricted abortion in the state."Louisiana is the number one pro-life state. And do you know why? Because in Louisiana, the majority of Democrats who are elected are pro-lifers," Jackson said. "Every day that I walk into the state capitol, I am greeted by pro-lifers regardless of whether they're black, white, Republican, Democrat, male, female."
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| China Demands Apology From Danish Newspaper Over Virus Cartoon Posted: 28 Jan 2020 02:56 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- The Chinese Embassy to Denmark wants the newspaper Jyllands-Posten to apologize for publishing a drawing that depicts China's flag with virus symbols instead of five stars."We express our strong indignation and demand that Jyllands-Posten and [cartoonist] Niels Bo Bojesen reproach themselves for their mistake and publicly apologize to the Chinese people," the embassy said in a statement posted on its website.When asked to comment, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen avoided any direct reference to Jyllands-Posten's cartoon."I have nothing to say on the matter other than [to note that] we have a very strong tradition in Denmark not just for freedom of speech for also for freedom of satire, and we'll continue to have that in the future," she said, according to multiple news media including Politiken. "This is a well known Danish position and we're not going to change it."Denmark's largest newspaper has faced international backlash over its cartoons in the past. In 2005, the paper printed 12 drawings of the Prophet Muhammad, which angered many nations in which Islam is the main religion and sparked a diplomatic crisis. Back then, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen also defended freedom of speech and said governments had no place telling newspapers what to write.The Chinese flag was printed in the opinion section of the newspaper's Monday edition with a caption titled "Corona virus".Editor-in-Chief Jacob Nybroe said the paper won't apologize."We can't apologize for something we don't think is wrong," Nybroe told news agency Ritzau. "We have no intention to demean or mock but we don't think this drawing is doing that."(Updates with comment from Denmark's prime minister)To contact the reporter on this story: Morten Buttler in Copenhagen at mbuttler@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Christian Wienberg at cwienberg@bloomberg.net, Tasneem Hanfi BröggerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| A Dangerous Game: Russia and America Keep Flying Their Planes Near Each Other's Borders Posted: 27 Jan 2020 01:58 AM PST  Nuclear chicken anyone?
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| British man dies in US immigration detention centre Posted: 27 Jan 2020 04:23 PM PST  Officials in the UK have confirmed they are looking into reports that a British man has died while in the custody of US immigration authorities.Reports said a 39-year-old had been found dead while being held in Florida by the enforcement of arm of the nation's border agency, known as ICE.
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| Sandy Hook denier charged with having victim's dad's ID info Posted: 28 Jan 2020 06:17 AM PST  A Florida man who repeatedly harassed parents of shooting victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School has been arrested for possessing the identification of one of the parents, authorities said. Wolfgang Halbig, 73, was arrested Monday on a charge that he was in unlawful possession of another person's identification, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. Halbig was a guest on the radio show of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
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| Mexico deports 2,300 Hondurans from '2020 Caravan' Posted: 27 Jan 2020 11:52 PM PST  Mexican migration authorities said they have deported 2,300 Hondurans who illegally crossed over from Guatemala with a caravan heading to the United States. The "assisted return" of the Central Americans took place between January 18 and Monday, according to the interior ministry and the National Migration Institute. A total of 1,064 Honduran migrants were deported on National Guard planes and charter aircraft, they said in a statement.
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| Navistar loses lawsuit against US Army and Oshkosh over vehicle buys Posted: 27 Jan 2020 01:25 PM PST  The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has dismissed Navistar's complaint against the U.S. Army and Oshkosh Defense over the service's decision to avoid competition for a vehicle procurement effort.
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| Eight killed as flames engulf 35 boats in Alabama marina fire Posted: 27 Jan 2020 09:08 AM PST  All the people known to have been staying at the dock have been accounted for, but emergency responders will continue searching for victims in case anyone was missed, Scottsboro Fire Chief Gene Necklaus told reporters. Social media images showed a row of boats at the marina engulfed in flames in the predawn darkness at Lake Guntersville in northern Alabama. Several of the boats sank, Necklaus said.
