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6/30/19

EU Presidency: Timmermans frontrunner as EU leaders decide against Weber for Commission president

EU leaders have agreed that conservative German candidate Manfred Weber will not become president of the next European Commission, Germany’s Die Welt daily reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the decision. Instead, Dutch Socialist Frans Timmermans is now the frontrunner for the EU’s top job.

The decision was reached during talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Die Welt said.

According to Bloomberg, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had endorsed Weber and  Timmermans from the Netherlands as the only candidates left in the race to lead the EU executive.

Without mentioning them by name, Merkel made clear that the centre-right German, from her political family, the EPP, and the centre-left Dutchman, are the official and only contenders to head the Commission. That leaves liberal Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s antitrust chief, out of the race.

Read more at: Timmermans frontrunner as EU leaders decide against Weber for Commission president – EURACTIV.com

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Saudis and their lobbyists risk losing access to EU Parliament - by Nikolaj Nielsen

Earlier this year, the former defence minister of France, Michele Alliot-Marie, chaired a backroom meeting with a half dozen Saudi ambassadors at the European Parliament.

That meeting was part of a so-called training programme organised by the College of Europe, an academic institution part-funded by the European Union and based out of Bruges in Belgium.

The college received Saudi money for the effort and then attacked the media for reporting the behind closed door meeting between the ambassadors and MEPs as lobbying.

France is also the world's third-largest weapons exporter with Riyadh as one of its biggest clients. The regime late last year murdered critical journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Now pressure is mounting to ban all Saudi diplomats, as well as any organisation that represents them, from entering the European Parliament again.

Read more at: Saudis and their lobbyists risk losing access to EU Parliament

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Britain - Conservative party: Three severe blows to Johnson’s credibility

Boris Johnson has suffered three successive blows to his credibility since Friday, which call into question his title as the undisputed favourite to become the next leader of the Conservative Party and the man to succeed Theresa May in office.

Given a strong lead and strong media criticism, there is a perception that the former foreign secretary is avoiding public confrontation. The last-man-standing opponent — who prevailed over eight opponents — is foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt. Hunt called Johnson a “coward” on Monday morning.

 “On the question of debates, he is being a coward,” Hunt said on Sky television.

Meanwhile, The Guardian broke the story that the police showed up on Johnson’s residence on Friday morning, after neighbours heard a loud altercation between him and his girlfriend. Since, Johnson has been challenged to explain and he has insisted that this is a personal affair.

On Saturday, the Observer delivered another blow to Johnson’s credibility, publishing a video of Steve Bannon talking about his consultations Boris Johnson. In the video, Bannon boasts how he discussed with Johnson the talking points of his speech following his resignation as a foreign secretary. Johnson has always denied political ties to the former campaign manager of US President Donald Trump. The footage was filmed by US filmmaker Alison Klayman for a documentary entitled The Brink.

Perhaps the least damaging assault to Johnson’s credibility came from the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, who questioned his claim that the UK can avoid EU tariffs in a no-deal Brexit scenario. In an interview with the BBC, the Canadian who stirred monetary policy amid the Brexit crisis recalled that World Trade Organization rules require the EU to apply the same tariffs to all of their trading partners with whom they do not have a free trade agreement.  

That means that Johnson’s claim that “there will be no tariffs, there will be no quotas because what we want to do is to get a standstill in our current arrangements under GATT 24,” is inaccurate.

Read more at: Three severe blows to Johnson’s credibility

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6/29/19

CHINA-US relations; G20 summit: XI and Trump agree to restart China-US trade talks

G20 summit: Trump and Xi agree to restart US-China trade talks


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6/28/19

G20: Crunch time at G20 as US-China trade showdown looms

After a first day dominated by public shows of bonhomie, all eyes at the G20 Saturday turn to a pivotal trade showdown between economic rivals China and the United States
.
US President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping meet at around 11:30 am (0230 GMT) in a bid to thrash out a truce in a long-running trade war that has seen hundreds of billions of dollars in tit-for-tat tariffs.

