Tag Archives: threatens
Ukraine threatens to wall off part of Donbass region if no agreement with Russia
A top Ukrainian presidential aide on Thursday said Ukraine would wall off the rest of the country from occupied territories if Russia failed to agree to a ceasefire and prisoner swap at a summit in Paris next week. If Russia doesn’t want to agree to a deal “in this case we will be building a wall and life will go on,” Andriy Yermak said at a forum in London. The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany will meet on Monday for the first time in more than three years to try to end a conflict in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed forces and Ukrainian troops that has killed more than 13,000 people.
France vows strong retaliation after U.S. threatens sanctions
France has warned the U.S. of strong European Union retaliation if it imposes tariffs on key French products ranging from sparkling wine to cheese to handbags, in an intensifying row over taxing digital giants that risks spiraling into a new trade war.
Lawyer for Ukraine whistleblower threatens to sue Trump if he keeps up attacks, but the president's associates have already been spreading the person's alleged identity for days
Turkey threatens to send British Islamic State members back to UK
PHOTOS: New wildfire threatens Reagan Presidential Library and surrounding communities
IS names Baghdadi successor, threatens US: statement
The Islamic State jihadist group confirmed the death of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a statement Thursday and named his replacement as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi. “We mourn you… commander of the faithful,” said Abu Hamza al-Quraishi — presented as the jihadist group’s new spokesman — in an audio statement. Baghdadi, who led IS since 2014 and was the world’s most wanted man, was killed in a US special forces raid in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib on Sunday.
Trump Threatens to Veto Bill on Foreign Influence in Elections
(Bloomberg) — The White House on Wednesday threatened a veto of a bill backed by House Democrats aimed at stopping foreign interference in U.S. elections, even as an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump centered on the issue.The measure’s “ambiguous language would ensnare American citizens and entities acting in good faith in its web of requirements and prohibitions,” the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a statement.The House passed the measure, known as the Shield Act, on Wednesday evening. It would require political campaigns to report contacts with foreigners to the FBI and the Federal Election Commission. It would also outlaw handing private campaign information to foreigners and bolster ad-reporting requirements.The White House called the those requirements “overly broad” and “unenforceable,” arguing elections are adequately protected under current law.House Democrats are investigating whether Trump should be impeached for attempting to pressure the president of Ukraine into investigating his political rivals, including former Vice President Joe Biden. Biden is a top contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and Trump has accused his son Hunter of improper business dealings in Ukraine. The Bidens have denied any wrongdoing.Trump has been widely criticized for saying he’d accept information on a political rival from a foreign source, dismissing the notion he should inform law enforcement.“The Trump campaign and White House have welcomed and repeatedly solicited foreign assistance for his political activities,” House Administration Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, said in a statement earlier this month. “This behavior is unacceptable.”Lofgren said the legislation, which she introduced, would “protect our elections from foreign interference” and ensure “that individuals engaging in conduct with foreign actors intending to influence the outcome of our elections will be held accountable by law.”The measure faces strong opposition among Republicans who control the Senate. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell this week described it as an “attack on the First Amendment.”(Updates with McConnell comment, in final paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Jordan Fabian in Washington at jfabian6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
China Threatens to Retaliate if U.S. Passes Hong Kong Bill
(Bloomberg) — China threatened to retaliate if the U.S. Congress follows through with passing legislation that would require an annual review of whether the city is sufficiently autonomous from Beijing to justify its special trading status.The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it would take strong measures if the bill passed. The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act is one of four measures passed by the U.S. House Tuesday in unanimous voice votes. The bill provides for sanctions against officials “responsible for undermining fundamental freedoms and autonomy in Hong Kong.” A similar bill is also before the Senate, though the timing of a vote there remains uncertain. The legislation has bipartisan support in both chambers.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Li Liu in Beijing at lliu255@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Trump Threatens to Sue Schiff in Speech to Conservatives
(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump spent a third consecutive night drinking in the adulation of his most diehard supporters, airing his grievances about the Democratic impeachment investigation to a meeting of religious conservatives. Among other things, the president suggested that he should sue Representative Adam Schiff of California, chairman of the House intelligence panel, for misrepresenting what he said on the now infamous call with Ukraine’s president. “I actually told my lawyers, I said, ‘sue him anyway,’” Trump said. “‘He has immunity…’ I said, ‘sue him anyway. Even if we lose, the American public will understand.’”Trump made lengthy campaign-style speeches Thursday in Minnesota and Friday in Louisiana. Using a teleprompter on and off, he hit many of the same notes Saturday at the “Value Voters Summit” in Washington: the perils of socialism, his upstart 2016 victory, the need for strong borders, the success of his trade negotiations with China.The annual summit is hosted by the Family Research Council, a Protestant activist group.Trump told attendees that his political opponents are trying to “tear down” Christians.“They’re trying to silence and punish the speech of Christians and religious believers of all faiths,” Trump said. “They are trying to hound you from the workplace, expel you from the public square and weaken the American family and indoctrinate our children.”In remarks that stretched for over an hour, the president also touched on the outcry that’s followed his decision this week to pull U.S. troops out of Northern Syria at the urging of Turkey, describing himself as “sort of an island of one.”“I don’t think our troops should be there guarding the border of Syria when we can’t guard our own borders,” Trump said. “We don’t want to be in 19-year wars.”Former U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said in an interview to air Sunday that the U.S. risks a resurgence of the Islamic State terrorist group by pulling remaining troops from helping out Kurdish fighters.Trump also did a lengthy phone interview Saturday night with Fox News’s “Justice With Judge Jeanine” focused on impeachment, Syria and even the role of former President Barack Obama. (Updates with appearance on Fox News in final paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Linus ChuaFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
United States threatens Turkey with 'very significant' sanctions
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday that President Donald Trump had authorized U.S. officials to draft "very significant" new sanctions to target Turkey after it launched an offensive in northeast Syria, adding that banks were being notified. Mnuchin said the United States was not activating the sanctions at this time but would do so if necessary. "We are putting financial institutions on notice that they should be careful and that there could be sanctions," Mnuchin said.
