Trump tweets warning to Russia, Iran against killing ‘innocent civilians’ in Syria

Thousands of civilians have fled fighting in Syria for the border with Turkey.

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Watch the Tesla Cybertruck's closest rival execute full 360-degree turns from a standstill

Video of the Rivian R1T truck performing the 360-degree turns surfaced months ago. The electric-truck startup is now officially acknowledging it.

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U.S. Buckles in South Korea Troop-Funding Talks, Chosun Says

(Bloomberg) -- Days before a troop-funding deal was set to expire, the U.S. has dropped its demand that South Korea pay five times more to host its military personnel after receiving assurances Seoul would purchase more American weapons, a newspaper report said.The Trump administration also likely eased up after South Korea indicated it would step up its presence in the Strait of Hormuz, helping U.S. efforts to protect oil flows in the region, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported Thursday, citing an unidentified diplomatic source. The increase now may be about 10-20% above the current level of nearly $1 billion, it said.South Korea’s foreign ministry declined to comment on the report.Last month, U.S. negotiators walked out of a meeting on troop funding in Seoul after South Korea balked at the five-fold increase seen as exorbitant by many in the country. The breakdown at that time raised questions about one of the U.S.’s closest military alliances and a key piece of the Pentagon’s strategy for countering North Korea and a rising China. The two sides resumed talks in December.U.S. Walks Out of Military Cost-Sharing Talks With South KoreaEven though the deal known as the Special Measures Agreement technically expires at the end of this year, both sides are likely to agree to some sort of temporary extension as they negotiate, allowing for the continued operations of the about 28,500 U.S. military personnel positioned on the peninsula.The talks with South Korea could affect other countries that host U.S. troops, as the Trump administration is seeking funding increases from other American allies.Trump Price Tag for Troops in South Korea Clouds Esper TripTrump, arguing that South Korea is rich and should pay more for U.S. protection, has demanded Seoul contribute about $5 billion for hosting U.S. troops. The price tag originated with the White House, according to people familiar with the matter, and administration officials justify it by saying it reflects the costs South Korea would incur if it takes operational control of combined U.S.-South Korean forces in the case of a conflict.The request for more money hasn’t sat well in South Korea, where many in President Moon Jae-in’s progressive camp and opposition conservatives have come out against the demands. Moon, facing a sagging support rate, may not want to make any major concessions that further dent his popularity ahead of an election for parliament next year.To contact the reporter on this story: Jihye Lee in Seoul at jlee2352@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Jon Herskovitz, Gearoid ReidyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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No sign of "Christmas gift" from North Korea yet, but deadline looms

There's been speculation Kim Jong Un might test an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.

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The Most Powerful Space Moments of the 2010s

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Why did Trump ditch his church in Palm Beach on Christmas Eve for evangelical service?

The president and first lady ditched the liberal church in Palm Beach where they were married and headed to a conservative Baptist-affiliated church.

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'I'm still scared' - Asia remembers tsunami that killed 230,000

Communities across Asia commemorated the more than 230,000 victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami on Thursday, the 15th anniversary of one of the world's most deadly disasters. On the morning after Christmas Day in 2004, a 9.1 magnitude quake off northern Sumatra island triggered a tsunami with waves as high as 17.4 meters (57 feet) that swept over vulnerable coastal areas of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and nine other countries. "It still haunts me … I can remember it all the time," said Suwannee Maliwan, 28, who lost both parents and five other relatives when the tsunami hit the Thai province of Phang Nga.

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Congolese woman, 41, dies after entering US border custody

A 41-year-old Congolese woman died Wednesday in U.S. government custody shortly after she entered a border station in South Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Thursday. CBP says the woman, who the agency did not identify, had arrived at an official port of entry in Laredo, Texas, early Tuesday afternoon. The woman came with paperwork that documented a “previous medical condition,” CBP said.

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William Greider, Journalist Who Focused on Economy, Dies at 83

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E-Bikes and E-Scooter Rentals Won’t Be Allowed in N.Y. Anytime Soon

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In Premier League, Everyone Is Talking Title Except Liverpool

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Peter Wollen, Who Wrote a Film Theory Bible, Is Dead at 81

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Republican senator 'disturbed' by her own party's handling of Donald Trump impeachment

