Rabu, 10 Juli 2019
Kim Darroch, British ambassador to the US, resigns - CNN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOU98DzJRqs
2019-07-10 11:34:55Z
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British ambassador to U.S. resigns after leaked memos showed he criticized Trump - NBC News
LONDON — The British ambassador to the United States resigned Wednesday following leaked memos that showed he had called President Donald Trump "insecure" and "incompetent."
Sir Kim Darroch said in a statement that the fallout from the leaked communications — which sparked a series of broadsides from Trump — was "making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like."
After the secret diplomatic communications were published this weekend, the president responded with a series of unprecedented attacks on the British ambassador and prime minister, historically among Washington's closest allies.
Trump called Darroch "wacky," "very stupid" and a "pompous fool," and suggested he would not be able to do his job in Washington because "we will no longer deal with him." The ambassador was uninvited from a dinner Trump was hosting with the Emir of Qatar.
The president expanded his targets to Prime Minister Theresa May, saying he had been "very critical" of her and the "mess" she had made of her Brexit negotiations.
Darroch was due to stand down at the end of this year, but he said in a statement issued through the U.K. Foreign Office that the leak had made his position untenable.
"The current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like," he said. "I believe in the current circumstances the responsible course is to allow the appointment of a new ambassador."
He said the support offered on both sides of the Atlantic had "brought home to me the depth of friendship and close ties between our two countries."
He added that "the professionalism and integrity of the British civil service is the envy of the world. I will leave it full of confidence that its values remain in safe hands."
Prime Minister May said that "it is a matter of great regret that he has felt it necessary to leave his position." In a statement to the House of Commons, she stressed it was important for diplomats to be able to speak their minds and to "defend our values and principles, particularly when they are under pressure"
Simon McDonald, the most senior official at the Foreign Office, spoke on behalf of many experienced officials in Britain who believe that Darroch did nothing wrong in expressing his sincerely held belief about Trump's White House.
"You were the target of a malicious leak, you were simply doing your job," he wrote Wednesday.
The leak presented a dilemma for Britain. Some acknowledged that the messages, and Trump's reaction, would make Darroch's last few months near impossible. But many were also cautious of the U.K. being seen to allow other countries to veto the diplomats posted to their embassies.
"We should never allow any country to dictate who we send as ambassador," Charles Parton, who served as a British diplomat for almost four decades, told NBC News before Darroch's resignation. "It would give enormous power to other countries, so you just can't do it."
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for details.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/british-ambassador-u-s-resigns-after-leaked-memos-showed-he-n1028116
2019-07-10 11:05:00Z
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Hong Kong families are feuding as China extradition bill exposes generational fall in living standards - CNN
- Uncle If there are always protests, then don't have to work overseas anymore because Hong Kong is being doomed by these bunch of ****!
- Olivia "Don't have to work overseas" — if this bill gets passed business will be dire so you might not get to work overseas. No business... no business trips.
- Mom Man, if it weren't for Hong Kongers' unity, all coming out during a life or death moment, the bill would have definitely passed after the second reading and then Hong Kong would definitely be doomed.
- Uncle If you guys are so worried, you should have immigrated earlier, don't come back to your hometown.
- Mom It's only because of love for homeland, that people chant to revoke the extradition bill! Do you really think that at 35 degrees C under the burning hot sun, squeezing and walking with 2 million protesters for eight hours is fun?
The world's most unaffordable housing
The older generation "had hope"
A question of identity
A looming deadline
CNN's Natalie Leung and Maisy Mok also contributed to this report.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/09/asia/hong-kong-divide-intl-hnk/index.html
2019-07-10 08:57:00Z
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Iran's 'goodwill gesture' failed to open talks with Washington: report - Fox News
Iran’s release of a Lebanese businessman with U.S. permanent residency two days before the attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman was meant as a “goodwill gesture” in hopes to open up talks with the U.S., three Western sources told Reuters exclusively.
US-IRAN TENSIONS: A TIMELINE OF KEY EVENTS
The gesture, however, fell flat with Washington, the report said.
A State Department official told Reuters that if Iran wanted to reduce tension and engage with the U.S., it should have released one of the “innocent American citizens” it is currently holding hostage. That “humanitarian” gesture would have yielded better results, the official said.
Iran released Nizar Zakka, a Washington-based information technology expert, on June 11, four years after he was arrested. His company, IJMA3, is funded by private organizations and governments, including the United States.
Zakka’s release was, therefore, a “missed opportunity,” one source told Reuters. “We should have explored whether there was something there.” Another source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Iran released Zakka as a way to deescalate tensions “from their side” and expected the U.S. to reciprocate in some way.