Read more at: Crunch time at G20 as US-China trade showdown looms | AFP.com

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6/27/19

Education and use of smartphones : France has banned all children under 15 from using their cellphones in school

French students returning from the summer break will no longer be able to use their phones during the school day.
  • Earlier this summer France banned all students under 15 from using all cellphones, tablets, and smartwatches at any point during the day.
  • That includes mealtimes.
  • The government is concerned that students are becoming too dependent on and distracted by their phones.
 Read more at: France has banned all children under 15 from using their phones in school

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Iran-US relations:: tensions are rising and here is what could happen next

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are rising: Here's what could happen next


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6/26/19

USA-Iran relations: Iran suggests US President has mental disorder

Trump threatens ‘obliteration’ after Iran suggests he has a ‘mental disorder’
 

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6/25/19

EU parliament gives extra time for leaders on top jobs - Eszter Zalan

The EU Parliament could decide to postpone the election of its new president by 24 hours, in order to give more time for EU leaders to decide on the other top jobs in the European institutions.

The political party group leaders in the parliament will decide on Sunday (30 June), as EU leaders gather for an extra summit in Brussels to agree on a package for the new EU leadership roles, whether to push the vote on their new parliament president to next Wednesday (3 June) - instead of Tuesday - which had earlier served as a benchmark for EU leader to agree on a deal.

The move comes as backroom discussions and phone-calls between EU capitals intensify on whom to choose to run the EU Commission for the next five years after Jean-Claude Juncker, and who should be president of the EU council, the European Central Bank, and the EU's foreign affairs chief.

The centre-right European People's Party (EPP) German lead candidate, Manfred Weber, does not have majority support in the parliament, and has been rejected by French president Emmanuel Macron.

Read more: EU parliament gives extra time for leaders on top jobs: leaders

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6/24/19

Iran-US Relations: What Are Iran's Options In The Standoff With The U.S.? - by Peter Kenyon


Tensions continue to rise between the United States and Iran following last week's sharp escalation in which Tehran downed a U.S. drone and the U.S. conducted cyberattacks against an Iranian intelligence group.

On Monday, President Trump announced financial sanctions against Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several other top officials.

Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reportedly told his country's lawmakers that Iran will continue to stand firm against U.S. sanctions and threats "with full power." An Iranian navy chief also warned that the country would shoot down more of America's surveillance drones if they violated Iran's airspace.

The escalation of tensions comes more than a year after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and reapplied heavy economic and diplomatic pressure against the country. The administration says the "maximum pressure" campaign is designed to draw Iran back to negotiate a new, tougher deal, which Iran has so far rejected.

In an interview with NPR last week, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Majid Takht Ravanchi, said, "You cannot negotiate with somebody who has a knife in his hand putting the knife under your throat."

Read more at: What Are Iran's Options In The Standoff With The U.S.? : NPR

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Polish judicial reforms broke EU law, court says - by Andrew Rettman

Poland has lost a flagship court case over its judicial meddling brought against it by the European Commission, putting its nationalist rulers on the back foot.

"Polish legislation concerning the lowering of the retirement age of judges of the Supreme Court [SC] is contrary to EU law," the EU court in Luxembourg said on Monday (24 June).

Read more at: Polish judicial reforms broke EU law, court says

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6/23/19

Middle East: EU must counter Kushner's so-called 'peace' plan considered a scam- by Wadih Al-Asmar

The Donald Trump administration is set to unveil its long-awaited "peace plan" for the Middle East later this year.

This so-called "Deal of the Century" is likely to be no more than a big sham, and the US-led 25 and 26 June economic peace workshop in Bahrain will hardly change this perception.

As Federica Mogherini confirmed on Monday, the EU is participating: it's time for the EU to make its voice heard.

Despite the countless delays and ambiguities as to what its 'peace plan' may entail, the US administration has made no effort to hide what's in store.

The US-launched "economic peace" workshop conference in Bahrain is a new step in a series of unilateral measures to pressure the Palestinian Authority, undermine Palestinian refugee rights and rule out the international status of Jerusalem.

