The Nation Newspaper

Category: Foreign

  • Why I stopped Iran strike – Trump

    In an extraordinary series of tweets, President Donald Trump on Friday explained his rationale for calling off a retaliatory military strike against Iran over the downing of a U.S. drone.

    He said the military was “ cocked and loaded to retaliate last night (Thursday) on three different sites” in Iran but he had to pull the brake 10 minutes from time when he was told that as many as 150 lives might be lost in the process.

    He tweeted: “10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone”.

    The late reversal was first reported by the New York Times on Thursday night. The newspaper said the operation was under way “in its early stages” when Trump stood the US military down.

    “I am in no hurry,” Mr Trump said yesterday. “Our Military is rebuilt, new, and ready to go, by far the best in the world.

    “….On Monday they shot down an unmanned drone flying in International Waters. We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not….

    “….proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone. I am in no hurry, our Military is rebuilt, new, and ready to go, by far the best in the world. Sanctions are biting & more added last night. Iran can NEVER have Nuclear Weapons, not against the USA, and not against the WORLD!

    He claimed that the sanctions he imposed on Tehran after withdrawing from the Iran nuclear agreement have “weakened” Iran.

    In follow up tweets he said:“President Obama made a desperate and terrible deal with Iran – Gave them 150 Billion Dollars plus I.8 Billion Dollars in CASH! Iran was in big trouble and he bailed them out. Gave them a free path to Nuclear Weapons, and SOON. Instead of saying thank you, Iran yelled…..”

    ….Death to America. I terminated deal, which was not even ratified by Congress, and imposed strong sanctions. They are a much-weakened nation today than at the beginning of my Presidency, when they were causing major problems throughout the Middle East. Now they are Bust!….

    Iran downed a U.S. military drone by fire early Thursday, an attack Trump erroneously said happened “Monday.” Iran claimed the drone was over its territory; the Pentagon says it was flying over international waters in the Strait of Hormuz.

    “Iranian reports that the aircraft was over Iran are false,” Bill Urban, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said at a press briefing. “This was an unprovoked attack on a U.S. surveillance asset in international airspace.”

    Last week two oil tankers — the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous and the Norwegian-owned Front Altair — were damaged in attacks off the Iranian coast, attacks that the U.S. has also blamed on Iran.
    The downing of the drone sparked fears of a possible new military conflict in the Middle East, despite Trump’s stated aversion to dragging the United States into another war.

  • US Senate blocks arms sales to Saudi Arabia

    The US Senate – in a rare bipartisan move – has voted to block arms sales to Saudi Arabia, strongly wanted by President Donald Trump in recent months, for a total value of eight billion dollars.

    The White House tenant had strongly insisted on the deal to re-launch the axis with Riyadh after the chill of the last phase of the democratic administration led by predecessor Barack Obama.

    Last month Trump had bypassed Congress in an attempt to speed up the finalization of the billion dollar contract. Among the reasons illustrated by the president, support for the Saudi ally in the face of the Iranian threat in the Middle East region.

    With a joint decision between Democrats and Republicans, the Senate approved a resolution that prevents the sale. Trump’s response is his intention to use the presidential veto on the decision.

    Now the decision falls to the Democrat Congress which will probably also vote to block the sale.

    However, according to analysts and experts in Congress there are not enough votes needed to overturn the Trump veto and, therefore, the contract should eventually go through.

    The first two resolutions passed were approved with 53 votes in favor and 45 against.

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    A third vote saw the margin shrink, with 51 in favor and 45 against. According to the agreement, the sale of weapons is valid both for Saudi Arabia and for the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

    Congress members also criticised Riyadh for human rights violations with civilian victims in the context of the Yemen conflict and for the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

     In reference to the murder, in recent days a UN investigation called the involvement of the crown prince Mohammad bin Salman (Mbs), the main interlocutor of President Trump in the Middle Eastern region together with Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, “credible”.

    In a note released by the White House after the vote it is emphasised that the block to the sale is equivalent to an “abandonment” of the United States of its allies “at a time of growing threats.” (Newsnow.co.uk)

  • Man dies as parachute fails during US military exercise

    A Canadian man has died after his parachute failed to open when he jumped out of a plane during a military exercise led by US forces in Bulgaria, local media reported on Tuesday.

    Three soldiers, reportedly US citizens, were also injured during the exercise overnight to Tuesday, dubbed Swift Response 2019, according to the private television channel bTV.

    The Defence Ministry in Sofia has confirmed the incident near the southern village of Cheshnegirovo, the BTA news agency reported.

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    It did not confirm the nationalities of those involved, but said they were “not Bulgarian citizens’’.

    The three injured soldiers are being treated for broken bones in a hospital in Plovdiv, bTV reported.

    Swift Response 2019 is taking place from June 11 to June 24 at various locations in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania, according to the US military.

