Category: Foreign News

Washington implemented tough unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic on Monday following President Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in May.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has condemned Washington’s decision to slap Tehran with sanctions, calling the restrictions “absolutely illegitimate” and deeply disappointing, and saying that it was “unacceptable” to hold dialogue in the language of ultimatums.

“As far as the US measures against Iran are concerned, they are absolutely illegitimate,” Lavrov said on Tuesday in Madrid following a meeting with Spanish officials.

“They are being implemented in flagrant violation of the decisions of the UN Security Council, and the way in which these measures are announced and implemented cannot but cause a deep sense of disappointment. We proceed from the idea that the norms of not only international law, but of international dialogue, have not been repealed,” Lavrov stressed.

“Pursuing a policy based on ultimatums and one-sided demands is hardly permissible in our times,” according to the Russian foreign minister.

Commenting on suspected US pressure on international financial messaging system SWIFT, which implied Monday that it would comply with US sanctions against Iranian financial institutions, Lavrov said that such pressure was also illegitimate.

“Within the framework of the participants of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement, mechanisms are being developed which will allow for the continued implementation of the provisions of this document, first of all as regards [nations’] economic ties to Iran without US participation, and this is not a simple matter,” the foreign minister explained. “You can see how, using unacceptable methods, pressure has been placed on the operators of the SWIFT system. But experts are actively engaged in these issues, and they have a sufficiently stable understanding that this is possible and that such measures will be found.”

On Monday, Washington followed through with plans to renew sanctions against Iran following President Trump’s exit from the JCPOA Iran nuclear deal. The tough sanctions target Iran’s energy, banking and sea-based transport sectors, and threaten so-called secondary sanctions against foreign companies and countries doing business with the Islamic Republic.

The Belgium-based SWIFT financial messaging service announced that it would be suspending some Iranian banks’ access to the system, making no mention of US sanctions. Calling the move “regrettable,” SWIFT’s statement said it had taken the step “in the interest of the stability and integrity of the wider global financial system.”

All of the JCPOA’s other signatories, including Iran, Russia, China and several European powers, have made an effort to save the landmark nuclear deal and bypass the US sanctions or otherwise limit their impact. This has included the development of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) on trade. China and India, the largest importers of Iranian crude oil, have resisted US secondary sanctions threats, and have been given exemptions along with five other countries plus Taiwan. (https://sptnkne.ws/jWvZ)

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Major Japanese oil importing companies, Showa Shell Sekiyu and the Cosmo Energy Holding, told Sputnik on Tuesday that they would consider importing Iranian oil in light of the US decision to exempt Japan from its sanctions on Iran.

A new batch of sanctions targeting Iran’s oil trade, shipping and banking came into force on Monday. At the same time, the United States temporarily exempted eight nations, including Japan, from the sanctions on importing oil from Iran.

“We have been notified by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry that Japan has been exempt [from the sanctions on] importing oil from Iran. We are about to start to consider whether we import oil from Iran or not at this time,” the Showa Shell Sekiyu spokeswoman said.

A spokesman for the Cosmo Energy Holding stated that the company had been notified about the US decision to waive sanctions for Japan but noted that the company would consider further steps upon learning the details.

“We do not know any details. Once we verify it, we will consider our response in terms of importing Iranian crude oil,” the spokesman explained.

At the same time, a spokeswoman for the Idemitsu Kosan, a Japanese company working in oil refining, manufacturing and sale of oil products, refused to comment on the company’s plans in light of the sanctions waiver.

“Our company would like to refrain from commenting on its response,” the spokeswoman said.

Earlier in the day, a spokesperson for Japan’s largest oil company, JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation, told Sputnik that the company was considering the possibility of resuming Iranian oil imports.

Japan has been cutting down on its crude oil imports from Iran amid the recent spike in Tehran-Washington tensions but still relies heavily on Iranian oil to ensure its energy security. A number of Japanese oil distributors, in particular, the Cosmo Energy Holdings, said in September they did not plan to load any crude oil from Iran in October, while Fuji Oil announced in late August it would stop buying Iranian crude because of difficulties to secure a ship to transport oil, according to a company spokesman.

In May, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, and reimpose sanctions against Tehran that were previously lifted under the accord. The first round of the US sanctions was reintroduced in August. (https://sptnkne.ws/jWwX)

By Neil Murphy

A 15-year-old girl was raped and killed on her way to school and her body was found in woods surrounded by satanic symbols and two beheaded cockerels.

Alisa Onyshchuk was strangled to death in the village of Babai in north-eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast region.