In Bahrain, the EU should reject anything departing from international law principles and any attempt to diminish Palestinian self-determination and fundamental rights.

EU must counter Kushner's so-called 'peace' plan

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USA,: Trumps economic plan for Mideast met widespread rejection

Trump's economic plan for Mideast peace met with widespread rejection


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TURKEY: Erdogan's AKP suffers major loss in Istanbul election

Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48739256

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6/22/19

Britain: suspends new arms sales to Saudi Arabia

UK government suspends new arms sales to Saudi Arabia after court ruling

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6/21/19

Iran - US Crises: Iran says will take drone incident to UN to show US 'lying'

Iran said Thursday it would go to the UN to prove that a US spy drone it shot down had entered Iranian airspace, contrary to Washington's claims
.
"We'll take this new aggression to #UN & show that the US is lying about international waters," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted, after a US general said the drone was taken down some 34 kilometres (21 miles) off the Iranian coast.

"The US wages #EconomicTerrorism on Iran, has conducted covert action against us & now encroaches on our territory," he wrote.

"We don't seek war, but will zealously defend our skies, land & waters."

With tensions soaring between the two countries following a series of attacks against tankers in the Gulf, the Pentagon confirmed a US surveillance drone had been shot down by Iranian forces.

But it insisted the unmanned aircraft was in international airspace.

ran said the "US-made Global Hawk surveillance drone" was hit with a missile "after violating Iranian air space" over the waters of Hormozgan province on the Strait of Hormuz.

Note EU-Digest: The US statement about the position of their spy-drone is laughable. Doesn't the name "Spy Drone" already identifies this drone as a vehicle that is intended to spy on movements of "the owner's enemies". So the fact that the spy drone is near to what "the owner" of that spy drone considers as its enemy, already provides enough logical evidence to that enemy, that it represents a danger to them and needs to be shot down. 

Read more at: Iran says will take drone incident to UN to show US 'lying'

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Iran-US Crises: Dutch Airline Company KLM halts flights over Strait of Hormuz after drone downing

Dutch airline KLM said Friday it has suspended its flights over the Strait of Hormuz after Iran shot down a US drone in the strategic region.

"Safety is the top priority for KLM," it said in a statement.

"We closely follow all developments that may be related to the safety of airspace 24/7 and we organize the operation in such a way that the safety of the flights is guaranteed.

Read more at :
https://www.yahoo.com/news/airlines-halt-hormuz-flights-amid-us-iran-crisis-092936116.html 

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SPAIN and climate change: Climate change a treat to tourism in Spain

Climate change a threat to tourism in Spain


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6/20/19

Europe - Climate: The heatwave is on the way for Europe

Temperatures of 35-40 Celsius expected to grip Europe next week

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Britain: Brexit would "diminish" UK, says Dutch PM Mark Rutte

Brexit would 'diminish' UK, says Dutch PM Mark Rutte.
Note EU Digest: Mark Rutte hits the nail on the head when it comes to Brexit

Read more at: 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48703043

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Global Tourism: while some cities around the world want more tourist, many don't

Tourist overload: Some world destinations want more visitors - and some really, really don't

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US - Saudi Relations: Republican controlled Senate votes to block Trump arms sales to Saudis

Republican-controlled Senate votes to block Trump’s arms sales to Saudis

Read more at:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/20/saudi-arabia-arms-sales-trump-faces-senate-vote-block?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

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Facebook: usage dropped after privacy scandals, data suggests

Facebook usage falling after privacy scandals, data suggests


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6/19/19

Saudi Arabia: UN report says there is credible evidence Saudi crown prince liable Khashoggi killing

‘Credible evidence’ Saudi crown prince liable for Khashoggi killing – UN report

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Britain - Brexit - the election of the new leader of the conservative party: Boris Johnson is more like Netanyahu than Trump - by Anshel Pfeffer

Boris Johnson is set to win the leadership election of the Conservative party and become prime minister of the United Kingdom within weeks. Both the British and American media abound with comparisons of him to Donald Trump. And the comparison is apt, as far as it goes.