    It involves around 5,600 personnel from eight countries, including 1,495 parachutists, the Defence Ministry in Sofia said.

    It is being led by the US Global Response Force and is intended to demonstrate the US European Command’s ability to send high-readiness forces into a designated area.

    (dpa/NAN)

  • Trump to announce bid for re-election at Florida rally

    U.S. President Donald Trump is set to announce his candidacy for a second four-year term at a rally in Florida.

    Trump’s campaign for re-election in 2020 chose the 20,000-seat Amway Centre in the centre of the state to make the announcement on Tuesday.

    The event is scheduled to start at 8 p.m (0000 GMT).

    Trump has been touting the rally in tweets, claiming there has been a large demand for tickets.

    “Big rally tomorrow night in Orlando, Florida, looks to be setting records, we are building large movie screens outside to take care of everybody,’’ Trump tweeted on Monday.

    New polls of potential voters indicate Trump will need all their support on Election Day, which isn’t until Nov. 3, 2020.

    A poll conducted on Sunday by Fox News showed Trump trailing former vice president Joe Biden, the front-runner among a crowded field of Democrats, by 10 points.

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    The poll also shows him nine points behind Senator Bernie Sanders, another leading contender.

    Trump tweeted about the polls on Monday, suggesting they were fake.

    “Only Fake Polls show us behind the Motley Crew. We are looking really good, but it is far too early to be focused on that. Much work to do! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

    The president is expected to use Tuesday’s rally to highlight strengths in the U.S. economy and the fulfilment of campaign promises made during his 2016 campaign.

  • China is harvesting organs from detainees – Tribunal concludes

    An independent tribunal sitting in London has concluded that the killing of detainees in China for organ transplants is continuing, and victims include imprisoned followers of the Falun Gong movement.

    The China Tribunal, chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, who was a prosecutor at the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, said in a unanimous determination at the end of its hearings it was “certain that Falun Gong were used for forced organ harvesting”.

    The tribunal has been taking evidence from medical experts, human rights investigators and others.

    Among those killed, it has been alleged, are members of religious minorities such as Falun Gong. Persecution of the group began in 1999 after it had attracted tens of millions of followers and came to be seen as a threat to the communist party.

    There is less evidence about the treatment of Tibetans, Uighur Muslims and some Christian sects.

    China announced in 2014 that it would stop removing organs for transplantation from executed prisoners and has dismissed the claims as politically-motivated and untrue.

    The tribunal was initiated by the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (Etac) and its members, all of whom worked without payment, included medical experts.

    Waiting times for transplantation offered by hospitals in China were extraordinarily low, the tribunal noted, often only a couple of weeks.

    Investigators calling hospitals in China inquiring about transplants for patients, the tribunal said, have in the past been told that the source of some organs were from Falun Gong followers.

    Both former Falun Gong and Uighur inmates gave testimony of undergoing repeated medical testing in Chinese jails.

    Jennifer Zeng, a Falun Gong activist who was imprisoned for a year in a female labour camp, gave evidence to the China Tribunal about what she said were repeated medical check-ups and blood tests to which inmates were subjected.

    She told the Guardian: “On the day we were transferred to the labour camp, we were taken to a medical facility where we underwent physical check-ups. We were interrogated about what diseases we had and I told them I had hepatitis.

    “The second time, after about a month in the camp, everyone was handcuffed and put in a van and taken to a huge hospital. That was for a more thorough physical check-up. We were given X-rays. On the third occasion in the camp, they were drawing blood from us. We were all told to line up in the corridor and the test were given.”

    Zeng, who fled China in 2001, did not see any direct evidence of forced organ removal but since reading other accounts, she has questioned whether the tests were part of a medical selection process.

    In her statement to the tribunal, she said: “Inmates of the labour camp were not allowed to exchange contact details, so there was no way to trace each other after we were released. When anyone disappeared from the camp, I would assume that she was released and had gone home.

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    “But in reality that cannot be confirmed, as I had no way to trace others after my release and I now fear they might have been taken to a hospital and had their organs removed without consent and thus killed in the process.”

    As many as 90,000 transplant operations a year are being carried out in China, the tribunal estimated, a far higher figure than that given by official government sources.

    There have been calls for the UK parliament to ban patients from travelling to China for transplant surgery. More than 40 MPs from all parties have backed the motion. Israel, Italy, Spain and Taiwan already enforce such restrictions.

    China insists it adheres to international medical standards that require organ donations to be made by consent and without any financial charges. It declined to participate in the tribunal.

    Commenting on the claims earlier this year, the Chinese embassy told the Guardian: “The Chinese government always follows the World Health Organization’s guiding principles on human organ transplant, and has strengthened its management on organ transplant in recent years. On 21 March 2007, the Chinese state council enacted the regulation on human organ transplant, providing that human organ donation must be done voluntarily and gratis. We hope that the British people will not be misled by rumours.”

