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Tag: Trump

  • OPEC ripping off consumers, says Trump

    US President Donald Trump has criticised the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its members for taking undue advantage of oil consuming nations by keeping oil prices high.

    Trump, who spoke at the United Nations General Assembly in New York yesterday, lashed out at OPEC and its allies for keeping oil price high, saying that high oil prices negatively affect the economies of the world. He urged oil consuming nations not to rely on OPEC, stressing the importance of energy independence.

    He said: “OPEC and OPEC nations are as usual, ripping off the rest of the world, and I don’t like it, nobody should like it. We defend many of these nations for nothing and then they take advantage of us by giving us high oil prices,” stressing, “it ‘s  not good.” He called on other nations not to rely on OPEC, lamenting the dependence Germany has on Russia.

    The U.S. President spoke against the backdrop of rising oil price, which rose Monday to a four year-high at $81 per barrel and to $82 per barrel yesterday.

    Oil prices jumped more than two per cent to a four-year high on Monday after Saudi Arabia and Russia ruled out any immediate increase in production. The refusal of OPEC to raise production negates the call by Trump for action to raise global supply.

    Benchmark crude, Brent hit its highest since November 2014 at $80.94  per barrel, up $2.14  or 2.7 per cent, before easing to around $80.75 dollars. U.S. light was $1.25 higher at $72.03.

    “This is the oil market’s response to the OPEC and allies’ refusal to step up its oil production,” said Carsten Fritsch, commodities analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

    OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and its biggest oil-producer ally, Russia, on Sunday rebuffed a demand from Trump for moves to cool the market.

    Iranian Minister of Petroleum has welcomed OPECs decision effectively rebuffing President Donald Trump’s calls for a hike in oil output, saying US empty dream to zero Irans oil exports would not realize. ‘The US seeks to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero even for a month, but that dream would not come to reality,’ Bijan Zangeneh said on Monday.

    Crude oil prices touched new four-year highs yesterday as Brent crude – the international benchmark for crude oil – touched $82.20 a barrel.  That marked a level beyond the last peak witnessed in November 2014. Expectation of a tightening supply in the global oil market in the coming months has pushed crude oil prices higher, say analysts. The impending sanctions by the United States on Iran, the third-largest producer among OPEC, which will go into effect November 4, the rising domestic petrol and diesel prices, which touched new record highs in the backdrop of continued weakness in the rupee against the US dollar, and the high crude oil prices that tend to widen the current account deficit for India, which meets more than 80 per cent of its oil requirement through imports, contribute to high oil prices.

    The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts strong oil demand growth of 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) this year and 1.5 million bpd in 2019, and said in its most recent report that the market was tightening.

    OPEC and non-OPEC including Russia, Oman and Kazakhstan, met at the weekend to discuss a possible increase in crude output. However, the upshot of the gathering was that the group was in no rush to do so.

    “After the weekend’s meeting, the voices of those who foresee 100 dollars a barrel and compare the current backdrop to the 2007/2008 bull run are getting louder,” said PVM Oil Associates strategist Tamas Varga.

    “Undoubtedly the oil market is expected to be tight in coming months and, if OPEC’s own numbers are to be believed, global oil inventories are to fall during the remainder of the year.”

    Richard Robinson, manager of the Ashburton Global Energy Fund, said higher prices are almost certainly on the cards. “We believe the combination of tight supply, healthy demand, falling global inventories – down from already under-stored levels – and anemic spare capacity helps support an oil price that could end the year above 90 dollars,” he said.

    Analysts expect crude oil prices to stay under pressure on the back of a deadlock on supply between the top producers and the world’s largest economy.

    Release of US crude data will be watched closely by oil investors going forward. “Given the current oil market scenario, we believe prices of crude oil are to rise around $78/bbl -$80/bbl unless the number of rigs deployed by the by the United States are increased,” said credit ratings agency CARE Ratings.

