Biden authorizes ‘unprecedented’ new weapons aid to Ukraine

US President Joe Biden announced $1 billion in new security help and the deployment of longer-range weapons and drones to Ukraine on Wednesday -- assuring the ally of America's "unprecedented" support in its war with Russia.

The cash, approved as Russian forces close in on Ukraine's besieged capital Kyiv, includes $200 million allocated over the weekend and $800 million in new funds from an aid package approved last week by Congress.

"These are direct transfers of equipment from our Department of Defense to the Ukrainian military to help them as they fight against this invasion," said Biden, who also announced US help for Ukraine to acquire "additional longer-range anti-aircraft systems."

As expected, Biden gave no ground on the notion of a Western-imposed no-fly zone over the ex-Soviet state, which NATO has consistently rejected for fear of an escalation that could bring the alliance into direct conflict with Russian forces.

Ramping up its military assistance instead, the White House said Ukraine will receive an additional 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-tank weapons, 7,000 light weapons and 20 million rounds of ammunition.

And the United States will be providing Ukraine with 100 drones -- or Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems -- which Biden said "demonstrates our commitment to sending our most cutting-edge systems to Ukraine for its defense."

Concerning the deployment of longer-range systems, Gregory Meeks, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, indicated the weapons involved would be Soviet-made S-300 surface-to-air missile systems.

"These S-300s and longer-range artillery forces is what will help close the sky" over Ukraine, Meeks said on CNN following Biden's address.

"President Zelensky is not asking for American troops or American equipment or anything of that nature to close the skies," Meeks said. "What he's asking for is the artillery that will do that. The S-300 may be the one that does that."

Agence France-Presse

YouTube, Google Play suspend payment-based services in Russia

Alphabet Inc's YouTube and Google Play store are suspending all payment-based services in Russia, including subscriptions, as Western sanctions start to pose banking challenges in the country.

Google will also pause ads for advertisers based in Russia across its properties and networks globally, the company said. This is in addition to the company's recent suspension of ads in Russia.

Google and YouTube had earlier stopped selling online advertising in Russia following similar pauses by Twitter Inc and Snap Inc after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. 

"As a follow-up, we're now extending this pause to all our monetization features, including YouTube Premium, Channel Memberships, Super Chat and Merchandise, for viewers in Russia," YouTube said in a statement on Thursday.

YouTube channels in Russia will still be able to generate revenue from viewers outside of Russia, which include Super Chat and merchandise sales. Free apps on Google Play also remain available in Russia, according to a company support website.

-reuters-

More than 1.7 million people flee war in Ukraine: UNHCR

More than 1.7 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, according to the latest data from the United Nations on Monday.

- 1,735,068 refugees -

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, recorded 1,735,068 refugees on its dedicated website, just over 200,000 more than the previous count on Sunday.

UNICEF, the UN children's agency, believes around half of them are youngsters.

Authorities and the UN expect the flow to intensify as the Russian army advances deeper into Ukraine, particularly as it approaches the capital, Kyiv.

More than 37 million people lived under the Kyiv government's control before last week's invasion.

"The military offensive in Ukraine has caused destruction of civilian infrastructure and civilian casualties and has forced people to flee their homes seeking safety, protection and assistance," UNHCR says.

The agency projects that as the conflict unfolds, "an estimated four million people may flee Ukraine", noting that many people were also displaced from their homes within the country.

Here is a breakdown of where the people who fled across Ukraine's borders now find themselves, according to the UN Refugee Agency:

- Poland - 

Six in 10 of those who have fled Ukraine are now in Poland. The UNCHR's figures published Monday said 1,027,603 refugees were now in Ukraine's biggest western neighbour.

The number swelled by 142,300 in 24 hours.

Polish border guards on Sunday said the total figure represented "a million human tragedies".

Poland has championed the cause of Ukrainian refugees. The government has set up reception centres and charities have mobilised in a massive aid effort, helped by the estimated 1.5 million Ukrainians already living in the EU member state.

- Hungary -

Some 180,163 refugees are now in Hungary -- 10 percent of the total who have fled Ukraine. The number was up 11,110 on Sunday's figure.

The country has five border crossings with Ukraine and several border towns, including Zahony, have turned public buildings into relief centres, where Hungarian civilians are offering food or assistance. 

- Slovakia -

Across Ukraine's shortest border, some 128,169 refugees are now in Slovakia, around seven percent of the total.

- Moldova -

Some 82,762 refugees are now in Moldova, though many thousands more have passed through the non-EU state on their way to other countries -- hence the number is down 1,305 since Sunday.

According to the UNHCR, many refugees are continuing on to Romania or Hungary, often to reunite with family.

Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita said Sunday that more than 230,000 people have crossed the border from Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Moldova on Sunday and Gavrilita urged Washington to provide more humanitarian aid to help her country of 2.6 million, one of Europe's poorest, cope with the influx.

- Romania -

Some 78,977 refugees from Ukraine are now in Romania.

Two camps have been set up, one in Sighetu Marmatiei and the other in Siret.

- Elsewhere in Europe - 

UNHCR said that 183,688 people, having crossed Ukraine's borders into neighbouring nations, had now moved on to other European countries.

