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U.S. President Donald Trump has reimposed economic sanctions against Iran, effective at midnight Monday, assailing Tehran as “a murderous dictatorship that has continued to spread bloodshed, violence, and chaos.”

Trump, acting three months after he withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 international accord restraining Iran’s nuclear development program, said the new sanctions target the Islamic Republic’s automotive sector, its trade in gold and other precious metals, along with its currency, the Iranian rial, and other financial transactions.

He said that on November 5, the U.S. would also resume sanctions against Iran’s energy-related transactions, as well as business conducted by foreign financial institutions with the Central Bank of Iran.

Trump, in the midst of a working vacation at his Bedminster golf resort in New Jersey, renewed his attack on the international nuclear pact, calling it “a horrible, one-sided deal” that “failed to achieve the fundamental objective of blocking all paths to an Iranian nuclear bomb,” while giving it “a lifeline of cash” when earlier sanctions were lifted.

“Since the deal was reached, Iran’s aggression has only increased,” Trump said. He said Iran has used “the windfall of newly accessible funds” it received “to build nuclear-capable missiles, fund terrorism, and fuel conflict across the Middle East and beyond.”

He added, “To this day, Iran threatens the United States and our allies, undermines the international financial system, and supports terrorism and militant proxies around the world.”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in a speech broadcast on state television, said the United States cannot be trusted because it withdrew from the international pact, whose other signatories still support it. He said Tehran has always believed in resolving disputes diplomatically.

Rouhani said Trump’s calls for direct negotiations with Iran were “only for domestic consumption in America … and to create chaos in Iran.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, like Trump a long-time opponent of the accord, congratulated him on the new sanctions. “This is an important moment for Israel, the U.S., the region, and the entire world,” he said.

In Washington, senior administration officials said while critics of Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran pact predicted that the threat of unilateral sanctions reimposed by the U.S. would be ineffective, the reality has shown the opposite.

“Three months out, we have a very different picture in front of us,” with higher unemployment, “widespread protests, social issues and labor unrest,” one Trump official said.

One of the officials said nearly 100 international firms have announced their intention to leave the Iranian market, particularly in the energy and finance sectors.

He said the U.S. expects Iran will blame it for any new hardships.

“They’ve been doing it for almost 40 years,” he added. “Now, it’s there. It’s their modus operandi. But I think you can see the Iranian people start to see through that. We would like to see a change in the regime behavior, and I think the Iranian people are looking for the same thing.”

EU takes action

The European Union, which remains a supporter of the three-year-old nuclear pact with Iran, said it is taking counter-measures to blunt the impact of the sanctions Trump has reinstituted.

The EU said it is simultaneously implementing a “blocking statue” as the new sanctions take effect, stopping European companies from complying with the U.S. sanctions unless they have permission to do so. It also blocks the effect of any U.S. court actions in Europe related to the sanctions.

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and the French, German and British foreign ministers said they deeply regretted Trump’s action.

They called the international agreement “a key element of the global nuclear nonproliferation architecture, crucial for the security of Europe, the region and the entire world.”

In his statement, Trump said the U.S. “is fully committed to enforcing all of our sanctions and we will work closely with nations conducting business with Iran to ensure complete compliance. Individuals or entities that fail to wind down activities with Iran risk severe consequences.”

The two other signatories to the 2015 pact — Russia and China — also continue to support it. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is monitoring the implementation of the deal, has said in 11 consecutive reports that Iran is in compliance and that the agreement has allowed for greater verification of Iran’s nuclear activities.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran has to start behaving like what he calls a “normal country.”

“This is just about the Iranians’ dissatisfaction with their own government and the president’s [Trump] been pretty clear. We want the Iranian people to have a strong voice in who their leadership will be,” Pompeo told reporters Sunday.

The 2015 agreement called for Iran to sharply curb its uranium enrichment program in exchange for the end of most sanctions. Iran has repeatedly denied its nuclear program was aimed at developing nuclear weapons.

Trump has said he would be willing to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani anytime without preconditions. But with both presidents swapping threats and insults, a meeting seems unlikely.

“We’re hopeful that we can find a way to move forward, but it’s going to require enormous change on the part of the Iranian regime,” Pompeo said.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump has reimposed economic sanctions against Iran, effective at midnight Monday, assailing Tehran as “a murderous dictatorship that has continued to spread bloodshed, violence, and chaos.”

Trump, acting three months after he withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 international accord restraining Iran’s nuclear development program, said the new sanctions target the Islamic Republic’s automotive sector, its trade in gold and other precious metals, along with its currency, the Iranian rial, and other financial transactions.

He said that on November 5, the U.S. would also resume sanctions against Iran’s energy-related transactions, as well as business conducted by foreign financial institutions with the Central Bank of Iran.

Trump, in the midst of a working vacation at his Bedminster golf resort in New Jersey, renewed his attack on the international nuclear pact, calling it “a horrible, one-sided deal” that “failed to achieve the fundamental objective of blocking all paths to an Iranian nuclear bomb,” while giving it “a lifeline of cash” when earlier sanctions were lifted.

