USA
Hawkish John Bolton sidelined for Trump-Kim summit amid Mike Pompeo’s rise but will lurk in the wings
7 June 2018
Just weeks after John Bolton’s hard-line rhetoric infuriated North Korea and nearly derailed a planned summit between Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, the U.S. national security adviser appears to have taken a back seat to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the historic meeting.
While the hawkish Bolton — who has adopted a lower-key approach in recent days — is expected to be in Singapore for the talks on Tuesday, Pompeo has taken the lead as the administration assumes a softer tone toward Pyongyang ahead of the summit, several U.S. officials said. Click here to read...
Paul Manafort accused of attempted witness tampering
5 June 2018
US prosecutors have accused Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who is facing multiple charges of money laundering, bank fraud and illegal lobbying, of attempting to tamper with witnesses.
A motion submitted by special counsel Robert Mueller on Monday, who is heading up the main investigation into alleged Russian election meddling, said that Manafort had contacted witnesses by phone and encrypted text messaging for the purpose of securing "materially false testimony".
It added that such activities amounted to a violation of his bail terms, which "triggers the statutory presumption in favour of detention", meaning he could face jail time before his trials. Click here to read...
China is Alone at Sea. That Means the U.S. Has the Advantage
5 June 2018
On Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the dinner address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual meeting of defense ministers held in Singapore. As with keynotes by Australia’s Malcolm Turnbull and Japan’s Shinzo Abe in preceding years, Modi championed democratic principles and a free and open Indo-Pacific, while emphasizing respect for territorial rights and international law rights.
The next morning, during the opening plenary session, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis pursued the same theme but in far more pointed terms, calling out China for its intimidation and coercion of smaller nations in the region, which is what much of the room wanted to hear. Click here to read...
Haley hits UN human rights office over condemnation of US immigration policy
5 June 2018
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley rebuked the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for "hypocrisy" in its call for an end to a Trump administration policy that could lead to the separation of families detained on the US southern border.
"Once again, the United Nations shows its hypocrisy by calling out the United States while it ignores the reprehensible human rights records of several members of its own Human Rights Council," Haley said in a statement Tuesday.
"While the High Commissioner's office ignorantly attacks the United States with words, the United States leads the world with its actions, like providing more humanitarian assistance to global conflicts than any other nation," she continued. "We will remain a generous country, but we are also a sovereign country, with laws that decide how best to control our borders and protect our people. Neither the United Nations nor anyone else will dictate how the United States upholds its borders." Click here to read...
L.A. County officials demand answers after more than 118K were left off voter rosters
6 June 2018
Los Angeles County leaders prodded their elections chief for answers Wednesday after more than 118,000 people were left off voter rosters on Election Day.
"We fell short,” said Dean C. Logan, Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk, at a special hearing at the county Board of Supervisors on the voting blunder.
The faulty rosters, which were attributed to a printing error, affected roughly 2.3 percent of the registered voters across the county and 35 percent of voting locations, according to county figures. Logan called the mistakes a “data and system” issue that had nothing to do with voter eligibility. Click here to read...
Feuding with Allies, Trump May Need Success in Singapore More than Kim
10 June 2018
Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un—the leaders of two countries that have technically been at war for the past seventy years—will make history, on Tuesday, just by shaking hands. They will meet at a luxury island resort, in Singapore, where peacocks strut the tropical grounds that were a pirates’ haven in the nineteenth century and a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in the twentieth. Two days have been allocated for the summit, although Trump said, on Saturday, that he would know “within the first minute” if a deal is doable with the North Korean leader. “If I think it won’t happen I’m not going to waste my time,” Trump said at a press conference at the G-7 summit, in Canada. “I don’t want to waste his time.” Click here to read...
US, Russia military chiefs to meet in Finland
7 June 2018
The Finnish Defense Forces says a top U.S. military chief will meet his Russian counterpart in Helsinki to discuss "current issues between the countries."
The Finnish military says the meeting Friday of Gen. Joseph Dunford, current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Russia's chief of the military's General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, "takes place on the initiative of both countries."
In Thursday's statement, the Finns said they also will meet separately with Finland's president and the Nordic country's military chief. The Finns will not take part in the U.S.-Russia meeting. Click here to read...
