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1/31/20

Wall Street Meltdown Expected : ‘Godfather’ of technical analysis says stock-market downturn is going to get worse: ‘I am looking at a 10% drop maybe a little bit more’

It is going to get worse before it gets better for the stock market, says prominent technical analyst Ralph Acampora.

Read more at:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/godfather-of-technical-analysis-says-stock-market-downturn-is-going-to-get-worse-i-am-looking-at-a-10-drop-maybe-a-little-but-more-2020-01-31

EU-Scotland relations: Scotland asks EU to 'leave a light on' in Brussels after Brexit

Many in Scotland have an eye on independence from the UK, a move they see as opening a path to joining the European Union.

Read,more at:
https://www.euronews.com/2020/01/31/scotland-asks-eu-to-leave-a-light-on-in-brussels-after-brexit


USA: the impeachment "trial": Alan Dershowitz Wants to Save Donald Trump by Ending America

After months of insisting Donald Trump committed no wrong on his “perfect” call, Republicans have found their way to the inevitable endgame: arguing that the president is above the Constitution that he is sworn to uphold.

For months, Trump’s defenders claimed he never conditioned the release of military aid on Ukraine’s announcement of investigations into Joe Biden and Russian conspiracy theories, as alleged in the articles of impeachment. Trump’s legal team opened their argument on Saturday by declaring that no witness heard Trump link the aid to Ukraine’s manufacturing of dirt on Biden. But on Sunday, the nation learned that former National Security Adviser John Bolton heard the president admit he’d done just that.

For a moment, the president and his allies seemed flummoxed. Trump issued a series of tweets asserting that he “NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens.” Fox News began frantically suggesting that Bolton, of all people, was a secret agent of the left-wing “deep state.” On Monday, Trump’s lawyers resumed their defense in the Senate by arguing that there was no evidence of a quid pro quo in the “House record,” as if the nation remained ignorant of the Bolton account, which appeared on the top of every newspaper, website, and newscast.

But, apart from challenging credulity, the response created an obvious problem for Trump and his supporters: It amounted to a compelling argument for bringing Bolton, and even the president himself, before Congress to give sworn testimony, so as to allow the senatorial jury to decide who was telling the truth.

Alan Dershowitz Wants to Save Donald Trump by Ending America

1/30/20

USA - Middle East Policy Trump Administration:Trump’s Middle East plan is a policy of apartheid and settler colonialism: by Mehdi Hasan

What’s so interesting about the current moment, of course, is that Donald Trump — there’s always a silver lining to Donald Trump’s awfulness. And that is that he takes any issue, and he’s so extreme on it — he’s so extreme even by American presidential standards — that he forces people off whatever fence they were sitting on. And I think what he’s done in the last 24 hours, with the help of his son-in-law, with the help of Netanyahu and MBS of Saudi Arabia, who has also endorsed this plan, is the he’s forced people to basically take off the blinkers and recognize this for what it is. The conflict now is no longer Israel versus Palestine, as it’s often set up — as Professor Khalidi pointed out, it’s not; it’s a one-sided war — but it’s apartheid. And Americans now have to decide: Do they support apartheid, or do they not support apartheid? There’s no more nonsense about two-state solutions and all of that rubbish. That’s gone. That’s finished, finally over. No one pretends it’s still there on the table. It’s: Do you support apartheid, or do you not support apartheid? That is what we should be asking Democratic presidential candidates, and that is what journalists should be discussing in the media, in their op-eds, in their cable news discussion panels.

Red more: Trump’s Middle East plan is a policy of apartheid and settler colonialism: Mehdi Hasan – Alternet.org

Brexit: Huge surge in Britons applying for non-UK passports

More than 350,000 UK citizens have opted to apply for post-Brexit insurance policy since 2016

Read more at:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jan/30/brexit-730000-britons-acquired-non-uk-eu-irish-passports-since-2016?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Add_to_Firefox

CORONA VIRUS: BREAKING: WHO declares global emergency over coronavirus

The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global emergency on Thursday. The new virus from China has been exported to more than a dozen countries, and the number of cases spiked tenfold in a week.

The UN health agency defines an international emergency as an “extraordinary event” that constitutes a risk to other countries and requires a coordinated international response.

China first informed WHO about cases of the new virus in late December. To date, China has reported more than 7,800 cases including 170 deaths. Eighteen other countries have since reported cases, as scientists race to understand how exactly the virus is spreading and how severe it is.

Read the full story

Big Pharma: Players in the Pharmaceutical Industry (Big Pharma)

The term “Big Pharma” is used quite often to describe massive pharmaceutical companies that make literally billions of dollars every year to keep Americans regularly supplied with a medicine cabinet’s worth of pills. But when we say Big Pharma, who are the players in the pharmaceutical industry? Who is responsible for flooding neighborhoods and communities with addictive medication? Who are the agencies responsible for keeping them in check?

There are two sides to the coin of this conversation: the pharmaceutical industry, which is responsible for the development, manufacturing, and marketing of drugs for use as medications; and Big Pharma, the colloquial (and often pejorative) term used to describe faceless corporations that push hugely overpriced drugs onto hapless and desperate consumers.

Some of the names of the biggest players in the industry may be familiar. Others may not ring as many bells, but with their market value, the relative anonymity works to their advantage. The Motley Fool provides a list of the companies doing the best business:

Read more at: Players in the Pharmaceutical Industry (Big Pharma)

Britain: Into the Brexit unknown, a dis-United Kingdom exits the European Union

The United Kingdom leaves the European Union an hour before midnight on Friday, casting off into an uncertain Brexit future that also challenges Europe's post-World War Two project of forging unity from the ruins of conflict.

Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-preview/into-the-brexit-unknown-a-dis-united-kingdom-exits-the-european-union-idUKKBN1ZS205

Middle East: How Far Can Turkey Challenge NATO and the EU in 2020? - Carnegie Europe - by Marc Pierini

In their dealings with Turkey in 2020, NATO and the European Union will sit across a more assertive interlocutor than ever before, but one they can hardly ignore.

NATO leaders will have to cope with the actual deployment of Russian S-400 missiles, the possible acquisition of Russian fighter aircraft, the continuing Turkish military operations in northern Syria, and an incipient military deployment in Libya.

EU leaders will deal with ongoing issues, such as Syrian refugees in Turkey, the expulsion of jihadists of EU origin, and drilling operations around Cyprus, as well as new topics like the agreement with Libya on maritime boundaries, the implications for EU businesses resulting from eventual U.S. sanctions, and the consequences of Brexit for Turkey’s relations with the UK and the EU.

The number and seriousness of these issues, as well as the potential for more adverse developments in Turkey’s policies, justify a firm, resolute, and yet cooperative policy from NATO and the European Union.

President Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been in power since November 2002. 

Erdoğan himself was prime minister from March 2003 until August 2014 and president of the republic thereafter. One of the main achievements during that period was a notable increase in prosperity,
 resulting in the creation of a new middle class; a massive development of transportation, irrigation, and social infrastructure; and a military buildup. 

This is illustrated in a list of 824 projects launched and/or completed in the 2010–2019 period.
The presidency’s operating mode is one mixing bold initiatives producing visible results in the public space with the steady elimination of freedom of expression and a tight control of the media and the judiciary, as illustrated in contentious events like the 2019 municipal elections and the Gezi trial.

