From Foreign Waters

Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency announced Monday that a "foreign state" is behind a terrorist attack in the country's capital Mogadishu, which killed more than 80 people.   "We provided the country's leadership with a preliminary report that the massacre in Mogadishu on December 28th was planned by a foreign state," a report on the intelligence service on Twitter said.   However, the agency did not give the name of the country in respect of which there were suspicions.   Somali intelligence also noted that "it will cooperate with a number of special services at the international level in order to complete the ongoing investigation."   On Saturday, a suicide bomber blew up a truck full of explosives at a checkpoint in southwestern Mogadishu.   On the same day, Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed accused Al-Shabab of involvement in the attack.   According to the government, as a result of the attack 81 people were kille

The White House is working very hard to come up with a counter impeachment strategy, putting a robust team together. Responses from the White House have gone out vetted from the counsel’s office.   The office is spearheaded by Trump’s own handpicked Pat Cipollone, a veteran Washington lawyer who replaced Don McGahn in October this year. Trump needs a breakthrough strategy for his save. He has been soliciting advice elsewhere. No wonder he has been receiving competing bids for influence by aides to help. But it seems he trusts Cipollone the most for his game plan. The White House has been warmed up with the presence of many. You could find members of President Trump’s impeachment team, including aides from legislative affairs and communications offices. There is a predominant triumvirate of attorneys. That includes White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his top deputies, Patrick Philbin and Mike Purpura. While Cipollone is said to be at work, within days of the House Speak

he idea that London might have a post-Brexit future as a kind of deregulated “Singapore-on-Thames” is one of the more curious notions to have emerged in the three and a half years since the UK’s citizens voted narrowly to leave the EU in the fateful June 2016 referendum. In fact, at least as far as the financial sector is concerned, the bigger threat to European regulatory harmony could come from France. The phrase “Singapore-on-Thames” is shorthand for Britain becoming a low-tax, lightly regulated economy that can out-compete the sclerotic, over-regulated eurozone from a strategic position only 20 miles or so offshore. The general idea was first mooted a couple of years ago by Philip Hammond, then Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer, as a means of encouraging the EU to strike a friendly Brexit deal with the UK. Those who know Singapore well will quickly recognise that the analogy is far from perfect. True, Singapore has low tax rates (unless

China is unhappy with recent statements by Canadian politicians regarding the situation with Canadian citizens detained in China and is strongly opposed to Canadian "megaphone diplomacy."   This is stated in a statement by the Chinese embassy in Ottawa.   "Recently, some Canadian politicians made erroneous remarks about Sino-Canadian relations and the situation with Canadian citizens Michael Covrig and Michael Spavor. The Chinese side expresses strong discontent and strongly opposes these statements”,   the document says.   It says that relations between China and Canada recently "have encountered serious difficulties and the responsibility lies with the Canadian side."   "Attempting to oppose China with the help of" megaphone diplomacy "or exert pressure on China with unrelated [to the case of detained Canadians] issues is doomed to failure," the embassy emphasized.   The diplomatic mission also called on Ottawa to immediately releas

Donald Trump has finally signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), something that has become a great worry to Turkey. Turkey is now worried about the future of its gas pipeline project with RussiaIt is believed that the move will affect the nearly finished Nord Stream 2, which runs from Russia to Germany, and TurkStream, a Russian pipeline that traverses the Black Sea to Turkey. The act was passed as The US House of Representatives and Senate Arms Services Committee could come to a consensus on December 10. It had a purposeful clause of sanctioning Russia. According to this new act, the US now gets to decide how it uses its military resources regionally and its relations with other countries. So, as a part of the new NDAA, its first step is to impose sanctions related to Russia’s Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream pipelines and also bar military-to-military cooperation with Russia.  The result has been that the Swiss-Dutch company Allseas has promptly announc

A Greek court backed the extradition to Moscow of a Russian citizen who also faces being sent to the United States on allegations of laundering billions of dollars in bitcoin. Alexander Vinnik, the suspected mastermind of a $4 billion (£3.03 billion) bitcoin laundering ring, is one of seven Russians arrested or indicted worldwide this year on U.S. cybercrime charges. Judges ruled last week that he should be extradited to the United States, a decision Russia criticised as unjust and illegal and which Vinnik is challenging at Greece’s supreme court. Should it decide to uphold the ruling to extradite him to the United States, the final decision is in the hands of Greece’s justice minister, who can approve extradition to one country and block the other. Vinnik denies all charges against him. But he has agreed to be returned to Russia where he is to be tried on lesser fraud charges. “That is his wish - to be extradited to Russia and to give his