Both are gangly, large men wearing ill-fitting suits, with tousled fair-haired mops. Both have little more than a passing acquaintance with the truth and are happy to use racist dog-whistles to score cheap points. And both Trump and Johnson owe their entire fame and fortune to the media’s fawning attention over the decades, and now, when it fits their purpose, are treating the media like the enemy. And both men make bombastic promises they have no idea or plan for carrying out.

To get a better idea of how Johnson may act as prime minister, it would be more useful to compare him to another populist politician, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Like Johnson, Netanyahu also has quite a lot in common with Trump. But unlike Trump, and like Johnson, he is also extraordinarily clever and knowledgeable, and a lifetime politician.

Note EU-Digest: Often compared with Donald Trump, but far more dangerous than Trump, being not only a Populist and opportunist, but also a highly educated, life long politician, with a far greater intellectual capability than incoherent Donald Trump..

Read more at: Boris Johnson is more like Netanyahu than Trump - Europe - Haaretz.com

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EU delays decision on North Macedonia, Albania membership talks - Daily Sabah

Europe ministers met in Luxembourg almost a year to the day since they unexpectedly postponed a decision to start the talks with the two countries and cast doubt on the EU's Balkan strategy to counter a growing Russian and Chinese presence.

After much wrangling, the 28 EU states unanimously agreed to take "a clear and substantive decision" on the two hopefuls no later than October.

Despite a recommendation by the EU's executive Commission for North Macedonia and Albania to start talks, Germany's parliament has pushed back any decision until September and the Dutch lower house has rejected negotiations with Albania.

France has also shown reluctance, calling for the EU to sort out its own internal problems before admitting new members.

The EU text says that any future enlargement would not only depend on candidates' progress on reforms but also on "ensuring that the EU can maintain and deepen its own development, including its capacity to integrate new members".

EU delays decision on North Macedonia, Albania membership talks - Daily Sabah

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France: Former French President Sarkozy to stand trial for corruption and influence peddling

Ex-French president Sarkozy to stand trial for corruption, influence-peddling Nicolas Sarkozy is set to face trial on charges of corruption and influence peddling after his last appeal was rejected by France's highest court, his lawyer said Wednesday.

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DISPLACED PERSONS: More than 70 million displaced worldwide says UNCHR

More than 70 million displaced worldwide, says UNHCR


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6/18/19

Turkey-EU Relations: EU may suspend Turkey customs union talks

EU states will threaten to freeze talks on an upgraded customs union with Turkey if it does not stop drilling for gas in disputed waters near Cyprus, according to draft conclusions of a General Affairs Council on Tuesday seen by the Bloomberg news agency.

The EU "stands ready to respond appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus," the draft text said, following defiant Turkish statements over the weekend.

Read - Report: EU may suspend Turkey customs union talks

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Middle East - Iran: Macron and Mogherini decline to back US accusation on Iran - by Andrew Rettman

France has urged Iran to step back from threats on nuclear proliferation, but declined to back US claims Iran recently attacked two oil tankers.

Most EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg echoed the French leader, but the UK endorsed the US accusation, which Iran denies.

French president Emmanuel Macron said on Monday (17 June) in Paris that he "regretted" Iran's threat, made earlier the same day, that it would breach a 2015 deal on nuclear arms unless Europe started buying its oil.

Iran should "respect its obligations and we strongly encourage it to adopt a patient and responsible attitude," Macron told press after meeting Ukraine's president in the French capital.

"We will do everything with our partners to dissuade Iran from this," he added.

He spoke after Iran's atomic agency said, earlier the same day, it would break the terms of the EU and UN-backed deal on 27 June by creating more near-weapons grade uranium than the accord allowed.

It issued the threat after the US walked away from the pact, reimposed sanctions on Iran, and forced EU companies to stop doing business there.

"The current situation is very critical and France and the other parties to the [deal] still have a very limited opportunity to play their historic role for saving the deal," Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said on Monday while meeting the new French ambassador to Tehran.

The US has also accused Iran of sabotaging two oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in recent days and warned of military reprisals.

