Two Saudi oil tankers damaged in 'sabotage attack,' says press agency - CNN

Tensions have risen in the oil-rich region in recent weeks amid the deployment of a growing number of United States military assets to the Middle East due to deteriorating relations with Iran.

On Thursday, the US Maritime Administration issued an advisory warning that "Iran or its proxies" could be targeting commercial vessels and oil production infrastructure in the region.

One of the two Saudi vessels was on its way to be loaded with Saudi crude oil from the port of Ras Tanura, to be delivered to customers in the US, Saudi Arabia's state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Monday.

While the agency didn't mention casualties or oil spills, it did say there had been "significant damage to the structures of the two vessels."

On Sunday, the UAE said that four commercial cargo ships were targeted by "sabotage operations" off its eastern coast. The apparent sabotage took place near to UAE territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, east of the emirate of Fujairah, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said Sunday.

It is unclear if the ships mentioned by Saudi Arabia and the UAE are part of the same incident.

The UAE ministry did not elaborate on the nature of the alleged sabotage, or offer any indication as to who might be responsible, including whether it was carried out by individuals or a larger group or country.

The UAE ministry said authorities were working with local and international bodies to investigate the incident, which it described as a "dangerous development." It said there were no injuries or deaths.

"The international community (needs to) assume its responsibilities to prevent any parties trying to undermine the security and safety of maritime traffic," the ministry said.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said on Monday that the incidents were "alarming and regrettable," and requested further information on the alleged sabotage.

The Iran spokesman warned against "plots by ill-wishers to disrupt regional security" and called for "vigilance of regional states in the face of any adventurism by foreign elements."

Iran borders the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said the attack was an attempt to "undermine the freedom of maritime navigation, and the security of oil supplies to consumers all over the world," according to comments carried by the by the Saudi Press Agency.

UAE denies earlier reports

The accusations of sabotage come less than 24 hours after the UAE government denied reports alleging that seven oil tankers were involved in an explosion in the port of Fujairah on Sunday morning.

The reports were carried first by Lebanon's pro-Hezbollah Al-Mayadeen satellite channel and later picked up by Iran's state-owned Press TV and other outlets.

"The operations at the port are going as normal," a statement from the Emirates News Agency said Sunday. "Media outlets must be responsible and rely on official sources."

Fujairah is located close to the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea.

The US Energy Information Administration calls the Strait of Hormuz "the world's most important oil transit chokepoint," with an estimated 20% of oil traded worldwide moving through the channel, which is about 30 miles wide at its narrowest point.

In a statement Sunday, the Gulf Cooperation Council condemned the "sabotage operations," with council General Secretary Abdul Latif bin Rashid al-Zayani calling the incident a "dangerous escalation (that) speaks of the evil intentions" of whoever carried out the attack.

"The general secretary calls on the international community and the international maritime organizations to practice its politics and lawfulness to stop any sides that try to harm the safety or the maritime flow in this strategic part to the world," read the statement.

"These irresponsible acts only adds to the tension and conflict in the region and jeopardize the interests of their peoples."

CNN's Mohammed Elshamy and Karen Smith in Atlanta and Nada AlTaher in Abu Dhabi contributed to this article.

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2019-05-13 06:51:00Z
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How Trump's trade war threatens China's ambition to lead the world in technology - CNBC

China's intensified tariff war with the Trump administration is threatening Beijing's ambition to transform itself into the dominant player in global technology.

The United States is a vital customer and source of technology for Chinese makers of electronics, medical equipment and other high-tech exports — industries that the ruling Communist Party sees as the heart of its economic future.

Yet to the Trump administration, they're a threat to America's industrial leadership.

Beijing managed to keep Chinese economic growth steady in the most recent quarter despite a drop in exports to the United States. It did so by boosting government spending and bank lending. But China's technology exporters suffered huge sales drops of up to 40 percent, which ate into profits that pay for technology research.

The tariff war is compounding the pain felt by many Chinese companies. They are already enduring stiffened resistance in the United States and Europe to Chinese acquisitions of technology through joint ventures with foreign companies or, with financing by state-run banks, outright purchases.

China might now have to take the "tougher route" of developing more of its own technology, with less access to foreign partners and know-how, said Rajiv Biswas, chief Asia economist for IHS Markit.

"It may be a slower path," Biswas said.

