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Chinese President Xi ends state visit to UAE with raft of deals signed

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates on Saturday said it agreed to set up a “comprehensive strategic partnership” with China as President Xi Jinping wrapped up a three-day visit to the Gulf country.

“The UAE and China have agreed to enhance cooperation in all fields to higher levels and forge overall strategic partnerships,” the official WAM news agency said.

It said this would “contribute to cementing and intensifying cooperation, boost joint development and prosperity, which is consistent with the common interest of both countries and their peoples”.

China and the UAE had already signed on Friday a raft of economic agreements and in the run-up to Xi’s visit they agreed oil and trade deals.

Xi met UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also ruler of Dubai, and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan during his visit.

Abu Dhabi was the Chinese president’s first stop on a tour which now takes him to Senegal, Rwanda and South Africa.

A joint statement by China and the UAE, published Saturday by WAM, said the two countries were committed to bolster cooperation across the board, including politics, economy, oil, gas and security.

There would also be joint military training, the two countries agreed.

The United Arab Emirates was “keen to deepen cooperation” which China’s “One Belt, One Road” infrastructure plan, the statement added.

The ambitious trillion-dollar project aims to revive the ancient Silk Road trading routes with a global networks of ports, roads and railways.

On Thursday, the UAE’s state-owned DP World announced an agreement between the two countries to build a new trade zone in Dubai as part of that project.

A strategic cooperation framework between state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and China National Petroleum Company was among the deals signed on Friday, the UAE company said.

On Thursday ADNOC announced it had awarded two contracts worth $1.6 billion (1.4 billion euros) to BGP Inc, a subsidiary of CNPC, for a seismic survey in the emirate.

The survey will search for oil and gas in onshore and offshore sites covering an area of 53,000 square kilometres (20,500 square miles).

China is the United Arab Emirates’ top trading partner and the UAE is also one of the top 15 crude suppliers to China.

July 21, 2018
Some countries buying Russian gear deserve sanctions waivers: Mattis

US Defense Secretary James Mattis on Friday spoke in support of waivers for sanctions being imposed against nations buying military gear from Russia.

The move comes amid concerns that imposing sanctions, particularly in the case of India and other Asian allies, could threaten friendly relationships that the US has been working to bolster in recent years.

India, the world´s top defense importer, has purchased Russian military hardware and expertise for decades, and has been in talks with Moscow to buy S-400 long range surface-to-air missile systems.

Last year, US lawmakers, seeking to punish Russia for its efforts to undermine Western democracy, passed the Counter America´s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA.

“Russia should suffer consequences for its aggressive, destabilising behavior and its illegal occupation of Ukraine,” Mattis said in a statement.

“However, as we impose necessary and well-deserved costs for their malign behavior, providing the Secretary of State with a CAATSA waiver authority is imperative.”

Under CAATSA, any entity doing business with Russia´s state, semi-state and private defense and intelligence sectors could face economic sanctions.

Appropriate CAATSA waivers allow “nations to build a closer security relationship with the US as they continue to transition from reliance on Russian military equipment,” said Mattis, who visited India last year.

India has increasingly turned to the US and France for arms purchases, but is still reliant on Russian hardware and expertise to maintain its existing arsenal.

Mattis said the main question is whether the US wants to strengthen “partners in key regions or leave them with no other option than to turn to Russia.”

Amid this week´s fallout from President Donald Trump´s widely criticised performance at the Helsinki summit with President Vladimir Putin, some Democrats called for a tightening of Russia sanctions.

In August last year, US lawmakers, angered by Russia´s alleged meddling in the US presidential election and invasion of Ukraine, passed CAATSA over objections from the White House to oblige a reluctant Trump to cast a wider sanctions net and prevent him from scaling back existing measures.

The State Department did not directly comment on Mattis´s suggestion of sanctions waivers.

“This Administration is fully committed to implementing CAATSA,” a State Department spokesperson told AFP..

“We have discussed CAATSA with the government of India, and the United States is working with our partners including India to help them identify and avoid engaging in potentially sanctionable activity.”

July 21, 2018
Key member resigns from Myanmar advisory panel on Rohingya crisis

A key member of an international advisory panel on Myanmar´s crisis-hit Rakhine state has resigned, telling AFP on Saturday that the Aung San Suu Kyi-appointed board risks becoming “part of the problem” in a conflict that forced 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee.

