| Trump crashes Iowa ahead of caucuses and crucial impeachment vote Posted: 30 Jan 2020 06:35 PM PST  Four days before the Democratic presidential candidates will compete in the Iowa caucuses, and with the U.S. Senate debating in Washington whether to remove him from office, Trump stormed into the Hawkeye state to try to create headlines of his own.
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| Chinese tourists desert Thai resort as coronavirus spreads Posted: 31 Jan 2020 09:05 PM PST  The narrow laneways and pastel-coloured shophouses of Phuket Old Town are usually bustling with Chinese tourists during the Lunar New Year holiday, but travel bans and local fears about coronavirus have largely emptied the streets this year. "The impact is tremendous," 45-year old Ausana Akaradachakul told Reuters as she waited behind the counter for shoppers in her store selling postcards, straw bags, clothing and jewellery. "Only a few days after the news broke about the virus, the Chinese tourists were visibly few," Akaradachakul said.
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| Delta flight attendants fight back against Boeing and a system they claim fed them 'toxic' air Posted: 31 Jan 2020 08:59 AM PST  The system in question takes air from an aircraft's engines and brings it into the cabin for pressurization and air conditioning.
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| Johnson Wants 80% of U.K. Trade Covered by Deals in 3 Years Posted: 31 Jan 2020 09:19 AM PST ![Johnson Wants 80% of U.K. Trade Covered by Deals in 3 Years]( "Johnson Wants 80% of U.K. Trade Covered by Deals in 3 Years") (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson aims to have 80 percent of U.K. commerce covered by free trade deals within 3 years, his office said hours ahead of the U.K.'s departure from the European Union.The ambition was discussed in a special meeting of his cabinet in Sunderland, northeast England, according to a readout emailed by his office on Friday. Britain is seeking a Canada-style free trade agreement with the EU to replace the current frictionless commerce it enjoys with the bloc, it said."From tomorrow, the U.K. will also be free to begin trade negotiations with countries around the world," Johnson's office said. The premier began the meeting by saying the U.K. is starting a new chapter, "turning a page on the division of the last three and a half years and going full steam ahead to bring the nation together."To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| How Do Stealth Destroyers Sail the Seven Seas (And Not Sink?) Posted: 01 Feb 2020 05:39 AM PST  A vital function.
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| U.S. evacuees 'relieved' about quarantine on military base Posted: 30 Jan 2020 10:03 PM PST  "All of us really want to stay here and make sure we're all medically clear and the public safe," said Matthew L. McCoy, a theme park designer who lives in China. McCoy is among the 195 Americans who returned on a charter flight earlier this week from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the outbreak. Initially, health officials asked them to stay at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside for up to three days of monitoring and testing.
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| Rashida Tlaib addresses booing Hillary Clinton at Sanders event Posted: 31 Jan 2020 09:14 PM PST  "In this instance, I allowed my disappointment with Secretary Clinton's latest comments about Senator Sanders and his supporters get the best of me."
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| A Harvey Weinstein accuser testified that they were in a secret, abusive relationship and gave graphic testimony about his body Posted: 31 Jan 2020 02:25 PM PST  Jessica Mann elicited audible gasps in the courtroom when she described sexual encounters with Harvey Weinstein and described his body.
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| Trump adds six new countries to travel ban list Posted: 31 Jan 2020 04:34 PM PST  Three years after President Trump first signed an executive order barring entry to the U.S. for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries, he's adding six new countries to the so-called travel ban list.
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| Brazilians sent to Mexico by U.S. say they don't understand why Posted: 30 Jan 2020 07:02 PM PST  Bewildered, sad and disappointed, Brazilians migrants sent from the United States to Mexico this week were left wondering how they had ended up in another country whose language they do not understand. The United States on Wednesday began sending some Brazilian migrants who had crossed the border with Mexico back there to await their U.S. court hearings under a program known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). It is one of several moves by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at reducing the number of people seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.
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| Atlanta Couple Caught Up in New Zealand Volcano Eruption Have Both Died From Their Injuries Posted: 31 Jan 2020 08:41 AM PST  Pratap Singh, 49, died a month after his wife Mayuari
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| First case of coronavirus in US: Patient got pneumonia, but now only has cough, study says Posted: 31 Jan 2020 11:55 AM PST  The Snohomish County, Washington man remained in the hospital on Thursday. He has no symptoms other than a cough after treatment with antiviral meds.
