| Top Navy SEAL faces uncertain future after Trump intervention Posted: 28 Nov 2019 02:00 AM PST  The Navy's top SEAL could not have imagined that his effort to confront discipline issues would result in being publicly and repeatedly countermanded by the president of the United States.
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| Kamala Harris suffers new blow as aide resigns with scathing letter: 'I've never seen staff treated so poorly' Posted: 29 Nov 2019 09:04 AM PST  A blistering resignation letter from a member of the Kamala Harris campaign paints a picture of low morale among staffers of a directionless campaign with "no real plan to win" ahead of the crucial Iowa caucus in 2020.According to the New York Times, the sentiments expressed in a letter from now-former state operations manager Kelly Mehlenbacher were corroborated by more than 50 current and former campaign staffers and allies, speaking largely on the condition of anonymity to disclose the campaign's many flaws and tactical errors, from focusing on the wrong states to targeting the wrong candidates, as a frustrated campaign staff draws closer to 2020 Democratic primaries, which at one point counted the California Senator as a likely star.
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| 2 victims were killed and police fatally shot a man wearing a hoax explosive vest in a terrorist attack at London Bridge Posted: 29 Nov 2019 12:55 PM PST  London Metropolitan Police closed London Bridge and London Bridge Station is also closed. City of London police shot the man, who died at the scene.
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| Tens of thousands rally in Europe, Asia before UN climate summit Posted: 29 Nov 2019 02:40 PM PST  Tens of thousands of protesters, primarily in Europe and Asia, hit the streets on Friday to make a fresh call for action against global warming, hoping to raise pressure on world leaders days before a UN climate summit. Carrying signs that read "One planet, one fight" and "The sea is rising, so must we", thousands flocked to Berlin's Brandenburg Gate for the latest "Fridays for Future" protest inspired by 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg. In total, about 630,000 people demonstrated across more than 500 cities in Germany, the Fridays for Future movement said.
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| Italian Police Uncover Plot to Create a New Nazi Party Posted: 28 Nov 2019 11:42 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Italian police arrested 19 far-right extremists in raids across the country that uncovered a cache of weapons and a range of Nazi paraphernalia.The suspects were trying to form the Italian National Socialist Workers Party and were making contacts in southern Europe, according to a police statement that said their operation, dubbed Black Shadows, was the result of two years of investigations.In arrests from Milan to a provincial town in central Sicily, the officers seized rifles, crossbows, swords and knives, as well as Nazi flags, photos of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini and books on the late dictators.Members of the nascent party were planning to strike a headquarters of an organization dedicated to second World War partisans in Milan or Rome, daily la Repubblica reported. At least one ring leader, dubbed Miss Hitler, had attended a nationalist movement convention in Lisbon. Antonella Pavin, one of the organizers of the group, told Repubblica that "at Auschwitz, there were swimming pools, theaters, cinema. It wasn't the way it's been recounted."With hate crimes on the rise, it remains to be seen whether the probe will unveil a larger network and the extent of its ties to the mob. The police said the head trainer of the self-styled militia was a member of the Calabria-based 'Ndrangheta mafia.(Updates with leader's comments in penultimate paragraph)To contact the reporters on this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson in London at fjackson@bloomberg.net;Jerrold Colten in Milan at jcolten@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Rosalind Mathieson at rmathieson3@bloomberg.net, Karl MaierFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Families of Mexico massacre victims face backlash after cartel shooting Posted: 29 Nov 2019 09:46 AM PST  Members of a U.S.-Mexican religious community who lost relatives in a gangland massacre this month have come under fire from supporters of Mexico's government for pressing the United States to declare drug cartels terrorist groups.
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| Expectant mother gives birth on American Airlines jetway; gives daughter appropriate name Posted: 29 Nov 2019 04:29 PM PST  An American Airlines flight landed with an extra passenger after Nereida Araujo went into labor while traveling for Thanksgiving.
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| Donald Trump Sees Another Opportunity to Teach Cuba a Lesson Posted: 29 Nov 2019 05:30 AM PST  Is Trump using "health attacks" on US diplomats in Havana as an excuse to punish Cuba?
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| The Latest: 4 more anti-government Iraqi protesters killed Posted: 29 Nov 2019 04:44 AM PST  Iraqi officials say four protesters were killed amid ongoing violence in Baghdad and southern Iraq, hours after Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi announced his intention to resign. Security and hospital officials say one protester was killed and 18 wounded Friday by security forces who fired live rounds and tear gas to repel them on Baghdad's historic Rasheed Street, near the strategic Ahrar Bridge. Officials say three protesters were shot dead by security forces in the southern city of Nasiriyah, bringing the total killed there to six on Friday.