Retired Thai lawmaker and ambassador Kobsak Chutikul was secretary for the panel hand-picked by civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to advise her government on how to handle the aftermath of a military campaign that drove the minority out of the country.

The brutal crackdown started in August last year and left hundreds of Rohingya villages razed to the ground.

Refugees to Bangladesh have recounted horrifying testimony of widespread murder, rape and torture in violence the UN and US have branded as ethnic cleansing.

Kobsak Chutikul said his position became untenable ahead of a second full meeting of the panel with officials in Myanmar´s capital Naypyidaw this week.

“I verbally gave my resignation in a staff meeting last Tuesday (July 10),” he told AFP by phone from Bangkok.

The board, he said, risks becoming a “part of the problem”.

“It lulls authorities into thinking they have done enough to respond to the concerns of the international community, that they´ve ticked that box,” he added.

“It becomes dangerous in terms of an illusion that something is being done… that they´re going to do something while Rome burns.”

‘Winging it’

The credibility of the advisory board was undermined early on by the resignation of veteran US diplomat Governor Bill Richardson a one-time close confidant of Suu Kyi.

He left the panel in January in a vicious war of words with the Nobel laureate.

The government insisted it had terminated his involvement but Richardson said he stepped down due to fears the committee would only “whitewash” the causes of the Rohingya crisis.

A statement by his office Saturday said that Kobsak´s resignation “further reinforces the concerns” he held.

Kobsak, however, told AFP that he thought Governor Richardson´s departure had been premature.

But he said the board´s poor organisation and funding severely curtailed its work.

“We were winging it on the fly, not really in full grasp of the full facts and figures. Everyone was all over the place — we don´t have a permanent office anywhere,” he told AFP.

Suu Kyi´s reputation lies in tatters internationally for her failure to speak up on behalf of the Rohingya Muslims, a stateless group persecuted over decades in Myanmar.

There was no immediate reaction from her office or the panel.

The advisory board has so far dismayed rights groups for not mentioning the word ´Rohingya´ — a name Buddhist-majority Myanmar rejects, preferring the pejorative term ´Bengali´ that implies the community are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Kobsak Chutikul said the international community should rally round new UN special envoy Christine Schraner Burgener, who he said “offers the best hope in the circumstances”.

July 21, 2018
Four Palestinians martyred in Gaza escalation

GAZA/JERUSALEM: Israeli aircraft and tanks hit targets across the Gaza Strip Friday after shots were fired at troops on the border, the army said, with reports that four Palestinians were martyred.

Hamas said among the four deceased three of them were its members.

A fourth Palestinian was shot dead during protests along the frontier with Israel, Gaza’s health ministry said.

The flare-up is the latest in months of tensions that have ratcheted up fears of a wider conflict between Israel and Gaza’s rulers Hamas, who have fought three wars since 2008.

An Israeli army statement said shots were fired at troops during renewed protests along the Gaza-Israel frontier and “in response… aircraft and tanks targeted military targets throughout the Gaza Strip.”

It did not say if any Israeli soldiers were hurt in the shooting.

Two Palestinians were martyred in a strike east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, the health ministry in the enclave said.

A third man was martyred by Israeli fire east of Rafah, also in southern Gaza, the ministry said.

Hamas named the three men as Shaban abu Khatar, Mohammed abu Farhana and Mahmoud Qushta.

Israel’s military said its aircraft and tanks had targeted “eight military posts” belonging to Hamas.

A fourth man named as Mohammed Badwan was later shot dead by Israeli forces during protests along the border, Gaza’s health ministry said.

Netanyahu in emergency briefing

Israeli media reported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was receiving an emergency briefing from the army on the situation.

Last weekend saw the most severe exchange of fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since a 2014 war, raising worries of another round of conflict.

Israel hit dozens of sites it said belonged to militants in the Gaza Strip in Saturday´s strikes, killing two Palestinian teenagers.

The same day, around 200 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel from Gaza and four Israelis were wounded when a rocket hit a house in the nearby Israeli city of Sderot.

Since protests broke out on March 30, at least 149 Palestinians have been killed.

Most were shot during demonstrations and clashes along the border, but others were killed in air strikes or by tank fire.

No Israelis have been killed.

For more than a week, Israel has been hardening its response to kites and incendiary balloons launched from Gaza, which authorities say have set ablaze more than 2,600 hectares on Israeli territory.

In recent days, the Israeli army has opened fire at groups launching such devices.

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman has raised the threat of a large-scale operation in the Gaza Strip if Hamas does not stop the kites and balloons being launched.

