New York Is No Longer the Top City for the Ultra-Rich
This Is Where the Ultra-Rich Live
Ultra-rich means you have $30 million.
By BLOOMBERG September 6, 2018
New York has lost its crown as home to the most ultra-rich people, beaten out by the rising tide of extreme wealth in Asia.
Hong Kong surpassed the Big Apple as the city with the highest population of people worth at least $30 million, according to a new report. The former British colony saw its number of ultra-wealthy increase 31% last year, to about 10,000, research firm Wealth-X found, higher than the nearly 9,000-strong population of the U.S.’s largest city. Tokyo came third, while Paris beat out London to take the European crown as Brexit weighed down the U.K. capital.
The number of ultra-rich worldwide rose 13% last year, according to Wealth-X, totaling about 256,000 people with combined assets of $31.5 trillion. Asia saw the fastest growth, driven by mainland China and Hong Kong, the study’s authors wrote. Reflecting the region’s rise, its share of the global population of people with at least $30 million rose to just over one-fourth, up from around 18% a decade ago.
“Asia-Pacific is forecast to close the ultra-wealth gap with other regions over the next five years, but is expected to remain behind Europe, the Middle East and Africa in absolute terms,” the report’s authors wrote. The number of ultra-wealthy in Asia-Pacific is expected to rise at a compound rate of 8.3% a year, they said.
Women accounted for about 35,000 of the ultra-rich last year, a record-high share of nearly 14%, the study found.
While Hong Kong topped the city rankings, nowhere in mainland China made the top 10, despite the country being third in the list of nations. That’s because China’s wealthy are widely dispersed, illustrated by the fact it was home to 26 of the 30 fastest-growing cities for the ultra-rich.
“The dynamism of wealth creation across China’s vast landscape is nevertheless staggering,” the authors wrote.
Hong Kong’s rise was also a reflection of China’s improving fortunes, with its position at the top of the global list “supported by enhanced trade and investment links with mainland China,” according to the authors.
The relative struggles of commodity markets was a factor in the Middle East posting the weakest global growth in both assets and individuals, rising 4.8% and 4.4%, respectively.
Every region saw gains, however, thanks to last year’s benign markets, the report’s authors wrote.
“Having experienced a roller-coaster ride the previous year, economic and financial markets almost without exception surprised on the upside in 2017,” they said. “On an annual basis, world real GDP expanded at its fastest pace since 2011.”
Still, the ultra-rich held more of their wealth — 35% — in liquid assets such as cash than anything else, the study found. Private holdings accounted for about 32%, while public holdings were 26%. Alternative investments such as real estate, art and yachts made up 6.6% of total assets.
The U.K.’s looming departure from the EU factored into last year’s trends, the study found. Paris’s rise over London — the City of Lights saw a 17% increase in its ultra-wealthy numbers to more than 3,900 individuals — was because London was “hampered in part by Brexit-related uncertainty in U.K. financial markets and across the wider economy,” the authors wrote.
Saturday, September 8, 2018
Former Border Force chief to face Senate grilling over Dutton au pair claims - The Age
Former Border Force chief to face Senate grilling over Dutton au pair claims
David Wroe
By David Wroe
7 September 2018 — 5:36pm
Sacked border security chief Roman Quaedvlieg will be asked to appear before a Senate inquiry to expand on his hotly disputed claim that he was asked to help resolve an au pair visa problem on behalf of a "mate" of Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.
Mr Quaedvlieg on Friday doubled down on his evidence against Mr Dutton by providing a further written statement to the inquiry to address doubts cast on his original testimony.
The Australian Border Force commissioner - who was sacked in March for helping to get his girlfriend a job on the force - refused to say what additional information he had provided "other than to state unequivocally that the effective substance of my original submission stands".
Mr Quaedvlieg said in written evidence this week that Mr Dutton’s chief of staff Craig Maclachlan phoned him in mid-June 2015 asking for help in freeing from immigration detention a young woman who was going to work as an au pair for "the boss's mate in Brisbane".
But Mr Dutton excoriated this claim as "a fabrication" and "impossible" because Mr Maclachlan did not start working for him until October 7 of that year and therefore could not have made the phone call.
Mr Quaedvlieg has since acknowledged "an anomaly … with the date of the events".
Fairfax Media understands that the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee - which is due to report by Tuesday - will ask the Senate for an extension and will hold an additional public hearing to which Mr Quaedvlieg will be invited.
The controversy centres on Mr Dutton’s use of ministerial discretion powers that allow him to overturn decisions by his department if he believes it is in the national interest.
He has acknowledged using those powers to let two women into the country after they were detained at airports on suspicion of planning to work as au pairs in breach of their visa conditions but maintained he was not motivated by any personal connection to the women or the families with whom they would be staying.
In the June 2015 case, the young Italian woman detained at the airport, Michela Marchisio, was going to stay with the family of Queensland policeman Russell Keag, with whom Mr Dutton worked in the 1990s but says he has not spoken to for about 20 years.
Mr Quaedvlieg’s claim that Mr Maclachlan described the intervention as being on behalf of "the boss's mate" appeared to contradict this.
But Mr Quaedvlieg’s position is now complicated by the fact that his original evidence stated that the case he was asked to help with was definitely Ms Marchisio’s. She arrived and was detained on June 17, 2015, making it difficult to explain how the anomaly can be resolved by a simple correction of dates.
Mr Dutton has said Mr Quaedvlieg has motivated by "bitterness" over his sacking and even suggested the former border chief may need mental health treatment.
Mr Quaedvlieg remains under investigation by the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.
Labor senator Murray Watt, who sits on the committee, acknowledged on ABC radio that Mr Quaedvlieg may have given false evidence but that could only be resolved by further investigation.
"I guess that’s possible but that’s the point of this Senate inquiry and we would really appreciate greater participation by both Mr Quaedvlieg and Mr Dutton in that inquiry," he said. "We have found it impossible to get answers from Mr Dutton’s department to very basic questions about the chain of events that led to these au pairs being released and many other matters."
The other au pair case involved a young French woman who was going to stay with the family of a relative of AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan’s. Mr McLachlan, who is unrelated to Craig Maclachlan, passed on a request for help to Mr Dutton, who intervened and allowed the woman to enter Australia.
David Wroe
By David Wroe
7 September 2018 — 5:36pm
Sacked border security chief Roman Quaedvlieg will be asked to appear before a Senate inquiry to expand on his hotly disputed claim that he was asked to help resolve an au pair visa problem on behalf of a "mate" of Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.
Mr Quaedvlieg on Friday doubled down on his evidence against Mr Dutton by providing a further written statement to the inquiry to address doubts cast on his original testimony.
The Australian Border Force commissioner - who was sacked in March for helping to get his girlfriend a job on the force - refused to say what additional information he had provided "other than to state unequivocally that the effective substance of my original submission stands".
Mr Quaedvlieg said in written evidence this week that Mr Dutton’s chief of staff Craig Maclachlan phoned him in mid-June 2015 asking for help in freeing from immigration detention a young woman who was going to work as an au pair for "the boss's mate in Brisbane".
But Mr Dutton excoriated this claim as "a fabrication" and "impossible" because Mr Maclachlan did not start working for him until October 7 of that year and therefore could not have made the phone call.
Mr Quaedvlieg has since acknowledged "an anomaly … with the date of the events".
Fairfax Media understands that the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee - which is due to report by Tuesday - will ask the Senate for an extension and will hold an additional public hearing to which Mr Quaedvlieg will be invited.
The controversy centres on Mr Dutton’s use of ministerial discretion powers that allow him to overturn decisions by his department if he believes it is in the national interest.
He has acknowledged using those powers to let two women into the country after they were detained at airports on suspicion of planning to work as au pairs in breach of their visa conditions but maintained he was not motivated by any personal connection to the women or the families with whom they would be staying.
In the June 2015 case, the young Italian woman detained at the airport, Michela Marchisio, was going to stay with the family of Queensland policeman Russell Keag, with whom Mr Dutton worked in the 1990s but says he has not spoken to for about 20 years.
Mr Quaedvlieg’s claim that Mr Maclachlan described the intervention as being on behalf of "the boss's mate" appeared to contradict this.
But Mr Quaedvlieg’s position is now complicated by the fact that his original evidence stated that the case he was asked to help with was definitely Ms Marchisio’s. She arrived and was detained on June 17, 2015, making it difficult to explain how the anomaly can be resolved by a simple correction of dates.
Mr Dutton has said Mr Quaedvlieg has motivated by "bitterness" over his sacking and even suggested the former border chief may need mental health treatment.
Mr Quaedvlieg remains under investigation by the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.
Labor senator Murray Watt, who sits on the committee, acknowledged on ABC radio that Mr Quaedvlieg may have given false evidence but that could only be resolved by further investigation.
"I guess that’s possible but that’s the point of this Senate inquiry and we would really appreciate greater participation by both Mr Quaedvlieg and Mr Dutton in that inquiry," he said. "We have found it impossible to get answers from Mr Dutton’s department to very basic questions about the chain of events that led to these au pairs being released and many other matters."
The other au pair case involved a young French woman who was going to stay with the family of a relative of AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan’s. Mr McLachlan, who is unrelated to Craig Maclachlan, passed on a request for help to Mr Dutton, who intervened and allowed the woman to enter Australia.
Elon Musk Smokes Marijuana in His First Appearance Since Tweet About Taking Tesla Public - TIME
Elon Musk Smokes Marijuana in His First Appearance Since Tweet About Taking Tesla Public
Posted: 07 Sep 2018 04:12 AM PDT
Elon Musk sipped whiskey and smoked marijuana during a 2 1/2-hour podcast with California comedian Joe Rogan that touched upon everything from flame throwers and artificial intelligence to the end of the universe.
“I’m not a regular smoker of weed,” the Tesla Inc. chief executive officer said late Thursday on the podcast, which was shown live on the internet. Musk, 47, took one drag from what Rogan described as a joint containing tobacco mixed with marijuana, which is legal in California.
A Tesla spokesperson in Germany wasn’t immediately available to comment. Shares of the carmaker fell 1.4 percent in trading before U.S. exchanges opened.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk smoked weed during a live interview with comedian Joe Rogan https://t.co/Dim9ecYctj pic.twitter.com/PhnvRK9cru
— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) September 7, 2018
The spot on one of the most popular podcasts in the U.S. marks Musk’s first appearance in a public forum since he stunned the financial world last month with his short-lived effort to take Tesla private. Just 17 days after tweeting that he had the funding and investor support secured to buy out some stockholders at $420 a share, the billionaire scrapped the idea without having made a formal proposal to the board.
Along the way, Musk drew a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which already had been scrutinizing the public pronouncements he’s made regarding manufacturing goals and sales targets. Tesla and its CEO are now also facing a litany of lawsuits claiming market manipulation, including one filed Thursday by Andrew Left, the founder of Citron Research and prominent short seller.
The episode also raised concern about Musk’s health. The chairman and CEO of both Tesla and Space Exploration Technologies Corp., among other companies, gave an emotional interview to the New York Times in which he said friends were worried about exhaustion. The newspaper said two people familiar with the electric-car maker’s board expressed concern about his workload and use of the prescription sleeping drug Ambien.
Good times with @JoeRogan …https://t.co/8uZUsEJoq1
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 7, 2018
The bewildering incidents have played out during a critical period for Tesla. The Palo Alto, California-based company faces concerns about its limited cash balance, maturing debt and struggle to steadily build high volumes of the Model 3 sedan, the first electric vehicle that Musk has attempted to mass-manufacture.
Musk told Rogan that running Tesla is the hardest of his several endeavors. “It’s very difficult to keep a car company alive,” Musk said.
Musk is also the founder of the tunneling startup Boring Co., plus Neuralink, which is developing brain-machine interfaces to connect humans and computers. Neuralink may have something interesting to announce in a few months, Musk told Rogan.
Trump says has tariffs ready for further $267 billion worth of Chinese imports - Reuters
SEPTEMBER 8, 2018 / 2:31 AM / UPDATED 17 HOURS AGO
Trump says has tariffs ready for further $267 billion worth of Chinese imports
ABORAD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he has tariffs ready to go on a further $267 billion worth of Chinese imports, as the world awaits his decision on imposing levies on $200 billion worth of the Asian nation’s goods.
“The $200 billion we are talking about could take place very soon depending on what happens with them. To a certain extent its going to be up to China, Trump said. “And I hate to say this, but behind that is another $267 billion ready to go on short notice if I want. That changes the equation.”
Earlier on Friday White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Trump will not make any decisions on his threatened tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods before officials evaluate public comments on them. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office received nearly 6,000 comments during the public comment period on the proposed levies, which ended Thursday night.
Trump threatens tariffs on nearly all China imports
Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
Trump says has tariffs ready for further $267 billion worth of Chinese imports
ABORAD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he has tariffs ready to go on a further $267 billion worth of Chinese imports, as the world awaits his decision on imposing levies on $200 billion worth of the Asian nation’s goods.
“The $200 billion we are talking about could take place very soon depending on what happens with them. To a certain extent its going to be up to China, Trump said. “And I hate to say this, but behind that is another $267 billion ready to go on short notice if I want. That changes the equation.”
Earlier on Friday White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Trump will not make any decisions on his threatened tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods before officials evaluate public comments on them. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office received nearly 6,000 comments during the public comment period on the proposed levies, which ended Thursday night.
Trump threatens tariffs on nearly all China imports
Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
China's August trade surplus with U.S. widens to record $31 billion - Reuters
SEPTEMBER 8, 2018 / 3:17 PM / UPDATED 5 HOURS AGO
China's August trade surplus with U.S. widens to record $31 billion
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s politically charged trade surplus with the United States widened to a record $31.05 billion in August, compared with $28.09 billion in July, customs data showed on Saturday.
The August surplus with the U.S. was larger than China’s overall surplus of $27.91 billion for the month.
For January-August, China’s trade surplus with the United States was $192.64 billion, compared with about $167.94 billion in the same period last year.
China’s large trade surplus with the United States has long been a sore point in relations and is at the center of an increasing bitter dispute between the world’s two biggest economies.
Beijing and Washington have slapped each other with tit-for-tat tariffs in recent months and threatened more duties on each other’s goods. Talks aimed at easing tensions have yielded no major breakthroughs and both sides look to be digging in for a long fight that could weigh on global growth.
Reporting by Elias Glenn and Xu Jing
China's August trade surplus with U.S. widens to record $31 billion
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s politically charged trade surplus with the United States widened to a record $31.05 billion in August, compared with $28.09 billion in July, customs data showed on Saturday.
The August surplus with the U.S. was larger than China’s overall surplus of $27.91 billion for the month.
For January-August, China’s trade surplus with the United States was $192.64 billion, compared with about $167.94 billion in the same period last year.
China’s large trade surplus with the United States has long been a sore point in relations and is at the center of an increasing bitter dispute between the world’s two biggest economies.
