China says will cut ties with US firms selling arms to Taiwan - Aljazeera.com

China's government and Chinese companies will cut business ties with US firms selling arms to Taiwan, the Chinese foreign ministry has said, in a move likely to worsen already poor ties with Washington.

China claims self-ruled and democratic Taiwan as its own and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Beijing's control. China regularly calls Taiwan the most sensitive issue in its relations with the United States.

Last week, the Pentagon said the US State Department had approved the sale of the weapons requested by Taiwan, including 108 General Dynamics Corp M1A2T Abrams tanks and 250 Stinger missiles, which are manufactured by Raytheon.

China said on Friday it would sanction US companies selling weapons to Taiwan but did not elaborate.

The latest deal involves $2.2bn worth of tanks, missiles and related equipment for Taiwan.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the arms sales were a violation of international law and harmed China's sovereignty and national security.

"China's government and Chinese companies will not cooperate or have commercial contacts with these US companies," he told a daily news briefing on Monday, without giving details of the sanctions.

"I can't reveal the details at the moment. But believe this: Chinese people always stress standing by their word."

US companies identified

On Sunday, the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily posted an article on its WeChat account identifying US companies that could be vulnerable to sanctions.

They included Honeywell International Inc, which makes the engines for the Abrams tanks, and private jets maker Gulfstream Aerospace, which is owned by General Dynamics. China is an important market for both Honeywell and Gulfstream.

There was no immediate comment by the companies.

Ties between China and the US are already strained over a trade war, which has seen them levy tariffs on each other's imports.

This is not the first time China has said it would sanction US companies selling weapons to Taiwan.

China has announced such steps at least twice before - in 2010 and 2015 - but it is unclear if the sanctions were ever imposed.

US defence contractors have been barred from dealings with Beijing since China's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.

While its relations with Taiwan are technically unofficial, the US is required by law to assist Taiwan in its defence and is its main supplier of arms, though France has also previously sold warships and fighter jets to Taiwan.

China has been angered as well by the US allowing Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to visit last week, on her way to diplomatic allies in the Caribbean. She is due to transit the US again at the end of her trip next week.

SOURCE: Reuters news agency

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2019-07-15 10:39:00Z
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China holds drills in Taiwan Strait, calls for sanctions against US companies - CNN

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) announced in a statement Sunday that the military exercises off China's "southeast coast" involved both the navy and the air force, but provided few other details.

Both Beijing and Taipei tried to downplay the drills, with the PLA describing the exercises as "a routine arrangement according to (our) annual plans."

However, they come amid tension between the Beijing and Washington over a $2.2 billion US arms sale to Taiwan, and also coincide with a trip by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States as she prepares to shore up support among the island's allies in the Caribbean.

On Friday, China threatened to impose sanctions against any US companies who sold weapons to Taiwan.

Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai made it clear on Friday on Twitter that any attempts by the US government to "split" Taiwan from China would provoke a swift response.

"Those who play with fire will only get themselves burned. Period," he tweeted.

'Hot-button issue'

The US State Department gave its approval of the multibillion-dollar arms deal with Taiwan on July 8, which includes 108 M1A2T Abrams tanks and Stinger missiles.

In response, China's Foreign Ministry said it would impose sanctions on any companies selling arms to Taiwan, although it didn't single any out by name.

Speaking on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he wasn't in a position to "disclose more details" at present.

"Please believe that China always keeps its promises and its actions always produce results," he said.

Among the companies that could be affected would be Raytheon Missile Systems, who make the Stingers, or General Dynamics Land Systems, who are responsible for the Abrams tanks.

"In order to safeguard national interests, China will impose sanctions on US companies involved in the arms sales to Taiwan," spokesman Geng said Friday.

La Trobe University associate professor James Leibold said that Taiwan was being used as a bargaining chip by both US and China and the threat of sanctions showed Beijing felt ready to escalate the issue.

Taiwan was becoming more of a "hot-button issue" for both governments due to a push for closer relations from Washington, said Leibold.

"Clearly some in the Trump administration want to strengthen the alliance with Taiwan, and as we all know the Taiwan issue has always been a deeply sensitive one for the People's Republic of China," he said.

Taiwan has been self-ruled since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, which saw the Communist Party take control of the mainland and the Nationalist government forced to flee to the island.

But Beijing still views the island as their territory and has worked consistently for decades to try to threaten or cajole it into rejoining with the mainland.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has regularly called for the reunification of Taiwan, even refusing to rule out force in a major speech in January.

In the past year, China has ramped up its military exercises around the island. It held live fire drills in the Taiwan Strait in 2018, while Chinese fighter jets crossed the maritime border separating the island from the mainland in a rare incursion in April.

Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said that the PLA's drills on Sunday were "nothing more than routine exercises," according to Taiwan's news agency CNA, adding that the island's military was ready to respond to any threats.

Taiwan president defiant

The rise in tensions comes amid a visit to the US by Taiwan President Tsai on her way to visit the island's allies in the Caribbean.

Tsai is spending an unusually long stopover of four nights in the country, including two nights in New York. There is no confirmation of what meetings she is expected to have while in the country.

