News: World

UN expert: No peace in Myanmar if no military prosecutions

• World
• 2019-08-23 23:20:59Z

A member of the U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar warned Friday that there will be no long-term peace in the country and no return of Rohingya refugees unless there is accountability for the "brutality" of Myanmar's military forces. Radhika Coomaraswamy, a Sri Lankan lawyer who is one of the mission's three international experts, told an informal Security Council meeting on accountability in Myanmar that the commission believes a domestic judicial process is not possible at this time. "Pressure by military and political forces will not only frighten away witnesses, but they will not allow a domestic, and we think even at this time, a hybrid form of...

Macron spearheads pressure on Bolsonaro over Amazon fires

• World
• 2019-08-23 21:04:04Z

French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with Iran's foreign minister Friday ahead of a G7 meeting, where he will attempt to soothe tensions between Tehran and Washington at what risks being a stormy summit. "We're at a critical moment," Macron warned on Wednesday, acknowledging that Iran is "laying out a strategy for exiting the JCPOA," the name of the 2015 accord reining in the country's nuclear ambitions.

Russia's Su-57 Stealth Fighter Has One Target In Its Sights: The U.S. Navy

• World
• 2019-08-23 16:00:00Z

The Su-57 is Russia's equivalent of the U.S. F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters. A Mach 2 aircraft capable of air superiority and ground-strike missions, it is Russia's first stealth plane, and probably the most sophisticated aircraft in the Russian arsenal.​Russia is designing an anti-ship missile for its Su-57 stealth fighter.But is hunting ships the best mission for such an advanced aircraft?Deputy Defense Minister Alexey Krivoruchko made the announcement while visiting the Detal Design Bureau, which is developing a new anti-ship missile, according to Russian news agency TASS.(This first appeared in June 2019.)"Today the enterprise is working on developing an active homing warhead for the...

Sweden 'receives indications' Iran is ready to release British tanker

• World
• 2019-08-23 10:48:17Z

Sweden has reportedly received "very strong indications" from Iran that it will release the British-flagged Stena Impero oil tanker sometime in the coming days.  Sweden's foreign ministry believes that the ship, which is operated by a Swedish firm, will be set free in the near future, according to Swedish public television.  The report emerged after Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, met with his Swedish counterpart, Margot Wallstrom, in Stockholm earlier this week. The Iranian minister also met with the chief executive of Stena Bulk, the ship's operator.  A spokeswoman for Sweden's foreign ministry would not confirm or deny the STV report.   "We look positively at what Foreign...

America's Key to Keeping ISIS Defeated

• World
• 2019-08-23 09:02:44Z

Louai Beshara/GettyEastern Syria sits at the crossroads of critical policy decisions in Washington. The region is at the center of an escalating crisis in U.S.-Turkey relations, while maintaining America's presence there blocks Iranian and Russian gains in Syria. It also is key to keeping ISIS defeated. Washington should see eastern Syria as one of the most important strategic pieces of "real estate" to emerge out of the last half-decade of conflict in the Middle East.The area of northeast Syria where the U.S. today plays a critical role, roughly the size of West Virginia, is now a kind of Gordian Knot. While American adversaries, such as Russia or Iran, have a clear goal in Syria,...

WRAPUP 8-Hong Kong families form peaceful human chains ahead of airport protest

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-23 06:14:22Z

Hong Kong braced for multiple anti-government demonstrations on Friday and a "stress test" of the airport this weekend, as weeks of protest in the Chinese-ruled city showed no signs of let-up amid rising tension between China and some Western nations. "Go to the airport by different means, including MTR, airport bus, taxi, bike and private car to increase pressure on airport transport," protest organisers wrote online ahead of a protest this weekend.

How the B-2 Bomber Would Strike Iran, North Korea or China in a War

• World
• 2019-08-23 06:00:00Z

Northrop had been working on stealth since at least the mid-1960s. The B-2 Spirit is one of three strategic heavy bombers in U.S. Air Force service. Originally conceived to infiltrate the Soviet air-defense network and attack targets with nuclear weapons, over the decades its mission has grown to include conventional precision attack. The B-2 is the most advanced bomber in U.S. service, and the only one of three types that still carries nuclear gravity bombs.(This first appeared in 2017.)In the late 1970s, the administration of President Jimmy Carter opposed the high-speed B-1A bomber as a waste of government money. Carter had been briefed on the new field of stealth technology and was...