Beijing and Washington have slapped each other with tit-for-tat tariffs in recent months and threatened more duties on each other’s goods. Talks aimed at easing tensions have yielded no major breakthroughs and both sides look to be digging in for a long fight that could weigh on global growth.
Reporting by Elias Glenn and Xu Jing
Trump Administration Discussed Coup Plans With Rebel Venezuelan Officers - New York Times
Trump Administration Discussed Coup Plans With Rebel Venezuelan Officers
President Nicolás Maduro at a ceremony in Caracas. The White House declined to answer detailed questions about talks with rebellious officers.CreditCreditJuan Barreto/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
By Ernesto Londoño and Nicholas Casey
Sept. 8, 2018
The Trump administration held secret meetings with rebellious military officers from Venezuela over the last year to discuss their plans to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro, according to American officials and a former Venezuelan military commander who participated in the talks.
Establishing a clandestine channel with coup plotters in Venezuela was a big gamble for Washington, given its long history of covert intervention across Latin America. Many in the region still deeply resent the United States for backing previous rebellions, coups and plots in countries like Cuba, Nicaragua, Brazil and Chile, and for turning a blind eye to the abuses military regimes committed during the Cold War.
The White House, which declined to answer detailed questions about the talks, said in a statement that it was important to engage in “dialogue with all Venezuelans who demonstrate a desire for democracy” in order to “bring positive change to a country that has suffered so much under Maduro.”
But one of the Venezuelan military commanders involved in the secret talks was hardly an ideal figure to help restore democracy: He is on the American government’s own sanctions list of corrupt officials in Venezuela.
He and other members of the Venezuelan security apparatus have been accused by Washington of a wide range of serious crimes, including torturing critics, jailing hundreds of political prisoners, wounding thousands of civilians, trafficking drugs and collaborating with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States.
American officials eventually decided not to help the plotters, and the coup plans stalled. But the Trump administration’s willingness to meet several times with mutinous officers intent on toppling a president in the hemisphere could backfire politically.
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Most Latin American leaders agree that Venezuela’s president, Mr. Maduro, is an increasingly authoritarian ruler who has effectively ruined his country’s economy, leading to extreme shortages of food and medicine. The collapse has set off an exodus of desperate Venezuelans who are spilling over borders, overwhelming their neighbors.
Even so, Mr. Maduro has long justified his grip on Venezuela by claiming that Washington imperialists are actively trying to depose him, and the secret talks could provide him with ammunition to chip away at the region’s nearly united stance against him.
“This is going to land like a bomb” in the region, said Mari Carmen Aponte, who served as the top diplomat overseeing Latin American affairs in the final months of the Obama administration.
Image
Mr. Maduro at a meeting with ministers in Caracas this month. Most Latin American leaders agree that he is an increasingly authoritarian ruler who has effectively ruined his country’s economy.CreditMiraflores Palace
Beyond the coup plot, Mr. Maduro’s government has already fended off several small-scale attacks, including salvos from a helicopter last year and exploding drones as he gave a speech in August. The attacks have added to the sense that the president is vulnerable.
Venezuelan military officials sought direct access to the American government during Barack Obama’s presidency, only to be rebuffed, officials said.
Then in August of last year, President Trump declared that the United States had a “military option” for Venezuela — a declaration that drew condemnation from American allies in the region but encouraged rebellious Venezuelan military officers to reach out to Washington once again.
“It was the commander in chief saying this now,” the former Venezuelan commander on the sanctions list said in an interview, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals by the Venezuelan government. “I’m not going to doubt it when this was the messenger.”
In a series of covert meetings abroad, which began last fall and continued this year, the military officers told the American government that they represented a few hundred members of the armed forces who had soured on Mr. Maduro’s authoritarianism.
The officers asked the United States to supply them with encrypted radios, citing the need to communicate securely, as they developed a plan to install a transitional government to run the country until elections could be held.
American officials did not provide material support, and the plans unraveled after a recent crackdown that led to the arrest of dozens of the plotters.
Relations between the United States and Venezuela have been strained for years. The two have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010. After Mr. Trump took office, his administration increased sanctions against top Venezuelan officials, including Mr. Maduro himself, his vice president and other top officials in the government.
The account of the clandestine meetings and the policy debates preceding them is drawn from interviews with 11 current and former American officials, as well as the former Venezuelan commander. He said at least three distinct groups within the Venezuelan military had been plotting against the Maduro government.
One established contact with the American government by approaching the United States Embassy in a European capital. When this was reported back to Washington, officials at the White House were intrigued but apprehensive. They worried that the meeting request could be a ploy to surreptitiously record an American official appearing to conspire against the Venezuelan government, officials said.
Venezuelans waiting to buy government-subsidized food in Caracas in May. The country is experiencing extreme shortages of food and medicine.CreditMeridith Kohut for The New York Times
But as the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela worsened last year, American officials felt that having a clearer picture of the plans and the men who aspired to oust Mr. Maduro was worth the risk.
“After a lot of discussion, we agreed we should listen to what they had to say,” said a senior administration official who was not authorized to speak about the secret talks.
The administration initially considered dispatching Juan Cruz, a veteran Central Intelligence Agency official who recently stepped down as the White House’s top Latin America policymaker. But White House lawyers said it would be more prudent to send a career diplomat instead.
The American envoy was instructed to attend the meetings “purely on listening mode,” and was not authorized to negotiate anything of substance on the spot, according to the senior administration official.
After the first meeting, which took place in the fall of 2017, the diplomat reported that the Venezuelans didn’t appear to have a detailed plan and had showed up at the encounter hoping the Americans would offer guidance or ideas, officials said.
The former Venezuelan commander said that the rebellious officers never asked for an American military intervention. “I never agreed, nor did they propose, to do a joint operation,” he said.
He claimed that he and his comrades considered striking last summer, when the government suspended the powers of the legislature and installed a new national assembly loyal to Mr. Maduro. But he said they aborted the plan, fearing it would lead to bloodshed.
They later planned to take power in March, the former officer said, but that plan leaked. Finally, the dissidents looked to the May 20 election, during which Mr. Maduro was re-elected, as a new target date. But again, word got out and the plotters held their fire.
It is unclear how many of these details the coup planners shared with the Americans. But there is no indication that Mr. Maduro knew the mutinous officers were talking to the Americans at all.
For any of the plots to have worked, the former commander said, he and his comrades believed they needed to detain Mr. Maduro and other top government figures simultaneously. To do that, he added, the rebel officers needed a way to communicate securely. They made their request during their second meeting with the American diplomat, which took place last year.
Lawmakers in Caracas last month. The plotters considered striking last summer, when the government suspended the powers of the legislature and installed a new assembly loyal to Mr. Maduro.CreditCristian Hernandez/EPA, via Shutterstock
The American diplomat relayed the request to Washington, where senior officials turned it down, American officials said.
“We were frustrated,” said the former Venezuelan commander. “There was a lack of follow-through. They left me waiting.”
The American diplomat then met the coup plotters a third time early this year, but the discussions did not result in a promise of material aid or even a clear signal that Washington endorsed the rebels’ plans, according to the Venezuelan commander and several American officials.
Still, the Venezuelan plotters could view the meetings as tacit approval of their plans, argued Peter Kornbluh, a historian at the National Security Archive at George Washington University.
“The United States always has an interest in gathering intelligence on potential changes of leadership in governments,” Mr. Kornbluh said. “But the mere presence of a U.S. official at such a meeting would likely be perceived as encouragement.”
In its statement, the White House called the situation in Venezuela “a threat to regional security and democracy” and said that the Trump administration would continue to strengthen a coalition of “like-minded, and right-minded, partners from Europe to Asia to the Americas to pressure the Maduro regime to restore democracy in Venezuela.”
American officials have openly discussed the possibility that Venezuela’s military could take action.
On Feb. 1, Rex W. Tillerson, who was secretary of state at the time, delivered a speech in which he said the United States had not “advocated for regime change or removal of President Maduro.” Yet, responding to a question afterward, Mr. Tillerson raised the potential for a military coup.
“When things are so bad that the military leadership realizes that it just can’t serve the citizens anymore, they will manage a peaceful transition,” he said.
Days later, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who has sought to shape the Trump administration’s approach toward Latin America, wrote a series of Twitter posts that encouraged dissident members of the Venezuelan armed forces to topple their commander in chief.
Venezuelans waiting to register with the Brazilian immigration authorities in April. The economic collapse has set off an exodus of desperate Venezuelans.CreditMeridith Kohut for The New York Times
“Soldiers eat out of garbage cans & their families go hungry in Venezuela while Maduro & friends live like kings & block humanitarian aid,” Mr. Rubio wrote. He then added: “The world would support the Armed Forces in #Venezuela if they decide to protect the people & restore democracy by removing a dictator.”
In a speech in April, when he was still White House policy chief for Latin America, Mr. Cruz issued a message to the Venezuelan military. Referring to Mr. Maduro as a “madman,” Mr. Cruz said all Venezuelans should “urge the military to respect the oath they took to perform their functions. Honor your oath.”
As the crisis in Venezuela worsened in recent years, American officials debated the pros and cons of opening lines of dialogue with rebellious factions of the military.
“There were differences of opinion,” said Ms. Aponte, the former top Latin America diplomat under Mr. Obama. “There were people who had a lot of faith in the idea that they could bring about stability, help distribute food, work on practical stuff.”
But others — including Ms. Aponte — saw considerable risk in building bridges with leaders of a military that, in Washington’s assessment, has become a pillar of the cocaine trade and human rights abuses.
Roberta Jacobson, a former ambassador to Mexico who preceded Ms. Aponte as the top State Department official for Latin America policy, said that while Washington has long regarded the Venezuelan military as “widely corrupt, deeply involved in narcotics trafficking and very unsavory,” she saw merit in establishing a back channel with some of them.
“Given the broader breakdown in institutions in Venezuela, there was a feeling that — while they were not necessarily the answer — any kind of democratic resolution would have had to have the military on board,” said Ms. Jacobson, who retired from the State Department this year. “The idea of hearing from actors in those places, no matter how unsavory they may be, is integral to diplomacy.”
But whatever the rationale, holding discussions with coup plotters could set off alarms in a region with a list of infamous interventions: the Central Intelligence Agency’s failed Bay of Pigs invasion to overthrow Fidel Castro as leader of Cuba in 1961; the American-supported coup in Chile in 1973, which led to the long military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet; and the Reagan administration’s covert support of right-wing rebels known as the contras in Nicaragua in the 1980s.
In Venezuela, a coup in 2002 briefly deposed Mr. Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez. The United States knew a plot was being hatched but warned against it, according to a classified document that was later made public. The coup took place anyway and the George W. Bush administration opened a channel to the new leader. Officials then backed away from the new government after popular anger rose against the coup and countries in the region loudly denounced it. Mr. Chávez was reinstated as president.
In the latest coup plot, the number of military figures connected to the plan dwindled from a high of about 300 to 400 last year to about half that after a crackdown this year by Mr. Maduro’s government.
The former Venezuelan military officer worries that the 150 or so comrades who have been detained are probably being tortured. He lamented that the United States did not supply the mutineers with radios, which he believes could have changed the country’s history.
“I’m disappointed,” he said. “But I’m the least affected. I’m not a prisoner.”
President Nicolás Maduro at a ceremony in Caracas. The White House declined to answer detailed questions about talks with rebellious officers.CreditCreditJuan Barreto/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
By Ernesto Londoño and Nicholas Casey
Sept. 8, 2018
The Trump administration held secret meetings with rebellious military officers from Venezuela over the last year to discuss their plans to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro, according to American officials and a former Venezuelan military commander who participated in the talks.
Establishing a clandestine channel with coup plotters in Venezuela was a big gamble for Washington, given its long history of covert intervention across Latin America. Many in the region still deeply resent the United States for backing previous rebellions, coups and plots in countries like Cuba, Nicaragua, Brazil and Chile, and for turning a blind eye to the abuses military regimes committed during the Cold War.
The White House, which declined to answer detailed questions about the talks, said in a statement that it was important to engage in “dialogue with all Venezuelans who demonstrate a desire for democracy” in order to “bring positive change to a country that has suffered so much under Maduro.”
But one of the Venezuelan military commanders involved in the secret talks was hardly an ideal figure to help restore democracy: He is on the American government’s own sanctions list of corrupt officials in Venezuela.
He and other members of the Venezuelan security apparatus have been accused by Washington of a wide range of serious crimes, including torturing critics, jailing hundreds of political prisoners, wounding thousands of civilians, trafficking drugs and collaborating with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States.
American officials eventually decided not to help the plotters, and the coup plans stalled. But the Trump administration’s willingness to meet several times with mutinous officers intent on toppling a president in the hemisphere could backfire politically.
You have 2 free articles remaining.
Subscribe to The Times
Most Latin American leaders agree that Venezuela’s president, Mr. Maduro, is an increasingly authoritarian ruler who has effectively ruined his country’s economy, leading to extreme shortages of food and medicine. The collapse has set off an exodus of desperate Venezuelans who are spilling over borders, overwhelming their neighbors.
Even so, Mr. Maduro has long justified his grip on Venezuela by claiming that Washington imperialists are actively trying to depose him, and the secret talks could provide him with ammunition to chip away at the region’s nearly united stance against him.
“This is going to land like a bomb” in the region, said Mari Carmen Aponte, who served as the top diplomat overseeing Latin American affairs in the final months of the Obama administration.
Image
Mr. Maduro at a meeting with ministers in Caracas this month. Most Latin American leaders agree that he is an increasingly authoritarian ruler who has effectively ruined his country’s economy.CreditMiraflores Palace
Beyond the coup plot, Mr. Maduro’s government has already fended off several small-scale attacks, including salvos from a helicopter last year and exploding drones as he gave a speech in August. The attacks have added to the sense that the president is vulnerable.
Venezuelan military officials sought direct access to the American government during Barack Obama’s presidency, only to be rebuffed, officials said.
Then in August of last year, President Trump declared that the United States had a “military option” for Venezuela — a declaration that drew condemnation from American allies in the region but encouraged rebellious Venezuelan military officers to reach out to Washington once again.
“It was the commander in chief saying this now,” the former Venezuelan commander on the sanctions list said in an interview, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals by the Venezuelan government. “I’m not going to doubt it when this was the messenger.”
In a series of covert meetings abroad, which began last fall and continued this year, the military officers told the American government that they represented a few hundred members of the armed forces who had soured on Mr. Maduro’s authoritarianism.
The officers asked the United States to supply them with encrypted radios, citing the need to communicate securely, as they developed a plan to install a transitional government to run the country until elections could be held.
American officials did not provide material support, and the plans unraveled after a recent crackdown that led to the arrest of dozens of the plotters.
Relations between the United States and Venezuela have been strained for years. The two have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010. After Mr. Trump took office, his administration increased sanctions against top Venezuelan officials, including Mr. Maduro himself, his vice president and other top officials in the government.
