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Trump may expel Russian diplomats in response to nerve-agent attack in Britain

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U.S. and European officials said Saturday that President Trump is close to expelling 20 or more Russian diplomats in response to the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain. The move, which could prompt a new wave of retaliatory expulsions of U.S. diplomats in Russia, may come as early as Monday. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement that the United States is considering a “range of options to respond to Russia’s outrageous actions in the UK, both to demonstrate our solidarity with our ally and to hold Russia accountable for its clear breach of international norms and agreements.”

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Japan crude steel output drops year-on-year, the new Asian measures

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The government and industries in Japan have raised a sense of caution over measures invoked by the United States on Friday to restrict steel and aluminum imports. Although many experts say the direct repercussions on Japanese companies will be limited, some say this could be a blow to Japanese steelmakers, among others, if products that they become unable to export to the United States wind up flooding the market, driving prices down dramatically. Many Japanese car makers have factories in the United States. If additional tariffs are imposed on steel or aluminum when they procure these materials from abroad, there is a possibility that it will lead to an increase in production costs. However, the measures are applied to a wide range of countries.

Toyota Motor Corp. said that effects would be limited as 90 percent of its materials, including those for car bodies, are locally purchased. Only seven steel exporters, including Canada and the European Union, are exempted from the  tariffs. The government intends to continuously ask the United States to exempt Japanese products from the measures. The procedure for exemptions from the measures by product has begun in the United States, and Japan’s public and private sectors continue to seek exemptions.

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U.S. charges, sanctions Iranians for global cyber attacks on behalf of Tehran

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WASHINGTON – The United States on Friday charged and sanctioned nine Iranians and an Iranian company for attempting to hack into hundreds of universities worldwide, dozens of companies and parts of the U.S. government, including its main energy regulator, on behalf of Tehran’s government. The cyber attacks, beginning in at least 2013, pilfered more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property from 144 U.S. universities and 176 universities in 21 other countries, the U.S. Department of Justice said, describing the campaign as one of the largest state-sponsored hacks ever prosecuted. The U.S. Treasury Department said that it was placing sanctions on the nine people and the Mabna Institute, a company U.S. prosecutors characterized as designed to help Iranian research organizations steal information.

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U.S. warship sails near disputed South China Sea island, officials say

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China’s Defence Ministry said the United States had seriously offened the country’s sovereignty and security after a U.S. Navy destroyer carried out a “freedom of navigation”, coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea, the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, and carried out maneuvering operations.

The operation, which infuriated Beijing, was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as China’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters. When asked about the operation, the U.S. military said its activities are carried out under international law and American forces operate in the region on a daily bases.

China’s Defense Ministry said two Chinese naval ships had been sent to identify the U.S. ship and warn it to leave. It described the actions of the American ship as seriously harming China’s sovereignty and security, which threatens regional peace and stability. China has always dedicated itself to protecting freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, but opposes “illegal and provocative” moves in the name of freedom of navigation, it added.

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U.S. and China clash at U.N. rights forum on Beijing text

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China and the United States clashed at the United Nations, where the U.S. delegation rejected a resolution brought by Beijing that it said sought to glorify Xi Jinping’s “win-win” agenda and subordinated human rights to development or trade. China led a resolution at the U.N. Human Rights Council that calls for “mutually beneficial cooperation”. Senior Chinese diplomat Jiang Duan urged states to adopt the text, whose co-sponsors included Pakistan and Egypt, by consensus. But U.S. diplomat Jason Mack called for a vote on China’s resolution, which was then easily adopted by the 47-member forum. The U.S. delegation cast the only “no” vote, while 28 states voted in favor, including China, and 17 abstained with one delegation absent. “China is attempting through this resolution to weaken the U.N. human rights system and the norms underpinning it” Mack said.

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The National Iranian American Council criticizes Bolton pick at Trump’s war gabinet

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The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) on Friday slammed US President Donald Trump’s appointment of John Bolton as National Security Advisor warning that “with Bolton pick, Trump is assembling an Iran war cabinet”. “Donald Trump may have just effectively declared war on Iran. With the appointment of John Bolton, and nomination of Mike Pompeo at State, Trump is clearly putting together a war cabinet. As the world awaits Trump’s May 12 decision as to whether he will abandon the Iran nuclear deal, all of the signs now point to a decision to move to war footing”, president of the National Iranian American Council, Trita Parsi, declared. “Bolton is an unhinged advocate for waging World War III. He has explicitly called for bombing Iran for the past ten years. Bolton’s first order of business will be to convince Trump to exit the Iran nuclear deal and lay the groundwork for the war he has urged over the past decade. Additionally, he has called for supporting the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) terrorist organization and other separatist groups inside of Iran”, he pointed out.

After his appointment, John Bolton tried to distance himself from his past statements. He added: “The important thing is what the President says and the advice I give him, not the past”.

 

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U.S.-South Korea military exercises to resume next month

in ASIA/DEFENCE by

Seoul and Washington said the United States and South Korea next month will resume joint military exercises, that will go ahead despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The Foal Eagle field exercise is scheduled to begin on April 1 and go on for a month, while the computer-simulated Key Resolve will be held for two weeks starting in mid-April. The South Korean and U.S. militaries usually stage the two drills in March for about two months but the period of this year’s field exercise was cut by half, mainly due to the Olympics.

The exercises will be of a “scale similar to that of the previous years” and are meant “to improve our readiness against various North Korean threats”, a South Korean military official told reporters.

The Pentagon said the North Korean military had been notified about the schedule for the drills by the United Nations Command. “Our combined exercises are defence-oriented and there is no reason for North Korea to view them as a provocation,” Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Logan said.

 

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US allocates 2.5 million dollars to the assistance of Venezuelans fleeing to Colombia

in AMERICAS by

The United States approved on Tuesday to allocate, “with immediate effect,” 2.5 million dollars to the assistance of Venezuelans fleeing to Colombia. The drift of the regime of Nicolás Maduro has caused in recent months a massive flight, which has led to a humanitarian emergency on the border between the two countries, especially in the city of Cúcuta. These funds, in addition to the contribution of 36.5 million that the Administration of Donald Trump reserved to support the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the region, fall on the organizations that provide food and health assistance to the tens of thousands of Venezuelans who arrive daily in Colombia.

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Gina Haspel, Trump’s pick for CIA director, tied to use of brutal interrogation measures

in AMERICAS by

President Trump on Tuesday chose CIA veteran Gina Haspel to be the spy agency’s next director, picking a woman who spent multiple tours overseas and is respected by the workforce but is deeply tied to the agency’s use of brutal interrogation measures on terrorism suspects. Haspel, 61, would become the first woman to lead the CIA if she is confirmed to succeed outgoing director Mike Pompeo, who has been picked to serve as secretary of state.

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Yountville attack: California hostage-taker was former patient

in AMERICAS by

The man who killed three women after a stand-off at a veterans’ home in Napa Valley, California was a former patient, authorities say. The three victims were all employees at the centre in Yountville. The residential centre provides mental health services for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The suspected gunman, who died at the scene, has been named as Albert Wong, 36. No motive for the attack has been identified, police say. Wong, reportedly a former US Army rifleman, had left a programme to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The gunman entered the building while employees were having cake as a leaving celebration for some colleagues. After a siege lasting all day police discovered the four bodies in a room at The Pathway Home on Friday evening.

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