According to local media, Onyshchuk left home early in the morning to catch a train going to get to her college in Kharkiv, the capital city of the region.

She used a well-worn footpath through the woods as a shortcut to the train station.

A few hours later, her mother Viktoria Onyshchuk used the same path to go into town and found one of her daughter’s running shoes lying on the path.

The anxious mother took the discarded item, caught a train and went to Kharkiv.

She visited the school to find her daughter, but nobody of had seen her that day.

She reported her daughter as missing to the local authorities.

Police and volunteers started searching the woods near the station and 24 hours later they found the young victim’s mutilated body

Marina, one of the volunteers who discovered her remains, said: “The corpse was found in the woods near a clearing. It was surrounded by satanic symbols drawn on the ground.

She added: “Two beheaded cockerels were hanged on the nearest bushes. The girl’s face was covered in blood.”

Police spokeswoman Viktoria Zinovyeva said: “According to the forensic examination, the victim was raped and strangled to death.”

Cops are searching for a male suspect aged between 35 and 45 who was last seen by locals near the train station before the victim disappeared.

No arrests have yet been made.

By John Cameron

The Euro US Dollar (EUR USD) exchange rate is traded in a very narrow range on Tuesday as investors remain reluctant make any moves ahead of the US mid-term elections.

US Dollar (USD) On Hold as Markets Await Outcome of US Mid-Term Elections

The US Dollar (USD) is range bound against the Euro (EUR) and the majority of its other currency peers today as election fever takes hold of markets.

Investors are currently erring on the side of caution as US voters go to the polls in what is set to be one of the most hotly contested mid-term elections in living memory as it serves as the first real test of Donald Trump’s Presidency.

Today’s election will see if the Republicans are able to keep hold of the two Houses of Congress or whether a ‘blue wave’ will see the Democrats wrestle control away from the Republicans and potentially allowing the Democrats to block and even reverse Trump’s policy plans.

The latter is seen as being particularly Dollar negative as it could prevent Trump from implementing further tax cuts and complicate his fiscal plans.

Current polls suggest the Democrats are likely to flip the House of Representatives but fall short of taking the Senate and outcome that won’t be seen as quite as negative as a Democrat dominated Congress, but could still dent USD confidence for fears of future deadlocks in Washington.

Jasper Lawler, Head of Research at London Capital Group explains:

‘Dollar bulls are looking for a Republican win, which will supportive of more of Trump’s expansionary fiscal policies being pushed through. A Democrat win, and the resultant political deadlock is considered more bearish for the US Dollar and US equities although we expect this to be a short-term reaction.

‘The unexpected result of a blue wave with Democrats taking both the Senate and the House would likely shock the markets resulting in an aggressive selloff in the greenback and US equities.’

Euro (EUR) Muted as Eurozone Private Sector Slows

Meanwhile the Euro (EUR) exchange rate is also treading water today, following the release of the Eurozone’s latest PMI figures.

According to data published by IHS Markit, the Eurozone’s composite PMI slumped from 54.7 to 53.7 in October.

While this was slightly higher than a preliminary reading of 53.3, this still resulted in the Eurozone’s private sector expanding at its slowest pace in over two-years.

The drop was partly blamed on ‘global protectionist measures’, with suggestions that Trump’s tariffs on EU steel and elevated trade tensions were dampening demand for exports.

Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit, said:

‘An export-led slowdown, linked to growing trade tensions and tariffs, has been exacerbated by rising political uncertainty, growing risk aversion and tightening financial conditions. The slowdown has consequently become more broad-based to increasingly envelop the services economy.’

EUR/USD Exchange Rate Forecast: Fed Outlook to Drive US Dollar Later in the Week?

While today’s mid-terms are likely to shape the Euro US Dollar (EUR/USD) exchange rate through the first half of this week’s session, looking to the second half of the week the focus may turn back to the US economy as the US Federal Reserve delivers its latest interest rates decision.

With the Fed’s next rate hike not expected until December, the focus for USD investors following this week’s meeting will mostly be on the bank’s economic outlook for 2019 and whether the Fed will continue to accelerate rates at its current pace.

In the meantime the Eurozone will publish its latest retail sales figures on Wednesday, with another subdued reading in September unlikely to inspire demand for the Euro.

Twitter has deleted thousands of automated accounts, many posing as Democrats, that were posting tweets encouraging US voters to sit out Tuesday’s crucial midterm elections, according to media reports.

The reports cited a Twitter statement Friday as saying the social media company had “removed a series of accounts for engaging in attempts to share disinformation in an automated fashion — a violation of our policies.”