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| 'Ogre of the Ardennes' serial killer charged with murder of 'French Maddie' Posted: 28 Nov 2019 04:33 AM PST  One of France's most notorious serial killers has been charged with the abduction and murder of a nine-year-old girl who vanished without trace in 2003 in a case that has gripped the nation ever since. Michel Fourniret, jailed for life in May 2008 for the murder of seven girls and young women, has been charged over the disappearance of Estelle Mouzin from a village east of Paris after his wife came forward to contradict his alibi. Estelle Mouzin disappeared in Guermantes, 18 miles east of Paris, on January 9, 2003 while walking home from her school. Her body was never found. Reported sightings fuelled speculation she was kidnapped and taken abroad, sparking parallels with the Madeleine McCann, the British three-year-old who went missing in Portugal in 2007. Detectives first suspected Fourniret, 76, was behind the Mouzin murder in 2006 after they found a photo of her on his computer, and a white van resembling the one he drove had been spotted in the area when she disappeared. Convicted French serial killer Michel Fourniret last year confessed to the murder of British language assistant Joanna Parrish in 1990 in Burgundy Credit: ALAIN JULIEN/AFP The killer has always maintained he had nothing to do with her disappearance and that at the time he was at home at Sart-Custinne, southern Belgium, near the French border. Last week, however, his former wife, Monique Olivier, told investigators that the phone call Fourniret said he made from his home on the day the child disappeared was in fact made by her at his request. "That means that Michel Fourniret was not at Sart-Custinne the day of Estelle Mouzin's disappearance," said Olivier's lawyer, Richard Delgenes. "He was somewhere else." Fourniret has form when it comes to changing his mind on who he has murdered. He long denied killing Joanna Marie Parrish, a British language student from Newnham on Severn, Gloucestershire, who was murdered in the Burgundy region of France while working at a local school as part of her degree course in 1990. His wife said he was behind her death but later retracted her testimony. However, Fourniret finally owned up to her murder last year. His life sentence carries no possibility of parole.
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| US cryptocurrency promoter charged after advising North Korea Posted: 29 Nov 2019 01:35 PM PST  A prominent American cryptocurrency promoter and former hacker was charged with sanctions violations Friday after he allegedly advised North Korea on using virtual money to avoid international controls. Virgil Griffith, 36, who lives in Singapore and works for the blockchain and cryptocurrency developer Ethereum, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday, the Justice Department said.
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| Hong Kong Police End Campus Siege After Finding 3,989 Petrol Bombs Posted: 29 Nov 2019 01:37 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Police said they had lifted their blockade on Hong Kong Polytechnic University after officers cleared a campus that's been besieged for nearly two weeks amid a violent standoff with demonstrators.Chow Yat-ming, the city's assistant police commissioner, said Friday morning that he believes PolyU could be handed back to university management after dangerous items that remain on campus were removed. Firemen and a police safety team did a final sweep of the campus in the morning after searching every level of each building to handle hazardous items and collect evidence the day before.The police said they seized items including 3,989 petrol bombs, 1,339 explosive items and 601 bottles of corrosive liquids. Every floor on campus suffered various degrees of vandalism and damage, Chow said.Why Hong Kong's Universities Have Turned Into BattlegroundsPolyU urged the public not to enter the campus as it was still unsafe and will remain closed for repairs. But some people still walked around the school after police lifted their cordons, according to live television footage that also showed traffic had resumed in the area.The protests gripping Hong Kong for the past five months have brought unprecedented battles to the city's universities. Several saw extended sieges this month as demonstrators sought to paralyze parts of the city after anger flared over the Nov. 8 death of a Hong Kong University of Science and Technology student who had fallen near near an area where police were trying to disperse a protestThe 12-day siege of Kowloon's PolyU and its surrounding roads were the site of clashes between riot police and students, and initially raised fears of a crackdown on scores of protesters trapped inside. Jarring images from the school showed fires, clouds of tear gas and flaming vehicles.Why Hong Kong's 'Special Status' Is Touchy Territory: QuickTakeThe lockdown dragged on as police declared the situation a riot and remained waiting for protesters to leave on their own accord. People inside the campus meanwhile feared getting arrested for a rioting charge that carries a potential jail sentence of up to 10 years, or being treated unfairly by officers after their arrest. Some managed to escape.PolyU President Teng Jin-Guang said Friday that the situation could serve as a lesson for Hong Kong on how to emerge from crisis."I hope that the way we've done it, by taking a peaceful approach, could be a lesson we could learn from," he said. "We can have different political standings, views and perspectives, but we should be able to talk to each other peacefully, express our views, share our views, exchange our views rationally so that we can find the best solution for Hong Kong."Scores of protesters gathered in nearby Tsim Sha Tsui in support of the PolyU demonstrators late Thursday, while two other rallies were also held across the city, including one to thank Donald Trump and U.S. politicians for signing legislation expressing support for Hong Kong's demonstrators.The police said they didn't encounter any remaining protesters during their operations. In a statement, PolyU said that it also expects the cordon around campus to be removed by Friday after the government added manpower to expedite the disposal of hazardous materials that were widely scattered(Updates with PolyU president comment)To contact the reporter on this story: Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Ten Kate at dtenkate@bloomberg.net, Karen Leigh, Jon HerskovitzFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Russia and China deepen ties with River Amur bridge Posted: 29 Nov 2019 06:06 AM PST ![Russia and China deepen ties with River Amur bridge]( "Russia and China deepen ties with River Amur bridge") Russia and China have finished building the first road bridge linking their two countries, Russian officials said on Friday, in the latest sign of warming relations. The bridge across the River Amur will connect the cities of Blagoveshchensk in Russia's Far East and Heihe in northeastern China and is intended to increase the volume of freight traffic and agricultural products between the two countries. It is expected to open in spring 2020, Russia's Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic said.
