RIYADH: A United States law allowing victims of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia could have “serious implications” for shared US-Gulf interests, a top Obama administration official said on Thursday.
US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew made the comments at the opening of a meeting with finance ministers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, whose most powerful member is Saudi Arabia.
The US Congress voted overwhelmingly in September to override President Barack Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA).
Fifteen of the 19 Al Qaeda hijackers who carried out the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people were Saudi, but Riyadh denies any ties to the plotters.
JASTA allows attack survivors and relatives of terrorism victims to pursue cases against foreign governments in US federal court and to demand compensation if those governments are proven to bear some responsibility for attacks on US soil.
Lew said JASTA “would enact broad changes in long-standing international law regarding sovereign immunity that, if applied globally, could have serious implications for our shared interests.”
He said the Obama administration has proven its determination to hold people responsible when they commit “horrendous acts”, but “there are ways to do that without undermining important international legal principles.” In opposing the law, Obama said it would harm US interests by opening up the US to private lawsuits over its military missions abroad.
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have also expressed concern about erosion of sovereign immunity, a principle sacrosanct in international relations. But the potential implications go far beyond the Gulf.
Some British, French and Dutch lawmakers have threatened retaliatory legislation to allow their courts to pursue US officials, threatening a global legal domino effect.
The US has said it will seek clarity on the Philippine president's announcement of a "separation from the US".
Rodrigo Duterte made the comments in China on Thursday at an economic forum, saying the separation applied to military and economic co-operation.
US officials said the remarks were "at odds" with the "close relationship" shared by the countries.
Mr Duterte has grown increasingly hostile towards the US - a traditional ally - since taking office in June.
His presidential spokesman said the latest comments were a "restatement" of "independent foreign policy".
"This is not an intent to renege on our treaties, but an assertion that we are an independent and sovereign nation," Ernesto Abella said on Friday.
He explained Mr Duturte wanted to "separate the nation from dependence on the US and the West and rebalance economic and military relations with Asian neighbours".
Several members of Mr Duterte's cabinet members have also said their country would not sever ties with Washington.
Speaking at a business forum in Beijing on Thursday, Mr Duterte said: "I announce my separation from the United States. Both in military, not maybe social, but economics also. America has lost."
"I've realigned myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to [President Vladimir] Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world - China, Philippines, and Russia. It's the only way," Mr Duterte said.
The Russian ambassador to the UK has accused the British government of delaying the granting of visas to staff at its embassy in London.
Alexander Yakovenko said the embassy was "shrinking" and questioned whether the UK wanted "an adequate Russian diplomatic presence".
He also criticised the prime minister and foreign secretary for giving what he said were "anti-Russian statements".
The Foreign Office said there was no policy to delay visas.
Mr Yakovenko said Russia did not have enough diplomatic staff in London because as people returned home or went on to other postings, visas for their replacements were not being issued.
"The embassy is shrinking and if it continues the embassy will be reduced further. People cannot be replaced because the visas are not being issued," he said.
"I hope this problem will be resolved under present government."
He added: "Here in London, we simply do not understand the strategy of this country on visa issues."
After the president of the Philippines announced a separation from the US – a statement which his government has since walked back – Russia’s ambassador to the country said Moscow is ready to provide assistance to and fully cooperate with Manila.
Formulate your wish list. What kind of assistance do you expect from Russia and we will be ready to sit down with you and discuss what can and should be done,” Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev told GMA News on Friday.
He went on to state that Russia is open to working with the Philippines in “any area, any field of possible cooperation.”
The ambassador assured the news outlet that Moscow would not “interfere with the domestic affairs of a sovereign state,” and that the “true Russia” is much different than the one portrayed in Hollywood films.
Khovaev added that the Philippines and Russia “deserve to know each other much, much better.”
He also said that Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte impressed Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev during a meeting in Laos last month, and that Moscow supports the leader’s fight against illegal drugs and criminality.
For its part, the Philippines’ budget minister announced that his country is open to all forms of assistance, but will choose what is in the “best interest of the country,” Reuters reported.
‘Troubling rhetoric’
Meanwhile, relations between Duterte and the US aren’t quite as rosy. The Philippines leaderannounced it was “time to say goodbye” to Washington on Thursday, including to military and economic cooperation.