Read more at: How Far Can Turkey Challenge NATO and the EU in 2020? - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

1/29/20

USA: White House tries to block incriminating book by former national security adviser Bolton

The White House on Wednesday objected to the publication of a book by President Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton depicting Trump as playing a central role in a pressure cam…

Read more at:
https://www.france24.com/en/20200129-usa-donald-trump-impeachment-john-bolton-national-security-advisor-book-ukraine-biden

Scotland; Scottish parliament votes to hold new independence referendum

Scotland's parliament also voted to keep the European Union flag flying outside the parliament building after Brexit.

Read more at :
https://www.euronews.com/2020/01/29/scottish-parliament-votes-to-hold-new-independence-referendum

Brexit: 'You'll be missed': Brexit deal approved by MEPs ahead of UK departure

MEPs today approved the Brexit deal by 621 votes to 49.

Read more at:
https://www.euronews.com/2020/01/29/brexit-meps-set-to-back-withdrawal-agreement-in-historic-vote

US Economy: Dow Drops Over 450 Points on Coronavirus Fears

The Dow industrials fell more than 450 points and crude oil slumped as the coronavirus spread from China to other countries, intensifying concerns it would deliver a fresh setback to the outlook for world economic growth.

Read more at:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-slide-on-coronavirus-fears-11580119666

1/28/20

McConnell says Republicans do not have votes to block witnesses

Trump’s defense team and his Republican allies have argued against the inclusion of  witnesses at impeachment trial

Read more at :
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/28/trump-impeachment-john-bolton-witnesses-chuck-schumer?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Add_to_Firefox

Israel-Palestine-USA: World leaders react to Trump and Netanyahu's convoluted Middle East plan with little enthusiasm

Two prosecuted "leaders"-Middle East  plan
Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said the bloc will "study and assess" Trump's proposals on the basis of its commitment to a "negotiated and viable two-state solution that takes into account the legitimate aspirations of both the Palestinians and the Israelis."

Germany, the EU's most powerful player, echoed Borrell's point by calling for a balanced approach.

"Only a negotiated two-state solution, acceptable to both sides, can lead to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.

Hesameddin Ashena, an adviser to Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, said on Twitter: "This is a deal between the Zionist regime (Israel) and America. Interaction with Palestinians is not on its agenda.
 This is not a peace plan but a plan of imposition and sanctions."

Later, Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement said the proposal was the "treason of the century" and bound to fail.

Jordan warned against "annexation of Palestinian lands" with the kingdom's foreign minister warning against the "dangerous consequences of unilateral Israeli measures that aim to impose new realities on the ground".

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said "a thousand no's" to the plan.
"After the nonsense that we heard today we say a thousand no's to the Deal of The Century," Abbas said at a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority is headquartered.

Numan Kurtulmus, deputy chairman of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK), also slammed Trump's statements on Jerusalem, saying: "No, Trump! Jerusalem is the capital of the Palestinian state and the heart of the Islamic world!"

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres according to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the UN supports two states living in peace and security within recognised borders, on the basis of the pre-1967 borders.

"The United Nations remains committed to supporting Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the conflict on the basis of United Nations resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements and realizing the vision of two States - Israel and Palestine - living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, on the basis of the pre-1967 lines."

EU-Digest
 

Cuba Earthquake: South Florida feels massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake centered near Cuba

People all over Miami say they felt buildings swaying after a massive earthquake measuring 7.7 magnitude was centered between the island nations of Cuba and Jamaica on Tuesday.

The United States Geological Survey reports the quake began at 2:10 p.m. and was centered 86 miles northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 87 miles west-southwest of Niquero, Cuba.

A tsunami warning was not issued for any region, but the National Weather Service says waves up to 3 feet above tide level are possible for Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, Belize, Honduras and the Cayman Islands.

Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell says those in eight buildings in the Brickell and downtown areas self-evacuated and the building department was onsite. The Stephen P. Clark Government Center has been closed as a precaution.    

1/27/20

U.S. Republican Senator Murkowski says almost 'time' to decide on additional impeachment information

Moderates U.S. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said on Monday she is curious about what former White House national security adviser John Bolton has to say, following reports of his manuscript, and it is nearly time to consider whether senators weighing evidence in the impeachment trial need additional information.

Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-impeachment-murkowski/u-s-republican-senator-murkowski-says-almost-time-to-decide-on-additional-impeachment-information-idUKKBN1ZQ22X

Britain: Brexit explained: how it happened and what comes next

Confused by the whole 1,300-day Brexit saga? This summary sets out how and why it happened, and what can be expected in 2020 and beyond

Read more  at:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/jan/27/brexit-explained-how-it-happened-and-what-comes-next?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Add_to_Firefox

France: Seven things we learned in France in 2019

1/26/20

Italy - elections: Salvini faces setback in Italian regional election

The Italian far-right leader had focused heavily on campaigning in the Emilia-Romagna region.

Read  more at;
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51259290

Natural Disasters: The most earthquake-prone countries in the world

Earthquakes are a deadly danger in places where tectonic plates bump, slide, and cleave. Some countries have more to worry about than others.

Read more at
https://www.businessinsider.com/most-earthquake-prone-countries-in-the-world-2018-12

Holocaust: Netherlands PM Rutte apologizes for WWII persecution of Jews for first time

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Sunday apologized for the first time on behalf of the government for the war-time persecution of Jews, saying little was done to protect them from the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany.

"Since the last survivors are still among us, I apologize today in the name of the government for what the authorities did at that time," Rutte said. "Our government did not act as the guardian of justice and security."

Of the 140,000 Jews living in the Netherlands at the time, only 38,000 survived World War II. However, authorities never recognized their own role in facilitating the persecution of Jews by Nazi Germany.

Note EU-Digest:  Was this apology by the Dutch PM a sincere gesture or more of a political P.R. statement? The Dutch Government at the time of the occupation, was one which was established by, and collaborating with the Nazi's, they obviously would or could do very little in stopping the atrocities committed by the Nazi's. This in contrast to the Dutch resistance forces, which fiercely attacked the Nazi occupiers in the Netherlands throughout the war.

Read more at: Netherlands apologizes for WWII persecution of Jews for first time | News | DW | 26.01.2020

Corona Virus: More than 2,000 now infected with coronavirus; 56 dead in China

0More than 2,000 people globally have been infected with a new coronavirus, the vast majority of them in China, where 56 people have died from the disease, according to figures released on Sunday.

Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-health/more-than-2000-now-infected-with-coronavirus-56-dead-in-china-idUKKBN1ZP02B

1/25/20

A Trump 2020 Coup d'etat ?: How Trump Could Lose the Election and Remain President - by Daniel Block

Emperor Trump
At the end of his congressional testimony in February, Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former fixer, floated a nightmarish possibility.

“Given my experience working for Mr. Trump,” Cohen said, “I fear that if he loses in 2020, that there will never be a peaceful transition of power.”