Israeli television this week broadcast footage of army training manoeuvres for an incursion into the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu also conducted a tour along the border region for the first time since the start of the clashes.

Government officials such as Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan have called for systematic attacks on kite launchers.

Israel has also further tightened its blockade of Gaza by closing the only goods crossing, suspending oil and gas deliveries.

July 21, 2018
Feeling the heat: Tokyo preps for sweltering Summer Olympics

TOKYO: A heatwave in Japan that has killed more than a dozen people is reviving concerns about the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which will be held during the country’s notoriously sweltering summer.

While the Games have been held in places that are hotter or more humid than Tokyo, including Athens and Beijing, Japan’s sweaty summers offer both blistering heat and smothering humidity in a particularly unpleasant, and sometimes deadly, combination.

Olympic officials and Tokyo’s local government are touting measures from solar-blocking paint on roads to mobile misting stations to tackle the heat.

But some experts fear the efforts are insufficient, in a country where summer heat kills hundreds of people and hospitalises tens of thousands each year.

The Games will be held from July 24-August 9, a period where temperatures can hit 37 degrees Celsius and humidity rises to over 80 percent.

“Compared to past Olympics, it’s fair to say that this will be the most severe Games, as far as heat conditions go,” said Makoto Yokohari, a professor of urban engineering at the University of Tokyo.

The International Olympic Committee has approved moving the marathon start to 7:00am, with the men’s competitive walking beginning even earlier.

And Tetsuo Egawa, senior director of operation strategy planning for Tokyo 2020’s organising committee, is working on other ways to beat the heat.

Read More: Heatwave kills 14 people over the weekend in Japan

“The sports that tend to raise the most concern are the non-stadium ones,” he told AFP, citing the marathon, sailing and canoeing, and golf as examples where “special measures” will be needed.

The main concern is heatstroke, particularly among spectators unused to hot weather who will spend hours outdoors watching events or queuing.

“We will have tents covering queues at security gates… (and) we are aiming to limit lines to 20 minutes long,” Egawa said.

Solar-blocking paint

Large fans will cool people down and the new national stadium has been constructed to encourage air flow. Medical tents and rest areas will be air-conditioned.

Stress can increase the risk of heatstroke, so organisers will try to keep spectators relaxed even in queues.

“There may be small shows and entertainment… maybe shows that involve spraying mist on people,” Egawa said.

Summer heat is hardly new for Tokyo, which experiences the “heat island” effect where urban areas are much warmer than surrounding regions, for reasons including blocked airflow and lack of greenery.

Local officials say Tokyo’s temperature has risen by three degrees Celsius in the last century, far more than the global rise of 0.7-0.8 degrees.

Tokyo officials have been working on the problem for years, but efforts are ramping up ahead of the Games.

One project aims to repopularise a Japanese tradition: “uchimizu”, or the sprinkling of water on the street to bring temperatures down.

Another measure is solar-blocking “paint”, which will cover the entire marathon route, though only on the road, not pavements where spectators will stand.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) officials say the coating can reduce temperatures at road level by up to eight degrees Celsius.

In other places they are laying road surface that can absorb rain water, which evaporates when temperatures rise and cools the air.

‘Dangerous conditions’

“We take heat mitigation very seriously,” said Susumu Matsushima, an official with the TMG’s road management bureau.

He said 116 kilometres of road have already been treated, most of it with the solar-blocking coating.

“If you touch (the road) you can really feel the difference, especially on a sunny day.”

But not everyone is convinced, with some noting that when Tokyo last hosted the Olympics, in 1964, the Games were held in October to avoid the heat.

Yokohari has studied the marathon route and warns that “athletes will run in very dangerous conditions,” particularly in the last quarter of the race when they pass Tokyo’s Imperial Palace.

“I believe athletes will feel significant damage to their bodies in this phase,” he told AFP.

“There is absolutely no shade.”

While the marathon will start early, Yokohari would prefer to see the route itself altered so runners are in the shade in later stages.

He says plans to put in trees for shade are impractical with only two years to go, and even proposes moving the marathon to somewhere cooler in northern Japan.

“Unfortunately, the sense of urgency I feel is not shared by people concerned,” he said.

“Tokyo residents may say ‘oh we know and are used to the heat’… but how many of us in Tokyo spend hours outdoors in the peak of August heat?”

