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Iraq’s most powerful Shiite religious leader said Monday he backs a U.N. roadmap aimed at meeting the demands of anti-government protesters who have been rallying in recent weeks despite a bloody crackdown by security forces, but he expressed concern t…
November 11, 2019Read More
Turkey on Monday deported citizens of the United States and Denmark who fought for the Islamic State and made plans to expel other foreign nationals as the government began a new push to send back captured foreign fighters to their home countries, a Turkish official said. The move comes just over a week after the Turkish interior minister said Turkey was not a “hotel” for IS fighters and criticized Western nations for their reluctance to take back citizens who had joined the ranks of the extremist militant group as it sought to establish a “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said last week that about 1,200 foreign IS fighters were in Turkish prisons and 287 members, including women and children, were recaptured during Turkey’s offensive in Syria.
November 11, 2019Read More
Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric is concerned the political elite is not serious about enacting promised reforms to defuse mass unrest and believes protesters will not go home without concrete steps to realize their demands, a senior U.N. official said. More…
November 11, 2019Read More
Iran is producing even more low-enriched uranium daily than previously thought, after resuming enrichment at an underground laboratory built in a mountain, the head of the country’s nuclear program told The Associated Press on Monday. Ali Akbar Salehi…
November 11, 2019Read More
From across the nation, private planes and commercial airliners ferry veterans to the capital to see the monuments honoring them.
November 11, 2019Read More
A photography workshop for veterans offered an outlet to help them cope with the challenges of being home. An exhibit of their work is on display in Buffalo.
November 11, 2019Read More
Days to Brexit deadline: 81(Bloomberg) — Sign up here to get the Brexit Bulletin in your inbox every weekday.Today in Brexit: No one is backing down in the tussle over whether to create a pre-election Leave alliance.Nigel Farage is coming under pressure to stand aside and let U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliver Brexit after the general election on Dec. 12.Arron Banks, one of Farage’s key backers in the 2016 referendum, used a column in the Mail on Sunday to urge his former ally to step aside. Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng echoed that call in an interview with Sky News’s Sophy Ridge. Former Theresa May aide Nick Timothy describes Farage today as a tragic figure, “the Frodo Baggins of Brexit.” But Farage, the original poster boy for Brexit, looks unlikely to give way gracefully. Leavers fear Farage could now split the pro-Brexit vote, help Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street, and scupper Britain’s departure from the European Union. As Banks put it: If Farage “insists on pursuing his impossible dream of a perfect Brexit, he will not get it.” Weekend polling put Farage’s Brexit Party on 6%-10%, in fourth place. Farage launches his Brexit Party’s election campaign today in Hartlepool, in the north of England. Follow our rolling election coverage for all the latest.For all the pressure, Farage shows little inclination to bow out. On Sunday, he gave Johnson another four days to reach a deal or face Brexit Party candidates running against Conservatives across the whole U.K. His demand: Johnson should abandon his deal and pursue what Farage calls a “clean Brexit.”Why would the prime minister agree? The Tories are certainly nervous about the Brexit Party. Johnson may be enjoying a double digit lead in the polls — but it could evaporate quickly. The Conservatives are also at greater risk of losing supporters to the Brexit party than Labour, polling guru John Curtice pointed out in the Sunday Telegraph. On Sunday, Johnson ruled out extending the transition period beyond 2020, something many have taken as an olive branch to Farage and his supporters.But it would be an almost unthinkable step for Johnson to abandon outright the compromise he spent months hammering out — and even more of one for Farage to walk away. Single-issue campaigners like him need a cause if they are to remain relevant: If Brexit is delivered, and the public moves on, how does he go on being just that?Today’s Must-ReadsBrexit is even hurting Tinder, according to Bloomberg’s Joe Easton and Ivan Edwards. Here’s what companies have been saying about Brexit. Johnson’s Tories hit out at Labour, saying opposition spending plans would cost £1.2 trillion ($1.5 trillion) over five years. Labour’s finance spokesman, John McDonnell, branded the claim a “ludicrous piece of Tory fake news.” Does Boris Johnson understand his own deal? Recent comments by the prime minister have only sown confusion, according to Bloomberg’s Rob Hutton.Brexit in BriefNo Contraction | The U.K. almost certainly avoided a recession ahead of the now-postponed Oct. 31 deadline to leave the European Union, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. Official figures are due at 9:30 a.m. in London.More Chaos | The bid for a new Brexit referendum has been thrown into (even more) disarray, with the acting chief of the People’s Vote campaign stepping down amid allegations of harassment, according to the Guardian.Bercow’s Back | The former speaker of the House of Commons tells the Guardian he may be