Top Stories Today – June 13, 2019
Top Stories Today – June 13, 2019
Oil tankers attacked near Strait of Hormuz
Two oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz were damaged in suspected attacks on Thursday, an assault that left one ablaze and adrift as sailors were evacuated from both vessels and the US Navy rushed to assist amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran. It marks the latest mysterious incident to target the region’s oil tankers. The US alleged that Iran used limpet mines to attack four oil tankers off the nearby Emirati port of Fujairah last month. Iran has denied being involved, but it comes as Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen also have launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile in Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that while Tehran doesn’t seek nuclear weapons, “America could not do anything” to stop Iran if it did. The comments came during a one-on-one meeting capping Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s high-stakes visit in Tehran that sought to ease Iran-US tensions, suggested the efforts had failed. The timing of Thursday’s suspected attack was especially sensitive as Abe’s high-stakes diplomacy mission was underway in Iran. Japan’s Trade Ministry said the two vessels had “Japan-related cargo.” The Associated Press
Hong Kong in limbo
Hong Kong’s legislature suspended meetings Thursday as leaders considered their next steps following violent clashes between police and protesters who oppose a bill that would allow suspects to be tried in mainland Chinese courts. Critics say the measure, now on hold, would undermine the city’s cherished legal autonomy amid moves by Beijing to tighten its hold over the former British colony.
The violence is Hong Kong’s most severe political crisis since the Communist Party-ruled mainland took control in 1997 with a promise not to interfere with the city’s civil liberties and courts. It poses a profound challenge both to the local leadership and to Chinese President Xi Jinping, the country’s strongest leader in decades who has demanded that Hong Kong follow Beijing’s dictates. The Associated Press
Trump opens to election info from foreign powers
President Donald Trump may not alert the FBI if foreign governments offered damaging information against his 2020 rivals during the upcoming presidential race, he said, despite the deluge of investigations stemming from his campaign’s interactions with Russians during the 2016 campaign.
Asked by ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in the Oval Office on Wednesday whether his campaign would accept such information from foreigners — such as China or Russia — or hand it over the FBI, Trump said, “I think maybe you do both.” President Trump made the remark during an exclusive interview with ABC News over the course of two days, wherein Stephanopoulos joined the president on a visit to Iowa and back to Washington for a day inside the White House. ABC News
Johnson tops first Tory leadership poll
Boris Johnson has secured the highest number of votes in the first ballot to select the Conservative party leader and next prime minister. Three contenders – Mark Harper, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey – have been knocked out, in the secret ballot held in the House of Commons.
Johnson received 114 votes, Jeremy Hunt was second with 43, and Michael Gove third with 37 votes. Seven candidates progress to the next round of voting next week. The two most popular MPs will be put to Tory party members in a final vote later this month. The winner of the contest to succeed Theresa May is expected to be announced in the week of 22 July. BBC
US House votes to hold Barr, Ross in contempt
US House panel moved to hold two Cabinet officials — Attorney General William P. Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross — in contempt of Congress over the administration’s efforts to shield documents related to its decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census on Wednesday. The committee vote came several hours after Trump asserted executive privilege over the material related to the 2020 Census.
Earlier in the day, the Justice Department sent a letter to Oversight Committee Chair Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) saying President Trump would assert his executive privilege to protect materials from investigation. The committee has unsuccessfully sought documents and testimony from Barr and Ross for several months, but the White House said pursuing a vote on contempt of Congress was “premature.” The Washington Post
Study: Pentagon is a major greenhouse emitter
A new study has found that the Pentagon emits more greenhouse gas in one year than several industrialized countries, including Sweden and Portugal. The Defense Department is the world’s single largest consumer of oil, and in 2017, the Pentagon released 59 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, the study found.
“If it were a country, it would have been the world’s 55th largest greenhouse gas emitter,” writes study author Neta Crawford, a political scientist at Boston University. Most of its energy consumption is related to maintaining 560,000 buildings at military installations and the jet and diesel fuel used to move soldiers and weapons. Live Science via The Week
US to send additional 1,000 troops to Poland
Trump on Wednesday, alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda, announced 1,000 more US service members will be sent to Poland. Still unresolved is whether there will be a permanent placement of up to 2,000 additional American uniformed personnel in the country. The two leaders avoided announcing a “permanent” shifting of more US troops to Poland – a move likely to significantly increase tension with Russia.
Poland has pledged to contribute at least $2 billion to place additional US forces and assets in the country to deter any possible Russian aggression. Poland is among the seven NATO countries that have already hit their goal of 2% GDP spending on defense, a pledge that Trump has often criticized other NATO allies for not yet achieving. The pledge, signed in Wales in 2014, requires all NATO countries to reach this goal by 2024. The Voice of America