July 21, 2018
Beauty queen sentenced to death for murder

A Kenyan court has sentenced a 24-year-old jail beauty queen to death for murdering her boyfriend by stabbing him 25 times, drawing criticism from rights groups who called the punishment “inhumane”.

Ruth Kamande, who won a prison beauty pageant while awaiting trial, slashed her partner Farid Mohammed, 24, to death in 2015 and was convicted in May.

“I want young people to know that it is not cool to kill your boyfriend or girlfriend even where you feel disappointed or frustrated — don’t do it,” said High Court judge Jessie Lesiit passing sentence on Thursday.

“Instead, it is cool to walk away and thereafter to forgive.”

The judge accused Kamande of “manipulative” behaviour that included accessing the victim’s mobile phone as well as showing no remorse for the vicious attack which left “blood all over” the crime scene.

“I think passing any other sentence than the one prescribed (death) would turn the accused into a hero,” said Lesiit.

Rights group Amnesty International called the sentence “cruel, inhumane and outdated”.

“This sentence is a blow to Kenya’s progressive record in commuting death sentences to terms of imprisonment,” said Amnesty director Irungu Houghton.

The victim’s family insisted the sentence matched the crime.

“We’re glad that this day came and his grandparents, his sister were actually in court today when this verdict was given,” the victim’s tearful aunt Emmah Wanjiku told reporters after the sentencing.

“He had just started his job when his life was cut short.”

Kamande’s lawyer Joyner Okonjo said she would appeal the sentence.

Kenya has an effective ban on carrying out death sentences and no death row prisoner has been executed since 1987.

The country’s Supreme Court ruled in December 2017 that the mandatory death sentence for murder and armed robbery was unconstitutional, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

The death sentence remains on the statute books however.

July 21, 2018
Taliban bomb-maker jailed for 40 years for UK parliament plot

LONDON: A 28-year-old man was sentenced Friday to a minimum of 40 years in jail for making explosives for the Taliban and for plotting a knife attack at the Houses of Parliament in London.

Khalid Ali, from north London, was dramatically arrested by armed police on a street outside parliament in April 2017 with three blades tucked into his clothes.

He was moments from launching an attack on police, politicians or the military, England’s Old Bailey central criminal court in London heard during his trial last month.

The plumber was on Tuesday found guilty of preparing terrorist acts in Britain and two charges of possessing explosive substances with intent abroad.

On Friday, judge Nicholas Hilliard handed Ali three life sentences, to run concurrently: one for each charge.

He gave a minimum of 40 years for making improvised explosive devices for the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan in 2012 and 25 years for the plot to kill in Britain.

“I am absolutely sure you were in Afghanistan. You were a valued member of a team making IEDs that were detonated in combat before January and July 2012,” Hilliard said.

The judge said the plotted attack in London was designed to attract “maximum publicity and instil terror”.

“I have no doubt whatsoever that there is a very considerable risk of your committing offences of violence in the future and cause death or serious injury as a result.”

During the trial, prosecutor Brian Altman told jurors that Ali, who had returned to Britain from Afghanistan in late 2016, planned a “deadly terror attack at the very heart of this country’s democracy”.

Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Dean Haydon said he was “an incredibly dangerous individual”.

He had returned from a training camp in Afghanistan “with a determination to kill,” he added.

During his trial, the court heard Ali admitted involvement in making explosives in Afghanistan, even bragging he detonated more than 300 devices.

In November 2016, he was stopped at Heathrow Airport, interviewed by police and his fingerprints and DNA samples were taken.

The FBI in the United States subsequently matched his fingerprints to caches of explosives recovered by Afghan forces in 2012, and Ali was placed under surveillance in Britain.

The Old Bailey heard he was seen conducting reconnaissance at various sites around London in March and April last year, before making several purchases of knives.

Police moved in to arrest Ali on April 27 not far from Prime Minister Theresa May’s Downing Street office.

July 20, 2018
NDRMF to make Pakistan resilient against natural disasters: finance minister

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, Statistics, Planning, Development and Reform Dr Shamshad Akhtar termed National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF) as a first concrete step towards making Pakistan resilient, against natural disasters and climate change impacts.

She expressed these views during inaugural session at launching ceremony of NDRMF, held on Monday.

The event was attended by notable representatives of federal/provincial government departments and disaster management authorities, UN agencies, international donors, academicians, civil society members, NGOs, media and dignitaries from diplomatic missions.