RUSSIA
Russian, Chinese top diplomats agree to step up coordination efforts on Korean Peninsula
4 June 2018
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi have agreed during their meeting on Sunday to step up bilateral coordination efforts on the nuclear issue settlement on the Korean Peninsula, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday, cited by TASS.
"Both sides exchanged opinions regarding the situation on the Korean Peninsula and agreed to step up coordination efforts on this issue to contribute to the process of denuclearization of the peninsula and achievement of the long-term order and stability in this region," the statement posted on the ministry’s official website said. Click here to read...
No Putin - Trump meeting?
4 June 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin<.strong> blamed political ructions in the United States for difficulties in arranging a summit with President Donald Trump.
Putin said last month the proposed summit was beset by problems and was not working out for now. Asked by Austrian broadcaster ORF why it was taking so long to arrange, he said: "You have to ask our colleagues in the USA. In my view it is the consequence of the fierce domestic political contest in the United States."
"In one of our last discussions, Donald said he is concerned about the danger of a new arms race. I agree with him entirely," Putin said in a short extract released ahead of the full interview, to be broadcast on Monday evening. Click here to read...
N. Korea’s Kim invited to Russia with the official visit
4 June 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un to pay an official visit to Russia. The invitation came in a personal letter that was delivered earlier by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
One of the possible occasions for the visit could be the 4th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia’s Far Eastern city near its border with North Korea. The forum will take place on September 11-13. However, the visit depends on Pyongyang, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“Time will show to what extent it is convenient for the North Korean side,” he told journalists on Monday. Peskov added that the issue is to be worked on via diplomatic channels and there are no specific details on the meeting so far. Click here to read...
Moscow keeping close eye on NATO drills in Baltics
4 June 2018
Moscow is closely following NATO’s exercises near its borders and is taking all necessary security measures, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday in the wake of the alliance’s Saber Strike 2018 military drills that kicked off in the Baltic Region.
As the spokesman stressed, "Moscow always closely tracks all NATO maneuvers, especially those drills that have a certain degree of proximity to our borders." Click here to read...
Pacific Fleet ships completed their visit to Vietnam
6 June 2018
The Pacific Fleet’s detachment composed of the major ASW ship Admiral Tributs, Admiral Vinogradov and the middle sea tanker Pechenga completed their call to the port of Cam Ranh (Vietnam) which started on 3 June.
The port authorities conducted a solemn farewell ceremony on this case, which was attended by the Russian diplomats of the RF General Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City together with the representatives of the Vietnamese Defence Ministry and the Command of the Naval District.
During the call, the Pacific Fleet officers took part in a protocol meeting with the command of the Vietnamese Navy’s regional unit. The Russian and Vietnamese sailors held a friendly mini-football match in Cam Ranh. The Pacific Fleet seamen toured local historical sites.
After the port call, the ships of the Pacific Fleet and the 4th Naval District of the Vietnamese Navy are to hold a joint signal exercise, joint tactical manoeuvring, as well as search and rescue drills at sea. Click here to read...
India to proceed with purchase of Russian S-400 units despite possible US sanctions
6 June 2018
India will proceed with the purchase of Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile units despite possible US sanctions, the country's defense minister has confirmed, citing a “time tested” relationship between Delhi and Moscow.
“In all our engagements with the US, we have clearly explained how India and Russia's defense cooperation has been going on for a long time and that it is a time tested relationship. We have mentioned that CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act) cannot impact the India-Russia defense cooperation,” Nirmala Sitharaman said at a press conference. Click here to read...
SCO exerts positive influence on world situation: Vladimir Putin
6 June 2018
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has a positive influence on the world situation, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin made the remarks during an interview with the head of the China Media Group Shen Haixiong in Moscow, Russia at the end of May.
Putin said it is an obvious fact that the SCO has become a global organization, considering its members' contributions to the world's gross domestic product (GDP).
"After India and Pakistan officially joined the organization and formally started their work, it is clear that the SCO has become a global organization. This is an obvious fact. As you can see, the SCO member states account for one-fourth of the world's GDP, 43 per cent of the world's population, and 23 per cent of the global land territory. These are all tremendous resources and very impressive," said Putin. Click here to read...
