The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Donald Trump

  • U.S. Senators warn Trump against returning seized Russian diplomatic compounds

    U.S. Senators warn Trump against returning seized Russian diplomatic compounds

    Three U.S. senators warned President Donald Trump against making any deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to return two seized Russian diplomatic compounds, a letter from the lawmakers showed.

    Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Marco Rubio and Johnny Iakson gave the warning in their letter to Trump.

    “The return of these two facilities to Russia while the Kremlin refuses to address its influence campaign against the U.S. would embolden President Vladimir Putin and invite a dangerous escalation in the Kremlin’s destabilising actions against democracies worldwide,” they said.

    The senators wrote their letter ahead of a scheduled face-to-face meeting between Putin and Trump on Friday on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg.

    Senior Trump administration officials have said that the two leaders could discuss the return of the two diplomatic compounds in the U.S. states of New York and Maryland.

    But the three senators urged Trump to “remove the return of these facilities from any negotiation or consideration in your discussions with President Putin during your upcoming trip.”

    Former President Barack Obama shut down the two compounds in December 2016, amid allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

    Russia denies meddling in the vote, insisting that it does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

  • Pentagon to provide options against North Korea

    Pentagon to provide options against North Korea

    The U.S. military is  ready to provide options to President Donald Trump over the continued launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea, Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis said.

    Mattis, in a statement by the U.S. Department of Defence, however, said diplomatic and economic efforts remained the tools  of choice to convince North Korea to stop its nuclear and missile programmes.

    “The President and Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, have been very clear that we are leading with diplomatic and economic efforts.

    “The military remains ready in accordance with our alliance with Japan, with Korea,’’ Mattis said during a news conference at the Pentagon.

    “The North Korean launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on July 4 is a very serious escalation and provocation and also an affront to the United Nations Security Council resolutions,’’ he said.

    The defence secretary stressed that the effort  against North Korea was purely diplomatically led, adding the weapons of choice are economic sanctions.

    He, however, added  that  these would  be buttressed by military capabilities.

    Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is the administration points  man with regard to North Korea.

    “We stand ready to provide options if they are necessary,’’ Mattis said, pointing out that diplomacy with regards  to North Korea had  not failed.

    Mattis quoted  Gen. Vincent Brooks, the Commander of U.S. Forces in Korea, saying America and South Korea have exercised extreme self-restraint in avoiding war.

    He noted the shelling of South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island in 2010, the sinking of a South Korean ship earlier that year and other provocations at sea, on land and in cyberspace.

    “Our self-restraint holds, and diplomatic efforts remain underway as we speak,’’ he said.

    The U.S. is working with allies to influence North Korea, while U.S. officials are also working with China – North Korea’s benefactor and the largest trading partner  to place more pressure on North Korean leaders to stop the nuclear and missile programmes.

    The Secretary said the Defence Department was still analysing intelligence from the North Korean launch, adding that “it clearly had a booster  which was a new development on a previous missile.’’

  • Trump, Putin to meet at G20 summit

    Trump, Putin to meet at G20 summit

    United States President, Donald Trump, is to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for the first time at a G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.

    They have both said they want to repair ties damaged by the crises in Syria and Ukraine, as well as Russia’s alleged meddling in the U.S election, the BBC reports.

    Climate change and trade are set to dominate as the two-day summit opens, with mass protests in the streets.

    Clashes at a “Welcome to Hell” rally left 76 police officers injured.

    By choosing to hold the summit in Hamburg, Germany’s northern hi-tech powerhouse, Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking to show mass protests can be tolerated in an open democracy, the BBC says.

    The G20, or Group of 20, is a summit for 19 countries, both developed and developing, plus the European Union.

    The individual countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the US.

    The two leaders are due to meet in the afternoon for an hour, Russian media say, though other reports suggest it could be about 30 minutes.

    It is unclear if they will speak to reporters afterwards or to what extent media will be admitted to the meeting.

    After phone calls between the leaders in January and May, the White House and Kremlin released summaries of the conversations.

  • U.S. lifts laptop restriction for flights from Abu Dhabi

    U.S. lifts laptop restriction for flights from Abu Dhabi

    The United States has lifted a ban on laptops in cabins on flights from Abu Dhabi to the United States, saying Etihad Airways had put in place required tighter security measures.