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| Get Early Access to Backcountry’s Big Winter Sale Right Now Posted: 27 Jan 2020 01:30 PM PST |
| Investigators: Kobe Bryant's pilot tried to gain altitude before crash Posted: 27 Jan 2020 05:11 PM PST  The National Transportation Safety Board provided an update on Monday afternoon about its investigation into the helicopter crash that killed Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others Sunday morning in Calabasas, California.There was heavy fog in the area, and the pilot told air traffic controllers that he was going to try to fly higher to avoid a cloud layer, the NTSB said. When controllers asked him to share more information, he did not respond. Flight radar suggests the helicopter made it to 2,300 feet then began dropping down to the left, The New York Times reports.Investigators are taking a "broad look at everything" around the accident, NTSB official Jennifer Homendy said. "We look at man, machine, and the environment, and weather is just a small portion of that."Investigators are now searching a debris field of 500 to 600 feet for perishable evidence. The helicopter did not have a cockpit voice recorder.More stories from theweek.com John Bolton just vindicated Nancy Pelosi It's 2020 and women are exhausted All the president's turncoats
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| Harvard Chemistry Chief Charged With Lying About China Ties Posted: 28 Jan 2020 10:23 AM PST ![Harvard Chemistry Chief Charged With Lying About China Ties]( "Harvard Chemistry Chief Charged With Lying About China Ties") (Bloomberg) -- The chairman of Harvard University's chemistry department and a leading scientist in the study of nanotechnology was arrested for lying to U.S. investigators about his role in recruiting people to pass along scientific research to the Chinese government.Charles Lieber, 60, was paid $50,000 a month and received more than $1.5 million to establish a lab and do research at Wuhan University of Technology, federal prosecutors in Boston said Tuesday. Two Chinese nationals were also charged: a Boston University researcher who prosecutors say was a lieutenant for the People's Liberation Army, and a cancer researcher who allegedly tried to smuggle 21 vials of biological materials in his sock."This is not an accident or a coincidence," U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said at a press conference in Boston. "This is a small sample of China's ongoing campaign to siphon off American know-how and technology for China's gain."Agencies across the federal government have mobilized against potential Chinese industrial spies, warning companies and universities and anyone else with intellectual property to be particularly vigilant when dealing with Chinese business partners and employees. Today's action comes weeks after the Trump administration signed a Phase One trade deal with the Chinese."China is engaged in a massive, long-term campaign to steal U.S. technology for its own uses," Lelling said, adding that the FBI has China-related investigations in all 50 states.Prosecutors said Lieber lied to U.S. Defense Department investigators about his involvement with Wuhan University and the Thousand Talents Plan, a Chinese government program to recruit overseas researchers. His deceit caused Harvard to make false statements to the National Institutes of Health about his work with China, because grants that Harvard received required disclosure of ties with foreign governments, the U.S. said.Read More: Rise of China Anxiety in U.S.Lieber, whose Harvard biography page lists him as an honorary fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society, was arrested Tuesday morning at his office and was scheduled to appear at 2:30 p.m. before a federal magistrate."The charges brought by the U.S. government against Professor Lieber are extremely serious," Harvard said in a statement. "Harvard is cooperating with federal authorities, including the National Institutes of Health, and is initiating its own review of the alleged misconduct. Professor Lieber has been placed on indefinite administrative leave."According to prosecutors, Lieber hid from both the U.S. government and Harvard his work for the Chinese university dating to 2011. In a five-year contract with Wuhan, Lieber's personal research company agreed to make "strategic" scientific proposals, supervise young teachers, conduct nationally "important" projects and take other steps to benefit the school.Prosecutors say that in addition to the $50,000 a month Lieber was paid by the Chinese university, he got as much as 1 million Chinese yuan a month for living expenses, which was about worth about $158,000 at the time.The charges come amid intense scrutiny U.S. law enforcement officials are applying to ethnic Chinese scientists and, now, U.S. researchers.Recruiting ResearchersChina has tried to lure overseas scientists for years. Government initiatives, such as the Thousand Talents and Changjiang Scholar programs, offer funding to experts to work at least part time in China. A 2018 report by the U.S. National Intelligence Council called such efforts a thinly veiled way "to facilitate the legal and illicit transfer of U.S. technology, intellectual property and knowhow" to China.Last year, a University of Kansas researcher, Franklin (Feng) Tao was charged with hiding that he was working full-time for a Chinese university at the same time he was doing U.S-funded industrial research. Tao has denied wrongdoing."China's communist government's goal simply put is to replace the United States as a superpower," Joseph R. Bonavolonta, the FBI's special agent in charge of the Boston Field Division. "China is also using what we call nontraditional collectors such as researchers, hackers and front companies."Lieber, a native of Philadelphia, attended Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he graduated with honors in chemistry, according to his Harvard biography. He completed doctoral studies at Stanford University and post-doctoral research at the California Institute of Technology before joining Columbia University as an assistant professor in 1987.He moved to Harvard in 1991, where he serves as chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.Honored ProfessorLieber has won more than a dozen awards for his work, most recently in September from the Welch Foundation in Houston, which honored Lieber and another professor for their "important research contributions which have had a significant, positive impact on humankind."In 2015, Harvard administrators learned for the first time that Lieber was the director of the lab he'd set up at Wuhan, and complained to him about the venture using the university's logo without permission, according to the complaint.Two days after being interviewed by Defense Department investigators, Lieber emailed a colleague that he "will be careful about what I discuss with Harvard University, and none of this will be shared with government investigators at this time," according to the complaint.In charges described as related to the Lieber case, prosecutors also disclosed allegations against two Chinese nationals.Yanqing Ye, 29, a chemistry student at Boston University, is accused of lying to investigators and concealing her position in China's military. She is now back in China, the U.S. said. Cancer researcher Zaosong Zheng, 30, has been held since his December arrest at Boston Logan International Airport on charges of trying to smuggle 21 vials of biological research. Zheng was working as a researcher at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the U.S. said.(Updates with details about Chinese nationals, Lieber's emails.)\--With assistance from Peter Waldman.To contact the reporters on this story: Janelle Lawrence in New York at jlawrence62@bloomberg.net;Chris Dolmetsch in Federal Court in Manhattan at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Steve StrothFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Hunter Biden will pay child support to the mother of his child in Arkansas Posted: 28 Jan 2020 07:22 AM PST  Hunter Biden has agreed to pay child support to the mother of his child in Arkansas and backpay 13 months of missed installments.
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| Iranian general warns of retaliation if US threats continue Posted: 27 Jan 2020 05:47 AM PST  The chief of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard warned Monday that it will retaliate against American and Israeli commanders if the U.S. continues to threaten top Iranian generals. The U.S. killed Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who headed the expeditionary Quds force, in a drone strike outside of Baghdad's airport in Iraq on Jan. 3. Five days later, Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing American troops, causing injuries but no fatalities among soldiers there.
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| Japan confirms virus in man who had not been to China Posted: 28 Jan 2020 02:13 AM PST  Japanese authorities said Tuesday a man with no recent travel to China has contracted the novel strain of coronavirus -- apparently after driving tourists visiting from Wuhan, where a deadly outbreak began. The man in his sixties from Nara in western Japan drove two groups of Wuhan tourists earlier in January and was hospitalised on Saturday with flu-like symptoms, the health ministry said. Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said the country had confirmed two new cases, bringing the total so far in Japan to six.