pompous, but says Brexiters and Theresa May are to blame for Britain’s delayed departure from the EU.Outlook Cut | The U.K.’s sovereign credit rating was put on negative outlook by Moody’s Investors Service, which said the country’s ability to set policy has weakened in the Brexit era along with its commitment to fiscal discipline.Time, Please | J D Wetherspoon Plc founder Tim Martin is coming under pressure to keep his pro-Brexit views to himself, according to the Guardian. Shareholder groups are increasingly unhappy with the publican’s habit of including his opinions on the controversial subject in his firm’s trading updates. The next is due on Wednesday.Nationalist Project | “Brexit seems to have knocked the British off their trolleys, depriving at least half of them any sense of proportion. How did they get to be like this?” Ferdinand Mount reviews Fintan O’Toole’s Postwar England and the Rise of Nationalism in the New York Times.Want to keep up with Brexit?You can follow us @Brexit on Twitter, and listen to Bloomberg Westminster every weekday. It’s live at midday on Bloomberg Radio and is available as a podcast too. Share the Brexit Bulletin: Colleagues, friends and family can sign up here. For full EU coverage, try the Brussels Edition.For even more: Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access for our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close.To contact the author of this story: Edward Evans in London at [email protected] contact the editor responsible for this story: Adam Blenford at [email protected], Timothy Coulter “Tim”For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
November 11, 2019Read More
(Bloomberg) — Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Boris Johnson’s ruling Conservatives are trying to turn the focus of the election campaign to one of their strongest suits: The economy.They will hope to capi…
November 11, 2019Read More
(Bloomberg Opinion) — The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy — also known as CAP — is a 58-billion-euro ($64 billion) system of farm aid that accounts for the bloc’s biggest single budget expense. And it has long been a punching bag for euroskeptics.The U.K. press for years excoriated the “wine lakes” and “butter mountains” supported by EU money. Even after the production quotas went away, critics accused the EU of trade protectionism meant to squeeze rivals. The EU’s defense is that the system is more market-oriented and eco-friendly than it used to be.Today it’s no longer just the Brits grumbling. In fact, the U.K.’s looming departure from the EU may leave a 98 billion-euro hole in the next EU budget and that shortfall has exposed deep discontent on the continent. Germany is loath to fill the gap and wants individual member states to contribute more for farm subsidies, something France — still the biggest overall recipient of CAP funds — is resisting. Unlike some of its thrifty neighbors who want to keep a lid on costs, France wants a more ambitious system. French President Emmanuel Macron is fighting the view popularized by author Michel Houellebecq and others that Brussels is too weak and beholden to free trade to defend France’s local terroirs from competition.It would be easier to build popular support for a bold new CAP if its hypocrisies weren’t so apparent to voters. The system only costs around 0.4% of the EU’s gross domestic product, but it’s distributed in wildly unequal ways. Europe’s capitals are frequently awash in tales of well-heeled landowners receiving millions in EU aid — including the wealthy, Brexit-loving entrepreneur James Dyson — which should ideally go to those who actually need a financial boost. One well-known statistic is that about 80% of EU agricultural aid goes to the top 20% of farmers; in absolute terms, according to 2017 data, some 125,000 beneficiaries get around 12.9 billion euros ($14.3 billion) in aid. That’s about 103,000 euros ($113,500) per farmer.Given the EU is advertising itself as a “geopolitical” defender of the Western liberal order and protector of citizens’ way of life, another awkward problem with the CAP is the corruption and cronyism it fosters within. A New York Times investigation this week revealed how the CAP has propped up the likes of Hungary’s Viktor Orban via farmland sold to his allies, and sent tens of millions of dollars to Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s company Agrofert. With EU aid now doled out directly by the hectare, the wine lake and the butter mountain have been replaced by land-grabs based on patronage and directed at insiders , according to one 2015 study.More accountability and transparency would help, as would the centralized ability to link EU aid to recipients who have a healthy respect for the rule of law and democracy. But member states would have to agree to give up the power they enjoy when it comes to allocating aid. They have a bothersome habit of watering down sensible proposals such as putting a cap on the size of farm handouts or conditioning them on certain goals. Brussels does audit the money trail to fight fraud and error, which it estimates represents about 2.4% of farm aid, but its resources aren’t limitless.One idea raised by Alan Matthews, professor emeritus of European agricultural policy at Trinity College, is to tie aid to something that’s popular and a top priority for the new European Commission — the environment. Rather than just call for a hard cap of, say, 50,000 euros per beneficiary (which countries would fight), he suggests a soft cap above which aid would be tied to climate-friendly, sustainable