“Since the deal was reached, Iran’s aggression has only increased,” Trump said. He said Iran has used “the windfall of newly accessible funds” it received “to build nuclear-capable missiles, fund terrorism, and fuel conflict across the Middle East and beyond.”

He added, “To this day, Iran threatens the United States and our allies, undermines the international financial system, and supports terrorism and militant proxies around the world.”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in a speech broadcast on state television, said the United States cannot be trusted because it withdrew from the international pact, whose other signatories still support it. He said Tehran has always believed in resolving disputes diplomatically.

Rouhani said Trump’s calls for direct negotiations with Iran were “only for domestic consumption in America … and to create chaos in Iran.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, like Trump a long-time opponent of the accord, congratulated him on the new sanctions. “This is an important moment for Israel, the U.S., the region, and the entire world,” he said.

In Washington, senior administration officials said while critics of Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran pact predicted that the threat of unilateral sanctions reimposed by the U.S. would be ineffective, the reality has shown the opposite.

“Three months out, we have a very different picture in front of us,” with higher unemployment, “widespread protests, social issues and labor unrest,” one Trump official said.

One of the officials said nearly 100 international firms have announced their intention to leave the Iranian market, particularly in the energy and finance sectors.

He said the U.S. expects Iran will blame it for any new hardships.

“They’ve been doing it for almost 40 years,” he added. “Now, it’s there. It’s their modus operandi. But I think you can see the Iranian people start to see through that. We would like to see a change in the regime behavior, and I think the Iranian people are looking for the same thing.”

EU takes action

The European Union, which remains a supporter of the three-year-old nuclear pact with Iran, said it is taking counter-measures to blunt the impact of the sanctions Trump has reinstituted.

The EU said it is simultaneously implementing a “blocking statue” as the new sanctions take effect, stopping European companies from complying with the U.S. sanctions unless they have permission to do so. It also blocks the effect of any U.S. court actions in Europe related to the sanctions.

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and the French, German and British foreign ministers said they deeply regretted Trump’s action.

They called the international agreement “a key element of the global nuclear nonproliferation architecture, crucial for the security of Europe, the region and the entire world.”

In his statement, Trump said the U.S. “is fully committed to enforcing all of our sanctions and we will work closely with nations conducting business with Iran to ensure complete compliance. Individuals or entities that fail to wind down activities with Iran risk severe consequences.”

The two other signatories to the 2015 pact — Russia and China — also continue to support it. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is monitoring the implementation of the deal, has said in 11 consecutive reports that Iran is in compliance and that the agreement has allowed for greater verification of Iran’s nuclear activities.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran has to start behaving like what he calls a “normal country.”

“This is just about the Iranians’ dissatisfaction with their own government and the president’s [Trump] been pretty clear. We want the Iranian people to have a strong voice in who their leadership will be,” Pompeo told reporters Sunday.

The 2015 agreement called for Iran to sharply curb its uranium enrichment program in exchange for the end of most sanctions. Iran has repeatedly denied its nuclear program was aimed at developing nuclear weapons.

Trump has said he would be willing to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani anytime without preconditions. But with both presidents swapping threats and insults, a meeting seems unlikely.

“We’re hopeful that we can find a way to move forward, but it’s going to require enormous change on the part of the Iranian regime,” Pompeo said.
…

Several major media outlets announced Monday that they would be removing content from InfoWars, a far-right, conspiracy-peddling media source.

On Monday, Apple announced it had removed hundreds of podcasts produced by InfoWars from its iTunes and podcast apps.

Facebook said it had removed four pages belonging to InfoWars founder Alex Jones. And music-sharing app Spotify said it would be removing all InfoWars podcasts available on the site, following last week’s removal of some InfoWars content.

Jones has gained notoriety for spreading unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, including claiming that the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut were hoaxes perpetrated by the U.S. government.

Jones has also repeatedly used inflammatory language against transgender people and Muslims, one of the reasons Facebook said forced it to remove his content.

“We believe in giving people a voice, but we also want everyone using Facebook to feel safe,” the social media outlet said in a statement. “It’s why we have Community Standards and remove anything that violates them, including hate speech that attacks or dehumanizes others.”

In July, Facebook suspended Jones’s personal profile for what it called “bullying and hate speech.”

Apple said it removed all of the content from five of six InfoWars shows from its platforms. As of Monday, only one InfoWars podcast, named RealNews with David Knight, remained on iTunes.

“We have clear guidelines that creators and developers must follow to ensure we provide a safe environment for all of our users,” Apple said in a statement. “We believe in representing a wide range of views, so long as people are respectful to those with differing opinions.”

In July, Facebook and YouTube announced they had removed four of Jones’s videos from their sites. Two of the videos claimed without evidence that Muslims were taking over several European countries. Another compared the creators of a show about drag queens to satanists.

YouTube followed suit and banned Jones’s channel on Monday afternoon, claiming the account, which had over 2.4 million subscribers, violated the site’s guidelines on hate speech.