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| A convicted German murderer won the right to have all mention of his crime scrubbed from internet search results under 'right to be forgotten' laws Posted: 28 Nov 2019 04:12 AM PST  The man finished a life sentence in 2002 for shooting dead two people in 1981. He told the court he wants to live his new life free from his past.
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| Millions Around The World Strike on Black Friday for Action on Climate Change Posted: 29 Nov 2019 02:16 PM PST  The protests are meant to raise awareness of overconsumption and demand action at the U.N.'s COP25, which begins in Spain next week
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| Military officials ‘reluctant to appear alongside Trump’ amid concern over president’s decision-making Posted: 28 Nov 2019 04:27 AM PST  Military officials have said they are reluctant to appear alongside Donald Trump amid fears about the US president's decision-making, according to reports.Mr Trump triggered widespread anger earlier this week after he ordered the Navy to restore an accused war criminal's rank, then later told supporters at a rally he made the decision despite "deep state" opposition.
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| Inmate wanted by ICE released on bail. He was arrested weeks later for attempted murder Posted: 29 Nov 2019 04:01 PM PST  A 2019 Colorado law bars law enforcement officials in the state from holding a person based only on a request from ICE.
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| Albanians hold mass funeral for earthquake victims Posted: 29 Nov 2019 07:28 AM PST  Thumanë (Albania) (AFP) - Albanian families buried their loved ones on Friday and the country mourned the 49 people known to have died in this week's earthquake, as officials grapple with the destruction left in its wake. Entire families were crushed by their homes when the 6.4 magnitude earthquake -- the most deadly and devastating in decades -- jolted the Balkan country before dawn on Tuesday. In the town of Thumane, where numerous buildings collapsed, loved ones wept before the six wooden coffins of the Cara family and three more belonging to the Greku family.
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| Massive black hole that "should not even exist" discovered Posted: 27 Nov 2019 11:10 PM PST  A black hole with a mass of about 70 times that of the sun is lurking across our galaxy.
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| 18,000-year-old puppy discovered in Siberia could be missing link between dogs and wolves Posted: 28 Nov 2019 12:52 PM PST  An 18,000-year-old puppy unearthed in Siberia could prove to be the missing link between dogs and wolves, scientists believe. The puppy was discovered perfectly preserved by permafrost near Yakutsk, eastern Siberia last summer and carbon dating has revealed it has been frozen for around 18,000 years. Researchers at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm, Sweden announced this week that extensive DNA tests have so far been unable to confirm whether the animal was a dog or a wolf. The experts believe this may be because the canine comes from the period when dogs were domesticated and hope the creature will prove crucial to uncovering when exactly the evolution began. "It's normally relatively easy to tell the difference between the two," researcher David Stanton told CNN. Dogor was so well-preserved because he was found in a tunnel that was dug into the permafrost "We have a lot of data from it already, and with that amount of data, you'd expect to tell if it was one or the other. The fact that we can't might suggest that it's from a population that was ancestral to both - to dogs and wolves". A 2017 study published in the journal Nature Communications suggested that modern dogs were domesticated from a single wolf population 20,000 to 40,000 years ago but tests on this specimen could offer further clues as to the precise period. "We don't know exactly when dogs were domesticated, but it may have been from about that time. We are interested in whether it is in fact a dog or a wolf, or perhaps it's something halfway between the two," Mr Stanton added. Scientists believe some modern dogs descended from just one wolf population that lived continuously in Europe for thousands of years. If confirmed to be a dog, scientists believe it will be the earliest confirmed "It seems that dogs were domesticated from a lineage of wolves that went extinct," said Mr Stanton. "So that's why it's such a difficult problem to work on to understand where and when dogs were domesticated." The researchers' genome analysis has revealed that the puppy was a male so the scientists, after discussing with their Russian colleagues, have named the puppy 'Dogor'. The name means "friend" in Yakutian - as well as referencing the question "dog or wolf?" The scientists hope that further genome data tests on the creature will reveal more about Dogor's origins. Photographs released by the Centre for Palaeogenetics show the puppy in an almost perfect condition, with its nose, whiskers and teeth remarkably intact. Dogor can be seen almost completely covered in fur except for an exposed rib cage. Dogor was discovered in a remote part of north-east Siberia and is so well-preserved because it was found in a tunnel that was dug into the permafrost. He was later sent to Oxford University's Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit for dating, which revealed that the corpse dated back at least 18,000 years, meaning Dogor would have lived during the last Ice Age. He is being kept in Russia while, in Sweden, Mr Stanton and his colleague Love Dalen study his rib bone.