CNN said the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had alerted Twitter to the accounts, which were removed in late September and early October.

“For the election this year we have established open lines of communication and direct, easy escalation paths for state election officials, DHS, and campaign organizations from both major parties,” the statement said.

Twitter said it appeared the account network was run out of the United States, but did not provide details on how the accounts worked.

For months, Twitter has sought to eliminate automated and bogus accounts designed to manipulate the public conversation on Twitter, in response to concerns over Russian interference in the 2016 election.

In October the platform said its number of active users fell by nine million in the past quarter as a result of these efforts.

US President Donald Trump recently complained that Twitter was removing some of his followers. (AFP)

Noel Francisco’s former employer represents Trump’s campaign in the Russia probe. He’s still next in line to oversee special counsel Robert Mueller.

With Tuesday’s midterm elections just days away and media coverage being dominated by polls and campaign rallies, including speeches by President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama, you may have missed a development that could have major implications for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility (CREW) revealed on Friday that Trump signed a secret waiver to prevent Solicitor General Noel Francisco, the man who “built his law practice as if his primary goal was to troll the libs” and is poised to oversee Mueller’s probe if Trump fires Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, from having to recuse himself from the Russia investigation.

Trump’s campaign is represented by Francisco’s former law firm, Jones Day, in Mueller’s investigation, which has racked up more than 100 criminal charges against dozens of people, including guilty pleas from Trump’s former national security adviser, former campaign manager, and multiple former campaign advisers.

The president signed an Executive Order shortly after taking office in 2017 that he claimed would strengthen ethics rules in government. CREW explained why that should have caused Francisco to recuse himself from the Russia probe.

As required by that Executive Order, Mr. Francisco signed an ethics pledge in which he promised that, for two years after joining the government, he would not participate in any investigation in which Jones Day represents a client. That promise means he must stay out of the Special Counsel investigation until at least late January 2019.

However, Trump’s waiver, signed by former White House Counsel Don McGahn in April, now means the man next in line to supervise Mueller is free to be involved with the investigation that involves his former employer.

To make all of this even more questionable, Francisco is not included on the list of waivers on the government website for “preventing conflicts of interest in the executive branch.”

Before joining Trump’s administration, Francisco represented a coal company connected to a deadly mining accident, advocated on behalf of Big Tobacco, talked about citizens using firearms against the government, and declared loyalty to the Federalist Society, the conservative group responsible for many of Trump’s judicial nominees.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced he was recusing himself from the Russia investigation in March 2017 due to his ties to Trump’s presidential campaign. Reports have suggested Trump could fire Rosenstein after next week’s elections. (ThinkProgress)

According to Yemeni News Agency (Saba), during the Saturday operation in Talaa near Najran some military cars were also destroyed.

Saudi news agency also confirmed that four forces were killed and released their names.

Yemeni snipers also killed a Saudi military man in Najran on Friday.

The Yemeni artillery unit and popular committee in an operation inflicted heave damage on Saudi forces in Jizan and Najran.

Earlier President of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of Yemen Mohammad Ali Al-Houthi said that invaders are doomed to failure in their attempts to rage war in Yemen’s west coast region.

“As previous escalation of the aggression in the West Coast failed, their current escalation will fail too,” he added.

Saudi Arabia and its regional allies attacked Yemen in March 2015 to bring back to power the deposed president of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.

The aggressors have committed horrible war crimes against Yemeni civilians during the past three years.

Russian energy minister tells FT that Moscow will ‘continue developing’ its trade of Iranian oil after Monday deadline.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has said Moscow will support Iran to counter US oil sanctions.

Washington on Friday restored sanctions on Tehran, which had previously been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal.

The measures are due to come into effect on Monday.

In an interview with the British Financial Times newspaper, Novak said that Russia is looking to continue trading Iranian crude oil beyond the Monday cut-off.

“We believe we should look for mechanisms that would allow us to continue developing cooperation with our partners, with Iran,” Novak told the FT.

Under a 2014 oil-for-goods deal, Moscow sells Iranian oil to third parties while Tehran uses the revenues from those sales to pay for Russian goods and services.

The Russian energy ministry told the FT that the trade would continue next week, while Novak said that Moscow considered the US sanctions to be “illegal”.

“We already live in the condition of sanctions,” he said. “We do not recognise the sanctions introduced unilaterally without the United Nations, we consider those methods illegal per se.”

Covering Iran’s shipping, financial and energy sectors, the sanctions are the second set to be re-imposed by the Trump administration since it unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal in May.

