| Pakistan vows to respond to any Indian aggression in Kashmir Posted: 14 Aug 2019 06:04 AM PDT  Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan vowed Wednesday the time had come to teach Delhi a lesson and promised to "fight until the end" against any Indian aggression in the disputed region of Kashmir. The warning represented a dramatic escalation in rhetoric after Islamabad said last week that they had ruled out a "military option" over the Kashmir dispute. The remarks come as tensions skyrocketed between the nuclear-armed rivals following India's surprising move to revoke the autonomy of its portion of the disputed Himalayan territory last week.
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| Thousands protest in Britain for Kashmir outside Indian High Commission Posted: 15 Aug 2019 05:16 AM PDT ![Thousands protest in Britain for Kashmir outside Indian High Commission]( "Thousands protest in Britain for Kashmir outside Indian High Commission") India's decision to revoke special status for its portion of Kashmir, along with a communications blackout and curbs on movement, caused fury in Pakistan, which cut trade and transport links and expelled India's envoy in retaliation. In London, protesters carried banners saying "Kashmir is Burning", "Free Kashmir" and "Modi: Make Tea Not War", according to a Reuters reporter. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered an Independence Day speech on Thursday that spotlighted his decision to remove the special rights of Kashmir among the bold moves of his second term.
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| 'We have to do something': Mayor calls for gun control after Philadelphia shooting; suspect identified Posted: 15 Aug 2019 10:14 AM PDT  A gunman is in custody after shooting six Philadelphia police officers in an hourslong standoff that ended early Thursday. Here's what we know now.
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| Portland mayor decries violence, hatred ahead of rally Posted: 14 Aug 2019 04:56 PM PDT  Mayor Ted Wheeler spoke at a rally with other leaders ahead of the event Saturday, which is also expected to bring out anti-fascist protesters. The weekend event is being organized by a member of the Proud Boys, which has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Also expected at the Saturday event are members of the American Guard, Three Percenters, Oathkeepers and Daily Stormers.
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| With Brexit looming, the future of Ireland is at stake Posted: 15 Aug 2019 05:38 AM PDT  It would be one of the great ironies of history if the U.K. departure from the EU actually led to the end of its occupation of Northern Ireland.
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| What to Know About Ghislaine Maxwell, the U.K. Socialite Who Became Jeffrey Epstein's Confidante Posted: 14 Aug 2019 10:43 AM PDT  After Jeffrey Epstein's death, focus has shifted to the British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, accused of helping him groom underage girls.
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| 'I'm sorry, bro': Accused robber begs with armed guard and gets shot Posted: 14 Aug 2019 09:07 PM PDT  A video captures the moment the suspect stumbles on the ground and begs with the armed security guard.
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| China's Tencent sorry for saying typhoon killed 'nearly everyone' Posted: 14 Aug 2019 10:49 PM PDT  Chinese internet giant Tencent has been forced to apologise after its video team reported that a typhoon had wiped out the entire population of a province in east China that is home to nearly 100 million people. Typhoon Lekima hit the Chinese provinces of Zhejiang, Shandong and Anhui over the weekend, forcing more than two million residents to flee. China's official news agency Xinhua said late Tuesday that at least 49 people were killed with dozens still missing.