- Russia -

UNHCR's latest figure for the number of refugees who have crossed Ukraine's longest border into Russia since the invasion, compiled up to the end of Thursday, is 53,000.

UNHCR notes that an additional 96,000 people moved to Russia from the separatist eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions between February 18 and 23, in the days before the Russian invasion.

- Belarus -

Some 406 refugees had made it to Belarus, according to the latest UNCHR tally for the country, compiled up to the end of Friday.

Agence France-Presse

PayPal shuts down its services in Russia citing Ukraine aggression

Payments company PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL.O shut down its services early on Saturday in Russia, citing "the current circumstances," joining many financial and tech companies in suspending operations there after the invasion of Ukraine.

"Under the current circumstances, we are suspending PayPal services in Russia," President and Chief Executive Dan Schulman said in a statement. He added that the company "stands with the international community in condemning Russia's violent military aggression in Ukraine."

A company spokesperson said PayPal will support withdrawals "for a period of time, ensuring that account balances are dispersed in line with applicable laws and regulations.”

PayPal, which had only allowed cross-border transactions by users in Russia, stopped accepting new users in the country on Wednesday. 

Ukrainian government officials had been calling on PayPal to quit Russia and help them with fundraising.

PayPal said on Friday that "since the beginning of the invasion, PayPal has helped raise over $150 million for charities supporting response efforts in Ukraine, one of the largest efforts we've seen in such a short period of time.”

PayPal's suspension in Russia also applies to its money transfer tool Xoom. Rivals Wise and Remitly earlier suspended some services in Russia. 

-reuters-

Europe's largest nuclear power plant on fire after Russian attack, says local mayor

BORODYANKA/LVIV, Ukraine—The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the largest of its kind in Europe, was on fire early on Friday after an attack by Russian troops, the mayor of the nearby town of Energodar said.

There has been fierce fighting between local forces and Russian troops, Dmytro Orlov said in an online post, adding that there had been casualties without giving details.

Earlier, Ukrainian authorities reported Russian troops were stepping up efforts to seize the plant and had entered the town with tanks.

"As a result of continuous enemy shelling of buildings and units of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is on fire," Orlov said on his Telegram channel, citing what he called a threat to world security. He did not give details.

Reuters could not immediately verify the information, including the potential seriousness of any fire.

The invasion of Ukraine is entering its ninth day. Thousands are thought to have died or been wounded as the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two unfolds, creating 1 million refugees, hits to Russia's economy, and fears of wider conflict in the West unthought-of for decades.

Russia has already captured the defunct Chernobyl plant, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

On Thursday, the United States and Britain announced sanctions on more oligarchs, following on from EU measures, as they ratcheted up the pressure on the Kremlin.

Included was Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov, the founder of mining company Metalloinvest.

Visa restrictions will be imposed on 19 Russian oligarchs, their family members and associates, the White House said.

Sanctions have "had a profound impact already," said US President Joe Biden.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" that is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its neighbor's military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists. It denies targeting civilians.

-reuters-

Spotify closes Russian office, limits content over Ukraine

STOCKHOLM - Music streaming giant Spotify said it had closed its office in Russia and removed Russian state-sponsored content from its service.

The move came in response to the "unprovoked attack against Ukraine", Spotify said in a statement, adding it had taken several measures as a result.

"We have closed our office in Russia until further notice," said the Stockholm-based company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In addition, the streaming giant said it had examined "thousands of podcast episodes since the start of the war" and limited users' ability to find podcasts owned and operated by media outlets tied to the Russian state.

Spotify said that earlier in the week it had removed all content from Russian state-sponsored news outlets RT and Sputnik within the European Union and other markets.

But it would keep its service open to Russian users.

"We believe that it is of utmost importance that our service is available in Russia to allow a global flow of information," Spotify said.

Agence France-Presse

World stocks at record high as techs lead relief rally

TOKYO -- The world's shares hit a record high on Friday as a relief over de-escalation of US-Iranian tensions quickly prompted investors to bet on faster global growth, especially in the technology sector.

MSCI's broadest gauge of the world's stocks in 49 countries rose a tad to hit an all-time high and its index on Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.18 percent.

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.43 percent while Australian stocks rallied 0.67 percent to a record high.

That followed record-setting in the pan-regional STOXX 600 index in Europe and the three major stock indexes on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 gained 0.67 percent, with its technology sector rising more than 1 percent. Apple gained 2.1 percent, helped by news that the sales of its iPhones in China in December jumped more than 18 percent year on year.

Investors welcomed the report as a prelude to the upcoming visit by China's Vice Premier Liu He, head of the country's negotiation team in Sino-US trade talks, to Washington next week to sign a trade deal with the United States.

Liu will visit Washington on Jan. 13-15 and US President Donald Trump has said the so-called phase one deal will be signed on Jan. 15.

"We will have a symbolic event of Sino-US dialogue. Given the current strength of the market, it is hard not to expect this rally to continue for the time being," said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities in Tokyo.

Global shares quickly erased losses that followed missile attacks from Iran targeting US forces in Iraq, as the two countries moved to defuse the tension.