The government and companies are pouring billions of dollars into research. Huawei, the telecom equipment giant and China's first global tech brand, spent $15 billion last year — more than Apple Inc.

All of this has helped make China an emerging heavyweight in telecoms, artificial intelligence and other fields. Yet the United States, Europe, Japan and other governments complain that Beijing has done so in part by stealing technology or pressuring foreign companies to hand over trade secrets.

Washington is pushing Beijing to roll back plans for a government-led creation of global competitors in robotics, electric cars, artificial intelligence and an array of emerging technologies. Beijing's trading partners argue that such plans violate its commitments to further open its vast consumer and business markets.

The struggle compounds the challenges for President Xi Jinping's government by threatening to delay or disrupt its economic plans. China's leaders are reluctant to yield; they need higher-tech industries to keep incomes rising. Many producers of textiles, shoes and toys have already migrated to Vietnam, Cambodia and other lower-cost economies.

China's ruling Communist Party responded to an economic downturn last year by stepping up spending and lending. That effort reversed a campaign to curb reliance on debt, which had soared so high that rating agencies had downgraded China's credit rating for government borrowing.

Abroad, Xi has been forced to overhaul his multibillion-dollar "Belt and Road" initiative to build railways and other infrastructure. In response to complaints that Beijing is saddling some countries with too much debt, the government has written off some loans and renegotiated contracts.

The tariff war was sparked by years of yawning U.S. trade deficits with China and by complaints — by the Trump administration and many independent trade experts — that Beijing was engaging in predatory and illicit practices, including the theft of technology. The first U.S. penalties targeted high-tech Chinese goods that American officials said benefited from improper support from Beijing.

Its impact spread as President Donald Trump extended tariff increases to Chinese exporters of handbags, furniture and other goods. Those higher import taxes heightened the threat of job losses — a political risk for an unelected party that derives its claim to power in no small part from having managed three decades of explosive economic growth.

On the surface at least, the impact of Friday's U.S. tariff hike "is relatively modest," Brian Coulton, chief economist for Fitch Ratings, said in a report. But if Trump proceeds with his threat to extend 25% tariffs to all imports from China, that "would be a much more material threat to China's growth outlook," Coulton said.

"Renewed weakening in China would rekindle financial market concerns about global growth risks," he said.

Xi's personal standing has been hurt by slowing growth and by last year's decision to eliminate term limits for his office as president, said Zhang Lifang, an independent political commentator in Beijing.

"I think these two things are very stressful for him, both economically and politically," Zhang said.

The United States and Europe have been increasing the cost and complexity of Chinese acquisition of foreign technology or blocking it outright. In October, the European Union tentatively approved the trade bloc's first rules on foreign investments in sensitive sectors. That step followed criticism of Chinese purchases of European technology vendors that are considered vital national assets, including German robot maker Kuka. Chinese buyers have also acquired Sweden's Volvo Cars, Swiss agri-tech supplier Syngenta and IBM's low-end server business.

In the United States, Trump vetoed the 2017 purchase of a chipmaker, Lattice Semiconductor, that was financed by a Chinese government fund.

Foreign manufacturers of consumer electronics and other goods already are shifting investments to Southeast Asia to cut costs, thereby hurting demand for Chinese parts suppliers and sapping revenue they would use to develop technology.

"Boardrooms of multinationals, including possibly Chinese companies, might decide they need to have more manufacturing capability outside China to reduce this risk," Biswas said .

That shift, accelerated by the pressure from U.S. tariffs, promises a potential windfall for other Asian economies.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has suggested that the U.S.-China tariff war might help her government woo back manufacturers who had moved to the mainland in search of lower costs.

"Our goal is to speed up Taiwanese business people's coming back to rebuild a high added-value supply chain and encourage industries to transform and upgrade themselves," Tsai said.

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2019-05-12 17:21:14Z
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Pakistan military says five killed in hotel attack in Gwadar - Aljazeera.com

Islamabad, Pakistan - Gunmen have stormed a five-star hotel in Pakistan's port city of Gwadar, killing four hotel workers and Navy soldier, the military has said.

In a statement, Pakistan's military said three armed men killed a security guard as they attempted to enter the Pearl Continental hotel on Saturday in the southern city.

"Five people were killed, and there were six wounded," Abdul Latif, the chief of Gwadar's main government hospital, told Al Jazeera by telephone.