  • Trump rejects meeting with Iran’s Rouhani at UN gathering

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would not meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as world leaders gathered in New York but signalled he was open to a future meeting.

    Trump made the statement in spite of simmering tensions over Tehran’s nuclear deal.

    Both countries’ presidents were due to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York. Trump is scheduled to address the gathering later.

    Foes for decades, Washington and Tehran have been increasingly at odds since May, when the Republican U.S. president pulled out of the 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran and announced sanctions against the OPEC member.

    The accord, negotiated under Democratic U.S. President Barack Obama, lifted most international sanctions against Tehran in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear programme.

    Over the summer, Trump had said he would meet with Rouhani without preconditions to negotiate a new deal, an offer reiterated on Sunday by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and extended to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.

    Read Also: Donald Trump is not our problem

    Rouhani said on Monday Tehran would not talk to Trump until the U.S. returned to the 2015 deal.

    The top adviser to Khamenei, Ali Akbar Velayati, rejected the U.S. offer, saying Trump’s and Pompeo’s dream would never come to reality.

    “Despite requests, I have no plans to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

    “Maybe someday in the future. I am sure he is an absolutely lovely man,” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.

    Alireza Miryousefi, Spokesman for Iran’s UN mission, told newsmen that Iran has not requested a meeting with Trump.

    Some Iranian insiders have said any talk between Rouhani and Trump would effectively kill the existing nuclear accord.

    Tensions have been rising after a deadly attack on a military parade in southwestern Iran in which 25 people were killed.

    Khamenei said on Monday the attackers had been paid by U.S. ally Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and that Iran would “severely punish” those behind the bloodshed.

  • Trump blames China for hacking Clinton emails

    U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter early on Wednesday China hacked the emails of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton but did not offer any evidence or further information.

    “Hillary Clinton’s Emails, many of which are Classified Information, got hacked by China. Next move better be by the FBI & DOJ or, after all of their other missteps (Comey, McCabe, Strzok, Page, Ohr, FISA, Dirty Dossier etc.), their credibility will be forever gone!” he tweeted a little after midnight on Wednesday.

    Trump said in an earlier tweet on Tuesday night: “China hacked Hillary Clinton’s private Email Server. Are they sure it wasn’t Russia (just kidding!)? What are the odds that the FBI and DOJ are right on top of this? Actually, a very big story. Much classified information!”

    Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said such accusations were nothing new.

    “This isn’t the first time we’ve heard similar kinds of allegations,” Hua told a daily news briefing.

    “China is a staunch defender of cybersecurity. We firmly oppose and crack down on any forms of internet attacks and the stealing of secrets,” she added, without specifically mentioning Trump or Clinton in her answer.

    U.S. intelligence officials have said Russia orchestrated the hacking of Democratic officials to meddle with the 2016 presidential election.

    A U.S. federal grand jury indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers in July on charges of hacking the computer networks of Clinton and the Democratic Party.

    Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russia’s role in the 2016 election and whether the campaign of Republican candidate Trump colluded with Moscow.

    Russia denies meddling in the elections, while Trump has denied any collusion.

    Trump said in April 2017 China may have hacked the emails of Democratic officials to meddle with the 2016 presidential election.

    He also did not provide any evidence backing his allegation at that time.

    China has repeatedly denied any accusations of involvement in overseas hacking attacks.

    China and the U.S., whose ties are often fraught, are also currently in the midst of an increasingly bitter trade war.

  • Trump under attack for Buhari ‘lifeless comment’

    Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday rose in his defence following a report quoting sources close to United States President Donald Trump as describing his meeting with Buhari as “lifeless.”

    But opponents of the President took advantage of the report to castigate him.

    Trump hosted President Buhari, the first sub-Saharan African leader at the White House, on April 30. The two leaders discussed security and the economy, after which the U.S. President hailed President Buhari.

    He said: “Nigeria has a reputation for very massive corruption. I also know that the President has been able to cut that down very substantially.”