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| Pakistani man aims to bring shade to Iraq's Arbaeen pilgrims Posted: 29 Nov 2019 03:16 AM PST  A retired Pakistani industrialist sent thousands of saplings to Iraq on Friday to bring shade to pilgrims, an idea formed when his relatives returned from a holy site with sunburn. Mohammedi Durbar, 85, wants to plant nearly 50,000 trees along the entire 80-km (50-mile) pilgrimage route between Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala. Among the worshippers last year were Durbar's grandson and daughter-in-law, who returned to Pakistan tanned and with photographs showing a barren landscape.
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| Who made the new drapes? It’s among high court’s mysteries Posted: 29 Nov 2019 05:05 AM PST  The lack of transparency at the Supreme Court begins with the heavy red drapes that frame the courtroom on all sides. The Supreme Court's role in a bitterly divided Washington and nation may be more important than ever, yet basic details about how the court operates remain obscured. The court is not subject to the federal Freedom of Information Act and the justices are not bound by most ethics rules that apply to all other federal judges.
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| Why the LDS Church Joined LGBTQ Advocates in Supporting Utah's Conversion Therapy Ban Posted: 29 Nov 2019 04:24 PM PST  Utah Gov. Gary Herbert proposed a new rule banning therapists from practicing LGBTQ conversion therapy on minors that is supported by LGBTQ advocates and the Church of Latter-day Saints (LDS).
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| Trump administration appoints man who suggested dropping nuclear bombs on Afghanistan to senior role in arms control Posted: 28 Nov 2019 01:56 AM PST  A Trump adviser who suggested dropping nuclear bombs on Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks has been given a senior role on arms control issues in the State Department.Frank Wuco, a former conservative radio host and naval intelligence officer, has also promoted far-right conspiracy theories, such as debunked claims that Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
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| The Top 5 Russian Aircraft That Threaten Europe Posted: 28 Nov 2019 05:00 AM PST  The Russian military is nothing to shake a stick at.
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| UPS workers allegedly trafficked 1,000s of pounds of drugs and fake vape pens across the country Posted: 28 Nov 2019 06:56 AM PST  "They've been doing it for so long that they were truly comfortable that they were never going to get caught."
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| DR Congo buries 27 massacre victims as anger mounts Posted: 29 Nov 2019 10:16 AM PST  The Democratic Republic of Congo town of Oicha on Friday buried 27 victims of the latest massacre in the country's volatile east, with hundreds paying homage while lashing out at security forces for failing to stop attacks. The vast majority of the killings have been carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militia that has plagued the Democratic Republic of Congo's east since the 1990s.
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| Turkey's Erdogan to Macron: 'You should check whether you are brain dead' Posted: 29 Nov 2019 09:24 AM PST  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Emmanuel Macron's warning that NATO was dying reflects a "sick and shallow" understanding, telling the French president, "You should check whether you are brain dead."
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| Fired Zimbabwe state doctors reject offer to return to work Posted: 29 Nov 2019 03:38 AM PST ![Fired Zimbabwe state doctors reject offer to return to work]( "Fired Zimbabwe state doctors reject offer to return to work") Zimbabwe state doctors who were fired for going on strike have rejected a government offer to return to work, their union said on Friday. President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government, which responded to the job boycott by firing 448 doctors and pursuing disciplinary action against more than 1,000 others, on Thursday offered to reinstate them if they returned to work within 48 hours. Zimbabwe is experiencing its worst economic crisis in a decade that has seen resurgent inflation soaring to three-digit levels, eroding salaries and bringing back bitter memories of the hyperinflation era of a decade ago.
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| Snow to hit 2,000-mile stretch from Nevada to New England as weekend travelers head home Posted: 29 Nov 2019 01:12 PM PST  Black Friday blizzards and snow expected from Nevada to the Upper Midwest and into New England. Meanwhile, severe thunderstorms are headed south.
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| Trump impeachment: President must answer if he'll call witnesses and bring evidence to hearings Posted: 29 Nov 2019 12:42 PM PST  The congressional committee beginning Donald Trump's impeachment hearings next week has given the president a deadline to answer whether he intends to call witnesses and offer evidence.The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to begin its hearings on 4 December, when legal experts will discuss the Constitutional grounds for impeachment, considering whether the president's alleged abuses of power in his dealings with Ukraine in exchange for politically damaging information on his rivals constitutes "high crimes and misdemeanours".
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| Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The China's J-11 Fighter Looks Awfully Familiar Posted: 28 Nov 2019 07:00 AM PST  Russia might not like this.