The 2015 deal, which also included Britain, China, France, Russia, Germany and the European Union as signatories, gave Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear programme.

While Trump has taken the US out of the deal, the other parties have strongly defended it and pledged to try and protect the agreement.

Britain, Germany, France and the EU have announced plans to establish a “special purpose” financial vehicle that would allow trade between Europe and Iran to continue, although it will not be ready by Monday.

The Europeans said on Friday they “deeply regret” the re-imposition of sanctions and would work to ensure legitimate trade with Iran could continue.

“Our collective resolve to complete this work is unwavering,” they said in a joint statement.

The US on Friday said that eight countries would receive temporary waivers that would allow them to continue to import Iranian petroleum products for a limited time.

The waivers, which are valid for six months, were for countries that could not fully end their imports of Iranian oil before Monday’s deadline, the US said. (Al Jazeera)

It’s been one of the most traumatic weeks in Leicester City’s 134-year history.

The club’s fans, staff and the wider football community have been in mourning following the tragic helicopter crash which claimed the life of owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four other people.

Thousands of football fans have left shirts, scarves, flags and flowers outside the King Power Stadium over recent days after it was confirmed that all five people onboard the helicopter had passed away.

“This has been without doubt one of the hardest weeks in the history of this football club,” Leicester boss Claude Puel told reporters, per the Guardian, on Thursday. “The tragic loss of five lives has left us numb and in shock and our prayers and love remain with Vichai’s family and with the all of the families who have lost a loved one.

“Vichai made Leicester City into what it is. He made it a family and made a dream. He invested in the club, the city and he invested in the people.

“He truly was loved by everyone inside and outside the club. Personally it was a privilege to work for him. It was a privilege for the faith he showed in me and the moments we shared. To see all of the messages and the flowers and shirts outside the stadium this week show how many lives he touched.”

Leicester players were all quick to pay tribute to Srivaddhanaprabha, who they affectionately referred to as ‘The Boss’, on social media.

One of the most touching tributes came from goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who reportedly rushed to the scene of the incident after hearing sirens and emergency vehicles around the stadium on that ill-fated evening last Saturday.

Now further details about Schmeichel’s actions have emerged – per Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett – and the 31-year-old’s bravery deserves immense respect.

“Extraordinary confirmation from Claude Puel,” Dorsett tweeted. “I’d been told that @kschmeichel1 had to be stopped by police on Sat night, as he ran towards the burning helicopter to try to help.

“Puel confirmed as much and said ‘Kasper lived and saw some terrible things.’”

So, Schmeichel tried to run towards the burning helicopter to help those onboard but was prevented from doing so by police for his own safety.

Respect, Kasper. Not many people would have been prepared to risk their own safety in that situation, but the Denmark international was.

Schmeichel and his teammates will be in action for the first time since the tragedy on Saturday afternoon, when they take on Cardiff City. ( Rob Swan)

The United States is working to capitalize on what it regards as new leverage with Saudi Arabia to end the brutal civil war in Yemen and ease a regional standoff with Qatar, according to multiple US and diplomatic officials.

Seeing an opening created by the kingdom’s new pariah status after the killing of a dissident journalist, US officials say the time is ripe to move on longstanding goals, including forcing an end to the Saudi-led bombing campaign that has prompted a humanitarian crisis in neighboring Yemen.

The officials acknowledged that neither the Yemen war nor the dispute with Qatar can be solved quickly. But the administration hopes to make progress on both fronts by the end of the year, they said, and have recently stepped up public calls on Saudi Arabia to alleviate the disputes.

Calls for Yemen ceasefire
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both this week called on participants in the Yemen civil war to agree to a ceasefire “in the next 30 days,” a demand that comes amid fresh criticism of US support for the Saudi-led coalition in the conflict.

“Thirty days from now we want to see everybody around a peace table based on a ceasefire, based on a pullback from the border and then based on ceasing dropping of bombs,” Mattis said at an event at the US Institute of Peace in Washington on Tuesday.

His call was later echoed by Pompeo, who issued a statement saying, “the United States calls on all parties to support UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths in finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in Yemen.”
Mattis and Pompeo both insisted that the US-backed Saudi-led coalition and the Iranian-aligned Houthis stop their respective aerial and missile bombardments.

The three-year conflict between Saudi-led coalition and their Iranian-backed enemies has devastated Yemen and killed at least 10,000 people. United Nations experts say that the coalition’s bombing of civilians are potential war crimes and that its partial blockade of the country has put 13 million men, women and children in danger of starvation, in what could become the worst famine in 100 years.