Waning worries about all-out war in the Middle East pushed down gold, safe-harbor currencies and oil.

Gold eased off to $1,552.80 per ounce from a seven-year high of $1,610.90 hit right after Iran's missile attack on Wednesday.

Against the yen, the US dollar traded at 109.52 yen , having hit a two-week high of 109.58 in US trade on Thursday.

The euro stood little changed at $1.1105, having fallen to $1.10915 in the US trade, its lowest in about 2 weeks.

Oil prices were sharply lower from their highs hit in the wake of Iran's missile attack.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell to as low as $58.66 per barrel on Thursday and last stood at $59.51, down slightly on the day, compared to Wednesday's peak of $65.65.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'Fierce revenge': Iran fires on US forces in Iraq

BAGHDAD — Iran attacked two bases in Iraq that house American troops with a barrage of missiles early Wednesday, Iranian official news media and US officials said, the start of what Tehran had promised would be retaliation for the killing of a top Iranian commander.

“The fierce revenge by the Revolutionary Guards has begun,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said in a statement on a Telegram messaging app channel.

US officials in Washington said that Iran had fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq where US troops are stationed. The Pentagon said it was assessing whether any American troops had been killed or injured in the strikes. US officials said there were no immediate indications of American casualties.

After the strikes, President Donald Trump, who has vowed a strong response to any Iranian attack on US targets, met at the White House with his top national security advisers, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to discuss possible retaliatory options.

On Twitter, a few hours later, Trump struck an upbeat tone and promised to make a statement Wednesday morning. Some aides said they believed that Trump wanted to find a way to de-escalate the crisis.

“All is well!” he wrote. “Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far!”

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, also seemed ready to stand down, for now. “Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense,” Zarif tweeted. “We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.”

The American killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a hero at home but a terrorist to the US government, has scaled into one of the most dangerous confrontations between the countries in the 4 decades of animosity that have followed the Islamic Revolution.


Iran’s firing of ballistic missiles from inside its borders — not relying on rockets from Iranian-backed proxies — at two of the main military bases where many of the more than 5,000 US troops in Iraq are stationed was a significant escalation of force that threatened to ignite a widening conflict throughout the Middle East.

It was also a stark message from Tehran that it has the will and the ability to strike at US targets in neighboring Iraq.

“It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting US military and coalition personnel at al-Asad and Irbil,” Jonathan Hoffman, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said in a statement.

Iranian news media reported the attacks hours after Soleimani’s remains were returned to his hometown in Iran for burial amid a huge outpouring of grief and rage at the United States. The funeral procession was so huge and unwieldy that more than 50 people died in a stampede, state news media reported, forcing a delay in the burial.

Iranian officials said the attacks began at 1:20 a.m. — the time Soleimani was killed Friday by an American drone at the Baghdad International Airport.

Some Iranian officials posted images of their country’s flag on Twitter, in a pointed rejoinder to Trump, who tweeted an American flag after Soleimani was killed.

Iran’s military planners had anticipated retaliatory strikes by the United States. Key military, oil and energy sites were placed on high alert, and underground missile defense systems were prepared to counterattack, said a person familiar with the planning.

Iranian officials waited for Trump to address the nation on Tuesday night, and when he did not do so, they suspected the United States might wait to respond or not respond at all, the person said.

Two people close to the Revolutionary Guards said that if the United States did not strike, Iran would also de-escalate. But if the United States did attack, then Iran was preparing for at least a limited conflict.

Reports from US intelligence agencies of an imminent attack from Iran had intensified throughout the day, and senior officials had said they were bracing for some kind of attack against US bases in Iraq or elsewhere in the Middle East.

Over the past two days, US military and intelligence officials had closely monitored the movements of Iran’s ballistic force units — the crown jewel of the country’s arsenal. It was initially unclear whether the movements were a defensive dispersal or the preparations for a retaliatory attack. But by midday Tuesday, top U.S. officials said it had become clear that some kind of Iranian attack was coming.

As tensions mounted, the president’s top national security advisers began gathering in the White House Situation Room about 2 p.m. — about 3 1/2 hours before the attacks. Trump joined them after a previously scheduled meeting with the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Unlike after the US drone strike that killed Soleimani last week, Democratic congressional leaders were notified immediately after the Iranian strikes.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was meeting Tuesday evening with senior Democrats about Trump’s impeachment trial when she was handed a note telling her of the Iranian attack on US forces in Iraq.

“We must ensure the safety of our service members, including ending needless provocations from the administration and demanding that Iran cease its violence,” Pelosi tweeted. “America & world cannot afford war.”

Reactions to the strikes diverged sharply on Capitol Hill, with Democrats condemning the series of events that led to the escalation, and Republicans pressing Trump to project military strength.

Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat, used Twitter to urge lawmakers to reassert Congress’ constitutional authority over matters of war and peace.

“The escalation of violence between Iran and the United States makes the constitutional responsibility of Congress to decide whether to declare war more important than ever,” Durbin tweeted.

Rep. Michael Waltz, (Republican-Florida), a former Army Green Beret who served in Afghanistan and worked in the Pentagon under President George W. Bush, said in a brief interview Tuesday evening that he would reserve judgment about the strikes until more information became available. But, Waltz said, “the president’s been very clear, as you should be in a deterrence posture: They will impose consequences and they’ll be directly on the Iranian regime.”