In recent weeks, Jones garnered increased attention as the parents of children killed in the Connecticut shooting sued him for defamation. While Jones said he now believes the shooting was not a hoax, he said his earlier claims were protected under U.S. free speech laws.

In July, Jones also appeared to threaten special counsel Robert Mueller, who is currently investigating U.S. President Donald Trump and his campaign for potential Russian influence.

“[Mueller is] a demon I will take down, or I’ll die trying,” Jones said, making a pistol motion with his hands. “You’re going to get it, or I’m going to die trying, bitch.”

While Jones’s beliefs have often been characterized as fringe, he has found some mainstream appeal. In December 2015, Trump, then a candidate, appeared on InfoWars via a satellite interview.

“Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down,” Trump said to Jones.
…

Several major media outlets announced Monday that they would be removing content from InfoWars, a far-right, conspiracy-peddling media source.

On Monday, Apple announced it had removed hundreds of podcasts produced by InfoWars from its iTunes and podcast apps.

Facebook said it had removed four pages belonging to InfoWars founder Alex Jones. And music-sharing app Spotify said it would be removing all InfoWars podcasts available on the site, following last week’s removal of some InfoWars content.

Jones has gained notoriety for spreading unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, including claiming that the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut were hoaxes perpetrated by the U.S. government.

Jones has also repeatedly used inflammatory language against transgender people and Muslims, one of the reasons Facebook said forced it to remove his content.

“We believe in giving people a voice, but we also want everyone using Facebook to feel safe,” the social media outlet said in a statement. “It’s why we have Community Standards and remove anything that violates them, including hate speech that attacks or dehumanizes others.”

In July, Facebook suspended Jones’s personal profile for what it called “bullying and hate speech.”

Apple said it removed all of the content from five of six InfoWars shows from its platforms. As of Monday, only one InfoWars podcast, named RealNews with David Knight, remained on iTunes.

“We have clear guidelines that creators and developers must follow to ensure we provide a safe environment for all of our users,” Apple said in a statement. “We believe in representing a wide range of views, so long as people are respectful to those with differing opinions.”

In July, Facebook and YouTube announced they had removed four of Jones’s videos from their sites. Two of the videos claimed without evidence that Muslims were taking over several European countries. Another compared the creators of a show about drag queens to satanists.

YouTube followed suit and banned Jones’s channel on Monday afternoon, claiming the account, which had over 2.4 million subscribers, violated the site’s guidelines on hate speech.

In recent weeks, Jones garnered increased attention as the parents of children killed in the Connecticut shooting sued him for defamation. While Jones said he now believes the shooting was not a hoax, he said his earlier claims were protected under U.S. free speech laws.

In July, Jones also appeared to threaten special counsel Robert Mueller, who is currently investigating U.S. President Donald Trump and his campaign for potential Russian influence.

“[Mueller is] a demon I will take down, or I’ll die trying,” Jones said, making a pistol motion with his hands. “You’re going to get it, or I’m going to die trying, bitch.”

While Jones’s beliefs have often been characterized as fringe, he has found some mainstream appeal. In December 2015, Trump, then a candidate, appeared on InfoWars via a satellite interview.

“Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down,” Trump said to Jones.
…

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday played down an exchange of contentious remarks with North Korea on the sidelines of weekend regional meetings in Singapore, saying Pyongyang had made clear its continued commitment to denuclearize.

Both Pompeo and North Korean Foreign Minster Ri Yong Ho were in Singapore, less than two months after an unprecedented summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that Trump has hailed as a success despite a lack of concrete action by Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

Pompeo and Ri’s interaction nevertheless appeared limited to a brief handshake at the ASEAN Regional Forum. When Pompeo left the meeting on Saturday, Ri delivered an address in which he said Pyongyang was alarmed by U.S. intentions. He also complained about U.S. calls to maintain sanctions on North Korea and reluctance to declare a formal end to the Korean War.

Pompeo was asked in a briefing to reporters traveling back with him to Washington whether he was concerned by Ri’s remarks.

He noted the tone of the North Korean statement was far different that it was last year.

“The minister made very clear of their continued commitment to denuclearize,” Pompeo said. “I probably don’t have his words exactly right, but it’s pretty close. Compare the anger, frankly, over years and years, and hatred, as spewed by the North Koreans; his comments were different.”

Pompeo stressed the U.S. “mission statement” remained clear.

“The U.N. Security Council has said they must end their nuclear program and their ballistic missile program. He has to deliver on the commitments he’s made,” he said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

At the June 12 summit, Kim committed in broad terms to work toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula but North Korea has offered no details on how it might go about this. U.S. officials, including Pompeo, have said North Korea has continued to work on its weapons programs.

Ri said North Korea was committed to implementing a joint statement by Kim and Trump at their summit “in a responsible and good-faith manner.” But he reiterated a call for a phased approach to talks, which differs from the U.S. insistence that North Korea give up its weapons before relief from sanctions.

Asked whether North Korea could be offered concessions other than sanctions relief, Pompeo replied: “I am not going to comment on the sanctions and what others may have proffered.”

