Category: Foreign

Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament is a political issue and not a matter for judges, a lawyer for the prime minister said  as he sought to persuade the British Supreme Court that the five-week shutdown was lawful.

Johnson asked Queen Elizabeth to prorogue, or suspend, parliament from Sept. 10 until Oct. 14, prompting accusations from opponents that he wanted to silence the legislature in the run-up to Britain’s exit from the European Union on Oct. 31.

The Supreme Court, Britain’s top judicial body, began three days of hearings on Tuesday to decide whether Johnson’s advice to the queen regarding the suspension was unlawful.

A ruling against him would be a major embarrassment for Johnson, who has no majority in parliament, and could see lawmakers returning early, with more time to try to influence his Brexit plans.

James Eadie, a lawyer for Johnson, told the court he would produce a written document on Thursday outlining what Johnson would do if he lost.

Another government lawyer said on Tuesday that if Johnson lost the case, he could recall parliament earlier than planned

 China on Wednesday announced tariff exemptions on 16 categories of goods imported from the U.S., as negotiations to end the countries’ trade war are set to resume.

U.S. products exempted from Chinese tariffs include lubricating oil, anti-cancer drugs and some solvents, according to a statement by the Chinese Finance Ministry.

The exemptions come as Chinese and U.S. trade teams have agreed to resume negotiations in early October to end their year-long trade war that is slowing the world economy.

The exemptions are a “goodwill gesture,” ahead of the talks, state tabloid Global Times said.

Earlier this month, the U.S. imposed 15-per-cent tariffs on 112 billion dollars’ worth of Chinese goods, including televisions, books, nappies and sports shoes.

At the same time, Chinese tariffs of 5 and 10 per cent targeting around 75 billion dollars of U.S. goods came into force.

The moves were the latest in an escalating trade war in which Washington accuses Beijing of unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft and unequal access to the Chinese market for foreign and domestic firms.

The First batch of 84 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa is expected to arrive in Nigeria on Wednesday at 2.pm local time via the Murtala Mohammed International Lagos in company of officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which disclosed this in an update made available to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday, explained that although 313 Nigerians were confirmed as those to form the first batch of evacuees, only 84 of them would arrive on Wednesday because they were the ones cleared to embark on the flight to Nigeria.

According to the ministry, 640 Nigerians have indicated the desire to return from South Africa and have registered to do so.

The ministry added that the second batch of evacuees would depart Johannesburg for Nigeria on Friday.

“The Air peace air craft which was scheduled to take off at 9. a.m local time was delayed due to the fact that checking in and clearance procedures by immigration are very very slow.

“There are complains of system failure and out of the 313 confirmed for first batch of evacuation today, only 84 are cleared so far.

“The more the Aircraft waits for the passengers, the higher the amount the Aircraft will pay for Parking,” the ministry stated.

Flowerbud News reports that following the xenophobia attack on Nigerians in South Africa, Mr Allen Onyeama, Proprietor of the Airline volunteered to send an aircraft to evacuate Nigerians willing to return free of charge.

The process which was earlier scheduled to commence on Sept. 6 had stalled as it was reported that most Nigerians willing to return did not have valid passports or travel documents to complete immigration formalities.

Overlapping British and EU share trading rules would damage markets “to no good end” and can be avoided, Britain’s top markets watchdog said on Monday.
Britain is due to leave the EU on Oct. 31, but has yet to agree a divorce settlement with the bloc.
Brussels has said that if there is a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, investment firms in the bloc must trade euro-denominated shares in the EU; many are currently heavily traded in London.
Financial Conduct Authority CEO Andrew Bailey said some of this overlap must be avoided.
“It is, therefore, easy to conclude that for those shares, market liquidity would be damaged to no good end,” Bailey said in a speech at Bloomberg.
He reiterated comments from the Bank of England that extensive preparations for a no-deal Brexit would not mean that all disruption in markets can be avoided.
Brussels has said that EU customers could continue using clearing houses for derivatives in London until March next year, if there is a no-deal Brexit.
This date has reflected Britain’s original plan to leave the EU last March. Bailey said Brussels would need to grant an extension soon if there is a no-deal Brexit.
There is no reason to “sacrifice open financial markets and many reasons to preserve them,’’ Bailey said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has dispatched three special envoys to seven African countries to deliver messages of pan-African unity and solidarity following xenophobic attacks in South Africa, the Presidency said on Sunday.