One of the bases that was struck Tuesday, al-Asad Air Base, has long been a hub for US military operations in western Iraq. Danish troops have also been stationed there in recent years.

In 2017, as the US-led coalition built up the base for its campaign against the Islamic State, roughly 500 US military and civilian personnel were located there. Units stationed there consisted of a shock trauma medical unit, a targeting cell, a Navy SEAL Special Operations task force and with a company of Marines that served mostly as protection for the US side of the base. The airfield serviced drones and reconnaissance aircraft.

After the physical defeat of the Islamic State’s so-called caliphate in 2019, some troops have left the base, but it still maintains a robust presence.

The other base that was struck, in Irbil in northern Iraq, has been a Special Operations hub to hundreds of American and other allied troops, logistics personnel and intelligence specialists throughout the fight against the Islamic State. The base shares its borders with the city’s airport, which transport aircraft, gunships and reconnaissance planes have used as an anchor point for operations in both northern Iraq and deep into eastern Syria.

The Iranian missile attack came on a day that began with thousands of Iranians taking to the streets for Soleimani’s funeral procession, a public mourning marred by the deadly stampede.

The head of Iran’s emergency medical services said 56 people had died and 213 were injured, broadcaster IRIB reported on its website, as millions of people flooded the streets of Kerman, to witness the procession for Soleimani.

Witnesses said on social media and on the BBC’s Persian service that the street leading to the funeral was too narrow to handle the crowd and that some side streets had been closed off for security reasons, leaving those who were caught in the crush with no place to escape.

The overcrowding and the subsequent stampede in Kerman led officials to delay Soleimani’s burial, the state news media reported. But he was buried around midnight, as Iran prepared to launch missile attacks against American forces in retaliation for his death, said Hossein Soleimani, the editor-in-chief of the main Revolutionary Guards news website.

The general’s body had been flown to Kerman after a funeral service Monday in Tehran, the capital, where there were even bigger crowds. He had requested a burial in his hometown.


2020 The New York Times Company

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Biden denounces Trump on Iran in commander-in-chief moment

NEW YORK — Joe Biden on Tuesday delivered a forceful and detailed critique of the Trump administration’s escalation toward Iran as he sought at every turn to highlight his own commander-in-chief credentials and to evoke the stature of a president.

The former vice president, speaking from Pier 59 in New York against a backdrop of American flags, delivered a stern warning about President Donald Trump’s stewardship of international affairs and painted a grim picture of the dangerous landscape in the Middle East.

Biden cast Trump as a hypocrite who preaches an inward-looking foreign policy but operates using unsteady, bellicose tactics, and faulted the president for bringing the nation “dangerously close” to war after a US drone strike that killed one of Iran’s top military commanders, Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

“Because he refuses to level with the American people about the dangers which he has placed American troops and our diplomatic corps, personnel and civilians, as well as our partners and allies, or demonstrated even a modicum of presidential gravitas, I will attempt to do that,” said Biden, who is one of 14 candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. “That starts with an honest accounting of how we got where we are.”

Hours after he spoke, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against United States military and coalition forces in Iraq, according to US military officials.

“What’s happening in Iraq and Iran today was predictable,” Biden said at a fundraiser in the Philadelphia area Tuesday night, citing the “chaos that’s ensuing” from Trump’s approach to the region. He added, “I just pray to God as he goes through what’s happening, as we speak, that he’s listening to his military commanders for the first time because so far that has not been the case.”

One of Biden’s rivals, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, opened a rally Tuesday night at a packed house in Kings Theater in Brooklyn by telling the crowd about the Iranian strikes.

“My three brothers all served in the military,” she said. “At this moment, my heart and my prayers are with our military and with their families in Iraq and all around the world.”

“But this is a reminder why we need to de-escalate tension in the Middle East,” Warren continued. “The American people do not want a war with Iran.”

The crowd thundered in approval.

All of the leading Democratic candidates have excoriated the Trump administration over its posture toward Iran. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has used the moment to highlight his long-standing anti-war credentials — and to point out, obliquely and explicitly, Biden’s vote to authorize the war in Iraq. And former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, a military veteran, has emphasized his personal experience in a war zone.

In Biden’s telling, the chaos America now confronts — “heightened threats, chants of ‘death to America’ once more echoing across the Middle East,” with Iran and its allies “vowing revenge” — was stoked by Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal that was negotiated under the Obama administration.

He described a series of subsequent provocations and challenges for which the Trump administration, he argued, was unprepared, even as he also said that he had “no illusions about Iran,” led by a government that he said threatened US interests. But the decision to kill Soleimani “may well do more to strengthen Iran’s position in the region than any of Soleimani’s plots would have ever accomplished,” he said, arguing that Trump owed the nation answers but had delivered only “tweets, threats and tantrums.”

Soleimani was designated by the United States as a terrorist, and was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of US troops. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that attacks orchestrated by Soleimani had been expected within “days,” adding that he “has the blood of hundreds of Americans, soldiers, on his hands and wounded thousands more,” and many Republicans, including some who are typically critical of Trump, said the action had made the nation safer. Democrats, too, including Biden, have said Soleimani should face justice. But other officials have questioned whether an attack was in fact imminent.