All five bodies had been moved to Karachi, the country's largest city, he said. One of the wounded was in a critical condition, while the other five were "out of danger".

Indiscriminate firing

The military said the attackers came into the hotel to kill hotel guests or take them hostage.

In a statement, it said a security guard challenged the gunmen in the main hall of the hotel, and they headed to the staircase, firing indiscriminately, killing the guard and three other hotel employees. 

When quick reaction forces from the army, navy and police arrived, they evacuated guests and staff and trapped the fighters on the fourth floor of the hotel.

The attackers had disabled CCTV cameras and planted bombs at entry points to the floor, the military said. 

The Pakistani security forces "made special entry points" to get onto the fourth floor and exchanged fire with the fighters, killing all three. A navy soldier was also killed, with two army captains and two Pakistani navy soldiers injured. Two hotel employees were also injured in the incident. 

According to the military, all guests at the hotel, which has 114 rooms, were safely evacuated. 

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an ethnic Baloch separatist group fighting for independence for Balochistan province, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that four fighters were involved. 

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"Our fighters have carried out this attack on Chinese and other foreign investors who were staying in PC hotel," said Jihand Baloch, a BLA spokesperson, in a statement emailed to Al Jazeera.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack in a statement on Sunday and thanked security forces for "foiling greater loss to human lives". 

"Such attempts, especially in Balochistan, are an effort to sabotage our economic projects and prosperity," Khan said. "We shall not allow these agendas to succeed."

Massive investment 

Gwadar is the site of a major port built as the culmination of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a trade corridor that links southwestern China to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan.

The $60bn CPEC project has seen massive investment in infrastructure across Pakistan, including major roads and the Gwadar port in Balochistan province.

Recent days have seen an uptick in violence in the province, with ethnic Baloch separatist groups ramping up attacks against security forces and civilians. 

On Thursday, at least five people were killed when BLA gunmen attacked a coal mine in the Harnai district of Balochistan.

The BLA and other armed groups have been fighting Pakistani security forces for more than a decade, demanding independence for the ethnic Baloch areas of Balochistan province, which they claim has been neglected by the Pakistani state and exploited for its mineral resources.

Balochistan, located in southwest Pakistan, is the country's largest but least populated province, with rich deposits of natural gas, coal, metals and minerals.

Rights groups allege that Pakistani security forces have abducted hundreds of pro-freedom Baloch political activists and fighters in their fight to quell the rebellion.

Last month, an alliance of Baloch separatist groups ambushed a passenger bus en route from Gwadar to Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, killing at least 14 people.

Asad Hashim, Al Jazeera's digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim.

Additional reporting by Saadullah Akhtar in Quetta. 

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2019-05-12 16:14:00Z
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Kudlow acknowledges US will pay for China tariffs, contradicting Trump - CNBC

Larry Kudlow, Director of the United States National Economic Council.

Adam Jeffery | CNBC

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Sunday acknowledged that the Chinese do not directly pay tariffs on goods coming into the U.S., contradicting President Donald Trump's claims that China will pay for tariffs imposed by the U.S.

Kudlow said that "both sides will suffer on this," but argued that China will suffer significant GDP losses as export markets are hit. The blow to U.S. GDP, on the other hand, won't be substantial since the economy is "in terrific shape," he said.

Fox News' Chris Wallace pressed Kudlow about Trump's claims.

"It's not China that pays tariffs," Wallace said. "It's the American importers, the American companies that pay what, in effect, is a tax increase and oftentimes passes it on to U.S. consumers."

"Fair enough," Kudlow replied. "In fact, both sides will pay. Both sides will pay in these things."

Kudlow added, however, that China doesn't actually pay the tariffs, but that their GDP will suffer "with respect to a diminishing export market."

"This is a risk we should and can take without damaging our economy in any appreciable way," Kudlow said.

The most recent round of trade talks, which ended on Friday with no final agreement, followed Trump's decision to more than double tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods.

Trump said on Saturday that China should "act now" to wrap up a trade deal with the U.S, warning that "far worse" terms would be offered to them in what he predicted would be his second term as president.

Trump also suggested that the U.S. was "collecting" big tariffs from China.

"Would be wise for them to act now, but love collecting BIG TARIFFS!" he tweeted.

Kudlow said that Trump will likely meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the June G-20 summit in Japan.

