Today, Brexit leader Nigel Farage celebrated the beginning of the Article 50 process by thanking Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's chief strategist, in an interview with Breitbart.
"I think actually on this great Brexit day I have to say a personal thank you and tribute to Steve Bannon for having the foresightedness of doing that with Breitbart, and I'm extremely grateful."— Nigel Farage to Breitbart London
U.S. Central Commander Gen. Joseph Votel appeared before the House Armed Services Committee today to address security priorities in Iran, Afghanistan, and Yemen. The highlights:
Russia probably helping Taliban in Afghanistan: "I think it's fair to assume they may be providing some kind of support to them…weapons." He added: "We are at a stalemate right now. It is generally in favor of the government of Afghanistan, but stalemates tend to decline over time."
Iran is the greatest threat to the U.S.: "Iran's objective here is to be the regional hegemon…there's no doubt about that."
US needs to deploy soft power in Yemen: "We will need the Department of State and others" to address the conflict.
Liang Xinjun, co-founder and CEO of Fosun International — one China's largest privately held conglomerates —has resigned from his post of 25 years, citing health reasons, reports the China Money Network. Vice President Ding Guoqi has also stepped down.
Fosun's fellow co-founder, Guo Guangchang, announced their departures in an internal email to staff, and explained that this was a joint decision made two months ago. Wang Quinbin, another co-founder whose businesses include Club Med and Cirque de Soleil, will replace Liang as CEO.
Fosun has expanded aggressively in recent years, spending billions on overseas assets including financial services groups. It has purchased properties including the former headquarters of Italian bank Unicredit in Milan, London's Thomas More Square development, and the 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza tower in New York.
On January 1, 1973, Britain joined the European Economic Community, which was incorporated into what is now the European Union. Here's a photo of the front page of the Daily Mail from that day, as tweeted by the Guardian's Anushka Asthana:
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was associated with at least 15 bank accounts and 10 companies whose activities triggered a money laundering investigation by a Cypriot bank, per NBC News.
One of the Manafort-associated companies was involved in a nearly $20 million deal with a Russian oligarch described as "one of the 2-3 oligarchs Putin turns to on a regular basis."
Manafort chose to close his Cypriot accounts rather than provide additional information after their activity triggered a money laundering investigation by the Cyprus Popular Bank.
The accounts were set up "for a legitimate business purpose," a Manafort spokesperson told NBC News.
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May signed a letter this afternoon that officially declared the country's intention to leave the European Union. Addressed to European Council President Donald Tusk, it'll be hand delivered by Sir Tim Barrow, the British ambassador to the E.U., to Brussels tomorrow afternoon.