The account of the clandestine meetings and the policy debates preceding them is drawn from interviews with 11 current and former American officials, as well as the former Venezuelan commander. He said at least three distinct groups within the Venezuelan military had been plotting against the Maduro government.
One established contact with the American government by approaching the United States Embassy in a European capital. When this was reported back to Washington, officials at the White House were intrigued but apprehensive. They worried that the meeting request could be a ploy to surreptitiously record an American official appearing to conspire against the Venezuelan government, officials said.
Venezuelans waiting to buy government-subsidized food in Caracas in May. The country is experiencing extreme shortages of food and medicine.CreditMeridith Kohut for The New York Times
But as the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela worsened last year, American officials felt that having a clearer picture of the plans and the men who aspired to oust Mr. Maduro was worth the risk.
“After a lot of discussion, we agreed we should listen to what they had to say,” said a senior administration official who was not authorized to speak about the secret talks.
The administration initially considered dispatching Juan Cruz, a veteran Central Intelligence Agency official who recently stepped down as the White House’s top Latin America policymaker. But White House lawyers said it would be more prudent to send a career diplomat instead.
The American envoy was instructed to attend the meetings “purely on listening mode,” and was not authorized to negotiate anything of substance on the spot, according to the senior administration official.
After the first meeting, which took place in the fall of 2017, the diplomat reported that the Venezuelans didn’t appear to have a detailed plan and had showed up at the encounter hoping the Americans would offer guidance or ideas, officials said.
The former Venezuelan commander said that the rebellious officers never asked for an American military intervention. “I never agreed, nor did they propose, to do a joint operation,” he said.
He claimed that he and his comrades considered striking last summer, when the government suspended the powers of the legislature and installed a new national assembly loyal to Mr. Maduro. But he said they aborted the plan, fearing it would lead to bloodshed.
They later planned to take power in March, the former officer said, but that plan leaked. Finally, the dissidents looked to the May 20 election, during which Mr. Maduro was re-elected, as a new target date. But again, word got out and the plotters held their fire.
It is unclear how many of these details the coup planners shared with the Americans. But there is no indication that Mr. Maduro knew the mutinous officers were talking to the Americans at all.
For any of the plots to have worked, the former commander said, he and his comrades believed they needed to detain Mr. Maduro and other top government figures simultaneously. To do that, he added, the rebel officers needed a way to communicate securely. They made their request during their second meeting with the American diplomat, which took place last year.
Lawmakers in Caracas last month. The plotters considered striking last summer, when the government suspended the powers of the legislature and installed a new assembly loyal to Mr. Maduro.CreditCristian Hernandez/EPA, via Shutterstock
The American diplomat relayed the request to Washington, where senior officials turned it down, American officials said.
“We were frustrated,” said the former Venezuelan commander. “There was a lack of follow-through. They left me waiting.”
The American diplomat then met the coup plotters a third time early this year, but the discussions did not result in a promise of material aid or even a clear signal that Washington endorsed the rebels’ plans, according to the Venezuelan commander and several American officials.
Still, the Venezuelan plotters could view the meetings as tacit approval of their plans, argued Peter Kornbluh, a historian at the National Security Archive at George Washington University.
“The United States always has an interest in gathering intelligence on potential changes of leadership in governments,” Mr. Kornbluh said. “But the mere presence of a U.S. official at such a meeting would likely be perceived as encouragement.”
In its statement, the White House called the situation in Venezuela “a threat to regional security and democracy” and said that the Trump administration would continue to strengthen a coalition of “like-minded, and right-minded, partners from Europe to Asia to the Americas to pressure the Maduro regime to restore democracy in Venezuela.”
American officials have openly discussed the possibility that Venezuela’s military could take action.
On Feb. 1, Rex W. Tillerson, who was secretary of state at the time, delivered a speech in which he said the United States had not “advocated for regime change or removal of President Maduro.” Yet, responding to a question afterward, Mr. Tillerson raised the potential for a military coup.
“When things are so bad that the military leadership realizes that it just can’t serve the citizens anymore, they will manage a peaceful transition,” he said.
Days later, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who has sought to shape the Trump administration’s approach toward Latin America, wrote a series of Twitter posts that encouraged dissident members of the Venezuelan armed forces to topple their commander in chief.
Venezuelans waiting to register with the Brazilian immigration authorities in April. The economic collapse has set off an exodus of desperate Venezuelans.CreditMeridith Kohut for The New York Times
“Soldiers eat out of garbage cans & their families go hungry in Venezuela while Maduro & friends live like kings & block humanitarian aid,” Mr. Rubio wrote. He then added: “The world would support the Armed Forces in #Venezuela if they decide to protect the people & restore democracy by removing a dictator.”
In a speech in April, when he was still White House policy chief for Latin America, Mr. Cruz issued a message to the Venezuelan military. Referring to Mr. Maduro as a “madman,” Mr. Cruz said all Venezuelans should “urge the military to respect the oath they took to perform their functions. Honor your oath.”
As the crisis in Venezuela worsened in recent years, American officials debated the pros and cons of opening lines of dialogue with rebellious factions of the military.
“There were differences of opinion,” said Ms. Aponte, the former top Latin America diplomat under Mr. Obama. “There were people who had a lot of faith in the idea that they could bring about stability, help distribute food, work on practical stuff.”
But others — including Ms. Aponte — saw considerable risk in building bridges with leaders of a military that, in Washington’s assessment, has become a pillar of the cocaine trade and human rights abuses.
Roberta Jacobson, a former ambassador to Mexico who preceded Ms. Aponte as the top State Department official for Latin America policy, said that while Washington has long regarded the Venezuelan military as “widely corrupt, deeply involved in narcotics trafficking and very unsavory,” she saw merit in establishing a back channel with some of them.
“Given the broader breakdown in institutions in Venezuela, there was a feeling that — while they were not necessarily the answer — any kind of democratic resolution would have had to have the military on board,” said Ms. Jacobson, who retired from the State Department this year. “The idea of hearing from actors in those places, no matter how unsavory they may be, is integral to diplomacy.”
But whatever the rationale, holding discussions with coup plotters could set off alarms in a region with a list of infamous interventions: the Central Intelligence Agency’s failed Bay of Pigs invasion to overthrow Fidel Castro as leader of Cuba in 1961; the American-supported coup in Chile in 1973, which led to the long military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet; and the Reagan administration’s covert support of right-wing rebels known as the contras in Nicaragua in the 1980s.
In Venezuela, a coup in 2002 briefly deposed Mr. Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez. The United States knew a plot was being hatched but warned against it, according to a classified document that was later made public. The coup took place anyway and the George W. Bush administration opened a channel to the new leader. Officials then backed away from the new government after popular anger rose against the coup and countries in the region loudly denounced it. Mr. Chávez was reinstated as president.
In the latest coup plot, the number of military figures connected to the plan dwindled from a high of about 300 to 400 last year to about half that after a crackdown this year by Mr. Maduro’s government.
The former Venezuelan military officer worries that the 150 or so comrades who have been detained are probably being tortured. He lamented that the United States did not supply the mutineers with radios, which he believes could have changed the country’s history.
“I’m disappointed,” he said. “But I’m the least affected. I’m not a prisoner.”
Facebook's former security chief: US elections at risk of being 'World Cup of information warfare' - CNN Tech
Facebook's former security chief: US elections at risk of being 'World Cup of information warfare'
by Laurie Segall @LaurieSegallCNN
September 4, 2018: 9:27 AM ET
Ex-Facebook security boss: U.S. elections risk becoming 'World Cup of information warfare'
After three years in the trenches of Facebook's war against disinformation, Alex Stamos brings bad news from the front: US elections are at risk of becoming the "World Cup of information warfare."
"That campaign to drive wedges into American society has not stopped. If anything, it has intensified," Stamos told CNN recently.
Stamos is not an alarmist. He has spent the better part of the past two decades in the digital security business, most recently as the head of information security at Facebook. Before that, he spent a few years at Yahoo — where, among other things, he warned US lawmakers about the impact of online advertising on data security and privacy. He has over the years earned a reputation for speaking his mind, and at one point challenged Michael Rogers, head of the National Security Agency at the time, on the finer points of data encryption.
His warning comes as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and other tech leaders are set to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The panel, led by Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Mark Warner, wants to know just what Facebook, Twitter, Google, and others are doing to safeguard November's midterm elections against the sort of disinformation campaigns that peppered their platforms in 2016.
Stamos recently left Facebook, reportedly because he felt the company should be more forthcoming in disclosing Russia's efforts to use the platform to disseminate disinformation. Despite his departure, he told CNN that he gives Facebook and other tech companies credit for moving aggressively to address the problem.
"Facebook has done all of the reasonable steps possible to stop what happened in 2016," he told CNN, referring to the fake accounts and pages that littered the platform. But he warned that it would be difficult to predict how miscreants might use social media to sow discord ahead of the 2018 and 2020 elections. And he said that although most of the attention remains focused on Russia, "dozens" of US adversaries possess cyber warfare capabilities.
That point was underscored earlier this month when Facebook announced the removal of 652 pages, accounts and groups it identified as part of coordinated misinformation campaigns that originated in Iran. The tally included 254 Facebook pages and 116 Instagram accounts that, taken together, amassed more than 1 million followers.
That same day, Twitter said it had removed 284 accounts, many of them also traced to Tehran.
Stamos told CNN he believes that the government has failed to adequately address the problem. America, he said, is under attack, and must respond accordingly.
"Two years after Pearl Harbor, the United States had quadrupled the size of our Navy. We were already on an unstoppable path to the Japanese home islands in the Pacific theater," he said. "Two years on from the election and people are still arguing whether we were even attacked and I find that amazing."
The US intelligence community has agreed that the Russian government actively used social media platforms to influence the 2016 election. In February, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office indicted 13 Russian nationals who allegedly did just that, charging them with conspiracy to defraud the United States. The Russians had engaged in a campaign of "information warfare against the United States," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said at the time.
Another indictment, handed down in July, outlined how Russian military intelligence officials allegedly obtained through hacking and then disseminated emails belonging to the Democratic Party and the Hillary Clinton campaign.
Looking back, Stamos told CNN, he was disappointed that the government seemed less interested in the scope of the problem when initially approached in the spring of 2017.
"Considering how much things blew up later in the year, there was a lot less interest from Congress than I would've expected," he said, adding that it seemed most Republicans weren't interested in revisiting what happened in 2016 and that on the Democratic side, it appeared there was less interest because Facebook wasn't pointing to activity directed by the Trump campaign.
Stamos said he believes politics are getting in the way of handling the growing threat of attacks made through social media platforms.
"The political polarization on election hacking is a horrible, horrible problem for the country," he told CNN. "It's the reason why we are in not much better shape in 2018 than we were in 2016."
Stamos told CNN that the government must move more aggressively to safeguard the nation's elections. He has among other things called on Congress to pass legislation addressing online disinformation and create a cybersecurity agency dedicated to protecting US elections and voting infrastructure. He also believes each US state must take more assertive steps to ensure the integrity of elections.
"We have the risk of turning our elections into the World Cup of information warfare, where everybody wants to have a piece in it, because we have not demonstrated that we will punish countries that do this to us and we have not addressed the fundamental issues that caused us to get here in the first place," he said.
Companies like Facebook and Twitter are under close watch as they struggle with the role of cracking down on content in a politically charged environment. Stamos offered a view into the dilemma Facebook and other companies face.
"If there's anything I've learned over the last three years it's that you can't win, right? Any content decision we make, any step we take to try to do something that sounds not controversial like protecting election will be portrayed by somebody else as being a partisan decision," he explained.
by Laurie Segall @LaurieSegallCNN
September 4, 2018: 9:27 AM ET
Ex-Facebook security boss: U.S. elections risk becoming 'World Cup of information warfare'
After three years in the trenches of Facebook's war against disinformation, Alex Stamos brings bad news from the front: US elections are at risk of becoming the "World Cup of information warfare."
"That campaign to drive wedges into American society has not stopped. If anything, it has intensified," Stamos told CNN recently.
Stamos is not an alarmist. He has spent the better part of the past two decades in the digital security business, most recently as the head of information security at Facebook. Before that, he spent a few years at Yahoo — where, among other things, he warned US lawmakers about the impact of online advertising on data security and privacy. He has over the years earned a reputation for speaking his mind, and at one point challenged Michael Rogers, head of the National Security Agency at the time, on the finer points of data encryption.
His warning comes as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and other tech leaders are set to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The panel, led by Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Mark Warner, wants to know just what Facebook, Twitter, Google, and others are doing to safeguard November's midterm elections against the sort of disinformation campaigns that peppered their platforms in 2016.
Stamos recently left Facebook, reportedly because he felt the company should be more forthcoming in disclosing Russia's efforts to use the platform to disseminate disinformation. Despite his departure, he told CNN that he gives Facebook and other tech companies credit for moving aggressively to address the problem.
"Facebook has done all of the reasonable steps possible to stop what happened in 2016," he told CNN, referring to the fake accounts and pages that littered the platform. But he warned that it would be difficult to predict how miscreants might use social media to sow discord ahead of the 2018 and 2020 elections. And he said that although most of the attention remains focused on Russia, "dozens" of US adversaries possess cyber warfare capabilities.
That point was underscored earlier this month when Facebook announced the removal of 652 pages, accounts and groups it identified as part of coordinated misinformation campaigns that originated in Iran. The tally included 254 Facebook pages and 116 Instagram accounts that, taken together, amassed more than 1 million followers.
That same day, Twitter said it had removed 284 accounts, many of them also traced to Tehran.
Stamos told CNN he believes that the government has failed to adequately address the problem. America, he said, is under attack, and must respond accordingly.
"Two years after Pearl Harbor, the United States had quadrupled the size of our Navy. We were already on an unstoppable path to the Japanese home islands in the Pacific theater," he said. "Two years on from the election and people are still arguing whether we were even attacked and I find that amazing."
The US intelligence community has agreed that the Russian government actively used social media platforms to influence the 2016 election. In February, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office indicted 13 Russian nationals who allegedly did just that, charging them with conspiracy to defraud the United States. The Russians had engaged in a campaign of "information warfare against the United States," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said at the time.
Another indictment, handed down in July, outlined how Russian military intelligence officials allegedly obtained through hacking and then disseminated emails belonging to the Democratic Party and the Hillary Clinton campaign.
Looking back, Stamos told CNN, he was disappointed that the government seemed less interested in the scope of the problem when initially approached in the spring of 2017.
"Considering how much things blew up later in the year, there was a lot less interest from Congress than I would've expected," he said, adding that it seemed most Republicans weren't interested in revisiting what happened in 2016 and that on the Democratic side, it appeared there was less interest because Facebook wasn't pointing to activity directed by the Trump campaign.
Stamos said he believes politics are getting in the way of handling the growing threat of attacks made through social media platforms.
"The political polarization on election hacking is a horrible, horrible problem for the country," he told CNN. "It's the reason why we are in not much better shape in 2018 than we were in 2016."