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| British man dies in US immigration detention in Florida Posted: 27 Jan 2020 05:16 PM PST  * Death of man, 39, initially attributed to hanging * UK Foreign Office said to be in touch with man's wifeA British man has died while being held in US immigration detention in Florida, the Guardian has confirmed.The death was first reported by BuzzFeed News, which said the man was 39 years old and that the cause was initially attributed to asphyxiation due to hanging. The incident was reported to have occurred on Saturday last week."Our staff are in contact with the US authorities following the death of a British man in Florida," said a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office in London.Foreign Office officials are understood to have been in contact with the deceased man's wife, as US officials investigate the circumstances of the death.Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Guardian.In a statement to BuzzFeed, the agency identified the deceased man as Ben James Owen and clarified he had died at the Baker county detention center in Macclenny, Florida. Officials said Owen had entered the US on a temporary visa in July and had been arrested on suspicion of felony aggravated stalking, felony false imprisonment, domestic assault, and violating the conditions of his pre-trial release. The agency said the case remained under investigation.The incident marks the fifth death at a detention centre in the 2020 fiscal year, which begins in October 2019. There were eight deaths in Ice detention in the 2019 fiscal year.The immigration detention population in the United States has soared under the Trump administration. Last year Ice detained 510,854 people, compared with 396,448 in 2018. The administration has also increased its use of detention facilities, mostly run by private security companies, with a new concentration of detention centres opening in the deep south.Medical provision and mental health care at detention facilities has come under increased criticism under the Trump administration after a spate of high profile deaths since 2017.At the end of last year House Democrats on the oversight and reform committee launched an inquiry to investigate a "troubling pattern of abuse and poor treatment" of migrants in custody.
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| Why Did Russia's Carrier Have the Guns of a Battleship? Posted: 27 Jan 2020 07:00 AM PST  Weird but cool.
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| Historians Unmask Fourth Soviet Spy Who Worked on the Atomic Bomb Posted: 27 Jan 2020 02:07 PM PST  Just what nuclear secrets did "Godsend" deliver to Russia in the 1940s?
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| Pilot of Bryant helicopter tried to avoid heavy fog Posted: 28 Jan 2020 09:29 AM PST  The veteran pilot whose helicopter plunged into a Los Angeles-area hillside, killing Kobe Bryant and eight others, had tried to avoid fog so heavy that it had grounded police choppers, authorities said. The NBA postponed the Los Angeles Lakers' next game, against the Clippers on Tuesday night, after the deaths of the 41-year-old retired superstar and the other victims. While the investigation into the cause of the crash was just beginning and crews were still working to recover the bodies, experts and armchair pilots alike flooded social media and the airwaves with speculation, some of them suggesting that the pilot had become disoriented in the dense fog that had settled along part of the flight path.
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| Gambia Outlaws Group Calling for President Barrow to Step Down Posted: 27 Jan 2020 03:34 AM PST ![Gambia Outlaws Group Calling for President Barrow to Step Down]( "Gambia Outlaws Group Calling for President Barrow to Step Down") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Next Africa newsletter and follow Bloomberg Africa on TwitterThe Gambian government banned an activist group, made mass arrests and shut down two radio stations in the most severe crackdown on dissent since President Adama Barrow took office three years ago.Police arrested 137 members of the 'Three Years is Enough' movement at a protest Sunday in a town about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) north of the capital, Banjul. The group was calling for Barrow to step down this year in line with a deal he struck with coalition parties that helped end his predecessor's 22-year-rule. The government also detained journalists covering the protest.The group is now considered "a subversive, violent and illegal movement," government spokesman Ebrima Sankareh said in a statement. It is banned "from ever operating within the shores of The Gambia."Barrow, 54, defeated former dictator Yahya Jammeh in December 2016 with the support of seven political parties that had rallied behind him to bring down the former leader's repressive regime. He took office in January 2017 after a regional armed intervention forced Jammeh to step down. Barrow is expected to run for re-election in 2021 despite his promise to coalition partners.Protesters were arrested "for simply exercising their rights," an executive member of the movement, Sheriffo Sonko, said by phone. He said his organization had planned a peaceful protest.To contact the reporter on this story: Modou Joof in Johannesburg at mjoof@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Andre Janse van Vuuren at ajansevanvuu@bloomberg.net, Yinka Ibukun, Paul RichardsonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran lawmakers call for debate on quitting nuclear arms treaty Posted: 28 Jan 2020 01:49 AM PST  A group of Iranian lawmakers on Tuesday asked parliament to debate a motion for Iran to quit a treaty governing global nuclear arms control, a move apparently aimed at pressuring European powers to salvage Tehran's own 2015 nuclear deal. A report on the assembly's news site ICANA said a minimum number of MPs had signed a request to parliament's managers to arrange a debate on the motion for Iran to take the far-reaching step of leaving the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said last week that Iran could withdraw from the NPT if European countries refer the country to the U.N. Security Council over the 2015 deal, a move that would overturn diplomacy in Tehran's turbulent relations with Western powers.
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| Trump praises Pompeo for his outburst at NPR's Mary Louise Kelly: 'I think you did a good job on her, actually' Posted: 28 Jan 2020 10:21 AM PST  "That reporter couldn't have done too good a good job on you yesterday, eh? I think you did a good job on her, actually," the president said.
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| Family of 5 found dead in North Carolina home: All died of single gunshot wounds Posted: 27 Jan 2020 09:44 AM PST  A family of five and their dog were found dead Friday in their Vanceboro, North Carolina home.