The special envoys will deliver a message from Ramaphosa regarding the incidents of violence that recently erupted in some parts of South Africa, which have manifested in attacks on foreign nationals and destruction of property, presidential spokesperson, Khusela Diko, said.

The envoys will reassure fellow African countries that South Africa is committed to the ideals of pan-African unity and solidarity, Diko said.

They will also reaffirm South Africa’s commitment to the rule of law.

The envoys will visit Nigeria, Niger, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, according to Diko.

They will brief governments in the identified African countries about the steps that the South African government is taking to bring a stop to the attacks and to hold the perpetrators to account.

South Africa has been hit by a new spate of violence for the past few weeks.

At least 12 people, including 10 South Africans and two foreigners, have been killed.

South Africa is host to some 274,000 refugees and asylum-seekers from African countries, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Xenophobia-related attacks are common in South Africa, where foreigners are blamed for taking up employment that should have been taken by locals.

The Duchess of Sussex is to carry out her first official public engagement since the birth of her son – launching a high street clothing range in aid of charity.

Meghan’s maternity leave will come to an end when she proudly shows off the collection created by Jigsaw, John Lewis and Partners, Marks and Spencer and her designer friend Misha Nonoo.

Since the birth of her son Archie on May 6, she has been caring for her child – although she has been seen privately attending a polo match where husband Harry was playing and watching the women’s tennis finals at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows, New York.

The timeless series of outfits – known as a capsule collection – that can be worn in the workplace have been created in aid of Smart Works, a charity which provides training and interview clothes to unemployed women in need, and has Meghan as its royal patron.

The essential work wear includes a shirt, trousers, blazer, dress and bag – and for every item bought during the sale of the collection, expected to last at least two weeks, one will be donated to Smart Works.

Meghan announced the project during her guest editorship of British Vogue, and writing in the fashion bible she said: “The reason I was drawn to Smart Works is that it re-frames the idea of charity as community, which, for me, is incredibly important: it’s a network of women supporting and empowering other women in their professional pursuits.”

Meghan privately visited Smart Works several times before being named as its royal patron in January and has a long-standing commitment to supporting women’s empowerment.

The duchess’ friend Nonoo is credited with introducing Harry to his future wife via a blind date and she had a VIP seat at the royal wedding.

Smart Works has helped more than 11,000 women and aims to dress 3,500 this year across their two London offices, and additional bases in Edinburgh, Manchester, Reading, Birmingham and Newcastle.

It has a team of 300 trained volunteers and helps long-term unemployed and vulnerable women regain the skills, confidence and tools to succeed at job interviews, return to employment and transform their lives.

World stocks climbed to their highest in six weeks on Thursday as the European Central Bank (ECB) prepared to offer new stimulus measures and the United States and China made mutual concessions in their trade dispute, improving demand for riskier bets.

U.S. President Donald Trump delayed an increase in tariffs on Chinese goods by two weeks, after China exempted some U.S. drugs and other goods from tariffs.

The two moves buoyed stock markets from Asia to Europe and put pressure on safe assets like the Japanese yen.

MSCI’s world equity index, which tracks shares in 47 countries, rose 0.1 per cent to its highest since Aug. 1.

It was on course for its seventh straight day of gains, its best winning streak in since early June.

Europe’s Euro STOXX 600 climbed to its highest in nearly seven weeks, then gave up the gains.

Paris and London markets also relinquished early gains, though Frankfurt held onto a 0.2 per cent advance. Wall Street futures gauges were up 0.1 per cent.

Some analysts said investors were getting too eager for good news on the U.S.-China trade war. The prospects of a quick resolution were still remote, they warned.

“I don’t think we’re heading for a deal soon,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com. “The market is just buying on any kind of positive news – it seems hungry for anything. It’s setting itself up for a bit of disappointment.”

The ECB’s move, due at 1145 GMT, also carries a risk of overly optimistic market expectations, investors said.

Major central banks worldwide are loosening monetary policy, inflation expectations are sliding and the powerhouse German economy is at risk of recession.

Consequently, ECB President Mario Draghi has all but promised more support.

But the central bank’s exact moves are far from certain, and any decision that underwhelms markets could push up borrowing costs.

Among the likely measures are a cut in the ECB’s record-low minus 0.4 per cent deposit rate, a multi-tier deposit rate, and new guidance on rates that would tie any move to certain inflation conditions.

