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☆ Opinion: Harry Belafonte lived in – and transformed – two worlds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Opinion Gene Seymour | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Gene Seymour Jeremy Freeman/CNNBut history, as it often does, had other ideas for Belafonte, who died April 25 at 96, having lived a long, full life as both entertainer and activist. The times he lived in paved a smoother way for him than the one faced by his mentor and hero Paul Robeson. On the other hand, there was, relatively speaking, only so much Belafonte could do on the entertainment side. Here, as elsewhere in Belafonte’s life, the activism and the entertainment sides of his public life worked in tandem to buttress, offset and enhance the other. Join us on Twitter and FacebookAnd in a gratifying sense, the push-pull of history’s demands worked in Belafonte’s favor as a screen actor.

CNN —Harry Belafonte, the dashing singer, actor and activist who became an indispensable supporter of the civil rights movement, has died, his publicist Ken Sunshine told CNN. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Belafonte, left, plays a school principal in a scene from the film "See How They Run" in 1952. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Belafonte poses with the Emmy Award he won in 1960 for the musical special "Tonight With Belafonte." Fred Sabine/NBCU/Getty Images Belafonte and other recipients of Albert Einstein Commemorative Awards display their medallions after being honored in 1972. He is survived by his wife Pamela, his children Adrienne Belafonte Biesemeyer, Shari Belafonte, Gina Belafonte, David Belafonte, two stepchildren Sarah Frank and Lindsey Frank and eight grandchildren.

☆ Hillary Clinton: Republicans’ Debt-Ceiling Games Threaten National Security - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Hillary Clinton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But during Democratic administrations, they have weaponized the debt ceiling to extort concessions, despite the danger of default. Congressional Republicans were refusing to raise the debt ceiling, and the prospect of a default was getting closer by the day. They peppered me with questions about the fight back home over the debt ceiling and what it would mean for the international economy. So I was not surprised when he, too, turned the conversation to the debt ceiling, barely containing his glee at our self-inflicted wound. “We could spend the next six hours talking about China’s domestic challenges,” I told Mr. Dai.

☆ The FTC Is Working With the EU to Hamstring U.S. Companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan Photo: Tom Williams/Zuma PressOnce upon a time U.S. officials tried to protect American companies from zealous foreign regulators. Not in the Biden Administration, where Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan is aiding and abetting foreign governments against U.S. business interests. Ms. Khan’s foreign collusion came up during a House hearing on Tuesday when she was grilled about recent revelations that her office is helping Europe target U.S. tech companies. She’s also trying to reduce protections for American multinationals in negotiations over the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

☆ Russia's private Wagner Group denies it is operating in Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] People gather outside PMC Wagner Centre, which is a project implemented by the businessman and founder of the Wagner private military group Yevgeny Prigozhin, during the official opening of the office block in Saint Petersburg, Russia, November 4, 2022. REUTERS/Igor Russak/File PhotoApril 19 (Reuters) - The Russian private military Wagner Group on Wednesday denied it was operating in Sudan and said it had nothing to do with battles rocking the giant impoverished African state. Western diplomats in Khartoum said in March 2022 that Wagner was involved in illicit gold mining in Sudan, among other activities. Sudan denied this was the case. Companies associated with Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin have no financial interests in Sudan, it added, saying the conflict was a purely internal Sudanese affair.

Stringer/ReutersThe RSF denied those reports, telling CNN in a statement that it “will never assault any UN staff or employees. Meanwhile, tense efforts to establish a ceasefire have ramped up, with the UN calling for rival factions to end their hostilities. Satellite imagery of the smoke plume at Khartoum International Airport on Sunday. The Sudanese Armed Forces later issued conflicting statements on a proposed 24-hour ceasefire, intended to go into effect later on Tuesday. Both sides had previously agreed to a three-hour ceasefire on Sunday, and again on Monday, with fighting resuming afterward, Perthes said.

