Datasets:

metaeval

/

offensive-humor

like 7

Follow

metaeval 4

African governments urged to help 3.5 million people uprooted from their homes in 2015

ADDIS ABABA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) As many as 3. 5 million people in Africa were uprooted from their homes in 2015 due to conflict and natural disasters and left stranded in their own country, with many governments overlooking this growing problem, according to a report released on Friday. Figures from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) showed an average of about 9, 500 people fled their homes daily last year, bringing the total number of Africans displaced internally to 12. 4 million, with the number set to rise in 2016. The worst affected country was Nigeria, with as many as 736, 000 fleeing their homes in 2015 as a result of violence associated with the Boko Haram militant Islamist insurgency. The report calculates the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) is double the number of the continent’s refugees, estimated by the United Nations to have reached 5. 4 million in 2015, highlighting the scale of Africa’s comparatively overlooked ”internal displacement crisis”. While refugees are the responsibility of the international community, people displaced within their own country are the responsibility of national governments. ”Many of these governments are not even aware of the scale of the problem within their own borders,” said Alexandra Bilak, IDMC director told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview. ”They need to take up their responsibilities and actually keep track of these people.” ONGOING CRISES The figures for the first half of 2016 are likely to be at least as high with ongoing conflicts in countries like South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Nigeria, Bilak said. The report’s publication marks the anniversary of the Kampala Convention, Africa’s landmark commitment to preventing displacement and protecting the rights of IDPs, signed in 2009 and now ratified by 25 countries. It argues better data is needed, especially on people driven from their homes by crises such as a drought, and this is crucial if governments are to meet their commitments. ”Reliable data on population movements is vital to ensure a timely and well targeted operational and policy response,” the report said. The IDMC hoped the report would be a reminder that while the continent’s refugee crisis has attracted international attention in recent years, the problem of huge numbers of Africans uprooted from their homes but temporarily settled in their own countries is not new. ”The same people remain on our books, year in, year out. The numbers are not going down,” said Bilak. The report draws attention to ” ” displacement in countries like Ethiopia and Malawi, which, while relatively stable, suffer environmental challenges such as drought that are ”blind spots” for policymakers. A third of African countries are prone to drought, and most are increasingly vulnerable as result of climate change. It also highlights the role of southern Africa’s worst agricultural drought in 35 years — and resulting severe food shortages — in driving people from their homes in 2015. The report also emphasized the need for African governments to recognize the role of development projects in causing the sort of ” ” displacement with people evicted from slums to make way for infrastucture. All too often ”the impact of development projects and business activities on the people they force from their homes and livelihoods is not visible to policymakers,” the report said. (Reporting by Tom Gardner, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women’s rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit ) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

Climate refugees in South Asia need protection, advocates say

NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) People forced to leave their homes because of climate change in South Asia should get the same protections given to political refugees, advocates said on Thursday. Governments in South Asia have failed to address the climate migration of millions of people, uprooted by cyclones, flash floods and other disasters, said a report by the groups Climate Action Network South Asia, Bread for the World and ActionAid. The region’s eight nations Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka should adopt a treaty and policies to help protect climate refugees, said Harjeet Singh, a spokesman in India for the South ActionAid. The eight nations comprise the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) whose most recent diplomatic summit was postponed indefinitely this year amid tension between India and Pakistan. ”We share a common ecosystem, and we share common mountains, rivers, history and culture,” Singh said. ”When these solutions need to be devised, we have to have common solutions.” SAARC should have policies under which people crossing borders due to environmental crises are recognized as refugees, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Refugees have an array of rights and protections under international law overseen by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, created following World War Two. South Asia, the world’s most region according to the United Nations, has suffered widespread droughts, heat waves and cyclones leading to crop failures in recent years, the report said. More than 46 million people in South Asia fled their homes due to natural disasters between 2008 and 2013, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center has estimated. Those disasters included cyclones, flash floods and earthquakes. Such displaced people typically lose their assets such as their savings, land, cattle or tools, advocates say. In May, Cyclone Roanu swept through South Asia’s Bay of Bengal, destroying the homes of some 125, 000 people and costing an estimated $1. 7 billion in reconstruction costs, the report said. (Reporting by Sebastien Malo, Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women’s rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit ) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

New York, New Jersey 10-year transport plan could include rail tunnel

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said for the first time on Thursday its next capital plan may include $2. 7 billion for Amtrak’s Gateway rail tunnel project underneath the Hudson River. But commissioners of the transportation agency postponed a vote on whether to release their draft $29. 1 billion plan for public scrutiny. Some said they either disagreed with the current proposals or they needed more time to study the ”overwhelming” amount of information. Included in the plan is funding for a controversial new bus terminal. The plan includes $3 billion for the new terminal, and another $500 million would have to be raised through a federal grant, according to Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye. Commissioner Kenneth Lipper said $3. 2 billion of rail projects involving the city of Newark and LaGuardia Airport would be an ”absolute waste of public funds,” though others disagreed. ”Our credit rating would be in jeopardy,” Lipper said of the potential for increased borrowing. ”We don’t have the ability to pay for all those projects,” said Commissioner George Laufenberg. With $73 billion of potential needs identified but only about $53 billion of funding capacity, the authority faces a roughly $20 billion gap between what it wants to build and what it can actually build, for now, according to Commissioner Jeffrey Lynford. The authority oversees many of the biggest infrastructure projects in the region and operates airports, bridges and tunnels in the area. Chairman John Degnan said governors of both states signed off on the draft. The board expects to call a special meeting before February to consider the draft further and possibly approve it for public review. Doing so would open it up to a comment period and public hearings. Some broad strokes of the plan revealed at Thursday’s meeting include some funding for a new bus terminal. The project has been dogged by controversy, as most public officials, riders and commissioners agree a new facility is needed but they have splintered on where to place it and how to pay for it. Degnan said the capital budget will also include more money for Amtrak’s Gateway program, which includes a massive new rail tunnel underneath the Hudson River. He said the amount would not be finalized until the project cost becomes clearer. However, Lipper said the draft capital plan could include $2. 7 billion more for the tunnel and suggested a surcharge on Amtrak tickets to help pay off that debt. Commissioners did approve a $3. 1 billion operating budget and a $2. 9 billion capital spending plan for 2017. (Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Daniel Bases, Bernard Orr) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

U.S. derivatives regulator to move on from Dodd-Frank under Trump

The U. S. derivatives regulator will move on from reforms undertaken after the financial crisis to a new focus on U. S. competitiveness and the potential for shocks to the global $710 trillion swaps markets under Donald Trump. J. Christopher Giancarlo, in line to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission once Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20, has said the agency should look beyond mandates from the 2010 Wall Street reform law to current trends in financial markets. He counts among those cyber threats, liquidity risk, market concentration and . As the sole Republican on the CFTC, Giancarlo will at least temporarily run the commission where he is currently the minority member. Even if Trump later nominates someone else for the permanent post, Giancarlo, who was previously an executive vice president at GFI Group, a wholesale brokerage that runs electronic trading platforms, will be influential in the coming months. In a speech in London on Friday, he said regulators should foster best practices for new trading technologies, address diminishing liquidity, and review regulations that could cause market fragmentation as they enter ”the new year and, perhaps, a new regulatory environment.” This week, he forced the commission to delay limits on the positions that traders can hold on physical commodity futures and swaps. Redrawn position limit rules are likely to reappear in 2017, as are the following other agenda items. KEEPING AMERICA COMPETITIVE Giancarlo has often argued the United States should not move too far ahead of other countries in tightening regulations governing the swaps market, which the United States dominates. That could put U. S. firms at a disadvantage and drive up trading costs, he says. In August he warned the CFTC could create a liquidity crunch by sticking to its September deadline for implementing a new swaps margin rule, given European regulators had delayed start dates for their similar rules. Indeed, in September Asian swaps markets foundered and trades fell through as the U. S. rules came online. The CFTC then gave swap dealers an extra month to comply. ”Championing American markets means no longer asking U. S. market participants to go it alone and take it on the chin in implementation of global regulatory reform,” Giancarlo later told the conservative American Enterprise Institute. ”Rather, it means standing up for America’s capital and risk transfer markets and treating them as the vital national interests that they are.” TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY Giancarlo sees the CFTC as ”stuck in a 20th Century time warp” when it comes to technology. He can be expected to push the CFTC toward giving industry space for breakthroughs in artificial intelligence guiding trade execution, ”smart” contracts that calculate payments and value in and distributed ledger technology, known as Blockchain. In November he voted against the ”Reg AT” Regulation Automated Trading to update oversight of fast computer trades, criticizing it for not adequately protecting algorithmic trading companies’ prized source codes and being too prescriptive. Giancarlo says regulators in other countries, notably Britain, are leading the way in financial technology and the CFTC must follow in making room to experiment. A SMALL BUSINESS BREAK Since 2012, any dealer with more than $8 billion in swap activity has had to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which subjects it to stricter federal oversight. That activity value in dollars, known as the ”de minimis” threshold, was poised to fall to $3 billion by the end of 2017, but the CFTC recently delayed the drop by a year. Under Giancarlo, the threshold may never fall or could disappear altogether. He has called the thresholds ”made up numbers” lacking policy justification. He also said that in general, a specific de minimis level may not do anything to optimize ”the safety, soundness, liquidity or vibrancy of U. S. swaps markets.” In March, Giancarlo failed to launch recommendations on regulating energy markets made by a committee he led, which was dominated by people from the energy sector. Reform proponents said the suggestions were sops to industry and he withdrew its report. When he is in charge, Giancarlo could turn back to the committee’s work. It questioned the need for new position limits and suggested an alternative ”accountability system,” where exchanges could grant exemptions to limits. (Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Alan Crosby and Frances Kerry) SINGAPORE Oil prices nudged higher on Thursday on strong demand in the United States, but analysts cautioned that oversupply would continue to drag on markets. LONDON The West’s three biggest energy corporations are lobbying Qatar to take part in a huge expansion of its gas production, handing Doha an unintended but timely boost in its bitter dispute with Gulf Arab neighbors.

Clinton calls ’fake news’ a threat to U.S. democracy

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called ”fake news” a danger that must be addressed quickly, in a rare public appearance on Thursday, a month after she lost the presidential election in a campaign marked by a flood of such propaganda. ”We must stand up for our democracy,” Clinton said during a tribute to retiring Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, referring to what she called ”the epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda that flooded social media over the past year.” Clinton urged action from both the private and public sectors to combat the false reports. ”It’s now clear that ’fake news’ can have consequences. This isn’t about politics or partisanship. Lives are at risk. Lives of ordinary people just trying to go about their days, to do their jobs, contribute to their communities,” she said. Clinton herself has been a target of fake news, with internet postings claiming that a pizza restaurant in Washington was fronting a child sex ring run by Clinton. On Sunday, a North Carolina man wielding an assault rifle fired a gun inside the restaurant, located in northwest Washington just a few miles from Thursday’s ceremony, according to police, who said the suspect told them he had come to ”investigate” a fake news report. Clinton’s appearance at the Thursday event, packed with mostly Democratic elected officials including Vice President Joe Biden, was greeted with a standing ovation and raucous applause. Clinton, also a former senator who served with Reid, made a wry reference to the relatively low profile she has kept since Republican Donald Trump won the Nov. 8 presidential election, referring to ”a few weeks of taking selfies in the woods.” She indirectly acknowledged her defeat as she began her tribute to Reid: ”This is not exactly the speech at the Capitol I hoped to be making after the election.” The new U. S. president delivers an inaugural address on Jan. 20, standing on a large platform erected every four years on the west front of the Capitol building. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Leslie Adler) MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. NEW YORK The U. S. government on Wednesday proposed to reduce the volume of biofuel required to be used in gasoline and diesel fuel next year as it signaled the first step toward a potential broader overhaul of its biofuels program.

Syrian army’s Aleppo advance slows, but victory in sight

The Syrian army’s advance in Aleppo slowed on Thursday but a victory was still firmly in sight after President Bashar vowed that retaking the city would change the course of the war. Russia’s RIA news agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying the Syrian army, which has captured territory including Aleppo’s historic Old City in recent days, had halted military activity to let civilians leave territory. However, Reuters reporters in a part of the city said bombardment could still be heard after his remarks were published. Washington said it had no confirmation that the army had ceased fire. Earlier, a Reuters journalist said government forces were shelling areas of southwest Aleppo into the afternoon. Columns of smoke were rising from areas. The last two weeks have seen rebels driven from most of their territory in what was once Syria’s largest city, the eastern section of which the insurgents have controlled since 2012. Although there are still many rural areas in rebel hands, Aleppo is their last big urban redoubt. The prospect of its fall, following months of government gains elsewhere, has brought Assad closer to victory than at any point since the early months of a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands and made half of Syrians homeless. ”Aleppo will completely change the course of the battle in all of Syria,” Assad said, speaking in an interview with the Syrian newspaper . Moscow and Washington are trying to negotiate a ceasefire to allow civilians to escape eastern Aleppo and aid to arrive. Russia, which backs the army with air strikes, also wants the United States to urge rebel fighters to abandon their territory and accept transport out, which the Syrian government has provided fighters who agreed to lay down arms elsewhere. The U. S. State Department said Secretary of State John Kerry had spoken by telephone to Lavrov to discuss a ceasefire. The two also met face to face on the sidelines of a conference in Hamburg. The rebels have called for an immediate ceasefire and the evacuation of civilians and wounded, but have so far given no indication they are ready to withdraw. The U. N. assessment for diplomacy was bleak. Russia and the United States were ”poles apart” U. N. Syria humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said. Five months of talks over aid plans had all failed and produced ”nothing”. ”We are . .. witnessing talks on Aleppo which are just trying to tailor and to manage the Syrian and Russian victory,” a European diplomat told reporters on condition of anonymity. More than 800 people have been killed and up to 3, 500 wounded in eastern Aleppo in the past 26 days, while the remaining trapped civilians await an effective death sentence, the president of Aleppo local council said. ”Today 150, 000 people are threatened with extermination. We are calling for a halt to the bombing and guarantees of safe passage of all,” Brita Haji Hassan said during a trip to Geneva. United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday he planned to meet ”people around the team” of U. S. Donald Trump. ’WAR WILL NOT END’ Fighting raged on around the Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the Syrian army trying to push into the few remaining Aleppo neighborhoods. media reported that Syrian government forces and their allies had launched attacks against insurgents in the Sukkari, Kalasa and Bustan neighborhoods, west and south of the ancient citadel. An opposition activist in Aleppo said insurgents had staved off the attacks on the latter two districts. A Syrian military source reported the army and its allies had also advanced in the Sheikh Saeed district in the south of the rebel enclave. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, also reported that. Outside of Aleppo, the government and its allies were also putting severe pressure on remaining rebel redoubts. In his interview, Assad said the army advances will completely change the course of the war. He described Aleppo as the ”last hope” of rebels and their backers, although he said the war would continue once it falls. ”The battle of Aleppo will be a gain, but . .. it doesn’t mean the end of the war in Syria. It is a significant landmark towards the end of the battle, but the war in Syria will not end until terrorism is eliminated,” he said. Damascus refers to all insurgents as terrorists. ’MAKE A DESERT AND CALL IT PEACE’ Retaking Aleppo would also be a success for President Vladimir Putin who intervened to save Moscow’s ally in September 2015 with air strikes, and for Shi’ite Iran, whose elite Islamic Republic Guard Corps has suffered casualties fighting for Assad. The war has seen the rise of the Islamic State group, which still controls areas of eastern Syria. Moscow and Damascus say only support for Assad will make it possible to defeat Islamic State. Western countries say Assad’s harsh war tactics feed the anger that allowed Islamic State to grow. The head of Britain’s MI6 foreign intelligence agency Alex Younger warned on Thursday that Islamic State was plotting attacks on the West ”without ever having to leave Syria”. ”Russia and the Syrian regime seek to make a desert and call it peace. The human tragedy is ” he added. Nearly 150 civilians, most disabled or in need of urgent medical care, were evacuated overnight from a hospital in Aleppo’s Old City, in the first major evacuation from the eastern sector, the International Committee of the Red Cross said. It urged ”all parties to allow a humanitarian pause,” adding that the situation in east Aleppo ”is known to be catastrophic”. Tawfik Chamaa, a representative of the Union of Syrian Medical Relief Organisations (UOSSM) said 1, 500 people needed medical evacuation, but any evacuation should have international observers to prevent them being ”executed or diverted on the way to hospital”. (Reporting by Laila Bassam in Aleppo, John Davison in Beirut, Jack Stubbs in Moscow, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Suleiman in Amman; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Writing by John Davison and Peter Graff; Editing by Andrew Roche and James Dalgleish) UNITED NATIONS The United States cautioned on Wednesday it was ready to use force if need be to stop North Korea’s nuclear missile program but said it preferred global diplomatic action against Pyongyang for defying world powers by test launching a ballistic missile that could hit Alaska. WARSAW U. S. President Donald Trump meets eastern NATO allies in Warsaw on Thursday amid expectations he will reaffirm Washington’s commitment to counter threats from Russia after unnerving them in May by failing to endorse the principle of collective defense.

U.N. Syria mediator says he plans to meet Trump team members

United Nations Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday he planned to meet ”people around the team” of U. S. Donald Trump to discuss the nearly conflict in the country. ”The plan is to meet some people around the team of President (elect) Trump,” de Mistura told reporters, adding that meetings would take place in New York and Washington. De Mistura briefed the U. N. Security Council behind closed doors on Thursday afternoon and said he would remain in the United States until Tuesday. He declined to elaborate on who he would meet with from Trump’s team and when. De Mistura told reporters after the council briefing that he has ideas on ”how President (elect) Trump’s team would be able to look at the fight on terrorism in very effective ways.” He said last month little was known about Trump’s Middle East policy, but there might be a chance of progress in ending the Syrian war if Trump stuck to his campaign pledge to fight Islamic State with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Thursday, the Security Council discussed the Russian announcement that the Syrian army had stopped combat operations in eastern Aleppo to allow for the evacuation of civilians, Spain’s U. N. Ambassador Roman Oyarzun Marchesi, president of the council for December, said after the meeting. ”We didn’t get any information from the Russian announcement on how long it will be,” de Mistura said of the truce. Since July 2014, de Mistura has been trying to broker peace talks between the warring parties in Syria. He was appointed after former U. N. chief Kofi Annan and then Lakhdar Brahimi quit in frustration at the global deadlock over how to end the war. ”I did raise, and to a certain degree insisted, that perhaps now is the time to actually either look seriously at a possible renewal of looking where and how we can have political discussions,” de Mistura said of the council briefing. ”Otherwise we will leave with the impression, which no one wants to have, that there is only a military victory or military solution,” he said. A crackdown by Syrian President Bashar on protesters in 2011 sparked a civil war and Islamic State militants have used the chaos to seize territory in Syria and Iraq. Half of Syria’s 22 million people have been uprooted and more than 400, 000 killed. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Eric Walsh and David Gregorio) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

Philippines outsourcing firms hit by Trump and ’Trump East’

When Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, the man dubbed ”Trump of the East” told U. S. businesses to pack their bags if they didn’t like his rhetoric, the huge and growing outsourcing industry got a little nervous. It’s now the real Donald Trump who has businesses worried here, after the U. S. vowed to bring offshored jobs home from places such as the Philippines, a big provider of services for corporate America. The Southeast Asian country accounts for 12. 6 percent of the global market for outsourcing (BPO) which has been growing 10 percent a year for the past decade, according to the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP). The industry body predicts the BPO industry could be adding 100, 000 jobs annually with earning revenues of $38. 9 billion by 2022, although global outsourcing consultants believe that could even reach $48 billion within four years. of the $23 billion sector services U. S. firms. ”It’s a U. S. business,” said Manuel Pangilinan, president of PLDT ( ) which provides telecoms for the sector. ”To the extent that Trump compels, persuades or incentivises the BPO businesses to return . .. it will impact our business or the industry as a whole. ”It’s going to be a tough one, not only for us, but for the economy as a whole.” TRUMP TWEETS In a string of tweets on Sunday, Trump threatened ”retribution or consequences” for companies that move operations out of the country, as well as a 35 percent tariff on their goods sold back to the United States. That could leave the Philippines exposed, with companies such as Citibank, JPMorgan ( ) Verizon ( ) Convergys ( ) Genpact ( ) and Sutherland Global Services key to jobs that were forecast to increase to 1. 8 million Filipinos by 2022. It’s not just companies in the Philippines that are worried. Anticipating a more protectionist U. S. technology visa program under a Donald Trump administration, India’s $150 billion IT services sector will speed up acquisitions in the United States, industry sources there say. Companies also plan to recruit more heavily from college campuses, expecting the Trump administration to tighten up on temporary visas for India’s workers. WAIT AND SEE Philippine businesses and BPO firms that spoke to Reuters said some trade delegations had deferred visits and potential foreign investors in the industry were taking longer with their procedures. And they were doing so even before Trump won the U. S. presidential election on Nov. 9. Duterte’s volatility has drawn comparisons to Trump and his hostility towards Manila’s ally the United States has shocked investors and even his own cabinet. He told President Barack Obama to ”go to hell” over the U. S. president’s concern about Duterte’s war on drugs, threatened to scrap U. S. defense pacts, and in October announced before China’s political elite his ”separation” from the United States. That remark rattled some U. S. firms, said Juan Victor Hernandez, an IBPAP trustee, who told Reuters that four companies put their decisions on hold immediately. He declined to name them. Hernandez said uncertainties over Trump’s policies affected potential investors rather than existing ones, such as JP Morgan, which is staying put. ”So far, they are still on the Philippines, number one,” he added. ’PACK YOUR BAGS’ Philip Goldberg, who until recently was the U. S. ambassador in Manila, said he took more calls from investors in his last three months than during his whole tenure. All were about Duterte’s vitriol. ”They are very nervous,” Goldberg told news channel ANC. ”They don’t know what it means.” While aware of those concerns about him, Duterte was defiant: ”Go ahead. Pack your bags,” he told reporters before flying to Japan in October. ”We will sacrifice. We will recover.” Julius Guevara, head of research at Colliers Philippines, said while U. S. investors were concerned about Duterte and Trump, firms that are already in the Philippines are unlikely to leave. ”If it’s more profitable for them to continue having operations here in the Philippines, I don’t think Trump can do anything about it,” he said. Charito Plaza, an ally of the president and director general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, said Duterte would ask Trump to be kind to U. S. firms looking at the Philippines. But it wasn’t clear if Duterte did that when the two spoke last Friday. Duterte said he felt a rapport with Trump and ”assured him of our ties”. But the only policy issue Duterte mentioned afterwards was his drugs crackdown, which he said Trump understood. GROWTH DRIVER Policy makers have been banking on BPO overtaking remittances as the mainstay of one of the world’s economies. The BPO sector’s recent growth plan said it wasn’t Trump or Duterte that posed the biggest challenge to the industry but automation. The plan aims to boost to labor from 53 percent of the workforce to 73 percent by 2022 to meet that challenge. That would push annual incomes from $19, 100 to $21, 600 with jobs that diversify beyond voice services and focus on IT support. Economic planning minister, Ernesto Pernia, told Reuters he was optimistic the Philippines’ competitive costs and services would insulate its BPO sector from Trump, and the BPO jobs that Filipinos do might not appeal to Americans. Duterte’s talk shouldn’t be taken too seriously, either, Pernia said. ”I think investors should listen to the economic planners and not the president,” he said. (Writing and additional reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Bill Tarrant) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Temporary U.S. government funding bill hits snag in Senate

The U. S. House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly passed legislation to keep federal agencies funded until April 28 and avert government shutdowns at the end of this week when existing appropriations expire. By a vote of the House passed the legislation that is now before the Senate where it has encountered opposition from Democrats who are upset over the refusal by Republicans to include a extension of expiring healthcare benefits for retired coal miners and their families. Instead, the bill would continue the benefits only until next April. ”I’ve never seen anything this callous in my life,” said West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin. As a result, the Senate might not be able to vote on the spending bill until sometime this weekend, technically putting the U. S. government into a partial shutdown mode on Saturday. Flint, Michigan, which has endured a struggle with drinking water, would get access to a $170 million fund for infrastructure improvements and lead poisoning prevention under the bill. The funding bill reflects the inability of the Congress to pass the dozen regular appropriations bills for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30, 2017, freezing most spending at current levels. Congress was unable to pass them in part because of internal disagreements among Republicans on some of those measures and because Democrats held firm to an earlier budget deal that aims to restrain spending caps on defense as long as those caps were imposed on other domestic programs. Congress likely will end up arguing well into 2017 over spending priorities for the current fiscal year even as it must begin considering funding government operations in fiscal 2018. Congress’ delay in finishing its work also means that Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, will have some say in government spending priorities for the period of April . 30, instead of President Barack Obama. A provision is also embedded in the spending bill to make it easier for Trump to win confirmation of General James Mattis to be defense secretary early next year. Republicans demanded it to help Mattis get around a requirement that the defense secretary be a civilian for seven years before taking the job. Mattis retired from the military in 2013. The bill moving through Congress, as lawmakers try wrapping up their work for the year, contains $5. 8 billion for waging military operations against the Islamic State worldwide. (Reporting By Richard Cowan; Editing by Chris Reese and Alan Crosby) MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. NEW YORK The U. S. government on Wednesday proposed to reduce the volume of biofuel required to be used in gasoline and diesel fuel next year as it signaled the first step toward a potential broader overhaul of its biofuels program.

U.S. SEC enforcement chief Ceresney to depart at year-end

Andrew Ceresney, the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Wall Street policeman, will leave the agency at the end of December, joining other top officials who are departing before Donald Trump is sworn in as president in January. Until a permanent replacement is appointed, Ceresney’s deputy director, Stephanie Avakian, will preside over the Enforcement Division, the SEC said on Thursday, Ceresney is the seventh top official at the SEC to announce his departure since Trump won November’s election. Since then, the SEC has been hit with a wave of resignations, led by the announcement that SEC Chair Mary Jo White plans to step down at the end of the Obama administration. Trump has yet to nominate a new SEC chairman, who in turn will be in charge of hiring division directors, including one for enforcement. Trump is considering Debra Wong Yang, a former U. S. attorney for the federal court district headquartered in Los Angeles, for the top SEC job. Other names that have surfaced include former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins and former SEC General Counsel Ralph Ferrara. Ceresney joined the SEC in April 2013 after working with White as a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton. He previously was a federal prosecutor in New York’s Southern District. He presided over the filing of nearly 3, 000 enforcement actions at the SEC, including one against Barclays PLC ( ) for making misrepresentations about its dark pool. He also oversaw a foreign bribery case against JP Morgan Chase & Co ( ) in connection with its hiring practices and a major case involving hackers who broke into newswire services to steal corporate financial information that could be used to make profitable trades. Ceresney was also instrumental in developing a settlement policy that requires defendants in some instances to admit to wrongdoing a departure from the typical practice of letting companies settle without admitting or denying wrongdoing. In an interview with Reuters, Ceresney said he is not sure what he will do next, but plans to take a few months off to spend time with his family. He said, among others, that he is most proud of the SEC’s case against Bank of America ( ) over its misuse of customer cash and the SEC’s foreign bribery case against a hedge fund, Capital Management Group ( ) and its CEO and CFO. ”We took what I think was a strong program, and made it much stronger,” Ceresney said. ”I think we’re recognized now as an aggressive, tough but fair regulator.” (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Dan Grebler) WASHINGTON Federal Reserve policymakers were increasingly split on the outlook for inflation and how it might affect the future pace of interest rate rises, according to the minutes of the Fed’s last policy meeting on June released on Wednesday. One of the investors former drug company executive Martin Shkreli is accused of defrauding testified on Wednesday that Shkreli lied to him repeatedly, although he eventually made millions of dollars from the investment.

Who knew? Modi’s black money move kept a closely guarded secret

Prime Minister Narendra Modi handpicked a trusted bureaucrat, little known outside India’s financial circles, to spearhead a radical move to abolish 86 percent of the country’s cash overnight and take aim at the huge shadow economy. Hasmukh Adhia, the bureaucrat, and five others privy to the plan were sworn to utmost secrecy, say sources with knowledge of the matter. They were supported by a young team of researchers working in two rooms at Modi’s New Delhi residence, as he plotted his boldest reform since coming to power in 2014. When announced, the abolition of banknotes of 500 and 1, 000 rupees ($7. 50 and $15) came as a bolt from the blue. The secrecy was aimed at outflanking those who might profit from prior knowledge, by pouring cash into gold, property and other assets and hide illicit wealth. Previously unreported details of Modi’s handling of the ”demonetisation” open a window onto the role he played in implementing a key policy, and how he was willing to act quickly even when the risks were high. While some advocates say the scrapping of the banknotes will bring more money into the banking system and raise tax revenues, millions of Indians are furious at having to queue for hours outside banks to exchange or deposit their old money. Laborers have also been unpaid and produce has rotted in markets as cash stopped changing hands. Not enough replacement notes were printed in preparation for the upheaval, and it could take months for things to return to normal. With India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, holding an election in early 2017 that could decide Modi’s chances of a second term in office, there is little time for the benefits of his cash swap to outweigh pain. Modi has staked his reputation and popularity on the move. ”I have done all the research and, if it fails, then I am to blame,” Modi told a cabinet meeting on Nov. 8 shortly before the move was announced, according to three ministers who attended. DIRECT LINE TO MODI Overseeing the campaign, with support from the backroom team camped out at Modi’s sprawling bungalow in the capital, was Adhia, a top finance ministry official. The served as principal secretary to Modi from when he was chief minister of Gujarat state, establishing a relationship of trust with his boss and introducing him to yoga. Colleagues interviewed by Reuters said he had a reputation for integrity and discretion. Adhia was named revenue secretary in Sept. 2015, reporting formally to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. In reality, he had a direct line to Modi and they would speak in their native Gujarati when they met to discuss issues in depth. In the world’s largest democracy the demonetisation was revolutionary: it called into question the state’s promise to ”pay the bearer” the face value on every banknote. At a stroke, Modi scrapped money worth 15. 4 trillion rupees ($220 billion) equal to 86 percent of cash in Asia’s economy. The idea is backed by some economists, although the speed of its implementation is widely seen as radical. ”One is never ready for this kind of disruption but it is a constructive disruption,” said Narendra Jadhav, a veteran and former chief economist of India’s central bank who now represents Modi’s party in the upper house of parliament. Modi, in his TV address to the nation, cautioned that people could face temporary hardship as replacement 500 and 2, 000 rupee notes were introduced. Calling for an act of collective sacrifice, he promised steps to soften the blow for the nine in 10 Indians who live in the cash economy. ”BIGGEST, BOLDEST STEP” Immediately after the address, Adhia sent a tweet: ”This is the biggest and the boldest step by the Government for containing black money.” The boast harked back to Modi’s election vow to recover black money from abroad that had resonated with voters fed up with the corruption scandals that plagued the last Congress government. Yet in office, he struggled to keep his promise. Over more than a year, Modi commissioned research from officials at the finance ministry, the central bank and on how to advance his fight against black money, a close aide said. He demanded answers to questions such as: How quickly India could print new banknotes; how to distribute them; would state banks benefit if they received a rush of new deposits; and who would gain from demonetisation? The topics were broken up to prevent anyone from joining the dots and concluding that a cash swap was in the offing. ”We didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag,” said a senior official directly involved. ”Had people got a whiff of the decision, the whole exercise would have been meaningless.” Under Adhia’s oversight, the team of researchers assembled and modeled the findings in what was, for it, a theoretical exercise. It was made up of young experts in data and financial analysis; some ran Modi’s social media accounts and a smartphone app that he used to solicit public feedback. Yet for all the planning, Modi and Adhia knew they could not foresee every eventuality, and were willing to move swiftly. The announcement caused chaos, with huge queues forming at banks when they reopened after a short holiday. New 2, 000 rupee notes were hard to come by and barely any new 500 rupee notes had been printed. India’s 200, 000 cash dispensers could not handle the new, smaller, notes and it would take weeks to reconfigure them. Filling ATMs with the 8 trillion rupees ($117 billion) in new banknotes that the finance ministry reckons are needed to restore liquidity to the economy is even trickier. In a scenario, in which India’s four banknote presses churned out new 500 and 2, 000 rupee notes designed to replace the abolished ones, it would take at least three months to hit that target. SECRECY PARAMOUNT Secrecy was paramount, but clues had been left. Back in April, analysts at State Bank of India said that demonetisation of notes was possible. The Reserve Bank of India, the central bank, also disclosed in May that it was making preparations for a new series of banknotes that were confirmed in August when it announced it had approved a design for a new 2, 000 rupee note. The printing presses had only just started turning when the media finally started to run with the story in late October. ”The plan was to introduce it around Nov. 18, but there was a clear sign that it could get leaked,” said one person with direct knowledge who, like others interviewed by Reuters, asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. Some officials in the finance ministry had expressed doubts about scrapping notes when the idea came up for discussion. They now feel resentment at the secrecy in which Adhia rammed through the plan on Modi’s orders. They also say the plan was flawed because of a failure to ramp up printing of new notes ahead of time. Other critics say the Adhia team fell prey to a form of ”group think” that ignored outside advice. In the words of one former top official who has worked at the finance ministry and central bank: ”They don’t know what’s happening in the real world.” (Additional reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh, Manoj Kumar, Mayank Bhardwaj and Neha Dasgupta in New Delhi, Suvashree Choudhury in Mumbai and Subrata Nagchaudhury in Kolkata; Writing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Mike ) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

WWE’s China hopes rest on Bin Wang’s big shoulders

Three mornings a week, Bin Wang, a native of China’s Anhui province, enters a beige, building tucked into an office park in Orlando, Florida, to spend hours people. In a few weeks, the ( ) Wang, who arrived in the United States in June, will be joined by seven other Chinese athletes by World Wrestling Entertainment Inc, in the hope that one of them will become the first Chinese WWE ”superstar.” WWE, the $1. 5 billion company known for big personalities and outrageous story lines, wants its Chinese wrestlers to be the next television sensation in China, a market where other U. S. media companies have faltered. In June, WWE announced it had signed Wang whose fighting name is ”Tian Bing” and entered into an exclusive deal with Chinese online video provider PPTV to live stream its popular ”Raw” and ”SmackDown” shows in the country, dubbed into Mandarin. (See Wang in action on Reuters TV: ) WWE hopes to succeed where others have failed, by bringing its own WWE Network online streaming service currently available in 180 countries to China, according to George Barrios, WWE’s chief financial and strategy officer. WWE is looking for a partner, which could be PPTV, so it can offer WWE Network in China and ultimately live stream events in China featuring its Chinese talent. Stamford, WWE is betting that China, with a population of over 1. 4 billion and an expanding, middle class, will fuel the growth if its streaming service, which has amassed about 1. 5 million U. S. subscribers at a price of $9. 99 per month. Since 2000, twice as many Chinese citizens as Americans have joined the middle class, defined as households making the annual equivalent of $50, 000 to $500, 000, according to Credit Suisse. The online streaming video market in China is expected to be worth $7. 85 billion by 2021, up from $2. 67 billion this year, according to Digital TV Research. Attracting Chinese fans could also help WWE woo Chinese investors. Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda and other Chinese firms looked at mixed martial arts franchise Ultimate Fighting Championship before talent agency bought it for $4 billion earlier this year, industry bankers told Reuters. Wanda declined to comment. RISKS There are regulatory and political risks. Chinese regulators can shut WWE’s operations down at any time if they deem them inconsistent with the country’s values. Earlier this year, Chinese regulators unexpectedly forced Alibaba Group Holding to end its online streaming partnership with Walt Disney Co just months after it was launched, to comply with recent regulations limiting foreign content online. For the same reason, regulators shut down Apple Inc’s online book and movie sales in China. WWE may also come to rue its close ties with U. S. Donald Trump, a member of the WWE Hall of Fame who used to appear regularly at matches. Trump used China as a regular punching bag during his campaign and caused ire in Beijing last week by taking a congratulatory call from Taiwan’s president, breaching decades of diplomatic practice. Trump picked WWE Linda McMahon as head of the U. S. Small Business Administration on Wednesday, deepening his connection with the company. Nevertheless, WWE is not concerned its ties with the Trump administration might affect its effort in China, according to a source familiar with the situation, who wished to remain anonymous. WWE’s partnership with PPTV, which is owned by Chinese conglomerate Suning Holdings Group, may protect against any backlash because its parent has close ties to the Chinese government, industry experts said. The Chinese government does not scripts. WWE does post videos of Wang in training on Chinese social media sites, so fans can track his progress, said Paul ”Triple H” Levesque, whose is WWE’s head of talent and live events. PHYSICAL THEATER In June, Levesque went to Shanghai to audition Chinese athletes to come to Orlando for training. ”The biggest thing we look for is charisma,” Levesque said, on a recent visit to Orlando. WWE is also keen to find talent with a story that will resonate in China. For example, one woman athlete from a rural village in northern China had not told her parents she was auditioning. When asked what she would do if she was accepted, she said she would have to disobey them and follow her dream. Telling that story to young girls across China, where women are beginning to chart their own paths, is hugely powerful, Levesque said. That woman will arrive in Orlando in January. WWE believes the underlying story line of good versus evil will translate to China, and it is a matter of helping viewers there understand WWE’s unique mixture of sport and entertainment, Levesque said: ”It’s physical theater.” At WWE’s performance center in Orlando, there are two cameras beaming practice sessions to head office in Stamford. One live streams into WWE Chief Executive Vince McMahon’s office and the other into Levesque’s office, an indication of how important new talent is to WWE. ”I leave it on in my office all the time,” Levesque said. Wang, who stands 6 feet 3 inches (1. 9m) is one of the fighters hoping he will stand out and capture the bosses’ attention, and ultimately, that of his country. ”My dream is for Chinese fans to know I am here,” he said. (Reporting By Jessica Toonkel; Editing by Anna Driver and Bill Rigby) LONDON Rafa Nadal continued his imperious run of form as he swept aside American Donald Young in the Wimbledon second round on Wednesday. LONDON French Open Dominic Thiem takes on France’s Gilles Simon at Wimbledon on Thursday, hoping to make inroads into what has been the weakest grand slam for one of the next generation of men’s tennis.