But when asked if France believed the US accusation, Macron said only the situation required "cool heads" and warned against "escalation".

The EU foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, took a similar approach to the unfolding crisis.

Read more: Macron and Mogherini decline to back US accusation on Iran

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EU-US relations under Trump - "not impossible he changes"

The US, once leader of the free world, needs a President that would not spread hate, top EU politician Guy Verhofstadt said on Twitter.

At this point, a re-election of Trump next year could go either way, this analyst believes.

"If he continues along the path that he's on and the way in which he has, I think, consciously been pushing the Europeans hard and uncomfortably and in a way that they are not accustomed to, yes, it's quite possible that in another four years the relationship could be much more divisive.

But one thing that I think Europeans need to bear in mind is that when George W. Bush ran for a second term, the policy in his first term and his second term were very different, specifically with respect to the EU. So it's not impossible that Mr. Trump too can make a change."

Europeans are very unhappy with the changes Trump did make during his first term.

Read more: EU-US relations under Trump - "not impossible he changes" | Euronews

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EU Pension Legislation: Older and wiser?—when governments get it wrong on pensions reform - by Steve Coulter

Europe is turning grey. By 2060 over a quarter of the EU’s population will be over 65. Ageing is accelerating as the baby-boom generation retires and average life-spans continue to increase.

But while most of us are celebrating the fact that people are living longer, healthier lives, demogaphers and officials in finance ministries fret that, on current trends, more of us could be eking out our longer retirements in poverty. The problem is that we are not saving enough. Aviva, an insurance company, estimates that Europeans needs to save an extra €2 trillion each year to close the ‘pensions gap’—the difference between what people need to save to ensure an adequate retirement and what they are actually saving.

With most people still reliant on state pensions to make ends meet in later life, ageing populations will have profound consequences for the fiscal positions of member states, as working taxpayers shift into retirement and begin claiming old-age pensions in increasing numbers. Action is therefore needed to ensure that a decent retirement is affordable and available to all.

Read more: Older and wiser?—when governments get it wrong on pensions reform • Social Europe

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6/17/19

Airplane Industry: Russian aviation makes return to Paris Air Show after 5-year hiatus

Russia’s aircraft manufacturers are taking part in the 2019 Paris Air Show which kicked off on Monday at Le Bourget airport. Russia has not participated in the show since 2014 due to Western sanctions
.
The 53rd Paris Air Show, which will take place from June 17 to 23, is expected to once again bring together all the major players of the global aviation industry.

This year, the Russian aircraft industry will be represented at the show by amphibious aircraft and civilian helicopters.

Read more: Russian aviation makes return to Paris Air Show after 5-year hiatus — RT Business News

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European Airforce: Germany, France and Spain sign European Jet fighter deal

Germany, France and Spain sign deal on European fighter jet

Read  more at:
https://p.dw.com/p/3Kami

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USA: The New African Migrant Invasion from Central Africa.as the Trump Administration goes ballistic in dealing with this new wave of migrants

For months, a migrant-services center blocks from the Alamo in downtown San Antonio has been packed with Central American families who have crossed the border in record-breaking numbers.

But in recent days, hundreds of migrants from another part of the world have caused city officials already busy with one immigrant surge to scramble on a new and unexpected one. Men, women and children from central Africa — mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola — are showing up at the United States’ southwest border after embarking on a dangerous, monthslong journey.

Their arrival at the border and at two cities more than 2,100 miles apart — San Antonio and Portland, Me. — has surprised and puzzled immigration authorities and overwhelmed local officials and nonprofit groups. The surge has prompted Portland to turn its basketball arena into an emergency shelter and depleted assistance funds meant for other groups. 

Officials in both cities have had to reassure the public that fears of an Ebola outbreak were unfounded while also pleading for volunteer interpreters who speak French and Portuguese.

In San Antonio, the city-run Migrant Resource Center has assisted about 300 African migrants who were apprehended at the border and released by the authorities since June 4.

Those 300 are just a portion of the overall numbers. Since October 2018, more than 700 migrants from Africa have been apprehended at what has become their main point of entry, the Border Patrol’s Del Rio sector, a largely rural stretch of Texas border that is nearly 200 miles west of San Antonio.