Radical gun reform may finally have a voice in Washington

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-23 05:00:08Z

An ambitious agenda by the March for Our Lives activists may be the first time the majority of Americans get real representationA young girl looks on as she attends a vigil for the victims of the recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesMarch for Our Lives, the national youth gun violence prevention movement founded by survivors of last year's school shooting in Parkland, Florida, released a sweeping gun reform agenda this week.The agenda calls for significantly raising the standards for gun ownership in America, and reducing by about 100m the total number of guns in circulation.It's a dramatic, ambitious plan. And it may represent...

The Most Dangerous Fighter Jet on the Planet? It Might Be Israel's F-35

• World
• 2019-08-23 05:00:00Z

That strike targeted Iranian advisers and a ballistic missile shipment, the report cited sources as saying.Israel has expanded its operations against Iranian targets to Iraq, where Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-35I stealth fighters have struck twice in ten days.According to The Times of Israel, IAF fighter jets commonly strike in Syrian territory where they target Iranian missile shipments meant for Lebanese terror group Hezbollah to use against the Jewish state by conducting, but strikes in Iraq by Israel have not been reported since the 1981 bombing of a nuclear reactor (Operation Opera).Asharq Al-Awsat, an Arabic-language newspaper published in London, cited Western diplomatic sources as...

More than 6,100 flights delayed across the US over thunderstorms in the Northeast

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-23 04:24:25Z

The Northeast is being hit with heavy rain, causing a flurry of flight delays and cancellations

US and Russia blame each other for abandoning missile treaty

• World
• 2019-08-22 23:54:18Z

Russia and the United States blamed each other Thursday for abandoning a landmark arms control agreement on missiles, with Moscow warning of a new arms race and the Trump administration demanding details of a recent mysterious explosion that killed five Russian nuclear engineers. Russia called a U.N. Security Council meeting on the matter following the U.S. test of a missile banned by the 1987 intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which both countries withdrew from on Aug. 2. Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, criticized what he called American "hypocrisy," saying the U.S. "consistently and deliberately violated the INF treaty for some time." He said the missile test...

Overstock.com CEO Resigns after Disclosing Relationship with Russian Agent Maria Butina

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-22 20:53:35Z

Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne stepped down Thursday amid the backlash to his disclosure of a romantic relationship with Russian agent Maria Butina.Byrne caused Overstock's shares to plummet last week after he admitted to carrying on a romantic relationship with Butina from 2015 to 2016. The fallout from his disclosure complicated "all manner of business relationships," he said in a statement announcing his resignation."Thus, while I believe that I did what was necessary for the good of the country, for the good of the firm," he wrote, "I am in the sad position of having to sever ties with Overstock, both as C.E.O. and board member."Byrne issued a statement on August 12th confirming a...

Sweden Delivers 'Neutral' Fiscal Policy as Recession Fears Grow

• World
• 2019-08-22 13:53:26Z

(Bloomberg) -- Sweden's government cut its economic growth forecasts for a second time this year, and promised a "neutral" fiscal policy for next year to cope with the slowdown.At a press conference in Harpsund, south of Stockholm, Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson said next year's budget, which still pencils in a surplus, will be "well-calibrated" and that the country is "well-equipped" to handle the economic slowdown. Swedish growth contracted in the second quarter, held back by slowing momentum in global growth amid a trade dispute between the U.S. and China and a growing threat for a hard Brexit. A report ahead of Thursday's press conference also showed that unemployment rose to a...

Putin Allies Show Sympathy for Protests

• World
• 2019-08-22 10:27:22Z

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin always fights back when under pressure. But, surprisingly for a system in which he reigns supreme, some of his close allies are daring to tell him that this is not always the best tactic with the Russian people.In recent days, three influential people from different strands of the Putin elite have publicly criticized the Kremlin's harsh treatment of the protests set off by the refusal of the authorities to let opposition candidates run in next month's Moscow city council election. This doesn't mean Putin will listen or even that the elite representatives want him too. Rather, it shows that the people who have shaped the president's...

Seeking Soul Mates for Trump in Biarritz

• World
• 2019-08-22 10:16:43Z

(Bloomberg) -- Want to receive this post in your inbox every day? Sign up for the Balance of Power newsletter, and follow Bloomberg Politics on Twitter and Facebook for more.A key question for this weekend's Group of Seven summit in France is - does the meeting matter anymore? And if so, in what way?As Tim Ross, Gregory Viscusi and Arne Delfs point out, multilateralism, the global architecture that arose from the ashes of World War II, is waning with leaders like U.S. President Donald Trump and newly minted U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The nationalist mood sweeping many countries has seen coordinated discussion on the economy and issues like climate change dissipate.But even as...

