Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that Washington is stalling in its agreement to create a "safe zone" in northeast Syria, and repeated that Ankara was ready to act on its own if necessary to push back Kurdish fighters.

The NATO allies have agreed to establish what Ankara calls a safe zone along Turkey's southern border and clear the region of Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters. On Sunday, Turkish and US&nbsp;troops carried out their first joint military land patrol there.

Turkey, which labels the YPG a terrorist organization, wants the operations to expand rapidly as far as 20 miles (32 km) from its border to create a zone controlled by Turkish troops.

Cavusoglu said Turkey wanted to work with the United States but was growing impatient. "Yes, there are some joint patrols but other than that, the steps that have been taken or the steps that are said to be taken are cosmetic steps," he told reporters.

"We are seeing that the United States is entering a stalling process...and that it is trying get Turkey accustomed to this stalling process," he said in Ankara, adding Washington's approach has so far served the YPG more than Turkey.

The YPG has been a main US&nbsp;ally in the fight against Islamic State in Syria. US&nbsp;support for the fighters has infuriated Turkey and strained ties with Washington.

His comments came after President Tayyip Erdogan said at the weekend that Turkey rejected Washington's protection of the YPG and added that the NATO allies faced differences "at every step" in the safe zone talks.

Erdogan also said Turkey would act alone if the safe zone was not established by the end of September, a warning Cavusoglu repeated on Tuesday, 20 days before month's end.

New migrant wave

In northwestern Syria's Idlib, where Turkey has troops and where Ankara in 2017 agreed with Moscow and Tehran to reduce fighting, months of renewed conflict intensified in recent weeks and raised prospects of another wave of refugees to Turkey.

Erdogan has said Turkey aims to send 1 million of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees it hosts to the planned safe zone in northern Syria, and warned that Ankara would "open the gates" to Europe unless it received international support.

Speaking at a lunch with US&nbsp;Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Tuesday, Erdogan said it was not possible for Turkey to handle a new wave of migrants from Syria.

"Our expectation from the United States is to stand with us in our fight against terror and our efforts to establish safe zones where the refugees can return to," Erdogan said, adding Ankara "greatly valued" its cooperation with Washington in Syria.

"Sending 50,000 trucks of equipment and ammunition to the terrorists so far has really bothered us. Against who are these (weapons) used? Against Turkey. It is not possible for us to accept this as a strategic partner," he said.

Turkey and the United States have been at loggerheads over a host of issues in recent months, including Ankara's purchase of Russian defence systems would could spark US&nbsp;sanctions.

Turkey has so far relied heavily on Erdogan's personal ties with US&nbsp;President Donald Trump to resolve issues. Erdogan and Trump are due to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly later this month to discuss developments in Syria, trade and other bilateral issues.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that Washington is stalling in its agreement to create a "safe zone" in northeast Syria, and repeated that Ankara was ready to act on its own if necessary to push back Kurdish fighters.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that Washington is stalling in its agreement to create a "safe zone" in northeast Syria, and repeated that Ankara was ready to act on its own if necessary to push back Kurdish fighters. The NATO allies have agreed to establish what Ankara calls a safe zone along Turkey's southern border and clear the region of Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters. On Sunday, Turkish and US troops carried out their first joint military land patrol there. Turkey, which labels the YPG a terrorist organization, wants the operations to expand rapidly as far as 20 miles (32 km) from its border to create a zone controlled by Turkish troops. Cavusoglu said Turkey wanted to work with the United States but was growing impatient. "Yes, there are some joint patrols but other than that, the steps that have been taken or the steps that are said to be taken are cosmetic steps," he told reporters. "We are seeing that the United States is entering a stalling process...and that it is trying get Turkey accustomed to this stalling process," he said in Ankara, adding Washington's approach has so far served the YPG more than Turkey. The YPG has been a main US ally in the fight against Islamic State in Syria. US support for the fighters has infuriated Turkey and strained ties with Washington. His comments came after President Tayyip Erdogan said at the weekend that Turkey rejected Washington's protection of the YPG and added that the NATO allies faced differences "at every step" in the safe zone talks. Erdogan also said Turkey would act alone if the safe zone was not established by the end of September, a warning Cavusoglu repeated on Tuesday, 20 days before month's end. New migrant wave In northwestern Syria's Idlib, where Turkey has troops and where Ankara in 2017 agreed with Moscow and Tehran to reduce fighting, months of renewed conflict intensified in recent weeks and raised prospects of another wave of refugees to Turkey. Erdogan has said Turkey aims to send 1 million of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees it hosts to the planned safe zone in northern Syria, and warned that Ankara would "open the gates" to Europe unless it received international support. Speaking at a lunch with US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Tuesday, Erdogan said it was not possible for Turkey to handle a new wave of migrants from Syria. "Our expectation from the United States is to stand with us in our fight against terror and our efforts to establish safe zones where the refugees can return to," Erdogan said, adding Ankara "greatly valued" its cooperation with Washington in Syria. "Sending 50,000 trucks of equipment and ammunition to the terrorists so far has really bothered us. Against who are these (weapons) used? Against Turkey. It is not possible for us to accept this as a strategic partner," he said. Turkey and the United States have been at loggerheads over a host of issues in recent months, including Ankara's purchase of Russian defence systems would could spark US sanctions. Turkey has so far relied heavily on Erdogan's personal ties with US President Donald Trump to resolve issues. Erdogan and Trump are due to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly later this month to discuss developments in Syria, trade and other bilateral issues.

Turkey says US stalling on Syria 'safe zone', will act alone if needed

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump told <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/drones-hit-saudi-aramco-plants-disrupting-oil-flow-249716">Saudi Arabia</a>'s crown prince that Washington was ready to cooperate with the kingdom to protect its security, following drone attacks on <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/drone-attack-at-saudi-arabias-oil-refinery-massive-fire-broke-out-249565">Saudi oil plants</a> on Saturday, state news agency SPA reported.

Trump also told Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a call that assaults on Saudi oil facilities had a negative impact on the US&nbsp;and global economies, SPA said in an Arabic-language statement.

The White House said on Saturday that the United States was committed to keeping oil markets well-supplied in the wake of an attack on Saudi Arabian oil plants by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group.

"The United States strongly condemns today's attack on critical energy infrastructure," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. "Violent actions against civilian areas and infrastructure vital to the global economy only deepen conflict and mistrust."

Deere confirmed that US&nbsp;President Donald Trump had spoken earlier on Saturday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia's oil production and exports have been disrupted, said three sources familiar with the matter, after drone attacks on two <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/saudi-arabia-says-drones-attacked-oil-facilities-249652">Aramco plants on Saturday</a>, including the world's biggest oil processing facility.

One of the sources said the attacks have impacted 5 million barrels per day of oil production -- almost half the kingdom's current output. The source did not elaborate.

Saudi Aramco operates the world's largest oil processing facility and crude oil stabilisation plant in the world at Abqaiq, in eastern Saudi Arabia. The plant has a crude oil processing capacity of more than 7 million barrels per day.

US President Donald Trump told Saudi Arabia's crown prince that Washington was ready to cooperate with the kingdom to protect its security, following drone attacks on Saudi oil plants on Saturday, state news agency SPA reported.

US President Donald Trump told Saudi Arabia's crown prince that Washington was ready to cooperate with the kingdom to protect its security, following drone attacks on Saudi oil plants on Saturday, state news agency SPA reported. Trump also told Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a call that assaults on Saudi oil facilities had a negative impact on the US and global economies, SPA said in an Arabic-language statement. The White House said on Saturday that the United States was committed to keeping oil markets well-supplied in the wake of an attack on Saudi Arabian oil plants by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group. "The United States strongly condemns today's attack on critical energy infrastructure," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. "Violent actions against civilian areas and infrastructure vital to the global economy only deepen conflict and mistrust." Deere confirmed that US President Donald Trump had spoken earlier on Saturday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia's oil production and exports have been disrupted, said three sources familiar with the matter, after drone attacks on two Aramco plants on Saturday, including the world's biggest oil processing facility. One of the sources said the attacks have impacted 5 million barrels per day of oil production -- almost half the kingdom's current output. The source did not elaborate. Saudi Aramco operates the world's largest oil processing facility and crude oil stabilisation plant in the world at Abqaiq, in eastern Saudi Arabia. The plant has a crude oil processing capacity of more than 7 million barrels per day.

US is ready to help protect Saudi security: Trump tells Crown Prince

Led by a dream of marrying on US soil, a young Honduran couple travelled thousands of miles from their home in the port city of La Ceiba, narrowly escaping a kidnapping in Mexico before seeking asylum across the border in Texas.

But the couple, Dexy Maldonado and Marvin Madrid, decided, in the end, to settle for a wedding in less than dream-like conditions.

First, US&nbsp;authorities sent them back to wait for months in a violent region of Mexico for their asylum hearings. Then a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mexico-pushes-back-after-top-us-court-favours-trump-on-shunning-migrants-249280">ruling on Wednesday by the US&nbsp;Supreme Court</a> threatened to scupper their plans -- and those of thousands of other Central American migrants who have traveled through Mexico in pursuit of their own dreams in the United States.

So Maldonado, 20, and Madrid, 28, married on Thursday just over the Rio Grande in a Mexican border town, under open skies at a crowded tent camp in an impromptu religious ceremony -- and without registering the wedding with a government.

"The pastor said it wasn`t `legal, legal,` but it might give us a better chance of staying together," said Maldonado, whom US&nbsp;immigration agents had separated from Madrid after detaining the pair in July with their toddler daughter before returning them to Mexico.

Abrupt shifts in US&nbsp;immigration policy have pitched hundreds of mostly Central American asylum-seekers into a life of limbo in the border city of Matamoros, many of them crammed into tents on the end of a bridge from Brownsville, Texas.

The newlyweds are among at least 42,000 asylum seekers who since January have been sent to troubled Mexican border cities to await hearings with US immigration judges under a US program known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).

In July, the Trump administration extended MPP to Matamoros, one of two receiver cities in Tamaulipas, an eastern state so riven by drug cartels that the US State Department ranks it as a "level 4" danger zone on a par with Afghanistan or Somalia.

Asylum seekers experienced a harsher blow still with the Supreme Court`s ruling on Wednesday allowing the Trump administration to enforce a ruling that would require anyone who passes through a third country, including Mexico, to seek asylum there instead of the United States. The decision, which allows US authorities to enforce the rule on asylum seekers as litigation challenging its legality proceeds, piles pressure on Mexico and migrants alike.

"It`s a disaster," said Jennifer Harbury, a Texas-based immigration attorney. "No one knows what it`s going to do to MPP."

Marrying between tents and toilets

The Supreme Court ruling fed the anxieties of asylum seekers who had already been returned to Matamoros and were struggling to stay afloat, caught between two worlds in an unforgiving city where jobs are elusive and criminal gangs treat migrants as lucrative trafficking commodities.

By day, many of some two dozen returnees whom Reuters spoke with worried about leaving the relative safety of a sidewalk near the bridge to search for work. By night, some forced themselves to stay awake lest gangsters snatch their children from inside their tents.

Then there was the question of whether to marry.

Maldonado and Madrid were the first of seven asylum-seeking couples who all tied the knot in the camp beside the bridge on Thursday afternoon.

Reverend Isaac Collins, from Charlottesville, Virginia, officiated the brief but emotional ceremony on a patch of parking lot between two portable toilets, three tents, and a sickly tree whose twigs someone clipped off for makeshift bouquets.

Another migrant fashioned Maldonado a wedding ring from aluminum foil. A third shared with other brides her ring with a mermaid tail, Collins said. 
Earlier, lacking other options to bathe, they cooled off from the stifling heat in the murky green waters of the Rio Grande, despite the rashes that many migrants said it caused. Red blotches marked Madrid`s wrist and their 2-year-old daughter`s armpit.

The couple had left Honduras after losing their jobs when authorities raided the used-clothing chain where they worked, alleging the owners used the business to launder drug money.

The two said they departed with a small group led by a self-proclaimed "guide," who asked for no money to take them up through Mexico.

However, as they neared Reynosa, a city about an hour`s drive west of Matamoros, a man apparently known to the guide pulled them off a bus and took them to a site where dozens of other people were being forcibly held, the couple said. They said they escaped, sleeping in ditches until finally crossing the Rio Grande and surrendering to US&nbsp;authorities.

It was not immediately possible for Reuters to verify the details of the apparent kidnapping.

A Department of Homeland Security document reviewed by Reuters shows that Maldonado was "subject to removal" from Texas on July 26 and told to appear at the gateway to Brownsville for a court hearing on September&nbsp;30.

"They told us the rules had changed three days earlier, which is why they sent us back here," Maldonado said.

Even before MPP was expanded to Tamaulipas, rights group Human Rights First documented more than a hundred cases of rape, kidnapping, sexual exploitation and other violent attacks against asylum seekers returned to Mexico under the program.

Madrid has now found work as a part-time laborer after a Mexican construction worker walked into the MPP encampment, looking for hires.

Wary of criminals, Madrid said he decided to try the job for a day, before sticking with it as the best option for his family as they await a court date that lawyers say may now not come.

Led by a dream of marrying on US soil, a young Honduran couple travelled thousands of miles from their home in the port city of La Ceiba, narrowly escaping a kidnapping in Mexico before seeking asylum across the border in Texas.

Led by a dream of marrying on US soil, a young Honduran couple travelled thousands of miles from their home in the port city of La Ceiba, narrowly escaping a kidnapping in Mexico before seeking asylum across the border in Texas. But the couple, Dexy Maldonado and Marvin Madrid, decided, in the end, to settle for a wedding in less than dream-like conditions. First, US authorities sent them back to wait for months in a violent region of Mexico for their asylum hearings. Then a ruling on Wednesday by the US Supreme Court threatened to scupper their plans -- and those of thousands of other Central American migrants who have traveled through Mexico in pursuit of their own dreams in the United States. So Maldonado, 20, and Madrid, 28, married on Thursday just over the Rio Grande in a Mexican border town, under open skies at a crowded tent camp in an impromptu religious ceremony -- and without registering the wedding with a government. "The pastor said it wasn`t `legal, legal,` but it might give us a better chance of staying together," said Maldonado, whom US immigration agents had separated from Madrid after detaining the pair in July with their toddler daughter before returning them to Mexico. Abrupt shifts in US immigration policy have pitched hundreds of mostly Central American asylum-seekers into a life of limbo in the border city of Matamoros, many of them crammed into tents on the end of a bridge from Brownsville, Texas. The newlyweds are among at least 42,000 asylum seekers who since January have been sent to troubled Mexican border cities to await hearings with US immigration judges under a US program known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). In July, the Trump administration extended MPP to Matamoros, one of two receiver cities in Tamaulipas, an eastern state so riven by drug cartels that the US State Department ranks it as a "level 4" danger zone on a par with Afghanistan or Somalia. Asylum seekers experienced a harsher blow still with the Supreme Court`s ruling on Wednesday allowing the Trump administration to enforce a ruling that would require anyone who passes through a third country, including Mexico, to seek asylum there instead of the United States. The decision, which allows US authorities to enforce the rule on asylum seekers as litigation challenging its legality proceeds, piles pressure on Mexico and migrants alike. "It`s a disaster," said Jennifer Harbury, a Texas-based immigration attorney. "No one knows what it`s going to do to MPP." Marrying between tents and toilets The Supreme Court ruling fed the anxieties of asylum seekers who had already been returned to Matamoros and were struggling to stay afloat, caught between two worlds in an unforgiving city where jobs are elusive and criminal gangs treat migrants as lucrative trafficking commodities. By day, many of some two dozen returnees whom Reuters spoke with worried about leaving the relative safety of a sidewalk near the bridge to search for work. By night, some forced themselves to stay awake lest gangsters snatch their children from inside their tents. Then there was the question of whether to marry. Maldonado and Madrid were the first of seven asylum-seeking couples who all tied the knot in the camp beside the bridge on Thursday afternoon. Reverend Isaac Collins, from Charlottesville, Virginia, officiated the brief but emotional ceremony on a patch of parking lot between two portable toilets, three tents, and a sickly tree whose twigs someone clipped off for makeshift bouquets. Another migrant fashioned Maldonado a wedding ring from aluminum foil. A third shared with other brides her ring with a mermaid tail, Collins said. Earlier, lacking other options to bathe, they cooled off from the stifling heat in the murky green waters of the Rio Grande, despite the rashes that many migrants said it caused. Red blotches marked Madrid`s wrist and their 2-year-old daughter`s armpit. The couple had left Honduras after losing their jobs when authorities raided the used-clothing chain where they worked, alleging the owners used the business to launder drug money. The two said they departed with a small group led by a self-proclaimed "guide," who asked for no money to take them up through Mexico. However, as they neared Reynosa, a city about an hour`s drive west of Matamoros, a man apparently known to the guide pulled them off a bus and took them to a site where dozens of other people were being forcibly held, the couple said. They said they escaped, sleeping in ditches until finally crossing the Rio Grande and surrendering to US authorities. It was not immediately possible for Reuters to verify the details of the apparent kidnapping. A Department of Homeland Security document reviewed by Reuters shows that Maldonado was "subject to removal" from Texas on July 26 and told to appear at the gateway to Brownsville for a court hearing on September 30. "They told us the rules had changed three days earlier, which is why they sent us back here," Maldonado said. Even before MPP was expanded to Tamaulipas, rights group Human Rights First documented more than a hundred cases of rape, kidnapping, sexual exploitation and other violent attacks against asylum seekers returned to Mexico under the program. Madrid has now found work as a part-time laborer after a Mexican construction worker walked into the MPP encampment, looking for hires. Wary of criminals, Madrid said he decided to try the job for a day, before sticking with it as the best option for his family as they await a court date that lawyers say may now not come.

After US court ruling, Honduran newlyweds among migrants clinging to asylum dream

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-says-national-security-advisor-restrained-him-on-venezuela-249294">Venezuela</a> is "ready" to defend itself, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said Friday, after Washington invoked a regional defence pact that might justify such a move.

