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U.S. prepared to engage with Iran without pre-conditions: Pompeo

JUNE 2, 2019 / 7:19 AM /

BELLINZONA, Switzerland (Reuters) - The United States is prepared to engage with Iran without pre-conditions about its nuclear program but needs to see the country behaving like “a normal nation”, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani suggested on Saturday that Iran may be willing to hold talks if Washington showed it respect, but said Tehran would not be pressured into talks.

Pompeo, in an apparent softening of his previous stance, said when asked about Rouhani’s remarks: “We are prepared to engage in a conversation with no pre-conditions, we are ready to sit down.”

However, he said Washington would continue to work to “reverse the malign activity” of Iran in the Middle East, citing Tehran’s support to Hezbollah and to the Syrian government.

Pompeo said U.S. President Donald Trump had been saying for a long time that he was willing to talk to Iran.

“We are certainly prepared to have that conversation when the Iranians can prove that they want to behave like a normal nation,” Pompeo told a joint news conference with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis in the southern Swiss city of Bellinzona.

Moar> https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-switzerland/u-s-prepared-to-engage-with-iran-without-pre-conditions-pompeo-idUSKCN1T30DT

Mexico's Economy Minister to meet Wilbur Ross over U.S. tariff threat

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Sunday she would meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in Washington on Monday, two days before the neighboring countries are due to discuss possible tariffs on Mexican goods.

President Donald Trump has threatened to impose punitive tariffs of 5% on Mexican goods, that would gradually increase to 25%, if Mexico did not stem migration north.

Marquez did not specify what issues she would discuss with Ross ahead of the Wednesday meeting, although Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had been optimistic that they could find a way to avoid the tariffs.

Marquez and Ross met in El Salvador where both attended the inauguration of the Central American country’s new president, Nayib Bukele, in San Salvador.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mexico-economy/mexicos-economy-minister-to-meet-wilbur-ross-over-u-s-tariff-threat-idUSKCN1T30GK

Ultra-nationalist Jews' visit stokes Palestinian anger at Jerusalem holy site

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Hundreds of ultra-nationalist Jews guarded by riot police streamed their way into the Jerusalem compound revered both in Judaism and Islam on Sunday, resulting in violence between police and outraged Muslim worshippers.

The highly provocative visit came during the final days of the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims flock to pray at the compound’s al-Aqsa mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam where non-Muslim prayer has been banned since 1187.

Police fired tear gas and rubber-coated bullets to disperse worshippers, some of whom threw stones and chairs as the Jewish groups walked across the esplanade in front of the al-Aqsa to angry calls of ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great).

One Palestinian man suffered a head injury, while others were treated from gas inhalation inside the compound, a medic from the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

Revered by Jews as Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, it is one of the most sensitive sites in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The director of the al-Aqsa mosque, Sheikh Omar Al-Kiswani, said the action by the Jewish groups broke with the status quo of the Israeli authorities not allowing such visits in the last 10 days of Ramadan.

Moar> https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-jerusalem-day/ultra-nationalist-jews-visit-stokes-palestinian-anger-at-jerusalem-holy-site-idUSKCN1T30G8

China and U.S. clash again on trade and regional security

JUNE 1, 2019 / 9:26 PM /

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China and the United States clashed again this weekend on trade and security, accusing each other of destabilizing the region and potentially the world.

Speaking on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s premier defense summit, China’s Defence Minister Wei Fenghe warned the United States not to meddle in security disputes over Taiwan and the South China Sea.

On Saturday, acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told the meeting that the United States would no longer “tiptoe” around Chinese behavior in Asia.

“Perhaps the greatest long-term threat to the vital interests of states across this region comes from actors who seek to undermine, rather than uphold, the rules-based international order,” Shanahan said.

It was the latest exchange of acerbic comments between the two sides as their ties come under increasing strain due to a bitter trade war, U.S. support for Taiwan and China’s muscular military posture in the South China Sea, where the United States also conducts freedom-of-navigation patrols.

China has been particularly incensed by recent moves by President Donald Trump’s administration to increase support for self-ruled and democratic Taiwan, including U.S. Navy sailings through the Taiwan Strait that separates the island from China.

Wei, dressed in his uniform of a general in the People’s Liberation Army, said China would “fight to the end” if anyone tried to interfere in its relationship with Taiwan, which Beijing considers a sacred territory to be taken by force if necessary.

“If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese military has no choice but to fight at all costs … The U.S. is indivisible, and so is China. China must be, and will be, reunified.”

Moar>> https://www.reuters.com/article/us-asia-security/china-and-u-s-clash-again-on-trade-and-regional-security-idUSKCN1T300X

China central bank urges calm after Baoshang takeover

JUNE 2, 2019 / 7:54 AM /

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s central bank sought to calm investors on Sunday after last month’s takeover of Inner Mongolia-based Baoshang Bank, saying regulators are not planning any more such moves for the moment.

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) took control of Baoshang on May 24, rattling Chinese markets and prompting the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) to inject cash into the banking system.

In response to concerns that regulators planned more takeovers of financial institutions, the PBOC said on Sunday that Baoshang was a standalone case.

“Everyone, please don’t worry. At present we don’t yet have this plan,” it said in a statement on its website.

The PBOC also said it would use various monetary policy tools to stabilize money markets and boost banking system liquidity, but did not mention broader easing.

“The PBOC has fully estimated and prepared for the various factors that will affect liquidity in June, and will flexibly use reverse repurchase agreements and the medium-term lending facility in accordance with the cash supply-and-demand situation of the market,” it said in a statement.

The central bank has previously pledged more policy support for a slowing economy, but PBOC Governor Yi Gang has said there is less room for further monetary easing.

On Sunday, the PBOC said relatively low reserve requirements for medium- and small-sized banks would boost their liquidity, while a previously announced phased cut to reserve requirements is expected to release 100 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) in long-term liquidity to medium- and small-sized banks on June 17.

Moar> https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pboc-liquidity/china-central-bank-urges-calm-after-baoshang-takeover-idUSKCN1T30EZ

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