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| Trump Linking Trade to Hong Kong Risks Playing Into Xi's Hands Posted: 15 Aug 2019 04:12 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. President Donald Trump linked Hong Kong's unrest to talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in a move that could reinforce Beijing's efforts to blame the U.S. for increasingly violent protests in the Asian financial hub.In a flurry of tweets Wednesday, Trump defended his tariffs decisions, praised Xi and urged the Chinese president to "humanely" resolve the protests that have gripped Hong Kong for more than two months. He ended the posts with an apparent overture to Xi -- writing "Personal meeting?" -- without clarifying whether he was suggesting another summit."Of course China wants to make a trade deal," Trump wrote. "Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!"The White House had no immediate comment on the tweets, which were posted hours after U.S. equities plunged as a Treasury yield curve inverted, heightening fears of a recession. The trade dispute with China has contributed to the rising anxiety, which arrived at a difficult time for Trump, who has based his re-election strategy on a robust economy.The remarks on Hong Kong signaled a shift by the U.S. president, who has expressed sympathy for Chinese views of the protests, even as demonstrators wave American flags and other administration officials defend their right to freedom of expression. Earlier this month, he described the protests as "riots" and suggested that the U.S. would stay out of an issue that was "between Hong Kong and China."Even suggesting a link between the trade dispute and unrest in the former British colony will feed suspicions in Beijing that the U.S. was seeking to leverage China's domestic crisis as part of broader strategy to check its rise. China has in recent weeks attempted to paint the U.S. as a "black hand" behind the protests, with a front-page commentary in the Communist Party's People Daily newspaper saying Thursday that such forces were trying to foment a "color revolution.""The men at the top in Beijing know that the 'black hand' theory is nonsense," said Perry Link, editor of the "Tiananmen Papers" and a professor at the University of California, Riverside. "But will they grab the remark to try to strengthen their deception of the Chinese people? Of course they will."China's foreign ministry didn't immediately respond to a faxed request for comment Thursday. Asked Wednesday about an earlier Hong Kong tweet by Trump, the ministry said: "Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs. We again urge the U.S. to immediately stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs."It's not the first time Trump has piled seemingly unrelated issues into his trade dispute with Xi, tying it to North Korea nuclear talks and extradition proceedings against a top executive at the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. His administration has also ratcheted up military support for Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory, since the trade war began last year.By linking trade to human rights, Trump would be attempting to succeed where others such as President Bill Clinton failed. David Zweig, a professor of social science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said he imagined members of China's ruling Politburo "sitting around a table all howling, laughing" at Trump's suggestion."He's got enough trouble cutting a trade deal and now he's going to add a new human rights criteria to it?," Zweig said. "Xi Jinping's not going to engage him on this. He wouldn't talk to him at the G-20 -- he said Hong Kong is off the table. Why is it going to be on the table now? That will fly nowhere. It's ridiculous."Nonetheless, the comments were cheered in online forums popular among Hong Kong protesters. Demonstrators have courted U.S. support, with some bringing American flags and MAGA hats to recent rallies. U.S. lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Marco Rubio, have urged action to support protesters.Under a U.S. law, Trump has the power to rescind Hong Kong's status as a preferential trading partner -- essentially turning the Asian financial hub into just another Chinese city. Such a seismic shift would be an almost unthinkable escalation of the U.S.-China trade war."To some extent, he's giving pressure to China," said a protester, who wanted to be known only as C. Lee, adding that he saw Trump's tweets as a win for Hong Kong demonstrators. "It's a good thing as long as we keep getting international attention."Trump's comments feed into the Communist Party's efforts to blame its internal problems on "hostile foreign forces." Chinese officials have in recent weeks called the protest violence the "creation of the U.S.," citing statements by American officials and their meetings with Hong Kong activists, as well as "U.S. faces" at rallies.Blaming Hong Kong's protests on foreign interference not only helps make them less attractive to potential sympathizers on the mainland, it could help provide Beijing a justification should it decide to intervene militarily. Trump further stoked those fears with an earlier tweet saying that U.S. intelligence was monitoring Chinese troop movements near the Hong Kong border and urging everyone to be "calm and safe."Bonnie Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the president's messaging on Hong Kong has been too "confusing and contradictory" to be effective with China."They won't accept any linkage in this case," Glaser said. "I suspect they'll ignore it."(Adds protester's comment in 14th paragraph.)\--With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs and Natalie Lung.To contact the reporters on this story: John Harney in Washington at jharney2@bloomberg.net;Kevin Hamlin in Beijing at khamlin@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, ;Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Karen LeighFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Homeowner shot a 14-year-old during burglary attempt. The 5 other teens with him were charged with murder Posted: 15 Aug 2019 05:12 AM PDT  Six teens were attempting to burglarize a vehicle in Illinois. The homeowner shot one of them and now the remaining 5 are being charged with murder.