Outrage over the situation has created increasing pressure on the US to pull its support for the coalition, which it provides in the form of military sales, training and refueling of coalition jets.

Saudi Arabia’s belated admission that Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist and US resident, was murdered by a team with close ties to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has left the Trump administration — including the President himself — feeling stung by Saudi Arabia.

After initial strong denials, the kingdom has produced multiple explanations. Even after admitting that Khashoggi was murdered by men close to bin Salamn, the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said blaming Saudis for the US resident’s death is “hysterical.”

Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Manama Dialogue in Bahrain Saturday, al-Jubeir said, “This issue has become fairly hysterical. People have assigned blame on Saudi Arabia with such certainty before the investigation is complete. We have made it very clear that we are going to have a full and very transparent investigation, the results of which will be released.”

al-Jubeir met with Mattis on Sunday in Bahrain. The defense secretary told reporters traveling with him on his plane to Prague that he had discussed Khashoggi’s death with the Saudi official. “We discussed it,” Mattis said, “you know the same thing we talked about, the need for transparency, full and complete investigation, um, full, full agreement from FM Jubeir, no reservations at all, I said we need to know what happened.”

Trump and senior adviser Jared Kushner, who is the President’s son-in-law, placed a heavy reliance on the powerful crown prince for an overall strategy in the region, despite warnings that the young royal was untested and volatile.

While American officials previously expressed private displeasure at Mohammed’s intervention in the Yemen war and the Saudi-ordered kidnapping of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, they mostly aired their grievances in private while maintaining in public that the alliance with Saudi Arabia was necessary to counter Iran’s influence.

Trump is privately fuming
But Khashoggi’s murder, and the ensuing coverup, have made it more difficult to keep those grievances private.

Trump has privately fumed at the Saudis for putting him in the situation of having to defend his decision to fastidiously cultivate a close relationship with Mohammed and his father, King Salman. He and his advisers are in agreement that forcing some kind of resolution on Yemen is a good way to make the best of a bad situation.

The Saudi stand-off with Qatar, which has fractured a security alliance importance to the US, has been another thorn in the Trump administration’s side.

Asked Wednesday whether he felt betrayed by the Saudis, Trump suggested it was the kingdom’s leaders that betrayed themselves.

“I just hope that it all works out. We have a lot of facts, we have a lot of things that we’ve been looking at,” he said. “They haven’t betrayed me. I mean, maybe they betrayed themselves. We’ll have to see how it all turns out.”

Trump has come to the belief in recent days that the American public is starting to catch on to the Yemen catastrophe, including through powerful images of starving children in the New York Times.

The Trump administration has been criticized by activists and some members of Congress for its support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen and for the administration’s recent finding that the coalition was doing enough to avoid civilian casualties.
The US military provides the Saudi collation with training meant to help minimize civilian casualties, as well as aerial refueling of coalition warplanes.

Mattis said the “goal right now is to achieve a level of capability by those forces fighting against the Houthis, that they are not killing innocent people.”

“We refuel probably less than … I think 20% of their aircraft. They have their own refuelers, by the way,” Mattis said.

Congressional pressure

A congressional source told CNN the Khashoggi murder has “put a face” on the broader problem related to the US-Saudi relationship and renewed momentum on Capitol Hill to push for legislation that would end US involvement in the war in Yemen.

Previous resolutions aimed at ending US involvement in the war in Yemen have failed to gain approval but various pieces of legislation proposed in recent months have received increasing support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, wrote in a recent op-ed that he plans to bring his resolution to end US involvement in the “unauthorized war” in Yemen back to the floor next month.

“Because of the privileged resolution that will come to a vote sooner or later and that is certainly something that’s weighed on the administration,” a senior congressional aide told CNN. “I am sure Mattis and Pompeo are well aware of that.”

Democratic Rep. Ro Khonna also cited Pompeo’s statement in a press release touting his own bipartisan proposal in the House intended to align with the resolution Sanders is pushing in the Senate.

“It’s about time. After more than three years of war, thousands dead, millions on the brink of starvation, and growing pressure from Congress, the Trump Administration is finally calling for an end to the Saudi-led war in Yemen,” Khonna said in a statement. “We have tremendous leverage over the Saudi-led coalition and should demand this Administration do all in their power to bring both sides to the peace table and end the war.”

The congressional source also told CNN that efforts to curtail US involvement in Yemen and pressure to respond to Khashoggi’s murder are related in that they both provide evidence of the Saudi government’s and in particular the crown prince’s “recklessness.” (CNN)