Business

SINGAPORE (AP) — Asian stocks advanced Thursday ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Japan this week.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.8% to 21,262.10 and the Kospi in South Korea climbed 0.9% to 2,139.91. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.9% at 28,466.09. The Shanghai Composite jumped 0.7% to 2,995.82 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1% to 6,644.90. Shares rose in Taiwan and throughout Southeast Asia.

26 June 2019; MEMO: Saudi Aramco’s CEO Amin Nasser said the company has the expertise and infrastructure it needs to maintain the flow of crude oil in the event supply is disrupted through the Strait of Hormuz.

“We are increasing our readiness. We can supply through the Red Sea and we have the necessary pipelines and terminals,” Nasser said in an interview in the South Korean capital Seoul, published by Bloomberg yesterday.

26 June 2019; MEMO: Israel’s decision to block the transfer of fuel to the occupied Gaza Strip was slammed as “cruel, illegal, and immoral” Tuesday by human rights NGO Gisha.

In an urgent letter to Israeli authorities, Gisha said the move “must be reversed immediately”.

Earlier Tuesday morning, Israel announced that it was halting the transfer of fuel used to operate the sole power plant in the Gaza Strip.

26 June 2019; AFP: Iran said Tuesday it will further free itself from the 2015 nuclear deal in defiance of new American sanctions as US President Donald Trump warned the Islamic republic of "overwhelming" retaliation for any attacks.

Tensions between Iran and the US have spiralled since last year when Trump withdrew the United States from the deal under which Tehran was to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

26 June 2019; DW: China said on Tuesday that it will turn away all meat shipped from Canada after a customs investigation revealed as many as 188 "counterfeit" veterinary health certificates, the Chinese embassy in Canada said in a statement on its website.

China launched the probe after inspectors found residue from ractopamine, a restricted feed additive, in a batch of Canadian pork products.

Seoul, Jun 26; AFP/GANASHAKTI: North Korea denounced US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as an obstruction to nuclear negotiations on Wednesday, days before President Donald Trump visits Seoul while talks with Pyongyang are deadlocked.

The process has been stalled since a second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi in February collapsed, after they failed to agree on what the North would be willing to give up in exchange for sanctions relief.

New Delhi; GANASHAKTI: India, which is heavily dependent on Middle Eastern oil, is looking on with increasing apprehension as the US and Iran flirt with war.

The country imported 84 per cent of its crude in the last financial year, government data show, and two of every three of those barrels was sourced from the conflict-prone region. A major war in the Middle East threatens to push up consumer prices, widen the nation's external deficits, and potentially derail Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bid to revive flagging economic growth.

Sydney, Jun 26 (AFP/PTI) Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday warned that "collateral damage" from trade spats between China and the United States were hurting smaller countries and threatening the global economy.

In an usually public warning to allies in Washington, Morrison said the "world's most important bilateral relationship -- the US-China relationship" had become "strained".

New Delhi, Jun 26 (PTI) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday and discussed various aspects of the bilateral relationship to strengthen the India-US strategic partnership.

Pompeo, who arrived here last night, will hold detailed discussions with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in the afternoon and have a working lunch with him

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As Iran prepares to surpass limits set by its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, each step it takes narrows the time the country’s leaders would need to have enough highly enriched uranium for an atomic bomb — if they chose to build one.

The United Nations says Iran has so far respected the deal’s terms. But by Thursday, Iran says it will have over 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of low-enriched uranium in its possession, which would mean it had broken out of the atomic accord.