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| The Latest: UN Security Council to discuss Kashmir Posted: 15 Aug 2019 08:29 AM PDT  The U.N. Security Council has scheduled a rare meeting on Kashmir in response to requests by China and Pakistan following India's revocation of the region's special constitutional status and downgrading of its statehood to a territory. Poland holds the rotating presidency of the U.N.'s most powerful body and its spokesman said Thursday that the closed consultations will take place Friday morning. U.N. officials said the council session may be its first on Kashmir since the late 1990s, or possibly since the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
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| Behind Nate Silver’s war with The New York Times Posted: 15 Aug 2019 02:05 AM PDT ![Behind Nate Silver's war with The New York Times]( "Behind Nate Silver's war with The New York Times") The paper's onetime data guru can't stop kicking his ex-employer for its 2020 polling analysis and supposed capitulation to Trump.
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| Here's Everything We Know So Far About Storm Area 51's 'Alienstock' Festival Posted: 15 Aug 2019 10:48 AM PDT  "They can't stop us from gathering and celebrating aliens!"
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| A Brief History of People and Animals Traveling Through Tubes Posted: 15 Aug 2019 06:51 AM PDT |
| Unexploded WWII bomb found in Kremlin Posted: 15 Aug 2019 07:53 AM PDT  An unexploded World War II bomb was found in the grounds of the Kremlin in Moscow during construction works on Thursday, Russian news agencies reported. "As you know, between 1941 and 1942 the Kremlin was bombed," Sergei Khlebnikov, the commandant of the Kremlin, told the Ria Novosti agency. The bomb was taken out of the Kremlin complex and will be liquidated, he said.
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| Trump accuses media of crashing the economy to ruin his presidency amid recession concerns Posted: 15 Aug 2019 01:31 PM PDT  Donald Trump has once again lashed out at the media, but this time to blame reporters for trying to tank the US economy in a conspiracy to deny him a second term in the White House.The president's attack comes after Mr Trump delayed imposing some further tariffs on China as the two countries engage in an ongoing trade war, and as some economists have warned of a looming recession that could drag down the president's re-election prospects."The Fake News Media is doing everything they can to crash the economy because they think that will be bad for me and my re-election," Mr Trump said.He continued: "The problem they have is that the economy is way too strong and we will soon be winning big on Trade, and everyone knows that, including China!"The decision to hold back on further tariffs on Chinese goods was made at least in part to shield US consumers from the impact of higher costs, just as consumers head to stores at the beginning of the busy holiday shopping season.That's at least how commerce secretary Wilbur Ross explained the decision during an appearance on CNBC."Nobody wants to take any chance of disrupting the Christmas season," he said.Analysts, however, have said that the decision reflects the increasingly arbitrary nature of the dispute that Mr Trump has made a key facet of his foreign policy doctrine."The US-China tariff has reached a stalemate, or even more accurately, fallen into purgatory," Scott Kennedy, an adviser at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, told Business Insider.He continued: "The two sides are now locked in a conversation of increasing irrelevance, on individual tariff lines and goods purchased."Analysts on Wall Street are also closely watching signs that another recession may be coming in the US market, with a closely watched spot on the yield curve being inverted.Every time the yield curve has inverted in the past 50 years, the US economy has gone into recession. But the lag time can take as long as 24 months before a recession is fully felt.
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| Cuban government imposes price controls as it seeks to keep lid on inflation Posted: 15 Aug 2019 11:24 AM PDT ![Cuban government imposes price controls as it seeks to keep lid on inflation]( "Cuban government imposes price controls as it seeks to keep lid on inflation") Communist-run Cuba has imposed price controls on goods and services ranging from lemons and pork to haircuts and taxi fares in what it says is an effort to tame inflation as it increases state wages and pensions. On Thursday, prices in Havana were set for some basic foods such as beans, pork, lemons, bananas, onions and cabbage. In recent weeks, regional authorities have slapped price controls on taxi fares, beverages and haircuts, among other items.
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| The black hole at the center of our galaxy just lit up twice as bright as ever. Who knows why Posted: 14 Aug 2019 12:09 PM PDT  Astronomers observing the black hole at the center of our galaxy watched it light up with "unprecedented brightness." And they aren't sure why.
