by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Tokyo : Visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday said North Korea had reaffirmed its commitment to denuclearization during his recent trip to Pyongyang.
At a joint press conference here with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, Taro Koko and Kang Kyung-wha, Pompeo described his talks in North Korea as “very productive” and these were in “good-faith”, adding that Pyongyang had agreed to the destruction of a missile facility, reports Efe news.
He also said the sanctions against the regime would remain in place until it has completely dismantled its nuclear weapons program.
“While we are encouraged by the progress of these talks, progress alone does not justify relaxing the sanctions regime,” Pompeo said, adding that the road ahead would be difficult and challenging.
Pompeo downplayed criticism by the North Korean foreign minister Gen. Kim Yong-chol, who on Saturday called Washington’s attitude during the negotiations “regrettable” and “gangster-like” and the outcome of the talks “very concerning” in a statement issued hours after the top American diplomat’s departure.
He said Pyongyang understood that the regime’s denuclearization must be complete and verified.
Kim is considered an important figure of North Korean intelligence and was a key player in paving the way for the historic summit in Singapore between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.
Pompeo also reiterated the US’ commitment to defending its allies, including South Korea and Japan, and said that Sunday’s trilateral meeting, the third in less than a month, served to strengthen cooperation to ensure the implementation of the agreements signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump at a summit in Singapore last month.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Emerging Businesses, Medium Enterprise, World
By Gaurav Sharma,
Beijing : A trade war between China and the US – the world’s largest economies – began on Friday as the two sides started slapping additional tariffs on each other’s goods, worth nearly $70 billion, a development that could impede global economic recovery.
As planned, Washington began taxing 818 Chinese goods worth $34 billion early on Friday to punish Beijing for allegedly playing underhand in trade practices and pressuring US companies to hand over their technologies for doing business in China.
Beijing, which denies these charges, was swift in responding in kind after the first tranche of planned US levies on Chinese goods announced by President Donald Trump kicked in on Friday.
“After the US imposed its tariffs, China also took effective measures,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang.
Even though neither Lu nor the Chinese Commerce ministry gave details about the scales of tariffs, Beijing has plans to slap punishing levies 545 US products worth $34 billion a year that range from soybeans and lobsters to sport utility vehicles and whiskey.
The duties slapped by the US will make Chinese cough an additional 25 percent on products such as industrial machinery, medical devices and auto parts.
Reacting to the tariffs, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said: “The US has ignited the largest trade war in economic history.
“The Chinese side, having vowed not to fire the first shot, is forced to stage counter-attacks to protect the core national interests and interests of its people.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the US had blatantly violated the WTO rules.
“It will surely impact the global trade order, trigger global market fluctuation and impede economic recovery.” spokesperson Lu Kang said.
“More multinational companies, SMEs and ordinary consumers will be impaired and many industries in the US have realised that it is them that will bear the consequences.”
On Thursday, Trump showed no signs of backing down from his fight and suggested the possibility of tariffs on almost $500 billion more of Chinese goods.
“Thirty-four, and then you have another 16 in two weeks and then, as you know, we have 200 billion in abeyance and then after the 200 billion, we have 300 billion in abeyance. OK?” Trump told reporters aboard the Air Force One.
“So we have 50 plus 200 plus almost 300.”
Following Friday’s development, the Shanghai Composite index fell 1.1 percent, after reaching more than a two-year low this week, reports the Guardian.
Trump and his advisers argue the tariffs are necessary to pressure China into abandoning unfair practices such as stealing intellectual property and forcing American companies to hand over valuable technology, reports CNN.
In addition to the tariffs, the White House is placing restrictions on investment and on visas for Chinese nationals.
The clash with China comes as the Trump administration is also fighting over trade with American allies such as Canada and the European Union.
American tariffs on steel and aluminum imports have provoked retaliatory measures against billions of dollars of American exports.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Washington : The US resettled 33,000 refugees in 2017, a roughly two-thirds drop from the figure of the previous year, which stood at 97,000, according to data from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees published in a report by US-based Pew Research Centre.