Expressing concern over about Rs20 billion losses that Pakistan had suffered over the last few years, affecting more than 30 million people, the minister stressed the need for setting up sustainable financing system to fund risk reduction and mitigation activities in the country.

Shamshad reiterated full commitment of the government to support NDRMF and provision of additional resources to strengthen the fund’s operations to comply with international and national commitments.

“The government will also ensure that the fund carries out its activities in an efficient, transparent and coordinated manner,” she said.

Read More: Natural disasters killed over 22,000 in 2013: Red Cross

She urged NDRMF to mainstream its efforts for a coherent and institutionalized DRM approach among federal, provincial, and local government institutions. She appreciated the development partners specially the Asian Development Bank (ADB), for their vital role in this strategic initiative.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) NDRMF Lt General (retd) Nadeem Ahmed gave an overview about the fund mandate, operations, thematic areas and fund linkage with National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) and National Flood Protection Plan (NFPP-IV).

He also briefed the house, about the mechanism devised to sustain the NDRMF operational activities in order to minimize its impact on government exchequer.

“It is worth mentioning that both NDMP and NFPP-IV were developed by national and international experts to dilute the effects of disasters by strengthening the DRM system and building hazard protection infrastructures. However, due to lack of funding, these plans could not be implemented earlier. Hopefully, NDRMF will now provide the requisite funding to ensure effective implementation. ”

ADB Country Director Xiaohong Yang lauded Pakistan for its unique capacities with regards to managing diverse range of disasters and called it as potentially the best country in terms of knowledge, regulatory framework and DRM infrastructure to implement the pilot idea.

She also expressed commitment to provide an additional funding of 1 billion USD for this initiative in years 2020-2030.

The GoP had been working with number of development partners to identify opportunities and mechanism to enhance financial management of disaster risk. These initiatives resulted in establishment of multi donor NDRMF. It is a government-owned not-for-profit company with a corporate structure, incorporated with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, under Section 42 of the Companies Ordinance 1984.

The fund will also provide support in reducing the socio-economic and fiscal vulnerability of the country & its population due to natural hazards and climate change. Channelizing financial investments in DRR and preparedness segment of DM will have high positive economic impacts for the country.

The initial financing of NDRMF is through an ADB loan to the GoP, equivalent to $200.0 million and grants equivalent to $3.4 million and $1.5 million from Australian and Swiss Governments, respectively.

The government has made these funds available to NDRMF as a grant, for on-granting to eligible implementing partners both from public and private sectors. NDRMF will finance up to 70% of eligible projects cost that shall enhance Pakistan’s resilience to extreme weather events and other natural hazards.

The ceremony was followed by an ‘Orientation Workshop’ aimed to create an in-depth understating about Fund management structure and operational/organizational functionalities. The workshop reviewed accreditation criteria and project proposal guidelines in addition to detailed presentations on NDMP and NFPP-IV.

Exhaustive discussions and group work provided great learning opportunity to gain feedback and recommendations from stakeholders and fund implementation partners to further fine tune the systems and procedures of NDRMF.

On the sideline of the launching event an agreement was also signed between the Embassy of Switzerland in Pakistan and the ADB to support NDRMF. Ms Stefanie Burri, Head of International Cooperation, Embassy of Switzerland, and Ms Xiaohong Yang, ADB Country Director signed the agreement. Under this agreement, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) will provide 1.5 million Swiss Francs (equivalent to USD 1.5 million) to the fund.

In addition, the SDC will also provide technical assistance to the Fund through secondment of a Disaster Risk Finance Specialists. Both sides expressed strong resolve for continued support and co-operation towards enhancing resilience of the Country.

NDRMF will be focusing on projects based on thematic areas identified under two umbrella documents that are NDMP and NFPP-IV. These projects are related to Multi Hazard Vulnerability Risk Assessment (MHVRA), Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM), Development of Emergency Response Plans, Strengthening Early Warning System and Infrastructure development for disaster risk reduction and retrofitting of flood protection infrastructure.

Apart from risk reduction activities, NDRMF will also be working on the Risk Transfer Mechanism System by devising a Disaster Risk Financing (DRF) Strategy and conducting a pilot project, which could be scaled up at a national level.

The fund will also help the government in complying with International and National commitments like Hyogo Framework, Paris Agreement, Sendai Framework, Vision 2025 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

July 16, 2018
Shock as Trump backs Putin on election meddling at summit

HELSINKI: U.S. President Donald Trump said after meeting Vladimir Putin on Monday he no reason to believe his own intelligence agencies rather than trust the Kremlin leader on the question of whether Russsia interfered to help him win the 2016 election.