    Etihad welcomed the decision on Sunday and credited a facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport where passengers clear U.S. immigration before they land in the U.S. for “superior security advantages” that had allowed it to satisfy requirements.

    Transportation Security Administration officials have checked that the measures had been implemented correctly, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

    Acting chief executive of operations, Abu Dhabi Airports, AbdulMajeed al-Khoori, told Reuters on Monday that U.S. officials assessed the airport on Saturday night.

    The disruption to passengers from the new measures will be “very minimal” with the processing time for those traveling to the United States unchanged, he said by phone.

    Etihad is the only airline that operates direct flights from Abu Dhabi to the United States.

    In March the U.S. banned laptops in cabins on flights originating at 10 airports in eight countries, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey, to address fears that bombs could be concealed in electronic devices taken aboard aircraft.

    Britain quickly followed suit with a similar set of restrictions.

    On Friday, the United States unveiled security measures for flights to the country designed to prevent the expansion of the ban to more countries that could cause major logistical problems and deter travel.

    DHS spokesman David Lapan said in a statement provided to Reuters that Ethiad’s efforts to implement extra security measures were a model for foreign and domestic airlines.

    He said other airports and airlines in the region, such as Emirates and Qatar Airways, remain under the restrictions.

    “We look forward to working with other airlines to ensure implementation of these critical measures as quickly as possible,” said Lapan.

    Dubai Airports, the operator of Emirates hub Dubai International Airport, said on Monday it had offered its “full cooperation … to satisfy the U.S. directive as quickly as possible.”

    The company said Etihad operates 45 flights a week between Abu Dhabi and the United States.

    Emirates, the Middle East’s largest airline and a rival to Etihad, said in April it was cutting flights on five U.S. routes because of reduced demand after a travel ban imposed by President Donald Trump and the laptop ban.

  • Saudi King cancels participation in G20 summit due to Gulf crisis

    Saudi King cancels participation in G20 summit due to Gulf crisis

    Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Al-Saud will not attend the G20 summit due to the Gulf crisis, Saudi diplomatic sources said on Monday.

    Instead of the king, the Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan will attend the summit, scheduled to take place in the northern German port city of Hamburg on Friday and Saturday.

    The summit brings together leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    In June, Saudi Arabia led its neighbours Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, in cutting ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism, a charge that Doha denies.

    NAN reports that on June 24, the four Arab states handed the country a list of 13 demands, including some likely to infuriate Doha and exacerbate the region’s worst crisis in decades.

    Some of the key demands include shut down the Al Jazeera media network and its affiliates, halt the development of a Turkish military base in the country and reduce diplomatic ties with Iran.

    Others are cut ties to extremist organisations, stop interfering in the four countries’ affairs, stop the practice of giving Qatari nationality to citizens of the four countries.

    The four Arab countries on Monday agreed to give Qatar 48 more hours, in a deadline extension proposed by Kuwait, for the Gulf emirate to comply with a list of demands.

    Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt agreed to extend the deadline after Kuwait’s government urged them to do so late Sunday, the Kuwait News Agency reported.

    Earlier, as the original deadline expired, Saudi-owned television Al Arabiya reported that Qatar could be hit by further sanctions.

    Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt said they were “studying” a list of potential political and economic sanctions against Qatar after it rejected the list of demands.

  • Xi says China-U.S. relations affected by ‘negative factors’

    Xi says China-U.S. relations affected by ‘negative factors’

    China-U.S. relations have been affected by some “negative factors,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Donald Trump during a phone call on Monday.

    The conversation came after a series of recent actions by the U.S. related to Taiwan, North Korea and the South China Sea that have been labeled by Beijing as “wrong decisions” or “provocations.”

    Xi told Trump he hoped the U.S. would handle Taiwan-related issues appropriately and that China places great importance on Trump’s reaffirmation of the “One China” policy, which prohibits countries that have diplomatic relations with Beijing from pursuing official ties with Taiwan, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

    On Thursday, the U.S. government angered Beijing when it approved a 1.4-billion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan, which Beijing sees as a breakaway province.

    China asked the U.S. to cancel the deal lest it would damage “China-US relations and cooperation in important fields,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Friday.

    A U.S. government official said US arms sales to Taiwan reflect no change in the “one China” policy and are based on an assessment of Taiwan’s defence needs.

    The U.S. government also announced on Thursday it had imposed sanctions against China’s Bank of Dandong over its alleged dealings with North Korea.