Migrants from around the world have been known to cross the southwest border, but the vast majority are those from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico. African migrants have shown up at the border in the past, but only in small numbers, making the sudden arrival of more than 700 all the more surprising to Border Patrol officials.

From fiscal years 2007 to 2018, a total of 25 migrants from Congo and Angola were arrested and taken into custody in the Border Patrol’s nine sectors on the southern border, according to agency data.

Many come with horrific stories of government-sanctioned violence at home and treacherous conditions on their long journeys through South and Central America.

Read more: A New Migrant Surge at the Border, This One From Central Africa - The New York Times

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6/16/19

US ECONOMY: Morgan Stanley says business conditions are at their worst level since the 2008 financial crisis

Business conditions are at their worst level since the 2008 financial crisis, says Morgan Stanley -

Read more at:
https://on.mktw.net/2RgwWoa

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Israel: Israeli court convicts Sara Netanyahu for misusing state funds

Israeli court convicts Sara Netanyahu for misusing state funds

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USA: How Trump flooded the swamp after saying he would be emptying it

The Best People review: how Trump flooded the swamp


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Germany: Money is the root of all evil, as Germany as Germany exports weapons to Eaudi Arabia, despite ban

Germany exports weapons to Saudi-led alliance in 2019

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https://p.dw.com/p/3KXfP 

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6/15/19

Aircraft Industry : Pilots reveal safety fears over Boeings fleet of 787 Dreamlinere

Pilots reveal safety fears over Boeing’s fleet of Dreamliners

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Turkey: is future of NATO at risk over US-Turkey rift

Is NATO's future at risk over US-Turkey rift?


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Climate Change: Tokyo, Oslo leading the way on climate change

How Tokyo, Oslo and other world cities are leading the way on climate action

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6/14/19

EU Economy: In 2018, employment in the EU service sector accounted for 74 % of total employment

The shift towards a service economy is a long-term trend already observed in the EU in the second half of the 20th century. 

In 2018, employment in services accounted for 74 % of total employment in the EU compared with 66 % in 2000, while employment in industry decreased from 26 % in 2000 to 22 % in 2018 and agriculture halved from 8 % to 4 %. 

As regards value added, services generated 73 % of total value added in 2018, industry 25 % and agriculture 2 %.

Among the Member States, the share of agricultural employment in 2018 was the highest in Romania (23 % of total employment), Bulgaria (18 %), Greece (11 %) and Poland (10 %), while the highest shares for industrial employment were observed in Czechia (37 %), Slovakia (32 %), Poland (31 %), Romania and Slovenia (both 30 %). 

Service activities represented 80 % of total employment or just over in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Malta, France, Luxembourg and Denmark.

For more EU statistics go to: EUROSTAT  

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EU - Iran US conflict: Distrusting Both Iran and U.S., Europe Urges ‘Maximum Restraint’ - by Steven Erlanger

Speaking of the attacks this week on fuel tankers in the Gulf of Oman, President Trump said flatly on Friday that “Iran did do it.” European governments may also think that Iran is probably to blame, but their distrust of the Trump administration and its hawkish policy toward Tehran have led them to measure their words, and call for de-escalation and “maximum restraint.”

Mindful of Washington’s exaggerations and outright misrepresentations of intelligence leading up to the Iraq war, European leaders are asking the Trump administration for hard evidence. The last thing they want is to be asked to support another American war in the Middle East that would be highly unpopular with voters.

Europeans are no fans of the Iranian government or its policies in the Middle East, but they are concerned by what they see as the Trump administration’s policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran — thus their use of maximum restraint. Many critics believe Mr. Trump is succeeding only in creating maximum pressure among hard-line factions in Iran to respond with carefully calibrated attacks that send a message, like those against tankers in a vital passageway for global oil supplies.

Germany wants a careful investigation of the attacks, insisting that “a spiral of escalation must be avoided.”

