У Єгипті поліція провела рейди на бази збройних екстремістів. Представник єгипетського МВС заявив, що в результаті рейдів вбито 40 осіб.
Операції проводили вранці в суботу в районі Гізи і на півночі Синайського півострова. У Гізі були вбиті 30 екстремістів, в Ель-Аріші – десять.
У міністерстві заявили, що екстремісти готували напади на місця скупчення туристів, на церкви і військовослужбовців.
28 грудня у місті Гіза було підірвано туристичний автобус. Загинули троє громадян В’єтнаму і єгипетський гід. Напад стався в районі Харам.
Прем’єр-міністр Єгипту заявив, що автобус відхилився від маршруту, не попередивши про це органи безпеки. Водій автобуса, однак, відкидає цю версію. Це стало першим нападом на туристів в Єгипті за більш ніж річний період.
В Єгипті ці місяці – пік туристичного сезону. Коптська християнська меншість готується зустріти православне Різдво 7 січня.
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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter on Saturday that he had a “long and very good call” with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that a possible trade deal between the United States and China was progressing well.
As a partial shutdown of the U.S. government entered its eighth day, with no quick end in sight, the Republican president was in Washington, sending out tweets attacking Democrats and talking up possibly improved relations with China.
The two nations have been in a trade war for much of 2018 that has seen the flow of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods between the world’s two largest economies disrupted by tariffs.
Trump and Xi agreed to a ceasefire in the trade war, agreeing to hold off on imposing more tariffs for 90 days starting Dec. 1 while they negotiate a deal to end the dispute following months of escalating tensions.
“Just had a long and very good call with President Xi of China,” Trump wrote. “Deal is moving along very well. If made, it will be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute. Big progress being made!” Chinese state media also said Xi and Trump spoke on Saturday, and quoted Xi as saying that teams from both countries have been working to implement a consensus reached with Trump.
Chinese media also quoted Xi as saying that he hopes both sides can meet each other half way and reach an agreement that is mutually beneficial as soon as possible.
Having canceled his plans to travel to his estate in Florida for the holidays because of the government shutdown that started on Dec. 22, Trump tweeted, “I am in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come on over and make a deal.”
The Republican-controlled Congress was closed for the weekend and few lawmakers were in the capital.
The shutdown, affecting about one-quarter of the federal government including 800,000 or so workers, began when funding for several agencies expired.
Congress must pass legislation to restore that funding, but has not done so due to a dispute over Trump’s demand that the bill include $5 billion in taxpayer money to help pay for a wall he wants to build along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Туреччина і Росія домовилися координувати дії «на місцях» у Сирії після виведення американських військ, заявив 29 грудня міністр закордонних справ Росії Сергій Лавров після зустрічі з турецькою делегацією в Москві.
Туреччина і Росія мають спільну мету – очистити Сирію від усіх терористичних організацій, заявив після переговорів міністр закордонних справ Туреччини Мевлют Чавушоглу, повідомляє державне турецьке агентство «Анадолу». Чавушоглу також заявив, що Туреччина продовжуватиме тісну співпрацю з Іраном і Росією щодо Сирії та інших регіональних питань.
Президент США Дональд Трамп раніше цього місяця оголосив, що Вашингтон відкликає близько двох тисяч військовослужбовців США із Сирії. Це спричинило відставку міністра оборони Джеймса Меттіса, незгодного з цим рішенням.
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The end of 2018 seemed to signal good things to come for America’s farmers. Fresh off the passage of the farm bill, which reauthorized agriculture, conservation and safety net programs, the Agriculture Department last week announced a second round of direct payments to growers hardest hit by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.
Then parts of the government shut down.
The USDA in a statement issued last week assured farmers that checks would continue to go out during the first week of the shutdown. But direct payments for farmers who haven’t certified production, as well as farm loans and disaster assistance programs, will be put on hold beginning next week, and won’t start up again until the government reopens.
There is little chance of the government shutdown ending soon. Trump and Congress are no closer to reaching a deal over his demand for border wall money, and both sides say the impasse could drag well into January.
Although certain vital USDA programs will remain operational in the short term, that could change if the shutdown lasts for more than a few weeks.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, helps feed roughly 40 million Americans. According to the USDA, eligible recipients are guaranteed benefits through January. Other feeding programs, including WIC, which provides food aid and nutrition counseling for pregnant women, new mothers and children, and food distribution programs on Indian reservations, will continue on a local level, but additional federal funding won’t be provided. School lunch programs will continue through February.
USDA has earmarked about $9.5 billion in direct payments for growers of soybeans, corn, wheat, sorghum and other commodities most affected by tariffs. The first round of payments went out in September. The deadline to sign up for the second round of payments is January 15.
The impact of the shutdown, which began shortly before most federal workers were scheduled for a holiday break, started coming into focus by midweek.
About 420,000 employees are working without pay, while 380,000 are being forced to stay home. In the past, federal employees have been paid retroactively. But government contractors won’t get paid for hours they’ll lose staying home, causing problems for those who rely on hourly wages.
In anticipation of the financial bind many federal workers and contractors may soon find themselves in, the Office of Personnel Management offered some advice: haggle with landlords, creditors and mortgage companies for lower payments until the shutdown is over.
The shutdown also is affecting national parks, although unevenly: Some remain accessible with bare-bones staffing levels, some are operating with money from states or charitable groups, while others are locked off.
your ad hereIn his New Year’s message, U.N. Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres urges international cooperation to resolve the many dangers and divisions facing humanity.
As Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres carries the burdens of the world upon his shoulders. At the same time, he is expected to be the world’s cheer-leader-in-chief, reassuring nations that solutions to the world’s many problems are available.