    China’s Foreign Ministry retorted that the sanctions were a “wrong decision” made arbitrarily by the US outside the framework of the UN Security Council.

    on Sunday, a U.S. warship sailed close to a disputed island in the South China Sea claimed by China, prompting an angry response from Beijing, which described the action as a “serious provocation.”

    The guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem came within 12 miles of an island in the Paracel Archipelago, which is claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam, CNN reported.

    The ship was part of a U.S. Navy “freedom of navigation exercise,” the news network added.

    The operation “infringed upon China’s sovereignty, disrupted peace, security and order of the relevant waters and put in jeopardy the facilities and personnel on the Chinese islands, and thus constitutes a serious political and military provocation,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang.

    China had dispatched military vessels and fighter planes to warn the U.S. vessel, said Wu Qian, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense.

    “The Chinese side will continue to take all necessary means to defend national sovereignty and security,” Lu added.

    China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a key shipping lane that is believed to be rich in resources. An international court in 2016 invalidated China’s claims to the region in a case filed by the Philippines, but Beijing does not recognise the ruling.

    This is the second “freedom of navigation operation” that has taken place during Donald Trump’s presidency.

    The exercises were done routinely under the Obama administration, however, Trump was at first mostly silent on the South China Sea issue while he turned to China for help in reining in the nuclear threat from North Korea.

    Trump and Xi also discussed the nuclear threat from North Korea during the phone call.

    Both leaders “reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearised Korean Peninsula,” the White House said.

  • Donald Trump receives two chibok girls

    Donald Trump receives two chibok girls

    President Donald Trump on Wednesday hosted two rescued Chibok girls in his office in the White House.

    Along with his daughter, Ivanka Trump,  he met with Joy Bishara 20,  and Lydia Pogu 19.

  • Trump growing frustrated with China, weighs trade steps – officials

    Trump growing frustrated with China, weighs trade steps – officials

    President Donald Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with China over its inaction on North Korea and bilateral trade issues, three senior administration officials told Reuters.

    The officials said Trump was looking at options including tariffs on steel imports, which Commerce Secretary

    Wilbur Ross already has said he is considering as part of a national security study of the U.S. steel industry.

    Whether Trump would take any steps against China remains unclear.

    In April, he backed off from a threat to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement after he said Canadian and Mexican leaders telephoned him asking him to halt a planned executive order in favor of opening discussions.

    The officials said there was no consensus on the way forward with China and they did not say what other options

    were being studied.

    A senior official said that no decision was expected this week.

    Chinese steel already is subject to dozens of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy orders. As a result it has only a small share of the U.S. market.

    “What’s guiding this is he ran to protect American industry and American workers,” one of the U.S. officials said, referring to Trump’s 2016 election promise to take a hard line on trade with China.

    The official said on North Korea, Trump “feels like he gave China a chance to make a difference” but has not seen enough results.

    The U.S. has pressed China to exert more economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea to help rein in its nuclear and missile programmes.

    Beijing has repeatedly said its influence on North Korea is limited and that it is doing all it can.

    The official said: “They did a little, not a lot.

    “And if he’s not going to get what he needs on that, he needs to move ahead on his broader agenda on trade and on North Korea.”

    U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad, who arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, spoke reporters outside his residence on Wednesday and said the United States hoped to collaborate with China.

    “We need to work together to deal with some of the pressing, difficult issues, such as the threat from North Korea.

    “We want to work together to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula,” he said.

    The death of American university student Otto Warmbier on June 21, after his release from 17 months of imprisonment in Pyongyang, has further complicated Trump’s approach to North Korea, his top national security challenge.

    Trump signaled his disappointment with China’s efforts in a tweet last week: “While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!”

    Trump had made a grand gesture of his desire for warm ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping when he played host to Xi in April at his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Palm Beach, Florida.

    “I think China will be stepping up,” Trump said at the time.

    Since then, however, North Korea’s tests of long-range missiles have continued unabated and there have been reports it is preparing for another underground nuclear test.

    An official said Trump dropped by on June 22 as White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster and Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner were meeting Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi.

    China’s inability to make headway on North Korea was one of the topics that was discussed, according to two people familiar with the meeting.

    In a statement last week, China’s foreign ministry said Yang had met McMaster and Kushner, but it gave no details.