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In the month since his release, tensions between Iran and the West have continued to escalate. Iran downed a U.S. drone, the U.S. upped sanctions on the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader. British forces recently captured an Iranian supertanker headed for Syria.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/irans-good-will-gesture-to-release-lebanese-tech-businessman-failed-to-open-talks-with-washington-report
2019-07-10 08:51:39Z
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US wants military coalition to patrol waters off Iran, Yemen - Aljazeera.com
The United States says it is working to form a military coalition to protect commercial shipping off the coast of Iran and Yemen amid heightened tensions in the region following attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf.
Under the proposal, a coalition of nations would safeguard strategic waters in the Gulf area and the sea between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Tuesday.
"We're engaging now with a number of countries to see if we can put together a coalition that would ensure freedom of navigation both in the Straits of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab," said Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Dunford said the Pentagon had developed a specific plan, and that he believed it would be clear within a couple of weeks which nations were willing to join the effort.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has blamed Tehran and its proxies for several attacks on tankers in the Gulf in the past few months.
A fifth of the world's oil exports passes through the area.
Al Jazeera's John Hendren, reporting from Washington DC, said that Trump has said "the US should not pay for this, it should be an international military force".
"But the move presents the potential for conflict with Iran. After all it's only weeks after the US almost launched military strikes on Iran," Hendren said.
War of words
The downing of a US surveillance drone by Tehran almost brought the two foes to the brink of war. Trump had authorised military strikes on Iran in retaliation but pulled back from launching them.
Washington slapped new sanctions on top Iranian leaders, including the supreme leader, Ali Hosseini Khamenei, in the wake of the drone shootdown.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have grown since last year when Trump unilaterally withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal that put a cap on Tehran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief.
The crisis has escalated in recent days as Washington and Tehran have engaged in a war of words over Iran's decision to pass the uranium enrichment limit set by the 2015 accord.
Tehran has asked the other parties to the nuclear deal - France, Britain, China, Russia, the European Union and Germany - to find ways to export its oil, a major source of revenue for its crippled economy that has been choked off by the new sanctions, or it will scale up its nuclear programme.
Trump has said the US will not allow Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons, with its close ally in the region, Israel, threatening to bomb Iran.
"We want to deny this regime the revenue it needs to export revolution, to run an expansionist foreign policy that drives a lot of the sectarian violence that we see in the Middle East," Brian Hook, the US special representative to Iran, told Al Jazeera.
'US position not softened'
Al Jazeera's Hendren said the US position had not softened, as Iran announced it would violate the nuclear enrichment levels it agreed to under the nuclear deal.
"So the standoff intensifies and the potential for conflict only increases," he said.
Mark Esper, the acting secretary of defence, raised the issue last month with allied officials at NATO headquarters, but no nations were ready to commit to participating. Esper said at the time that the plans would have to be further refined.
Dunford said he discussed the matter on Tuesday with Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and that plans were coming together.
"We're getting ready now to move out," Dunford told a small group of reporters at Fort Myer, Virginia. "We have a pretty clear concept of what we want to do."
He suggested that the project could begin with a small coalition.
"This will be scalable. So with a small number of contributors we can have a small mission and we'll expand that as the number of nations that are willing to participate identify themselves," he said.
Iran has denied it was behind the recent attacks on commercial tankers in the Gulf.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday a commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard issued a new threat against US bases and aircraft carriers stationed in the region, saying they would be destroyed if they made a mistake.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/military-coalition-safeguard-waters-iran-yemen-190710020439304.html
2019-07-10 07:03:00Z
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US wants military coalition to safeguard waters off Iran, Yemen - Aljazeera.com
The United States says it is working to form a military coalition to protect commercial shipping off the coast of Iran and Yemen amid heightened tensions in the region following attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf.
Under the proposal, a coalition of nations would safeguard strategic waters in the Gulf area and the sea between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Tuesday.
"We're engaging now with a number of countries to see if we can put together a coalition that would ensure freedom of navigation both in the Straits of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab," said Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Dunford said the Pentagon had developed a specific plan, and that he believed it would be clear within a couple of weeks which nations were willing to join the effort.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has blamed Tehran and its proxies for several attacks on tankers in the Gulf in the past few months.
A fifth of the world's oil exports passes through the area.
Al Jazeera's John Hendren, reporting from Washington DC, said that Trump has said "the US should not pay for this, it should be an international military force".