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| Xi says China fighting 'demon' virus as nations prepare airlifts Posted: 28 Jan 2020 10:21 AM PST  China is battling a "demon" virus that has so far killed more than 100 people, President Xi Jinping said Tuesday, as foreign nations prepared to evacuate their citizens and the US said it was developing a vaccine. Xi made his remarks during talks with the head of the World Health Organization in Beijing amid growing global concerns about a novel coronavirus that has infected thousands in China and reached more than a dozen other countries. In a development that could cause more jitters abroad, Japan and Germany reported the first confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission outside of China.
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| Ivory Coast's Soro says he remains presidential candidate despite warrant Posted: 28 Jan 2020 04:52 AM PST  Former Ivory Coast rebel leader Guillaume Soro said on Tuesday he would not drop out of presidential elections set for the end of the year, despite an arrest warrant out against him. Ivory Coast's public prosecutor issued the warrant for Soro on Dec. 23 as part of an investigation into an alleged coup plot. Soro denied any wrongdoing and said he was a victim of judicial persecution.
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| The Israeli Army Is Unprepared for a Ground War with Iran and Hezbollah Posted: 28 Jan 2020 02:53 AM PST  If Israel has to go to war tomorrow against Iran or its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, there's a problem. The Israeli mechanized division that would defend Israel's northern border, or enter Syria or Lebanon to eject Iranian and pro-Iranian forces, are in bad shape.
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| Here's how much flight attendants in 10 airlines say they make Posted: 27 Jan 2020 05:54 AM PST  Flight attendants from Delta, JetBlue, United, Spirit, Southwest and more reveal their salaries on Glassdoor and Payscale.
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| Underwater bombs damage Syria's offshore oil facilities Posted: 27 Jan 2020 10:43 AM PST  Bombs planted underwater off Syria's coast exploded Monday, damaging oil facilities used to pump oil into one of Syria's two petroleum refineries, state media and the oil minister said. Oil minister Ali Ghanem told state TV that the bombs were planted by divers in the facility used to pump oil to the coast. "The aim of the attack is to cease (oil) imports into Syria," Ghanem said, adding the ministry's experts are evaluating and fixing the damage.
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| EU’s Top Diplomat Cites ‘Quite Worrying’ Violence in Libya Posted: 27 Jan 2020 04:56 AM PST ![EU's Top Diplomat Cites 'Quite Worrying' Violence in Libya]( "EU's Top Diplomat Cites 'Quite Worrying' Violence in Libya") (Bloomberg) -- Europe's top diplomat warned of renewed violence in Libya recently and said international powers must put pressure on the warring parties to end the conflict.The European Union's top foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said that recent developments were "quite worrying" and that a Jan. 19 meeting of world leaders in Berlin had not halted Libya's civil war. "We knew, everybody, that the result of the Berlin conference would not result in automatic implementation," Borrell told reporters in Berlin on Monday alongside German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. "Everybody knew it wasn't an agreement that would be enforced tomorrow."His comments come after the United Nations warned that foreign powers were setting the stage for more not less fighting in the OPEC nation. Libya's internationally-recognized government said Sunday that repeated attacks by rival commander Khalifa Haftar have rendered a fragile truce all but meaningless."We don't have any illusions that this will be a difficult path, and that the largest part of it lies ahead of us," Germany's Maas said.Frailty of Libya Accord on Display In Merkel-Erdogan SquabbleAt stake for Europe is the stability of a major oil producer in its backyard and the threat of a growing sphere of influence of Russia and Turkey, which effectively control developments there by sending support to the warring parties. The idea for Europe to have its own military presence in Libya is far from consensual and would require an effective cease-fire first.German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted the Berlin meeting in an attempt to stanch the conflict but the precariousness of the accord was on display during her visit to Istanbul on Friday, where she and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan bickered publicly over the terms of the deal.The UN on Saturday said none of the parties involved in the Berlin conference --- which also grouped Turkey, Russia and Egypt -- were honoring the terms of the deal.(Updates with context, tweets)\--With assistance from Taylan Bilgic.To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Donahue in Berlin at pdonahue1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Raymond Colitt, Caroline AlexanderFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Newly discovered photos of Nazi death camp may show guard Demjanjuk: historians Posted: 28 Jan 2020 07:44 AM PST  Historians in Germany have released previously unseen photos of the Nazi Sobibor death camp, including what they believe are images of John Demjanjuk, who was sentenced in 2011 for his role in the killing of about 28,000 people there. Ukraine-born Demjanjuk, who had been No. 1 on the Simon Wiesenthal Center's list of "Most Wanted Nazi War Criminals", was deported to Germany from the United States in 2009, where he had spent much of his life as a car worker, to face trial. The photos, described by historian Martin Cueppers as a representing a "quantum leap in the visual record on the Holocaust in occupied Poland", had belonged to Johann Niemann, once deputy commandant of Sobibor.