Stamos told CNN that the government must move more aggressively to safeguard the nation's elections. He has among other things called on Congress to pass legislation addressing online disinformation and create a cybersecurity agency dedicated to protecting US elections and voting infrastructure. He also believes each US state must take more assertive steps to ensure the integrity of elections.
"We have the risk of turning our elections into the World Cup of information warfare, where everybody wants to have a piece in it, because we have not demonstrated that we will punish countries that do this to us and we have not addressed the fundamental issues that caused us to get here in the first place," he said.
Companies like Facebook and Twitter are under close watch as they struggle with the role of cracking down on content in a politically charged environment. Stamos offered a view into the dilemma Facebook and other companies face.
"If there's anything I've learned over the last three years it's that you can't win, right? Any content decision we make, any step we take to try to do something that sounds not controversial like protecting election will be portrayed by somebody else as being a partisan decision," he explained.
Alibaba's Jack Ma 'to step down and focus on philanthropy'- BBC News
Sept. 8, 2018.
Alibaba's Jack Ma 'to step down and focus on philanthropy'
Jack Ma has a net personal wealth of $40bn
One of China's richest men, Jack Ma, is to step down as executive chairman of the Alibaba e-commerce empire on Monday, the New York Times reported.
He will remain on Alibaba's board of directors but focus on philanthropy in education, the newspaper said.
Mr Ma co-founded Alibaba in 1999 and has seen it become one of the world's biggest internet companies.
With a market value of more than $400bn (£309bn), it includes online selling, film production and cloud computing.
In an interview with the Times, former English teacher Mr Ma said retirement would not be the end of an era but "the beginning of an era", adding: "I love education".
Alibaba's sales surge continues
Mr Ma, who will be 54 on Monday, has a net personal wealth of $40bn, making him the third richest person in China, according to the 2017 Forbes' China rich list.
Earlier this week, Mr Ma told Bloomberg TV that he wanted to create a personal foundation, following in the footsteps of Microsoft's Bill Gates.
"There's a lot of things I can learn from Bill Gates," he said.
"I can never be as rich, but one thing I can do better is to retire earlier. I think some day, and soon, I'll go back to teaching. This is something I think I can do much better than being CEO of Alibaba."
Mr Ma began his professional life teaching English at a university in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, in eastern Zhejiang province. He started Alibaba from his flat in Hangzhou with a group of friends.
Alibaba's Jack Ma 'to step down and focus on philanthropy'
Jack Ma has a net personal wealth of $40bn
One of China's richest men, Jack Ma, is to step down as executive chairman of the Alibaba e-commerce empire on Monday, the New York Times reported.
He will remain on Alibaba's board of directors but focus on philanthropy in education, the newspaper said.
Mr Ma co-founded Alibaba in 1999 and has seen it become one of the world's biggest internet companies.
With a market value of more than $400bn (£309bn), it includes online selling, film production and cloud computing.
In an interview with the Times, former English teacher Mr Ma said retirement would not be the end of an era but "the beginning of an era", adding: "I love education".
Alibaba's sales surge continues
Mr Ma, who will be 54 on Monday, has a net personal wealth of $40bn, making him the third richest person in China, according to the 2017 Forbes' China rich list.
Earlier this week, Mr Ma told Bloomberg TV that he wanted to create a personal foundation, following in the footsteps of Microsoft's Bill Gates.
"There's a lot of things I can learn from Bill Gates," he said.
"I can never be as rich, but one thing I can do better is to retire earlier. I think some day, and soon, I'll go back to teaching. This is something I think I can do much better than being CEO of Alibaba."
Mr Ma began his professional life teaching English at a university in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, in eastern Zhejiang province. He started Alibaba from his flat in Hangzhou with a group of friends.
George Papadopoulos: Ex-Trump adviser jailed in Russia inquiry - BBC News
Sept. 8, 2018.
George Papadopoulos: Ex-Trump adviser jailed in Russia inquiry
George Papadopoulos and his wife Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos arrive at US District Court for his sentencing
The former Trump adviser whose remarks in a London pub sparked the US inquiry into possible collusion with Russia has been sentenced to 14 days in jail.
George Papadopoulos, 31, told the court in Washington DC he was a "patriotic American" who made a mistake by lying.
He pleaded guilty last October to lying to the FBI about the timing of meetings with alleged go-betweens for Moscow.
He was the first former Trump aide arrested in the probe into an alleged Kremlin plot to sway the 2016 US vote.
US President Donald Trump reacted by taking an apparent swipe at the cost of the investigation into the former aide.
Skip Twitter post by @realDonaldTrump
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
14 days for $28 MILLION - $2 MILLION a day, No Collusion. A great day for America!
7:39 AM - Sep 8, 2018
Who's who in the Russia-Trump inquiry?
How Trump's Russia trouble unfolded
In Friday's sentencing, Papadopoulos was also handed 12 months of supervised release, 200 hours of community service, and a fine of $9,500 (£7,350).
He said in court that his "entire life has been turned upside down" and he hoped "for a second chance to redeem myself".
Papadopoulos concluded by saying "this investigation has global implications, and the truth matters".
Who is George Papadopoulos?
The Chicago native was a London-based petroleum analyst before he joined the Trump campaign in March 2016 as a volunteer foreign policy adviser.
Will Trump remain bulletproof?
Papadopoulos mistaken for Papadopoulos
Papadopoulos soon made contact with a mysterious Maltese academic, Joseph Mifsud.
The professor told Papadopoulos the Russians had "dirt" on Mr Trump's Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton in the form of "thousands of emails".
In the following months, thousands of emails linked to the Clinton campaign were published by Wikileaks.
What did Papadopoulo say he told Donald Trump?
The young political operative told Mr Trump, then a Republican presidential candidate, and other members of the campaign's national security team that he could set up a meeting with President Vladimir Putin ahead of the 2016 election.
Papadopoulos says he was told the Russians possessed "dirt" on Hillary Clinton
A pre-sentencing statement last week read: "While some in the room rebuffed George's offer, Mr Trump nodded with approval and deferred to Mr Sessions, who appeared to like the idea and stated that the campaign should look into it."
Papadopoulos told CNN in an interview aired on Friday that Mr Trump "gave me a sort of a nod" and "wasn't committed either way" about the idea of a meeting with the Russian leader.
But he said then-senator and now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions "was actually enthusiastic". Last November, Mr Sessions testified to Congress that he had "pushed back" against Papadopoulos' offer.
How did this come out?
American authorities were alerted in mid-2016 after Papadopoulos told an Australian diplomat during a drinking session in a London pub about his meetings with Professor Mifsud.
The envoy told US investigators, shortly after the emails hacked from the Democratic Party were leaked.
When the FBI interviewed Papadopoulos in January 2017, he falsely claimed he had met two individuals with Russian ties before he joined the president's team in March 2016.
He had actually met them after joining Mr Trump's campaign.
One individual was a Russian woman who Papadopoulos believed had connections to the Russian government.
In July 2018, the US Department of Justice charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with hacking Democratic officials.
What affect did the lies have?
Prosecutors said Papadopoulos's lack of cooperation with investigators meant they were unable to effectively question or detain Mr Mifsud. The professor has since left the United States.
No connection between Mr Misfud and the hacked emails has been proven.
The mystery professor behind Trump Russia inquiry
The Democratic National Committee, which is suing Russia, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks over the alleged election interference in the 2016, filed a court document on Friday, saying Mr Mifsud "was missing and may be deceased", without any further explanation, according to Bloomberg News.
It referred to him as a key figure to have evaded the Mueller inquiry.
What did Papadopoulos say?
"I made a dreadful mistake, but I am a good man who is eager for redemption," Papadopoulos said.
He said he lied not to impede investigation but "to preserve a perhaps misguided loyalty to his master".
Judge Randolph Moss said he took the "genuine remorse" into consideration for the sentencing.
The only other person to be sentenced in the investigation - lawyer Alex Van Der Zwaan - received 30 days in prison. His judge referred to his regret as "muted".
Outside court on Friday, Papadopoulos' lawyer, Thomas Breen, said his client was a "fool" and had acted "stupidly" in lying to the FBI.
But the attorney said "the president of the United States hindered this investigation more than Papadopoulos ever could".
He said Mr Trump had hampered the inquiry by calling it a "witch hunt" and "fake news".
George Papadopoulos: Ex-Trump adviser jailed in Russia inquiry
George Papadopoulos and his wife Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos arrive at US District Court for his sentencing
The former Trump adviser whose remarks in a London pub sparked the US inquiry into possible collusion with Russia has been sentenced to 14 days in jail.
George Papadopoulos, 31, told the court in Washington DC he was a "patriotic American" who made a mistake by lying.
He pleaded guilty last October to lying to the FBI about the timing of meetings with alleged go-betweens for Moscow.
He was the first former Trump aide arrested in the probe into an alleged Kremlin plot to sway the 2016 US vote.
US President Donald Trump reacted by taking an apparent swipe at the cost of the investigation into the former aide.
Skip Twitter post by @realDonaldTrump
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
14 days for $28 MILLION - $2 MILLION a day, No Collusion. A great day for America!
7:39 AM - Sep 8, 2018
Who's who in the Russia-Trump inquiry?
How Trump's Russia trouble unfolded
In Friday's sentencing, Papadopoulos was also handed 12 months of supervised release, 200 hours of community service, and a fine of $9,500 (£7,350).
He said in court that his "entire life has been turned upside down" and he hoped "for a second chance to redeem myself".
Papadopoulos concluded by saying "this investigation has global implications, and the truth matters".
Who is George Papadopoulos?
The Chicago native was a London-based petroleum analyst before he joined the Trump campaign in March 2016 as a volunteer foreign policy adviser.
Will Trump remain bulletproof?
Papadopoulos mistaken for Papadopoulos
Papadopoulos soon made contact with a mysterious Maltese academic, Joseph Mifsud.
The professor told Papadopoulos the Russians had "dirt" on Mr Trump's Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton in the form of "thousands of emails".
In the following months, thousands of emails linked to the Clinton campaign were published by Wikileaks.
What did Papadopoulo say he told Donald Trump?
The young political operative told Mr Trump, then a Republican presidential candidate, and other members of the campaign's national security team that he could set up a meeting with President Vladimir Putin ahead of the 2016 election.
Papadopoulos says he was told the Russians possessed "dirt" on Hillary Clinton
A pre-sentencing statement last week read: "While some in the room rebuffed George's offer, Mr Trump nodded with approval and deferred to Mr Sessions, who appeared to like the idea and stated that the campaign should look into it."
Papadopoulos told CNN in an interview aired on Friday that Mr Trump "gave me a sort of a nod" and "wasn't committed either way" about the idea of a meeting with the Russian leader.
But he said then-senator and now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions "was actually enthusiastic". Last November, Mr Sessions testified to Congress that he had "pushed back" against Papadopoulos' offer.
How did this come out?
American authorities were alerted in mid-2016 after Papadopoulos told an Australian diplomat during a drinking session in a London pub about his meetings with Professor Mifsud.
The envoy told US investigators, shortly after the emails hacked from the Democratic Party were leaked.
When the FBI interviewed Papadopoulos in January 2017, he falsely claimed he had met two individuals with Russian ties before he joined the president's team in March 2016.
He had actually met them after joining Mr Trump's campaign.
One individual was a Russian woman who Papadopoulos believed had connections to the Russian government.
In July 2018, the US Department of Justice charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with hacking Democratic officials.
What affect did the lies have?
Prosecutors said Papadopoulos's lack of cooperation with investigators meant they were unable to effectively question or detain Mr Mifsud. The professor has since left the United States.
No connection between Mr Misfud and the hacked emails has been proven.
The mystery professor behind Trump Russia inquiry
The Democratic National Committee, which is suing Russia, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks over the alleged election interference in the 2016, filed a court document on Friday, saying Mr Mifsud "was missing and may be deceased", without any further explanation, according to Bloomberg News.
It referred to him as a key figure to have evaded the Mueller inquiry.
What did Papadopoulos say?
"I made a dreadful mistake, but I am a good man who is eager for redemption," Papadopoulos said.
He said he lied not to impede investigation but "to preserve a perhaps misguided loyalty to his master".
Judge Randolph Moss said he took the "genuine remorse" into consideration for the sentencing.
The only other person to be sentenced in the investigation - lawyer Alex Van Der Zwaan - received 30 days in prison. His judge referred to his regret as "muted".
Outside court on Friday, Papadopoulos' lawyer, Thomas Breen, said his client was a "fool" and had acted "stupidly" in lying to the FBI.
But the attorney said "the president of the United States hindered this investigation more than Papadopoulos ever could".
He said Mr Trump had hampered the inquiry by calling it a "witch hunt" and "fake news".
Friday, September 7, 2018
Trump Ran for President Because He Was Jealous of Gwen Stefani, Michael Moore Says - New York Magazine
Sept. 7, 2018.
Trump Ran for President Because He Was Jealous of Gwen Stefani, Michael Moore Says
By Madeleine Aggeler@mmaggeler
There are many theories as to why Donald Trump ran for president. Some say it was because Seth Meyers and President Obama made fun of him at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, others say it was to further his business, and this week, Michael Moore told The Hollywood Reporter that Trump ran for president because of former No Doubt front woman and The Voice judge Gwen Stefani.
According to THR, Moore suggested that Trump was inspired to announce his run for president after learning that Stefani was earning higher performance fees from NBC as a judge on The Voice than he was as host of The Apprentice, because he thought staging his elevator-heavy campaign announcement at Trump Tower in June 2015 would show the network just how popular he was. Moore, who is currently promoting his upcoming documentary Fahrenheit 11/9, was reportedly “delighted with the audacity of the claim” after making it.
“He’d been talking about running for president since 1988, but he didn’t really want to be president,” Moore said. “There’s no penthouse in the White House. And he doesn’t want to live in a black city. He was trying to pit NBC against another network, but it just went off the rails.”
It is, indeed, a theory. And it’s not hard to imagine that Trump, upon learning the distressing news that a woman was being fairly compensated for her work, would be prompted to do something drastic. Then again, maybe he just ran so he could spend more time fondling flags.
Sources THR
Trump Ran for President Because He Was Jealous of Gwen Stefani, Michael Moore Says
By Madeleine Aggeler@mmaggeler
There are many theories as to why Donald Trump ran for president. Some say it was because Seth Meyers and President Obama made fun of him at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, others say it was to further his business, and this week, Michael Moore told The Hollywood Reporter that Trump ran for president because of former No Doubt front woman and The Voice judge Gwen Stefani.
According to THR, Moore suggested that Trump was inspired to announce his run for president after learning that Stefani was earning higher performance fees from NBC as a judge on The Voice than he was as host of The Apprentice, because he thought staging his elevator-heavy campaign announcement at Trump Tower in June 2015 would show the network just how popular he was. Moore, who is currently promoting his upcoming documentary Fahrenheit 11/9, was reportedly “delighted with the audacity of the claim” after making it.