Asked why he had apparently not held a formal meeting with Ri in Singapore, Pompeo, who has been leading U.S. negotiating efforts with Pyongyang, replied: “Your question has a predicate and I’m just going to say, there are lots of conversations taking place.”

According to the State Department, in their brief exchange on Saturday Pompeo told Ri: “We should talk again soon,” to which Ri responded: “I agree, there are many productive conversations to be had.”

Ri’s later comments were not the first since the summit in which that North Korea has appeared to offer a more negative impression of the progress of talks with the United States shortly after Pompeo has departed from a meeting.

Following a trip to Pyongyang in July, Pompeo spoke of progress, but as soon as he had left the country North Korea accused the United States of “gangster-like” diplomacy, casting doubts about the future of the discussions.
…

Chicago police say they will not be defeated after an unusually violent weekend that saw at least 34 people shot in the city in just 24 hours.

Five of those victims died, including a 17-year-old girl who was shot in the face.

“This is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” a policeman told the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper. “It’s hot right now. There’s a lot of tension … and it might get worse.”

The officer says overheard people talking on their cellphones, planning revenge attacks and urging others to also get even (take revenge).

Families crowded into the emergency room of one of the city’s busiest hospitals between Saturday morning and early Sunday when the 34 shootings were reported. The youngest victim was an 11-year-old boy.

Hundreds of demonstrators blocked a major Chicago highway last week to protest gun violence and demand Mayor Rahm Emanuel resign.

The mayor has not yet commented on the weekend violence but has called for more gun control measures, not only in Chicago but throughout Illinois.

Police blame the gun violence not just on the large number of weapons on the streets, but also what they say is the belief by gang members that they can gun down a rival and get away with it.

More than 300 people have been shot to death in Chicago so far this year, the most of any U.S. city.

But police say that is 25 percent fewer incidents than the same time last year, and say 5,500 illegal guns have been confiscated since January.  
…

Portland police were accused Sunday of being heavy-handed against people protesting a rally by extreme-right demonstrators, reportedly injuring some counter-protesters and prompting the city’s new police chief to order a review of officers’ use of force.

Police in riot gear tried to keep the two groups apart, many of whom had come on Saturday dressed for battle in helmets and protective clothing. Dozens of the extreme-right protesters were bussed to Portland, one of America’s most liberal cities, from nearby Vancouver, Washington.

Saturday’s clashes were the most recent of several this year in the city as right-wing militants converged, met by counter-protesters, including members of anti-fascist, or “antifa,” groups. City officials have struggled with striking a balance between free speech and keeping events from spiraling out of control.

But on Saturday, some said police seemed to act mostly against those protesting the presence of the extreme-right demonstrators, using stun grenades and what appeared to be rubber bullets against them.

Police “targeted Portland residents peacefully counter-protesting against racist far-right groups, including white supremacists, white nationalists, and neo-Nazi gangs,” the Oregon chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Portland chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America said in a statement. It called on officials to investigate.

Police ordered the counter-protesters to disperse, then moved in behind a volley of stun grenades. One of the rounds reportedly hit a counter-protester in the head, becoming embedded in his helmet and injuring him. One woman was taken to a hospital after being hit in the arm and chest with a “flash-bang” grenade, local media reported. The blasts echoed through downtown Portland.

Four people were arrested.

Police Chief Danielle Outlaw, who assumed command less than a year ago as Portland’s first African-American female police chief, said in a statement Sunday she takes all use-of-force cases seriously.

Outlaw directed the professional standards division to begin gathering evidence to determine if the force used was within policy and training guidelines. The Office of Independent Police Review will be provided with the information for review and investigation.

Saturday’s incidents started with demonstrators aligned with Patriot Prayer and an affiliated group, the Proud Boys, gathering in a riverfront park. The Proud Boys has been characterized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is “dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of society.”

Hundreds of counter-demonstrators faced them from across the street, holding banners and signs with messages such as “Alt right scum not welcome in Portland.” Some chanted “Nazis go home.”

Officers stood in the middle of a four-lane boulevard, essentially forming a wall to keep the two sides separated.

The counter-protesters were made up of a coalition of labor unions, immigrant rights advocates, democratic socialists and other groups.

Patriot Prayer also has held rallies in many other cities around the U.S. West, including Berkeley, California, that have drawn violent reactions.

Saturday’s rally, organized by Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson, was the third to roil Portland this summer. Two previous events ended in bloody fistfights and riots.

Gibson disputed the group’s classification as a hate group.

“We’re here to promote freedom and God. That’s it,” Gibson told Portland TV station KGW. “Our country is getting soft.”
…

To many, Washington, is solely about politics, lobbying and all things administration. But to one man, the U.S. capital is a canvas that is just waiting to be filled with smiles and mysterious characters. Mural artist Kelly Towles has spilled some color on Washington’s manicured streets and turned a controversial occupation into a profitable business that leaves everyone happy. Anna Rice has the story.
…

To many, Washington, is solely about politics, lobbying and all things administration. But to one man, the U.S. capital is a canvas that is just waiting to be filled with smiles and mysterious characters. Mural artist Kelly Towles has spilled some color on Washington’s manicured streets and turned a controversial occupation into a profitable business that leaves everyone happy. Anna Rice has the story.
…

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has wrapped up his Southeast Asia tour.