He does not disappoint in either category. On the one hand, he wishes the world a happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year. On the other hand, he issues a stark warning about the many crises and risks threatening global stability and security.
Chief among these is climate change, which he says is moving faster than it can be controlled. But Guterres does not throw up his hands in despair. Rather, he notes work is moving ahead, albeit slowly, to confront this danger.
“The United Nations was able to bring countries together in Katowice to approve the Work Program for the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change,” Guterres said. “Now we need to increase ambition to beat this existential threat. It is time to seize our last best chance. It is time to stop uncontrolled and spiraling climate change.”
Guterres warns geo-political divisions are deepening, making conflicts more difficult to resolve. He says inequality is growing with only a handful of people owning most of the world’s wealth. He notes intolerance is on the rise.
Despite this grim picture, he sees reasons for hope. The U.N. chief finds chances for peace in Yemen and South Sudan are better than ever. He says a recently signed agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea is easing tensions between the two countries.
He says these and other hopeful developments show when international cooperation works, the world wins.
your ad hereThe dissolution of North Carolina’s elections board Friday injected further uncertainty into a still-undecided congressional race as a U.S. House Democratic leader rejected the idea of filling the seat until an investigation of ballot fraud allegations is complete.
Gov. Roy Cooper was met with Republican resistance after announcing he would appoint an interim Board of Elections after a three-judge state court panel ruled Thursday that the current board should disband at noon Friday. The Democrat’s move would fill the gap — and allow the board to proceed with a Jan. 11 evidentiary hearing about the 9th District congressional race — until a new law governing the statewide elections panel can take effect Jan. 31.
Amid the turmoil, incoming U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer issued a statement saying House Democrats won’t allow Republican Mark Harris to be sworn in next week because of the ongoing investigation.
“Given the now well-documented election fraud that took place in NC-09, Democrats would object to any attempt by Mr. Harris to be seated on January 3,” Hoyer said, adding that “the integrity of our democratic process outweighs concerns about the seat being vacant at the start of the new Congress.”
The U.S. Constitution states that the House is the judge of the elections of its members and the final arbiter of contests.
The state Elections Board has refused to certify the race between Harris and Democrat Dan McCready while it investigates absentee ballot irregularities in the district in the south-central part of the state. Harris holds a slim lead in unofficial results, but election officials are looking into criminal allegations against an operative hired by the Harris campaign.
Friday’s standoff was set in motion by the latest ruling from a state court that previously had found the elections board’s makeup unconstitutional after the Republican-controlled legislature altered the board in 2016. The court had ruled earlier this year to allow the board to remain in place until Friday while it investigates the congressional race. The latest ruling came as lawmakers enacted a new law Thursday to largely restore the board to how it operated before 2016.
Cooper started the process of rebuilding the elections board Friday by informing the state Democratic and Republican parties that he plans to create an interim panel with five members of the current elections board, unless he receives different picks from the state parties. The interim board would last until the new law takes effect Jan. 31.
He said he would appoint both Democrats and Republicans to comply with pre-2016 state elections law he says is temporarily back in force.
“All of these members have election law experience and an awareness of the circumstances around the allegations involved in the Ninth Congressional District election,” Cooper said in his letter to state party heads.
But state GOP Chairman Robin Hayes said the dissolving board’s four GOP members “will not accept appointments to an unconstitutional, illegal sham Roy Cooper creation.” Republicans instead will withhold GOP nominees until the new law takes effect, he said.
The outgoing state board refused a last-minute formal request by Harris to certify him the winner.
The elections board reorganization threatens to delay the Jan. 11 hearing. Lawyers for Harris and McCready had a Monday deadline to submit requests to the elections board for people they wanted to have compelled to appear and testify at next month’s hearing. But if the current elections board is disbanded without a new one to replace it, the board chairman or vice chairman who could issue the requested subpoenas wouldn’t exist.
Last week, elections board chairman Josh Malcolm said in an affidavit to the three-judge panel that investigative staffers — who can continue working through any reorganization — had collected more than 182,000 pages of materials in response to 12 subpoenas.
Malcolm said Friday that the elections board issued “numerous additional subpoenas” before disbanding. In a letter to Harris’ attorney, Malcolm wrote that the GOP candidate had turned over only about 400 pages of subpoenaed documents and had yet to produce another 140,000 documents. Harris also had so far failed to arrange a requested interview with agency staffers, Malcolm said.
Harris’ campaign committee has pored through about 135,000 documents that needed review, the Republican’s attorney David Freedman said Friday. Harris “has cooperated and intends to continue cooperating with the investigation,” Freedman said.
If House Democrats refuse to seat Harris, it wouldn’t be the first time a chamber of Congress delayed or rejected seating a new member. In 2009, U.S. Senate leaders initially refused to seat Roland Burris as the replacement for President-elect Barack Obama’s Illinois seat. Burris had been named to succeed Obama by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was eventually convicted on corruption charges for trying to sell the Senate appointment.
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Міністерство закордонних справ Росії 29 грудня відкинуло вимоги лідерів Німеччини та Франції про звільнення українських моряків, утримуваних у московських СІЗО.
«Берлін і Париж безапеляційно звинувачують Росію в якихось порушеннях прав людини в Криму, ескалації напруженості в Азовському морі і Керченській протоці, висувають на нашу адресу неприйнятні вимоги», – ідеться в заяві МЗС Росії.
«Що ж до судноплавства в Керченській протоці, то російська сторона продовжує забезпечувати свободу судноплавства в цьому регіоні», – стверджує російське зовнішньополітичне відомство.