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| Coronavirus: Is the Media Over Hyping the Threat? Posted: 01 Feb 2020 11:38 AM PST  A contagion will happen at some point, and it's important we recognize it and react. Unless the coronavirus mutates into something far more dangerous, this isn't it. News and novelty seem to be driving policy.
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| Coronavirus outbreak highlights cracks in Beijing’s control Posted: 31 Jan 2020 01:56 PM PST ![Coronavirus outbreak highlights cracks in Beijing's control]( "Coronavirus outbreak highlights cracks in Beijing's control") China's coronavirus outbreak has raised simple but powerful questions about its style of government, in a system with little room for dissent.
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| U.S. Escalates Virus Response With Entry Limits, Cuts in Flights Posted: 31 Jan 2020 03:27 PM PST ![U.S. Escalates Virus Response With Entry Limits, Cuts in Flights]( "U.S. Escalates Virus Response With Entry Limits, Cuts in Flights") (Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration on Friday declared a public health emergency and announced series of steps to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has stricken China and spread to countries around the world.President Donald Trump signed an order temporarily barring entry to foreign nationals who have visited China and pose a risk of spreading the illness, unless they are immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The administration also said flights from China would be funneled through just seven U.S. airports."The risk of infection for Americans remains low," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who is coordinating the federal response, told reporters at a White House news conference. "With these and our previous actions, we are working to keep the risk low."U.S. citizens returning from China's Hubei Province, the center of the outbreak, will face a mandatory quarantine. Americans traveling back to the U.S. from other areas of mainland China must undergo screening and monitored self-quarantine to ensure they are not at risk of spreading the virus.The measures, which take effect at 5 p.m. Washington time on Sunday, apply to visits in the past two weeks. The quarantines last 14 days.The White House's announcement comes as the coronavirus continues to spread, triggering increasing alarm from health officials. The World Health Organization this week declared a global health emergency, giving the United Nations agency the power to coordinate response efforts.Almost 9,700 cases have been confirmed in China with more than 200 deaths, said Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He added that six cases have been confirmed in the U.S. and that 191 people are being monitored.U.S. health officials have sought to reassure Americans the risk of contracting the virus remains low, but they have also said there is much they still do not know about the illness."This is a significant global situation that continues to evolve," Redfield said.Anthony Fauci, head of infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health, said the U.S. decided to step up its efforts because of reports that a traveler from China spread the disease in Germany without showing any symptoms. He said that is different from the Ebola virus, which cannot be spread by people who are not very ill.Health officials added that tests to detect the virus haven't been used enough times to assure they are reliable. Only one in six U.S. cases of coronavirus has been detected through airport screening, they said.All U.S.-bound flights from China will be routed to airports in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, Honolulu and Los Angeles. More drastic flight restrictions are not currently being considered, according to Joel Szabat, a Transportation Department official.Limiting the number of airports where flights to China can land will allow the U.S. government to streamline screening and set up quarantine centers, officials said.The CDC announced earlier Friday it had issued a quarantine order of 14 days to 195 U.S. citizens evacuated from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province. It's the first time in nearly a half century such an order was given.On Thursday, the State Department issued its highest level do-not-travel advisory for China, warning American citizens there they could be subject to travel restrictions with little to advance notice and urging them to "consider departing using commercial means."The rapid outbreak of the virus has sent financial markets tumbling. The S&P 500 Index on Friday erased all of its 2020 gains and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 600 pointsas investors grow worried about how the illness could effect the world economy.Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the central bank is "very carefully monitoring the situation" and "there will clearly be implications at least in the near term for Chinese output."\--With assistance from Justin Sink.To contact the reporter on this story: Jordan Fabian in Washington at jfabian6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Senate votes to block new witnesses 51-49 Posted: 31 Jan 2020 02:59 PM PST  During the tenth day of the Senate impeachment trial, the Senate voted 51 to 49 to block new witnesses from testifying in the impeachment trial of President Trump.
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| Schiff calls out Trump lawyer Cipollone after Bolton places him 'in the loop' on Ukraine Posted: 31 Jan 2020 01:47 PM PST  House impeachment manager Adam Schiff called out President Trump's defense team lawyer Pat Cipollone Friday, saying he was "in the loop" in the effort to persuade Ukrainian officials to dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden.