“He’d been talking about running for president since 1988, but he didn’t really want to be president,” Moore said. “There’s no penthouse in the White House. And he doesn’t want to live in a black city. He was trying to pit NBC against another network, but it just went off the rails.”
It is, indeed, a theory. And it’s not hard to imagine that Trump, upon learning the distressing news that a woman was being fairly compensated for her work, would be prompted to do something drastic. Then again, maybe he just ran so he could spend more time fondling flags.
Sources THR
Confidential emails from Judge Kavanaugh’s years as a lawyer in the George W. Bush administration were released on Thursday, prompting a new round of objections to his confirmation from Senate Democrats - New York Times
Confidential emails from Judge Kavanaugh’s years as a lawyer in the George W. Bush administration were released on Thursday, prompting a new round of objections to his confirmation from Senate Democrats.
Sept. 7, 2018
All week, Senate Democrats have furiously protested the decision by Republicans to protect thousands of documents related to Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court. On the third day of his confirmation hearings, that fury came to a head.
On today’s episode:
Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times.
Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh on Thursday was pressed to explain his position on the landmark abortion decision Roe v. Wade. He wrote in a leaked email from 2003, “I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land.”CreditErin Schaff for The New York Times
Background coverage:
Confidential emails from Judge Kavanaugh’s years as a lawyer in the George W. Bush administration were released on Thursday, prompting a new round of objections to his confirmation from Senate Democrats.
Over two days of questioning, Judge Kavanaugh was asked about his stance on major issues including abortion, presidential power, voting rights, gun rights, same-sex marriage and government regulation. Here are rundowns of Day 2 and Day 3 of the hearings.
Three prominent Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee — Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kamala Harris of California and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota — are said to be contemplating running for president in 2020 and to have used the live televised event as a proving ground.
Why Emerging Markets Are in Crisis Across the Globe - TIME Business
Why Emerging Markets Are in Crisis Across the Globe
A crisis is looming in developing economies, or what investors know as emerging markets. An economic crisis in Turkey has pushed inflation to new heights and the value of the lira to new lows. Argentina’s peso is in trouble as President Mauricio Macri reaches to the International Monetary Fund for emergency help. South Africa’s rand, Mexico’s peso and Indonesia’s rupiah are all under pressure. India and Brazil are looking volatile too.
The risk of contagion to other emerging markets is real. In part, that’s thanks to investment vehicles that allow investors to buy debt and equities of multiple countries in a single bundle. In some cases, investors–spooked by weakness in one market–sell shares in all of them to reduce risk.
It might be tempting to blame President Donald Trump for this turmoil. He’s declared trade wars on countries large and small. Looming tariffs on another $200 billion in U.S. and Chinese goods mark the latest use of heavy weapons in an escalating fight between the world’s two largest economies. He’s also battling with Europe, Canada and even Japan, while also throwing punches at vulnerable Turkey as part of a bitter political battle with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. These confrontations doubtless create uncertainty.
Yet the current crisis follows decisions taken by U.S. central bankers, not the U.S. President. Emerging markets suffer when rising U.S. interest rates boost the dollar at the expense of their currencies. The Federal Reserve will continue to raise rates in coming months, because its governors believe this policy best serves the longer-term needs of the U.S. economy.
In addition, the longer-term weaknesses that make so many emerging markets vulnerable to higher U.S. rates existed long before Trump became President. Many governments of these developing countries haven’t done enough in recent years to boost productivity. Some spend ever larger sums on various entitlements while adjusting too slowly to changes in commodity prices or the availability of cheap credit.
Crucially, there’s also the problem of populism. Leaders in Turkey, Argentina, Venezuela, Hungary, Poland and South Africa have each pushed economic policies in recent years that delivered short-term political benefits while creating long-term economic weaknesses. Many constrain their institutions, including central banks, from making the necessary adjustments the Fed is now making in the U.S.
Take Turkey. Erdogan’s various fights with Trump have led to tariffs and sanctions, but his government has badly mismanaged Turkey’s economy. As Erdogan has pressed Turkey’s central bank to keep interest rates low, he has made the lira artificially cheap while making dollars and euros more expensive. That, in turn, makes it harder for Turkish companies to pay down large debts denominated in foreign currencies and to borrow more money from overseas. Investors see Erdogan prioritizing political gains over stability.
Argentina offers another example. Here there’s no political battle with Trump to worry investors. But Macri has not yet restored investor confidence in his country’s long-term financial health. Macri has imposed enough austerity to inflict pain on Argentine voters, but some fear it isn’t enough to guarantee that his government can make its debt payments.
Vulnerable emerging markets are like houses built atop faulty foundations. It’s the threat of earthquakes that creates fear. But until repairs are made, those who built these homes must shoulder blame when frightening cracks appear.
This appears in the September 17, 2018 issue of TIME.
A crisis is looming in developing economies, or what investors know as emerging markets. An economic crisis in Turkey has pushed inflation to new heights and the value of the lira to new lows. Argentina’s peso is in trouble as President Mauricio Macri reaches to the International Monetary Fund for emergency help. South Africa’s rand, Mexico’s peso and Indonesia’s rupiah are all under pressure. India and Brazil are looking volatile too.
The risk of contagion to other emerging markets is real. In part, that’s thanks to investment vehicles that allow investors to buy debt and equities of multiple countries in a single bundle. In some cases, investors–spooked by weakness in one market–sell shares in all of them to reduce risk.
It might be tempting to blame President Donald Trump for this turmoil. He’s declared trade wars on countries large and small. Looming tariffs on another $200 billion in U.S. and Chinese goods mark the latest use of heavy weapons in an escalating fight between the world’s two largest economies. He’s also battling with Europe, Canada and even Japan, while also throwing punches at vulnerable Turkey as part of a bitter political battle with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. These confrontations doubtless create uncertainty.
Yet the current crisis follows decisions taken by U.S. central bankers, not the U.S. President. Emerging markets suffer when rising U.S. interest rates boost the dollar at the expense of their currencies. The Federal Reserve will continue to raise rates in coming months, because its governors believe this policy best serves the longer-term needs of the U.S. economy.
In addition, the longer-term weaknesses that make so many emerging markets vulnerable to higher U.S. rates existed long before Trump became President. Many governments of these developing countries haven’t done enough in recent years to boost productivity. Some spend ever larger sums on various entitlements while adjusting too slowly to changes in commodity prices or the availability of cheap credit.
Crucially, there’s also the problem of populism. Leaders in Turkey, Argentina, Venezuela, Hungary, Poland and South Africa have each pushed economic policies in recent years that delivered short-term political benefits while creating long-term economic weaknesses. Many constrain their institutions, including central banks, from making the necessary adjustments the Fed is now making in the U.S.
Take Turkey. Erdogan’s various fights with Trump have led to tariffs and sanctions, but his government has badly mismanaged Turkey’s economy. As Erdogan has pressed Turkey’s central bank to keep interest rates low, he has made the lira artificially cheap while making dollars and euros more expensive. That, in turn, makes it harder for Turkish companies to pay down large debts denominated in foreign currencies and to borrow more money from overseas. Investors see Erdogan prioritizing political gains over stability.
Argentina offers another example. Here there’s no political battle with Trump to worry investors. But Macri has not yet restored investor confidence in his country’s long-term financial health. Macri has imposed enough austerity to inflict pain on Argentine voters, but some fear it isn’t enough to guarantee that his government can make its debt payments.
Vulnerable emerging markets are like houses built atop faulty foundations. It’s the threat of earthquakes that creates fear. But until repairs are made, those who built these homes must shoulder blame when frightening cracks appear.
This appears in the September 17, 2018 issue of TIME.
Elizabeth Warren Calls for the Cabinet to 'Invoke the 25th' and Remove President Trump - TIME
Elizabeth Warren Calls for the Cabinet to 'Invoke the 25th' and Remove President Trump
By GINA MARTINEZ 8:39 PM EDT
In the wake of an explosive New York Times anonymous op-ed, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling on President Donald Trump’s Cabinet to invoke the Constitution’s 25th Amendment and remove him from office.
On Wednesday the Times published an op-ed titled “I am part of the resistance inside the Trump administration.” The piece, written by an unnamed senior official at the White House, claimed the President was “amoral,” “anti-democratic” and that much of senior officials’ job is to work against the President’s agenda. One of the most shocking claims in the piece was that, at one point, members of his cabinet reportedly considered invoking the 25th Amendment but decided against it to avoid a “constitutional crisis.”
The 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967, is meant to be a failsafe to handle when a President is unable to fulfill the duties of the office for reasons besides injury or death. According to the Constitution, under the Amendment, if the Vice President and a majority of “principle officers” agree that the President is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.”
The Times op-ed has shocked many and confirmed suspicions for some that Trump is unfit to lead. Senator Warren, for one, came out on Thursday to push for the President’s cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment if they actually believe that Trump is unable to adequately fulfill the responsibilities of his office. She shared on social media and her website a call for the Cabinet to use the Amendment if it saw fit.
“Every minute they make excuses is a minute that our country is at risk.” Warren said.
Elizabeth Warren
✔
@elizabethforma
Let’s be clear: We already have a constitutional crisis if the cabinet believes the President of the United States can’t do his job and then refuses to follow the rules that have been laid down in the Constitution. They can’t have it both ways.
8:35 AM - Sep 7, 2018
“If senior officials believe the president is unfit, they should stop hiding behind anonymous op-eds and leaking information to Bob Woodward boasting that they’re trying to save our country, and instead do what the Constitution demands they do: invoke the 25th Amendment and remove this president from office.” Warren posted on her website.
By GINA MARTINEZ 8:39 PM EDT
In the wake of an explosive New York Times anonymous op-ed, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling on President Donald Trump’s Cabinet to invoke the Constitution’s 25th Amendment and remove him from office.
On Wednesday the Times published an op-ed titled “I am part of the resistance inside the Trump administration.” The piece, written by an unnamed senior official at the White House, claimed the President was “amoral,” “anti-democratic” and that much of senior officials’ job is to work against the President’s agenda. One of the most shocking claims in the piece was that, at one point, members of his cabinet reportedly considered invoking the 25th Amendment but decided against it to avoid a “constitutional crisis.”
The 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967, is meant to be a failsafe to handle when a President is unable to fulfill the duties of the office for reasons besides injury or death. According to the Constitution, under the Amendment, if the Vice President and a majority of “principle officers” agree that the President is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.”
The Times op-ed has shocked many and confirmed suspicions for some that Trump is unfit to lead. Senator Warren, for one, came out on Thursday to push for the President’s cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment if they actually believe that Trump is unable to adequately fulfill the responsibilities of his office. She shared on social media and her website a call for the Cabinet to use the Amendment if it saw fit.
“Every minute they make excuses is a minute that our country is at risk.” Warren said.
Elizabeth Warren
✔
@elizabethforma
Let’s be clear: We already have a constitutional crisis if the cabinet believes the President of the United States can’t do his job and then refuses to follow the rules that have been laid down in the Constitution. They can’t have it both ways.
8:35 AM - Sep 7, 2018
“If senior officials believe the president is unfit, they should stop hiding behind anonymous op-eds and leaking information to Bob Woodward boasting that they’re trying to save our country, and instead do what the Constitution demands they do: invoke the 25th Amendment and remove this president from office.” Warren posted on her website.
Hong Kong now has more super-rich people than any other city - CNN Money
Hong Kong now has more super-rich people than any other city
by Daniel Shane @CNNMoneyInvest
September 6, 2018: 10:17 AM ET
New York is no longer the city with the biggest super-rich population.
Hong Kong overtook the Big Apple to become the top destination for the planet's wealthiest people last year, according to a study published Thursday by research firm Wealth-X. The number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) residing in the Asian financial hub rose by almost a third in 2017 to 10,000, the study said.
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New York had held the top spot since Wealth-X first started ranking cities in 2011. The firm defines a UHNWI as a person worth $30 million or more.
It said the rise in the number of ultra rich in Hong Kong was propelled by its booming stock market and growing financial links with the broader Chinese economy.
China's rapid economic growth in recent decades has helped drive a dramatic increase in the number of ultra-rich people in the region.
A view of Hong Kong skyline from Victoria Peak.
Among Hong Kong's most prominent billionaires are Li Ka-shing, whose Cheung Kong (CKHUY) empire controls ports, telecommunications networks and energy companies across the globe.
No single city in mainland China made it into Wealth-X's top 10 in terms of its number of super-rich individuals.
It said that was because Chinese wealth was not concentrated in any one area, but distributed around the country. Its wealthiest citizens include tech tycoons Jack Ma and Pony Ma who founded internet juggernauts Alibaba (BABA) and Tencent (TCEHY), respectively.
"The dynamism of wealth creation across China's vast landscape is nevertheless staggering," the report read.
Overall, the United States remains the preferred country for the world's richest and is home to almost a third of the world's ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
But Asia, and China in particular, are catching up. Last year the number of ultra-rich people in Asia rose by 20%. Rising Asian wealth has been helped by increasing consumer spending, more investment in infrastructure and economic reforms, among other factors, Wealth-X said.
"Asia-Pacific is forecast to close the ultra-wealth gap with other regions over the next five years," the report added.
For the past four years, the region's tally of people with $1 million in investable assets has been higher than anywhere else in the world, according to another study by consulting firm Capgemini. And by one estimate, China alone already has more billionaires than the United States.
hong kong ultra rich chart
But things could get tougher in 2018. China faces headwinds from its trade war with the United States and the huge levels of debt in its financial system. Chinese stocks entered a bear market this year, while its currency has plunged versus the dollar.
Globally, the number of ultra-rich individuals rose by 13% last year to more than 250,000. Their combined total wealth hit $31.5 trillion, boosted by an upturn in the global economy and good performances of stock markets.
Other cities in the top 10 for global wealth included Tokyo, Los Angeles, Paris and London.
by Daniel Shane @CNNMoneyInvest
September 6, 2018: 10:17 AM ET
New York is no longer the city with the biggest super-rich population.
Hong Kong overtook the Big Apple to become the top destination for the planet's wealthiest people last year, according to a study published Thursday by research firm Wealth-X. The number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) residing in the Asian financial hub rose by almost a third in 2017 to 10,000, the study said.
Rates Beat Your Banks
Powered by
New York had held the top spot since Wealth-X first started ranking cities in 2011. The firm defines a UHNWI as a person worth $30 million or more.
It said the rise in the number of ultra rich in Hong Kong was propelled by its booming stock market and growing financial links with the broader Chinese economy.
China's rapid economic growth in recent decades has helped drive a dramatic increase in the number of ultra-rich people in the region.
A view of Hong Kong skyline from Victoria Peak.
Among Hong Kong's most prominent billionaires are Li Ka-shing, whose Cheung Kong (CKHUY) empire controls ports, telecommunications networks and energy companies across the globe.
No single city in mainland China made it into Wealth-X's top 10 in terms of its number of super-rich individuals.
