Germany and France Renew Their Vows, but Challenges Abound

nytimes.com BERLIN — When it was originally signed in 1963, in the long wake of World War II and with the Cold War deepening, the Élysée Treatyserved to reconcile Germany and France and establish their relationship as “an indispensable stage on the way to a united Europe.”

On Tuesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Emmanuel Macron of France met in a German city symbolic to both — Aachen, or Aix-la-Chapelle in French — to renew that commitment for the 21st century, in a ceremony that nevertheless served as a reminder of the daunting array of challenges threatening Europe today.

The leaders and their countries, former enemies who lost millions in wars last century, form the staunchly pro-Europe core of the Continent. But with Ms. Merkel already on a glide path out of powerand Mr. Macron severely weakened by popular protests at home, their simultaneous decline is threatening to leave a crater at the center of Europe’s decades-old project of unity.

Internal and external forces continue to raise the prospect of a fracturing of the European Union. Britain is scheduled to leave the bloc on March 29. The Trump administration is threatening tariffs and questioning Washington’s commitment to NATO. Populist governments in Hungary and Poland are challenging fundamental principles of liberal democracy and the rule of law, and Italy is challenging traditional liberal values.

This is China!: Xi Jinping says Taiwan 'must and will be' reunited with China

BBC.com - Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the people of Taiwan to accept it "must and will be" reunited with China.

In a speech marking 40 years since the start of improving ties, he reiterated Beijing's call for peaceful unification on a one-country-two-systems basis.

However, he also warned that China reserved the right to use force.

While Taiwan is self-governed and de facto independent, it has never formally declared independence from the mainland.

Beijing considers the island to be a breakaway province and Mr Xi's comments are in line with China's long-standing policy towards reunification.

But on Wednesday, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said the island would never accept reunification with China under the terms offered by Beijing.

"I want to reiterate that Taiwan will never accept 'one country, two systems'. The vast majority of Taiwanese public opinion also resolutely opposes 'one country, two systems', and this is also the 'Taiwan consensus'."

Under the "one country, two systems" formula, Taiwan would have the right to run its own affairs; a similar arrangement is used in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has its own legal system, and rights including freedom of assembly and free speech are protected - however, there are widespread concerns in the territory that those freedoms are gradually being eroded.

In his speech on Wednesday, Mr Xi said both sides were part of the same Chinese family and that Taiwanese independence was "an adverse current from history and a dead end".

Taiwanese people "must understand that independence will only bring hardship," Mr Xi said, adding Beijing would never tolerate any form of activity promoting Taiwanese independence.

Instead, unification was "an inevitable requirement for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people", he argued.

He also stressed that relations with Taiwan were "part of China's domestic politics" and that "foreign interference is intolerable".

Beijing "reserves the option of taking all necessary measures" against outside forces that interfere with peaceful reunification and Taiwanese separatist activities.

Related: China's population set to peak at 1.44 billion in 2029: government report

Sears believes Eddie Lampert's bid to save the company is short. May liquidate without fix.

- Sears' advisors are testing just how much Chairman Eddie Lampert wants to keep the retailer alive.

Lampert has put forward a $4.4 billion bid to save Sears and 50,000 jobs by buying it out of bankruptcy through his hedge fund ESL Investments. His offer, though, which is largely funded with outside sources of capital, is facing tough scrutiny from Sears advisors, people familiar with the situation tell CNBC. If the two are unable to find a resolution, it could force Sears to liquidate.

The 125-year-old retailer, which also owns Kmart, filed for bankruptcy in October. At the time, it employed 68,000 workers.

Sears advisors' have until 4:00 p.m. ET on Friday to decide whether ESL's bid is viable. The company and ESL met earlier this week to discuss its bid, without agreeing to a compromise.

The offer has raised a number of flags, the people said. It is short of covering the fees and vendor payment it owes, making it "administratively insolvent."

A continuing issue is the $1.8 billion that Lampert put toward his offer by forgiving debt owed to ESL through a so-called credit bid. The restructuring committee advising Sears is not confident the bankruptcy judge will allow Lampert to use a credit bid without addressing a pending investigation about Sears transactions under Lampert's ownership, the people said.

Sears' unsecured creditors have said there may be claims against Sears for those deals, which include Sears' spinoff of Lands' End LE and transactions with Seritage Growth Properties SRG , a real estate investment trust Lampert created through some Sears' properties.

ESL has stressed that all transactions it did with Sears during Lampert's tenure were approved by Sears' board.

As with all bankruptcy negotiations, it remains possible either side will make concessions to end the disagreement. The two parties therefore could come to a resolution to divert liquidation.

British Army wants ‘millennials’, ‘snowflakes’, 'phone zombies' to pick up rifles and defend country

- Calling all “Binge Gamers”, “Snowflakes” and “Selfie Addicts” – lay down your controllers, stop being outraged over everything and put that photo upload on hold – instead, why not join the British Army?

Those are the kind of people Britain's armed forces are now going after in a new advertising campaign launched Thursday targeting everyone from “Class Clowns” to “Me Me Me Millennials”.

“The army sees people differently and we are proud to look beyond the stereotypes and spot the potential in young people, from compassion to self-belief,” British Army Major General Paul Nanson told Sky News.

The ad campaign, which features YouTube videos and posters modeled off the famous ‘Your Country Needs You’ slogan from the First World War, comes as Britain is struggling to recruit new soldiers.

A government committee was informed in October that the British Army has 77,000 fully-trained troops, below its target of 82,500. A National Audit Office report in December also revealed that nearly half of the Army’s applicants chose to drop out of the hiring process in 2017 and 2018 because it was taking up to 321 days to transition from applying to starting training, according to Sky News.

Brazil's new far-right president promises sweeping changes in inaugural address

BRASILIA, Brazil — Jair Bolsonaro was sworn in as Brazil's president Tuesday, taking the reins of Latin America's largest and most populous nation with promises to overhaul myriad aspects of daily life and put an end to business-as-usual governing. He vowed to free Brazil of "ideology" in what was viewed as a swipe at the left, BBC News reports.

For the far-right former army captain, the New Year's Day inauguration was the culmination of a journey from a marginalized and even ridiculed congressmen to a leader who many Brazilians hope can combat endemic corruption as well as violence that routinely gives the nation the dubious distinction of being world leader in total homicides.

A fan of President Trump, the 63-year-old longtime congressman rose to power on an anti-corruption and pro-gun agenda that has energized conservatives and hard-right supporters after four consecutive presidential election wins by the left-leaning Workers' Party.

Bolsonaro was the latest of several far-right leaders around the globe who have come to power by riding waves of anger at the establishment and promising to ditch the status quo.