    Trump added: “We talked about that, he is working on it and they have made a lot of progress and I think they will continue to make a lot of progress.”

    In one of the photographs of the meeting released by the White House, Trump was seen standing behind Buhari, laughing as the Nigerian leader was signing a document.

    But an article titled: ‘Africa looks for something new out of Trump,’ in Financial Times yesterday said: “The first meeting with Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari ended with the U.S. president telling aides he never wanted to meet someone so lifeless again. The report quoted “three people familiar with the matter,” as saying so.

    Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption (PACAC), Prof Itse Sagay(SAN) and spokesperson of the President Buhari’s Campaign Organisation, Mr Festus Keyamo (SAN) dismissed as fake news the slur remark credited to Trump. Prof Sagay said he did not believe Trump could have made the “irresponsible comment”. He alerted Nigerians to be wary of fake news being peddled on the social media.

    He said: “How could the U.S. President say Buhari as lifeless? I don’t believe President Trump made such irresponsible comment. If the source of the comment in question is social media, I won’t waste time on it. It is all lies; it is fake news. I hardly react to fake news being peddled on social media. I don’t believe any right-thinking person would see President Buhari and say he is lifeless. Only a mad man would have made such comment being ascribed to the U.S. President.”

    Keyamo said Buhari won’t react to social media conjecture, pointing out the comment could not be traced to the official information sources of the U.S. government.

    Keyamo said: “There is nothing to say about the uncharitable comment being credited to President Trump. For now, the alleged comment did not come from the official information sources of the United States (U.S.) government or its embassy in Nigeria. We regard it as fake news. In my capacity as the spokesperson of President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign organisation, I cannot react to unconfirmed statement. We react only to verifiable statements, not fake news.”

    But the White House has not confirmed that the President made the statement.

    The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) said President Buhari would not be distracted by the alleged derogatory remarks but will remain focused on his mandate to deliver on his promises to the Nigerian people.

    Describing the comment as disrespectful, Chairman of the group, Mr. Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Maduekwe, said in a statement that whether it was indeed said or in fact unsaid, Buhari would in his character continue to remain focused on his mandate to deliver on his promises to the Nigerian people.

    The group said: “President Muhammadu Buhari is fit and capable to run for the 2019 elections and oversee the affairs of the country for four more years President Donald Trump’s hate speech notwithstanding.

    “We are aware that President Trump’s disrespect for World leaders is not new; his comments on Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, calling him ‘meek and mild’; his reference to Germany’s Leader, Angela Merkel’s actions as ‘insane’, or his outlandish Tweet at the UK’s Theresa May, and more recently, the alleged remarks he made after meeting President Buhari.

    “It is indeed not the first time President Trump would be heard to lower the standards of respect for his colleagues on the world stage. We are not surprised; we know that this age-long character of the U.S. President would not change anytime soon.

    “But it is important that we put it on record that President Buhari remains fit and sprightly, even for the next decade.

    “We recall that during President Buhari’s visit to Trump in the White House, the U.S. President commended the successes that the Buhari administration had recorded especially in the fight against insurgency and the war on corruption.

    “The U.S. President was full of admiration for Nigeria’s President during the visit, thus such outlandish remarks as reported by the Financial Times are not just to be taken with a pinch of salt but are untrue in themselves.

    “President Buhari has continued to show fitness and capacity to run the country post-2019; it went further to highlight that through the President’s 800 metre walk, where he acknowledged the cheers of members of his constituency, was not intended at showboating, it was an unscripted reference point that further proves a fit and lively President.”

    Shortly before the meeting with Buhari, Trump came under fire for allegedly referring to some African countries as ‘shithole’ at a private White House meeting on January 12. But he denied making the comment and labelled his accusers as fake news peddlers.

    Last week, South Africa accused him of fuelling racial tension in the country after he tweeted that there was a “large-scale killing of white farmers” in the country.

    His tweet came after a Fox News show about South Africa’s plan to change the constitution to speed up the process of taking lands from current owners without compensation to redress racial imbalances in land ownership.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) desctribed theTrump comment as an “embarrassment,” in a statement by its spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan.