A new round of bond buying, the bank’s most potent weapon, is also an option – but policymakers from Germany to France are sceptical about that move.

“We could see some disappointment here. The challenge is more about forward guidance and reassurance for the future,” said Christophe Barraud, chief economist at Market Securities in Paris.

“It would be surprising if the ECB launches a big stimulus right now ahead of uncertainties such as hard Brexit and the trade war.”

After the ECB decision, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates next Wednesday and the Bank of Japan and Swiss National Bank next Thursday also may ease.

Euro zone government bonds were steady in early trade, after rising from record lows reached a week ago on doubts that the ECB would resume asset purchases.

“Whether the ECB cuts rates by 10 or 20 bps is neither here or there,” said Chris Scicluna, head of economic research at Daiwa Capital Markets. “

The big question is whether they restart QE, and if they don’t, we will see a further sell-off in bonds, especially longer-dated ones.”

The optimism over trade and the looming ECB decision were felt in currency markets, too.

The euro fell to a one-week low of 1.0983 dollar overnight on expectations of ECB easing before steadying in morning trade. It has shed 3.5 per cent since June.

With risk-hungry investors emboldened, the Chinese yuan gained 0.4 per cent against the dollar, touching a three-week high of 7.0855.

Stephen Gallo, European head of FX strategy at BMO Capital Markets, said he was surprised by the rebound, particularly in the yuan pushing beyond 7.10 to the dollar.

“The bigger picture is one of a very tense geopolitical environment that is unlikely to be rectified quickly,” he said.

The Japanese yen, a safe haven for nervous investors, fell to a six-week low against the dollar, and was last down 0.1 per cent at 107.88.

Brent crude futures fell as a meeting of the OPEC+ alliance yielded no discussion about increasing supply cuts.

They focused instead on bringing Nigerian and Iraqi output down to their agreed quotas.

Brent crude futures fell 69 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to 60.12 dollars a barrel by 1055 GMT, heading for a third session of losses.

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, South Africa’s Defence Minister said on Monday that the attacks against foreigners in South Africa were planned by criminals and that government can’t prevent it.

Mapisa-Nqakula who said this in an interview with eNCA, a local channel described South Africa as an angry nation and insisted that the government can’t prevent the ongoing violence.

“The reality is that we have an angry nation. What’s happening can never be prevented by any government,” she said.

According to her the death of two people during a clash in Johannesburg CBD on Sunday Sept. 8, could have been avoided but that it was well orchestrated by criminal elements.

She however, said the xenophobic attacks were not politically motivated.

“People are saying some heads of state decided not to attend WEF; we should be talking about why this whole thing is coinciding with the World Economic Forum,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.

She said: “People are saying it is xenophobic attacks but it is not the first time we have had them in the past; here, we have criminals that have read the situation and are aware that we have challenges right now.

“We have talked on the issues of high rate of unemployment, of some foreign nationals who are not conducting themselves in an appropriate manner as we would expect, those breaking the bylaws of the country, and you now have criminal elements who have decided that we are going to use all of those things to find reasons to attack people.

“It is unfortunate and should not happen. The reality is that we need to have a serious dialogue about what is happening and we must take responsibility. The reality is that we are an angry nation and we must talk about it.

“Why are we an angry nation? Why are we so determined to collapse our project of nation building and social cohesion? We need to hold hands together between government and all state entities and the civil society and find solutions to what is happening,” Mapisa-Nqakula added.

Hong Kong’s Government on Monday warned foreign governments not to interfere in the city’s “internal affairs,” following weekend protests that called for U.S. support in the three-month-old crisis.

In a statement, the government also condemned “the illegal behaviour of the radical protesters’’ after violent clashes overnight between some protesters and police.

The continued protests in the Asian financial hub came despite the city’s leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, last week formally withdrawing the controversial extradition bill that had triggered the crisis.

The bill would have allowed the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China.

Since protests began on June 9, they have escalated into mass anti-government demonstrations with demands including calls for electoral reform.

Protesters have said they will continue to demonstrate until their demands are met.

On Sunday, tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents marched to the U.S. consulate to deliver a petition asking the U.S. Congress to sign a bill containing punitive measures for officials found to have suppressed “basic freedoms”.

Later in the day, police fired tear gas and non-lethal bullets at anti-government protesters as demonstrations escalated across the city.