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Sabtu, 14 September 2019

Drone Strikes Spark Fires at Saudi Oil Facilities - The Wall Street Journal

Smoke billowing after a fire at a Saudi Aramco factory in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, on... — Smoke billowing after a fire at a Saudi Aramco factory in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday. Photo: Videos obtained by Reuters/Reuters

Jared Malsin and

Jared Malsin

The Wall Street Journal

Biography
@jmalsin
jared.malsin@wsj.com

Summer Said

The Wall Street Journal

Biography
@summer_said
summer.said@wsj.com

Updated Sept. 14, 2019 4:20 am ET

Drone strikes caused fires that raged at two facilities of Saudi Arabia’s vast state oil company, the country’s interior ministry said, in what Yemen’s Houthi rebels described as one of their largest-ever operations inside the kingdom.

The strikes mark the latest in a series of attacks on the country’s petroleum assets in recent months, as tensions rise among Iran and its proxies like the Houthis, and the U.S. and partners like Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have also claimed credit for drone attacks on Saudi pipelines, tankers and other infrastructure during a four-year war.

On Saturday morning, Saudi officials were investigating attacks on Aramco’s facility at Abqaiq in the kingdom’s Eastern Province and another at the Hijra Khurais oil field, the interior ministry said in a tweet.

Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or the national firm better known as Aramco, describes the Abqaiq oil-processing facility as the largest crude-oil stabilization plant in the world. Khurais is the home of the country’s second-largest oil field.

Saudi officials with knowledge of the attack described a confusing, still unfolding set of circumstances. The officials said multiple drones attacked the facilities.

One Aramco executive said Aramco compounds, where workers live, had been evacuated.

The Saudi interior ministry said the fires were under control. Published images of the fire at the Abqaiq facility showed what appeared to be a huge blaze along with plumes of smoke.

The Saudi government didn’t say who was behind the attack. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The Houthis took control of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, in 2014 during a civil war. Since then, a Saudi-led coalition has fought a war to unseat the Houthis and reinstate a government supported by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other regional powers.

Saudi Arabia and the U.S. say the Houthis are financed and armed by Iran, a charge that Tehran denies.

Drone and missiles launched by the Houthis have repeatedly struck inside Saudi Arabia in recent months, hitting airports and other civilian installations. At least one drone strike was launched from neighboring Iraq, according to U.S. officials.

Saudi and American officials have blamed Iran for targeting the kingdom’s oil infrastructure, including the use of mines to damage Saudi oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman in May.

Iran has denied striking Saudi targets or coordinating with Yemeni rebels to hit the kingdom’s oil equipment.

Disruptions in Saudi oil production could have ripple effects through the global economy, as the kingdom exports more crude petroleum than any other country.

Saudi officials have called for the international community to help protect its oil infrastructure.

Recently reimposed U.S. sanctions on Tehran have crippled its oil industry and sent its economy into a tailspin, raising fears of a broader conflict in the Middle East. The U.S. action came after President Trump pulled out of a 2015 international deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program, saying it didn’t go far enough to rein in Tehran’s regional ambitions.

Write to Jared Malsin at jared.malsin@wsj.com and Summer Said at summer.said@wsj.com

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/drone-strikes-spark-fires-at-saudi-oil-facilities-11568443375

2019-09-14 08:20:00Z
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Drone Strikes Spark Fires at Saudi Oil Facilities - The Wall Street Journal

Jared Malsin

The Wall Street Journal

Biography
@jmalsin
jared.malsin@wsj.com

Updated Sept. 14, 2019 3:03 am ET

Drone strikes caused fires at two facilities of Saudi Arabia’s vast state oil company early Saturday, the kingdom’s interior ministry said, marking the latest in a series of attacks on the country’s petroleum assets in recent months.

Authorities were investigating the strikes on Aramco’s facility at Abqaiq in the kingdom’s Eastern Province and another at the Hijra Khurais oil field, the interior ministry said in a tweet.

The ministry said the fires were under control.

Published images of the fire at the Abqaiq facility showed what appeared to be a huge blaze along with plumes of smoke.

Saudi officials with knowledge of the attack described a confusing, still-unfolding set of circumstances. The officials said multiple drones attacked the facilities.

One Aramco executive said company compounds, where workers live, had been evacuated.

The Saudi government didn’t say who was behind the attack, and there was no immediate claim of responsibility. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Saudi Arabia’s oil pipelines, tankers, and other infrastructure have come under attack in recent months amid a broader regional crisis with neighboring Iran.