Before leaving Sunday to return to Washington, he met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, telling him the U.S. values its ties with Indonesia, one of the world’s largest democracies.

Saturday, the top U.S. diplomat met with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi. The secretary and the foreign minister discussed bilateral cooperation and multilateral engagement on regional security challenges, including North Korea and counterterrorism, as well as other foreign policy issues of mutual interest.

North Korea

Pompeo arrived in Jakarta Saturday from Singapore, where there were mixed messages on relations between the U.S. and North Korea amid talks over de-nuclearization. On the plane to Jakarta, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters Pompeo and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Hu approached each other during the “family photo” session and shook hands.

Pompeo said, “We should talk again soon,” to which North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Hu responded, “I agree. There are many productive conversations to be had.”

After that, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim delivered to Ri a letter from President Donald Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The contents of the letter were not disclosed.

A senior U.S. administration official said the brief encounter between Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart was not surprising. 

“This is to be expected. Much of the intervention was positive and that’s an improvement from the past. We’re building a relationship with North Korea after years of difficult relations,” the official said.

​Pyongyang statement

Pompeo left the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to head to his final stop in Jakarta. After he left the room, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri delivered a statement saying his country is committed to adhering to the agreements made between Trump and Kim at the Singapore summit in June. But he called the U.S. attitude on urging other countries to keep up the sanctions on North Korea “alarming” and said it was not what Trump wants.

Ri’s remarks followed the release of a United Nations report warning that North Korea has found ways to navigate around the sanctions. The report said North Korea has had a “massive increase” of illegal ship-to-ship transfers of oil products at sea to evade sanctions.

The report also documented violations of a ban on North Korean exports, including coal, iron and seafood, all of which generate millions of dollars of revenue for Pyongyang. There also are indications the North is continuing to build rockets, and concerns the nation has not been clear about when and how it will disarm.

​Sanctions taken seriously

Pompeo said the U.S. is taking any infringement of the sanctions very seriously.

“We have seen reports that Russia is allowing for joint ventures with North Korean firms and granting new work permits to North Korean guest workers,” Pompeo said.

“If these reports are proven accurate, and we have every reason to believe that they are, that would be in violation of U.N. sanctions,” he said.

Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department said it imposed sanctions on a Russian bank for helping North Korea avoid U.N. Security Council actions intended to restrain Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. The agency said Moscow-based Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank expedited “a significant transaction” with an individual who the U.S. blacklisted for being involved in North Korea’s weapons development programs.

Treasury said the Russian bank conducted the transaction for Han Jang Su, the Moscow-based head of North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank (FTB), Pyongyang’s primary foreign exchange bank. Han’s deputy, Ri Jong Won, who also is based in Moscow, also was targeted by the sanctions.

The department said both Han and Ri should be expelled from Russia under U.N. resolutions designed to pressure North Korea for its weapons programs. And Treasury targeted what it said were two FTB front companies, China-based Dandong Zhongsheng Industry & Trade Co. Ltd. and Korea Ungum Corporation.

​Reuters journalists

Before leaving the ASEAN summit in Singapore, Pompeo met with Myanmar Foreign Minister Kyaw Tin and called for the immediate release of two Reuters journalists detained in the Southeast Asian country.

State Department spokesperson Nauert told VOA that Pompeo raised the issue during a sideline meeting and added that the U.S. is very concerned about their detention. The journalists were charged with possessing documents linked to security operations against Rohingya militants in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state.

Additionally, Pompeo also met Saturday with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

He signed a memorandum of understanding with Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan for the U.S.-Singapore Third Country Training Program, which supports community-building efforts among the 10 ASEAN member states.

​Tariff threats

Pompeo met Friday with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Singapore. The two men did not speak to the press after the meeting, but shortly thereafter China warned it would impose new tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods if the Trump administration follows through with its latest trade threats.

The Commerce Ministry said the proposed tariffs of 5 percent to 25 percent on more than 5,200 U.S. goods are restrained, and maintained it has the right to take retaliatory action in the escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

On Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Minister told reporters the U.S. needed to calm down and consider its own consumers, responding to threats by the Trump administration to raise its proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from the initially planned 10 percent to 25 percent.

The U.S. says it wants China to stop stealing U.S. corporate secrets and stop subsidizing Chinese companies with cheap loans that give them an unfair advantage.
…

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has wrapped up his Southeast Asia tour.

Before leaving Sunday to return to Washington, he met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, telling him the U.S. values its ties with Indonesia, one of the world’s largest democracies.

Saturday, the top U.S. diplomat met with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi. The secretary and the foreign minister discussed bilateral cooperation and multilateral engagement on regional security challenges, including North Korea and counterterrorism, as well as other foreign policy issues of mutual interest.

