Sabtu, 14 Desember 2019
Boris Johnson calls for unity after landside victory - CBS This Morning
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2019-12-14 12:46:11Z
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North Korea conducts another test at long-range rocket site - Fox News
North Korea said Saturday that it successfully performed another “crucial test” at its long-range rocket launch site that will further strengthen its nuclear deterrent.
The test possibly involved technologies to improve intercontinental ballistic missiles that could potentially reach the continental United States.
The announcement comes as North Korea continues to pressure the Trump administration for major concessions as it approaches an end-of-year deadline set by leader Kim Jong Un to salvage faltering nuclear negotiations.
North Korea’s Academy of Defense Science did not specify what was tested on Friday. Just days earlier, the North said it conducted a “very important test” at the site on the country’s northwestern coast, prompting speculation that it involved a new engine for either an ICBM or a space launch vehicle.
KELLY CRAFT AT UN: NORTH KOREA MISSILE LAUNCHES 'RISK CLOSING THE DOOR' ON DIPLOMATIC PROGRESS
The announcement suggests that the country is preparing to do something to provoke the United States if Washington doesn’t back down and make concessions to ease sanctions and pressure on Pyongyang in deadlocked nuclear negotiations.
An unnamed spokesman for the academy said scientists received warm congratulations from members from the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee who attended the test that lasted from 10:41 to 10:48 p.m. Friday at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, where the North has conducted satellite launches and liquid-fuel missile engine tests in recent years.
In this March 6, 2019, file photo, people watch a TV screen showing an image of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in Tongchang-ri, North Korea, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea. North Korea on Saturday, Dec. 14, says it successfully performed another "crucial test" as its long-range rocket launch site that would further strengthen its "reliable strategic nuclear deterrent."The signs read: " North's Tongchang-ri launch site." (AP)
The spokesman said the successful outcome of the latest test, in addition to the one on Dec. 7, “will be applied to further bolster up the reliable strategic nuclear deterrent of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea,” referring to North Korea’s formal name.
Kim Dong-yub, a former South Korean military officer and currently an analyst from Seoul’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said the North mentioning its nuclear deterrent makes it clear it tested a new engine for an ICBM, not a satellite-launch vehicle. Kim said it was notable that North Korea announced the specific length of the test, which he said possibly signals a larger liquid-fuel ICBM engine.
North Korea’s current ICBMs, including the Hwasong-15, are built with first stages that are powered by a pair of engines that experts say are modeled after Russian designs. When the North first tested the engine in 2016, it said the test lasted for 200 seconds and demonstrated a thrust of 80 tons-force.
TRUMP A 'HEEDLESS AND ERRATIC OLD MAN', NORTH KOREA SAYS
The North Korean statement came a day before Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, was to arrive in South Korea for discussions with South Korean officials over the nuclear diplomacy. It was unclear whether Biegun would attempt contact with North Korean officials at the inter-Korean border, which has often been used as a diplomatic venue, or whether such an effort would be successful.
During a provocative run of weapons tests in 2017, Kim Jong Un conducted three flight tests of ICBMs that demonstrated potential range to reach deep into the U.S. mainland, raising tensions and triggering verbal warfare with President Donald Trump as they exchanged crude insults and threats of nuclear annihilation. Experts say that the North still needs to improve the missiles, such as ensuring that their warheads survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry, for them to be considered a viable threat.
Protesters wear masks of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, during a rally to denounce policies of Moon on North Korea near the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 13, 2019. (AP)
Relations between Kim and Trump became cozier in 2018 after Kim initiated diplomacy that led to their first summit in June that year in Singapore, where they issued a vague statement on a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, without describing when or how it would occur.
But negotiations faltered after the United States rejected North Korean demands for broad sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of the North’s nuclear capabilities at Kim’s second summit with Trump in Vietnam in February.
Trump and Kim met for a third time in June at the border between North and South Korea and agreed to resume talks. But an October working-level meeting in Sweden broke down over what the North Koreans described as the Americans’ “old stance and attitude.”
NORTH KOREA CONDUCTED 'VERY IMPORTANT TEST' AT SATELLITE LAUNCH FACILITY: STATE MEDIA
Kim, who unilaterally suspended nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests last year during talks with Washington and Seoul, has said North Korea could seek a “new path” if the United States persists with sanctions and pressure against the North.
North Korea has also conducted 13 rounds of ballistic missile and rocket artillery tests since May, and has hinted at lifting its moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests if the Trump administration fails to make substantial concessions before the new year.
Some experts doubt that Kim would revive the tensions of 2017 by restarting nuclear and ICBM tests, which would cross a metaphorical “red line” and risk shattering his hard-won diplomacy with Washington. They say Kim is likely to pressure Trump with military activities that pose less of a direct threat to the U.S. and by bolstering a united front with Beijing and Moscow. Both are the North's allies and have called for the U.N. Security Council to consider easing sanctions on Pyongyang to help nuclear negotiations move forward.