Cox: Public company capitalism meets its match

(Reuters Breakingviews) Capitalism takes many guises around the world. In Italy, it has a family twist. In France, the state plays a starring role. Japan tries to achieve consensus with government, conglomerates, salarymen and society at large. China’s Communist Party dubs it socialism with Chinese characteristics. In Germany, labor gets a voice. America’s model puts the stockholders of public companies front and center. Until now. Donald Trump is challenging the ideals that have guided American markets and corporate behavior for a generation. In the past two weeks he has prodded, tweeted and shamed giants of the industrial firmament to align their business decisions with his ”America First” ideology. Even though he is still more than a month away from being inaugurated as president of the United States, Trump’s approach has alarmed an establishment raised on the economic theories of Milton Friedman. The influential University of Chicago monetarist railed against suggestions that businesses in a system should assume social responsibilities. Most of Corporate America has long taken this as gospel. In his 1962 classic ”Capitalism and Freedom,” Friedman argued: ”There is one and only one social responsibility of business to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.” Combine Trump’s refusal, at least selectively, to accept that principle with his stated wish to make trade more expensive for U. S. companies, and he’s adopting an activist approach to corporate activity that’s unique for a Republican president and almost without precedent even among Democrats. Take the ’s coercion of United Technologies to keep factory jobs at a Carrier plant in Indiana that were slated to move to Mexico. The deal provides a possible blueprint for his administration’s industrial policy. Trump and Vice Mike Pence, who is also the Hoosier State’s governor, used a combination of the bully pulpit and tax giveaways to convince United Technologies to change its plans. That allowed Trump last week to take a victory lap through a factory made infamous during the election campaign after an employee filmed management’s announcement that it planned to fire everyone and replace them with cheaper workers south of the border. Trump seized on the video, which went viral, and used it to cudgel the corporate elite. As a result of the intervention, hundreds of workers will keep their jobs though exactly how many is contested. Setting aside the question of whether Carrier can sustainably sell products made in America by expensive workers in a competitive global marketplace, it’s a victory for the wider social compact over stockholders who will see a few pennies less profit. Thinking like this is routine elsewhere in the world. governments often put their fingers on the scale to, say, discourage companies from moving offshore or to prevent foreign investors from acquiring companies and firing workers. The latter is part of what the Investment Canada Act polices, for instance. Part of this is about thinking and than some companies do. That idea has provoked some serious pondering by McKinsey, the management consultant, and BlackRock, the largest fund manager in the world. In a survey of senior executives conducted this year for its ”Focusing Capital on the Long Term” project, McKinsey found 87 percent of them reported ”feeling the most pressure to demonstrate strong financial performance within two years,” up from 79 percent in 2013. McKinsey presented the 1, 000 executives in the survey with scenarios to assess how they would respond differently given a horizon to meet their objectives. Unsurprisingly, those who reported as a major part of their companies’ cultures were far less likely than their counterparts to slash discretionary spending or delay a project when faced with a quarterly earnings shortfall. The survey also showed respondents at publicly traded companies were more likely than their privately held peers to suffer rising financial pressure. Trump is primarily a guy. So are the vulture investors he has chosen for Cabinet positions: Wilbur Ross and Steven Mnuchin, at Commerce and Treasury, respectively. They made their fortunes picking over the carrion of public companies driven into the ground by managers who probably focused too much on the short term. It’s possible, therefore, that Trump’s instincts and his Twitter feed may counter the that’s prevalent in U. S. corner offices and boardrooms. But it is also plausible that his bullying style leads to a darker form of capitalism, one characterized by cronyism and quid pro quos, where corporations singled out for shaming become vassals serving a capricious master. In this scenario, boards are incentivized to make decisions not for the good of a broad group of stakeholders but to curry favor with the . That may already be happening. Greg Hayes, chief executive of United Technologies, Carrier’s parent, said Trump didn’t make threats or talk about the company’s military contracts. Really, though he didn’t have to. United Technologies gets about a tenth of its revenue from Uncle Sam. Keeping a plant open a few more years in Indiana may be a small price to pay by way of insurance. Trump also recently criticized Boeing, another big defense contractor, over the cost which he characteristically exaggerated of new Air Force One jets. Boeing was moved to issue a mollifying statement. It’s hard to have much sympathy with the company when military contracts have been so widely exposed as wasteful. But a might be better off setting out policies that would make all government projects more efficient, rather than trying to embarrass firms individually. Doing that makes it seem like sucking up to the incoming White House resident could be a way to get ahead. Masayoshi Son, the founder of Japan’s SoftBank, has not achieved a $19 billion net worth by missing tricks like that. This week, he popped by Trump Tower pledging to invest $50 billion, mostly other people’s money which perhaps would have been spent anyway, in the United States. The gesture won praise from the but the vote of confidence from Son may not come without strings. The Obama administration dashed SoftBank’s hope of merging Sprint, its U. S. business, with US. Since Election Day, Sprint shares have surged 44 percent. Son may have astutely read America’s new form of capitalism. It’s too early to say whether Trump’s interventions herald a period of corporate favoritism or a policy effort that sets American companies on a different course. With his business history of defaulting on debt, sidestepping taxes and suppliers, Trump is an unlikely champion for what Europeans might call ”stakeholder capitalism.” But by inserting himself into the affairs of private enterprises, he is already changing the rules of the game in ways that would make Friedman, who passed away a decade ago, turn in his grave. Public company capitalism as practiced by Friedman’s acolytes has met a formidable match. LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) Worldpay discovered on Wednesday that a couple of birds in the bush are sometimes worth a bit more than one in the hand. A day after Britain’s biggest payment processor said it had received approaches from both Vantiv and JPMorgan, the company plumped for the former’s offer of nearly $10 billion in a mix of cash and shares. That took the shine off the share price of both the buyer and its target. Perhaps because the deal only makes sense with some very charitable HONG KONG Tencent’s require some Hollywood stardust. The tech giant’s publishing arm may raise up to $800 million in a Hong Kong listing, according to IFR. Catering to bookworms isn’t very lucrative, even if more and more readers are paying for electronic literature. The real payoff will lie in turning stories into blockbuster films, video games and merchandise.

For U.S. veterans, pipeline protest promises to galvanize activism

U. S. veterans, thousands of whom last week helped stop a contested oil pipeline running through North Dakota, could become important partners of activists on the environment, the economy, race and other issues that divide Americans. Several academics said the effort to support the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others opposed to the pipeline project was likely the biggest gathering of its kind of former military personnel since the early 1970s when U. S. veterans marched against the Vietnam War. That so many veterans mobilized in less than two weeks to rural North Dakota speaks to the power they may have on public opinion, because of their status as having put their lives on the line for their country, veterans and academics said. ”The sense that vets are distinctively American figures, regardless of political beliefs, always seems to have currency, even when they are working on different sides of an issue,” said Stephen Ortiz, a history professor at the State University of Binghamton in New York. Many veterans who went to Cannon Ball, North Dakota, to join the protests by Native Americans and environmentalists against the ( ) Dakota Access Pipeline, said they were already looking for their next issue to support. ” soldiers have now discerned, on their own, a genuine, just cause for which to promote and defend, and this time without being under orders to do so,” said Brian Willson, whose 2011 memoir ”Blood on the Tracks: The Life and Times of S. Brian Willson” described how after serving in the Vietnam War, he became a protester for social change in the United States. Law enforcement tactics, particularly the use of water cannons, against the protesters had been considered extreme by some. Veterans said in interviews they felt galvanized to act as a human shield, providing a respite for those who had been at the protest camp for months. The pipeline owned by Energy Transfer Partners LP, is routed adjacent to the Standing Rock Sioux’s reservation. Protesters have said the $3. 8 billion project could contaminate the water supply and damage sacred tribal lands. The veterans at Standing Rock were led by former Marine Michael Wood Jr and Army veteran Wes Clark Jr, son of retired U. S. general Wesley Clark, former commander of NATO. The group raised $1. 1 million through online crowdfunding to help transport, house and feed veterans at the camp. BATTLE RESUMES WITH TRUMP PRESIDENCY On Sunday, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers said it turned down a permit for the pipeline’s completion, handing a victory to the protesters. But the saga will not end there. Republican Donald Trump has said he wants the pipeline built; his team said he would review the decision when he takes office. Even though the fight is not over in North Dakota, some see this as a way forward on other issues. ”There’s a lot of these pipelines being built around the county. Flint (Michigan) has a water crisis. So we’re going to see if we can keep this movement going and really change some things in America,” said Matthew Crane, 32, from Buffalo, New York, who served in the U. S. Navy from 2002 to 2006. Clark’s group, called Veterans Stand With Standing Rock (VSSR) asked for 2, 000 volunteers but said twice as many arrived. Comments on the VSSR Facebook page criticized Clark for a lack of planning and for not having contingencies in place for North Dakota’s harsh winters. As a blizzard blew in on Monday, many hunkered down at the main protest camp. Hundreds more slept in the pavilion of the Prairie Knights Casino in Fort Yates, roughly 10 miles away on the Standing Rock reservation. Clark, who himself was at the casino, said in a Facebook video posted Wednesday night that the response meant ”a huge tax on the supply chain and on accommodations.” ASKING FORGIVENESS As part of their journey to North Dakota, many veterans asked forgiveness in two ceremonies for what they considered crimes and mistreatment of Native Americans by the U. S. government and military over the past 150 years. One ceremony took place Monday on Backwater Bridge near the camp, the site of two heated confrontations with law enforcement earlier this fall. Thousands of veterans and tribal members prayed, emoting war cries on the bridge’s southern cusp. One veteran, wearing a flak jacket and a Veterans for Peace flag, yelled to the crowd from atop a horse. ”We didn’t serve this country to see our brothers and sisters here persecuted,” said the man, whose name was inaudible in the fury of the arriving blizzard. ”Are we not all human?” Some veterans said they planned to remain in North Dakota, unwilling to trust that Energy Transfer Partners would abide by the federal government’s decision. Most had left by Wednesday, however, said Heather O’Malley, a U. S. Army veteran who monitored news for the group. She said it was unclear if they would return to the area in January if needed. Clark and others said this was a way for veterans to address other efforts around the country. ”This is a small battleground in a larger war that is developing in our country that has to do with race, the economy and the powers that be taking advantage of those who really don’t have a voice,” said Anthony Murtha, 29, from Detroit, who served in the U. S. Navy from 2009 to 2013. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder and Terray Sylvester in Cannon Ball and Fort Yates, N. D.; additional reporting by Tim Mclaughlin and Andrew Cullen; writing by David Gaffen; editing by Grant McCool) SINGAPORE Oil prices nudged higher on Thursday on strong demand in the United States, but analysts cautioned that oversupply would continue to drag on markets. LONDON The West’s three biggest energy corporations are lobbying Qatar to take part in a huge expansion of its gas production, handing Doha an unintended but timely boost in its bitter dispute with Gulf Arab neighbors.

Exclusive: Risking Beijing’s ire, Vietnam begins dredging on South China Sea reef

Vietnam has begun dredging work on a disputed reef in the South China Sea, satellite imagery shows, the latest move by the Communist state to bolster its claims in the strategic waterway. Activity visible on Ladd Reef in the Spratly Islands could anger Hanoi’s main South China Sea rival, Beijing, which claims sovereignty over the group and most of the sea. Ladd Reef, on the southwestern fringe of the Spratlys, is completely submerged at high tide but has a lighthouse and an outpost housing a small contingent of Vietnamese soldiers. The reef is also claimed by Taiwan. In an image taken on Nov. 30 and provided by U. S. satellite firm Planet Labs, several vessels can be seen in a newly dug channel between the lagoon and open sea. While the purpose of the activity cannot be determined for certain, analysts say similar dredging work has been the precursor to more extensive construction on other reefs. ”We can see that, in this environment, Vietnam’s strategic mistrust is total . .. and they are rapidly improving their defences,” said Trevor Hollingsbee, a retired naval intelligence analyst with Britain’s defence ministry. ”They’re doing everything they can to fix any vulnerabilities and that outpost at Ladd Reef does look a vulnerability.” Reuters reported in August that Vietnam had fortified several islands with mobile rocket artillery launchers capable of striking China’s holdings across the vital trade route. Vietnam’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular press briefing on Friday that China had ”indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha islands, including Riji reef” using Beijing’s terms for the Spratlys and Ladd Reef. ”We urge the relevant countries to respect China’s sovereignty and rights, end their illegal occupation and illegal operations, and not take any actions that may complicate the situation,” he said. DEFENSIVE POSITIONS The vessels at Ladd Reef cannot be identified in the images, but Vietnam would be extremely unlikely to allow another country to challenge its control of the reef. Greg Poling, a South China Sea expert at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said it remained unclear how far the work on Ladd Reef would go. Rather than a reclamation and a base, it could be an attempt to simply boost access for supply ships and fishing boats. Ladd could also theoretically play a role in helping to defend Vietnam’s nearby holding of Spratly Island, where a runway is being improved and new hangars built, he said. ”Vietnam’s knows it can’t compete with China but it does want to improve its ability to keep an eye on them,” Poling said. Vietnam has long been fearful of renewed Chinese military action to drive it off its 21 holdings in the Spratlys worries that have escalated amid Beijing’s and its anger at the recent Philippines legal action challenging its claims. China occupied its first Spratlys possessions after a sea battle against Vietnam’s navy in 1988. Vietnam said 64 soldiers were killed as they tried to protect a flag on South Johnson reef an incident still acutely felt in Hanoi. BUILDING BURST The United States has repeatedly called on claimants to avoid actions that increase tensions in the South China Sea, through which some $5 trillion in world trade is shipped every year. A spokeswoman for the U. S. State Department, Anna said it was aware of reports of reclamation work by Vietnam and said the United States regularly raised concerns about such activity by claimants. ”We’ve consistently warned that reclamation and militarization in contested areas of the South China Sea will risk driving a destabilizing and escalatory trend,” she said. ”We encourage all claimants to take steps to lower tensions and peacefully resolve differences.” Vietnam has emerged as China’s main rival in the South China Sea, actively asserting sovereignty over both the Paracel and the Spratly groupings in their entirety and undergoing its own naval modernisation. Taiwan also claims both, but its position is historically aligned with Beijing’s. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, run by the CSIS, says Vietnam has added about 120 acres (49 hectares) of land to its South China Sea holdings in recent years. Regional military attaches say Vietnam’s key holdings are well fortified, some with tunnels and bunkers, appearing geared to deterring easy invasion. Vietnam’s reclamation work remains modest by Chinese standards, however. The United States, which has criticised China for militarising the waterway, estimates Beijing has added more than 3, 200 acres (1, 300 hectares) of land on seven features in the South China Sea over the past three years, building runways, ports, aircraft hangars and communications equipment. Beijing says it is entitled to ”limited and necessary facilities” on its territory and has reacted angrily to ”freedom of navigation” operations by U. S. warships near islands. CHINESE RECLAMATION WORK DAMAGED In another image provided by Planet Labs, reclamation work in the Paracel Island chain appears to have been damaged by recent storms. China began dredging and land filling earlier this year at North Island, about 12 km (7 miles) north of Woody Island, where it has a large military base and this year stationed missiles. Satellite images in February and March showed dredging vessels working to build a (2, 300 ft) sand bridge connecting North Island with neighbouring Middle Island. But images taken after two powerful storms spun through the region in October show the narrow sand strip has been largely swept away. The Paracels have been under Chinese control for more than 40 years after a battle towards the end of the Vietnam War, when Chinese forces removed the Vietnamese navy. Analysts say they play a key part in protecting China’s nuclear armed submarine fleet on Hainan Island, to the north. China has not commented publicly on the work at North Island. (Additional reporting by Martin Petty in Hanoi, Ben Blanchard in Beijing and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Alex Richardson and Leslie Adler) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

In fossil rarity, tumor found in 255-million-year-old beast

Scientists examining the jawbone of a beast that prowled Tanzania 255 million years ago have come across a remarkable fossil rarity: one of the tumors. University of Washington researchers on Thursday described a benign tumor composed of miniature structures they found embedded next to the root of the creature’s enlarged canine tooth while studying an unrelated aspect of the jaw. The animal was a member of an extinct group of carnivores called gorgonopsians that mixed and traits. They reached up to 10 feet (3 meters) long and appeared early in the evolutionary lineage that led to mammals. The jawbone came from one of the smaller gorgonopsian species. Gorgonopsians were among the top predators of their time, thriving from about 270 million to 252 million years ago when they were wiped out during Earth’s worst mass extinction at the end of the Permian Period. Their demise came roughly 20 million years before the first dinosaurs. When the researchers sliced into the mandible fossil from Tanzania’s Ruhuhu Valley, they found a benign dental tumor called a compound odontoma that grows within the gums or other jaw soft tissues. When people get one, surgery is sometimes used to remove it. ”There was no indication that there was a tumor in this jaw. It looked normal before we cut it open. It was pure luck that we found the tumor,” University of Washington paleobiologist Megan Whitney said. Until now, this type of tumor was known only in mammals, including some Ice Age fossils tens of thousands of years old. The new discovery shows such a tumor existed in mammal ancestors that lived tens of millions of years before the first mammals appeared. Tumors, malignant and benign, typically involve soft tissue, and rarely fossilize. ”Ancient tumors generally need to affect hard parts such as bones and teeth in order to be preserved in the fossil record,” University of Washington paleobiologist Christian Sidor added. This tumor included hard enamel and dentin. Few tumor fossils are older. A fish was found with a tumor and a armored fish has an apparent tumor that some dispute. ”Fossils allow us to understand the evolution of diseases in deep time and have the potential to provide clues as to the causes of diseases that afflict humans,” Whitney said. The research appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association Oncology. (Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Peter Cooney) BEIJING China’s launch of a new rocket, the Long Y2, carrying what the government said was its heaviest ever satellite, failed on Sunday, official news agency Xinhua said. MEXICO CITY A tower of human skulls unearthed beneath the heart of Mexico City has raised new questions about the culture of sacrifice in the Aztec Empire after crania of women and children surfaced among the hundreds embedded in the forbidding structure.

Wall Street again marks new highs in post-election run

Investors have driven up equities since Trump’s Nov. 8 election over optimism about domestic economic stimulus and reduced corporate taxes and regulations. Supporting the upbeat sentiment on Thursday was a report that showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell from a high last week, pointing to labor market strength that underscored the economy’s momentum. ”This is just a continued . The path of least resistance has been higher,” said Jason Ware, chief investment officer with Albion Financial Group in Salt Lake City, Utah. ”Seasonally, you have a strong period. You have money coming out of the bond market . .. so that money has to go somewhere,” Ware said. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 65. 19 points, or 0. 33 percent, to 19, 614. 81, the S&P 500 gained 4. 84 points, or 0. 22 percent, to 2, 246. 19 and the Nasdaq Composite added 23. 59 points, or 0. 44 percent, to 5, 417. 36. All three indexes set new records, a day after they each posted gains of at least 1 percent. The Russell 2000 index of stocks, which has soared 15 percent since the election, also hit a new high. Financials . SPSY, among the major gainers since the election, led the way again on Thursday, rising 0. 9 percent. Industrials . SPLRCI, another beneficiary, fell back 0. 5 percent, weighed down by defense stocks. While investors are still adjusting to the economy’s outlook under a Trump administration, ”generally speaking, the idea that taxes will be less and regulations will be dialed back seems to be creating not only optimism but laying the groundwork for economic expansion,” said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama. ”So if you own stock, you want to hold onto it. If you don’t, you want to buy it,” Hellwig said. The Dow Jones Transport index . DJT rose 0. 5 percent, a day after setting a new closing record high for the first time in two years. The fresh high triggered a bullish sign for some investors who look for parallel performance for both the Dow industrial and transportation averages. Adding to positive sentiment for equities has been recent positive economic data, as well as S&P 500 companies poised to end a streak of declining profits with their results. Investors on Thursday were digesting the European Central Bank’s decision to trim back its asset buys but also its vow of protracted stimulus to aid a recovery. Next week’s Federal Reserve meeting, at which the U. S. central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates, is also coming into focus as market participants seek clues about the future pace of any rate hikes. In corporate news, Lululemon ( ) soared 15 percent after the yoga and leisure apparel retailer reported a quarterly profit. Express Scripts ( ) shares tumbled 6. 7 percent after Citron Research called the pharmacy benefit manager the ”real culprit” in drug price gouging. About 8 billion shares changed hands in U. S. exchanges, just above the 7. 8 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1. ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2. ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 112 new highs and 4 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 481 new highs and 28 new lows. (Additional reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Nick Zieminski) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

DuPont CEO Breen says Trump win unlikely to impact Dow deal

Dupont ( ) Chief Executive Ed Breen said on Thursday the incoming administration of U. S. Donald Trump is not likely to have an impact on his company’s planned merger with rival Dow Chemical.( ) While Trump was critical of other large mergers during the campaign, Breen said many U. S. Justice Department officials reviewing the merger are career employees. ”I don’t think it has any impact. We’re very far down the road,” Breen said in an interview after speaking to the Boston College Chief Executives Club. Executives and dealmakers are looking for signs of whether the incoming Trump administration will take a traditional Republican approach to major mergers and treat them with a lighter touch. Trump alternatively could follow through on populist statements he made during the campaign, such as a threat to block AT&T Inc’s ( ) planned purchase of Time Warner Inc.( ) Breen said he does not expect Trump’s rhetoric would make the ’s administration less likely to approve the $130 billion merger agreement, reached a year ago. Breen is scheduled to become CEO if the deal is approved by regulators. European Union antitrust regulators said on Nov. 9 they had received key data from the companies and set a Feb. 28 deadline for a decision. A concern is that the merger to create a giant in crop protection and seeds could reduce competition in those areas, as well as for certain chemicals and materials both companies produce. Asked about potential divestitures that might be required to complete the merger, Breen said there would likely ”be some remedies on the agriculture side, and that’s predominantly it.” He declined to name specific potential purchasers but said ”There are always buyers available for good assets.” In his remarks to the luncheon, Breen pointed to populist developments worldwide, such as the Brexit vote and the recent defeat of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in a referendum. But Breen said the results are not likely to slow Europe’s economic growth rate and thus will have little business impact. ”It doesn’t overly worry me. .. and I don’t think it is overly bothering the business community,” he said. (Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by Chris Reese and Dan Grebler) WASHINGTON Federal Reserve policymakers were increasingly split on the outlook for inflation and how it might affect the future pace of interest rate rises, according to the minutes of the Fed’s last policy meeting on June released on Wednesday. One of the investors former drug company executive Martin Shkreli is accused of defrauding testified on Wednesday that Shkreli lied to him repeatedly, although he eventually made millions of dollars from the investment.

Lower for longer, ECB scales back asset buys

The European Central Bank trimmed back its asset buys in a surprise move on Thursday but promised protracted stimulus to aid a still fragile recovery, and dismissed any talk of tapering the program away. With still no sign of a sustained rebound in underlying inflation and heightened political risk from looming elections in four of the euro zone’s five biggest economies, the ECB promised to keep borrowing costs depressed longer than predicted, even reserving the right to raise back purchases if the outlook sours. Although the cut in the volume of monthly assets buys suggests a concession to conservative countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, the underlying message was seen as dovish, catering to nations on the periphery and a boost for financial markets. Catching financial markets ECB President Mario Draghi said the bond buys would be cut to 60 billion euros a month from 80 billion euros starting April but they would go on until the end of 2017, three months longer than expected. ”There is no question about tapering,” Draghi said. ”We can even go back to 80 (billion). .. there’s a range of options.” ”The key message. .. is to show that there is no tapering in sight, to show that the ECB is going to stay in the market, to show that we will continue to exert pressure on market prices,” Draghi added. The euro weakened 1. 3 percent on the ECB’s move and stocks surged 1 percent boosted by bank shares that have rallied all week. ELECTIONS With elections looming in France, Germany, the Netherlands and possibly Italy, and all facing strengthening populist movements, the ECB can hardly afford to ease back on the accelerator. But much of its firepower is exhausted and Germany is growing increasingly frustrated with its unprecedented stimulus, so the bank has been under pressure to make at least a token nod to the haws, signaling that quantitative easing cannot go on forever. ”During the Q&A session, ECB president Draghi had difficulties sending a very clear message to markets on how to read today’s message,” ING economist Carsten Brzeski said. ”Throughout the press conference, he sounded more and more dovish.” The ECB has already spent more than 1. 4 trillion euros ($1. 5 trillion) buying bonds and is at risk of running out of assets. The Bundesbank argues that this blurs a legal line and can be considered central bank financing of budgets. To make further buys possible, the ECB relaxed some of its self imposed rules, increasing the pool of eligible assets. Bonds with maturity between 1 and 2 years will now be included in the asset buys and the bank will also purchase bonds yielding less than its .4 percent deposit rate, if necessary. But in another small victory for conservative euro zone members, the ECB decided not to allow bond purchases to deviate from countries’ shareholding in the bank, an issue considered a red line Germany’s Bundesbank. HAWKISH AND DOVISH ”By surprising on the dovish side with duration and at the same time tapering the purchase rate, the ECB has made a shrewd move in our view,” HSBC economist Simon Wells said. ”By tapering, albeit conditionally, it has made a sop to its critics who think policy is already too loose,” Wells said. ”But it has also bought itself time and a series of potentially difficult discussions about further extensions during 2017.” Underlying its promise for extensive stimulus, the ECB predicted inflation at 1. 7 percent in 2019, arguing that higher energy prices could lift consumer prices even without lifting the underlying trend. But when asked if the 1. 7 percent met its goal of below but close to two percent, Draghi said: ”Not really, so we have to persist.” ”Uncertainty prevails everywhere,” Draghi told a news conference. Much to Draghi’s concern, wage growth has also disappointed, suggesting that companies have cut their inflation expectations. This is a cycle that could entrench anemic price growth, making it harder to get it back to the desired 2 percent. Even consumption, the key driver of growth is not as good as it looks. Consumption has been driven a jump in disposable income due to oil price falls and loose ECB policy. But Brent crude LCOc1 is up 14 percent in the past three months, leaving monetary policy as the chief driver of consumption. Interest rates, seen by most to have bottomed out, were kept unchanged, with the deposit rate kept deep in negative territory. Euro zone economic growth is shrugging off Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, and Germany, the bloc’s growth engine, seems to be picking up speed again. Ironically, the collapse of Italy’s government this week may hasten instead of delay the recapitalization of ailing lender Monte dei Paschi ( ) much to the ECB’s relief. It has pointed to weak banks as an obstacle to transmitting stimulus. ”The vulnerabilities that both the banking system and Italy have been there for a long time. And so they ought to be coped with, and I am confident the government knows what to do and they will be dealt with,” Draghi said. (Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) SINGAPORE Most Asian stock markets fell on Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed a lack of consensus on the future pace of U. S. interest rate increases, while oil prices inched higher following a steep decline a day earlier. WASHINGTON Federal Reserve policymakers were increasingly split on the outlook for inflation and how it might affect the future pace of interest rate rises, according to the minutes of the Fed’s last policy meeting on June released on Wednesday.

U.S. jobless claims drop from five-month high

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell from a high last week, pointing to labor strength that underscores the economy’s sustained momentum. A tight labor market together with signs of a strengthening economy and steadily rising inflation will likely push the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates next week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 10, 000 to a seasonally adjusted 258, 000 for the week ended Dec. 3, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were unrevised. It was the 92nd straight week that claims were below 300, 000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market. That is the longest stretch since 1970, when the labor market was much smaller. U. S. financial markets were largely unmoved by the data as investors focused on the European Central Bank’s unexpected decision to cut its asset purchases starting in April. Prices for U. S. government debt were trading lower, while U. S. stock index futures were higher. The U. S. dollar was stronger against a basket of currencies. Last week’s drop in applications for jobless benefits was in line with economists’ expectations. Claims hit a low in . Economists had dismissed the recent increases in filings, which had pushed claims to a high, as an aberration. Claims tend to be volatile around this time of the year because of different timings of the Thanksgiving holiday. A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors influencing last week’s data and that no states had been estimated. The moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out volatility, rose 1, 000 to 252, 500 last week. The labor market is near full employment, with the government reporting last week that the unemployment rate fell to a low of 4. 6 percent in November amid solid increases in nonfarm payrolls. The Fed’s committee meets next Tuesday and Wednesday. Economists expect the U. S. central bank to increase borrowing costs by at least 25 basis points at that meeting. The Fed raised its benchmark overnight interest rate last December for the first time in nearly a decade. Thursday’s claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 79, 000 to 2. 01 million in the week ended Nov. 26. That followed two straight weekly increases. The average of the continuing claims slipped 9, 500 to 2. 03 million. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Iraqi troops pull out from Mosul hospital after fierce battle

Iraqi troops who briefly seized a Mosul hospital believed to be used as an Islamic State base were forced to withdraw from the site, but managed to establish a base for army tanks nearby after days of fierce fighting, residents said. The rapid advance into the Wahda neighborhood where the hospital is located marked a change of tactic after a month of fighting in east Mosul in which the army has sought to capture and clear neighborhoods block by block. The ferocity of the fighting reflects the importance of the army’s push from southeast Mosul towards the center, their deepest advance in a grueling offensive to crush Islamic State in Iraq’s largest northern city. The soldiers seized Salam hospital, less than a mile (just over 1 km) from the Tigris river running through central Mosul, on Tuesday but pulled back the next day after they were attacked by six suicide car bombs and ”heavy enemy fire” according to a statement by the U. S. coalition supporting Iraqi forces. Coalition warplanes, at Iraq’s request, also struck a building inside the hospital complex from which the militants were firing machine guns and grenades, it said. The soldiers involved in the action are at the spearhead of a U. S. coalition of Iraqi forces including the army, federal police, Kurdish peshmerga fighters and mainly Shi’ite Popular Mobilization forces battling to crush Islamic State in Mosul. In another part of Mosul already recaptured by government troops, Iraqi police fired shots in the air and threatened to whip crowds with a hose as residents tried to overrun the first distribution of aid by UN agencies inside the city. The distribution aimed to reach 45, 000 people in total at several locations. As word of the aid spread, residents of the Zuhour neighborhood flocked to a boys’ primary school chosen as a distribution point. Hundreds surged forward against just a handful of men pushing to close the gate. They burst through, and began climbing over the walls and pushing in through the exit until the police, firing shots in the air and wielding long sticks, managed to regain control. Saad Salih, 56, came in an electric wheelchair, pushed by a neighbor because there was no electricity in Mosul to charge it. ”We need everything,” Salih said. ”GATES OF HELL” Defeating the militants in their Iraq stronghold would mark a major step in rolling back the caliphate declared by the jihadists in parts of Syria and Iraq when they took over Mosul in . But with two years to prepare themselves, retreating fighters have waged a lethal defense, deploying hundreds of suicide car bombers, mortar barrages and snipers against the advancing soldiers and exploiting a network of tunnels to ambush them in residential areas. Soldiers from the army’s Ninth Armored division were left exposed on Tuesday after punching into the Wahda neighborhood. ”When we advanced first into Wahda, Daesh (Islamic State) showed little resistance and we thought they had fled,” an officer briefed on the operation told Reuters by telephone. ”But once we took over the hospital, the gates of hell opened wide.” ”They started to appear and attack from every corner, every street and every house near the hospital,” said the officer, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media. He said insurgents may also have used a tunnel network reaching into the hospital complex itself. A nurse at the hospital said that when the Iraqi army approached on Tuesday, Islamic State guards removed the militants being treated there, including some field commanders. Staff and civilian patients took shelter in the basement as fighting erupted around the hospital half an hour later. A resident who lives just 300 meters away, a veteran of Iraq’s war with Iran in the 1980s, said he had never seen such fierce fighting. ”It was very violent warfare they used all sorts of weapons, it’s not traditional war. There were explosives, suicide attackers, mortar barrages and planes, everything,” he told Reuters by telephone. After three days of fighting, Iraqi tanks and armored vehicles had managed to assemble at a site in the Wahda neighborhood, a resident said. ”LIKE GHOSTS” The statement by the coalition said Iraqi troops ”fought off several and six VBIEDs (car bombs) . .. before retrograding a short distance, under heavy enemy fire”. The Iraqi officer said that when the troops were inside the hospital complex, fighting off the militants, they came under attack from suicide bombers who he said either infiltrated through tunnels or had been hiding in the hospital grounds. ”We don’t know, they were like ghosts,” he said. Iraq does not give casualty figures or report on its equipment losses, but the officer said 20 soldiers were killed and around 20 armored vehicles were destroyed or damaged. Those figures could not be confirmed. Islamic State’s Amaq news agency said more than 20 military vehicles were destroyed and dozens of soldiers killed. It showed a picture of a smoldering tank, its turret blown off, next to a crater. Around 280 km (175 miles) southwest of Mosul dozens of people, mainly civilians, were killed on Wednesday in air strikes which hit a western Iraqi town close to the border with Syria, local parliamentarians and hospital sources said. They said the strikes hit a busy market area in the Islamic town of Qaim, in the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim province of Anbar. Among the victims were 12 women and 19 children. An Iraqi military statement said Iraqi air force planes conducted air strikes ”on a terrorist hideout” in the area shortly after noon on Wednesday, as well as a second attack on an unspecified location. It said at least 50 terrorists were targeted in the air strikes. It gave no details of civilian casualties, but said that the region and all information coming out of it was controlled by Islamic State. (Writing by Dominic Evans, editing by Peter Millership and Peter Graff) UNITED NATIONS The United States cautioned on Wednesday it was ready to use force if need be to stop North Korea’s nuclear missile program but said it preferred global diplomatic action against Pyongyang for defying world powers by test launching a ballistic missile that could hit Alaska. WARSAW U. S. President Donald Trump meets eastern NATO allies in Warsaw on Thursday amid expectations he will reaffirm Washington’s commitment to counter threats from Russia after unnerving them in May by failing to endorse the principle of collective defense.

South Korean parliament votes overwhelmingly to impeach President Park

South Korean lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Friday to impeach President Park over an scandal, setting the stage for her to become the country’s first elected leader to be expelled from office in disgrace. The impeachment motion was carried by a margin in a secret ballot in parliament, meaning more than 60 of Park’s own conservative Saenuri Party members backed removing her. The votes of at least 200 members of the chamber were needed for the motion to pass. The Constitutional Court must now decide whether to uphold the impeachment, a process that could take up to 180 days. ”I solemnly accept the voice of the parliament and the people and sincerely hope this confusion is soundly resolved,” Park told a Cabinet meeting, adding that she would comply with the court’s proceedings as well as an investigation by a special prosecutor. Park, whose approval rating stands at just 5 percent, has resisted demands that she step down immediately. Under the constitution, Park’s duties were assumed by Prime Minister Hwang on an interim basis until the court rules. ”I stand here with sadness,” Hwang said in a televised address. ”As an aide to the president, I feel deep responsibility about the situation we have come to face.” Cheers had erupted outside the chamber of the domed parliament building when the vote was announced. People held signs saying ”Victory for the People” and ”New Republic of Korea”. Earlier, activists scuffled with police as they tried to drive two tractors up to parliament’s main gate. Choi a high school teacher, joined the rally outside parliament with his wife and daughters, age 7 and 18 months. ”I wanted my kids to be here, making history, at a historic moment, and show we people can win,” he said. MASS RALLIES Park, 64, is accused of colluding with a friend and a former aide, both of whom have been indicted by prosecutors, to pressure big businesses to donate to two foundations set up to back her policy initiatives. Park, who is serving a single term that was set to end in February 2018, has denied wrongdoing but apologized for carelessness in her ties with her friend, Choi . If Park leaves office early, an election must be held within 60 days. The poll frontrunners are United Nations Ban and Moon the former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, who lost the 2012 election to Park by 3 percentage points. [L4N1E42ZO] ”The is confident that the people of the Republic of Korea will overcome the present difficulties through unity and resilience as well as a strong commitment to democratic institutions and principles,” Ban spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. Ban has not said whether he will seek the presidency when his term finishes at the end of the year. ”The power of candles has made a big change without any arrest or casualty,” said presidential hopeful Lee mayor of the city of Seongnam, referring to the rallies that have drawn huge, peaceful crowds to central Seoul for the last six Saturdays. Another rally is planned for this weekend. ”It has opened up a new era in the history of the Republic of Korea’s democracy,” Lee, who has said he wants to be the South Korean Bernie Sanders, told Reuters. South Korea’s main ally, the United States, said it was watching events closely and praised South Koreans for acting ”peacefully, with calm and responsibility.” White House spokeswoman Emily Horne said the alliance would continue to be ”a linchpin of regional stability and security.” ”We look forward to working with Prime Minister Hwang in his new capacity as acting president,” she said. ”We expect policy consistency and continuity across a range of fronts, including (North Korea) other regional issues, and international economics and trade.” Kang a professor at University in Busan, said the large impeachment vote from Park’s own party was probably a result of rising crowds at weekly demonstrations. ”It looks like more from the ruling Saenuri Party gave their support than many had expected after realizing that the party could collapse if the bill doesn’t get approved,” Kang said. Hwang, whose post is largely ceremonial, assumes presidential powers at a time of heightened tension with North Korea, and said after the vote that the chances of a provocation by Pyongyang were high. Various agencies, including the Finance Ministry and financial regulators, planned emergency meetings. South Korea’s economic outlook is also worsening, in part because of the domestic political uncertainty. Investors are likely to be spooked when trading resumes on Monday and remain jittery until the Constitutional Court ruling, analysts said. The won =KRW was forecast to lose further ground against the dollar on Monday. PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY FOR NOW The daughter of a military ruler who led the country for 18 years before being assassinated by his disgruntled spy chief in 1979, Park would lose presidential immunity if she left office early, and could be prosecuted for abuse of power and bribery, among other charges. The Constitutional Court will determine whether parliament followed due process and whether there were sufficient grounds for impeachment. Arguments from the two sides will be heard in public hearings, which Park is unlikely to attend. The Constitutional Court is considered conservative in its but some of its former judges have said the case against Park is strong and likely to be approved. In 2004, parliament impeached Roh suspending his powers for 63 days while the court reviewed the decision, which it overturned. Unlike now, on that occasion public opinion was against Roh’s impeachment. The prime minister at the time, Goh Kun, said in a 2013 memoir that he had decided to stay ” ” while he held the reins of power. (Additional reporting by Cynthia Kim, Se Young Lee, Joyce Lee, Kim Daewoung, Jeong Eun Lee and Nataly Pak in Seoul, Michelle Nichols at the United Nations, and David Brunnstrom and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Alex Richardson and Bill Trott) UNITED NATIONS The United States cautioned on Wednesday it was ready to use force if need be to stop North Korea’s nuclear missile program but said it preferred global diplomatic action against Pyongyang for defying world powers by test launching a ballistic missile that could hit Alaska. WARSAW U. S. President Donald Trump meets eastern NATO allies in Warsaw on Thursday amid expectations he will reaffirm Washington’s commitment to counter threats from Russia after unnerving them in May by failing to endorse the principle of collective defense.

ThyssenKrupp secrets stolen in ’massive’ cyber attack

Technical trade secrets were stolen from the steel production and manufacturing plant design divisions of ThyssenKrupp AG ( ) in cyber attacks earlier this year, the German company said on Thursday. ThyssenKrupp, one of the world’s largest steel makers, said it had been targeted by attackers located in southeast Asia engaged in what it said were ”organized, highly professional hacker activities”. In breaches discovered by the company’s internal security team in April and traced back to February, hackers stole project data from ThyssenKrupp’s plant engineering division and from other areas yet to be determined. ”ThyssenKrupp has become the target of a massive cyber attack,” the industrial conglomerate said in a statement. Globally, cyber attacks on banks, retailers and other businesses have led to widespread consumer and financial data losses in recent years. ThyssenKrupp’s disclosure followed last week’s attack on Deutsche Telekom routers that caused outage for nearly 1 million customers. While revelations of industrial espionage are far rarer, estimates put the costs to businesses in the billions of dollars. China was frequently blamed for such commercial hacking attacks until the United States and China agreed not to hack each other’s businesses ( ). German business magazine Wirtschafts Woche reported the attacks hit sites in Europe, India, Argentina and the United States run by the Industrial Solutions division, which builds large production plants. The Hagen Hohenlimburg specialty steel mill in western Germany was also targeted, the report added. The company declined to identify specific locations which were infected or speculate on likely suspects. It said it could not estimate the scale of the intellectual property losses. BIG BANG ThyssenKrupp said it waited to publicize the attack while it identified, then cleansed infected systems in one concerted, global action before implementing new safeguards to monitor its computer systems. ”It is important not to let the intruder know that he has been discovered,” a spokesman said. A criminal complaint was filed with police in the state of North and an investigation is ongoing, it said. State and federal cyber security and data protection authorities were kept informed at each stage, as well as Thyssen’s board. Secured systems operating steel blast furnaces and power plants in Duisburg, in Germany’s industrial heartland in the Ruhr Valley, were unaffected, the company said. No breaches were found at its marine systems unit, which produces military submarines and warships. A previous cyber attack caused physical damage to an unidentified German steel plant and prevented the mill’s blast furnace from shutting down properly. The country’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) revealed two years ago that the attack caused ”massive damage” but gave no further technical details and the location of the plant has remained shrouded in mystery. Subsequent media reports identified the target as a ThyssenKrupp facility, but the company has denied it was hit. The industrial conglomerate, along with Airbus parent EADS, were the targets of major attacks by Chinese hackers in 2012, according to a Der Spiegel report ( ). The company, a big supplier of steel to Germany’s automotive sector and other manufacturers, is looking to form a joint venture of its European steel operations with India’s Tata Steel ( ) to combat in the sector. (Editing by Jason Weir) HELSINKI Telecoms network equipment maker Nokia and Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Technology have signed a patent licensing agreement, the companies said on Wednesday. SAO PAULO Financial technology firms in Brazil are targeting lending to and companies to fill a gap in the credit market left by large lenders deterred by rising delinquencies and narrow margins.

