Photo Credit Justin Renteria It’s a fair bet that the first meeting on Wednesday between President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel will feature big smiles and reassuring words. Both men are eager to demonstrate that the hostility that poisoned Mr. Netanyahu’s relations with President Barack Obama is a thing of the past. But personal chemistry can go only so far. The issues facing the […]
US markets regulators have delayed enforcement of new derivatives rules due to come into effect in two weeks’ time because few of the hundreds of pension funds, insurers and asset managers affected would be ready in time. There were fears that the widespread lack of readiness to comply could have caused market disruption if they were enforced as planned on March 1. The rules require some derivatives […]
By Cindy Silviana and Eveline Danubrata | JAKARTA JAKARTA Supporters of the governor of Indonesia’s capital are hoping their checkered shirts in red, white and blue will help galvanize the vote in a city election on Wednesday and win a second term for their leader. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama is Jakarta’s first ethnic Chinese and Christian governor, and the election in the city of 10 million people has […]
KINSHASA Police in Democratic Republic of Congo launched an assault on the residence of the leader of a separatist religious sect in Kinshasa early on Tuesday and fired live ammunition and tear gas at his supporters, a Reuters witness said. The assault on the home of Ne Muanda Nsemi, a self-proclaimed prophet and leader of the Bundu dia Kongo (BDK) sect, began around 4:30 a.m. local time […]
By Jutarat Skulpichetrat | CHONBURI, Thailand CHONBURI, Thailand The most senior U.S. officer to visit Thailand since a 2014 coup emphasised the importance of restoring democracy on Tuesday as he launched the annual Cobra Gold military exercise. The United States scaled down its presence at Asia’s largest annual multinational military exercise as one of the former U.S. administration’s steps to pressure the junta. With ties improving even […]
14 February 2017 Manama, Bahrain – SAH Global conducted the MENA region’s first-ever Proton Therapy Patient Reunion in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Founded in 2005, SAH is the only company in the MENA region that is already treating patients from the area, while establishing a network of Proton Therapy centers globally, with the first center slated to be in the GCC. The event was held under the […]
By Ned Parker and Ju-min Park | UNITED NATIONS/SEOUL UNITED NATIONS/SEOUL The U.N. Security Council denounced North Korea’s weekend missile launch, urging members to “redouble efforts” to enforce sanctions against the reclusive state, but gave no indications of any action it might take. Pyongyang’s test of the intermediate-range ballistic missile on Sunday was its first direct challenge to the international community since U.S. President Donald Trump took […]
SYDNEY Asian shares inched to 19-month highs on Tuesday as the potential for economic stimulus in the United States underpinned the dollar, bond yields and Wall Street stocks. Yet caution bled into markets ahead of testimony by the head of the Federal Reserve, which could highlight the likelihood of two or more U.S. interest rate hikes this year. Japanese shares also ran into trouble after Toshiba Corp […]
Donald Trump’s embrace of protectionism and opposition to multilateral trade deals has prompted EU leaders to ask how Europe might deepen ties with Asia as a way of bolstering global commerce and safeguarding export markets. Some officials have talked about Europe performing its own trade pivot to Asia as well as other emerging markets. But closer engagement, especially with China, at a time of global economic upheaval […]
BEIJING China plans to launch its first cargo spacecraft in April, state media reported on Tuesday, taking a step towards its goal of establishing a permanently manned space station by 2022. President Xi Jinping has prioritised advancing China’s space programme, saying it was needed to enhance national security and defence. Plans for the maiden voyage of the cargo spacecraft were reported on the front page of the […]
After last night’s news that Trump (and Steve Bannon) are now actively deciding whether to fire National Security Advisor Mike Flynn over the recent scandal involving his [hone calls with Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, discussing the Russian sanction something he denied publicly on several occasions, yet which now appears to have been the case, the ice below Flynn got thinner this afternoon when the Trump administration for […]
BEIJING Senior officials need to “build a fence” to ensure neither they nor those around them abuse power, and must practice greater self-discipline, state media cited President Xi Jinping as saying as he drives home his anti-corruption message. Since assuming office four years ago, Xi has waged war on deep-seated graft, warning like others before him that the problem is so bad it could affect the party’s […]