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| After the trial's over, President Trump's impeachment battles could determine who holds real power in the US government Posted: 27 Jan 2020 07:26 AM PST  The legal and constitutional battles sparked by President Trump's behavior could affect how the U.S. government works for generations, long after the impeachment trial is over. After the last Senate staffer turns out the lights, major questions remain to be decided outside of the Capitol about the limits of presidential power, the willingness of courts to decide political questions and the ability of Congress to exercise effective oversight and hold a president accountable. Here are three of those questions. What are the limits of presidential power?First, the aggressive exercise of executive power by Trump has put this power under court scrutiny. Trump's vow to "fight all the subpoenas" breaks from the traditional process – negotiation and accommodation – that previous presidents have used to resolve disputes between branches of the government. As a result, several cases are currently pending, including a legal challenge brought by the House Judiciary Committee to compel the testimony of Don McGahn, Trump's former White House counsel. The House had sought McGahn's testimony about Trump's alleged obstruction of justice in the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian election interference. McGahn challenged the subpoena issued by the Judiciary Committee on the grounds of absolute immunity, arguing that he – a close aide to the president, and a member of the co-equal executive branch – need not appear before Congress to answer questions at all. U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson rejected this argument, saying that while McGahn could possibly assert executive privilege about individual questions, he could not refuse to appear altogether. Executive privilege is not specified in the Constitution. But the Supreme Court has recognized that a president may shield from disclosure certain sensitive information and communications to encourage candid advice from aides and to protect national security and other sensitive information. "However busy or essential a presidential aide might be, and whatever their proximity to sensitive domestic and national-security projects, the President does not have the power to excuse him or her from taking an action that the law requires," Judge Jackson wrote.The case is now on appeal, and during oral argument in early January, the committee's lawyer said that additional impeachment articles could be filed based on McGahn's testimony. In 1974, in United States v. Nixon, however, the court stated that the privilege is not absolute, and must yield in some circumstances, such as a criminal investigation. Absolute immunity, which courts have not recognized, goes even further than executive privilege, permitting an aide to refuse to appear altogether.Regardless of the outcome of the case, a court decision in the McGahn case will provide clarity that will weaken or strengthen the negotiating position of future presidents. Should courts step into political conflicts?Some of the cases still pending could determine how much power courts have in impeachment matters. Under what is known as the "political question doctrine," courts typically avoid what are known as "political questions" that involve branches of government in conflict. They have dismissed most cases that present such questions, deferring to the other branches to resolve them. In the more than 200 years between 1789 and 2017, when Trump took office, courts heard only five cases for presidential claims of executive privilege in response to a congressional subpoena.* * *Read more: Courts have avoided refereeing between Congress and the president, but Trump may force them to wade in* * *In the 1993 case of Nixon v. United States (no, not that Nixon, U.S. District Judge Walter Nixon), the Supreme Court held that a federal judge could not appeal to a court seeking to overturn his conviction at a Senate impeachment trial. The Constitution, the court ruled, gives the Senate the sole power to try all impeachments. Concurring opinions in the Nixon case, however, left open the possibility of an appeal to courts for an impeachment trial that was conducted "arbitrarily," that is, lacking procedural fairness.Trump's personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, suggested at one time that Trump file a court challenge to dismiss the articles of impeachment. While that seems unlikely in light of the Nixon case, the political question doctrine is likely to figure in other pending cases, such the effort by Congress to seek grand jury material from Mueller's investigation. During oral argument earlier this month in the case over grand jury material pending before the court of appeals, one of the judges expressed reluctance to decide the case because it involves a political question.As the courts decide the cases involving McGahn's testimony, the Mueller grand jury material, and any challenge arising from Trump's impeachment trial, the contours of the political question doctrine will become more defined. Will the executive, legislative and judicial branches collide?In the impeachment's aftermath, the extent of Congress' ability to serve as a valid check on presidential power will become more clear. The framers of the Constitution envisioned a Congress that would provide oversight over a president. They did not count on members of Congress having more loyalty to their party than to their institution. If the Senate were to acquit the president in the face of additional incriminating evidence, the institution's ability to serve as a credible check on future presidents could be damaged. The impeachment trial itself could cause all three branches to collide. Former national security adviser John Bolton has publicly stated that he would testify if subpoenaed by the Senate. Trump has said he would he would invoke executive privilege to block Bolton's testimony. If the Senate wanted to compel the testimony, the presiding Chief Justice John Roberts would decide the standoff between the president and the Senate. If he were to rule in favor of the Senate and order Bolton to testify, could President Trump appeal that decision to the Supreme Court? Would the Court be willing to decide such a political question about impeachment? Would the Senate arrest and jail a witness for refusing to testify? There are no rules for what happens then. Throughout his presidency, Trump has been a disrupter of normal procedures. It appears that he will continue that trend even after impeachment. [ Like what you've read? Want more? Sign up for The Conversation's daily newsletter. ]This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * What to think when you're thinking about impeachment: 5 essential reads * Impeachment resolution: 3 reasons the House voted even though the Constitution doesn't require itBarbara L. McQuade does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| She Says He Raped Her Over 40 Years Ago. Now He's a Suspected Serial Killer. Posted: 28 Jan 2020 01:56 AM PST  When Fran met Bruce Lindahl, he didn't seem like a monster. Today, more than 40 years later, she considers herself lucky to be alive.She was 15 and Lindahl was in his early twenties when he first invited Fran and her friends over to his apartment in Lisle, Illinois, she recalled to The Daily Beast. He would buy alcohol for the girls and host parties at his place with his live-in girlfriend.He initially seemed like a "wonderful person," according to Fran, whose last name is being withheld at her request. (The Daily Beast does not name survivors of sexual violence without