Saudi crown prince wraps up official visit to France

SOURCE: AFP
Saudi crown prince wraps up official visit to France


Saudi Royal Palace/AFP / BANDAR AL-JALOUD Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, previously dined with Macron at Paris's Louvre museum on Sunday night after flying in on his first trip to France as heir to the Saudi throne

Saudi Arabia's crown prince wraps up his official visit to France Tuesday with a gala dinner hosted by President Emmanuel Macron, as the young leaders seek to shore up cooperation despite lurking differences.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, previously dined with Macron at Paris's Louvre museum on Sunday night after flying in on his first trip to France as heir to the Saudi throne.

Macron, 40, treads a diplomatic tightrope with the prince as he seeks to bolster his ties with the world's top oil exporter while also managing relations with Saudi Arabia's arch-rival Iran.

Macron tweeted a picture of the pair at the Louvre looking at the 19th-century masterpiece Liberty Leading The People by revolutionary painter Eugene Delacroix, which shows Liberty as a bare-breasted woman.

"The discussions were friendly, which allowed the two men to establish a personal relationship," Macron's office said.

The two leaders will now work on a "strategic document" involving a series of contracts to be signed by Macron during a visit to Saudi Arabia later this year, his office said.

In a trip that appears focused on tourism, culture and the arts, the prince's delegation is set to host a forum Tuesday morning with multiple French business titans, which could trigger a host of memorandums of understanding.

The prince, widely known as MBS, is also expected to meet some French ministers, a source close to his delegation told AFP. He has so far met Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Defence Minister Florence Pay.

Prince Mohammed's visit is part of a global tour that has already seen him travel to the United States, Britain and Egypt as he seeks to project a more moderate vision of his country, typically associated in the West with exporting jihadist ideology.

Saudi and French aides stressed before the trip that cultural ties, as well as new business opportunities, would be at the heart of two days of talks between government and private-sector figures from both countries.

- Hollywood and Cannes -

The announcement that Saudi Arabia will make its first official appearance at France's Cannes film festival came after Prince Mohammed dined last week in Hollywood with media mogul Rupert Murdoch, along with film studio bosses and famed American actors including Morgan Freeman.

Amid the flurry of announcements in France, campaigners mobilised to keep attention focused on French weapons exports to Saudi Arabia and rights abuses in the country.

The kingdom is the lead partner in a coalition of countries bombing and blockading Yemen, where a combination of fighting, disease and food shortages has led it to be dubbed the world's worst humanitarian crisis by the UN.

Three out of four French people believe it is "unacceptable" for France, one of the world's biggest arms exporters, to continue selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, according to a YouGov poll.

Ahead of the trip to France, Saudi officials suggested relations were strong between Macron and the crown prince, both young leaders with reformist agendas.

But the visit follows a period of underlying tensions.

Macron waded into a regional crisis last November when Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri tendered his resignation on live television from Riyadh, apparently under pressure from Prince Mohammed.

Macron invited Hariri to Paris for talks and he later rescinded his resignation, a development that analysts say exposed the limits of the prince's authority.

Macron has also announced plans to be the first French president to visit Iran since 1976, as he seeks to build relations with the two competing regional powers in the Middle East.

burs-ac/klm

WORLD NEWS: Iran fixes currency rate in bid to stop rial collapse

source: AFP
Iran fixes currency rate in bid to stop rial collapse


 AFP/File / ATTA KENARE The rial has reached a series of record-lows in recent weeks driven mostly by speculation the US would pull out of the nuclear deal with Iran next month

Iran took the drastic step of fixing the rate of its currency against the dollar on Tuesday in a bid to arrest a slide that has seen it fall by a third in six months.

The rial has reached a series of record-lows in recent weeks, and stood at 58,650 to the dollar at the close of business on Monday, driven mostly by speculation that the United States would pull out of the nuclear deal with Iran next month.

After an emergency session of the government on Monday night, Vice-President Eshagh Jahangiri said the rate would be capped at 42,000 rials to the dollar and foreign exchange offices would be brought under the control of the central bank.

"Unfortunately in recent days, incidents have happened in the rate of foreign currency which have caused concern for the people," he said in comments on the state broadcaster.

He blamed "non-economic, unjustified and unpredictable factors" for driving the rial's collapse, given that its exports were performing strongly.

"There should not be such incidents in an economy that always has a surplus of foreign currency. Some say interference by foreign hands is disrupting the economic climate and some say domestic machinations are spurring these things in order to destabilise the climate in the country," added Jahangiri.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to walk away from the nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on Iran next month unless new restrictions are placed on its missile and atomic programmes.

Analysts say that has encouraged Iranians to horde dollars in the hope of selling them for a profit when the currency collapses further.

Jahangiri said currency sold beyond the set rate would be considered "contraband".

"Just like the smuggling of drugs, no one has the right to buy or sell it... If any other exchange rate is formed in the market, the judiciary and security forces will deal with it," he warned.

The rial stood at around 40,000 to the dollar in October, when Trump said he would no longer certify Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal, and has been falling steadily since.

No exchange rate was fixed for the euro or sterling which have also seen massive gains against the rial in recent months.

Latest WORLD NEWS: Trump praises Xi's 'kind words,' predicts 'great progress' on trade

Trump praises Xi's 'kind words,' predicts 'great progress' on trade



AFP/File / NICHOLAS KAMM US President Donald Trump hailed a speech in which Chinese President Xi Jinping renewed a commitment to lower car import tariffs

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday seized on seemingly conciliatory remarks from Chinese leader Xi Jinping, praising Beijing's "kind words" as a breakthrough in the looming trade war between the two countries.

"Very thankful for President Xi of China's kind words on tarrifs [sic] and automobile barriers...also, his enlightenment on intellectual property and technology transfers," he tweeted.

"We will make great progress together!" Trump predicted, hailing the speech in which Xi renewed a commitment to lower car import tariffs.

Trump's upbeat assessment of Xi's remarks at an economic forum on the southern island of Hainan echoed the view of Wall Street, which was firmly in positive territory Tuesday after a jittery few days.

Xi's insistence that China "does not seek a trade surplus" followed a spate of tit-for-tat tariffs and mutual threats of more levies on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of products.

Veteran China watchers were less convinced, pointing out that the Chinese leader had already promised reforms of the auto sector.

Evan Medeiros, former US National Security Council director for Asia, noted it was "not a new commitment and will not dramatically change the fortunes of US car companies."

He added that "Xi's bland and generic commitments on IP protection fell short of what would have been a true gamechanger."

