-
US clamps down on China tech, blacklists CNOOC
Washington (AFP) - The US government on Thursday ramped up sanctions and restrictions on Chinese firms over Beijing's actions in the disputed South China Sea, and the security threat posed by technology. In a wide ranging series of steps unveiled in the waning days of President Donald Trump's administration, Washington targeted state oil giant CNOOC and announced regulations on tech firms including embattled social media favorite TikTok. It reflects flurry of last-minute pressure on Beijing, following four years of aggressive diplomatic and trade policies against the rival economic power. The ...
AFP
-
US blacklists Ukrainians who helped attacks on Biden
Washington (AFP) - The US Treasury placed sanctions Monday on four Ukrainians who aided President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani in an election campaign effort to smear Democrat Joe Biden. Former Ukrainian government officials Konstantin Kulyk, Oleksandr Onyshchenko, Andriy Telizhenko, and current Ukraine lawmaker Oleksandr Dubinsky were called part of an effort led by "Russian agent" Andrii Derkach to undermine Biden's presidential run, the Treasury said. All four were in contact with or met with Giuliani in late 2019 as he sought to compile evidence that now President-elect Biden and hi...
AFP
-
US reinstates Sudan's sovereign immunity over past terror attacks
Washington (AFP) - US lawmakers on Monday backed legislation granting Sudan legal immunity for past militant attacks, a final step in a historic deal removing Khartoum from Washington's blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism. The text restores Sudan's sovereign immunity with the exception of litigation already pending in US federal courts related to the September 11, 2001 attacks, and earmarks hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Khartoum. The legislation was part of the massive omnibus bill to fund the government for the coming year, which is also due to include a new aid package to he...
AFP
-
US makes good on threats of Turkey sanctions over Russia arms
Washington (AFP) - The United States on Monday made good on months of threats to punish Turkey for buying a major Russian missile defense system, although it held off on the most drastic options. With little more a month left in office, President Donald Trump's administration approved rare sanctions against a NATO ally focused on Turkey's military procurement agency. The United States banned all US export licenses and loan credits for the agency, the Presidency of Defense Industries, and said it would not allow its president, Ismail Demir, to travel or hold assets in the United States. The US ...
AFP
-
US slaps sanctions on Turkey over Russian arms purchase
Washington (AFP) - The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on Turkey's military procurement agency after the NATO ally defiantly bought Russia's S-400 air defense system. "Today's action sends a clear signal that the United States will fully implement (US law) and will not tolerate significant transactions with Russia's defense and intelligence sectors," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. President Donald Trump's administration said it was banning all US export licenses to the Presidency of Defense Industries and refusing any visas for the agency's president, Ismail Demi...
AFP
-
US hits Chechen leader, Yemenis, Haitians with sanctions
Washington (AFP) - The United States expanded sanctions on Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and added Haitians, Yemenis and others to its blacklist Thursday to mark International Human Rights Day. The US Treasury bolstered its efforts to punish Kadyrov for human rights violations after placing him and his family on sanctions lists in December 2017 and July 2020. In a new designation under the US Global Magnitsky sanctions law, the Treasury said Kadyrov was the leader of the Kadyrovtsy, and organization it said engaged in serious human rights abuses. "Kadyrov and the forces he commands, commonly k...
AFP
-
US sanctions Chinese organized crime figure 'Broken Tooth' Wan
Washington (AFP) - The US Treasury slapped sanctions Wednesday on a notorious Chinese organized crime leader known as "Broken Tooth", alleging he is expanding criminal activities throughout Southeast Asia on the back of a major Beijing infrastructure initiative. Wan Kuok-koi, the head of the powerful 14K triad, or organized crime group, has built operations in Cambodia, Myanmar and Palau since being released from Macau prison eight years ago, the Treasury said. It called Wan a member of the Communist Party of China's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference who has attached his crimi...
AFP
-
US hits Chinese company over Venezuela internet curbs
Washington (AFP) - The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on a major Chinese electronics and engineering company for assisting Venezuela in curbing dissent on the internet.The US said it was restricting transactions with the China National Electronics Import and Export Corporation (CEIEC) and blocking assets of any firm in which the state-owned company holds 50 percent stake or higher.The Treasury Department said CEIEC provides expertise to Venezuela's state-owned telecom company, which has blocked independent media as well as livestreams by opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recogni...
AFP
-
US slaps new sanctions on Iran groups for election 'interference'
Washington (AFP) - The United States on Thursday slapped new sanctions on five Iranian entities for what it called "brazen attempts" to interfere with the US election.Stepping up pressure after US intelligence pointed the finger at both Iran and Russia, the Treasury Department accused the Iranian groups of seeking to spread disinformation and division ahead of the November 3 vote.The Treasury imposed the fresh sanctions against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the IRGC-Qods Force, the Bayan Rasaneh Gostar Institute, the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union and International ...
AFP
-
US slaps new sanctions on Iran groups for election interference
Washington (AFP) - The US Treasury on Thursday slapped new sanctions on five Iranian entities for what it called "brazen attempts" to interfere with the US election and US voters.The Treasury named the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the IRGC-Qods Force, the Bayan Rasaneh Gostar Institute, the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union and International Union of Virtual Media as key actors in an effort to spread disinformation ahead of the November 3 US presidential election.The groups have worked to "sow discord among the voting populace by spreading disinformation online and execut...
AFP
- More