The European Union, in the words of the spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic, has “said repeatedly that the region doesn’t need further escalation, it doesn’t need further destabilization, it doesn’t need further tension.

Read more: Distrusting Both Iran and U.S., Europe Urges ‘Maximum Restraint’ - The New York Times

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Iran: Russia Warns Against Using Tanker Attacks to Pressure Iran - The Moscow Times

Russia on Thursday warned against rushing to attribute blame for a suspected attack on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, and said the incident should not be used to stoke tensions with Tehran, Russia's state-run RIA news agency reported.

Two oil tankers were attacked, leaving one ablaze and both adrift, shipping firms said, driving oil prices as much as 4 percent higher over worries about Middle East supplies. The attacks were the second in a month near the Strait of Hormuz, a major strategic waterway for world oil supplies.

"I would take the opportunity to warn against hasty conclusions, against attempts to lay the blame at the door of those we don't like," the agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying.

Read more: Russia Warns Against Using Tanker Attacks to Pressure Iran - The Moscow Times

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Italy - Sardinia: Biblical plague of locusts is swarming over Italian farmlands. Could it happen in the US?

The Italian island of Sardinia is dealing with its worst swarm of locusts in 70 years as the insects destroy crops, infest houses and devastate animal grazing pastures covering 6,200 acres, according to Reuters.

“I have never seen anything like it in 53 years of life,” breeder Luigi Puggioni told the Italian newspaper La Nuova.

Weather patterns played a role in Sardinia, as droughts in 2017 and heavy rains in 2018 created “the ideal climate for locusts to emerge from fallow land and then move to cultivated fields to eat,” Michele Arbau from the Italian agricultural association Coldiretti told Reuters.

However, the Sardinian swarm that evokes references to the Biblical plague in the Book of Exodus -- “the locusts swarmed across the land and settled over the entire territory of Egypt” -- is not as unusual as it may seem.

In 2013, a massive swarm of locusts roughly 30 million strong hit Egypt and the Middle East, and in 2004, an infestation in Africa and the Middle East cost $400 million as well as harvest losses of $2.5 billion, according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization.

Read more: Biblical plague of locusts is swarming over Italian farmlands. Could it happen in the US?

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Iran-US relations: Are the US and Israel creating an excuse to go to war with Iran which could very well lead to Armageddon

It certainly seems so.

All the signals are pointing to a well prepared scenario by the war mongers in the Trump Administration, in close cooperation with the Israeli Netanyahu government.

Here are some of the alarm signals:
  1. US unilaterally pulls out of the multi-national Iran Nuclear Agreement.
  2. Israel heats up its rhetoric against Iran 
  3. US Administration launches sanctions against Iran
  4. US Administrations recently showed a clearly fabricated video, which it labels as showing Iranian military trying to remove an unexploded mine from a burning tanker, which was actually hit by torpedoes. 
The Trump administration keeps saying that it doesn’t want to go to war with Iran. The problem, however, is that some top officials continue to make statements that could pave a dubiously legal and factually challenged pathway to war.

If that’s the intention, a major flare-up between Washington and Tehran could lead the administration to say it has the right to launch what would be one of the nastiest, bloodiest conflicts in modern history — even if it really doesn’t legally have that authorization.

For months, President Donald Trump and some of his top officials have claimed Iran and al-Qaeda, the terrorist group that launched the 9/11 terror attacks, are closely linked. 

That’s been a common refrain despite evidence showing their ties aren’t strong at all. In fact, even al-Qaeda’s own documents detail the weak connection between the two.

But insisting there’s a nefarious, continual relationship matters greatly. In 2001, Congress passed an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), allowing the president “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons.”

Which means that if the Trump administration truly believes Iran and al-Qaeda have been in cahoots before or after 9/11, then it could claim war with Tehran already is authorized by law.

That chilling possibility was raised during a House Armed Services Committee session early Thursday morning by an unlikely pair: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a top Trump ally, and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a Pentagon official in the Obama administration. 