Saturday's news of the test came after U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft criticized the North’s ballistic testing activity during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday, saying that the tests were “deeply counterproductive” and risk closing the door on prospects for negotiating peace.
She also cited North Korean hints of “a resumption of serious provocations,” which she said would mean they could launch space vehicles using long-range ballistic missile technology or test ICBMs, “which are designed to attack the continental United States with nuclear weapons.”
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While Craft said that the Trump administration is “prepared to be flexible” and take concrete, parallel steps toward an agreement on resuming talks, North Korea described her comments as a “hostile provocation” and warned that Washington may have squandered its chance at salvaging the fragile nuclear diplomacy.
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2019-12-14 11:46:28Z
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Ousted Sudan President Omar al-Bashir sentenced to 2 years in correctional facility - CNN
The 75-year-old dictator will be sent to a correctional facility, as anyone over the age of 70 cannot go to prison under Sudanese law.
Bashir was still held in the maximum-security Kobar Prison while he faced these charges -- and will return there on Saturday as he faces another upcoming trial.
The former leader, who appeared in a metal cage inside a courtroom in the capital Khartoum, will next face a charge of plotting the 1989 coup that brought him to power.
Once this separate verdict is delivered, he will then serve the two-year correctional facility sentence handed down Saturday -- along with any additional sentences.
Bashir's defense team was escorted out of the courtroom ahead of Saturday's verdict, after it disrupted the judge, standing up and shouting "this is just politics," a CNN journalist at the trial reported.
Beyond those two cases, Bashir has not yet been charged with the 2019 crackdown that left scores of protesters dead and toppled his regime. If he is charged with the killings in that crackdown, Bashir could face the death penalty.
While Sudanese law prohibits anyone over 70 facing the death penalty, it could still be invoked in some particularly serious crimes, regardless of age.
Bashir was ousted in a military coup in April following a lengthy popular uprising.
Under his iron grip, an entire generation grew up in the shadow of war, where the threat of torture in infamous "ghost houses" was never far away, and press freedom nonexistent.
The dictator has been imprisoned in the same notorious Khartoum jail where generations of political dissidents were held under his three-decade rule.
Following his ouster, the Transitional Military Council (TMC) moved in, announcing a three-year transitional period.
But protesters continued their call for civilian rule.
Sudanese women played a pivotal role in the protest movement -- by some estimates accounting for up to 70% of demonstrators.
A CNN investigation earlier this year revealed that was a systematic attempt from soldiers to target female protesters, who were taken to secret detention sites, photographed naked, and in some cases raped.
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2019-12-14 11:34:00Z
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U.K. election: How Conservatives won Labour's 'red wall' heartlands - NBC News
BOLSOVER, England — Standing outside his local pub in this seemingly forgotten English town, John Puntis is discussing his family history. It's a story that goes some way to explain the earthquake that just reshaped the political landscape across the United Kingdom.
On Friday, the country awoke to Prime Minister Boris Johnson winning a resounding victory in the nationwide general election. His Conservative Party flipped dozens of seats that for decades had been considered untouchable bastions of the left-wing Labour Party.
That shift appears partly down to people like Puntis. Like his father and grandfather before him, he was once a diehard Labour-voting miner before the local coal pits closed in the 1980s.
This week he broke with family tradition and for the first time voted against Labour, a party once synonymous with working-class community spirit.
Switches like this helped his hometown of Bolsover stun the nation and elect its first Conservative Party lawmaker since the constituency was created in 1950. This trend repeated as the Conservatives proceeded to smash through Labour's "red wall" of stronghold working-class seats that once stretched from coast to coast.
"It's groundbreaking," Puntis, 61, said cheerfully, dressed in a red jacket on this chilly, grey morning around three hours' drive north of London. Speaking with a matter-of-fact but friendly manner about the election the night before, he explained, "I've always voted Labour before, but I’m pleased we have a Conservative member of Parliament because now we can get on with Brexit."
Almost all of these conquered Labour strongholds voted to leave the European Union in 2016. For many, that referendum was a proxy for other simmering grievances relating to immigration and the idea Europe had too much control over their lives.
In Bolsover, one of the least well-educated, least ethnically diverse constituencies in the country, some people say they feel forgotten by politicians in London. They are confused, frustrated and angry, some say, at why, after three years of debate and delay, Brexit still hasn't been delivered.
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To them, the simple Conservative campaign promise to "get Brexit done" appealed.
"I think most people here voted for Brexit rather than for the local candidate," said Chris Christopher, 34, who runs a fruit and vegetable shop on the town's main street. "It's still going to be a massive shock around here because we've been Labour for so long."