The possibilities for the practical implementation of the memorandum of understanding on the issue of marine zones, which Ankara and Tripoli signed, should be blocked.   This conclusion was reached by the President of Cyprus Nikos Anastasiadis and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a telephone conversation between them on Thursday, which was reported by the official representative of the Cypriot government Kiriyakos Kushos.   According to the latter, al-Sisi condemned the memorandum, saying that this document does not have legal status, and agreed with Anastasiadis that "all necessary measures should be taken to stop the implementation of the provisions of the illegal agreement."   According to Kushos, the President of Egypt also told the head of Cyprus that a possible Turkish military presence in Libya would destabilize the region.   Anastasiadis and Al-Sisi also agreed that the foreign ministers of the three allied countries - Cyprus, Egypt and Gree

A bill that grants Indian citizenship to non-Muslim illegal immigrants has been challenged in the Supreme Court. The Indian Union Muslim League, a political party, has petitioned the court to declare the bill illegal. The parliament on Wednesday passed the bill which applies to migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Critics say the bill is against Muslims, but the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has defended it. The BJP says the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) will give sanctuary to people fleeing religious persecution. In their petition to the Supreme Court, the Indian Union Muslim League argued that the bill violated articles of equality, fundamental rights and the right to life. It was passed in the upper house of parliament by 125 votes to 105 on Wednesday. It had already cleared the lower house. It will become a law once the president signs it, which is a formality at this stage. The CAB has also trig

The Minister of Home Affairs introduced the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 today in Lok Sabha. It is scheduled to be taken up for discussion and passing by the House later today.  The Bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955, and seeks to make foreign illegal migrants of certain religious communities coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship.  In this blog, we look at the criteria for determining citizenship in India, discuss how the Bill proposes to change the criteria, and highlight other key changes proposed by the Bill. In India, citizenship is regulated by the Citizenship Act, 1955.  The Act specifies that citizenship may be acquired in India through five methods – by birth in India, by descent, through registration, by naturalization (extended residence in India), and by incorporation of territory into India. An illegal migrant is prohibited from acquiring Indian citizenship.  An illegal immigrant i

Human rights organizations across the world have been requesting nations to take back women and children of ISIS militants. According to AFP reports, as many as 60 children born under the Daesh ‘caliphate’ in Iraq and Syria are legal UK citizens. They are currently living in the region, in many cases with their mothers. But they have not been accepted back into their country. Humanitarian organization Save the Children have confirmed that as many 300 children might have lost their lives post the exit of the caliphate.  Of these, 25 women had escaped with 60 children but did not get any consulate support despite escaping terror group territories. These children are going through a harrowing time in war prone zones.  “Many have injuries or disabilities from the fighting, confirms George Graham, Save the Children’s lead on protecting children in conflict. Children above the age of 10 have been inflicted with sexual and physical abuse. A report from the International Crisis G

At an extraordinary summit on Sunday, EU leaders endorsed the UK’s Withdrawal Agreement, putting a provisional end to the first phase of Brexit. The deal still needs to be approved by both the British and the European Parliament – a matter which keeps countless commentators busy these days, although it is not the subject we will dwell on here. For whether the UK “crashes out” of the EU in a “no deal” scenario or the agreement eventually gets endorsed, both sides will ultimately reconvene to discuss their future relations. This is where Brexit gets interesting for economic operators. For them little will change during the transitional period – assuming it will happen – of 21 to 45 months at most. But beyond? A week may be a short time in politics; four years is shorter than most investment cycles. In other words: Whoever cares about the future EU-UK trading terms needs to start acting soon. If the tension around the divorce agreement is anythin

Early parliamentary elections to be held in the UK.   According to the results of the vote,   the new composition of the House of Commons of the British Parliament will be elected, and the party with the most votes will receive the right to form a government and determine   In what scenario will relations between the UK and the European Union will go.   A total of 650 parliamentary mandates are at stake - by the number of constituencies.   According to the latest opinion poll published on the night of Wednesday by the sociological company YouGov, the chances of the ruling Conservative Party to remain in power are rated as the highest.   Tories led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson can count on 339 seats in the House of Commons.   The poll, which was attended by 105.6 thousand people, shows that the Tories will receive 42.6% of the vote versus 43.4% in the 2017 election, while the opposition Labor Party will gain 33.8% of the vote compared to 41   % in 2017.   For the "Liberal

The United States and Canada have given more teeth to their free trade agreement, with Mexico also added into the new USMCA deal. Giving a new look to the quarter of a century old trade pact, the new agreement aims to improve enforcement of worker rights and hold down prices for biologic drugs by eliminating a patent provision. Speaking on the effectiveness of the new agreement replacing the NAFTA, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the new one is good news for the farmers. Post the formal signing in Mexico City, the agreement has finally launched what may be the final approval effort for U.S. President Donald Trump’s three-year quest to revamp the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a deal he has blamed for the loss of millions of U.S. manufacturing jobs. Present at the occasion were important dignitaries including Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer

Over and over again in this election campaign you hear supporters of Boris Johnson confidently asserting that "he did it with the Brexit deal: he got the EU to renegotiate when most people said it'd be impossible. Except, it seems to be overlooked that Prime Minister Johnson did not charm or bully or manipulate the EU into reopening the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and changing the infamous backstop for the Irish border. It was only by breaking a deep red line of his, very late on in the negotiations, that EU leaders wholeheartedly agreed to a "new" Brexit deal (that in reality was almost identical to the one negotiated by Theresa May). If you remember, Mr Johnson had pledged never to allow a post-Brexit division between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. Boris Johnson's divorce deal introduces a customs barrier down the Irish Sea. A barrier between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. Something Mr Johnson h

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he intends to seek recognition by Washington of the extension of Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley.  He made a statement on Sunday at the Makor Rishon newspaper conference in Jerusalem.  "I want to achieve Americans' recognition of our Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley," said the prime minister,  "I think the time has come to extend the sovereignty of Israel to the Jordan Valley and to regulate the status of all Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, both located inside large settlement blocks and located outside them.  They will all become part of the State of Israel, "he added.  According to Netanyahu, at the moment there is "the opportunity to define the eastern border of Israel and extend Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley with the recognition of this step by the United States."  The prime minister also said that he was discussing the annexation of settlements on December

US President Donald Trump explained that in a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky in July, he asked for a service for the country, and not for himself.   "When I spoke on the phone to the president of Ukraine:" I want you to do us a favor, because our country has gone through a lot and Ukraine knows about it, under US, I meant the USA, our country," the president wrote on Twitter on Wednesday night.   "Then I said:" I want the Attorney General to call you or your people <...>. "Democrats must apologize to the Americans!"   - said Trump.   The United States is shocked by a major scandal that erupted around Trump’s July conversation with Zelensky.   The complaint of an unnamed American intelligence officer about the contents of the conversation eventually became the reason for the beginning of the impeachment proceedings against the head of the American administration.   According to Trump’s political o

After over two weeks of violence clashes over gasoline price hike in Iran, the President Hassan Rouhani has asked for the release of innocent unarmed civilians. Iran has been reeling under dissatisfaction over bad governance.   On November 15, Iran government increased the prices of gasoline by 300 percent sending waves of fears over almost 100 cities. Most of Iran is a poor country, where people are finding it difficult to make ends meet.   Most youth do not have jobs and there is virtually no self sustained economy. Civilians have been asking for the clerical leaders to step down. However, the Iranian clerical rules have comfortably pinned the blame of the outburst on “thugs” linked to its opponents in exile (Qatar for example) and the country’s main foreign foes like the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia to name a few. Speaking through its own channels, chief commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Hossein Salami spoke out words of wisdom. He has been seen t

US President Donald Trump on Sunday during a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, discussed the “threat from Iran,” as well as other regional issues.  This is stated in a widely spread statement by White House Deputy Spokeswoman Judd Deere.  "On Sunday, President Donald Trump spoke over the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The leaders discussed the threat from Iran, as well as other critical bilateral and regional issues," the document says.

Wisconsin is one of the American states which still has its hopes pinned to Donald Trump. It is one of those economies that derives its output from farming and factories, both industries worst hit this term, thanks to Trump’s trade wars. Other states that have been affected include Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and Louisiana.   There is an evident slowdown on production in these states, due to the pull down of prices and oversupply which was never consumed for one or the other reason.   Wisconsin’s dairy sector has also taken a big hit with a reported 634 of the state’s roughly 8,000 dairy farms being closed down this year itself. The trade war with China is to be solely blamed for low exports of milk and dairy products. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, manufacturing has also been hit by tariffs and trade uncertainty. Wisconsin factory payrolls are down 1.6% in the past year. State factory output grew at a 0.5% annual rate in the nine months through June, compared w

The United States expects all NATO member countries to increase defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2024.   This was announced on Friday by a representative of the high-ranking US administration at a briefing on the participation of White House head Donald Trump in the alliance summit in London on December 3-4.   "The US president is committed to making NATO stronger, able to overcome threats and future challenges. In this regard, we urge all NATO countries to increase defense spending as part of the decisions of the Wales summit," he said.   “In 2016, only four NATO members spent on defense 2% of GDP. Now there are nine of such countries,” the briefing leader said. “We expect everyone else to do this by 2024.”   At the NATO Wales Summit in 2014, all European countries committed themselves to bring their military spending to 2% of GDP over 10 years.   Meanwhile, according to financial statistics published in March in the latest annual report of the Secretary General of

The Czech Republic will not accept the German proposal for the distribution of illegal refugees among the EU member states.   This was stated by Prime Minister Andrei Babish. “We Czech Republic fundamentally reject the mechanisms for distributing refugees in the European Union, reject any quotas,” the prime minister noted. “I am surprised that someone is raising this exhausted topic again. We will be against this Germany’s proposal to accept migrants.   The negative position regarding the introduction of migration quotas in the European Union, according to Babish, is taken by the countries of the Visegrád group Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland).   Prague consults on migration policy issues with partners in this regional EU association. Earlier was reported that Germany will launch a new initiative on the allocation of illegal refugees to the EU at a meeting scheduled for next week in Brussels by EU interior ministers.   Berlin will propose to reform the existing as