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2019-05-12 16:11:57Z
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Kudlow says China will retaliate over Trump's tariff hike - New York Post

​President Trump’s top economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Sunday that he expected China to retaliate against the administration’s planned tariff hike.

“I think I do, but it’s interesting, the expected countermeasures haven’t yet materialized,” Kudlow told Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” “I reckon they will. We’ll see what they come up with. So far we haven’t heard on that basis.”

Talks with the Chinese are in limbo as the Chinese delegation left D.C. without an inked trade deal earlier this week. Kudlow said new talks haven’t been scheduled yet, but the Chinese have invited Amb. Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, to Beijing.

He added that it’s likely Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet at next month’s G20 in Japan.

Last Sunday, Trump used Twitter to announce the tariff spike.

“For 10 months, China has been paying Tariffs to the USA of 25% on 50 Billion Dollars of High Tech, and 10% on 200 Billions Dollars of other goods. These payments are partially responsible for our great economic results. The 10% will go up to 25% on Friday,” Trump wrote. “325 Billion Dollars of additional goods sent to us by China, but remain untaxed, but will be shortly, at a rate of 25%.”

Trump complained that the trade talks with China were moving too slowly, as the country tried to renegotiate portions of the deal.

This Sunday, Kudlow said the U.S. had started the process to increase these tariffs, but the full implementation could take months.

“We will have announcements, we will have hearings, we will have public comments,” Kudlow explained. “It could be a couple of months thereabouts.”

While Wallace pointed out that tariffs get passed along to the U.S. consumer, Kudlow argued that China will be hurt too thanks to the “diminishing export market.”

“Both sides will suffer on this,” he said.

But he argued that it was worth it.

“You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. We’ve had unfair trading practices all these years. And so in my judgment, the economic consequences are so small, but the possible improvement in trade and exports and open markets to the United States, this is worthwhile doing,” he said.

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2019-05-12 14:57:00Z
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Pakistan attack: Gunmen killed five in Balochistan hotel - BBC News

Pakistan's army says gunmen who attacked a luxury hotel in Balochistan province on Saturday killed four hotel employees and a soldier.

The three attackers were also killed during a siege that lasted several hours. Six people were injured.

A spokesman for the Zaver Pearl-Continental Hotel in the port of Gwadar said there were few guests because of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army said it carried out the attack.

• Can Pakistan stamp out extremism?

The group said that the hotel, the centrepiece of a multi-billion-dollar Chinese project, was selected in order to target Chinese and other investors. Militants in Balochistan oppose foreign investments, saying they do not benefit locals.

Who were the casualties?

The army's media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), says three hotel employees and a hotel security guard were killed by the gunmen.

A soldier of the Pakistan Navy, named as Abbas Khan, was also killed in the operation to clear the hotel.

Two army captains, two more navy soldiers and two hotel employees were injured in the attack.

What happened in the attack?

Three gunmen wearing military-style uniforms stormed the hotel at around 16:50 (11:50 GMT) on Saturday.

The security guard who died had confronted the attackers to try to stop them entering the hotel.

The attackers then moved to the upper floors with the intent of taking hotel guests hostage, the ISPR said.

As they moved up the stairs the other hotel employees were shot dead.

The ISPR said the attackers cut CCTV and planted improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to stop access to the fourth floor, where they were contained by the arriving security forces.

The attackers were killed in the corridor and the IEDs removed.

The military thanked the media for limiting reporting of the attack, saying it had denied the gunmen "possible live updates".

What has the reaction been?

Prime Minister Imran Khan said the attack had been an attempt to "sabotage prosperity" in Balochistan.

The hotel sits on a hilltop overlooking Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea, which is being developed by China as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a network of roads, railway and pipelines between the two countries.

The Chinese embassy in Pakistan said: "We appreciate the courageous steps taken by Pakistan Army and security agencies."

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan such attacks would "not deter us and Balochistan shall continue on its path to progress".

What is the situation in Balochistan?

Home to a long-running insurgency, Balochistan is Pakistan's poorest and least developed province.

It shares a large, porous border with Afghanistan and Iran.

Its economy is dominated by natural resources, particularly natural gas, and is being transformed by major Chinese infrastructure projects on the CPEC, part of the ambitious Belt and Road initiative.