But with Trump and his supporters happy to claim a victory for his browbeating strategy, the flurry of pronouncements from Trump and Xi could open the door to talks.

Earlier this week Larry Kudlow, Trump's top economic advisor, said limited interactions had already taken place but not serious discussions to avoid tariffs.

WORLD NEWS: Kim makes first official mention of US-N.Korea talks

source: AFP
Kim makes first official mention of US-N.Korea talks


KCNA VIA KNS/AFP / - Kim Jong Un's remarks break North Korea's public silence on dialogue with the US, although he did not specifically refer to a 'summit' with Trump

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un has acknowledged the prospect of talks with the US, state media reported Tuesday, in his first official mention of dialogue with Washington ahead of a planned summit with President Donald Trump.

Trump agreed last month to a landmark summit with the nuclear-armed North but with no specific dates or venue set, there had been questions over Pyongyang's intention to participate.

On Monday, Kim discussed the "the prospect of the DPRK-U.S. dialogue" with party officials, the state KCNA news agency said, referring to the North by its official acronym.

He delivered a report "on the development of the recent situation on the Korean peninsula", including the separate summit with South Korea to be held later this month, it said.

In a growing rapprochement on the Korean peninsula, Kim is scheduled to meet the South's president Moon Jae-in for a rare inter-Korean summit on April 27.

Trump has also agreed to meet Kim to discuss denuclearisation as soon as next month. The summit would be the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.

But the North remained publicly silent for weeks after its leader's invitation to talks was first delivered to Trump by South Korean officials.


KCNA VIA KNS/AFP / - At the meeting of party officials Monday, Kim discussed the 'development of the north-south relations at present and the prospect of the DPRK-U.S. dialogue'


This fuelled concerns in Washington that Seoul had overstated the North's willingness to negotiate over its own nuclear arsenal, even as officials scrambled to prepare for the prospective meeting.

Kim's remarks on Monday break that public silence, although he did not specifically refer to a summit with Trump.

They follow media reports that North Korean officials have privately told their US counterparts Kim is ready to discuss denuclearisation.

Trump said Monday he planned to meet Kim in "May or early June".​

"I think there will be great respect paid by both parties and hopefully there will be a deal on denuking," he said.

- Diplomatic activity -

At Pyongyang metro stations Tuesday, commuters crowded around newspaper stands displaying the pages of the Rodong Sinmun, the official organ of the ruling Workers' Party, to read the news.

The paper filled its front page with KCNA's report, along with pictures of Kim chairing the politburo meeting.

Detailed coverage of Monday's meeting -- held two days before the annual session of North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament -- is unusual and could indicate Kim's desire to project an image of a functioning political system to the outside world, an analyst said.

"Kim Jong Un has been shifting from the military-dominated emergency system to a normal party-dominant system," said Professor Yang Moo-jin at the University of North Korean Studies.

"North Korea is striving to improve ties with the South and the United States to end its status as a pariah country and establish itself as a normal state."

Pyongyang's frenetic diplomatic activity marks a stunning turnaround after a year of high tensions which saw the North carry out nuclear and missile tests, further isolating the regime and triggering a fiery war of words with Trump.

Kim sent a high-profile delegation to the Winter Games in the South in February, before making his international debut last month with a visit to Beijing -- his first overseas trip since taking power in 2011.

The North's foreign minister Ri Yong Ho arrived in Moscow on Monday after stopping in Beijing. He also paid a visit last month to Sweden, which acts as a diplomatic go-between for Washington and Pyongyang.


AFP/File / Jung Yeon-je Trump has agreed to meet Kim for a historic US-North Korean summit as soon as next month, but Pyongyang has never officially confirmed its offer of denuclearisation talks to the White House

If the Kim-Trump summit does take place, many remain sceptical about the whether a meeting between the two notoriously unpredictable leaders can succeed.

It is scheduled to take place without the months of groundwork that usually precedes such meetings.

No specifics have yet emerged concerning the date or venue, with a third country such as Mongolia or Sweden reportedly under consideration to host the talks.

Beyond that, a detailed agenda for the talks will need to be set.

Washington's long-held stance is that it will not accept a nuclear-armed North Korea. That means it wants to see "complete, verifiable, and irreversible" denuclearisation -- a very high bar.

The North has previously demanded the withdrawal of US troops based in the South.

WORLD NEWS: EU court backs France ban of Uber service without notifying Brussels

source: AFP
EU court backs France ban of Uber service without notifying Brussels


AFP/File / JOSH EDELSON Uber has run into huge opposition from taxi companies and other competitors who accuse it of dodging costly regulations

The EU's top court on Tuesday backed the right of member states like France to ban a service by ridesharing firm Uber without notifying Brussels, in a fresh setback to the US giant.

The European Court of Justice ruled in favour of France's ban of the UberPop service, which links amateur drivers with customers, comparing it to a December decision backing traditional taxi firms in the Spanish city of Barcelona.

"Member States may prohibit and punish, as a matter of criminal law, the illegal exercise of transport activities in the context of the UberPop service, without notifying the Commission in advance," the European Court of Justice ruled.

The European Commission is the 28-nation European Union executive, which tries to set digital and other policies across the bloc.

Uber France is facing criminal proceedings in a court in the northern French city of Lille for its UberPop service.

It argues that member states like France were required to notify the European Commission about the criminal legislation under which the case was brought because it concerned a technical regulation of an information society service.

But the court of justice said the French case resembled one it ruled on in December when it classified Uber as an ordinary transportation company instead of an app and should be regulated as such.

"In the Court's view, the UberPop service offered in France is essentially identical to the service provided in Spain," the court of justice statement said.

The case was brought by a taxi drivers' association in Barcelona, where belief runs high that Uber is a taxi company that should be subject to rules governing such vehicles.

Uber, the biggest name in the growing gig economy, claims it is a mere service provider, connecting consumers with drivers in more than 600 cities.

Uber has run into huge opposition from taxi companies and other competitors who say this allows it to dodge costly regulations such as training and licensing requirements for drivers and vehicles.

WORLD NEWS: Xi vows to further open China economy as US trade spat simmers

source: AFP
Xi vows to further open China economy as US trade spat simmers


AFP / Johannes EISELE China's President Xi Jinping's speech comes a fears grow about a possible trade war with the United States

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Tuesday to lower car tariffs this year and take other steps to open the world's number two economy "wider and wider", addressing major complaints by the United States in a simmering trade row.

Xi's remarks follow weeks of tit-for-tat tariffs and mutual threats of more levies on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of products between Beijing and Washington that have raised fears of a trade war that could lacerate the global economy.