Речник Кремля Дмитро Пєсков підтвердив також, що російський президент Володимир Путін обговорив вимоги звільнити моряків із канцлером Німеччини Анґелою Меркель. Проте, як цитують Пєскова російські інформагенції, Росія «діятиме відповідно до російського законодавства».
Канцлер Німеччини Анґела Меркель увечері 28 грудня в телефонній розмові з президентом Росії Володимиром Путіним вдруге впродовж однєї доби висловилася за звільнення українських моряків.
Раніше 28 грудня в спільній заяві канцлер Німеччини Анґела Меркель і президент Франції Емманюель Макрон вимагали від Росії гарантувати вільне і безперешкодне проходження всіх суден через Керченську протоку і негайно звільнити українських моряків, захоплених російськими силовиками.
25 листопада російські силовики у Керченській протоці відкрили вогонь по українських кораблях, захопили їх і 24 членів їхніх екіпажів. Троє моряків при цьому були поранені. Усіх захоплених українців утримують у СІЗО в Москві. Українська влада визнає їх військовополоненими.
Дії Росії в районі Керченської протоки критикують у низці європейських країн і США. У НАТО заявили, що уважно стежать за розвитком подій у Керченській протоці і закликали до стриманості й деескалації напруги.
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The storm winds of the recent trade war between the United States and China have settled in a truce for now, but the weeks of agitation — of rising tariffs and counter duties — battered one economy close to Beijing: Hong Kong’s.
In December, Hong Kong government economist Andrew Au said he anticipated near-term troubles for the territory’s economic forecast. GDP growth — a year after a record high of 341.5 billion — slowed significantly, from 4.6 percent growth in the first quarter to 2.9 percent in the third.
The government says the impact of the trade war can be seen in consumer prices, slower spending and lighter trade. Consumer price inflation ticked up 2.8 percent in the third quarter. The government warned that inflation could head upward as local costs rise along with residential rental rates.
Kelvin Ho-Por Lam, a former economist with HSBC based in Hong Kong, predicted another problem for Hong Kong from overseas.
Double whammy
“It’s not just the trade war, it’s facing a double whammy at the moment,” Lam said. “The trade war impacts on this economy, which is showing up in this Hong Kong GDP over the last two quarters. The second impact is from rising interest rates in the U.S.” The Federal Reserve raised rates four times in 12 months. A slower U.S. economy means less buying from China.
Adding to the impact is great unease.
“It poses uncertainty on the economic agents in society. Businesses are more concerned going ahead with their investment plans,” Lam said. “They’re shelving their investments and therefore they are not investing in capacity in Hong Kong or in China.”
Trade and logistics — the apparatus to move the shoes and dresses and smartphones from Chinese factories to markets worldwide — are central to Hong Kong’s economy. The sector accounts for nearly one-fifth of the city’s GDP, higher than the substantial financial and banking industry here. When tariffs hit, goods cost more to sell in the United States, which means companies decrease stock and consumers buy less.
China’s economic growth weakened in the third quarter from a year earlier, its lowest expansion since the global financial crisis in 2008.
Consumers wary
Clearly consumers are wary. Retail sales in Hong Kong, the semi-autonomous Chinese territory, grew in September at their slowest pace in 15 months. Also hurting the city was substantial damage from typhoon Mangkhut.
Favorite shops of mainland tourists — Sa Sa International, Chow Tai Food Jewelry, and Luk Fook Holdings, all posted slowed sales in the third quarter.
Hong Kong also saw its economy lag for local reasons. Home prices in what is often called the world’s least affordable market chilled this year as interest rates rose. The number of residential property transactions fell by 24 percent from 18,900 in the second quarter to 14,400 in the third quarter, according to the government.
Property sellers saw the slowdown in sales set in this summer, after the residential property market had churned hard for 28 consecutive months. Median home prices dropped by as much as 5 percent from June, agents told the South China Morning Post in October. The city’s rating and valuation Index, which tracks prices of older homes, in August marked the first monthly decline in more than two years. Even the government offered discounts. A 97,300-square-foot plot of the former Kai Tak airport in the city’s Kowloon district sold for $1.03 billion to a unit of China Overseas Land & Investment, nearly 13 percent lower than another Kai Tak sale in November.
The market chill began in August after Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, introduced a tax to compel developers to create more housing. Meanwhile, banks raised mortgage rates for the first time in 12 years.
That means mortgage holders have less extra money to spend, Kelvin Lam said. He forecast that there will be fewer tourists visiting Hong Kong, perhaps because of the volatility in China.
“The Hong Kong economy is very sensitive to these things,” he said. “It will reduce people spending for their own personal consumption.”
Folded into China’s economy
Hong Kong produces very little domestically, Kelvin Lam pointed out. Lam said because the territory’s economy is so entwined with China’s, and because the range of products and services are so narrow, the impact of the extra tariffs will be felt on whatever the city acquires from China and re-exports.
Hong Kong is likely to suffer more during China’s downturns as the former British colony is folded into China’s economy and as the government plans for a massive technology hub to be rooted in nearby Shenzhen.
Andrew Sheng, a distinguished fellow at the Asia Global Institute at the University of Hong Kong, wrote in an email that he didn’t think the city would encounter much inflation, despite the downward pressure coming from lower property prices and a slowing global economy.
“The Hong Kong economy will suffer from the trade conflict,” said the former central banker and financial regulator in Asia. “Although it is very resilient to overseas shocks.”
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Уповноважена Верховної Ради України з прав людини Людмила Денісова заявила 29 грудня з посиланням на слова дружини українського в’язня Кремля Романа Сущенка, що «Романа помістили до карцеру та відверто знущаються з нього».