Drone and missiles launched by Iranian-allied rebels in Yemen have repeatedly struck inside Saudi Arabia in recent months, hitting airports and other civilian installations. At least one drone strike was launched from neighboring Iraq, according to U.S. officials.

Saudi and American officials have blamed Iran for targeting the kingdom’s oil infrastructure, including the use of mines to damage Saudi oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman in May.

Iran has denied striking Saudi targets or coordinating with Yemeni rebels to hit the kingdom’s oil equipment.

Disruptions in Saudi oil production could have ripple effects through the global economy, as the kingdom exports more crude petroleum than any other country.

Saudi officials have called for the international community to help protect its oil infrastructure.

—Summer Said contributed to this article.

Write to Jared Malsin at jared.malsin@wsj.com

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2019-09-14 06:42:00Z
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Tropical storm Humberto gets closer to the area devastated by a hurricane in northwestern Bahamas - CNN

The new storm system is expected to move "very near" those islands Saturday, bringing tropical-storm-force winds and heavy rainfall, the National Hurricane Center said. The Bahamas will likely see up to four inches of rain with some isolated areas getting up to six inches.

Humberto is not expected to produce significant storm surge in the northwestern Bahamas, the center said.

Regardless of wind strength, "there will be rain ... over (an) area that certainly doesn't need any rain," CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for the northwestern Bahamas, excluding Andros Island, the center said.

Heavy rainfall and flash flooding could also affect parts of eastern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina this weekend and early next week. Coastal areas from central Florida to South Carolina will see up to four inches of rain.

The "chance of heavy rainfall affecting coastal North Carolina early next week continues to diminish," the center said.

TRACK THE STORM

It's expected to become a hurricane

Humberto is expected to become a hurricane in two to three days as it gradually continues to strengthen, the hurricane center said.

Early Saturday, Humberto was churning at 40 mph and its high power winds extended 90 miles outward from its center.

Over the next few days, the storm will have a change in steering pattern that will cause it to slow down and turn northward off the east coast of Florida in 36 to 48 hours, according to the center.

"Since there is increasing confidence that the storm will remain well offshore of the coast of Florida, the tropical storm watch for that area has been discontinued," the center said.

Swells generated by the tropical storm are expected to increase and affect the coasts of central Florida to South Carolina through early next week. These swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, the center said.

The storm comes at the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season -- which is usually in the weeks surrounding September 10, when weather conditions favor storms forming quickly.

Bahamas grappling with devastation

Meanwhile, hundreds are still missing in the aftermath of the powerful Category 5 hurricane that smashed into the Abacos Islands and Grand Bahama this month.

The death toll stands at 50 but is expected to rise as search and rescue crews sift through the flattened neighborhoods.

"We are a nation in mourning," Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said in a statement. "The grief is unbearable following the devastating impact of Hurricane Dorian, which has left behind death, destruction and despair on Grand Bahama and Abaco, our second and third most populous islands."

About 3,900 evacuees have been processed through south Florida by air and sea so far, officials said.

The number includes US citizens, legal residents, Bahamians and people from other countries who evacuated the islands after the storm hit.

CNN's Derek Van Dam contributed to this report.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/14/us/tropical-storm-humberto-saturday-wxc/index.html

2019-09-14 05:36:00Z
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Jumat, 13 September 2019

Boris Johnson 'won't be deterred' from Brexit on 31 October - BBC News

Boris Johnson has said he "won't be deterred by anybody" from leaving the EU on 31 October.

The prime minister said he was "cautiously optimistic" of getting a Brexit deal, but the UK would leave by the deadline "whatever happens".

EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said he did not have "reasons to be optimistic" over getting a deal.

Mr Johnson will meet him and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Monday for talks.

The PM's comments come after Parliament passed a law forcing him to ask for an extension to Brexit.

Mr Johnson will have to write to the EU on 19 October to ask for an extra three months, unless he returns with a deal - then approved by MPs - or gets the Commons to back a no-deal Brexit.

But despite the new law, Mr Johnson said he would rather be "dead in a ditch" than ask for an extension.

MPs managed to pass the law before Parliament was suspended - or prorogued - in the early hours of Tuesday morning until 14 October.

Mr Johnson said the government had made the move so it could hold a Queen's Speech and put forward its new domestic policy agenda.

But opposition MPs claim it was to stop scrutiny in Parliament of his Brexit plans.

Earlier this week, a Scottish court ruled the prorogation was unlawful as it was motivated by an "improper purpose of stymieing Parliament".