Trump could privatize nation’s air traffic controllers

The chances that the federal government could hand off the U. S. air traffic control system to private management are increasing, say advocates who report they are getting supportive feedback from Donald Trump and his team. U. S. Rep. Bill Shuster, who chairs the House of Representatives Transportation Committee, has met with Trump and incoming Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to make his case for moving the nation’s 14, 500 air traffic controllers and their mission out of government control and into a organization. Shuster and other privatization advocates argue that spinning off air traffic control into a entity would allow for a more efficient system and rapid, improvements of technology, in part by avoiding the government procurement process. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union that represents controllers, came out in favor of Shuster’s legislation earlier this year. But he has run into bipartisan opposition in both the House and the Senate and push back from some of the nation’s airlines. Opponents say the U. S. system is so large that privatization would not save money, would drive up ticket costs and could create a national security risk. There also are concerns that airlines would dominate the board and limit access to airports by business jets. The National Business Aviation Association, which represents thousands of corporate and individual business jet owners, strongly opposed Shuster’s bill earlier this year. ”Our nation’s airspace and airport system should benefit the public and not be controlled by airline interests,” the organization said in April. The landscape might change once Trump, who campaigned on improving the nation’s infrastructure and is a regular user of his own private plane, occupies the White House on Jan. 20. Apart from Shuster, officials and lobbyists who work in infrastructure construction say the idea of privatizing air traffic controllers as part of an infrastructure bill is gaining steam, especially among those who are concerned that Congress will not be able to pass a separate sweeping transportation bill. Congress has been averse to spending money, but privatizing air traffic control systems would shift the cost of upgrades from tax coffers to air travelers, the kind of move that makes lawmakers view it as free instead of an increase in federal spending. “I’ve had some conversations with Trump transition folks and they seemed very interested in putting this in their larger infrastructure bill,” Shuster said. EXPENSIVE UPGRADES The air traffic control system is in need of expensive upgrades, including the dollar implementation of “NextGen,” a system that would utilize GPS to direct aircraft instead of the outdated use of radar. In Shuster’s vision, the move would not enrich any particular company as air traffic control would be overseen by a nonprofit that reinvests any profits back into infrastructure improvements. Shuster first broached the subject with Trump two years ago, he said, and the two have discussed it several additional times. He met with Chao last week. It could take a strong presidential push for the privatization effort. Earlier this year, it failed to get even enough support from Republican members for a vote on the House floor. In February, Delta released a study arguing that privatization would cost air travelers more and would not achieve any savings. Many air traffic controller operations are funded through ticket taxes which are levied on every flight. Historically, those taxes have been kept low by the government’s aversion to raising rates. But should the ticket tax become the control of an outside board, opponents are concerned that could drive up ticket prices. (Additional reporting by Alwyn Scott in New York; Editing by Linda Stern and Alistair Bell) MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. NEW YORK The U. S. government on Wednesday proposed to reduce the volume of biofuel required to be used in gasoline and diesel fuel next year as it signaled the first step toward a potential broader overhaul of its biofuels program.

China’s Fujian drops Aixtron bid after Obama blocks deal

China’s Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund has dropped its takeover bid for chip equipment maker Aixtron after the United States blocked the deal on security grounds, throwing the German company’s future into doubt. The collapse of the Aixtron deal comes amid growing objections in Germany and the United States to China buying up firms with strategic technologies abroad without allowing reciprocal transactions at home. Fujian’s takeover vehicle Grand Chip Investment said on Thursday its offer had lapsed as it had failed to obtain the necessary U. S. regulatory approvals. The 670 million euro ($723 million) takeover offer announced in May was already in doubt after the German government withdrew its approval in October, reportedly at the bidding of the United States. U. S. President Barack Obama then stopped Fujian from buying Aixtron U. S. following an assessment by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) an task force under the Treasury Department. China’s Foreign Ministry fired back at what it called ”groundless accusations” against Chinese firms by the United States and lamented the ”politicization” of what it said was a commercial takeover. The German Economy Ministry said it was dropping a review of the deal now the bidder had withdrawn. WEAPONS SYSTEMS The crux of the issue for Aixtron is that it makes devices which produce crystalline layers based on gallium nitride that are used as semiconductors in weapons systems. Its technology is being used to upgrade U. S. and Patriot missile defense systems and the U. S. Treasury said the deal had been blocked due to national security risks. The U. S. opposition has been seen as a sign of concern in the West about the acquisition of new technology by Chinese players and comes after Washington blocked the sale by Philips of its U. S. lighting business to Asian buyers. ”Under (U. S. ) Donald Trump, CFIUS will likely be used more extensively than it has been under previous presidents, which could have an impact on outbound M&A deals from China,” said Ziegenhain, partner for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) at law firm Hengeler Mueller. Aixtron may face a bleak future as a company, having said it would need to cut costs and jobs if the deal failed so it could compete in an overcrowded market where Chinese companies call the shots. Aixtron Chief Executive Martin Goetzeler said it was now up to the government to support Germany’s technology industry and employees, for example by setting up an investment program. ”Aixtron should be a central element,” Goetzeler told Handelsblatt newspaper, adding that he saw great appeal in securing technology in the interest of Germany and its allies. Investors who had already accepted Grand Chip’s takeover offer will have their shares returned on Dec. 13, the Chinese suitor said. Shares in Aixtron closed down 3 percent at 3. 78 euros on Thursday, well below the 6 euros per share Grand Chip Investment offered in May. (Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Edward Taylor and David Clarke) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. Jana Partners LLC stepped up its criticism on Wednesday of U. S. natural gas producer EQT Corp’s deal to buy Rice Energy Inc arguing that EQT could save as much as $4. 5 billion if it separated its pipeline assets instead.

Orange would consider bid for Vivendi’s pay-TV if for sale - CEO

France’s Orange ( ) would consider bidding for Vivendi( )’s Canal Plus if it came up for sale, Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard said on Thursday. The former telecoms monopoly is keen on forming a closer alliance with Canal Plus, Richard added, without elaborating. His comments come at a time when telecoms operators are trying to position themselves to better compete against Netflix ( ) Amazon. com Inc ( ) and other new TV content providers globally. ”If Canal Plus were up for sale tomorrow, Orange would definitely look into it. Obviously,” Richard told reporters on the fringes of a news conference in Skhirat, Morocco. An alliance with Canal Plus would allow Orange to better compete against its French rival SFR Group ( ) a subsidiary of telecoms and cable group Altice ( ). A spokesman for Vivendi declined to comment. Altice said on Wednesday it had signed a strategic agreement with NBC Universal that provides exclusive distribution rights for the 13th Street and E! Entertainment TV channels. SFR, whose media content also includes the English Premier League soccer, bets on the combination of television content and mobile telecoms to set itself apart from competitors. Orange is Canal Plus’ first distributor and recently launched a common offer with the group in France, targeting its broadband fibre customers. In Africa, the two groups have already partnered, notably in Ivory Coast, where they have been in a tender for the development of a digital terrestrial television. ”There are many reasons that suggest forging closer ties” Richard said. Asked about talk that Vivendi’s chairman, Vincent Bollore, might be interested in acquiring a stake in Orange, Richard said this was not on the agenda. ”Mr. Bollore has never expressed an interest in becoming an Orange shareholder,” he said. (Reporting by Gwenaelle Barzic; Writing by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Alexandra Hudson) Biopharmaceutical company Celgene Corp will buy a stake in BeiGene Ltd and help develop and commercialize BeiGene’s investigational treatment for tumor cancers, the companies said on Wednesday. BRUSSELS French carmaker PSA Group secured unconditional EU antitrust approval on Wednesday to acquire General Motors’ German unit Opel, a move which will help it better compete with market leader Volkswagen .

Trump packs trade team with veterans of steel wars with China

Donald Trump is stacking his trade transition team with veterans of the U. S. steel industry’s battles with China, signaling a potentially more aggressive approach to U. S. complaints of unfair Chinese subsidies for its exports and barriers to imports. Led by Wilbur Ross, a billionaire steel investor and Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, Dan DiMicco, the former CEO of steelmaker Nucor Corp, and three veteran steel trade lawyers, the team is expected to help shift the U. S. trade focus more heavily toward enforcement actions aimed at bringing down a chronic U. S. trade deficit, Washington trade experts said. Based on their past efforts, this could include more challenges to China’s trade practices through the World Trade Organization and more U. S. and cases against a wider range of Chinese products. The latter would be argued before the U. S. International Trade Commission a forum where the steel industry has had considerable success. Ross, DiMicco and other leaders of Big Steel have been on the in U. S. trade battles against the world’s export superpower. Hit by a flood of cheap imports from China and other countries, the U. S. steel industry has brought 16 new cases in the past three years, seeking punitive duties from the Commerce Department to combat dumping and unfair subsidies that slashed prices of various steel products to historic lows last year, causing layoffs at U. S. steel mills. (See graphic ) Some of these cases have resulted in massive penalties against Chinese imports, including duties of more than 500 percent on Chinese steel used in autos and appliances. Lawyers Robert Lighthizer and Jeffrey Gerrish have represented United States Steel and Stephen Vaughn has represented AK Steel in these cases. The three are also part of Trump’s trade team. Lighthizer, Gerrish, Vaughn, Ross and DiMicco either declined to comment for this story or did not respond to Reuters’ requests for interviews. Trade experts familiar with their views and their history of confrontation with China, however, say they will not be afraid to push the limits of what is legal under World Trade Organization rules in defense of U. S. trade interests. Lighthizer, who along with DiMicco is considered a strong candidate to be the new U. S. Trade Representative, is known for his work during the Reagan administration pressuring Japan into voluntary export restraints. PUSHING WTO LIMITS ”Bob Lighthizer is very smart, very strategic and totally fearless,” said a Washington attorney who has worked with him for three decades and asked not to be named because Trump’s USTR selection process was still under way. ”If he’s in charge you can expect him to use every tool available to create leverage to get China and anyone else to stop the cheating. He is no fan of the WTO.” Lighthizer told a congressional panel in 2010 that the WTO’s dispute resolution system was ineffective and that the United States ”should consider aggressive interpretations of WTO provisions that might help us deal with Chinese mercantilism.” Such tactics could include imposing temporary import quotas and surcharges and factoring in the effect of currency manipulation into U. S. duties, he said. Ross, who advised Trump’s presidential campaign on economic issues, has signaled he will use access to the lucrative U. S. consumer market as leverage to negotiate better trade terms. The United States is China’s biggest export market. During his presidential campaign, Trump vowed to levy a punitive tariff on Chinese goods and label Beijing a currency manipulator. It is not clear though whether he will follow through on those threats once he takes office. Ross told CNN last week that Trump will not be ”willy nilly slapping a 45 percent tariff on everything,” but will maintain the threat of tariffs as part of negotiations. In an emailed statement to Reuters, Ross said he would divest ”all holdings and board seats that pose conflicts” but declined to answer other questions on his plans for Trump’s trade policy and engagement with China. The personal blog of DiMicco, meanwhile, gives some indication of how he would approach China if he was named head of USTR. He has accused China of waging a ”mercantilist trade war” on the United States for two decades, through currency manipulation, unfair subsidies and intellectual property theft. On the issue of currency manipulation, many economists disagree, saying Beijing is no longer keeping its yuan artificially undervalued to make its exports cheap, citing the hundreds of billions of dollars in reserves it has spent to prop up the yuan’s value this year. A key question for Trump’s trade team is how far they can push China to change its trade practices without provoking a trade war that will hurt both countries. ”If what they plan to do is get a little scratchier with China on enforcement within the existing WTO rules, that’s OK,” said Scott Miller, a China trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. ”But if they go outside those guardrails, it will be unpleasant because that will draw retaliation.” He Weiwen, vice president at the Center for China and Globalization, a in Beijing, said any punitive action against China by the Trump administration would invite a retaliatory response. ”We will certainly respond in the same way,” he said, adding that Washington and Beijing ”should find good solutions that are acceptable to both and not go to extremes. It will hurt both.” Chinese state media have warned that any new tariffs imposed by Trump would lead to retaliation against Boeing aircraft, Apple iPhones and U. S. corn and soybeans. (Additional reporting by Michael Martina in Beijing; Editing by David Chance and Ross Colvin) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

In Trump stronghold, factories are humming but paychecks are thin

When Donald Trump returns to this factory town on Friday for a victory celebration, he will find a region that is already experiencing the manufacturing renaissance he promised on the campaign trail. With local factories employing more workers than any time since the late 1990s, assembly line jobs are not hard to find. Those that pay a decent wage, however, are harder to come by. ”We can barely make ends meet and we’re stuck going nowhere,” said auto parts worker Michael Baum, 22, as he smoked a cigarette in the parking lot of a Family Dollar discount store. Trump won the White House thanks to strong support from workers in Midwestern cities like Grand Rapids who have seen their living standards erode as the United States shed manufacturing jobs. He beat Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by a margin of 14 percent in the four counties that make up the Grand Rapids metropolitan area, helping him carry Michigan by a margin of 0. 27 percent. Trump has promised to punish companies that shift work overseas, pressuring manufacturers like United Technologies Corp. to reverse their outsourcing plans. ”Our jobs are being stolen like candy from a baby,” Trump said at a rally here the night before the Nov. 8 election. Grand Rapids, a hub of furniture makers and auto parts suppliers, has not been immune to outsourcing. At least 488 people have lost their jobs over the past year as two manufacturers, Dematic Corp and Leon Automotive Interiors, have shifted work to other countries, U. S. Labor Department filings show. But new hiring has more than made up for those losses. The number of factory jobs in the region has grown by 40 percent since the depths of the recession in 2009, according to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and unemployment stands at 2. 9 percent, well below the national average of 4. 6 percent. Local businesses now say their top concern is finding qualified workers, according to Rick Baker, president of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. Even as jobs have returned to Grand Rapids, earnings remain low. At $846 per week, average weekly wages in the region rank 46th among the 50 largest U. S. metropolitan areas, BLS data show. The Heart of West Michigan United Way, a local charity, said demand for its services has remained steady over the past several years even as the economy has picked up. While manufacturing helped lift millions of unskilled workers into the U. S. middle class in the 20th Century, that is no longer the case, said Lou Glazier, president of Michigan Future, a think tank that focuses on the state’s economy. Factories still pay good wages to workers who have specialized skills, such as welding or computer programing, but routine work no longer pays enough to cover living expenses, he said. Grand Rapids is ”participating in the old economy and doing well in it, in terms of jobs. It’s just that the economy is no longer producing high wages,” Glazier said. MORE WITH LESS While Trump and others blame global competition for the decline in factory work, automation has played a large role as well, economists say. The U. S. manufacturing sector has more than doubled output over the past 35 years even as it had shed of its work force, according to the nonpartisan Brookings Institution. ”We’re doing more today with the same amount of people that we had eight years ago,” said Bob Roth, chief executive officer of RoMan Manufacturing, which make glass and electrical components. At RoMan, assembly line workers start at $13 per hour but skilled workers can earn up to $30 an hour, Roth said. The company pays community college tuition for those who wish to upgrade their skills, but those who fail to improve their productivity enough to justify a higher wage within two years are fired, he said. Such prospects come as little consolation to workers like Baum, who are trying to figure out a way to boost their earnings on their own. For now, they are pinning their hopes on Trump. ”If he can bring good paying jobs back to America,” he said, ”I’ll vote for him again.” (Reporting by Nick Carey in Grand Rapids and Andy Sullivan in Washington; Editing by Tom Brown) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Trump to name Goldman executive Cohn to key economic post

U. S. Donald Trump will likely ask a senior Goldman Sachs banker to coordinate economic policy across his administration, turning again to Wall Street for expertise in managing the world’s largest economy, a transition official said on Friday. Trump’s pick of Goldman President Gary Cohn, 56, to head the White House National Economic Council comes despite Trump’s past criticism of the financial sector’s power. Trump hammered Goldman and its Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein during the presidential campaign, releasing a television ad that called Blankfein part of a ”global power structure” that had robbed America’s working class. The message rankled some on Wall Street, although several alums of the bank had major roles in Trump’s campaign and are bound for senior administration posts. ”That Trump is willing to take this step does suggest the political risk to the biggest banks may be diminishing,” said Jaret Seiberg, an analyst at Cowen & Co. The NEC coordinates economic policy across agencies, a key role for Trump’s promise to jumpstart the economy after years of tepid growth. In a recent interview with CNBC, Cohn worried that an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve without corresponding action by other central banks could damage the U. S. economy. “I am concerned (about) how much U. S. rates can dislocate from the rest of the world, and I think that’s a big issue,” Cohn said. Former Harvard University President Larry Summers served as President Barack Obama’s first NEC director in 2009 and played a leading role in crafting the administration’s primary response to the financial crisis a stimulus package that was later criticized for being inadequate to boost the economy. Cohn, who is also Goldman’s chief operating officer, hails from one of the most respected Wall Street establishments and would follow former Goldman executives Robert Rubin and Stephen Friedman in running the NEC. ”I think Trump feels confident that the establishment will help him fix some of our problems,” said Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer of First American Trust. Cohn was widely seen as Blankfein’s heir apparent and his exit may give rise to a new group of leaders at the bank, most of whom have spent more than 20 years there. NBC reported earlier that Trump had offered Cohn the job. A Goldman Sachs spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Cohn is a former Goldman commodities trader from Ohio who joined the firm in 1990. He served in leadership roles in bond trading, eventually becoming in 2006. According to Thomson Reuters data, he has $190 million worth of stock in Goldman. In 2010, Cohn testified before the federal commission examining the roots of the financial crisis, denying charges that Goldman had bet against its clients who held risky securities. Cohn struggled with dyslexia as a child and bounced from school to school and has often talked of his unlikely path to Wall Street. One teacher told his parents if they were really lucky he might grow up to be a truck driver. He was known throughout Goldman for his direct and abrasive manner in dealing with colleagues, although he has become more polished in recent years, current and former executives said. Cohn would join at least two other former Goldman bankers in the Trump administration, including Treasury Steven Mnuchin and White House adviser Steve Bannon. The abundance of Wall Street faces on his team exposes Trump to criticism he is veering away from pledges to protect American workers from powerful interests. ”Gary Cohn’s bank helped cause the 2008 financial crisis (and) he shouldn’t have anything to do with America’s economic policies,” said Karl Frisch, executive director of Allied Progress, a nonprofit group. (Reporting by Steve Holland in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Additional reporting by Jason Lange and James Oliphant in Washington and Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Tim Ahmann and James Dalgleish) LONDON New Saba Capital Management, famed for its winning bet against the JPMorgan Chase trader known as the ’London Whale’ is closing its office in London’s Mayfair district, two sources close to the situation told Reuters. ROME Italian prosecutors have decided to take Morgan Stanley to court over allegations that the U. S. bank caused 2. 7 billion euros ($3. 1 billion) in losses to the state in relation to derivative transactions, a source familiar with the matter said.

U.S. allies caution Trump on Syria strategy

Key U. S. allies in Europe are quietly expressing concern over Donald Trump’s approach to Syria, warning that his pledge to work more closely with Russia, Damascus’ main backer, will do little to diminish the terrorist threat emanating from Syria. The diplomatic persuasion campaign has taken on new importance in recent days as the Syrian army, backed by Russia, Iran and Shi’ite militias, appears poised to retake all of Aleppo city in a major defeat for rebels. Moscow and Syrian President Bashar are expected to cast Aleppo’s fall as the end of a revolt against Assad that began in March 2011, although Western analysts predict the civil war, which has killed more than 300, 000 people and made more than half of Syrians homeless, will continue, perhaps for years. Western diplomats, who described discussions with Trump advisers on condition of anonymity, said their message was that a U. S. alliance with Russia, and by extension Assad, to crush groups like Islamic State will backfire. Trump has said defeating Islamic State was a higher priority than persuading Assad to step down. ”On Syria the new administration says crushing Islamic State is its priority, but we’ve explained our view that without a political solution in Syria those efforts will be fruitless because new pockets of radicals will ” a senior French diplomat told Reuters. France has been the target of coordinated attacks claimed by Islamic State. Western capitals fear that a prolonged conflict will exacerbate mass refugee flows in which radicalized individuals might hide. A political solution in Syria, as envisioned by Western powers, would involve a transition in which Assad eventually left power. Assad, from the minority Alawite sect, cannot unite Syria and quash extremists after nearly six years of warfare, they argue. In a rare public speech in London on Thursday, Alex Younger, chief of Britain’s intelligence agency, said, ”we cannot be safe from the threats that emanate from (Syria) unless the civil war is brought to an end. And brought to an end in a way that recognizes the interests of more than a minority of its people and their international backers.” Trump has frequently said that he wants to work with Russia to fight Islamic State, which holds territory in Iraq and Syria, and other militant groups. ”When you think about it, wouldn’t it be nice if we got along with Russia?” he said during a campaign rally in July. ”Wouldn’t it be nice if we got together with Russia and knocked the hell out of ISIS?” Trump added, using another name for Islamic State. U. S. defense officials have repeatedly said the vast majority of Russian strikes in Syria are not against Islamic State. How Trump will actually proceed remains unclear. He has not named a secretary of state, and some current and prospective members of the ’s national security team have voiced more skeptical views of Russia. Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allies’ concerns. ”What we’re getting from our conversations with the Trump administration is that already they are toning down the prospect of a . S. deal on fighting Islamic State and a rapprochement with Moscow,” the senior French diplomat said. A senior Arab diplomat also was cautious about Trump’s Syria policy. ”We can’t really predict it now,” the diplomat said. A diplomat from another U. S. ally, while declining to discuss the American political transition, expressed doubts about the advisability of a Western alignment with Moscow and Assad. ”There is no way that allying with Assad would do anything to reduce the terrorist threat to the West. Rather, it would drastically increase it,” the diplomat said. ”It’s an inconvenient truth of the conflict,” he said. ”The Russians have Aleppo,” the diplomat said, referring to the total destruction the Russian military inflicted on the capital of Chechnya. Former U. S. ambassador to Syria Robert Ford said that once Aleppo falls, the Syrian government will not turn its attention to Islamic State, but rather try to destroy the remainder of the secular rebellion. The United States has three options, said Ford, a fellow at the Middle East Institute . ”The first option is to switch and join the Russians and implicitly the Syrian government and the Iranians against Sunni extremists. But the problem is that the Russians and the Syrian governments . .. aren’t really fighting Sunni extremists very much,” he said. The second option, Ford said, is for Washington to walk away from the conflict, which would likely mean diminished U. S. influence in the region, and continued refugee flows. The third is to work with Turkey and Saudi Arabia to get a partial ceasefire. ”None of them are good, there is no easy answer, we ran out of easy answers in 2012 and 2013,” Ford said. (Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Arshad Mohammed in Washington and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by James Dalgleish, Robert Birsel) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

Record-setting rally pushes on as S&P ends week up 3 percent

Major U. S. stock indexes powered to another day of fresh record highs on Friday, with the S&P 500 ending the week up 3 percent, as investors bid up shares in sectors that have lagged in the rally since Donald Trump’s presidential election. The benchmark S&P 500 registered a record high for the third straight session, while the Dow and Nasdaq also hit new highs. The Dow recorded a fifth straight week of gains. Trump’s expected agenda of economic stimulus and reduced taxes and regulations has particularly fueled financial and industrial shares. On Friday, sectors that have underperformed healthcare, consumer staples, utilities and tech led the way. ”You have this exuberance that has been infecting every area of the market,” said Peter Costa, president of trading firm Empire Executions. ”There was a rotation out of tech stocks early on because the industrials were in favor. Now the tech stocks are getting some legs under them as well.” The Dow Jones industrial average rose 142. 04 points, or 0. 72 percent, to 19, 756. 85, the S&P 500 gained 13. 34 points, or 0. 59 percent, to 2, 259. 53 and the Nasdaq Composite added 27. 14 points, or 0. 5 percent, to 5, 444. 50. The S&P 500 notched its sixth straight day of gains, leaving it up 10. 5 percent for the year. Stocks picked up steam in afternoon trading and ended near session highs. ”Everybody is looking for the momentum to fall apart or to at least result in a correction, and we don’t seem to get it,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in New York. ”By the end of the day, cash is burning a hole in portfolio managers’ pockets and is getting reallocated out of fixed income and into equities.” The S&P consumer staples sector . SPLRCS rose 1. 4 percent, bolstered by ’s ( ) 2. gain. The company said Muhtar Kent would step down as chief executive and named company veteran James Quincey as his successor. Healthcare . SPXHC gained 1. 2 percent, helped by Squibb’s ( ) 3. rise after the drugmaker raised its dividend. ”Today we’re seeing money going into some of the lesser loved sectors since the election, which is telling me the rally is broadening, which is a very positive sign,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas. As the market has climbed, investors have also pointed to a recent run of encouraging economic data supporting equities. On Friday, a preliminary survey from the University of Michigan showed the U. S. consumer sentiment index at its highest since January 2015. U. S. wholesale inventories fell in October amid a surge in sales, supporting views that inventory investment would help economic growth in the fourth quarter. The rally will be tested by next week’s Federal Reserve meeting. The U. S. central bank is widely expected to raise benchmark interest rates, with market participants looking for clues about the pace of future hikes. ”The tone of the Fed is going to be key to the sustainability of this rally,” Ghriskey said. About 7. 4 billion shares changed hands in U. S. exchanges, compared with the 7. 5 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1. ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1. ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 54 new highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 375 new highs and 17 new lows. (Additional reporting by Sinead Carew in New York and Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski and James Dalgleish) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

’I had to do it,’ accused gunman says of South Carolina church attack

Jurors in the federal hate crimes trial of Dylann Roof watched a video on Friday of the avowed white supremacist confessing to killing nine parishioners at a historic black church in South Carolina and saying he felt he ”had to do it.” Roof told investigators after his arrest for the June 17, 2015, massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston that he estimated he had killed five people as retribution for perceived racial grievances. He sounded surprised to learn nine parishioners died. ”I had to do it because somebody had to do it,” Roof said in the taped confession. Asked if he had regrets, Roof said, ”I’d say so, yes . .. I regret that I did it, a little bit.” Roof’s lawyers have not disputed his guilt but hope to spare him from being executed on charges of hate crimes resulting in death, obstruction of religion and firearms violations. Roof, 22, also faces a death sentence if found guilty of murder charges in state court. The videotaped confession, presented on the third day of his federal trial in Charleston, gave jurors a chance to hear the defendant explain why he carried out the attack on a Bible study meeting. He appeared both animated and at ease as he spoke to investigators, laughing at times as he answered their questions. Roof spoke with investigators in Shelby, North Carolina, where he was arrested about 13 hours after security video showed him leaving the church. Inside his car, police said they found a journal where Roof wrote of his dreams for a race war and notes he wrote to his parents. ”Dear Mom, I love you,” read one note presented to jurors. ”I’m sorry for what I did. I know this will have repercussions.” In the video, Roof said white people needed to take a stand against crimes by African Americans. ”I don’t like what black people do,” Roof said, adding he was in favor of reinstating segregation. He chose the Charleston church for the shooting because he knew ”at least a small amount of black people” would be gathered there. Two adults and a child at the Bible study survived. ”It’s like this,” Roof said. ”I’m not in a position, by myself, to go into a black neighborhood and shoot drug dealers.” Nobody ran when he opened fire, he said, and he recalled pausing between shots. ”I was thinking about what I should do,” he said. (Reporting by Harriet McLeod; Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Bill Trott and Andrew Hay) WASHINGTON The issuance of U. S. visas, passports and other travel documents should be transferred to the Department of Homeland Security from the State Department, a consulting company commissioned by U. S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has recommended in a report. Gene Conley, the only man to win both a baseball World Series and an NBA championship in basketball, died on Tuesday at the age of 86, the Boston Red Sox said in a statement.

Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox bids $14 billion for UK’s Sky

Rupert Murdoch’s Century Fox Inc ( ) has struck a preliminary deal to buy the 61 percent of British firm Sky Plc SKY. L it does not already own for around $14 billion, five years after a political scandal wrecked a previous bid. The proposed offer of 10. 75 pounds a share in cash, which is backed by Sky’s independent directors, would strengthen the position of James Murdoch who is both chief executive of Fox and chairman of Sky in his father’s media empire. People familiar with the matter said Fox had pounced after Britain’s vote to leave the European Union in June sent the pound down about 14 percent against the U. S. dollar and Sky’s share price tumbling. Owning Sky would give Fox, whose cable networks include Fox News and FX, control of a network spanning 22 million households in Britain, Ireland, Austria, Germany and Italy. It would also be the latest deal to marry distribution with content after AT&T Inc ( ) announced an $85 billion bid to buy Time Warner Inc ( ) earlier this year. While Sky does produce some of its own content, including in news and sport, the deal would give Fox full ownership of a wider distribution platform in Europe. ”Fox has always seen its 39 percent stake in Sky as an unnatural state of being and has long been trying to buy full control,” a person familiar with the deal said. ”Now it was the perfect moment. With the weak pound (and lower stock price) Sky has become 40 percent cheaper and the government is supportive of almost any investment in Britain.” Rupert Murdoch’s previous attempt to buy Sky through his News Corp ( ) business provoked uproar among some UK politicians, who said it would give the billionaire owner of The Sun and The Times newspapers too much control over the country’s media. That bid collapsed in 2011 when Murdoch’s UK newspaper business was engulfed in a phone hacking scandal that intensified political opposition, resulted in a criminal trial and led to the closure of his News of the World tabloid. Liberum analysts said Friday’s proposal was likely to have an easier ride, partly because News Corp has now separated from Fox, which means the bidding firm no longer owns UK newspapers, and because there are no competition issues. They also said the British government was keen to promote investment in the wake of the Brexit vote and could present the deal as a sign of confidence in the economy. Prime Minister Theresa May met Rupert Murdoch after a visit to the United Nations in September, according to media reports. Fox said it would reinforce Britain’s standing as a top global hub for content generation and technological innovation. Tom Watson, deputy leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party and a key critic of the Murdochs during the 2011 scandal, called on regulators to be ready to properly vet the deal but did not oppose it outright. ”This bid has been expected since 2011,” he said. JAMES TIGHTENS GRIP Fox’s proposed bid is a 36. 2 percent premium to Sky’s closing share price on Thursday. It values the company at about 18. 5 billion pounds ($23. 2 billion) and the stake Fox does not already own at 11. 25 billion pounds, according to Reuters calculations. Martin Gilbert, a member of Sky’s board who will assess the bid as part of its independent committee, told Reuters the offer was a good premium worth presenting to shareholders. Even so, analysts at Citi characterized the offer as a ” bid,” citing a fair value assessment of 13. 50 pounds per share. Sky’s shares closed up 26. 7 percent at around 10 pounds, while Fox’s were down 1. 8 percent at $28. 12 at 2020 GMT. Before Friday’s surge, Sky’s shares had dropped 30 percent this year in part due to concerns of an UK economic slowdown caused by Brexit. The deal has also been made more attractive for Fox by a drop in the value of sterling, which makes it cheaper for foreign firms to buy UK assets. British tech company ARM was snapped up by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp ( ) in the days after the Brexit vote and shares in UK commercial broadcaster ITV ( ) Plc closed up 5 percent on Friday on speculation it could be next. Long tipped as his father’s successor, James Murdoch’s reappointment as chairman of Sky earlier this year reignited speculation of another bid approach by Fox. Britain’s takeover watchdog has set Fox a deadline of Jan. 6 to make a firm bid or walk away. Sky said that ”certain material offer terms” remained under discussion, and that there could be no certainty that an offer would be made by Fox. The terms still under discussion include the size of the fee, as well as some other contractual obligations of the two companies to close the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. These are not expected to present any major hurdle to agreeing a deal, the people added. Deutsche Bank AG ( ) and Centerview Partners Holdings LLC are advising Fox, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( ) also provided it with some advice. PJT Partners Inc ( ) Morgan Stanley ( ) and Barclays Plc ( ) ‎are working with Sky. (Additional reporting by Paul Sandle in London, Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang, Mark Potter and Lisa Shumaker) Biopharmaceutical company Celgene Corp will buy a stake in BeiGene Ltd and help develop and commercialize BeiGene’s investigational treatment for tumor cancers, the companies said on Wednesday. BRUSSELS French carmaker PSA Group secured unconditional EU antitrust approval on Wednesday to acquire General Motors’ German unit Opel, a move which will help it better compete with market leader Volkswagen .

Wasteland revealed after battle for Aleppo’s Old City

At the side of the road sat a woman in her late 20s, veiled, dressed in black, and weeping as she cradled her baby. ”My son was born after three months of siege. There were no hospitals, no diapers, no milk,” she said. ”My milk is dry from fear and panic.” After the Syrian army fought rebels in Aleppo’s Old City, hungry and terrified civilians have emerged from their cellars into a wasteland of ruins. The rubble and shrapnel on the streets around Bab district on Friday revealed the ferocity of the battle this week that gave Syria’s army control of the historic area, bringing it close to its biggest victory after nearly six years of war. Fighting continues in Aleppo, where rebels fighting to oust President Bashar have lost most of the territory they have held in the city for years. The booms from air strikes, smell of gunpowder and sight of rising smoke from nearby districts testified to the ongoing violence on Friday as the army and allied militias press their assault. The commander of a volunteer group in the Tiger Force, the Syrian army’s unit, said his troops had suffered heavy losses in the narrow lanes around Bab one of the Old City’s historic gates near the towering Aleppo Citadel. ”The militants had sophisticated weapons, especially sniper rifles, and they were professionals,” said the commander who gave his name only as Ismail. ”Their resistance was very fierce. We had a lot of martyrs.” ”We approached them from several directions,” he added, standing in front of a cracked building with burn marks. ”They were attacking us, killing us, and then running away . .. this area took us two days to liberate completely.” Rebels had held this part of the Old City for four years and it bore widespread evidence of their presence, as well as of the prolonged siege and the ferocious battle before it fell. Behind buildings in one street, wood from traditional ornate windows clogged an alleyway. Political slogans and the names of armed opposition groups were scrawled on the side of a bakery. A graffiti warning said: ”beware snipers” and gave instructions on dodging bombardment. ”We will not fall. Down with Assad,” was another slogan. Inside a former furniture shop lay materials for producing shells: household gas cylinders loaded with explosives and fired by rebels from guns known as ”hell cannons” that caused many civilian casualties in parts of the city. DEVASTATION The area of Aleppo was entirely besieged since the summer and pounded by government and Russian air strikes, shelling and barrels of explosives dropped from helicopters. In one neighborhood, the minaret of a mosque had been shelled, while its dome had suffered great damage. In the streets around, some shop fronts had been walled in with concrete blocks after their metal shutters had been smashed. Outside a school textbook outlet, discarded tomes lay strewn on the ground. At one point, a group of soldiers marched past, escorting two recently captured rebel fighters. For civilians, the sudden eruption of pitched battle in the area had come as a terrifying conclusion to years of deprivation and bombardment. Dozens of displaced civilians, including children, had gathered in the road with their belongings after fleeing the Saliheen district, where fierce battles continued. Maher Tashtash, aged nine, said the bombardment had been frightening and that rebels had told them they faced death if caught by the army. His brother Mohammed, 12, said they had hidden in the basement of the building until the fighting passed. Both the rebels and the government side have accused each other of manipulating Aleppo residents’ fears for their own advantage by warning of atrocities. Even the dead were not spared the carnage. In the Dar cemetery near Ibn Sina street in graves were destroyed. People were instead burying corpses in open public ground. Ismail, the Tiger Force commander, said he was confident of a swift victory for Assad’s forces. ”I think the operation needs a week at most to be concluded,” he said. (Reporting by Laila Bassam in Aleppo; Writing by Angus McDowall in Beirut; Editing by Peter Graff) UNITED NATIONS The United States cautioned on Wednesday it was ready to use force if need be to stop North Korea’s nuclear missile program but said it preferred global diplomatic action against Pyongyang for defying world powers by test launching a ballistic missile that could hit Alaska. WARSAW U. S. President Donald Trump meets eastern NATO allies in Warsaw on Thursday amid expectations he will reaffirm Washington’s commitment to counter threats from Russia after unnerving them in May by failing to endorse the principle of collective defense.

