Saturday, April 30, 2016

Baghdad in State of Emergency After Supporters of al Sadr Storm Green Zone

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Baghdad in State of Emergency After Supporters of al Sadr Storm Green Zone

NBCNews.com

- ‎12 hours ago‎

From Iraq:Baghdad update: Abadi says situation under control as protestersRudaw

Trending on Google+:State of emergency declared in Baghdad as protesters take Iraqi parliamentWashington Post

In Depth:Iraqi protesters pour into heavily fortified Green Zone, storm parliamentFox News

Iraq Turmoil

News

Iraq Turmoil

Apr 30 2016, 9:38 pm ET

Baghdad in State of Emergency After Supporters of al Sadr Storm Green Zone

by Mo Abbas, F. Brinley Bruton and Elizabeth Chuck

State of Emergency in Baghdad as Protesters Storm Iraqi Parliament

Iraqi officials declared a state of emergency for all of Baghdad on Saturday after protesters loyal to popular Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr breached the heavily fortified Green Zone, home to government buildings and foreign embassies, including the American one.
"Iraq security authorities have declared a state of emergency in Baghdad," said Brig. Gen. Saad Mann, a spokesman for the Iraqi military. "All gates that lead to Baghdad are closed. No one is allowed to enter into Baghdad, only those who want to leave Baghdad can do so."
Hundreds of demonstrators occupied the country's parliament, according to a senior Iraqi security source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Image: Followers of Iraq's Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr are seen in the parliament building as they storm Baghdad's Green Zone in Iraq — Followers of Iraq's Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr gather in the parliament building as they storm Baghdad's Green Zone after lawmakers failed to convene for a vote on overhauling the government on April 30. AHMED SAAD / Reuters

Video from inside the building showed jubilant crowds waving Iraqi flags and shouting "peaceful, peaceful." The were no immediate reports of major violence. Parliament is not currently in session.
Supporters of Sadr, whose fighters once controlled swaths of Baghdad and helped defend the capital from ISIS, have been demonstrating for weeks at the gates of the Green Zone, responding to their leader's call to pressure the government to reform. Saturday was the first time the protesters breached the compound's walls.
Sadr called on his followers to leave the Parliament building and instead start a sit-in in the Grand Festivities Square, which is also inside the Green Zone.
PHOTOS: Protesters Topple Walls, Storm Parliament

Iraqi security forces fired tear gas and bullets in the air to prevent protesters from entering the Green Zone near the U.S. Embassy, police sources told Reuters.
But Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said later Saturday that the security situation in Baghdad was "under control" and asked demonstrators to return to designated protest areas.
A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the American Embassy in Baghdad was not being evacuated, contrary to local reports.
"There is no evacuation for the American staff inside the American embassy," he said.
A live-video feed from Baghdad showed demonstrators knocking down sections of the Green Zone's perimeter wall.
The political unrest comes as Iraq also wrestles with violence from ISIS. Earlier Saturday, the terror group claimed responsibility for a bombing east of Baghdad that killed at least 21 people and hurt dozens of others.
The country is also in an economic crisis, due in part to a plunge in oil prices.

Image: IRAQ-POLITICS-PROTEST — Iraqi protesters flash the V-sign as they gather inside the parliament after breaking into Baghdad's heavily fortified "Green Zone" on April 30, 2016. HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI / AFP - Getty Images