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| Thanksgiving photo Bill O'Reilly posted to Twitter freaks people out Posted: 29 Nov 2019 07:54 AM PST  Bill O'Reilly's promotional tweet for his interview with President Trump went viral on Thursday, but not in the way he likely would have wanted.
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| Third occupant of Spain 'narco-sub' arrested: police Posted: 29 Nov 2019 12:54 PM PST  The third occupant of a submarine seized off the Spanish coast carrying three tonnes of cocaine worth 100 million euros ($110 million) was arrested on Friday, police said. Police intercepted the 20-metre (65-foot) submarine -- thought to be the first of its kind captured in Europe -- off the northwestern region of Galicia on Saturday. Two Ecuadorans were arrested as they tried to escape from the submarine, but the third occupant managed to flee from police.
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| Worker who survived New Orleans hotel collapse deported Posted: 29 Nov 2019 02:52 PM PST  A construction worker hurt in last month's collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel construction site in New Orleans has been deported to his native Honduras on Friday. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Bryan Cox said Delmer Joel Ramirez Palma, 38, was flown to Honduras from Alexandria International Airport, which is near several ICE detention facilities in central Louisiana. Border Patrol officers arrested Ramirez Palma two days after he fell several stories as the upper floors of the hotel project caved in on Oct. 12.
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| It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas in Maduro’s Venezuela, but Only if You’ve Got U.S. Dollars Posted: 28 Nov 2019 02:50 AM PST  Photo Illustration by Kristen Hazzard/The Daily Beast/Photos GettyCARACAS—The Spanish version of "Jingle Bells" is blasting through loudspeakers in the street, while large inflated Santas are hanging from trees and holiday lights are piercing the dark night.The Yuletide season is in full swing in this affluent Caracas neighborhood called Las Mercedes. People here meander through the streets, searching for a Christmas tree and there are many places to choose from. The trees are for sale in specialized Christmas pop-up stores that have appeared in recent weeks on almost every corner.Evo Morales Is Out. Is Nicolás Maduro Next?This busy-ness is a stark contrast to last year's Christmas season, when even this upscale neighborhood, once famous for its dazzling night life, bore no resemblance to Christmastime at all. The area was dimly lit and most of the stores were closed, or left in ruins.So what is fueling these signs of economic renewal? The answer is simple: the U.S. dollar. It's become routine now for greenbacks to be used for purchases, and some business owners now attach price tags in the American currency, once a banned and punishable practice."[President] Nicolás Maduro decided to abandon the price control and ease up on the import regulations." says Henkel García, a financial analyst whose company Econométrica is located right in the middle of Las Mercedes. "Since then, the economy's free fall has been stopped and the dollar circulation is for many a respite. Still, the economic situation continues to be bad."With dollars now circulating here in the Venezuelan capital, the stores are flooded with products imported from various countries. But the source of the goods depends on the neighborhood. In the more affluent east side of Caracas, the stores are mostly stocked with American goods. On the west side, however, the merchandise is made in Russia and Turkey. Those neighborhoods are dominated by partisans of the Maduro government, who are known as chávistas after the late Hugo Chávez, who built this country's "revolutionary" regime."The government relaxed the so-called puerta a puerta [door to door] system of delivery," says José Antonio Souza, owner of a restaurant in the Caracas neighborhood of Santa Fe. "I buy the imported goods through a middleman who obtains the stuff from a truck or ship, others use underground channels like the system of direct couriers."Right next to his establishment there is the so-called bodegon, a store that sell exclusively imported goods mostly in exchange for dollars and euros. In contrast to the stark images of empty supermarket shelves, here the shelves are full of fancy chocolate bars, various boxes of cereals, cosmetic products, and even some medicines and vitamins not seen in Caracas for a long time.The absurdity of it all is that the imported goods are far cheaper than the ones produced here in Venezuela. Henkel García points to many factors like inflation, bureaucracy, theft, and inefficient systems of production and distribution that contribute to pricey domestic products."Another explanation is society's behavior. People generally don't trust Maduro's economic policies and prefer to be part of the dollar economy to get access to imported goods that would cover their necessities," says García. Maduro's regime has simply proved unable to control the economic activity of ordinary Venezuelans.The fact is that people here have developed many ways to survive in one of the longest economic crises of modern times. Often, they get their dollars in dangerous endeavors, both legal and illegal. Sometimes it's drug trafficking, more often it's selling the gas they smuggle from Venezuela to Colombia through the hidden paths known as trochas.Contraband fuel is a lucrative business. The current price for a gallon of gas in Colombia is around $2.70 U.S., while in Venezuela gas stations charge $0.004 dollars per gallon, rendering the gasoline essentially free.Another source of hard currency comes from selling the gold mined in the states of Amazonas and Bolívar located in the south of the country, close to the border with Brazil. Venezuela used to be an oil-producing state, but now it is a state with oil that it's not producing, says