«Співробітники колонії примушують Романа прокидатися раніше усіх в’язнів – о 5-й ранку та вилучають постільні речі», – твердить омбудсмен.
Денісова додала, що звернулася до уповноваженої з прав людини в Російській Федерації Тетяни Москалькової з вимогою «негайно з’ясувати підстави поміщення Романа до карцеру та здійснити необхідні дії щодо відновлення порушених прав українця».
Раніше цього тижня громадський захисник Сущенка Марк Фейгін повідомив, що родина засудженого в Росії українського журналіста Романа Сущенка наступного місяця зможе провести тривале побачення з в’язнем у виправній колонії №11, де той відбуває термін ув’язнення.
Сущенко засуджений у Росії до 12 років ув’язнення за статтею про шпигунство. Журналіст і представники української влади відкидають звинувачення на його адресу.
20 листопада президент Петро Порошенко нагородив журналіста Романа Сущенка орденом «За мужність» ІІІ ступеня.
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Silicon Valley has enjoyed years of popularity and growing markets.
But 2018 has been rocky for the industry.
Data breaches, controversies over offensive speech and misinformation — as well as reports of foreign operatives’ use of their services — have left many people skeptical about the benefits of social media, experts say.
Worries about social media in Congress meant tech executives had to testify before committees several times this year.
“2018 has been a challenging year for tech companies and consumers alike,” said Pantas Sutardja, chief executive of LatticeWork Inc., a data storage firm. “Company CEOs being called to Congress for hearings and promising profusely to fix the problems of data breach but still cannot do it.”
WATCH: Social Media’s Year of Falling From Grace
An apology tour
Facebook drew the most scrutiny. The social networking giant endured criticism after revelations that its lax oversight allowed a political consulting firm to exploit millions of its users’ data.
In the spring, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, went on what was dubbed “an apology tour” to tell users that the company would do a better job of protecting their data.
The California firm faced other problems when data breaches at the site compromised user information. Other sharp criticism hit Facebook when false reports on its site sparked violence in places like Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
Using social media to sow division
“Are America’s technology companies serving as instruments of freedom?” asked Kevin McCarthy, R-California and the House Majority Leader during a congressional hearing. “Or are they serving as instruments of manipulation used by powerful interests and foreign governments to rob the people of their power, agency, and dignity?”
Adding to concerns, the year saw new revelations of foreign operatives using social media to secretly spread divisive and often bogus messages in the U.S. and worldwide.
“It doesn’t matter to whose benefit they were operating,” said Walt Mossberg, a former tech columnist with the Wall Street Journal. “What bothers people here is that a foreign country, using our social networks, digital products and services that we have come to feel comfortable in … has come in and used that against us.”
Tech workers stand up
In addition to data privacy and misinformation, online speech became a big issue this year. Under pressure, social media companies like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook’s Instagram tightened restrictions on the kinds of speech they tolerate on their sites.
Tech workers pressed managers about their company’s government contracts, and Google workers staged a worldwide walkout over the treatment of female colleagues.
The issue of user data has led some companies such as LatticeWork, a data storage firm, to create new ways for users to protect their data and themselves. Playing off people’s concerns about data, LatticeWorks markets its products as a way to “bring your data home.”
#DeleteFacebook?
What’s unclear however is whether concerns about personal data and tech company decisions will spur users to leave these services. Facebook revelations prompted some like Mossberg to give up Facebook and its other services such as Instagram. He wants federal law to limit U.S. internet firms collection and use of user data.
“Governments and citizens of countries around the world need the right to regulate them without closing down free speech,” he said. “And that’s tricky.”
Some congressional members have vowed to pass a federal data privacy bill in the coming year, something that tech firms say they support.
But whether new regulations build trust in digital services remains to be seen.
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During the past four years, Russia’s $1.7 trillion economy has been plagued by under-investment, broadening state ownership of enterprise and Western sanctions over Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. Kremlin economic ministers have even warned of unexpectedly high inflation, but you wouldn’t know that talking to people passing through one of Moscow’s shopping districts as Russians prepare for their legendary Christmas and New Year’s holiday celebrations.
“I don’t plan to economize,” said Andrey, a Muscovite who suggested he personally has no financial constraints. “This is a planned holiday for which the budget has already been allocated without any real economy.”
Others, however, offered more conservative assessments. Some say they are worried about spending this year.
“I’m certainly concerned,” said Tatiana, who lives on a fixed income. “I see that the situation among the ordinary people is not getting better.” Tatiana, like an estimated 40 million Russians who live on a pension, says she feels vulnerable.
“My financial position depends, naturally, solely on the policy pursued by the state,” she said, saying she feels like no one is watching out for her interests. “I wish someone would think more about the pensioners.”
Like many Russians in the post-Soviet era, her greatest sense of security comes from her family.
“Thank God I have a son who takes care of me,” she said. “That’s why the situation affects me less than other people.”
Those concerns are not unfounded, analysts say.
Parallel economies
“Despite the fact that we have economic growth, we have had for years slumping real incomes,” said Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center who describes the Russian economy as “contradictory.”
“Here’s one more Russian paradox: high salaries, growing salaries and decreasing real incomes. This is all because of the quite big shadow sector, the black economy, without any official taxation.”
WATCH: Russia’s Prosperity Depends on Whom You Ask
A combination of international sanctions and prevailing state economic policies are likely to result in reduced holiday spending compared to the prior four years, Kolesnikov said.
There are efforts to change Russia’s tax laws, and draft legislation is pending in the Duma to tax black market gains. But Kolesnikov and others say a new law could backfire because the notion of additional tax inspections will not go over well with most Russians.
