Top News Stories for Today – Feb 14, 2019
Top News Stories for Today – Feb 14, 2019
Myanmar constitution change unlikely to happen
Aung San Suu Kyi is unlikely to win any big changes to Myanmar’s military-drafted constitution, despite launching her boldest challenge yet to the generals’ entrenched role in politics, analysts have said. Her civilian National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which dominates parliament, last week comfortably won a vote to set up a committee to amend the charter — but observers say that’s about as easy as it’s going to get.
The roughly 200-page document guarantees soldiers a quarter of all seats in parliament, giving them the ability to veto any constitutional changes, which require 75 percent of the vote to pass. That means the NLD’s super majority from a landslide 2015 election win is effectively useless when it comes to striking down clauses that bar Suu Kyi from becoming president and allow the military to control key ministries. Making constitution more democratic was a key NLD election pledge, but the committee appears to be less about making good on that promise than trying to show voters that they tried, and were hamstrung by the generals. VOA
Manafort lied intentionally in Russia probe
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort intentionally lied to investigators and a federal grand jury in the special counsel’s Russia probe, a judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s decision was another loss for Manafort, a once-wealthy political consultant who rose to lead Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and now faces years in prison in two criminal cases brought in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. VOA
Huawei vs iPhone in China
Demand for the Chinese tech company’s devices is red hot even though the country’s overall market for smartphones is shrinking. Huawei’s China sales rocketed more than 20% in the final quarter of 2018, and experts say that’s partly due to the US government’s global campaign against the company. “The latest tension between the US and China raised the patriotism in Chinese consumers,” said Jusy Hong, an analyst at research firm IHS Markit.
He pointed out that some Chinese companies encouraged employees to buy Huawei phones late last year. The moves were a gesture of support after the firm’s chief financial officer was arrested in Canada in early December at the request of the United States. Huawei’s booming sales show how major parts of its business continue to thrive even as the United States tries to persuade other countries to shut Huawei products out of 5G wireless networks and pursues criminal charges against it. The company expects to overtake Samsung as the world’s biggest smartphone maker by next year. CNN
US House advances gun bill
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday advanced legislation that would require universal background checks for gun purchases in the latest sign that Democrats are prioritizing gun control in the first days of their majority.
Lawmakers on the panel voted along party lines to approve the bill, 23-15. Democrats hope to bring the measure to the floor for a vote in the coming weeks. The committee vote came a day before the one-year anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which killed 17 people. The Hill
Ryan Adams accused of sexual misconduct
Several women are accusing singer-songwriter Ryan Adams of emotional abuse and sexual misconduct, including his ex-wife, actress Mandy Moore. More than a dozen people spoke to The New York Times, with several saying that Adams would promise career opportunities, but if they rejected his advances, he would become emotionally and verbally abusive. One woman, now 20, told the Times that in 2013, she started talking with Adams online about music, and while she was underage, he exposed himself during a video chat.
Adams’ lawyer told the Times his client “unequivocally denies that he ever engaged in appropriate online sexual communications with someone he knew was underage.” On Twitter, Adams said he’s “not a perfect man,” but the “picture that this article paints is upsettingly inaccurate.” The New York Times via The Week
Airbus scraps A380 jet as sales fall
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has pulled the plug on its struggling A380 superjumbo, which entered service just 12 years ago. Airbus said last deliveries of the world’s largest passenger aircraft, which cost about $25bn to develop, would be made in 2021.
The decision comes after Emirates, the largest A380 customer, cut its order. The A380 faced fierce competition from smaller, more efficient aircraft and has never made a profit. Airbus said it would deliver between 880 and 890 new commercial aircraft this year. Airbus said it would start discussions with partners regarding the “3,000 to 3,500 job positions potentially impacted over the next three years”. BBC
Ryan Zinke joins lobbying firm
Ryan Zinke stepped down as interior secretary in December, facint at least 15 investigations. Now he’s a senior adviser with the Washington, D.C., lobbying firm Turnberry Solutions, where he will focus on defense and energy matters in Washington, California, and Montana.
He is the first former member of President Trump’s Cabinet to join a lobbying firm, though Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has also just signed on as a senior adviser at Turnberry Solutions. Jason Osborne, a partner at the firm, told Politico that Zinke will likely register as a lobbyist but Lewandowski will not. Politico, The Washington Post via The Week
Bill Cosby claims he’s imprisoned for his political beliefs
Former comedian Bill Cosby, who was sentenced to three to 10 years in a maximum security prison after being found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault, released a statement through his representative on Wednesday saying he “will never have remorse” for his crimes. Cosby said that a “low-life district attorney and a corrupt judge needed me guilty” because of their “political aspirations,” also claiming that he was locked up because of “my political beliefs, my actions of trying to humanize all races, genders, and religions.” Now, Cosby says, he has “a temporary residence that resembles the quarters of some of the greatest political prisoners,” including Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela. CNN via The Week