The government is appealing against the decision and a ruling will be made by the Supreme Court in London on Tuesday.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49690613

2019-09-13 13:15:49Z
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'Why I'm using a drone to stop Heathrow flights' - BBC News

Environmental protesters are trying to use drones to bring flights to a halt at the UK's biggest airport, Heathrow, from Friday. Why are they taking this drastic step, and who will it affect?

"I find the whole prospect of potentially going to prison terrifying," Sylvia Dell tells the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme, regarding the threat she could soon face.

"But this issue is too important."

Ms Dell says she has already been arrested for taking part in previous climate change protests.

Now the retiree intends to fly a lightweight, toy drone within the three-mile (5km) no-fly zone surrounding Heathrow Airport, in a protest known as Heathrow Pause.

The aim is to bring attention to the environmental damage the planned third Heathrow runway could cause.

Ms Dell describes its construction as "sheer lunacy".

She decided to take action when one of her sons, aged 27, explained how angry he was that previous generations had done little to tackle global warming, and she remains resolute in her view that what she describes as "civil disobedience" can bring about change.

'Criminal activity'

The protests began on 13 September, but could stretch further.

Heathrow Pause said the airport would be given an hour's notice before all of the drone flights, which are planned at regular intervals to ensure "no aircraft flights will take place".

The Met Police has said it will "do everything in its power to stop and prevent any such criminal activity" and that the consequences of flying the drones are "potentially very severe".

But Ms Dell disputes this, saying she believes it is "perfectly safe" to fly the toy drones at head height, as planned, although she has no formal experience of piloting one.

Heathrow Airport has described the campaigners' plans in a statement as "criminal and counterproductive".

"We agree with the need to act on climate change", it said, adding: "This is a global issue that requires constructive engagement and action."

Ms Dell has said previous meetings with the Heathrow Aviation Authority, in her view, have proved ineffective.

She now wants the government to listen and take action - something she hopes these protests will achieve.

Arrests over Heathrow Airport drone protests

The Heathrow Pause organisers say the protests have been timed to disrupt mostly frequent flyers and those flying for business reasons.

But for some it may prove a step too far.

Despite sharing many of the same coordinators, the Extinction Rebellion group - from which Heathrow Pause is an offshoot - has said it is not backing the demonstration - although it does not condemn it.

It said in a statement: "It is clear that people in the movement have had different views around this proposed action and that tension has arisen from figuring out the most effective way to tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency we face."

One holiday-maker, Mussirah Moossun, told the BBC the actions of the campaigners were "selfish".

She is due to fly to Turkey to go on holiday with her mother, who has recently been ill.

"It feels like disrupting people in this way is a really negative way of making a point," she said.

"I do understand people are really passionate about their cause, but some people have to travel for really serious reasons."

Ms Moossun believes the protests "will annoy people more than it will make them understand the message".

"It will cause frustration when you want people to be positive about your cause," she added.

"I think the fact that Extinction Rebellion have distanced themselves from the protest really means they need to re-examine their tactics."

Morgan Perry, from Cardiff, also faces disruption.

He works for a tech firm and was due to fly back to Heathrow from San Francisco on Friday. Being unable to would mean missing work, and a loss of earnings.

He said he cares about protecting the environment, but has little alternative but to fly to get to places like the US.

"I've seen the protests from similar groups over the summer and I understand what the protest is trying to do, but from what I can see it doesn't lead to much change," he explained.

"These groups need to lobby corporations and governments instead."

Jonathan Fishwick, a window cleaner by trade, is set to fly a drone in the protests. He said he understood the group's actions may seem unnecessarily disruptive to some.

But he believes strongly in the need "to do what I think is right, and not what is popular".

"Our planet is heating up so fast that we won't be able to grow enough food - and history tells us when the food system collapses, society collapses," he said.

"For me personally this is about my conscience. It's so important for me to get the message out that we are in deep, deep trouble."

Both he and Ms Dell said they were fully aware they could go to prison for taking part. Both said they found that prospect "terrifying".

But for Ms Dell the risk has made her more determined.

"We're the fire alarm waking the public up [to the danger]," she said.

"If we get sent to prison, then what sort of world are we truly inhabiting?"

Follow the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme on Facebook and Twitter - and see more of our stories here.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-49636149

2019-09-13 10:50:45Z
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John Bercow vows to stop Johnson 'robbing a bank' with no-deal Brexit - CNN International

Bercow said he would allow Parliament to use "additional procedural creativity" to thwart any attempt to circumvent legislation.

His speech, at the annual Bingham lecture in London on Thursday, comes after a bill aimed at preventing a no-deal Brexit was made law Monday. Later that day, Parliament was suspended, or prorogued, for five weeks at Johnson's request.