Cohen’s comments may seem hyperbolic, but they are worth taking seriously. In the aftermath of 2018, Trump told reporters, “Republicans don’t win, and that’s because of potentially illegal votes.” In a 2016 presidential debate, Trump refused to say whether he would accept defeat. “I’ll keep you in suspense,” he declared. Since that election, Trump has routinely said that his popular vote defeat was the product of “millions and millions” of illegal ballots. Now, facing potential legal jeopardy from ongoing investigations into hush-money payments and any number of apparent financial crimes, he might reasonably conclude that staying in office is the only way to avoid being indicted.

So what would it look like if Trump refused to concede? Is there really a way he could stay in office? It’s unlikely. For starters, successful autocrats rarely lose elections. “They take steps to rig it well in advance,” said Steven Levitsky, a comparative political scientist at Harvard University and the coauthor of How Democracies Die. They pack electoral authorities, jail opponents, and silence unfriendly media outlets. America’s extremely decentralized electoral system and powerful, well-funded opposition makes this very difficult to pull off. 

The U.S. also lacks the kind of politicized military that lets some discredited autocrats, like Venezuela’s Nicholás Maduro, hang on. “I can’t imagine the military accepting an effort to turn them into a partisan arm of the executive,” said Robert Mickey, a political scientist at the University of Michigan who researches the history of authoritarianism in the American South. 

But while nationwide cheating may be impossible, the Republican Party has proven more than willing to violate democratic norms where it has local control, and not every powerful institution is as neutral as the military. There is a sequence of events, each individually plausible, that would allow Trump to remain president despite losing the election—breaking American democracy in the process.

“I think we know that Trump will certainly, no matter what the result is, be likely to declare that there was fraud and that he was the rightful victor,” said Joseph Fishkin, a law professor at the University of Texas who studies elections.

Let’s assume that Fishkin is right. Here’s what could keep Trump in power.

Read more at: How Trump Could Lose the Election and Remain President | Washington Monthly

Coronavirus | About | Prevention and Treatment | CDC

CDC Coronavirus: About prevention and treatment - Describes how to reduce your risk of getting coronavirus infection, and how to relieve symptoms if you get infected.

Read more at :
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/about/prevention.html

1/24/20

Neo-Nazi Rinaldo Nazzaro running US militant group The Base from Russia

Brexit: EU presidents von der Leyen and Michel sign UK withdrawal deal ahead of Brexit day

Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel have signed the Brexit deal on behalf of the European Commission and European Council, part of the process to ensure a smooth UK exit from the EU next week.

Read more at:
https://www.euronews.com/2020/01/24/eu-presidents-von-der-leyen-and-michel-sign-uk-withdrawal-deal-ahead-of-brexit-day

WTO - Alternate Trade Dispute: China, Canada among WTO members backing alternate trade dispute scheme

Turkey earthquake: At least 14 dead as buildings collapse

At least 14 people are killed and buildings collapse after the 6.8 magnitude quake. Casualty mumbers increasing by the hour

Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51245088

Development aid versus military spending - a lopsided disaster - by RM

There is something terribly wrong when you look at these charts, in particular when you compare that to what our political and corporate executive "leaders" want you to believe, about all the good they do in promoting health, peace and prosperity around the world.

If we look at the  5 largest economies in the world, and their latest official figures, re: their military budgets this is what we see. Mind you, these "official" figures are just the top of the iceberg, governments do have a history of hiding some military expenditures in other budgets.

China :  $ 146 billion
EU:           220
India           53
Russia        69
USA         639
Total    $ 1.1  trillion

Please note that the figures above do not include the overall global expenditures, as to military spending, which was $ 1.8 trillion in 2018

 In comparison the total amount of development aid provided to countries in need (OECD figures), to military expenditures  is quite alarming.

 One thing is certain, however, politicians, corporate executives and economists should keep in mind what Abraham Lincoln once said: "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time ".  

This EU-Digest report can only be copied or  republished if EU-Digest is quoted as the source

Global Economy: Global stocks steady as caution on China virus continues; euro hits seven-week low after ECB announcement

Stocks made a barely positive start in early Asian trade on Friday after the world's health body called it a little too early to declare a coronavirus outbreak a global emergency.

Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/global-stocks-steady-as-caution-on-china-virus-continues-euro-hits-seven-week-low-after-ecb-idUKKBN1ZN02O

1/23/20

Israel - The Holocaust - World Holocaust Forum: Israelis want action on anti-Semitism, not words

Around 200,000 Holocaust survivors are still alive in Israel today. On Thursday, some of them took center stage at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem alongside the likes of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prince Charles.

They came to the World Holocaust Forum to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Those who could, walked around the hallways of Yad Vashem, talking to anyone who was willing to hear their stories —and people listening intensely, with great interest mixed with sorrow.

Read more at: World Holocaust Forum: Israelis want action on anti-Semitism, not words | World| Breakings news and perspectives from around the globe | DW | 23.01.2020

The Apocalypse: Doomsday Clock nears apocalypse over climate and nuclear fears say Atomic Scientists

The Mayans prophesy of the USA
The symbolic Doomsday Clock, which indicates how close our planet is to complete annihilation, is now only 100 seconds away from midnight.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) said on Thursday that the change was made due to nuclear proliferation, failure to tackle climate change and "cyber-based disinformation".

The clock now stands at its closest to doomsday since it began ticking 1947.

The idea began in 1947 to warn humanity of the dangers of nuclear war.

Former California Governor Jerry Brown, another member of the panel, said: "Dangerous rivalry and hostility among the superpowers increases the likelihood of nuclear blunder. Climate change just compounds the crisis. If there's ever a time to wake up, it's now."

One person who openly denied the "doomsday" prediction was Donald Trump when he spoke to an audience of world leaders in Davos, Switzerland.

After touting America's strong economy, the President told his audience Americans reject the prophets of doom who predicted overpopulation in the 1960s, mass starvation in the 1970s, and the end of oil in the 1990s.

"They are the heirs of yesterday's foolish fortune tellers,” he said. “And they want to see us do badly but we don't let that happen.”

"What President Trump said today in Davos was phenomenal,” said  Climate Depot's Marc Morano, a vocal skeptic of man-made climate change. "President Trump is the greatest challenge to the entire global warming establishment, and not just becasue of his polices, but because he is willing to challenge the narrative and tell them to their face at the actual conference what it's like."

All we can say is: "time will tell".

EU-Digest

Pollution: Trump rolls back US water pollution controls

he Trump administration is set to scrap protections for America's streams and wetlands, repealing Barack Obama's Waters of the United States regulation.

The move, expected Thursday, will dismantle federal protections for more than half of wetlands and hundreds of small waterways in the US.

The White House says the change will be a victory for American farmers.
But critics say the change will be destructive - part of Mr Trump's wider assault on environmental protections.

Read more at: Trump rolls back US water pollution controls - BBC News

1/22/20

Britain-Trade tensions rise as US threatens car tariffsBritain-Trade tensions rise as US threatens car tariffs


Mr Javid said the UK would not back down over the tax which will hit US firms like Apple, Amazon and Facebook.

trade deal with the EU would take priority over one with the US after the UK leaves the EU this month, he added.