Biden said that if there was an “imminent threat” that warranted this “extraordinary action,” Americans should receive “an explanation and the facts to back it up.”

“At precisely the moment when we should be rallying our allies to stand beside us and hold the line against threats, Donald Trump’s shortsighted, ‘America First’ dogmatism has come home to roost,” Biden said. He went on to add, “We are alone now. We’re alone, and we’ll have to bear the cost of Donald Trump’s folly.”

On the campaign trail, Biden has emphasized his decades-long record in international affairs and extensive relationships abroad, highlighting a contrast with his rivals in the Democratic field, who have largely been focused on domestic matters throughout the race.

In New York, the setting appeared designed to conjure the White House briefing room: Biden spoke against a blue backdrop before a room full of reporters. He walked in to the clicking of multiple cameras and offered his own prescription for the path forward, calling for “clear-eyed, hard-nosed diplomacy grounded in a strategy that’s not about one-off decisions and one-upsmanship.”

“Mr. President,” he urged, “you have to explain your decision and your strategy to the American people. That’s your job as president, Mr. President. Not ‘Dear Leader.’ Not ‘Supreme Leader.’ Democracy runs on accountability, and nowhere is it more important than the power to make war and bring peace.”

Biden, who has faced renewed scrutiny of his foreign policy record and especially his Iraq War vote, also appeared to misspeak at times, referring to Iran when he apparently intended to say Iraq, and he appeared to say that the current perilous situation was “unavoidable,” when excerpts from the speech circulated before the appearance used the word “avoidable.”

Still, Biden’s advisers and allies hope that the gravity of the moment will further crystallize the importance of defeating Trump in the minds of voters, and polls continue to show that Democrats believe Biden has the best chance to do so, though other candidates have also polled strongly against the president in hypothetical head-to-head match ups.

The current crisis “just reinforces how high the stakes are in this election,” Biden said at a fundraiser earlier Tuesday, during which he also envisioned a Senate dynamic in which one could see “Mitch McConnell changing some ideas or being more — how can I say — mildly cooperative,” even as Biden also discussed the imperative for Democrats to win back the Senate, revoking McConnell’s title as majority leader.

He was not the only presidential candidate to castigate the Trump administration’s handling of foreign policy Tuesday.

Speaking Tuesday on ABC’s “The View,” Warren said that by killing Soleimani, Trump had “moved us close to the edge of war.”

“Soleimani was a bad guy,” she said, “but the question is, what’s the right response?”

“The job of the president of the United States is to keep America safer,” she added. “And having killed Soleimani does not make America safer.”

As evidence, Warren cited the withdrawal of US citizens from the region because of safety concerns and said Trump had tweeted “threats of war crimes” by threatening to strike cultural institutions.

“We need a president who actually has good judgment and is willing to follow through,” she said.

Pressed on whether she believed Soleimani to be a terrorist, Warren said: “Of course he is. He’s part of a group that our federal government has designated as a terrorist.”

As for how she would handle foreign policy in the Middle East, she said, “It is the responsibility of the commander in chief not to ask our military to solve problems that cannot be solved militarily.”

“The point is not whether or not Iran is a bad actor — they are,” she added. “But the question is: What are the right steps for the president? Use our diplomacy. Use the back channels. De-escalate and get Iran to the negotiating table.”


2020 The New York Times Company

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Asian shares slump; gold, oil soar after Iran strike on US forces

SHANGHAI -- Asian shares and US treasury yields plunged on Wednesday, while gold and oil shot higher after Iran fired rockets at an Iraqi airbase that hosts US military forces, stoking fears of further sharp escalations in a developing conflict.

Iran's missile attacks on the Ain Al-Asad air base and another in Erbil, Iraq, early Wednesday came hours after the funeral of an Iranian commander whose killing in a US drone strike has raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East.

In morning trade, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei dropped 2.5 percent and Australian shares fell 1 percent.

US crude soared 4.42 percent to $65.47 a barrel.

"We've moved on from how Iran will respond to now anticipating the US 52-pronged response as the US military forces in the region are in a heightened state of alert while likely preparing for war," said Stephen Innes, strategist at AxiTrader. "It's not going to be pretty today"

The sharp sell-off in risk assets was accompanied by steep drops in US Treasury yields as investors flocked to safety. Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes yielded 1.7188 percent, down more than 10 basis points from a US close of 1.825 percent on Tuesday.

The two-year yield dropped to 1.4581 percent compared with a US close of 1.546 percent.

The dollar also plunged against the yen, with the Japanese currency touching its strongest point against the greenback since October. The US currency was last down 0.69 percent against the yen at 107.67.

The euro gained 0.1 percent on the day to $1.1161.

The flight to safety and a falling dollar supported gold, which rocked 1.91 percent higher on the spot market to $1,603.93 per ounce.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

34 Palestinians dead as Islamic Jihad, Israel stop hostilities across Gaza Strip

GAZA/JERUSALEM - Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad and Israel halted hostilities across the Gaza Strip border on Thursday following efforts mediated by Egypt and the United Nations to end the worst surge in fighting in months.