However, the Philippines’ trade minister, Ramon Lopez, told CNN on Friday that the leader“wasn’t talking about separation” from the United States.
Although Duterte explicitly stated that the Philippines would be separating from the US economically, Lopez said that “in terms of economic [ties], we are not stopping trade, investment with America. The president specifically mentioned his desire to strengthen further the ties with China and the ASEAN region, which we have been trading with for centuries.”
Islamic State militants have reportedly entered houses and mosques in Kurkuk, Iraq, and taken civilians as hostages. They have also broken into a kindergarten building, according to a Rudaw news agency report citing the city’s police chief.
This latest intrusion comes just hours after Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) “sleeper cells” launched an attack on government buildings in the city that sparked clashes with security forces, and also as Iraqi forces continue their offensive on the IS stronghold of Mosul.
“It was expected that ISIS sleeper cells would make a move one day in Kirkuk now that the Mosul offensive has started and they want to boost their own morale this way,” Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim told Rudaw earlier on Friday.
“Some of [the militants] have hidden themselves inside mosques and tall buildings and try to shoot as snipers, but our forces are in control and in places where escalations were feared it was all controlled. Strong forces combined of security, police, and anti-terrorism are all inside Kirkuk today,” he said.
“They were sleeper cells...many women and children fled to Kirkuk as refugees and it is possible that some militants had come with them,” Kiruk added, referring to the attackers.
The city’s police chief and governor have called on residents to stay in their homes until the situation is under control.
The unrest has so far led to the deaths of at least 28 people – six policemen, 12 militants, and 16 power station workers, according to reports from Rudaw and AFP. The workers were killed in the nearby town of Dibis, located 55 kilometers (34 miles) from Kirkuk.
"Three suicide bombers attacked the power plant at around 6:00 am (03:00 UTC), killing 12 Iraqi administrators and engineers and four Iranian technicians," Dibis Mayor Abdullah Nureddin al-Salehi al-Salehi told AFP.
Republican candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested he might reject the outcome of the Nov 8 US presidential election if he loses, a possibility his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton called “horrifying”.
In their third and final presidential debate, Trump said he would wait to decide whether the outcome was legitimate.
“I will tell you at the time, I will keep you in suspense,” Trump said. Clinton said she was “appalled” by Trump's stance.
“Let's be clear about what he is saying and what that means: He is denigrating, he is talking down our democracy and I for one am appalled that someone who is the nominee for one of our two major parties would take that position,” she said.
She said Trump, a former reality TV star, had in the past also complained that his show was unjustly denied a US television Emmy award.
“I should have gotten it,” Trump retorted.
In a fiery debate that centered more on policy than the earlier showdowns, Trump accused Clinton's campaign of orchestrating a series of accusations by women who said the businessman made unwanted sexual advances against them.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton finish their third and final 2016 presidential campaign debate at UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada.— Reuters
Trump said all of the stories were “totally false” and suggested Clinton was behind the charges. He called her campaign “sleazy”.
“I think they either want fame or her campaign did it, and I think it's her campaign,” Trump said.
Clinton said the women came forward after Trump said in the last debate he had never made unwanted advances on women. In a 2005 video, Trump was recorded bragging about groping women against their will.
“Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger. He goes after their dignity, their self-worth and I don't think there is a woman anywhere who doesn't know what that feels like,” Clinton said. She cited other minorities she said Trump had maligned.
“This is a pattern. A pattern of divisiveness, of a very dark and in many ways dangerous vision of our country where he incites violence, where he applauds people who are pushing and pulling and punching at his rallies. That is not who America is,” she said.
Trump seeks to reverse his fading momentum in an election that opinion polls show is tilting away from him. The New York businessman has raised concerns by claiming the election will be rigged against him. He has urged supporters to patrol polling places in inner cities to prevent voter fraud.
The two presidential rivals had tough but issues-based exchanges on abortion, gun rights and immigration during the 90-minute showdown.
Putin's puppet?
Trump, 70, and Clinton, 68, battled sharply over the influence of Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, with Clinton calling Trump the Russian president's puppet and Trump charging Putin had repeatedly outsmarted Clinton.