“This isn’t good time for such an intervention from the government side,” he said, referring in part to an impending value-added tax hike slated for January, and the Central Bank’s decision this month to raise interest rates, which analysts warn might only exacerbate inflation and hurt ordinary Russians.
“It will be quite harmful for normal businesses, primarily middle- to small-sized businesses,” Kolesnikov said.
In Moscow, which accounts for 20 percent of total income nationwide, consumers may well weather an economic downturn better than their counterparts in other parts of the nation where much of Vladimir Putin’s support base is.
Sanctions hurt ordinary Russians
Asked about the degree to which Western sanctions are having a direct impact on normal Russian consumers nationwide, Kolesnikov offered a pointed assessment.
“Right now it’s quite harmful when you’re sanctioning oligarchs, which are controlling big sectors of the Russian economy,” he said.
In an economy “monopolized by oligarchs,” he said, the targeted sanctions have an impact distinct from those levied against nations where small- and mid-sized businesses are the primary economic drivers.
“Russians are perceiving the situation not as an attack on oligarchs, but on their own working places,” he said. “At the end of the day, Russians are paying the price. Oligarchs will just get help from government, as they’re quite close to it.”
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Sears Holdings Corp. Chairman Eddie Lampert submitted a $4.4 billion takeover bid for the bankrupt U.S. retailer, representing its only chance of escaping liquidation and laying off tens of thousands of workers, a spokesman for the billionaire’s hedge fund said Friday.
Lampert’s bid is backed in part by $1.3 billion in financing from three different financial institutions, the spokesman for his hedge fund, ESL Investments Inc., said. It would preserve about 425 stores that Sears has yet to close and secure the jobs of up to 50,000 workers out of the 68,000 employed by the retailer. An affiliate of ESL, Transform Holdco LLC, submitted the bid, the spokesman said.
People familiar with the matter said the financing comes from Sears’ existing lenders Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc, as well Royal Bank of Canada, which was not previously a lender, which together agreed to provide a $950 million asset-based loan and a $350 million revolving credit line.
Some of Lampert’s bid relies on $1.8 billion of Sears debt that ESL already holds and plans to forgive to back the offer, the sources said. The bid also includes about $400 million in financing from non-bank lenders, the sources said.
The bid contemplates assuming protection agreements Sears has previously sold to reassure customers who have bought appliances, televisions, lawn tractors and other big-ticket items, the ESL spokesman said.
“Factoring for all considerations, we believe that our going concern bid provides the best path forward for the company, the best option to save tens of thousands of jobs and is superior for all of Sears’ stakeholders to the alternative of a complete liquidation,” the ESL spokesman said. “Much work remains and there is no assurance our proposal will be completed.”
Next move is Sears’
Sears will now evaluate the bid to determine whether it is viable, and there remains a possibility the company could reject it, some of the sources said.
A Sears spokeswoman declined to comment. Bank representatives either had no immediate comment or did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A U.S. bankruptcy court judge must approve any sale of Sears. The judge will weigh the opinions of other stakeholders, including unsecured creditors who have argued they could recover more of their investment if the department store operator winds down.
Without the financing or another buyer, Sears faces the prospect of closing its doors for good and putting roughly 68,000 people out of work.
125-year-old retailer
The 125-year-old retailer filed for bankruptcy Oct. 15 and developed plans to restructure around the sale of 500 stores and businesses including Kenmore, DieHard and the company’s home services division. Only Lampert’s ESL offered to buy the entire company.
The only other bids Sears has received are from suitors interested in pieces of the company and liquidators prepared to run going-out-of-business sales at stores and shut down the retailer.
Sears dates back to the late 1880s. Its mail-order catalogs with merchandise ranging from toys, medicine and gramophones to automobiles, kit houses and tombstones made it the Amazon.com Inc. of its time.
But the iconic retailer gradually lost its shine as consumers increasingly favored brick-and-mortar rivals such as Walmart Inc and Target Corp and e-commerce.
Lampert, who through ESL is Sears’ biggest shareholder and creditor, formed Sears Holdings in 2005 by acquiring Sears Roebuck in an $11 billion deal and combining it with discount chain Kmart, which he had also taken over.
Lampert had pledged to restore Sears to its glory days, when it owned the Sears Tower in Chicago, then the world’s tallest building, and companies that included a radio station and Allstate insurance. But the company stopped turning a profit in 2011, and it gradually started to sell assets, such as its legendary Craftsman brand and many of its properties, to stay afloat.
Sears Holdings listed $6.9 billion in assets and $11.3 billion in liabilities in documents filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York.
The largest U.S. toy retailer, Toys ‘R’ Us, tried to emerge from its 2017 bankruptcy filing but was forced to liquidate six months later after creditors lost confidence in its turnaround plan.
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British divers who rescued young soccer players trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand are among those being recognized in Britain’s New Year’s Honors List, along with 1960s model Twiggy and Monty Python star Michael Palin.
Twiggy, a model who shot to stardom during the Beatles era, will become a Dame — the female equivalent of a knight — while Palin, whose second career has seen him become an acclaimed travel documentary maker, receives a knighthood.
Jim Carter, who played the acerbic Mr. Carson in “Downton Abbey,” was also recognized, as was filmmaker Christopher Nolan, director of “Inception” and “Dunkirk,” and best-selling author Philip Pullman, creator of the Dark Materials trilogy.
The list released Friday also named 43 people who responded quickly to the extremist attacks in Manchester and London in 2017.
The honors process starts with nominations from the public, which are winnowed down by committees and sent to the prime minister before the various honors are bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II or senior royals next year.
The 92-year-old monarch has increasingly called on her children and grandchildren to hand out the coveted awards.