While he did not directly mention US President Donald Trump's trade demands, Xi told an economic forum on the southern island of Hainan that Beijing "does not seek a trade surplus" and hopes to increase imports.

Xi also used the speech to address global security and development, saying that "Cold War mentality and zero-sum games are becoming increasingly obsolete and outdated."

Promising a "new phase of opening up", he said China will "considerably lower" tariffs on cars and other products this year, take measures to liberalise automobile investment, and protect intellectual property -- all areas that have been high on the list of demands by Washington.

"Economic globalisation is an irreversible trend of the time," Xi told the Boao Forum for Asia.

"The door of China's opening up will not close, it will only open wider and wider."

But he gave few details nor an exact date for implementing the measures, which were mostly recycled from previous pledges.

The car tariffs were the target of a Trump tweet Monday, saying China charges much higher levies than the United States: "Does that sound like free or fair trade. No, it sounds like STUPID TRADE -- going on for years!"

Xi's speech buoyed world markets, with Asian stocks closing higher and European shares up at the opening after being hammered by the trade row in recent weeks.

"Asian markets are happy, US and European markets are likely to be happy too," said Christopher Balding, a Peking University economics professor.

"The tone was conciliatory but Washington is bargaining for action, not promises."

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, congratulated the Chinese leader on his commitment to openness.

The measures he laid out such as "removing caps, reducing barriers" were "very specific," she told the Boao Forum, which drew global leaders to Hainan this week.

- Musk requests help -

Beijing's restrictions on foreign ownership in the auto sector have forced foreign companies to partner with Chinese firms and share their technology.

Elon Musk, CEO of electric car giant Tesla asked for Trump's help on the issue this year, alluding to the troubles his firm has faced producing in China.

Xi said those restrictions would be liberalised, pledging "to quickly relax restrictions on foreign shareholding, especially the restrictions on foreign investment in the automobile industry".

The threatened tariff war was spurred by a US Trade Representative investigation into China's intellectual property practices, which alleged wide-scale theft and forced technology transfers.

Xi pledged specific measures to address concerns on IP protection.

"This year, we will reorganise the State Intellectual Property Office to strengthen law enforcement," he told the forum.

Pledges on autos and IP were accompanied by a promise to push through reforms in the financial services industry, which would open up to more foreign participation -- reforms first announced last year.

- On the brink -

But Chinese officials have promised many of the measures in the past with little action -- Washington says it has grown tired of China's unfulfilled pledges.

"This could provide Trump with an opportunity to back down from his tariff threats while claiming a victory of sorts," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, analyst at Capital Economics.

"In practice, however, there was little in Xi's speech that we haven't heard before and nothing that would address broader US concerns over China's trade practices."

Fed up, the United States has slapped tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium, followed by planned levies on $50 billion worth of goods from China over Washington IP theft allegations.

China retaliated by unveiling planned levies on $50 billion worth of major US exports, including soybeans, cars and aircraft.

Beijing has also requested dispute consultations at the World Trade Organization over US steel and aluminium tariffs.

Trump has also threatened to impose more tariffs on $100 billion worth of Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to warn that it would punch back with great strength.

But Trump suggested on Sunday that he saw an end to the dispute, saying on Twitter that he will "always be friends" with Xi and that "China will take down its trade barriers because it is the right thing to do."

On Monday, however, China's foreign ministry warned that trade talks with the United States were "impossible" under current conditions.

WORLD NEWS: Indonesia seizes alleged 'slave ship' wanted by Interpol

source: AFP
Indonesia seizes alleged 'slave ship' wanted by Interpol



AFP / Interpol tipped off Indonesian authorities the stateless STS-50, a vessel with a notorious maritime rap sheet, would be entering its waters with authorities concerned the crew were being forced to work

Indonesia seized an alleged "slave ship" following a dramatic high seas chase sparked by an Interpol alert after the vessel escaped capture in China and Mozambique, authorities said Tuesday.

Interpol tipped off Indonesian authorities that the stateless STS-50, a vessel with a notorious maritime rap sheet, would be entering the Southeast Asian nation's waters with authorities concerned the crew were being forced to work.

The boat, captured on Friday some 60 miles (95 kilometres) from Weh Island in Aceh province, had 20 Indonesians, two Ukrainians and eight Russians aboard, including the captain, a senior navy official said.

The crew have been detained and are now being questioned.

The Indonesian sailors said they were not paid and that their passports and other documents had been taken away as soon as they boarded the ship nearly a year ago, the navy said.

"These Indonesians had been sailing for 10 months without being paid so that's why we suspect there was slavery happening," Indonesian navy deputy chief Achmad Taufiqoerrochman said.

The 258-metre (850 foot) long vessel, which was flying the flag of tiny African nation Togo, has previously flown flags from a string of countries including Japan, South Korea and Mozambique, authorities said.

It was on the run after escaping detention in China and also fleeing seizure in Mozambique.

Before it was caught in Indonesia, the vessel used several other names including Sea Breeze, Andrey Dolgov, and Aida, according to the fisheries ministry.

The vessel was equipped with some 600 gillnets -- banned in some waters -- targeting cod species and Antarctic toothfish. It is also suspected of involvement in "organised transnational crime", the ministry added without elaborating.

Two years ago, Indonesian warships detained a Chinese trawler wanted by Interpol in Argentina.

Jakarta has launched a tough crackdown on illegal fishing which involves sinking foreign vessels caught fishing without a permit after impounding the boats and removing the crews.

LATEST WORLD NEWS: D-Day for Facebook, Zuckerberg before skeptical lawmakers

source: AFP
D-Day for Facebook, Zuckerberg before skeptical lawmakers



GETTY/AFP / ALEX WONG Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg held private meetings Monday with lawmakers ahead of his congressional testimony Tuesday and Wednesday

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg was set for a fiery face-off on Capitol Hill Tuesday as he attempts to quell a firestorm over privacy and security lapses at the social network that have angered lawmakers and the site's two billion users.

Zuckerberg, making his first formal appearance at a Congressional hearing, will seek to allay widespread fears ignited by the leaking of private data on tens of millions of users to a British firm working on Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.

The scandal has sparked fresh talk about regulation of social media platforms, and Facebook in the past week has sought to stem criticism by endorsing at least one legislative proposal, which would require better labeling and disclosure on political advertising.

Senator Bill Nelson, one of the lawmakers who met privately Monday with Zuckerberg, said he believes the 33-year-old CEO is taking the matter seriously.