their consent.) He took her ice skating or to the movies, and even earned the trust of Fran's mother, who allowed him to be the adult driver in the passenger seat when she only had her learner's permit. Perhaps most of all, he was charming, she said.Now, police say Lindahl—who has been dead since the 1980s—could easily prove to be a serial killer.Is a Serial-Killer Gang Murdering Young Men Across the U.S.?On Jan. 13, police detectives in Lisle, a Chicago suburb, announced that thanks to advanced DNA forensics they were able to tie Bruce Lindahl to the murder of Pamela Maurer of Woodridge, who was found strangled on the side of a road in 1976. Mauer, who was just 16 at the time, decided to walk to a nearby store to buy a Coke that night. Police found her body the next morning. Perhaps most disturbing about the latest developments in the case: The lead detective, Chris Loudon, suggested DNA evidence could eventually tie Lindahl to dozens of other victims of violent crimes ranging from rape to murder."If Bruce wouldn't have accidentally killed himself, the death toll would have likely been astronomical," Loudon told The Daily Beast, adding that he would "bet his entire paycheck" Lindahl was responsible for at least nine murders—and may be linked to 12. And with at least 25 tips coming in daily, Loudon said, he believed that number could grow. He and fellow officers have leaned on some of the same techniques that were at least partially responsible for the capture of the suspected Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, in 2018. Through DNA databases from popular services like 23andMe, a composite sketch was created. It bore a striking resemblance to Lindahl.Lindahl often had run-ins with the law, and investigators had suspected him in a number of heinous crimes prior to his death in 1981. He was charged with kidnapping and raping a woman named Debra Colliander in 1980, but the case fell apart when the victim went missing two weeks before she was set to testify. Her body was discovered in 1982.By then, Lindahl was dead, having been found in an apartment in the nearby Chicago suburb of Naperville, draped over 18-year-old Charles Huber. Detectives concluded Lindahl accidentally severed his own femoral artery while stabbing the young man 28 times with a six-inch kitchen knife.But Fran knew Lindahl was capable of wanton brutality and violence before police did.When she was still a teenager, Lindahl invited her over for drinks early one morning, which had become a regular occurrence by then. When Fran arrived, she recalled, he had her favorite—a scotch on the rocks—ready for her. But after just a couple of sips, she said, she dropped the drink, lost control of her motor functions, and went limp.Lindahl proceeded to attack her, she said, stripping her of her clothes, taking photographs of her in various poses, and raping her. She recalled the assault continuing until she grew "very, very sick."She said she asked Lindahl to take her to a nearby hospital and that he refused, insisting she was OK. Instead, Fran remembered Lindahl going so far as to take some of her friends skiing that same day. She spent the day trying to sleep in the back of his car.Despite the assault, Fran added, she didn't feel comfortable completely distancing herself from Lindahl, and their relationship—abusive and violent though it was—would continue for a few more years. "When Bruce said jump, I said, 'How high?'" she said.At the time, and perhaps even today, Fran says, she felt responsible for what happened to her. Although she was just a teenager, she described some sexual encounters with Lindahl that were "consensual" in her mind.She didn't tell any of her friends or family. Not only did she worry about being believed, she felt that Lindahl would do "something terrible" to her.Fran recalled another night when Lindahl insisted she come over to his place. When she arrived, Lindahl's girlfriend was sleeping in the next room. He then forced Fran to perform oral sex on him and demanded she sneak out the window when he was finished, she recalled."I thought if I screamed, he would hurt me," she said. Fran still remembers the last time she saw Lindahl, too.She was 18 and had taken a job that required her to work the graveyard shift. That meant she almost never saw Lindahl anymore. She thought she had escaped him, or perhaps that he had moved on to other women.Until one morning, when she passed Lindahl's car on the way home from work. Lindahl must have been waiting for her; he followed her back to her house.She pleaded with Lindahl that she was tired from work and needed sleep, but he ignored her and followed her into the house, she said. When he grabbed the family Polaroid camera and followed her upstairs, she feared the worst.To this day, Fran isn't entirely sure how she convinced Lindahl to leave that morning. But she was able to coax him out of the house and escape unharmed.Learning of his death was the only way out of being haunted by him."I was thrilled," she said, recalling relief washing over her when she saw him on local news.Fran never allowed Lindahl to define her life. She started a family and worked hard; years would go by without her thinking about the man. But she never stopped worrying about Lindahl's girlfriend, she said.Years after Lindahl died, she thought she ran into her in a Chicago suburb. When Fran asked if she was who she thought she was, the woman denied it and turned white. She was living under a different name than Fran remembered, she said. "I always worried that maybe she didn't know Bruce was dead," she said. "That maybe she was living her life in hiding."Over the years, Fran has grappled with guilt and wondered if she should have spoken up sooner. But when she saw the news of his being tied to so many other grisly crimes, she realized how close she may have come to becoming one of Lindahl's alleged murder victims herself.She said she doesn't feel brave or courageous telling her story. But after reading pleas from detectives in media reports, she felt the need to come forward. "I always felt like everything was my fault. I guess I've always been that way," she said. She subsequently reached out to police and was interviewed by Detective Loudon. Still, Fran added, she couldn't help suspecting that keeping her head down saved her at a time when perpetrators of sexual violence were even less likely to be prosecuted than they are today."Somehow, I always knew to be afraid," she said. "I feel lucky I kept my mouth shut."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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| Soldier killed, general wounded during Mexico drug plane raid Posted: 28 Jan 2020 06:36 AM PST  A Mexican soldier was killed and a general wounded Monday when traffickers opened fire on a military patrol that sought to intercept a drug plane as it landed on a roadway, officials said.
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| Indonesia's Aceh unveils new female flogging squad Posted: 28 Jan 2020 07:56 AM PST  The masked woman nervously approaches her target, shuffles into position and then unleashes a flurry of lashes -- proving herself as the newest member of the first female flogging squad in Indonesia's Aceh province. Such behaviour constitutes a morality crime in Aceh, the only region in the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation that imposes Islamic law -- known as Sharia.
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| The oldest cruise ship on the seas is retiring. Here's a look at its bizarre history Posted: 27 Jan 2020 01:48 PM PST  From its fatal collision with the Andrea Doria to entertaining East German Communist Party leaders, the MV Astoria cruise ship has a wild backstory.