North Korea

Pompeo arrived in Jakarta Saturday from Singapore, where there were mixed messages on relations between the U.S. and North Korea amid talks over de-nuclearization. On the plane to Jakarta, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters Pompeo and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Hu approached each other during the “family photo” session and shook hands.

Pompeo said, “We should talk again soon,” to which North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Hu responded, “I agree. There are many productive conversations to be had.”

After that, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim delivered to Ri a letter from President Donald Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The contents of the letter were not disclosed.

A senior U.S. administration official said the brief encounter between Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart was not surprising. 

“This is to be expected. Much of the intervention was positive and that’s an improvement from the past. We’re building a relationship with North Korea after years of difficult relations,” the official said.

​Pyongyang statement

Pompeo left the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to head to his final stop in Jakarta. After he left the room, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri delivered a statement saying his country is committed to adhering to the agreements made between Trump and Kim at the Singapore summit in June. But he called the U.S. attitude on urging other countries to keep up the sanctions on North Korea “alarming” and said it was not what Trump wants.

Ri’s remarks followed the release of a United Nations report warning that North Korea has found ways to navigate around the sanctions. The report said North Korea has had a “massive increase” of illegal ship-to-ship transfers of oil products at sea to evade sanctions.

The report also documented violations of a ban on North Korean exports, including coal, iron and seafood, all of which generate millions of dollars of revenue for Pyongyang. There also are indications the North is continuing to build rockets, and concerns the nation has not been clear about when and how it will disarm.

​Sanctions taken seriously

Pompeo said the U.S. is taking any infringement of the sanctions very seriously.

“We have seen reports that Russia is allowing for joint ventures with North Korean firms and granting new work permits to North Korean guest workers,” Pompeo said.

“If these reports are proven accurate, and we have every reason to believe that they are, that would be in violation of U.N. sanctions,” he said.

Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department said it imposed sanctions on a Russian bank for helping North Korea avoid U.N. Security Council actions intended to restrain Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. The agency said Moscow-based Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank expedited “a significant transaction” with an individual who the U.S. blacklisted for being involved in North Korea’s weapons development programs.

Treasury said the Russian bank conducted the transaction for Han Jang Su, the Moscow-based head of North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank (FTB), Pyongyang’s primary foreign exchange bank. Han’s deputy, Ri Jong Won, who also is based in Moscow, also was targeted by the sanctions.

The department said both Han and Ri should be expelled from Russia under U.N. resolutions designed to pressure North Korea for its weapons programs. And Treasury targeted what it said were two FTB front companies, China-based Dandong Zhongsheng Industry & Trade Co. Ltd. and Korea Ungum Corporation.

​Reuters journalists

Before leaving the ASEAN summit in Singapore, Pompeo met with Myanmar Foreign Minister Kyaw Tin and called for the immediate release of two Reuters journalists detained in the Southeast Asian country.

State Department spokesperson Nauert told VOA that Pompeo raised the issue during a sideline meeting and added that the U.S. is very concerned about their detention. The journalists were charged with possessing documents linked to security operations against Rohingya militants in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state.

Additionally, Pompeo also met Saturday with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

He signed a memorandum of understanding with Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan for the U.S.-Singapore Third Country Training Program, which supports community-building efforts among the 10 ASEAN member states.

​Tariff threats

Pompeo met Friday with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Singapore. The two men did not speak to the press after the meeting, but shortly thereafter China warned it would impose new tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods if the Trump administration follows through with its latest trade threats.

The Commerce Ministry said the proposed tariffs of 5 percent to 25 percent on more than 5,200 U.S. goods are restrained, and maintained it has the right to take retaliatory action in the escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

On Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Minister told reporters the U.S. needed to calm down and consider its own consumers, responding to threats by the Trump administration to raise its proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from the initially planned 10 percent to 25 percent.

The U.S. says it wants China to stop stealing U.S. corporate secrets and stop subsidizing Chinese companies with cheap loans that give them an unfair advantage.
…

Sun Wenguang, a retired professor from the Shandong province of northeastern China, who was apparently detained by Chinese authorities during a live-telephone interview with VOA last week, has been moved from a military-run hotel where he was held to an undisclosed location, hotel personnel told Voice of America’s Mandarin Service Sunday morning.

On Thursday, sources told VOA Mandarin that the 84-year-old professor was being detained at Yanzi Mountain Villa at Jinan Military Region, a military-linked hotel and reception center in Jinan, eastern China. 

He had been taken away during a live telephone interview on the VOA Mandarin television show Issues & Opinions Wednesday morning as he was criticizing China’s foreign aid and diplomatic strategy in Africa. During the interview, Sun told VOA that authorities were breaking into his house in an attempt to prevent him from speaking out against the government.

After a VOA reporter checked into the hotel in Jinan Saturday, he and an assistant began a surveillance of the professor’s room for signs of movement. The shades remain closed. On Sunday morning, a VOA reporter knocked on the room door. There was no answer.

In interviews with sources at the reception desk on the first floor, the VOA reporter learned that authorities had moved the professor to another location two days earlier.