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| Satellite photos: Chinese armored vehicles near Hong Kong Posted: 14 Aug 2019 10:38 AM PDT  Satellite photos show what appear to be armored personnel carriers and other vehicles belonging to the China's paramilitary People's Armed Police parked in a sports complex in the city of Shenzhen, in what some have interpreted as a threat from Beijing to use increased force against pro-democracy protesters across the border in Hong Kong. The pictures collected on Monday by Maxar's WorldView show 500 or more vehicles sitting on and around the soccer stadium at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center just across the harbor from the Asian financial hub that has been rocked by more than two months of near-daily street demonstrations.
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| Mystery ‘hero’ saved baby and others in El Paso shooting. Cops need help finding him Posted: 15 Aug 2019 11:08 AM PDT  Can you help El Paso police find this man?
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| U.S. Blacklists China Nuclear Firms Accused of Aiding Military Posted: 14 Aug 2019 08:14 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. added four Chinese nuclear entities to a trade blacklist, accusing them of helping to acquire advanced U.S. technology for military use in China.China General Nuclear Power Group and its subsidiaries China General Nuclear Power Corp., or CGNPC, China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute Co., and Suzhou Nuclear Power Research Institute Co. were added to the so-called Entity List, according to a Federal Register notice published Wednesday.The move comes after a crackdown on U.S. exports of civilian nuclear components and materials in recent years. In 2016 the Department of Justice accused China General Nuclear Power, the country's largest nuclear group, of an espionage plot dating back to the 1990s to steal US technology. The Pentagon has also warned over China's plans to introduce floating nuclear power plants on disputed islands and reefs in the South China Sea.In October last year the Trump administration also announced that it was imposing further restrictions on exports of nuclear-related U.S. technology to China to "prevent China's illegal diversion of U.S. civil nuclear technology for military or other unauthorized purposes."The move follows a similar block against telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co., as well as five Chinese tech companies involved in the country's super-computing efforts, that have aggravated the year-long trade war between China and the U.S. The sides are set to resume face-to-face talks in early September.The notice on Wednesday added 17 entities to a trade blacklist, including groups located in Armenia, Belgium, Canada, Georgia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Netherlands, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and the U.K. All of them are being put on the list for "acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States," it said.The blacklisting designation bars American companies from doing business with the entities unless they are given special U.S. government approval.'Diversion to Military'The Chinese nuclear firms "engaged in or enabled efforts to acquire advanced U.S. nuclear technology and material for diversion to military uses in China," according to the notice.A call to China's embassy in Washington outside regular business hours, as well as a fax to the foreign ministry in Beijing, went unanswered. An official for CGNPC in Beijing said that the company is aware of the news and the impact on its development would be "controllable."Nuclear EspionageThe Justice Department won a guilty plea in 2017 from an engineer charged with illegally helping China General Nuclear Power procure technology in the U.S., including for the design of so-called Small Modular Reactors, which can have military applications. In 2014, the U.S. accused five Chinese military officials with stealing trade secrets, including nuclear reactor technology from Westinghouse Electric Co.China General Nuclear is also a key partner in the U.K., working with France's Electricite de France SA to build the nearly 20 billion pound ($24 billion) Hinkley Point C project. In 2016, Prime Minister Theresa May delayed a final decision on the development amid speculation that it would give Beijing access to the nation's power system.\--With assistance from Feifei Shen.To contact the reporters on this story: Ramsey Al-Rikabi in Singapore at ralrikabi@bloomberg.net;Shawn Donnan in Washington at sdonnan@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Sarah McGregor, Jeffrey BlackFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Police officer kills himself, the 9th NYPD death by suicide this year Posted: 15 Aug 2019 11:28 AM PDT  An off-duty veteran New York city police officer killed himself, becoming the ninth police officer to die by suicide this year, authorities said.
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| US Marines sailed through the Strait of Hormuz with an armored vehicle on the flattop's flight deck, ready to fight off Iranian gunboats Posted: 15 Aug 2019 06:46 AM PDT  The Marines have been experimenting with parking armored vehicles on the amphibious flight decks to better confront threats in hostile waterways.