"We are ready to protect ourselves, we are ready to react," Arreaza told a news conference after meeting in Geneva with UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet.

"We will let no one trample sacred Venezuelan soil, we will respond and hope that never happens," the minister said.

On Wednesday, the US invoked a regional defence pact with 10 other countries and Venezuela's opposition in response to "bellicose" moves by President Nicolas Maduro's regime.

A request to invoke the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR) came from the Venezuelan opposition, according to a statement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that was retweeted by President Donald Trump.

"Recent bellicose moves by the Venezuelan military to deploy along the border with Colombia as well as the presence of illegal armed groups and terrorist organizations in Venezuelan territory demonstrate that Nicolas Maduro not only poses a threat to the Venezuelan people, his actions threaten the peace and security of Venezuela’s neighbors," Pompeo said.

Trump said Thursday that former national security advisor John Bolton "was holding me back" on Venezuela, where Washington has recognised <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/venezuela-opposition-parties-back-guaido-as-congress-chief-in-2020-248230">opposition leader Juan Guaido</a> as the legitimate president.

The US invoked the TIAR in response to large-scale movements by Venezuelan troops near the border with Colombia, which Maduro has accused of trying to "trigger a conflict."

In Geneva, Arreaza insisted that "we will never attack a brother country, our people will never trample the ground of a brother country, under any circumstance, except to defend our people and territorial integrity".

Venezuela is gripped by a deep political and economic crisis and has begun to deploy 150,000 troops along its long border with Colombia.

Colombian President Ivan Duque has also ruled out an invasion of Venezuela, but recognises Guaido as the legitimate president.

Arreaza dismissed the opposition's invoking of the TIAR as "illegal" and "dangerous" because "it suggests they have activated a mechanism to attack Venezuela". 
&nbsp;

Venezuela is "ready" to defend itself, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said Friday, after Washington invoked a regional defence pact that might justify such a move.

Venezuela is "ready" to defend itself, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said Friday, after Washington invoked a regional defence pact that might justify such a move. "We are ready to protect ourselves, we are ready to react," Arreaza told a news conference after meeting in Geneva with UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet. "We will let no one trample sacred Venezuelan soil, we will respond and hope that never happens," the minister said. On Wednesday, the US invoked a regional defence pact with 10 other countries and Venezuela's opposition in response to "bellicose" moves by President Nicolas Maduro's regime. A request to invoke the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR) came from the Venezuelan opposition, according to a statement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that was retweeted by President Donald Trump. "Recent bellicose moves by the Venezuelan military to deploy along the border with Colombia as well as the presence of illegal armed groups and terrorist organizations in Venezuelan territory demonstrate that Nicolas Maduro not only poses a threat to the Venezuelan people, his actions threaten the peace and security of Venezuela’s neighbors," Pompeo said. Trump said Thursday that former national security advisor John Bolton "was holding me back" on Venezuela, where Washington has recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as the legitimate president. The US invoked the TIAR in response to large-scale movements by Venezuelan troops near the border with Colombia, which Maduro has accused of trying to "trigger a conflict." In Geneva, Arreaza insisted that "we will never attack a brother country, our people will never trample the ground of a brother country, under any circumstance, except to defend our people and territorial integrity". Venezuela is gripped by a deep political and economic crisis and has begun to deploy 150,000 troops along its long border with Colombia. Colombian President Ivan Duque has also ruled out an invasion of Venezuela, but recognises Guaido as the legitimate president. Arreaza dismissed the opposition's invoking of the TIAR as "illegal" and "dangerous" because "it suggests they have activated a mechanism to attack Venezuela".

Venezuela 'ready' to defend itself after US invokes defence pact: Foreign minister

Pakistan PM Imran Khan has said that it is 'unfair' to blame Pakistan for the failure of US-Taliban talks. Watch this video to know more.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan on failure of US-Taliban talks

In a first, a governor of US state will be visiting India on Friday to boost investments.

New Jersey governor Phil Murphy will arrive in India today on a 10-day visit.

With a focus on inviting Indian companies to invest in New Jersey, Murphy will be travelling to six cities in India.

He will lead a high-level state delegation, visiting New Delhi, Mumbai, Agra, Hyderabad, Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, from September 13 to 22.

In a statement, Murphy said that the trip aims to strengthen economic, cultural and educational ties between New Jersey and India.

Murphy said he would be visiting some companies that already have a presence in New Jersey like Tata Consultancy services which has some 4,000 employees in his state.

Indian-origin Senator Vin Gopal will also be part of the New Jersey governor's delegation.

During his visit, Murphy will meet top government and business leaders.

Murphy also mentioned that New Jersey has one of the largest Indian-American and Indian populations among any American state.

In a first, a governor of US state will be visiting India on Friday to boost investments. New Jersey governor Phil Murphy will arrive in India today on a 10-day visit.

In a first, a governor of US state will be visiting India on Friday to boost investments. New Jersey governor Phil Murphy will arrive in India today on a 10-day visit. With a focus on inviting Indian companies to invest in New Jersey, Murphy will be travelling to six cities in India. He will lead a high-level state delegation, visiting New Delhi, Mumbai, Agra, Hyderabad, Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, from September 13 to 22. In a statement, Murphy said that the trip aims to strengthen economic, cultural and educational ties between New Jersey and India. Murphy said he would be visiting some companies that already have a presence in New Jersey like Tata Consultancy services which has some 4,000 employees in his state. Indian-origin Senator Vin Gopal will also be part of the New Jersey governor's delegation. During his visit, Murphy will meet top government and business leaders. Murphy also mentioned that New Jersey has one of the largest Indian-American and Indian populations among any American state.

New Jersey governor Phil Murphy on 10-day visit to India

US trade negotiators want to make "meaningful progress" in upcoming talks with China, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday, one day after <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/as-goodwill-gesture-us-will-delay-5-boost-in-tariffs-on-chinese-imports-trump-249102">conciliatory gestures by both sides</a> boosted hopes of an eventual resolution.

Mnuchin said on CNBC he is "cautiously optimistic" about chances for a deal to resolve the conflict, while President Donald Trump hinted at a watering down of his position with the possibility of an interim deal.

Washington and Beijing will first hold talks at the deputy level to ensure senior officials who meet later can advance towards an agreement.

Also read--&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/explainer-us-china-trade-war-the-levers-they-can-pull-224809">US-China trade war: The levers they can pull</a>

"We don't want a trip that's just a series of discussions. We want to make meaningful progress," Mnuchin said.

However, he again warned that Trump will only accept a good deal, and is willing to raise tariffs if necessary.

Trump told reporters he preferred to seal a complete deal, but that he might be willing to consider an interim agreement.

"I'd rather get the whole deal done," he said, but noted analysts have been discussing the possibility of an interim deal "meaning we'll do pieces of it, the easy ones first."

"There's no easy or hard, there's a deal or there's not a deal. It's something we would consider I guess," he said.

There have been positive signs this week in the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/explaining-the-us-china-trade-war-which-grabbed-spotlight-in-2018-185043">trade conflict</a>, now entering its second year, as Trump agreed to Beijing's request to delay one round of tariff increases on $250 billion worth of goods for two weeks, until October 15, after China agreed to spare some US products from its retaliation.

China added Thursday that it was "making enquiries" about buying American farm products including big-ticket items like pork and soybeans, not on its previous list of spared goods.

Watch: US-China trade friction hurting world economic chain: Chinese scholars

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"It is expected that China will be buying large amounts of our agricultural products!" Trump tweeted early Thursday.

American farmers have borne the brunt of the US-China trade spat, especially after US soy exports collapsed last year, virtually wiping out foreign markets farmers had spent years cultivating.

Trump has previously accused Beijing of backsliding on promises to increase purchases of US farm goods and has offered billions in aid to farms badly damaged in the trade war.

'Cautiously optimistic'

Senior US and Chinese officials are due to hold preliminary talks later this month, in preparation for meetings in early October led by Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer.

Mnuchin said "we clearly didn't make the progress we wanted to" at the last meeting in Shanghai in late July, but he added: "I'm cautiously optimistic. I take the Chinese in good faith that they want to come here with a deal now."

But he said Trump "is prepared to keep these tariffs in place. He's prepared to raise tariffs if we need to raise tariffs."

Trump's hardline trade advisor Peter Navarro said on CNN Thursday that the US is focused on addressing "seven acts of economic aggression" by China including "cyber-hacking of our computers to steal our business secrets, intellectual property theft" and "manipulation of the currency."

However, Mnuchin said Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement "is definitely not on the table," as "that is an issue for the secretary of state to deal with."

Millions of people have demonstrated over the last 14 weeks in the biggest challenge to China's rule of the financial hub since its handover from Britain in 1997.

Hong Kong's pro-Beijing Chief Executive Carrie Lam warned the United States on Tuesday not to "interfere" with her government's response.

'Eating the tariffs'

Reducing America's soaring trade deficit with China has long been a principal aim in Trump's trade battle with Beijing, but so far it has not led to a reduction in the trade imbalance. In 2018, the US goods trade deficit with China was $419.52 billion.

Trump has long viewed deficits as a defeat for the United States, arguing that they amount to stealing -- a position rejected by most economists.

Meanwhile, the US president maintains that the protracted trade war is damaging China more than the United States, and China is "eating the tariffs."&nbsp;

The US Treasury has taken in $66 billion in customs duties in the 11 months through August, 73 per cent more than in the same period of the prior fiscal year -- tariffs paid by American importers.

Experts have warned there are signs the US is also feeling the pinch, with job creation slowing across major industries last month, and manufacturing seeing a decided slowdown.

 
&nbsp;

US trade negotiators want to make "meaningful progress" in upcoming talks with China, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday, one day after conciliatory gestures by both sides boosted hopes of an eventual resolution.

US trade negotiators want to make "meaningful progress" in upcoming talks with China, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday, one day after conciliatory gestures by both sides boosted hopes of an eventual resolution. Mnuchin said on CNBC he is "cautiously optimistic" about chances for a deal to resolve the conflict, while President Donald Trump hinted at a watering down of his position with the possibility of an interim deal. Washington and Beijing will first hold talks at the deputy level to ensure senior officials who meet later can advance towards an agreement. Also read-- US-China trade war: The levers they can pull "We don't want a trip that's just a series of discussions. We want to make meaningful progress," Mnuchin said. However, he again warned that Trump will only accept a good deal, and is willing to raise tariffs if necessary. Trump told reporters he preferred to seal a complete deal, but that he might be willing to consider an interim agreement. "I'd rather get the whole deal done," he said, but noted analysts have been discussing the possibility of an interim deal "meaning we'll do pieces of it, the easy ones first." "There's no easy or hard, there's a deal or there's not a deal. It's something we would consider I guess," he said. There have been positive signs this week in the trade conflict, now entering its second year, as Trump agreed to Beijing's request to delay one round of tariff increases on $250 billion worth of goods for two weeks, until October 15, after China agreed to spare some US products from its retaliation. China added Thursday that it was "making enquiries" about buying American farm products including big-ticket items like pork and soybeans, not on its previous list of spared goods. Watch: US-China trade friction hurting world economic chain: Chinese scholars × "It is expected that China will be buying large amounts of our agricultural products!" Trump tweeted early Thursday. American farmers have borne the brunt of the US-China trade spat, especially after US soy exports collapsed last year, virtually wiping out foreign markets farmers had spent years cultivating. Trump has previously accused Beijing of backsliding on promises to increase purchases of US farm goods and has offered billions in aid to farms badly damaged in the trade war. 'Cautiously optimistic' Senior US and Chinese officials are due to hold preliminary talks later this month, in preparation for meetings in early October led by Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer. Mnuchin said "we clearly didn't make the progress we wanted to" at the last meeting in Shanghai in late July, but he added: "I'm cautiously optimistic. I take the Chinese in good faith that they want to come here with a deal now." But he said Trump "is prepared to keep these tariffs in place. He's prepared to raise tariffs if we need to raise tariffs." Trump's hardline trade advisor Peter Navarro said on CNN Thursday that the US is focused on addressing "seven acts of economic aggression" by China including "cyber-hacking of our computers to steal our business secrets, intellectual property theft" and "manipulation of the currency." However, Mnuchin said Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement "is definitely not on the table," as "that is an issue for the secretary of state to deal with." Millions of people have demonstrated over the last 14 weeks in the biggest challenge to China's rule of the financial hub since its handover from Britain in 1997. Hong Kong's pro-Beijing Chief Executive Carrie Lam warned the United States on Tuesday not to "interfere" with her government's response. 'Eating the tariffs' Reducing America's soaring trade deficit with China has long been a principal aim in Trump's trade battle with Beijing, but so far it has not led to a reduction in the trade imbalance. In 2018, the US goods trade deficit with China was $419.52 billion. Trump has long viewed deficits as a defeat for the United States, arguing that they amount to stealing -- a position rejected by most economists. Meanwhile, the US president maintains that the protracted trade war is damaging China more than the United States, and China is "eating the tariffs." The US Treasury has taken in $66 billion in customs duties in the 11 months through August, 73 per cent more than in the same period of the prior fiscal year -- tariffs paid by American importers. Experts have warned there are signs the US is also feeling the pinch, with job creation slowing across major industries last month, and manufacturing seeing a decided slowdown.

US wants to make 'meaningful progress' in China trade talks: Treasury Secretary

Frontrunner Joe Biden came out swinging in the third Democratic debate for the White House nomination, clashing with his top two rivals over the future of health care in America and dismissing their plans as unrealistic pipe dreams.

Biden, under pressure to appear in command as the candidate to beat in 2020, pushed back hard against senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren during the debate in Houston, Texas a showdown seen as a tough test of the 76-year-old's stamina.

In a high-octane clash with his fellow septuagenarians, the former vice president warned Sanders's plan to finance universal healthcare "gets him halfway there," while Warren has yet to indicate how hers will be paid for.

"I lay out how I can pay for it, how I can get it done, and why it's better," Biden said of his plan, which maintains and builds on the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare.

Warren, a rising star in the race, and Sanders each put up a spirited defense of their proposals.&nbsp;

"Those at the very top, the richest individuals and the biggest corporations, are going to pay more. And middle-class families are going to pay less," Warren said.

Sanders, whose plans advocates for a shift away from private health insurance, assured voters "we will finally make sure that every American has health care as a human right, not a privilege."

The three-way battle over healthcare kicked off a marathon debate, as 10 hopefuls scrambled for breakout moments as they vye for the right to challenge President Donald Trump.

But the candidates stood united on one key factor: ousting Trump from the White House.

"We must and will defeat Trump, the most dangerous president in the history of this country," Sanders said. "But we must do more. We must do more."

At a dinner with Republican legislators on Thursday evening, Trump quickly dropped his message of "respect" toward his opponents, which he'd expressed just three hours earlier.

He called Sanders "Crazy Bernie, he's a crazy guy." He lamented that he'd "hit Pocantonas" Warren "way too early," in reference to his mockery of the senator's controversial claim to have had Native American blood.

And he reserved his longest joke for Biden, or "Sleepy Joe."

"He's fallen asleep, he's no idea what he's doing or saying," Trump said to laughter from his party, before acting out a scene in which he imitated Chinese President Xi Jinping negotiating with Biden, with the Democrat mumbling "where am I?" and Xi telling him "sign here."

Dominant top three

All eyes were on Biden who is battling accusations that he is a gaffe-prone candidate past his prime who could struggle during a gruelling campaign.

Biden maintains a grip on pole position with 26.8 per cent support, despite a noticeable dip in recent weeks, according to a poll average compiled by RealClearPolitics.

Sanders, at 78 the oldest candidate in the field, is narrowly ahead of Warren at 17.3 per cent support, and has largely avoided clashing with his friend and fellow progressive.

A summer of verbal miscues -- and an apparent lack of preparedness for spirited attacks by rivals in the first debate -- raised doubts about Biden's age and mental clarity, concerns he and his team have roundly dismissed.

He enjoys strong support in particular from African-American communities and from working-class whites who appreciate his blue-collar appeal and believe he is best able to beat Trump, a top priority for Democratic voters.

Warren, 70, has electrified town halls and impressed voters with her extensive collection of policy platforms.

Early Thursday she released her latest plan, one that would increase Social Security benefits for all Americans by $200 per month.

While Warren's stock has risen, the campaigns of others such as Senator Kamala Harris and 37-year-old South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg have stalled.

For the second tier, including ex-congressman Beto O'Rourke, senators Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar, and Obama-era housing secretary Julian Castro -- all polling under three per cent -- a breakout moment is critical to stay relevant.

Navigating between the leaders and the strugglers is tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who has made establishing a universal basic income to offset job losses a key part of his campaign, and who grabbed the spotlight Thursday by promising to give a "freedom dividend" of $1,000 per month to 10 American families for a year. 
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Frontrunner Joe Biden came out swinging in the third Democratic debate for the White House nomination, clashing with his top two rivals over the future of health care in America and dismissing their plans as unrealistic pipe dreams.