☆ Arab foreign ministers discuss Syria crisis at Saudi meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Saudi Arabia hosts a meeting of foreign ministers from Iraq, Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to discuss Syria's return to the Arab League in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, April 14, 2023. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERSCAIRO, April 15 (Reuters) - Gulf Arab foreign ministers and their counterparts from Egypt, Iraq and Jordan discussed Syria's possible return to the Arab fold at a meeting in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The meeting, held in the city of Jeddah, was called by Saudi Arabia, amid a recent thaw in regional tensions, but ended without agreement, the statement said. However, Syria's broader normalisation with the Arab world remains a sensitive issue for several countries. Regional superpower Saudi Arabia, which has long resisted normalisation with Assad, said after a rapprochement with Iran, Syria's key regional ally, a new approach was needed with Damascus.

☆ Republican Mike Pompeo says he will not seek U.S. presidential nomination
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Tyler Clifford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 14 (Reuters) - Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday he will not enter the 2024 presidential race, which would have pitted him against his former boss Donald Trump for the Republican nomination. Pompeo, 59, said he decided with his wife that he would not be a candidate for the office due to personal reasons. Pompeo also initially backed Trump's false claims of a stolen presidential election following his 2020 defeat to Democrat Joe Biden, though Pompeo eventually cooperated with the incoming administration. With Pompeo out, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is the lone Trump administration official to announce she will challenge the former president. Among other possible Republican primary candidates are Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence.

☆ Regional ministers to discuss Syria's return to Arab fold in Saudi Arabia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Flags are seen ahead of the Arab League Summit in Algiers, Algeria November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Ramzi BoudinaDOHA, April 11 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will host a meeting of regional foreign ministers on Friday to discuss Syria's return to the Arab League, a Qatari official said on Tuesday, adding that an "Arab consensus" plus a "change on the ground" would shift Qatar's position. The GCC includes Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. Saudi Arabia plans to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the Arab League summit Riyadh is scheduled to host on May 19, sources have told Reuters. Assad's attendance would mark the most significant development in his rehabilitation within the Arab world since 2011, when Syria was suspended from the Arab League.

☆ Video catches moment Putin's speech met with awkward silence as he appears to wait for applause that never comes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Vladimir Putin addressed a group of ambassadors at a speech at the Kremlin. He appears to look around expecting applause, but is instead met with awkward silence. In the speech Putin blamed the US for the Ukraine conflict as the US ambassador awkwardly looked on. As the Russian leader finished his speech at a televised ceremony of ambassadors on Wednesday, he looked around the room as an awkward silence followed. The video was widely shared on social media, including by Ukrainian official Anton Gerashchenko, who noted that "no one applauded" following the speech.

☆ Bill Clinton says he feels 'terrible' for pushing a 1994 agreement with Russia that resulted in Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Azmi Haroun | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Bill Clinton expressed regret for his role in a 1994 agreement between Russia, Ukraine and the US. The agreement saw Ukraine give up nuclear weapons left over from the fall of the Soviet Union. Clinton said that if Ukraine still had the weapons, Russia would not have invaded. "I feel a personal stake because I got them [Ukraine] to agree to give up their nuclear weapons," Clinton said. "A great deal had to do with the risks of proliferation and the challenges of keeping nuclear weapons secure," Miles said.

Gamal Roshdy, spokesperson for the Arab League secretary general, said the organisation is not privy to every move on the bilateral level between Arab countries. Assad's attendance at an Arab League summit would mark the most significant development in his rehabilitation within the Arab world since 2011, when Syria was suspended from the organisation. The Saudi foreign ministry did not confirm an agreement was reached but said it was in talks with the Syrian foreign ministry to resume consular services. Arab League heavyweight Egypt has also resumed contacts with Assad. An Egyptian security source told Reuters the visit was aimed at putting in place steps for Syria's return to the Arab League through Egyptian and Saudi mediation.

☆ An accused Russian spy boasted that infiltrating the US was easy. He's now in prison after getting caught with files that blew his cover.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Secret messages from court documents give a look into the wild life of an accused Russian spy. The DOJ accuses Sergey Cherkasov of operating undercover in the US, and got a cache of his messages. A screengrab of a message sent by Sergey Cherkasov, whom them US accuses of being a Russian spy. A screengrab of a message sent by Sergey Cherkasov, whom them US accuses of being a Russian spy. The DOJ accuses Cherkasov of acting as an unregistered foreign agent, using false documents, and lying to officials.