Divers
Divers Joshua Bratchley, Lance Corporal Connor Roe and Vernon Unsworth will be made Members of the Order of the British Empire for their roles in the risky Thai cave rescue last summer.
Four other British cave divers will receive civilian gallantry awards for their roles in the thrilling rescue of 12 boys and their coach, who were trapped in the cave for more than two weeks.
Richard Stanton and John Volanthen, the first to reach the stranded children and their coach, have been awarded the George Medal, while Christopher Jewell and Jason Mallinson received the Queen’s Gallantry Medal.
Twiggy
Twiggy, whose modeling career lasted for decades, burst on the London Mod scene as one of the original “It” girls. She earned worldwide fame by 17 and went on to a career in theater and films.
“It’s wonderful, but it makes me giggle,” said Twiggy, 69, whose real name is Lesley Lawson. “The hardest thing has been keeping it a secret.”
Michael Palin
Palin’s knighthood recognizes his contribution to travel, culture and geography. He said the news had not sunk in yet but noted “I have been a knight before, in Python films. I have been several knights, including Sir Galahad.”
“I don’t think it will (sink in) until I see the envelopes addressing me as Sir Michael Palin,” said the 75-year-old.
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Wall Street capped a week of volatile trading Friday with an uneven finish and the market’s first weekly gain since November.
Losses in technology, energy and industrial stocks outweighed gains in retailers and other consumer-focused companies. Stocks spent much of the day wavering between small gains and losses, ultimately unable to maintain the momentum from a two-day winning streak.
Even so, the major stock indexes closed with their first weekly gain in what’s been an otherwise painful last month of the year. The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 rose more than 2 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq added nearly 4 percent. The indexes are still all down around 10 percent for the month and on track for their worst December since 1931.
“It seems like convulsions in either direction have been the real norm for much of December and that’s certainly been the case this week,” said Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager for Private Wealth Management at U.S. Bank. “The initial push higher and then seeing it subside a little bit is perhaps getting back to a little bit more of a normal environment, reflecting the reality that we have still a number of issues overhanging the market.”
The market’s sharp downturn since October has intensified this month, erasing all its 2018 gains and nudging the S&P 500 closer to its worst year since 2008.
Investors have grown worried that the testy U.S.-China trade dispute and higher interest rates would slow the economy, hurting corporate profits. This week, with trading volumes lower than usual because of the Christmas holiday, served up some pronounced swings in the market.
A steep sell-off during the shortened trading session on Christmas Eve left the major indexes down more than 2 percent. On Wednesday, stocks mounted a stunning rebound, posting the market’s best day in 10 years as the Dow shot up more than 1,000 points for its biggest single-day point gain ever.
Late reversal
The market appeared ready to give much of those gains back on Thursday, before a late-afternoon reversal that erased a 600-point drop in the Dow left the market with a two-day winning streak.
“The market was so oversold and then Wednesday and Thursday were key reversal days, but also stronger closes than opens,” said Janet Johnston, portfolio manager at TrimTabs Asset Management.
“The market was starting to price in the worst-case scenario: a recession,” Johnston said
Still, the market’s downturn has left stocks substantially less expensive than they were heading into the fourth quarter, Johnston noted.
“And that sets up a good buying opportunity,” she said.
On Friday, the S&P 500 index fell 3.09 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,485.74. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 76.42 points, or 0.3 percent, to 23,062.40. The average had briefly climbed to 243 points.
The Nasdaq added 5.03 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,584.52. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks climbed 6.11 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,337.92.
Technology companies, a big driver of the market’s gains before things deteriorated in October, were among the big decliners. Alliance Data Systems dropped 1.4 percent to $149.82.
Oil prices recovered after wavering in midmorning trading. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.6 percent to settle at $45.33 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, inched up 0.1 percent to close at $52.20 a barrel in London.
Despite the rise in oil prices, energy sector stocks declined. Cabot Oil & Gas slid 3.5 percent to $22.95, while Hess lost 2.8 percent to $40.38.
Retailers and other consumer-focused companies fared better. Amazon rose 1.1 percent to $1,478.02.
Wells Fargo settlement
Wells Fargo rose 0.5 percent to $45.78 on news that the lender has agreed to pay $575 million in a national settlement with state attorneys general over its fake bank accounts scandal. The San Francisco-based bank has acknowledged that its employees opened millions of unauthorized bank accounts for customers in order to meet unrealistic sales goals.
Tesla climbed 5.6 percent to $333.87 after naming two independent directors to its board under an agreement with federal regulators.
Homebuilders fell broadly in the morning after the National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index fell last month as fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes. Higher mortgage rates and prices are squeezing would-be buyers out of the market, especially in the West. The stocks mostly recovered by midafternoon. William Lyon Homes gained 3.4 percent to $10.81.
Bond prices recovered after a midday dip, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury down to 2.72 percent from 2.74 percent late Thursday.
The dollar declined to 110.41 yen from Thursday’s 110.74 yen. The euro weakened to $1.1442 from $1.1449.
Gold edged up 0.1 percent to $1,283 an ounce and silver gained 0.8 percent to $15.44 an ounce. Copper rose 0.5 percent to $2.68 a pound.
Overseas, major indexes in Europe closed higher while markets in Asia mostly rose. London’s FTSE 100 gained 2.3 percent, while the Nikkei 225 index fell 0.3 percent.
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У Єгипті закладеною при дорозі вибухівкою підірвали туристичний автобус, унаслідок чого загинули двоє в’єтнамських туристів і ще 12 людей поранені, повідомили єгипетські посадовці. Серед поранених 10 – теж туристи з В’єтнаму і двоє – єгиптяни, заявило Міністерство внутрішніх справ Єгипту.