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| As coronavirus misinformation spreads on social media, Facebook removes posts Posted: 31 Jan 2020 04:44 PM PST  Facebook Inc said it will take down misinformation about China's fast-spreading coronavirus, in a rare departure from its usual approach to dubious health content that is presenting a fresh challenge for social media companies. Hoaxes have spread widely online, promoted by conspiracy theorists and exacerbated by a dearth of information from the cordoned-off zone around China's central city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began. Nearly 12,000 people have been infected in China, according to local health authorities, and more than 130 cases reported in at least 25 other countries and regions.
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| China virus death toll rises to 304 with 45 new fatalities: govt Posted: 01 Feb 2020 03:17 PM PST  The number of confirmed deaths from China's coronavirus outbreak rose to 304, as authorities in hardest-hit Hubei province on Sunday reported 45 new fatalities. In its daily update, figures from the provincial health commission also showed a sharp increase in confirmed infections in Hubei, with 1,921 new cases. China found itself increasingly isolated over the weekend, with the United States and Australia leading a growing list of nations to impose extraordinary Chinese travel bans.
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| Airstrikes on the rise as US pursues Afghan peace talks Posted: 01 Feb 2020 01:08 AM PST  New U.S. Air Force statistics show the U.S. dropped more bombs on Afghanistan last year than any year since 2013, even as Washington's peace envoy sought to boost regional support for a reduction in violence ahead of a final deal to end America's longest war. U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Kabul from Pakistan on Saturday, where he told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani there has been "no notable progress" in talks with the Taliban. Earlier on Saturday, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said Khalilzad was in Pakistan the previous day to rally support for getting an agreement with the Taliban to reduce their attacks, as a first step toward a peace agreement to end 18 years of war in neighboring Afghanistan.
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| What Will North Korea Do If Coronavirus Comes to Its Shores? Posted: 01 Feb 2020 04:25 AM PST  Pyongyang has neither the resources nor the administrative culture – transparency, empiricism divorced from ideology, technocracy – to respond to a genuine epidemic. Sustained foreign assistance and, failing that, brutal repression would almost certainly be necessary to prevent a local plague.
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| 75,000 in Wuhan infected with coronavirus: study estimates Posted: 31 Jan 2020 11:00 AM PST  More than 75,000 people -- ten times the official tally of confirmed cases -- have been infected with the coronavirus in Wuhan, ground zero of a global health emergency, according to research published Friday. "We estimate that 75,815 individuals have been infected in Wuhan as of January 25, 2020," a team led by Gabriel Leung from the University of Hong Kong reported in The Lancet. As of January 31, the Chinese government said the number of confirmed cases had risen above 9,700 for all of China, including 213 deaths.
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| 9,000 Hong Kong hospital workers are threatening to strike amid coronavirus outbreak if the government doesn't close its border with mainland China Posted: 01 Feb 2020 07:41 AM PST  Doctors, nurses, and other hospital workers voted to strike if the Hong Kong government did not close its border with China.
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| Australian koalas named for American firefighters killed in fires Posted: 31 Jan 2020 11:47 PM PST  The brave firefighters and U.S. military veterans were killed in a plane crash while fighting the devastating fires in New South Wales last week.
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| Boris Johnson’s Plan to Kill ‘Brexit’ Posted: 30 Jan 2020 11:00 PM PST  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Shortly after his election victory in December, it was reported that Boris Johnson wanted the word "Brexit" retired. Not just retired, but expunged as a matter of urgency once the U.K. has left the European Union on Jan. 31.This would be like Donald Trump telling White House staff that they need to drop the "Make America Great Again" thing. Without Brexit — and his "Get Brexit Done" campaign — we'd mainly know Boris Johnson as just another former mayor, a talented politician who wrote amusing newspaper columns.This attempted change of language seems trivial, but it's not. For nearly four years, the neologism "Brexit" has dominated British politics, and resonated around the world. Why try to retire it now? I can see two reasons: The word is a constant and powerful reminder of the division and open wounds in British society; and while it was a weapon Johnson wielded successfully against his opponents, it might easily be used against him in future. The first concern is honorable, the other more Orwellian. But how successful Johnson is in changing the language of British politics might prove as important as anything he gets around the trade negotiating table with the European Union and the U.S. this year.The word "Brexit" appeared back in 2012. Peter Wilding, a former lawyer and aide to former Prime Minister David Cameron, had little idea of its impact when he coined