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☆ Macron Moves to Declare State of Emergency in New Caledonia
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Emmanuel Macron of France convened a crisis meeting on Wednesday and moved to declare a state of emergency in New Caledonia after deadly riots in the semiautonomous French Pacific territory that has long sought independence. A vote in France’s Parliament approving the amendment on Tuesday ignited riots overnight that left three people dead. Mr. Macron met Wednesday with his Defense and National Security Council about the situation, according to a statement from his office. It said he had expressed “strong emotion” over the deaths and gratitude to French security forces. It also said he had requested that a state of emergency be declared for the territory at the afternoon cabinet meeting.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Macron Organizations: Defense, National Security Council Locations: France, New Caledonia

☆ New Caledonia: Why this French island in the Pacific is roiled by violence over a vote held 10,000 miles away
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Angus Watson | Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

France’s military has mobilized and flown in “four additional squadrons to restore order,” according to French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin. Macron will chair a defense and national security council on Wednesday, focusing on the violence, the presidential palace said. Others were equipped with larger rifles, firing bullets,” the French High commissioner to New Caledonia Louis Le Franc said. Theo Rouby/AFP/Getty ImagesFrench gendarme officers guard the entrance of the Vallee-du-Tir district, in Noumea, New Caledonia on May 14, 2024. FLNKS issued its own statement Wednesday both condemning the vote at the National Assembly and calling for an end to the violence.

Persons: Paris –, Gerald Darmanin, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Charles Wea, Louis Mapou, New Caledonia Louis Le Franc, Franc, RNZ, Theo Rouby, unfreeze, Gabriel Attal, “, ” Attal, FLNKS, “ FLNKS Organizations: CNN, New, New Caledonian, New Caledonia Louis, Radio New, Getty, Colonial, Noumea Accord, National Assembly, French, Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Locations: New Caledonia, Noumea, South Pacific, Australia, Fiji, Vanuatu, , New Caledonia, Pacific, Caribbean, Indian, France, Paris, China, United States, Radio New Zealand, Noumea , New Caledonia, AFP, Tir, White, Covid, Kanak

☆ Curfew Imposed Amid Protests in Pacific Territory of New Caledonia
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The authorities in New Caledonia, a semiautonomous French territory in the South Pacific, put a curfew in place on Tuesday and banned all public gatherings after protests against a proposed constitutional change turned violent overnight. France’s High Commission of the Republic in New Caledonia announced on Tuesday that a “massive mobilization” of security and defense forces has been sent to quell the protests. In addition, a curfew was imposed in the capital, Noumea, for Tuesday night, and all public gatherings were banned along with the sale of alcohol and the transportation of weapons, the High Commission said. The latest protests started on Monday, before a scheduled Tuesday vote in the French Parliament on a change to New Caledonia’s Constitution that would expand French citizens’ eligibility to vote in provincial elections. Some pro-independence activists in the territory fear the amendment would water down their movement.

Organizations: High Commission Locations: New Caledonia, South, France’s, Republic, Noumea

☆ Live Updates: Supreme Court Hears Trump’s Claim to ‘Absolute Immunity’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Adam Liptak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Political appointees in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel have declared that the Constitution implicitly establishes immunity for sitting presidents. But political appointees in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, whose interpretations are binding on the executive branch, have declared that the Constitution implicitly establishes such immunity. (That same month, Mr. Nixon had Mr. Cox fired in the so-called Saturday Night Massacre. Amid a political backlash, Mr. Nixon was forced to allow a new special counsel, Leon Jaworski, to resume the investigation.) Mr. Starr later said that he had concluded that he could indict Mr. Clinton.