    The Conference of United Political Parties (CUPP) also expressed indignation at the comment.

  • 2019: Trump’s remarks can’t stop Buhari – BMO

    The Buhari Media Organisation ( BMO ) has said that President Muhammadu Buhari will not be distracted by the derogatory remarks credited to President Donald Trump of the United States of America, but will remain focused on his mandate to deliver on his promises to the Nigerian people.

    The group was reacting to a report by the Financial Times that the American President told his aides after a meeting with the Nigerian Leader in April that he never wanted to hold such a life less meeting again.

    While describing the comment as disrespectful, Chairman of the group, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Maduekwe  said in a statement whether it was indeed said or in fact unsaid, Buhari would in his character continue to remain focused on his mandate to deliver on his promises to the Nigerian people.

    The group said that “President Muhammadu Buhari is fit and capable to run for the 2019 elections and oversee the affairs of the country for four more years President Donald Trump’s hate speech notwithstanding.”

    They stressed that this was not the first time the US President was heard to make such derogatory remarks about World leaders, and thus President Buhari would not be distracted by such.

    They said: “We are aware that President Trump’s disrespect for World Leaders is not new; his comments on Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, calling him ‘meek and mild’; his reference to Germany’s Leader, Angela Merkel’s actions as ‘insane’, or his outlandish Tweet at the UK’s Theresa May, and more recently, the alleged remarks he made after meeting President Buhari.

    “It is indeed not the first time President Trump would be heard to lower the standards of respect for his colleagues on the world stage. We are not surprised, we know that this age-long character of the US President would not change anytime soon. But it is important that we put it on record that President Buhari remains fit and sprightly, even for the next decade.

    Read Also: BMO replies r-APC, counts Buhari’s achievements

    “We recall that during President Buhari’s visit to Trump in the White House, the US President commended the successes that the Buhari administration had recorded especially in the fight against insurgency and the war on corruption.

    “The US President was full of admiration for Nigeria’s President during the visit, thus such outlandish remarks as reported by the Financial Times are not just to be taken with a pinch of salt but are untrue in themselves.

    “President Buhari has continued to show fitness and capacity to run the country post-2019; it went further to highlight that though the President’s 800 metre walk, where he acknowledged the cheers of members of his constituency, was not intended at showboating, it was an unscripted reference point that further proves a fit and lively President.”

  • Trump, Obama, Clinton, Bush, Carter, others mourn Sen. McCain

    U.S. President Donald Trump and his predecessors, former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter, have paid tributes in memory of Sen. John McCain who died on Saturday.

    McCain, 81, a Republican Senator representing Arizona at the congress since 1982, died after failing to battle brain cancer .

    Eulogies  from liberal and conservative figures alike, have been pouring in.

    The family announced in a statement: “Senator John Sidney McCain III died at 4:28 p.m. on August 25, 2018. With the Senator when he passed were his wife Cindy and their family. At his death, he had served the United States of America faithfully for sixty years”.

    Trump, in a tweet on Saturday evening said: “My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!”

    The late Arizona Republican, had organised his funeral, and close associates had told the White House in May that he did not want Trump to be invited.

    Instead, Vice President Mike Pence, who served with McCain in Congress, would be asked to attend the service, at the ceremony that would be held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

    Pence, in a tweet on McCain’s death, said: “Karen and I send our deepest condolences to Cindy and the entire McCain family on the passing of Senator John McCain. We honour his lifetime of service to this nation in our military and in public life. …”

    Speaker Paul Ryan also in a tweet said: “John McCain was a giant of our time – not just for the things he achieved, but for who he was and what he fought for all his life. He will always be listed among freedom’s most gallant and faithful servants”.

    Obama, who ran against and defeated McCain in the 2008 presidential election, said in a statement that all Americans were in debt of the late senator.