Her visit alone was enough to antagonize the Chinese government, which opposes any official contact between Washington and Taipei.

"Allowing Tsai to 'stop over' violates the #oneChina principle ... China urges the US to properly handle the Taiwan issue to prevent damaging China US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," China's embassy in the US said on its official Twitter Friday.

But Tsai hasn't been deterred by the Chinese government's opposition, holding a public meeting with representatives of Taiwan's remaining 17 allies in New York.

"Taiwan will firmly defend our democratic system. Our democracy has not come easily and is now facing the threat and penetration of overseas forces," said Tsai, implicitly criticizing Beijing. On her way back to Taipei, Tsai will stop over in Denver, Colorado.

While in the Caribbean, Tsai will visit St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and Haiti.

Taiwan's leader has taken an increasingly strident anti-China stance ahead of the national election in January 2020 where she will seek re-election.

It was announced on Monday that she will face opposition Kuomintang presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu, who won his party's nomination with 44% of the vote.

Despite being viewed as more pro-Beijing than Tsai, Han appeared to take a harder stance against further integration with the mainland in June, amid increasingly heated protests in Hong Kong.

"'One Country, Two Systems' can never be implemented in Taiwan. Taiwanese people can never accept it, unless it's over my dead body," Han told a rally in June.

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2019-07-15 09:01:00Z
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Tensions Mount in Hong Kong as Protesters Call for Chief Executive Carrie Lam's Resignation - TIME

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2019-07-14 16:25:33Z
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Jet-powered flyboard steals the show at Bastille Day celebrations - Guardian News

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2019-07-14 14:34:46Z
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She moved from Canada to Somalia to tell positive stories, but ended up dead in a terrorist attack - CNN

But, eight weeks later, she was dead.

Nalayeh was a victim of a brutal terrorist attack that ripped through Kismayo, the normally serene and beautiful port city in Jubaland, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu.

She was among 26 people who died after several gunmen stormed the Asasey Hotel after a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle loaded with explosives outside the hotel. The attackers battled with Jubaland's security forces for 12 hours, authorities said.

Her husband Farid Jama Suleiman -- a businessman and former regional minister -- also died in the attack alongside three Kenyans, three Tanzanians, two Americans and one Briton.

Nalayeh was a prominent Somali-Canadian journalist who was passionate about depicting Somalia -- a country long blighted by war, famine and terrorist attacks, beyond the usual bombs and bullets narrative.

She was the founder of Integration TV, an online platform with millions of views on YouTube which describes itself as "building a community of inspiring and uplifting stories for Somalis worldwide."

Nalayeh, 43, was a powerhouse on social media, where she used her large following to continue her theme of sharing a side of Somalia rarely seen in coverage of the country.

In her last tweet Nalayeh spoke of a new-found passion for photography, sharing stunning images of local young fishermen in the island of Illisi, near Kismayo.

"It was an incredible day to witness #Somalia's beauty on the island of #Ilisi," she wrote in a thread.

Nayaleh was born in Somalia in 1976 but her family moved to Canada when she was six years old.

In an interview earlier this year, she recalled what it was like to grow up in a family of 12 children, as well as the toll moving to Canada had on her family.

"My parents survived in a new country, learnt everything and my dad went from being a high profile governor in Somalia driving around in a Mercedes to working in a parking lot and taking care of his 12 children ... My parents were traumatized having to start their whole life over," she told the African Women in Media (AWIM) platform.

Nayaleh's family said in a statement released online, that the 43-year-old had "spent her life devoted to serving the Somali people and reporting on positive and uplifting stories."

"She died serving the Somali community everywhere and doing what she loved most. She brought inspiration and hope to the Somali people through story telling. She will be deeply missed," the statement read.

Nalayeh had two sons from a previous marriage and spoke openly about the cultural stigma attached to being a divorced single parent.

"Society judges you," she said. "They look down on women who are single parents, men look down on you because they think you may be an easy catch...They think nobody is going to pay dowry for you. All these crazy ideas like you are just not as worthy when you are divorced.

"But you know what, my journey sharing that with one of my followers and them realizing that life happens to many of us. We can start over, we can learn, we can grow and you don't have to be ashamed," she said in the AWIM interview.

In another cruel twist of fate, Nalayeh had recently found love again and remarried in November 2018, sharing pictures of her honeymoon in Somalia on Instagram.

She was heavily pregnant when she died, according to a friend Fatuma Abdulahi -- who told CNN they worked together on a personal story for a platform Abdulahi used to run. Abdulahi also made a series of Twitter posts paying tribute to her friend.

Nalayeh's death has led to an outpouring of grief on social media with many sharing their shock and disbelief at her death.

Through her work with Integration TV, Nalayeh inspired a generation of young Somalis who had previously only seen their country through the lens of war.

"Hodan... was opening up a previously little know or seen side of Somali... Showing us that despite everything that Somalia has endured, its people still have hope, an enduring spirit and a will to make the best of a situation beyond their control," Jamila Mohamed, who met Nalayeh in Kenya earlier this year, told CNN over WhatsApp.