"I believe he understands that regulation could be right around the corner," the Florida Democrat said.

Other lawmakers were less clear about the need for new regulations.

Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said, "I'm not interested in regulating Facebook. I'm interested in Facebook regulating itself and solving the problems. I come in peace."

Zuckerberg was set to appear before a Senate panel from 1815 GMT, with another session in the House of Representatives Wednesday.

The huge social network has begun alerting some users about whether their data was leaked to the British firm Cambridge Analytica.

Notification is among several steps pledged by Facebook to fix pervasive problems on data security and manipulation of the platform used by some two billion people worldwide.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley said Tuesday's hearing is the first step in an "open dialogue about how we address growing consumer privacy concerns."

"The tech industry has a duty to respond to widespread and growing privacy concerns and restore the public trust. The status quo no longer works," Grassley added.

- Suit and tie -


AFP / SAUL LOEB Cardboard cutouts of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stand outside the US Capitol, placed by advocacy group Avaaz to call attention to what the group says are fake accounts still spreading disinformation on Facebook


On Monday, Zuckerberg ditched his trademark T-shirt for a somber dark suit and tie as he made the rounds on Capitol Hill and sounded contrite about Facebook's conduct.

"We didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. It was my mistake, and I'm sorry," Zuckerberg said in his written testimony released by the House commerce committee.

"I started Facebook, I run it, and I'm responsible for what happens here."

In his written remarks, Zuckerberg called Facebook "an idealistic and optimistic company" and said: "We focused on all the good that connecting people can bring."

But he acknowledged that "it's clear now that we didn't do enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm as well. That goes for fake news, foreign interference in elections, and hate speech, as well as developers and data privacy."

Zuckerberg said he has called for more investments in security that will "significantly impact our profitability going forward," adding: "I want to be clear about what our priority is: protecting our community is more important than maximizing our profit."

- 'Investigating every app' -

Zuckerberg recounted a list of steps announced by Facebook aimed at averting a repeat of the improper use of data by third parties like Cambridge Analytica, and noted that other applications were also being investigated to determine if they did anything wrong.

"We're in the process of investigating every app that had access to a large amount of information before we locked down our platform in 2014," said Zuckerberg.

"If we detect suspicious activity, we'll do a full forensic audit. And if we find that someone is improperly using data, we'll ban them and tell everyone affected."

Zuckerberg met behind closed doors with Senators Bill Nelson of Florida and Dianne Feinstein of California, among others.

- Backing 'Honest Ads' -


AFP / John SAEKI Exposed to Facebook

On Friday, Facebook sought to quell some concerns over political manipulation of its platform by announcing support for the "Honest Ads Act" that requires election ad buyers to be identified, and to go further with verification of sponsors of ads on key public policy issues.

Zuckerberg said the change will mean "we will hire thousands of more people" to get the new system in place ahead of US midterm elections in November.

"We're starting this in the US and expanding to the rest of the world in the coming months," Zuckerberg said.

On Monday, Facebook agreed to supply proprietary data for a study on its role in elections and democracy.

"The goal is both to get the ideas of leading academics on how to address these issues as well as to hold us accountable for making sure we protect the integrity of these elections on Facebook," Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page.

"Looking back, it's clear we were too slow identifying election interference in 2016, and we need to do better in future elections."

Daughter in Salisbury nerve agent poisoning leaves hospital

source: AFP
Daughter in Salisbury nerve agent poisoning leaves hospital


FACEBOOK PAGE OF YULIA SKRIPAL/AFP/File / - Yulia Skripal was found poisoned with her former double agent father in the southwestern English city of Salisbury on March 4

Yulia Skripal, who was poisoned with a nerve agent in the English city of Salisbury along with her Russian ex-spy father, has been discharged from hospital, an official said Tuesday.

"This is not the end of her treatment but marks a significant milestone," Salisbury hospital's deputy chief executive Christine Blanshard said.

She added that while Sergei Skripal, a former double agent who moved to Britain in 2010, is "recovering more slowly than Yulia, we hope that he too will be able to leave hospital in due course".

The pair were found collapsed on a bench in the south-western city of Salisbury on March 4 in what British authorities have said was attempted murder by the Russian state.

Western allies backed Britain but Moscow strongly denied any involvement, prompting a furious international row.

Countries around the world expelled more than 150 Russian diplomats in response, prompting Moscow to launch its own expulsions.

- Moved to secure location -

The Skripals were both in a coma after the attack and there were initially fears they would not recover, but last week officials said they were both improving.

In a short statement issued through police last week, 33-year-old Yulia Skripal said: "I woke up over a week ago now and am glad to say my strength is growing daily."


AFP/File / Ben STANSALL British scientists have identified the nerve agent used on the Skripals as the Soviet-designed Novichok


She said she had found the incident "disorientating", without providing any further details on the attack.

The BBC reported that Yulia had been discharged on Monday and was moved to a secure location.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was "wonderful" and wished her a "full and speedy recovery", adding that he also hoped her father would recuperate quickly.

The Russian embassy in London also congratulated Yulia Skripal on her recovery, but raised questions about her movements now.

"We need urgent proof that what is being done to her is done on her own free will," it tweeted.

Responded to reports that the pair may be resettled, it said: "Secret resettlement of Mr and Ms Skripal, barred from any contact with their family will be seen as an abduction or at least as their forced isolation."

- 'Responded exceptionally well' -

Police have said they believe the Skripals came into contact with the nerve agent at Sergei Skripal's front door.

The former Russian military officer was recruited by British intelligence in the 1990s and later charged with treason in his own country.

However, he was pardoned in 2010 and moved to Britain as part of a spy swap between the United States and Russia.


AFP / John SAEKI Facts about nerve agents including Novichok

His daughter was visiting at the time of the poisoning, the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since World War II.

British scientists have identified the chemical as the Soviet-designed Novichok, although the international Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has yet to verify this.

A police officer among the first at the scene in Salisbury was also hospitalised, but was released on March 22.

Blanshard said nerve agents work by attaching themselves to particular enzymes in the body, which then stop the nerves from functioning, leading to sickness and hallucinations.

"Our job in treating the patients is to stabilise them, ensuring that they can breathe and that blood can continue to circulate," she said in a televised statement.

"We then needed to use a variety of different drugs to support the patients until they could create more enzymes to replace those affected by the poisoning.

"We also used specialised decontamination techniques to remove any residual toxins.

"Both patients have responded exceptionally well to the treatment we've been providing. But equally both patients are at different stages in their recovery."