Read more: Trade tensions rise as US threatens car tariffs - BBC News

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia denies it hacked Jeff Bezos' phone after media report implicates crown prince - by Charles Riley and Shimon Prokupecz

UN experts said they are "gravely concerned" by information they have received suggesting that a WhatsApp account belonging to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was used to deliver spyware to the mobile phone of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

"The information we have received suggests the possible involvement of the Crown Prince in surveillance of Mr. Bezos, in an effort to influence, if not silence, The Washington Post's reporting on Saudi Arabia," the experts said in a statement Wednesday.

The statement was released by UN special rapporteur Agnes Callamard, who specializes in extrajudicial killings and conducted an investigation into the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and David Kaye, a UN special rapporteur focused on freedom of expression. The pair called for an investigation into the allegations.

The UN experts released their statement after media outlets including CNN Business reported that a forensics team hired by Bezos had concluded that the CEO's mobile phone had been compromised and that the hack originated from an account controlled by bin Salman. A source told CNN that the forensics team had reached its conclusion with "medium to high" confidence. The story was first reported by The Guardian.

Tuesday night, before the UN experts released their statement, Bezos declined through a representative to comment to CNN Business on the Guardian's story. Amazon (AMZN) declined to comment when contacted by CNN Business. Facebook (FB), which owns WhatsApp, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the UN experts' statement; nor did a lawyer who represents Bezos.

On Wednesday, Bezos tweeted a photo of himself attending a memorial service for Khashoggi in 2019.

The photo marked Bezos's first public remark since reports of the WhatsApp breach came to light.

The revelation casts a new shadow over the future king, whose efforts to overhaul Saudi Arabia's economy and attract foreign investment have been frustrated by global concern over his alleged role in the murder of Khashoggi in the country's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Sources previously told CNN that the CIA has concluded that bin Salman personally ordered the killing, which bin Salman has consistently denied.

Read more at: Saudi Arabia denies it hacked Jeff Bezos' phone after media report implicates crown prince - CNN

EU, US agree pharmaceuticals mutual recognition - or, could it mean letting the "US Pharma Fox" into the "EU Pharma Chicken Coup" ?

US Big Pharma Price Gauging
The EU and the United States have completed a Mutual Recognition Agreement, with both sides agreeing to reduce barriers and increase trade in pharmaceuticals as part of ongoing EU-U.S. trade talks.

Last week's recognition by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Slovakia, the last outstanding EU Member State, marked the full implementation of the EU-U.S. Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) for inspections of manufacturing sites for human medicines in their respective territories. This is expected to make it faster and less costly for both sides to bring medicines to the market.

The agreement would ensure high quality medicines for the benefit of patients, assured the EU's Commissioner in charge of Health and Food Safety,Vytenis Andriukaiti: "It means that, on both sides of the Atlantic, the authorities in charge of medicines can now rely on inspections results to replace their own inspections."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has now completed the capability assessments of the 28 EU competent authorities.

This Mutual Recognition Agreement is underpinned by 'robust evidence' that the EU and the U.S. have comparable procedures to carry out good manufacturing practice inspections for human medicines.

Together, Europe and the United States account for more than 80% of global sales of new medicines. As a result of the full implementation of this agreement, the Commission says both the industry and public authorities on both sides will be able to free resources that could be used to inspect facilities in other large producing countries.

The pharmaceutical industry is a strategic sector in which EU-U.S. regulatory cooperation is much more advanced than in most other sectors. Since May 2014, teams from the EU executive, EU national competent authorities, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have been auditing and assessing the respective supervisory systems.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has now assessed positively all national competent authorities of the EU.

From now on, a batch testing waiver will start to apply.

This means that qualified persons in the EU pharmaceutical company will be relieved of their task for carrying out the quality controls when carried out already in the United States.

The Mutual Recognition Agreement implementation work will now continue with view to expanding the operational scope to veterinary medicines, human vaccines and plasma derived medicinal products.

2017 marked the entry into operation of an agreement between the EU and the U.S. to recognise inspections of manufacturing sites for human medicines conducted in their respective territories. This agreement strengthens reliance upon each other's inspection expertise and resources.

Initially it applied between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and those EU Member States that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had assessed. This has been gradually extended to all EU countries and now the regulatory authorities in all 28 EU Member States were recognised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Meanwhile, the EU made the same determination about U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2017.

Read more at: EU, US agree pharmaceuticals mutual recognition — EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics

EU - Frontex: Thousands apply for EU border guard posts

The EU border agency, Frontex's recruitment drive launched last October to fill 700 new border guard positions has attracted a massive number of applicants from across southern and central EU states.

Some 7,500 applicants had applied for the 700 positions, which is part of a much larger bid to create a standing corps of 10,000 guards under the agency's aegis over the next several years.

"For the first time, and this is also new, and we are also making preparations for that, for the first time, Frontex staff will put on European Union uniforms, not to represent their nations, but to represent the entire European Union," Fabrice Leggeri, the head of the Warsaw-based agency, told reporters on Friday (17 January).

Many applicants appear to be retired military personnel, seeking a possible second career complete with generous EU salaries and perks.

Leggeri said the agency had expanded the scope of potential applicants in order not to deplete existing national border guard agencies.

Once recruited, the 700 will still have to undergo a six-month training exercise before being deployed in the field at the EU's external borders early next year.

Although most appear to come from what Leggeri described as "new" and southern EU states, he also noted some had applied from Nordic EU countries.

Political masters and law makers at the EU institutions, in early 2019, reached an agreement to boost the agency's mandate in the wake of a wider shift to clamp down on the EU's external borders.

That agreement included creating a standing corps of 10,000 guards by 2027 and dovetailed into an agency that primarily saw itself as doing law enforcement work.

Read more: Thousands apply for EU border guard posts

North Korea abandons nuclear freeze pledge, blames 'brutal' U.S. sanctions - Reuters

North Korea said on Tuesday it was no longer bound by commitments to halt nuclear and missile testing, blaming the United States’ failure to meet a year-end deadline for nuclear talks and “brutal and inhumane” U.S. sanctions.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un set an end-December deadline for denuclearization talks with the United States and White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said at the time the United States had opened channels of communication.

O’Brien said then he hoped Kim would follow through on denuclearization commitments he made at summits with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Read more at: North Korea abandons nuclear freeze pledge, blames 'brutal' U.S. sanctions - Reuters

Switzerland - Davos: Trump in his Davos speech plays down the threat of climate change - by Ishaan Tharoor

In the buildup to the World Economic Forum, the focus was all on climate change. On its first day, the forum’s organizers announced an ambitious agenda that would enlist a broad consortium of banks, companies and civic leaders to make this year’s event a “tipping point” for global climate action.

In the hour that preceded an address from President Trump, an envoy from Pope Francis urged the throng of gathered billionaires, corporate executives, politicians and celebrities to recognize their “moral responsibility” to safeguard future generations. Simonetta Sommaruga, the president of the Swiss Confederation, went to the dais and warned of “a world on fire.” 

She told the crowd, which included figures such as former U.S. vice president Al Gore and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “We need politicians to take action in their own country and internationally to ensure that the ecological balance is ensured and global warming is stopped.”

In the first of two speeches Tuesday, Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenage climate activist, once more scolded political leaders and media elites, accusing them of not making expressly clear the scale of the catastrophe facing the planet. “Without treating it as a real crisis, we cannot solve it,” she said.
Then Trump spoke. 