Trump is cheered by his wife Melania Trump (C) and daughter Ivanka Trump (L) at the end of the final presidential debate.— AFP
Clinton said Trump had refused to condemn Putin and Russia for recent cyber attacks.
“He'd rather believe Vladimir Putin than the military and civilian intelligence officials that are sworn to protect us,” Clinton said.
US intelligence agencies and the Department of Homeland Security have said the Russian leadership was responsible for recent cyber attacks on the Democratic National Committee and the leaking of stolen emails.
Trump rejected the idea that he was close with Putin, but suggested he would have a better relationship with Russia's leader than Clinton.
“He said nice things about me,” Trump said. “He has no respect for her, he has no respect for our president and I'll tell you what, we're in very serious trouble.”
Clinton responded: “Well that's because he'd rather have a puppet as president of the United States.”
“No, you're the puppet,” Trump retorted. “Putin has outsmarted her and Obama every single step of the way,” he said in a reference to US President Barack Obama, a Democrat like Clinton.
Clinton also said Trump had been “cavalier” about nuclear weapons and should not be trusted with the nuclear codes.
Supreme Court
Clinton promised to appoint justices to the Supreme Court who would uphold a woman's right to abortion laid out in the court's 1973 Roe vs Wade decision, while Trump promised to appoint what he called “pro-life” justices who would overturn the decision.
Under existing law, Trump said, “You can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb of the mother just prior to the birth of the baby.”
“Honestly, nobody has business doing what I just said, doing that as late as one or two or three or four days prior to birth,” Trump said.
Clinton said Trump's “scare rhetoric is just terribly unfortunate”. “This is one of the worst possible choices that any woman and her family has to make and I do not believe the government should be making it,” Clinton said.
Trump said he would appoint a Supreme Court justice who would protect American gun rights. He has said in the past that Clinton wants to “essentially abolish” the Second Amendment of the US Constitution guaranteeing a right to bear arms.
Clinton said she supports gun rights, but wants additional regulations on guns, citing examples of children being hurt or killed in gun accidents. “I see no conflict between saving people's lives and defending the Second Amendment.”
No handshake
Clinton and Trump walked straight to their podiums when they were introduced at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, once again forgoing the traditional handshake as they did at the second debate last week in St. Louis, Missouri.
The debate gave Trump, making his first run for elected office, perhaps his best remaining chance to sway the dwindling number of Americans who are still undecided about their vote.
Clinton, a former secretary of state, US senator and first lady, leads in national polls and in most of the battleground states where the election will likely be decided. The debate was her opportunity to make a closing argument on why she is best suited to succeed Obama.
Clinton has struggled to get past concerns about transparency raised over her use of a private email server for work communication while she was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.
Exchange of accusations
The two candidates clashed over accusations that Clinton as US secretary of state from 2009 to 2013 did favours for high-dollar donors to her family's Clinton Foundation. Asked about a potential conflict of interest, she said she acted “in furtherance of our country's values and interests”.
She and Trump talked over each other, Clinton defending her ties to the foundation, saying “there is no evidence” of a conflict, while Trump said the foundation should return millions of dollars to countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar who treat gay people harshly.
“It's a criminal enterprise,” Trump said.
Clinton said she would be happy to compare the Clinton Foundation to Trump's charitable Trump Foundation, which among its activities was to buy “a six-foot statue of Donald”.
The UN General Assembly on Thursday formally appointed Antonio Guterres as the new secretary-general of the United Nations, replacing Ban Ki-moon.
The 193 member states adopted by acclamation a resolution appointing the former prime minister of Portugal for a five-year term beginning January 1.
Guterres won unanimous support from the UN Security Council during a vote last week that capped the most transparent campaign ever held at the United Nations for the top post.
The 67-year-old polyglot campaigned on a pledge to promote human rights and enact reforms within the UN system, seen as clunky and too slow to respond to unfolding disasters.
The socialist politician, who also served as UN refugee chief for a decade, is expected to play a more prominent role as the world's diplomat-in-chief than Ban, the South Korean former foreign minister who will step down after two five-year terms.