On a day when he faced pressure from critics, allied countries and even his own staff to take a tough line, Trump said not a single critical word about Moscow on any of the issues that have brought relations between the two powers to the lowest ebb since the Cold War.

Instead, he denounced the “stupidity” of his own country’s policy, especially the decision to investigate election interference.

Trump’s performance is likely to create a political storm in the United States, where the White House has struggled for months to dispel a suggestion that Trump was unwilling to stand up to Putin.

His performance was denounced as “treasonous” by a former CIA chief and condemned as “shameful” by a Republican senator, although other Republicans were more cautious.

Trump held his meeting with Putin just days after a special prosecutor in the United States indicted 12 Russian agents for stealing Democratic Party documents to help him win the vote.

Asked if he believed U.S. intelligence agencies, which concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help him defeat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, he said he was not convinced.

“I don’t see any reason why it would be” Russia, Trump said. “President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.”

FOOLISHNESS AND STUPIDITY

Before the summit even began, Trump blamed his own country for the deterioration in relations.

“Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!” he said on Twitter.

The Russian foreign ministry tweeted back: “We agree”.

At the news conference, Trump was invited by reporters to offer any criticism of Russia but he repeatedly declined. Asked if Russia was at all to blame for the poor ties, he said: “I hold both countries responsible. I think the U.S. has been foolish. We’ve all been foolish,” he said, before veering into discussion about his election victory.

“I beat Hillary Clinton easily and frankly we beat her…We won that race and it’s a shame that there can be even a little bit of a cloud over it,” he said.

Trump’s warm words for Russia were a marked contrast from the past week when he repeatedly rebuked traditional U.S. allies at a summit of NATO and during a visit to Britain.

Asked if Putin was an adversary, he said: “Actually I called him a competitor and a good competitor he is and I think the word competitor is a compliment.”

Putin spoke of the importance of the two countries working together and praised Trump, at one point interrupting the news conference to give the U.S. President a soccer ball.

Asked whether he had wanted Trump to win the 2016 election and had instructed officials to help him, Putin said “Yes I did”, although he denied any interference, saying the allegations were “complete nonsense”.

Republican Senator Lyndsay Graham said Trump’s performance would send a message of “weakness” to Moscow.

“Missed opportunity by President Trump to firmly hold Russia accountable for 2016 meddling and deliver a strong warning regarding future elections. This answer by President Trump will be seen by Russia as a sign of weakness and create far more problems than it solves,” Graham said on Twitter.

Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, a frequent Trump critic, said: “I never thought I would see the day when our American President would stand on the stage with the Russian President and place blame on the United States for Russian aggression. This is shameful.”

TREASONOUS

Former CIA chief John Brennan went further, suggesting Trump should be removed from office: “Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of ‘high crimes & misdemeanors.’ It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???”

The summit caps a trip abroad during which Trump accused NATO allies of failing to spend enough on their militaries and embarrassed British Prime Minister Theresa May by saying she refused to take his advice about how to negotiate Britain’s exit from the EU. He referred to the European Union itself as a “foe” in trade and repeatedly criticised it.

In some of the strongest words yet reflecting the unease of Washington’s traditional allies, Germany’s foreign minister said on Monday Europe could no longer rely on the United States.

“To maintain our partnership with the USA we must readjust it,” Heiko Maas told the Funke newspaper group. “The first clear consequence can only be that we need to align ourselves even more closely in Europe.”

July 16, 2018
ECP urges candidates to abide by code of conduct

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday urged all political parties and election candidates to abide by the code of conduct notified by the ECP for holding public rallies, processions and election activities.

This request was made during a high level meeting chaired by of Secretary ECP Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad to discuss the code of conducts relating to holding of public rallies, processions and election activities by political parties and candidates.

The meeting was held in light of the instructions issued by Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk during his visit to Quetta on Sunday directing the ECP to launch a campaign for awareness of code of conduct issued by the ECP pertaining to public rallies, processions and election activities.

Read More: 86-point Code of Conduct for general elections issued by ECP

The meeting expressed the hope that political parties and candidates would keep the local administration in the loop about their election activities, as per the code of conduct.

Secretary Interior Yousaf Naseem Khokhar, Secretary Information Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera, Chairman PEMRA Muhammad Saleem and senior officials of the ECP also attended the meeting.

July 16, 2018