Islamic Jihad said a truce went into effect at 0330 GMT, about 48 hours after Israel triggered the exchange of fire by killing the Iranian-backed faction's top Gaza commander in an airstrike, deeming him an imminent threat.

Gaza medical officials put the total death toll at 34 Palestinians, almost half of them civilians and including eight children and three women.

On the other side of the Gaza border, hundreds of rocket launches by militants paralyzed much of southern Israel, injuring dozens of people.

Hamas, Gaza's dominant faction, appeared to have stayed out of this round of fighting. That may have helped stem escalation.

An Egyptian official contacted by Reuters confirmed a truce had been reached. The Israeli military eased emergency regulations imposed on areas within range of Gaza rockets.

Islamic Jihad said Israel had accepted its demand to stop both the targeted killing of militants and sometimes lethal army gunfire at weekly Palestinian protests on the Gaza border.

"The ceasefire began under Egyptian sponsorship after the Occupation (Israel) submitted to the conditions set by Islamic Jihad on behalf of Palestinian resistance factions," Islamic Jihad spokesman Musab Al-Braim said.

But Israel said it would observe a more limited quid-pro-quo. "Quiet will be answered with quiet," Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Israel's Army Radio.

MISSILE STRIKE

In the deadliest incident of the two-day hostilities, eight members of a Gaza family were killed by an Israeli missile strike shortly before the truce took hold, said medical officials and residents.

They said all were civilians. But Israeli military spokesman Major Avichay Adraee said the head of the family, Rasmi Abu Malhous, who was among the dead, was the commander of Islamic Jihad rocket crews in the central Gaza Strip.

Neighbors left their homes to help rescue workers pull out the bodies of the family, some of which were completely buried in sandy earth. Civilians tried to test the pulse of one body before pulling it out.

Israel's allegation about Rasmi Abu Malhous could not be immediately confirmed by Reuters. Islamic Jihad did not claim him as a member.

Neither the two days of hostilities nor the sudden cessation shifted the dynamics of the underlying core conflict.

While Hamas has been open to long-term ceasefires, like Islamic Jihad it refuses to accept permanent coexistence with Israel.

Gazans are seeking to end years of an Israeli-led blockade. Refugees from the 1948 war of Israel's founding and their descendents make up most of the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza and are seeking the right to return to their former lands.

Israel rejects this as demographic suicide and sees no means of making peace as long as Hamas and Islamic Jihad are armed.

Katz said there would be no change to Israeli military policy in Gaza, contradicting the assertion of Islamic Jihad.

Targeted killings "will not cease," he said, and "the open-fire policy for which the Israel Defence Forces is responsible (at the Gaza border) will not change."

Gaza was mostly quiet at daybreak, with the exception of a lone rocket launch witnessed by a Reuters correspondent and the sounding of sirens in some outlying Israeli towns.

Markets in Gaza reopened as life returned to normal, though people expressed mixed feelings about the truce.

"We responded and made clear our blood was not shed in vain. Also a truce is good because we don't want our people to suffer more under the blockade," said one resident, Mohammad Al-Smairi.

UN mediator Nickolay Mladenov said the Gaza situation remained fragile, tweeting: "All must show maximum restraint and do their part to prevent bloodshed. The Middle East does not need more wars."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Iran warns against war as US, Saudi weigh response to oil attack

DUBAI/JEDDAH - Iran warned US President Donald Trump on Thursday against being dragged into all-out war in the Middle East following an attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities which Washington and Riyadh blame on Tehran.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has described the weekend strike that initially halved Saudi oil output as an act of war and has been discussing possible retaliation with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies.

Trump on Wednesday struck a cautious note, saying there were many options short of war with Iran, which denies involvement in the Sept. 14 strikes. He ordered more sanctions on Tehran.

Iran's foreign minister told CNN the Islamic Republic "won't blink" if it has to defend itself against any US or Saudi military strike, which he said would lead to "all-out war."

Mohammed Javad Zarif earlier accused Pompeo of being part of a so-called "B-team," which Tehran says includes Saudi Arabia's crown prince and is trying to dupe Trump into opting for war.

Pompeo said on Wednesday that the attack was "of a scale we've just not seen before."

"The Saudis were the nation that were attacked. It was on their soil. It was an act of war against them directly," he told reporters before meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Riyadh, which described the assault as a "test of global will," on Wednesday displayed the remnants of 25 Iranian drones and missiles it said were used in the strike as undeniable evidence of Iranian aggression.

The Saudi ambassador to Berlin said "everything is on the table," telling Deutschlandfunk radio that options need to be discussed carefully.

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday followed its main Arab ally Saudi Arabia in announcing it was joining a global maritime security coalition that Washington has been trying to build since a series of explosions on oil tankers in Gulf waters in recent months that were also blamed on Tehran.

Pompeo, who arrived in the UAE from Saudi Arabia on Thursday for talks with Abu Dhabi's crown prince, welcomed the move on Twitter: "Recent events underscore the importance of protecting global commerce and freedom of navigation."