☆ Factbox: Putin, quoting Confucius, heaps praise on Xi
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Both countries pursue an independent and autonomous foreign policy, and consider relations between China and Russia as one of the main priorities in diplomacy." "China and Russia adhere to the concept of eternal friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation." - Xi said he and Putin have met more than 40 times at different venues. - Putin speaks about the 'Power of Siberia' gas pipeline from Russia to China as the "deal of the century". - Putin said oil and coal deliveries had grown and that Russia is helping to build new nuclear power reactors in China.

☆ Syria's Assad arrives in United Arab Emirates in official visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Syria's President Bashar al-Assad meets with President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates March 19, 2023. Hamad Al Kaabi/UAE Presidential Court/Handout via REUTERSDUBAI, March 19 (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al Assad arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday for an official visit, accompanied by his wife Asma al Assad, at a time when more Arab states have signalled openness to easing the isolation of Damascus. "We held constructive talks aimed at developing relations between our two countries," Sheikh Mohammed later said in a Twitter post. The Syrian presidency said Asma al Assad, on her first known official visit abroad with Assad since 2011, would meet with Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak who is the Emirati president's mother and regarded in the UAE as the "Mother of the Nation". Saudi Arabia, Qatar and, to a lesser extent the UAE, once backed rebels against Assad.

☆ Ron DeSantis was invited to Ukraine to gain a 'deeper understanding' of the war after the Florida governor called Russia's full-scale invasion a 'territorial dispute'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ron DeSantis called Russia's year-long war in Ukraine a 'territorial dispute,' on Monday. On Tuesday, Ukraine's foreign ministry invited DeSantis to see the situation on the ground himself. Ron DeSantis to visit the war-torn country after DeSantis reduced Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor to a "territorial dispute," earlier this week. DeSantis' comments came via a statement sent to Fox News on Monday where he said that Russia's war in Ukraine was not a "vital interest." The next day, Ukraine foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko pushed back against DeSantis' comments and extended an offer, per the BBC.

☆ Dozens of Senate Republicans oppose overturning the law that made the disastrous 2003 Iraq invasion possible
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Bryan Metzger | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Senate began the process on Thursday to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Iraq War AUMFs. "It should be easy to remove," quipped Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a supporter of repeal. "I don't want to do anything that reduces the President's ability to kill somebody like Soleimani," said Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. For Sen. Paul, repealing the Iraq War AUMFs — which he called "symbolic" — isn't going far enough. The 2001 AUMF opened the door for the invasion of Afghanistan, launching the longest war in US history.

☆ Factbox: Jehovah's Witnesses: some facts about their history and community in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, March 10 (Reuters) - Here are some facts about the Jehovah's Witnesses and their community in Germany, shaken by a mass shooting at a Jehovah's Witness hall in Hamburg on Thursday. - The first German branch was founded in 1902 in Elberfeld in west Germany - before the "Watch Tower Society" was renamed Jehovah's Witnesses. - Jehovah's Witnesses have struggled to have their beliefs and practices accepted in some parts of the world. - Jehovah's Witnesses were persecuted in Nazi Germany for their refusal to swear allegiance to the Nazi regime or join the military. On Dec. 25, 2022, a couple attempted arson with explosives at a Jehovah's Witness' Kingdom Hall in Thornton in the U.S. state of Colorado.

