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The specter of Middle East conflict is back

Balance of Power
Balance of Power
From Bloomberg Politics
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The specter of conflict in the Middle East is back.

The U.S. has ordered non-emergency staff out of Iraq, just a week after Secretary of State Michael Pompeo traveled there to discuss escalating regional tensions with Iran.

It follows the U.S. closure of its consulate in the southern city of Basra in September where it also cited threats from Iran, which supports powerful Shiite Muslim militias in its neighbor.

Fractures have widened in the past month over President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, with Tehran threatening to also pull out of the agreement designed to stop it enriching uranium for potential nuclear weapons.

There have been attacks on Saudi tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil-trading route. Trump has put Iran's oil-dependent economy under further pressure, withdrawing waivers that let Tehran trade some of its oil.

Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to keep the U.S. out of fresh wars, and spoken of the heavy cost the U.S. has borne in the past from having soldiers on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yesterday he denied a New York Times report that the U.S. had updated its military planning on Iran. But he added if hostilities were to break out he'd send "a hell of a lot more" troops than the 120,000 mentioned.

- Benjamin Harvey

United Arab Emirates National Me
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Inching forward | U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May set a date for what looks to be the final Brexit showdown, promising to put her exit agreement to another vote in Parliament at the start of June. After seven weeks of fruitless talks with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, it's doubtful either the opposition or May's own party will back the deal, leaving the European divorce in limbo.

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Trump relaxes in his Trump Tower apartment. 

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What to Watch

  • Trump plans to soon sign an executive order prohibiting American firms from using gear made by foreign telecoms companies that pose a threat, as U.S. security concerns mount about China's Huawei.

  • EU leaders raised the possibility of making World Bank Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva from Bulgaria the next EU Commission president, Ian Wishart and Viktoria Dendrinou report.

And finally...Home to more than half the world's population, cities are stepping up efforts to slash pollution, often wresting the fight against climate change away from national governments. Authorities from London to Sydney and Boston are among a group of 14 setting out the plans to achieve carbon or climate neutrality by 2050, according to CDP, a non-profit group that pushes institutions to detail greenhouse-gas emissions. Five cities have already set 100% renewable energy targets and Reykjavik, Iceland says all the power it now uses is renewable.
 

 

 
 

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