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which is battling a Saudi-led military coalition, claimed responsibility for the assault on two Saudi oil plants, including the world's largest processing facility. US and Saudi officials rejected the claim, saying the attack had not come from the south.

Fellow Gulf OPEC producer Kuwait, which said earlier this week it was investigating the detection of a drone over its territory, has put its oil sector on high alert and raised security to the highest level as a precautionary measure.

Oil prices, which soared following the attack, steadied after Saudi Arabia pledged to restore full production by the end of the month.

 UN MEETING IN FOCUS

Proof of Iranian responsibility, and evidence that the attack was launched from Iranian territory, could pressure Riyadh and Washington, which want to curb Iranian influence in the region, into a response. Trump has previously said he does not want war and is coordinating with Gulf and European states.

Pompeo said the attacks would be a major focus of next week's annual UN General Assembly meeting and suggested Riyadh could make its case there.

Iran's Zarif accused Pompeo of trying to "dodge a US obligation" to issue visas for Iran's UN delegates.

Tehran has said the US accusations were part of Washington's "maximum pressure" policy on the Islamic Republic to force Iran to renegotiate a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which Trump exited last year, reimposing sanctions.

France, which is trying to salvage the deal, said the New York gathering presented a chance to de-escalate tensions.

"When missiles hit another country it is an act of war, but we have to go back to the principle of de-escalation," French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said. 

"There is an international investigation, let's wait for its results."

The French army sent seven experts to Saudi Arabia to join the investigation. UN officials monitoring sanctions on Iran and Yemen are also helping probe the attack, which exposed gaps in Saudi air defenses despite billions spent on Western military hardware.

US efforts to bring about a UN Security Council response looked unlikely to succeed as Russia and China have veto powers and were expected to shield Iran.

Washington and its Gulf allies want Iran to stop supporting regional proxies, including in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon, as well as to put more limitations on its nuclear and missile programs.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Saudi Arabia slams US Senate vote as 'interference'

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia on Sunday rejected as "interference" a US Senate resolution to end American military support for a Riyadh-led war in Yemen, and another holding its crown prince responsible for the murder of critic Jamal Khashoggi.

"The kingdom condemns the latest position of the US Senate that was based on unsubstantiated allegations and rejects the blatant interference in its internal affairs," the foreign ministry said in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Though largely symbolic, the US Senate vote on Thursday dealt a fresh warning to President Donald Trump, who has staunchly backed the Saudi regime despite global uproar over the Yemen conflict and the murder of journalist Khashoggi.

On the Yemen measure, which more broadly attacks the president's prerogative to launch military action, 49 Democrats or their allies voted in favour, along with seven Republicans, while another three Republicans abstained.

The Senate also approved a resolution condemning Khashoggi's murder and calling Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, "responsible" for it.

The Saudi ministry warned that the kingdom would not tolerate any "disrespect" of its rulers.

"This position by the US Senate sends the wrong messages to all those who want to cause a rift in Saudi-US relationship," the ministry said.

"The kingdom hopes that it is not drawn into domestic political debates in the US to avoid any... significant negative impact on this important strategic relationship."

The Senate resolution acknowledged the US-Saudi ties were "important" but called on Riyadh to "moderate its increasingly erratic foreign policy".

The resolutions cannot be debated in the House of Representatives before January, and would likely be vetoed in any case by Trump.

But the Senate votes send a strong message to the White House over anger on both sides of the aisle towards Riyadh.

Khashoggi, a Saudi contributor to the Washington Post, was killed on October 2 shortly after entering the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul in what Riyadh called a "rogue" operation.

The murder has tarnished Riyadh's international reputation, and Western countries including the United States, France and Canada have placed sanctions on nearly 20 Saudi nationals.

UN chief Antonio Guterres on Sunday called for a "credible" probe into the murder.

Anger at the human cost of the war in Yemen has also prompted a harder line in Congress about the US military's role in backing Saudi-led coalition strikes against Huthi rebels.

Since the coalition launched its campaign in 2015, the conflict has killed nearly 10,000 people, according to the World Health Organization. But some rights groups believe the toll to be far higher.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tesla, Google chiefs warn against 'killer robots'

SAN FRANCISCO - More than 100 robotics and artificial intelligence leaders including billionaire Elon Musk are urging the United Nations to take action against the dangers of autonomous weapons, known as "killer robots."

"Lethal autonomous weapons threaten to become the third revolution in warfare," warned the letter signed by 116 tech luminaries, including Musk, the chief of Tesla, and Mustafa Suleyman, cofounder of Google's DeepMind.

"Once developed, they will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at times scales faster than humans can comprehend," the letter read.

"These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways."

They added: "We do not have long to act. Once this Pandora's box is opened, it will be hard to close."

A UN group focused on these types of weapons was set to meet Monday, but it was canceled and postponed until November, according to the international body's website.

In 2015, thousands of researchers and personalities launched an appeal to ban "autonomous weapons."

Both Musk and well-known British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking regularly warn of the "dangers" of artificial intelligence, citing in particular "robot killers."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

U.S. forces give technical assistance as PH takes losses in Marawi

MARAWI CITY, Philippines - U.S. special forces have joined the battle to crush Islamist militants holed up in Marawi City, officials said on Saturday, as government forces struggled to make headway and 13 marines were killed in intense urban fighting.