it in a May 2012 blog, inspired by the Greeks:Unless a clear view is pushed that Britain must lead in Europe at the very least to achieve the completion of the Single Market, then the portmanteau for Greek euro exit [Grexit] might be followed by another sad word, Brexit.A few years later, it spread like bush fire. By 2016, it had a place in the Oxford English Dictionary and was later named "word of the year." But Wilding was appalled to find his invention used as a tool of destruction. Now chairman of the British Influence think tank, he sees Brexit as a "narcissistic victim syndrome ignited by charlatan nostalgists." He has said it might do to Britain what the Treaty of Versailles did to Germany.Brexit, in Johnson's hands, wasn't a flaccid noun but a powerful verb. One might argue that you could have called Britain's EU departure campaign pretty much anything and the result would have been the same. Perhaps, but something happened when those two words — British exit — fused. It became a rallying point for a passionate, but small, euroskeptic core of Johnson's ruling Conservative party. It anchored a Leave campaign whose language invoked national pride, appealed to people's bias for action over inaction and their preference for simplicity.In his book, "The Language of Brexit," the linguist Steve Buckledee shows how skillfully this was done. Brexit stirred passion and represented action; Remainer language was limp by comparison and passive. The British Twitter poet Brian Bilston captured the power of the word in the last stanzas of a poem titled Meaningful Vote, which was the name given to the attempts of Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May, to win parliamentary approval for her Brexit deal:How foolish, it seems; How senseless, absurd,To re-define a nation In pursuit of a word.Johnson, of all politicians, understands the mobilizing and seducing power of language. He's probably the most prolix (and prolific) political leader Britain has had since Winston Churchill. He loves words that pack heat. He famously denied an affair by calling the allegations an "inverted pyramid of piffle." He often invents words where a conventional formula won't do — such as "backstop-ectomy" to denote his determination to remove an element of May's Brexit deal known as the Irish backstop, which he and other Brexiters disliked.But now that the war is over, the weapon looks unsightly. Brexit represents a heroic and victorious campaign for freedom to one side of the divide, but a perfidious act of self-harm to the other. RELATED: Why Brexit Opponents Lost the Vote and the ArgumentEven many Brexiters are battle-weary and spent, no doubt worried about how well things will go from here for Britain. Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey, a vocal Brexiter, is holding back on the mirth. Sarah Vine, the columnist wife of cabinet member Michael Gove, says being on the winning side has left her numb. "I think, like many Leave voters the length and breadth of the country, I have found the hatred and vitriol of the past few years ultimately very brutalizing," she wrote for the Daily Mail (not exactly a bastion of temperateness). "We Leavers have been accused of innumerable crimes, cast as racist, short-sighted, xenophobic and, above all, thick and uneducated. We've been compared to the Nazis, been blamed for the actions of every lunatic extremist, accused of lying — not to mention held responsible for every stock market fluctuation (downwards, naturally) or passing economic squall." If that's how the victors feel, spare a thought for the losers. Johnson won the war, but he won't succeed in keeping his new Conservative coalition together (which includes plenty of Remain voters who were fearful of allowing Labour's hard-left leader Jeremy Corbyn into power) if the loaded language of Brexit frames all discussion.But burying "Brexit," the word, is a way of shirking responsibility too. If everything that happens from now is just another tick on the plus or minus side of the Brexit ledger, the divisions will eventually tear away at Johnson's power and every concession over fish or drop in GDP growth will be seen as an indictment of the Brexit campaign that swept him into Downing Street.By getting rid of the Department for Exiting the EU and rechristening the U.K. negotiating side something positive like Taskforce Europe, Johnson is saying "nothing to see here but some tedious trade negotiations." Why should voters worry about such minutia as will be discussed when Britain and the EU sit down to work out their future trade relationship? If the word "Brexit" is a call to battle, "trade taskforce" is an invitation to snooze. That must be the hope, anyhow: That if Brexit is only muttered occasionally, somewhat apologetically, or better yet, not said at all, there will be less scrutiny — and criticism — of what lies ahead. Separating Britain from the EU is bound to be painful. Johnson's ultimate political survival may depend on whether he can denuclearize the domestic conflict he waged so successfully with Wilding's B-bomb.To contact the author of this story: Therese Raphael at traphael4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Boxell at jboxell@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Therese Raphael writes editorials on European politics and economics for Bloomberg Opinion. She was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Alaska Sen. Murkowski ends the suspense by coming out against witness testimony in Trump trial Posted: 31 Jan 2020 11:46 AM PST  The Democrats' demand to call witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump evidently failed Friday.