Persons: Donald J, Robert G, Dixon Jr, Dixon, Richard M, Nixon, Archibald Cox, Nixon’s, Robert H, Bork, Cox, Leon Jaworski, Bill Clinton, Kenneth Starr, Monica Lewinsky, Randolph D, Moss, Department’s, Jaworski, Mr, Ronald Rotunda, Starr, Clinton, ”, Rotunda, ” Mr, Starr —, — Organizations: Justice Department’s, White, Justice Department, Justice Locations: Whitewater, “

☆ Widening Mideast Crisis Qatar Is Expected to Present Hamas With Deal for Pause in Fighting
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Edward Wong | Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Qatar is presenting the proposal to the political leaders of Hamas, who would convey it to the group’s military leaders, who would then send a response. During a seven-day pause in November, many people in those categories were among more than 100 hostages released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Hamas and other men from Gaza took about 240 people hostage in the terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, which also resulted in about 1,200 deaths, Israeli officials said. Hamas has tried to steer any diplomacy toward discussion of a permanent cease-fire, but Israeli leaders have balked at that. The Israeli officials were expected to speak to leaders in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv about the framework after returning there from Paris.

Persons: Antony J, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim, William J, Burns, Shin, Blinken, “, ” Sheikh Mohammed, Biden, Michael Crowley Organizations: Hamas, Central Intelligence Agency, Atlantic Council, New York Times, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Israel Locations: Qatar, Thani, Washington ., Gaza, Israel, United States, Paris, Egypt, Shin Bet, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Washington, Palestinian, Saudi Arabia, Saudi

☆ How Leaders and Diplomats Are Trying to End the Gaza War
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Patrick Kingsley | Edward Wong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Top officials from at least 10 different administrations are trying to forge a head-spinning set of deals to end the Gaza war and answer the divisive question of how the territory will be governed after the fighting stops. The narrowest set of major discussions is focused on reaching a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. This would involve the exchange of more than 100 Israeli hostages held by Hamas for a cease-fire and thousands of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails. A second track centers on reshaping the Palestinian Authority, the semiautonomous body that administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. American and Arab officials are discussing overhauling the leadership of the authority and having it take control of Gaza after the war ends, assuming power from Israel and Hamas.

Organizations: Hamas, Palestinian Authority, West Bank ., Saudi Locations: Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Saudi Arabia

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Somalia’s maritime police force on Thursday intensified patrols in the Red Sea following a failed pirate hijacking of a ship in the Gulf of Aden earlier this week. That is the first in many years and has led the Somali government to appeal for International support to deter a resurgence of piracy in the Horn of Africa. No assistance from the African Union Mission in Somalia, the European Union or any international assistance. Somalia had for years been blighted by piracy, with the peak being 2011, when the U.N. says more than 160 attacks were recorded off the Somali coast. The incidents have declined drastically since then, however, largely due to the presence of American and allied navies in international waters.

Persons: Abdullahi Mohamed Ahmed, Mason, ” Mohamed Organizations: Associated Press, U.S, Liberian, Zodiac Maritime, American, Pentagon, Somali, African, Mission, European Union Locations: NAIROBI, Kenya, Gulf, Aden, semiautonomous, Puntland, Shabab, Yemen U.S, of Eden, Israel, Somali, Horn of Africa, Puntland State, Somalia

☆ Hyundai to Be First Automaker to Sell New Cars on Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Ryan Felton | Sean Mclain | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Giant touch screens. WSJ’s Joanna Stern took three of the leading cars on a road trip and then leased the best one. Photo illustration: Annie Zhao/The Wall Street JournalHyundai customers who want to skip going to a dealership will have a new option next year: shopping on Amazon.com . The South Korean automaker announced the move Thursday with Amazon at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Starting in 2024, U.S. auto dealers will be able to sell new vehicles on the tech company’s platform, making Hyundai the first automotive brand to offer such an option for customers.

Persons: Joanna Stern, Annie Zhao Organizations: Street, South Korean, Amazon, Los Angeles Auto, Hyundai

Even before the Hamas attacks, settler violence was hitting its highest levels since the United Nations began tracking it in the mid 2000s. According to U.N. figures, there used to be one incident of settler violence a day. The West Bank, which has been rocked by major uprisings before, feels primed to explode. Gaza and the West Bank are two separate areas that Israel captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Roughly half a million Jewish settlers live in the West Bank, alongside an estimated 2.7 million Palestinians.

