Senate Republican hopes of pushing through their first bill of the new Congress were dashed late on Tuesday when the Democrats blocked a bill aimed at opposing boycotts of Israel.
The package has stalled on a vote of 56-44, not enough to clear the 60-vote hurdle needed to advance.
In support of Israel, Republican Senator Marco Rubio's bill would affirm the legal authority of state and local governments to restrict contracts and take other actions against those "engaged in BDS conduct", referring to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. Several states are facing lawsuits after taking action against workers supporting BDS boycotts of Israel.
The rejection of the bill appeared to be as much about the shutdown as it was about opposing Israeli policies. President Trump’s government shutdown over his demand for billions of dollars in funds for a new border wall is now in its third week.
Democrats said they will block the bill until government is reopened. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer opposed proceeding to the legislation. Other Democratic senators who supported the substance of the bill followed suit.
“The whole thing here is that we cannot be business as usual, with the government shut down, people not getting paychecks and people getting hurt,” Senator Pat Murray of Washington said. “That's what this is about.”
Yet some Republicans suggested that the Democrats torpedoed the bill because Senator Marco Rubio had included a provision that had made it easier for states to express their opposition to the BDS movement.
Opposition to the movement is not ubiquitous among Democrats and therefore they had not wanted to open divisions amid the government shutdown, some Republicans alleged.
The BDS movement is a global campaign that seeks to put pressure on Israel to end its occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It calls for Palestinians to be given equal rights to Jewish citizens of Israel and for a right to return for Palestinian refugees.
The movement has had several notable successes, including pressuring British security firm G4S to sell its entire Israeli business, French phone giant Orange to end its contract with an Israeli partner and forcing French multinational Veolia to exit from its Israeli business.
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Opponents say Mr Rubio's measure infringes on free speech. Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted: "It's absurd that the first bill during the shutdown is legislation which punishes Americans who exercise their constitutional right to engage in political activity. Democrats must block consideration of any bills that don't reopen the government. Let's get our priorities right."
But Mr Rubio's office says the bill allows the governments "to counter economic warfare against Israel".
Mr Rubio, a Florida senator, said in a series of tweets, including one pointed at Mr Sanders and Ms Tlaib: "The shutdown is not the reason Senate Democrats don't want to move to Middle East Security Bill.... A significant # of Senate Democrats now support #BDS & Dem leaders want to avoid a floor vote that reveals that."
While the legislation stalled on Tuesday night, the US has a long history of supporting Israel and protecting it from boycotts.
More than two dozen states already ban investment in companies that choose to boycott Israel.
After a recent controversy in which home rental company Airbnb announced it would not allow Israeli properties in occupied Palestinian territory to be listed on its platform, Israel’s interior minister lobbied the governors of New York, California, Florida, Missouri and Illinois to follow suit and punish companies that support boycotts of Israel.
In Texas, a law passed in May 2017 dictated that a government entity could not enter into business with another company unless it had confirmed that the partner would not boycott Israel at any point in the duration of that contract. This law includes contractors and has proved controversial. A children’s speech pathologist who worked at a Texas elementary school who refused to sign the pro-Israel oath declaring that she would not boycott Israel lost her job. She is suing the school district over their decision to terminate her contract.
“Bahia’s decision to buy this kind of hummus and not that kind of hummus is her decision,” her lawyer said, “and the Constitution protects it.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Afghanistan squad
Gulbadin Naib (captain), Mohammad Shahzad (wicketkeeper), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
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Dubai, 3.30pm
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
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11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
RESULT
Bayern Munich 5 Eintrracht Frankfurt 2
Bayern: Goretzka (17'), Müller (41'), Lewandowski (46'), Davies (61'), Hinteregger (74' og)
Frankfurt: Hinteregger (52', 55')