Several militant groups operate in the region, including the Pakistani Taliban, the BLA and the Sunni Muslim extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

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2019-05-12 13:34:56Z
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India election 2019: Sixth round of voting under way for 59 seats - Aljazeera.com

Voters in Delhi and elsewhere in India's north have lined up to cast their ballots in the second last round of a seven-phase general election, with the opposition seeking a united stand to deny Prime Minister Narendra Modi a second term.

More than 100 million people across seven states are eligible to vote in the sixth phase of the poll, which began on April 11 and will end on May 19. Votes will be counted on May 23.

Sunday's voting in 59 constituencies, including seven in the Indian capital, will complete polling for 483 of 543 seats in the lower house of parliament. The voting for the remaining 60 seats will be held next Sunday.

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Turnout in the first five phases averaged 67 percent, nearly the same as in 2014 elections that brought Modi to power.

Opinion polls say the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continues to be the frontrunner, but it is likely to return with fewer than the 282 seats it won in 2014.

The BJP captured 31 percent of votes in 2014, but it won more than half the seats to wrest power from the Congress party in a first-past-the-post electoral system in which a candidate who receives the most votes wins.

Lok Sabha Election 2019: Total 50.77% voting till 4 pm in #Phase6. West Bengal- 70.51, Delhi-45.24, Haryana- 51.86 Uttar Pradesh- 43.26, Bihar- 44.40, Jharkhand- 58.08, Madhya Pradesh- 52.78 pic.twitter.com/0UKFGtWAPt

— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2019

Referendum on Modi rule

Modi is running his campaign like a presidential race, a referendum on his five years of rule with claims of helping the poorest with benefits, free healthcare, providing toilets in homes and giving women free or cheap cooking gas cylinders.

At the same time, he is banking on stirring Hindu nationalism by accusing the Congress party of being soft on nuclear rival Pakistan, pandering to minority Muslims for votes and indulging Kashmiri separatists.

Opposition parties accuse Modi of digressing from the main issues affecting nearly 70 percent of the population living in villages and small towns.

The opposition is challenging him over India's 6.1 percent unemployment rate - the highest in decades - and the economic difficulties of farmers hurt by low crop prices that have led many to take their own lives.

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Opposition officials have also alleged corruption in a deal for India to purchase French fighter jets. 

Rahul Gandhi, 48-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Congress party president, has accused Modi of buying 36 French Rafale fighters jets at an exorbitant price, and helping a private industrialist by promoting him as an offset partner of Dassault, the aircraft manufacturer.

"It was a good fight," Gandhi said after he cast his vote. "Narendra Modi used hatred, we used love. And I think love is going to win."

Visuals of voters from outside a polling booth in Mayur Vihar Phase-3 (East Delhi Constituency). #LokSabhaElections2019 #Phase6 pic.twitter.com/4XwPuwxwNr

— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2019

India's opposition parties have recently taken heart at what they see as signs the BJP is losing ground and have begun negotiations over a post-election alliance even before polling ends on May 19. 

Some voters in Delhi said they were backing Modi because they were won over by his tough stand on security.

"I have voted for Modi's sound foreign policy and national security," a 36-year old first-time voter who declined to be identified told Reuters news agency.

Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political commentator and Modi's biographer, calls the Hindu nationalist leader "the most visible prime minister".

But he adds: "There could be an element of fatigue also. People at the end of it are looking at their bottom line. I think the issues of employment and rural distress are very important."

Congress president Rahul Gandhi shows his ink-marked finger after casting his vote at a polling station in New Delhi [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]

Personal attacks

Political analysts say that state-based and caste-driven parties could be decisive in determining the make-up of the next government, as a lack of new jobs and weak farm prices have hurt the BJP.

"Regional parties will play a bigger role compared to the previous five years or even 15 years," said KC Suri, a political science professor at the University of Hyderabad. "They will regain their importance in national politics."

Recent weeks have also been marked by personal attacks between leaders, including comments from Modi about the family of Rahul Gandhi.

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At a recent rally Modi called Gandhi's late father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, "Corrupt No. 1". The BJP says Modi was reacting to Rahul Gandhi calling him a thief.

"The political vitriol has become intense, and negatively intense," said Ashok Acharya, a political science professor at the University of Delhi.

"It seems as if this particular election is all about a few political personalities. It is not about issues, any kind of an agenda."

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2019-05-12 11:15:00Z
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