    The tribunal heard reports of extraction of kidneys from executed prisoners from as far back as the 1970s. Most of the evidence, however, came from 2000 onward.

    (www.theguardian.com)

  • Female lawmaker beaten up by colleague

    A member of the Kenyan Parliament representing Wajir East, Rashid Kassim has been arrested hours after allegedly assaulting Wajir County Woman Representative Fatuma Gedi.

    Wajir Woman Representative Fatuma Gedi was allegedly beaten up on Thursday morning by Wajir East MP Rashid Amin in the parliament building.

    It is alleged that Gedi engaged him in a heated discussion before she was assaulted by the MP.

    The MP demanded to know why Gedi, who is a member of the budget committee, did not allocate any money to his Wajir East constituency.

    Gedi narrated that she was with her Homa Bay counterpart Gladys Wanga when she met the Wajir East lawmaker.

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    “He called me stupid and nonsense and then he beat me. I was shocked, I could not believe it. He came again and hit me.

    “I told him that Wajir County was only allocated Ksh100 million and we had to allocate money to only areas of priority to the region like water and roads but he told me that was nonsense,” she highlighted.

    The Home Bay Woman Representative confirmed she was present during the incident citing, they were heading to the Protection House when Amin met her.

    “They started to converse in Somali so I just stood by to wait for Gedi. A few minutes into the conversation I just saw him hitting Gedi on the cheek, she was crying and bleeding. I didn’t know what could lead to that.

    “I was surprised that a colleague can assault a female member,” Wanga narrated.

    Gedi was then taken to the Karen Hospital for treatment.

     

    NAN

  • Iran’s supreme leader rules out negotiations with U.S.

    Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ruled out any future negotiations with the U.S. on Thursday, during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

    “Iran does not trust the U.S.,’’ Khamenei said in Tehran. “We have already had the bitter experience with the Americans over the nuclear deal and do not want to repeat this experience.’’

    The U.S. unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from the Iran agreement, which was aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear arsenal.

    Washington’s decision to begin implementing oil and banking sanctions has crippled Iran’s economy and placed the deal’s European signatories under pressure.

    No country in its right mind would negotiate under such circumstances, said Khamenei, who has the final say on all strategic policy in the Islamic Republic under Iran’s constitution.

    Abe has offered to serve as an intermediary, as Japan has amicable relations with Iran.

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    Tokyo had long relied on Tehran for oil imports until the Trump administration ended its sanctions waivers granted to buyers of Iran’s crude oil.

    Khamenei commended Japan’s efforts. “But I don’t regard U.S. President Donald Trump as worthy of sending a message or an answer,’’ he said.

    The supreme leader added that his distrust lies in Trump’s goal to force regime change in Iran, which Khamenei said will not work.

  • UK economy shrinks in April as car plants close

    Britain’s economy contracted overall by 0.4 per cent in April after a 0.1 per cent decline in March, the Office for National Statistics said on Monday.

    The office said the growth in the three months to April slowed to 0.3 per cent from 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2019, also a sharper deceleration than most economists had expected.

    According to the office, annual growth slowed to 1.3 per cent.

    The drop masked a far bigger impact for manufacturing, which shrank by 3.9 per cent for the month in April, the biggest fall since June 2002.

    Car production in April fell 24 per cent on the month, the biggest drop since records began in 1995, and the broader category of “transport equipment” showed its largest drop since 1974.

    “GDP growth showed some weakening across the latest three months with the economy shrinking in the month of April, mainly due to a dramatic fall in car production, with uncertainty ahead of the UK’s original EU departure date leading to planned shutdowns,” ONS statistician Rob Kent-Smith said.

    BMW shut its UK Mini and Rolls-Royce plants for all of April. Peugeot’s Vauxhall car factory and Jaguar Land Rover also brought forward planned summer shutdowns to April.

    Monday’s data confirm the economy is slowing after getting a bigger-than-expected boost in the first three months of 2019 from businesses stockpiling before a Brexit that never came.

    The Bank of England forecast last month that GDP growth would slow to 0.2 per cent during the three months to June from 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of the year.

    But the bank’s chief economist, Andy Haldane wrote that he still expected “solid” growth of 1.5% for 2019 overall.

    Early in 2019, many motor manufacturers had announced temporary shutdowns in Britain for April, anticipating trade disruption around the time Britain was due to leave the European Union on March 29.

    In the event, Prime Minister Theresa May delayed departure with just days to go and subsequently set a new date of Oct. 31 — but that was too late for businesses to change their plans.

    May’s purchasing managers’ index surveys pointed to the economy being close to stagnation, although they were similarly gloomy in the first quarter when official data turned out strong, despite business concerns about Brexit.