He used his plenary moment — the forum’s first speech by a major world leader — to take a victory lap of sorts, celebrating the U.S. economic “boom” under his watch. “America is flourishing, and, yes, America is winning again like never before,” Trump declared in what was essentially a 30-minute campaign stunt, albeit devoid of the familiar xenophobic demagoguery.

Read more at: Trump in his Davos speech plays down the threat of climate change - The Washington Post

1/21/20

Weather -Spain: Storm Gloria kills 4, disrupts travel

8A storm raging through much of eastern Spain has claimed at least four lives and cut off power to hundreds of thousands. Alicante Airport was also temporarily shut, disrupting over 200 flights.

Read more at:
https://www.dw.com/en/spain-storm-gloria-kills-4-disrupts-travel/a-52081614

Switzerland - Davos: Trump attacks environmental 'prophets of doom' at Davos 2020

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday assailed environmental “prophets of doom”, delivering an uncompromising message in Davos after Swedish teenage campaigner Greta Thunberg slammed government inacti…

Read more at:
https://www.france24.com/en/20200121-donald-trump

CARIBBEAN - USA Relations: Caribbean leaders boycott Pompeo talks as row grows over US relations

Trinidad and Tobago PM joins Barbadian counterpart in turning down meeting with US secretary of state in Jamaica.

Read more at:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/21/mike-pompeo-boycott-caribbean-visit?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Add_to_Firefox

USA - Trump Impeachment: Mitch McConnell’s latest bid to save Trump is about to blow up in his GOP colleagues’ faces: report

In a commentary for MSNBC, contributor Steve Benen echoed former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake who made the case that history will not look kindly upon Republican senators who are planning to give Donald Trump a pass in his impeachment trial, saying they are all on trial now.

Read more at:
https://www.alternet.org/2020/01/mitch-mcconnells-latest-bid-to-save-trump-is-about-to-blow-up-in-his-gop-colleagues-faces-report/

US Tech Transfer: First to China, Now to the Middle East

The shortsightedness of the United States in allowing arms production facilities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE is unbelievable.

Read more at:
https://www.theglobalist.com/united-states-saudi-arabia-china-technology-transfer-arms-trade/

1/20/20

Denmark-Estonia relations: Danske Bank Money Laundering Probe Expands

The Estonian Prosecutor's Office confirmed on Thursday it expanded the investigation into money laundering through Danske bank’s Estonian branch from two to more than 10 cases that are involving suspicious transactions worth US$ 2 billion.

Prosecutors were previously looking into suspect money flows worth $300 million relating to two separate cases.  

After media broke the story about extensive money laundering in the Estonian branch of Denmark’s biggest bank, Danske launched an investigation into 15,000 of its customers and 200 billion euro (US$222 billion) worth of transactions.

In 2018, the bank admitted that it 6,200 customers had hit the most risk indicators and that most of them have been found to be suspicious. Most of the customers were from Russia and other post-Soviet countries.

The bank closed its branches in the Baltics and promised to cooperate with investigators.

The scandal also triggered worldwide probes and lawsuits.

Read more: Estonia: Danske Bank Money Laundering Probe Expands

USA: Another Trump advisor bites the dust: Trump Russia adviser escorted from White House amid security probe

Andrew Peek had only been in the job since November. His predecessors, Fiona Hill and Tim Morrison, testified in President Trump's impeachment probe.

Read more at:
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-russia-adviser-andrew-peek-leave-white-house-security-probe-2020-1

Corona virus -Just the basics: The new coronavirus outbreak

With the confirmation that a new coronavirus in China has been transmitted between humans, here's a quick look at what you need to know.

Read more at:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/coronavirus-wuhan-canada-1.5433625

Britain: Immune discovery 'may treat all cancer'

Research is at an early stage but scientists said it had huge potential for destroying cancers.

Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51182451

EU plans to refocus ′Sophia′ naval mission on Libya

Following a meeting of EU foreign ministers, the EU's foreign policy chief has said EU countries have agreed to "refocus" the bloc's Mediterranean naval mission on enforcing an arms embargo on Libya.

Read more at :
https://www.dw.com/en/eu-plans-to-refocus-sophia-naval-mission-on-libya/a-52067545

1/19/20

U.S. Trustworthiness Rating Dives in 2020 Best Countries Report

The world’s trust in a country entering an election year with its impeached president facing trial in the Senate and stirring global alarm over the U.S. killing of an general, has dropped by more than 50% since 2016, the sharpest drop of any country assessed in the 2020 Best Countries report.

Additionally, the United Kingdom has experienced the second-greatest drop in the world’s trust since 2016, according to Best Countries data. Last December’s elections firmly entrenched Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his vow to push forward with Brexit and take the country out of the European Union

By contrast, America’s neighbor to the north, Canada, is seen as the world’s most trustworthy country, according to the report, a position the nation has held since the annual global survey

The Top 5 Countries in the World 
Switzerland 
Japan 
Germany 
Australia

Read more: U.S. Trustworthiness Rating Dives in 2020 Best Countries Report | Best Countries | US News

EU-Turkey relations: EU denies reports of further Turkey aid cuts

Media reports about massive cuts in funding "are completely wrong and misleading," an EU spokesman has said. The bloc cut pre-accession funds to Turkey in 2017 and is not planning further cuts.

Read more at:
https://www.dw.com/en/eu-denies-reports-of-further-turkey-aid-cuts/a-52060306

British territory Gibraltar 'could stay in Schengen Area after Brexit'

Gibraltar's chief minister, Fabian Picardo, says the territory should remain accessible to the rest of the EU after January 31

Read more at:
https://www.euronews.com/2020/01/18/british-territory-gibraltar-could-stay-in-schengen-area-after-brexit

1/18/20

Switzerland-Davos 2020: American politics is the biggest risk facing the world right now, say experts

American politics is the biggest threat facing the world in 2020 and the looming presidential election will stress the country's institutions, influence economic and foreign policy and further divide an already polarized electorate, with potentially huge consequences for the climate, business and investors.

That's the view of experts at consultancies Eurasia Group and Control Risks.

The World Economic Forum, which is preparing to hold its annual meeting of political leaders and CEOs next week in Davos, is also warning of increased turbulence this year from trade conflicts and political polarization that makes it harder to tackle global challenges.

Control Risks says that President Donald Trump's campaign for a second term will drive decision-making in foreign policy, increasing the chance that investors will be caught off guard by populist moves favoring US factory workers or farmers.

"The campaign will focus foreign policy on managing crises, distracting US attention from non-urgent issues and geographies. Trump's thirst for deliverable 'wins' before the election, meanwhile, will amplify foreign leverage in trade and security relations," Control Risks wrote in a recent report.

Eurasia Group, which has designated US politics as the top risk for the first time in its annual assessment of the state of the world, warns that the election will be the most divisive in over a century, with the outcome likely to be viewed as illegitimate by roughly half the population.

The analysts expect the result to be contested, no matter which candidate triumphs.

"The 2020 election is an American Brexit — a maximally polarized vote where the risk is less the outcome than the political uncertainty of what the people voted for," Eurasia Group says in its report.

 "It's uncharted political territory, and this time in a country where uncertainty creates shock waves abroad."