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| Japan seeks to contain economic impact of virus, new measures come into effect Posted: 01 Feb 2020 01:18 AM PST  Japan on Saturday moved to contain the economic impact of a coronavirus outbreak originating in China as strict new measures aimed at limiting the spread of the virus, including targeting foreign visitors, came into effect. Japan had 17 confirmed cases as of Friday, including some without symptoms. One of the most recent was a bus guide who worked on a bus tour for tourists from China - the same tour as a bus driver who also came down with the virus.
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| Coronavirus Has Europe Treating Chinese People Like the Plague Posted: 31 Jan 2020 10:12 AM PST  ROME—The sign taped to the glass door of a popular gelateria in front of Rome's iconic Trevi Fountain is perfectly clear, and perfectly ugly. Written in both Chinese and English, it states what pretty much everyone in a country of hypochondriacs and the rest of Europe is thinking: "Due to international safety measures, all people coming from China are not allowed to have access to this place." The writer then apologizes for any inconvenience. WHO Calls Coronavirus 'Emergency' as Person-to-Person Spread Confirmed in U.S.Italy has confirmed just two coronavirus cases despite quarantining 7,000 people on a cruise ship this week over a feverish woman from Hong Kong who had, as it turned out, nothing but the flu. A full 24 hours after the woman was cleared, citizens of the port town of Civitavecchia near Rome staged a protest at the port, demanding that all 750 Chinese passengers on board be tested for the disease before anyone could get off the ship. The two cases that actually are confirmed in Italy are a Chinese couple who traveled from Wuhan to Milan and then across the peninsula on a bus tour with more than 100 other Chinese tourists over the last five days, sparking a panic across the entire country as authorities alert everyone at every stop of their tour—highway rest areas included. The hotel where they were staying, just a block from the Colosseum, was cordoned off with armed police on Friday, prompting passersby to ask each other if there was a terrorist threat. You would think the epidemic has reached plague proportions. On Friday, Italy's civil protection authority announced a six-month "state of emergency" over the health crisis—the first time in the country's history. Twelve people who are tied to the confirmed cases are in Rome's Spallanzani Infectious Disease Hospital under surveillance. But Chinese restaurants, Chinese-owned convenience stops, and even coffee bars with Chinese staff have been empty all week. In Tuscany, where the town of Prato has the highest concentration of Chinese residents in the country, Italians have stopped sending their children to school out of fear they'll contract the virus. About five million Chinese tourists visit Italy each year, pouring millions of euros into the economy, but the Rome Tourism Bureau told The Daily Beast that many tour guides have called off group tours for Chinese people "until things blow over" out of fear their very presence will make other tourists feel uncomfortable. There are also 300,000 Chinese residents living and working across Italy, many in the service and fashion industries. The lack of government guidance on how to handle the epidemic has angered the Chinese community across Italy, many of whom feel betrayed that the government seems to be scapegoating them, according to the head of Rome's Chinese Community in Italian media interviews. A Chinese woman who runs a small convenience store in the bustling neighborhood of Trastevere told The Daily Beast that she has simply started wearing a surgical mask and rubber gloves because Italians wouldn't enter her store. "I haven't been to China for more than 10 years, but they are so scared of us, it just makes sense to show them I'm being safe," she said. "It's either this or risk closing if I lose business."Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy's xenophobic far-right League party, didn't miss an opportunity to exploit the situation. "Every day dozens of flights arrive in Italy from China," he said at a recent rally. "We need checks, checks, and more checks." At a civil protection press conference in Rome on Friday, the panel of doctors meant to calm fears continued to insist that only people with symptoms were contagious despite confirmation last weekend that the opposite is true. There have also been troubling reports of blatant racism and bullying in the Italian press including how a Chinese-Italian boy playing in a school soccer match in Milan was told by an opponent, "I hope you get the virus, too."Roberto Giuliani, director of the prestigious Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, was sanctioned by the institution after telling students from China, Japan, and even South Korea that they needed a doctor certificate to attend class—even if they had not traveled to China recently. 7,000 People Trapped on Mediterranean Cruise in Italy Over Suspected Coronavirus CaseThe same paranoia has sparked a race debate in France, where six cases have been confirmed. There, Chinese citizens have started using the hashtag JeNeSuisPasUnVirus or "I am not a virus" after the local newspaper Le Courier Picard used the race baiting headlines "Yellow Alert" and "Yellow Peril" over a photo of a Chinese woman wearing a white surgical mask.The French aren't only stigmatizing Chinese people but all Asians, it seems. Shana Cheng, a 17-year-old Paris resident of Vietnamese and Cambodian origin, told the BBC that she was hassled on a Paris bus last weekend. "There's a Chinese woman, she is going to contaminate us, she needs to go home," Cheng says she heard two passengers say. Then she said they looked at her "in a disgusted way, as if I was the virus."Another woman tweeted, "Not all Asians are Chinese. Not all Chinese were born in China and not all have been there. An Asian who coughs doesn't have the coronavirus. Insulting an Asian because of the virus is like insulting a Muslim because of the bombings."In Germany, the only other continental European country with confirmed cases so far—six and counting tied to the automotive supplier Webasto in Stanberg—things aren't much better. A 33-year-old German who worked there is the first human-to-human contact case in Europe after attending a training session hosted by a visiting Chinese colleague who has since returned to Wuhan. All such training sessions with Chinese visitors have since been suspended.As the number of confirmed cases grows across Europe, fear will surely spread, too. And a continued lack of guidance by authorities about how the virus is actually transmitted and who potential carriers are will undoubtedly feed racism and xenophobia, which risks becoming a worse epidemic than the disease itself. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| China’s isolation from world grows as virus toll reaches 259 Posted: 01 Feb 2020 07:44 AM PST  China faced deepening isolation due to its coronavirus epidemic on Saturday as the death toll soared to 259, with the U.S. and Australia leading a growing list of nations to impose extraordinary bans on Chinese travel.
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| Quarantines await Europeans flown home amid virus outbreak Posted: 01 Feb 2020 09:43 AM PST  European governments ramped up flights Saturday to bring their citizens back from China amid the outbreak of a new virus that has sickened thousands of people. A German air force plane arrived in Frankfurt carrying 128 passengers who were expected to spend two weeks quarantined at a military base. Russia sent military aircraft to evacuate citizens from Wuhan and other areas of China most affected by the virus.
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| Why the F-35s Crazy 'Beast Mode' Should Terrify North Korea, China (Or Anyone) Posted: 01 Feb 2020 07:22 AM PST  It can take out multiple targets with ease.
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| Asylum seekers learn about obstacles ahead in a hearing room on the border Posted: 01 Feb 2020 04:08 AM PST  "DHS will treat you as someone who is attempting to enter against U.S. law," a judge said.
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| France, Italy Drag Euro-Area Economy to Worst Quarter Since 2013 Posted: 31 Jan 2020 03:20 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. The euro-area economy barely grew at the end of 2019 as unexpected contractions in France and Italy dealt the bloc its weakest quarter in almost seven years.The surprise slump in two of the region's biggest nations is yet another blow for their governments. President Emmanuel Macron is already under fire amid protests over controversial pension reforms, while Italy's fragile coalition is scarred by internal skirmishes.Output in the 19-nation region rose just 0.1% in the fourth quarter, down from 0.3% in the previous period, and underlying inflation slowed in January to the weakest in three months. The French economy shrank 0.1%, and Italy posted a 0.3% contraction. Germany has previously said it posted slight growth at the end of 2019 -- the official reading is due next month.The economic gloom may prove to be temporary. Surveys have suggested that the rot has been stemmed for now. The European Central Bank says the risks to the outlook have become "less pronounced," and more signs of improving momentum came Thursday when the European Commission reported a marked rise in sentiment in January, led by manufacturing and construction.What Bloomberg's Economists Say"Growth momentum is set to build into 2020 reflecting fewer risks from the global economy -- trade tension between the U.S. and China have eased somewhat and the worst type of Brexit should be avoided. We see quarterly growth of 0.3% through 2020."\-- Jamie Rush. Read the EURO-AREA REACTStill, the reports could revive calls for more spending by countries that have fiscal space, such as Germany. The ECB has repeatedly called for action, and the European Union's executive arm is planning to publish a document next week asserting that the euro zone's fiscal rules are too convoluted.The yield on German 10-year debt has slipped in recent days and fell below -0.4% for the first time in three months. The euro was little changed at $1.1031 at 11:57 a.m. Frankfurt time on Friday.Trade risks have returned to the fore with the U.S. renewing threats last week to raise duties on imports of cars from the EU, and France only narrowly avoiding American tariffs on wine and cheese in a dispute over digital taxation. The U.S. just reported the biggest drop in imports since 2009, and new concerns are emerging such as the coronavirus and the hit to Chinese and global growth.Read our Virus UpdateFrench cognac maker Remy Cointreau has already sounded a note of caution over the impact of the virus on its business in China and ditched its guidance for the year. Airlines including Germany's Lufthansa cut flights, and Finnish elevator-maker Kone expect a hit on bottom lines amid factory closures.French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire blamed his economy's poor results on disruptions in ports, the rail network and fuel deposits and highlighted resilient consumption and business investment."This temporary slowdown does not call into question the fundamentals of French growth," he said. Without the curb from companies using up stocks rather than increasing production, the economy would have expanded about 0.3%.One bright spot was Spain, where the government woke up to more evidence that the economy is one of Europe's outperformers. Faster-than-anticipated growth of 0.5% was driven by buoyant exports and a strong increase in services.\--With assistance from Harumi Ichikura, Kristian Siedenburg, Jeannette Neumann, John Follain and Zoe Schneeweiss.To contact the reporters on this story: William Horobin in Paris at whorobin@bloomberg.net;Jana Randow in Frankfurt at jrandow@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Paul GordonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump got the number of US coronavirus patients wrong in a tweet about how he's on top of the outbreak Posted: 30 Jan 2020 06:21 PM PST  Trump described himself as a 'germaphobe' but called in the small number of cases in the U.S. a "very little problem," the AP reported.