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    “April’s dip in GDP and apparent ongoing softness in May reinforces our belief that the economy is headed for a markedly weakened performance in the second quarter,” Howard Archer, chief economist at consultants EY ITEM Club, said in a note.

    “We had expecting GDP growth to be no more than 0.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter, but even this muted performance is now looking somewhat optimistic.”

    Britain’s economy has lost momentum since 2016’s Brexit referendum – before which growth would typically exceed 2% a year – but the job market has strengthened and Haldane said the time for another rate rise was approaching.

    This stance contrasts with the view in markets, where concern about the trade conflict between the United States and China has intensified, alongside the risk that Britain could still face a disruptive departure from the EU on Oct. 31.

    The impact of the twin concerns of trade tensions and Brexit could also be seen in trade data, also released on Monday.

    Britain saw its biggest monthly fall in goods imports since records began in 1998, down 14.4 per cent in April. Exports also slid on a monthly basis, down 10.9 per cent in April, the biggest fall since July 2006.

    The trade deficit narrowed as elevated levels of imports by businesses to prepare for Brexit before the March 29 deadline fell back.

    The trade balance for goods narrowed to 12.1 billion pounds ($15.36 billion) from 15.4 billion pounds in March.

  • Russian, U.S. Ships narrowly avoid collision in Philippine Sea

    A Russian destroyer and a United States Navy guided missile cruiser nearly collided on Friday in the Philippine Sea, and each side blamed the other for what could have been a devastating episode.

    The United States Navy said the events took place around 11:45 a.m. local time as a result of an “unsafe and unprofessional” move by the Russian vessel, which came within 50 to 100 feet of the U.S.S. Chancellorsville, according to a statement. The cruiser had to quickly maneuver to avoid a collision, the Navy said.

    Cmdr. Clayton Doss, a spokesman for the Seventh Fleet, said in the statement that the Russian destroyer made an “unsafe maneuver” against the U.S.S. Chancellorsville, “putting the safety of her crew and ship at risk.”

    Russian state news reports framed the events much differently, with the Pacific Fleet press service telling the state-run news agency Tassthat the American vessel had hindered the passage of the Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov, forcing it to perform a dangerous maneuver to avoid a collision.

    “The U.S. cruiser Chancellorsville suddenly changed its course and crossed the Admiral Vinogradov destroyer’s course some 50 meters away from the ship,” the press service said, according to Tass. “In order to prevent a collision, the Admiral Vinogradov’s crew was forced to conduct an emergency maneuver.”

    Commander Doss described the Russian account as “propaganda,” Reuters reported.

    (www.nytimes.com)

  • US-led coalition kill ISIS leader killed in Iraq

    A prominent ISIS leader was killed by the US-led coalition air strike on Wednesday night in Iraq’s western province of Anbar as Special Forces ramped up efforts to fight the insurgent’s remaining sleeper cells.

    Since the group’s territorial defeat in Iraq and Syria, the terrorists have gone underground, carrying out various attacks across the neighboring countries where it aims to expand.

    “Air strikes targeted the tunnels where the insurgents were hiding killing six terrorists including the Emir [Prince] of Wiliayat (State) Al Jazeera, Abu Musallam Al Iraqi and two of their vehicles,” commander of Al Baghdadi tribal forces that operate in Anbar, Qatary Al Samarmad, said in a statement.

    The attack were conducted in the Tharthar valley, located north west of Baghdad.

    The operation is part of a security program set between the Iraqi army and local tribes that aims to combat the terror group, Mr Al Samarmad said.

    Iraq’s army, backed by an US-led coalition established to defeat ISIS, has recently shifted away from major combat operations to areas they believe the insurgents are hiding.

    The US-led action began after ISIS took over large areas of territory.

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    ISIS is active in rural areas across Iraq especially in isolated lands that give them the freedom to move and plan attacks.

    They are known to be in areas such as the deserts of Anbar and Nineveh provinces and the mountains that run across Kirkuk, Salah Al Din and Diyala.

    ISIS was born in cities like Fallujah in Anbar province, where a dwindling economy, unemployment and anger made it a fertile environment for extremists.

    By 2014, its so-called “caliphate” had spread across Iraq and Syria.

    The terror group still poses a threat to Iraq and officials believe its leader, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, may be hiding in the country.

    The US warned in February of an ISIS resurgence and said it is essential to maintain a vigilant operation against the group’s sleeper cells.

    “Hard-won battlefield gains can only be secured by maintaining a vigilant offensive against a now largely dispersed and disaggregated ISIS that retains leaders, fighters, facilitators, resources and the profane ideology that fuels their efforts,” said the former commander of US Central Command, Gen Joseph Votel.

    At its height in 2014 and 2015, ISIS ruled over a self-proclaimed “caliphate” that spanned one third of Iraqi and Syrian territory and attracted followers from all over the world.

    It ruled over millions in large parts of two countries.

    (www.thenational.ae)