The United States on Monday labelled Venezuela’s vice-president an international drug trafficker, freezing millions of dollars worth of his US-based wealth as it accused him of facilitating multiple one-ton narcotics shipments to Mexico and the US from a Venezuelan air base and the country’s ports. The US Department of the Treasury formally designated Tareck El Aissami a drug kingpin for “playing a significant role in international narcotics […]
By many accounts, Australia has done its best to silence the voices of these migrants and refugees. Housing them on the remote Pacific islands of Manus and Nauru has not only geographically isolated them from the Australian mainland, but also kept them at arm’s length from the country’s journalists and human rights activists. Continue reading the main story I first came across Mr. Boochani’s story on his […]
By Andrew Chung and Mica Rosenberg | NEW YORK NEW YORK Washington state’s attorney general has promised to uncover “what truly motivated” President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration, an approach that could prompt a rare public examination of how a U.S. president makes national security decisions. The presidential order imposed a temporary ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, but a federal judge has barred […]
TEL AVIV Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sidestepped a question on whether he still supports the creation of a Palestinian state as he left for the United States on Monday on his first visit since President Donald Trump took office. Netanyahu has never publicly abandoned his conditional backing for Palestinian statehood, which he first stated in 2009, but Palestinians say that commitment has been rendered worthless by […]
MSNBC’s Brian Williams cut to the chase as soon as the Monday press conference between President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ended. “The news out of this gathering is not anything either leader said,” Williams intoned. “It was exactly what wasn’t said because it wasn’t asked.” “There is no shortage of superb coverage coming out of this White House press corps,” he noted. But, alas, […]
PARIS Journalists in France are increasingly coming under “violent attacks” from political officials during the closely-fought presidential race, media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Monday. The Paris-based group said the media was facing increasing hostility, notably from Francois Fillon and some of his backers after the conservative challenger was hit by a scandal that has badly affected his election chances. Fillon’s spokesman was not […]
IBM CEO Ginni Rometty recently sent an email to her employees detailing her involvement with, and counseling of, the Trump administration. In it, Rometty claimed that her meetings with the Trump administration as part of the president’s business advisory are purely an opportunity to promote IBM’s values and technological expertise. “IBM does not espouse a partisan or political point of view,” the letter states. “Alone […]
President Donald Trump’s criticism of courts that ruled against his administration recently has generated conflicting views among the nation’s federal judges. Appointed for life, federal judges are typically loath to criticize a sitting president, whose representatives frequently appear before them in court. Four judges agreed to comment on Mr. Trump’s treatment of the courts with […] (via WSJ)
By Timothy Gardner | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON A U.S. federal judge denied a request by Native American tribes seeking a halt to construction of the final link in the Dakota Access Pipeline on Monday, the controversial project that has sparked months of protests from tribal activists seeking to halt the 1,170-mile line. Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., at a hearing, rejected the […]
Excerpted from today’s Blain’s Morning Porridge by Bill Blain of Mint Partners Over weekend drinks, dinners, very good lunches and rugby banter I was repeatedly told by my chums with real jobs in Industry, Services and Government how terrible this Trump fellow is turning out. It’s terribly liberal of us all to be illiberal about him. A couple of times I tried to respond in rational terms […]
By Svetlana Reiter and Pavel Miledin | MOSCOW MOSCOW Moscow city authorities have given the green light for construction of an exclusive health clinic which, according to technical plans seen by Reuters and medical sources, is designed to treat President Vladimir Putin and senior officials. A Reuters special report published last month described how the planned unit was to be fitted with communications systems that under Russian […]
newslide Members of George Michael’s family say they are “extremely upset” that a recording of the emergency call reporting his death was leaked to the press. Lawyers for the family on Sunday said relatives want an investigation and “will expect the culprit(s) to be dealt with appropriately”. They said family and friends are appalled “that such a personal, painful and clearly confidential recording has been leaked”” On […]