Persons: ”, “, Israel, Naomi Kahn, ” “, “ I’m Organizations: West Bank, United Nations, Israel Defense Forces, Palestinian, Palestinian Authority Locations: Gaza, West, Israel

☆ Hong Kong’s Financial-Sector Feast Turns to Famine
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Jacky Wong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

China’s slowing economy could soon become a major talking point for U.S. companies as they begin to report third-quarter earnings. WSJ’s Dion Rabouin explains. Illustration: Elizabeth SmelovHong Kong’s lackluster stock market epitomizes the challenges that the city is grappling with—China’s economic slowdown, which looks increasingly structural, and Beijing’s tightened grip on the semiautonomous city. Neither issue looks likely to disappear soon, although China’s economy could improve a bit cyclically next year. Weak third-quarter results released Friday by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing —the market’s owner and operator—are the latest sign of how entrenched the city’s problems have become.

Persons: WSJ’s Dion Rabouin, Elizabeth Smelov Hong Organizations: Hong Kong Exchanges Locations: semiautonomous

☆ Tesla’s Price Cuts to Weigh on Third-Quarter Earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Rebecca Elliott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Giant touch screens. EVs have become computers on wheels. WSJ’s Joanna Stern took three of the leading cars on a road trip and then leased the best one. Photo illustration: Annie Zhao/The Wall Street JournalChief Executive Elon Musk is under pressure to show investors that he can keep Tesla ’s profit machine humming, after a disappointing third quarter in which its sales momentum slowed despite steep price cuts. The electric-car pioneer is set to report financial results for the July-to-September period after the markets close Wednesday.

Persons: Joanna Stern, Annie Zhao, Elon Musk, Tesla Organizations: Street

☆ Tesla’s Earnings Fall as Price Cuts Weigh on Profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Rebecca Elliott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Giant touch screens. EVs have become computers on wheels. WSJ’s Joanna Stern took three of the leading cars on a road trip and then leased the best one. Photo illustration: Annie Zhao/The Wall Street JournalTesla ’s profit tumbled 44% in the third quarter as the impact of steep price cuts across the company’s lineup continued to take a toll on the electric-car maker’s bottom line. Revenue was up 9% to $23.4 billion, lifted by higher vehicle deliveries compared to the same year-ago quarter.

Persons: Joanna Stern, Annie Zhao, Tesla Organizations: Revenue

Al-Jaber serves as the CEO of the state-run Abu Dhabi Oil Co., which has the capacity to pump 4 million barrels of crude oil a day and hopes to reach 5 million barrels a day. He also made the call to the annual Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, which brings together the largest players in the oil and gas industries. And al-Jaber himself has repeatedly said the world must rely on oil and gas for the near-term to bridge that gap. Though all smiles at Monday's conference, al-Jaber has acknowledged the withering criticism he's faced. Iraqi and regional Kurdish government officials did not immediately acknowledge the pipeline reopening, though Iraq's oil minister has said it was anticipated, without elaborating.

Persons: Sultan al, Jaber, al, Al, “, he's, it’s, ” al, Haitham, Ghais, Alparslan Bayraktar, ”, Bayraktar Organizations: United, United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi Oil Co, Abu, Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition, Conference, Brent, United Arab, Turkish Energy, Kurdish Locations: ABU DHABI, United Arab, United Nations, Abu, Abu Dhabi, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Jaber, OPEC, Iraqi, Turkish, Turkey, Ceyhan

☆ A Luxury Cruise Ship Is Stuck Off Greenland’s Coast
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Eduardo Medina | More About Eduardo Medina | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A luxury cruise ship carrying 206 passengers and crew members has been stuck in the cold northern waters of Greenland since Monday after it ran aground. The ship — named the Ocean Explorer and operated by Aurora Expeditions, a cruise company based in Australia — had been traveling toward Alpefjord, which is in a remote corner of Greenland. Its destination was the Northeast Greenland National Park, which is the northernmost national park in the world and is home to icebergs, glaciers and high mountains. The Joint Arctic Command, which is part of Denmark’s defense forces, said on Facebook on Tuesday that there were no injuries on board the Ocean Explorer and that there is no threat to the environment. On Wednesday, a fishing research vessel owned by the government of Greenland tried unsuccessfully to pull the Ocean Explorer at high tide.