The decline in refugee resettlement in the US coincided with the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House in January 2017, Efe news reported on Friday citing the think thank.
This marks the first time that the US has received fewer refugees than the rest of the world combined since it adopted the Refugee Act in 1980. The country has taken 3 million of the 4 million refugees worldwide since 1980.
In 2016, during the tenure of former President Barack Obama, refugee resettlement in the US stood at 97,000 while that of other countries stood at 92,000.
The US continues to lead in refugee resettlement (33,000), followed by Canada (27,000), Australia (15,000), the UK (6,000) and Germany, Sweden, France and Norway (3,000 each).
Refugees represent nearly 30 per cent of the world’s displaced population. In 2017, about 56 per cent came from the Middle East and North Africa, especially Syria, while 23 per cent arrived from sub-Saharan countries and another 15 per cent from Asia.
Trump has lowered the refugee quota for the 2018 fiscal year to 45,000 from the 110,000 set by Obama for 2017. With three months left in the current 2018 fiscal year, the US has welcomed 16,000 refugees.
Trump criticized the refugee policy during his presidential campaign, saying that terrorists could come to the US in the guise of refugees.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Hassan Rouhani
Vienna : Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who’s on a visit here on Wednesday, said that no one will get benefits from US withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
“Not the US, not any other country would benefit from this decision to withdraw from the accord,” he said.
He told a press conference that Tehran would prefer to stay in the deal and continue to cooperate and meet its obligations, if the remaining signatories respect its interests, Xinhua reported.
Rouhani was in Vienna on Wednesday on his second leg of his European tour, which also brought him to Switzerland.
As the United States is reinstating sanctions on Iran, Rouhani is trying to seek supports from EU countries to secure Tehran’s interests under the nuclear deal.
Iran signed the landmark nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) with the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany in 2015 to halt its nuclear weapons program in exchange for sanctions relief.
However, US President Donald Trump decided on May 8 to quit the deal and vowed to re-impose sanctions, including oil embargo, on Tehran, on grounds that the deal had failed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons or supporting terrorism in the region.
The US withdrawal from the landmark nuclear deal has been widely criticized, as some of its major European allies have been working to prevent the 2015 deal from falling apart.
Rouhani also discussed other issues in the Middle East region with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Washington : US President Donald Trump’s administration has rescinded seven Obama-era policy guidelines that called on universities to consider race as a factor in diversifying their campuses.
In a joint letter, the Education and Justice Departments said on Tuesday that the guidelines “advocate policy preferences and positions beyond the requirements of the Constitution”, reports The New York Times.
“The executive branch cannot circumvent Congress or the courts by creating guidance that goes beyond the law and, in some instances, stays on the books for decades,” said Devin M. O’Malley, a Justice Department spokesman.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos wrote in a separate statement: “The Supreme Court has determined what affirmative action policies are constitutional, and the court’s written decisions are the best guide for navigating this complex issue.
“Schools should continue to offer equal opportunities for all students while abiding by the law.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the guidelines, published by former President Barack Obama’s administration between 2009 and 2016, were “unnecessary, outdated, inconsistent with existing law, or otherwise improper”, reports Efe news.
He said his decision was based on an executive order that Trump signed in February 2017 and which required the creation of committees within government agencies to identify, revoke or modify regulations they considered unnecessary.
The Supreme Court ruled in favour of affirmative action in 2016, but it has been a controversial issue in the United States for decades.
The Trump administration’s move comes a few months before a court is expected to rule in October on a highly anticipated case which is pitting the Harvard University against Asian-American students.
The students have accused Harvard of systematically excluded some Asian-American applicants to maintain slots for students of other races.
Democrats and civil rights organisations denounced the administration’s decisions.
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader, said the “rollback of vital affirmative action guidance offends our nation’s values” and called it “yet another clear Trump administration attack on communities of colour”.
—IANS
