China’s richest man warns Trump against trade war

Hollywood investor Wang Jianlin.

 China’s richest man, Hollywood investor Wang Jianlin, warned Donald Trump Wednesday against dragging the entertainment industry into a trade war — saying his country’s millions of movie-lovers are key to the future of cinema.
The Chinese billionaire joined a chorus of concern from international business chiefs gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week over the protectionist leanings of the US president-elect, who takes office Friday.
Wang, whose Wanda conglomerate owns a US cinema chain, a Hollywood production company and the firm that runs the Golden Globe awards, said America would be the bigger loser if the entertainment sector fell victim to a trade war.
“The main growth market of English-language films out of the US is actually China, not anywhere else,” Wang told an audience in Davos, noting that China had the most movie screens in the world with 15,000 added in the past year alone.
“If China were to retaliate, it would be bad for both parties so I don’t wish to see that scenario materialising.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping has led calls in Davos this week for an open global economy as Trump prepares to take power.
“No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war,” Xi said in a keynote speech Tuesday as he paid his first visit to the World Economic Forum.
Wang warned last month that the jobs of 20,000 people employed by Wanda companies in the US would be on the line if the Trump administration mishandled Chinese investment.
The 62-year-old acknowledged US political concerns over his acquisitions, which include the $2.6 billion purchase of cinema chain AMC in 2012 and Legendary Entertainment, the company behind the “Batman” trilogy, for $3.5 billion last year.
Several US lawmakers have urged the government to examine the national security implications of such investments in Hollywood, if such Chinese “soft power” is allowed to take root.
– ‘More emotion, fewer superheroes’ –
But Wang, whose property-to-entertainment empire also includes a 20-percent stake in the Atletico Madrid football team, said the US could only gain from closer cooperation with China’s booming cinema sector.
Both sides would benefit from more co-productions between US and Chinese companies, as these are exempt from Beijing’s tight limits on the screening of foreign blockbusters, he argued.
Only 34 foreign films are allowed cinema releases in China each year, limiting Hollywood studios’ ability to cash in, but “there’s no limit” on co-productions, Wang pointed out.
Legendary’s “The Great Wall”, starring Matt Damon, has been billed as the first such blockbuster Chinese-US co-production.
Damon, in Davos to promote his water charity, told AFP on Tuesday he would work on another Chinese co-production “in a heartbeat”.
Wang, who has been talked of as a potential buyer of Paramount Pictures, reiterated his interest in buying one of the “big six” Hollywood companies.
“Of course if we’re able to buy one of the top six that would be a great thing to do. However, these six companies are not in a selling mood,” he said.
If they were, he added, “I would be a happy buyer”.
He added that Hollywood studios would be wise to think more about the kinds of films Chinese movie-goers want to see, given the potential of the market.
“Chinese films tend to talk about emotions, relationships with people,” he said.
“If Hollywood wants to take up a large market share, they need to learn to cater to Chinese tastes — not just these films about superheroes.”