Syrian government forces press attack in east Aleppo

The Syrian army pressed an offensive in Aleppo on Friday with ground fighting and air strikes in an operation to retake all of the city’s east that would bring victory in the civil war closer for President Bashar . ”The advance is going according to plan and is sometimes faster than expected,” a Syrian military source told Reuters. The Syrian army and its allies had recaptured 32 of east Aleppo’s 40 neighborhoods, about 85 percent of the area, he said. Reuters journalists, rebels and a monitor confirmed the military thrust. There were no reports the Syrian army had made significant gains. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Syrian army had suspended military activity to let civilians leave areas, RIA news agency reported. The army and its allies tried to advance on two fronts, a official with the Jabha Shamiya rebel group said. ”Helicopters, warplanes and rocket bombardment like every day. Nothing has changed,” the official said. Despite the bombardment, ”the guys are steadfast,” the official added. During a tour of Old Aleppo on Friday, which the Syrian army took control of this week, Reuters journalists counted the sound of nine air strikes in about half an hour. Fighting could be heard from other areas nearby. The Russian air force and Shi’ite militias are fighting in Aleppo on the government side. Rebel leaders have given no sign they are about to withdraw as the civilian population is squeezed into an area. Russian Defense Ministry official Sergei Rudskoi said on Friday up to 10, 500 Syrian citizens had fled parts of east Aleppo still controlled by rebels in the last 24 hours. This could not be independently verified. Syrian government and allied forces have in the last two weeks driven rebels from most of their territory in what was once Syria’s most populous city. The rebels have controlled the eastern section since 2012, and Assad said in an interview published on Thursday that retaking Aleppo would change the course of the civil war across the whole country. The Syrian government now appears closer to victory than at any point in the five years since protests against Assad evolved into an armed rebellion. The war has killed more than 300, 000 people and made more than half of Syrians homeless. Outside of Aleppo, the Syrian army declared a ceasefire in several areas around Damascus and the northwestern province of Idlib beginning on Friday evening, without saying how long it would last. There was no immediate comment from rebels. ROCKETS, BOMBS, ARTILLERY But there was no sign of any such truce inside Aleppo. ”There are aerial raids on the city’s neighborhoods with highly explosive incendiary bombs, barrel bombs and artillery shelling,” a fighter with the Nour rebel group on an eastern Aleppo frontline told Reuters. In Old Aleppo, newly recaptured by the government, there was widespread destruction in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, with ancient buildings, structures reduced to rubble and spent ordnance everywhere. At the side of a road sat a woman in her late 20s, veiled, dressed in black, and weeping as she cradled her baby. ”My son was born after three months of siege. There were no hospitals, no diapers, no milk,” she said. ”My milk is dry from fear and panic.” Dozens of displaced civilians, including children, had gathered in the road with their belongings after fleeing the Saliheen district, where battles continued. Maher Tashtash, aged nine, said the bombardment had been frightening and rebels had told them they faced death if caught by the army. His brother Mohammed, 12, said they had hidden in a cellar until the fighting passed. Even the dead were not spared the carnage. In the Dar cemetery near Ibn Sina street in graves were destroyed. People were burying corpses in open public ground. The United Nations estimates about 100, 000 people are now squeezed into an ”ever shrinking” pocket of Aleppo with virtually no access to food, water or medical care. In Aleppo, a Reuters journalist said there were intense clashes on Friday in Sheikh Saeed district in the south of the eastern sector, where the Observatory and a Syrian military source said government forces advanced on Thursday. Fighting also took place northeast of Aleppo, where Turkey has intervened to support rebels against both Islamic State fighters and Kurdish groups. rebels closed in on the Islamic city of with Turkish tanks and warplanes supporting the assault, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. ”NO NEGOTIATIONS NOW” Moscow and Washington have discussed a ceasefire to let civilians escape eastern Aleppo and aid enter. Russia also wants the United States to urge rebel fighters to abandon their territory and accept transport out. U. N. envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura told the Security Council on Thursday there were signs fighters in Aleppo may want to leave and the council should help them go, diplomats said. The Syrian government said on Friday it was ready to resume dialogue with the opposition, without external intervention or preconditions. Rebels said no such contacts were taking place. ”There are no negotiations now, except what’s being discussed internationally,” said Zakaria Malahifji, head of the political office of the Fastaqim rebel group, speaking from Turkey. ”We have asked for the evacuation of civilians who want to leave and of the injured. The fighters are determined to stay and face things.” U. S. and Russian officials will meet in Geneva on Saturday to discuss Aleppo, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a news briefing on Friday. The talks will focus on achieving a pause in the fighting, the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians, and ensuring a safe departure for those who want to leave, Toner said. U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who has invested months of intensive diplomacy on Syria, acknowledged the exasperation many feel. ”I know people are tired of these meetings. I’m tired of these meetings. . .. what am I supposed to do? Go home and have a nice weekend in Massachusetts while people are dying?” Kerry said at the U. S. embassy in Paris, according to a State Department transcript. ”What is happening in Aleppo is the worst catastrophe — what’s happening in Syria is the worst catastrophe since World War Two itself. It’s unacceptable. It’s horrible.” The U. N. General Assembly voted 122 to 13 on Friday to demand an immediate cessation of hostilities in Syria, humanitarian aid access throughout the country and an end to all sieges, including in Aleppo. General Assembly resolutions are but can carry political weight. The European Union said on Friday it would introduce more sanctions on Syrian individuals and entities over the Aleppo offensive. The U. N. human rights office said hundreds of men from eastern Aleppo were missing after leaving areas, voicing deep concern over their fate at the hands of government forces. The government has dismissed reports of mass arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings by its forces as fabrications. Rebels for their part deny they have prevented civilians from leaving areas. (Reporting by Laila Bassam in Aleppo and Lisa Barrington, Tom Perry, Angus McDowall and Ellen Francis in Beirut, Suleiman in Amman and Stephanie Nebahay in Geneva; Additional reporting by Yeganeh Torbati in Washington and Michelle Nichols in New York; Writing by Lisa Barrington and Peter Graff; Editing by Yara Bayoumy, James Dalgleish and David Gregorio) UNITED NATIONS The United States cautioned on Wednesday it was ready to use force if need be to stop North Korea’s nuclear missile program but said it preferred global diplomatic action against Pyongyang for defying world powers by test launching a ballistic missile that could hit Alaska. WARSAW U. S. President Donald Trump meets eastern NATO allies in Warsaw on Thursday amid expectations he will reaffirm Washington’s commitment to counter threats from Russia after unnerving them in May by failing to endorse the principle of collective defense.

In Sky deal, Murdochs shield Fox from sagging U.S. ad market

In a move, Rupert Murdoch’s Century Fox struck a preliminary deal on Friday to buy the 61 percent of British firm Sky Plc SKY. L it does not already own for around $14 billion. Owning Sky would give Fox, whose cable networks include Fox News and FX, subscription revenue from a network spanning 22 million households in Europe, a market which has not been as affected as the United States by who drop cable subscriptions in favor of online subscription services. What Fox does with the technology and expertise that Sky can provide will be particularly important for the company, given it does not have its own U. S. consumer offering, said Tim Nollen, an analyst with Macquarie Research. ”Just like all of the U. S. networks, Fox faces questions around the longer term value of subscribers,” he said. ”Fox could use Sky to be the centerpiece of a global distribution strategy.” Fox’s planned acquisition of Sky comes at the end of a strong year for ad sales across the industry largely due to the U. S. presidential election and the Rio Summer Olympics. In its 2017 fiscal first quarter, the company said domestic ad revenue for its cable networks grew by six percent from the same quarter last year. But analysts predict that next year will be tougher for ad sales. While national television ad sales were up 1. 7 percent this year, they are expected to drop 0. 4 percent in 2017, according to Pivotal Research. Similarly, Pivotal forecasts that cable television ad sales will be down 0. 8 percent in 2017, after a 1. 2 percent rise this year. If the deal for the remaining stake in Sky goes through, 36 percent of the combined company’s estimated 2017 revenue would come from cable network programming, down from 56 percent, according to a note by Stifel on Friday. Meanwhile, cable network programming would account for 56 percent of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in 2017, down from 78 percent. The deal would help lessen Fox’s dependence on its Fox News Channel for revenue, analysts said. Also, the sudden departure of Fox News Chief Executive Roger Ailes following widespread allegations of sexual harassment, highlighted to some investors the potential risks associated with Fox News, said Brian Wieser, an analyst with Pivotal Research. At the time, there was concern that his departure would result in a loss of key talent. Fox News contributed $1. 34 billion in EBITDA, or 20 percent of Twenty First Century Fox’s total EBITDA in fiscal 2016, according to estimates by Anthony Di Clemente, an analyst with Nomura. However its viewers, like many of its competitors, tend to be older, with a median age of 65, higher than MSNBC and CNN, according to Nielsen data. While Fox News, known for a lineup of politically conservative commentators, continued to be a ratings juggernaut, its ratings, like all cable news channels, are expected to wane in the wake of the election. ”Fox News clearly faces a cyclical weaker year ahead just coming off the election,” Nollen said. ”This creates a bigger, more diversified business.” (Additional reporting by Tim Baysinger; Editing by Anna Driver and Andrew Hay) Biopharmaceutical company Celgene Corp will buy a stake in BeiGene Ltd and help develop and commercialize BeiGene’s investigational treatment for tumor cancers, the companies said on Wednesday. BRUSSELS French carmaker PSA Group secured unconditional EU antitrust approval on Wednesday to acquire General Motors’ German unit Opel, a move which will help it better compete with market leader Volkswagen .

Gambia President Jammeh rejects outcome of Dec. 1 election

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh said on Friday he rejects the outcome of last week’s election that he lost to opposition leader Adama Barrow and called for fresh elections. The announcement made on state television throws the future of the West African country into doubt after the unexpected election result ended Jammeh’s rule and was widely seen as a moment of democratic hope. Jammeh had conceded defeat on state TV last week, prompting wild celebrations over the defeat of a government that human rights groups accused of detaining, torturing and killing opponents during the president’s rule. ”After a thorough investigation, I have decided to reject the outcome of the recent election. I lament serious and unacceptable abnormalities which have reportedly transpired during the electoral process,” Jammeh said. ”I recommend fresh and transparent elections which will be officiated by a and independent electoral commission,” he said. Witnesses said Banjul, the capital, was quiet overnight, and there was particular nervousness about the president’s statement that he would deal harshly with any troublemakers who took to the streets. International reaction was swift. The U. S. State Department said in a statement that Jammeh’s rejection of the results was an egregious attempt to undermine a credible election and remain illegitimately in power. Senegal’s foreign minister, Mankeur Ndiaye, called for an emergency meeting of the U. N. Security Council and ”solemnly” warned Jammeh not to harm Senegal’s interests or its citizens in Gambia. Senegal, which has Gambia’s only land border and entirely surrounds the small riverside country, is a member of the Security Council. Its army intervened in Gambia in 1981 during a coup. SEVERE TEST FOR BARROW Jammeh’s announcement presents an unexpected and severe challenge to the incoming Barrow administration, which was already grappling with how to take the reins of power and deal with the army that for two decades was loyal to the president. Army chief General Ousman Badjie has already called Barrow to pledge his allegiance, the latter’s spokesperson said, although diplomatic sources say they expect a faction from Jammeh’s Jola ethnic group to remain loyal to him. The head of Barrow’s transition team said the and his staff were safe. ”We are consulting on what to do, but as far as we are concerned, the people have voted,” Mai Ahmad Fatty told Reuters. ”We will maintain peace and stability and not let anyone provoke us into violence.” Official election results from the electoral commission gave Barrow, a real estate developer who once worked as a security guard at retailer Argos in London, 45. 5 percent of the vote against Jammeh’s 36. 7 percent. But the Independent Electoral Commission later corrected the results to give Barrow a slimmer lead with 43. 3 percent of votes, or fewer than 20, 000 more than Jammeh. Some people had doubted whether Jammeh would accept defeat, given that he had abolished term limits and said before the election that he would rule for a ”billion years.” Barrow’s win galvanized many in Africa, who saw it as a step forward for democracy, and they baulked at the prospect that it could be reversed. ”The international community, notably ECOWAS (the West African regional bloc) and the African Union, should loudly protest any unlawful attempt to subvert the will of the Gambian people,” said Babatunde Olugboji, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch. Barrow is set to take over in late January following a transition period. (Additional reporting by Edward McAllister; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Leslie Adler) UNITED NATIONS The United States cautioned on Wednesday it was ready to use force if need be to stop North Korea’s nuclear missile program but said it preferred global diplomatic action against Pyongyang for defying world powers by test launching a ballistic missile that could hit Alaska. WARSAW U. S. President Donald Trump meets eastern NATO allies in Warsaw on Thursday amid expectations he will reaffirm Washington’s commitment to counter threats from Russia after unnerving them in May by failing to endorse the principle of collective defense.

Trump team memo on climate change alarms Energy Department staff

Donald Trump’s Energy Department transition team sent the agency a memo this week asking for the names of people who have worked on climate change and the professional society memberships of lab workers, alarming employees and advisors. The memo sent to the Energy Department on Tuesday and seen by Reuters on Friday, contains 74 questions including a request for a list of all department employees and contractors who attended the annual global climate talks hosted by the United Nations within the last five years. It asked for a list of all department employees or contractors who have attended any meetings on the social cost of carbon, a measurement that federal agencies use to weigh the costs and benefits of new energy and environment regulations. It also asked for all publications written by employees at the department’s 17 national laboratories for the past three years. ”This feels like the first draft of an eventual political enemies list,” said a Department of Energy employee, who asked not to be identified because he feared a reprisal by the Trump transition team. ”When Donald Trump said he wanted to drain the swamp it apparently was just to make room for witch hunts and it’s starting here at the DOE and our 17 national labs,” the employee said. Trump transition team officials declined to comment on the memo, which was first reported by Bloomberg. Republican Trump, a New York businessman and former reality TV star who has never previously held public office, said during his election campaign that climate change was a hoax perpetrated by China to damage U. S. manufacturing. He said he would rip up last year’s landmark global climate deal struck in Paris that was signed by Democratic President Barack Obama. Since winning the Nov. 8 election, however, Trump has confused observers by saying he will keep an ”open mind” about the Paris deal. He also met with former Vice President Al Gore, a strong advocate for action on climate change. Contenders to head the Energy Department under Trump include Kevin Cramer, a Republican U. S. representative from oil producing North Dakota, Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat from the same state, and Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia. The memo also asked for the names of the 20 top salaried employees at the department’s labs, and a list of all websites maintained or contributed to by lab staff during work hours. A list of projects at the Advanced Research Projects which funds research into high risk clean energy projects that could revolutionize energy markets, was also requested. ”They’re certainly sending an aggressive signal here with some of these questions and they need to be careful,” said Dan Reicher, a professor at Stanford University who also serves as an advisor to U. S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. ”I worry about some of the questions being sent that could unnecessarily alienate key career staff, because they need the career staff and lab professionals to get the daily work done,” said Reicher. The Energy Department employs more than 90, 000 people working on nuclear weapons maintenance and research labs, nuclear energy, advanced renewable energy, batteries and climate science. Two sources at the Environmental Protection Agency, where many climate regulations are formed, said no similar memo has been sent to that agency by the Trump administration. Democratic Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts warned the Trump transition team about taking actions against any employees named in any response the department might send. ”Any politically motivated inquisition against federal civil servants who, under the direction of a previous administration, carried out policies that you now oppose,” would call into question the Trump team’s commitment to the rule of law and a peaceful transition, Markey said in a letter to Trump. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson; editing by Grant McCool) BERLIN Draft conclusions to this week’s summit of the Group of 20 leading economies acknowledge the United States’ isolation in opposing the Paris climate accord but agree to G20 collaboration on reducing emissions through innovation, a G20 source said. NEW YORK The U. S. government on Wednesday proposed to reduce the volume of biofuel required to be used in gasoline and diesel fuel next year as it signaled the first step toward a potential broader overhaul of its biofuels program.

U.S. trade judge rules Arista infringes more Cisco network patents

Arista Networks Inc used rival Cisco Systems Inc’s network device technology in its ethernet switches without permission, a U. S. trade judge ruled on Friday, handing Cisco yet another win in a sprawling legal battle over patents between the two companies. The judge, MaryJoan McNamara of the U. S. International Trade Commission in Washington, said that Arista had infringed two patents owned by Cisco. The ruling, which must be reviewed by the full commission over the next few months, could lead to an order banning the import of Arista’s products into the United States. Cisco filed the complaint at the ITC in December 2014, alleging that Arista was infringing six of its patents, which relate to improving the speed and performance of networked computers and devices. The products accused of infringement include Arista’s 7000 series of switches, which generate most of that company’s revenues. In a statement, Arista general counsel Marc Taxay said the company looks forward to presenting its case to the full commission. “We. ..strongly believe that our products do not infringe any of the patents under investigation,” he said. Cisco’s general counsel, Mark Chandler, said, ”Our goal has always been to protect technological innovation, and stop Arista from using our patented technology.” Friday’s ruling comes after the ITC in June, in a separate case, ordered an import ban on Arista’s products that infringed several other Cisco patents. The U. S. Trade Representative allowed that order to go ahead in August, but U. S. customs officials last month ruled that Arista could resume imports of its redesigned switches because they were not within the scope of the ban. Arista was trading down less than 1 percent to $93. 75 after hours on Friday. Cisco’s stock was unchanged. The companies are also sparring in a trial that is currently underway in federal court in California, where both are based. Arista is defending against claims of copyright and patent infringement brought by Cisco. The trial is expected to wrap up next week. Companies frequently turn to the ITC to win an import ban and to district court to win damages. The case at the U. S. International Trade Commission is . (Corrects 7th paragraph to say the ruling was Friday, not Wednesday) (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Bernard Orr and Lisa Shumaker) HELSINKI Telecoms network equipment maker Nokia and Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Technology have signed a patent licensing agreement, the companies said on Wednesday. SAO PAULO Financial technology firms in Brazil are targeting lending to and companies to fill a gap in the credit market left by large lenders deterred by rising delinquencies and narrow margins.

Trump floats ban on defense firms hiring military procurement officials

U. S. Donald Trump on Friday said he was considering imposing a lifetime ban on U. S. military procurement officials going to work for defense contractors, a move that could dramatically reshape the defense industry. Three days after publicly rebuking Boeing Co over the cost of the Air Force One presidential aircraft, Trump floated the idea of such a ban at a rally for Republican supporters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. ”I think anybody that gives out these big contracts should never ever, during their lifetime, be allowed to work for a defense company, for a company that makes that product,” Trump said. ”I don’t know, it makes sense to me.” He added that he ”got the idea yesterday” as he thought about ”massive” cost overruns for military equipment but needed to ”check this out” first before making any decisions. Trump said such a ban would make ”a big, big difference because the purchasing in this country is out of control, for everything, not only military.” The ’s idea was met with deep skepticism within the U. S. defense establishment Procurement and weapons program management jobs have long been a good alternative career path within the Pentagon for military officers who did not win coveted command jobs. A U. S. defense official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said such a ban would likely discourage people from taking procurement jobs in the Pentagon and cause more attrition. ”The reason a lot of people go in and stay in is because it makes for a nice transition later to a civilian job. It could make people want to avoid that,” the official said after being asked about Trump’s announcement. Current rules prohibit Pentagon employees from working on the same acquisition matter in the private sector, said Andrew Hunter, a former Pentagon official now at the Center of Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. But an ban on hiring former Pentagon officials could backfire badly, he said. ”No one is going to want to take those jobs. You’re going to have the worst of the worst, because no one with any particular talent is going to want a career where they are going to be banned for life for doing what they were trained to do,” said Hunter, who is director of the center’s Initiatives Group. Congressional aides also told Reuters they were skeptical that such a ban could be enacted. Trump singled out Lockheed Martin’s stealth fighter jet program for criticism at the Louisiana rally, saying it was ”totally, totally, like, uncontrollably over budget.” The is the Pentagon’s costliest arms program. The Defense Department expects to spend $391 billion to develop the plane and buy 2, 443 of the supersonic, stealthy new warplanes in the coming decades. Costs per plane are expected to fall below $100 million as production ramps up. (Additional reporting by Phil Stewart; editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Jonathan Oatis) MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. NEW YORK The U. S. government on Wednesday proposed to reduce the volume of biofuel required to be used in gasoline and diesel fuel next year as it signaled the first step toward a potential broader overhaul of its biofuels program.

Wisconsin judge rejects bid to stop election recount

The results of the Nov. 8 election have been challenged in three states by Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who finished fourth in the presidential poll. In Pennsylvania, the third state, a judge said he would rule on Monday on whether to allow a recount to go forward. Even if the recounts were carried out, they would be extremely unlikely to change the outcome of Trump’s win over Democrat Hillary Clinton. In Wisconsin, the Great America political action committee and Stop Hillary PAC had called on the court to halt the recount, which is more than 88 percent complete, according to the state elections commission. A commission spokesman said in an email that the recount was expected to be completed on Monday. ”The recount is an inherent part of what ensures the integrity of elections,” U. S. District Judge James Peterson said, according to court transcripts. Also on Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court, in a ruling, denied Stein’s request to restart a recount, affirming a lower court ruling that she did not have grounds to mount the challenge. Although Clinton won the national popular vote, by 2. 6 million according to the latest count, she lost to Trump in the Electoral College, the body chosen that actually selects the president. Trump, who won a projected 306 electoral votes to Clinton’s 232, takes office on Jan. 20. Neither Stein nor Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson won any Electoral College votes. The three ”Rust Belt” states narrowly supported Trump. The New York businessman and former reality TV star who has never previously held public office won by more than 68, 000 votes in Pennsylvania and about 11, 600 votes in Michigan, according to state figures. U. S. District Judge Paul Diamond in Philadelphia said at a hearing that he would return a ruling ”first thing Monday morning” on whether he would grant a request for a partial recount of paper ballots and a forensic examination of voting computer systems before the national Dec. 13 certification deadline. Lawyers for the Green Party, the Trump campaign and the state argued the matter for three hours, with Stein’s supporters saying the state’s election process was so disorganized that state officials had not known the recount petition filing deadlines for some counties. (Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Additional reporting by David DeKok in Philadelphia and Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Scott Malone and Grant McCool) MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. NEW YORK The U. S. government on Wednesday proposed to reduce the volume of biofuel required to be used in gasoline and diesel fuel next year as it signaled the first step toward a potential broader overhaul of its biofuels program.

Saudis order oil cuts to U.S., Europe before non-OPEC talks

Saudi Arabia has told its U. S. and European customers it will reduce oil deliveries from January, as Russia said it was confident producers would fully join OPEC’s output limits on Saturday in the first such move since 2001. Saudi Arabia told the customers about lower supplies in line with the output reduction agreed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries last week, according to a Gulf oil industry source familiar with Saudi oil policy. ”We told our customers of the allocations and the compliance with allocations (for the cuts) for Saudi Arabia is 100 percent,” the source said. He said cuts to Asian refiners would be lower than those to Europe, the United States and to major oil companies. ”We are cutting more in the U. S. because the inventories . .. are very high,” the source said. OPEC will meet producing countries in Vienna on Saturday, hoping will commit to cutting 600, 000 barrels per day after its own members agreed to cut 1. 2 million bpd last week. OPEC sources said nine countries were set to join the meeting: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Oman, Mexico, Russia, Sudan, South Sudan, Bahrain and Malaysia. Bolivia may also attend the talks, according to an OPEC source. Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid said he was ”very optimistic” about the Saturday meeting. ”We will know the exact numbers tomorrow but I am expecting about 10 to 11 ( ) countries to be on the final declaration with specific numbers,” he told reporters upon arriving to Vienna. So far only Russia and Oman have pledged cuts, with one OPEC source saying Mexico could also contribute as much as 150, 000 bpd. In contrast, Kazakhstan plans to boost output in 2017 as it launches the Kashagan project. Russia is expected to shoulder half of the cut, but on Friday sources in Moscow signaled there were snags that needed to be addressed before a deal could be reached, including full compliance with cuts by all parties involved. However, Russia’s energy minister told reporters upon arriving in Vienna he expected oil producers to fully contribute to production cuts agreed earlier with OPEC. ”I look with optimism at tomorrow’s event,” said Alexander Novak. ”I think that we will agree and we must agree.” NO CUTS FOR ASIA OPEC’s second largest producer Iraq has notified U. S. and European buyers of its crude about planned cuts, according to an industry source familiar with the matter. Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) said it planned to notify its international crude customers soon about reductions to their allocations. Iraq and Kuwait have committed to cuts to their oil outputs of 210, 000 bpd and 131, 000 bpd respectively under the OPEC deal. Sources at eight refiners in Asia told Reuters they had been notified by state oil giant Saudi Aramco that in January it was set to supply full crude amounts. Of those eight, three refiners said they would load extra volumes they had requested. The sources declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak to the media. ”It’s quite telling as there are not only no supply cuts, but they have given extra volumes,” one of the sources said, indicating that the move underscored that producers were eager to maintain market share in Asian markets. Some of the extra volumes were committed before the OPEC meeting on Nov. 30, when output cuts were agreed. ”It seems that Saudis do not trust Mr. Sechin after his mockings back in as he repeatedly promised and disappointed them on cuts,” Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg told the Reuters Global Oil Forum, referring to Igor Sechin, the CEO of top Russian oil producer Rosneft ( ). ”I see the Saudi strategy for January deliveries to Asia as a confirmation of this distrust.” Sechin has long been a harsh critic of cooperation with OPEC. However, Sechin has kept a low profile recently and this week agreed to sell a stake in Rosneft to a consortium of commodities trader Glencore ( ) and Qatar a key ally of Saudi Arabia in OPEC. (Additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin in Vienna, Florence Tan in Singapore, Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo, Jane Chung in Seoul and Ron Bousso in London; Writing by Ahmad Ghaddar and Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Adrian Croft, David Evans, Mark Potter and Jonathan Oatis) SINGAPORE Most Asian stock markets fell on Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed a lack of consensus on the future pace of U. S. interest rate increases, while oil prices inched higher following a steep decline a day earlier. WASHINGTON Federal Reserve policymakers were increasingly split on the outlook for inflation and how it might affect the future pace of interest rate rises, according to the minutes of the Fed’s last policy meeting on June released on Wednesday.

J. Crew makes preparations for possible debt restructuring: sources

A debt restructuring would underscore the challenges the company has faced since it was acquired by private equity firms TPG Capital LP and Leonard Green & Partners LP in a $3 billion leveraged buyout in 2011. J. Crew has struggled as many shoppers have shunned malls and turned to internet shopping. The company is exploring ways to take advantage of the low trading price of some of its debt, one of the people said. As part of its preparations for negotiating with its creditors, J. Crew is planning to move the rights to its iconic brand into a separate subsidiary, the people said. This move would give J. Crew a number of options to cut down its debt, including raising new financing to buy back its loans and bonds at a discount, or offering creditors the chance to swap into the new debt holdings. After one of the company’s banks told loan holders about the brand move, prices on its loans fell to as low as about 50 cents on the dollar Friday morning from around 64 cents on the dollar, the people said. The company’s bonds were trading at 36 cents on the dollar, according to Thomson Reuters data. The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. J. Crew, TPG and Leonard Green declined to comment. Other retailers have considered similar moves to separate their brands from their footprints. Teen retailer American Apparel LLC, for example, filed for bankruptcy last month with a deal in place to sell its intellectual property. It is still looking for a buyer for its stores. But moving assets can be contentious. U. S. radio station owner iHeartMedia Inc ( ) came under fire from a group of senior creditors when it moved shares of affiliate Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc ( ) to a subsidiary ahead of a potential debt restructuring. A Texas judge ultimately said that the move was permissible. J. Crew faces $500 million in maturities in bonds in 2019. Reuters reported last month that J. Crew was also carving out its successful Madewell brand. That brand is not expected to move to the new subsidiary, the people said. Debtwire reported earlier on Friday that J. Crew would transfer its intellectual property to a Cayman subsidiary. (Reporting by Kristen Haunns and Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr) WASHINGTON Federal Reserve policymakers were increasingly split on the outlook for inflation and how it might affect the future pace of interest rate rises, according to the minutes of the Fed’s last policy meeting on June released on Wednesday. One of the investors former drug company executive Martin Shkreli is accused of defrauding testified on Wednesday that Shkreli lied to him repeatedly, although he eventually made millions of dollars from the investment.

The Murdochs’ new reach for Sky is well timed

(Reuters Breakingviews) The Murdochs are having another shot at Sky. Century Fox has offered to buy the 61 percent of the European group it doesn’t own. The proposal notionally values Sky at 18. 5 billion pounds, though only about 11. 3 billion pounds would change hands. Circumstances look a lot more auspicious than the last time Rupert Murdoch and his family tried to consolidate the business in 2010. Back then, a scandal at publications owned by News Corp, which then held the Sky stake, helped doom the attempt and it was abandoned the following summer. Questions regarding plans for Sky have swirled since then. Fox sold its stakes in Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland back to Sky in 2014. Then Fox Chief Executive James Murdoch returned as chairman of Sky. By July this year, as Breakingviews noted, signs were emerging that another tilt at Sky might be coming. For one thing, the operator’s shares had steadily declined since the start of the year, making it look increasingly cheap. By Thursday, they were down nearly 30 percent. The 10. 75 bid values the Sky enterprise at a bit under 12 times estimated 2017 EBITDA. The offer is still below where the shares started the year. But investors were not buying Sky’s growth story, despite a recent day of presentations and the launch of new mobile services in the UK. And a 40 percent premium to the undisturbed price is hardly stingy. For Fox, fully owning Sky would simplify its operating model, a big initiative under James Murdoch. It also gives the media and entertainment conglomerate direct access to consumers, helping Fox compete as more people sign up for rivals like Netflix. Much has changed since 2010. Fox has spun off its newspapers, distancing itself from the earlier scandal. Media firms and content distributors are rapidly consolidating around the world, as shown by AT&T’s plan after already acquiring DirecTV to buy Time Warner. Though there could still be concerns about the Murdochs’ excessive influence, the political environment in the UK is less hostile. Politicians may be distracted by Brexit preparations, too. The terms of the deal still have to be finalized, but Fox’s latest reach for Sky looks well timed. LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) Worldpay discovered on Wednesday that a couple of birds in the bush are sometimes worth a bit more than one in the hand. A day after Britain’s biggest payment processor said it had received approaches from both Vantiv and JPMorgan, the company plumped for the former’s offer of nearly $10 billion in a mix of cash and shares. That took the shine off the share price of both the buyer and its target. Perhaps because the deal only makes sense with some very charitable HONG KONG Tencent’s require some Hollywood stardust. The tech giant’s publishing arm may raise up to $800 million in a Hong Kong listing, according to IFR. Catering to bookworms isn’t very lucrative, even if more and more readers are paying for electronic literature. The real payoff will lie in turning stories into blockbuster films, video games and merchandise.

This is what Russia wants in the Arctic

In the summer of 2007, Russia on the seabed of the North Pole. Russian state TV covered the event and showed the world video of a submersible packed with explorers and Kremlin officials. These men descended to the depths of the Arctic, planted a flag and claimed they’d made strides in claiming the North for Russia. Canada, Denmark and other countries in the region complained, but at the time it seemed ridiculous. The Arctic is one of the most inhospitable places on Earth. But that’s changing. This week on War College, walks us through what Russia wants in the Arctic and what it’s doing to make it happen. For Ballantyne, Moscow’s rush to the North is about more than just resources, it’s about power projection and gaining new access to the world’s oceans for trade purposes. “The warmer waters are restricted for the Russians. ..they want access to the sea,” Ballantyne explained. “And they will do things to gain that access that European nations who’ve moved on to the post imperial era won’t do. ” Matthew Gault by Bethel Habte The views expressed in this article are not those of Reuters News.

Viewsroom: What’s at stake in Trump vs. China?

(Reuters Breakingviews) The U. S. upended decades of diplomacy by taking a call from Taiwan’s leader. But some U. S. companies will welcome his stance. And China has much to lose from any escalation. Also: Italy PM Renzi gets his marching orders. And there’s no easy move to monetize chess. LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) Worldpay discovered on Wednesday that a couple of birds in the bush are sometimes worth a bit more than one in the hand. A day after Britain’s biggest payment processor said it had received approaches from both Vantiv and JPMorgan, the company plumped for the former’s offer of nearly $10 billion in a mix of cash and shares. That took the shine off the share price of both the buyer and its target. Perhaps because the deal only makes sense with some very charitable HONG KONG Tencent’s require some Hollywood stardust. The tech giant’s publishing arm may raise up to $800 million in a Hong Kong listing, according to IFR. Catering to bookworms isn’t very lucrative, even if more and more readers are paying for electronic literature. The real payoff will lie in turning stories into blockbuster films, video games and merchandise.

How MLS found its niche in North America

Toronto FC President Bill Manning discusses the growth and development of Major League Soccer and how it has found its place in the North American sports scene. He also explains why he thinks the level of play will continue to improve. Plus, Reuters Digital Editor Dan Colarusso and give our take on the new tentative collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and its players. We also look at parity in the sport and how that has increased its popularity. The views expressed in this article are not those of Reuters News.

Data Dive: Advice to the next secretary of state: Stay home

As President Barack Obama’s tenure draws to a close, Washington is turning its attention to one of its silliest traditions: toting up the travel statistics of the outgoing secretary of state, as if miles traveled correlated to diplomatic achievement. In his four years as secretary of state, John Kerry has thus far (he still has six weeks left) traveled over 1. 3 million miles and spent 564 days — nearly of his time as Secretary — on the road. Although this easily surpasses Hillary Clinton’s 956, 733 miles and 401 days, Kerry will not be able to match Mrs. Clinton’s record of 112 countries visited. Alas, Mr. Kerry will only make it to 90 countries during his tenure. But the relevant question is whether U. S. foreign policy goals are advanced by the peripatetic travels of our permanently secretaries of state. The answer is not by very much. In fact, such trips can actually make secretaries of state less effective, because they are absent from key meetings about foreign policy. And by their absence the State Department cedes policy influence to the National Security Advisor and the NSC staff. This is not to diminish the need for international meetings — NATO, the ASEAN leap to mind — as well as accompanying the President on his trips. There are also times when the personal engagement of the secretary of state is needed to close important agreements — i. e. the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Iran nuclear deal. What these two agreements have in common is that the was done largely by lower level officials and experts on each side who cleared the way for the ministers to resolve the final differences. By contrast, the secretary’s travel schedule in recent years has been loaded with trips that were not clearly defined, did not have clear goals and objectives, were not adequately prepared, and, in the end, did not achieve any purpose. The repeated failure to make progress in resolving the Syria conflict offers a case in point. Secretary Kerry attended at least 20 formal gatherings of foreign ministers over the course of his tenure on Syria. Add to that at least an equal number of bilateral and multilateral meetings, consultations, and conferences dedicated to Syria. And what was the net result after four years of these nearly monthly ? By most measures, the situation in Syria has never been worse than it is now. The secretary’s determined but ultimately fruitless effort to advance peace is another instance of hours invested and miles traveled long after there was any reasonable expectation that the investment would pay off. If this were simply a matter of the secretary undertaking quixotic missions with little to show for them, it would probably not be an issue worthy of much attention. But there are costs to U. S. foreign policy interests that are imposed by the secretary’s frequent absences from Washington. When the secretary is on the road, he is not at the table when the president makes decisions that directly affect foreign policy. Equally, since other senior diplomats are frequently on the road, the State Department often does not have an equal voice with the other Cabinet departments in the National Security Council meetings. The net result is an imbalance between diplomatic options and military or intelligence community preferences. A second effect of the secretary’s absence from Washington is the opportunity it presents to the NSC staff to enhance their role in policy implementation and go well beyond their legitimate purview of policy guidance and interagency coordination. As recently as the 1980s, NSC intrusion into policy implementation was unacceptable; the root of the Iran contra scandal. Today, the NSC routinely engages in operational matters despite its inadequate staffing, experience, or capacity. It is not unheard of that they do so without consulting or informing the State Department. Congress, in particular, should be concerned by NSC’s expanded role, as the individuals conducting these affairs are neither confirmed by the Senate nor are they subject to Congressional oversight for their activities. So to best fulfill the most important functions of secretary of state — chief diplomat and architect of foreign policy — the next nominee should leave his or her suitcase in the closet at home. SYDNEY The United Nations cultural body UNESCO has voted to leave the Great Barrier Reef off its ”in danger” list despite recent widespread destruction of the World Heritage Site. MINNEAPOLIS Kole Calhoun homered and Cameron Maybin stole home on a delayed steal in support of rookie starter Parker Bridwell’s six scoreless innings as the Los Angeles Angels avoided a sweep with a win against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.

Obama orders review of 2016 election cyber attacks

U. S. President Barack Obama has ordered intelligence agencies to review cyber attacks and foreign intervention into the 2016 election and deliver a report before he leaves office on Jan. 20, the White House said on Friday. In October, the U. S. government formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election, and Obama has said he warned Russian President Vladimir Putin about consequences for the attacks. The review and its timeline are a signal that Obama wants the issue addressed before he hands power to Donald Trump, who cast doubt on Russia’s hacking role and praised Putin during the campaign. Obama’s homeland security adviser, Lisa Monaco, told reporters the report’s results would be shared with lawmakers and others. ”The president has directed the intelligence community to conduct a full review of what happened during the 2016 election process . .. and to capture lessons learned from that and to report to a range of stakeholders, to include the Congress,” she said during an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the review would be a ”deep dive” that would look for a pattern of such behavior over several years during election time, dating as far back as the 2008 presidential election. He noted that Obama wanted the review completed under his watch. ”This is a major priority,” Schultz said. During his campaign for the White House, Trump called on Russia to dig up missing emails from his opponent, Hillary Clinton, from her time as secretary of state under Obama, a fellow Democrat. That move prompted critics to accuse him of encouraging foreign actors to conduct espionage. The New York businessman has said he is not convinced Russia was behind the attacks. ”I don’t believe they interfered,” Trump told Time magazine about Russia in an interview published this week. ”That became a laughing point, not a talking point, a laughing point. Any time I do something, they say, ‘Oh, Russia interfered. ’” People Trump has nominated for top national security posts in his new administration have taken a harsher stance toward Moscow. Russian officials have denied all accusations of interference in the U. S. election. Obama has come under pressure from Democratic lawmakers to declassify more intelligence on the alleged hackings. A government source said the review was sparked in part to respond to those demands as well as to determine how much material related to the subject could be made public. “Given Trump’s disturbing refusal to listen to our intelligence community and accept that the hacking was orchestrated by the Kremlin, there is an added urgency to the need for a thorough review before President Obama leaves office next month,” Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. Monaco said cyber attacks were not new but might have crossed a ”new threshold” this year. When she was working as a senior Federal Bureau of Investigation official in 2008, she said, the agency alerted the presidential campaigns of Obama and Republican Senator John McCain that China had infiltrated their respective systems. ”We’ve seen in 2008 and in this last election system malicious cyber activity,” Monaco said. Asked if Trump’s transition team was not concerned enough about Russia’s influence on the election or about other threats to the United States such as infectious disease outbreaks, Monaco said it was too soon to say. She noted that she had not met with her successor because the Trump team had yet to name one. (Reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington; Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball and Jonathan Landay in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) NEW YORK Tesla Inc shares slid more than 7 percent on Wednesday, their biggest percentage decline in more than a year, on delivery numbers, yet the luxury electric carmaker’s stock price remained above analysts’ median target. NEW YORK In the world of financial technology, where startups are the focus of M&A chatter, a $10 billion combination of two processors whose roots date to the 1970s might seem unusual.