farming initiatives. Big farms, however politically-connected, would have to show they can offer a public good in exchange for public funds.This is superficially the same message being sent by the U.K. government to its own farmers as a way to replace EU subsidies after Brexit: Aid should be earned by eco-friendly initiatives, not paid by the hectare. It’s easier said than done, and the state of U.K. agriculture without membership in the EU’s single market is hard to predict. But considering it will take time, money and political trade-offs to improve the EU’s flawed system, a small step like this — particularly if it proves to the naysayers that Europe can be reformed — is surely worth it.To contact the author of this story: Lionel Laurent at [email protected] contact the editor responsible for this story: Timothy L. O’Brien at [email protected] column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Brussels. He previously worked at Reuters and Forbes.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
November 11, 2019Read More
(Bloomberg) — Want the lowdown on what’s moving European markets in your inbox every morning? Sign up here.Good morning. An election gamble in Spain hasn’t paid off, the scene is set for more on trade talks and the U.K. election focus is turning to spending plans. Here’s what’s moving markets.Sanchez’s GambleSpaniards voted Sunday for a second time this year and Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is no closer to being able to form a clear government than he was back in April. His Socialists are set to win the greatest number of seats, but will be short of a majority again, facing a fragmented Parliament and a new set of torturous negotiations for Sanchez to try to form a government. Notably, the nationalist Vox party did better than expected, raising further questions about where the sentiment of the country is headed. Watch Spanish bonds and shares at the open as political uncertainty in the country continues.Deal TalkPrepare for another week nervously watching for any headlines from the U.S. or Chinese sides of the trade war after U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend said China wants a deal “much more than I do,’’ in advance of a speech he’ll give Tuesday from which investors will be awaiting more pointers. That speech and those potential pointers could in turn influence the Federal Reserve’s outlook statement following its interest rate decision the following day, with trade still center stage for the U.S. and global economy. Note, too, warnings about the dangers of a capital war and the reality check trade concerns are creating for many emerging markets.Spending PlansIt’s the first full week of official election-campaign time in the U.K., and the back-and-forth between the parties seems to be returning to familiar ground, namely the Conservatives attacking Labour’s spending plans as fiscally irresponsible. Right now, the Tories are still comfortably ahead in the polls, though whether they’re far enough in the lead to win a majority is a question that will sharpen as the weeks go by. Brexit, the central issue, remains on the lips of many companies but data seems to show that for stocks, whoever is in charge doesn’t matter as much as one might assume.Protester ShotA protester was shot by police in Hong Kong during the Monday morning commute following a weekend of demonstrations that resulted in nearly 90 arrests that will refocus attention on the turmoil the city is facing. The news battered local stocks, which had been on a strong run recently, with local landlords hit the hardest once more by the escalating tensions between protesters and authorities. For Europe, luxury-goods firms, hotel operators and Asia-focused banks have all taken a hit from the protests, and that may well continue Monday.Coming Up…The slump in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led the losses for Asia on Monday, while European stock futures are pointing to a mixed start to the week. It’s a relatively quiet day for European economic numbers, with Italian industrial production and U.K. GDP data, and not too much is on the slate on the earnings front either, though note that bookmaker William Hill Plc will update following the new regulatory concerns sector is facing.What We’ve Been ReadingThis is what’s caught our eye over the weekend. Instagram will cover celebrity video costs, if they avoid politics. Fukushima is to become a renewable energy hub. Password sharers, beware! The streaming giants are coming for you. Here’s the other powerful woman starting at the European Central Bank. Want to see Santa at Harrods? You’ll have to spend $2,500 first. India is importing a huge batch of onions to keep prices under control. The impact of decades of dietary advice.Like Bloomberg’s Five Things? Subscribe for unlimited access to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close.Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. Learn more.To contact the authors of this story: Sam Unsted in London at [email protected] Munoz Montijano in Madrid at [email protected] contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Lavell at [email protected] more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
November 11, 2019Read More
A young Palestinian man who was shot in the back by Israeli forces in an incident caught on video last year says the footage shows just a small part of what was a horrifying day for him. Speaking to The Associated Press after the video emerged last we…
November 11, 2019Read More
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