Інцидент стався в місцевості на південь від столиці Каїра, недалеко від відомих великих пірамід у Гізі, поліція розслідує його, мовиться в заяві.
За повідомленням кореспондента агентства «Ройтерз», який був на місці через дві години після вибуху, з-за кордону поліції видно автобус, один із бортів якого значно пошкоджений, вікна вибиті. На місці перебувають десятки працівників поліції і пожежно-рятувальної служби.
Напад стався в час, коли туристична галузь Єгипту, що є головним джерелом національного прибутку, останніми місяцями почала відновлюватися після занепаду, спричиненого тривалими неспокоями після повстання 2011 року, що призвело до скинення президента Хосні Мубарака. Зокрема, низка нападів бойовиків, головно на силовиків і на християн, сталася після того, як 2013 року армія скинула наступного президента Мухаммада Мурсі – який був демократично обраний, але дотримувався ісламістських поглядів.
Нинішній напад був перший нападом на туристів у Єгипті за останні майже два роки.
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Italy’s foreign minister, Enzo Moavero Milanesi, will be visiting Washington from Jan. 3-4, meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department and with national security adviser John Bolton at the White House
Italy’s foreign minister, Enzo Moavero Milanesi, will be visiting Washington in early January, meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department and with national security adviser John Bolton at the White House.
Italy’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that topics for the Jan. 3-4 meetings include global security, the migrant situation in the Mediterranean Sea, efforts to stabilize Libya, peace efforts in the Middle East, economic and social growth in Africa and trans-Atlantic political, economic and commercial ties.
The ministry said “Italy intends to further intensity its relations with the United States,” which have been enhanced by nearly two centuries of an Italian-American community “that enlivens American life with its cultural, entrepreneurial and political dynamism.”
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Міжнародні експерти мають 30 днів для того, щоб ветувати сумнівних кандидатів на посади у Вищому антикорупційному суді, повідомляє міжнародна антикорупційна організація Transparency International Ukraine.
27 грудня Вища кваліфікаційна комісія суддів оприлюднила результати іспитів кандидатів, до Вищого антикорупційного суду, зокрема й до Апеляційної палати ВАС.
До 26 січня члени Громадської ради міжнародних експертів мають перевірити кандидатів і ветувати тих із них, які викликають сумніви, пояснюють у Transparency International.
«У разі, якщо міжнародні експерти матимуть сумніви щодо доброчесності та професійності того чи іншого кандидата, вони ініціюватимуть розгляд цього питання на спільному засіданні із ВККС. Якщо щонайменше троє із шести членів ГРМЕ не підтвердять доброчесність та професійність певного кандидата, такий кандидат залишить конкурс», – йдеться в заяві організації.
Згідно з нею, активісти від Transparency International, Центру протидії корупції, фундації DEJURE і Автомайдану проаналізували список кандидатів і знайшли серед них тих, хто виносив вироки учасникам Революції гідності та осіб, чия етичність викликає сумніви.
Громадські діячі планують презентувати перелік тих кандидатів, яких не вважають гідними працювати в антикорупційному суді, 9 січня.
У листопаді Кабінет міністрів України виділив для антикорупційного суду приміщення в Солом’янському районі Києва.
Читайте також: В Антикорупційний суд можуть потрапити «сірі» кандидати – Красносільська
Верховна Рада України ухвалила в цілому закон про Вищий антикорупційний суд 7 червня 2018 року.
21 червня Верховна Рада схвалила президентський законопроект про запуск Вищого антикорупційного суду.
Ухвалення закону про антикорупційний суд домагалися від України її західні партнери, воно було однією з умов продовження співпраці Києва з Міжнародним валютним фондом.
Створення спеціалізованого антикорупційного суду передбачив закон про судоустрій і статус суддів, ухвалений 2016 року.
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Росія втручається у вибори як в Україні, так і в Молдові – про це заявив президент України Петро Порошенко під час церемонії відкриття пункту пропуску на молдовсько-українському кордоні «Паланка – Маяки-Удобне».
Виступаючи з промовою, президент звернув увагу на спільні для України і Молдови питання захисту суверенітету і територіальної цілісності. Він також згадав про вибори, які 2019 року мають пройти в Україні і в Молдові.
«Є принципові вибори до парламенту Республіки Молдова і президентські і парламентські вибори в Україні. І, на жаль, Росія почала реалізовувати сценарій безпосереднього втручання у виборчі процеси. Це й «п’ята колона», яка готова негайно бігти і вести переговори на умовах капітуляції з Росією. Наголошую, що ніхто більше, ніж ми, українці, не хоче миру, але миру на умовах міжнародного права і національних інтересів України, а не на умовах капітуляції. Росія намагається використовувати сучасні інформаційні технології в першу чергу для дискредитації керівництва України і Молдови», – стверджує Порошенко.
На його думку, адекватною реакцією з боку України і Молдови є рух до інтеграції в Європейський союз.
Пункт пропуску «Паланка – Маяки-Удобне» розташований в Одеській області України. Він був реконструйований за підтримки Євросоюзу. Офіційне відкриття оновленого пункту перетину кордону відбулося 28 грудня.
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President Donald Trump fleshed out his “America First” political doctrine in 2018 with policies aimed at shaking up institutions of the post-World War II world order. VOA’s diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine takes a look on how U.S. foreign policy is shifting under Trump.
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Президент США Дональд Трамп більше не буде відповідати на питання спецпрокурора США Роберта Мюллера про ймовірне втручання Росії в американські президентські вибори в 2016 році, заявив в інтерв’ю Hill TV адвокат президента США Рудольф Джуліані.