economist Luis Vicente León, director of the domestic polling company Datanálisis. "It has to find different ways to get the hard currency revenue outside of the oil production like selling gold, cacao, coffee or rum."Still, the biggest inflow of hard currency, he points out, comes from remesas, remittances, sent into the country by some five million Venezuelans in the diaspora. Those who have escaped the crisis in the last few years have settled mostly in Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Spain.Some experts believe that chávistas, led by Maduro, are devising plans to turn Venezuela into a Chinese model of governance. That is to say, a system in which the autocratic leadership exercises absolute political control but tolerates, in some sectors of the society, a free market economy."Maduro has been following the Chinese model for months," says Caracas based political analyst and commentator Dimitris Pantoulas. "He focuses on the political control while providing more economic freedoms." Pantoulas believes this government strategy is to defuse ongoing opposition-led street protests.Chávistas used to sneer at the potential use of the U.S. dollar in Venezuela, calling it "Yanqui money." They would declare in unison that the country could and would do without greenbacks. "Venezuela is going to implement a new system of international payments and will create a basket of currencies to free us from the dollar," President Maduro declared in the fall of 2017, addressing the Constituent Assembly packed with his allies.Now Maduro, who publicly admires Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro, and embraces the moniker "tropical Stalin" (given to him by his adversaries not least because of a certain physical resemblance to the late Soviet dictator) has offered a stunning about-face."I don't see it as a bad thing… this process that they call 'dollarization,'" Maduro declared in an interview for a domestic television channel Televen just a week ago."It can help the recovery of the country, the spread of productive forces in the country, and the economy… Thank God it exists," the leader went on, calling the dollar an "escape valve."The Venezuela Uprising Has Gone from Bang to WhimperThis jaw-dropping statement is perceived by many as merely the official blessing for the process that has been already unfolding on the streets for some time. Ecoanalitica estimates that in the first two weeks of October of this year, almost 54 percent of transactions were carried out in dollars. The economist Luis Vicente León predicts that, starting early next year, this number could climb to 70 percent.But Maduro's "escape valve" is not for everyone. Far from it, experts warn. In the poor parts of the capital and elsewhere in the country, possession of dollars is rare. If this year's Christmas will be one big feast for some Venezuelans, the poor living in the sprawling Caracas slums will be mostly left with an empty table and no gifts.A traditional Christmas Eve these days might cost up to $200 U.S., and would include, among many other things, hallacas, a mixture of beef, pork, chicken, raisins, and olives that is wrapped in plantain leaves. And those Christmas trees? They cost on average another 100 bucks."Maduro's neoliberal turn will unleash the market's potential," says Pantoulas, "but it will also result in higher inequality and more poverty, making people's suffering much greater."The irony is manifest as a regime founded on promises to the poor now aims to survive by making life more comfortable for the well-to-do, including a Feliz Navidad.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get 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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| India announces $400 million loan for Sri Lanka, in support of new president Posted: 29 Nov 2019 02:48 AM PST  India will lend Sri Lanka $400 million for infrastructure projects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday after talks with the island nation's new President Gotabaya Rajapaksa aimed at improving bilateral ties. Sri Lanka, located off the southern tip of India, has become an arena of competing influence between New Delhi and China, which has built ports, power stations and highways as part of President Xi Jinping's signature "Belt and Road Initiative", designed to boost trade and transport links across Asia.
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| Thanksgiving storm blankets Southern California mountains with snow, delays holiday travel Posted: 28 Nov 2019 02:29 PM PST  A Thanksgiving Day storm brought a near definite end to the fire season in Southern California, as well as disruptive snow to people driving through the region's mountains."Thanksgiving started on a stormy note for many across Southern California as heavy rain and thunderstorms moved across the region. Many areas across the LA Basin picked up a quick 0.50 to 0.75 of an inch of rain this morning," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alyson Hoegg. "Due to the heavy rainfall across Southern California, flooding was reported in several areas around the Los Angeles Basin."The storm moved south from Northern California into Southern California, dousing the state in the early hours of Thursday morning. The National Weather Service issued a significant weather advisory for the coastal Los Angeles County, and a flood advisory for the county soon followed. Surrounding counties have been set on flood watch into Thursday evening.Flood advisories were issued for Ventura and Los Angeles counties on Thursday morning as rain rates reached 0.2 to 0.4 of an inch per hour with local rates of 0.5 of an inch per hour, according to the NWS. To put this into context, Los Angeles typically receives around an inch of rain in all of November.By Thursday afternoon, Long Beach had received 2.17 inches of rain, surpassing the 1970 record of 1.93 inches.Rainfall of 1-2 inches was widespread across coastal Southern California to the Inland Empire from the storm.The NWS warned of the possibility of mud and debris flows near the burn scars of the recent Getty Fire and Palisades Fire.The storm wrecked havoc on Thanksgiving Day travel, inundating roads and slowing speeds on the highways. Waters rose near San Diego, submerging roads in at least two feet of water in some areas.Hail fell near Goleta, a coastal city in southern Santa Barbara County, California, as a heavier burst of rain moved through the area.