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| Kurdistan's Erbil airport denies entry to three Chinese over coronavirus Posted: 01 Feb 2020 03:21 AM PST  Erbil International Airport in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq denied entry to three Chinese citizens over fears about the coronavirus outbreak in China, authorities said on Saturday. The three passengers were sent back to Dubai, from where they had flown to Erbil, a statement from Kurdistan's airport authority said. Iraq's Basra International Airport said on Friday it was denying entry to passengers of any nationality traveling to Iraq from China.
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| Coronavirus is spreading. And so is anti-Chinese sentiment and xenophobia Posted: 31 Jan 2020 04:14 PM PST  Coronavirus is spreading. And so is anti-Chinese sentiment and xenophobia
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| 12-year-old girl in Egypt dies after genital mutilation Posted: 31 Jan 2020 08:39 AM PST  A 12-year-old girl died this week in southern Egypt after her parents brought her to a doctor who performed female genital mutilation, a criminal practice that remains widespread in the region, according to a judicial statement.
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| Bernie Sanders told Ninth Graders the U.S. Committed Acts in Vietnam ‘Almost as Bad as what Hitler Did’ Posted: 31 Jan 2020 06:27 AM PST  During his 1972 gubernatorial run, Senator Bernie Sanders told high-school students that the U.S. had committed acts in its war with Vietnam that were "almost as bad as what Hitler did."An article in the Rutland, Vermont, newspaper, The Rutland Herald, reported on the comments, made while Sanders was campaigning for governor as a member of the Liberty Union party. The article was first unearthed by the Washington Free Beacon.The North Vietnamese "are not my enemy," Sanders told a class of ninth graders in Rutland while on the campaign trail. "They're a very, very poor people. Some of them don't have shoes. They eat rice when they can get it. And they have been fighting for the freedom of their country for 25 years. They can hardly fight back."The American death toll from the Vietnam War was over 58,000. The Herald reported that students pushed back against Sanders's support for amnesty for draft evaders, saying it wouldn't be fair to the parents of soldiers killed in the fighting.Sanders also outlined other positions that may sound familiar to today's voters, including increasing the minimum wage and availability of low-income housing, as well as increased access to dental care. He also charged that the Democratic Party was too beholden to large corporations.The Vermont senator received around one percent of the vote in that election. Sanders is currently the strongest presidential candidate from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, and has polled ahead of moderate Joe Biden in various Iowa and New Hampshire surveys.Establishment Democrats have been worried by Sanders's rise and durability throughout the primary. The senator has relied on an enthusiastic base of younger progressive voters, and has received strong grassroots financial support.
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| China flies citizens home to virus-hit Wuhan Posted: 01 Feb 2020 11:09 AM PST  China has flown two planeloads of its citizens back home to Hubei, the locked-down province at the centre of the deadly coronavirus outbreak where they were greeted by authorities in full-body protective suits. A Xiamen Airlines charter flight from Bangkok touched down late Friday in the provincial capital Wuhan, where the infection is believed to have originated in a market that sold wild animals. Health authorities in white, full-body protective gear stood by the cabin door as the plane's 73 passengers disembarked, smiling through face masks and waving to news photographers.
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| This Plane Might Get The Air Force To Give Up The F-22 Raptor Posted: 31 Jan 2020 09:00 PM PST  The F-35 is that impressive.
