A new direction for President Macron, striking details about Russia’s meddling effort and an unseen front in Yemen’s civil war. Here’s the latest:
Among Russia’s 2016 targets: African Americans
A deeper look at Russia’s extraordinary social media influence campaign during the 2016 presidential election revealed efforts to target African Americans and suppress Democratic voter turnout, according to two new reports commissioned by the Senate.
The reports also showed that Russia utilized every digital surface available, including Instagram where its efforts were as effective or more effective than activity on Facebook.
Why it matters: The sweeping reports add new color to the known outlines of Russia’s disinformation campaign, confirming earlier findings that it was designed to boost then-candidate Donald Trump and widen fissures in American society.
Go deeper: The 2016 effort could be “the Pearl Harbor of the social media age,” our columnist writes, ushering in “a new era of perpetual conflict.” Indeed, Russian interference has not stopped, and other countries, including Iran and China, have demonstrated similar capabilities.
U.S. markets hit a new low.
The S.&P. 500 sank to its lowest level of the year, as investors anticipated a Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.
The benchmark index has now lost almost 5 percent for the year and if it doesn’t rebound by the end of year, the losses could represent Wall Street’s worst year since the 2008 financial crisis. Other indexes were also sharply down.
“Every part of the market has been acting like things are a lot slower,” one expert said.
More U.S. business news: CBS announced that its former chief executive, Les Moonves, who was forced out in September after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, will not receive his $120 million exit payout.
President Macron’s new reality
Less than two weeks ago, France’s president was faced with the fury and frustrations of the “Yellow Vests” protests, a crisis that threatened his survival in office.
Though the movement has already started to simmer down — after a terror attack in Strasbourg and promises of quick economic relief — the “Yellow Vests” may have altered the direction of Mr. Macron’s presidency.
Mr. Macron has been forced to backtrack on some tax increases and rethink upcoming changes to pensions and unemployment laws, which could steer him away from his promise to revolutionize France’s economy.
Another angle: The anti-government protests have been mostly concentrated in the glitziest neighborhoods of Paris, damaging the city’s landmarks, setting cars on fire and smashing store fronts. That has hit hard the luxury goods industry — France’ top export — during its most important time of year.
In Yemen, fishermen come under fire too.
Most of the criticism of the Yemen war is focused on airstrikes, carried out by the Saudi-led coalition, which have targeted weddings, funerals and a school bus.
But our reporter found that the conflict is also unfolding at sea. In August and September, at least six Yemeni fishing boats were attacked by warships, helicopters and a fighter jet, killing 50 civilians.
Though both warring sides have carried out maritime attacks, experts said there was little doubt that the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for the violence against fishermen.
Speaking of Saudi Arabia: In an unusually strong statement, the kingdom lashed out at the U.S. Senate for holding Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for the death of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
AFP.
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