Coke CEO Muhtar Kent hands reins to Quincey in widely expected move

Quincey’s ascension was widely expected since he became chief operating officer in August 2015 after jobs that included running Coke’s businesses in Europe and Mexico over two decades. Kent, 64, will have completed nine years at the helm when he steps down in May, but he will continue as chairman of the board, a post he has held since 2009, Coke said. Coke’s shares were up 2. 6 percent to $42. 04 in afternoon trading, making the stock biggest percentage gainer on the Dow Jones industrial average. Quincey, 51, is credited with several changes at Coke including introducing smaller bottles to boost profit and reducing the sugar and calorie content in drinks — initiatives he would continue to focus on, the said on Friday. ”The future in terms of the beverage industry in some parts of the world — yes, there’ll be less added sugar, and yes, we think we need to push ahead with the smaller packages and reformulations and innovations,” Quincey said. He said Coke would also concentrate on its sparkling beverage business, push into other drink categories and continue to innovate. Coke still gets about 70 percent of its volume sales from sodas and its sales have fallen in the last three years on sagging demand for sugary drinks, which health experts and governments have blamed for rising obesity levels. Since Kent took over as CEO in July 2008, Coke’s sales have increased by about 39 percent, while the company’s shares have surged 61 percent. VOTE OF CONFIDENCE Quincey, who joined Coke in 1996, is also credited with streamlining Coke’s bottling operations by merging its three main bottlers in Europe to form European Partners Plc, now Coke’s largest independent bottler by net revenue. His latest promotion was given a vote of confidence by Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Coke’s largest shareholder. ”I know James and like him, and believe the company has made a smart investment in its future with his selection,” Buffett said in the statement issued by Coke. The CEO announcement comes a day after Coke said Buffett’s son Howard Buffett would retire from its board next year. Some analysts saw the move as potentially paving the way for Buffett’s firm Berkshire Hathaway to sell down its nearly $17 billion stake. ”Those counting on an eventual bid some day from 3G Capital and Budweiser for Coke, may think Berkshire Hathaway being out of the picture would make it less awkward for that group to buy Coke,” Susquehanna analyst Pablo Zuanic said in a note. Buffett teamed up with Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital last year to buy Kraft and form Kraft Heinz Co. That aside, Wall Street analysts hailed the succession plan. ”A move in the right direction as Quincey is a realist with a sense of urgency about diversifying the beverage portfolio and improving local execution via refranchizing,” CLSA analyst Caroline Levy said. Quincey’s background and significant experience in deal making as well as strong understanding and appreciation of the consumer and current trends would accelerate Coke’s growth, Wells Fargo Senior analyst Bonnie Herzog wrote in a note. His appointment is the second instance of a company elevating its COO to the CEO role in as many weeks. Starbucks Corp said last week that Chief Operating Officer Kevin Johnson would replace Howard Schultz as CEO. (Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan and Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Savio D’Souza) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

U.S. agency concerned about destroyed, lost phones in VW probe

A U. S. agency involved in settlement talks with Volkswagen AG ( ) over its diesel emissions scandal has raised concerns about nearly two dozen mobile phones destroyed or lost by the German carmaker. The Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing dated Thursday there were 23 lost or broken mobile phones the FTC was not able to access, the agency said in the filing with the U. S. District Court in San Francisco. The filing said the 23 lost or broken phones were ”a bright red flag, especially when they include phones that belonged to important individuals.” It did not identify who the ”important individuals” were who used the phones. Volkswagen Group of America said in a court filing that ”despite the FTC’s provocative assertion to the contrary, (the company) is not aware of any evidence that any of those mobile devices was intentionally wiped or lost.” In November, the FTC said in court documents that it has been investigating since March whether Volkswagen Group of America destroyed documents related to its ”Dieselgate” scandal. The filing by the FTC also said a witness sent by VW was unprepared to testify about the lost or damaged telephones. It did not identify the witness but said the person was also unwilling to discuss the company’s termination of an employee, Daniel Donovan, who the FTC said had told VW that data may have been improperly deleted. Volkswagen said it is cooperating with the FTC’s investigation and that its witness had answered thousands of questions and was properly prepared, calling the FTC’s claim ”a diversionary smokescreen.” Donovan sued the company after he was fired. The suit was settled in June. The filing follows an effort by the agency in November to take additional testimony from Volkswagen. In total, the world’s automaker has agreed to spend up to $16. 5 billion in connection with the emissions scandal, including payments to dealers, states and attorneys for owners. That agreement includes up to $10. 033 billion to buy back as many as 475, 000 polluting cars and the $4. 7 billion for zero emission and diesel pollution offset programs. Volkswagen is in intensive talks with the U. S. Justice Department, the FTC, Environmental Protection Agency, California and lawyers for vehicle owners resolving the fate of about 80, 000 polluting vehicles. It still faces an ongoing U. S. criminal investigation. (Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio and Paul Simao) BRUSSELS French carmaker PSA Group secured unconditional EU antitrust approval on Wednesday to acquire General Motors’ German unit Opel, a move which will help it better compete with market leader Volkswagen . NEW DELHI India is examining the use of private vehicles as shared taxis in an effort to reduce car ownership and curb growing traffic congestion in major cities, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Trump’s threats chill corporate investment plans in Mexico

Donald Trump’s threats to battle Mexico over trade, investment and jobs have pushed a growing number of companies operating in the country to put expansion plans on hold until the fleshes out his policies, business leaders have told Reuters since the Nov. 8 election. Pledging to recast a joint trade deal and protect U. S. industry from outsourcing to Mexico, Trump landed his first blow last week, announcing a deal with United Technologies Corp’s Carrier unit to stop it shifting about 1, 000 jobs south of the border. Trump’s unorthodox move, involving state tax breaks, sent a chill through executives still uncertain which policies the would pursue upon assuming office on Jan. 20. On the campaign trail, he threatened to levy hefty tariffs on Chinese and products. ”If he puts an import duty on Mexican goods, it’s going to be a total disaster,” said Maurizio Rosa, chief executive of Codan Rubber Mexico, a maker of hoses for the auto industry with annual sales of some 200 million pesos ($10 million). Codan and other companies in Mexico are plugged into the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the United States, Mexico and Canada, which Trump has threatened to dismantle if he cannot renegotiate it. Over half of Codan’s output goes directly to the United States, and ”probably the rest” indirectly through other firms, said Rosa, whose clients include automakers Nissan Motor Co Ltd, Volkswagen AG ( ) and tractor maker Kubota Corp. Until it becomes clear what Trump means for business, new investment at the firm has been put on hold, he said. U. S. DEPENDENCY Mexico wants to reduce its economic dependency on the United States, and a recent auction of oil fields was notable for the pledges made by investors from China, Australia, Malaysia and elsewhere. But most big investments made since NAFTA have served to further integrate Mexican manufacturing with the United States. The Friday after Trump’s election victory, the Mexican Association of Industrial Parks (AMPIP) surveyed members internally on what implications it had for business, getting eight replies. The survey found that 37. 5 percent of pending projects eight in total had been put on hold, mostly until 2017. The rest were still going ahead. Nearly half of the $425. 7 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mexico between 1999 and 2015 came from the United States. Such investment has been a cornerstone of U. S. trade, today worth $500 billion annually. But Trump’s renewed threats of punitive tariffs on goods made abroad by U. S. companies may threaten that flow of investment. Shortly after his deal with Carrier, Trump revived his campaign on Twitter to slap a 35 percent tariff on such goods coming into the United States. Mexico is more immediately exposed to the risk of a trade war, given it sends 80 percent of its exports to U. S. buyers, five times the U. S. proportion going to Mexico. Economists have already highlighted the risks. After Trump’s win, HSBC slashed its 2017 Mexican growth forecast to 1. 7 percent from 2. 3 percent, saying most of the hit would likely come from reduced FDI and private investment. Credit rating firm Fitch on Friday flagged the risks Trump posed to trade and investment as it revised down Mexico’s outlook to negative from stable. SMALLER FIRMS EXPOSED Emilio Cadena, CEO of Grupo Prodensa, a specialist in helping foreign companies move to Mexico, estimated one in 10 such businesses all ”smaller firms” had put investments on hold while uncertainty persisted over U. S. relations. Business lobbies said major investments are still proceeding as planned, but smaller firms focused on the U. S. market are less able to absorb potential shocks. Bosco de la Vega, a partner in Agro Groppo, a potato producer in the northern state of Sinaloa, said his firm has now put off a $5 million investment for at least four to six months. The company and its partners had planned to purchase a Mexican firm to help them export more to the United States. Luis Aguirre, vice president of industry confederation Concamin, said some smaller foreign manufacturers were also in a holding pattern because of uncertainty caused by Trump. A survey of German companies in Mexico published on Wednesday showed that 83 percent expected Trump’s trade policy to have a negative impact on business. Carlo Bonfante, economy minister of the border state of Baja California, said that none of the 2017 investment already in the pipeline for the state was on hold yet, but that firms would likely wait until April before making their next move. ”There’ll be a pause for analysis that there wouldn’t have been if Trump hadn’t won,” he said. (Additional reporting by Gabriel Stargardter, Joanna Zuckerman Bernstein, Christine Murray, Alexandra Alper and Michael O’Boyle; Editing by Christian Plumb and Bill Rigby) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Iraq says it destroys Mosul car bomb factories

Iraqi forces captured a neighborhood in east Mosul on Friday, pushing deeper to the heart of Islamic State’s Iraq stronghold and destroying three sites where it produced car bombs used in waves of suicide attacks, the campaign’s commander said. Abdul Ameer Rasheed Yarallah said Counter Terrorism Service forces spearheading the operation to retake Mosul seized the Tamim district halfway between the city’s eastern edge and the River Tigris running through its center. The elite troops, part of a U. S. coalition of Iraqi forces, have been fighting street battles with the militants and now control around half of the city’s eastern neighborhoods. But progress has been slow as they have faced counterattacks by the jihadist fighters, who deployed hundreds of the suicide car bombs, as well as mortars and snipers, and used the city’s million residents as human shields. Yarallah also said in a statement that air strikes by Iraqi jets destroyed three production plants making car bombs in Mosul and three weapons stores. He gave no further details. Iraq launched the operation to recapture Mosul on Oct. 17. Defeating Islamic State in the largest city under its control would deal a major blow to its caliphate in Iraq and Syria, and its ambitions to govern territory. In Iraq, it has already been forced to retreat from Tikrit, Ramadi and Falluja, although its Sunni Muslim fighters still hold large parts of remote, Sunni regions near the Syrian border, and an area of land southeast of Mosul. Friday’s push in eastern Mosul follows advances by Iraqi troops three days ago in the southeast, when soldiers surged into the city and briefly seized a hospital which was also believed to be used as a base by the militants. The swift attack marked a change in tactics after weeks of fighting where soldiers have painstakingly sought to clear neighborhoods block by block. But the rapid gains also left the soldiers vulnerable to counterattack. The army pulled out of the hospital under heavy fire and called in an air strike on militants inside the complex. After more than 48 hours of fierce fighting, tanks from an armored division were stationed in the Wahda neighborhood where the hospital is located, residents told Reuters by phone. A video released on Friday by Islamic State’s Amaq news agency gave an indication of the brutality of the fighting around the Salam hospital. Outside its gates, a tank or armored vehicle was still burning in the middle of a cratered street. Inside a hospital building, windows were blown out and ceiling panels collapsed. Armed men showed off weapons, ammunition and rocket launchers that they described as the ”spoils” of combat, as well as the corpses of dead men in uniform. One fighter promised to cut the heads off Shi’ites referring to the Iraqi troops and stamp on their bodies. ”Nineveh state will be your graveyard,” he said, referring to the north Iraqi province where Mosul is located. Outside the hospital building a collection of blackened military vehicles, so heavily damaged that a tank’s turret and tracks had been blown clean off, were bunched together. (editing by David Stamp) CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis. WASHINGTON U. S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday it was important for U. S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to have a ”good exchange” over how they see the nature of the bilateral relationship.

Bitcoin hits highest levels in almost three years

digital currency bitcoin hit its highest levels in almost three years on Friday, extending gains since India sparked a cash shortage by removing bank notes from circulation a month ago. Bitcoin was trading as high as $774 on the New itBit exchange, up almost 1 percent on the day and the highest since February 2014, having climbed almost 9 percent in the past month. Bitcoin is a cash alternative that can be used for moving money across the globe quickly and anonymously with no need for a central authority to process transactions. It has climbed around 80 percent so far this year, far exceeding its 35 percent rise in 2015. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi announced a shock move on Nov. 8 to ditch 500 and 1, 000 rupee notes worth a combined $256 billion that he said were fuelling corruption, being forged and even paying for attacks by militants who target India. The cryptocurrency’s value has been highly volatile after rocketing above $1, 100 in 2013, it had fallen to around $150 by early 2015. But it has since stabilized, staying above $500 for the past six months. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Editing by Jamie McGeever) BRUSSELS EU antitrust regulators are weighing another record fine against Google over its Android mobile operating system and have set up a panel of experts to give a second opinion on the case, two people familiar with the matter said. MEXICO CITY Billionaire Carlos Slim’s America Movil argued on Wednesday against rules brought in by an overhaul of the country’s telecommunications industry, saying in a statement they were unfair and had led to a loss of its business rights.

Oil drilling advocate to be Trump pick for Interior Department

U. S. Donald Trump will pick U. S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a skeptic and an advocate for expanded oil and gas development, to run the Interior Department, a Trump aide said on Friday. The appointment could mean easier access for industry to more than a quarter of America’s territory, ranging from national parks to tribal lands stretching from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico, where energy companies have been eager to drill and mine. The pick, criticized by environmental groups, dovetails neatly with the Republican ’s promises to bolster the U. S. energy industry by shrinking the powers of the federal government. It follows Trump’s nomination this week of an another climate change skeptic and critic of federal regulations, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, to run the Environmental Protection Agency. The official on Trump’s transition team, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Trump would nominate McMorris Rodgers to head the Interior Department, which is charged with the management and conservation of federally owned land and administers programs relating to Native American tribes. McMorris Rodgers, a congresswoman from Washington state and the fourth most senior member of the House leadership, voted for the Native American Energy Act. Democratic President Barack Obama vetoed the bill, which would have made it easier to drill on tribal territories, in 2015. On her website, she also touts her support of the recent repeal of the decades old ban on oil exports, and for a bill to reject the EPA’s Waters of the United States Act as some of her key achievements on energy and environment. She has consistently opposed Obama’s measures to fight climate change, and once argued that former Vice President Al Gore, a longtime advocate for steps to combat global warming, deserved an “F” in science and an “A” in creative writing. The League of Conservation Voters, which publishes a score card ranking the environmental record of each member of Congress, gave McMorris Rodgers a zero in its most recent ratings. It was among several environmental groups that criticized her likely nomination. ”Donald Trump just posted a massive ’for sale’ sign on our public lands,” the LCV said in a statement. Eric Washburn, an energy lobbyist and former advisor to Senate Democrats Harry Reid and Tom Daschle, said McMorris Rodgers had the experience to do a good job balancing the interests of energy development and conservation. ”She certainly knows all these interests and hopefully will be able to chart a course for the agency that allows for conservation and development to proceed hand in hand,” he said. Efforts to reach McMorris Rodgers were not immediately successful. TRUMP’S DEREGULATION DRIVE McMorris Rodgers has been a member of the energy conference committee, working to pass bipartisan energy legislation that included provisions to boost hydropower and update forest policy. In her role as interior secretary, she would oversee more than 70, 000 employees. Trump, a real estate magnate who takes office on Jan. 20, is in the midst of building his administration and is holding scores of interviews at his office in New York. On Thursday he announced Pruitt as his pick for the EPA, cheering the oil industry but enraging environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers who vowed to fight the appointment. As the top prosecutor for Oklahoma, a major oil and gas producing state, Pruitt has sued the EPA repeatedly, and is part of a coordinated effort by several states to block Obama’s Clean Power Plan to limit carbon dioxide emissions. Trump vowed during his campaign to undo Obama’s climate change measures and pull the country out of a global accord to curb warming agreed in Paris last year, saying they put American businesses at a competitive disadvantage. Since the election, however, Trump has confused observers by saying he will keep an ”open mind” about the Paris deal, and also meeting with Gore to discuss the issue. (Reporting by Ginger Gibson, David Shephardson and Valerie Volcovic; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Frances Kerry) MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. NEW YORK The U. S. government on Wednesday proposed to reduce the volume of biofuel required to be used in gasoline and diesel fuel next year as it signaled the first step toward a potential broader overhaul of its biofuels program.

Exclusive: Reinsurer Beechwood explores sale after Platinum woes - source

The Beechwood group of reinsurance companies is in talks to sell most or all of itself after a backlash from some clients due to its relationship with troubled hedge fund manager Platinum Partners, according to a person familiar with the situation. ”The very good news is that Beechwood has a successful business model that is attractive to investors,” Davidson Goldin, an external spokesman for Beechwood, said in a statement to Reuters on Friday. ”The unfortunate news that Beechwood is working to manage on behalf of its clients is that Beechwood’s historical relationships with individuals from Platinum are causing substantial reputational issues for the firm separate from its performance.” The sale discussions are with large insurance and private equity firms, according to the person, who requested anonymity because the information is private and who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday. The talks mark a reversal of fortune for Beechwood, a once reinsurer founded in 2013 with some funding coming indirectly from Platinum and some crossover in personnel. (See graphic: ) The Grand and New firm has been working to sever its links with Platinum after the $1. 35 billion hedge fund manager became embroiled in multiple federal probes and put its funds in liquidation in July. Beechwood had made investments worth hundreds of millions of dollars in hedge funds and businesses on behalf of its insurance clients, according to public filings and information provided by one client as part of subsequent litigation. As Platinum’s troubles mounted, one of Beechwood’s major clients, Indiana insurer CNO Financial Group ( ) pulled business from Beechwood and sued three current and former Beechwood executives seeking damages. Another large client, Senior Health Insurance Co of Pennsylvania, better known as SHIP, is liquidating its holdings, invested for them by Beechwood. Led by a former chief executive officer of Marsh USA and senior executives from Morgan Stanley ( ) and Merrill Lynch ( ) Beechwood managed $2. 44 billion as of 2015. The lawsuit from CNO subsidiaries in September claimed that Beechwood told them that “it is about to run out of cash” and that its two principals “will have to fund operations with their own money. ” Beechwood did not respond to a request for comment on its current financial state. PLATINUM PROBLEMS Beechwood’s links to Platinum began hurting over the summer. In June, longtime Platinum and Beechwood associate Murray Huberfeld was arrested on criminal corruption charges, and the hedge fund’s headquarters was raided by federal agents. Platinum, led by Mark Nordlicht, later decided to liquidate its main hedge funds under the supervision of a professional monitor amid pressure from investigations by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. A lawyer for Huberfeld has said his client denies the allegations; the case is pending. Huberfeld provided Platinum with money for its launch in 2003, and the firm eventually took over separate hedge funds he managed. Huberfeld allegedly kept ties to Platinum throughout, according to the federal charges against him, and in recent years did some work for Beechwood, where his nephew, son and also had roles, according to the CNO lawsuit. Since the decision to unwind its funds, Platinum’s main offshore vehicle has received U. S. bankruptcy protection as Cayman liquidators work to recover money and sell off its assets on behalf of creditors. Platinum and its executives also face lawsuits based on allegations that they stole money or intellectual property from companies they invested in. A spokesman for Platinum declined to comment. The September lawsuit by subsidiaries of CNO against Beechwood Chief Executive Officer Mark Feuer, Beechwood President Scott Taylor and Platinum investment officer and former Beechwood executive David Levy — Huberfeld’s nephew — alleged that Platinum executives conspired with counterparts at Beechwood to form the reinsurance group and then invested client assets in funds and businesses. The plaintiffs allege that current and former Beechwood executives hid their links to Platinum even after they were asked by the CNO subsidiaries to sever ties. A subsequent audit found at least $116 million of assets “inextricably intertwined” with Platinum, the lawsuit said. Feuer, Taylor and Levy did not respond to emails seeking comment. Other Beechwood clients are keeping a close eye on developments. “Universal has been closely monitoring events related to the Beechwood label,” Eira Piñeiro, an external spokeswoman for Puerto Universal Group Inc, said in an email, adding that the insurer was taking steps to ensure that its assets were protected. The firm’s life insurance unit had $437. 5 million in assets with Beechwood as of the end of 2015, according to a filing with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. It was unclear if any of those assets were related to Platinum; Piñeiro did not respond to requests for clarification. Representatives of two other insurers, Columbus, Motorists Life Insurance Co and Charleston, South Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Co told Reuters in separate statements that they had no holdings through Beechwood despite separate asset management agreements for approximately $100 million each. “We are comfortable with our position,” Atlantic Coast CEO Daniel Cathcart said in an email. By contrast, SHIP, the insurer, told Reuters in September that it was liquidating its holdings related to its contract with Beechwood. Those investments totaled at least $100 million as of June and about $50 million as of September. A spokesman for SHIP declined to comment, including on the current status of the divestment. CNO appears to be the only client to cut ties with Beechwood, and has taken back its approximately $550 million in assets, according to public company disclosures. CNO previously estimated it would lose about $55 million, pending an audit by year end of assets, which it believes were incorrectly priced by Beechwood. A CNO spokesman declined to make an additional comment; Beechwood released a statement at the time saying it had ”acted properly at all times.” (Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne; editing by Carmel Crimmins) Biopharmaceutical company Celgene Corp will buy a stake in BeiGene Ltd and help develop and commercialize BeiGene’s investigational treatment for tumor cancers, the companies said on Wednesday. BRUSSELS French carmaker PSA Group secured unconditional EU antitrust approval on Wednesday to acquire General Motors’ German unit Opel, a move which will help it better compete with market leader Volkswagen .

Aixtron considers partial sell-off after Chinese deal blocked

German semiconductor chipmaking machinery company Aixtron ( ) may sell off part of its business, its chief executive said in an interview published on Friday, opening the door for bidders after a deal with a Chinese company collapsed. China’s Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund dropped its 670 ($712 million) bid for Aixtron earlier this week after the United States blocked the deal on security grounds, throwing the German company’s future into doubt. ”There are two options: First, we could hope that the markets for our products recover and continue investing high sums in new equipment. But that would come with high development and costs, and risks,” Martin Goetzeler told German daily Handelsblatt. ”Or Aixtron could shrink, divest technologies and continue with a specialized offering,” he said. Aixtron makes devices which produce crystalline layers from gallium nitride that are used as semiconductors in weapons systems. Its technology is being used to upgrade U. S. and Patriot missile defense systems and the U. S. Treasury said the deal had been blocked due to national security risks. China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) criticized the United States on Friday for thwarting the deal. ”The U. S. in the name of national security, frequently departs from market and commercial principles to interfere with normal business activity,” an MOFCOM spokesman said. INVESTOR NEEDED Goetzeler said the German government had signaled a willingness to help Aixtron, for example by giving Aixtron a central role in an investment program for the sector. A spokesman for Germany’s Economy Ministry said he had no knowledge of any such indications. He said there were existing support schemes for research and development Aixtron could apply for if it fulfilled the requirements. Goetzeler also put a positive spin on the collapse of the deal, saying the United States’ opposition had highlighted the German firm’s importance in the sector. ”Aixtron is of central interest both to Germany and to the United States, the world’s leading economy. If we needed more proof that our products have intrinsic value, we have it now,” he said in the Handelsblatt interview. But analysts have said Aixtron’s future as a company looked bleak because it is struggling to compete in an overcrowded market where Chinese companies call the shots. ”Aixtron’s management has to find other financial or strategic investors in order to maintain its strategy of heavily investing in future technologies like OLED (organic diodes),” DZ Bank analyst Harald Schnitzer said. The German company has been trying to return to profit and take back leadership of the global market for LED equipment from U. S. rival Veeco Instruments ( ). According to Aixtron’s most recent annual financial report, Veeco held a 53 percent share of the market for the equipment, used to make LEDs, in 2014, while Aixtron had 41 percent. Aixtron executives have said that without the Fujian deal the company would have to choose between investing its scant funds in new technology and hope for a recovery in demand, or shrink its business and workforce. (Additional reporting by Gernot Heller in Berlin; Writing by Maria Sheahan and Christoph Steitz; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Jane Merriman) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. Jana Partners LLC stepped up its criticism on Wednesday of U. S. natural gas producer EQT Corp’s deal to buy Rice Energy Inc arguing that EQT could save as much as $4. 5 billion if it separated its pipeline assets instead.

Exclusive: Japan’s TDK in talks to buy iPhone supplier InvenSense - sources

The deal would allow TDK, already a major smartphone components supplier, to boost its sensor technology offerings. InvenSense designs gyroscopes which help smartphones calculate motion, enabling augmented reality games such as Pokemon Go. TDK has offered $12 per share to acquire InvenSense, one of the people said, cautioning that negotiations are ongoing and that terms could still change before a potential deal is reached. The companies hope to conclude negotiations by the end of the month, the people added. The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. TDK and InvenSense did not immediately respond to requests for comment. InvenSense shares surged 28 percent on the news to $10. 57 in afternoon trading on Friday, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $1 billion. Based in San Jose, California, InvenSense said in October it had hired a financial advisor to evaluate indications of interest, confirming a report by Reuters. If it succeeds in selling itself, InvenSense would be the latest company to be swept up by a wave of consolidation in the industry, as makers of chips for smartphones face intense price competition and seek scale. Smartphone chip maker Qualcomm Inc agreed to buy NXP Semiconductors NV for about $38 billion earlier this year. InvenSense, which competes with STMicroelectronics NV and Bosch Sensortech, has said it believes demand for its gyroscope products would grow as more consumers play games that involve moving around with their phones. TDK, once a successful audio tape maker, prospered in magnetic heads for hard disk drives until demand for personal computers peaked. Over the last few years, it has revamped itself into a key smartphone supplier, with products that include rechargeable batteries, filters that sort out radio signals, and tiny parts called capacitors that control the flow of electricity. TDK has also been seeking to boost its sensors portfolio through other acquisitions, including Tronics Microsystems SA, a French company it agreed to acquire in August for 48. 65 million euros ($51. 3 million). Last year, TDK agreed to acquire Micronas Semiconductor Holding AG, another Swiss chip maker specializing in sensors, for up to 214 million Swiss francs ($210 million). (Reporting by Liana B. Baker in Vail, Colorado; Editing by David Gregorio) BRUSSELS EU antitrust regulators are weighing another record fine against Google over its Android mobile operating system and have set up a panel of experts to give a second opinion on the case, two people familiar with the matter said. MEXICO CITY Billionaire Carlos Slim’s America Movil argued on Wednesday against rules brought in by an overhaul of the country’s telecommunications industry, saying in a statement they were unfair and had led to a loss of its business rights.

Russia intervened to help Trump win election: intelligence officials

U. S. intelligence analysts have concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the White House, and not just to undermine confidence in the U. S. electoral system, a senior U. S. official said on Friday. U. S. intelligence agencies have assessed that as the 2016 presidential campaign progressed, Russian government officials devoted increasing attention to assisting Trump’s effort to win the election, the U. S. official familiar with the finding told Reuters on Friday night, speaking on condition of anonymity. The ’s transition office released a statement that exaggerated his margin of victory and attacked the U. S. intelligence community that Trump will soon command, but did not address the analysts’ conclusion. ”These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction,” the statement said. ”The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. It’s now time to move on and ’Make America Great Again. ’” Democrats and some Republicans in Congress are calling for a full investigation into Russia’s election year activities. ”Protecting the integrity of our elections is hindered when Trump and his transition team minimize or dismiss the intelligence assessments themselves,” Representative Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said in a statement issued on Saturday. Citing U. S. officials briefed on the matter, the Washington Post reported on Friday that intelligence agencies had identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others, including the chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, to WikiLeaks. U. S. President Barack Obama has ordered intelligence agencies to review cyber attacks and foreign intervention into the 2016 election and deliver a report before he leaves office on Jan. 20, the White House said on Friday. Obama’s homeland security adviser, Lisa Monaco, told reporters the report’s results would be shared with lawmakers and others. ”The president has directed the intelligence community to conduct a full review of what happened during the 2016 election process . .. and to capture lessons learned from that and to report to a range of stakeholders, to include the Congress,” she said during an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. As summer turned to fall, Russian hackers turned almost all their attention to the Democrats. Virtually all the emails they released publicly were potentially damaging to Clinton and the Democrats, not Republicans, the official told Reuters. ”That was a major clue to their intent,” the official said. ”If all they wanted to do was discredit our political system, why publicize the failings of just one party, especially when you have a target like Trump?” A second official familiar with the report said the intelligence analysts’ conclusion about Russia’s motives does not mean the intelligence community believes that Moscow’s efforts altered or significantly affected the outcome of the election. Russian officials have denied all accusations of interference in the U. S. election. A Central Intelligence Agency spokeswoman said the agency had no comment on the matter. The hacked emails passed to WikiLeaks were a regular source of embarrassment to the Clinton campaign during the race for the presidency. U. S. intelligence analysts have assessed ”with high confidence” that at some point in the extended presidential campaign Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government had decided to try to bolster Trump’s chances of winning. The Russians appear to have concluded that Trump had a shot at winning and that he would be much friendlier to Russia than Clinton would be, especially on issues such as maintaining economic sanctions and imposing additional ones, the official said. Moscow is launching a similar effort to influence the next German election, following an escalating campaign to promote and nationalist political parties and individuals in Europe that began more than a decade ago, the official said. In both cases, said the official, Putin’s campaigns in both Europe and the United States are intended to disrupt and discredit the Western concept of democracy by promoting extremist candidates, parties, and political figures. In October, the U. S. government publicly accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election. Obama has said he warned Putin about consequences for the attacks. ”I don’t believe they interfered,” Trump told Time magazine about Russia in an interview published this week. ”That became a laughing point, not a talking point, a laughing point. Any time I do something, they say, ’Oh, Russia interfered. ’” (Writing by David Alexander and John Walcott; Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee, Wis.; Editing by Louise Heavens and Matthew Lewis) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

Trump likely to name Exxon CEO secretary of state - source

U. S. Donald Trump is expected to name the chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp as the country’s top diplomat, a source familiar with the situation said on Saturday, an appointment that would put in place an official with close ties to the Russian government. News of Rex Tillerson’s possible appointment comes as U. S. intelligence analysts have concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Trump win the White House. The choice of Tillerson further stocks Trump’s Cabinet and inner circle with people who favor a soft line toward Moscow. Tillerson, 64, has driven Exxon’s expansion in Russia for decades and opposed U. S. sanctions imposed on Russia for its seizure of Crimea. Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Tillerson Russia’s Order of Friendship, one of the country’s highest civilian honors. Exxon’s Tillerson emerged on Friday as Trump’s leading candidate for U. S. secretary of state over 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and three other people. Tillerson met with Trump for more than two hours at Trump Tower on Saturday morning. It was their second meeting about the position this week. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tillerson was the expected pick but cautioned no formal offer had yet been made. A senior official on the Trump transition team said the was close to picking Tillerson. Trump spokesman Jason Miller said no announcement on the job was forthcoming in the immediate future. ”Transition Update: No announcements on Secretary of State until next week at the earliest. #MakeAmericaGreatAgain,” he tweeted. Trump on Saturday attended the football game in Baltimore, where he was joined by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who withdrew from consideration as secretary of state on Friday. NBC News, which first reported the development, said Trump would also name John Bolton, a former U. S. ambassador to the United Nations, as deputy secretary of state. As Exxon’s CEO, Tillerson oversees operations in more than 50 countries, including Russia. In 2011, Exxon signed a deal with Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil company, for joint oil exploration and production. Since then, the companies have formed 10 joint ventures for projects in Russia. Tillerson and Rosneft chief Igor Sechin announced plans to begin drilling in the Russian Arctic for oil as part of their joint venture, in spite of U. S. sanctions. In July, Tillerson was one of the U. S. representatives at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, one of Putin’s main investment forums, even as Washington had been taking a harder line than Europe on maintaining sanctions. Trump has pledged to work for stronger U. S. ties with Russia, which have been strained by Putin’s incursion into Crimea and his support for Syrian President Bashir . In a preview from an interview to be aired on ”Fox News Sunday,” Trump said Tillerson is ”much more than a business executive.” ”I mean, he’s a world class player,” Trump said. ”He’s in charge of an oil company that’s pretty much double the size of his next nearest competitor. It’s been a company that has been unbelievably managed.” ”And to me, a great advantage is he knows many of the players, and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia,” Trump said. Tillerson’s Russian ties figure to be a factor in any Senate confirmation hearing. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, a Putin critic, told Fox News that he does not know what Tillerson’s relationship with Putin has been, ”but I’ll tell you, it is a matter of concern to me.” Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee raised concerns in a memo on Saturday citing Trump’s ”cavalier dismissal” of U. S. intelligence reports that Russia interfered in U. S. elections and the appointment of Tillerson, who has ”business ties to Russia and Vladimir Putin, and whose company worked to bury and deny climate science for years.” Should Tillerson be nominated, climate change could be another controversial issue for him. The company is under investigation by the New York Attorney General’s Office for allegedly misleading investors, regulators and the public on what it knew about global warming. Tillerson is, however, one of the few people selected for roles in the Trump administration to believe that human activity causes climate change. After Trump’s election, Exxon came out in support of the Paris Climate Agreement and said it favors a carbon tax as an strategy. (The story is refiled to add Tillerson’s given name in second paragraph) (Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici in Washington and Dmitry Zhdannikov in London; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Matthew Lewis) MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. NEW YORK The U. S. government on Wednesday proposed to reduce the volume of biofuel required to be used in gasoline and diesel fuel next year as it signaled the first step toward a potential broader overhaul of its biofuels program.

Twin bombing outside Istanbul soccer stadium kills 29, wounds 166

Two bombs exploded less than a minute apart, killing 29 people and wounding 166 outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul on Saturday night, in a attack on police shortly after a match between two of Turkey’s top teams. First a car bomb exploded outside the Vodafone Arena, home to Istanbul’s Besiktas soccer team, leaving flaming wreckage on the street. seconds later, a suspect wearing explosives detonated them while surrounded by police in an adjacent park, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told a news conference. President Tayyip Erdogan described the blasts as a terrorist attack on police and civilians. He said the aim of the bombings, two hours after the end of a match attended by thousands of people, had been to cause the maximum number of casualties. ”Nobody should doubt that with God’s will, we as a country and a nation will overcome terror, terrorist organisations . .. and the forces behind them,” he said in a statement. The attack shook a nation still trying to recover from a series of deadly bombings this year in cities including Istanbul and the capital Ankara, some blamed on the Islamic State jihadist group and others claimed by Kurdish militants. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But the blasts came less than a week after Islamic State urged its supporters to target Turkey’s ”security, military, economic and media establishment”. ”It was like hell. The flames went all the way up to the sky. I was drinking tea at the cafe next to the mosque,” said Omer Yilmaz, who works as a cleaner at the nearby Dolmabahce mosque, directly across the road from the stadium. ”People ducked under the tables, women began crying. Football fans drinking tea at the cafe sought shelter, it was horrible,” he told Reuters. Turkey is a member of the NATO military alliance and part of the U. S. coalition against Islamic State. It launched a military incursion into Syria in August against the radical Islamist group. It is also fighting a Kurdish militant insurgency in its own southeast. VICTIMS MAINLY POLICE Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the first explosion, which came around two hours after the end of the match between Besiktas and Bursaspor, was at an assembly point for riot police officers. The second came as police surrounded the suicide bomber in the nearby Macka park. Two of those killed in the blasts were civilians. The other 27 were police officers, including a police chief and another senior officer, Soylu said. He said 17 of the wounded were undergoing surgery and another six were in intensive care. Soylu also said 10 people had been detained based on evidence from the detonated vehicle, but gave no indication of who the authorities thought might be behind the attack. A Reuters photographer said many riot police officers were seriously wounded. Armed police sealed off streets. A police water cannon doused the wreckage of a car and there were two separate fires on the road outside the stadium. Bursaspor said none of its fans appeared to have been injured. Both it and Besiktas condemned the bombings. ”Those attacking our nation’s unity and solidarity will never win,” Sports Minister Akif Cagatay Kilic said on Twitter. Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan, also writing on Twitter, described it as a terrorist attack. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned what he described as ”horrific acts of terror” while European leaders also sent messages of solidarity. The United States condemned the attack and said it stood with its NATO ally. The bombings come five months after Turkey was shaken by a failed military coup, in which more than 240 people were killed, many of them in Istanbul, as rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and fighter jets in a bid to seize power. Istanbul has seen several other attacks this year, including in June, when around 45 people were killed and hundreds wounded as three suspected Islamic State militants carried out a gun and bomb attack on its main Ataturk airport. (Additional reporting by Orhan Coskun, Ece Toksabay, Tuvan Gumrukcu, Umit Bektas in Ankara, Osman Orsal in Istanbul; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by David Dolan, Matthew Lewis and David Gregorio) UNITED NATIONS The United States cautioned on Wednesday it was ready to use force if need be to stop North Korea’s nuclear missile program but said it preferred global diplomatic action against Pyongyang for defying world powers by test launching a ballistic missile that could hit Alaska. WARSAW U. S. President Donald Trump meets eastern NATO allies in Warsaw on Thursday amid expectations he will reaffirm Washington’s commitment to counter threats from Russia after unnerving them in May by failing to endorse the principle of collective defense.

OPEC, non-OPEC agree first global oil pact since 2001

OPEC and producers on Saturday reached their first deal since 2001 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices that overstretched many budgets and spurred unrest in some countries. With the deal finally signed after almost a year of arguing within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and mistrust in the willingness of Russia to play ball, the market’s focus will now switch to compliance with the agreement. OPEC has a long history of cheating on output quotas. The fact that Nigeria and Libya were exempt from the deal due to civil strife will further pressure OPEC leader Saudi Arabia to shoulder the bulk of supply reductions. Russia, which 15 years ago failed to deliver on promises to cut in tandem with OPEC, is expected to perform real output reductions this time. But analysts question whether many other producers are attempting to present a natural decline in output as their contribution to the deal. ”This agreement cements and prepares us for cooperation,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid told reporters after the meeting, calling the deal ”historic”. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told the same news conference: ”Today’s deal will speed up the oil market stabilization, reduce volatility, attract new investments.” Last week, OPEC agreed to slash output by 1. 2 million barrels per day from Jan. 1, with top exporter Saudi Arabia cutting as much as 486, 000 bpd. Falih said on Saturday that Riyadh may cut even deeper. On Saturday, producers from outside the group agreed to reduce output by 558, 000 bpd, short of the initial target of 600, 000 bpd but still the largest contribution by ever. Of that, Russia will cut 300, 000 bpd, Novak said. He added it would be gradual and by the end of March Russia would be producing 200, 000 bpd less than its October 2016 level of 11. 247 million bpd Russia’s highest production estimate so far. Russian output would fall to 10. 947 million bpd after six months, Novak said. ”They are all enjoying higher prices and compliance tends to be good in the early stages. But then as prices continue to rise, compliance will erode,” said veteran OPEC watcher and founder of Pira Energy consultancy Gary Ross. Amrita Sen from consultancy Energy Aspects said: ”Compared to two months ago when the prospects of a deal were fading rapidly, this is a huge turnaround. Skeptics will argue about compliance but the symbolism in itself cannot be understated.” Ross added that OPEC would target an oil price of $60 per barrel as anything above that could encourage rival production. TWO YEARS OF PAIN Oil prices have more than halved in the past two years after Saudi Arabia raised output steeply in an attempt to drive producers such as U. S. shale firms out of the market. The plunge in oil to below $50 per barrel and sometimes even below $30 from as high as $115 in has helped reduce growth in U. S. shale output. But it also hit the revenues of economies including Saudi Arabia and Russia, prompting the two largest exporters of crude to start their first oil cooperation talks in 15 years. In April in Doha, an attempt to clinch a deal collapsed. Novak said talks between OPEC and had been rescued after Saudi Arabia replaced veteran oil minister Ali with Falih, who ”had fresh views and ideas”. Apart from Russia, the talks on Saturday were attended by or had comments or commitments sent from members Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Sudan and South Sudan. Novak said OPEC and the countries at the meeting were responsible for 55 percent of global output. Their joint reduction of around 1. 8 million bpd would account for about 2 percent of global oil supply. Many countries such as Mexico and Azerbaijan face a natural drop in oil production and some analysts expressed doubts those declines should be counted as cuts. Oman said it would cut output by 45, 000 bpd and Kazakhstan said it would try to reduce by 20, 000 bpd next year. ”While a lot of the countries are formalizing natural declines, cuts by Russia, Kazakhstan and Oman are real. Russia and Kazakhstan were between them expected to add 400, 000 bpd to production next year,” Sen of Energy Aspects said. (Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson) WASHINGTON Federal Reserve policymakers were increasingly split on the outlook for inflation and how it might affect the future pace of interest rate rises, according to the minutes of the Fed’s last policy meeting on June released on Wednesday. One of the investors former drug company executive Martin Shkreli is accused of defrauding testified on Wednesday that Shkreli lied to him repeatedly, although he eventually made millions of dollars from the investment.

