USA

India buying Russian missile system not primary focus of 2+2 talks: Pompeo

Washington, Sep 5 (PTI) India buying a missile defence system from Russia and oil from Iran would be part of the 2+2 dialogue, but not the talks' primary focus, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said.

Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis are headed to India for the talks tomorrow with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This is the inaugural 2+2 dialogue between the two countries.

"They are (missile system purchase from Russia and oil from Iran) part of the conversation. They are part of the relationship.

Media list hardest-hit USA states in trade disputes with China

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- A popular business news website in the United States on Monday published a list showing which states of the nation could be hit the most in trade disputes with China.

The Business Insider made the list based on the share of each state's GDP that was attributable to trade with China, while emphasized "a huge trade war would also drag on U.S. economic growth."

Trump's tariffs make American farmers anxious as harvest season draws near

by Xinhua writers Yang Shilong, Li Feihu, Chang Yuan

WORTHINGTON, the United States, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- As the harvest season in the U.S. midwestern state of Ohio is approaching, soybean farmers are sitting on pins and needles due to the ongoing tariff battle between the United States and its major trading partners.

U.S., Canada "alert" about trade deal as Canada misses deadline

by Peter Mertz

DENVER, the United States, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- The so-called U.S. Friday deadline for Canada to agree to trade terms elapsed with little fanfare, as both countries agreed to wait until next week to resume talks. Experts and scholars see the two sides are keeping "alert" about any bad deal or no deal for them.

"It is unclear what the ultimate shape of any deal with Canada would look like," said Vincent Smith, an economics professor of Montana State University (MSU).

UN regrets US decision to stop funding to UN agency for Palestinian refugees

By Yoshita Singh

United Nations, Sep 1 (PTI) UN chief Antonio Guterres has expressed regret over the US' decision to provide no further funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, urging other countries to help fill the financial gap.

His remarks came after the US decided to stop funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Trump threatens to withdraw U.S. from WTO

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to pull his country out of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a move that could further undermine the global trading system and economic stability.

"If they don't shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO," Trump said during an interview with Bloomberg News at the Oval Office.

The comments came as Washington's trade disputes with other economies continue to put global economy at risk, as pundits urge them to be addressed via multilateralism, including the WTO.

UN: Half the world’s refugee children can’t go to school

29 Aug 2018; DW: Four million refugee children around the world are excluded from education, according to a United Nations report. A solution should be to allow refugees to attend regular schools, the UNHCR has demanded.

With more and more children forced to leave their homes, the number of refugees out of education has topped four million, the UN's Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Wednesday.

UN chief urges accountability for Myanmar crimes on Rohingya

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for accountability for the “horrendous persecution” of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar on Tuesday, and Sweden and the Netherlands urged the Security Council to refer the crimes to the International Criminal Court.

But China, which has close ties to Myanmar’s government, said the international community should stop putting pressure on Myanmar and let its government work out the repatriation of Rohingya refugees as soon as possible with Bangladesh, where nearly one million have fled.

Cate Blanchett: Nothing prepared me for Rohingya suffering

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that nothing prepared her for “the extent and depth of suffering” she saw when she visited camps in Bangladesh for Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled a violent crackdown by Myanmar’s military.

In her very different role as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. refugee agency, Blanchett said she heard “gut-wrenching accounts” of torture, rape, people seeing loved ones killed before their eyes, and children thrown into fire and burned alive.

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