But Johnson, who came to power on the promise that he would deliver Brexit by October 31, "do or die," has said he would rather be "dead in a ditch" than ask Europe for any delay. The new legislation compels him to do so if no deal is reached by October 19.

British politics is turning Trumpian because of Brexit

"One should no more refuse to request an extension of Article 50 because of what one might regard as the noble end of departing from the EU as soon as possible, than one could excuse robbing a bank on the basis that the cash stolen would be donated to a charitable cause immediately afterwards," Bercow said.

The Speaker announced on Monday that he will stand down by October 31 -- the day the UK is set to leave the European Union -- after a decade in the position.

Bercow said in his Thursday speech that it was "astonishing" that anyone entertained the idea of Johnson disobeying the law, as such a move "would be the most terrible example to set to the rest of society."

He said that if the government came close to ignoring the bill, Parliament "would want to cut off such a possibility and do so forcefully."

"If I have been remotely ambiguous so far, let me make myself crystal clear. The only form of Brexit that we have, whenever that might be, will be a Brexit that the House of Commons has explicitly endorsed," Bercow added.

He said that if "that demands additional procedural creativity in order to come to pass, it is a racing certainty that this will happen." Neither the "limitations of the existing rule book nor the ticking of the clock will stop it doing so," he continued.

Tough week

Bercow's speech added to another tough week for the Prime Minister, who rejected accusations Thursday that he lied to the Queen over his controversial prorogation of Parliament in the run-up to the Brexit deadline.

Johnson has always insisted that his decision was a routine move that allowed the government to start a new parliamentary session with a fresh legislative agenda. Critics describe it as an audacious ploy to reduce the amount of time available to the opposition to block a no-deal Brexit.

But the Prime Minister has faced a string of setbacks since he announced his intention to prorogue Parliament.

He has lost his working majority in Parliament and failed to secure a new election. He also ousted rebellious Conservative lawmakers, including former Cabinet ministers and Winston Churchill's grandson, after they voted against him on the legislation passed on Monday.

Boris Johnson says he didn't lie to the Queen over suspension of Parliament

On Wednesday, a Scottish court ruled that his government's advice to the Queen, which led to the five-week prorogation, was "unlawful."

According to the full ruling, released Thursday, one of the three judges said the suspension was motivated by the "improper purpose of stymying Parliament."

"There was, and is, no practical reason for a prorogation for what is, in modern times, an extraordinary length of time," Lord Carloway, Scotland's most senior judge, said.

The ruling paves the way for a showdown in the UK Supreme Court next week -- where judges will hear appeals on the Scottish case as well as an English challenge filed by prominent anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller.

Bercow added on Thursday that the chaos since the 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU has opened him to the idea that the UK may need a written constitution.

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https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/13/uk/john-bercow-boris-johnson-brexit-intl-gbr/index.html

2019-09-13 10:46:14Z
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Potential Tropical Storm Threatens Bahamas Rescue Efforts - The New York Times

A potential tropical storm is brewing in the Atlantic and by late Friday could threaten areas of the Bahamas recently devastated by Hurricane Dorian, forecasters warned.

The new storm is not expected to pack nearly the destructive power of Dorian, a Category 5 hurricane that killed at least 50 people and left widespread damage across the islands. But the storm could pose a challenge to rescuers, who were still searching for about 1,300 missing people as of Thursday.

At 2 a.m. Friday, the approaching storm system, packing sustained wind speeds of 30 miles per hour, was about 210 miles southeast of the hard-hit Abaco Islands, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was expected to gain strength and bring tropical storm-force winds — defined as sustained winds of 39 to 73 miles per hour — and heavy rainfall to the northwest Bahamas on Friday and Saturday, forecasters said. A tropical storm warning was in effect for much of the area.

Parts of Florida’s east coast could get tropical storm-force winds and heavy rain over the weekend, and residents were advised to monitor the storm’s progress. The storm was moving slowly as of Friday morning, at just three miles per hour, but forecasters expected it to gain speed through the weekend.

Significant storm surge was not expected, forecasters said. But parts of the Bahamas were expected to get three to five inches of rain, while the Florida coast through southeastern Georgia could get two to four inches.

The storm would be named Humberto if it becomes strong enough to be classified as the year’s ninth tropical storm. The National Hurricane Center said at 11 p.m. Thursday that it was 80 percent likely to reach that strength within 48 hours, and 90 percent likely within five days.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/13/world/americas/tropical-storm-bahamas-humberto.html

2019-09-13 10:00:00Z
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