Mohamed, the managing editor of Citizen TV, recounted that she, too, had experienced a hotel attack during a recent reporting trip to Somalia but escaped unhurt.

"It's always a risk going to Somalia, always, you never know what will happen next," she said.

Indeed in an interview with CBC News in 2016, Nalayeh is quoted as saying: "Anyone who follows their passion to help rebuild Somalia knows there's always a risk of death."

The author and scholar Khaled Beydoun was among those who paid tribute to the journalist.

"Devastating to hear the news of Hodan Nalayeh being among the victims of the terror attack in southern Somalia. She was beloved by so many, and her work so impactful. Rest in Peace," he wrote.

While Ahmed Hussen -- who's of Somali heritage and Canada's minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, described Nalayeh as a "voice for many," in a Twitter post.

"We mourn her loss deeply, and all others killed in the #KismayoAttack," he said.

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2019-07-14 13:15:00Z
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Leaked UK memo says Trump left Iran deal to spite Obama - AOL

LONDON (AP) — A U.K. newspaper published more leaked memos from Britain's ambassador in Washington on Sunday, despite a police warning that doing so might be a crime.

In one 2018 cable published by the Mail on Sunday, U.K. ambassador Kim Darroch says President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Iran as an act of "diplomatic vandalism" to spite his predecessor, Barack Obama.

The memo was written after then-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Washington in a failed attempt to persuade the U.S. not to abandon the Iran nuclear agreement.

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"The outcome illustrated the paradox of this White House: you got exceptional access, seeing everyone short of the president; but on the substance, the administration is set upon an act of diplomatic vandalism, seemingly for ideological and personality reasons - it was Obama's deal," Darroch wrote.

Darroch announced his resignation last week after the newspaper published cables in which he'd branded the Trump administration dysfunctional and inept. The White House responded by refusing to deal with him, and Trump branded the ambassador a "pompous fool" in a Twitter fusillade.

U.K. police are hunting the culprits behind the leak — and, contentiously, have warned journalists that publishing the documents "could also constitute a criminal offence."

Yet both Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, the two contenders to become Britain's next prime minister, have defended the media's right to publish.

"We have to make sure that we defend the right of journalists to publish leaks when they are in the national interest," Hunt said.

British officials have said they have no evidence that hacking was involved in the documents' release, and that the culprit is likely to be found among politicians or civil servants in London.

Police are investigating the leak as a potential breach of the Official Secrets Act, which bars public servants from making "damaging" disclosures of classified material. Breaking the act carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison, though prosecutions are rare.

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2019-07-14 12:30:31Z
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UK envoy said Trump left Iran nuclear deal to spite Obama: Report - Aljazeera.com

The United Kingdom's former ambassador to Washington said United States President Donald Trump seemed to be pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal for "personality reasons", as it was signed by his predecessor, Barack Obama, according to a British newspaper citing leaked documents.

The report by the Mail on Sunday came days after Kim Darroch was reported to have sent diplomatic cables describing the Trump administration as "inept", prompting the US president to claim the ambassador was a "pompous fool" whom he would no longer deal with.

Darroch has since resigned, saying it was now "impossible" to do his job.     

"The administration is set upon an act of diplomatic vandalism, seemingly for ideological and personality reasons - it was Obama's deal,"  Darroch wrote in a diplomatic cable in May 2018, the Mail on Sunday reported, as it published the second batch of leaked documents.

'No long-time strategy'

According to the cables, in May 2018, Boris Johnson, the British foreign secretary at the time, went to Washington to try to persuade Trump not to abandon the Iran deal.

Afterwards, Darroch reportedly indicated there were divisions in Trump's team over the decision, and criticised the White House for not having a long-term strategy.

"They can't articulate any 'day-after' strategy; and contacts with the State Department this morning suggest no sort of plan for reaching out to partners and allies, whether in Europe or the region," he wrote.

He reported back that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during his talks with Johnson, "did some subtle distancing by talking throughout about 'the president's decision'".

The newspaper reported that, according to Darroch, Pompeo also hinted that he had tried but failed to "sell" a revised text to Trump.

Police warning

In 2015, when Obama was in power, the US, China, Britain, France, Russia and Germany signed a deal with Iran to limit its nuclear programme in exchange for a partial lifting of international economic sanctions.

Trump had long been critical of the deal and unilaterally withdrew the US on May 8, 2018.

Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, reporting from London, said the leaks have "rocked the British diplomatic service to its core and driven a significant wedge between the UK and the US". 

"The latest leaks will also make the job of British diplomats that much more difficult. They have said 'How can we be able to do our jobs and be candid and honest in the cables we write back to London if those confidential missives get leaked for political reasons?'"

In addition to a government investigation into the leaks, police are also looking into a potential breach of the Official Secrets Act.

London's Metropolitan Police sparked widespread condemnation on Saturday after warning journalists that publishing leaked documents could be a criminal matter.

Separately, the Sunday Times reported that a government investigation had identified a civil servant as the person responsible for the leak. 

Working with officials from the National Cyber Security Centre, part of spy agency GCHQ, and MI6, the probe has centred on a suspect who had access to historical Foreign Office files, the paper said.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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2019-07-14 12:08:00Z
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