    Ministry spokesman Lu Kang did not directly answer a question about that meeting, but said China and the U.S. had discussed North Korea, among other issues, during a security dialogue Yang attended.

    Yang also had a separate meeting with Trump.

    The ministry said on Saturday that Yang told Trump that China was willing to work with all sides, including the U.S., to lessen tension on the Korean peninsula and promote an “appropriate” resolution.

    Trump met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday at the White House and made a point of noting that the U.S., India and Japan would be joining together in naval exercises soon in the Indian Ocean, a point that seemed aimed at India rival Beijing.

    Trump also thanked India for joining the U.S. in imposing new sanctions against North Korea.

  • Indonesia imposes travel ban on Trump’s business partner

    Indonesia imposes travel ban on Trump’s business partner

    Indonesian authorities have imposed a travel ban on tycoon and politician Hary Tanoesoedibjo, who is building resorts to be managed by Trump hotels, over an investigation into allegations he threatened a prosecutor via a text message.

    A spokesman at the immigration directorate said on Wednesday that Tanoesoedibjo has been given a 20-day overseas travel ban starting on June 22 based on a request by Indonesian police’s criminal investigation unit Agung Sampurno.

    The Indonesian billionaire “is under investigation related to a violation of the information and electronic transactions law,” Sampurno said.

    Tanoesoedibjo, whose MNC Group controls businesses ranging from media to property, has been named a suspect for allegedly sending a threatening message to a prosecutor investigating a case involving Mobile 8, a telecommunications company previously owned by MNC Group.

    Tanoesoedibjo’s lawyer could not be reached on Wednesday but in an earlier statement dismissed the allegations.
    “The content of Hary Tanoesoedibjo’s SMS is general and idealistic and does not threaten anyone,” his lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea said.

    Part of Tanoesoedibjo’s text message read: “If I am the leader of this country, then that’s where Indonesia will be changed and cleared of things that are not as they should be,” according to the statement from the lawyer.

    Tanoesoedijo has also denied the allegations in media reports. Breaching the law can carry a maximum jail term of four years and a maximum fine of 750 million rupiah (56,000 dolars)

    The tycoon, who in the 2014 election ran as a candidate for vice president, founded his own a political party in 2015 and said in January he would decide before the end of 2018 whether to run in the 2019 presidential election.

    He described U.S. President Donald Trump’s victory as inspiring for candidates with little political experience and attended Trump’s innauguration in Washington in January.

    His company is currently building two luxury resorts in the island of Bali and in West Java, which would be managed by Trump Hotel Collection.

    In an interview with Reuters ahead of Trump’s inauguration, Tanoesoedibjo dismissed concerns by ethics officials that Trump’s overseas business deals might be vulnerable to conflicts of interest.

    Tanoesoedibjo also said in February that while his relationship with the U.S. president has been focused on business he could help ties between the nations “if needed”.

    Several leaders in Muslim-majority Indonesia have expressed concerns over Trump’s tough immigration stance.

  • CNN, New York Times, NBC, others fake News – Trump

    CNN, New York Times, NBC, others fake News – Trump

    The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump on Tuesday took to the social media during a Twitter spat with CNN to lambast popular media houses in the country of publishing fake News.

    Trump attacked the CNN first for its recently retracted story about a congressional Russia investigation, which led to three editorial resignations.

    The President said: “Fake News CNN is looking at big management changes now that they got caught falsely pushing their phony Russian stories. Ratings way down!” Trump tweeted, following a series of retweets for “Fox & Friends” on the rival Fox News network.

     

    In its reply, the CNN Communications account tweeted to Trump “CNN just posted it’s most-watched second quarter in history. Those are the facts”.

    The latest squabble is centred on a CNN story from last week that said the Senate Intelligence Committee was investigating Trump campaign adviser Anthony Scaramucci for allegedly meeting with a Russian investor days before Trump’s inauguration.No fan of CNN.

    CNN published the story, which was attributed to one anonymous source, on Thursday and took it down a day later, saying it did not meet editorial standards. Reporter Thomas Frank, editor Eric Lichtblau and investigative head Lex Haris resigned.

    President Donald Trump also accused the BBC, New York Times, NBC, CBS and ABC of being fake news media houses.

    The latest dispute is centred on a CNN story from last week that said the Senate Intelligence Committee was investigating Trump campaign adviser Anthony Scaramucci for allegedly meeting with a Russian investor days before Trump’s inauguration.