In preparing its report ahead of the Davos meeting, the World Economic Forum surveyed 750 global experts and decision makers who named economic confrontations and national political polarization as the top risks in 2020.

Taken together, the reports depict a world facing thorny problems with few obvious solutions. Increasingly fractious politics in developed countries is undermining the rules that have underpinned trade and globalization for decades, giving elected leaders license to act unilaterally and stoking conflicts such as the trade war between the United States and China.

Read more: Davos 2020: American politics is the biggest risk facing the world right now, say experts

US Presidential Elections: Six Lessons for US Democrats they should use from Boris Johnson’s December victory in Britain

Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party won the British general election on December 12, 2019 in a landslide and won their largest number of seats since 1983 while Labor received the lowest number of seats since 1935.

Since the next “big” election to be held will be held in the United States, in just over 10 months from now. What can U.S. Democrats learn from the 2019 victory by Boris Johnson, so that they can prevent Donald Trump’s reelection in November 2020?

And to be quite clear. So far the Democrats have run a dismal campaign, very much like the labor party did in Britain's elections.

Here are 6  suggestions from the Boris Johnson Playbook

Lesson 1:  Focus on a top class experienced, seasoned candidate who is appealing to most people 
Lesson 2: Stop complaining about the distortions of the voting system. It won’t change!
Lesson 3: Yes, liars win elections
Lesson 4: The top candidate matters above all - no confusing messages
Lesson 5: Simple messages win
Lesson 6: Don’t overrate leaders’ morals

Beyond getting their own party’s base to turn up to vote, the Democratic nominee must appeal to a sufficient number of Independents. That is no small task.

So far, no candidate seems to be able to be ideologically exciting and politically sober at the same time to accomplish this task.

Perhaps, this is Mission Impossible for the Democrats - unless, a knight on a white horse comes riding out into the open who is able to defeat the "evil one".

EU-Digest 




Iran-US Relations: Iran Plays Chess, the US Backgammon - by James M. Dorsey

Iranians play chess, Americans play backgammon when it comes to warfare, military strategy and conflict management.

That is becoming increasingly obvious in the U.S-.Iranian tit-for-tat on an Iraqi gameboard.

Hobbled by harsh U.S. economic sanctions and a weak military hand, Iran has perfected the art of asymmetric warfare and carefully calibrated operations as well as acts of political violence, an approach that the United States 40 years after the 1979 Iranian revolution has yet to come to grips with.

Iran’s firing of missiles at two U.S. bases in Iraq in its initial military response to the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani deftly served multiple purposes while leaving the door open to de-escalation.

The Iranian missiles targeting the bases, part of what Iran dubbed Operation Harsh Revenge, were launched as millions crowded the streets of the city of Kerman for the funeral of Mr. Soleimani, the third day of a mass outpouring of mourning, public anger and calls for revenge.

Using guided precision missiles, Iran was careful to demonstrate its capability while not causing further U.S. and/or Iraqi casualties that almost certainly would have provoked a harsh U.S. response.

Driving the point home, Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the missile attacks as a “slap in the face” of the United States.

Mr. Khamenei went on to say that Iran’s real revenge would be the expulsion of U.S. forces from the Middle East. “Military actions in this form are not sufficient for that issue. What is important is that America’s corrupt presence must come to an end in this region,” he said.

In a televised address, Mr. Trump, flanked by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and several members of the military top brass. appeared to respond positively to the Iranian overture, cloaking it as Iran “standing down.”

Amid the bluster justifying the killing of Mr. Soleimani, promises to impose additional sanctions against Iran, vows that Iran would not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and extolling American military and economic might, Mr. Trump insisted that “the United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it.”

Iran hopes that the scare of an escalating tit-for-tat that gets out of control will energize efforts to bring the United States and the Islamic Republic back to the negotiating table.

Dialing down tension at best buys the United States and Iran time.
It does not solve anything.

While Mr. Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, insisted this week that the Trump administration’s goal was to “contain and confront” Iran, Iran itself Iran retains a vested interest in strategic escalation.

It may hope that the current crisis is the monkey wrench that breaks the logjam but will seek to again push things to the brink if it is disappointed.

Read more at: Iran Plays Chess, the US Backgammon - The Globalist

US Presidential elections: Bloomberg viewed as having best chance to beat Trump in betting market analysis - by Kaelan Deese

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is viewed as the Democrat most likely to defeat President Trump if nominated, according to a newly released betting market analysis.

However, the analysis from researchers at Standard Chartered Bank, first reported by CNBC, also found that Bloomberg is viewed as having a 10 percent chance of winning the Democratic nomination.

"Our interpretation of online market pricing is that Bloomberg is viewed as having the highest chance among Democrats of beating Trump if nominated. But his nomination probabilities are currently running just over 10 percent," the study states.

The research shows that among the top-polling candidates, Bloomberg and former Vice President Joe Biden are the two candidates viewed as having the highest chances of winning given perceptions about how friendly they would be for asset markets.

"Among investors, Bloomberg and Biden are probably viewed as the most asset-market friendly among the Democratic candidates, so their greater implied electability may be why US assets are not showing more stress," the researchers wrote.

Bloomberg, who is self-funding his campaign, has not appeared in the Democratic debates since launching his campaign in late November, as he has failed to meet the donor threshold set by the Democratic National Committee. Still, he has polled near the middle of the primary field.

The former mayor has spent more than $200 million on his campaign so far and has said he may spend up to $1 billion to defeat Trump, even if he is not the nominee.

Read more at: Bloomberg viewed as having best chance to beat Trump in betting market analysis | TheHill

1/17/20

Middle East: EU-Israel Relations: Surge in Israeli demolition of EU-funded buildings - by Andrew Rettman

EU losing patience with Israel
Israel has sped up demolitions of EU-funded and Palestinian structures in the West Bank amid hawkish talk on taking over the territory.

It wrecked or seized 97 structures worth some €480,000 in the area last year which had been built using EU or member states' funds - a 90 percent increase on the year before, according to internal EU figures seen by EUobserver.

It also demolished 35 percent more Palestinian structures and displaced 95 percent more Palestinian people in the West Bank and East Jerusalem than in 2018.

And the trend is set to continue this year, if Israel's right-wing defence minister, Naftali Bennet, gets his way.

"The state of Israel will do everything to ensure that these territories will be part of the state of Israel," he said at an event in Jerusalem last week, referring to Area C, a vast swathe of the West Bank which belongs to Palestine, the UN says, but which remains under Israeli military jurisdiction since Israel conquered it in 1967.

"We are not at the United Nations," he said, according to Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post.

"We are embarking on a real and immediate battle for the future of the land of Israel and the future of Area C," he added.

But the EU foreign service said: "Demolitions and seizures of humanitarian assets are contrary to Israel's obligations under international law".

"Our focus remains on the halt of the demolitions, confiscations, and of settlement construction and expansion and on the humanitarian protection of the most vulnerable populations," it added.

"On a number of occasions, often in coordination with the EU member states, the EU has called for the restitution and/or compensation of EU-funded humanitarian assets which have been demolished, dismantled, or confiscated by Israel," it also said.

The EU, Germany, France, and the UK issued statements condemning the latest surge in Israeli settlements in the region on 9 January.