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| 2 Palestinians in knife attack on Israel police, one shot dead: officials Posted: 15 Aug 2019 10:51 AM PDT  Two Palestinian youths attacked Israeli police with knives in Jerusalem's Old City on Thursday before being shot by officers, leaving one of the assailants dead, officials said. Israeli police said an officer was moderately wounded and that the two assailants were shot. The Palestinian health ministry said one was killed, while Israel's Shaare Tzedek hospital said the second was left in critical condition.
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| Wisconsin fugitive survives for 3 years in makeshift bunker Posted: 15 Aug 2019 10:23 AM PDT  A Wisconsin fugitive wanted on child sexual assault and child pornography charges hid for more than three years in a makeshift bunker powered by solar panels and a pedal generator before a hunter found him last week, police said.
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| Israel bars U.S. Democratic lawmakers Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib under pressure from Trump Posted: 15 Aug 2019 02:00 AM PDT  JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday barred U.S. Democratic congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from making a planned trip to Israel, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump called on his ally not to let them in. Tlaib and Omar, the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, are members of their party's progressive wing and sharp critics both of Trump and of Israel's policy toward the Palestinians.
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| Epstein's Caribbean islands drawing tourists after his death Posted: 14 Aug 2019 09:00 PM PDT  Jeffrey Epstein's armed guards and the sharp rocks that lie beneath the turquoise waters glistening around his Caribbean island have long deterred boaters from the area, but curiosity has overcome concern since the financier apparently killed himself in jail as he awaited trial in New York on sex trafficking charges. Tourists and locals alike are powering up boats to take a closer look at a place nicknamed "Pedophile Island" that lies just off the southeast coast of St. Thomas. Among the attractions are two huge white-and-yellow cockatiel statues that stand guard at the top of a set of stairs near the dock, as well as a life-size Holstein-Friesian cow statue that locals say was moved to a different spot weekly and sometimes even daily while Epstein lived there.
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| Syria regime forces inch closer to key jihadist-held town: monitor Posted: 15 Aug 2019 08:38 AM PDT  Syrian regime forces captured a string of insurgent-held villages in northwest Syria on Thursday, inching closer to a key jihadist-run town in the Idlib region, a war monitor said. Over the past week, pro-regime fighters have advanced on the southern edges of Idlib province, controlled by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). On Thursday, regime loyalists stood just three kilometres (1.8 miles) away from the key town of Khan Sheikhun, after capturing five villages to the northwest overnight, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
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| What a Deadly Nuclear Explosion In Russia Tells Us About the World's New Arms Race Posted: 14 Aug 2019 10:41 AM PDT  "Accidents happen," said Vladimir Putin. But this wasn't simply a case of rotten luck
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| GOP candidate drops out of congressional race after calling himself a 'white nationalist' Posted: 15 Aug 2019 10:20 AM PDT  "I said I was a proud white nationalist," he in a video announcing his exit from the congressional race while wearing a red Trump hat.
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| Trump administration reverses decision to use 'cyanide bombs' to kill wild animals Posted: 15 Aug 2019 03:53 PM PDT  The poison-filled traps are used by the federal government to kill coyotes, foxes and other animals for farmers and ranchersA grizzly bear and her cub walk near Pelican Creek in Yellowstone national park, Wyoming. Last year, Wildlife Services killed more than 1.5 million native wild animals across the country, including bears. Photograph: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty ImagesAfter sustained public outcry, the Trump administration has voided its decision to reauthorize controversial cyanide traps for killing wildlife.The traps, which are known as M-44s and dubbed "cyanide bombs" by critics, are spring-loaded devices that emit a spray of sodium cyanide to kill their targets. The traps are most frequently used by Wildlife Services, a little-known federal agency inside the United States Department of Agriculture, to kill coyotes, foxes and other animals at the behest of private agriculture operators.Last year, Wildlife Services killed more than 1.5 million native wild animals across the country, including bears, wolves, birds and more. Roughly 6,500 of these deaths were caused by M-44 traps."I am announcing a withdrawal of EPA's interim registration review decision on sodium cyanide, the compound used in M-44 devices to control wild predators," Andrew Wheeler, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, announced in a public statement. "This issue warrants further analysis and additional discussions by EPA with the registrants of this predacide."In an announcement last week, the EPA said that it had authorized government officials to continue using M-44s on an interim basis. The decision sparked fury among wildlife advocates and others, who decried the decision as a reckless threat to humans and the environment. M-44s, which are deployed on public and private land across the US, have led in the past to the inadvertent deaths of endangered species and domestic pets. They have even harmed humans, including a teenage boy who was poisoned by an M-44 in Pocatello, Idaho, in 2017.Brooks Fahy, the executive director of Predator Defense, a wildlife group that is a leading opponent of M-44 traps, said the EPA's announcement was a welcome reversal."Obviously somebody at EPA is paying attention to the public's concerns about cyanide bombs," Fahy said in a statement. "It would appear they're responding to public outrage over the interim decision from last week. Our phone has been ringing off the hook from concerned citizens regarding their greenlight to continue using these horrific devices. We'll have to see how this plays out."
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| Man poses as ride-share driver, sexually assaults woman he met online, Illinois cops say Posted: 14 Aug 2019 06:01 AM PDT  A woman in Illinois was sexually assaulted after getting in a car she believed to be her ride-share service, police say.
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| A Princess Cruises passenger died after falling overboard, and investigators are reportedly trying to figure out if she was murdered Posted: 15 Aug 2019 08:07 AM PDT  The woman fell from the 11th deck of the Sun Princess cruise ship and died on Friday, the Taiwanese news agency CNA reported.
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| Pakistan observes 'Black Day' over Kashmir with march by militant group Posted: 15 Aug 2019 12:49 AM PDT  MUZAFFARABAD/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan observed a 'Black Day' on Thursday to coincide with India's Independence Day celebrations, as one of the main militant groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir led a protest through Pakistan's part of the disputed region. India's decision this month to revoke special status for its portion of Kashmir, along with a communications blackout and curbs on movement, caused fury in Pakistan, which cut trade and transport links and expelled India's envoy in retaliation.
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| The Latest: Supreme Court denies stay of Tennessee execution Posted: 15 Aug 2019 02:47 PM PDT  The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a Tennessee inmate's request for a stay of execution hours before he is scheduled to die in the electric chair. The execution of 56-year-old Stephen West is scheduled for Thursday evening at a Nashville prison. Gov. Bill Lee denied West's clemency application.
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| Irish airport flights suspended after runway plane fire Posted: 15 Aug 2019 06:38 AM PDT  Flights were suspended at Shannon Airport in western Ireland for several hours on Thursday after fire broke out on the undercarriage of an aircraft on the runway, an airport spokesman said. The Boeing aircraft is owned by Omni Air International, a US charter carrier that specialises in military and government transport flights. The airport resumed flights a few hours later, with delays expected to continue for the rest of Thursday.
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| Impacts of new immigration policy Posted: 14 Aug 2019 02:51 PM PDT  Evelyn Rusli and Angela Sutherland, co-founders of Yumi, discuss their families' immigration stories, and how this new immigration policy with affect people who are on public assistance.
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| Ohio lawmaker proposes using seized fentanyl in executions Posted: 14 Aug 2019 04:54 PM PDT  An Ohio lawmaker says he has the solution to the state's problem securing execution drugs: use fentanyl seized by police instead.