Week of anti-Trump protests kick off in Washington

Thousands of US civil rights activists have kicked off a week of protests ahead of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration with a march in Washington, DC, vowing to keep fighting for equality and justice under the upcoming administration.
Chanting “no justice, no peace”, protesters headed by the Reverend Al Sharpton marched on Saturday along the National Mall toward the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, about three kilometres from the steps of the US Capitol, where Trump will be sworn in as president on Friday.
Pre-march speakers denounced Trump to protesters, who braved drizzle and temperatures just above freezing to show their support for minority rights and President Barack Obama’s signature of healthcare law, which the president-elect has vowed to dismantle.
“We stand together, not as a people of hate, but as a people of hope,” said Charley Hames Jr, president of the Oakland, California, chapter of Sharpton’s National Action Network.
“We believe this march is the first of many.”
Trump, a New York real estate developer, won with a populist platform that included promises to build a wall along the Mexican border and restrict immigration from Muslim countries.
He also promised to crack down on companies moving jobs out of the US.
Trump’s disparaging comments about immigrants and women and stance against Obama’s healthcare law have drawn the anger of many on the left, who plan a series of protests.
“He’s a clown,” said marcher Ken Coopwood Jr, 17, of Washington. “I think he’s not going to care about much, unless it’s personal.”
Civil rights groups, including the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People and the National Council of La Raza, as well as Democratic politicns had all said they would take part in Saturday’s march.
The protest began hours after Trump blasted US Representative John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and civil rights campaigner, who had previously said he did not see the estate tycoon as a legitimate president.
Lewis told NBC News in an interview for Sunday’s “Meet the Press” that he believed Russia’s alleged hacking aimed at helping Trump put his legitimacy into question.
Trump replied on Twitter on Saturday that Lewis should focus instead on his Atlanta district. “All talk, talk, talk – no action or results! Sad!,” he wrote.
About 30 groups, almost all of them anti-Trump, have gotten permits to protest before, during and after the inauguration.
Demonstrations throughout the week will voice support for women, healthcare, public education, anti-racism and peace, among other causes.
Thousands of demonstrators also have vowed to shut down the inauguration, including by closing off security checkpoints along the inaugural parade route.

US donates military tents to Nigeria police

The United States on Friday donated eight military grade multi-purpose tents to the Nigeria police for the quick return of civil authorities in communities liberated from the Boko Haram insurgents.
Ms Rosalyn Wiese, the Director, U.S. International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, presented the items to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris, in Maiduguri.
Wiese explained that the gesture was to support the country toward the re-establishment of civil authorities in communities liberated in the North-East.
“The U.S. Government is partnering with the Federal Government of Nigeria to support efforts to deploy additional civilian security, particularly the police to the North-East Nigeria.
“The tents are being donated to the police because many areas have been ravaged by Boko Haram and many public buildings, including police stations and barracks are still being rebuilt,’’ she said.
Wiese added: “A successful transition to community-oriented policing that focuses on working closely with all members of the community is crucial to building trust, establish relationships and improve communication.
“We are also working with the Nigeria Police to improve training and equipment for its personnel in the North-East’’.
She said that the U.S. planned to donate additional equipment and furniture to the police as part of its efforts to ensure restoration of civil authority in the North-East.
Receiving the items, Idris represented by Mr Yakubu Jubrin, the Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) Zone 12, thanked the U.S. Government for the gesture and promised judicious use of the items.

Christmas celebrations begin in Bethlehem

A Palestinian dressed as Santa Claus gestures as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrives through an Israeli checkpoint to attend Christmas celebrations, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem December 24, 2016.Reuters/Mussa Qawasma.

 

 

Christmas Eve celebrations have begun in the birthplace of Jesus with thousands of pilgrims and tourists descending on Bethlehem.
Crowds gathered in Manger Square to hear traditional Christmas songs like Jingle Bells being played in Arabic over loudspeakers.
Tourists and local Christians wandered around the square, which has been illuminated by festive red and golden lights and decorated with a large Christmas tree.
Rodrigo Reis, 23, who came from Louisville, Kentucky, said: “It’s very unique, I’ve never seen anything like it.
“It’s very meaningful. It’s Christmas time, where everything started.”
Christian clergymen welcomed the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land inside the Church of the Nativity, as Christians worldwide prepare to celebrate Christmas this year.
The Rev Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate, is the temporary chief clergyman to the local Catholic population.
He travelled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Saturday in a traditional procession, and said: “I am happy that the war, at least the military war, in Aleppo is finished and that for the first time in Aleppo the Christians can celebrate without fear the Christmas season.
“I wish that they can now reconstruct, rebuild the city, not only the infrastructure but also the common relations that was a tradition over there.”
The Syrian Government assumed full control of Aleppo earlier this month when rebels agreed to withdraw from their last remaining enclave after more than four years of heavy fighting over the country’s largest city.
The Christmas festivities brought holiday cheer to Christians in the Holy Land, which has endured a wave of bloodshed that erupted more than a year ago.
The violence has eased in recent months but not stopped completely.
Rula Maaya, the Palestinian minister of tourism, said all the hotels in Bethlehem were fully booked.
Despite the Christmas cheer, Middle East politics loom large in the background – the concrete barrier that surrounds parts of Bethlehem just one ominous reminder.
It was built by Israel in the last decade during the second Intifada, or uprising, when Palestinian suicide bombers attacked buses and cafes.
Israel insists the barrier is meant to keep out Palestinian attackers but because it dips inside the West Bank, Palestinians see it as a land grab that also holds back their economy.