The invasion of parliament by the Sadrist protesters raises questions over the future of al-Abadi, who has struggled to impose a technocratic government to tackle corruption.
He has faced fierce opposition from powerful groups who have benefited from political power being shared through sectarian quotas.
Critics say that system has led to widespread graft, triggering frequent protests by thousands of Iraqis who accuse the government of failing to provide basic services such as electricity and clean water.
Related: ISIS Claims Deadly Truck Bombing in Iraq Marketplace: Report
The political crisis also threatens to hamper efforts to tackle ISIS fighters, who are still entrenched in Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, in the country's north and have exploited unrest in the capital of Baghdad to launch bomb attacks.
The breach of the once near-impregnable Green Zone represents a powerful blow to the image of Iraq's security forces, as it struggles to safeguard key ministries, embassies and political leaders.
Moments before it was breached, Sadr gave what appeared to be an ultimatum, Reuters reported.
"Either corrupt (officials) and quotas remain or the entire government will be brought down and no one will be exempt from that," he said.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said it was "gravely concerned" by Saturday's developments.
"The Mission condemns the use of violence, including against elected officials, and urges calm, restraint and respect for Iraq's constitutional institutions at this crucial juncture," it said in a statement posted to Facebook.

Australia to Reject Chinese Deal to Buy Cattle Ranch Empire

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Australia to Reject Chinese Deal to Buy Cattle Ranch Empire

Wall Street Journal

- ‎Apr 28, 2016‎

CANBERRA, Australia—Australia's government intends to reject a deal led by Chinese investors to buy the country's largest cattle-ranch empire, in a signal of rising official concern about offshore investment in the country's agricultural trophies ...

Opinion:RBA primed for budget day rate cutSydney Morning Herald

See realtime coverage »

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Australia to Reject Chinese Deal to Buy Cattle Ranch Empire

S. Kidman controls pastoral leases that straddle three Australia states

Rob Taylor

Updated April 29, 2016 2:11 a.m. ET

3 COMMENTS

CANBERRA, Australia—Australia’s government intends to reject a deal led by Chinese investors to buy the country’s largest cattle-ranch empire, in a signal of rising official concern about offshore investment in the country’s agricultural trophies.
Treasurer Scott Morrison said Friday that he had told a consortium headed by a Chinese conglomerate of his “preliminary” judgment that the deal, which would have put 80% of the century-old S. Kidman & Co. Ltd. empire in Chinese hands, is not in Australia’s interest.
“Australia welcomes foreign investment,” Mr. Morrison told reporters at Parliament. “However, we must be confident that this investment is not contrary to the national interest.” He said he had asked S. Kidman and the consortium to respond to his concerns before Tuesday’s federal budget unveiling.
S. Kidman had no immediate comment on the government’s announcement. The consortium, made up of China-based Dakang Australia Holdings and Australian Rural Capital Ltd. , wasn’t immediately available for comment.
The board of S. Kidman, which produces grass-fed beef for export to Japan, the U.S. and Southeast Asia and whose holdings cover an area larger than Ireland—1.3% of the Australian continent, straddling three states—agreed on April 19 to sell to the consortium for US$287.3 million.

Dakang Australia is controlled by Shanghai Pengxin Group, which tried to buy the company outright last year only to have the government block the deal because the largest property, Anna Creek Station, abuts a strategic weapons-test range. The current deal excludes the station, and Mr. Morrison said his concerns this time center around the portfolio’s being offered as a single asset.
“The size of the asset makes it difficult for any single Australian group to acquire the entire operation,” Mr. Morrison said, adding that a confidential review had found that while the sale process had allowed Australian parties to make an offer, there’s still significant domestic interest in the Kidman portfolio.
“Even after the excision of Anna Creek and The Peake properties, Kidman will still be Australia’s largest private land owner and hold over 1% of Australia’s total land area, and 2% of Australia’s agricultural land,” Mr. Morrison said. The government’s concerns could mean the Kidman properties will have to be broken into smaller parts to win approval.
Farm takeovers by overseas investors have become increasingly sensitive in Australia, with some politicians opposing deals they say represent threats to food and water security at a time of rising global demand. Investment by China—now the biggest investor in Australia’s agricultural sector—has become especially contentious.
Australia’s Nationals party, the junior partner in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s conservative LNP coalition, has called for a register of foreign-owned farm and water interests to address rural concerns about being priced out of land deals.
Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, who is also deputy prime minister, tweeted: “I welcome the Federal Treasurer’s decision on Kidman.”
Shanghai Pengxin is a private Chinese company owned by billionaire property developer Zhaobai Jiang. It first ventured into agricultural investment in 2012 when it bought 16 New Zealand dairy farms for 200 million New Zealand dollars (US$139.2 million at the current exchange rate).
The company’s president for overseas investment, Terry Lee, last month sought to douse concerns about Chinese agricultural investment, saying it plans to rely on Australian workers and expertise.
“We like to work locally with people, we want to learn local experience and local skills, we will rely on local management, local farmers, local partners and local suppliers,” Mr. Lee told Australian state television.
Write to Rob Taylor at rob.taylor@