Many people in this deprived area appeared to have few qualms about voting for a Conservative Party responsible for a decade of punishing austerity cuts, which slashed budgets for police, housing, welfare and other services.
These policies have been "entrenching high levels of poverty and inflicting unnecessary misery in" the world's sixth richest country, according to the United Nations.
Johnson, a privately educated Oxford University graduate of immense privilege, has promised to inject cash and resources into these ailing systems — but several campaign promises have already been exposed as somewhat tenuous.
It was a dirty campaign blighted by tricks and untruths by all major parties but most notably the Conservatives. It appears to have paid off.
A few miles up the road, the constituency of Don Valley elected a Conservative for the first time since 1922. Great Grimsby turned blue after voting Labour since 1945. And even former Prime Minister Tony Blair's old seat of Sedgefield was swallowed up by the Conservative advance.
In Bolsover, the outgoing Labour lawmaker, Dennis Skinner, 87, has been in office since 1970.
His local and national notoriety can be measured in him having his own nickname, "the Beast of Bolsover." He represents the old Labour of industrialism and trade unions, rather than the modern party that's seen as speaking for urban college graduates with liberal social attitudes.
Skinner's supporters will point to his age and recent hip replacement surgery that meant he had a reduced presence on the campaign trail. He was defeated by Conservative Mark Fletcher.
Flipping these Labour strongholds was key to Johnson securing his party's biggest win since 1987. For Labour, the night was a catastrophe. Its veteran socialist leader, Jeremy Corbyn, led the party to its worst performance at a nationwide general election since the 1930s.
"I voted for Labour but I don't trust Jeremy Corbyn," said Karen Hepworth, 62, who runs a market stall selling knitwear in Bolsover's square. Labour's campaign policy was to renegotiate a new Brexit deal with the E.U. and put it back to the people for another vote.
"Why do we need another referendum?" Hepworth asked in exasperation, echoing a seemingly widespread dislike of the Labour leader in Bolsover that tracks with national polls.
Although the Conservative victory was unambiguous, there is uncertainty ahead for the U.K.
In Brexit, Johnson's next hurdle is negotiating new trade deals with the E.U., Washington and elsewhere. He has little time to strike these deals, opening the possibility that he may be forced into concessions that could anger the hard-line Brexiteer wing of his party.
Meanwhile, in Scotland and Northern Ireland, there were gains Friday for nationalist lawmakers who want to separate from the U.K. and, in Northern Ireland's case, reunite with the Irish Republic to the south.
In this sense, the vote will do little to dampen fears, or hope, depending on your perspective, that the U.K. might be in danger of breaking apart.
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2019-12-14 10:11:00Z
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North Korea says it conducted another 'crucial test' at missile site - CNN
It was not immediately clear what was tested, but the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the test would bolster North Korea's "reliable strategic nuclear deterrent."
The launch occurred at around 10:45 p.m. local time (8:45 a.m. ET) Friday, according to KCNA.
In a statement provided to CNN, South Korea's Ministry of Defense said it was working with United States intelligence agencies to monitor activity in areas of interest, but was unable to "confirm specifics."
News of the test follows a similar launch on December 7 that was labeled by North Korea as "very important."
"The research successes being registered by us in defense science one after another recently will be applied to further bolstering up the reliable strategic nuclear deterrent of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," KCNA said in a report Saturday.
Earlier this month, North Korea warned it would send the US a "Christmas gift," the contents of which would depend on the outcome of ongoing talks between Washington and Pyongyang.
In 2017, North Korea referred to its first test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as a "gift" for the US on the Fourth of July holiday. That launch sparked what became a tense, months-long standoff between the two sides.
North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations said last week that denuclearization was off the table in negotiations with the US, which he claimed had been a "time-saving trick" to benefit a "domestic political agenda."
Meanwhile, a satellite image obtained by CNN earlier this month indicates North Korea may be preparing to resume testing engines used to power satellite launchers and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The commercial satellite imagery, which was captured by Planet Labs, showed new activity at Sohae Satellite Launching Station and the presence of a large shipping container at the facility's engine test stand, according Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute, which works in partnership with the imaging company.
While engine tests are considered to be less provocative than those involving missiles or satellites, Lewis said that the activity at Sohae is a significant development and a step toward weapons launches of a more threatening nature.
In November, North Korea fired two projectiles that were "presumed to be fired from a super-large caliber multiple rocket launcher," South Korean army officials said.
The uptick in weapons testing comes amid increasing friction between North Korea and its main adversaries, South Korea and the United States. Nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been at an impasse for weeks, and North Korea recently stated it is no longer interested in holding talks with the US.
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un revived their war of words last week. A senior member of the North Korean government again described Trump as a "dotard" after the US President called Kim "Rocket Man."