Hijackers of Libyan plane surrender in Malta

A picture taken on December 23, 2016 in Valletta, Malta, shows a crew member helping hostages to disembark from the Afriqiyah Airways A320 after it was hijacked from Libya. A man who said he was armed with a grenade hijacked a Libyan plane which landed on Malta Friday with 118 people on board, Malta’s prime minister and government sources on the Mediterranean island said. After more than an hour on the tarmac, the plane’s door opened and a first group of women and children were seen descending a mobile staircase. “First group of passengers, consisting of women and children, being released now,” Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Twitter, adding in a later tweet that 50 passengers in all were being let off the plane.AFP/Matthew Mirabelli.

 

 

Hijackers claiming to have a grenade took over a Libyan plane Friday and diverted it to Malta before releasing everyone onboard and surrendering to authorities, officials said.
“Final crew members leaving aircraft with hijackers,” Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Twitter.
Minutes later he added: “Hijackers surrendered, searched and taken in custody”.
Libyan Foreign Minister Taher Siala said the two hijackers were supporters of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi and had requested political asylum in Malta.
Siala, from Libya’s internationally backed Government of National Accord, said the hijackers have also said they want to set up a pro-Kadhafi political party.
The plane landed at 11:32 am (1032 GMT) in Malta.
After more than an hour on the tarmac, the door of the Airbus A320 opened and a first group of women and children were seen descending a mobile staircase.
Dozens more passengers were released minutes later following negotiations that Maltese government sources said were led by the head of Malta’s military.
In all there were 111 passengers, including 28 women and a baby, on board, as well as seven crew members.
Maltese government sources had earlier said only a single hijacker was believed to be on the plane.
The aircraft had been on a domestic Libyan route operated by Afriqiyah Airways from Sabha in southern Libya to the capital Tripoli but was re-routed.
“The Afriqiyah flight from Sabha to Tripoli has been diverted and has landed in Malta. Security services coordinating operations,” Muscat tweeted earlier.
Muscat later spoke to Libya’s prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of the north African country’s fledgling unity government, the Maltese prime minister’s office said.
The plane could be seen on the tarmac of a secondary runway surrounded by military vehicles.
All flights in and out of the airport were initially either delayed or diverted to destinations in Italy, though some later took off and landed.
Malta International Airport said there had been “an unlawful interference” but operations had now resumed.
An Afriqiyah Airways source said the two hijackers had threatened the pilots with an explosive device, probably a grenade, forcing them to continue to Malta instead of landing at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport.
Libya has been in a state of chaos since the 2011 overthrow of Moamer Kadhafi left warring militias battling for control of different parts of the country.
Forces loyal to a national unity government recently took control of the coastal city of Sirte, which had been a bastion for the Islamic State group since June 2015.
Western powers have pinned their hopes of containing jihadism in the energy-rich North African state on the government but it has failed to establish its authority over all of the country.
A rival authority rules the country’s far east, backed by the forces under military strongman Marshal Khalifa Haftar who have been battling jihadists in second city Benghazi.
Only local airlines — banned from European airspace — operate in Libya, with flights to Tunis, Cairo, Amman, Istanbul and Khartoum.