The West Bank and Gaza are meant to form a future Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as a shared capital with Israel, according to the EU and UN formula for ending the decades-old Arab-Israeli conflict.

But Israeli settlers, more than 630,000 of whom have moved to the conquered lands since 1967, have already broken up the West Bank into small cantons, making the two-state solution look increasingly less possible.

And recent US policy U-turns - moving its embassy to Jerusalem and saying that the Israeli settlements were not illegal - have also harmed EU conflict resolution.

"Israel's settlement policy seriously undermines the viability of the two-state solution and the prospect for a lasting peace," the EU foreign service said.

The Israeli mission to the EU did not respond to EUobserver's questions. 

Read more at: Surge in Israeli demolition of EU-funded buildings

China-US Trade Deal Opinion: Trump's trade deal with China ignores the big picture (and is self-serving re: impeachment) - by Lindsay Gorman


By many counts, the trade deal President Trump signed on Wednesday with China lacks heft. It doesn’t remove all the tariffs, it doesn’t impose any major penalties on intellectual property theft, and it punts completely on issues including China’s state subsidies to prop up its own companies in international markets.

Yet on one matter, the agreement could dramatically alter the U.S.-China relationship and the future of global democracy.

China isn’t any nation. It’s a high-tech superpower deeply embedded in the global economy. And as documented extensively by a variety of organizations including Freedom House and Human Rights Watch, China’s authoritarian government exploits economic ties and uses the technology it develops and acquires to control its own population and to extend its power abroad.

Some 63 countries and counting have bought Chinese-made artificial intelligence surveillance equipment. This technology has been deployed by the Chinese government to control the Uighurs through a sophisticated network of facial recognition cameras, GPS trackers, DNA checkpoints, and online-behavior monitoring on a 24-hour basis.

Outside of Xinjiang, 200 million cameras watch China’s population. In some schools, children wear GPS and facial-recognition-enabled uniforms designed to keep them in line. And beyond China’s borders, its companies sell tracking and monitoring set-ups to authoritarian police forces worldwide. With these purchases comes training on how to identify threats by studying the walking gait of an individual in a series of video camera frames, or through “public opinion guidance,” which uses artificial intelligence to monitor citizens’ speech. In short, this is the technological grounding for 21st century authoritarianism.

Unfortunately, China’s own actions make a return to the post-trade-war status quo unlikely. In addition to its high-tech-driven human rights abuses, Beijing is actively working to undermine democracies worldwide using social media disinformation campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as through state-funded traditional media beyond the Chinese-speaking world.

The new trade agreement will not resolve strains in the U.S.-China relationship — nor should it. This tension is grounded in the profound ideological differences between democracy and the Chinese Communist Party’s model of repression that it is disseminating around the world. If the United States treats this trade truce as a reset for the broader relationship, it would be tacitly accepting China’s abuses and its efforts to promote their spread.

Note EU-Digest: let us also not forget that Trump in order to distract public attention from his own troubles re: impeachment, is using  every avenue at his disposal to shore-up his popularity and that includes this very nebulous trade agreement with the Chinese.

Read more: Opinion: Trump's trade deal with China ignores the big picture - Los Angeles Times

The Netherlands: Solar park taking shape along 40 km of road in the Netherlands – by Emiliano Bellini

The Dutch water management agency plans to install solar panels along both sides of the A37 highway in Drenthe province, as well as on the median strip, to cover 300 hectares in total. The project is part of a plan to build projects on state land, as the domestic PV industry continues to search for alternative surfaces on which to deploy solar.

The agency is now holding meetings with the Drenthe provincial government and the municipalities of Coevorden, Emmen, and Hoogeveen – as well as network operator Enexis Groep and distribution system operator Rendo – to discuss how the solar park will be developed.

The project, which is part of a government program to build renewable energy pilot projects on state land, will involve the installation of PV modules along either side of a 40-kilometer (25 miles) stretch of the highway, in addition to solar panels on the median strip between the two lanes. The project will span roughly 300 hectares in total, and will be built without having a strong visual impact on the surrounding landscape, Rijkswaterstaat explained. The agency conducted a preliminary spatial exploration study for the project in 2016.

Read more: Solar park taking shape along 40 km of road in the Netherlands – pv magazine International

USA: Trump has ‘discredited the American experiment:’ Robert Kennedy Jr.

In a newly released interview with Yahoo Finance, activist and environmental lawyer Robert Kennedy Jr. asserted that President Donald Trump has tarnished the reputation of the U.S. around the world.

The criticism from Kennedy Jr., a nephew of President John F. Kennedy, came in response to a question from Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer regarding his view on whether it’s a “good or bad thing” that Trump has so many family members working with him.

Kennedy Jr. belongs to another notable American family deeply involved in politics — his father, Robert Kennedy, served as attorney general under his brother, JFK, before Lyndon Johnson signed a law interpreted as barring presidents from appointing relatives to their Cabinet.

While Trump doesn’t have any family members in his Cabinet, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his daughter, Ivanka Trump, both serve as senior advisers. Kennedy Jr., however, says it’s not a “good thing or a bad thing” that Trump has family members with him in the White House.

“I don’t think that’s the problem with the president,” he said. “I think the problem is, number one, he is a bully. And you know, I don't like bullies. And I don't think ... that that's part of America's tradition. I think, in many ways, he's discredited the American experiment with self-governance.”

Kennedy Jr. made the comments during a conversation that aired in an episode of Yahoo Finance’s “Influencers with Andy Serwer,” a weekly interview series with leaders in business, politics, and entertainment.

Read more at: Trump has ‘discredited the American experiment:’ Robert Kennedy Jr.

Automobile industry: Exclusive: Volkswagen to buy 20% of Chinese battery maker Guoxuan amid electric push

VW Hatchback electric
Volkswagen AG is set to take a 20% stake in Chinese electric vehicle battery maker Guoxuan High-tech Co Ltd, two sources told Reuters, as the German firm accelerates its electric push into the world’s largest auto market.

The deal would mark Volkswagen’s first direct ownership in a Chinese battery maker and comes as the Wolfsburg-based automaker strives to meet a goal of selling 1.5 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) a year in China by 2025, including plug-in hybrid cars.

The top foreign automaker in China plans to acquire the stake in Shenzhen-listed Guoxuan via a discounted private share placement in the coming weeks, the two sources with knowledge of the matter said. Based on Guoxuan’s market capitalization of $2.8 billion, a 20% stake in the company at present is worth about $560 million.

The deal’s details have been mostly finalized and the two firms are waiting for new Chinese regulatory rules on private share placements that will provide a more flexible pricing mechanism and shorter lock-up periods for majority shareholders, said one of the people, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Read more: Exclusive: Volkswagen to buy 20% of Chinese battery maker Guoxuan amid electric push - sources - Reuters

1/16/20

Panama - Religion: 'Repent or die': Panama religious sect kills seven in bizarre ritual

Ten members of evangelical ‘New Light of God’ group arrested as bodies of six indigenous children and one adult found

Read more at:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/16/panama-burial-pit-children-exorcisms-religious-sect?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Add_to_Firefox

France: Far-right Marine Le Pen to run for president again.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has confirmed that she will run for president for a third time in an effort to defeat incumbent Emmanuel Macron. Macron is facing unpopularity amid strikes and the yellow vest movement.