Hannity: There has never been a better friend and ally to the state of Israel than Donald J. Trump

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-22 02:00:56Z

Sean Hannity weighs in on President Trump's relationship with Israel and 'the Squad's' feud.

UN warns of severe aid cuts in Yemen without new funds soon

• World
• 2019-08-22 00:01:27Z

The U.N. humanitarian chief in Yemen is warning that unless significant new funding is received in the coming weeks food rations for 12 million people in the war-torn country will be reduced and at least 2.5 million malnourished children will be cut off from life-saving services. Lise Grande said the U.N. was forced to suspend most vaccination campaigns in May and without new money a "staggering" 22 life-saving programs in Yemen will close in the next two months. At a U.N. pledging conference in February, donors pledged $2.6 billion to meet the urgent needs of more than 20 million Yemenis, but Grande said that to date, less than half the amount has been received.

US has half a million fewer jobs than believed after big government revision

• World/Europe
• 2019-08-21 23:22:41Z

There were 501,000 fewer jobs created from April 2018 to March 2019. Jobs in retail, hospitality and professional services were revised down sharply.

Venezuelan officials discussed Maduro exit behind his back: Bolton

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-21 21:42:31Z

Venezuelan officials reached out to the US behind President Nicolas Maduro's back solely to discuss his exit from power and free elections, National Security Advisor John Bolton said Wednesday. Bolton's comment came after Maduro said he had authorized the contacts with high level US officials, casting them as a long-standing initiative that he was aware of and had approved.

Mitch McConnell slams China over Hong Kong, threatens a global confrontation that could tank the finance hub

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-21 19:59:22Z

"Sooner or later, the rest of the world will have to do what the protesters are doing-confront Beijing," McConnell wrote in the Wall Street Journal.

The 10 Least Expensive Compact SUVs to Own

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-21 19:52:00Z

2016 Ford Mustang Roush Stage 3 Is A Wild Pony

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-21 17:58:55Z

Here's your chance to get a babied, one-owner Roush Mustang at no reserve.Before Ford announced the return of the Shelby GT500 for the 2020 model year, the most performance you could squeeze out of a Mustang was from the aftermarket tuning world. The 2016 Ford Mustang Roush Stage 3 is a perfect example of how far the modern Mustang can be pushed, and this gorgeous, one-owner Roush Mustang will be auctioned off at no reserve by GAA Classic Cars.The highest of the Roush tuning levels, the Stage 3 transforms the Mustang into a track car. This starts by bolting a Roush supercharger atop the Mustang's  5.0-liter Coyote V8 resulting in 670 horsepower - a significant improvement over the 435...

Merkel Sets Johnson Challenge: Solve Brexit Backstop in 30 Days

• World
• 2019-08-21 17:48:54Z

(Bloomberg) -- Follow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story. Angela Merkel has set Boris Johnson a challenge: Solve the Irish border backstop conundrum within 30 days.At their first meeting since Johnson became British prime minister, both said they wanted to see the U.K. leave the European Union with a divorce agreement on Oct. 31. "We in the U.K. want a deal," Johnson said on Wednesday. "We seek a deal. And I believe that we can get one."The problem is the Irish backstop. That's the fallback position in the deal -- negotiated with Brussels by Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May -- designed to keep Britain's border open with Ireland by staying closely tied...

Putin says U.S. is able to deploy new cruise missile in Europe

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-21 16:13:56Z

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the United States was now in a position to deploy a new land-based cruise missile in Romania and Poland, a scenario he considered a threat that Moscow would need to respond to. The Pentagon said on Monday it had tested a conventionally-configured cruise missile that hit its target after more than 500 km (310 miles) of flight, its first such test since the demise of a landmark nuclear pact this month.

China warns UK to stay out of its affairs after arrest of British Consul worker

• World
• 2019-08-21 15:31:56Z

China warned the UK not to meddle in its affairs over Hong Kong on Wednesday after the arrest of a British Consulate official worsened already strained ties between Beijing and London. Simon Cheng, 28, a trade and investment officer at the Hong Kong consulate's Scottish Development International section, went missing on August 8 on the way back from a business event in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. Britain has said it is "extremely" concerned. News of his disappearance became public on Tuesday, prompting China on Wednesday to confirm that it was holding him on allegations of violating local law, without revealing any further details. Geng Shuang, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman,...

