US and European Union are moving away from trade war rhetoric, and Japan has executed six more members of deadly ‘sarin’ cult.
Former attorney claims Trump knew of son’s meet with Russians
US President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen claims the former had advance knowledge of the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower where Russians were expected to offer classified information on rival Hillary Clinton, reports CNN.
Citing sources with knowledge of Cohen’s claims, CNN said the attorney was willing to share the information with special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russia’s alleged attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election.
According to Cohen’s account, the meeting was attended by Donald Trump Jr., the President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign manager Paul Manafort. They met with a lawyer linked to the Kremlin and a Russian businessman who had “initially offered to disclose dirt on Clinton”.
Cohen reportedly said Trump approved the meeting. While he does not have evidence, such as audio recordings, to corroborate his claim, he is said to be willing to attest to his account.
Trump has repeatedly denied knowing about the meeting till The New York Times approached him about it in July 2017.
US and EU make peace on trade
The US and European Union have decided to cooperate on trade relations after US President Donald Trump and European Union chief Jean-Claude Juncker met at the White House Wednesday. In a joint statement, they announced they would “work together toward zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsidies on non-auto industrial goods”, reported the BBC.
While Trump put aside threats to impose tariffs on European cars, the EU plans to buy more US liquefied natural gas (LNG) and soybeans. However, US tariffs on steel (25 per cent) and aluminium (10 per cent), imposed in March, will stay.
The move may be the result of the pressures faced by Trump domestically after China, Canada, Mexico and the EU imposed retaliatory tariffs on US goods, the BBC added.
According to BBC, a joint working group will investigate long-term ways to reduce tariffs on industrial goods and ways to bring down the extra tariffs on steel and aluminium. Reports will be brought out at the end of November — after the midterm elections in the US.
Saudi Arabia suspends oil shipments through strait after Houthi attack
Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended all oil shipments through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait near Yemen after attacks on two crude-carrying vessels by Houthi rebels in Yemen, reports Al Jazeera.
Saudi Arabia energy minister Khalid al-Falih said in a statement Thursday that the decision will kick in with immediate effect, saying the suspension will last “until the situation becomes clearer and maritime transit through Bab al-Mandeb is safe”.
According to the Al Jazeera report, Houthi rebels targeted Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, causing minor damage to one.
Analysing the suspension, Al Jazeera wrote, “The announcement had already added $1 to the cost of a barrel of oil on stock markets. Any delay in the delivery of crude from Saudi Arabia would have repercussions on global supplies and economies…”
“Clearly this is going to have an effect on global shipping. Any kind of danger to shipping and crews is going to cause a major disruption until the threat is neutralised,” it added.
“The Red Sea is a very important shipping lane. If there is a major disruption, European powers, Egypt and the United States would all have reason to intervene,” energy consultant Ellen R. Wald wrote in Forbes.
On 13 June, Yemeni government forces waged a wide-ranging operation to retake Hodeidah and its strategic seaport from the Houthis. Government forces continued to advance towards the city and seized Hodeidah’s international airport on 19 June. Since then, they’ve been unable to make other gains.
Tokyo executes six more members of ‘sarin attack’ cult
Six members of a Japanese doomsday cult called Aum Shinrikyo held responsible for brutal killing and mass murders have been executed, CNN reported.
The group’s leader, Shoko Asahara, was executed earlier in July, with six other members of the group, justice minister Yoko Kawakami was quoted as saying.
The group has courted global infamy since 1995, when it unleashed the deadly nerve agent sarin on the Tokyo subway, killing 13 people and injuring more than 6,000 others.
Kawakami said the “extremely heinous” crimes of the cult had been “carefully organised and planned”, adding that attacks of this magnitude “should never happen again”, the report stated.
China trains Tibet youth ‘to boost solidarity and stability’
A Tibet Autonomous Region government programme has trained more than 1,000 talented ethnic minority people in special job skills, Global Times reported, in an attempt to boost ethnic solidarity, social stability and development in southwest China.
Initiated in 2009, the programme aims to develop local talent in fields including education, healthcare, engineering and culture in more than 150 colleges and vocational schools around China. Some 120 participants enrol in the programme every year, the report added.
Japan has developed a mosque-on-wheels
Japan has developed mobile mosques in order to allow a place of worship for Muslim visitors ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics, Al Jazeera reported.
The concept is the brainchild of a Tokyo-based sports and cultural events company that wants Muslim visitors to feel at home.
“As an open and hospitable country, we want to share the idea of ‘omotenashi’ (Japanese hospitality) with Muslim people,” Yasuharu Inoue, CEO of Yasu Project, said in a recent interview, the report added.
The unveiling of the truck happened earlier this week outside a stadium in Toyota city.
The back of the modified 25-tonne truck flipped up to reveal an entrance and then the side slid out, doubling the width of the truck. The 48-square-metre room can accommodate 50 people.