by admin | May 25, 2021 | Events, Social Round-up, World
Washington : US officials have been instructed to move forward with plans to convene a historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, the media.
The decision is ultimately up to Trump, who said on Wednesday he would announce the time and location in three days, reports CNN.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump on Wednesday ruled out the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that divides North and South Korea as a potential location for the talks with Kim.
Singapore and the DMZ are the only two places Trump has floated in public as potential venues for the meeting.
The Southeast Asian city-state has been the preferred location among US officials, who saw its neutrality as an advantage over locations closer to Pyongyang.
Speaking during a briefing on Wednesday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders affirmed that a date and site had been determined.
“I can tell you that a date and location are set but beyond that, I don’t have any other announcements at this point,” Sanders said.
“But we expect that to be announced here in the next few days.”
The meeting would be the first ever between a sitting US President and a North Korean leader, reports CNN.
Singapore has long been seen as a gateway between Asia and the West, and today remains a close ally to Washington and also hosts a US military presence.
It is also one of just 47 countries to host a North Korean embassy.
Even as Trump on Wednesday sought to heighten expectations for his summit, he acknowledged that the plans could fall apart.
“Everything can be scuttled. Everything can be scuttled,” he said.
“A lot of good things can happen, a lot of bad things can happen. I believe that we have… Both sides want to negotiate a deal. I think it’s going to be a very successful deal.”
But, he repeated, “lots of things can happen. And, of course, you’ll be the first to know about it if it fails”.
He added that on Thursday morning, he will travel to an airbase outside Washington D.C., along with Vice President Mike Pence to welcome the three US citizens – all with Korean heritage – recently released from prison by North Korea as a goodwill gesture.
The three Americans — Kim Dong-chul, 64, Kim Sang-duk, 58, and Kim Hak-song, around 60 — who had been held prisoners in North Korea, were all born in South Korea but later acquired US citizenship.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Washington : US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he will withdraw his country from the Iran nuclear deal, a decision that immediately drew global frustration and outcry.
The pullout of the US from the deal, which eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for the country limiting its nuclear program, risks sparking an arms race in the Middle East, experts said, Xinhua news agency reported.
In a televised speech from the White House, Trump announced the exit. He said that he will not sign the waiver of nuke-related sanctions against Iran, but re-impose sanctions lifted under the accord against Tehran and nations it has business links with.
Trump repeated his rhetoric against Iran and the deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying it had failed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons or supporting terrorism in the region.
The JCPOA “allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium” and “lifted crippling economic sanctions” on Iran in exchange for “very weak limits” on its nuclear activity, “and no limits at all” on its efforts to expand regional influences, he said.
“The deal’s sunset provisions are totally unacceptable,” He said. “If I allowed this deal to stand, there would soon be a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Everyone would want their weapons ready by the time Iran had theirs.”
The US will impose “the highest level” of economic sanctions on Tehran, he said. “Any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could also be strongly sanctioned by the United States.”
As for the possible exacerbation of trans-Atlantic division over his decision, Trump only said that “we are unified in our understanding of the threat, and in our conviction that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon.”
Trump’s decision came on the heels of visits to the US by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Macron even proposed a last-ditch side plan to appease Trump, but had failed to convince him.
The White House said later that Trump had “directed his administration to immediately begin the process of re-imposing sanctions related to the JCPOA,” and “the re-imposed sanctions will target critical sectors of Iran’s economy, such as its energy, petrochemical, and financial sectors.”
“Those doing business in Iran will be provided a period of time to allow them to wind down operations in or business involving Iran,” it added. “Those who fail to wind down such activities with Iran by the end of the period will risk severe consequences.”
US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin noted in an announcement that “sanctions will be reimposed subject to certain 90 day and 180 day wind-down periods”.
“At the conclusion of the wind-down periods, the applicable sanctions will come back into full effect. This includes actions under both our primary and secondary sanctions authorities,” he added.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US “will be working with our allies to find a real, comprehensive, and lasting solution to the Iranian threat.”
Trump’s decision to abandon the Iran deal signed between Iran and the six world powers of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US has sparked domestic and global concerns.
In a joint statement released by Macron’s office, French, German and British leaders regretted the US decision.
Macron, Merkel and Theresa May reiterated their “continued commitment” to the Iran nuclear deal, stressing that it “is of particular importance to our shared security.”
Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, under whose administration the deal was signed, said in a Facebook post that Trump’s announcement is “so misguided” and “a serious mistake.”
“The JCPOA is working,” Obama said, adding that “the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East” without the landmark deal.
Europe will abide by the JCPOA, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said, adding she was “particularly worried” about the possible repercussions of Trump’s decision.