A Republican senator has said she is "disturbed" by her own party's handling of Donald Trump's impeachment. The intervention by Lisa Murkowski, who represents Alaska, appeared to be the first crack in the monolithic opposition to impeachment that Republican senators have so far displayed. Mr Trump faces a trial in the Senate in the new year on two articles of impeachment - abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Both charges stem from his alleged attempts to coerce the Ukrainian government into investigating his political rival Joe Biden. The jury will consist of 53 Republican senators, including Ms Murkowski, and 47 Democrat senators. A two-thirds majority is required to convict the president. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, has indicated there will be "total co-ordination" between his group and the White House. But Ms Murkowski told Alaskan television: "In fairness, when I heard that I was disturbed. To me, it means that we have to take that step back from being hand-in-glove with the defence." She added: "I heard what leader McConnell said. I happened to think that has further confused the process." Ms Murkowski, one of the most moderate Republican senators, remains undecided on how she will vote at the end of the trial. She said: "For me to prejudge and say there’s nothing there or on the other hand, he should be impeached yesterday, that’s wrong, in my view, that’s wrong." Following her comments Mr Trump launched a barrage of criticism of Democrats on Twitter. The president was said by White House officials to be "agitated" that the impeachment process had been delayed over Christmas. Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat speaker of the House of Representatives, delayed sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate over the festive period. Mr Trump said the ongoing crisis was "Bad for USA!" He added: "Despite all of the great success that our Country has had over the last 3 years, it makes it much more difficult to deal with foreign leaders (and others) when I am having to constantly defend myself against the Do Nothing Democrats & their bogus Impeachment Scam." Meanwhile, Republicans in the Senate have suggested a small number of Democrats could ultimately vote to acquit the president. That would allow them to present the verdicts as not just an acquittal, but a bipartisan "exoneration" of the president.

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Iran warplane crashes near dormant volcano: state media

An Iranian military fighter jet crashed on Wednesday near a dormant volcano in the northwest of the country and its pilot was missing, official media reported. State news agency IRNA said the jet went down at 9:00 am (0530 GMT) near Mount Sabalan, in the Lesser Caucasus range, and was a MiG-29 on a test flight after being overhauled. Amateur video footage published on the social media accounts of various media outlets in Iran appeared to show smoke rising above snow-capped peaks.

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Trump's Partisan Problems Will Save His Presidency

The more impeachment looks like an exercise in partisan futility, the less likely it is to command the public’s attention and garner the support of independents.

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Russia raids offices of Kremlin critic Navalny

Russian security officials searched the offices of leading Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption foundation on Thursday, with his team calling the raid a new bid to disrupt their work. Navalny linked the searches to his refusal to take down a 2017 video report that accused Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of massive corruption and has racked up nearly 33 million views on YouTube. "What's happening is part of the coordinated campaign against the anti-corruption foundation," Navalny, 43, told reporters, but vowed that his organisation would not be intimidated.

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India's Citizenship Law Protests Reveal Deeper Anger by Country's Students

Thousands of students from across India have come together to protest a new law that they say is unconstitutional and marginalizes the country's substantial Muslim population. The ongoing protests will go down in history as one of the most powerful student-led protests since the country obtained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. The scale of the protests, which so far has claimed more than 20 lives, has expanded beyond students, with other young adults, members of the Muslim community, civil society, political parties and even Ramachandra Guha, biographer of the late Mohandas Gandhi, joining in.

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UPS expects nearly 2 million package returns in a single day, and it reveals a dark truth about holiday shopping

People are expected to return 1.9 million packages on January 2, the peak day for returns following the holiday season, UPS said on Thursday.

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Republican senator 'disturbed' by McConnell's work with White House on impeachment trial

Republican U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski said she was "disturbed" by the Senate leader's approach to working with White House counsel on the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, saying there should be distance between the two. The comments by the Alaska lawmaker come after Mitch McConnell, majority leader of the Republican-led Senate, said during a Fox News interview earlier this month that he was working in "total coordination" with the White House on the upcoming trial. "To me it means that we have to take that step back from being hand-in-glove with the defense," Murkowski said in comments aired late on Tuesday during an interview with Alaska-based NBC news affiliate KTUU-TV.

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Israel strikes Gaza after rocket fire: army

Israel carried out air strikes against the Gaza Strip overnight in response to a rocket fired from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave, the army said Thursday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at campaign event in Ashkelon north of Gaza on Wednesday evening when what the army called a "projectile" was fired from the strip, setting off warning sirens. The army said the "projectile was fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli territory and was intercepted by the Iron Dome defence system".

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"I was taken": 7-year-old torn from dad at U.S. border

CBS News documentary "The Faces of Family Separation" follows the harrowing journey of four migrant families fleeing violence in Central America, only to be split apart after arriving in the U.S.

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Man with white beard robs bank, throws all the money in the air and shouts ‘Merry Christmas’

A man with a white beard robbed a bank and immediately threw the money in the air before wishing bystanders a merry Christmas, witnesses have said.David Wayne Oliver reportedly waited to be arrested in a Starbucks coffee shop after the robbery of the Academy Bank in Colorado Springs just two days before Christmas.

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Japan delays fuel removal from two reactors at Fukushima Daiichi

The Japanese government on Friday delayed the planned removal of fuel from two reactors at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear station, highlighting difficulties facing a clean-up at the site of the 2011 disaster.

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