“The notion that the administration has never maintained that there are elements of the 2001 AUMF that would authorize their hostilities toward Iran is not consistent with my understanding of what they said to us,” said Gaetz. “We were absolutely presented with a formal presentation on how the AUMF might authorize war on Iran,” added Slotkin right after, although she noted no one said they would use it to greenlight a fight.

Pompeo even wrote on Twitter that he thinks can bypass Congress to strike Iran, when he wrote: ""In alignment with what Rep. Gaetz said, we were absolutely presented with a full formal presentation on how the 2001 AUMF might authorize war on Iran…Pompeo said it with his own words…a relationship between Iran and al Qaeda.” 

A 2018 study by the New America think tank, based on roughly 470,000 declassified files obtained from Osama bin Laden’s Pakistan compound in 2011, showed no links between Iran and al-Qaeda to commit terrorist acts. “In none of these documents did I find references pointing to collaboration between al-Qaeda and Iran to carry out terrorism,” Nelly Lahoud, the study’s author, wrote in a blog post last September.

What the documents do show is that Tehran was deeply uncomfortable having al-Qaeda on its soil, and that bin Laden fiercely distrusted Iran.

For example, Iran detained al-Qaeda members — and some in bin Laden’s family — for abusing the conditions of their stay in the country. An al-Qaeda operative thought Tehran was keeping some of its members hostage: “Iranian authorities decided to keep our brothers as a bargaining chip” after the US invaded Iraq in 2003, a document reviewed in the study read. 

It turns out that Iran and al-Qaeda actually have been at odds for a long time.

When Trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, he started off his announcement with a striking statement.

“The Iranian regime is the leading state sponsor of terror. It exports dangerous missiles, fuels conflicts across the Middle East, and supports terrorist proxies and militias such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the Taliban, and al Qaeda,” he said.

It’s an argument the Trump administration continues to push and it is a dangerous statement, which can result in dire consequences for the Middle East, and if Russia and China get involved, could eventually lead to Armageddon.

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6/13/19

Britain - Conservative Party: Populist Rightwinger Boris Johnson leads pack of Conservatives candidates

Boris Johnson tops first-round UK Conservative leadership vote Boris Johnson, who has pledged to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31, edged closer to power on Thursday when he won by far the most support from Conservative Party lawmakers in the first round of the contest to replace Prime Minister Theresa May.

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http://www.france24.com/en/20190613-uk-conservatives-boris-johnson-first-round-party-leadership-vote-brexit

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U.S. Economy: weekly jobless claims rise; imported inflation subdued-

"U.S. weekly jobless claims rise; imported inflation subdued" -

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Turkey-USA Relations: Turkey confirms Russia S-400 missile deal and ignores US warning

Turkey confirms Russia S-400 missile deal, ignores US warning

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https://p.dw.com/p/3KIsg

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Family friendly countries: ,Switzerland and the UK ranked among the worst countries for families

Switzerland and the UK ranked among the worst countries for families

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PERSIAN GULF: Oil tankers attacks in Persian Gulf drive crude prices up almost 5 %

More oil tanker attacks in Persian Gulf drive crude prices up almost 5%


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6/12/19

The Netherlands - Cyber attacks: Digitization leaves the Netherlands vulnerable to cyber attacks: NCTV report says

The Netherlands is particularly vulnerable to IT failures and attacks because almost all vital processes and systems have been completely digitized with no analogue back-ups, the Dutch counter terrorism unit NCTV said on Wednesday.

‘The Netherlands is dependent on a limited number of providers and countries. This makes us vulnerable to changed intentions,’ the report said.

‘For example, a large part of the hard and software is designed and produced in China and the US.’ In addition, little expertise is needed to launch a cyber attack which could, for example, knock out gas, electricity and water supplies.

The best way to reduce the risks is to improve security systems. And while companies and government are taking action, they sometimes think the cost of the improvements are not worth it ‘until things go wrong,’ the NCTV said.

The biggest threats presently come from China, Russia and Iran, and a variety of hackersthe NCTV said, in a restatement of earlier reports.

Read more at: Digitization leaves the Netherlands vulnerable to cyber attacks: NCTV - DutchNews.nl - Live

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