Юрист наголосив, що голова Білого дому надав достатньо інформації команді спецпрокурора.
Раніше в розмові з телеканалом Fox News Джуліані сказав, що виступає категорично проти особистої зустрічі президента зі слідчими, оскільки побоюється, що вони можуть ввести Трампа в оману своїми питаннями. При цьому юрист зауважив, що адвокати можуть самі відповісти на додаткові питання команди Мюллера.
Читайте також: США: засуджений юрист заявив, що порушив закон за наказом Трампа
У США ведеться розслідування ймовірного втручання Росії в президентські вибори в США. На початку серпня 2017 року спецпрокурор США Роберт Мюллер скликав велику колегію присяжних для розслідування «російського сліду» у виборах у 2016 році. Мюллер з’ясовує, чи була змова штабу Трампа з Кремлем із метою підірвати позиції суперника Трампа від Демократичної партії Гілларі Клінтон. Москва свою причетність до виборів в інших державах відкидає. Трамп неодноразово критикував розслідування.
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112-річний ветеран армії Річард Овертон, який вважався найстарішою людиною США і офіційно був найстарішим ветераном Другої світової війни, помер 27 грудня в реабілітаційному центрі в місті Остіні в штаті Техас. Про це повідомила його родина.
Овертон отримав багато уваги впродовж останніх кількох років життя через свій вік і службу під час Другої світової війни.
Річард Овертон народився в окрузі Бастроп, штат Техас, 11 травня 1906 року. Він був призваний до армії в 1942 році, через дев’ять місяців після нападу Японії на Перл-Харбор.
Овертон служив у 188-му авіаційно-інженерному батальйоні, який повністю складався з чорношкірих американців. Під час служби він працював на різних островах Тихоокеанського театру воєнних дій, у тому числі на Іодзімі та Окінаві.
Овертон був одружений двічі, але не мав дітей.
Він був вшанований у 2013 році тодішнім президентом Бараком Обамою на церемонії Дня ветеранів на Арлінгтонському національному кладовищі, а також був запрошений до Білого дому.
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Violence and insecurity have forced more than 28 million children from their homes in 2018, UNICEF said in a news release Thursday.
The U.N. children’s fund said it had responded to more than 300 emergencies to help children caught in many of the 40 armed conflicts raging around the world.
UNICEF said children had been tortured, raped, used as human shields or suicide bombers, recruited as child soldiers and subjected to a myriad of other atrocities by armed groups.
While fighting has killed and maimed tens of thousands of children, UNICEF said many more had died from the indirect consequences of conflict, rather than the war itself. For instance, it noted, a child dies of preventable diseases every 10 minutes in Yemen, site of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Caryl Stern, president and chief executive officer of UNICEF USA, told VOA that food insecurity had caused the rate of severe acute malnutrition to rise, with one in four children around the world being malnourished.
“For example, the Central African Republic, there has been such a dramatic resurgence in the fighting there … so two out of three kids are in need of humanitarian assistance in CAR right now,” Stern said. “And 43,000 children below age 5, they are projected to face an extremely elevated risk of death due to severe acute malnutrition.”
UNICEF said escalating fighting and attacks on schools and teachers in Cameroon and in the border regions of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger had deprived millions of children of an education. Similarly, it said, conflict in the Lake Chad Basin is putting the education of 3.5 million children at risk.
Sexual violence
Stern said sexual violence against women and girls was being used as a weapon of war in many conflicts.
“In northeast Nigeria, where you have armed groups, including the Boko Haram, they continue to target girls,” Stern said. “This is including rape. They are forced to become wives of fighters. They are used as human bombs. I mean, what is really going on there is just horrific.”
Stern said children had been abused in all countries and regions of conflict — in Afghanistan, in Myanmar, in Iraq, in Syria, eastern Ukraine and Central America. She said children were being victimized by political leaders who use them as pawns to push a political agenda.
“The border of our own country, the various different things that are happening around the world — Bangladesh and Myanmar. We have to separate the issue of politics from the issues that surround children,” she said.
Stern said children are not migrants. They are not refugees. They are not Somalia’s children or Yemen’s children or Syria’s children or Rohingya children. She said they are children first and foremost, and that there’s nothing political about saving the life of a child.
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The United States will step up research in hypersonic offense and defense weapons, in response to a Russian test of a nuclear-capable hypersonic glider.
“While the United States has been the world leader in hypersonic system research for many decades, we did not choose to weaponize it,” Defense Department spokeswoman Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza told VOA. “Those who have decided to weaponize hypersonics are creating a war-fighting asymmetry that we must address.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who oversaw the test Wednesday, said the weapon is impossible to intercept and will ensure Russia’s security for decades to come.
He called it an “excellent New Year’s gift to the nation.”
The weapon, dubbed Avangard, detaches itself from a rocket after being launched and glides back to earth at speeds faster than the speed of sound.
“The Avangard is invulnerable to intercept by any existing and prospective missile defense means of the potential adversary,” Putin said after the test.
He said the weapon will become part of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces next year.
The Pentagon has been aware of Russian weapons advances for some time. In March, Putin bragged about having an array of new strategic nuclear weapons that can hit a target anywhere in the world. At the time, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Putin had only “confirmed what the United States government has known all along.”
Baldanza said the U.S. will now increase focus on hypersonic weapons. “We are pursuing options for weapons delivered from land, sea and air to hold at risk high value, heavily defended and time critical targets at relevant ranges so that we can ensure our ability to dominate the battlefield by 2028.”
The test comes at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington over the allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, conflict in Ukraine, and the war in Syria.
National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
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