Frontrunner Joe Biden came out swinging in the third Democratic debate for the White House nomination, clashing with his top two rivals over the future of health care in America and dismissing their plans as unrealistic pipe dreams. Biden, under pressure to appear in command as the candidate to beat in 2020, pushed back hard against senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren during the debate in Houston, Texas a showdown seen as a tough test of the 76-year-old's stamina. In a high-octane clash with his fellow septuagenarians, the former vice president warned Sanders's plan to finance universal healthcare "gets him halfway there," while Warren has yet to indicate how hers will be paid for. "I lay out how I can pay for it, how I can get it done, and why it's better," Biden said of his plan, which maintains and builds on the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare. Warren, a rising star in the race, and Sanders each put up a spirited defense of their proposals. "Those at the very top, the richest individuals and the biggest corporations, are going to pay more. And middle-class families are going to pay less," Warren said. Sanders, whose plans advocates for a shift away from private health insurance, assured voters "we will finally make sure that every American has health care as a human right, not a privilege." The three-way battle over healthcare kicked off a marathon debate, as 10 hopefuls scrambled for breakout moments as they vye for the right to challenge President Donald Trump. But the candidates stood united on one key factor: ousting Trump from the White House. "We must and will defeat Trump, the most dangerous president in the history of this country," Sanders said. "But we must do more. We must do more." At a dinner with Republican legislators on Thursday evening, Trump quickly dropped his message of "respect" toward his opponents, which he'd expressed just three hours earlier. He called Sanders "Crazy Bernie, he's a crazy guy." He lamented that he'd "hit Pocantonas" Warren "way too early," in reference to his mockery of the senator's controversial claim to have had Native American blood. And he reserved his longest joke for Biden, or "Sleepy Joe." "He's fallen asleep, he's no idea what he's doing or saying," Trump said to laughter from his party, before acting out a scene in which he imitated Chinese President Xi Jinping negotiating with Biden, with the Democrat mumbling "where am I?" and Xi telling him "sign here." Dominant top three All eyes were on Biden who is battling accusations that he is a gaffe-prone candidate past his prime who could struggle during a gruelling campaign. Biden maintains a grip on pole position with 26.8 per cent support, despite a noticeable dip in recent weeks, according to a poll average compiled by RealClearPolitics. Sanders, at 78 the oldest candidate in the field, is narrowly ahead of Warren at 17.3 per cent support, and has largely avoided clashing with his friend and fellow progressive. A summer of verbal miscues -- and an apparent lack of preparedness for spirited attacks by rivals in the first debate -- raised doubts about Biden's age and mental clarity, concerns he and his team have roundly dismissed. He enjoys strong support in particular from African-American communities and from working-class whites who appreciate his blue-collar appeal and believe he is best able to beat Trump, a top priority for Democratic voters. Warren, 70, has electrified town halls and impressed voters with her extensive collection of policy platforms. Early Thursday she released her latest plan, one that would increase Social Security benefits for all Americans by $200 per month. While Warren's stock has risen, the campaigns of others such as Senator Kamala Harris and 37-year-old South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg have stalled. For the second tier, including ex-congressman Beto O'Rourke, senators Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar, and Obama-era housing secretary Julian Castro -- all polling under three per cent -- a breakout moment is critical to stay relevant. Navigating between the leaders and the strugglers is tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who has made establishing a universal basic income to offset job losses a key part of his campaign, and who grabbed the spotlight Thursday by promising to give a "freedom dividend" of $1,000 per month to 10 American families for a year.

Joe Biden comes out fighting in Democratic White House debate

President Donald Trump has announced the cancellation of talks with Taliban in view of the killings of 12 persons, including an American, by the terrorist outfit. Interestingly, the Taliban has owned up the attack to derive leverage during its secret talks with the American President; the so-called peace deal is derailed for the time being.

During his recent visit to the US, Pakistani PM Imran Khan seems to have convinced the American President that if the latter offers to mediate in Kashmir, Pakistan will bring Taliban onboard and facilitate US’ honourable exit from Afghanistan.

When American troops set foot on Afghan soil they did not ask for the Taliban’s permission. So why should they need it now when they are all set to leave? President Trump is contesting elections for a second term and he needs to convey to the American people that he is going to save billions of dollars, which were unnecessarily spent in Afghanistan; hence the hasty retreat.&nbsp;

The truth is that the Americans know the Taliban better than anyone else because of their extensive dealings with the terror outfit: they know the Taliban’s propensity to go back on an agreement. Any American attempt to involve Pakistan to broker the deal with the Taliban is going to be a futile and counter-productive exercise. Yet, they continue to do so.

Pakistan has used extremist groups to attain strategic depth in Afghanistan in order to achieve its objectives. Tomorrow, it could well use Taliban to foment trouble in Afghanistan, India and the region in general.

Afghans perceive Pakistan as their principal enemy because of them, peace has always eluded the landlocked country. Islamabad has consistently created and used radicals in Afghanistan. It has blackmailed that country for long because it offers the Karachi Port for Afghanistan’s import and export needs. Pakistan has consistently supplied low-quality wheat to Afghanistan at high prices, taking advantage of the latter’s geography.

The other big reason for this dislike is the Durand line, which the Afghans believe the British used as a tool to divide the Pashtuns. In 1893, the British split the Pashtun areas keeping Peshawar and FATA belt within the borders of British India while giving a bigger chunk to Afghanistan. Most Pashtuns hope for a united Pashtunistan one day.

There may be some Pakistani friends in Talibani Pashtuns, but all other ethnic groups living in Afghanistan nurse deep animosity towards that country.

It is noteworthy that Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras and Shia tribes living in bordering areas of Iran, hold Pakistan responsible for the disturbances and instability that their country is undergoing.

One can safely conclude that once NATO forces exit from Afghanistan, Pakistan with the help of its Taliban supporters, will let all hell loose, as it had done after the withdrawal of Soviets.

If there is any country which has done developmental work in Afghanistan in the last few years, it is India. The Salma dam, constructed and funded by India in the Herat province, has been named the Afghan-India friendship dam by the government of Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s Parliament has been build by India, which is also supporting numerous other infrastructure projects.

Afghans acknowledge their friendship with India and value the economic cooperation that comes with it. India has built the Chabahar port in Iran and has constructed a road connecting it with the Herat province in Afghanistan.

Pakistan is likely to arm-twist Afghanistan on account of sea connectivity it provides to the latter through the Karachi port. In that scenario, the Chabahar- Herat route can become a lifeline for the Afghans. The current Afghan government earnestly wants India to be involved in talks with the Taliban.

As far as India is concerned, the geopolitical scenario looks grim in the Af-Pak region. In all likelihood, Pakistan will send Taliban guerrillas to foment trouble in Kashmir and try to jeopardise Indian economic activities in Afghanistan.

It will also play spoilsport for Indian trade with the Central Asian republics through the Chabahar-Herat route.

Someone has to persuade Trump to understand that a country, which harboured Osama bin Laden, was never trustworthy in the past and will never be so in the future.

(This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-american-trust-in-pak-and-taliban-difficult-to-comprehend-2788855">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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President Donald Trump has announced the cancellation of talks with Taliban in view of the killings of 12 persons, including an American, by the terrorist outfit.

President Donald Trump has announced the cancellation of talks with Taliban in view of the killings of 12 persons, including an American, by the terrorist outfit. Interestingly, the Taliban has owned up the attack to derive leverage during its secret talks with the American President; the so-called peace deal is derailed for the time being. During his recent visit to the US, Pakistani PM Imran Khan seems to have convinced the American President that if the latter offers to mediate in Kashmir, Pakistan will bring Taliban onboard and facilitate US’ honourable exit from Afghanistan. When American troops set foot on Afghan soil they did not ask for the Taliban’s permission. So why should they need it now when they are all set to leave? President Trump is contesting elections for a second term and he needs to convey to the American people that he is going to save billions of dollars, which were unnecessarily spent in Afghanistan; hence the hasty retreat. The truth is that the Americans know the Taliban better than anyone else because of their extensive dealings with the terror outfit: they know the Taliban’s propensity to go back on an agreement. Any American attempt to involve Pakistan to broker the deal with the Taliban is going to be a futile and counter-productive exercise. Yet, they continue to do so. Pakistan has used extremist groups to attain strategic depth in Afghanistan in order to achieve its objectives. Tomorrow, it could well use Taliban to foment trouble in Afghanistan, India and the region in general. Afghans perceive Pakistan as their principal enemy because of them, peace has always eluded the landlocked country. Islamabad has consistently created and used radicals in Afghanistan. It has blackmailed that country for long because it offers the Karachi Port for Afghanistan’s import and export needs. Pakistan has consistently supplied low-quality wheat to Afghanistan at high prices, taking advantage of the latter’s geography. The other big reason for this dislike is the Durand line, which the Afghans believe the British used as a tool to divide the Pashtuns. In 1893, the British split the Pashtun areas keeping Peshawar and FATA belt within the borders of British India while giving a bigger chunk to Afghanistan. Most Pashtuns hope for a united Pashtunistan one day. There may be some Pakistani friends in Talibani Pashtuns, but all other ethnic groups living in Afghanistan nurse deep animosity towards that country. It is noteworthy that Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras and Shia tribes living in bordering areas of Iran, hold Pakistan responsible for the disturbances and instability that their country is undergoing. One can safely conclude that once NATO forces exit from Afghanistan, Pakistan with the help of its Taliban supporters, will let all hell loose, as it had done after the withdrawal of Soviets. If there is any country which has done developmental work in Afghanistan in the last few years, it is India. The Salma dam, constructed and funded by India in the Herat province, has been named the Afghan-India friendship dam by the government of Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s Parliament has been build by India, which is also supporting numerous other infrastructure projects. Afghans acknowledge their friendship with India and value the economic cooperation that comes with it. India has built the Chabahar port in Iran and has constructed a road connecting it with the Herat province in Afghanistan. Pakistan is likely to arm-twist Afghanistan on account of sea connectivity it provides to the latter through the Karachi port. In that scenario, the Chabahar- Herat route can become a lifeline for the Afghans. The current Afghan government earnestly wants India to be involved in talks with the Taliban. As far as India is concerned, the geopolitical scenario looks grim in the Af-Pak region. In all likelihood, Pakistan will send Taliban guerrillas to foment trouble in Kashmir and try to jeopardise Indian economic activities in Afghanistan. It will also play spoilsport for Indian trade with the Central Asian republics through the Chabahar-Herat route. Someone has to persuade Trump to understand that a country, which harboured Osama bin Laden, was never trustworthy in the past and will never be so in the future. (This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

American trust in Pakistan and Taliban difficult to comprehend

Former US National Security Agency contractor and world-famous whistleblower in exile, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/former-national-security-agency-contractor-edward-snowden-publishing-memoir-240086">Edward Snowden</a>, said that he would return to the United States, only if he could hope for a fair trial there.

Snowden currently lives in Russia and faces charges of breaking confidentiality laws back in the United States.

In a phone interview with National Public Radio, Snowden said that if returned to the United States, he would seek an opportunity to tell a jury why he had leaked classified information to make them understand for themselves whether the materials deserved to be leaked.

"You can't have a fair trial about the disclosure of information unless the jury can evaluate whether it was right or wrong to reveal this information," he said, adding that returning back only to be sentenced would not be a good example for others who are in a similar situation.

According to Snowden, nobody becomes a whistleblower due to a special desire to do so and "no one becomes a whistleblower because it has a happy ending."

Snowden noted that it was not his choice to live in Russia, adding that he had sought asylum in 27 countries. The Russian intelligence services pursued cooperation with him, but he rejected the offer and spent 40 days at the airport.

"If I had played ball, I would have left on Day 1 in a limo; I would have been living in a palace; you would have seen them giving me parades in Red Square ... The reality is this: I had destroyed my access to all the classified material that I provided to journalists before leaving Hong Kong, precisely because I didn't know what was going to happen next," Snowden stressed.

Snowden recalled that he disagreed with Russia's government and President Vladimir Putin on a number of issues.

In 2013, Snowden leaked classified documents that exposed mass surveillance by US authorities around the globe. Snowden fled to Hong Kong, then to Russia, which granted him temporary asylum for one year. In 2014, Snowden received a three-year residence permit to live in Russia, which was later extended until 2020.

Former US National Security Agency contractor and world-famous whistleblower in exile, Edward Snowden, said that he would return to the United States, only if he could hope for a fair trial there.

Former US National Security Agency contractor and world-famous whistleblower in exile, Edward Snowden, said that he would return to the United States, only if he could hope for a fair trial there. Snowden currently lives in Russia and faces charges of breaking confidentiality laws back in the United States. In a phone interview with National Public Radio, Snowden said that if returned to the United States, he would seek an opportunity to tell a jury why he had leaked classified information to make them understand for themselves whether the materials deserved to be leaked. "You can't have a fair trial about the disclosure of information unless the jury can evaluate whether it was right or wrong to reveal this information," he said, adding that returning back only to be sentenced would not be a good example for others who are in a similar situation. According to Snowden, nobody becomes a whistleblower due to a special desire to do so and "no one becomes a whistleblower because it has a happy ending." Snowden noted that it was not his choice to live in Russia, adding that he had sought asylum in 27 countries. The Russian intelligence services pursued cooperation with him, but he rejected the offer and spent 40 days at the airport. "If I had played ball, I would have left on Day 1 in a limo; I would have been living in a palace; you would have seen them giving me parades in Red Square ... The reality is this: I had destroyed my access to all the classified material that I provided to journalists before leaving Hong Kong, precisely because I didn't know what was going to happen next," Snowden stressed. Snowden recalled that he disagreed with Russia's government and President Vladimir Putin on a number of issues. In 2013, Snowden leaked classified documents that exposed mass surveillance by US authorities around the globe. Snowden fled to Hong Kong, then to Russia, which granted him temporary asylum for one year. In 2014, Snowden received a three-year residence permit to live in Russia, which was later extended until 2020.

Would return to US if provided chance for fair trial: Snowden

By Kelly Sims Gallagher and Fang Zhang

As the effects of climate change become more widespread and alarming, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on nations to step up their plans for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Every country has a part to play, but if the world’s largest emitters fail to meet their commitments, the goal of holding global warming to a manageable level will remain out of reach.

US carbon dioxide emissions are on the rise after several years of decline, due in part to the Trump administration’s repeal or delay of Obama administration policies. In contrast, China – the world largest emitter – appears to be honouring its climate targets under the 2015 Paris Agreement, as we documented in a recent article with colleagues.

We study many aspects of China’s energy and climate policy, including industrial energy efficiency and reforestation. Our analysis indicates that if China fully executes existing policies and finishes reforming its electric power sector into a market-based system, its carbon dioxide emissions are likely to peak well before its 2030 target.

China’s Climate Portfolio

Over the last decade China has positioned itself as a global leader on climate action through aggressive investments and a bold mix of climate, renewable energy, energy efficiency and economic policies. As one of us (Kelly Sims Gallagher) documents in the recent book “Titans of the Climate,” China has implemented more than 100 policies related to lowering its energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Notable examples include a feed-in-tariff policy for renewable energy generators, which offers them a guaranteed price for their power; energy efficiency standards for power plants, motor vehicles, buildings and equipment; targets for energy production from non-fossil sources; and mandated caps on coal consumption.

China has added vast wind and solar installations to its grid and developed large domestic industries to manufacture solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles. In late 2017 it launched a national emissions trading system, which creates a market for buying and selling carbon dioxide emissions allowances. This was a profoundly symbolic step, given that the United States still has not adopted a national market-based climate policy.

Most of these policies will produce additional benefits, such as improving China’s energy security, promoting economic reform and reducing ground-level air pollution. The only major program explicitly aimed at reducing carbon dioxide is the emissions trading system.

Major Challenges and Policy Gaps 
 
Under the Paris Agreement, China committed to start reducing its carbon dioxide emissions and derive 20 per cent&nbsp;of its energy from non-fossil fuels by around 2030. But when Chinese emissions rose in 2018, international observers feared that Beijing might fail to meet its targets. We analysed China’s actions to assess that risk.

In our review, we found that the policies with the greatest influence over China’s projected emissions in 2030 were power sector reform, industrial transformation, industrial efficiency, emissions trading and light-duty vehicle efficiency.

Reforming the electric power sector is an essential step. Traditionally, electricity pricing schemes in China were determined by the National Development and Reform Commission, which leads the country’s macroeconomic planning. They favoured existing power producers, particularly coal plants, not the cleanest or most efficient sources.

China committed to electric power reform, including emission reductions and greater use of renewables, in 2015. Converting to a process under which grid managers buy electricity from generators starting with the lowest-cost sources should facilitate installation and use of renewables, since renewable electricity has almost zero marginal costs. Meanwhile, renewable energy projects across China, especially solar, have become cheaper than grid electricity.

Even as China made big investments in wind and solar power in recent years, it also kept building coal plants. Power sector reform will help reduce the resulting overcapacity by stopping planned additions and encouraging market competition.

But success is not guaranteed. The affected companies are giant state-owned enterprises. There is political resistance from owners of existing coal-fired power plants and from provinces that produce and use a lot of coal. The current US-China trade war is slowing China’s economic growth and spurring rising concerns about employment, which could further complicate the reform process.

China’s emissions trading system has had a very modest impact so far because it set a low initial price on carbon dioxide emissions: $7 per ton, increasing by 3 per cent&nbsp;annually through 2030. But our analysis found that emissions trading, which allows low-carbon generators to make money by selling emissions allowances that they don’t need, could become influential over the longer term if it can sustain a much higher price. If China reduces its cap on total carbon dioxide emissions after 2025, which will increase the price of emissions allowances, this policy could become a major driver for emission reductions in the power sector.

Energy efficiency standards, particularly for coal-fired power plants, factories and motor vehicles, will also be very important over the coming decade. To continue driving progress, China will need to update these standards continuously.

Finally, there are some important gaps in China’s climate policies. Currently, they only target carbon dioxide emissions, although China also generates significant quantities of other greenhouse gases, including methane and black carbon.

And China is contributing to emissions outside of its borders by exporting coal equipment and directly financing overseas coal plants through its Belt and Road Initiative. No nation, including China, currently reports emissions generated abroad in its national emissions inventory.

Following Through

The biggest challenge China faces in achieving its Paris targets is making sure that business and local governments comply with policies and regulations that the government has already put in place. In the past, China has sometimes struggled with environmental enforcement at the local level when provincial and city governments prioritized economic development over the environment.

Assuming that China does carry out its existing and announced climate and energy policies, we think its carbon dioxide emissions could likely peak well before 2030. In our view, Chinese leaders should focus on completing power sector reform as soon as possible, implementing and strengthening emissions trading, making energy efficiency standards more stringent in the future and developing new carbon pricing policies for sectors such as iron, steel and transportation.

If they succeed, US politicians will no longer have “But what about China?” as an excuse for opposing climate policies at home.