    “John McCain and I were members of different generations, came from completely different backgrounds, and competed at the highest level of politics.

    “But we shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher – the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched, and sacrificed.

    “We saw our political battles, even, as a privilege, something noble, an opportunity to serve as stewards of those high ideals at home, and to advance them around the world. …,” Obama said.

    Former President George W. Bush, who was also a political opponent of McCain during the 2000 Republican Party primary election, lauded his career serving the U.S., first in the military and war, and second in the U.S. Congress.

    Bush said: “Some lives are so vivid, it is difficult to imagine them ended. Some voices are so vibrant, it is hard to think of them stilled.

    “John McCain was a man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order. He was a public servant in the finest traditions of our country. And to me, he was a friend whom I’ll deeply miss….”

    Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, said in a statement: “Senator John McCain believed that every citizen has a responsibility to make something of the freedoms given by our Constitution, and from his heroic service in the Navy to his 35 years in Congress, he lived by his creed every day.

    “He was a skilled, tough politician, as well as a trusted colleague alongside whom Hillary was honoured to serve in the Senate. He frequently put partisanship aside to do what he thought was best for the country, and was never afraid to break the mould if it was the right thing to do.

    “I will always be especially grateful for his leadership in our successful efforts to normalise relations with Vietnam. …”

    Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said: “John McCain was a man of honour, a true patriot in the best sense of the word. Americans will be forever grateful for his heroic military service and for his steadfast integrity as a member of the United States Senate….”

    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “Senator John McCain was an American patriot and hero whose sacrifices for his country, and lifetime of public service, were an inspiration to millions. Canadians join Americans tonight in celebrating his life and mourning his passing”.

    Former Vice President Al Gore described “McCain was an American hero and a true patriot. I always admired and respected John from the opposite side of the aisle, because he thrived under pressure, and would work to find common ground, no matter how hard”.

    Sarah Palin, McCain’s running mate in 2008, said: “Today we lost an American original. Sen. John McCain was a maverick and a fighter, never afraid to stand for his beliefs.

    “John never took the easy path in life – and through sacrifice and suffering he inspired others to serve something greater than self”.

    Sen. Lindsey Graham, a very close friend of McCain at the senate, said: “America and Freedom have lost one of her greatest champions. ….And I’ve lost one of my dearest friends and mentor”.

    Nancy Pelosi, the Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives also mourned McCain: “He was a patriotic, courageous hero who served his country above all. You will be missed, Senator McCain. May you Rest In Peace”.

    Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted: “As you go through life, you meet few truly great people. John McCain was one of them. His dedication to his country and the military were unsurpassed, and maybe most of all, he was a truth teller – never afraid to speak truth to power in an era where that has become all too rare”.

    McCain decided to stop treatment for the brain cancer he had been battling for over a year, his family announced on Friday, precipitating a rare moment of bipartisan empathy for the Vietnam war hero. (NAN)

  • Trump cancels military parade over price tag

    US President Donald Trump yesterday announced his cancellation of a military parade in Washington, DC after finding out the high cost.

    “The local politicians who run Washington, DC (poorly) know a windfall when they see it,”Trump said in a statement a day after  the Pentagon announced that it would postpone the event for at least a year due to the price tag.

    ”When asked to give us a price for holding a great celebratory military parade, they wanted a number so ridiculously high that I cancelled it. Never let someone hold you up!” Trump said on his  Twitter handle.

    The US President added that “maybe” the event would be held next year and stated that now the country can “buy some more jet fighters.”

  • FBI agent sacked over anti-Trump texts

    A veteran FBI agent who exchanged anti-Trump text messages with a colleague during the election has been sacked, his lawyer has said.

    Peter Strzok has been accused by Republicans of being biased against President Donald Trump, and seeking to prevent his election victory.

    Mr. Trump has pointed to the text exchanges as evidence of bias in the special counsel’s Russia probe, the BBC reports.

    Mr. Strzok served on the Russia probe and the Hillary Clinton email inquiry.