Obama roasts the media, RNC and, of course, Trump at annual dinner

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Obama roasts the media, RNC and, of course, Trump at annual dinner

The president delivers his final address at the 102nd annual White House Correspondents' Dinner.

President Barack Obama has his first laugh at the dinner shortly after being seated. — President Barack Obama has his first laugh at Saturday's dinner shortly after being seated. | AFP/Getty

It was President Barack Obama’s final White House Correspondents’ Dinner as president – and he hopes the country will be around to see another one.
“It’s an honor to be at my last, and perhaps the last correspondents’ dinner. You all look great; the end of the Republic has never looked better,” he said, kicking off his remarks Saturday night at the 102nd annual event that brings together journalists, politicians and celebrities for a dinner and celebration at the Washington Hilton.

“It’s my eighth and final appearance at this unique event. I am excited. If this material works well, I’m going to use it at Goldman Sachs next year. Earn me some serious Tubmans,” he said, jabbing Hillary Clinton, before slinging other barbs at Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg and Reince Priebus.
Bernie Sanders, who attended the dinner, is “the bright young face of the Democratic Party”; Bloomberg is “actually worth the amount of money he says he is” – a pointed dig at Donald Trump – and Hillary Clinton is the aging family aunt who just signed up for Facebook.
“You’ve got to admit, though, Hillary trying to appeal to young voters is a little bit like your relative just signing up for Facebook. ‘Did you get my poke?’ the president joked.
“Bernie, you look like a million bucks — or we’ll put it in terms you’ll understand: You look like 37,000 donations of $27,” Obama added.
As for the Republican National Committee: “Guests were asked if they wanted steak or fish, and a whole bunch of you wrote in Paul Ryan.”
On Ted Cruz: “He went to Hoosier country, called the hoop a basketball ring. What else is in his lexicon? Baseball sticks? Football hats? But sure, I’m the foreign one.”
He also poked fun at The Washington Post, Buzzfeed and the Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” investigation team.
The president was expected to light into Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner who famously bristled while the president roasted the mogul in person as he sat at the dinner in 2011. And he didn’t hold back.
“The guy wanted to give his hotel business and boost, and now we’re praying that Cleveland makes it through July,” Obama said. “I’m a little disappointed he wasn’t here tonight. We had so much fun last time.”
He also appeared in a pre-recorded video with former House Speaker John Boehner, discussing their mutual retirements – and pervasive nicotine habits.
Self-deprecating as the occasion requires, Obama said of himself: “In my final year my approval ratings keep going up. The last time I was this high, I was trying to decide on my major.”
“Nightly Show” host and comedian Larry Wilmore appeared to fall slightly flat compared with previous raucous acts that have followed the president. He roasted Obama on the toll his years as president have taken.
“You look terrible Mr. President ... Your hair is so white it tried to punch me at a Trump rally. It’s so white it keeps saying 'All Lives Matter.'”
Continuing a theme, he gave a “shout-out to the print media. No really, you have to shout. They’re all over 70 now.”
On Boehner calling Cruz “Lucifer” this week, he mocked the Texas senator and Republican candidate as the Internet’s favorite “Zodiac Killer,” saying that it was pointless for Carly Fiorina to be his vice presidential pick, as “serial killers always work alone.”
Politicians in attendance included Vice President Joe Biden; Democratic presidential candidate Sanders – sans tuxedo, as promised – former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, accompanied by her husband, Mark Kelly; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, with his wife, Callista; and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz was there, as was former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett was spotted chatting with former White House press secretary Jay Carney, while senior Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin also made an appearance. Although Trump declined to attend this year, his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. attended with their wives.
Movie star attendees included Will Smith, accompanied by his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Emma Watson, Jared Leto, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren and Star Wars luminary Carrie Fisher, who was accompanied by her pet French bulldog, Gary.
From TV, Kerry Washington was there with many of the “Scandal” cast alongside Bryan Cranston from “Breaking Bad” and former “Apprentice” star Omarosa Onee Manigault. John Wall, of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, brought his mother, Frances Pulley, while U.S. soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo also was here.
Media bold-face names included CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell and Fox News host Megyn Kelly. Soul singer Aretha Franklin, who performed at the White House jazz concert Friday night, also attended.
Before the dinner, first lady Michelle Obama chatted with Wilmore, while the president was spotted chatting with Gerald Seib, the Wall Street Journal’s Washington Bureau chief, and Carol Lee, the newspaper’s White House correspondent and president of the White House Correspondents’ Association. Biden, who sat at a table with Mirren and Bloomberg, was spotted chatting with Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post reporter who was released in January after spending 18 months in an Iranian prison.
The guests’ chatter filled the ballroom for much of the night as the flash of “selfie” and group photos lit up the surroundings. The night before, they’d partied at a series of glitzy parties around Washington, D.C., hosted by The New Yorker, Time and People magazine among others.
Lee, Jeff Mason of Reuters and Michelle Obama presented the annual WHCA scholarship recipients as the guests finished up their dinners, which included diver scallops, duck confit and potato soufflé. Lee toasted Rezaian, who gave out the WHCA’s annual journalism awards after shaking the president’s hand.
“This is a big intimidating room, but it beats solitary confinement,” Rezaian said to cheers and applause.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE?