"Most luxury retailers don't think Hong Kong will return to the dizzy levels of 2014 when the market here peaked," said Simon Smith, Savills' senior director of research and consultancy in Hong Kong. Morgan Stanley (MS.N) forecast Hong Kong visitor numbers this year will reach just 70% of 2018 arrivals. It estimates retail sales will grow 15%, holding at around 80% of retail trade from the pre-COVID year. That outstripped total Hong Kong retail sales from a peak hit in 2013 at HK$494.5 billion ($63.0 billion), according to the city's statistics department. ($1 = 6.8510 yuan)($1 = 7.8498 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Farah Master, Jessie Pang, Anne Marie Roantree, Angel Woo and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong, Sophie Yu in Beijing, and Mimosa Spencer in Paris; Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US senators unveil bipartisan bill empowering Biden to ban TikTok and other services
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington CNN —A dozen US senators unveiled bipartisan legislation Tuesday expanding President Joe Biden’s legal authority to ban TikTok nationwide, marking the latest in a string of congressional proposals threatening the social media platform’s future in the United States. The legislation, called the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act, does not target TikTok specifically for a ban. In the case of TikTok, lawmakers have said China’s national security laws could force TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, to provide access to TikTok’s US user data. The bill specifically directs the Secretary of Commerce to “identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, investigate, or otherwise mitigate” national security risks associated with technology linked to those countries. But those have expanded to include makers of surveillance cameras and, more recently, apps and software makers such as TikTok.

☆ Reshoring is accelerating—These stocks should benefit as companies return to the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Reshoring declarations are amping up, as more companies look to return operations to the United States from overseas. Corporate reshoring announcements jumped 17% in the fourth quarter compared with the prior quarter and are now tracking nearly 300% higher than the fourth quarter of 2021, according to UBS. In fact, reshoring and foreign direct investments jobs reached a record of at least 360,000 jobs last year, according to the Reshoring Initiative. The move back to the U.S . can also be seen in corporate earnings, said Ron Graziano, managing director of global accounting and tax for Credit Suisse. The company's equipment is needed for big semiconductor manufacturing plants as companies test chips as they are produced, Snyder said.

☆ Democratic Sen. Cortez Masto urges FEC to require campaigns to send illegal contributions to Treasury
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., center, her husband Paul, and Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, are seen in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., is calling on the Federal Election Commission to require campaigns to send illegal campaign contributions to the U.S. Treasury instead of refunding the money to the original donor. Cortez Masto's call for the new FEC rule comes after numerous foreign donors and companies have been caught making illegal campaign donations. Still, as Cortez Masto points out, the fine could have limited impact on Zekelman as there is expected to be a full refund of the illegal contribution. Though Cortez Masto does not mention cryptocurrency exchange FTX or its co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried in her letter, his contributions to campaigns could come under the same scrutiny by the FEC if it enacted such a rule.

☆ Former bodyguard arrested over shooting of Afghan female ex-MP
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KABUL, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Afghan police have arrested the former bodyguard of a female member of parliament who was shot to death at her home in Kabul last month, the Taliban administration said on Friday. Gunmen killed Mursal Nabizada, a female lawmaker during the previous foreign-backed government, and her bodyguard in an attack on her home in mid-January. Police said they had arrested a former guard, who had confessed to the crime, but the motive was not clear. "Further investigations are underway to determine the factors and other aspects of the crime," Kabul police, who are run by the Taliban administration, said in a statement. Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

He added that a government committee was looking into adding secular subjects to madrasas alongside religious study, a development that hasn't been previously reported. Other students and teachers said Islamic education played an important role in their lives, though they hoped to be able to study secular subjects too. He didn't elaborate on the government's plans for religious schools. Reuters was unable to determine the current number of madrasas, and Taliban authorities have not provided figures. "There's deep-seated mistrust of the formal education sector, despite the fact that it too incorporates Islamic education."

☆ Trump and Kushner's Saudi Ties Are an Ethical Minefield: Watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Weeks after leaving office, Jared Kushner obtained a $2 billion investment from the Saudi government. The Saudi support came despite the kingdom's own financial advisers urging against any investment in Kushner's new company, citing the "inexperience" of its top brass. Let's start with Jared Kushner before we get into the LIV Golf situation. You have John Bolton, Trump's own national security advisor, making it very clear that you had somebody, like Jared — and President Trump, apparently — working to promote their business interests. Trump, not only did he keep his company, the Trump Organization, but he's a transactional president, right?

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