It said that was because Chinese wealth was not concentrated in any one area, but distributed around the country. Its wealthiest citizens include tech tycoons Jack Ma and Pony Ma who founded internet juggernauts Alibaba (BABA) and Tencent (TCEHY), respectively.
"The dynamism of wealth creation across China's vast landscape is nevertheless staggering," the report read.
Overall, the United States remains the preferred country for the world's richest and is home to almost a third of the world's ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
But Asia, and China in particular, are catching up. Last year the number of ultra-rich people in Asia rose by 20%. Rising Asian wealth has been helped by increasing consumer spending, more investment in infrastructure and economic reforms, among other factors, Wealth-X said.
"Asia-Pacific is forecast to close the ultra-wealth gap with other regions over the next five years," the report added.
For the past four years, the region's tally of people with $1 million in investable assets has been higher than anywhere else in the world, according to another study by consulting firm Capgemini. And by one estimate, China alone already has more billionaires than the United States.
hong kong ultra rich chart
But things could get tougher in 2018. China faces headwinds from its trade war with the United States and the huge levels of debt in its financial system. Chinese stocks entered a bear market this year, while its currency has plunged versus the dollar.
Globally, the number of ultra-rich individuals rose by 13% last year to more than 250,000. Their combined total wealth hit $31.5 trillion, boosted by an upturn in the global economy and good performances of stock markets.
Other cities in the top 10 for global wealth included Tokyo, Los Angeles, Paris and London.
Trump: If it was up to me, I'd shut down the government over border security - Reuters
Trump: If it was up to me, I'd shut down the government over border security
Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | @BerkeleyJr
CNBC.com
President Donald Trump disparages the New York Times as he speaks following a meeting with sheriffs from across the country at the White House in Washington, September 5, 2018.
Leah Millis | Reuters
President Donald Trump disparages the New York Times as he speaks following a meeting with sheriffs from across the country at the White House in Washington, September 5, 2018.
President Donald Trump said he won't consider a government shutdown over funding for his proposed border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border until after the November midterm elections.
In an interview with "Fox & Friends" that aired Friday, Trump said he doesn't want to hurt the Republican party's chances during midterms. If it was up to him, Trump said, he would "shut down the government over border security."
"We need Republicans elected in the midterms," Trump said. "We are getting the wall done. But I've had so many people, good people, great people, they would rather not do [it] before [the midterms], they'd rather do it right after the election."
Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | @BerkeleyJr
CNBC.com
President Donald Trump disparages the New York Times as he speaks following a meeting with sheriffs from across the country at the White House in Washington, September 5, 2018.
Leah Millis | Reuters
President Donald Trump disparages the New York Times as he speaks following a meeting with sheriffs from across the country at the White House in Washington, September 5, 2018.
President Donald Trump said he won't consider a government shutdown over funding for his proposed border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border until after the November midterm elections.
In an interview with "Fox & Friends" that aired Friday, Trump said he doesn't want to hurt the Republican party's chances during midterms. If it was up to him, Trump said, he would "shut down the government over border security."
"We need Republicans elected in the midterms," Trump said. "We are getting the wall done. But I've had so many people, good people, great people, they would rather not do [it] before [the midterms], they'd rather do it right after the election."
Fears grow for Japan quake survivors as death toll rises - BBC News
Sept. 7, 2018.
Fears grow for Japan quake survivors as death toll rises
Emergency crews are racing against the clock to find survivors
Rescuers continued to search for survivors of a powerful earthquake on Japan's island of Hokkaido, as the death toll rose to 16.
Dozens are still missing with many feared buried under rubble after the magnitude 6.7 quake triggered landslides.
Some 1.6 million residents across Hokkaido remain without power.
The quake is the second disaster to hit Japan this week, after a deadly typhoon lashed the country's west coast.
The earthquake struck early on Thursday and thousands of people spent the night in evacuation centres.
'I thought I would die'
The village of Atsuma was among the hardest hit, where roads and houses collapsed after huge landslides.
"We've heard there are people still stuck under the mud, so we've been working around the clock but it's been difficult to rescue them," a rescue worker in Atsuma told public broadcaster NHK.
One resident said: "It was horrendous. The land slid all the way down and I thought I would die. I thought my house would collapse."
Many residents are still missing
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed 16 people had been killed, many people injured, and 26 remained missing.
"Please give your sympathy to people who spent a dark night in fear, and do everything you can to restore electricity as soon as possible," he instructed his ministers at an emergency cabinet meeting on Friday.
Authorities said it could take at least one week to restore power lines to the sparsely populated countryside.
With bad weather expected over the next days, officials are warning people to remain cautious and be prepared for aftershocks.
Transport to resume
The island's main airport resumed flights on Friday and train services are also scheduled to restart before the weekend.
The quake also affected several manufacturers on the island. Operations at Toyota plant will be suspended until power is restored, the carmaker said.
A football friendly between Japan and Chile scheduled for Friday has been called off.
The earthquake caused landslides which engulfed houses
Japan is prone to earthquakes
The earthquake comes on the heels of a deadly typhoon lashing the west of Japan over the past few days.
Jebi, the strongest typhoon to hit the country in 25 years, killed at least 10 people and caused widespread damage and disruption.
Japan is one of the world's most seismically active nations and accounts for around 20% of quakes worldwide of magnitude 6.0 or more.
In June, a deadly tremor hit Osaka region, killing five and injuring more than 300 people.
Fears grow for Japan quake survivors as death toll rises
Emergency crews are racing against the clock to find survivors
Rescuers continued to search for survivors of a powerful earthquake on Japan's island of Hokkaido, as the death toll rose to 16.
Dozens are still missing with many feared buried under rubble after the magnitude 6.7 quake triggered landslides.
Some 1.6 million residents across Hokkaido remain without power.
The quake is the second disaster to hit Japan this week, after a deadly typhoon lashed the country's west coast.
The earthquake struck early on Thursday and thousands of people spent the night in evacuation centres.
'I thought I would die'
The village of Atsuma was among the hardest hit, where roads and houses collapsed after huge landslides.
"We've heard there are people still stuck under the mud, so we've been working around the clock but it's been difficult to rescue them," a rescue worker in Atsuma told public broadcaster NHK.
One resident said: "It was horrendous. The land slid all the way down and I thought I would die. I thought my house would collapse."
Many residents are still missing
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed 16 people had been killed, many people injured, and 26 remained missing.
"Please give your sympathy to people who spent a dark night in fear, and do everything you can to restore electricity as soon as possible," he instructed his ministers at an emergency cabinet meeting on Friday.
Authorities said it could take at least one week to restore power lines to the sparsely populated countryside.
With bad weather expected over the next days, officials are warning people to remain cautious and be prepared for aftershocks.
Transport to resume
The island's main airport resumed flights on Friday and train services are also scheduled to restart before the weekend.
The quake also affected several manufacturers on the island. Operations at Toyota plant will be suspended until power is restored, the carmaker said.
A football friendly between Japan and Chile scheduled for Friday has been called off.
The earthquake caused landslides which engulfed houses
Japan is prone to earthquakes
The earthquake comes on the heels of a deadly typhoon lashing the west of Japan over the past few days.
Jebi, the strongest typhoon to hit the country in 25 years, killed at least 10 people and caused widespread damage and disruption.
Japan is one of the world's most seismically active nations and accounts for around 20% of quakes worldwide of magnitude 6.0 or more.
In June, a deadly tremor hit Osaka region, killing five and injuring more than 300 people.
Boris Johnson and wife Marina Wheeler to get divorced - BBC News
Sept. 7, 2018.
Boris Johnson and wife Marina Wheeler to get divorced
The couple have been married for 25 years and have four children together
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson and his wife Marina Wheeler have confirmed they have separated.
In a joint statement, they said they are now in the process of divorcing, after the Sun newspaper broke the news of their split.
The couple have been married for 25 years and said the decision was taken some months ago.
Mr Johnson, long touted as a future Tory leader, quit the cabinet in July attacking Theresa May's Brexit plan.
Boris Johnson quits amid Brexit crisis
In a joint statement, he and Ms Wheeler said: "Several months ago, after 25 years of marriage, we decided it was in our best interests to separate.
"We have subsequently agreed to divorce and that process is under way.
"As friends we will continue to support our four children in the years ahead.
"We will not be commenting further".
Mr Johnson and Ms Wheeler, a barrister, married in 1993 and have four children together, Lara Lettice, Milo Arthur, Cassia Peaches and Theodore Apollo. He was previously married to Allegra Mostyn-Owen, who had been a fellow student at Oxford.
News of the split follows newspaper allegations about Mr Johnson having had another extra-marital affair.
In 2004, the MP was sacked from a shadow ministerial role by then Conservative leader Michael Howard for allegedly lying over an affair with journalist Petronella Wyatt - something he had denied as an "inverted pyramid of piffle".
He fronted the Vote Leave campaign during the 2016 EU referendum and joined Theresa May's first cabinet as foreign secretary but quit in July, shortly after his fellow cabinet Brexiteer David Davis resigned, over the prime minister's Chequers plan for the UK's future relationship with the EU.
In 2016, following David Cameron's resignation, Mr Johnson dramatically ruled himself out of the race to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister, after his fellow Brexit campaigner Michael Gove's surprise announcement that he would run.
But the former mayor of London and current MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip is widely thought to continue to harbour leadership ambitions.
Boris Johnson and wife Marina Wheeler to get divorced
The couple have been married for 25 years and have four children together
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson and his wife Marina Wheeler have confirmed they have separated.
In a joint statement, they said they are now in the process of divorcing, after the Sun newspaper broke the news of their split.
The couple have been married for 25 years and said the decision was taken some months ago.
Mr Johnson, long touted as a future Tory leader, quit the cabinet in July attacking Theresa May's Brexit plan.
Boris Johnson quits amid Brexit crisis
In a joint statement, he and Ms Wheeler said: "Several months ago, after 25 years of marriage, we decided it was in our best interests to separate.
"We have subsequently agreed to divorce and that process is under way.
"As friends we will continue to support our four children in the years ahead.
"We will not be commenting further".
Mr Johnson and Ms Wheeler, a barrister, married in 1993 and have four children together, Lara Lettice, Milo Arthur, Cassia Peaches and Theodore Apollo. He was previously married to Allegra Mostyn-Owen, who had been a fellow student at Oxford.
News of the split follows newspaper allegations about Mr Johnson having had another extra-marital affair.
In 2004, the MP was sacked from a shadow ministerial role by then Conservative leader Michael Howard for allegedly lying over an affair with journalist Petronella Wyatt - something he had denied as an "inverted pyramid of piffle".
He fronted the Vote Leave campaign during the 2016 EU referendum and joined Theresa May's first cabinet as foreign secretary but quit in July, shortly after his fellow cabinet Brexiteer David Davis resigned, over the prime minister's Chequers plan for the UK's future relationship with the EU.
In 2016, following David Cameron's resignation, Mr Johnson dramatically ruled himself out of the race to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister, after his fellow Brexit campaigner Michael Gove's surprise announcement that he would run.
But the former mayor of London and current MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip is widely thought to continue to harbour leadership ambitions.
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's presidential front-runner, stabbed at rally - BBC News
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's presidential front-runner, stabbed at rally
7 September 2018
Presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, pictured seconds after being stabbed in the stomach
The front-runner in Brazil's presidential election, Jair Bolsonaro, has been stabbed at a campaign rally.
The far-right politician was attacked amid a crowd in the south-east state of Minas Gerais. A suspect was arrested.
Mr Bolsonaro had surgery for injuries to his intestines and is expected to recover, hospital officials said.
The controversial politician, who has outraged many in Brazil with racist and homophobic comments, has performed strongly in recent opinion polls.
The polls suggest he will get the most votes in the first round of the October presidential elections if former President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva remains blocked from standing, but he is unlikely to win a run-off.
Left-wing Lula had been the long-standing favourite but he is currently in prison, appealing against a ban on his candidacy that was imposed after his conviction for corruption.
'Brazil's Trump' enters presidential race
Some of Mr Bolsonaro's past comments have caused uproar, including equating homosexuality with paedophilia, and saying a congresswoman was too ugly to be raped.
Campaigning from hospital and prison
Katy Watson, BBC South America correspondent, São Paulo
This is another twist - a dramatic one - in what has already been a turbulent campaign for one of Brazil's most uncertain elections in decades.
Jair Bolsonaro is the front-runner and he is in a hospital bed, while the only person thought to be able to beat him is Lula - and he is in a prison cell. It is a surreal situation.
One of Jair Bolsonaro's key campaign messages is that he will try to turn around the growth in violent crime. The fact that he is now a victim himself plays into the hands of his supporters, who see this as a very important problem for Brazil to tackle. Everyone - including his detractors - has rallied around him to condemn the attack.
As it has happened so close to the October election, he won't be on the campaign trail for the next week or so. Nevertheless, his supporters will be strengthened, seeing that his concerns are their concerns.
How did the attack unfold?
Footage of the incident in the city of Juiz de Fora shows Mr Bolsonaro making a thumbs-up gesture and being held aloft by supporters when he is stabbed with what appears to be a knife.
He then doubles over with pain and his supporters quickly lower him to the ground and bundle him into a car.
After the attack, his son Flavio tweeted: "Unfortunately it was more serious than we had expected. He lost a lot of blood, arrived at the hospital with a [blood] pressure of 10/3, almost dead. His condition now seems stabilised. Pray, please!"
Hospital officials later said Mr Bolsonaro had suffered a "deep" and life-threatening stab wound in his intestines and was in a "serious but stable" condition.
Image caption
Military police released a picture of the man suspected of stabbing Mr Bolsonaro
He was recuperating well in intensive care after two hours of surgery, they added, but would spend at least a week to 10 days in hospital.
He has since been filmed in his hospital bed, making a hoarse statement. He described how what he thought was "just a blow" turned into an unbearable pain. He had "never hurt anyone", he said.
Police said a suspect has been arrested and named him as Adelio Obispo de Oliveira, 40. Officials quoted by Reuters news agency said he appeared to be mentally disturbed.
He was manhandled and beaten by angry supporters of Mr Bolsonaro before being taken into custody.
Stabbing suspect Adelio Obispo de Oliveira was grabbed by members of the crowd
Image caption
It took the crowd some moments to realise Jair Bolsonaro, top right, had been stabbed
What has been the reaction?
Mr Bolsonaro's electoral rivals have all condemned the stabbing. Fernando Haddad, who is expected to replace Lula on the Workers' Party ticket, said the attack was "absurd and regrettable".
Speaking in the capital Brasilia, President Michel Temer said such an attack was "intolerable" in a democratic state and that he hoped Mr Bolsonaro recovered soon.
The president's predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, warned that the attack must not go unpunished.
Brazilian stocks rose after the attack on Mr Bolsonaro, as it was seen as increasing his chances. His free-market economics make him popular with investors.