(Kelly Sims Gallagher is Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy and Director, Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University; Fang Zhang is China Research Coordinator and Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Tufts University) 
 
(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the<a href="https://theconversation.com/china-is-positioned-to-lead-on-climate-change-as-the-us-rolls-back-its-policies-114897"> original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

By Kelly Sims Gallagher and Fang Zhang As the effects of climate change become more widespread and alarming, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on nations to step up their plans for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

By Kelly Sims Gallagher and Fang Zhang As the effects of climate change become more widespread and alarming, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on nations to step up their plans for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Every country has a part to play, but if the world’s largest emitters fail to meet their commitments, the goal of holding global warming to a manageable level will remain out of reach. US carbon dioxide emissions are on the rise after several years of decline, due in part to the Trump administration’s repeal or delay of Obama administration policies. In contrast, China – the world largest emitter – appears to be honouring its climate targets under the 2015 Paris Agreement, as we documented in a recent article with colleagues. We study many aspects of China’s energy and climate policy, including industrial energy efficiency and reforestation. Our analysis indicates that if China fully executes existing policies and finishes reforming its electric power sector into a market-based system, its carbon dioxide emissions are likely to peak well before its 2030 target. China’s Climate Portfolio Over the last decade China has positioned itself as a global leader on climate action through aggressive investments and a bold mix of climate, renewable energy, energy efficiency and economic policies. As one of us (Kelly Sims Gallagher) documents in the recent book “Titans of the Climate,” China has implemented more than 100 policies related to lowering its energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Notable examples include a feed-in-tariff policy for renewable energy generators, which offers them a guaranteed price for their power; energy efficiency standards for power plants, motor vehicles, buildings and equipment; targets for energy production from non-fossil sources; and mandated caps on coal consumption. China has added vast wind and solar installations to its grid and developed large domestic industries to manufacture solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles. In late 2017 it launched a national emissions trading system, which creates a market for buying and selling carbon dioxide emissions allowances. This was a profoundly symbolic step, given that the United States still has not adopted a national market-based climate policy. Most of these policies will produce additional benefits, such as improving China’s energy security, promoting economic reform and reducing ground-level air pollution. The only major program explicitly aimed at reducing carbon dioxide is the emissions trading system. Major Challenges and Policy Gaps Under the Paris Agreement, China committed to start reducing its carbon dioxide emissions and derive 20 per cent of its energy from non-fossil fuels by around 2030. But when Chinese emissions rose in 2018, international observers feared that Beijing might fail to meet its targets. We analysed China’s actions to assess that risk. In our review, we found that the policies with the greatest influence over China’s projected emissions in 2030 were power sector reform, industrial transformation, industrial efficiency, emissions trading and light-duty vehicle efficiency. Reforming the electric power sector is an essential step. Traditionally, electricity pricing schemes in China were determined by the National Development and Reform Commission, which leads the country’s macroeconomic planning. They favoured existing power producers, particularly coal plants, not the cleanest or most efficient sources. China committed to electric power reform, including emission reductions and greater use of renewables, in 2015. Converting to a process under which grid managers buy electricity from generators starting with the lowest-cost sources should facilitate installation and use of renewables, since renewable electricity has almost zero marginal costs. Meanwhile, renewable energy projects across China, especially solar, have become cheaper than grid electricity. Even as China made big investments in wind and solar power in recent years, it also kept building coal plants. Power sector reform will help reduce the resulting overcapacity by stopping planned additions and encouraging market competition. But success is not guaranteed. The affected companies are giant state-owned enterprises. There is political resistance from owners of existing coal-fired power plants and from provinces that produce and use a lot of coal. The current US-China trade war is slowing China’s economic growth and spurring rising concerns about employment, which could further complicate the reform process. China’s emissions trading system has had a very modest impact so far because it set a low initial price on carbon dioxide emissions: $7 per ton, increasing by 3 per cent annually through 2030. But our analysis found that emissions trading, which allows low-carbon generators to make money by selling emissions allowances that they don’t need, could become influential over the longer term if it can sustain a much higher price. If China reduces its cap on total carbon dioxide emissions after 2025, which will increase the price of emissions allowances, this policy could become a major driver for emission reductions in the power sector. Energy efficiency standards, particularly for coal-fired power plants, factories and motor vehicles, will also be very important over the coming decade. To continue driving progress, China will need to update these standards continuously. Finally, there are some important gaps in China’s climate policies. Currently, they only target carbon dioxide emissions, although China also generates significant quantities of other greenhouse gases, including methane and black carbon. And China is contributing to emissions outside of its borders by exporting coal equipment and directly financing overseas coal plants through its Belt and Road Initiative. No nation, including China, currently reports emissions generated abroad in its national emissions inventory. Following Through The biggest challenge China faces in achieving its Paris targets is making sure that business and local governments comply with policies and regulations that the government has already put in place. In the past, China has sometimes struggled with environmental enforcement at the local level when provincial and city governments prioritized economic development over the environment. Assuming that China does carry out its existing and announced climate and energy policies, we think its carbon dioxide emissions could likely peak well before 2030. In our view, Chinese leaders should focus on completing power sector reform as soon as possible, implementing and strengthening emissions trading, making energy efficiency standards more stringent in the future and developing new carbon pricing policies for sectors such as iron, steel and transportation. If they succeed, US politicians will no longer have “But what about China?” as an excuse for opposing climate policies at home. (Kelly Sims Gallagher is Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy and Director, Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University; Fang Zhang is China Research Coordinator and Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Tufts University) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

China is positioned to lead on climate change as the US rolls back its policies

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/amid-heightened-us-china-tensions-science-suffers-collateral-damage-228220">China urged the United States</a> on Thursday to adopt an approach more conducive to dialogue in response to North Korea's goodwill in wanting to resume denuclearization talks, and again suggested United Nations sanctions relief be considered for Pyongyang.

North Korea said on Monday it was willing to restart <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/north-korea-says-pompeo-remark-would-make-talks-with-us-more-difficult-246778">nuclear talks with the United States</a> in late September but warned that dealings between the sides could end unless Washington takes a fresh approach.

However, only hours later North Korea fired a new round of short-range projectiles.

Speaking in Beijing, the Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said China welcomed North Korea's recent "positive signals" on resuming talks with the United States.

"We would be glad to see North Korea and the United States resuming talks on schedule at the end of the month," Wang told a joint news conference with Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah.

Experience shows that for talks to achieve real progress, each side's core concerns must be addressed, Wang added.

"If there are only preconditions made for the other side, or lists drawn up, or even trying to use extreme pressure to get the other side to make unilateral concessions, then this didn't work in the past and it won't work now or in the future."

North Korea has so far this year taken a series of positive steps, and has asked the United States to meet them half way, he said.

"We hope that the US&nbsp;side can also take practical measures in this regard and make due efforts to ease the situation and promote dialogue."

Wang did not mention North Korea's recent weapons tests.

But he reiterated previous suggestions from China for sanctions relief for North Korea, though China has signed up the to onerous sanctions North Korea has endured for many years because of its nuclear and missile tests.

"We believe that the UN&nbsp;Security Council should in due course consider opening a discussion on the North Korea sanctions resolutions reversal clauses, to help North Korea alleviate the difficulties brought to the economy and people's livelihoods by the sanctions."

China is North Korea's most important economic and diplomatic backer, and Wang visited Pyongyang last week.

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met at the demilitarised zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas in June and agreed to restart working-level negotiations that had been stalled since an unsuccessful second summit between the two leaders in Vietnam in February.

Since the DMZ meeting, however, American officials said their attempts to resume talks had gone unanswered. North Korea has also conducted at least eight test launches since then, usually with multiple missiles each time.

China urged the United States on Thursday to adopt an approach more conducive to dialogue in response to North Korea's goodwill in wanting to resume denuclearization talks, and again suggested United Nations sanctions relief be considered for Pyongyang.

China urged the United States on Thursday to adopt an approach more conducive to dialogue in response to North Korea's goodwill in wanting to resume denuclearization talks, and again suggested United Nations sanctions relief be considered for Pyongyang. North Korea said on Monday it was willing to restart nuclear talks with the United States in late September but warned that dealings between the sides could end unless Washington takes a fresh approach. However, only hours later North Korea fired a new round of short-range projectiles. Speaking in Beijing, the Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said China welcomed North Korea's recent "positive signals" on resuming talks with the United States. "We would be glad to see North Korea and the United States resuming talks on schedule at the end of the month," Wang told a joint news conference with Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah. Experience shows that for talks to achieve real progress, each side's core concerns must be addressed, Wang added. "If there are only preconditions made for the other side, or lists drawn up, or even trying to use extreme pressure to get the other side to make unilateral concessions, then this didn't work in the past and it won't work now or in the future." North Korea has so far this year taken a series of positive steps, and has asked the United States to meet them half way, he said. "We hope that the US side can also take practical measures in this regard and make due efforts to ease the situation and promote dialogue." Wang did not mention North Korea's recent weapons tests. But he reiterated previous suggestions from China for sanctions relief for North Korea, though China has signed up the to onerous sanctions North Korea has endured for many years because of its nuclear and missile tests. "We believe that the UN Security Council should in due course consider opening a discussion on the North Korea sanctions resolutions reversal clauses, to help North Korea alleviate the difficulties brought to the economy and people's livelihoods by the sanctions." China is North Korea's most important economic and diplomatic backer, and Wang visited Pyongyang last week. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met at the demilitarised zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas in June and agreed to restart working-level negotiations that had been stalled since an unsuccessful second summit between the two leaders in Vietnam in February. Since the DMZ meeting, however, American officials said their attempts to resume talks had gone unanswered. North Korea has also conducted at least eight test launches since then, usually with multiple missiles each time.

Would be glad to see North Korea, US resuming talks on schedule: China

China urged the United States on Thursday to adopt an approach more conducive to dialogue in response to North Korea's goodwill in wanting to resume denuclearization talks, and again suggested United Nations sanctions relief be considered for Pyongyang.

North Korea said on Monday it was willing to restart nuclear talks with the United States in late September but warned that dealings between the sides could end unless Washington takes a fresh approach.

However, only hours later North Korea fired a new round of short-range projectiles.

Speaking in Beijing, the Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said China welcomed North Korea's recent "positive signals" on resuming talks with the United States.

"We would be glad to see North Korea and the United States resuming talks on schedule at the end of the month," Wang told a joint news conference with Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah.

Experience shows that for talks to achieve real progress, each side's core concerns must be addressed, Wang added.

"If there are only preconditions made for the other side, or lists drawn up, or even trying to use extreme pressure to get the other side to make unilateral concessions, then this didn't work in the past and it won't work now or in the future."

North Korea has so far this year taken a series of positive steps, and has asked the United States to meet them half way, he said.

"We hope that the US&nbsp;side can also take practical measures in this regard and make due efforts to ease the situation and promote dialogue."

Wang did not mention North Korea's recent weapons tests.

But he reiterated previous suggestions from China for sanctions relief for North Korea, though China has signed up the to onerous sanctions North Korea has endured for many years because of its nuclear and missile tests.

"We believe that the UN&nbsp;Security Council should in due course consider opening a discussion on the North Korea sanctions resolutions reversal clauses, to help North Korea alleviate the difficulties brought to the economy and people's livelihoods by the sanctions."

China is North Korea's most important economic and diplomatic backer, and Wang visited Pyongyang last week.

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met at the demilitarised zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas in June and agreed to restart working-level negotiations that had been stalled since an unsuccessful second summit between the two leaders in Vietnam in February.

Since the DMZ meeting, however, American officials said their attempts to resume talks had gone unanswered. North Korea has also conducted at least eight test launches since then, usually with multiple missiles each time.

The Trump administration announced plans on Wednesday to remove all flavoured e-cigarettes from store shelves in a widening crackdown on vaping, as officials warned that sweet flavours had drawn millions of children into nicotine addiction.

President Donald Trump and top US officials expressed concern about surging teenage use of e-cigarettes, and the move comes as health officials are investigating a handful of deaths and potentially hundreds of lung illnesses tied to vaping.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that, with Trump`s blessing, the US Food and Drug Administration was working on a "guidance document" that would lead to a ban of all e-cigarette flavours aside from tobacco flavouring.

"Once the FDA would finalise this guidance, we would begin enforcement actions to remove all such products from the marketplace," Azar told reporters during a meeting with the president and first lady Melania Trump in the Oval Office.

The ban would include mint and menthol flavouring as well as bubble gum, candy, fruit, alcohol and other flavours, he said.

Tobacco flavouring would be allowed to remain, subject to companies` filing for approval from the FDA. Even that would be at risk if the government determined children were attracted to it or that it was being marketed to them, Azar said.

The move is the most sweeping action yet by the US government to crack down on what it has called an "epidemic" of youth e-cigarette usage.

The FDA in March formally proposed guidelines that would prohibit the sale of flavoured e-cigarette products, except mint and menthol, in traditional retail outlets. Under that proposal, which had not been finalised, e-cigarette makers could still sell flavoured products online and in age-restricted stores, such as vape shops.

Wednesday’s proposal goes much further, banning the sale of all flavoured e-cigarette products across all retail channels, aside from tobacco-flavored products.

Despite the increased public attention around teenage e-cigarette use over the last year, HHS on Wednesday pointed to data showing that the problem has worsened. Preliminary data shows more than a quarter of US&nbsp;high school students used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. That is up from 20.8% last year and 11.7 per cent in 2017.

Six deaths have been linked to vaping and US public health officials are investigating 450 cases of potential vaping-related lung illness across 33 states and one US territory. Health officials have cited patients’ use of cannabis liquids in many, though not all, of those cases, some of which only involved nicotine vaping.

"We have a problem in our country, it`s a new problem ... and it`s called vaping, especially vaping as it pertains to innocent children," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "There have been deaths and there have been a lot of other problems."

Surge in use by adolescents

Juul Labs Inc, which dominates the US e-cigarette market, has faced withering criticism over the last two years after becoming wildly popular among teenagers. The company has taken steps to try to reduce its appeal among youth, including pulling flavours except mint and menthol from traditional retail stores, suspending its social media accounts and toughening age verification online.

In December, Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc made a $12.8 billion investment in Juul, taking a 35 per cent stake.

Juul spokesman Ted Kwong said "we strongly agree with the need for aggressive category-wide action on flavoured products," adding the company "will fully comply with the final FDA policy when effective." 
A spokesman for Imperial Brands Plc, which sells the Blu line of e-cigarettes, declined to comment.

Kaelan Hollon, a spokeswoman for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co, which sells Vuse e-cigarettes in the United States, did not directly address the proposed flavor ban but said the company shares the administration`s goal of keeping products away from youth.

Wednesday`s move by the White House comes after more than a year of mounting pressure from lawmakers, public health advocates and parents looking to end marketing of products aimed at youth.

In recent months state and local governments have also stepped in. In June, San Francisco approved a ban on the sale of all e-cigarette products, and last week Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced plans to ban flavoured e-cigarettes in her state.

A nationwide investigation led by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FDA has not definitively linked the illnesses to any specific e-cigarette product or ingredient, although health officials have expressed suspicions about the effects of inhaling vitamin E acetate, which is contained in some THC vaping products.

The FDA has urged consumers to avoid inhaling vitamin E acetate, buying vaping products on the street, using marijuana-derived oil with the products or modifying a store-bought vape product.

While e-cigarettes are marketed as tools to help smokers quit, health officials believe some companies are attracting a new generation of nicotine users.

Azar said recent data showed a surge in adolescent usage of e-cigarettes and that youth were drawn to flavours including mint and menthol. About 8 million US adults use such cigarettes and 5 million children were doing so as well.

"This is exceptionally harmful to our children," he said. "An entire generation of children risk becoming addicted to nicotine because of the attractiveness ... and availability of these vaping products."

E-cigarette makers will still have the chance to demonstrate their flavoured products serve a public health purpose.

All such companies are required to submit applications to the FDA by next May demonstrating their products and proposed flavours provide a net public health benefit. The FDA, after reviewing those applications, could authorise companies to sell flavoured products if the agency is satisfied with the proposals.

The Trump administration announced plans on Wednesday to remove all flavoured e-cigarettes from store shelves in a widening crackdown on vaping, as officials warned that sweet flavours had drawn millions of children into nicotine addiction.