From NYC tabloid writers in the 1980s to campaign reporters now riding the Trump rollercoaster, POLITICO Magazine’s latest MEDIA ISSUE takes a look at the press’ role in the rise of GOP front-runner Donald Trump.

Trump flops in Arizona delegate fight

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Trump flops in Arizona delegate fight

Politico

- ‎1 hour ago‎

Donald Trump's campaign got burned again Saturday in the hunt for loyal delegates to the Republican national convention - this time on turf where he'd recently trounced his rivals in primary elections.

Opinion:President Trump and California: a beautiful union, believe meLos Angeles Times

With each delegate battle he loses, Donald Trump faces likelier odds of walking into a national convention where a majority of delegates opposes his nomination. | AP Photo

2016

Trump flops in Arizona delegate fight

The GOP front-runner flashed more strength than ever in the shadow primary — but still suffered stinging defeats.

Donald Trump's campaign got burned again Saturday in the hunt for loyal delegates to the Republican national convention — this time on turf where he'd recently trounced his rivals in primary elections.
Though the mogul's campaign showed more muscle than ever in this shadow primary, he walked away in defeat in Arizona — losing about 40 of the 55 delegate slots that were up for grabs on the day. That's despite a dominant primary win there on March 22 and a furious attempt by supporters to guarantee the election of allies to the national convention.