> Hail near Goleta (source: Noozhawk). Hail is possible anywhere today, along with wet roads and dangerous lightning. Allow extra travel time and stay extra alert on the roads, as conditions can change rapidly at any time. cawx LARain pic.twitter.com/v4R69mH62W> > -- NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) November 28, 2019The rain turned to snow at higher elevations of roughly 3,000 feet, shutting down roadways such as Interstate 5 at Parker Road and the Grapevine. The highway fully reopened by 3:15 p.m. PST.The Fort Tejon California Highway Patrol was kept busy through the morning, clearing stuck vehicles as snow continued to fall.Palmdale, California, an area just north of Los Angeles, received snow at the low elevation of 2,600 feet. Around 10:30 a.m. PST, a weather spotter reported 6 inches of snow to the NWS along with several large tree limbs down in Leona Valley, an area west of Palmdale.The Mt. Baldy Fire Department reported 10 inches of snow at the altitude of 5,000 feet on Mt. Baldy.This same storm system was pushing on across the West, bringing cold rain into parts of Nevada and Arizona and snowy conditions into high elevations from Utah to Montana prior to the end of the week.More than a foot of snow piled up over the Arizona mountains during Thursday night. Bellemont, Arizona, near Flagstaff, received 4 inches of snow in one hour. Multiple tornado warnings were issued early Friday morning in central Arizona.A second storm is forecast to follow into the weekend, bringing more rain to the lower elevations of California, while unloading snow over the mountains. Some of the Sierra Nevada region could see feet of snow pile up in the higher elevations.Combined, these two storms are expected to extinguish the fall fire season across California but also a start to a potentially wet winter.
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| OK, Mayor: Why 37-Year-Old Pete Buttigieg Is Attracting Boomers Posted: 28 Nov 2019 12:00 PM PST  DENISON, Iowa -- Pete Buttigieg likes a crisp white button-down -- no fuss, no flash -- and his favorite novel is by a man who died in 1941.He has taken to calling himself "the retirement guy," after introducing a plan this week for long-term care.He recently referenced the "Bull Moose progressive movement," a nod to the politics of Teddy Roosevelt.As Buttigieg, 37, looks to solidify his support in the remaining weeks before the Democratic primary season begins, he has found a wellspring of enthusiasm among a critical bloc of voters more frequently associated with Joe Biden: older white Americans.With Democrats and party officials worried that Buttigieg's inexperience could hurt his chances against President Donald Trump in the general election, his ability to connect with these voters provides a counterpoint to the criticism that he is too young to win next November.This demographic has also become a crucial pillar of support for a candidate who has almost no backing from African Americans and who lags some of his rivals with young voters. Older Americans are among the most reliable groups of voters for presidential candidates, especially in early nominating states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.Their support helps explain why Buttigieg, whose only governing experience is as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has joined Biden, and Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, all Washington veterans, in the top tier of candidates.During a burst of campaign stops in Iowa this week, his first trip to the state since a Des Moines Register/CNN poll showed him with a commanding, 9-point lead here, Buttigieg repeatedly made appeals to older Iowans that were hardly subtle."We've got to act not just to shore up Social Security but to make sure everybody can retire and live in dignity," he said at a rally Monday evening in Council Bluffs, Iowa. "Call it my 'Gray New Deal.'"His message appears to be resonating in the two, predominantly white states that vote first for the nomination. In Iowa, 28% of likely Democratic caucusgoers 65 and older supported Buttigieg, according to the Register poll. That puts him ahead of Biden, who had dominated the group with 35% support in September. Buttigieg has also edged past Biden in New Hampshire, the first primary state, and now leads the field among voters over 65, with 17%, according to a Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll this week."He reminds everyone of their favorite grandson," said Sean Bagniewski, the Democratic chair in Polk County, which includes Des Moines.John Grennan, the Democratic chair in Poweshiek County, Iowa, said Buttigieg was framing his pitch to older voters in a compelling and empathetic way, particularly when he speaks about retirement security and how it affects his parents' generation."I have to think that some older voters see Pete as the son they'd want to have -- very smart, respectful of traditional institutions like the church and the military, and relentlessly cheerful and optimistic about what America can be," Grennan said.His success with older Iowa voters less than 10 weeks before the caucuses is also partly attributable to how ubiquitous he has become here. Several caucusgoers said they had seen him on television, in interviews and debates, and more recently, in ads. Since September, he has blanketed the airwaves in the state, which could be helping him with older voters who are more likely to be watching television without skipping commercials.Art Cullen, the Pulitzer Prize-winning editor of The Storm Lake Times in northwestern