The Trump administration announced plans on Wednesday to remove all flavoured e-cigarettes from store shelves in a widening crackdown on vaping, as officials warned that sweet flavours had drawn millions of children into nicotine addiction. President Donald Trump and top US officials expressed concern about surging teenage use of e-cigarettes, and the move comes as health officials are investigating a handful of deaths and potentially hundreds of lung illnesses tied to vaping. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that, with Trump`s blessing, the US Food and Drug Administration was working on a "guidance document" that would lead to a ban of all e-cigarette flavours aside from tobacco flavouring. "Once the FDA would finalise this guidance, we would begin enforcement actions to remove all such products from the marketplace," Azar told reporters during a meeting with the president and first lady Melania Trump in the Oval Office. The ban would include mint and menthol flavouring as well as bubble gum, candy, fruit, alcohol and other flavours, he said. Tobacco flavouring would be allowed to remain, subject to companies` filing for approval from the FDA. Even that would be at risk if the government determined children were attracted to it or that it was being marketed to them, Azar said. The move is the most sweeping action yet by the US government to crack down on what it has called an "epidemic" of youth e-cigarette usage. The FDA in March formally proposed guidelines that would prohibit the sale of flavoured e-cigarette products, except mint and menthol, in traditional retail outlets. Under that proposal, which had not been finalised, e-cigarette makers could still sell flavoured products online and in age-restricted stores, such as vape shops. Wednesday’s proposal goes much further, banning the sale of all flavoured e-cigarette products across all retail channels, aside from tobacco-flavored products. Despite the increased public attention around teenage e-cigarette use over the last year, HHS on Wednesday pointed to data showing that the problem has worsened. Preliminary data shows more than a quarter of US high school students used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. That is up from 20.8% last year and 11.7 per cent in 2017. Six deaths have been linked to vaping and US public health officials are investigating 450 cases of potential vaping-related lung illness across 33 states and one US territory. Health officials have cited patients’ use of cannabis liquids in many, though not all, of those cases, some of which only involved nicotine vaping. "We have a problem in our country, it`s a new problem ... and it`s called vaping, especially vaping as it pertains to innocent children," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "There have been deaths and there have been a lot of other problems." Surge in use by adolescents Juul Labs Inc, which dominates the US e-cigarette market, has faced withering criticism over the last two years after becoming wildly popular among teenagers. The company has taken steps to try to reduce its appeal among youth, including pulling flavours except mint and menthol from traditional retail stores, suspending its social media accounts and toughening age verification online. In December, Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc made a $12.8 billion investment in Juul, taking a 35 per cent stake. Juul spokesman Ted Kwong said "we strongly agree with the need for aggressive category-wide action on flavoured products," adding the company "will fully comply with the final FDA policy when effective." A spokesman for Imperial Brands Plc, which sells the Blu line of e-cigarettes, declined to comment. Kaelan Hollon, a spokeswoman for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co, which sells Vuse e-cigarettes in the United States, did not directly address the proposed flavor ban but said the company shares the administration`s goal of keeping products away from youth. Wednesday`s move by the White House comes after more than a year of mounting pressure from lawmakers, public health advocates and parents looking to end marketing of products aimed at youth. In recent months state and local governments have also stepped in. In June, San Francisco approved a ban on the sale of all e-cigarette products, and last week Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced plans to ban flavoured e-cigarettes in her state. A nationwide investigation led by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FDA has not definitively linked the illnesses to any specific e-cigarette product or ingredient, although health officials have expressed suspicions about the effects of inhaling vitamin E acetate, which is contained in some THC vaping products. The FDA has urged consumers to avoid inhaling vitamin E acetate, buying vaping products on the street, using marijuana-derived oil with the products or modifying a store-bought vape product. While e-cigarettes are marketed as tools to help smokers quit, health officials believe some companies are attracting a new generation of nicotine users. Azar said recent data showed a surge in adolescent usage of e-cigarettes and that youth were drawn to flavours including mint and menthol. About 8 million US adults use such cigarettes and 5 million children were doing so as well. "This is exceptionally harmful to our children," he said. "An entire generation of children risk becoming addicted to nicotine because of the attractiveness ... and availability of these vaping products." E-cigarette makers will still have the chance to demonstrate their flavoured products serve a public health purpose. All such companies are required to submit applications to the FDA by next May demonstrating their products and proposed flavours provide a net public health benefit. The FDA, after reviewing those applications, could authorise companies to sell flavoured products if the agency is satisfied with the proposals.

Trump administration seeks ban on flavoured e-cigarettes to combat youth addiction

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken about growing terrorism worldwide on the 18th anniversary of 9/11 attacks. Watch this video to know more.

Indian PM Modi speaks on growing terrorism worldwide

President Donald Trump on Wednesday (September 11) said the United States has hit the Taliban "harder than they have ever been hit before" just days after he cancelled a secret Camp David meeting with Taliban leaders and declared the peace talks dead. Trump's comments came as he spoke at a remembrance ceremony for the 18th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Watch this video to know more.

18th anniversary of 9/11 attacks, Trump observes silence

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said on Thursday that the ongoing trade disputes between the United States and China offer a window of opportunity for Indian manufacturers to make a mark in export markets.

"We have a trade surplus of 17 billion dollars with the United States and a trade deficit of 53 billion dollars with China. India needs to work on its strengths by exploring market access for agriculture and pharma products in different regions," he said while addressing the second meeting of the Board of Trade.

Goyal said there has not been much growth in exports this year and this is not satisfactory. There is a need for transforming each district of India into an export hub, he said while urging policymakers from states to identify and take adequate measures.

Total exports out of India crossed the half-trillion-dollar mark at 537 billion dollars in 2018-19 with goods exports at an all-time high of 331 billion dollars and services exports at 205 billion dollars.

"India will have to achieve one trillion dollars of exports in the next five years. For this, we need to increase domestic production and improve our competitiveness," said Goyal.

Simultaneously, both the Centre and the state governments will have to take measures for further improving ease of doing business, decrease logistics cost and simplify regulatory procedures, he said.

The government will soon come up with a credit scheme for exporters with enhanced insurance cover up to 90 per cent instead of the present 60 per cent, said the minister.

Goyal said the proposed merger of 10 public sector banks (PSBs) will enable them to disburse enhanced credit, increase their risk appetite and raise resources from the market.

He said about Rs 70,000 crore will be released to PSBs upfront and additional lending and liquidity to the tune of Rs 5 lakh crore that will benefit corporate, retail borrowers, MSMEs, small traders, and exporters.

Goyal was accompanied by junior ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and Som Parkash at the meeting in which the Board of Trade and the Council for Trade Development and Promotion were merged.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said on Thursday that the ongoing trade disputes between the United States and China offer a window of opportunity for Indian manufacturers to make a mark in export markets.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said on Thursday that the ongoing trade disputes between the United States and China offer a window of opportunity for Indian manufacturers to make a mark in export markets. "We have a trade surplus of 17 billion dollars with the United States and a trade deficit of 53 billion dollars with China. India needs to work on its strengths by exploring market access for agriculture and pharma products in different regions," he said while addressing the second meeting of the Board of Trade. Goyal said there has not been much growth in exports this year and this is not satisfactory. There is a need for transforming each district of India into an export hub, he said while urging policymakers from states to identify and take adequate measures. Total exports out of India crossed the half-trillion-dollar mark at 537 billion dollars in 2018-19 with goods exports at an all-time high of 331 billion dollars and services exports at 205 billion dollars. "India will have to achieve one trillion dollars of exports in the next five years. For this, we need to increase domestic production and improve our competitiveness," said Goyal. Simultaneously, both the Centre and the state governments will have to take measures for further improving ease of doing business, decrease logistics cost and simplify regulatory procedures, he said. The government will soon come up with a credit scheme for exporters with enhanced insurance cover up to 90 per cent instead of the present 60 per cent, said the minister. Goyal said the proposed merger of 10 public sector banks (PSBs) will enable them to disburse enhanced credit, increase their risk appetite and raise resources from the market. He said about Rs 70,000 crore will be released to PSBs upfront and additional lending and liquidity to the tune of Rs 5 lakh crore that will benefit corporate, retail borrowers, MSMEs, small traders, and exporters. Goyal was accompanied by junior ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and Som Parkash at the meeting in which the Board of Trade and the Council for Trade Development and Promotion were merged.

US-China trade war offers opportunity for Indian manufacturers in export markets: Piyush Goyal

Huawei Technologies' device business, comprising mainly smartphones, made $1.55 billion profit in the first half of this year - as much as it earned in all of 2018 - a rare regulatory filing showed.

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-says-to-decide-on-huawei-soon-but-china-must-play-by-rules-249046">Chinese tech giant was put on a trade blacklist</a> by the United States in May, which <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/huawei-denies-us-allegations-of-technology-theft-247310">cut off its access to essential US components</a> and technology. The ban stops US&nbsp;companies such as Alphabet's Google from doing business with Huawei.

Analysts have said that the consumer business is the most vulnerable to Washington's sanctions, with the main impact likely to be felt in the second half of the year.

Huawei said last month that, while the impact of the curbs was weaker than previously expected, it would still push the smartphone unit's revenue lower by about $10 billion this year.

The company had so far disclosed annual profit figures for the entire company and the filing provide a rare window into the growing profit contribution from Huawei's consumer business.

Huawei previously said smartphone shipments in the first half of the year jumped 24 per cent jump to 118 million units, as demand surged from patriotic Chinese buyers amid rising rhetoric in local media that Huawei was being treated unfairly by the United States.

Its market share rose more than 10 percentage points to 38 per cent&nbsp;in the June quarter in China, the world's biggest smartphone market, according to market research firm Canalys showed.

The new profit numbers were disclosed in a bonds prospectus published on September 11 from Huawei's parent Huawei Investment &amp; Holding Co Ltd, looking to raise up to 20 billion yuan in its first attempt to tap the onshore yuan bond market.

Profit at Huawei Device (Shenzhen) Ltd, a wholly-owned unit of the parent and a proxy for the behemoth's smartphone business, was 11.2 billion yuan in the first half of 2019, while revenue was 211 billion yuan.

The unit earned the same amount of money in all of 2018 on revenue of 329 billion yuan, according to the prospectus that did not provide numbers for just the first half.

The filing also showed Huawei Technologies Limited, Huawei's main business entity, made a net profit of 30.27 billion yuan and revenue of 353 billion yuan in the first half of 2019.

The group recorded increases in gross margins across all three businesses of carrier network, consumer and enterprise business in the period. Revenue contribution from China rose to 58.12% in the first half, up from 52.02% for the full year of 2018.

Huawei Technologies' device business, comprising mainly smartphones, made $1.55 billion profit in the first half of this year - as much as it earned in all of 2018 - a rare regulatory filing showed.

Huawei Technologies' device business, comprising mainly smartphones, made $1.55 billion profit in the first half of this year - as much as it earned in all of 2018 - a rare regulatory filing showed. The Chinese tech giant was put on a trade blacklist by the United States in May, which cut off its access to essential US components and technology. The ban stops US companies such as Alphabet's Google from doing business with Huawei. Analysts have said that the consumer business is the most vulnerable to Washington's sanctions, with the main impact likely to be felt in the second half of the year. Huawei said last month that, while the impact of the curbs was weaker than previously expected, it would still push the smartphone unit's revenue lower by about $10 billion this year. The company had so far disclosed annual profit figures for the entire company and the filing provide a rare window into the growing profit contribution from Huawei's consumer business. Huawei previously said smartphone shipments in the first half of the year jumped 24 per cent jump to 118 million units, as demand surged from patriotic Chinese buyers amid rising rhetoric in local media that Huawei was being treated unfairly by the United States. Its market share rose more than 10 percentage points to 38 per cent in the June quarter in China, the world's biggest smartphone market, according to market research firm Canalys showed. The new profit numbers were disclosed in a bonds prospectus published on September 11 from Huawei's parent Huawei Investment & Holding Co Ltd, looking to raise up to 20 billion yuan in its first attempt to tap the onshore yuan bond market. Profit at Huawei Device (Shenzhen) Ltd, a wholly-owned unit of the parent and a proxy for the behemoth's smartphone business, was 11.2 billion yuan in the first half of 2019, while revenue was 211 billion yuan. The unit earned the same amount of money in all of 2018 on revenue of 329 billion yuan, according to the prospectus that did not provide numbers for just the first half. The filing also showed Huawei Technologies Limited, Huawei's main business entity, made a net profit of 30.27 billion yuan and revenue of 353 billion yuan in the first half of 2019. The group recorded increases in gross margins across all three businesses of carrier network, consumer and enterprise business in the period. Revenue contribution from China rose to 58.12% in the first half, up from 52.02% for the full year of 2018.

Despite US blacklist, Huawei smartphones made $1.55 billion profit in first half of 2019, records show

Global oil demand is weathering economic headwinds, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday, buoyed by lower prices brought on by abundant supply as the United States briefly dethroned Saudi Arabia as the world's top exporter.

"With oil prices currently about 20 per cent&nbsp;lower than a year ago, there will be support for consumers," the IEA said in its monthly report.

"Booming shale production has allowed the US&nbsp;to close in on, and briefly overtake, Saudi Arabia as the world's top oil exporter ... in June, after crude exports surged above 3 million barrels per day (bpd)."

The Paris-based agency maintained its estimate for growth in global oil demand during 2019 at 1.1 million bpd and 1.3 million bpd for next year, assuming no further breakdown in US-China trade talks and citing an easing of tensions around Iran.

A rebound in US&nbsp;production following Hurricane Dorian along with steep output growth from Brazil and the North Sea were set to drive production from outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) up sharply, it added.

Non-OPEC production growth is seen rising to 2.3 million bpd in 2020, up 400,000 from this year. Meanwhile, demand for OPEC crude is set to reach 28.3 million bpd in the first half of 2020, 1.4 million bpd less than the group produced in August.

The discrepancy may prompt OPEC and its allies including Russia to revisit their production-curbing pact.

"The implied market balance (will be) returning to a significant surplus and placing pressure on prices," the IEA said. "The challenge of market management remains a daunting one well into 2020."&nbsp;

Global oil demand is weathering economic headwinds, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday, buoyed by lower prices brought on by abundant supply as the United States briefly dethroned Saudi Arabia as the world's top exporter.

Global oil demand is weathering economic headwinds, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday, buoyed by lower prices brought on by abundant supply as the United States briefly dethroned Saudi Arabia as the world's top exporter. "With oil prices currently about 20 per cent lower than a year ago, there will be support for consumers," the IEA said in its monthly report. "Booming shale production has allowed the US to close in on, and briefly overtake, Saudi Arabia as the world's top oil exporter ... in June, after crude exports surged above 3 million barrels per day (bpd)." The Paris-based agency maintained its estimate for growth in global oil demand during 2019 at 1.1 million bpd and 1.3 million bpd for next year, assuming no further breakdown in US-China trade talks and citing an easing of tensions around Iran. A rebound in US production following Hurricane Dorian along with steep output growth from Brazil and the North Sea were set to drive production from outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) up sharply, it added. Non-OPEC production growth is seen rising to 2.3 million bpd in 2020, up 400,000 from this year. Meanwhile, demand for OPEC crude is set to reach 28.3 million bpd in the first half of 2020, 1.4 million bpd less than the group produced in August. The discrepancy may prompt OPEC and its allies including Russia to revisit their production-curbing pact. "The implied market balance (will be) returning to a significant surplus and placing pressure on prices," the IEA said. "The challenge of market management remains a daunting one well into 2020."

US briefly overtakes Saudi Arabia as top oil exporter: International Energy Agency

Iran’s ambassador to India, Ali Chegini, recently urged New Delhi to follow an independent line and take advantage of the opportunities presented by Iran in the oil and gas sector.&nbsp;

To buttress his point, he showcased how Beijing had refused to follow the sanctions imposed by the US targeting Iran’s oil and financial sectors.&nbsp;

According to Chegini, China had agreed to invest $280 billion in Iran’s oil, gas and petrochemical sectors that are being affected by US sanctions. As compared to China, India’s reaction is a tame capitulation to the American diktat.&nbsp;

China is receiving oil shipments from a larger number of Iranian tankers defying sanctions imposed by the United States to strangulate Tehran’s main source of income, because it clearly prizes self-interest over American unilateralism.&nbsp;

As it is, China, as Tehran’s top trading partner, receives the largest share of Iran’s crude exports. Besides, being a permanent member of the UN Security Council, it is able to neutralise America. It is sad to see India looking like a US lackey.

That India is feeling the pressure of US sanctions is evident from reports that New Delhi has reportedly directed at least one of the refiners to devise a payment mechanism that would avoid the US banking system in an effort to avoid exposure to American secondary sanctions.

Indian refiners had established a rupee-based barter system to pay for Iranian crude oil several years ago when paying in dollars was not an option.&nbsp;

Now that India is trying to find newer pastures to compensate its loss to Iran with supplies from the US and Venezuela, she is mulling an escape route to bypass US sanctions in its transactions with Venezuela.

How long will this subterfuge work? If the Trump administration decides to punish the People’s Bank of China or other Chinese banks that engage in transactions with the Central Bank of Iran, or penalise energy giant Sinopec, which, like Zhuhai Zhenrong, also imports oil from Iran, there would be massive trade repercussions and the headwinds might well shoot up fuel prices.

Iran is forging strong political links with American rivals such as China and Russia, and with India, that was formally, till the other day, “non-aligned”.&nbsp;

Iran’s link to China and India in terms of the role that Iranian oil and gas has played in their rapid economic growth is incontestable.&nbsp;

Beijing’s relatively new commercial and political relationship with Tehran, for example, that is still in its infancy as compared to India, has been created and sustained by an insatiable Chinese thirst for oil that its domestic production has failed to quench since the early to mid-1990s.&nbsp;

The Trump Administration’s decision to permanently end all sanction waivers earlier this year has forced India to not just slash Iranian crude imports, but to stop them altogether.&nbsp;

Even during the Iran–Iraq war, India shifted its oil supplies away from Iraq and Iran to elsewhere in the Gulf, but took care to keep good relations with both countries.

The first bilateral visit of Prime Minister Narsimha Rao to Iran took place in 1993 and a year later, Iran prevented Pakistan from tabling a resolution critical of India on the Kashmir issue at the UN Human Rights Commission. Rao’s understanding was that India had more in common with Shia Iran than with the ‘increasingly Wahhabised Arab world’.&nbsp;

In 2003, during Iranian President Khatami’s visit to New Delhi as a guest of honour on Republic Day, the two countries signed the New Delhi Declaration calling for a strategic partnership.&nbsp;

India has traditionally declined to be seen as being required to gang up with the United States against Iran. At the end of the day, it is time to question if the Trump administration’s goal of putting “maximum pressure” on Iran will work.

Importantly, in the face of the US President’s unpredictability – given that sanctions can hardly bring a regime down to its knees – how can India jettison so much at stake?&nbsp; 
 
(This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-iran-jettisoning-energy-stakes-for-america-s-sake-2789104">original article</a>) 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) 
&nbsp;

Iran’s ambassador to India, Ali Chegini, recently urged New Delhi to follow an independent line and take advantage of the opportunities presented by Iran in the oil and gas sector.