‘Flattered’ Stallone signals he would not take Trump arts job

Actor Sylvester Stallone attends Goldie Hawn's Annual Goldie's Love In For Kids on May 06, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California.Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Sylvester Stallone has said he was flattered by the possibility of working in Donald Trump’s incoming administration – but he is not interested.
The Rocky and Rambo star said in a statement carried by US media that he would rather help military veterans.
The Daily Mail reported last week that Stallone had been approached about a possible top arts-related position in the Trump administration, possibly as head of the National Endowment for the Arts.
The New York Times quoted Mr Trump’s advisers as saying no formal offer had been put forth, though “overtures” had been made.
“I am incredibly flattered to have been suggested to be involved with the National Endowment of the Arts,” the statement by Stallone said, according to the New York Times, Variety and others.
“However I believe I could be more effective by bringing national attention to returning military personnel in an effort to find gainful employment, suitable housing and financial assistance these heroes respectfully deserve.”
The 70-year-old actor did not elaborate how he would be involved trying to help the veterans.
The National Endowment for Arts is an independent federal agency that offers support and funding for projects in the art.
Stallone said in an interview at the start of the year that he considered following Arnold Schwarzenegger’s footsteps and entering politics, but the idea was short-lived.
Asked about Mr Trump, then a front runner for the Republican nomination, he told Variety: “I love Donald Trump.
“He’s a great Dickensian character. You know what I mean? There are certain people like Arnold, Babe Ruth, that are bigger than life.
“But I don’t know how that translates to running the world.”
Mr Trump has been working on his transition from his headquarters in Trump Tower.
He has recently met with other celebrities, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Kanye West.

US puts $25 million reward on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

This file image grab taken from a propaganda video released on July 5, 2014 by al-Furqan Media allegedly shows the leader of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, aka Caliph Ibrahim, adressing Muslim worshippers at a mosque in the militant-held northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Jihadist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on his fighters to resist as Iraqi forces were poised on November 3, 2016 to enter the city of Mosul where he declared a "caliphate" two years ago. The appeal was made in an audio recording released on the internet and purported to be by the elusive leader of the Islamic State group, his first message this year.

The U.S. Government has put a 25 million dollars offer on so-called Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an increase from the initial 10 million dollars.
The U.S. Government announced the new reward in a statement issued by the Department of State.
“The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program is increasing to 25 million dollars its reward offer for information leading to the location, arrest, or conviction of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, also known as Ibrahim ‘Awwad Ibrahim ‘Ali al-Badri, also known as Abu Du’a.
“This represents a significant increase from the previous reward offer of 10 million dollars announced in October 2011.”
The statement said in recent years, ISIL has gained the allegiance of jihadist groups and radicalised individuals around the world, and has inspired attacks in the U.S.
“Under Al-Baghdadi, ISIL has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East, including the brutal murder of numerous civilian hostages from Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
“The group also has conducted chemical weapons attacks in Iraq and Syria in defiance of the longstanding global norm against the use of these appalling weapons, and has enabled or directed terrorist attacks beyond the borders of its self-declared caliphate.”
In June 2014, ISIL, also known as Da’esh, seized control of portions of Syria and Iraq, self-declared a so-called Islamic caliphate, and named al-Baghdadi as caliph.

In 2011, the Department of State designated Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224.
Al-Baghdadi was also added to the UN Security Council ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida Sanctions Committee in 2011.
Al-Baghdadi was the leader of al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI), which subsequently morphed into ISIL.
“We encourage anyone with information about al-Baghdadi to contact the Rewards for Justice office via e-mail (no2daesh@rewards4justice.co), by phone (1-800-877-3927 in North America), or by mail (Rewards for Justice, Washington, D.C., 20520-0303, USA).
“All information will be kept strictly confidential,” the statement read.
The Rewards for Justice Program is administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security.
Since its inception in 1984, the program has paid in excess of 125 million dollars to more than 80 people who provided actionable information that helped bring terrorists to justice or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide.