World

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis called for restraint from the United States and Iran on Thursday after a military tit-for-tat that he warned could trigger a "vaster conflict" in the Middle East.

"Particularly troubling are the signals coming from the entire region following the heightening of tensions between Iran and the United States," the Pope said in his annual speech to Vatican diplomats.

Iran on Wednesday launched 22 ballistic missiles at bases in Iraq hosting American and other foreign troops, in a calibrated response to the killing of a top Iranian general in a US air strike last week.

The attacks "risk above all compromising the gradual process of rebuilding in Iraq, as well as setting the groundwork for a vaster conflict that all of us would want to avert", Francis said.

"I therefore renew my appeal that all the interested parties avoid an escalation of the conflict and keep alive the flame of dialogue and self-restraint, in full respect of international law," he added.

The Argentine also slammed the "general indifference" of the international community towards Yemen, which is suffering "one of the most serious humanitarian crises of recent history", and warned the conflict in Libya created fertile terrain for human trafficking.

He called for "far-sighted solutions" for war-torn Syria and thanked Jordan and Lebanon for taking in refugees.

Francis cautioned, however, that the burden of taking care of those fleeing for their lives was provoking tensions among the population in Lebanon and other states, "further endangering the fragile stability of the Middle East".

Lebanon, which says it hosts around 1.5 million Syrian refugees, has been rocked by unprecedented anti-government protests since October.

WASHINGTON — US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said on Wednesday that the US strike that killed a top Iranian general had restored credibility to the US threat to Tehran to restrain itself militarily.

"I believe that we've restored a level of deterrence with them," he said.

But Washington security analysts say it is far from certain that Tehran has been deterred from further attacks on the United States and its allies, and that it might not be long before it challenges President Donald Trump again.

In the short run tensions could ease after Iran retaliated for Revolutionary Guards Commander Qasem Soleimani's death last week by firing 12 ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq, causing damage but killing no one.

But that is "just the beginning," said Kaleigh Thomas, a Middle East security analyst at the Centre for a New American Security.

Soleimani's death in a US drone strike last Friday "has definitely changed the tone of tensions going forward", she said.

"They're going to be planning strategically, investing in ways to inflict pain on the United States."

'Impulsive decision'

For effective deterrence, Thomas said, the Trump administration lacks a coherent message that Tehran can make sense of — what response it can expect from the United States to what provocative actions — as well as a back channel to communicate, like previous administrations had.

She faulted Trump's inconsistent responses last year after the Revolutionary Guards shot down two US drones, allegedly damaged multiple tankers in the Gulf, and allegedly launched missiles on Saudi oil installations.

In each case the US response was hesitant and minimal, emboldening Tehran.

"A lot of deterrence ... is this idea of, there are patterns, and that way, everyone's kind of on the same page," said Thomas.

"If we're reading two different books, something's gonna go wrong."

On the other hand, she said, the "impulsive decision" to kill Soleimani to re-establish deterrence appeared disproportional to Tehran's most recent actions — supporting rocket strikes on US installations in Iraq and backing protestors who stormed the reception building at the US embassy in Baghdad.

Tehran might now be tentative about reacting, but is "motivated to act and to find ways to inflict pain upon the United States".

Hard to deter 'revolutionary' regimes 

Retired General David Petraeus, who once led US forces in the Middle East, said he was optimistic that killing Soleimani delivered a strong message that Tehran will have to heed.

It was "a very significant effort to re-establish deterrence, which obviously had not been shored up by the relatively insignificant responses up until now", Petraeus told Foreign Policy magazine.

James Phillips, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said it was important for the Trump administration to enforce its red lines after having shied from responding for so long.

But it is hard to establish credible deterrence against a regime like Iran, where Soleimani's Revolutionary Guards were "willing to sacrifice Iran's national interests in order to advance the regime's more narrow revolutionary interests", Phillips said.

"I think, unfortunately, also Tehran may have interpreted the Trump administration's previous restraint as weakness."

Former US senior diplomat Nicolas Burns said it was "far too early" to declare success in delivering a credible threat message to Tehran.

"Iran has a brutal history of using proxy forces to attack the US and others," he told AFP. "They could well do that in the coming weeks or months."

Iran's nuclear threat 

More challenging is Tehran's threat this week to restart its programme to develop nuclear weapons by producing weapons-grade uranium.

Thomas said the US inability to deter Iran is rooted in Trump's unilateral decision in 2018 to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal which froze that program, and place more sanctions on the country.

After that, she said, "I think it was it was total confusion about what United States actually wanted from Iran."

Andrea Stricker of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a conservative Washington think tank, wrote on Wednesday that Washington needs urgently to make clear to Iran that it would be willing to bomb the country if it nears such a "nuclear breakout".

"The United States should avoid additional kinetic conflict with Iran if possible, but Washington must be willing to employ all instruments of national power against Iran if it appears to be approaching breakout," she wrote on Wednesday.

SYDNEY — Australian officials issued fresh evacuation warnings on Wednesday ahead of a forecast spike in the intensity of out-of-control bushfires that have devastated vast swathes of countryside and sent smoke clouds as far away as Brazil.

Residents of Victoria state's fire-ravaged east were urged to leave before another heatwave raises the bushfire danger on Friday, while in South Australia state authorities began relocating people from a small community on Kangaroo Island.

"Leave, and leave early," Victoria Police Minister Lisa Neville urged those in the danger zone.

"Everything we've done in terms of... issuing warnings has been about saving lives, and today I'm asking people to continue to heed the messages that we are giving."

The catastrophic bushfires have been fuelled by a crippling drought that has turned forests to tinder and exacerbated by climate change, which scientists say is increasing the length and intensity of Australia's fire season.

Authorities on Wednesday confirmed that a fourth firefighter had died while battling the blazes, bringing the overall death toll to 26 people.

More than 2,000 homes have been destroyed since the crisis began in September and some eight million hectares (80,000 square kilometres) has been burned, an area the size of Ireland or South Carolina.

University of Sydney scientists estimate one billion animals have been killed in the fires. The figure includes mammals, birds and reptiles, but not frogs, insects or invertebrates.

Smoke from the fires has been spotted more than 12,000 kilometres  away in Brazil and Argentina, weather authorities in the south American countries said.

Despite days of cooler weather and rainfall in parts of the country's east, dozens of areas continue to burn out of control, and Australians are bracing for yet another heatwave that could spark fresh fires.

The country experienced its driest and hottest year on record in 2019, with its highest average maximum temperature of 41.9ºC recorded in mid-December.

Each time the mercury has risen in recent months, the risk of deadly blazes has also soared.

Unprecedented in scale even in bushfire-prone Australia, the fires have shocked the world and prompted an outpouring of support from celebrities, athletes and leaders around the globe.

Authorities warn the disaster still has weeks or months to run.

Residents have begun returning to fire-raved towns to assess damage, but the cost of the disaster was still unclear.

The Insurance Council of Australia says claims worth Aus$700 million ($485 million) had already been filed and the figure was expected to climb significantly.

The government has earmarked an initial Aus$2 billion ($1.4 billion) for a national recovery fund to help devastated communities.

LONDON — The EU's top official told Britain on Wednesday that it could lose its open access to the European market if it refused to extend post-Brexit partnership talks beyond 2020.

Ursula von der Leyen's warning to Prime Minister Boris Johnson came ahead of their first meeting in her capacity as European Commission president — and with Britain's departure from the EU just three weeks away.

Both sides are eager to move on from the tumult and acrimony that followed Britain's decision in a 2016 referendum to end its decades-long membership of the bloc.

Johnson secured a comfortable majority in parliament in a December election and is virtually assured that his divorce deal will finally be approved by January 31.

But that leaves just 11 months until the end of 2020 for London and Brussels to agree a new economic partnership covering everything from trade to data protection rules.

"There will be tough talks ahead and each side will do what is best for them," von der Leyen said in a keynote speech at the London School of Economics, where she studied in the 1970s.

"It is basically impossible to negotiate all I have been mentioning and the other dossiers there, too. Therefore, we will have to prioritise, as long as we face that deadline of end of 2020."

'Trade-off'

Downing Street said on Tuesday that Johnson would tell von der Leyen at their meeting that "there will be no extension" to the deadline.

Britain will keep following EU rules and paying its membership fees during the transition talks.

"Having waited for over three years to get Brexit done, both British and EU citizens rightly expect negotiations on an ambitious free trade agreement to conclude on time," Downing Street said.

Von der Leyen countered on Wednesday that this meant Britain would probably lose unfettered access to its closest trading partner after 2020.

"With every choice comes a consequence. With every decision comes a trade-off," she said. "The more divergence there is the more distant the partnership has to be."

She said her top priority was making sure there was no "hard exit" in which the sides walk away without any agreement at all.

 Round the clock 

The European Union has never reached a trade agreement with any of its partners in less than a year.

The bloc's deals with Canada and Singapore — two models Britain has considered in the past — took around nine years.

But Johnson is eager to brandish his Brexit credentials and reap what he considers to be the benefits of independence from Brussels.

Britain's refusal to align itself with the bloc on issues such as environmental standards and workers' rights could see UK companies face EU tariffs.

But it would also give Britain much more leeway in negotiating a new free trade agreement with the United States and growing countries in Asia down the line.

London's booming financial district would also be free from outside oversight that outgoing Bank of England head Mark Carney warned on Wednesday could "tie our hands".

"It is not desirable at all to align our approaches," he told the Financial Times.

Von der Leyen stressed that Brussels preferred to keep close relations that avoided disruptions to global supply chains and are "unprecedented in scope".

"We are ready to design a new partnership with zero tariffs, zero quotas, zero dumping", she said.

"And we are ready to work day and night to get as much of this done within the timeframe we have."

EU citizens 

European lawmakers intend to pass a resolution next week urging Brussels negotiators to push for EU citizens to retain their right to live and work in Britain after 2020.

Johnson stripped the provision out of the deal that the British parliament is expected to approve on Thursday.

Security Minister Brandon Lewis on Tuesday insisted the rights of EU citizens to live, work, study and access benefits in Britain after Brexit would be protected.

Lewis said the scheme was "far more generous" than the offer of many European countries to British citizens but MEPs fear Britain is already rowing back on commitments to EU nationals.

Johnson's divorce deal bill stipulates that he must request a one- or two-year deadline extension by July 1. Various EU officials have urged Johnson to ask for the delay.

"We might together want to take a reconsideration of the timeframe before July 1," von der Leyen said.

SEOUL — South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday called for better relations with the North so leader Kim Jong-un can visit Seoul, despite Pyongyang's abandonment of its nuclear and missile test moratoriums.

Moon's appeal came after Kim threatened a demonstration of a "new strategic weapon" at a four-day ruling party meeting last week, where he never mentioned South Korea.

Since the breakdown of Kim's summit with US President Donald Trump in Hanoi last year — which left nuclear negotiations largely deadlocked — Pyongyang has repeatedly lashed out at the South, saying it has "nothing to talk" about any more with Seoul.

But Moon, who has long favoured engagement with the nuclear-armed North, doubled down on his dovish approach.

"I hope South and North Korea can make efforts together so that the conditions for Chairman Kim Jong-un's reciprocal visit can be arranged at an early date," Moon said in his annual New Year address.

The invitation for Kim to visit Seoul dates from the two leaders' last summit, in Pyongyang in September 2018, when the peninsula was basking in a diplomatic rapprochement.

Analysts suggested Moon's call was now unrealistic.

"I'm willing to meet repeatedly and talk ceaselessly" with the North, Moon said in his half-hour speech, which was broadcast live.

He also suggested Pyongyang and Seoul should consult on fielding a unified team at the Tokyo Olympics in July, which would march together at the opening ceremony.

The two Koreas' athletes took part together at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the South two years ago, and subsequently formed a series of joint teams in other events.

A possible joint bid for Seoul and Pyongyang to co-host the 2032 Summer Games has even been mooted, with Moon on Tuesday calling the prospect "a golden opportunity for the South and North to show to the world that we are one people".

But the two capitals have held no discussions on the candidacy, and sporting ties have since entered a deep freeze — North Korea gave up any prospect of its women's football team playing in Tokyo rather than take part in a qualifying competition in the South next month.

Pyongyang has also demanded the demolition of South Korean-built tourism facilities at Mount Kumgang in the North, saying it will operate tours there itself and rejected discussions with Seoul on the issue.

But Moon said he would push for the resumption of South Korean visits to the peak, along with the re-opening of the Kaesong Industrial Complex where Southern firms employed Northern workers. 

Both projects would currently violate the international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Centre for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute in Seoul, said it was "highly unlikely" the North would respond to Moon's address.

"There are some problems with the way the Seoul government perceives the current situation," he told AFP. 

"There will be no political gain for Kim to visit Seoul at this point in time, given that the North has virtually stated it won't be talking to the US on nuclear issues."

Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean defector and researcher in Seoul, said the Moon administration had adopted an approach of "ceaseless unrequited love" to Pyongyang, but had been left with very few options.

"The way it has been dealing with the North — in spite of Pyongyang's insults against the South — has not been ideal," he said.

"There is virtually nothing the South can do as long as the UN sanctions remain on North Korea."

In his speeches to the full meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party last week, Kim acknowledged the North's economic situation was "serious" but made clear it was willing to live under sanctions to preserve its nuclear deterrent.

At his first field guidance visit of the year — to the construction site of a fertiliser factory — he described the situation as "severe", the official KCNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

"The fiercer the adverse wind raised by the hostile forces gets, the fiercer our red flag will flutter," Kim added.

LONDON — Britain moves a step closer to a historic departure from the European Union on Tuesday, after more than three years of bitter division and political drama, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson brings his Brexit deal back to parliament without the threat of defeat, deadlock or delay.

Lawmakers begin three days of debate on legislation to enshrine Johnson's divorce deal, with few hurdles to its passing expected after he won a comfortable majority at recent elections.

The air of inevitability that Brexit was finally about to happen contrasts starkly with the repeated postponements and rejections of the previous deal of his predecessor Theresa May that plunged Britain into political and economic uncertainty.

The lack of anticipated drama has instead seen focus shift to potential conflict between the United States and Iran. But the Conservative leader is still up against the clock.

Both the UK and European parliaments must ratify the deal before Britain's January 31 departure date, when a so-called transition phase to the end of the year will kick in.

MPs gave their initial approval to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill in a vote on December 20, a week after Johnson secured a majority of 80 in the 650-seat House of Commons.

They now have three days of debate before the bill passes to the unelected House of Lords for further scrutiny next week.

Opposition lawmakers and troublesome peers will try to amend the text but with such a comfortable majority, Johnson is virtually certain of getting it through on time.

In a sign of his confidence, Johnson's government announced it would hold a new post-Brexit budget vote on March 11, to "seize the opportunities that come from getting Brexit done".

The main opposition Labour Party was meanwhile focused on the start of a campaign to replace veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn as leader.

His divisive leadership and ambivalence over Brexit were blamed for Labour's stinging defeat and loss of support in its heartlands of northern England.

Scene-setting talks 

Britons voted in the 2016 referendum to end more than four decades of integration with the EU, but it has taken nearly four years of infighting and two general elections to implement the result.

Johnson now looks set to finally make it happen, even if a potentially bigger battle awaits on future ties with the EU.

The British premier will hold his first meeting with the new European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in London on Wednesday.

Both sides are keen to prepare for talks on their future trading relationship, although these cannot start formally until Britain leaves the EU.

The Brexit deal includes a transition period in which ties remain unchanged in practice until December 31, 2020, to provide continuity until a new economic partnership can be agreed.

EU officials — including von der Leyen herself — have warned this is a very tight timeframe, but Johnson insists he will not opt to extend the transition period.

Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said on Monday that von der Leyen would "discuss with the prime minister how to try to overcome these challenges and make sure that we can come out with a positive agreement at the end of the year".

The meeting, which will also be attended by EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, will "set the scene", he added, but would not go into details.

Many opposition MPs believe Johnson cannot negotiate a new trade deal with Brussels in 11 months, and are seeking to amend the Withdrawal Agreement Bill to allow for more time.

Other amendments put forward include stronger rights for around 3.5 million EU citizens living in Britain after Brexit.

Expatriate rights are already covered in the Brexit deal, alongside Britain's financial liabilities, the transition period and new trade arrangements for Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, a group of eurosceptic lawmakers has tabled an amendment to get Big Ben to chime for Brexit on January 31 in a symbolic celebration of the landmark moment.

A previous attempt for the bell to ring out on the first Brexit date of March 29, 2019, was blocked by the then-House of Commons speaker John Bercow.

MADRID — Spain's parliament on Tuesday confirmed Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez by a razor-thin margin as prime minister for another term at the helm of the country's first-ever coalition government since its return to democracy in the 1970s.

Sanchez, who has stayed on as a caretaker premier since inconclusive elections last year, won 167 votes in the 350-seat assembly compared to 165 against, with a decisive 18 abstentions by Catalan and Basque separatist lawmakers.

He plans to form a minority coalition government with hard-left party Podemos this time around, in what would be the first coalition government in Spain since the country returned to democracy following the death of Francisco Franco in 1975.

On Sunday, Sanchez lost a first attempt after falling short of the required absolute majority of 176 seats in a first confidence vote in parliament.

Spain, the eurozone's fourth-largest economy, has been in political gridlock without a proper government for most of the past year after two inconclusive elections in April and November.

Sanchez's Socialists won the repeat November 10 poll but were weakened, taking 120 seats — three fewer than in April — in an election which saw upstart far-right party Vox surge into third place.

Sanchez quickly struck a deal with Podemos, led by pony-tailed former university professor Pablo Iglesias, to form a coalition government despite having previously said that such a tie-up with the far-left party would keep him up at night.

The two parties are pledging to lift the minimum wage, raise taxes on high earners and large businesses, and repeal elements of Spain's controversial 2012 labour market reforms that made it easier to fire workers — measures which business leaders warn will hurt job creation.

Frankenstein government' 

With the two formations' combined total of 155 seats still falling short of a majority, Sanchez also secured the support of several smaller regional parties as well the abstention of Catalan separatist party ERC's 13 lawmakers and those of Basque separatist party Bildu's five MPs.

As part of his deal with the ERC, Sanchez agreed to open a formal dialogue with Catalonia's separatist regional government on the future of the wealthy north-eastern region, and to then submit the results of the talks to Catalan voters.

The political situation in Catalonia remains in flux following a 2017 independence referendum which Madrid declared unconstitutional.

The Catalan independence push triggered Spain's most serious political crisis post-Franco.

Spain's centre-right parties and Vox accused Sanchez of putting national unity at risk with his pact with the Catalan separatists.

"This government against Spain is the most radical of our history," the leader of the main opposition Popular Party (PP), Pablo Casado, said on Tuesday ahead of the vote.

He also accused Sanchez of forming a "Frankenstein government" made up of "communists" and "separatists" who "want to put an end to Spain", and warned that the minority government would not last the full four years.

Catalan tensions 

But Sanchez said there was "no other option" than a Socialist-Podemos government, adding Spain could not go on without a proper administration.

"Without an elected government and parliament, it is obvious that our democracy suffers," he said.

Sanchez's tight margin for victory led Podemos lawmaker Aina Vidal, who is in severe pain with cancer and had to miss the weekend vote, to turn up for Tuesday's crucial vote despite her illness.

Several of her fellow lawmakers gave her a standing ovation when the session began.

Sanchez came to power in June 2018 after ousting his PP predecessor Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence vote, but he was forced to call elections in April after Catalan separatists including the ERC refused to back his draft budget.

"The political landscape remains tricky," ING analyst Steven Trypsteen said.

"The new government [is]... a minority government, the Catalan tensions could flare up again... and the fiscal situation makes it difficult to increase spending a lot."

SYDNEY — Reserve troops fanned out across fire-ravaged regions in three Australian states on Monday after a horror weekend, as the government pledged $1.4 billion over two years to help recover from the devastating months-long crisis.

Catastrophic bushfires have turned swathes of land into smouldering, blackened hellscapes and destroyed an area about the size of the island of Ireland, according to official figures, with authorities warning the disaster still has weeks or months to run.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, whose government has been criticised for its slow response to the emergency, pledged Aus$2 billion ($1.4 billion) of taxpayer money for a national recovery fund

"It's a long road ahead and we will be with these communities every step of the way as they rebuild," Morrison said.

Firefighters joined by fresh teams from the US and Canada were taking advantage of rainy and cooler conditions to tackle out-of-control blazes ahead of rising temperatures forecast later this week.

In the biggest-ever call up of reserves, military teams were deployed across eastern Australia to help emergency services assess the damage, restore power and deliver supplies of food, water and fuel to cut-off communities.

For the first time in Australian history the government also deployed its medical assistance team — normally sent to other nations to lend support in the aftermath of their disasters — to help evacuees.

"There is no room for complacency, especially as we have over 130 fires burning across [New South Wales] state still," Premier of New South Wales state Gladys Berejiklian said on Monday.

'New normal' 

Almost 5 million hectares (50,000 square kilometres) have been razed across New South Wales and more than 1.2 million hectares in Victoria since late September, officials said.

That took the total amount of land burnt close to 8 million hectares — around the size of the island of Ireland or South Carolina.

Twenty-four people have lost their lives so far, with over 1,800 homes damaged.

Two people are missing in New South Wales, the nation's most populous state.

In Victoria, Premier Daniel Andrews established a bushfire recovery agency to help devastated towns. It will be a permanent body, he said, as intense fires will become commonplace.

"We should just be honest about the fact that we're going to see more and more fires, more and more damage as each fire season comes... this is the new normal," Andrews told reporters.

The chair of the newly established Victoria state's bushfire appeal fund, Pat McNamara, added that this year's summer bushfire season was a "creeping disaster".

"We're still not even into what we would regard as the peak of the fire season," McNamara told national broadcaster ABC.

In the usually picturesque south-eastern town of Eden, Holly Spence said she spent more than 12 hours defending her family's farm on Saturday, less than a week after saving it on New Year's Eve.

"We don't want to go through this for a third time," the 28-year-old told AFP.

Fiona Kennelly, 50, who evacuated with 24 members of her extended family to a motel outside Eden, said she was relieved the easing conditions allowed them to get some respite from the crisis.

"It's good to see daylight at the right time again," she told AFP, adding that the skies had been turning pitch-black in the afternoons.

Public anger 

The impact of the bushfires has spread beyond affected communities, with heavy smoke engulfing the country's second-largest city Melbourne and the national capital Canberra.

Some government departments were shut in Canberra as the city's air quality was once-again ranked the world's poorest, according to independent online air-quality index monitor Air Visual.

The disaster has sparked growing public anger with Morrison. Rallies are planned on Friday to call on his government to step up efforts to tackle climate change, which experts say have helped fuel the fires.

In Los Angeles, Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe said he was back home fighting the fires and that the disaster was "climate change-based".

"We need to act on science, move our global workforce to renewable energy and respect our planet for the unique and amazing place it is. That way, we all have a future," he said in a message read out by Jennifer Aniston.

Australian actress Cate Blanchett praised the volunteer firefighters battling the blazes, adding: "When one country faces a climate disaster, we all face a climate disaster. We're in it together."

NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein's high-profile sex crimes trial opened on Monday, kicking off proceedings key to the #MeToo movement that could see the once-mighty Hollywood producer jailed for life if convicted on charges of predatory sexual assault.

The disgraced movie mogul entered the New York state courthouse looking frail in a dark suit and using a walker, more than two years after a slew of allegations against him triggered waves of outrage over pervasive sexual assault in the workplace, leading to the downfall of dozens of powerful men.

Demonstrators anchored by actresses Rose McGowan and Rosanna Arquette — two of Weinstein's most prominent accusers — gathered outside the Manhattan court wielding signs with slogans like "Justice for survivors".

"Time's up on sexual harassment in all work places," Arquette said. "Time's up on empty apologies without consequences. And time's up on the pervasive culture of silence that has enabled abusers like Weinstein."

The first day in court was largely technical and lasted just over an hour, with the judge rejecting a defence request that the jury be sequestered.

In one testy exchange, Manhattan District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon accused a lead defence attorney, Donna Rotunno, of quoting sealed documents to the press.

Rotunno shot back, reproaching the prosecutor for calling Weinstein a "predator" in court.

The judge said pre-screening would begin Tuesday and proper jury selection could be delayed until January 14 with the proceedings expected to last six to eight weeks.

Watershed moment? 

Almost 90 women, including Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, have accused the 67-year-old of sexual misconduct since The New York Times detailed claims against him in October 2017.

But Weinstein, once one of Hollywood's most influential figures, is being tried on charges related to just two women, highlighting the difficulty of building cases around incidents that took place years ago.

Former production assistant Mimi Haleyi alleges that the "Pulp Fiction" producer forcibly performed oral sex on her in his New York apartment in July 2006.

The second alleged victim is anonymous. She says Weinstein, the co-founder of Miramax Films, raped her in a New York hotel room in March 2013.

"The Sopranos" actress Annabella Sciorra will also give evidence as the prosecution seeks to convince the jury that Weinstein engaged in a pattern of predatory sexual behaviour.

A conviction would signal a watershed moment in the #MeToo movement's fight against sexual harassment and abuse of power in Hollywood and beyond.

Since the movement took hold, almost all men felled in a deluge of allegations, be it in the world of entertainment or business, have escaped prosecution.

The only other trial on the horizon is that of R&B singer R. Kelly, who was charged last year with several assaults on young women, but allegations of sexual impropriety have dogged him for years.

American comedian Bill Cosby was sentenced to at least three years in prison in September 2018, although proceedings had started in late 2015, two years before the post-Weinstein surge of allegations.

Weinstein's trial will be closely watched.

Some 150 journalists, on top of regular court reporters, have requested access to the courtroom which only seats around 100.

Accusers and #MeToo activists could also crowd the public benches in support of Weinstein's alleged victims, who are expected to endure brutal cross-examinations.

On Monday, Sarah Ann Masse, an actress who says Weinstein sexually assaulted her when she interviewed for a job as a nanny in 2008, voiced support for those testifying, sending them "so much strength and courage".

"The man has spent 30-plus years assaulting over 100 women — it's incredibly clear what happened," she told AFP. "As long as the judge and jury listen to the facts and understand the nature of grief and trauma and what's normal for survivors, he will go to jail."

Bars for life 

Weinstein, who has always maintained that his sexual relationships were consensual, is unlikely to testify.

His defence team has been trying to undermine the allegations of the two accusers on the charge sheet since long before the start of the trial.

They have produced emails and text messages which they say show that both remained in friendly contact with the accused for several months after the alleged events.

In an e-mail interview with CNN, published on Saturday, Weinstein suggested he may be able to rebuild his career in the movie business if acquitted.

"If I can get back to doing something good and building places that help heal and comfort others, I intend to do so," he wrote.

Masse voiced hope for a far different outcome: "I am hoping he goes to jail for the rest of his life."

WASHINGTON — US lawmakers will vote in coming days on a war powers resolution aimed at putting a check on President Donald Trump's military actions after he ordered the killing of top Iranian general, a senior Democrat said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the plan to introduce and vote on the resolution "to limit the president's military actions regarding Iran", in a letter to colleagues late on Sunday.

The measure, she explained, "reasserts Congress's long-established oversight responsibilities by mandating that if no further congressional action is taken, the administration's military hostilities with regard to Iran cease within 30 days". 

Trump last week ordered the shock killing of Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force and one of the country's most influential leaders, who was slain on Friday in a US drone strike in Baghdad. 

Pelosi said the move put US troops and civilians in danger by "risking a serious escalation of tensions with Iran".

Democrats have complained that Trump took the action without first consulting with the so-called Gang of Eight top lawmakers in Congress, including Pelosi, and have insisted that only Congress can declare war.

"As members of Congress, our first responsibility is to keep the American people safe," Pelosi said in her letter.

"For this reason, we are concerned that the administration took this action without the consultation of Congress and without respect for Congress's war powers granted to it by the Constitution."

Iran has vowed retaliation for Soleimani's death. Trump has escalated his rhetoric in response, and told Congress that his social media posts about Iran should be taken as notification to lawmakers about his actions.

Pelosi said the resolution will be introduced by Elissa Slotkin, a member of Congress from Michigan and a former CIA analyst who served three tours in Iraq.