Cadillac disavows casting call for ’neo-Nazi’ character in brand ad

General Motors Co’s ( ) Cadillac brand on Saturday disavowed a casting notice that called for an ” (neo nazi)” role in a Cadillac commercial amid a storm of outrage on social media. The casting notice, circulated on Twitter and Facebook, said an agency was looking for ”any and all real ” and indicated the call was for a Cadillac advertisement to be filmed later this month. The is a loose grouping characterized by a rejection of mainstream politics that includes white supremacists and . The came to the fore during the U. S. presidential election. Cadillac officials said on Saturday the brand ”did not authorize or approve a casting notice for an ’ ( )’ role in a commercial. We unequivocally condemn the notice and are seeking immediate answers from our creative agency, production company and any casting companies involved.” The Cast Station, a casting service, on Saturday afternoon posted on its Facebook page that a casting notice ”for an ” ” role in a Cadillac commercial was issued by mistake on Friday, Dec 9th. The notice was drafted by an employee, who was immediately terminated for her actions. Additionally an outside third party further altered the breakdown without our knowledge and posted it on social media. Cadillac unequivocally did not authorize this notice or anything like it, and we apologize to Cadillac for the ’s actions.” The notice also called for ”real current or retired military people,” as well as ”real Olympian ” and ”real taxi driver.” ( :large) Another version of the casting call posted on social media described the planned ”Cadillac Real People” commercial as a ”beautifully artistic spot that is capturing (sic) all walks of life in America. Standing together as a union. This is not meant to be offensive in any way. Just a representation of all sides.” (Reporting by Joe White; Editing by Matthew Lewis and David Gregorio) BRUSSELS French carmaker PSA Group secured unconditional EU antitrust approval on Wednesday to acquire General Motors’ German unit Opel, a move which will help it better compete with market leader Volkswagen . NEW DELHI India is examining the use of private vehicles as shared taxis in an effort to reduce car ownership and curb growing traffic congestion in major cities, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Islamic State militants capture Palmyra despite heavy Russian strikes

Islamic State captured the ancient city of Palmyra on Sunday despite dozens of Russian airstrikes to push back the militants a day after they briefly seized the city in eastern Syria, a war monitor and the militants said. In the government’s first official admission that Palmyra had fallen once again to the militants, state media quoted the governor of the province of Homs, where the city is located, as saying the army had pulled out of the city. The collapse of the city’s defenses despite the heavy bombing and reinforcements sent by the Syrian army has exposed the limitations of the Russian backing that has turned the tide of the conflict in President Bashar ’s favor. ”The army is using all means to prevent the terrorists from staying in Palmyra,” Homs Governor Talal Barazi was quoted as saying, hours after IS and a monitoring group both said the militants had full control of the city. Barazi later said militants had brought in reinforcements from their de facto capital of Raqqa and from Deir Zor province in eastern Syria bordering Iraq. Rebels said the focus of Syria’s overstretched army on defeating insurgents in their last urban stronghold of Aleppo may have diverted much needed resources to defend the city, where Moscow had in recent months beefed up its defenses. The recapture of Palmyra is a major reversal for Syria’s government and its Russian backer, which hailed the city’s capture in March, sent troops to protect it and even staged a concert there. Earlier on Sunday, Russia said its jets had helped force the militants out of the city center overnight while Syria’s army only acknowledged there was a large offensive by the militants from several fronts near a major grain silo 10 km (6 miles) east of the city. Amaq, a news agency linked to Islamic State, said the militants had captured the ancient Crusader Castle that overlooks the city and were back in control of Palmyra, an account backed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict. Palmyra, the site of a city and spectacular ruins in the center of Syria, has become an emblematic battleground in a civil war now in its sixth year. Forces allied to Syria’s government first recaptured the city from Islamic State in March, a victory held up as a major turning point in the war and the biggest reversal for the militants since Russia’s intervention to support Damascus. But Islamic State militants launched a surprise advance on the city on Thursday, taking control of nearby oil and gas fields and pushing toward the T4 airbase, one of Syria’s largest, which is used by Russian forces, the Observatory said. Russia’s defense ministry said its jets had launched 64 strikes and killed more than 300 militants overnight, helping the Syrian army push the main force back. More than 4, 000 Islamic State militants had since regrouped and launched a second attack on Sunday, Russian news agencies cited Moscow’s monitoring center in Syria as saying. Amaq said the group had expanded its control of areas around the desert city on Sunday and seized the Tadmur triangle area to its west, and took control of the nearby Hayan gas field They claimed Islamic State militants had seized 30 Russian tanks, large quantities of Grad missiles, ammunitions and tanks shells and killed around 120 Syrian troops, a figure that corresponds to the toll cited by the Observatory. (Additional reporting by Jack Stubbs in Moscow; Editing by Tom Heneghan) CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis. WASHINGTON U. S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday it was important for U. S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to have a ”good exchange” over how they see the nature of the bilateral relationship.

Oil truck fireball kills at least 42 in central Kenya: aid worker

A fireball from an oil lorry engulfed vehicles on one of Kenya’s main highways, killing at least 42 people late on Saturday, a rescue worker at the scene said. The tanker lorry rammed into vehicles north of the central town of Naivasha then exploded, an official with the National Disaster Management Authority said. ”More bodies are still trapped inside the burned vehicles,” Red Cross volunteer Moha Maris told Reuters. The government gave a lower death toll. ”The information that we have is that 13 vehicles were involved and so far we have retrieved 33 bodies,” Irungu Nyakera, Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, told a news conference. An official in Naivasha said 50 people were being treated in several hospitals for burns, eight of them in a serious condition. In 2009, more than 100 people burned to death near the central town of Molo after a lorry carrying petrol caught fire. (Additional reporting by Noor Ali and Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Aaron Maasho and Andrew Heavens) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

Macedonia’s nationalists, Social Democrats, almost tied in parliamentary vote

Macedonia’s nationalist and opposition Social Democrats were virtually tied in a Sunday election aimed at ending a crisis that brought down the previous government, state election commission preliminary results showed. The of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski won 37. 96 percent of the vote, while the Social Democrats, or SDSM, of Zoran Zaev won 36. 65 percent, the commission showed on its website. Results were based on the counting of nearly 98 percent of the votes. A final result is expected around midday on Monday. The Association Most election monitor said the race was too close to estimate each party’s number of seats in parliament, based on a representative sample it had identified. ”The two leading parties according to the number of votes won are too close to each other, and this difference in the number of votes won influences the deployment of the seats, depending on the margin of error,” Most said in a statement early on Monday. The parliamentary elections came almost a year after Gruevski stepped down as prime minister in a European deal to end a crisis over a corruption scandal in the landlocked nation of 2. 1 million people. Gruevski’s main challenger, Zaev, accused the government last year of wiretapping tens of thousands of citizens and released recordings appearing to implicate the government in corruption. Gruevski has denied any wrongdoing. The party had ruled on its own or as the major coalition party since 2006 until the installation of a caretaker government and the calling of early elections last January. The SDSM was celebrating what it said was its victory in bigger cities on Sunday night. ”The regime fell. The entire world should understand that we wrote history today,” Zaev told supporters in front of the government building in Skopje. Gruevski claimed victory for his party. ” is the winner of these elections. Today, won, but also Macedonia won,” he told supporters in Skopje. Whoever forms the government will have to seek a coalition partner among parties representing ethnic Albanians, who account for of the population. In Romania, the leftist Social Democrats, also seeking after stepping down a year ago amid street protests over its failure to address corruption, were in position to form a coalition government again on Sunday. IRREGULARITIES Early elections were postponed twice in Macedonia after the opposition boycotted them, demanding measures to ensure voting would be free and fair. ”I am hoping that this madness will stop after the election. I hope a better party will win,” said unemployed Orde Serafimovski, casting his vote earlier in the day. The European Union had long criticized Gruevski’s record on democracy and the rule of law, but also needs Macedonia’s cooperation to help contain the bloc’s migration crisis. The country sits on a major migration route into the bloc. Macedonia is a candidate to join the European Union but has never begun accession talks, partly because of criticism of its reform record and an entrenched dispute with neighboring EU member Greece over the name Macedonia, which also belongs to a northern Greek province. Eleven parties and coalitions ran for election, including four representing the ethnic Albanian community. Traditionally, an Albanian party joins a coalition government as junior partner. (Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Will Dunham and Peter Cooney) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

Gambia’s president-elect says loser Jammeh cannot reject polls

Gambia’s Adama Barrow said on Saturday that outgoing leader Yahya Jammeh had no authority to reject the results of the Dec. 1 election, while the United Nations and African Union piled pressure on Jammeh to step aside. Jammeh had conceded defeat publicly last week after his narrow loss to opposition leader Barrow. But on Friday he called for another election in the tiny West African country, jeopardizing what was expected to be Gambia’s first democratic transition of power in more than 50 years. The announcement on state television threw the future of the country of 1. 8 million into doubt. The surprise election result that ended Jammeh’s authoritarian rule had been widely seen as a moment of democratic hope and a chance to end repression in a country known as a police state. ”The outgoing president has no constitutional authority to reject the result of the election and order for fresh elections to be held,” Barrow told reporters in Banjul. ”I open up a channel of communication to convince him to facilitate a smooth transfer of executive powers in the supreme interest of this country,” he said. Outside Barrow’s house, which over the last week had become a gathering point for revelers, about 20 people sitting on plastic chairs said they had volunteered to provide security. None were armed. ”The way Jammeh is speaking it sounds threatening,” said one volunteer, Jadama Ibrahim, wearing tracksuit bottoms and slippers. ”He (Barrow) was relocated twice. We are concerned about his safety.” The streets of Banjul were calm on Saturday with a strong police presence. International criticism of Jammeh came in fast. Following the United States and Senegal, the African Union on Saturday weighed in, calling Jammeh’s statement ”null and void”. The European Union has also called for a peaceful transfer of power. Senegal, which has Gambia’s only land border and once sent troops there during a coup, has called for an emergency meeting of the U. N. Security Council and ”solemnly” warned Jammeh not to harm Senegal’s interests or its citizens in Gambia. But in a sign that early mediation efforts may be floundering, Senegal’s Foreign Minister Mankeur Ndiaye told Reuters that Gambian authorities had refused entry to the chair of regional body ECOWAS. ”Johnson Sirleaf was supposed to fly in today, but Jammeh said ’not at the moment,’” he said. It was not clear if the plane had already taken off. Liberian officials could not be reached for comment. The U. N. Security Council on Saturday condemned the latest statement from Jammeh and called for him to transfer power ”without condition and undue delay”. They intend to review the situation on Monday before deciding whether to hold a meeting, diplomats said. The U. N. and regional body ECOWAS called on the armed forces to stay neutral. Barrow aides say the head of the army has pledged support to him but Gambians have voiced private concerns that a faction from Jammeh’s Jola ethnic minority might protect him, potentially provoking broader conflict along ethnic lines. Jammeh also said in his speech on Friday that he would not tolerate protests in what Amnesty International called an ”extremely dangerous move that risks leading to instability and possible repression”. Under chapter 5 of Gambia’s constitution, candidates have 10 days from the declaration of results to appeal to the Supreme Court. It was not immediately clear if Jammeh had done that, and Gambia’s Information Minister could not be reached. His objections to the poll results follows a correction by the Independent Electoral Commission this week which gave Barrow a much slimmer final victory margin of fewer than 20, 000 votes. In a sign of the determination of some Barrow supporters to uphold the poll outcome, the website of Gambia’s presidency was hacked and showed a picture of a smiling Barrow. ”The struggle continues, victory is certain,” the State House website said, quoting in Portuguese the rallying cry of Mozambique fighters during their war for independence. A third party candidate in last week’s election, Mama Kandeh of the Gambia Democratic Congress also rejected Jammeh’s call for another election. ”Your swift decision earlier to concede defeat and your subsequent move to call Adama Barrow to congratulate him was lauded throughout the world,” Kandeh said. ”We therefore prevail on you to reconsider your decision.” (Additional reporting by Diadie Ba and Michelle Nichols; Writing by Emma Farge and Edward McAllister; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt and Hugh Lawson) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

Syria, Russia pound rebel-held Aleppo but advances halt

Syria’s military and Russian warplanes bombarded districts of Aleppo on Saturday as Damascus’s allies said victory was near, but insurgents fought back and army advances halted after rapid gains during the week. The United States said it was meeting a Russian team in Geneva to find a way to save lives, but an agreement looked elusive as the two countries, which back opposing sides, have repeatedly failed to strike a deal to allow evacuations and help aid deliveries. Russia, whose military intervention helped turn the war in President Bashar ’s favor, said the Syrian government now controls 93 percent of Aleppo, a figure Reuters could not independently verify. Recapture of the country’s city would deal a major blow to rebels who have fought to unseat Assad in the nearly war. The insurgents are holed out in a handful of areas mostly south of the historic Old City, having lost nearly of territory they controlled for years in the space of around two weeks. Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah, a key military ally of Damascus alongside Russia and Iran, said late on Friday that a ”promised victory” in Aleppo was imminent and would change the course of the war. The advances mean the government appears closer to victory than at any point since 2011 protests against Assad evolved into armed rebellion. The war has killed more than 300, 000 people and made more than 11 million homeless. A win for Assad in Aleppo looks close, but the fighting still raged on Saturday. In a surprise setback elsewhere, government forces lost control of most of the ancient city of Palmyra in eastern Syria to Islamic State, a war monitor and rebels said. [L5N1E506M] The army earlier said it had sent reinforcements to Palmyra, more than 200 kms (130 miles) away, to stave off a fierce attack by the militants. A rebel commander in the Jaish group said the IS offensive had forced the government to divert troops to Palmyra from Aleppo a possible explanation for the slowed advance there and heavy aerial and artillery bombardment. Russian warplanes and Syrian artillery bombarded districts, and rebels responded with shelling of areas as gunfire rang out, a Reuters correspondent in Aleppo said. Russia and Syria said on Friday they had reduced military operations to allow civilians to leave. But rebels said their counterattacks are what have halted government advances. ”There’s no advance by the regime. They (rebels) have stopped them several times,” Zakaria Malahifji, a official in the Fastaqim rebel group said. VAST DESTRUCTION Fighting has killed hundreds of people in recent weeks, monitors say, and devastated large areas of east Aleppo. Parts of the UNESCO World Heritage Old City recaptured by the government were completely destroyed by fighting, a Reuters correspondent said. Old markets and bathhouses had been flattened. ”I found my home destroyed,” said one returning resident, who gave only his family name, Sheikho. ”I didn’t even recognize where it was because of the destruction,” he said. Mohammed Shaaban, standing outside a destroyed church, was also astounded by the destruction. ”A year and a half ago when I last visited there was not this level of damage. I’m shocked and saddened. They destroyed civilization and humanity,” he said, referring to rebels. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said several people were killed in rebel shelling on Saturday. Thousands of people have left rebel districts. Some have fled to areas but others went to areas under rebel control fearing arrest and reprisals by government forces. U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Russia to show ”a little grace” when American and Russian officials meet in Geneva later on Saturday to try to reach a deal enabling civilians and fighters to leave Aleppo. ”Fighters . .. don’t trust that if they agreed to leave to try to save Aleppo that it will save Aleppo and they will be unharmed,” Kerry told reporters in Paris after a meeting of countries opposed to Assad. ”The choice for many of them . .. is to die in Aleppo, die in (neighboring) Idlib, but die,” he added. Germany said Syrian opposition backers were seeking a political solution, but there was no agreement in Paris on a truce. IS ASSAULT STRETCHES ARMY Russia’s defense ministry said more than 20, 000 civilians left eastern Aleppo on Saturday and over 1, 200 rebels laid down their arms. The Observatory said hundreds of civilians had left but no fighters surrendered. Rebel officials have sworn they will never leave. The army said that it reduced operations to allow residents to leave and that this would enable the military to carry out ”wider maneuvers” against insurgents in due course. Even once Aleppo is retaken, the Syrian war will continue. The United States, which is leading a separate fight against Islamic State in northern and eastern Syria, said it will send 200 additional military personnel including special forces to create pressure on the group’s Raqqa hub. The fight against Islamic State, waged separately by the group’s many enemies Moscow and Damascus, the U. S. coalition, and some of the same rebels fighting Assad in Aleppo is just one sign that Syria’s complex conflict will not end with a defeat for insurgents in Aleppo. Kerry warned the war would create more jihadist militants and grind on. ”If Aleppo were to fall . .. the war does not end, but in fact could create more jihadis and more people to seek revenge and prosecute their interests,” he said. (Reporting by Laila Bassam in Aleppo, John Davison in Beirut, Suleiman in Amman, Alexander Winning in Moscow, William Maclean in Manama, Mostafa Hashem in Cairo; Writing by John Davison; Editing by Louise Heavens and Hugh Lawson) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

Italy president pledges to solve government crisis fast

Italian President Sergio Mattarella pledged on Saturday to act quickly to solve a government crisis prompted by Matteo Renzi’s resignation as prime minister, with all major parties calling for elections as soon as possible. Before any vote can take place, however, Italy needs a new electoral law. Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni appears to be in pole position to be nominated by Mattarella sometime in the next 48 hours to head the next government and oversee that reform. Gentiloni could potentially take office next week and would face an immediate crisis in the banking sector, with the country’s lender, Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( ) likely to need state intervention to avoid collapse. ”Our country needs a fully competent government, quickly,” Mattarella, a 75 former constitutional court judge, said after meeting officials from around 40 political parties. Renzi’s Democratic Party (PD) pushed for the creation of a broad, coalition, but most other parties were opposed to such a government, the PD Senate leader Luigi Zanda said after meeting the head of state. The legislature is due to carry on until 2018 but early elections could be called at any time once a valid electoral law is in place. Renzi, 41, resigned after a bruising defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform on Dec. 4. Any candidate will need backing from his party, as it holds a majority in both houses. The Movement, which polls a close second to the PD, demanded a national vote as soon as possible. ”Renzi, his entire government, and the PD have failed. It’s not us saying this, but the 19, 419, 730 people who voted no at the referendum last Sunday,” M5S representatives wrote on founder Beppe Grillo’s blog. Silvio Berlusconi, a prime minister who leads the Forza Italia (Go Italy!) party, also called for elections, and said he would not support a grand coalition. ”The difficult economic situation, continued high unemployment, internal and external threats to security, and difficult relations with Europe do not allow delays,” he said. All parties called for a new electoral law to be put in place to replace one that only applies to the lower house and that could be declared illegitimate in January by the Constitutional Court. Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, head of a small group, said his party would support a new mandate for Renzi, although a parliamentary source said last week the PD leader had ruled out returning to office. Gentiloni is seen as a Renzi loyalist who would be unlikely to set his own, independent course. Three PD lawmakers said Renzi wanted Gentiloni to oversee the writing of a new electoral law while the would hold primaries to decide who should lead the bloc into the next elections. Other possible contenders for the prime minister’s job included Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan, Transport Minister Graziano Delrio and Senate president Pietro Grasso. One PD source said an election would likely be held in June. (Additional reporting by Steve Scherer and Giselda Vagnoni,; Editing by Hugh Lawson and David Evans) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

Princesses, presidents, laureates join hands to ’globalize compassion’ for children

NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) Royalty, presidents, prime ministers and spiritual leaders joined hands with Nobel peace prize winners on Saturday in the fight for child rights, saying they wanted to ”globalize compassion for children” in a world which has forgotten to care. Despite greater wealth across the world, millions of children still languish in poverty and are trafficked, exploited, forced to flee their homes due to conflict and denied basic rights, including an education. Speaking at a summit in Delhi, prominent figures including Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, Tibetan Spiritual Leader the Dalai Lama, Princess Charlene of Monaco, former President of East Timor Jose said it was time to speak with one voice for the rights of children. ”The world is facing many problems. We humans have created these problems, and it is only we who can solve them. We can’t blame Buddha, or God or Jesus for the problems faced by our children,” the Dalai Lama told delegates at the event. ”This can only come from compassion, from ending all the violence which we have seen in the 20th century. The 21st century has to be the century of peace.” According to the U. N. children’s agency UNICEF, children continue to live — and die — in unconscionable conditions. In 2015, an estimated 5. 9 million children died before reaching age 5, mostly as a result of preventable and treatable diseases. Millions more children are still denied access to education simply because their parents are poor or from a stigmatized group, because they were born female, or because they are growing up in countries affected by conflict or chronic crises. Even though poverty is falling globally, nearly half of the world’s extreme poor are children, and many more experience multiple dimensions of poverty in their lives, adds UNICEF. ”MORAL VOICE” Indian child rights activist and laureate Kailash Satyarthi said he organized the summit, bringing together 250 leaders and laureates from politics, corporates, civil society, academia and the judiciary, to harness their voices to advocate on one single platform for children. He told delegates that while progress has been made in decreasing the number of child laborers and increasing the number of children in school over the last decade, it was not enough as millions of children continued to be exploited. ”You are the strongest moral voices we have in the world today and together we will turn the tide in favor of the most marginalized children. Let us build a legacy together,” Satyarthi said. ”We need solutions that are bold and transformative. We need new partnerships that are innovative and inclusive. We need new resources that are sustainable, and fundamentally, we need a new resolve that would be the will for children.” Participants included Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, Holland’s Princess Laurentien, Australia’s former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Yemeni human rights activist and laureate Tawakkol Karman and Angel Gurria, of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development. The summit will end on Sunday with delegates expected to come up with an declaration on what they will do in their own countries and across the world to push policy, funds and solutions towards ending violations against children. (Reporting by Nita Bhalla, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women’s rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news. trust. org) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

Death toll in Bulgarian cargo train explosion climbs to seven

Seven people were killed in a village in northeastern Bulgaria when a cargo train derailed and exploded, demolishing about 50 houses and public buildings, officials said on Saturday. Several dozens were injured and at least five of the victims remain in critical condition in hospital, health authorities said. Bulgaria’s government said it is preparing to announce Monday a day of national mourning following the deadly incident. Twelve of the private train’s tanks, carrying propylene, very volatile and highly flammable gas, derailed at the rail station of the village. One of the tanks struck a line and exploded in flames early on Saturday, police said. The powerful blast flattened dozens of houses and public buildings, leaving people under the ruins. Officials ordered a full evacuation of the village so that the propylene can be safely removed. Specialists are conducting an operation to transfer gas from the tanks of the train at the center of the blast. ”The draining of tanks is a very complex and slow process,” outgoing Prime Minister Boiko Borisov a few hours after arriving at the village, some 380 km northeast of the capital Sofia and home to around 1, 000 people, according to a police official. ”It should be done very carefully.” The operation is expected to take a day or two to complete. ”Two blasts have caused a serious fire and ruined at least 20 buildings. There are many people injured . .. many with burns,” Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Georgi Kostov said. An man has died of his wounds in the hospital in the northern town of Shumen, a hospital official said. Some 200 firemen are putting out the fires and are cooling the derailed tanks to avoid further blasts. Rescue teams, including sniffer dogs, are searching for survivors in houses near the train lines. ”I helped take out six people under the ruins. Three were dead, three alive. There are no houses left standing near the incident within 300 meters from the railways,” said Stefan Stefanov, who lives in Hitrino. Prosecutors said they are investigating the incident. Possible speeding or malfunctioning of the train tanks are among the most likely reasons for the incident, the head of the parliamentary commission Nastimir Ananiev said. (Editing by Louise Heavens) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

Murdoch’s new Sky bid should be probed, UK opposition politicians say

Rupert Murdoch’s new takeover approach for British firm Sky should be investigated by the UK’s competition authorities, according to opposition politicians, though analysts said a deal should be easier to get through this time round. Liberal Democrat Vince Cable, who was Britain’s business secretary at the time of Murdoch’s first bid in told BBC radio the media tycoon’s new takeover attempt would not be in the public interest. Cable referred Murdoch’s original bid to regulator Ofcom and said his latest offer should face the same scrutiny. Tom Watson, deputy leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party and a critic of the Murdoch business family, also called on regulators to be ready to properly vet the deal but did not oppose it outright. On Friday, Murdoch’s Century Fox said it had struck a preliminary deal to buy the 61 percent of Sky it does not own for around $14 billion. It came five years after a political scandal wrecked his previous bid. That attempt to buy Sky through his News Corp business provoked uproar among some UK politicians, who said it would give the billionaire owner of The Sun and The Times newspapers too much control over Britain’s media. It collapsed in 2011 when Murdoch’s UK newspaper business was engulfed in a scandal. It intensified political opposition, resulted in a criminal trial, and led to the closure of his News of the World tabloid newspaper. Cable said the issue was the same five years on. ”This is yet again a threat to media plurality, choice, just as it was six years ago when I referred this to the competition authorities and it should be investigated,” he said. ”The ownership of the media, whether you’re looking at press, radio, television is very highly concentrated and this makes it even more concentrated.” EASIER RIDE However, analysts and Murdoch allies said Friday’s proposal was likely to have an easier ride, partly because News Corp has now separated from Fox, which means the bidding firm no longer owns UK newspapers, and because there are little or no competition issues, with very significant changes in the market for news in the UK since 2010. They also said the British government was keen to promote investment in the wake of the Brexit vote and could present the deal as a sign of confidence in the economy. ”It’s very likely that even if there is a plurality investigation that this will go through,” Claire Enders of Enders Analysis told BBC radio. ”It is a different situation and the entities have been structured differently.” Similarly Wilton Fry, analyst at stockbroker RBC Capital, saw ”a high likelihood” of a deal being approved. It will be up to Karen Bradley, the Conservative government’s culture, media and sport minister to decide whether the plurality situation has materially changed since 2010. ”Will the government really say he can’t own more than 39 percent of it? I don’t think so,” David Yelland, a former editor of Murdoch’s Sun newspaper, told Reuters. ”It takes a lot of negative energy to block a deal like this and I just don’t see it happening this time around.” (Editing by Jeremy Gaunt and Ros Russell) Biopharmaceutical company Celgene Corp will buy a stake in BeiGene Ltd and help develop and commercialize BeiGene’s investigational treatment for tumor cancers, the companies said on Wednesday. BRUSSELS French carmaker PSA Group secured unconditional EU antitrust approval on Wednesday to acquire General Motors’ German unit Opel, a move which will help it better compete with market leader Volkswagen .

Hawkish Fed a potential speed bump for stock bulls

Next week’s Federal Reserve meeting and possible signals on the pace of rate hikes for next year could pose the biggest risk yet to the rally the U. S. stock market has seen since last month’s presidential election. While investors have long anticipated the Fed will raise rates at the Dec. meeting in what would be its first such move in a year and second in nearly a decade the worry for some stock investors is that the Fed takes a more aggressive stance on inflation and future hikes. Stocks have set a string of record highs since the Nov. 8 election on hopes of a pickup in U. S. economic growth, thanks to Donald Trump’s promises of increased infrastructure spending, lower taxes and easier regulations. U. S. investors seem optimistic about prospects of future growth, but the question remains if the Fed does as well. The U. S. central bank should announce new economic forecasts next week, along with a rate hike. If inflation is expected to pick up quickly, the Fed may need to raise rates faster than investors expect, and that could be a negative for U. S. stocks. ”If they believe that inflation is going to march higher and more rapidly . .. That would give the market reason to pause,” said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey. ”I don’t think investors want to hear that this is going to be an aggressive Fed.” Fed Chair Janet Yellen will more likely want to reassure investors that the transition to higher rates will be gradual, she said. Last December, the Fed raised rates for the first time in nearly a decade, and later signaled four more hikes would come in 2016. But the outlook quickly changed as the economy did not pick up speed, oil prices fell further and the stock market plunged at the start of 2016. Next week, ”the market is going to try to key off of whether we are going to fall into the (hikes) or the for 2017,” said Jason Ware, chief investment officer at Albion Financial Group in Salt Lake City. ”If in the statement and the discussion afterwards it appears that the Fed is getting more concerned that they are behind the curve and they have to tighten more aggressively than the market currently expects, that could knock stocks back.” Given the sharp in equities since the election, some strategists are already advising caution. The S&P 500 has had its best run since March and the Dow is up 7. 8 percent since the election. ”The market is now overbought in the short and long terms,” said Brad Lamensdorf, a manager for the Ranger Equity Bear fund ( ) which bets stocks will fall. Financials could see the biggest impact if there’s a shift in the outlook for rates. The group has outperformed the broader market in the recent rally, partly on the view that Trump will ease regulations for the sector but also on expectations of rising rates, which benefit banks. Stock investors also worry about the impact of rising rates on the U. S. dollar. Strategists in a Reuters poll this week cited the dollar, which has strengthened sharply since the election, as among the biggest possible risks for stocks next year because of its negative impact on U. S. multinationals’ earnings. (Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Additional reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Rodrigo Campos and Nick Zieminski) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

After impeachment of South Korean president, anti-Park rallies resume

Protesters demanding that South Korean President Park step down marched on Saturday for a seventh straight weekend, a day after parliament voted overwhelmingly to impeach her and put the fate of her presidency in the hands of a court. The crowd estimated by organizers at 200, 000 packing a large square in downtown Seoul was significantly smaller than in recent weeks but festive, with performances of music between speeches calling for the early removal of Park. ”We demand that the Constitutional Court make a decision of conscience and justice and do not act against the will of the people,” Jung one of the leaders of a coalition of civic groups backing the rally, said in a speech. Prime Minister Hwang who became acting president late on Friday after the impeachment vote, called on authorities to ensure that rallies are peaceful and sought to calm anxiety over national security and to reassure financial markets ”So far, financial and foreign exchange markets have been relatively stable and there are no signs of unusual movements by the North, but all public servants should bear vigilance in mind as they conduct their duties,” Hwang told a meeting. Park’s powers were suspended after 234 of parliament’s 300 members voted to impeach her, meaning more than 60 members of her own party backed the motion against her. The impeachment, which has to be reviewed and approved by the Constitutional Court within 180 days to remove Park from office, sets the stage for her to become the country’s first elected leader to be ousted in disgrace. Park, 64, the daughter of a former military ruler, is accused of colluding with a friend and a former aide, both of whom prosecutors have indicted, to pressure big businesses to donate to foundations set up to back her policy initiatives. Park, who is serving a single term ending in February 2018, has denied wrongdoing but apologized for carelessness in her ties with her friend, Choi . ”IMPEACHMENT DISCOUNTS” For seven consecutive weekends, huge crowds have gathered in central Seoul in demonstrations calling for Park to step down. On Saturday, some restaurants in central Seoul were offering ”impeachment discounts,” according to TV channel YTN. The rallies have been peaceful, with parents bringing children and many demonstrators using smartphone apps with candlelight images and maps for bathrooms. Lee a office worker, was at a booth giving out free LED candles. ”The impeachment was passed but this is the beginning, not the end,” he said. The rally capped a historic week that saw the heads of nine of the country’s biggest conglomerates subjected to a grilling by a parliamentary panel on whether they sought favors by agreeing to pay into the foundations controlled by Choi. ”Imprison Jay Y. Lee,” said a sign held at the rally by Democratic Party presidential hopeful Lee referring to the scion of the Samsung Group, who was among the nine. None of the companies has been accused of wrongdoing. If Park leaves office early, an election must be held within 60 days. She would also lose presidential immunity from prosecution. Prosecutors have named Park as an accomplice in their investigation. Park’s approval rating is just 5 percent, according to a poll released before Friday’s impeachment vote, but some Koreans turned out to support her at a march earlier on Saturday. ”Nothing has been proven yet,” said Kim a office worker carrying an ”against impeachment” sign. ”After the investigation, after everything’s been revealed, it’s not too late to impeach then,” he said. The United States, which has about 28, 500 troops stationed in South Korea, was in close contact with South Korea and remained a strong ally, the White House said late on Friday. While North Korean state media has been scathing in its coverage of South Korea’s presidential scandal, which erupted in October, the official KCNA news agency’s first report on the impeachment was a simple item on Saturday. (Additional reporting by James Pearson; Editing by Tony Munroe, Robert Birsel and Louise Heavens) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

From afar, Dylan muses on honor and surprise of Nobel prize

Nobel laureate Bob Dylan sent a message on Saturday thanking the Swedish academy for awarding him the Nobel prize for literature, an honor the American singer and songwriter believed was about as likely as ”standing on the moon.” ”I’m sorry I can’t be with you in person, but please know that I am most definitely with you in spirit and honored to be receiving such a prestigious prize,” Dylan said in a speech read by Azita Raji, the U. S. ambassador to Sweden, at the Nobel banquet. He also expressed his huge surprise at receiving the award. ”If someone had ever told me that I had the slightest chance of winning the Nobel Prize, I would have to think that I’d have about the same odds as standing on the moon,” he said. The Dylan finally accepted the 8 million Swedish crown ($870, 000) prize for literature, after frustrating the academy with weeks of silence following the announcement of the award on Oct. 13. But he chose not to attend the festivities. His absence has been widely debated in Sweden in recent weeks, where the Nobel prize is a huge source of pride. One member of the academy accused Dylan of being ”arrogant” and ”rude” as the singer remained silent after the award was announced. In his place singer Patti Smith performed Dylan’s ”A Hard Rain’s Fall” at the award ceremony earlier in the day. A nervous Smith forgot the lyrics and had to start over but still received emphatic applause at the end. While Dylan was absent, all other laureates, which include Japan’s Yoshinori Ohsumi for medicine and Britain’s Duncan Haldane for physics, accepted a medal and a diploma from the hand of the Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf before attending the banquet at Stockholm’s City Hall for about 1, 300 people. In a Nordic country priding itself on its modernity, the Nobel banquet is vestige of luxury that every year brings together royalty and the powerful in politics and business with some of the world’s top scientific minds. The dress code is white tie and tails for men and gowns for women. The prize was introduced in 1901 according to the will of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor and industrialist, five years after his death in 1896. The prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, literature and economic science are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, while the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway. (Reporting by Johan Ahlander and Ilze Filks; Editing by Mary Milliken) MUMBAI Amiruddin Shah has been described as India’s ”Billy Elliot” a young lover of dance who rises from humble beginnings to great things on the ballet stage. LONDON The final film in the rebooted ”Planet of the Apes” series will hit cinemas next week, promising an conclusion to a trilogy that has garnered both critical acclaim and box office receipts.

Senate passes funding bill, Obama signs into law

The U. S. Senate passed legislation on Friday to fund the government through April and President Barack Obama promptly signed it into law, after Democrats who had sought more generous healthcare benefits for coal miners stopped delaying action on the measure. Many government services and operations would have been closed or suspended at midnight, when current funding authority expired, if the Senate had not approved the bill. The vote was . The House of Representatives passed the legislation on Thursday. Obama signed the measure, the White House said in a statement issued about 90 minutes after the Senate passed it. Democrats from states, led by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, had delayed the Senate vote on the funding bill in a failed attempt to get a bigger extension of miners’ healthcare benefits that expire at the end of this year. The Democratic senators, many of whom are up for in 2018, seemed eager to court voters who flocked to Republican Donald Trump in elections last month. Some of the senators also appealed to Trump to help the miners. Trump ”won coal country big, that’s for sure,” incoming Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor. ”So we are simply asking our to communicate to the people in his party, to get on board, live up to the promise we made the miners many years, decades ago,” Schumer said. The legislation provided financial support for four more months of healthcare benefits for coal miners, through April, but Manchin and other Senate Democrats wanted at least a year. Senate Republicans refused to reopen the issue. But Schumer said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had promised Manchin he would work next year to continue the benefits beyond April. Manchin and the other Democrats then stopped objecting to holding the vote, although they still opposed the measure. ”I was born in a family of coal miners,” Manchin said. ”And (if) I’m not going to stand up for them, who is?” Manchin, a moderate Democrat who has been touted as a possible member of Trump’s cabinet, is scheduled to see Trump in New York on Monday. Manchin told reporters, however, that ”I’m not looking for a job.” The government funding bill would keep federal agencies funded until April 28. It freezes most spending at current levels. Flint, Michigan, which has endured a struggle with drinking water, would get access to a $170 million fund for infrastructure improvements and lead poisoning prevention under the bill. The Senate also passed a separate bill authorizing water projects around the country that included directions for spending the Flint money and provisions to provide relief to California. This measure was also approved by the House on Thursday. A provision in the government funding bill would make it easier for Trump to win confirmation of General James Mattis to be defense secretary early next year. Republicans demanded it to help Mattis get around a requirement that the defense secretary be a civilian for seven years before taking the job. Mattis retired from the military in 2013. (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by David Gregorio and Lisa Shumaker) MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. NEW YORK The U. S. government on Wednesday proposed to reduce the volume of biofuel required to be used in gasoline and diesel fuel next year as it signaled the first step toward a potential broader overhaul of its biofuels program.

Aetna CEO defends merger with Humana in antitrust trial

Aetna Inc’s ( ) chief executive denied on Friday that its withdrawal from some Obamacare exchanges was in retaliation for government efforts to halt its merger with Humana Inc ( ) as he sought to convince a federal judge to approve the deal. The U. S. Justice Department sued to stop the $34 billion in July, saying that it and another insurance mega merger, Anthem Inc’s ( ) planned purchase of Cigna Corp ( ) would mean higher prices and worse service for many consumers. The primary disputes in Friday afternoon’s testimony were whether traditional Medicare, which is managed by the government, competes with Medicare Advantage, run by insurers, and whether Aetna pulled out of some public Obamacare exchanges out of anger after the department filed its lawsuit. Aetna’s CEO Mark Bertolini said the decision was driven by the financial losses the company was incurring through the exchanges, established under President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law. If Judge John Bates of the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia agrees that the two types of Medicare compete, he will likely rule that there is sufficient competition in the market and allow the deal to go forward. The government has shown that once a person signs up for Medicare Advantage, they tend not to shift to Medicare, a sign that the two do not compete. Bertolini acknowledged that there were differences between the two programs in terms of cost, portability, types of service and size of provider networks. But he also said thousands of people become eligible every day to decide between Medicare and Medicare Advantage. ”We’re really competing for the 11, 000 people that retire every day,” he told the court. The government sued in July to prevent Aetna’s purchase of Humana merger, on grounds that it violated antitrust law. Within weeks, Aetna said it would drop its Obamacare plans in 11 of the 15 states in which it was active. In a July 5 letter, Bertolini told the Justice Department: ”If the DOJ sues to enjoin the transaction, we will immediately take action to reduce our 2017 exchange footprint.” Asked if the letter was a threat, Bertolini said it had been requested by the Justice Department. ”We were responding to their questions,” he said. The decision to pull out of some exchanges was based on a $200 million loss for the second quarter that was estimated to balloon to $350 million for the year, he said. ”We’ve got to stop the bleeding.” The government’s fight against the Anthem deal to buy Cigna for $45 billion is underway in the same courthouse. Both trials will be concluded before Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2017. Humana is the second largest Medicare Advantage insurer while Aetna is the fourth, and the two compete in more than 600 counties, the government said in its complaint. Judge Bates said that the trial would likely end on Dec. 21 and that the case would most likely be decided in to late January. Bates is well known in legal circles as the judge who handed another antitrust enforcer, the Federal Trade Commission, one of its biggest losses when he ruled in 2004 that Arch Coal Inc ( ) could buy Triton Coal Company’s Wyoming coal mines. (Refiling to drop extraneous words in 7th paragraph) (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Tom Brown) Biopharmaceutical company Celgene Corp will buy a stake in BeiGene Ltd and help develop and commercialize BeiGene’s investigational treatment for tumor cancers, the companies said on Wednesday. BRUSSELS French carmaker PSA Group secured unconditional EU antitrust approval on Wednesday to acquire General Motors’ German unit Opel, a move which will help it better compete with market leader Volkswagen .