Latest World News: Russia plays down stability risk from US sanctions

source: AFP
Russia plays down stability risk from US sanctions



AFP/File / Natalia KOLESNIKOVA Russia's central bank says it's ready to act if necessary

Russia's central bank on Tuesday sought to reassure the public after new US sanctions prompted a market collapse and plunge in the ruble's value, insisting there was no threat to financial stability and that the bank was ready to act if necessary.

Russian central bank chief Elvira Nabiullina said at a conference in Moscow that the country's economy could withstand the latest US sanctions, even as the ruble continued a spectacular plunge against the dollar and the euro.

The ruble's fall came after the US announced fresh sanctions against Russia on Friday over the diplomatic crisis sparked by the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal.

The sanctions hit wealthy businessmen close to President Vladimir Putin and the companies they control, causing them losses of billions of dollars.

The US move prompted the ruble to fall on Monday and on Tuesday it fell to lows against the euro and US dollar not seen since 2016.

The euro exceeded 78 rubles for the first time since April 2016 and the dollar went over 63 rubles for the first time since December 2016 on the Moscow foreign exchange market on Tuesday.

"The central bank has a broad spectrum of instruments in order to act in such situations, if risks arise to financial stability. In our view, there are not such risks now," Nabiullina said.

"There is no need to take some kind of systemic measures. Of course we will follow the situation and possibly introduce some revisions if necessary," she said.

Economy minister Maxim Oreshkin also said that "the macroeconomy and the financial markets will survive, there's no doubt about that."

"There is volatility and that's OK," he said.

Russia's economy at the end of 2016 emerged from two years of recession caused by Western sanctions imposed over its actions in Ukraine and by falling oil prices, with the country dependent on hydrocarbon revenues.

The new US sanctions were announced to punish Russia for alleged attempts to subvert Western democracies. They focus on 24 individuals and their companies and ban them from doing business with Americans. These include seven so-called oligarchs close to the Kremlin.

The founder of metals giant Rusal, billionaire Oleg Deripaska, as a result saw his group lose half its value on Monday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The Kremlin sought to dampen the impact of the US moves, so as to avoid spreading panic.

"These things happen," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, predicting that the situation would adjust itself later.

Russia is watching the situation closely and will deliver a solution that is in the country's own interests, Peskov said.

- 'Business as usual' -

On Monday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had promised support for companies hit by sanctions.

"The main thing now is to minimise this uncertainty, primarily by ensuring the stable and calm functioning of the companies where hundreds of thousands work," deputy prime minister Arkady Dvorkovich said.

"We will understand later if further measures are needed," he said. "Under previous sanctions, we found the right instruments to stabilise (the economy) and reduce the impact,"

Economy minister Oreshkin even said that the situation was a "good test" of the macroeconomic policies of the government and central bank in recent years.

The ruble's "freely floating exchange rate absorbs shocks," he added.

The authorities have sought to minimise the reaction to the latest wave of sanctions in comparison with the economic turbulence of recent years.

"Despite the very complex geopolitical situation, we preserve a certain international presence.. unlike in the 1990s when only the boldest ventured onto the Russian market," said Alexander Afanasyev, the head of the Moscow Exchange who organised the forum.

Businessman and banker Oleg Tinkov put on a brave face, telling journalists: "Yesterday I lost $250 million in a day. But there have been worse days. I remember losing $1 billion in one day," he said.

"It's 'business as usual' for Russia."

Latest World News: Trump cancels first LatAm trip to 'oversee Syria response': WHouse

source: AFP
Trump cancels first LatAm trip to 'oversee Syria response': WHouse



AFP / NICHOLAS KAMM US President Donald Trump, shown attending a meeting with senior military leaders at the White House on Monday, will not go to Latin America later this week as planned

The White House on Tuesday abruptly announced the cancellation of US President Donald Trump's first trip to Latin America, scheduled for later this week, saying he wants to "oversee the American response to Syria."

The announcement comes as the Republican president weighs military strikes in the war-wracked country -- and shortly after the FBI raided the offices of Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen.

Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Peru in Trump's stead for the Summit of the Americas, press secretary Sarah Sanders announced.

"President Trump will not attend the 8th Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru or travel to Bogota, Colombia as originally scheduled," Sanders said in a statement.

Trump "will remain in the United States to oversee the American response to Syria and to monitor developments around the world," she said, adding that Pence would also make the planned stop in Colombia.

Latest World News: Chemical watchdog says to deploy to Syria as threats escalate

source: AFP
Chemical watchdog says to deploy to Syria as threats escalate



 AFP/File / HO An unidentified volunteer holds an oxygen mask over a child's face at a hospital following an alleged chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Douma on April 7, 2018

The global chemical watchdog said Tuesday it will soon deploy a team to the site of an alleged toxic attack in Syria, as the regime in Damascus was on high alert after Western threats of a forceful response.

Warnings from US President Donald Trump there would be a "big price to pay" for the alleged attack have raised the spectre of an American strike on Syria, setting up a potential confrontation with regime backer Russia.

Moscow, which has troops on the ground in Syria, has already warned that US military action would be "very, very dangerous".

After threatening a decision within days, Trump on Tuesday abruptly cancelled his first trip to Latin America in order to oversee Syria developments.

Potentially looking to head off Western military strikes, Syria's foreign ministry said it had invited the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to visit the site of the alleged attack.

"Syria is ready to provide all necessary assistance to the mission," it said.

Several hours after the invitation, the OPCW said it will "shortly" deploy a fact-finding team to the rebel-held Syrian town of Douma to probe the alleged poison gas attack.

In anticipation for a potential strike, Syria's military forces across the country were also simultaneously mobilising, according to a war monitor.

"At midnight, the army command put all military positions on alert, including airports and all bases, for a period of 72 hours," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday.

The Britain-based war monitor, which relies on sources across Syria, said units were preparing themselves for rapid deployment.

Even residents of Damascus were bracing themselves.


AFP / Alain BOMMENEL, Sabrina BLANCHARD Principal lethal chemical weapons


"I have lived through seven American presidents, but Trump is the craziest and his administration is unbalanced," said Abu Fadi, a retired resident.

"I think his threats are to be feared, and we should take them seriously."

In 2017, Trump launched a cruise missile strike against a Syrian air base after a sarin attack the UN later pinned on President Bashar al-Assad.

- Showdown over rival probes -

Syria's government has repeatedly denied accusations of using toxic weapons including chlorine and sarin throughout the country's seven-year war.

First responders in rebel-held Douma say more than 40 people died on Saturday after the suspected gas attack, which left people wheezing, with discoloured skin, and foaming at the mouth.

The town has been heavily bombed by Syria and Russia and cut off by the regime, making it extremely difficult for media including AFP to independently verify the claims.

Reaching sources inside the town is complicated by their patchy access to lines of communication.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said Tuesday the OPCW should be granted unfettered access to investigate the reports.


 Douma City Coordination Committee/AFP/File / HO Unidentified volunteers spray a man with water at a makeshift hospital on April 7, 2018

The US has asked the UN Security Council to vote Tuesday on its proposal to set up an inquiry to investigate chemical weapons attacks in Syria, but the measure is likely to face a veto from Russia, diplomats said.

Moscow said it was also planning to propose its own "transparent and honest" probe with the OPCW's involvement at the meeting.

It said its own investigators already entered Douma and found no trace of chemical use.

"Fabrications and false stories are being used to find some pretext for the use of military force," deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov said.

At a Security Council meeting Monday US Ambassador Nikki Haley said the "world must see justice done".

Syria's UN ambassador Bashar al-Jaafari responded by accusing Western powers of staging such attacks to justify military action against Damascus.

Jaafari said Washington, Paris, and others were falsely accusing his government of chemical use "in order to pave the way for an attack on Syria like the US and Britain's criminal aggression against Iraq in 2003."

Damascus narrowly avoided American and French air strikes in 2013 in retaliation for a suspected sarin attack by agreeing to hand over its chemical arsenal.

That attack, which killed hundreds in the deadliest use of toxic gas, also took place in Eastern Ghouta, the suburb outside the Syrian capital where Douma is located.

- 'Red line' crossed? -

Trump has repeatedly threatened to respond "forcefully" to the most recent allegations in Douma, saying the US had "a lot of options militarily" and would decide in the coming days.

Washington has been coordinating closely with Paris, which said Tuesday it would retaliate against Assad if evidence emerged the Syrian leader had crossed a "red line" by using toxic gas in Douma.


AFP / OMAR HAJ KADOUR Rescuers clear rubble on April 10, 2018 at the site of an explosion which wrecked a multi-storey building in the northwestern city of Idlib


Douma is the last rebel-controlled area in Ghouta, the opposition's former stronghold on the edges of Damascus.

Since February 18, Assad has captured most of Ghouta with a ferocious military assault and two negotiated rebel withdrawals.

A third deal was reached for Douma just hours after the reported chemical attack, and a 65-bus convoy of rebels and civilians was evacuated from the town overnight.

Syria's conflict erupted with anti-Assad protests in 2011 but has since evolved into a complex war that has killed 350,000 people.

World News: Top music videos including 'Despacito' defaced by hackers

source: AFP
Top music videos including 'Despacito' defaced by hackers


AFP/File / CLAUDIO REYES Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi -- shown performing in Chile in February -- is the singer of global mega-hit "Despacito," one of the songs whose videos were hacked on YouTube at the 59th Vina del Mar International Song Festival on February 21, 2018 in Vina del Mar, Chile.

Some of the most popular music videos on YouTube including mega-hit "Despacito" momentarily disappeared Tuesday in an apparent hacking.

Fans looking for videos by top artists including Drake, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift found the footage removed and replaced by messages that included "Free Palestine."

Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" -- the most-watched video of all time at five billion views -- was briefly replaced by an image of a gun-toting gang in red hoods that appeared to come from the Spanish series "Money Heist."

Most videos were back up by early Tuesday US time but some still had defaced captions, which boasted of hacking by a duo calling themselves Prosox and Kuroi'SH.

YouTube, which is owned by search engine giant Google, said that the problem centered on Vevo -- a site backed by music labels that hosts videos -- and not YouTube itself.

"After seeing unusual upload activity on a handful of Vevo channels, we worked quickly with our partner to disable access while they investigate the issue," a YouTube spokesperson said.

Vevo confirmed a security breach on its end and said it had been contained.

"We are working to reinstate all videos affected and our catalog to be restored to full working order. We are continuing to investigate the source of the breach," it said in a statement.

A Twitter user identified as Kuroi'SH threatened more hacks including on the South Korean boy band BTS.

"This is not fake we are real!" he tweeted, adding, "Everything is hack-able."

Latest World News: Israel confirms video of soldier shooting Palestinian

source: AFP
Israel confirms video of soldier shooting Palestinian



AFP/File / MAHMUD HAMS A member of the Israeli forces walks behind a barbed wire fence on the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip on December 10, 2017

Israel's military on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of a widely shared video showing a soldier shoot a Palestinian on the Gaza border followed by rejoicing, actions that have added to scrutiny of the army's use of live fire.

The video comes at a highly sensitive time for Israel's military, which has faced mounting criticism over its use of live fire on the Gaza Strip border, where 31 Palestinians have been killed since late March as mass protests have led to clashes.

But the army alleged that the December 22 shooting in the video it said left the Palestinian with a leg wound followed rioting and warnings from troops.

Palestinians said it was proof that Gazans were being shot along the border fence while posing no threat to soldiers.

Israeli right-wing ministers meanwhile defended the actions of the soldiers in the video, which began to spread widely on Monday night.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the sniper deserved a medal -- but that the soldier who filmed it should be demoted.

The army said in a statement that "the video depicts a short part of the response to a violent riot, which included rock hurling and attempts to sabotage the security fence, and lasted about two hours."

It alleged the warnings including firing into the air were ignored.

"A single bullet was fired towards one of the Palestinians who is suspected of organising and leading this incident while he was a few metres from the fence," it said.

It said the video was recorded by a soldier not part of the unit that fired the shot and that action would be taken against him.

"As for the unauthorised filming of an operational event, the distribution of the filmed material and the statements made there, it should be noted that these do not suit the degree of restraint expected of (Israeli) soldiers and will be dealt by commanders accordingly," it said.

- 'Time for world to see' -

Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said the video showed what Palestinians have long alleged regarding soldiers' actions on the Gaza border, "but nobody has been listening".

"The issue of sniper fire is not something new at all, but it is time for the world to see and to believe what we have been saying all along," Ashrawi told AFP.

In the video, voices can be heard discussing opening fire on Palestinians on the other side of the fence dividing the Gaza Strip from Israel.

A shooter then opens fire on one, knocking the person to the ground.

"Wow. What a video! Yes! That son of a bitch," one of the voices behind the camera says in Hebrew.

Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan downplayed the actions.

"We are going overboard with this video," said Erdan, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party.