The Latest: Iran-backed militias blame US for attacks

• World
• 2019-08-21 14:46:30Z

Iran-backed militias in Iraq have said they hold the United States responsible for a series of attacks targeting militia bases across the country. In a statement issued Wednesday, the deputy head of the militias known collectively as the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, says the group has accurate information that shows the U.S. brought in four Israeli drones this year to work as part of the U.S. fleet in Iraq and target militia positions in Iraq.

Walmart sues Tesla after solar panels start bursting into flames on store roofs

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-21 14:12:19Z

In something of a bizarre story, Walmart is suing Tesla after solar panels it purchased from the EV company caught fire on a number of Walmart stores. As it stands now, Tesla solar panels can be found on as many as 240 Walmart stores across the country. Following a few incidents involving seemingly spontaneous fires, Walmart now wants Tesla to remove the solar panels and foot the bill for all the corresponding damage.As a result of the fires, Walmart is suing for breach of contract and alleges that Tesla's actions in designing and installing the panels failed to live up industry standards.All told, roof fires impacted a total of seven Walmart stores and resulted in damage that ended up...

Farmer Behind the U.S.'s Largest Organic Food Fraud Scheme Dies by Suicide

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-21 13:27:54Z

A Missouri farmer blamed for running the largest organic food fraud scheme in U.S. history has died by suicide, weeks before he was to report to federal prison to begin serving a 10-year term, a coroner said Tuesday.

Bernie Sanders announces plan to double union membership if elected

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-21 13:00:08Z

Workplace Democracy Act expansion would restore rights to collectively bargain for better wages, benefits and conditions Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign event in West Branch, Iowa, on 19 August. Photograph: Alexander Drago/ReutersBernie Sanders has released plans to double union membership in the US during his first term in office as he campaigns to secure the Democratic presidential candidacy.Sanders' plan is an expansion of the Workplace Democracy Act, previously championed by the Vermont senator, and would also restore workers' rights to collectively bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions.Between 1983 and 2015, union membership declined by 2.9 million workers,...

Trump: Any Jew voting Democratic is uninformed or disloyal

• World
• 2019-08-21 12:42:38Z

Trump's claim triggered a quick uproar from critics who said the Republican president was trading in anti-Semitic stereotypes. It came amid Trump's ongoing feud with Democratic congresswomen Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, both Muslim. Trump has closely aligned himself with Israel, including its conservative prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while the Muslim lawmakers have been outspoken critics of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.

US 'prepared to engage' with N. Korea in nuclear talks: envoy

• World
• 2019-08-21 08:05:09Z

The United States is ready to sit down with North Korea to resume long-awaited working-level nuclear talks, a US envoy said Wednesday. Nuclear discussions between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since a second summit in Hanoi in February ended without an agreement over differences on the extent of denuclearisation and sanctions relief in return. "We are prepared to engage as soon as we hear from our counterparts in North Korea," said Stephen Biegun, the US special representative for North Korea, after his meeting with South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon in Seoul.

Turkey extends deadline for unregistered Syrians in Istanbul

• World
• 2019-08-21 07:58:48Z

A top Turkish official says Turkey has extended by two months a deadline for unregistered Syrian refugees in Istanbul to leave the city. Istanbul insists it cannot accept any more Syrian refugees and demands they return to other areas of Turkey where they were initially registered - or face deportation. The city, Turkey's most populous, already hosts the largest number of registered Syrians, nearly 548,000, out of 3.6 million Syrian refugees who have found a home in Turkey.

Fukushima Radiation Becomes Latest Japan-South Korea Sore Point

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-21 02:27:25Z

(Bloomberg) -- Radiation from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is becoming the latest source of tension between Japan and South Korea, potentially undercutting Tokyo's effort to promote the 2020 Olympics.In recent days, South Korean officials have summoned a Japanese diplomat to express concern about a planned release of treated radioactive water into the ocean by Tepco, the plant's owner. They're also pushing for independent radiation checks at Olympic venues and proposing a separate cafeteria for their athletes, citing concerns about contaminated food.The radiation dispute is threatening to prolong tensions between the two U.S. allies, who have spent much of the summer trading...

