AT&T's court win in Time Warner takeover major setback for US Justice dept

AT&T’s sweeping court victory allowing its takeover of Time Warner delivers a sharp setback to the Justice Department’s new approach to policing mergers under President Donald Trump and promises to spark a merger wave across industries. The federal judge’s decision raises the bar for the government’s ability to challenge deals between companies that don’t compete directly. That opens a pathway for firms contemplating such deals, especially in media where distributors are racing to acquire content companies. Comcast is expected to be the first out of the gate, making a formal offer for 21st Century Fox assets as early as Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the details are private. At issue for Comcast and other companies is how antitrust enforcers will approach so-called vertical deals that unite companies operating in different parts of a supply chain rather than direct competitors.

Trade war: France warns Donald Trump it won't sign a G-7 statement

France has joined Germany to warn President Donald Trump that it won’t sign a joint statement of the Group of 7 at the summit in Quebec this week, a French official in the president’s office said. President Emmanuel Macron has signaled that progress on tariffs, Iran nuclear agreement and Paris climate accord must be made before he’ll be willing to sign a joint statement, the official told reporters in Ottawa. 

The French president spent the day meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other Canadian officials ahead of the June 8-9 summit in La Malbaie, Quebec. Macron has concluded that the other members of the G7 — the UK, Germany, Japan, France, Italy and Canada — must stand up to the US over Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium from the EU, Canada and Mexico.

Five assumptions we make about North Korea - and why they're wrong

In the 2004 comedy film Team America, Kim Jong-un’s father, Kim Jong-il, is illustrative of a popular view of North Korea that both feeds and is fed by the perception that the Kim regime is irrational, crazy and evil.

This caricature is a poor foundation on which to build a North Korea policy.

Proponents of this view point to the Kim regime’s horrendous human rights record and the Orwellian social controls put in place to maintain the Kims at the head of North Korea’s unique authoritarian political system.
While the regime’s coercive arms have been responsible for crimes against the North Korean people that could be considered “evil”, this does not suffice as an explanation for why it engages in these practices.

The “why” is important. It feeds information into risk analyses and pinpoints leverage points for strategic interactions with North Korea.

We don’t have to like this logic or agree on its strategic utility to see there is rational strategy at work. We need to locate Kim and his regime within the context of the complex incentives and constraints of North Korea’s interwoven political, economic, cultural and ecological systems.

It is useful to step back from the whirlwind of recent developments to place the current situation in the broader context of North Korea’s regime survival strategy.
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Donald Trump announces new Cuba policy to counter Obama's 'one-sided' deal

US President Donald Trump today vowed to roll back his predecessor Barack Obama's signature Cuba policy, saying it was "one-sided" and his administration will seek a "much better" deal for the Cuban people and America.

"Effective immediately, I am canceling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba. I am announcing today a new policy just as I promised during the campaign. And I will be signing that contract right at that table in just a moment," Trump told a cheering crowd of Cuban Americans in Miami, Florida.

"Our policy will seek a much better deal for the Cuban people and for the United States of America. We do not want US dollars to prop up a military monopoly that exploits and abuses the citizens of Cuba. Our new policy begins with strictly enforcing US law," he said.

Trump said he will not lift sanctions on Cuba unless it releases all political prisoners and respects freedoms.

"We will not lift sanctions on the Cuban regime until all political prisoners are freed, freedoms of assembly and expression are respected, all political parties are legalised and free and internationally supervised elections are scheduled elections," Trump said.

"We will very strongly restrict American dollars flowing to the military, security, and intelligence services that are the core of the Castro regime. They will be restricted. We will enforce the ban on tourism. We will enforce the embargo," he said.

"We will take concrete steps to ensure that investments flow directly to the people so they can open private businesses and begin to build their country's great, great future, a country of great potential," he said amidst a loud applause from the audience.
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