"It doesn't show gunfire at everyone, but at a terrorist who approaches the barrier in an unauthorised zone coming from an area controlled by Hamas terrorists," he told public radio.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the far-right Jewish Home party also justified the soldiers' actions.

"Judging soldiers because they are not expressing themselves elegantly while they are defending our borders is not serious," Bennett told army radio.


AFP / MAHMUD HAMS Palestinians gather on April 9, 2018 at the site of protests on the Israel-Gaza border east of Gaza City


Mass protests along the Gaza border beginning on March 30 have led to clashes in which Israeli forces have killed 31 Palestinians and wounded hundreds of others.

There have been no Israeli casualties.

Israel has faced criticism over its use of live fire, while the European Union and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have called for an independent investigation.

Israel says its forces only open fire to stop attempts to damage the fence, infiltrations, bids to carry out attacks and at those seeking to harm soldiers.

It accuses Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip and with whom it has fought three wars since 2008, of seeking to use the protests to carry out violence.

Palestinians say protesters are being shot while posing no threat to soldiers.

- Manslaughter case -

For Israelis and Palestinians, the video was a reminder of another one from March 2016 that showed an Israeli soldier shooting dead a prone Palestinian assailant.

It showed the 21-year-old Palestinian lying wounded on the ground, shot along with another Palestinian after stabbing and wounding a soldier, according to the army.

Some 11 minutes after the initial shooting, Israeli soldier Elor Azaria shot him in the head without any apparent provocation.


AFP / JACK GUEZ Israeli soldier Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, later reduced to nine months, for killing a wounded and prone Palestinian assailant arrives at an Israeli military prison on August 9, 2017

Azaria was convicted of manslaughter after a trial that highlighted deep Israeli divisions between those who denounce the shooting and others who say it was justified.

Top military brass strongly denounced Azaria's actions, but right-wing politicians, including Netanyahu, called for him to be pardoned.

Azaria was initially sentenced to 18 months in prison, but his sentence was later reduced to nine months.

WORLD NEWS: Lawyer Michael Cohen: Trump's pit bull

source: AFP
Lawyer Michael Cohen: Trump's pit bull



GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File / MARK WILSON Porn actress Stormy Daniels says that Michael Cohen's surreptitious payment aimed to keep her quiet about her earlier relationship with Trump

Donald Trump's pit bull. His fixer. His consigliere.

Michael Cohen, the scrappy New York attorney whose office was raided by the FBI Monday, is a lot more than the US president's private lawyer.

Outside of Trump's family, Cohen is perhaps the person closest to the real estate tycoon, making the seizure of his business and personal documents from two New York locations by federal agents a direct threat against the US leader.

Trump was outraged by the raid, in which agents apparently took documents normally protected by attorney-client privilege. Some reportedly involved Cohen's payment of $130,000 to a porn movie actress to keep her alleged affair with Trump a secret.

"It's a disgraceful situation. It's a total witch-hunt," Trump said late Monday.

The raid underscored Cohen's importance to Trump. For more than a decade, as executive vice president and special counsel at the Trump Organization, Cohen has been Trump's key business partner, top aide, and protector.

"If somebody does something Mr. Trump doesn't like, I do everything in my power to resolve it to Mr. Trump's benefit," Cohen told ABC News in an interview in 2011.

"If you do something wrong, I'm going to come at you, grab you by the neck and I'm not going to let you go until I'm finished."

- Helped launch Trump's political career -


AFP/File / NICHOLAS KAMM Donald Trump voiced outrage after FBI agents raided the offices of his longtime personal lawyer and loyal problem-fixer Michael Cohen

New York-born Cohen, 51, first connected with Trump when he bought a unit in a Trump condominium building in 2001. Over the years, while working in a law firm, he and his family bought more Trump-built units.

Michael Cohen "is a very smart person," Trump told the New York Post in 2007. "He has invested in my buildings because he likes to make money -- and he does."

Around that time Cohen joined the Trump Organization. By 2010, when Trump was mulling his first serious run for president, it was Cohen who set up a website "Should Trump Run?" to gauge public support and made contacts in the Republican Party.

"I've been admiring Donald Trump since I was in high school," he told ABC.

He prides himself on his loyalty to Trump, aggressively protecting his reputation.

"I'm the guy who protects the president and the family. I'm the guy who would take a bullet for the president," he told Vanity Fair.

In 2015, The Daily Beast reported, Cohen threatened a lawsuit and more over a coming story saying Trump's previous wife Ivana once accused her husband of raping her.

"You write a story that has Mr. Trump's name in it, with the word 'rape,' and I'm going to mess your life up... for as long as you're on this frickin' planet," Cohen told the reporters.

- Real estate, porn actress -


GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP / Ethan Miller Adult film actress/director Stormy Daniels, who lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to keep secret her alleged affair with President Donald Trump

Cohen's role in Trump Organization real estate deals involving Russians, and his handling of the case involving porn star Stormy Daniels are what have made him a focus of special prosecutor Robert Mueller, who is probing links between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Cohen was interviewed for hours behind closed doors by two Congressional committees on the Russia links last year, where he vehemently denied Trump or himself having any contacts with Russians during the election or knowledge of any collusion.

The Daniels case puts both Trump and Cohen in the prosecutor's harsh spotlight. Daniels alleges that she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and that just before the 2016 election Cohen secretly paid her $130,000 to sign a non-disclosure contract.

The contract said she would have to pay $1 million for each time she disclosed anything about her relationship with now-President Trump.

According to media reports, Mueller is investigating Cohen for possible bank and wire fraud and campaign finance law violations, which could arise from the payment.

Trump last week denied any knowledge of the payment. "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen," about it, he told reporters.

wORLD NEWS: Investors welcome hints of fresh start, new CEO at Volkswagen

source: AFP
Investors welcome hints of fresh start, new CEO at Volkswagen

AFP / John MACDOUGALL Going, going, gone? Matthias Mueller's fate at Volkswagen seems to be hanging in the balance

Investors sent stock in scandal-hit car giant Volkswagen surging Tuesday, as the firm announced it was considering reshuffling its board and replacing chief executive Matthias Mueller.

"The Volkswagen group is considering further evolving the leadership structure, which could be connected with changes in the board... a change to the chief executive could be involved," VW said in a statement.

Mueller had "signalled he was open to play a part in the changes" in conversations with supervisory board chief Hans Dieter Poetsch, the statement continued.

Shares in Volkswagen leapt on the news, adding as much as five percent before falling back slightly to gain 4.5 percent on the day, at 171.58 euros ($211.62) by close of trade in Frankfurt.