Persons: —, Australia — Organizations: Ocean, Aurora Expeditions, Northeast, Arctic Command, Facebook Locations: Greenland, Australia, Alpefjord, Northeast Greenland, Denmark

☆ NATO Isn’t Really About Defense, and It Never Was - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Grey Anderson | Thomas Meaney | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

In the realm of defense, the alliance was not as advertised. The war in Ukraine, for all the talk of Europe stepping up, has left that asymmetry essentially untouched. Far from a costly charity program, NATO secures American influence in Europe on the cheap. Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, roughly half of European military spending went to American manufacturers. Yet already there are signs that NATO is making headway in getting Europe to follow its lead in the theater.

Persons: — Organizations: NATO, European Union, U.S . Locations: Czech Republic, Prague, United States, Ukraine, Europe, U.S, Brussels, American, America, Washington, Germany, China, South China

☆ William Byrd: An Essential English Composer for Four Centuries
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Hugh Morris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It was not a conventional chapel, Johnstone noted, but a semiautonomous corporation of musicians in service of the monarch. The Chapel Royal also brought Byrd into contact with its then-organist, Thomas Tallis, who became his teacher and mentor and later a collaborator. After studying with Tallis, in 1563, Byrd left to take up the post of organist and master of the choristers at Lincoln Cathedral. But the cathedral’s governing chapter disapproved of Byrd’s organ playing and suspended his salary was suspended in 1569. And support for Byrd’s burgeoning career came from both England’s extant Catholic establishment and the queen herself.

Persons: Johnstone, Byrd, Thomas Tallis, Tallis, Lincoln “, ” Johnstone, ” Phillips, “, wasn’t, Queen Elizabeth I, John Dowland, John Bull, Richard Dering, Byrd didn’t, ”, Elizabeth Organizations: Royal, Lincoln Cathedral, Catholic, Chapel Royal Locations: Lincoln

☆ Peace, love, and Hitler: How Lex Fridman's podcast became a safe space for the anti-woke tech elite
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

Seemingly overnight, episodes of Fridman's podcast began racking up millions of views. YouTube/Lex FridmanIn his podcast, Fridman asks world-renowned scientists, historians, artists, and engineers a series of wide-eyed questions ("Who is God? But recently, "The Lex Fridman Podcast" has become a haven for a growing — and powerful — sector looking to dismantle years of "wokeness" and cancel culture. Twitter"The Lex Fridman Podcast" offered a rare opportunity to listen to four-hour conversations with luminaries of tech and science. Bhaskar Sunkara, the founder and publisher of the socialist magazine Jacobin who appeared on Fridman's podcast in December, praised Fridman's interviewing style.

☆ Iraqi Oil-Pipeline Closure Supports Global Crude Prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Benoit Faucon | Joe Wallace | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An oil well northwest of Kirkuk, Iraq. Oil exports through a vital pipeline account for the bulk of the economy in Iraqi Kurdistan. The closure of a vital oil pipeline in northern Iraq is bolstering international prices and threatens supplies in European countries hunting for alternatives to Russian crude. Producers including Norway’s DNO ASA, London-listed Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. and Dallas-based HKN Energy Ltd. say they have either started to shut wells in semiautonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, or will soon do so if the blockage doesn’t free up. They lost access to the pipeline after the federal Iraqi government said last weekend it had won a long-running arbitration case against Turkey over control of Kurdish crude exports.

☆ China's parliament approves changes to speed up 'emergency' laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Laurie Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The amendment to the Legislation Law, which governs how laws are enacted, gives the highest body of the national parliament, the roughly 170-member National People's Congress Standing Committee, special powers to pass laws after just one review session. Three years ago, China imposed a national security law on the semiautonomous city of Hong Kong, criminalising a broad range of vaguely defined offences intended to stifle dissent. China has repeatedly brushed off criticism of the law, saying it protects Hong Kong residents' freedoms and only targets a small minority of "criminals" who "endanger national security". The latest draft of the law, published March 5, did not define what constitutes an emergency situation. Reporting by Ryan Woo and Laurie Chen; Editing by Tom Hogue and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: What to look for at China's NPC meeting of parliament
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Laurie Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Besides meeting annually to deliberate legislation and appoint government personnel, it oversees the State Council, China's cabinet. Its top body, the roughly 170-member NPC Standing Committee, meets more frequently to pass legislation. The Standing Committee also has the power to amend semiautonomous Hong Kong's mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law. The NPC will also appoint top government positions including vice president, NPC chair, vice premiers, state councillors, head of the Supreme Court and ministers. Several NPC and CPPCC delegates have put forth policy proposals in recent days, with China's historically low fertility rate a hot topic.

☆ Factbox: What to look for as China kicks off its annual session of parliament
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Laurie Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Besides meeting annually to deliberate legislation and appoint government personnel, it oversees the State Council, China's cabinet. Its top body, the roughly 170-member NPC Standing Committee, meets more frequently to pass legislation. The Standing Committee also has the power to amend semiautonomous Hong Kong's mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law. The NPC will also appoint top government positions including vice president, NPC chair, vice premiers, state councillors, head of the Supreme Court and ministers. China will announce its central and local government budgets, military spending budget and economic growth target on the opening day of the NPC.

☆ Disney drops 'Simpsons' episode in Hong Kong in which character references 'forced labor camps' in China, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Disney dropped a "Simpsons" episode from its streaming service in Hong Kong, the FT first reported. Another Simpsons episode, referring to the Tiananmen Square massacre, was cut in Hong Kong in 2021. Beijing has sought to exert greater control over Hong Kong, a semiautonomous region of China, since pro-democracy protests erupted there in 2019. It's been accused among other things of conducting forced labor, surveillance, forced sterilization, and setting up re-education camps. Disney cut another episode of The Simpsons from its streaming service in Hong Kong in 2021.

☆ Hong Kong Police Arrest Six for Sedition in Fresh Crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Selina Cheng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Mong Kok is a bustling shopping district that is especially busy during the run-up to the Lunar New Year holiday. .HONG KONG—Authorities here arrested six people for sedition in a raid on a market selling pro-democracy books, trinkets and souvenirs, signaling there will be no letup in the crackdown on dissent in the city. The raid, the biggest since April, came just days after the city’s national security chief was named by Beijing as its top representative in the semiautonomous city. It also followed a warning by Hong Kong leader John Lee that foreign forces were still at work in the city, which was roiled by antigovernment protests in 2019 and early 2020.

☆ Cardinal Joseph Zen Convicted by Hong Kong Court in Crackdown on Dissent
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Elaine Yu | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—Retired bishop and longtime Hong Kong democracy advocate Cardinal Joseph Zen was convicted of failing to register a fund providing aid to antigovernment protesters, the latest court verdict in a continuing crackdown on dissent in the city. The 90-year-old cardinal, along with other prominent activists including local pop singer Denise Ho and veteran barrister Margaret Ng, didn’t file paperwork for the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, a court ruled Friday. The now-defunct fund offered financial and legal assistance to people arrested during the protests that convulsed the city from 2019 up until China’s imposition of a sweeping national security law on the semiautonomous territory the following summer.

☆ Europe's militaries have been working together for years to keep an eye on what Russia is up to at sea
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Nord Stream pipeline sabotage in September drew new attention to maritime threats in Europe. European militaries have already been working on new ways to protect undersea infrastructure. Although the pipelines were not in use— Nord Stream 1 was shut down in March by EU sanctions against Russia, and Nord Stream 2 wasn't yet operational—the incident highlights the risks to underwater infrastructure. Even before the war in Ukraine, Western officials had grown worried about increasing activity by Russian ships and submarines around underwater cables crossing the Atlantic. "Russia is clearly taking an interest in NATO and NATO nations' undersea infrastructure," the admiral said at the time.

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