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| Brexit no detour for migrants hoping to cross Channel to UK Posted: 01 Feb 2020 08:13 AM PST  Migrants and refugees waiting by the French side of the English Channel say Brexit hasn't derailed their determination to cross over to pursue better lives in Britain. Mingled alongside police officers in the French port of Calais, hundreds of people live in squalid conditions and watch for a boat or truck to carry them to their dreams as stowaways. Many of them came to Calais from former French colonies such as Ivory Coast and Niger, only to have their asylum requests rejected by French authorities.
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| Lori Vallow didn't meet the Thursday deadline to turn her kids over to the state. Their grandma believes the 'monster' will face consequences. Posted: 31 Jan 2020 07:34 AM PST  Vallow had until Thursday to turn her children over to the state of Idaho. She missed it and is believed to still be in Hawaii.
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| Yemen sources: US drone destroyed building housing al-Qaida Posted: 01 Feb 2020 09:41 AM PST ![Yemen sources: US drone destroyed building housing al-Qaida]( "Yemen sources: US drone destroyed building housing al-Qaida") Tribal leaders said Saturday a suspected U.S. drone strike destroyed a building housing al-Qaida militants last week in eastern Yemen. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, retweeted several tweets and media reports that seemed to offer confirmation the Jan. 25 strike killed top al-Qaida leader Qassim al-Rimi. The tribal leaders said the drone strike took place in the Wadi Ubaidah area in the eastern province of Marib.
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| Firefights, blocked roads in Mexican city after senior cartel leader detained Posted: 31 Jan 2020 01:36 PM PST ![Firefights, blocked roads in Mexican city after senior cartel leader detained]( "Firefights, blocked roads in Mexican city after senior cartel leader detained") Armed men blocked roads, burned cars and there were reports of shootouts in the city of Uruapan in western Mexico after a senior leader of the Los Viagras cartel was detained, local media and a source from the prosecutor's office said. Luis Felipe, also known as "El Vocho", was captured earlier in the day in the western state of Michoacan, which has long been convulsed by turf wars between drug gangs and where unrest is not uncommon after the detention of senior cartel figures. Michoacan's state security services, without giving names, said on Twitter that three people have been detained.
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| U.S. Rejects Obamacare Work-Around Sought by Republican States Posted: 31 Jan 2020 02:12 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- A health insurance venture that threatened to erode Obamacare and had the backing of seven Republican state attorneys general has been rejected by the U.S. Labor Department.The proposal, from an obscure company in Georgia that was the subject of a Bloomberg News article last month, won the support of states including Georgia and Louisiana, whose attorney general personally pitched it last year to senior White House officials. Among those pushing for the plan was a Washington lobbying firm whose senior adviser is Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump's onetime campaign manager.The initiative would allow LP Management Services to create a data-sharing partnership that small firms could join; after agreeing to provide online user data, those in the network could then pay full premiums to buy into LP Management's health insurance.Read More: Manafort Mystery Lender's Next Act Is an Obamacare End RunBut in a highly technical advisory ruling, the Labor Department said on Jan. 24 that those joining the venture wouldn't be "bona fide partners" and "do not work for or through the partnership.""The DOL is turning LP Management down," said Timothy Jost, a health-law expert at Washington and Lee University.Several health policy specialists who reviewed the plan for Bloomberg News said LP Management's plan, if approved, could undermine the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, by allowing insurers to cherry-pick their policyholders. The plan's supporters deny that.The ruling could scuttle the venture because potential partners won't join a health-insurance program that lacks the Labor Department's blessing, experts said. A lawyer behind the plan, Alexander Renfro, said LP Management would seek approval through a pending lawsuit."We are disappointed that after 14 months of ignoring our request, and four days before they were required to respond to our lawsuit, the DOL has rushed out an opinion that violates its own rules, ignores the facts presented, and rewrites existing statutes and regulations without a legal basis to do so," he said in an email.One executive involved in the health initiative is Arjan "Ari" Zieger, a California man who made a mysterious $1 million loan in 2017 to Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort. Zieger's lawyer has said the loan had nothing to do with the insurance venture.Companies Zieger helps run have spent about $400,000 to lobby the Trump administration on behalf of the plan.Emails to the attorneys general of Georgia and Louisiana weren't immediately returned.To contact the reporter on this story: David Glovin in New York at dglovin@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey D Grocott at jgrocott2@bloomberg.net, David S. Joachim, Joe SchneiderFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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