The Philippines military said the United States was providing technical assistance to end the siege of Marawi by fighters allied to Islamic State, which is now in its third week, but it had no boots on the ground.

"They are not fighting. They are just providing technical support," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera told a news conference in Marawi City.

The Pentagon, which has no permanent presence in the Philippines but for years has kept 50 to 100 special forces troops in the south of the country on rotational exercises, confirmed it was helping the Philippine military in Marawi.

It said in a statement it was providing Philippine forces with security assistance and training in the areas of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. It said it had an additional 300 to 500 troops in the country to support regular training and activities, without giving further details.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a U.S. official said support included aerial surveillance and targeting, electronic eavesdropping, communications assistance and training. A U.S. P-3 Orion surveillance plane was seen flying over the town on Friday, according to media reports.


"There is no direct U.S. participation in combat, which is prohibited by Philippine law, although our forces involved in training the Philippine military are authorized to defend themselves," the U.S. official said.

The cooperation between the longtime allies is significant because Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who came to power a year ago, has taken a hostile stance towards Washington and has vowed to eject U.S. military trainers and advisers from his country.

The seizure of Marawi City on May 23 has alarmed Southeast Asian nations which fear that Islamic State - facing setbacks in Syria and Iraq - is establishing a stronghold on the Philippine island of Mindanao that could threaten the whole region.

About 40 foreigners have fought alongside the Philippine militants in Marawi City, most of them from Indonesia and Malaysia, though some came from the Middle East.

The Philippines military suffered its biggest one-day loss on Friday since 10 troops were killed in a friendly-fire incident on June 1. Herrera said 13 marines conducting clearing operations died after an "intense" house-to-house firefight during which they encountered improvised explosive devices and were attacked by rocket-propelled grenades.

The deaths took to 58 the number of security forces killed, with 20 civilians and more than a hundred rebel fighters also killed in the Marawi fighting.

REPORTS OF MAUTE BROTHERS KILLED

At least 200 militants are holed up in a corner of the town. An estimated 500 to 1,000 civilians are trapped there, some being held as human shields, while others are hiding in their homes with no access to running water, electricity or food.

The military said it was making headway in the town but was proceeding carefully so as not to destroy mosques where some of the militants had taken up positions.

"We give premium to the mosques, because this is very symbolic to our Muslim brothers," Herrera said.

The Philippines is majority Christian, but Mindanao has a significant population of Muslims and Marawi City is overwhelmingly Muslim.

One of the main Islamist factions dug in around the heart of the city is the Maute group, a relative newcomer amid the throng of insurgents, separatists and bandits on Mindanao.

Herrera said the military was "validating" reports that the two Maute brothers who founded the group had been killed.

"We are still awaiting confirmation," he said. "We are still validating those reports but there are strong indications."

Maute joined forces with Isnilon Hapilon, who was last year proclaimed by Islamic State as its Southeast Asia "emir." Military officials believe Hapilon is still in the town.

The military has said it is aiming to end the siege by Monday, the Philippines' independence day.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'Humanity, where are you?' protestors ask at rally for Aleppo

BERLIN - Protestors rallied in Berlin on Saturday against the war in Syria denouncing the international community for failing to help civilians, especially children, in the besieged city of Aleppo.

Holding banners saying "The children of Aleppo are calling you!", or "Aleppo is bleeding and the world is watching", around 900 people braved plunging temperatures to gather in front to the Reichstag, the German parliament building, according to police estimates.

At the same time, another 1,800 people joined a second demonstration elsewhere in the German capital, police said.

"What is happening there amounts to what is the worst in the world," said Mahmoud Almizeh, a 19-year-old Syrian refugee who comes from Raqa, now the bastion of the Islamic State jihadist group.

Germany has opened its doors to some 600,000 Syrian refugees since the conflict began in 2011.

Having arrived in Germany a year ago, Almizeh lamented that European leaders were "unfortunately doing nothing".

In Aleppo on Saturday trapped Syrian civilians and rebels waited desperately for evacuations to resume from an opposition-held enclave of the city which has fallen to the brutal onslaught by Syrian government forces.

Aleppo has been ravaged by some of the worst violence of the nearly six-year war that has killed more than 310,000 people.

"We feel so powerless" about the tragedy facing the Syrians, said Anna Bone, a Berlin resident at the demonstration where another banner declared: "Stop murdering! Peace talks NOW."

"This powerlessness... this grief, it's what brought me here today," she added.

Hundreds of protestors also joined demonstrations in France on Saturday in the cities of Paris, Lille, Strasbourg and Marseille.

"It's crazy that the world powers cannot intervene," commented two protestors of Turkish origin, Hilal, 25, and Gulsan, 26, in Paris.

Thousands of trapped civilians and the last remaining opposition fighters in Aleppo were waiting for evacuations to resume on Saturday, a day after the operation was suspended by the Syrian government.

Meanwhile in New York, the UN Security Council could vote as early as this weekend on a French-drafted proposal to allow international observers into Aleppo and ensure urgent aid deliveries.

source: news.abs-cbn.com