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| Mexico Cuts Rate for First Time in 5 Years as Economy Staggers Posted: 15 Aug 2019 12:20 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. Mexico's central bank reduced borrowing costs for the first time in five years after inflation slowed, the economy faltered and the U.S. cut its own rate. The peso weakened before paring declines to post gains.Led by Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon, the bank's board voted 4 to 1 to lower rates a quarter point to 8% from a ten-year high. The decision was forecast by 14 of 31 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Sixteen saw rates on hold, while one analyst predicted a half-point reduction.Investors were also split on which way the central bank would swing after the five-member board showed divisions in its previous meeting in June. Two members had expressed a dovish stance, while the majority raised concern about high core inflation and a deeply uncertain global environment. Then, last month, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador broke from his strict non-interventionist stance to tell Bloomberg he'd like to see a rate cut."I thought they would give more guidance, but they just cut and kept the door open for any move," said Marco Oviedo, chief Latin America economist for Barclays, who had predicted rates on hold. "So my best guess now is that they will follow the Fed.Read more: AMLO Says He'd Like Mexico to Cut Interest Rates to Boost GrowthSlowing inflation, economic slack and yield-curve performance were among reasons for easing, the central bank said in the statement accompanying its decision. But policymakers insisted they would remain prudent and act swiftly if risks to reaching the inflation target appear. The board added that uncertainty that could impact inflation persists while the growth outlook remained negative.At 2:12 p.m. in Mexico City, the peso traded at 19.6038 per dollar from 19.6756 yesterday. Markets aren't pricing in another cut until November, according to Bloomberg's implied probability model.Investors were leaning slightly toward easing on Thursdsay as forecast by interest-rate swaps. Their argument went: the 3.78% inflation rate is the lowest in 30 months, the economy narrowly dodged recession in the second quarter and in addition to the Fed, Brazil and Chile just lowered borrowing costs.Naysayers warned that 3.82% core inflation remains high, trade war risks with the U.S. abound and Argentina's assets just fell off a cliff after a primary election stoked concern South America's second-biggest economy will return to populist policies.'Vigilant,' 'Trajectory'Manuel Sanchez, a former central bank board member known for his hawkish views, had said before the decision that Banxico hadn't properly prepared the market for lower borrowing costs this time around and could lose credibility that's key to controlling inflation if it eases too soon.Credit Suisse economist Alonso Cervera, who predicted a rate reduction for today, said more easing is likely on the way if the peso doesn't weaken sharply. "I still think they will continue to cut if markets allow them," he said.Fitch Ratings agreed: "We still think Banxico will stay vigilant given domestic policy risks and the potential for risk aversion to affect the exchange rate," wrote Charles Seville, co-head of Latin America sovereigns at Fitch Ratings. "But depending on the trajectory of Fed rates, the door may be open to further rate cuts."(Updates with comments from Banxico in fifth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Rafael Gayol.To contact the reporter on this story: Nacha Cattan in Mexico City at ncattan@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, ;Walter Brandimarte at wbrandimarte@bloomberg.net, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Russian pilots land plane in cornfield, earn Kremlin praise Posted: 14 Aug 2019 09:58 PM PDT  Two Russian pilots safely landed an airliner carrying 233 people in a cornfield outside Moscow after striking a flock of birds, prompting the Kremlin to hail them as heroes who will receive top state awards. Russians have said it was a miracle that no one was killed when the Ural Airlines Airbus 321 came down in a field southeast of Moscow with its landing gear up after hitting a passing flock of gulls, disrupting the plane's engines. State television said the incident was being dubbed the "miracle over Ramensk", the name of the district near Moscow where the plane came down around one kilometer (0.62 miles) from Zhukovsky International Airport.
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| From D-Day to Nazi defeat: Marking World War II milestones Posted: 15 Aug 2019 01:08 AM PDT  For Allied troops in Europe, D-Day was just the beginning of a long and bloody push toward victory over the Nazis. Ten weeks after commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France is paying tribute this week to Allied troops involved in another major, but often overlooked, military operation: landings on the Mediterranean coast.
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| Iran's Khamenei meets Yemen rebels after blow for Saudi coalition Posted: 14 Aug 2019 12:57 AM PDT  Iran's supreme leader has held talks with a senior Yemeni rebel official just days after the long-running intervention against the rebels by its regional foes Saudi Arabia and the UAE suffered a major setback. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hosted Huthi rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam at his Tehran residence late Tuesday after southern separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates seized Yemen's second city Aden on Saturday. The defeat for President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's unionist supporters, who have been backed by Saudi Arabia, exposed the divergent ambitions of the key coalition partners and threatened to weaken their common struggle against the Huthis.
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