​No information on detention

Chinese authorities have disclosed no information about why the professor was detained. VOA tried to reach the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China for comment, but the mobile phone open to the public was turned off, and the landline was not answered.

The Public Security Department of Shandong University and the Shanda Road Police Station of Jinan’s Public Security Bureau were also contacted. Neither would comment.

The arrest of Sun has come at a sensitive time when the rule of Chinese leader Xi Jinping is being seriously challenged.

Observers say that has led to the security apparatus’ swift action in crushing the country’s rising anti-government sentiments, which they see as a threat to the Communist Party’s regime.

After his “enforced disappearance,” rights activists at home and abroad are demanding that China immediately release Sun for fear he may face physical torture, criminal charges or both.

They also are urging the international society to call for a systemic change of China’s political and legal framework, in which they say the state is continuing to abuse its power and crack down on dissidents.

Nodes of independence in China

“It’s absolutely part of the attempts under Xi Jinping to find every little node of independence in society and crush it,” said Michael Caster, co-founder of Safeguard Defenders. Sun’s arrest has to do with “the political situation in mainland China, including the image of Xi Jinping recently also being challenged by [those] both inside and outside [the] establishment.”

“That may also [pose] a security concern” to Chinese authorities, said Richard Tsoi, vice chairman of Hong Kong Alliance.

Caster added that Sun makes an obvious target under China’s intensified crackdown on dissidents since he has had a long track record of being critical of the state and is a signatory of Charter 08, a manifesto drafted by the late Chinese Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo to advocate reforms that would result in a separation of powers, a new constitution and legislative democracy in China.

Speaking out

Critics have been emboldened by a recent vaccine scandal in China, a trade spat with the United States, and economic headwinds, and are openly questioning Xi’s sweeping control. This includes Xu Zhangrun, a law professor from Tsinghua University, who has delivered what was believed to be the fiercest denunciation yet of Xi from a Chinese academic.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Xu “challenged political taboos” at a time when the voice of Chinese intellectuals is dying out.

Xu urged the Chinese government to overturn its condemnation of the pro-democracy Tiananmen protests in 1989, calling on Chinese lawmakers to reverse the vote that abolished a two-term limit on Xi’s presidency.

Many are keeping an eye on how authorities will deal with Xu once he returns to China from Japan or whether he will encourage others to speak out.

Relentless harassment

Before Xu, Sun has long been outspoken, which has made him a target of constant harassment by the communist government.

Earlier this year, Shandong University’s Communist party chapter ruled to cut Sun’s retirement pension by almost half for what it said were his subversive remarks, and it further threatened to eliminate altogether his pension if he continued to talk to foreign media.

Sun had been under intense scrutiny for some time, and security officers had staked out his apartment, keeping a tab on all of his movement.

Rights activists are concerned about what may be coming next for Sun.

“The legal system in China is serving purely to the will of the party, and so if they decide to conjugate some charges against him, then they will. Or they’ll hold him for an indefinite period of time,” Caster said.

He said Sun may share a fate similar to that of his one-time defender and legal counsel, Wang Quanzhang. Wang vanished more than three years ago and has not been heard from since, although he reportedly was seen in the Tianjin No. 1 Detention Center by a former colleague. Wang’s wife has said reports are that her husband is alive in a decent physical and mental state.

Sun also may be forced into making a televised confession. A report from Safeguard Defenders concludes the state has grown heavily reliant on illegal forced confessions by detainees to denounce rights activists and dissidents for both a domestic and international audience.

False charges

In addition, Sun could face charges of colluding with a foreign power, according to Hunan-based rights activist Ou Biaofeng.

“As a minimum, [he will be given] a warning or [put under] house arrest. Or the authorities may make up some false charges against him, for example, collusion with foreign hostile forces,” Ou said, calling authorities in China “barbaric, ridiculous and evil” in suppressing the true voice of its citizens.

International rights groups, including Reporter Without Borders (RSF), have joined hands to throw support behind Sun and demand his immediate release.

“The professor is known for his assertive public interventions against censorship and propaganda. RSF demands his immediate release and stresses that freedom of speech and freedom of the press are explicitly written the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China,” its statement read.

“China may be richer, [but certainly not freer.] The regime has intensified its suppression on rights crusaders and dissidents by having lawyers arrested and using technologies to launch a full-scale surveillance on the public’s freedom of speech online or offline. China has gone overboard,” said Chiu Ee-ling, secretary-general of Taiwan Association for Human Rights.

VOA’s Mandarin Service contributed to this report.
…

Sun Wenguang, a retired professor from the Shandong province of northeastern China, who was apparently detained by Chinese authorities during a live-telephone interview with VOA last week, has been moved from a military-run hotel where he was held to an undisclosed location, hotel personnel told Voice of America’s Mandarin Service Sunday morning.

On Thursday, sources told VOA Mandarin that the 84-year-old professor was being detained at Yanzi Mountain Villa at Jinan Military Region, a military-linked hotel and reception center in Jinan, eastern China. 