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| Arizona Republicans discriminated against minority voters, court rules Posted: 27 Jan 2020 12:35 PM PST  Ruling says Republican effort to restrict third-party ballot collection appeared to be part of effort to suppress black, Hispanic and Native American votes A federal court has ruled Arizona Republicans' ban on mail-in ballots is illegal and unconstitutional, calling it intentionally discriminatory toward people of color, who already face increased barriers to voting.The ruling is a major victory for the Democratic party, which filed the suit, and will likely make it easier for minorities to get their ballots counted in the largely red state.Four years ago, Arizona Republicans made it a felony, punishable by prison time, for third-party groups to collect mail-in ballots during elections – a process often called "ballot harvesting."Marginalized communities in the state may rely more on ballot harvesting, the court noted. Native Americans, for example, benefit significantly from third-party ballot collection efforts because just 18% of registered voters have mail service at home, and reservations can be far from polling stations. Some minority communities also have widespread distrust in the mailing system: in San Luis, a city that is 98% Hispanic, a major highway separates 13,000 residents from the nearest post office."The adverse impact on minority communities is substantial. Without 'access to reliable and secure mail services,' and without reliable transportation, many minority voters 'prefer instead to give their ballots to a volunteer'," the court said. And Hispanics and Native Americans make up nearly 37% of the state's population – promising to be a key demographic in this year's presidential election.The ruling noted that the Republican effort to restrict third-party ballot collection appeared to be part of a longstanding effort to suppress black, Hispanic and Native American votes. Republicans passed a similar law in 2011, but abandoned the effort after a state election official admitted that the measure was designed to target voting activity in Hispanic areas.The court also struck down a separate state policy that required election officials to throw out ballots if someone voted in the wrong precinct. But voters faced some egregious challenges. At times they were directed to the wrong precinct, without being told their vote wouldn't count, the court noted. And Arizona changes its polling locations with unusual frequency and rejected 38,355 ballots from people who voted in the wrong place between 2008 to 2016. (Minority voters were more than twice as likely than their white counterparts to cast a ballot out of their precinct.)Arizona has a long history of voter discrimination and until 2013 was required to submit any voting changes to the federal government for approval under a provision in the Voting Rights Act. But after the supreme court gutted that provision, Arizona was free to implement changes – like the discriminatory ballot harvesting ban – without federal oversight.Republicans have claimed that several of those changes, including the Arizona ballot harvesting ban, were created to avoid voter fraud. But voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States, and there was no evidence it was connected to ballot collection in Arizona."No one has ever found a case of voter fraud connected to third-party ballot collection in Arizona," the court wrote. "This has not been for want of trying."
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| India plans sale of debt-laden national carrier Air India Posted: 26 Jan 2020 10:46 PM PST  India said Monday it plans to sell its entire 100% stake in the national carrier Air India to shore up falling government revenues amid an economic slowdown, after an initial attempt last year failed to attract a single bidder. Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri called Air India a "great asset" whose financial position was "fragile" due to burgeoning debts. Puri told reporters in New Delhi that Air India as a brand will continue to fly but it needs to be privatized.
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| Shunned by the West and China, Zimbabwe Turns to U.A.E. Posted: 27 Jan 2020 07:00 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Next Africa newsletter and follow Bloomberg Africa on TwitterSanctioned by the West and spurned by China, Zimbabwe has turned to the United Arab Emirates in its latest bid to find a savior that can arrest the collapse of its economy.Zimbabwe's government has approached the U.A.E. in hopes of selling a stake in its national oil company, according to three company and government officials familiar with the plan. It also wants companies in the U.A.E. to buy more of its gold, they said.President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said U.A.E. investors will build solar plants in Zimbabwe, and U.A.E. President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan a year ago issued a decree to open an embassy in Zimbabwe. Dubai also contributed to relief efforts when Zimbabwe was hit by a cyclone last year.Zimbabwe's economy is in free-fall: It likely contracted by more than 6% last year, according to government estimates. Half the population is in need of food aid, inflation is running at over 500% and its currency has depreciated by more than 90% against the dollar since a 1:1 peg was abolished in February last year."They need investment desperately," said Jee-A van der Linde, an economic analyst at NKC African Economics in Paarl, South Africa. "It's been snowballing. I don't know where it's going to end up. I don't know how that would be appealing for the U.A.E."Oil companies in the U.A.E. said they were unaware of the interest.Belarusian BusesThe U.A.E.'s foreign ministry didn't respond to requests for comment.The U.A.E. is not the only country Mnangagwa has targeted for potential investment. Since taking power from Robert Mugabe in a November 2017 coup, he has crisscrossed the globe and attended gatherings such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, repeating the mantra 'Zimbabwe is open for business.' Two trips to Russia and former Soviet republics revived interest in a platinum project and a fleet of second-hand Belarusian buses now ply the streets of the capital, Harare, and the second-biggest city, Bulawayo.By May 2019, investment pledges worth $27 billion had been announced in projects ranging from steel mills to abattoirs. There's little evidence that they are being developed.A visit by Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister in January ended with only pledges of further infrastructural projects being carried out by China. There was no mention by the "all-weather-friend" as Zimbabwe likes to describe China, extending any financial bailout.Zimbabwe wants to sell a stake of as much as 25% in the National Oil Infrastructure Company of Zimbabwe, the people said, declining to be identified as the plans haven't been disclosed.NOIC owns storage depots at the port of Beira in neighboring Mozambique as well as five locations in Zimbabwe. It also owns gas stations and the pipeline that brings oil products from Beira to Mutare for companies including Puma Energy BV, in eastern Zimbabwe.Fuel ShortagesZimbabwe is prone to frequent shortages of motor fuel and sees a relationship with the U.A.E., possibly through the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, as a way of securing supply, one of the people said. The southern African nation consumes 1.4 million liters of gasoline and 2.5 million liters of diesel daily, according to the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority."We are working toward establishing a permanent arrangement with friendly countries and that also includes the U.A.E.," said Fortune Chasi, Zimbabwe's energy minister, declining to comment directly on whether Zimbabwe had approached the U.A.E.(Adds Davos in eighth paragraph)\--With assistance from Zainab Fattah and Mahmoud Habboush.To contact the reporters on this story: Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.net;Ray Ndlovu in Johannesburg at rndlovu1@bloomberg.net;Godfrey Marawanyika in Harare at gmarawanyika@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: John McCorry at jmccorry@bloomberg.net, Pauline Bax, Gordon BellFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Small suspected homemade bomb explodes at Hong Kong hospital, no injuries Posted: 26 Jan 2020 09:53 PM PST ![Small suspected homemade bomb explodes at Hong Kong hospital, no injuries]( "Small suspected homemade bomb explodes at Hong Kong hospital, no injuries") A suspected small-scale homemade bomb exploded at a general hospital in Hong Kong on Monday, causing the temporary evacuation of some patients but no injuries, police said. The incident came after a group of protesters on Sunday set alight the lobby of a newly built residential building in Hong Kong that authorities had planned to use as a quarantine facility, as fears grow over a coronavirus outbreak in mainland China. Hong Kong has been convulsed with demonstrations over the past seven months centered on its relationship with mainland China, with anger fueled by what protesters see as growing interference from Beijing.