Iowa, said he thought Buttigieg was appealing to older Iowans because they were "impressed with his brains" and because he came across as "polite.""Castro kind of comes off with fangs every now and again, as he did with Biden and Beto -- Buttigieg just doesn't do that," he said, a reference to Julian Castro's debate-stage attacks, which backfired. "I think that probably appeals to older Iowans' sense of decorum."In a brief interview before an event in Storm Lake on Tuesday, Buttigieg theorized that he was attracting older Americans because they might have "a more generous understanding of what experience means.""Every older person was a younger person once," he said. "And maybe it demystifies a little bit the extent to which age represents readiness."At the same time, Buttigieg is struggling to attract voters on the opposite end of the spectrum -- those closer to his own age. At all of his events in Iowa, even the rally in Council Bluffs, which was held at a high school, older people made up a sizable portion of Buttigieg's crowds, providing a striking contrast: a fresh-faced mayor of a midsize city speaking to silver-haired attendees.Asked in the interview why he was having more trouble connecting with younger voters, he pointed to their "strong sense of impatience about the changes that need to come and the extent to which it feels like they've grown up in an America that just tolerates the intolerable." But he said he was also working to convince young people to come around to his more tempered vision for change."The case I'm making is that my proposals are plenty big," he said.Older voters who support Buttigieg say he represents the best hope for the country, offering a future-focused vision that they feel will help younger generations. They often cite his intelligence, his plain-spokenness and his military service as reasons he is now a top choice even if they knew little of him just months earlier. And of those who mention his sexuality at all, they often treat it with a shrug."We should tilt toward somebody a little more in touch with the issues that are really, really important to the 40s and under," said Bill Horner, 79, who came from his farm in Red Oak, Iowa, to see Buttigieg at an event Monday morning. "They're the ones who have the longest time in this country."Martha Berry, 72, of Mount Ayr, Iowa, said Buttigieg "looks like he's really well put together and a well-rounded young man," favorably comparing him to John F. Kennedy."Young Kennedy was just barely of age to come into the presidency," she said. "And he did a great job."If younger Iowans often gravitate toward Warren's message of "big, structural change" or to Sanders' call for "political revolution," some older Iowans point to Buttigieg's more moderate positions, like his support not for "Medicare for All" but for "Medicare for all who want it."Still, some older Iowans, even those who were excited about his candidacy, expressed discomfort with his age and lack of political experience. Should he be elected, he would be the youngest president ever."I wish he had a little more experience -- my only sticking point is, gosh, he's young," said Lisa Faurot, 59, of Council Bluffs. Asked whether she considered his age a drawback, she said she did. "I would say that's a downside," she said. "But on the other hand, Obama didn't have a lot of experience."Yet with his optimistic message and frequent nods to his Christian faith, Buttigieg has also struck a deeply personal chord.Gordon Reisinger, 79, who works in the cattle business, said before Buttigieg's event in Red Oak that he and his parents had long been Republicans but Trump's election profoundly shifted his views. Now, he is considering Buttigieg because "he would move our country forward.""I think with somebody like Pete, it gives our grandchildren a chance to live in America in a free country like we have most of our time," he said.Before an event in Denison, as a snowstorm that threatened Thanksgiving travel loomed, Rick Crampton, 63, of rural Kiron, Iowa, said he had been especially impressed with Buttigieg after seeing him during the debates.But his wife, Carol, 60, quickly interjected to provide a more succinct explanation: "He reminds us a ton of our son."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| How China Uses Its Universities to Spy on America Posted: 28 Nov 2019 07:30 PM PST  Stealing technology secrets.
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| 7 Homes for Sale in the Most Secluded Parts of the World Posted: 29 Nov 2019 05:00 AM PST |
| Zimbabwe facing 'man-made' starvation, UN expert warns Posted: 28 Nov 2019 05:40 PM PST  Zimbabwe is facing "man-made" starvation with 60 percent of the people failing to meet basic food needs, a UN special envoy said Thursday after touring the southern African country. Hilal Elver, Special Rapporteur on the right to food, ranked Zimbabwe among the four top countries facing severe food shortages outside nations in conflict zones. "The people of Zimbabwe are slowly getting to a point of suffering a man-made starvation," she told a news conference in Harare, adding that eight million people would be affected by the end of the year.
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| Cruise ship captain charged in deadly Danube River collision Posted: 28 Nov 2019 01:19 AM PST  The captain of a cruise ship involved in a May 2019 collision on the Danube River in which 28 people were killed has been charged for his alleged responsibility in the incident and should be sentenced to nine years in prison, prosecutors in Hungary said Thursday. The 64-year-old captain of the Viking Sigyn river cruise ship, identified only as Yuriy C., was charged by Budapest prosecutors with negligent endangerment of water traffic leading to a fatal mass catastrophe, and 35 counts of failing to give assistance. Only seven of the 33 South Korean tourists aboard the Hableany (Mermaid) sightseeing boat survived the nighttime collision.
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