Russia-China trade to reach record $100bn by year-end as ties grow in all sectors – Putin
8 June 2018
Trade between Moscow and Beijing has grown 31 percent this year and is projected to reach the $100 billion target, said Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Energy is the key sector of cooperation between the two countries, according to Putin. “Russia remains the largest supplier of fuel to the Chinese market. Last year, we supplied more than 50 million tons of oil. By April, this number increased by another 26 percent,” said the Russian president.
Work on the construction of the Eastern Route pipeline from Russia to China is on schedule, and companies from both countries are participating at Russia’s $27 billion LNG plant in Yamal, Putin added. Click here to read...
Austria offers to host Putin-Trump meeting — White House
8 June 2018
Austria has informed the United States that it was ready to host a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump, a source in the National Security Council at the White House told TASS.
"The Austrians have conveyed their willingness to host a meeting between President Trump and President Putin. And, although the two leaders have previously discussed the possibility of arranging a meeting, we have nothing to announce at this time," the source said. Click here to read...
AFRICA
East Africa: Ethiopia Accepts Peace Accord with Eritrea, Opens Sectors to Investment - allAfrica
5une, 2018
After decades of conflict and land claims, Ethiopia said it fully accepts the terms of a peace agreement with coastal Eritrea. It has also partially opened its economy to foreign investors. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government said on Tuesday it would fully accept and put into operation the Algiers accord, signed in 2000, that ended its war with Eritrea. A state of emergency has also been lifted two months early. Click here to read...
Liberia Elected as Chair of UN General Assembly’s Fourth Committee after 57 Years: Front Page Africa
6 June, 2018
The General Assembly of the United Nations on Tuesday, June 5, elected by acclamation, Liberia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, His Excellency Lewis Garseedah Brown II as Chair of the 4th Committee of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly. Click here to read...
Uhuru pushes for ocean protection, African alignment ahead of G7 Summit: The Star, Kenya
8 June, 2018
President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked African leaders attending the G7 Summit to align their messages on protecting oceans, expanding regional trade and deepening regional stability. Uhuru met Presidents Macky Sall of Senegal and Rwanda's Paul Kagame (African Union chairperson) ahead of the G7 'outreach segment' on Saturday. At the meeting with Sall, he pledged to open a new embassy in Dakar in four months to boost trade and people-to-people relations. Click here to read...
S. Africa to use membership of UNSC to advance African interests: President – Xinhua
8 June, 2018
South Africa will use its membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to advance the interests of Africa, particularly the priorities of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday. He was speaking after the United Nations General Assembly elected South Africa to serve in the UNSC for the term 2019-2020 as a non-permanent member. Click here to read...
US soldier killed in suspected al Shabab attack in Somalia: Africanews
9 June, 2018
A US Special Forces soldier has been killed in an attack by suspected al-Shabab militants in south-western Somalia, officials say. Four other US soldiers and a Somali soldier were wounded in what appears to have been an ambush near the town of Jamaame, US defence officials added. Click here to read...
Meeting on the fight against terrorism in West Africa: Africanews
10 June, 2018
Terrorist attacks and their consequences continue to raise concerns in different African countries. Between January and June 2018 more than one hundred deaths were recorded in various terrorist incidents across Africa. The attacks come at a time when West African countries are increasingly moving towards the effective establishment of an autonomous African force that will essentially invest in the fight against jihadist groups. In order to accelerate its establishment, the France-West Africa Interparliamentary Friendship Group, consisting of 17 African countries, have discussed several strategies that could help in the fight against this phenomenon. During a strategic meeting held on Saturday, June 9, 2018 in Paris, they addressed the various problems impeding the fight against terrorism. Click here to read...
Experts Alarmed at Rise of Jihadi Terrorism in Mozambique: Voice of Africa
11 June, 2018
On Friday, the U.S. embassy in Mozambique issued a security alert, warning all U.S. citizens to avoid visiting the Palma district in Cabo Delgado province, and urging those already there to “consider departing the area immediately.” The embassy issued the warning “in light of information pointing to the likelihood of imminent attacks on government and commercial centers in the area.” In the past two weeks, Mozambique has witnessed at least three brutal attacks by armed militants that police have linked to an Islamic group in the northern part of the country. This alarming rise of terror attacks has caught experts and policy analysts by surprise. Click here to read...