For his part, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that his country will remain in the deal, adding he has asked the Iranian foreign minister to initiate negotiations with the European partners as well as China and Russia over the fate of the deal.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on April 27 that China expects the deal to remain intact and be treated seriously.
“China calls for all related parties to strengthen dialogue and coordination” over the deal, she said.
Experts from the Washington-based Arms Control Association also denounced the decision. Daryl G. Kimball, the group’s executive director, said Trump’s announcement “is an irresponsible act of foreign policy malpractice” and “a twofold abrogation of US commitments.”
“Through his reckless actions, Trump is precipitating a proliferation crisis rather than working with our allies to develop a long-term diplomatic strategy to build on the agreement in the years ahead,” Kimball said.
Brookings Institution senior fellow Darrell West told Xinhua that “the risk is his decision will spark an arms race in the Middle East.”
“Iran may restart its nuclear programme and that could propel Saudi Arabia to develop its own nuclear programme. The region is likely to become more volatile and chaotic as a result of the deal nullification,” he said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Nikki Haley
United Nations : The US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, has said that President Donald Trump’s “communication style” has made her uncomfortable and has proven to have complicated relationships in the diplomatic sphere.
“He has his communication style, but you are not hearing me defend that,” Haley was quoted as saying in a CBS interview.
Haley illustrated her disagreement with Trump citing a tweet of February when he accused Latin American countries of turning a blind eye on drug trafficking, Xinhua news agency reported.
“They’re laughing at us, so I’m not a believer in that, I want to stop the aid,” Trump said in the tweet, referring to the US aid to the region.
Haley later embarked on a trip to Honduras to reconcile and reassure local authorities on US foreign policy.
“If they get education and they get training, then we know that they’re going to be productive,” Haley said.
“If there is anything that he communicates in a way that I’m uncomfortable with, I pick up the phone and call him,” Haley said in the interview and added that Trump had been receptive of her opinion.
Trump has been known to make sensational claims and blunt assertions on social media, which he said helps him get his “unfiltered” message across but has created controversy and sometimes even rifts in the delicate world of diplomacy.
With his unconventional style, Trump has also created strains with American long time allies in Europe and Asia.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Washington : US President Donald Trump has declined to apologise for his campaign-era proposal to ban all Muslims from the America, saying “there’s nothing to apologise for”, the media reported.
“There’s no reason to apologize,” Trump said on Monday during a joint news conference alongside the Nigerian President when asked if he would apologise for his call during the 2016 presidential campaign for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the US.
“There’s nothing to apologize for. We have to have strong immigration laws to protect our country.”
Trump’s refusal to apologise for or rescind his calls during the 2016 campaign for banning all Muslims from entering the United States has been repeatedly cited during court cases concerning the travel ban he put in place last year, reports CNN.
Trump said he did not believe an apology would change the course of the legal case.
He continued to slam current US immigration laws during the conference on Monday.
“Our immigration laws in this country are a total disaster. They’re laughed at all over the world.”
He also derided the laws as “weak”, “pathetic” and “obsolete”.
“Just look at our southern border and look at our weak and obsolete immigration laws. And they are obsolete and they are weak and they are pathetic,” Trump said.
“And there’s no country in the world that has laws like we do and they’ve got to change and they’ve got to change now for the safety of our country.”
Trump’s comment came as he discussed loopholes in US immigration laws that he said can be exploited by terrorists and traffickers, CNN reported.
The Prseident said his administration is closely monitoring developments involving the caravan and has previously pledged to keep any migrants from entering the US illegally.
The latest iteration of Trump’s travel ban is now before the US Supreme Court, which last week heard oral arguments in the case.
During the arguments, several justices pressed the government on Trump’s campaign promise to ban Muslims from the US.
The US solicitor general, Noel Francisco, argued that campaign statements “should be out of bounds”.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Saeb Erekat
Ramallah : Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Secretary General Saeb Erekat on Sunday said the Palestinians will not take part in any peace deal presented by US President Donald Trump.
Trump isolated himself from the peace process by recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and by attempting to drop the issue of Palestinian refugees off the table, Xinhua news agency quoted Erekat as saying.
He made his statement hours ahead of the expected arrival of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Israel.
Erekat added that “the US cannot be a partner or a mediator in the peace process unless it changes its position of recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel because it is meaningless to have a Palestinian state without East Jerusalem as its capital”.
On reports that Trump might present his Middle East peace deal, which may include financial compensation for Palestinians, Erekat said “this is morally unacceptable and Palestine is neither sold nor bought with money”.
The deal might be presented after the inauguration of the US Embassy in Jerusalem in May.
The tension between the Palestinians and the US has been rising since October 2017 and intensified in December when Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the relocation of the US embassy to the city.
—IANS