Guterres repeatedly warned that millions of refugees fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere would turn to Europe if nations such as Turkey and Jordan did not receive more help to cope with their refugee populations.
“When people say they cannot receive Syrian refugees because they are Muslims, those that say it are supporting terrorist organisations and allowing them to be much more effective in recruiting people,” he said in December just before he stepped down as UN refugee chief.
Born in Lisbon on April 30, 1949, Guterres joined Portugal's Socialist Party following the country's 1974 “Carnation Revolution” which put an end to nearly five decades of dictatorship.
His appointment as secretary-general comes at a time of global anxiety over the ongoing war in Syria, the refugee crisis and raging conflicts in South Sudan and Yemen.
The Security Council is deadlocked over Syria after two draft resolutions were defeated in separate votes over the weekend, one of which was vetoed by Damascus ally Russia.
Russia tested a Sineva ballistic missile from a submarine, reported Russian news agency Sputnik on Thursday.
The missile was fired from a nuclear submarine and Russian authorities claimed the test was successful.
“Russia's Delta-IV class Novomoskovsk strategic nuclear submarine conducted on Wednesday a successful test launch of a R-29RM Sineva ballistic missile from the Barents Sea,” Sputnik quoted the Defence Ministry.
"The simulated warhead successfully hit the designated target…confirming the high level of combat readiness in the Northern Fleet's submarine force," the statement said.
The ministry said that the submarine “launched the Sineva (Nato reporting name SS-N-23) missile from a submerged position targeting a designated area at the Kura testing range” on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
MOSCOW: Russia on Wednesday announced the first international talks on the Syria conflict since Washington pulled out of bilateral ceasefire negotiations in protest at Moscow's bombing of Aleppo.
Russian Foreign Ministry indicated the possibility of talks, saying Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and United States (US) Secretary of State John Kerry agreed to sit down with top diplomats from “key countries in the region” on Saturday in Lausanne.
The meeting which Lavrov said "could include Turkey, Saudi Arabia and possibly Qatar" comes after Syria plunged into some of the worst violence it has seen as government forces backed up by Russian air-power push a brutal assault to take rebel-held eastern Aleppo.
Despite the collapse in relations Lavrov told CNN in an interview on Wednesday that he hoped the weekend talks in Switzerland could help “launch a serious dialogue” based on the now-defunct US-Russian pact.
“We would like to have a meeting in this narrow format, to have a businesslike discussion, not another General Assembly-like debate,” Lavrov said.
The United Nations said that Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura had been invited to take part in the talks but hopes were low of a breakthrough to end the five-year conflict that has claimed some 300,000 lives.
Pope Francis also appealed on Wednesday for an immediate ceasefire in Syria, calling for “at least” a truce enabling civilians, especially children, to be evacuated, after Aleppo came under fierce air assault.
“It is with a sense of urgency that I renew my appeal, begging those responsible, with all my strength, for an immediate ceasefire to be imposed and respected,” Pope told his weekly audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican.
The West has accused Moscow of potential war crimes over its bombing campaign, as acrimony surged after the US on October 3 pulled the plug on bilateral talks with Moscow after a truce deal unravelled.
The fallout from the collapse in diplomacy on Syria has seen some in the West call for punitive measures against Moscow, while Russia has responded by bolstering its forces in the war-torn country.
President Vladimir Putin has warned warned Western countries against imposing sanctions on Moscow over Syria, stressing that Russia would not let itself be isolated.
“We should not go down the path of pressure and blackmail but search for compromise,” Putin said on Wednesday at an investment forum in Moscow.
“I have said one hundred times that we are ready to search for these compromises. We would very much like that our partners treat us this way,” he added.
Putin earlier this week cancelled a long-planned visit to France over Syria, and on Wednesday slammed Paris for tabling a UN proposal on Aleppo at the weekend that Russia vetoed.
“They put forward the resolution knowing that it would not pass, in order to incite a veto,” Putin said.
“Why? It was aimed at inflaming the situation and fanning hysteria around Russia,” he added.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said that Putin had cancelled his visit because he was “embarrassed” about Russia's bombing of Aleppo.