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| Trump Predicts Mideast Plan Will Fly But It’s Fine If Not Posted: 27 Jan 2020 01:58 PM PST ![Trump Predicts Mideast Plan Will Fly But It's Fine If Not]( "Trump Predicts Mideast Plan Will Fly But It's Fine If Not") (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said there's a chance the Middle East peace plan he plans to release on Tuesday -- after three years in development -- wins the support of Palestinians and Arab nations but that he can live with its rejection."We're going to show a plan that's been worked on by everybody," Trump said Monday at the White House, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "And we'll see whether or not it catches hold. If it does, that would be great. And if it doesn't, we can live with that too, but I think we might have a chance."Trump made the comments as he opened meetings with Netanyahu to discuss the long-promised peace plan, with both leaders using the talks to deflect from domestic challenges to their political survival.Netanyahu's political rival Benny Gantz also visited the White House on Monday to discuss the plan that Trump said he will release at noon Washington time on Tuesday. The meetings come as Trump's lawyers present their defense in the Senate against removing him from office and as Netanyahu's request for legal immunity from three separate corruption trials is up for a parliamentary vote in Jerusalem.Netanyahu said before boarding a plane to Washington on Sunday that he's going to "make history" with Trump, though Palestinian leaders and political analysts have condemned the president's plan as futile. Trump, who said Netanyahu supports his plan, told reporters on Monday that there's a good chance Palestinians will come around eventually.'Overly Good'"They probably won't want it initially, but I think in the end they will," he said. "I think in the end they're going to want it. It's very good for them. In fact, it's overly good to them, so we'll see what happens."He also asserted that "many of the Arab nations have agreed to it -- they like it, they think it's great, they think it's a big start, too." He said, "I think it's a fantastic thing if we can pull it off."Trump is widely expected to produce a solution that is favorable to Israel over the Palestinians, which may help him shore up the backing of evangelical Christians, who are stalwart defenders of Israel, as well as conservative Jewish contributors for his re-election bid in November.Netanyahu has just over a month to finally convince Israeli voters that despite his legal predicament, he's the superior choice over top rival Gantz, the former military chief who has battled the Israeli leader to a draw in two consecutive elections. Gantz has started to appeal to right-wing voters in his effort to unseat Netanyahu.The Israeli prime minister has touted his close ties to Trump, who has furthered Israeli interests. Netanyahu praised Trump on Tuesday for his combative stance toward the Iranian government, whose policies Netanyahu has long described as posing an existential threat to his country.While reporters were ushered into the Oval Office to see Trump and Netanyahu exchange praise of one another, Gantz came and went without fanfare.Gantz told reporters later Monday that Trump's plan is a "significant and historic milestone" and as prime minister he would "work toward implementing it from within a stable, functioning Israeli government, in tandem with other countries in our region."According to the latest polls, Netanyahu's Likud party trails Gantz's Blue and White bloc, though neither man has enough support to form a majority government and break Israel's political stalemate.Talk about Trump's peace plan has drowned out what has been until now the focus of the past two Israeli elections -- Netanyahu's corruption trials. Gantz said he was flying back to Israel for a debate on the immunity proposal on Tuesday."No one has the right to lead a country with such diplomatic and security concerns, when all his thoughts and actions are subject to personal interests," Gantz said. "Netanyahu can't run a country and at the same time deal with a trial."Politically, Gantz may have had little choice but to come to Washington for meetings where he's sure to be upstaged by Netanyahu. Otherwise, he could be perceived as rejecting what Netanyahu has called a historic opportunity to widen Israel's borders with strong U.S. backing.Palestinian leaders will be conspicuously absent from the White House meetings. They have spurned talks with the Trump administration, citing what they have called a series of moves showing favor toward Israel. Those include moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and proclaiming that Israeli settlements in the West Bank aren't necessarily illegal.Nabil Abu Rudeina, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority president, said in a statement that ambassadors from Arab and Muslim states refused invitations to a White House ceremony on Tuesday to present a plan he called "a conspiracy aimed at undermining the rights of our Palestinian people and thwarting the establishment of the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital."(Updates with Palestinian comment in final paragraph)\--With assistance from Fadwa Hodali.To contact the reporters on this story: Yaacov Benmeleh in Washington at ybenmeleh@bloomberg.net;Mario Parker in Washington at mparker22@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Nayla Razzouk at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net, ;Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum, Larry LiebertFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Motorola is warning people not to add screen protectors to the new Razr, and says bumps and lumps under the screen are 'normal' Posted: 27 Jan 2020 09:05 AM PST  Motorola is setting expectations before Razr fans get their hands on the highly anticipated Razr foldable smartphone revival.
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