Business newspaper Handelsblatt and national news agency DPA reported Herbert Diess, head of the VW brand -- one of the group's 12 makes of cars, trucks and motorbikes -- was slated to take Mueller's place.

Meanwhile Germany's biggest-selling newspaper Bild reported that a change of CEO "has been planned for months" by the Porsche and Piech families, descendants of VW Beetle inventor Ferdinand Porsche who control holding company Porsche SE, VW's majority shareholder.

The curtain could fall on Mueller's leadership as soon as Friday, when multiple sources including Bild and Handelsblatt reported the supervisory board will meet.

A Volkswagen spokesman declined to comment on the rumours when contacted by AFP.

Mueller, a former chief executive of sportscar-building VW subsidiary Porsche AG, was brought in to replace Martin Winterkorn in 2015 and is contracted to serve until 2020.

Longtime CEO Winterkorn quit after the firm admitted to manipulating 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide to cheat regulatory emissions tests in a scandal that became known as "dieselgate".

Software known as a "defeat device" allowed vehicles to reduce exhaust pollution under test conditions, while in on-road driving conditions they emitted much higher levels of pollutants.

Mueller has chivvied the mammoth carmaker into a massive restructuring, aiming offer electric versions of many of its models and slim down its operations over the coming decade.

But he himself has landed in prosecutors' sights over suspicions he may have known about the diesel cheating before it became public and failed in his duty to inform investors.

Last month, Mueller said that chief executives of big companies deserved high pay because "one always has one foot in jail".

"The most important part of getting the crisis under control is over now, so it's right for VW to look in a new direction," judged analyst Juergen Pieper of Metzler bank.

Diess, known as a "very good cost manager" with experience at BMW, would be "the best solution as a successor for the next five years," he added.

- Dogged by scandal -

Dieselgate has cost VW more than 25 billion euros ($31 billion) in buybacks, fines and compensation, and the carmaker remains mired in legal woes at home and abroad.

Meanwhile the cloud of distrust around diesel fuel has hit sales more widely, with their market share in Germany plunging to 32.5 percent in February -- 19.5 percentage points lower than a year before.

The scandal's tentacles have entangled other carmakers, spurring them into new efforts to burnish their environmental credentials, especially with announcements of slews of new electric models.

Prosecutors have raided Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler looking for evidence of defeat devices.

And BMW admitted earlier this year that some of its models included software that could have fooled regulators' pollution tests -- while insisting it was built in by mistake.

All three companies also helped fund a study that tested diesel exhaust gases on monkeys, details of which emerged in January to fresh uproar and resulted in the suspension of VW's chief lobbyist Thomas Steg.

The carmaker-financed research group responsible had also ordered a study testing the effects of diesel exhaust inhalation on humans.

But profits at VW have returned to a similar level as before the scandal broke, reaching 11.4 billion euros last year as consumers appeared to shrug off the controversy.

Latest World News: Markets rise as Xi calms trade war fears

Markets rise as Xi calms trade war fears



 POOL/AFP / TYRONE SIU Xi's words were music to the markets' ears

Stock markets across the world sprang higher Tuesday following a conciliatory speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping that reassured investors a trade war with the United States could be avoided.

Following boosts to stock market indices across Asia and Europe, US benchmarks also shot higher, with the Dow up more than two percent approaching midday.

"US stocks are higher in early action, with trade war concerns being tamped down by a conciliatory speech from Chinese President Xi, though uncertainty toward the White House continues to fester," Charles Schwab analysts said in a note.

Xi, in a speech at the Boao Forum, pledged on Tuesday to lower tariffs on auto imports this year and take other steps to open the world's number two economy "wider and wider," addressing major complaints by the United States in an escalating trade row.

The comments follow a series of tit-for-tat threats by the US and China to impose retaliatory tariffs on one another that have rattled markets in recent weeks.

Dealers pounced on the comments as a sign that a possible trade war between the world's top two superpowers can be averted, after weeks of nail-biting uncertainty.

"Xi cautioned against a cold war mentality and stated the China should push for free trade and uphold a multilateral trading system," wrote David Cheetham, chief market analyst at XTB.

"Rising tensions on trade between the two largest economies in the world have weighed on markets in recent weeks, but it should be remembered that the implementation of tariffs is yet to be finalised, and the comments from Xi seem to suggest that he is keen to avoid any further escalation."

Investor sentiment has been rocked in recent weeks as the White House has announced a series of tariffs, mostly on Chinese goods, as part of Donald Trump's America First protectionist agenda, fuelling fears the world's top two economies could impose measures that would hammer the global economy.

China's massive surplus with the US is a key complaint of Trump who accuses the country of unfair trade practices that hurt American jobs.

In addition to the auto sector, Xi also said he would move to protect intellectual property -- another area high on the list of demands by Washington.

"Xi has succeeded in batting the ball back into the US court, so we now watch and wait for a response," said IG analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"A firm negative (response) will send equities tumbling back down, but if Mr Trump nods his approval of this first step towards negotiation, we might see stock markets edge up once more."

- Russia in the red -

The one exception to rising indices has been the Russian stock market, which has taken a hammering following the introduction of US sanctions targeting oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin.

US sanctions have meanwhile buoyed oil prices, which extended Monday's rally.

"Driven primarily by psychological factors, the price surge is due to fears of supply tightening as a result of US sanctions," Commerzbank Commodity Research said in a note.

"We regard such fears as exaggerated, in the case of both Iran and Russia. OPEC exports are likely to remain fairly stable even if US sanctions are resumed."

- Key figures around 1530 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 2.1 percent at 24,473.54 points

London - FTSE 100: UP 1.0 percent at 7,266.75 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.1 percent at 12,397.32 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 5,307.56 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.7 percent at 3,439.37

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 21,794.32 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 1.7 percent at 30,728.74 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.7 percent at 3,190.32 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP $1.2335 from $1.2321 at 2100 GMT on Monday

Dollar/yen: UP at 107.40 yen from 106.77

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.4162 from $1.4131

Oil - Brent North Sea: UP $2.05 at $70.70 per barrel

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP $1.85 at $65.27

burs-rl/spm

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Latest Recruitment For Account Graduate Trainee at Tizeti Network Limited - Lagos

Tizeti Network Limited (Wifi.com.ng) is a growing NCC licensed Internet Service Provider operating in Lekki, Lagos and expanding coverage to Lagos and Ibadan. We offer commercial and residential Internet to estates, hotels and multi-tenant buildings.

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Required Skills and Qualifications

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Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
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