Iran’s ambassador to India, Ali Chegini, recently urged New Delhi to follow an independent line and take advantage of the opportunities presented by Iran in the oil and gas sector. To buttress his point, he showcased how Beijing had refused to follow the sanctions imposed by the US targeting Iran’s oil and financial sectors. According to Chegini, China had agreed to invest $280 billion in Iran’s oil, gas and petrochemical sectors that are being affected by US sanctions. As compared to China, India’s reaction is a tame capitulation to the American diktat. China is receiving oil shipments from a larger number of Iranian tankers defying sanctions imposed by the United States to strangulate Tehran’s main source of income, because it clearly prizes self-interest over American unilateralism. As it is, China, as Tehran’s top trading partner, receives the largest share of Iran’s crude exports. Besides, being a permanent member of the UN Security Council, it is able to neutralise America. It is sad to see India looking like a US lackey. That India is feeling the pressure of US sanctions is evident from reports that New Delhi has reportedly directed at least one of the refiners to devise a payment mechanism that would avoid the US banking system in an effort to avoid exposure to American secondary sanctions. Indian refiners had established a rupee-based barter system to pay for Iranian crude oil several years ago when paying in dollars was not an option. Now that India is trying to find newer pastures to compensate its loss to Iran with supplies from the US and Venezuela, she is mulling an escape route to bypass US sanctions in its transactions with Venezuela. How long will this subterfuge work? If the Trump administration decides to punish the People’s Bank of China or other Chinese banks that engage in transactions with the Central Bank of Iran, or penalise energy giant Sinopec, which, like Zhuhai Zhenrong, also imports oil from Iran, there would be massive trade repercussions and the headwinds might well shoot up fuel prices. Iran is forging strong political links with American rivals such as China and Russia, and with India, that was formally, till the other day, “non-aligned”. Iran’s link to China and India in terms of the role that Iranian oil and gas has played in their rapid economic growth is incontestable. Beijing’s relatively new commercial and political relationship with Tehran, for example, that is still in its infancy as compared to India, has been created and sustained by an insatiable Chinese thirst for oil that its domestic production has failed to quench since the early to mid-1990s. The Trump Administration’s decision to permanently end all sanction waivers earlier this year has forced India to not just slash Iranian crude imports, but to stop them altogether. Even during the Iran–Iraq war, India shifted its oil supplies away from Iraq and Iran to elsewhere in the Gulf, but took care to keep good relations with both countries. The first bilateral visit of Prime Minister Narsimha Rao to Iran took place in 1993 and a year later, Iran prevented Pakistan from tabling a resolution critical of India on the Kashmir issue at the UN Human Rights Commission. Rao’s understanding was that India had more in common with Shia Iran than with the ‘increasingly Wahhabised Arab world’. In 2003, during Iranian President Khatami’s visit to New Delhi as a guest of honour on Republic Day, the two countries signed the New Delhi Declaration calling for a strategic partnership. India has traditionally declined to be seen as being required to gang up with the United States against Iran. At the end of the day, it is time to question if the Trump administration’s goal of putting “maximum pressure” on Iran will work. Importantly, in the face of the US President’s unpredictability – given that sanctions can hardly bring a regime down to its knees – how can India jettison so much at stake? (This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Iran: Jettisoning energy stakes for America’s sake

President Donald Trump said Monday that <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/wion-edit-us-taliban-talks-cancelled-impact-on-india-248667">negotiations with the Taliban “are dead”</a> and indicated that he had no further interest in meeting with the group over an end to the Afghanistan war.

The weakness of the US-Taliban negotiations resided in the fact that they concentrated on relatively narrow War on Terror yardsticks including withdrawal of American forces, a cease-fire, intra-Afghan negotiations to follow, and guarantees by the Taliban not to harbor terrorist groups.

It was a list of exit criteria, not a strategy for addressing the regional nation-state dynamics of which the Afghan conflict is fundamentally a biproduct.

The War in Afghanistan has its origins in the decades-old antagonism between Pakistan and India spawned by the violence-punctuated partition of the British Indian Empire in August 1947.

Since partition, Pakistan and India have fought three wars (1947, 1965, 1971), clashed in the 1999 Kargil Conflict and engaged in many other armed skirmishes, particularly along the Line of Control in Kashmir.

Pakistan has always viewed Afghanistan as a necessary client-state, a security buffer against what they consider potential Indian encirclement and as a springboard to extend their own influence into the resource-rich areas of Central Asia.

Not surprisingly, Pakistani interference in Afghanistan long pre-dated Soviet and American involvement during the 1980s.

As early as the 1950s, Pakistan began inserting into Afghanistan Islamists associated with the its Jamaat-e-Islami party.

In 1974, then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto set up a cell within Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) to begin managing dissident Islamists in Afghanistan, which mounted two failed Islamist coups in 1974 and 1975.

During the late 1970s, under President Zia ul-Haq, Pakistan pursued a policy of aggressive “Islamization” with the proliferation of religious schools “madrasas” and religious political parties, resulting in a society that became ever more extreme and intolerant.

Two parallel experiences have had significant influence on Pakistan’s present-day foreign policy: (1) the successful 1980s mujahideen war to oust the Soviet Union from Afghanistan with the subsequent Pakistan-sponsored Taliban control of Afghanistan and (2) Pakistan’s 1998 development of nuclear weapons.

That is, Islamist fighters were found to be useful proxies for the Pakistani military and the ISI, particularly against India and Afghanistan and that retaliation for the use of those 4th generation warfare operations could be largely “immunized” by Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella.

That joint policy has led to years of attacks by Pakistan-based terrorists against India.

The prelude to America’s current involvement in Afghanistan and the main failure of the Reagan Administration’s Afghanistan policy was letting the Central Intelligence Agency blindly outsource mujahideen funding to Pakistan’s ISI, which funneled American money and arms, not to Afghan nationalists like Ahmad Shah Massoud, but to pro-Pakistani Islamists such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani.

It is an undisputed fact that the Taliban were created by the ISI beginning in 1994 as a means to intervene in the Afghan civil war and influence the outcome in favor of Pakistani national interests when its previous favored Islamist, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, failed in that effort.

If anything, Pakistan’s behavior has been consistent. It has successfully exploited US&nbsp;short-term goals while pursuing its long-term regional interests, mostly those contrary to our own.

While the US&nbsp;has been fighting the War on Terror in Afghanistan since 2001, Pakistan has been using the Taliban as a proxy to control Afghanistan as part of its struggle with India and to promote the foreign policy ambitions of its “all weather” ally, China.

Even within the context of US-Taliban negotiations, Pakistan attempted to leverage its position by pushing for the Taliban to have an outsize political role in Kabul once foreign forces leave and to press for foreign intervention in its conflict with India over Kashmir, something India rejects.

The contents of the US-Taliban agreement that appeared publicly did not adequately address future strategic challenges. The de facto surrendering of Afghanistan to the control of Pakistan’s Taliban proxy could have dangerous, perhaps even conflicting ramifications.

First, Pakistan, not Afghanistan, is the epicenter of regional Islamic militancy and an exporter of jihad.

Second, China’s growing geopolitical strength and its increased presence in Pakistan have changed the strategic dynamics of the region, largely rendering whatever remains of US South Asian policy obsolete.&nbsp;

The future threat is from China in the form of the Chinese-Pakistani alliance. China’s aim is to dominate South Asia, first economically based on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and then militarily using its alliance with Pakistan to establish military bases, particularly on Pakistan’s Arabian Sea coast, thus controlling vital maritime lanes and the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Those bases would provide a critical link between China’s military facilities in the South China Sea and its naval base in Djibouti at the entrance of the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

The only bargaining chip the US&nbsp;has had in the Afghan negotiations is our diminishing “presence,” which is clearly unsustainable, given the Taliban’s continuing pursuit of a military solution and the prospect of a “Dien Bien Phu” at Bagram airbase.

Between now and the beginning of a final withdrawal, the US&nbsp;should be identifying additional forms of influence as a basis for a new South Asian strategy.

A new strategy for South Asia should focus on preventing Chinese-Pakistani domination of the region or any US&nbsp;adversary from benefitting from our withdrawal by using all the elements of US power – diplomatic, informational, military and economic.

From a politico-military standpoint, two approaches, operating in parallel, are required.

We should adopt a traditional containment policy, applying regional diplomacy, especially greater cooperation with India and augmenting US&nbsp;naval and air power projection to counter Chinese attempts to box-in US forces in the Persian Gulf area and outflank the US naval base at Diego Garcia.

Additionally, increased financial and economic pressure needs to be applied to Pakistan to restrain its use of terrorist proxies as an element of its foreign policy.

In order to maintain a balance of power, the US should use strategic disruption, not of China directly, but of its plans to dominate the region.

Tactically, that would involve managing and, when necessary, exploiting the inherent conflicts in South Asia including state-to-state disputes, the Sunni-Shia divide and ethnic separatism within Pakistan such as the Balochistan independence insurgency and the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement fighting for civil rights in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

The center of gravity and also the weakest link of the China-Pakistan alliance is CPEC, which is the flagship of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a collection of infrastructure projects and a network of commercial agreements designed to link the entire world directly to the Chinese economy through inter-connected land-based and maritime routes.

The guarantor of that soft power approach is the hard power of Chinesemilitary expansion including Chinese bases to control the northern Indian Ocean.

CPEC transits two volatile regions, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, long disputed by India, and Balochistan, home of a festering ethnic insurgency since the partition of India in 1947, when the region was forcibly incorporated into Pakistan. Both are targets of opportunity for strategic disruption of Chinese-Pakistani regional ambitions.

It is late, but there may still be time to defeat Chinese South Asian ambitions “on the beaches.”

President Donald Trump said Monday that negotiations with the Taliban “are dead” and indicated that he had no further interest in meeting with the group over an end to the Afghanistan war.

President Donald Trump said Monday that negotiations with the Taliban “are dead” and indicated that he had no further interest in meeting with the group over an end to the Afghanistan war. The weakness of the US-Taliban negotiations resided in the fact that they concentrated on relatively narrow War on Terror yardsticks including withdrawal of American forces, a cease-fire, intra-Afghan negotiations to follow, and guarantees by the Taliban not to harbor terrorist groups. It was a list of exit criteria, not a strategy for addressing the regional nation-state dynamics of which the Afghan conflict is fundamentally a biproduct. The War in Afghanistan has its origins in the decades-old antagonism between Pakistan and India spawned by the violence-punctuated partition of the British Indian Empire in August 1947. Since partition, Pakistan and India have fought three wars (1947, 1965, 1971), clashed in the 1999 Kargil Conflict and engaged in many other armed skirmishes, particularly along the Line of Control in Kashmir. Pakistan has always viewed Afghanistan as a necessary client-state, a security buffer against what they consider potential Indian encirclement and as a springboard to extend their own influence into the resource-rich areas of Central Asia. Not surprisingly, Pakistani interference in Afghanistan long pre-dated Soviet and American involvement during the 1980s. As early as the 1950s, Pakistan began inserting into Afghanistan Islamists associated with the its Jamaat-e-Islami party. In 1974, then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto set up a cell within Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) to begin managing dissident Islamists in Afghanistan, which mounted two failed Islamist coups in 1974 and 1975. During the late 1970s, under President Zia ul-Haq, Pakistan pursued a policy of aggressive “Islamization” with the proliferation of religious schools “madrasas” and religious political parties, resulting in a society that became ever more extreme and intolerant. Two parallel experiences have had significant influence on Pakistan’s present-day foreign policy: (1) the successful 1980s mujahideen war to oust the Soviet Union from Afghanistan with the subsequent Pakistan-sponsored Taliban control of Afghanistan and (2) Pakistan’s 1998 development of nuclear weapons. That is, Islamist fighters were found to be useful proxies for the Pakistani military and the ISI, particularly against India and Afghanistan and that retaliation for the use of those 4th generation warfare operations could be largely “immunized” by Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella. That joint policy has led to years of attacks by Pakistan-based terrorists against India. The prelude to America’s current involvement in Afghanistan and the main failure of the Reagan Administration’s Afghanistan policy was letting the Central Intelligence Agency blindly outsource mujahideen funding to Pakistan’s ISI, which funneled American money and arms, not to Afghan nationalists like Ahmad Shah Massoud, but to pro-Pakistani Islamists such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani. It is an undisputed fact that the Taliban were created by the ISI beginning in 1994 as a means to intervene in the Afghan civil war and influence the outcome in favor of Pakistani national interests when its previous favored Islamist, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, failed in that effort. If anything, Pakistan’s behavior has been consistent. It has successfully exploited US short-term goals while pursuing its long-term regional interests, mostly those contrary to our own. While the US has been fighting the War on Terror in Afghanistan since 2001, Pakistan has been using the Taliban as a proxy to control Afghanistan as part of its struggle with India and to promote the foreign policy ambitions of its “all weather” ally, China. Even within the context of US-Taliban negotiations, Pakistan attempted to leverage its position by pushing for the Taliban to have an outsize political role in Kabul once foreign forces leave and to press for foreign intervention in its conflict with India over Kashmir, something India rejects. The contents of the US-Taliban agreement that appeared publicly did not adequately address future strategic challenges. The de facto surrendering of Afghanistan to the control of Pakistan’s Taliban proxy could have dangerous, perhaps even conflicting ramifications. First, Pakistan, not Afghanistan, is the epicenter of regional Islamic militancy and an exporter of jihad. Second, China’s growing geopolitical strength and its increased presence in Pakistan have changed the strategic dynamics of the region, largely rendering whatever remains of US South Asian policy obsolete. The future threat is from China in the form of the Chinese-Pakistani alliance. China’s aim is to dominate South Asia, first economically based on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and then militarily using its alliance with Pakistan to establish military bases, particularly on Pakistan’s Arabian Sea coast, thus controlling vital maritime lanes and the mouth of the Persian Gulf. Those bases would provide a critical link between China’s military facilities in the South China Sea and its naval base in Djibouti at the entrance of the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. The only bargaining chip the US has had in the Afghan negotiations is our diminishing “presence,” which is clearly unsustainable, given the Taliban’s continuing pursuit of a military solution and the prospect of a “Dien Bien Phu” at Bagram airbase. Between now and the beginning of a final withdrawal, the US should be identifying additional forms of influence as a basis for a new South Asian strategy. A new strategy for South Asia should focus on preventing Chinese-Pakistani domination of the region or any US adversary from benefitting from our withdrawal by using all the elements of US power – diplomatic, informational, military and economic. From a politico-military standpoint, two approaches, operating in parallel, are required. We should adopt a traditional containment policy, applying regional diplomacy, especially greater cooperation with India and augmenting US naval and air power projection to counter Chinese attempts to box-in US forces in the Persian Gulf area and outflank the US naval base at Diego Garcia. Additionally, increased financial and economic pressure needs to be applied to Pakistan to restrain its use of terrorist proxies as an element of its foreign policy. In order to maintain a balance of power, the US should use strategic disruption, not of China directly, but of its plans to dominate the region. Tactically, that would involve managing and, when necessary, exploiting the inherent conflicts in South Asia including state-to-state disputes, the Sunni-Shia divide and ethnic separatism within Pakistan such as the Balochistan independence insurgency and the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement fighting for civil rights in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. The center of gravity and also the weakest link of the China-Pakistan alliance is CPEC, which is the flagship of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a collection of infrastructure projects and a network of commercial agreements designed to link the entire world directly to the Chinese economy through inter-connected land-based and maritime routes. The guarantor of that soft power approach is the hard power of Chinesemilitary expansion including Chinese bases to control the northern Indian Ocean. CPEC transits two volatile regions, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, long disputed by India, and Balochistan, home of a festering ethnic insurgency since the partition of India in 1947, when the region was forcibly incorporated into Pakistan. Both are targets of opportunity for strategic disruption of Chinese-Pakistani regional ambitions. It is late, but there may still be time to defeat Chinese South Asian ambitions “on the beaches.”

The now dead US-Taliban talks lacked strategic vision

Online video content is a new addiction for Indians. An average viewer is now watching the online content about eight hours 28 minutes each week, more than the time they spend viewing TV every week, according to a survey.

Many users get hooked to Youtube and digital videos to the extent that they spend hours in a day consuming content it has to offer.

Be it checking the schedule of your bus or train. To the weather and the news.All create a dependency on digital media which further fuels smartphone addiction.

So when it comes to internet adoption trends - many reports say that India is growing as one of the leading markets in the world.

An e-marketer forecast has revealed that India is likely to overtake the US in terms of time spent on digital videos by the year 2020.

While popular apps like Youtube, Tiktok and online platforms like Hotstar and Netflix drive up the number.

A major contributor to this trend - is the rise of short digital videos.

The report says that the average daily time spent by Indians online is likely to increase from 1 hour 20 minutes in 2017 to 2 hours 21 minutes by next year.

Not just this - India consumes the highest data per user and subscriber in the world.

The telecom regulatory authority of India has estimated this to be around 7.69 gigabytes per month.

Now almost all of this is happening due to access to cheap android smartphones and 4G cellular data.

But it certainly has some advantages to it.There is no doubt that the usage of digital videos is exploding in India.

According to reports, nearly 70 per cent of online viewers resort to youtube to learn something.

Digital videos have also become an important source for consuming news. From trailers to movie clips to song launches, social media has become an indispensable part of the Indian film industry.

Social media's journey has not only been deeply linked to the internet growth story of India but also to video consumption habits of Indians.

Through online channels, Indian viewers largely watch movies, followed by news, TV shows and sports, amongst others.

Online video content is a new addiction for Indians. An average viewer is now watching the online content about eight hours 28 minutes each week, more than the time they spend viewing TV every week, according to a survey.

Online video content is a new addiction for Indians. An average viewer is now watching the online content about eight hours 28 minutes each week, more than the time they spend viewing TV every week, according to a survey. Many users get hooked to Youtube and digital videos to the extent that they spend hours in a day consuming content it has to offer. Be it checking the schedule of your bus or train. To the weather and the news.All create a dependency on digital media which further fuels smartphone addiction. So when it comes to internet adoption trends - many reports say that India is growing as one of the leading markets in the world. An e-marketer forecast has revealed that India is likely to overtake the US in terms of time spent on digital videos by the year 2020. While popular apps like Youtube, Tiktok and online platforms like Hotstar and Netflix drive up the number. A major contributor to this trend - is the rise of short digital videos. The report says that the average daily time spent by Indians online is likely to increase from 1 hour 20 minutes in 2017 to 2 hours 21 minutes by next year. Not just this - India consumes the highest data per user and subscriber in the world. The telecom regulatory authority of India has estimated this to be around 7.69 gigabytes per month. Now almost all of this is happening due to access to cheap android smartphones and 4G cellular data. But it certainly has some advantages to it.There is no doubt that the usage of digital videos is exploding in India. According to reports, nearly 70 per cent of online viewers resort to youtube to learn something. Digital videos have also become an important source for consuming news. From trailers to movie clips to song launches, social media has become an indispensable part of the Indian film industry. Social media's journey has not only been deeply linked to the internet growth story of India but also to video consumption habits of Indians. Through online channels, Indian viewers largely watch movies, followed by news, TV shows and sports, amongst others.