Russia signs Rosneft deal with Qatar, Glencore

Russian state holding company Rosneftegaz on Saturday signed a deal with the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and commodities trader Glencore ( ) to sell a 19. 5 percent stake in oil major Rosneft ( ) Rosneft said. The privatization deal, which Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin called the largest in Russia’s history, was announced by Rosneft in a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. Its success suggests the lure of taking a share in one of the world’s biggest oil companies outweighs the risks associated with Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. Rosneft had been under pressure to secure a sale of the 19. 5 percent stake to help replenish state coffers, hit by an economic slowdown driven by weak oil prices and exacerbated by sanctions. Rosneft said in a statement the budget would receive 710. 8 billion rubles ($11. 37 billion) from the sale, including 18. 4 billion rubles in additional dividends from Rosneftegaz. It said the additional dividends were due to a change in its dividend policy, according to which it will pay at least 35 percent of net profit according to international accounting standards in payouts twice a year. Rosneft confirmed that Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo ( ) was a major creditor for the deal and said it would be closed by the middle of December. A Rosneft source said Intesa and a syndicate of four or five key banks would provide 7 billion euros of financing. The Italian lender will provide ”significantly over 50 percent” of the financing, while Glencore will hedge the bulk of its stake in Rosneft, the source added. Sechin called QIA and Glencore ”strategic investors” and said he was confident their work together would lead to synergies for Rosneft. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Writing by Alexander Winning and Jack Stubbs; Editing by David Evans and Dale Hudson) Biopharmaceutical company Celgene Corp will buy a stake in BeiGene Ltd and help develop and commercialize BeiGene’s investigational treatment for tumor cancers, the companies said on Wednesday. BRUSSELS French carmaker PSA Group secured unconditional EU antitrust approval on Wednesday to acquire General Motors’ German unit Opel, a move which will help it better compete with market leader Volkswagen .

Vivendi says not part of potential Canal Plus-Orange talks

France’s Vivendi denied on Saturday it was discussing a deal with telecoms operator Orange, insisting that any potential talks between the two groups were focused on its unit Canal Plus. Earlier reports in French newsletter Lettre de l’Expansion and newspaper Le Figaro had described the scenario of a deal between Orange and Vivendi. ”If talks are taking place, it’s between Orange and Canal Plus,” a Vivendi spokesman said. He added that potential deals between Orange, Vivendi and Telecom Italia, in which Vivendi holds a 24 percent stake, were not on the agenda. A series of deals have recently been announced between large media and telecoms groups, as the industry bets on the convergence of TV content with and Internet and phone services to compete better against newcomers such as Netflix, Amazon. com Inc. Orange Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard said on Thursday that Orange would consider bidding for Vivendi’s Canal Plus if it came up for sale. The former telecoms monopoly is keen on forming a closer alliance with Canal Plus, Richard added, without elaborating. Talks between Orange and Canal Plus so far have concerned a potential acquisition by Orange of a stake in Vivendi’s group, but no deal has been reached yet, according to two sources close to the matter. An Orange spokeswoman declined to comment. An alliance with Canal Plus would allow Orange to compete better against its French rival SFR Group, a subsidiary of telecoms and cable group Altice. Altice said on Wednesday it had signed a strategic agreement with NBC Universal that provides exclusive distribution rights for the 13th Street and E! Entertainment TV channels. SFR, whose media content also includes the English Premier League soccer, is betting on a combination of television content and mobile telecoms to set itself apart from competitors. (Reporting by Gwenaelle Barzic; Writing by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Geert Victor De Clercq and David Evans) Biopharmaceutical company Celgene Corp will buy a stake in BeiGene Ltd and help develop and commercialize BeiGene’s investigational treatment for tumor cancers, the companies said on Wednesday. BRUSSELS French carmaker PSA Group secured unconditional EU antitrust approval on Wednesday to acquire General Motors’ German unit Opel, a move which will help it better compete with market leader Volkswagen .

Trump says reports Russia helped him in U.S. election are ’ridiculous’

Donald Trump rejected as ”ridiculous” U. S. intelligence reports that Russia intervened in the presidential election on his behalf through targeted hacking, putting him at odds with top lawmakers who vowed to investigate the findings. He blamed Democrats for news reports on the intelligence findings and said he did not believe they came from the Central Intelligence Agency. ”I think it’s ridiculous. I think it’s just another excuse. I don’t believe it,” Trump said in an interview on ”Fox News Sunday.” Trump’s reluctance to blame Russia for interfering in the U. S. election has raised concerns among U. S. officials who fear he will go soft on Moscow at a time when they are worried about its increasingly aggressive behavior on cyber attacks and in Crimea, Ukraine and Syria. A U. S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, harshly criticized Trump’s rejection of the assessment that Russian hacking was intended to boost the ’s prospects in the Nov. 8 election. ”It’s concerning that intelligence on Russian actions related to the U. S. election is being dismissed out of hand as false or politically partisan,” said the U. S. intelligence official. ”The inclination to ignore such intelligence and impugn the integrity of U. S. intelligence officials is contrary to all that is sacred to national security professionals who work day and night to protect this country.” The unusually harsh comment underscored the unprecedented tensions that Trump has created with the intelligence community he will command even before he’s been sworn into office. Two leading U. S. Senate foreign policy voices from Trump’s own party expressed alarm on Sunday about the possibility of Moscow tipping the scales in favor of an American presidential candidate and promised to begin investigating immediately. The Obama White House, which has ordered intelligence agencies to review cyber attacks and foreign intervention in the 2016 election, has formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the presidential election. Russian officials, who have previously vehemently denied accusations of interference in the U. S. election, were quiet. In his search for a secretary of state, Trump, a New York real estate magnate, is strongly considering Exxon Mobil Corp Chief Executive Rex Tillerson, who has close ties with Moscow and has spoken out against U. S. sanctions on Russia. Republican Senator John McCain expressed concern about Tillerson’s close relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. ”That would color his approach to Vladimir Putin and the Russian threat,” he said on Sunday on CBS’ ”Face the Nation.” A number of U. S. senators have expressed concerns about Tillerson, suggesting his nomination could run into trouble in the Senate. Trump’s pick as national security adviser, retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, has also raised eyebrows in military circles through appearances on Russia’s broadcaster RT, particularly at a gala last year attended by Putin. But Trump’s choices to lead the CIA and the Pentagon, U. S. Representative Mike Pompeo and retired Marine General James Mattis, are more likely to take a harsher stance on Russia. U. S. intelligence agencies have told Congress and President Barack Obama’s administration that Russia has grown increasingly aggressive in Syria and Ukraine and has stepped up activities in cyberspace, including meddling, sometimes covertly, in European and U. S. elections. A senior U. S. intelligence official told Reuters that intelligence agencies had concluded with ”high confidence” that not only did their Russian counterparts direct the hacking of Democratic Party organizations and leaders, but did so to undermine Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. CONGRESS TO INVESTIGATE Trump questioned whether the CIA was behind the reports that indicated Moscow wanted him in the White House. ”I think the Democrats are putting it out,” he said in the Fox News interview. He said the intelligence community did not agree on Russian intervention. ”They’re fighting among themselves. They’re not sure,” he said. McCain was at a loss on Sunday to explain Trump’s repudiation of the Russian meddling. ”I don’t know what to make of it because it’s clear the Russians interfered,” McCain said on CBS. ”Whether they intended to interfere to the degree that they were trying to elect a certain candidate, I think that’s a subject of investigation, but the facts are stubborn things.” McCain and fellow Republican Senator Lindsey Graham joined Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer and Jack Reed on Sunday in expressing concern over possible Russian interference and said they would work together to investigate such cyber attacks. ”Recent reports of Russian interference in our election should alarm every American,” they said in a statement. ”This cannot become a partisan issue. The stakes are too high for our country.” McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he would have a subcommittee led by Graham begin investigating the Russian hacking immediately. Republican House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan cannot comment on classified briefings, ”but he rejects any politicization of intelligence matters,” spokeswoman AshLee Strong said in an email. Trump advisers disputed elements of the news reports, focusing particularly on a New York Times story saying that intelligence officials concluded the computer systems of the Republican National Committee also had been hacked. The fact that material from that intrusion had not been released, the Times reported, supported the conclusion that Russia was trying to help Trump. ”The RNC was absolutely not hacked,” the RNC chairman and incoming White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said on NBC’s ”Meet the Press.” Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said Trump would not interfere with any congressional inquiry but that the regarded the spate of hacking reports as part of an effort to relitigate the election. ”He absolutely respects the intelligence community,” Conway said on CBS. ”What he has said is laughable or ridiculous is that this was meant to elevate him to the presidency.” In the ”Fox News Sunday” interview, Trump also discussed his decision to receive the President’s Daily Brief, or PDB, a highly classified document that can include details of U. S. and allied covert operations, once a week, far less often than most of his predecessors. Trump said a number of his top advisers received the briefing and he did not need to get the report more frequently under routine circumstances. ”I don’t need to be told the same thing every day, every morning same words. ’Sir, nothing has changed. Let’s go over it again.’ I don’t need that,” he said. (Additional reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir and Mark Hosenball in Washington and Jack Stubbs in Moscow; Editing by Yara Bayoumy, Peter Cooney and Alan Crosby) NEW YORK Six in 10 American voters support the new ban on people from six predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States unless they can show they have a close relative here, according to opinion poll results released on Wednesday. LONDON British Prime Minister Theresa May will hold a bilateral meeting with U. S. President Donald Trump at the G20 summit in Hamburg on Friday, a British government official said on Wednesday.

Conflict over Russia is rocky start for Trump and intelligence agencies

Donald Trump’s rejection this weekend of U. S. intelligence analysts’ conclusion that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help him win the White House is the latest in a string of conflicts between Trump and the intelligence community he will command. Most of them involve Russia, which has grown increasingly aggressive according to what U. S. intelligence agencies have told Congress and the administration of President Barack Obama in Syria and Ukraine. The agencies also reported that Russia has ratcheted up activities in cyberspace including meddling, sometimes covertly, in European and U. S. elections. The intelligence agencies have concluded with ”high confidence” that not only did their Russian counterparts direct the hacking of Democratic Party organizations and leaders, but they did so to undermine Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, not just to shake confidence in the U. S. electoral system, a senior U. S. official said on Friday. The ’s transition office responded by releasing a statement that exaggerated his margin of victory and attacked the U. S. intelligence community’s work on Iraq, but did not address the analysts’ conclusion about Russia. ”These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction,” the statement said. ”The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. It’s now time to move on and ’Make America Great Again. ’” In a statement issued on Saturday, California Democrat Adam Schiff, a member of the House intelligence committee, called the Russian hacking of the U. S. election ”spectacularly successful.” ”One would also have to be willfully blind not to see that these Russian actions were uniformly damaging to Secretary (of State Hillary) Clinton and helpful to Donald Trump,” Schiff said. ”I do not believe this was coincidental or unintended.” Trump has rejected the intelligence agencies’ finding. ”I don’t believe they interfered,” he told Time magazine about Russia in an interview published this week. ”That became a laughing point, not a talking point, a laughing point. Any time I do something, they say, ’Oh, Russia interfered. ’” Russian officials have denied all accusations of interference in the U. S. election. The has been receiving the President’s Daily Brief (PDB) one of the most highly classified documents in the U. S. government and which can include details of U. S. and allied covert operations, only once a week. That is far less often than most of his predecessors. So far, intelligence officials said, Trump has not requested a special briefing on Russia, despite the agencies’ warnings that Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to undermine unity and test U. S. and allied resolve. ’INCIDENTAL CONTACT’ In fact, two officials with knowledge of the situation said on Saturday that Trump’s transition team has made only ”incidental contact” with the Central Intelligence Agency. This is despite the fact that Trump’s choice to head the CIA, U. S. Representative Mike Pompeo, has limited experience working with the agency. The Kansas Republican served on the House Intelligence Committee and the select committee investigating the 2012 attack on U. S. diplomatic and intelligence facilities in Benghazi, Libya. Democrats and some Republicans in Congress who have been briefed on the Russian activities share the intelligence agencies’ alarm about Trump’s plans for the intelligence community, which includes the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Counterterrorism Center. Privately, some members of the clandestine service, the CIA’s body of spies, said they would resign rather than obey any order to resume waterboarding or other ”enhanced interrogation techniques” that Trump endorsed during his campaign. Elsewhere in the $70 intelligence community officials on Saturday said they fear that Trump might invite legal trouble by trying to vastly expand electronic and physical surveillance of suspected terrorists based on their religion or national origin. None of that may come to pass, of course, and campaign rhetoric and tweets do not always predict policies, the officials conceded. However, Trump’s statements about Russia and business dealings there, as well as those of retired Army Lieutenant Michael Flynn, his choice for national security adviser, are worrisome to many of the officials tracking Putin’s growing aggressiveness from seas to skies to cyberspace. Obama has ordered the intelligence agencies to review cyber attacks and foreign intervention into the 2016 election and deliver a report before he leaves office on Jan. 20, the White House said on Friday. Obama’s homeland security adviser, Lisa Monaco, told reporters on Friday the report’s results would be shared with lawmakers and others. ”The president has directed the intelligence community to conduct a full review of what happened during the 2016 election process . .. and to capture lessons learned from that and to report to a range of stakeholders, to include the Congress,” she said during an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. (Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis) MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. NEW YORK The U. S. government on Wednesday proposed to reduce the volume of biofuel required to be used in gasoline and diesel fuel next year as it signaled the first step toward a potential broader overhaul of its biofuels program.

Trump says U.S. not necessarily bound by ’one China’ policy

U. S. Donald Trump said the United States did not necessarily have to stick to its position that Taiwan is part of ”one China,” questioning nearly four decades of policy in a move likely to antagonize Beijing. Trump’s comments on ”Fox News Sunday” came after he prompted a diplomatic protest from China over his decision to accept a telephone call from Taiwan’s president on Dec. 2. ”I fully understand the ’one China’ policy, but I don’t know why we have to be bound by a ’one China’ policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade,” Trump told Fox. Trump’s call with President Tsai was the first such contact with Taiwan by a U. S. or president since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, acknowledging Taiwan as part of ”one China.” Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province and the subject is a sensitive one for China. Chinese officials had no immediate reaction to Trump’s remarks. After Trump’s phone conversation with Taiwan’s president, the Obama administration said senior White House aides had spoken with Chinese officials to insist that Washington’s “one China” policy remained intact. The administration also warned that progress made in the U. S. relationship with China could be undermined by a ”flaring up” of the Taiwan issue. Following Trump’s latest comments, a White House aide said the Obama administration had no reaction beyond its previously stated policy positions. In the Fox interview, Trump criticized China over its currency policies, its activities in the South China Sea and its stance toward North Korea. He said it was not up to Beijing to decide whether he should take a call from Taiwan’s leader. ”I don’t want China dictating to me and this was a call put in to me,” Trump said. ”It was a very nice call. Short. And why should some other nation be able to say I can’t take a call?” ”I think it actually would’ve been very disrespectful, to be honest with you, not taking it,” Trump added. Trump plans to nominate a friend of Beijing, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, as the next U. S. ambassador to China. But Trump is considering John Bolton, a former Bush administration official who has urged a tougher line on Beijing, for the No. 2 job at the U. S. State Department, according to a source familiar with the matter. In a Wall Street Journal article last January, Bolton said the next U. S. president should take bolder steps to halt China’ military aggressiveness in the South and East China seas. Bolton said Washington should consider using a ”diplomatic ladder of escalation” that could start with receiving Taiwanese diplomats officially at the State Department and lead to restoring full diplomatic recognition. In the Fox interview, Trump brought up a litany of complaints about China that he emphasized during his presidential campaign. ”We’re being hurt very badly by China with devaluation, with taxing us heavy at the borders when we don’t tax them, with building a massive fortress in the middle of the South China Sea, which they shouldn’t be doing, and frankly with not helping us at all with North Korea,” Trump said. ”You have North Korea. You have nuclear weapons and China could solve that problem and they’re not helping us at all.” Economists, including those at the International Monetary Fund, have widely viewed China’s efforts to prop up the yuan’s value over the past year as evidence that Beijing is no longer keeping its currency artificially low to make Chinese exports cheap. RAISING ’LIKELIHOOD OF MISUNDERSTANDING’ The Global Times, an influential tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, said in an editorial that Trump was ”naive like a child on diplomacy” and that the ’one China’ policy ”could not be bought or sold”. When the time comes, the Chinese mainland will launch a series of ”decisive new policies toward Taiwan” the paper said. ”We will prove that all along the United States has been unable to dominate the Taiwan Strait and Trump’s desire to sell the ’one China’ policy for commercial interests is a childish urge,” it said. Wang Yiwei, an international relations professor at Beijing’s elite Renmin University, said Trump was possibly using the Taiwan issue to try and strike a bargain with the United States over trade. ”He wants to get the best possible trade deal with China he can so that he can boost the U. S. economy,” Wang said. Some U. S. analysts warned that Trump could provoke a military confrontation if he presses the Taiwan issue too far. ”China is more likely to let the whole relationship with the United States deteriorate in order to show its resolve on the Taiwan issue,” said Jessica Chen Weiss, an associate professor of government at Cornell University and an expert in Chinese nationalism. ”When the decision to end a practice is made with so little warning and clear communication, it raises the likelihood of misunderstanding and miscalculation and sets the stage for a crisis between the United States and China over Taiwan,” Chen Weiss said. Mike Green, a former top adviser on Asia to former President George W. Bush, said ending the ”one China” policy would be a mistake because it would throw the U. S. relationship into turmoil and jeopardize Beijing’s cooperation on issues such as North Korea. But Green, who is now with the CSIS think tank, said he did not believe that Trump intended to go that far and there was ”logic to serving Beijing notice that he will not be dictated to on issues like Taiwan.” ”President Obama was too accommodating to Beijing early on and it reduced his leverage as China asserted itself on issues like the East and South China Seas later,” Green said. On Sunday, China’s top diplomat, State Councilor Yang Jiechi was traveling to U. S. neighbor Mexico, according to the official news agency Xinhua, but Mexican officials could not offer details. Mexico has been deepening ties with China, which is partly funding a dollar wholesale mobile network while China Offshore Oil Corporation took two of the eight blocks of deep water oil fields offered in a historic auction this month. (Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Jeff Mason and Veronica Gomez in Mexico City; and Michael Martina and Christian Shepherd in Beijing; Editing by Alan Crosby, Peter Cooney and Lincoln Feast) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Exclusive: Syrian rebels get proposal to quit Aleppo, jihadists retake Palmyra

Syrian rebels have received a U. S. proposal to leave Aleppo along with civilians under safe passage guaranteed by Russia, rebel officials said as government forces closed in on Sunday, but Moscow denied a deal had been reached. If the proposal were to be taken up by all sides, it would end four years of fighting in the city, and months of siege and intense bombardment that have created a humanitarian crisis particularly in rebel territory that has now shrunk to a small pocket crammed with civilians. Three officials with insurgent groups in Aleppo told Reuters that a letter outlining the proposal had been received, offering an ”honorable” departure for the rebels to a place of their choice. Rebel groups have yet to respond. But if fully accepted, the proposal would give Syrian President Bashar and his military coalition of Russia, Iran and Shi’ite militias their greatest triumph in the civil war against the rebels who have fought for nearly six years to unseat him. However, the sudden recapture by the Islamic State of the ancient desert city of Palmyra on Sunday after a army victory there in March has shown how difficult Assad may find it even after Aleppo to restore his rule across Syria. Asked whether they had been contacted by the United States and Russia over talks between the two powers in Geneva to find a way out of the crisis, one of the officials with rebel groups that are present in Aleppo said: ”They sent us a letter, they are saying to safeguard the civilians . .. you can leave in an honorable way to any place you choose and the Russians will pledge publicly that nobody will be harmed or stopped,” said one of the officials. ”We have yet to give a response.” A second official said a document ”is being proposed to the factions, the fundamental thing in it is the departure of the all the fighters in an honorable way”. However, Russia swiftly said it had not reached any agreement with the United States on a proposal to withdraw fighters from Aleppo and added that the Geneva talks were continuing. Moscow was working to create the necessary conditions for the safe extraction of people from Aleppo, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. ”The issue of withdrawing militants is the subject of separate agreements. This agreement has not yet been reached, largely because the United States insists on unacceptable terms,” he said in comments reported by RIA news agency. United Nations special Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura had no comment on the report, but some were skeptical that the proposal could succeed. ”With all previous commitments reneged on by (the Syrian) it is difficult to see how rebels are to trust this offer of safe exit,” one former Western envoy in Syria told Reuters in Geneva. As the army swept through east Aleppo in the past two weeks, taking three quarters of rebel ground, tens of thousands fled the fighting, some to areas and others deeper into the insurgent pocket. New army gains on Sunday south of Aleppo’s historic citadel appeared to bring victory closer for Assad, with a rebel official saying world powers seemed to be presenting his side with a choice of ”death or surrender”. PALMYRA The Islamic State attack on Palmyra, 200 km (120 miles) to the southeast, threatens to inflict a serious blow on both Damascus and Moscow. Syrian state radio reported the army had evacuated its positions inside Palmyra, whose ruins have become an emblem of the conflict. They were redeploying around the city. Analysts have warned that even if Assad defeats the main rebellion, he may still face years of guerrilla insurgency and bombing attacks as he tries to reassert his authority. Islamic State seized Palmyra in May 2015, one of its last major conquests after nearly a year of advances in Syria and neighboring Iraq that took advantage of the region’s chaos. Its destruction of some of the ruins and killing of the leading archaeologist in the city provoked global outrage and the army’s recapture of Palmyra was presented by Damascus and Moscow as vindicating Russia’s entry into the war. Islamic State has suffered a string of setbacks since late last year, losing its once long stretch of territory on the border with Turkey, an important source of supplies and recruits, as well as the city of Manbij. The group is fighting an assault on its most important possession in Iraq, the city of Mosul. It is also under attack north of Raqqa, its Syrian capital, following a series of air strikes that have killed some of its most important leaders. Russian news agencies reported that air strikes had killed 300 militants overnight near Palmyra but that more than 4, 000 fighters had still managed to launch the attack on the city. PROPOSAL Under the terms of the proposed deal, rebels could leave Aleppo with light weapons. It would be implemented over a period and oversight would be sought from the U. N.. Fighters from the hardline jihadist group Jabhat Fateh formerly known as the Nusra Front until it broke allegiance to al Qaeda in July, would have to go to Idlib. Other fighters could choose separate destinations, including near the Turkish border northeast of Aleppo. There was no immediate comment from Damascus on the proposal. Heavy shelling and air raids pounded Aleppo’s rebel enclave from midnight on Saturday and throughout Sunday morning, a Reuters reporter in the city said, with explosions at a rate of more than one a minute. Gunfire was also heard. Thousands of refugees are still pouring from Aleppo’s areas of fighting. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, said more than 120, 000 civilians had left the eastern part of the city as the government advance closed in, but that tens of thousands remained. The mostly Sunni rebels include groups supported by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, but also some jihadist factions that receive no assistance from the West. The army seized the district on Sunday morning before rebels were able to return and continue fighting there, said the Jabha Shamiya official. A Syrian military source said the army and its allies had captured the and Aaajam districts, southeast of Aleppo’s ancient citadel, as well as the southern portion of the Karam neighborhood. The Observatory also said the army had advanced in those areas. Reuters reporters on a tour of Old City districts captured by the army saw how its historic covered market had been pounded, with ancient quarters reduced to a warren of defensive positions daubed with rebel slogans. ”Embrace death for Aleppo” was one. State television showed footage of the east Aleppo fighting: a tank moving slowly along a street as soldiers ran alongside it, smoke and dust billowing around them. (Additional reporting by Suleiman in Amman, Jack Stubbs in Moscow and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, writing by Angus McDowall; editing by David Stamp) UNITED NATIONS The United States cautioned on Wednesday it was ready to use force if need be to stop North Korea’s nuclear missile program but said it preferred global diplomatic action against Pyongyang for defying world powers by test launching a ballistic missile that could hit Alaska. WARSAW U. S. President Donald Trump meets eastern NATO allies in Warsaw on Thursday amid expectations he will reaffirm Washington’s commitment to counter threats from Russia after unnerving them in May by failing to endorse the principle of collective defense.

Tillerson choice raises questions of corporate vs. national interest

The central question facing Exxon Mobil Corp ( ) Chief Executive Rex Tillerson if he becomes U. S. secretary of state is whether a lifelong oil man with close ties to Russia can pivot from advancing corporate interests to serving the national interest. Tillerson, 64, got his start as a production engineer at Exxon in 1975 and has worked there ever since, running business units in Yemen, Thailand and Russia before being named chief executive in 2006. He was expected to retire next year. Senior senators, both Democrats and Republicans, have expressed concern over Tillerson, who emerged this weekend as Donald Trump’s expected pick for secretary of state, according to a source familiar with the situation. By choosing him, the would add another and presumably highly influential person to his Cabinet and circle of advisers who may favor a soft line toward Moscow. Among these is Trump’s choice for national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who raised eyebrows when he sat beside Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Moscow banquet last year and who has argued that the United States and Russia should collaborate to end Syria’s civil war and to defeat Islamic State militants. Tillerson’s links with Russia came under fire from top lawmakers on Sunday. ”It’s a matter of concern to me that he has such a close personal relationship with Vladimir Putin and obviously they’ve done enormous deals together. That would color his approach to Vladimir Putin and the Russian threat,” Republican Senator John McCain told CBS. McCain added that Tillerson would, nonetheless, get a fair confirmation hearing. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a former Republican presidential rival to Trump, was even more forthright. ”Being a ”friend of Vladimir” is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState,” Rubio said on his Twitter account. ’A STRAIGHT ARROW’? Many U. S. officials are worried by Russia’s increasingly aggressive behavior. It annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, has supported Syrian President Bashar in the Syrian civil war and is accused of interfering in U. S. domestic politics. U. S. intelligence analysts have concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Trump defeat Hillary Clinton, and not just to undermine confidence in the U. S. electoral system, a senior U. S. official said. In his role at Exxon, Tillerson maintained close ties with Putin and opposed U. S. sanctions against Russia for its incursion into Crimea. Daniel Yergin, author of the Pulitzer ”The Prize: the Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power,” said Russia represented a relatively small portion of Exxon’s overall operations and played down its significance. ”It was a business relationship,” Yergin said. ”The whole Russian thing is so much front and center now so it’s inevitable that those questions be asked but, obviously, if you are a major oil company, you want to go to where your resources (are). You have to replace your reserves,” he added. ”If he becomes secretary of state, the interests he will pursue will be U. S. interests. This is an Eagle Scout kind of guy. He was president of the Boy Scouts,” he said. ”He is a straight arrow. If that’s his mission, that’s what he’ll do.” Trump praised Tillerson, saying on his Twitter account on Saturday: ”Whether I choose him or not for ”State” Rex Tillerson, the Chairman & CEO of ExxonMobil, is a world class player and dealmaker. Stay tuned!” Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman who has been tapped to serve as White House chief of Staff, praised Tillerson’s relationship with Putin. ”. .. the fact that he actually has a relationship with people like Vladimir Putin and others across the globe is something that . .. we shouldn’t be embarrassed by it. It’s something that I think could be a huge advantage to the United States,” Priebus said on ABC This Week. However, Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, a senior Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that would weigh Tillerson’s nomination, was unsparing in his criticism of the possible appointment. ”Reports that Rex Tillerson could be nominated to be our nation’s top diplomat (are) alarming and absurd,” he said. ”With Rex Tillerson as our secretary of state the Trump administration would be guaranteeing Russia has a willing accomplice in the president’s cabinet guiding our nation’s foreign policy.” Republicans will hold more seats, 52, in the Senate than the 51 they will need to confirm Tillerson. But they will have only 10 of the 19 seats in the Foreign Relations Committee, so it will only take one Republican dissenter there to endanger the nomination. At least one Republican committee member, Rubio, has already expressed reservations. CLIMATE CHANGE Tillerson would be one of the few people selected for major roles in the Trump administration to believe that human activity causes climate change. After Trump’s election, Exxon came out in support of the Paris Climate Agreement. It has also advocated for a carbon tax and internally factors in a theoretical price on carbon as it weighs manufacturing and exploration costs of projects. But some environmental groups are alarmed at the prospect of Exxon’s CEO as the country’s top diplomat. Exxon is under investigation by the New York Attorney General’s Office for allegedly misleading investors, regulators and the public on what it knew about global warming. ”Donald Trump appears intent to undo a century of environmental and social progress and return America to the age of robber barons and corporate trusts,” said Carroll Muffett, president of the Center for International Environmental Law. ”Who better to turn to than Exxon, the granddaddy of them all?” (Additional reporting by Steve Holland, John Walcott, Lindsay Dunsmuir, Howard Schneider, Patricia Zengerle and Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Mary Milliken) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Exclusive: Lonza says in talks to buy Capsugel; deal could top $5 billion - sources

Sources familiar with the talks told Reuters that a potential transaction would be valued at more than $5 billion. Capsugel ”would fit perfectly with Lonza’s . .. strategy and strengthen its position as leading supplier to a number of important healthcare markets,” Lonza said in a statement. ”A successful acquisition would be value adding and be within Lonza’s stated acquisition criteria.” The deal, which Lonza said still may not come to fruition, comes as the Swiss drug ingredient maker seeks to boost its life sciences capabilities and produce a wider range of molecules used in active pharmaceutical ingredients and drug delivery. It held unsuccessful talks to acquire U. S. drug delivery technology company Catalent Inc earlier this year. Discussions between Lonza and KKR could lead to a deal as early this week, people familiar with the talks said on Sunday. The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Capsugel and KKR did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Based in Morristown, New Jersey, Capsugel manufacturers empty hard capsules as well as finished dosage forms for drug delivery. It serves more than 4, 000 corporate customers in over 100 countries. Reuters reported in March that KKR was preparing to run a sale process for Capsugel this year, and also explore the possibility of an initial public offering of the company as an alternative to an outright sale. KKR acquired Capsugel from Pfizer Inc for $2. 4 billion in 2011. Lonza has been expanding its presence in the United States in recent years, buying up small biopharmaceutical companies and in 2011 acquiring chemical maker Arch Chemicals for $1. 4 billion. Lonza has a market capitalization of 9. 4 billion Swiss francs ($9. 25 billion). (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and John Miller in Zurich; Editing by Bernard Heavens) Biopharmaceutical company Celgene Corp will buy a stake in BeiGene Ltd and help develop and commercialize BeiGene’s investigational treatment for tumor cancers, the companies said on Wednesday. BRUSSELS French carmaker PSA Group secured unconditional EU antitrust approval on Wednesday to acquire General Motors’ German unit Opel, a move which will help it better compete with market leader Volkswagen .

Inflation-hit Venezuela to pull largest bill from circulation

Venezuela, mired in an economic crisis and facing the world’s highest inflation, will pull its largest bill, worth two U. S. cents on the black market, from circulation this week ahead of introducing new notes, President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday. The surprise move, announced by Maduro during an speech, is likely to worsen a cash crunch in Venezuela. Maduro said the bill will be taken out of circulation on Wednesday and Venezuelans will have 10 days after that to exchange those notes at the central bank. Critics slammed the move, which Maduro said was needed to combat contraband of the bills at the volatile border, as economically nonsensical, adding there would be no way to swap all the bills in circulation in the time the president has allotted. Central bank data showed that in November, there were more than six billion bills in circulation, 48 percent of all bills and coins. Authorities on Thursday are due to start releasing six new notes and three new coins, the largest of which will be worth 20, 000 bolivars, less than $5 on the streets. No official inflation data is available for 2016 though many economists see it in triple digits. Economic consultancy Ecoanalitica estimates annual inflation this year at more than 500 percent. The nation’s bolivar currency has fallen 55 percent against the U. S. dollar on the black market in the last month. ”When ineptitude governs! Who would possibly think of doing something like this in December amid all our problems?” opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles wrote on Twitter, referring to the upcoming Christmas holiday. Maduro previously has said that organized crime networks at the border buy up Venezuelan notes to in turn buy subsidized Venezuelan goods and sell them for vast profits in Colombia. While smuggling of this sort is an issue at the border, it cannot account for nationwide shortages of the most basic goods from food to medicine, which have left millions hungry and doctors crying out for help. ”I have decided to take out of circulation bills of 100 bolivars in the next 72 hours,” Maduro said. ”We must keep beating the mafias.” Paying a restaurant or supermarket bill without a debit or credit card can often require a backpack full of cash. However, getting cash in recent months has proven difficult, and the country’s machines have recently suffered problems, leaving many businesses asking customers to pay by bank transfer Strict currency controls introduced in 2003 that pegged the bolivar to the dollar, coupled with heavy reliance on oil, are seen as the root of the crisis by most economists. Maduro has blamed an ”economic war” being waged against his government by the opposition and the United States. Money supply, the sum of cash and checking deposits as well as savings and other ”near money” deposits, was up a staggering 19 percent in the three weeks to Dec. 2 and the curve has been exponential since Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999. (Reporting by Girish Gupta, Diego Ore and Corina Pons; Writing by Girish Gupta; Editing by Will Dunham) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Finance Minister English named as New Zealand prime minister

New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English was confirmed as the country’s new prime minister on Monday, as expected, a week after John Key announced his surprise resignation after eight years in the role. English, who was the sole contender for the job, announced Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett as the deputy leader, following a special caucus meeting of the ruling National Party. English, who will be sworn in later in the day, has already lined up senior cabinet minister Steven Joyce, the minister for economic development, to replace him in the finance ministry. He is expected to announce further cabinet changes in the coming weeks and has also signaled a ”stocktake” on policy. ”I am both excited and humbled by this opportunity,” English, who comes from a conservative, Catholic family in New Zealand’s south, told reporters after the meeting. English, who 13 years ago oversaw a disastrous election loss for the National Party to the Labour Party, takes the reins of a country in good economic shape compared to much of the developed world. On Monday, Moody’s said it expects New Zealand to remain among the fastest growing of rated economies. English has held several ministerial posts across education, health and finance since he joined parliament in 1990. As finance minister, his key policies included moves to partly privatize several energy firms and Air New Zealand, cutting personal tax and corporate tax rates and increasing the goods and services tax. (Reporting by Swati Pandey and Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Richard Pullin) CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis. WASHINGTON U. S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday it was important for U. S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to have a ”good exchange” over how they see the nature of the bilateral relationship.

Exclusive: Japan authorities fear rising condo loans could lead to bad debts

Japan is stepping up its supervision of bank lending amid growing concerns a spurt of construction financing for new apartment blocks could be sowing the seeds for bad debts in the future, people involved in the matter say. Small apartment and condominium block development has been a rare source of lending growth in an economy struggling to revive activity. However, much of this represents speculative investment, not housing demand, as wealthy people chase tax breaks and yield, amid a near zero interest rate environment. In fact, vacancy rates are climbing even in prime markets like Tokyo as supply starts to outstrip demand. The Bank of Japan and the Financial Services Agency authorities don’t see an immediate crisis, such as the one that befell Japan’s banks in the 1990s, but they are quietly starting to lean on the banks. ”We’ve heard that many of these loan deals have been introduced to the banks by real estate agents,” Hidenori Mitsui, of the FSA’s Inspection Bureau, told regional bank chiefs last month, according to minutes of the meeting seen by Reuters. ”It’s possible that regional banks themselves don’t have a firm grasp on the their customers’ needs or on what happens after they extend these loans.” For banks, loans to build apartments look like good business. They are backed by expected rental income and command a higher interest rate than housing loans to individuals. For borrowers, the properties offer lower tax rates than other assets, and they can claim deductions on the loans. Competition for borrowers is driving down lending rates, while banks aren’t always scrutinizing the likely profitability of apartment loans as long as the borrower has collateral and can offer a loan guarantee, bankers say. A regional bank executive said apartment loans will remain popular, as demand for capital spending is weak and the loans are worth millions of dollars each. The Bank of Japan, in a comment to Reuters, said apartment loans are ”an issue in terms of financial institutions’ credit risk. We are checking their risk management through our examinations and monitoring to promote its enhancement.” An FSA spokesman said, ”The agency undertakes inspections and supervision in accordance with its financial administration. However, we are unable to comment on specific cases.” When asked for comment by Reuters, Japan’s Regional Banks Association referred to an earlier comment by group chairman Katsunori Nakanishi. He said while an of apartment loans or excessive property prices would be a risk, the data did not show any indication that this was the case. ”My view is that we haven’t entered dangerous waters,” he said at a news conference in November. INCREASED SCRUTINY BOJ and FSA inspectors are strengthening their surveillance of banks whose apartment loan books have grown, checking whether lenders are properly assessing lending risks and managing loans, officials say. The authorities have advised regional banks to run strict simulations of how their loans would perform under various and vacancy scenarios, bankers say. The stock of apartment construction loans has grown 4. 5 percent from a year earlier to 22. 02 trillion yen ($192. 5 billion) at the end of September, central bank data shows twice as fast as overall lending. It has set a record for seven quarters in a row, since inheritance taxes were raised in 2015. New apartment loans, at 1. 89 trillion yen in the fiscal first half year through September, are on track to break last year’s record. But demand for housing is unlikely to match rising supply. Japan’s population peaked a decade ago, and Tokyo is projected to follow the downtrend around 2020. Vacancies in greater Tokyo, around 30 percent until 2015, rose to 34. 7 percent in central Tokyo in September and 36. 9 percent in neighboring Kanagawa prefecture, says Tas Corp the highest rates since the property research firm began tracking the data in 2004. (Reporting by Sumio Ito; Additional reporting by Takahiko Wada and Taiga Uranaka; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Sam Holmes) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Meet the Ma family: How millennials are changing the way China thinks about money

Ma Yiqing, 24, is typical of China’s younger generation he uses his credit card frequently and borrows from online platforms to fund his shopping habits. In a pinch, he is happy to fall back on a lender closer to home his mum and dad. Interviews with Ma, a his mother and grandmother, show how rapidly attitudes toward credit are changing as the millennials generation roughly those aged between 18 and 35 embraces debt like never before. The frugal attitude of previous generations produced the bedrock of China’s credit worthiness household savings equal to some 50 percent of GDP, one of the highest levels globally. Ma and his cohorts are changing that equation. Their willingness to borrow has driven up household lending — the fastest growing area of China’s debt. They are among the most indebted of their peers in Asia, taking on debt 18. 5 times their income, significantly higher than their parents’ generation, a report from insurer Manulife shows. While their spending and borrowing is an opportunity for lenders, brands and economic growth, it is also a risk as they add to China’s debt. Right now, Ma has a safety net and doting parents who can pick up the tab. He lives in a flat in Lhasa, the capital of China’s Tibet region. His parents are in nearby Shannan. ”I’ll generally turn to mum and dad. They’ve always been able to help me financially,” said Ma. In May, he asked his parents for financial support to open a restaurant. ”I just need to ask and they’ll give me (money).” CLEAR GAP Parents paying off the credit card bills of their millennial children is not unusual in China, but it could have ramifications, said Rui Yao, an associate professor in personal finance at the University of Missouri. ”They don’t see the consequences of not paying. The thinking is ’my mom has it covered’” she said. ”They’re not prepared for an economic downturn for sure.” The next generations may not be so lucky either. They will have to support parents and potentially more children as China relaxes its policy. China’s aging population is already shrinking, which means greater financial pressure on those working to support those who are not. Ma says he is more frugal than his friends. He uses his bank card and Ant Check Later, a popular online lending platform owned by tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( ). This is a far cry from his parents’ generation. Ma’s mother, who is 49, only started using a credit card three years ago. ”They couldn’t spend on overdraft, so they really didn’t squander any money,” he said. The gap is clear: consumer credit is up nearly 300 percent over the last six years alone, hitting around 23. 5 trillion yuan ($3. 41 trillion) in October. This is set to more than double over the next five years to nearly 53 trillion yuan, according to consultancy Mintel. While mortgages are the lion’s share of household debt, credit card and consumer loans have shot up from just 4. 6 percent of household debt in 2015 to 16 percent now, BMI Research shows. ”The young generation today has a totally different attitude to my generation,” said Ma’s grandmother, Wei Chunyin, 76. She grew up in the 1960s and said she was in debt just once for 100 yuan, the equivalent today of $14. 50. ”We were very economical and hardworking,” she said. ”Clothing was just to wear, and we wouldn’t even really eat snacks, just food from our unit,” she said, referring to her workplace. GROWING FORCE Ma’s generation is the first in China’s modern history to be raised in relative prosperity and social stability. They are better educated and already more affluent than their elders. Boston Consulting Group and AliResearch said they are expected to drive 65 percent of consumption growth until 2020, when they will make up around 53 percent of total consumption spending, up from 45 percent now. ”Understanding their mindset is critical and anybody ignores them at their peril,” Yum China Holdings Inc ( ) head Micky Pant said in an interview. Their potential has not been lost on the banks, with some specifically targeting them for loans. ”Internally our appraisals are skewed toward the young consumer groups. For example, sales staff get a bonus 1. 3 times the normal level if they sign a young customer,” said a banker in the credit card department of China Merchants Bank, a leading credit card provider. ”So everyone is out looking for youngster to sign up. ”When asked about the strategy, CMB said it has many credit card products that are welcomed by young people. Bankers said lenders often know millennials have doting parents to fall back on in a pinch. ”Taking a darker read on it, the parents of the generation who were born in the 60s or 70s haven’t yet retired, and are financially pretty secure,” said a debt collector in the credit card department of a listed city bank. Like other parents in China, Ma’s mother and father, a nurse and government officer at the local Meteorological Administration respectively, are resigned to supporting their son financially for now even if he defaults. Ma’s mother, Zhen Yinchun, said that when she was young she saved around of her income because there was little to spend it on, in contrast to her son. It is a running joke in the family whether Ma will return any money he has borrowed, she said. ”I’ll say it’s a loan and he’ll agree. But up to now he’s never paid anything back,” she said. (Reporting by Adam Jourdan and Engen Tham; Editing by Neil Fullick) BRUSSELS EU antitrust regulators are weighing another record fine against Google over its Android mobile operating system and have set up a panel of experts to give a second opinion on the case, two people familiar with the matter said. MEXICO CITY Billionaire Carlos Slim’s America Movil argued on Wednesday against rules brought in by an overhaul of the country’s telecommunications industry, saying in a statement they were unfair and had led to a loss of its business rights.