Image caption
Supporters of Mr Bolsonaro in Sao Paulo held a vigil for him
Why is Mr Bolsonaro so polarising?
The 63-year-old, who is representing the Social Liberal Party (PSL), is followed by millions of Brazilians on social media, and many refer to him as the "Brazilian Trump".
Brazil's unlikely young conservatives
He also supports loosening gun control laws, and is backed by millions of evangelical Christians for his uncompromising anti-abortion stance.
A former army captain, Mr Bolsonaro entered politics in the 1980s to defend the rights of military personnel.
Few imagined at that time that he could become a serious contender. But the collapse of the Workers' Party government and the impeachment of President Rousseff two years ago revealed the extent of political divisions.
Image caption
Mr Bolsonaro has performed strongly in polls ahead of next month's election
Mr Bolsonaro's outspoken rhetoric and his defence of law and order appealed to many who blamed the left for corruption and the economic crisis.
In 2011, he told Playboy magazine that he would be "incapable of loving a gay son" and that he would rather see such a son of his "die in an accident".
In 2015, he was fined for saying in a newspaper interview that Congresswoman Maria do Rosario was "not worth raping; she is very ugly".
He is currently being investigated for alleged racism over derogatory remarks he made about Afro-Brazilians.
Who will be Brazil's next president?
President Temer, an unpopular leader, is not standing for re-election, and millions of voters remain undecided.
Mr Bolsonaro is expected to have a strong first round but lose a run-off to leftist Ciro Gomes, environmentalist Marina Silva or ex-Governor of Sao Paulo Geraldo Alckmin, according to leading research company Ibope.
A race against Lula's likely replacement, Fernando Haddad, could be much narrower. Ibope said its most recent survey showed Mr Bolsonaro losing to him by just one percentage point.
Mr Haddad was charged with corruption earlier this week and, like Lula, denies any wrongdoing.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected Lula's latest appeal to run. The Workers' Party has until the end of Tuesday to register Mr Haddad as its presidential candidate.
7 September 2018
Presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, pictured seconds after being stabbed in the stomach
The front-runner in Brazil's presidential election, Jair Bolsonaro, has been stabbed at a campaign rally.
The far-right politician was attacked amid a crowd in the south-east state of Minas Gerais. A suspect was arrested.
Mr Bolsonaro had surgery for injuries to his intestines and is expected to recover, hospital officials said.
The controversial politician, who has outraged many in Brazil with racist and homophobic comments, has performed strongly in recent opinion polls.
The polls suggest he will get the most votes in the first round of the October presidential elections if former President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva remains blocked from standing, but he is unlikely to win a run-off.
Left-wing Lula had been the long-standing favourite but he is currently in prison, appealing against a ban on his candidacy that was imposed after his conviction for corruption.
'Brazil's Trump' enters presidential race
Some of Mr Bolsonaro's past comments have caused uproar, including equating homosexuality with paedophilia, and saying a congresswoman was too ugly to be raped.
Campaigning from hospital and prison
Katy Watson, BBC South America correspondent, São Paulo
This is another twist - a dramatic one - in what has already been a turbulent campaign for one of Brazil's most uncertain elections in decades.
Jair Bolsonaro is the front-runner and he is in a hospital bed, while the only person thought to be able to beat him is Lula - and he is in a prison cell. It is a surreal situation.
One of Jair Bolsonaro's key campaign messages is that he will try to turn around the growth in violent crime. The fact that he is now a victim himself plays into the hands of his supporters, who see this as a very important problem for Brazil to tackle. Everyone - including his detractors - has rallied around him to condemn the attack.
As it has happened so close to the October election, he won't be on the campaign trail for the next week or so. Nevertheless, his supporters will be strengthened, seeing that his concerns are their concerns.
How did the attack unfold?
Footage of the incident in the city of Juiz de Fora shows Mr Bolsonaro making a thumbs-up gesture and being held aloft by supporters when he is stabbed with what appears to be a knife.
He then doubles over with pain and his supporters quickly lower him to the ground and bundle him into a car.
After the attack, his son Flavio tweeted: "Unfortunately it was more serious than we had expected. He lost a lot of blood, arrived at the hospital with a [blood] pressure of 10/3, almost dead. His condition now seems stabilised. Pray, please!"
Hospital officials later said Mr Bolsonaro had suffered a "deep" and life-threatening stab wound in his intestines and was in a "serious but stable" condition.
Image caption
Military police released a picture of the man suspected of stabbing Mr Bolsonaro
He was recuperating well in intensive care after two hours of surgery, they added, but would spend at least a week to 10 days in hospital.
He has since been filmed in his hospital bed, making a hoarse statement. He described how what he thought was "just a blow" turned into an unbearable pain. He had "never hurt anyone", he said.
Police said a suspect has been arrested and named him as Adelio Obispo de Oliveira, 40. Officials quoted by Reuters news agency said he appeared to be mentally disturbed.
He was manhandled and beaten by angry supporters of Mr Bolsonaro before being taken into custody.
Stabbing suspect Adelio Obispo de Oliveira was grabbed by members of the crowd
Image caption
It took the crowd some moments to realise Jair Bolsonaro, top right, had been stabbed
What has been the reaction?
Mr Bolsonaro's electoral rivals have all condemned the stabbing. Fernando Haddad, who is expected to replace Lula on the Workers' Party ticket, said the attack was "absurd and regrettable".
Speaking in the capital Brasilia, President Michel Temer said such an attack was "intolerable" in a democratic state and that he hoped Mr Bolsonaro recovered soon.
The president's predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, warned that the attack must not go unpunished.
Brazilian stocks rose after the attack on Mr Bolsonaro, as it was seen as increasing his chances. His free-market economics make him popular with investors.
Image caption
Supporters of Mr Bolsonaro in Sao Paulo held a vigil for him
Why is Mr Bolsonaro so polarising?
The 63-year-old, who is representing the Social Liberal Party (PSL), is followed by millions of Brazilians on social media, and many refer to him as the "Brazilian Trump".
Brazil's unlikely young conservatives
He also supports loosening gun control laws, and is backed by millions of evangelical Christians for his uncompromising anti-abortion stance.
A former army captain, Mr Bolsonaro entered politics in the 1980s to defend the rights of military personnel.
Few imagined at that time that he could become a serious contender. But the collapse of the Workers' Party government and the impeachment of President Rousseff two years ago revealed the extent of political divisions.
Image caption
Mr Bolsonaro has performed strongly in polls ahead of next month's election
Mr Bolsonaro's outspoken rhetoric and his defence of law and order appealed to many who blamed the left for corruption and the economic crisis.
In 2011, he told Playboy magazine that he would be "incapable of loving a gay son" and that he would rather see such a son of his "die in an accident".
In 2015, he was fined for saying in a newspaper interview that Congresswoman Maria do Rosario was "not worth raping; she is very ugly".
He is currently being investigated for alleged racism over derogatory remarks he made about Afro-Brazilians.
Who will be Brazil's next president?
President Temer, an unpopular leader, is not standing for re-election, and millions of voters remain undecided.
Mr Bolsonaro is expected to have a strong first round but lose a run-off to leftist Ciro Gomes, environmentalist Marina Silva or ex-Governor of Sao Paulo Geraldo Alckmin, according to leading research company Ibope.
A race against Lula's likely replacement, Fernando Haddad, could be much narrower. Ibope said its most recent survey showed Mr Bolsonaro losing to him by just one percentage point.
Mr Haddad was charged with corruption earlier this week and, like Lula, denies any wrongdoing.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected Lula's latest appeal to run. The Workers' Party has until the end of Tuesday to register Mr Haddad as its presidential candidate.
Thursday, September 6, 2018
Trump sees treason from within - CNN Politics
Trump sees treason from within
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN
Updated 0555 GMT (1355 HKT) September 6, 2018
Trump responds to op-ed: 'Gutless'
Historian: We're living on Nixon times ten
Dean: Trump acts 'frighteningly dictatorial'
Trump supporter: Where the hell is Pence?
Kerry: We have an off-the-rails presidency
Phil Mudd TSR panel 9-5-18
Phil Mudd slams GOP leadership
Sen. Lindsey Graham 9-5-18
Graham: Op-ed will matter 'zero'
US President Donald Trump listens to a question as he meets with the Emir of Kuwait Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in the Oval Office of the White House on September 5, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Senior administration official hits Trump in op-ed
Trump responds to op-ed: 'Gutless'
Historian: We're living on Nixon times ten
Dean: Trump acts 'frighteningly dictatorial'
Trump supporter: Where the hell is Pence?
Washington (CNN)It's impossible to know in the moment when a presidency begins to dissolve. But after a devastating 48 hours, it's already clear that Donald Trump's will never be the same.
Whatever your view of Trump, his behavior and his presidency, Washington is watching the opening act of a stunning attempt to topple the elected leader of the nation.
Damaging twin portraits of the President in a New York Times op-ed and Bob Woodward's new book are using the words of current top officials to fracture the mythology of vanity and bombast, conmanship and intimidation of Trump's personality cult.
In an attack from an enemy within, top officials who see Trump up close, including one calling the band of renegades the "resistance," are finally daring to say -- albeit under Washington's invisibility cloak of anonymity -- what outside critics have long believed.
They warn the President of the United States is not only unfit to be the most powerful man in the world, but is a venal mix of ignorance and ego, pettiness, malignancy and recklessness that is putting the republic and the world itself at risk.
Trump slams damning New York Times op-ed as 'gutless'
Trump slams damning New York Times op-ed as 'gutless'
For all his boasts of historic success and self-image as a strongman's strongman, the "adults in the room" want Americans to know: the emperor has no clothes.
"The root of the problem is the President's amorality. Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making," the unnamed official wrote in the staggering essay published by the Times.
The official even revealed there had even been talk among Cabinet officers about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove the President. Washington has seen almost everything under Trump, but a palace coup would be something else.
"There is somebody working for the President of the United States at a very senior level who is trying to destroy him," Michael Caputo, a former Trump campaign aide told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
It's hard to find a parallel in Western political history for a leader to survive such a knifing since the power and fear need to sustain iron rule can slip away especially quickly in a democracy -- as opposed to an autocratic state.
But Trump has long defied predictions of his own demise and survived the kind of blows that would paralyze other presidents. Yet no other commander in chief has faced the staggering personal disavowals and devastating betrayals that he has endured this week.
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
TREASON?
8:15 AM - Sep 6, 2018
Like a wounded king's furious wail, Trump tweeted a single word: "TREASON?"
Woodward was just the start
Woodward book prompts West Wing witch hunt, sources say
Woodward book prompts West Wing witch hunt, sources say
The White House was already groggy Wednesday from the fearful blow of Woodward's new book peeling open the West Wing, "Fear: Trump in the White House."
The legendary muckraker's deeply reported account exposes profound disdain for the President among senior officials who are said to view him as an "idiot" with a fifth-grade education who the world needs protecting against.
It turns out Woodward was just the appetizer.
The thunderclap of the Times piece laid bare an administration in disarray, a President dangerously off the rails and a nation adrift without the stable hand of an effective leader.
"Many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations," the official wrote.
"It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room ... this isn't the work of the so-called deep state. It's the work of the steady state."
The effect of the op-ed was to validate many of the claims of a President dangerously out of his depth that were made by Woodward, crushing White House efforts to fight back.
Washington is already getting consumed with speculation about who wrote the op-ed, the city's biggest literary whodunit since the 1996 novel "Primary Colors," loosely based on the Clintons, was revealed as the work of Joe Klein.
Then there is a quickening debate over the decision of the author to stay in the shadows and whether the person should demonstrate their courage of convictions by resigning and revealing their name.
Unimaginable questions
John Kerry: 'This is a genuine constitutional crisis'
John Kerry: 'This is a genuine constitutional crisis'
But Wednesday's staggering events -- extraordinary even by the convention-blasting standards of Trump, pose questions that would once have been unimaginable.
They include: What will happen if, as it appears, America does not have a stable, functioning President? Will the mutiny among unidentified senior officials build and will they break cover, provoke resignations, or further shred the fabric of the administration?
If talk of the 25th Amendment is renewed, a true constitutional crisis could be looming.
There is of course the perennial question of whether cowed Republicans on Capitol Hill will be moved to even discuss the crisis of competence and temperance raging in the White House. Then there is the issue of whether a crisis-addled and demoralized White House will dampen GOP turnout in midterm elections where a defeat could shatter the bond between Trump and his party.
What must it be like to work in the confines of the West Wing, with a raging President, a cabal of officials working against him and the destabilizing spectacle of a witch hunt to find the moles?
Will the President, seeing betrayal at every turn, launch a purge of officials he suspects may not be loyal to his political crusade, further thinning the ranks of a threadbare White House?
His darkest hour
Play Video
Trump tried to find his way out of his darkest hour to date by trying to wrest control of his own fate.
He appeared in the East Room of the White House in an extraordinary display of defiance soon after The New York Times op-ed appeared.
His appearance was almost noble, though also steeped in pathos, as a wounded leader fought against unseen forces bent on his demise even as he tasted the bile of betrayal that may always have been the inevitable result of his erratic rule.
"The failing New York Times has an anonymous editorial -- can you believe it?" Trump told a gathering of sheriffs.
"Anonymous -- meaning gutless. A gutless editorial," the President said, in an appearance in which he laid claim to a record of staggering political success, a roaring economy and building military might.
Later, his mood had darkened and he delivered a truly sinister tweet.
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
Does the so-called “Senior Administration Official” really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!
9:40 AM - Sep 6, 2018
"Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!" Trump wrote.
The President will step up his counter-attack when he hits the campaign trail in Montana on Thursday night. He is sure of a warm welcome from loyal supporters and the treachery and betrayal of Washington may not resonate so much in Trump country.
As Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told CNN's Wolf Blitzer: "In my world, where I live in South Carolina, most people are very pleased with what the President is doing," adding that Woodward and The New York Times did not cut much ice among his voters.
But make no mistake, in Washington at least, Trump is fighting for his presidency, against forces trying to tear it down from within.
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN
Updated 0555 GMT (1355 HKT) September 6, 2018
Trump responds to op-ed: 'Gutless'
Historian: We're living on Nixon times ten
Dean: Trump acts 'frighteningly dictatorial'
Trump supporter: Where the hell is Pence?
Kerry: We have an off-the-rails presidency
Phil Mudd TSR panel 9-5-18
Phil Mudd slams GOP leadership
Sen. Lindsey Graham 9-5-18
Graham: Op-ed will matter 'zero'
US President Donald Trump listens to a question as he meets with the Emir of Kuwait Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in the Oval Office of the White House on September 5, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Senior administration official hits Trump in op-ed
Trump responds to op-ed: 'Gutless'
Historian: We're living on Nixon times ten
Dean: Trump acts 'frighteningly dictatorial'
Trump supporter: Where the hell is Pence?
Washington (CNN)It's impossible to know in the moment when a presidency begins to dissolve. But after a devastating 48 hours, it's already clear that Donald Trump's will never be the same.