Instead, it was Ted Cruz who emerged with the bulk of support from the state's delegates. Though all of Arizona's delegates are bound to vote for Trump on the first vote at the national convention, most are likely to flip to Cruz if Trump is unable to clinch the nomination.
And Cruz wasn't done racking up victories on Trump's turf. In Virginia, where Trump beat Cruz by a two-to-one margin in a March 1 primary, Cruz's forces captured at least 10 of the 13 delegates on the ballot. The Texas senator won 18 of 24 delegates in local Missouri conventions, even though Trump won that state on primary day as well.
In all, Cruz won about 80 delegate slots on the day of the more than 170 up for grabs. Another handful went to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and even Marco Rubio — who dropped out of the race on March 15 — scored about seven supportive delegates. Another dozen haven't revealed who they support yet.
It wasn't a totally lost day for Trump. The mogul scored strong victories in Massachusetts delegate fights and held his own in Arkansas and Alaska, showing an organizational strength that has escaped him in dozens of state and local delegate battles so far. On the day, Trump earned about 60 delegates, far fewer than the results of the state primaries and caucuses dictated, but enough to stave off catastrophe.
Cruz's team is operating in a changing environment though. Trump has scored overpowering victories in the last six primaries and appears to be on a trajectory to clinch the nomination on a first ballot — when most convention delegates are bound to vote based on the results of state primaries and caucuses. That could render the hunt for loyal delegates meaningless, and Trump's allies have been dismissing the prospect of a contested convention in recent weeks.
Yet if Trump fails to post large victories in the next round of primaries, Cruz's huge delegate hauls on what should be safe Trump turf limit Trump's ability to compete at a contested convention. With each delegate battle he loses, the mogul faces likelier odds of walking into a national convention where a majority of delegates opposes his nomination.
Trump helped his cause most in Massachusetts, where a well-organized effort — aided by a cavalry of Trump supporters from New Hampshire — scored 23 of 27 delegate slots for the New York billionaire. Trump's campaign co-chairman there, state Rep. Geoff Diehl, said he hopes the effort becomes a model for Trump going forward, and has turned the tide against Cruz's delegate dominance.
"I think that this not only stops the narrative that Ted Cruz could win on a second ballot ... but it also shows that Massachusetts Republicans were certainly galvanized to go in the other direction and win delegate slots from the other campaigns instead," Diehl said in a phone interview. "That's a reflection of the galvanizing of republicans not just in Massachusetts but in the country."
The Arizona loss, though, stung. Trump had earned about 14 of the state's 27 local delegates earlier in the day, a result that had his backers bullish about a strong overall haul from his southwestern stronghold. But At least a handful of those supporters also appeared on Ted Cruz's slate, raising questions about their loyalty. Gov. Doug Ducey also appeared on Trump's slate but is considered neutral in the contest.
A last minute push by state party leaders to aid Trump's efforts fell flat, though, when the state convention selected 28 at-large delegates. There, Cruz forces helped push through 26 anti-Trump delegates.
The rest of the day was a mixed bag for Trump, too. Delaware, where Trump won about 60 percent of the vote on Tuesday, picked a slate of 13 state party activists whose loyalty is uncertain as they're not tied to any particular candidate. In Arkansas, another strong Trump state, the mogul earned six delegates to Cruz's four and Marco Rubio's two. And in Alaska, where Cruz narrowly defeated Trump in March 1 caucuses, Cruz picked up 12 delegates to Trump's 11, while Rubio scored five.
In South Carolina, where Trump won easily against a crowded field in February, none of the three delegates elected Saturday are supporters. Two are uncommitted, and one backs Cruz.
One of the South Carolina delegates, Tyson Grinstead, said he leans toward backing John Kasich at the convention but noted that he's bound to back Trump on a first ballot. And he's not so sure the mogul won't clinch it immediately. Grinstead, a former political director for Sen. Lindsey Graham, said he won a narrow fight, beating out several "heavy hitters" — including Sally Atwater, the widow of legendary GOP strategist Lee Atwater.
Sally Atwater told POLITICO she intends to pursue a statewide delegate slot but isn't sure yet who she'll support in the race. "I don't think the race would probably be like this if Lee was here," she said. "He knew what was going on all throughout the country. It wouldn't have taken him by surprise."

Top 10 Posts This Month

Saturday, April 30, 2016

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