Read more at:
https://www.dw.com/en/france-far-right-marine-le-pen-to-run-for-president-again/a-52034080

Poland′s planned judiciary reforms would ′undermine′ rule of law

Constitutional experts warn Poland's latest proposed bill introducing new disciplinary rules for judges could further erode the country's judiciary. The EU is also speaking out, and has tried to intervene.

Read more at:
https://www.dw.com/en/polands-planned-judiciary-reforms-would-undermine-rule-of-law/a-52034657

USA: Trump impeachment: Senators sworn in for historic trial

1/15/20

International Trade: Phase one agreement aside, could the trade war future mean choosing China or the US?

China and the US have done a deal. But a longer-term view suggests trade tensions between the pair will only grow. What will that mean for the network of nations trading extensively with both?

Read more at:
https://www.dw.com/en/us-china-trade-war-phase-one-deal/a-52003036

Middle East: Iran warns European troops in Middle East 'may be in danger'

Britain, France and Germany have triggered the accord's dispute mechanism to force Iran into discussions. The process could bring back UN and EU sanctions on Iran.

Read more at:
https://www.euronews.com/2020/01/15/eu-nations-trigger-dispute-mechanism-in-last-ditch-bid-to-save-iran-deal

Russia: Russian PM submits resignation to Putin

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev submitted his resignation to President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, Tass news agency reports.

Read more at:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russian-pm-submits-resignation-to-putin-tass-report-1.5427456

1/14/20

France: French Economy to Grow 1.3% With a Pension Deal, Le Maire Says -by Phil Serafino

The French economy will grow 1.3% this year, the same pace as 2019, as long as a compromise is reached quickly with labor unions that are on strike over pension reform, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche.

“The economic outlook for France is good and solid,” Le Maire told the newspaper. The economy has created more than 500,000 jobs since 2017, and unemployment should drop to 7% by the end of President Emmanuel Macron’s term in 2022, he said. The jobless rate was 8.3% in the third quarter.

Read more: French Economy to Grow 1.3% With a Pension Deal, Le Maire Says - Bloomberg

US Political Scene: Trump use of doctored Pelosi-Schumer photo draws Muslim ire

 President Donald Trump circulated a fake image on Monday depicting congressional Democrats’ top-ranked leaders in traditional Muslim attire in front of the Iranian flag, drawing criticism that he was promoting Islamophobic tropes.

The manipulated photo retweeted by Trump showed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in Muslim garb with the caption: “The corrupted Dems trying their best to come to the Ayatollah’s rescue #NancyPelosiFakeNews.” Trump, a Republican, had previously faulted Democrats for criticizing his administration’s targeted killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, but his use of Muslim imagery as part of that effort drew pushback from Muslim American advocates.

“The image is a hodgepodge of anti-Muslim tropes and garb from many traditions including some that are frequently used to stereotype and attack Muslims,” Madihha Ahussain, special counsel at the nonprofit group Muslim Advocates, said in a statement. “It’s disappointing but not surprising that the president would use his massive Twitter platform to spread this kind of harmful, ignorant, anti-Muslim bigotry.”

Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of the Muslim American group Emgage Action — named for its mission to engage Muslim Americans — also criticized Trump’s decision to amplify the doctored photo of Pelosi and Schumer. “There’s no place for it, irrespective of political differences,” he said in an interview.President Donald Trump circulated a fake image on Monday depicting congressional Democrats’ top-ranked leaders in traditional Muslim attire in front of the Iranian flag, drawing criticism that he was promoting Islamophobic tropes.

The manipulated photo retweeted by Trump showed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in Muslim garb with the caption: “The corrupted Dems trying their best to come to the Ayatollah’s rescue #NancyPelosiFakeNews.” Trump, a Republican, had previously faulted Democrats for criticizing his administration’s targeted killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, but his use of Muslim imagery as part of that effort drew pushback from Muslim American advocates.

“The image is a hodgepodge of anti-Muslim tropes and garb from many traditions including some that are frequently used to stereotype and attack Muslims,” Madihha Ahussain, special counsel at the nonprofit group Muslim Advocates, said in a statement. “It’s disappointing but not surprising that the president would use his massive Twitter platform to spread this kind of harmful, ignorant, anti-Muslim bigotry.”

Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of the Muslim American group Emgage Action — named for its mission to engage Muslim Americans — also criticized Trump’s decision to amplify the doctored photo of Pelosi and Schumer. “There’s no place for it, irrespective of political differences,” he said in an interview.

 Read more: Trump use of doctored Pelosi-Schumer photo draws Muslim ire

Canada: Maple Leaf Foods boss attack on Trump pits ethics against shareholder value by Don Pittis

In blaming "the narcissist in Washington" for the death of Canadian airline passengers, should the Maple Leaf Foods boss have risked shareholder value for mere ethics?

Read more at:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/ethics-business-trump-1.5424829

Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin agree to fight to save Iran nuclear deal

Putin said he expected the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to ship Russian gas to Germany to be finished by the end of 2021 despite delays caused by US sanctions.

Read more at:
https://www.euronews.com/2020/01/11/merkel-meeting-putin-amid-escalating-iran-us-tensions

Scotland Independence: Scottish independence referendum: Sturgeon says 'democracy will prevail' after new vote refused


The UK prime minister said that Scotland already voted against separating from the UK in 2014.

Read more at:
https://www.euronews.com/2020/01/14/democracy-will-prevail-says-sturgeon-after-johnson-refuses-second-scottish-referendum

EU: Where is the ‘deal’ in the European Green Deal? – by Estrella Durá Ferrandis and Irina de Sancho Alonso

The New Deal was a social contract with the American people. A European Green New Deal must likewise enshrine social alongside ecological aspirations.

Read more at:
https://www.socialeurope.eu/where-is-the-deal-in-the-european-green-deal

1/13/20

The Netherlands: 2,500 children 'disappear' from Dutch refugee centres

More than 2,500 children have disappeared from refugee centres in the Netherlands over the past decade, the NRC newspaper reported on Monday. Most of those came from Afghanistan, Morocco, Algeria, Albania, Eritrea, Syria and Vietnam. According to the refugee agency COA, a proportion of these children may end up in the hands of human traffickers or in prostitution.

If you live in the EU and suspect any human trafficking or unauthorized prostitution going on in your area please contact the Human Trafficking hotline in your area (see telephone number for your EU country at https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/citizens-corner-national-hotlines/national-hotlines_en  

If you live in the US  call  the National Human Trafficking Hotline  1 (888) 373-7888  Hours: 24 hours, 7 days a week Languages: English, Spanish and 200 more languages  Website: www.humantraffickinghotline.org

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USA Economy: Budget deficit topped $1 trillion in 2019, the first time in 7 years

-                               From Cartoon Stock
The U.S. fiscal deficit topped $1 trillion in 2019, the first time it has passed that level in a calendar year since 2012, according to Treasury Department figures released Monday.

For the fiscal year, which began in October, the shortfall is already at $356.6 billion, an 11.7% increase from a year ago. If that pace continues it would also lead to a fiscal deficit for 2019-20 of more than $1 trillion.

Read more at: Budget deficit topped $1 trillion in 2019, the first time in 7 years