(Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.With six days before U.K. voters go to the polls, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will this evening go head-to-head in one of the most important debates of the election campaign.Johnson wrote to Corbyn ahead of the debate, accusing him of trying to “fiddle” the result of the second Brexit referendum he wants by allowing EU nationals to vote. With Labour still trailing the Conservatives in the opinion polls, Friday’s debate could be one of the final opportunities to close the gap.Must Read: Britain’s Brexit Election Is Now a Referendum on Jeremy CorbynFor more on the election visit ELEC.Coming Up:9.30 a.m. Corbyn will give a speech in central London.8.30 p.m. BBC prime ministerial debate in Southampton.Polls:Betting odds show a 71% chance of a Conservative majority, according to Ladbrokes.The Tory lead is now below 10 points, according to the BritainElects poll tracker.Here’s a summary of recent polls.Catching Up:BBC interviewer Andrew Neil attacked Johnson for refusing to be interviewed by him, accusing him of avoiding scrutiny.Labour’s Treasury spokesman John McDonnell said his party would try to govern without a formal arrangement with other parties in the event of a hung Parliament.Officials are getting ready for a boom from the extra paperwork needed to keep goods moving across borders after Brexit.Johnson laid out his plan for his first 100 days in office. He refused to accept taxes would rise under the Tories, at odd with his own manifesto costings.The Jewish Labour Movement published its submission to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s probe into antisemitism in Labour.Four Brexit Party Members of the European Parliament quit the party to campaign for Johnson’s Brexit deal.The Markets:The pound traded at $1.3163 at 6:50 a.m. on Friday.Traders are hedging against a fall in the pound after the election.From Bloomberg Intelligence: U.K. Election Primer: Britain’s Economic Future Held in BalanceTo contact the reporter on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Adam Blenford, Chris KayFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 01:55:41 -0500

The United Nations center in Libya was opened as an “alternative to detention,” a last, safe stop for migrants before they were resettled in other countries. The facility is jam-packed with nearly 1,200 migrants — about twice the number it was built for — including hundreds who fled from abuse at other detention centers in hopes of sanctuary. Sewage is overflowing, and armed guards from a local militia have effectively turned the center into a prison.

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 01:21:18 -0500

The remaining signatories to the faltering 2015 Iran nuclear deal will meet in Vienna on Friday with the survival of the landmark agreement at stake after Tehran vowed to continue to breach the deal's limits on its nuclear programme. Envoys from Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and Iran will take part in the meeting, which is the first time the six parties will have gathered in this format since July. Since May, Iran has taken a series of measures, including stepping up uranium enrichment, in breach of the 2015 deal, with another such move likely in early January.

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 01:18:08 -0500

(Bloomberg) -- Ivory Coast, the largest economy in francophone West Africa, is too focused on doing business with France and should open up its market to investors from a wider range of countries, an opposition leader said.“Sixty years after Ivory Coast gained independence from France, French companies still dominate trade,” Mamadou Koulibaly, a 62-year-old former parliament speaker who plans to run for president next year, said in an interview.A former French colony, Ivory Coast has retained close political, economic and cultural ties since gaining independence in 1960. Under President Alassane Ouattara, who assumed office in 2011 after a French and United Nations military intervention, those ties have flourished.As the country recovered from a decade of civil conflict with large infrastructure projects that eased congestion and helped fuel a real-estate boom, French companies have been at the forefront of a building frenzy. Bouygues SA is working on a $1.5-billion commuter train in the commercial capital, Abidjan, and on weekends, shoppers flock to brand new supermarkets operated by France’s Carrefour SA.At the same time, Ouattara has courted investors from across the globe and enabled Chinese newcomers to build roads, set up a nationwide pay-TV network and complete the Soubre hydropower plant. China Road & Bridge Corp. this year won a $134 million contract for a bridge in Abidjan. Nearby, a Moroccan company is transforming the city by building a lagoon promenade near the business district of Plateau.“Whether they’re from Russia, Chicago or Guangzhou, working with other investors to reduce the influence of France is in Ivory Coast’s best interests,” Koulibaly said.Previously a prominent member of the Ivorian Popular Front of ex-President Laurent Gbagbo, Koulibaly broke away to set up his own movement, Lider, in 2011. His decision came months after the end of a brief civil war triggered by Gbagbo’s refusal to accept defeat in 2010 presidential elections. Koulibaly was one of few Gbagbo loyalists who didn’t take sides in the conflict, which proved the most violent in the country’s history.Under Gbagbo’s 2000-2010 rule, relations with France became strained when Paris brokered a peace accord between his government and a rebel group that had seized the northern half of the country. Anti-French rhetoric peaked in 2004 as mobs went on a rampage through the main cities, attacking symbols of French influence and intimidating mainly white foreigners. The French army evacuated about 8,000 people before calm was restored.Koulibaly is also a longtime critic of the CFA franc, which was established after World War II to help France import goods from its colonies. The currency, used by eight West African nations, is pegged to the euro and its convertibility is guaranteed by the French Treasury.“The CFA is part of the closed market that I want to get rid of,” he said. “The argument that the currency is good for business between France and Ivory Coast simply doesn’t hold. By removing the CFA we might upset France, but we’ll open up our market to Nigerians, Russians and the Chinese, who will be very pleased.”For now, Koulibaly is still looking for funding for his political campaign -- and said he won’t turn down help from Russia, which is trying to expand its influence on the continent. His trip in October to the first Russia-Africa summit in Sochi hasn’t yet resulted in a deal, he said.“I’m open to anyone who’s prepared to finance my campaign, whether its businessmen from Russia, China or the U.S.,” Koulibaly said. “What I offer in return is access to the Ivorian market and the possibility to come and invest here under the same conditions as everyone else.”To contact the reporters on this story: Katarina Hoije in Abidjan at khoije@bloomberg.net;Pauline Bax in Johannesburg at pbax@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Investigators spent hours poring over graphic images of little boys changing in and out of their swimsuits at what looked like a YMCA. Eventually, investigators matched the photos to a YMCA in Sandusky, Ohio. ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations section has a little-known Child Exploitation Investigations lab where agents scour disturbing photos and videos of child sexual abuse.

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 00:44:10 -0500