Whatever your view of Trump, his behavior and his presidency, Washington is watching the opening act of a stunning attempt to topple the elected leader of the nation.
Damaging twin portraits of the President in a New York Times op-ed and Bob Woodward's new book are using the words of current top officials to fracture the mythology of vanity and bombast, conmanship and intimidation of Trump's personality cult.
In an attack from an enemy within, top officials who see Trump up close, including one calling the band of renegades the "resistance," are finally daring to say -- albeit under Washington's invisibility cloak of anonymity -- what outside critics have long believed.
They warn the President of the United States is not only unfit to be the most powerful man in the world, but is a venal mix of ignorance and ego, pettiness, malignancy and recklessness that is putting the republic and the world itself at risk.
Trump slams damning New York Times op-ed as 'gutless'
Trump slams damning New York Times op-ed as 'gutless'
For all his boasts of historic success and self-image as a strongman's strongman, the "adults in the room" want Americans to know: the emperor has no clothes.
"The root of the problem is the President's amorality. Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making," the unnamed official wrote in the staggering essay published by the Times.
The official even revealed there had even been talk among Cabinet officers about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove the President. Washington has seen almost everything under Trump, but a palace coup would be something else.
"There is somebody working for the President of the United States at a very senior level who is trying to destroy him," Michael Caputo, a former Trump campaign aide told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
It's hard to find a parallel in Western political history for a leader to survive such a knifing since the power and fear need to sustain iron rule can slip away especially quickly in a democracy -- as opposed to an autocratic state.
But Trump has long defied predictions of his own demise and survived the kind of blows that would paralyze other presidents. Yet no other commander in chief has faced the staggering personal disavowals and devastating betrayals that he has endured this week.
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
TREASON?
8:15 AM - Sep 6, 2018
Like a wounded king's furious wail, Trump tweeted a single word: "TREASON?"
Woodward was just the start
Woodward book prompts West Wing witch hunt, sources say
Woodward book prompts West Wing witch hunt, sources say
The White House was already groggy Wednesday from the fearful blow of Woodward's new book peeling open the West Wing, "Fear: Trump in the White House."
The legendary muckraker's deeply reported account exposes profound disdain for the President among senior officials who are said to view him as an "idiot" with a fifth-grade education who the world needs protecting against.
It turns out Woodward was just the appetizer.
The thunderclap of the Times piece laid bare an administration in disarray, a President dangerously off the rails and a nation adrift without the stable hand of an effective leader.
"Many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations," the official wrote.
"It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room ... this isn't the work of the so-called deep state. It's the work of the steady state."
The effect of the op-ed was to validate many of the claims of a President dangerously out of his depth that were made by Woodward, crushing White House efforts to fight back.
Washington is already getting consumed with speculation about who wrote the op-ed, the city's biggest literary whodunit since the 1996 novel "Primary Colors," loosely based on the Clintons, was revealed as the work of Joe Klein.
Then there is a quickening debate over the decision of the author to stay in the shadows and whether the person should demonstrate their courage of convictions by resigning and revealing their name.
Unimaginable questions
John Kerry: 'This is a genuine constitutional crisis'
John Kerry: 'This is a genuine constitutional crisis'
But Wednesday's staggering events -- extraordinary even by the convention-blasting standards of Trump, pose questions that would once have been unimaginable.
They include: What will happen if, as it appears, America does not have a stable, functioning President? Will the mutiny among unidentified senior officials build and will they break cover, provoke resignations, or further shred the fabric of the administration?
If talk of the 25th Amendment is renewed, a true constitutional crisis could be looming.
There is of course the perennial question of whether cowed Republicans on Capitol Hill will be moved to even discuss the crisis of competence and temperance raging in the White House. Then there is the issue of whether a crisis-addled and demoralized White House will dampen GOP turnout in midterm elections where a defeat could shatter the bond between Trump and his party.
What must it be like to work in the confines of the West Wing, with a raging President, a cabal of officials working against him and the destabilizing spectacle of a witch hunt to find the moles?
Will the President, seeing betrayal at every turn, launch a purge of officials he suspects may not be loyal to his political crusade, further thinning the ranks of a threadbare White House?
His darkest hour
Play Video
Trump tried to find his way out of his darkest hour to date by trying to wrest control of his own fate.
He appeared in the East Room of the White House in an extraordinary display of defiance soon after The New York Times op-ed appeared.
His appearance was almost noble, though also steeped in pathos, as a wounded leader fought against unseen forces bent on his demise even as he tasted the bile of betrayal that may always have been the inevitable result of his erratic rule.
"The failing New York Times has an anonymous editorial -- can you believe it?" Trump told a gathering of sheriffs.
"Anonymous -- meaning gutless. A gutless editorial," the President said, in an appearance in which he laid claim to a record of staggering political success, a roaring economy and building military might.
Later, his mood had darkened and he delivered a truly sinister tweet.
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
Does the so-called “Senior Administration Official” really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!
9:40 AM - Sep 6, 2018
"Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!" Trump wrote.
The President will step up his counter-attack when he hits the campaign trail in Montana on Thursday night. He is sure of a warm welcome from loyal supporters and the treachery and betrayal of Washington may not resonate so much in Trump country.
As Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told CNN's Wolf Blitzer: "In my world, where I live in South Carolina, most people are very pleased with what the President is doing," adding that Woodward and The New York Times did not cut much ice among his voters.
But make no mistake, in Washington at least, Trump is fighting for his presidency, against forces trying to tear it down from within.
The White House revolving door: Who's gone? - BBC News
The White House revolving door: Who's gone?
5 July 2018
On Mr Trump's reality TV show, his catchphrase was "You're fired!"
Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt is the latest in a long line of senior officials who have quit, been fired, or eased out by the White House.
Here is a run-down of what they did, and why they left, starting with the most recent.
Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency - 6 July 2018
The lawyer served as the attorney general of Oklahoma from 2011 - 2017.
He had sued the EPA, the agency which he presided over, a number of times in his role as the state's attorney general.
Why did he leave?
Donald Trump announced that Mr Pruitt had resigned due to "unrelenting attacks" on himself and his family.
Since taking office Mr Pruitt has been mired in series of scandals concerning his spending habits and alleged misuse of office, and is the subject of at least a dozen investigations into his conduct.
As the head of the EPA, he angered many liberals and environmentalists by severely curtailing the agency's activities and repealing many measures designed to protect the environment.
The long list of Scott Pruitt controversies
While accepting Mr Pruitt's resignation, Mr Trump tweeted that he had done "an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him".
Time in post?
One year, four months, 19 days
David Shulkin, Veterans Affairs Secretary - 28 March 2018
A doctor, he had served as undersecretary of veterans affairs for health under Barack Obama.
President Trump had hailed him as "fantastic" when appointing him, and the Senate gave him the only 100-0 confirmation of the Trump team.
Why did he leave?
Donald Trump announced that Mr Shulkin was resigning and that the president's personal doctor, Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson, would replace him.
Mr Shulkin had come under fire for alleged improper behaviour by department staff on a trip to Europe in 2017, including his own acceptance of tickets to the Wimbledon tennis tournament. He denied wrongdoing but agreed to reimburse the government for his wife's air fare for the trip.
Mr Shulkin won praise from veterans' groups, but his lack of action on privatising the Veterans Health Administration had angered conservatives.
In parting, he condemned the "toxic, chaotic, disrespectful and subversive" environment in Washington.
Time in post?
Fourteen months
HR McMaster, National Security Adviser - 22 March 2018
A lieutenant general with the US Army, Mr McMaster served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he worked on a government anti-corruption drive.
He replaced Lt Gen Michael Flynn, who was fired after just three weeks and three days in the job after he misled Vice-President Pence about his contacts with the Russian ambassador.
Time magazine named him as one of its 100 most influential people in the world in 2014, saying he "might be the 21st Century Army's pre-eminent warrior-thinker".
Why did he leave?
Mr Trump reportedly disliked his "gruff and condescending" manner and staff said the two never "gelled".
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly also had little positive to say about the general.
Time in post?
Thirteen months.
Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State - 13 March 2018
President Trump announced on Twitter that his secretary of state was leaving his position and being replaced with CIA director Mike Pompeo.
The dramatic shake-up came during a delicate time for diplomatic relations, with direct talks agreed in principle with North Korea.
In a statement, Mr Trump thanked him for his service and wished his family well.
Why did he leave?
The news came just after Mr Tillerson cut short a trip through Africa, with a statement saying he returned a day early because of schedule demands in Washington.
Mr Tillerson reportedly disagreed with a number of the president's policies, including his recently announced proposal to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
Mr Trump reportedly believed Mr Tillerson was "too establishment" in his thinking, US media reports.
Time in post?
Fourteen months.
Gary Cohn, Chief Economic Adviser - 6 March 2018
The former president of the Goldman Sachs bank was appointed as head of the National Economic Council as Mr Trump took office, so becoming the president's top economic adviser.
In his time at the White House, he helped push through sweeping reforms on taxes, one of the most significant policy achievements of the administration.
But the two were not reported to be close, and rumours of Mr Cohn's departure continued to swirl.
Why did he leave?
A staunch globalist, Mr Cohn had reportedly vowed to quit if Mr Trump pressed ahead with plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the US.
According to US media, Mr Cohn initially planned to resign after Mr Trump blamed "both sides" for violence at a deadly far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017.
Time in post?
Fourteen months.
Hope Hicks, White House Communications Director - 28 February 2018
Ms Hicks served as Mr Trump's press secretary and handled media requests during his campaign.
She became his fourth director of strategic communications for the Trump White House after Anthony Scaramucci was fired after just 10 days in the job.
The fashion model-turned-spokeswoman previously worked as a publicist for Ivanka Trump's fashion label before entering politics with Mr Trump's bid for the White House.
Who is Trump's media director?
Why did she leave?
Her resignation came a day after she testified to a congressional panel investigating Russian influence on the 2016 election, telling them she had occasionally told "white lies" for her boss.
Her departure came only weeks after another top aide to Mr Trump, Rob Porter - with whom Ms Hicks was reported to have been in a relationship - quit amid allegations by two ex-wives of abuse.
Time in post?
Six years in the Trump Organization, and three years with Mr Trump during his campaign and presidency.
5 July 2018
On Mr Trump's reality TV show, his catchphrase was "You're fired!"
Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt is the latest in a long line of senior officials who have quit, been fired, or eased out by the White House.
Here is a run-down of what they did, and why they left, starting with the most recent.
Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency - 6 July 2018
The lawyer served as the attorney general of Oklahoma from 2011 - 2017.
He had sued the EPA, the agency which he presided over, a number of times in his role as the state's attorney general.
Why did he leave?
Donald Trump announced that Mr Pruitt had resigned due to "unrelenting attacks" on himself and his family.
Since taking office Mr Pruitt has been mired in series of scandals concerning his spending habits and alleged misuse of office, and is the subject of at least a dozen investigations into his conduct.
As the head of the EPA, he angered many liberals and environmentalists by severely curtailing the agency's activities and repealing many measures designed to protect the environment.
The long list of Scott Pruitt controversies
While accepting Mr Pruitt's resignation, Mr Trump tweeted that he had done "an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him".
Time in post?
One year, four months, 19 days
David Shulkin, Veterans Affairs Secretary - 28 March 2018
A doctor, he had served as undersecretary of veterans affairs for health under Barack Obama.
President Trump had hailed him as "fantastic" when appointing him, and the Senate gave him the only 100-0 confirmation of the Trump team.
Why did he leave?
Donald Trump announced that Mr Shulkin was resigning and that the president's personal doctor, Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson, would replace him.
Mr Shulkin had come under fire for alleged improper behaviour by department staff on a trip to Europe in 2017, including his own acceptance of tickets to the Wimbledon tennis tournament. He denied wrongdoing but agreed to reimburse the government for his wife's air fare for the trip.
Mr Shulkin won praise from veterans' groups, but his lack of action on privatising the Veterans Health Administration had angered conservatives.
In parting, he condemned the "toxic, chaotic, disrespectful and subversive" environment in Washington.
Time in post?
Fourteen months
HR McMaster, National Security Adviser - 22 March 2018
A lieutenant general with the US Army, Mr McMaster served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he worked on a government anti-corruption drive.
He replaced Lt Gen Michael Flynn, who was fired after just three weeks and three days in the job after he misled Vice-President Pence about his contacts with the Russian ambassador.
Time magazine named him as one of its 100 most influential people in the world in 2014, saying he "might be the 21st Century Army's pre-eminent warrior-thinker".
Why did he leave?
Mr Trump reportedly disliked his "gruff and condescending" manner and staff said the two never "gelled".
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly also had little positive to say about the general.
Time in post?
Thirteen months.
Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State - 13 March 2018
President Trump announced on Twitter that his secretary of state was leaving his position and being replaced with CIA director Mike Pompeo.
The dramatic shake-up came during a delicate time for diplomatic relations, with direct talks agreed in principle with North Korea.
In a statement, Mr Trump thanked him for his service and wished his family well.
Why did he leave?
The news came just after Mr Tillerson cut short a trip through Africa, with a statement saying he returned a day early because of schedule demands in Washington.
Mr Tillerson reportedly disagreed with a number of the president's policies, including his recently announced proposal to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
Mr Trump reportedly believed Mr Tillerson was "too establishment" in his thinking, US media reports.
Time in post?
Fourteen months.
Gary Cohn, Chief Economic Adviser - 6 March 2018
The former president of the Goldman Sachs bank was appointed as head of the National Economic Council as Mr Trump took office, so becoming the president's top economic adviser.
In his time at the White House, he helped push through sweeping reforms on taxes, one of the most significant policy achievements of the administration.
But the two were not reported to be close, and rumours of Mr Cohn's departure continued to swirl.
Why did he leave?
A staunch globalist, Mr Cohn had reportedly vowed to quit if Mr Trump pressed ahead with plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the US.
According to US media, Mr Cohn initially planned to resign after Mr Trump blamed "both sides" for violence at a deadly far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017.
Time in post?
Fourteen months.
Hope Hicks, White House Communications Director - 28 February 2018
Ms Hicks served as Mr Trump's press secretary and handled media requests during his campaign.
She became his fourth director of strategic communications for the Trump White House after Anthony Scaramucci was fired after just 10 days in the job.
The fashion model-turned-spokeswoman previously worked as a publicist for Ivanka Trump's fashion label before entering politics with Mr Trump's bid for the White House.
Who is Trump's media director?
Why did she leave?
Her resignation came a day after she testified to a congressional panel investigating Russian influence on the 2016 election, telling them she had occasionally told "white lies" for her boss.
Her departure came only weeks after another top aide to Mr Trump, Rob Porter - with whom Ms Hicks was reported to have been in a relationship - quit amid allegations by two ex-wives of abuse.
Time in post?
Six years in the Trump Organization, and three years with Mr Trump during his campaign and presidency.
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