The United Nations has warned of the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe taking place in besieged eastern Aleppo, saying that the rebel-held territory could be destroyed entirely by the end of the year.
Fresh air strikes and artillery fire in Aleppo on Wednesday left at least seven people dead, an international monitor said, a day after Russia was accused of stepping up its raids on the city.
WASHINGTON: The United States military launched cruise missile strikes on three coastal radar sites in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, retaliating after failed missile attacks this week on a US Navy destroyer, officials said on Wednesday.
The strikes authorised by President Barack Obama represent Washington's first direct military action against Houthi-controlled targets in Yemen's conflict.
The Pentagon said initial US assessments indicated the radar sites were destroyed.
“These limited self-defense strikes were conducted to protect our personnel, our ships, and our freedom of navigation in this important maritime passageway,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said.
“The United States will respond to any further threat to our ships and commercial traffic, as appropriate.”
WASHINGTON: Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Jammu and
Kashmir Mushahid Hussain Syed, on a visit to the United States, said
US-India relations are the reason for Pakistan's burgeoning ties with
Russia.
In a program organised by the think tank
Atlantic Council, Hussain said, "We [Pakistan] are observing a change in
US diplomatic policy".
Hussain said every action has a
reaction, and Pakistan felt the need to develop close ties with Russia
after President Obama’s two visits to India.
“This was the start of a new chapter in Pakistan-Russia ties.”
The
senator added that Russia is in favour of building a working
relationship with countries of the region and it has also started a
dialogue process with Afghan Taliban through back-door cha
nnels.
He
said the US State Department had refused to give visa to then Gujrat
Chief Minister Narinder Modi in 2006, but when Modi was elected as
Indian Prime Minister, US changed its policy for political gains.
"This
U-turn of US policy can be traced back to the time of Bush
administration, when the US-India nuclear deal was signed which was
against the law of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," said Hussain.
"Stability
of Afghanistan and eradication of terrorism is a top priority of the
US, which needs Pakistan to play a role in the peace-process. Pakistan
is not only providing its assistance in the peace process but also
facing damages," stated the senator while addressing the audience.
Violating Indus Waters Treaty will be an act of war
The senator stated India can not violate the Indus Waters Treaty, as that will constitute as an act of war.
"Apart from Pakistan and India, the World Bank is also a stakeholder in the treaty," said Hussain.
Commenting
on the Uri attack in India-held Kashmir, Husain said, "UN military
observer group for India and Pakistan should investigate the Uri attack.
Crossing the Line of Control to attack any target in India is not
possible for any militant."
He added that if India has any evidence or intelligence regarding the attack, it should be shared with Pakistan.
A
contingent of Russian ground forces arrived in Pakistan earlier in
September for the first ever joint Pak-Russian military exercise.
The
two-week-long exercise is expected to continue until Oct 10. The
exercises with Russian ground forces come at a time when tensions
between Pakistan and India are running high following an attack on the
Uri military camp in India-held Kashmir.
Around 200 military personnel of both countries will participate in the drills.
Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and three of his top aides have fallen ill after being poisoned at a feast, Iraqi news agency WAAreports.
They have been shifted to an undisclosed location under strict measures, reports say. The lunch prepared for Baghdadi and three other Islamic State leaders was allegedly poisoned in Iraq’s Be’aaj district, it has been reported.
Earlier this year, the Pentagon warned Baghdadi that he would eventually “taste justice” as the US military continued to target the extremist group’s upper ranks. “We are hunting him, and we will find him,” military spokesperson Colonel Steve Warren said.
“Just like we found his mentor (Abu Musab) al-Zarqawi and killed him. Just like we found the grand master of terrorism, Osama bin Laden, we killed him. We are going to find Baghdadi, and he will taste justice,” he said.
Born in Iraq in 1971, Baghdadi emerged as the leader of an al Qaeda offshoot which later became Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), in 2010.
In 2015, Islamic State proclaimed its leader Baghdadi as “caliph” – the head of the state. Baghdadi aspires to establish a global caliphate with himself at its head.
RIYADH: A United States law allowing victims of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia could have “serious implications” for shared US-Gulf interests, a top Obama administration official said on Thursday.