    Mr. Strzok’s lawyer, Aitan Goelman, said in a statement that FBI Deputy Director, David Bowdich, ordered the firing on Friday.

     

  • China defends Iran business ties after Trump threat

    China’s business ties with Iran are open, transparent and lawful, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said companies doing business with Iran would be barred from the U.S.

    New U.S. sanctions on Iran have taken effect in spite pleas from Washington’s allies.

    Iran dismissed a last-minute offer from the Trump administration for talks, saying it could not negotiate while Washington had reneged on a 2015 deal to lift sanctions in return for curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme.

    Trump decided this year to pull out of the agreement, ignoring pleas from the other world powers that had co-sponsored the deal, including Washington’s main European allies, Britain, France and Germany, as well as Russia and China.

    Beijing has cultivated close commercial links with Tehran, especially in the energy sector.

    “China has consistently opposed unilateral sanctions and long-armed jurisdiction,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a faxed statement responding to the new U.S. sanctions and Trump’s threats on firms doing business with Iran.

    “China’s commercial cooperation with Iran is open and transparent, reasonable, fair and lawful, not violating any UN Security Council resolutions,” it added.
    “China’s lawful rights should be protected.”

    China, Iran’s top oil customer, buys roughly 650,000 barrels a day of crude oil from Tehran, or seven per cent of China’s total crude oil imports.

    At current market rates, the imports are worth some 15 billion dollars a year.
    State energy firms CNPC and Sinopec have invested billions of dollars in key Iranian oil fields such as Yadavaran and North Azadegan and have been sending oil to China.

    European countries, hoping to persuade Tehran to continue to respect the nuclear deal, have promised to try to lessen the blow of sanctions and to urge their firms not to pull out.

    But that has proven difficult, and European companies have quit Iran, arguing that they cannot risk their U.S. business.
    Few American companies do much business in Iran so the impact of sanctions mainly stems from Washington’s ability to block European and Asian firms from trading there.

    Among large European companies that have suspended plans to invest in Iran are France’s oil major Total and its big car makers, PSA and Renault.

    NAN

  • Trump truncates MTN’s $750m fibre plan

    MTN Group Ltd.’s $750 million plan to extend fiber-home broadband connections to Iranian cities has been put on hold because of looming economic sanctions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

    A plan devised a year ago for Africa’s largest wireless carrier to buy a stake and extend loans to state-owned broadband provider Iranian Net has made little progress, said people who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The Iranian government hasn’t been able to contribute funding as it battles to shore up the economy and arrest a currency slump, Bloomberg quoted the people as saying.

    MTN will update shareholders on Iran as part of a first-half results announcement scheduled for Aug. 8, according to a spokesman. The Johannesburg-based company had 43 million customers in the country at the end of 2017, its second-biggest market after Nigeria. Iranian Net was founded in 2011 to provide high-speed broadband, but has missed several deadlines due to a lack of capital, according to the people.

    MTN shares erased gains and were little changed at 114.21 rand as of 3:51 p.m. in Johannesburg, valuing the telco at 215 billion rand.

    Trump’s decision to withdraw from an international nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose an embargo on energy and financial sectors is proving a headache for MTN and other international companies.

    Under previous sanctions lifted following a 2015 deal, the wireless carrier had about $1 billion stuck in the country, which it only managed to repatriate last year.

    Under new Chief Executive Officer Rob Shuter, MTN promised to exit or sell markets that it sees as more trouble than they’re worth, and disposed of its tiny Cyprus business earlier this month. However, Iran’s size makes it likely the South African company will look to see out the current impasse, given the importance placed by MTN on its three biggest markets, which also include South Africa.

    A money manager at Cratos Capital, Ron Klipin, said: “MTN conducts business in some jurisdictions where socio-political-economic conditions are very volatile and difficult to predict.”

     

    Iran, Nigeria, Yemen remain difficult areas of operation, which could impact on MTN’s financial results due to major currency volatility and lack of liquidity.”