"But the move presents the potential for conflict with Iran. After all it's only weeks after the US almost launched military strikes on Iran," Hendren said.
War of words
The downing of a US surveillance drone by Tehran almost brought the two foes to the brink of war. Trump had authorised military strikes on Iran in retaliation but pulled back from launching them.
Washington slapped new sanctions on top Iranian leaders, including the supreme leader, Ali Hosseini Khamenei, in the wake of the drone shootdown.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have grown since last year when Trump unilaterally withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal that put a cap on Tehran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief.
The crisis has escalated in recent days as Washington and Tehran have engaged in a war of words over Iran's decision to pass the uranium enrichment limit set by the 2015 accord.
Tehran has asked the other parties to the nuclear deal - France, Britain, China, Russia, the European Union and Germany - to find ways to export its oil, a major source of revenue for its crippled economy that has been choked off by the new sanctions, or it will scale up its nuclear programme.
Trump has said the US will not allow Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons, with its close ally in the region, Israel, threatening to bomb Iran.
"We want to deny this regime the revenue it needs to export revolution, to run an expansionist foreign policy that drives a lot of the sectarian violence that we see in the Middle East," Brian Hook, the US special representative to Iran, told Al Jazeera.
'US position not softened'
Al Jazeera's Hendren said the US position had not softened, as Iran announced it would violate the nuclear enrichment levels it agreed to under the nuclear deal.
"So the standoff intensifies and the potential for conflict only increases," he said.
Mark Esper, the acting secretary of defence, raised the issue last month with allied officials at NATO headquarters, but no nations were ready to commit to participating. Esper said at the time that the plans would have to be further refined.
Dunford said he discussed the matter on Tuesday with Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and that plans were coming together.
"We're getting ready now to move out," Dunford told a small group of reporters at Fort Myer, Virginia. "We have a pretty clear concept of what we want to do."
He suggested that the project could begin with a small coalition.
"This will be scalable. So with a small number of contributors we can have a small mission and we'll expand that as the number of nations that are willing to participate identify themselves," he said.
Iran has denied it was behind the recent attacks on commercial tankers in the Gulf.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday a commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard issued a new threat against US bases and aircraft carriers stationed in the region, saying they would be destroyed if they made a mistake.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/military-coalition-safeguard-waters-iran-yemen-190710020439304.html
2019-07-10 06:29:00Z
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Selasa, 09 Juli 2019
The US just sold over $2 billion worth of arms to Taiwan — and Beijing isn't happy - Business Insider
Richard Ellis/Getty Images
- The State Department has approved $2.2 billion worth of arms sales to Taiwan, the largest military sale since Trump took office.
- The US has historically backed Taipei, but its latest show of support could threaten the tentative truce between the two superpowers.
- China has always claimed control of Taiwan but has never ruled it, while the US is committed to help Taiwan defend itself under the Taiwan Relations Act.
- Read more stories on Markets Insider.
The US State Department has approved a $2.2 billion arms sale to Taiwan, a deal that could threaten a tentative truce struck between the US and China in the countries' trade war.
The Trump administration's largest arms sale so far underscores its commitment to Taiwan, which was formalized in 1971 under the Taiwan Relations Act. The deal comes as tensions between China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and the US remain high. The two superpowers recently struck a tentative truce to hold off on further escalation in their ongoing trade war and resume negotiations.
"It's a gross interference in China's internal affairs and harms China's sovereignty and security interests," said Geng Shuan, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.
"China urges the US to ... immediately cancel the planned arms sale and stop military relations with Taipei to avoid damaging Sino-US relations and harming peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," Geng added, Al Jazeera said.
Beijing has become increasingly annoyed with the Trump administration over its Taipei relations. On Thursday, Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen is due to land in New York for a two-day visit. The US has previously granted Taiwan stop-overs but they have generally been much shorter than two days, indicating a change in Washington's approach to Taipei.
Likewise, US administrations have denied or delayed sales of arms to Taiwan. But Trump has very much chosen a different approach, with a more flexible view of Taiwan's needs.
All guns blazing
The deal includes the sale of 108 Abrams tanks, 250 Stinger missiles, and related equipment, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency — which handles foreign arms sales — said on Monday.
However, Taiwan may have misspent its money. Tanks aren't suitable for Taiwanese roads or the mudflats where a Chinese invasion would likely take place, the FT reported, citing analysts.
Critics of the purchase argued electronic warfare should be the priority, in order to upset the early stages of a Chinese attack.
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-sold-taiwan-over-2-billion-of-arms-china-trade-talks-2019-7
2019-07-09 14:54:20Z
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