Headed home: workers abandon Indian building sites after cash crackdown

Hundreds of thousands of Indian construction workers have returned home since Prime Minister Narendra Modi abolished banknotes, leaving some building sites across the country facing costly delays. A month after Modi’s shock move to take away 86 percent of cash in circulation to crush the shadow economy, the growing labor shortage threatens to slow a recovery in India’s construction industry, which accounts for 8 percent of gross domestic product and employs 40 million people. Work at SARE Homes’ residential projects, spanning six cities, has slowed dramatically as migrant workers, who are out of cash and have no bank accounts to draw from, have little choice but to return to their villages. ”Construction work at all projects has slowed down in a big way,” managing director Vineet Relia told Reuters. Property enquiries, meanwhile, have slumped by 80 percent around the Indian capital since the cash crackdown, according to property portal 99acres. Getamber Anand, president of Indian builders’ association CREDAI, said projects nationwide had been hit, and estimated that roughly half of the migrant workforce, numbering in the low millions, had left for home. Road developers have also reported a slowdown as they struggle to find sufficient labor. The exodus shows little sign of reversing, risking damage to construction activity and the wider economy into 2017, despite Modi’s assurances that hardships from his radical ”demonetization” should be over by the end of the year. The disruption to building raises doubts about the Reserve Bank of India’s view that the impact on the economy would be transitory. The central bank held interest rates on Wednesday despite calls for action. NO BANK ACCOUNT Modi’s gamble is that the majority of workers will be compelled to open a bank account as refuse to pay in cash, bringing them into the formal economy and expanding the country’s low tax base. That may happen eventually, but for now, millions of workers who depend on daily wages for food and shelter are struggling. Many have never held a bank account, and even if they wanted one, some do not have the necessary documents to do so. At a construction site in Gurugram, a satellite city near Delhi, worker numbers have halved to 100. The site manager received a government circular on Nov. 25 saying every worker’s wage should be paid into a bank, a message relayed to each contractor. Biseshwar Yadav, a migrant laborer from the northeastern state of Bihar, worries about arranging documents to open an account and the cost of making regular trips to the bank. Standing in the largely deserted worker housing colony opposite the unfinished blocks of flats he had been building, Yadav said that with no salary, he was surviving on $89 borrowed from a local shopkeeper to pay for food. Some laborers back in their villages are reluctant to return. Duryodhan Majhi, 38, traveled to his eastern state of Odisha after his employer in Secunderabad ran out of cash to pay his $4. 4 daily wage. ”We keep moving from city to city in search of work. This new order would mean opening a new bank account every time we change cities. How and when will we work then?” he said, adding he would seek farm work. CREDAI’s Anand predicts activity on construction sites will not return to normal until April, and only once laborers are able to open accounts at banks still struggling to serve long queues of people desperate for cash. ”Right now the banks say they don’t have time to open accounts. It’s the biggest challenge,” Anand said. SLOWING ECONOMY Data suggest that demand in India’s economy has slowed sharply since Modi’s decision on Nov. 8. Indian services activity plunged into contraction in November for the first time since June 2015, a survey showed, while factory activity also slowed. The real estate industry was already carrying an overhang of unsold inventory, and was hit by an earlier clampdown on ”black” money, much of which is invested into property. Indian cement and steel makers are feeling the pinch. ”Developers have cut down purchases,” said Mukesh Kasana, a dealer for UltraTech Cement Ltd ( ) part of the Aditya Birla conglomerate, estimating his sales had slumped 80 percent. India’s construction boom created one in three new jobs as tens of millions of people made the journey from the rural hinterlands to seek employment in towns and cities. For Modi, a healthy construction sector is vital if he is to fulfill his promise of boosting job creation for the one million Indians joining the workforce every month. There is no reliable data on the number of migrants who have abandoned construction sites since demonetization, because most are undocumented. But stories abound of workers thronging railway and bus stations to make their journey home. Jainuddin, a labor contractor near Delhi, said he had lost about 40 of his 50 men since Nov. 8. ”The ground reality is vastly different from what it appears to those designing these policies.” (additional reporting by Jitendra Dash in BHUBANESHWAR; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Mike ) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. MEXICO CITY A meeting between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany will last about 30 minutes and probably not lead to any major agreements, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Exit polls show Romania’s leftists winning parliamentary vote

Romania’s leftist Social Democrats (PSD) won Sunday’s parliamentary election by a wide margin, exit polls showed, putting them in a strong position to form a coalition government with a junior ally. Seeking a year after the coalition it led stepped down amid street protests over its failure to address corruption, the PSD appears to have won the support of many Romanians with promises of increased social spending. Exit polls conducted by and IRES showed the PSD winning close to 46 percent of the vote, followed by the National Liberal Party (PNL) with about 22 percent. The Save Romania Union party, a newcomer to Romanian politics, was seen winning around 9. 2 percent. The Central Electoral Bureau is expected to release first official partial results on Monday morning. Observers said a government would likely bloat public spending, raising the risk that Romanian fiscal deficits could exceed the European Union’s 3 percent of GDP limits. With its leader, Liviu Dragnea, convicted of in April, the PSD is also seen as a threat to Romania’s recent efforts to step up reforms. ”I am . .. overwhelmed by the result,” Dragnea said after the exit poll results were announced. ”Romania is an island of stability in the region. All political factors must understand and respect today’s vote.” Dragnea also said his party will start talks to form a parliamentary majority with ally ALDE, expected to take about 6 percent of the vote. A calculation by private television Antena 3 based on raw official ballot data showed PSD winning 47 percent and ALDE 5 percent. ”In the coming days, PSD and ALDE will begin discussions in order to form a new majority in parliament . .. Today’s vote clearly indicates Romanians’ choice for a future government,” Dragnea said in a statement. POLICY TURNAROUND The election follows a year of a technocrat government in Romania the EU’s economy but also one of its poorest put in place after massive street protests brought down the previous government. Triggered by a deadly fire in the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest that lacked emergency exits and other safety measures, the protests called for sweeping change in Romania to address chronically inept public administration and graft. But many of the younger voters who took to the streets then failed to vote on Sunday, underscoring a lack of trust that reforms can take root. The PSD’s electorate traditionally stems from older, poorer Romanians, eager to hear the party’s message that centers around public sector wage hikes, tax cuts and higher pensions. ”The exit polls results mean that we will have a leftist government,” said political commentator Mircea Marian. ”The main problem is that, step by step, very slowly, they will likely change legislation in the field. ”Both PSD and ALDE politicians have accused prosecutors, who have won EU praise for their efforts, of being politically motivated in their investigations. Dragnea told reporters in June that Romanians must choose between ”better bread or handcuffs.” During its previous years in government, between the PSD reversed austerity policies put in place after a 2008 real estate crash by cutting taxes and raising the minimum wage and pay. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, now expects Romania’s deficit to quadruple from 0. 8 percent of economic output in 2015 to 3. 2 percent in 2017 under European accounting terms. (Editing by Justyna Pawlak, David Goodman and Alan Crosby) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

Taliban demands for cash stir fears of comeback in Pakistan’s Swat Valley

When Pakistani shopkeeper Abdur Rahim’s phone rang in he was shocked to hear the voice of a senior militant commander demanding protection money from him and his fellow traders in the Swat Valley. The menacing call was taken seriously in a northern pocket of the country where Pakistani Taliban insurgents took partial control in 2007, before being ousted two years later in a major military operation hailed as a telling blow against Islamist violence. Locals fear that recent threats of extortion and a spate of targeted killings earlier this year mark an attempt by the Taliban to regain a foothold in the picturesque, mountainous area they once ruled with an iron fist. Western powers, including the United States which has thousands of troops fighting other militant groups across the nearby border in Afghanistan, want to see jihadi networks along the frontier crushed. During the Oct. 19 conversation, Mullah Akhtar, a commander close to Pakistan (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah, ordered Rahim to collect money from 15, 000 members of the Swat Traders’ Federation, of which he is president. But in a tense exchange, Rahim refused to cooperate, and told Akhtar militants were not welcome in Swat. According to Rahim, Akhtar boiled over with rage: ”I will blow you up, so that even the doctors won’t be able to find the pieces.” Since the call, Rahim’s life has changed. Speaking to Reuters in Swat’s main town of Mingora, he stood flanked by two armed policemen, while plainclothed officers keep a watchful eye in the background. CCTV cameras monitor his home. MOTIVES UNCLEAR Representatives of the militant movement could not be reached for comment on their tactics in Swat Valley; some residents believe demands for money and a rise in attacks in the first half of the year are signs of desperation. Attacks have been a part of life there since 2010, including the attempted assassination of Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai in 2012, but in recent months the murders have stopped after a series of arrests by police. The Taliban have also struggled to build ideological support after their bloody rule that saw them impose a harsh version of Islamic law on the valley’s 2 million residents. The group remains active elsewhere, however, particularly in southern Baluchistan province, where a faction of the Taliban and Islamic State have claimed responsibility for a series of bomb and gun attacks that have killed more than 180 people. The Pakistani military will be desperate to keep the Taliban out of Swat, the first sizeable region outside lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan to fall to the militants. The army’s publicity wing did not respond to requests for comment on the situation in the area. The military has been on alert for signs of a Taliban resurgence as it seeks to rebuild civilian institutions and win over the local population as a bulwark against radical ideology. A force of more than 4, 000 Pakistani soldiers is stationed in Swat, and last month the army began constructing a permanent garrison. ”It (Swat) was always shown as the example of a successful military operation,” said Zahid Hussain, a security analyst. ”But the main challenge is to hold that area, and to now establish a civilian authority.” NEUTRALIZING SUPPORT NETWORKS While officials tout the recent drop in assassinations by the Taliban as progress, locals on the group’s are less sanguine. Powerful tribal leaders, especially those who worked with peace committees, say they are in danger. Fazal Wahab, for example, walks through Mingora’s bustling market hiding a pistol under his coat and wearing a black face mask to hide his identity. ”I have received no support of any kind from the army,” said Wahab, who has faced Taliban death threats for years due to his work. But local officials say security has improved. More than 2, 000 Taliban fighters from Swat have been driven into mountainous areas on the Afghan side of the border nearby, according to officials. Police in Swat said TTP assassins used mountain passes between Afghanistan’s Nuristan and Pakistan’s Chitral regions to sneak into the valley. ”It’s not difficult for one or two people to slip through,” said Akhtar Hayat Khan, Swat’s police chief. Khan said several swoops on local facilitators had disrupted the Taliban’s support network and limited the threat. In July, police arrested at least 12 people across the valley suspected of aiding attacks. ”DOG EAT DOG” Local traders applauded Rahim’s stand against the Taliban, but some were not sure if they would follow his example if faced with demands for protection money themselves. ”If we get a call, then what can we do? We will bear the decision like a stone on our hearts, but we have no choice,” said Nisar Ahmed. Rahim is steadfast in his resistance. Recently he started breeding dogs, widely considered unclean in Islam, for his own protection. ”I used to hate keeping dogs. But you need to keep a dog to fight a dog,” he said. ”They (the Taliban) are hungry now. And like a dog bites a man out of hunger, they’re biting, too.” (Writing by Asad Hashim; Editing Drazen Jorgic and Mike ) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

Emergence of political Islam puts Indonesian president to a test

As the ranks of protesters thickened in central Jakarta on Dec. 2, turning into Indonesia’s biggest mass demonstration since the end of authoritarian rule in 1998, President Joko Widodo grappled with a dilemma: should he join the rally or stay away? Recounting what happened behind the scenes that day, two senior officials told Reuters Widodo chose to ignore warnings from security chiefs and went into the crowd, appearing alongside the firebrand leader of a hardline Islamic group. His move was widely applauded for cooling tensions that had been building for weeks over remarks by Jakarta’s Christian governor that were deemed to be insulting to the Koran. But critics worry Widodo’s decision may have conferred some legitimacy on a hardline strain of political Islam emerging in the world’s biggest country, where politics is secular and the majority of believers are moderate, putting social stability at risk. ”Jokowi may have had some tactical gains in the short run,” said Tobias Basuki, an analyst at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, referring to the president by his popular name. ”But, for the longer term, Jokowi, his government and the police have been playing a dangerous game. As a result, political Islam has been by hardliners and progressive Muslims have been sidelined.” The resurgence of political Islam has been accompanied this year by the reappearance of militant Islamic cells who swear allegiance to Islamic State and have been involved in a series of attacks and foiled plots. Many of the jihadis were first indoctrinated at mosques that spawned various Islamic vigilante groups similar to the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) which was at the forefront of the Dec. 2 mass protest in Jakarta, according to police. The FPI insists it is neither political nor militant but just wants to uphold Islamic principles. MOTLEY GROUP OF PLOTTERS A senior government official, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said the president had voiced some reservations before joining FPI leader Habib Rizieq on the stage. Before dawn that day, police rounded up a motley group of figures allegedly plotting to use the rally to launch a popular revolt against Widodo by leading protesters to parliament. Among those detained was a daughter of independent Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno; a rock star who once appeared in a video wearing a uniform, and a former army general who backed one of Widodo’s rivals for the presidency in 2014. The official, briefed on discussions between the police chief and one of the president’s most trusted ministers, Luhut Pandjaitan, said Rizieq was on an original list of 20 people suspected of sedition. Police could not confirm such a list. Rizieq was not detained, however. Instead, he was allowed to lead the protest later that morning. Minister Pandjaitan told police to arrest the least powerful people on the list of 20 to send a message that the government would not tolerate anybody trying to exploit the tensions, the official said. Widodo’s office did not respond to requests for comment. SHARIA LAW The FPI, which claims around five million members and advocates sharia law across Indonesia’s archipelago, has a history of harrassing minorities. It has forced churches and mosques run by Muslims to close and raids nightclubs and bars it believes foster immorality. It grabbed the political spotlight by seizing on Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama’s indelicate remark on the Koran during his campaign, where he is standing against two Muslim candidates. Purnama goes on trial for blasphemy starting on Tuesday in a Jakarta court. As an ally of the governor, Widodo was the target of some of the outrage from Muslims at an initial rally on Nov. 4 and then the larger one that brought over 200, 000 protesters into the heart of Jakarta a month later. Ahead of the Nov. 4 rally, Widodo’s security staff persuaded him to leave the presidential palace, said the senior government official. He went to the capital’s airport where, according to his office, he inspected a rail project. Violence broke out as the demonstration wound up that day. Another official, at the presidential palace, denied a report that Widodo had gone to the airport as a precaution to flee the country. Underlining his alarm over the situation, however, the president did abruptly call off a visit to Australia the next day. Widodo was given the same security advice ahead of the Dec. 2 protest, the two officials said. But Pandjaitan urged him to appear at the rally to puncture the mood of animosity. ”He [Widodo] said he did not want to be seen standing . .. on the same stage as Habib Rizieq, but Luhut said it was a chance to show real leadership and calm the tensions,” the palace official said. FALL OF SUHARTO Rizieq, 51, was not available for comment. The chief of FPI’s Jakarta chapter, Novel Bamukmin, responding to rumours FPI will form a political party and nominate Rizieq for president in 2019, told Reuters Rizieq had no political ambitions. ”Habib Rizieq’s role has clearly been that of a figure who is pushing togetherness and unity. It is a movement of tolerant Islam,” Bamukmin said. The movement toward a more conservative and hardline Islam has been developing in Indonesia since the fall in 1998 of strongman Suharto, who had brutally repressed politicised Islam during his three decades in power. Tim Lindsey, an expert on Indonesian law at the University of Melbourne, said Widodo perhaps aware of the country’s grim history of popular unrest had put quelling the masses ahead of squelching the resurgence of political Islam. ”It’s now about ’mass’ the easily manipulated masses that are on the streets, a nightmare for any political leader in Indonesia given the events of 1998, when Suharto was toppled,” Lindsey said. ”Jokowi now has to crack down because he has let the situation get out of control.” (Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Bill Tarrant.) SYDNEY The United Nations cultural body UNESCO has voted to leave the Great Barrier Reef off its ”in danger” list despite recent widespread destruction of the World Heritage Site. MINNEAPOLIS Kole Calhoun homered and Cameron Maybin stole home on a delayed steal in support of rookie starter Parker Bridwell’s six scoreless innings as the Los Angeles Angels avoided a sweep with a win against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.

Monte dei Paschi to press ahead with last-ditch private capital increase

Italy’s third biggest lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena said on Sunday it would press ahead with a plan to raise 5 billion euros on the market by after the European Central Bank refused to give it more time to recapitalize. The decision by the ECB’s supervisory board piles pressure on the Italian government to inject money into the bank but the Tuscan lender on Friday said it would carry on with its own private sector scheme, despite signs of scant investor interest. Rome is ready to intervene with an emergency decree to rescue the bank if needed, a government source said on Friday. The crisis at the world’s oldest bank is playing out against a backdrop of political instability in Italy after Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s resignation last week following a heavy defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform. Italy’s president on Sunday asked Renzi’s foreign minister, Paolo Gentiloni, to form a government and he could be ready as early as Monday to present his list of proposed cabinet members to the head of state. Monte dei Paschi, which fared the worst in European stress tests this summer, had asked the ECB for a extension to Jan. 20 to raise the money it needs to avert collapse because of the political turmoil unleashed by Renzi’s resignation. But the ECB on Friday rejected the request on the grounds that a delay would be of little use and that it was time for Rome to step in, a source close to the matter said. The bank says it has not received a formal communication from Frankfurt. The private solution being drawn up by the bank, advised by JPMorgan and Mediobanca, involves reopening a swap offer to 40, 000 retail investors holding 2. 1 billion euros of the bank’s subordinated bonds, Monte dei Paschi said in a statement after a board meeting on Sunday. But this needs the approval of market watchdog Consob. The initial offer, which raised 1 billion euros from institutional investors, had been deemed too risky for the vast majority of ordinary investors. CONFIDENCE Under the plan, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund could put in another 1 billion euros, while a consortium of banks would try to sell shares for the remainder in the market but without underwriting the issue, a senior banker said. As Monte dei Paschi di Siena’s board met on Sunday, a source close to the board said the fact that Gentiloni had been asked to form a government gave the bank confidence it could still pull off the privately funded capital raise. ”There’s still time. Qatar is in the game and available to put in the amount that is being talked about,” the source said. However, another source close to the matter acknowledged the bank’s bid for cash on the market was a desperate move. ”The ECB has not responded yet. There’s no government yet. The bank has got nothing to lose,” the source said. The bank had been in contact with Consob since Friday to discuss the reopening of the debt swap, a politically sensitive move that could expose the lender and the market watchdog to accusations of bending the rules. Consob’s preliminary reaction to the plan was positive, two sources said. However, another source said no decision would be taken before the ECB formally communicates its rejection of the bank’s request for an extension, which should happen early this week. According to the senior banker, the lender would argue that under European rules, retail investors risked losing all their money if the state had to intervene, so they would be better off converting their bonds. The bank’s fate is a political hot potato in Italy. Luigi Di Maio, a leader of the Movement that is ahead in opinion polls, said on Sunday the bank should be nationalized while accusing Renzi’s Democratic Party (PD) of using the crisis to rebuff calls for snap polls and justify the need for a quick, unelected government. PD Chairman Matteo Orfini said: ”The market solution is the best. Should it not succeed, the bank must be stabilized while respecting EU rules.” (additional reporting by Stefano Bernabei, writing by Silvia Aloisi; editing by Ros Russell, Bernard Orr) Biopharmaceutical company Celgene Corp will buy a stake in BeiGene Ltd and help develop and commercialize BeiGene’s investigational treatment for tumor cancers, the companies said on Wednesday. BRUSSELS French carmaker PSA Group secured unconditional EU antitrust approval on Wednesday to acquire General Motors’ German unit Opel, a move which will help it better compete with market leader Volkswagen .

Cairo church bombing kills 25, raises fears among Christians

A bombing at Cairo’s largest Coptic cathedral killed at least 25 people and wounded 49, many of them women and children attending Sunday mass, in the deadliest attack on Egypt’s Christian minority in years. The attack comes as President Abdel Fattah fights battles on several fronts. His economic reforms have angered the poor, a bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood has seen thousands jailed, whilst an insurgency rages in Northern Sinai, led by the Egyptian branch of Islamic State. The militant group has also carried out deadly attacks in Cairo and has urged its supporters to launch attacks around the world in recent weeks as it goes on the defensive in its Iraqi and Syrian strongholds. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but exiled Brotherhood officials and militant groups condemned the attack. Islamic State supporters celebrated on social media. ”God bless the person who did this blessed act,” wrote one supporter on Telegram. The explosion took place in a chapel, which adjoins St Mark’s, Cairo’s main cathedral and the seat of Coptic Pope Tawadros II, where security is normally tight. The United States said it ”will continue to work with its partners to defeat such terrorist acts” and that it was committed to Egypt’s security, according to a White House statement on Sunday. The UN Security Council urged ”all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities” to hold those responsible accountable. At the Vatican, Pope Francis condemned what he called the latest in a series of ”brutal terrorist attacks” and said he was praying for the dead and wounded. The chapel’s floor was covered in debris from shattered windows, its wooden pews blasted apart, its pillars blackened. Here and there lay abandoned shoes and sticky patches of blood. ”As soon as the priest called us to prepare for prayer, the explosion happened,” Emad Shoukry, who was inside when the blast took place, told Reuters. ”The explosion shook the place . .. the dust covered the hall and I was looking for the door, although I couldn’t see anything . .. I managed to leave in the middle of screams and there were a lot of people thrown on the ground.” Security sources told Reuters at least six children were among the dead, with the blast detonating on the side of the church normally used by women. They said the explosion was caused by a device containing at least 12 kg (26 pounds) of TNT. Police and armored vehicles rushed to the area, as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the compound demanding revenge for the attack that took place on a Muslim holiday marking the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday and weeks before Christmas. Scuffles broke out with police. A woman sitting near the cathedral in traditional long robes shouted, ”kill them, kill the terrorists, what are you waiting for? . .. Why are you leaving them to bomb our homes?” ”EGYPTIAN BLOOD IS CHEAP” Though Egypt’s Coptic Christians have traditionally been supporters of the government, angry crowds turned their ire against Sisi, saying his government had failed to protect them. ”As long as Egyptian blood is cheap, down, down with any president,” they chanted. Others chanted ”the people demand the fall of the regime” the rallying cry of the 2011 uprising that helped end Hosni Mubarak’s rule. Sisi’s office condemned what it described as a terrorist attack, declaring three days of mourning and promising justice. Egypt’s main Islamic center of learning, also denounced the attacks. Orthodox Copts, who comprise about 10 percent of Egypt’s 90 million people, are the Middle East’s biggest Christian community. Copts face regular attack by Muslim neighbors, who burn their homes and churches in poor rural areas, usually in anger over an romance or the construction of church. The last major attack on a church took place as worshippers left a New Year’s service in Alexandria weeks before the start of the 2011 uprising. At least 21 people were killed. Egypt’s Christian community has felt increasingly insecure since Islamic State spread through Iraq and Syria in 2014, ruthlessly targeting religious minorities. In 2015, 21 Egyptian Christians working in Libya were killed by Islamic State. The attack came two days after six police were killed in two bomb attacks, one of them claimed by Hasm, a group the government says is linked to the Brotherhood, which has been banned under Sisi as a terrorist organization. The Brotherhood says it is peaceful. Several exiled Brotherhood officials condemned the bombing, as did Hasm and Liwaa’ another local militant group. Coptic Pope Tawadros II cut short a visit to Greece after learning of the attack. In a speech aired on state television, he said ”the whole situation needs us all to be disciplined as much as possible . .. strong unity is the most important thing.” Church officials said earlier on Sunday they would not allow the bombing to create sectarian differences. But Christians, convinced attacks on them are not seriously investigated, say this time they want justice. ”Where was the security? There were five or six security cars stationed outside so where were they when 12 kg of TNT was carried inside?” said Mena Samir, 25, standing at the church’s metal gate. ”They keep telling us national unity, the crescent with the cross . .. This time we will not shut up.” (Additional reporting by Arwa Gaballa, Amr Abdallah, Mohamed Abdel Ghany, Amina Ismail, Mostafa Hashem in Cairo, Philip Pullella in Rome, Michelle Nichols in New York and; Yara Bayoumy in Washington; writing by Amina Ismail and Lin Noueihed; editing by Ros Russell and Raissa Kasolowsky) QAMISHLI, The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Wednesday that Turkish military deployments near areas of northwestern Syria amounted to a ”declaration of war” which could trigger clashes within days. CARACAS government supporters burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, witnesses said, attacking and besieging lawmakers in the latest of violence during a political crisis.

UniCredit sells Pioneer to Amundi for more than $4.2 billion: source

Italy’s biggest bank by assets UniCredit ( ) has reached a deal to sell its asset manager Pioneer to France’s Amundi for more than 4 billion euros ($4. 2 billion) a source with knowledge of the matter said on Sunday. The deal, which the source said involves a special dividend of about 500 million euros to be paid to UniCredit, is one of various disposals being pursued by Chief Executive Mustier to boost capital levels at the Italian lender, slim it down and make it easier to manage. The Pioneer sale comes as UniCredit is set to announce on Tuesday a share issue worth up to 13 billion euros in what would be a major test of confidence in Italy’s wider banking system. A statement confirming the Pioneer deal is expected on Monday, sources said. Amundi in Italy and UniCredit declined to comment. UniCredit, which operates in 17 countries and is the only Italian bank whose health is deemed important to the stability of the global financial system, needs to strengthen its balance sheet to meet tough new regulations designed for such lenders. Only on Thursday, UniCredit announced deals to sell a 33 percent stake in Polish lender Pekao, raising more than 2. 5 billion euros, while in October it sold 20 percent of its online broker FinecoBank for about 550 million euros. Amundi, which was advised by Mediobanca on the Pioneer deal, has been in exclusive talks with UniCredit after beating rival bids presented by a consortium led by Italy’s Poste Italiane ( ) and another one by Ameriprise Financial ( ). Sources have said Amundi’s bid was the highest and the French asset manager offered the best contract to distribute Pioneer’s financial products. Pioneer is Europe’s asset manager with assets under management of around 225 billion euros. As investors around the world search for higher returns, asset managers have grown rapidly in recent years, making them an appealing target for banks and financial institutions. To finance the Pioneer acquisition, Amundi plans to sell new shares for up to 2 billion euros, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources. (Writing by Agnieszka Flak; Editing by Silvia Aloisi and David Clarke) LONDON New Saba Capital Management, famed for its winning bet against the JPMorgan Chase trader known as the ’London Whale’ is closing its office in London’s Mayfair district, two sources close to the situation told Reuters. ROME Italian prosecutors have decided to take Morgan Stanley to court over allegations that the U. S. bank caused 2. 7 billion euros ($3. 1 billion) in losses to the state in relation to derivative transactions, a source familiar with the matter said.

Iran seals $17 billion Boeing deal, close to Airbus order

Iran signed a $16. 6 billion deal for 80 Boeing ( ) passenger jets on Sunday and was said to be close to another for dozens of Airbus ( ) planes to complete what would be the biggest package of firm contracts with Western companies since Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. The deal between IranAir and U. S. planemaker Boeing includes 50 737 MAX aircraft and 30 777s, split equally between the which is badly in need of an order boost, and the which is under development. An Iranian official told Reuters that IranAir was also at the ”very final stage” of formalizing a deal with Europe’s Airbus, which led Western companies back into Iran with a provisional agreement for 118 planes when Tehran emerged from global sanctions in January. The Airbus deal, which is expected to involve a first batch of jets, should be completed in the next couple of days, the official said. Also closing in on a deal to renew Iran’s aging fleet, kept going by smuggled or improvised parts after decades of sanctions, European turboprop maker ATR said it had received U. S. approvals needed to finalize the sale of up to 40 aircraft. The Boeing contract, the biggest . S. deal since the fall of the Shah, clears a major technical hurdle toward implementing last year’s pact between Iran and world powers to reopen trade in return for curbs on Iran’s nuclear activities. However, political opposition could yet threaten a deal that would provide a welcome boost to Boeing’s order book after a year in which it has lagged behind rival Airbus. Congressional Republicans are trying to counter last year’s nuclear accord, with the U. S. House of Representatives passing a bill last month seeking to restrict financial transactions by U. S. banks in an effort to block the sale of Western passenger jets to Iran. TEST FOR TRUMP, ROUHANI The Iranian official said the Boeing deal was subject in part to further agreements on financing, but added that money from the deal would not pass through the U. S. financial system. Financial sources said Boeing has a financing plan for 15 jets, which are expected to be delivered from 2018, but the rest of the financing may still have to be negotiated. Sunday’s move could also test relations between America’s top exporter and U. S. Donald Trump, days after he complained about the cost of new Boeing ”Air Force One” jets. Because of the length of the deal, some U. S. export licenses may need to be extended during Trump’s administration. The who opposes last year’s nuclear sanctions deal with Iran, has also rattled Boeing by sparring with China, which accounts for a fifth of the company’s deliveries. A Boeing statement said the Iranian contract would support tens of thousands of U. S. jobs for the jets and nearly 100, 000 U. S. aerospace jobs for the whole package. In Iran the deal is viewed as a crucial political test for the government of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani, who has been criticized by hardliners opposed to opening up to the West. The first Airbus aircraft are expected to reach Iran in 2017. Iran’s presidential elections are due in May. (Editing by David Goodman) Biopharmaceutical company Celgene Corp will buy a stake in BeiGene Ltd and help develop and commercialize BeiGene’s investigational treatment for tumor cancers, the companies said on Wednesday. BRUSSELS French carmaker PSA Group secured unconditional EU antitrust approval on Wednesday to acquire General Motors’ German unit Opel, a move which will help it better compete with market leader Volkswagen .

Major Sky shareholder to vote against Fox bid

A major shareholder in British company Sky ( ) will vote against Century Fox’s ( ) $14 billion takeover bid, the investor told Reuters on Sunday, while another said it is unhappy about the offer. Rupert Murdoch’s Fox offered 10. 75 pounds ($13. 52) a share in cash on Friday in its second attempt to buy the 61 percent of the business that it does not own, with Sky’s independent directors backing the latest bid. The shareholder, which declined to be named but said it was one of Sky’s top 50 stakeholders, described the bid as ”far too low”. ”We are voting against the deal if it comes out in its current form and we have told the company as such,” the investor said. ”The independent directors have absolutely failed minority shareholders.” A Sky spokeswoman declined to comment. The deal would give Fox control of a network spanning 22 million households in Britain, Ireland, Austria, Germany and Italy. A second shareholder told Britain’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper that Sky’s directors should push for more. It ”ought to be the start of the process, not the conclusion” Alastair Gunn, a fund manager at Jupiter Asset Management, was quoted as saying. A representative of the firm was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters on Sunday. Analysts at Citi characterized the offer as a ” bid” citing 13. 50 pounds per share as a fair valuation. Sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters that Fox had pounced after Britain’s vote to leave the European Union in June sent the pound down about 14 percent against the U. S. dollar and Sky’s share price tumbling. ($1 = 0. 7954 pounds) (Editing by Ros Russell and David Goodman) U. S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain’s Worldpay for 7. 7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. Jana Partners LLC stepped up its criticism on Wednesday of U. S. natural gas producer EQT Corp’s deal to buy Rice Energy Inc arguing that EQT could save as much as $4. 5 billion if it separated its pipeline assets instead.

Kurdish militants claim responsibility for Istanbul attack that killed 38

An offshoot of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed responsibility on Sunday for twin bombings that killed 38 people and wounded 155 outside an Istanbul soccer stadium, an attack for which the Turkish government vowed vengeance. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) which has claimed several other deadly attacks in Turkey this year, said in a statement on its website that it was behind Saturday night’s blasts, which shook a nation still trying to recover from a failed military coup and a number of bombings this year.. Saturday’s attacks took place near the Vodafone Arena, home to Istanbul’s Besiktas soccer team, about two hours after a match at the stadium and appeared to target police officers. The first was a car bomb outside the stadium, followed within a minute by a suicide bomb attack in an adjacent park. TAK, which has claimed responsibility for an Ankara bombing that killed 37, is an offshoot of the PKK, which has carried out a violent, insurgency, mainly in Turkey’s largely Kurdish southeast. ”What we must focus on is this terror burden. Our people should have no doubt we will continue our battle against terror until the end,” Turkey President Tayyip Erdogan told reporters after meeting injured victims in an Istanbul hospital. ’WE WILL HAVE VENGEANCE’ Speaking at a funeral for five of the police officers at the Istanbul police headquarters, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said: ”Sooner or later we will have our vengeance. This blood will not be left on the ground, no matter what the price, what the cost.” Soylu also warned those who would offer support to the attackers on social media or elsewhere; comments aimed at politicians the government accuses of having links to the PKK, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Europe and Turkey. In recent months thousands of Kurdish politicians have been detained, including dozens of mayors and the leaders of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) parliament’s opposition party, accused of having links to the PKK. The crackdown against Kurdish politicians has coincided with widespread purges of state institutions after July’s failed coup, which the government blames on followers of a U. S. Muslim cleric. Turkey says the measures are necessary to defend its security, while rights groups and some Western allies accuse it of skirting the rule of law and trampling on freedoms. In a statement, the HDP condemned the attack and urged the government to end what it called the language and politics of ”polarization, hostility and conflict”. Soylu said that the first explosion was at an assembly point for riot police. The second came as police surrounded the suicide bomber in the nearby Macka park. people died, including 30 police and seven civilians, he said. One person remained unidentified. Thirteen people have been detained in connection with the attacks, Soylu said. A total of 155 people were being treated in hospital, with 14 of them in intensive care and five in surgery, Health Minister Recep Akdag told a news conference. Flags flew at and Sunday was declared a day of national mourning. Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said that Turkey’s allies should show solidarity with it in the fight against terrorism, a reference to disagreements with the United States over the fellow NATO member’s policy on Syria. Washington backs the Syrian Kurdish YPG in the fight against Islamic State. Turkey, meanwhile, says the militia is an extension of the PKK and a terrorist group. In addition to the Kurdish insurgency, Turkey is battling Islamic State as a member of the United coalition against the jihadist group. Less than a week ago Islamic State urged its supporters to target Turkey’s ”security, military, economic and media establishment”. ’MY SON WAS MASSACRED’ Video purporting to show the father of one of the victims, a medical student in Istanbul for a weekend visit, went viral on social media in Turkey. ”I don’t want my son to be a martyr, my son was massacred,” the footage showed the father saying. ”His goal was to be a doctor and help people like this, but now I am carrying him back in a funeral car.” Security remained tight in Istanbul, with police helicopters buzzing overhead in the Besiktas district near the stadium. NATO Jens Stoltenberg condemned what he described as ”horrific acts of terror” while European leaders also sent messages of solidarity. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Erdogan to convey her condolences, sources in his office said. The United States condemned the attack and said it stood with its NATO ally. (Additional reporting by Orhan Coskun, Ece Toksabay, Umit Bektas and Gulsen Solaker in Ankara, Humeyra Pamuk, Osman Orsal and Murad Sezer in Istanbul; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Dale Hudson and David Goodman) UNITED NATIONS The United States cautioned on Wednesday it was ready to use force if need be to stop North Korea’s nuclear missile program but said it preferred global diplomatic action against Pyongyang for defying world powers by test launching a ballistic missile that could hit Alaska. WARSAW U. S. President Donald Trump meets eastern NATO allies in Warsaw on Thursday amid expectations he will reaffirm Washington’s commitment to counter threats from Russia after unnerving them in May by failing to endorse the principle of collective defense.

Rick Perry a leading candidate for U.S. energy post: source

Rick Perry, who proposed eliminating the U. S. Energy Department during his unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, has emerged as a leading candidate to head the agency under Donald Trump, a transition official said on Sunday. Democratic U. S. Senators Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia also are in the running for the job as Trump continues to fill key positions in his administration ahead of taking office on Jan. 20, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Perry served as governor of Texas, a leading state, from 2000 when he succeeded President George W. Bush until 2015. In his two unsuccessful presidential runs, he touted his record of job creation in the state. Perry’s proposal to scrap the Energy Department caused what has become known as his ”oops” moment during a November 2011 debate when he could not remember the departments he wanted to eliminate. ”It’s three agencies of government when I get there that are gone: commerce, education and the um, what’s the third one there? Let’s see,” Perry said. His debate adversaries tried to prod his memory, but Perry ultimately gave up, saying, ”I can’t. The third one, I can’t. Sorry. Oops.” It was the Energy Department, which is responsible for U. S. energy policy and oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons program. Perry also ran for the 2016 presidential nomination against Trump but dropped out in September 2015 after gaining little traction. Perry initially was a fierce critic of Trump but later endorsed Trump and called him ”the people’s choice.” In July 2015, Perry said: ”Let no one be mistaken: Donald Trump’s candidacy is a cancer on conservatism, and it must be clearly diagnosed, excised and discarded.” If Perry gets the job, it would be further indication that the incoming Trump administration may be friendly toward the fossil fuel industry. Trump is set to pick U. S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a skeptic and an advocate for expanded oil and gas development, to head the Interior Department. Trump’s pick for the Environmental Protection Agency is Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, an ardent opponent of President Barack Obama’s measures to curb climate change who has sued the EPA to block in a bid to undo a key regulation to curb greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from power plants. And Trump is expected to name Rex Tillerson, chief executive of oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp, as secretary of state. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Mary Milliken) SINGAPORE Oil prices nudged higher on Thursday on strong demand in the United States, but analysts cautioned that oversupply would continue to drag on markets. LONDON The West’s three biggest energy corporations are lobbying Qatar to take part in a huge expansion of its gas production, handing Doha an unintended but timely boost in its bitter dispute with Gulf Arab neighbors.