US urges UN to extend Iran arms embargo, travel ban

• World
• 2019-08-20 21:05:26Z

The US urged the United Nations Tuesday to extend an arms embargo on Tehran that is due to expire next year as part of the embattled Iran nuclear deal. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the UN Security Council that the clock was ticking on a resolution restricting weapons sales to Iran that is due to end in October 2020.

EU rejects Johnson's Brexit deal before G7

• World
• 2019-08-20 19:28:32Z

The European Union and Britain met for Brexit divorce deal talks in a week of high-wire diplomacy just two months before British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's scheduled British walkout of the bloc on Oct. 31.

SUPREME COURT NOTEBOOK: Gender pronouns part of LGBT fight

• World/Africa
• 2019-08-20 17:38:33Z

Hong Kong's evolving protests: Voices from the front lines

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-20 16:17:10Z

___ In this cauldron of growing rage, the protesters set their sights on Hong Kong's airport.

Missing firefighter's tackle bag found floating off Florida coast

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-20 15:15:04Z

The family of missing Florida firefighter Brian McCluney believes the discovery of his tackle bag is a bread crumb left behind by the pair; Phil Keating reports on the search in Florida.

Woman Taking Over a Subway for Her Glamorous Selfie Photoshoot Is the Latest Example of Knowing One's Worth

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-20 15:11:57Z

A hero and an icon

Russia's New Weapons: From Doomsday Nuclear Torpedoes to Skyfall Missiles

• World
• 2019-08-20 13:17:00Z

The incident itself had immediate and drastic effects: five dead and a spike in radiation that was up to 16 times higher than normal. But the larger fallout from the Aug. 8 explosion of a nuclear-powered cruise missile on Russia's White Sea coast has drawn renewed attention to the development of some of the country's newest, high-tech strategic weapons. The development of the weapon in question fits into Moscow's broader effort to maintain its nuclear deterrent. While Russia's ambitions are pushing the boundaries of its capabilities in some of these projects - to even deadly results, as the most recent case demonstrates - the overall effort will undoubtedly force the United States into a...

Stop Comparing the Moscow and Paris Protests

• World
• 2019-08-20 12:57:03Z

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- During their generally friendly meeting on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin traded barbs about how their respective countries treat political protesters.The exchange should be instructive to those who buy and spread the Kremlin propaganda's argument that the violence unleashed on Moscow protesters in recent weeks is somehow justified by France's tough response to the Yellow Vests.I must start with a disclaimer: I consider the suppression of protests in both countries to be disproportionate. I don't buy the argument that the Yellow Vests deserved tougher treatment than the Moscow protesters because they were more...

Hong Kong officers arrested for beating man in hospital

• World/Latin America
• 2019-08-20 11:56:28Z

Two Hong Kong police officers were arrested Tuesday after a video emerged of them beating an older man on a hospital trolly, heaping further pressure on a force already facing accusations of brutality. The footage, recorded in late June, shows two uniformed officers assaulting the man with batons and holding a cloth over his mouth. "It is clear that the actions committed by the police officers concerned are unlawful," said police spokesman John Tse, adding that police viewed the video for the first time on Tuesday.

Greece says has had no request from Iranian oil tanker to dock

• World/Europe
• 2019-08-20 10:48:11Z

Prince Andrew reportedly defended Jeffrey Epstein after his 2008 sex crime conviction and called objections to their friendship 'puritan'

• World/Africa
• 2019-08-20 10:47:51Z

Andrew's words - according to an old Vanity Fair story - contrast starkly with claims this week that Epstein's alleged behaviour "appalled" him.

Finnish PM tells UK's Johnson that EU won't reopen Brexit deal

• World
• 2019-08-20 10:15:58Z

Finland's Prime Minister Antti Rinne told his British counterpart Boris Johnson that the European Union would not renegotiate the Brexit deal, a spokesman for Rinne said on Tuesday. Finland holds the EU's rotating presidency and Johnson is making a renewed push to persuade the bloc to revisit

Johnson tells EU he wants Brexit deal but without backstop

• World
• 2019-08-19 21:23:43Z

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote Monday to EU President Donald Tusk reaffirming his desire to conclude a Brexit deal as well as his opposition to the controversial "backstop" on Ireland. The so-called backstop is a mechanism that would keep the UK in EU customs arrangements to prevent a hard border between the British province of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state. Brussels says the backstop is needed as a fallback option to preserve the integrity of European trade and avoid risking a return of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.