India to overtake United States on time spent on internet videos: Survey

The United States will continue to impose sanctions on whoever purchases Iran's oil or conducts business with Iran's Revolutionary Guards and no oil waivers will be re-issued, a US official said on Sunday.

The United States will continue to impose sanctions on whoever purchases Iran's oil or conducts business with Iran's Revolutionary Guards and no oil waivers will be re-issued, a US official said on Sunday. Iran's crude oil exports were slashed by more than 80% due to re-imposed sanctions by the United States after President Donald Trump exited last year Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. "We will continue to put pressure on Iran and as President (Trump) said there will be no waivers of any kind for Iran's oil," Sigal Mandelker, US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, told reporters. Mandelker added that Iranian oil sales have taken a "serious nose dive" because of U.S. pressure. Since ditching the nuclear deal, calling it skewed to Iran's advantage, Trump has reimposed sanctions to strangle its vital oil trade and force Tehran to accept stricter limits on its nuclear activity, curb its ballistic missile programme and end its support for proxy forces around the Middle East. In retaliation, Iran has been reducing its commitments under the deal since May, pressuring European countries to the pact to protect Tehran's interests and its economy. France has proposed offering Iran about $15 billion in credit lines until year-end if Tehran comes fully back into compliance with its 2015 nuclear deal, a move that hinges on Washington not blocking it, Western and Iranian sources said. In addition to saving the deal, Tehran wants to restart selling its oil. Two Iranian officials and one diplomat told Reuters on Aug. 25 that Iran wants to export a minimum of 700,000 barrels per day of its oil and ideally up to 1.5 million bpd if the West wants to negotiate with Tehran to save the nuclear deal. On Sunday, Iran said that its oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, which was detained by Britain off Gibraltar in July for allegedly breaking EU sanctions on Syria and was released in mid-August, had unloaded its oil after docking somewhere in the Mediterranean region. Last month, the US Treasury blacklisted the tanker, which went dark off Syria last week and had been photographed by satellite off the Syrian port of Tartus. "This is not just about the tanker. It is a sharp warning to any company in the world," said Mandelker. "Companies and governments understand that between the choice of doing business with Iran or doing business with the U.S. it’s a no-brainer," On Sept 3, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran will never hold bilateral talks with the United States but if it lifts all the sanctions it reimposed on Iran it can join multilateral talks between Iran and other parties to the nuclear agreement.

US will impose sanctions on whoever purchases Iran's oil: Official

Bahamians who lost everything in the devastating passage of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/hurricane-dorian-dorian-weakens-as-it-heads-east-florida-248306">Hurricane Dorian </a>were scrambling Saturday to escape the worst-hit islands by sea or by air, after the historically powerful storm left at least 43 people dead with officials fearing a "significantly" higher toll.

A loosely coordinated armada of passenger planes, helicopters and both private and government boats and ships -- including redirected cruise liners -- was converging on the horribly battered Abaco Islands, the epicenter of the vast storm's destruction, to help with the evacuation.

In Freeport, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/thousands-try-to-flee-hurricane-devastated-bahamas-islands-248148">thousands of people</a>, many still disoriented by the week's events, were lining up at the port in hopes of boarding a Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line ship offering free passage to Florida.

More than 260 Abacos residents arrived Friday in largely spared Nassau on a government-chartered ferry, with a second en route.

Residents described brutal conditions facing those still on the islands. They said the smell of yet-to-be recovered bodies, along with rapidly mounting piles of garbage, was oppressive and unsanitary.

Hundreds or even thousands of people were still missing, officials said, and rescuers continued picking through jumbled mountains of debris in search of survivors. Morticians with body bags and refrigeration units were beginning to arrive.&nbsp;

Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said the death toll -- 35 so far in the Abacos and eight in Grand Bahama -- was likely to climb "significantly."

In a statement Friday evening, he called the loss of life "catastrophic and devastating."

The final death toll "will be staggering," Health Minister Duane Sands said earlier.

UN relief officials said more than 70,000 people -- virtually the entire population of Grand Bahama and Abaco -- were in need of assistance after the storm reduced homes and businesses to matchsticks.

The US Coast Guard, Britain's Royal Navy and private organizations have been helping evacuate island residents to Nassau, but relief efforts have been severely hampered by damaged airport runways, piers and docks.

'It's not right'

Chamika Durosier was waiting early Saturday at the Abaco airport. The island, she said, was unsafe.

"The home that we were in fell on us," she said. "We had to crawl -- got out crawling. By the grace of God we are alive."

She described the increasingly desperate plight of those left behind.&nbsp;

"It's been almost a week and people are still here. People have no food. People have no water, and it's not right. They should have been gone.

"Dead bodies are still around and it's not sanitary."

Those who have made it to safety awaited news of loved ones.

Diane Forbes, newly arrived at a gymnasium serving as a shelter in Nassau, was desperately searching for her two sons among some 200 evacuees. &nbsp;

On Tuesday, when last she heard from them, her sons told her that "they were hungry, and the scent of the bodies, the dead, was really getting to them."&nbsp;

Dorian, a monstrous Category 5 hurricane when it raked through the Bahamas last weekend, was buffeting southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, on Saturday with tropical storm-force winds, the National Hurricane Center said at 11:00 am (1500 GMT).&nbsp;

The Canadian Hurricane Centre predicted a landfall near Halifax later in the day and issued hurricane warnings for parts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.&nbsp;

Earlier, Dorian brought flooding and widespread power outages but no major damage to the coastal Carolinas and Virginia.&nbsp;

In the Bahamas, the scene was very different.

With thousands of people left homeless, many were growing frustrated at the slow speed of relief and evacuation efforts.

"There's no gas station, no food stores, my job is gone," said Melanie Lowe of Marsh Harbour, whose house was partially destroyed. She survived the storm packed in a two-bedroom apartment with 16 other people.

First steps to rebuild

As survivors began the first steps of rebuilding, arrangements were being made to care for the dead and account for the missing.

Mortuary workers in white hazmat suits, blue gloves and masks could be seen in Marsh Harbour carrying corpses in green body bags and loading them onto flatbed trucks.

President Donald Trump offered US support, adding in a video statement on Twitter, that "any cruise ship companies willing to act as stationary housing, etc., I am sure would be appreciated!"&nbsp;

The cruise ship Celebrity Equinox rerouted a planned trip with passengers on board to bring 10,000 sandwiches to the Bahamas, NBC said.

Royal Caribbean said its fleet would deliver thousands of meals and supplies, Fox's Tampa Bay affiliate reported.

At the Abaco airport on Saturday, Tanya McDermott was waiting with her husband and young son for a plane to Nassau. Their home was badly damaged.

With the injured given priority on outbound flights, the McDermotts waited.

"We are going to wait around all day if we have to," Tanya McDermott said.

"We are going to hope for the best."

Bahamians who lost everything in the devastating passage of Hurricane Dorian were scrambling Saturday to escape the worst-hit islands by sea or by air, after the historically powerful storm left at least 43 people dead with officials fearing a "significantly" higher toll.

Bahamians who lost everything in the devastating passage of Hurricane Dorian were scrambling Saturday to escape the worst-hit islands by sea or by air, after the historically powerful storm left at least 43 people dead with officials fearing a "significantly" higher toll. A loosely coordinated armada of passenger planes, helicopters and both private and government boats and ships -- including redirected cruise liners -- was converging on the horribly battered Abaco Islands, the epicenter of the vast storm's destruction, to help with the evacuation. In Freeport, thousands of people, many still disoriented by the week's events, were lining up at the port in hopes of boarding a Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line ship offering free passage to Florida. More than 260 Abacos residents arrived Friday in largely spared Nassau on a government-chartered ferry, with a second en route. Residents described brutal conditions facing those still on the islands. They said the smell of yet-to-be recovered bodies, along with rapidly mounting piles of garbage, was oppressive and unsanitary. Hundreds or even thousands of people were still missing, officials said, and rescuers continued picking through jumbled mountains of debris in search of survivors. Morticians with body bags and refrigeration units were beginning to arrive. Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said the death toll -- 35 so far in the Abacos and eight in Grand Bahama -- was likely to climb "significantly." In a statement Friday evening, he called the loss of life "catastrophic and devastating." The final death toll "will be staggering," Health Minister Duane Sands said earlier. UN relief officials said more than 70,000 people -- virtually the entire population of Grand Bahama and Abaco -- were in need of assistance after the storm reduced homes and businesses to matchsticks. The US Coast Guard, Britain's Royal Navy and private organizations have been helping evacuate island residents to Nassau, but relief efforts have been severely hampered by damaged airport runways, piers and docks. 'It's not right' Chamika Durosier was waiting early Saturday at the Abaco airport. The island, she said, was unsafe. "The home that we were in fell on us," she said. "We had to crawl -- got out crawling. By the grace of God we are alive." She described the increasingly desperate plight of those left behind. "It's been almost a week and people are still here. People have no food. People have no water, and it's not right. They should have been gone. "Dead bodies are still around and it's not sanitary." Those who have made it to safety awaited news of loved ones. Diane Forbes, newly arrived at a gymnasium serving as a shelter in Nassau, was desperately searching for her two sons among some 200 evacuees. On Tuesday, when last she heard from them, her sons told her that "they were hungry, and the scent of the bodies, the dead, was really getting to them." Dorian, a monstrous Category 5 hurricane when it raked through the Bahamas last weekend, was buffeting southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, on Saturday with tropical storm-force winds, the National Hurricane Center said at 11:00 am (1500 GMT). The Canadian Hurricane Centre predicted a landfall near Halifax later in the day and issued hurricane warnings for parts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Earlier, Dorian brought flooding and widespread power outages but no major damage to the coastal Carolinas and Virginia. In the Bahamas, the scene was very different. With thousands of people left homeless, many were growing frustrated at the slow speed of relief and evacuation efforts. "There's no gas station, no food stores, my job is gone," said Melanie Lowe of Marsh Harbour, whose house was partially destroyed. She survived the storm packed in a two-bedroom apartment with 16 other people. First steps to rebuild As survivors began the first steps of rebuilding, arrangements were being made to care for the dead and account for the missing. Mortuary workers in white hazmat suits, blue gloves and masks could be seen in Marsh Harbour carrying corpses in green body bags and loading them onto flatbed trucks. President Donald Trump offered US support, adding in a video statement on Twitter, that "any cruise ship companies willing to act as stationary housing, etc., I am sure would be appreciated!" The cruise ship Celebrity Equinox rerouted a planned trip with passengers on board to bring 10,000 sandwiches to the Bahamas, NBC said. Royal Caribbean said its fleet would deliver thousands of meals and supplies, Fox's Tampa Bay affiliate reported. At the Abaco airport on Saturday, Tanya McDermott was waiting with her husband and young son for a plane to Nassau. Their home was badly damaged. With the injured given priority on outbound flights, the McDermotts waited. "We are going to wait around all day if we have to," Tanya McDermott said. "We are going to hope for the best."

Amid fears of far higher Dorian death toll, islanders scramble to leave

The trial of two men charged with deadly negligence over a 2016 fire that killed 36 people in the US state of California ended with an acquittal for one and a mistrial for the other.

Derick Almena, the leaseholder of the building known locally as the "Ghost Ship," a warehouse he had turned into a public space dedicated to music and art, and Max Harris, who helped him manage it, was tried for manslaughter and had faced nearly 40 years in prison.

The prosecution and the families of the victims, most people between the ages of 20 and 30, accused the two men of a series of criminal failures and negligence that they said resulted in the deaths during an electronic music concert in December 2016.

After several years of proceedings and two lawsuits, the jury acquitted Harris of all charges and was deadlocked over those against Almena.

The prosecution is to appear in court next month to say if they want to initiate a new trial against him.

Almena had rented the warehouse in Oakland, California three years before the fire and turned it into a collective for artists.

He also received rent from at least 25 tenants, according to the prosecution, without having equipped the structure with smoke detectors, alarms or fire-fighting systems.

The "Ghost Ship" was also packed floor to ceiling with sculptures, musical instruments, and furniture, all dotted with multiple electrical connections a flammable labyrinth that turned into a death trap for occupants when the fire broke out, prosecutors said.

The damage from the blaze was so severe that investigators could never determine the cause of the fire, which could have been triggered by a power failure, cigarette or candles.

Last year, Almena and Harris pleaded no contest to charges of involuntary manslaughter over the fire, which was expected to see the former serve nine years in prison and the latter six.

But a judge rejected the agreement, which was deemed unacceptable by many relatives of victims, and the case went to trial.

The trial of two men charged with deadly negligence over a 2016 fire that killed 36 people in the US state of California ended with an acquittal for one and a mistrial for the other.

The trial of two men charged with deadly negligence over a 2016 fire that killed 36 people in the US state of California ended with an acquittal for one and a mistrial for the other. Derick Almena, the leaseholder of the building known locally as the "Ghost Ship," a warehouse he had turned into a public space dedicated to music and art, and Max Harris, who helped him manage it, was tried for manslaughter and had faced nearly 40 years in prison. The prosecution and the families of the victims, most people between the ages of 20 and 30, accused the two men of a series of criminal failures and negligence that they said resulted in the deaths during an electronic music concert in December 2016. After several years of proceedings and two lawsuits, the jury acquitted Harris of all charges and was deadlocked over those against Almena. The prosecution is to appear in court next month to say if they want to initiate a new trial against him. Almena had rented the warehouse in Oakland, California three years before the fire and turned it into a collective for artists. He also received rent from at least 25 tenants, according to the prosecution, without having equipped the structure with smoke detectors, alarms or fire-fighting systems. The "Ghost Ship" was also packed floor to ceiling with sculptures, musical instruments, and furniture, all dotted with multiple electrical connections a flammable labyrinth that turned into a death trap for occupants when the fire broke out, prosecutors said. The damage from the blaze was so severe that investigators could never determine the cause of the fire, which could have been triggered by a power failure, cigarette or candles. Last year, Almena and Harris pleaded no contest to charges of involuntary manslaughter over the fire, which was expected to see the former serve nine years in prison and the latter six. But a judge rejected the agreement, which was deemed unacceptable by many relatives of victims, and the case went to trial.

No convictions in trial for deadly California 'Ghost Ship' fire

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pentagon-chief-says-he-currently-has-no-plan-to-seize-iranian-tanker-adrian-darya-1-247889">US&nbsp;Defense Secretary Mark Esper</a> said on Friday that it appeared <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/in-retaliation-to-us-sanctions-iran-vouches-to-take-further-step-to-scale-back-nuclear-commitments-247947">Iran</a> was inching toward a place where talks could be held, days after US&nbsp;President Donald Trump left the door open to a possible meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the upcoming UN&nbsp;General Assembly in New York.

"It seems in some ways that Iran is inching toward that place where we could have talks and hopefully it'll play out that way," Esper said at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank in London.

Friction between the two countries has grown Trump last year withdrew from a 2015 international accord under which Iran had agreed to rein in its <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/irans-hassan-rouhani-orders-lifting-of-all-nuclear-research-and-development-limits-247658">atomic program</a> in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

Washington has since renewed and intensified its sanctions, slashing Iran's crude oil sales by more than 80%

Rouhani on Wednesday said Iran would take another step away from the 2015 deal by starting to develop centrifuges to speed up its uranium enrichment, but he also gave European powers two more months to try to save the multilateral pact.

Separately, the United States refused to ease its economic sanctions on Iran, imposed fresh ones designed to choke off the smuggling of Iranian oil and rebuffed, but did not rule out, a French plan to give Tehran a $15 billion credit line.

The moves suggested Iran, the United States and the major European powers may be leaving the door open for diplomacy to try resolve a dispute over Iran's nuclear program even as they largely stuck to entrenched positions.

Trump on Wednesday left open the possibility of a meeting with Rouhani at the upcoming UN&nbsp;General Assembly in New York.

Asked about the possibility of such a meeting, Trump told White House reporters anything was possible. "Sure, anything's possible. They would like to be able to solve their problem," he said, referring to inflation in Iran. "We could solve it in 24 hours."

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Friday that it appeared Iran was inching toward a place where talks could be held, days after US President Donald Trump left the door open to a possible meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Friday that it appeared Iran was inching toward a place where talks could be held, days after US President Donald Trump left the door open to a possible meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York. "It seems in some ways that Iran is inching toward that place where we could have talks and hopefully it'll play out that way," Esper said at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank in London. Friction between the two countries has grown Trump last year withdrew from a 2015 international accord under which Iran had agreed to rein in its atomic program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. Washington has since renewed and intensified its sanctions, slashing Iran's crude oil sales by more than 80% Rouhani on Wednesday said Iran would take another step away from the 2015 deal by starting to develop centrifuges to speed up its uranium enrichment, but he also gave European powers two more months to try to save the multilateral pact. Separately, the United States refused to ease its economic sanctions on Iran, imposed fresh ones designed to choke off the smuggling of Iranian oil and rebuffed, but did not rule out, a French plan to give Tehran a $15 billion credit line. The moves suggested Iran, the United States and the major European powers may be leaving the door open for diplomacy to try resolve a dispute over Iran's nuclear program even as they largely stuck to entrenched positions. Trump on Wednesday left open the possibility of a meeting with Rouhani at the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York. Asked about the possibility of such a meeting, Trump told White House reporters anything was possible. "Sure, anything's possible. They would like to be able to solve their problem," he said, referring to inflation in Iran. "We could solve it in 24 hours."

Iran 'inching' toward place where talks could be held: US Defense Secretary Mark Esper

The British pound topped $1.23 on Thursday, hitting a one-month peak on fading prospects of a "no-deal" Brexit after a series of parliamentary votes tore up Prime Minister Boris Johnson's hardline stance.

By about 1020 GMT, sterling had surged to $1.2347, the highest level since July 29 having plunged to multi-year lows Tuesday.

Asian and European stock markets mainly rose Thursday, but London was hit by the strong pound that hurts multinationals whose earnings are mostly in foreign currencies.