He had been taken away during a live telephone interview on the VOA Mandarin television show Issues & Opinions Wednesday morning as he was criticizing China’s foreign aid and diplomatic strategy in Africa. During the interview, Sun told VOA that authorities were breaking into his house in an attempt to prevent him from speaking out against the government.

After a VOA reporter checked into the hotel in Jinan Saturday, he and an assistant began a surveillance of the professor’s room for signs of movement. The shades remain closed. On Sunday morning, a VOA reporter knocked on the room door. There was no answer.

In interviews with sources at the reception desk on the first floor, the VOA reporter learned that authorities had moved the professor to another location two days earlier.

​No information on detention

Chinese authorities have disclosed no information about why the professor was detained. VOA tried to reach the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China for comment, but the mobile phone open to the public was turned off, and the landline was not answered.

The Public Security Department of Shandong University and the Shanda Road Police Station of Jinan’s Public Security Bureau were also contacted. Neither would comment.

The arrest of Sun has come at a sensitive time when the rule of Chinese leader Xi Jinping is being seriously challenged.

Observers say that has led to the security apparatus’ swift action in crushing the country’s rising anti-government sentiments, which they see as a threat to the Communist Party’s regime.

After his “enforced disappearance,” rights activists at home and abroad are demanding that China immediately release Sun for fear he may face physical torture, criminal charges or both.

They also are urging the international society to call for a systemic change of China’s political and legal framework, in which they say the state is continuing to abuse its power and crack down on dissidents.

Nodes of independence in China

“It’s absolutely part of the attempts under Xi Jinping to find every little node of independence in society and crush it,” said Michael Caster, co-founder of Safeguard Defenders. Sun’s arrest has to do with “the political situation in mainland China, including the image of Xi Jinping recently also being challenged by [those] both inside and outside [the] establishment.”

“That may also [pose] a security concern” to Chinese authorities, said Richard Tsoi, vice chairman of Hong Kong Alliance.

Caster added that Sun makes an obvious target under China’s intensified crackdown on dissidents since he has had a long track record of being critical of the state and is a signatory of Charter 08, a manifesto drafted by the late Chinese Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo to advocate reforms that would result in a separation of powers, a new constitution and legislative democracy in China.

Speaking out

Critics have been emboldened by a recent vaccine scandal in China, a trade spat with the United States, and economic headwinds, and are openly questioning Xi’s sweeping control. This includes Xu Zhangrun, a law professor from Tsinghua University, who has delivered what was believed to be the fiercest denunciation yet of Xi from a Chinese academic.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Xu “challenged political taboos” at a time when the voice of Chinese intellectuals is dying out.

Xu urged the Chinese government to overturn its condemnation of the pro-democracy Tiananmen protests in 1989, calling on Chinese lawmakers to reverse the vote that abolished a two-term limit on Xi’s presidency.

Many are keeping an eye on how authorities will deal with Xu once he returns to China from Japan or whether he will encourage others to speak out.

Relentless harassment

Before Xu, Sun has long been outspoken, which has made him a target of constant harassment by the communist government.

Earlier this year, Shandong University’s Communist party chapter ruled to cut Sun’s retirement pension by almost half for what it said were his subversive remarks, and it further threatened to eliminate altogether his pension if he continued to talk to foreign media.

Sun had been under intense scrutiny for some time, and security officers had staked out his apartment, keeping a tab on all of his movement.

Rights activists are concerned about what may be coming next for Sun.

“The legal system in China is serving purely to the will of the party, and so if they decide to conjugate some charges against him, then they will. Or they’ll hold him for an indefinite period of time,” Caster said.

He said Sun may share a fate similar to that of his one-time defender and legal counsel, Wang Quanzhang. Wang vanished more than three years ago and has not been heard from since, although he reportedly was seen in the Tianjin No. 1 Detention Center by a former colleague. Wang’s wife has said reports are that her husband is alive in a decent physical and mental state.

Sun also may be forced into making a televised confession. A report from Safeguard Defenders concludes the state has grown heavily reliant on illegal forced confessions by detainees to denounce rights activists and dissidents for both a domestic and international audience.

False charges

In addition, Sun could face charges of colluding with a foreign power, according to Hunan-based rights activist Ou Biaofeng.

“As a minimum, [he will be given] a warning or [put under] house arrest. Or the authorities may make up some false charges against him, for example, collusion with foreign hostile forces,” Ou said, calling authorities in China “barbaric, ridiculous and evil” in suppressing the true voice of its citizens.

International rights groups, including Reporter Without Borders (RSF), have joined hands to throw support behind Sun and demand his immediate release.

“The professor is known for his assertive public interventions against censorship and propaganda. RSF demands his immediate release and stresses that freedom of speech and freedom of the press are explicitly written the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China,” its statement read.

“China may be richer, [but certainly not freer.] The regime has intensified its suppression on rights crusaders and dissidents by having lawyers arrested and using technologies to launch a full-scale surveillance on the public’s freedom of speech online or offline. China has gone overboard,” said Chiu Ee-ling, secretary-general of Taiwan Association for Human Rights.

VOA’s Mandarin Service contributed to this report.
…