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2019-12-14 08:04:00Z
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Jumat, 13 Desember 2019
China to hold press briefing Friday, ending silence on 'phase one' trade deal - CNBC
China has been uncharacteristically quiet ever since news broke that the U.S. had agreed to a phase one trade deal in principle with the Chinese. But that will change soon on Friday.
Chinese officials are set to hold a press conference regarding the trade talks on Friday, at 10:30 pm Beijing time.
A notice to reporters said China will discuss "issues on relevant progress of China-US economic and trade consultation."
Stock futures were higher, but gains were capped as traders awaited a firmer confirmation from the Chinese side.
The deal agreed to in principle by the U.S., which Trump has reportedly signed off on, would delay another round of duties set to kick in on Sunday. It would also slash some existing tariffs in half.
This comes as CNBC's Eunice Yoon learned through a source that China has concerns regarding hard targets the U.S. is pushing for in terms of agricultural purchases. China has committed to buying $40 billion in agricultural products. President Donald Trump, however, wanted a number closer to $50 billion.
The source told Yoon that China is afraid those purchases could put them in conflict with other trading partners. There is also concern that Trump could eventually reimpose tariffs on Chinese goods despite a phase one deal being signed.
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Global Times who seems to have inside knowledge of the trade war, said the trade talks "have moved a step forward, but how to define this step, and what real significance does it have, the answers lie in joint efforts of China and the U.S." Hu's Twitter account has been followed by many Wall Street traders and market participants for insight on the trade battle.
In an earlier Tweet, Hu said it's "a delicate situation."
In a regular press briefing Friday, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said the Chinese "always insist consultations must be based on the principles of equality and mutual respect, and agreements must be mutually beneficial and win-win." She didn't elaborate further on the limited deal.
China's foreign minister Wang Yi, in a speech Friday at an annual symposium in Beijing on international affairs, said the U.S. and China should find a way to "coexist peacefully," adding that there are "deep-level issues" that need to be resolved. He didn't mention the phase one deal.
Stocks around the world rose globally on Friday amid hopes both sides will move forward with the deal. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures traded more than 100 points higher. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 index was up more than 1.5%. Japan's Nikkei surged 2.6% while the Shanghai Composite jumped 1.8%.
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2019-12-13 12:48:00Z
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Boris Johnson vows to resolve Brexit by Jan 31, European markets hit record high after Conservative sweep - Fox News
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed on Friday morning to “get Brexit done” by Jan. 31, 2020 with “no ifs, no buts, no maybes,” following his Conservative Party’s landslide victory in the country’s general election.
TRUMP CONGRATULATES UK'S JOHNSON AFTER HISTORIC WINS, HINTS AT NEW TRADE DEAL
A sudden burst in London-listed companies brought European markets to record peaks early Friday, Reuters reported, as investors celebrated the probable end of more than three-and-a-half years of political turmoil in Britain once the United Kingdom settles on a deal to leave the European Union.
“This election means that getting Brexit done is now the irrefutable, irresistible unarguable decision of the British people. With this election, I think we put an end to all those miserable threats of a second referendum,” Johnson told supporters.
“In this election, your voices have been heard and it’s about time too because we politicians have squandered this three years in squabbles about Brexit,” he continued. “I will put an end to all of that nonsense and we will get Brexit done on time by the 31st of January. No ifs, no buts, no maybes. Leaving the European Union as one United Kingdom, taking back control of our laws, borders, money, our trade, immigration system, delivering on the democratic mandate of the people.”
Johnson also promised that his Conservative Party’s top priority is to massively increase investments in the National Health Service and “make this country the cleanest, greenest on Earth with our far-reaching environmental program.” “You voted to be carbon neutral by 2015 and you also voted to be Corbyn neutral by Christmas and we’ll do that, too,” he said.
The prime minister is scheduled to meet with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, where she will formally ask him to form a new government in her name. President Trump also tweeted his support for Johnson after his victory, hinting that “Britain and the United States will now be free to strike a massive new Trade Deal after BREXIT.”
Labour Party Chairman Ian Lavery told the BBC that he believes his party’s decision to support a second referendum on Brexit ultimately established distrust with voters, ultimately pushing them to put their faith in the Conservative Party at the ballot box in 2019.
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“The fact that we went for a second referendum is the real issue in the Labour party. People feel like there’s a lack of trust, people feel like they are let down,” Lavery said.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron also congratulated Johnson, saying that election result "gives us a very strong and decisive government."
The Conservative Party won 43.6 percent of the popular vote compared to the Labour Party’s 32.2 percent following Thursday night’s election. The Tories won by an 11.3 margin, the largest for the Conservatives since 1987. This compares to 2017, when the Labour Party lost the popular vote by only 2.4 percent.
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2019-12-13 11:49:15Z
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