Parliament is currently rushing through legislation designed to keep Johnson from breaking Britain off from the European Union without a trade deal.

They appeared on course to do so by Monday a victory that would be accomplished just ahead of the five-week shutdown of parliament Johnson controversially ordered last month.

'Fresh legs on the pound'

"News that the bill to stop a no-deal Brexit should complete its passage through the House of Lords by Friday afternoon has put fresh legs on the pound's rally," City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta told AFP.

"After a volatile start, sterling has now pushed over $1.23 as Britain moves further back from the brink of a no-deal Brexit.

"Whilst there are clearly some hurdles still to be overcome, pound traders are feeling significantly more optimistic about the UK's eventual exit from the EU," she added.

The embattled British currency had tanked on Tuesday to $1.1959 which was the pound's weakest level since 1985 except for a 2016 "flash crash".

Yet it has since rallied on rising hopes that Britain will not quit the European Union without a trade deal on October 31.

"The pound has been behaving as a tidy barometer of the odds of a no-deal Brexit," Rabobank analyst Jane Foley told AFP.

"Just as fears of a no-deal Brexit pushed the pound below $1.20 earlier this week, expectations that MPs will succeed in delaying Brexit beyond October 31 have resulting in a relief rally back to $1.23.

"The pound is clearly not out of the woods with political uncertainty still at very elevated levels&nbsp;but the risk of a disorderly Brexit next month at least looks set to be pushed off the table," Foley added.

The bill would force Johnson to seek a three-month Brexit extension until January 31 should no deal emerge from an EU summit in Brussels on October 17-18.

Stocks mainly climb

Elsewhere, equities mostly rose, building on the previous day's advance as investors were cheered by a number of positive developments on trade, Hong Kong and Europe.

Markets were already on an upward trajectory after the leader of Hong Kong on Wednesday withdrew a controversial extradition bill that had sparked months of sometimes violent protests in the financial hub.

But the good news kept coming as the day wore on, with news that Italy had formed a new moderate, pro-European government, while British MPs moved closer to preventing a no-deal Brexit.

Then on Thursday morning, China announced it would resume trade talks with the United States in Washington next month.

However, Hong Kong ended with marginal losses.&nbsp;

Having soared almost four per cent on Wednesday on the back of Chief Executive Carrie Lam's shock decision, profit-takers moved in.

Lam on Thursday urged pro-democracy protesters to end their demonstrations but her surprise decision to bow to one of their key demands was condemned as too little, too late.

The British pound topped $1.23 on Thursday, hitting a one-month peak on fading prospects of a "no-deal" Brexit after a series of parliamentary votes tore up Prime Minister Boris Johnson's hardline stance.

The British pound topped $1.23 on Thursday, hitting a one-month peak on fading prospects of a "no-deal" Brexit after a series of parliamentary votes tore up Prime Minister Boris Johnson's hardline stance. By about 1020 GMT, sterling had surged to $1.2347, the highest level since July 29 having plunged to multi-year lows Tuesday. Asian and European stock markets mainly rose Thursday, but London was hit by the strong pound that hurts multinationals whose earnings are mostly in foreign currencies. Parliament is currently rushing through legislation designed to keep Johnson from breaking Britain off from the European Union without a trade deal. They appeared on course to do so by Monday a victory that would be accomplished just ahead of the five-week shutdown of parliament Johnson controversially ordered last month. 'Fresh legs on the pound' "News that the bill to stop a no-deal Brexit should complete its passage through the House of Lords by Friday afternoon has put fresh legs on the pound's rally," City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta told AFP. "After a volatile start, sterling has now pushed over $1.23 as Britain moves further back from the brink of a no-deal Brexit. "Whilst there are clearly some hurdles still to be overcome, pound traders are feeling significantly more optimistic about the UK's eventual exit from the EU," she added. The embattled British currency had tanked on Tuesday to $1.1959 which was the pound's weakest level since 1985 except for a 2016 "flash crash". Yet it has since rallied on rising hopes that Britain will not quit the European Union without a trade deal on October 31. "The pound has been behaving as a tidy barometer of the odds of a no-deal Brexit," Rabobank analyst Jane Foley told AFP. "Just as fears of a no-deal Brexit pushed the pound below $1.20 earlier this week, expectations that MPs will succeed in delaying Brexit beyond October 31 have resulting in a relief rally back to $1.23. "The pound is clearly not out of the woods with political uncertainty still at very elevated levels but the risk of a disorderly Brexit next month at least looks set to be pushed off the table," Foley added. The bill would force Johnson to seek a three-month Brexit extension until January 31 should no deal emerge from an EU summit in Brussels on October 17-18. Stocks mainly climb Elsewhere, equities mostly rose, building on the previous day's advance as investors were cheered by a number of positive developments on trade, Hong Kong and Europe. Markets were already on an upward trajectory after the leader of Hong Kong on Wednesday withdrew a controversial extradition bill that had sparked months of sometimes violent protests in the financial hub. But the good news kept coming as the day wore on, with news that Italy had formed a new moderate, pro-European government, while British MPs moved closer to preventing a no-deal Brexit. Then on Thursday morning, China announced it would resume trade talks with the United States in Washington next month. However, Hong Kong ended with marginal losses. Having soared almost four per cent on Wednesday on the back of Chief Executive Carrie Lam's shock decision, profit-takers moved in. Lam on Thursday urged pro-democracy protesters to end their demonstrations but her surprise decision to bow to one of their key demands was condemned as too little, too late.

Pound tops $1.23 on fading no-deal Brexit prospect

The United States, Britain and France may be complicit in war crimes in Yemen by arming and providing intelligence and logistics support to a Saudi-led coalition that starves civilians as a war tactic, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

UN&nbsp;investigators recommended that all states impose a ban on arms transfers to the warring parties to prevent them from being used to commit serious violations.

"It is clear that the continued supply of weapons to parties to the conflict is perpetuating the conflict and prolonging the suffering of the Yememi people," Melissa Parke, an expert on the independent UN&nbsp;panel, told a news conference.

"That is why we are urging member states to no longer supply weapons to parties to the conflict," she said.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the main parties in the coalition fighting against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement that controls Yemen's capital, are two of the biggest buyers of US, British and French weapons.

The experts compiled a secret list of suspected war criminals. Investigators found potential crimes on both sides, while highlighting the role Western countries play as backers of the Arab states and Iran plays in support of the Houthis.

"There are no clean hands in this combat, in this contest," panelist Charles Garraway said.

The report accused the anti-Houthi coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE of killing civilians in air strikes and deliberately denying them food in a country facing famine. The Houthis, for their part, have shelled cities, deployed child soldiers and used "siege-like warfare", it said.

Neither the Saudi government communications office nor UAE officials responded immediately to Reuters requests for comment.

The Houthis drove Yemen's government out of the capital Sanaa in 2014. The Saudi-led coalition of Sunni Muslim states intervened the following year to restore the ousted government, a conflict that has since killed tens of thousands of people.

The prospect of famine has created what the United Nations describes as the world's biggest humanitarian crisis, where 24 million people rely on aid.

Secret List

The UN&nbsp;report said its independent panel had sent a secret list to UN&nbsp;human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, identifying "individuals who may be responsible for international crimes".

Its appendix lists more than 160 "main actors" among Saudi, Emirati and Yemeni government and Houthi officials, although it said this was separate from the suspects list.

The report said, "The legality of arms transfers by France, the United Kingdom, the United States and other States remains questionable, and is the subject of various domestic court proceedings."

It found that a Joint Incidents Assessment Team set up by Saudi Arabia to review alleged coalition violations had failed to hold anyone accountable for any strike killing civilians, raising "concerns as to the impartiality of its investigations".

"Of one thing we are pretty sure - things are going wrong in the (coalition) targeting process," Garraway said.

The UN&nbsp;panel said it had received allegations that Emirati and affiliated forces have tortured, raped and killed suspected political opponents detained in secret facilities, while Houthi forces had planted land mines that killed hundreds.

The United States, Britain and France may be complicit in war crimes in Yemen by arming and providing intelligence and logistics support to a Saudi-led coalition that starves civilians as a war tactic, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

The United States, Britain and France may be complicit in war crimes in Yemen by arming and providing intelligence and logistics support to a Saudi-led coalition that starves civilians as a war tactic, the United Nations said on Tuesday. UN investigators recommended that all states impose a ban on arms transfers to the warring parties to prevent them from being used to commit serious violations. "It is clear that the continued supply of weapons to parties to the conflict is perpetuating the conflict and prolonging the suffering of the Yememi people," Melissa Parke, an expert on the independent UN panel, told a news conference. "That is why we are urging member states to no longer supply weapons to parties to the conflict," she said. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the main parties in the coalition fighting against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement that controls Yemen's capital, are two of the biggest buyers of US, British and French weapons. The experts compiled a secret list of suspected war criminals. Investigators found potential crimes on both sides, while highlighting the role Western countries play as backers of the Arab states and Iran plays in support of the Houthis. "There are no clean hands in this combat, in this contest," panelist Charles Garraway said. The report accused the anti-Houthi coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE of killing civilians in air strikes and deliberately denying them food in a country facing famine. The Houthis, for their part, have shelled cities, deployed child soldiers and used "siege-like warfare", it said. Neither the Saudi government communications office nor UAE officials responded immediately to Reuters requests for comment. The Houthis drove Yemen's government out of the capital Sanaa in 2014. The Saudi-led coalition of Sunni Muslim states intervened the following year to restore the ousted government, a conflict that has since killed tens of thousands of people. The prospect of famine has created what the United Nations describes as the world's biggest humanitarian crisis, where 24 million people rely on aid. Secret List The UN report said its independent panel had sent a secret list to UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, identifying "individuals who may be responsible for international crimes". Its appendix lists more than 160 "main actors" among Saudi, Emirati and Yemeni government and Houthi officials, although it said this was separate from the suspects list. The report said, "The legality of arms transfers by France, the United Kingdom, the United States and other States remains questionable, and is the subject of various domestic court proceedings." It found that a Joint Incidents Assessment Team set up by Saudi Arabia to review alleged coalition violations had failed to hold anyone accountable for any strike killing civilians, raising "concerns as to the impartiality of its investigations". "Of one thing we are pretty sure - things are going wrong in the (coalition) targeting process," Garraway said. The UN panel said it had received allegations that Emirati and affiliated forces have tortured, raped and killed suspected political opponents detained in secret facilities, while Houthi forces had planted land mines that killed hundreds.

US, France, Britain may be complicit in Yemen war crimes: UN report

China has lodged a complaint against the United States at the World Trade Organization over US import duties, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Monday. The United States began imposing 15% tariffs on a variety of Chinese goods on Sunday and China began imposing new duties on US crude oil, the latest escalation in their trade war.

China has lodged a complaint against the United States at the World Trade Organization over US import duties, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Monday. The United States began imposing 15% tariffs on a variety of Chinese goods on Sunday and China began imposing new duties on US crude oil, the latest escalation in their trade war. China did not release details of its legal case but said the US tariffs affected $300 billion of Chinese exports. The latest tariff actions violated the consensus reached by leaders of China and the United States in a meeting in Osaka, the Commerce Ministry said in the statement. China will defend its legal rights in accordance with WTO rules, it said. The lawsuit is the third Beijing has brought to challenge US President Donald Trump's China-specific tariffs at the WTO, the international organisation that limits the tariffs each country is allowed to charge. US officials say that they are penalising China for theft of intellectual property that is not covered by WTO rules, although many trade experts say that any tariff hike above the allowed maximum must be justified at the WTO. Many experts also decry China's decision to fight fire with fire, by imposing tariffs on U.S. goods imported into China, also without the WTO's approval. On Friday the United States published a written defence in the first of the three legal cases, asserting that China and the United States agreed the issue should not be judged at the WTO. "China has taken the unilateral decision to adopt aggressive industrial policy measures to steal or otherwise unfairly acquire the technology of its trading partners; the United States has adopted tariff measures to try to obtain the elimination of China’s unfair and distortive technology-transfer policies," it said. China had chosen to respond not by addressing U.S. concerns but with its own tariffs, "in an effort to maintain its unfair policies indefinitely". The US submission also said its actions were exempt from WTO rules because they were "measures necessary to protect public morals" - a clause used in the past to argue for trade restrictions over gambling, animal rights and public broadcasting. Under WTO rules, Washington has 60 days to try to settle the latest dispute. Then China could ask the WTO to adjudicate, a process that would take several years. It could end with China gaining WTO approval to take trade sanctions, if the United States is found to have broken the rules.

China lodges tariff case at WTO against the US

North Korea denied on Sunday allegations that it had obtained $2 billion through cyberattacks on banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, and accused the United States for spreading rumours.

North Korea denied on Sunday allegations that it had obtained $2 billion through cyberattacks on banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, and accused the United States for spreading rumours. A United Nations report seen by Reuters last month said North Korea had used "widespread and increasingly sophisticated" cyberattacks to steal from banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, amassing $2 billion which it used to fund weapons of mass destruction programmes. "The United States and other hostile forces are now spreading ill-hearted rumours," North Korea's state-run KCNA news agency reported, citing a statement from the spokesperson for the National Coordination Committee of the DPRK for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. "Such a fabrication by the hostile forces is nothing but a sort of a nasty game aimed at tarnishing the image of our Republic and finding justification for sanctions and pressure campaign against the DPRK," the statement said. Washington has made scant progress towards its goal of getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons programme, despite three meetings between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea's vice foreign minister said on Saturday that hopes for talks with Washington were fading, and criticised Mike Pompeo's recent comments about "North Korea's rogue behaviour". Pyongyang has been blamed in recent years for a series of online attacks, mostly on financial networks, in the United States, South Korea and over a dozen other countries, as experts say such cyber activities generate hard currency for the regime. The crux of the allegations against North Korea is its connection to a hacking group called Lazarus that is linked to $81 million cyber heist at the Bangladesh central bank in 2016 and a 2014 attack on Sony's Hollywood studio.

North Korea denies it amassed $2 billion through cyberattacks on banks

Iran's foreign minister accused the United States on Twitter on Saturday of engaging in "piracy and threats" to stop Tehran from <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iran-official-says-us-showing-some-flexibility-on-oil-sales-246833">selling oil to traditional clients</a>, after Washington blacklisted an Iranian oil tanker that it said was headed to Syria.

US&nbsp;Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday the United States had reliable information the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-blacklists-iranian-oil-tanker-adrian-darya-sanctions-captain-246781">Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya</a>, which the US&nbsp;Treasury Department has blacklisted, was headed to Syria.

"US engages in piracy &amp; threats to prevent Iran from selling oil to traditional customers," Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted. "Stop nagging @SecPompeo: We will sell oil to any &amp; all buyers."

Since ditching the nuclear deal, calling it flawed to Iran's advantage, Trump has reimposed sanctions to strangle its vital oil trade and force Tehran to accept stricter limits on its nuclear activity, curb its ballistic missile programme and end its support for proxy forces around the Middle East.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged his people on Wednesday to unite to overcome Washington's "economic war" while his government said it would use diplomacy to try to solve the standoff even though it distrusted Trump.

Iranian tanker blacklisted

On Friday, the US&nbsp;Treasury Department blacklisted the Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Washington had reliable information the vessel was headed to Syria, an ally of Tehran.

The ship was detained by Britain off Gibraltar in July due to suspicions it was carrying Iranian oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions. It was released in mid-August after Iran gave assurances that its cargo was not destined for Syria.

Turkey said on Friday the ship was headed to Lebanese waters after changing course several times. Beirut said it was not informed of the plan, but Turkey's information suggested that a ship-to-ship transfer of cargo might be attempted once it nears the coast of Lebanon, which borders on Syria.

A senior Iranian military commander vowed that Iran would retaliate if any of its vessels was stopped in international waters, according to Fars news agency.

"Piracy against Iran can't be easily overlooked. It is natural for us to act when Iranian ships are stopped in any part of the world's waters. Iran's armed forces will certainly retaliate," Brigadier General Kiumars Heydari, the head of Iran's regular ground forces, told Fars.

Iran's foreign minister accused the United States on Twitter on Saturday of engaging in "piracy and threats" to stop Tehran from selling oil to traditional clients, after Washington blacklisted an Iranian oil tanker that it said was headed to Syria.

Iran's foreign minister accused the United States on Twitter on Saturday of engaging in "piracy and threats" to stop Tehran from selling oil to traditional clients, after Washington blacklisted an Iranian oil tanker that it said was headed to Syria. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday the United States had reliable information the Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya, which the US Treasury Department has blacklisted, was headed to Syria. "US engages in piracy & threats to prevent Iran from selling oil to traditional customers," Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted. "Stop nagging @SecPompeo: We will sell oil to any & all buyers." Since ditching the nuclear deal, calling it flawed to Iran's advantage, Trump has reimposed sanctions to strangle its vital oil trade and force Tehran to accept stricter limits on its nuclear activity, curb its ballistic missile programme and end its support for proxy forces around the Middle East. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged his people on Wednesday to unite to overcome Washington's "economic war" while his government said it would use diplomacy to try to solve the standoff even though it distrusted Trump. Iranian tanker blacklisted On Friday, the US Treasury Department blacklisted the Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Washington had reliable information the vessel was headed to Syria, an ally of Tehran. The ship was detained by Britain off Gibraltar in July due to suspicions it was carrying Iranian oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions. It was released in mid-August after Iran gave assurances that its cargo was not destined for Syria. Turkey said on Friday the ship was headed to Lebanese waters after changing course several times. Beirut said it was not informed of the plan, but Turkey's information suggested that a ship-to-ship transfer of cargo might be attempted once it nears the coast of Lebanon, which borders on Syria. A senior Iranian military commander vowed that Iran would retaliate if any of its vessels was stopped in international waters, according to Fars news agency. "Piracy against Iran can't be easily overlooked. It is natural for us to act when Iranian ships are stopped in any part of the world's waters. Iran's armed forces will certainly retaliate," Brigadier General Kiumars Heydari, the head of Iran's regular ground forces, told Fars.

US engages in threats to stop Iran oil sales to traditional clients: Javad Zarif

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