'Father of Taliban' Mullah Sami ul-Haq shot dead in Pakistani city: deputy

Muslim cleric Sami ul-Haq, known as the “Father of the Taliban” for having taught some of the Afghan Islamist movement’s leaders, was shot dead on Friday in a Pakistani city, a relative and his deputy said. Unknown attackers shot the prominent cleric, who runs an Islamic school in northwestern Pakistan, his deputy Yousaf Sha and nephew said. They said he was visiting the capital Islamabad this week, but further details of the shooting were unclear. Some local media said ul-Haq was in the neighboring city of Rawalpindi when he was shot and killed.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-cleric-taliban/father-of-taliban-mullah-sami-ul-haq-shot-dead-in-pakistani-city-deputy-idUSKCN1N71U3?il=0

SEC subpoenas Tesla on Model 3 production estimates

Tesla Inc said on Friday it received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding certain projections the electric car maker made for Model 3 production rates during 2017. The company said no government agency in ongoing investigations has concluded that any wrongdoing occurred. "Should the government decide to pursue an enforcement action, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on our business, results of operation, prospects, cash flows, and financial position," the company said in a filing.

Tesla said last week it did not receive a U.S. subpoena related to its Model 3 production forecasts, following a report that it faced a deepening criminal probe about the projections. A Tesla spokesperson told Reuters in October that the company had received a voluntary request from the Department of Justice for documents related to Model 3 production forecasts. Musk and the company settled with the SEC in September to pay a $20 million fine each, with Musk stepping aside as Tesla’s chairman for three years. The company’s shares were down 0.6 percent at $342.02.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-model3/tesla-develops-plan-to-make-3000-model-3s-per-week-in-shanghai-to-cut-tariff-impact-idUSKCN1N71CB?il=0

U.S. lifts sanctions on top Turkish officials as tensions ease

The United States lifted sanctions on Friday on two top officials in Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s cabinet, a sign of improved relations after Turkey freed an American pastor from detention three weeks ago. The United States had imposed sanctions on Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu in August to protest the case of Andrew Brunson, an American Christian pastor who had been detained by Turkey for two years. The U.S. Treasury Department announced on its website that the sanctions had been lifted. Turkey immediately matched the U.S. move by lifting sanctions on two corresponding U.S. officials - U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the foreign ministry said.

Tensions between the NATO allies on this and other issues have weighed on the Turkish economy. After Friday’s move, Turkey’s sovereign dollar bonds jumped, with many issues adding 1 cent or more. Erdogan and Trump discussed improving relations between Washington and Ankara during a call between the two leaders, the Turkish presidency said on Thursday. The White House did not have any immediate comment on the lifting of the U.S. sanctions.

Brunson, who had lived in Turkey for more than 20 years, was swept up in raids after a 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan. He was jailed two years ago and up until his release last month had been under house arrest since July, accused of links to Kurdish militants and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a cleric blamed by Turkey’s government for the coup attempt. Brunson maintained his innocence, and his case was championed by U.S. evangelical Christians.

After a July deal to free Brunson fell apart, Washington imposed sanctions and tariffs on Ankara that sent the lira tumbling. Relations have also been strained by U.S. support of Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, Turkey’s plans to purchase a Russian missile defense system and the U.S. jailing of an executive of a Turkish state bank in an Iran sanctions case. Washington has also been pushing Turkey to release Turkish- American Serkan Golge, a former NASA scientist, who was arrested in the 2016 crackdown, as well as Turkish citizens employed by the U.S. State Department who were detained in the sweeps.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-usa-sanctions/u-s-lifts-sanctions-on-top-turkish-officials-as-tensions-ease-idUSKCN1N71K2

U.S. allows eight 'jurisdictions' to keep buying Iran oil for now

The United States said on Friday it will temporarily allow eight jurisdictions to keep importing Iranian oil when U.S. sanctions come back into force on Monday, sparing them for now from the threat of U.S. economic penalties. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who announced the decision in a conference call, did not name the jurisdictions, but said the European Union as a whole, which has 28 members, would not receive one. Turkey’s Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said his country had been told it would get a waiver.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said Washington had made clear to the Brussels-based SWIFT financial messaging service that it was expected to disconnect all Iranian financial institutions that the United States plans to blacklist as of Monday. He declined to name the targeted institutions. The restoration of sanctions is part of a wider effort by U.S. President Donald Trump to force Iran to curb its nuclear and missile programs as well as its support for proxy forces in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East. “This part of the campaign is aimed at depriving the regime of the revenues it uses to spread death and destruction around the world, Pompeo said. “Our ultimate aim is to compel Iran to permanently abandon its well-documented outlier activities and behave as a normal country.” Trump set in motion the resumption of U.S. sanctions on May 8, when he announced his withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement under which Tehran had agreed to curtail its nuclear program in return for relief from U.S. economic penalties.

Iran said it was not troubled over the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions, which target not only its vital oil and gas sector but also shipping, ship-building and banking industries. “America will not be able to carry out any measure against our great and brave nation … We have the knowledge and the capability to manage the country’s economic affairs,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi told state TV.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-sanctions/u-s-allows-eight-jurisdictions-to-keep-buying-iran-oil-for-now-idUSKCN1N70OZ