Latest news with #DaphnePsaledakis
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
US will not tolerate Chinese 'exploitation' of universities, theft of research, says State Dept
By Daphne Psaledakis WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States will not tolerate "exploitation" of American universities by the Chinese Communist Party or theft of U.S. research and intellectual property, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on Thursday. In a briefing at the State Department, Bruce declined to provide numbers for how many Chinese students would be affected by a new plan to "aggressively" revoke visas announced on Wednesday, but said officials would scrutinize anyone "deemed to be a threat to the country or a problem." She declined to detail how those who pose a threat would be determined. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announcing the new crackdown, said it would target students including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or studying in critical fields. "When it comes to keeping America safe, the United States, I further can say here, will not tolerate the CCP's exploitation of U.S. universities or theft of U.S. research intellectual property or technologies to grow its military power, conduct intelligence collection or repress voices of opposition," Bruce said. The announcement on Chinese student visa holders came after the Trump administration ordered its missions all over the world to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants. Asked when appointments would come back online, Bruce did not say but recommended that applicants continue checking the U.S. visa system for new appointments.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US takes first steps that ease sanctions on Syria
By Daphne Psaledakis and Simon Lewis WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Friday took the first steps toward lifting sanctions on Syria after President Donald Trump said his administration would unwind them. The Treasury Department issued a general license that authorizes transactions involving the interim Syrian government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, as well as the central bank and state-owned enterprises. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also issued a 180-day waiver of sanctions against Syria under the Caesar Act to ensure that sanctions do not impede Syria's recovery and reconstruction efforts, a State Department official told Reuters. U.S. sanctions were imposed on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and key individuals in 2011 after civil war erupted there. Sharaa led militias that overthrew Assad in December. The Treasury said in a statement that the general license, known as GL25, "authorizes transactions prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations, effectively lifting sanctions on Syria." "GL25 will enable new investment and private sector activity consistent with the President's America First strategy," the statement said. Trump made a surprise announcement last week during a trip to the Middle East that he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria's Islamist-led government at the behest of Saudi Arabia's crown prince, a major U.S. policy shift he made before meeting briefly with Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh. Removing U.S. sanctions that cut Syria off from the global financial system would clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organizations working in Syria, easing foreign investment and trade as the country rebuilds.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US-led peace talks could boost Rwandan processing of Congo minerals, sources say
By Sonia Rolley and Daphne Psaledakis (Reuters) -Congolese minerals such as tungsten, tantalum and tin, which Kinshasa has long accused neighbouring Rwanda of illegally exploiting, could be exported legitimately to Rwanda for processing under the terms of a peace deal being negotiated by the U.S., three sources told Reuters. Kinshasa views the plundering of its mineral wealth as a key driver of the conflict between its forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo that has intensified since January, accusing Kigali of smuggling tens of millions of dollars worth of minerals over the border each month to be sold from Rwanda. Washington is pushing for a peace agreement between the two sides to be signed this summer, accompanied by minerals deals aimed at bringing billions of dollars of Western investment to the region, Massad Boulos, U.S. President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Africa, told Reuters earlier this month. He said on X last week that the U.S. had provided the first draft of a deal to both sides, though its contents have not been disclosed. Two diplomatic sources and one U.N. source briefed by U.S. officials told Reuters that the negotiations could lead to minerals from what are now artisanal mining zones in eastern Congo being refined and marketed from Rwanda. "Their (Washington's) point of view is simple: If Rwanda can legitimately benefit from Congo's minerals through processing, it will be less tempted to occupy its neighbour and plunder its minerals," one of the diplomats said. "And for Congo, industrialization would increase its revenues, improve traceability, and combat the armed groups that currently live off the miners." A government spokesperson for Congo, which has long said it wants to move away from raw exports and towards local processing, referred questions to the foreign ministry, which did not respond. A Congolese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said no cooperation on minerals could happen without the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and "their proxies", a reference to M23, which controls more territory than ever in eastern Congo. The official said Rwanda would also need to respect "our sovereignty over everything, including our minerals." For Rwanda, the negotiations could bring a massive inflow of cash that could help it clean up what has until now been a largely illicit sector of its economy. The U.S., for its part, would be able to secure for itself and its allies deeper access to Congolese mineral assets that are dominated by China. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that in a declaration signed in Washington last month, Congo and Rwanda had committed to creating "transparent, formalized, and licit end-to-end mineral value chains (from mine to processed metal) that link both countries, in partnership with the U.S. government and U.S. investors." Details of the exact scale of investments, and who would be making them, are as yet unclear, but Boulos told Reuters last week that U.S. officials had engaged with "probably up to 30" U.S. investors about "doing business in Rwanda in the mining space," including downstream processing activities. He said separately that the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation - a body tasked with mobilising private capital to further U.S. foreign policy and national security goals, offering support like debt financing - would "provide full support on these transactions and investments". The region's long history of violence underscores the risk that any companies taking the leap could be exposed to losses. ROOT CAUSES The minerals projects alone won't halt a conflict that stretches back to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the sources said. "A mining agreement cannot bring peace. These projects will take three, five or 10 years," another diplomat said. "There are immediate problems and root causes that need to be addressed." Congo, the U.N. and the U.S. have repeatedly accused Rwanda of profiting from the illegal exploitation of Congolese mineral resources, allegations Kigali denies. A previous attempt to foster deeper official mining cooperation between Rwanda and Congo four years ago failed. In June 2021, the two sides signed deals including a memorandum on the joint exploitation and commercialization of Congolese gold between state-owned Sakima and private Rwandan firm Dither. But Kinshasa suspended the deal in June 2022, citing Rwanda's alleged military support for M23 and the rebel group's capture of the strategic border town of Bunagana. Rwanda has denied backing M23 but acknowledges deploying "defensive measures" in eastern Congo against Rwandan Hutu militias. Analysts say the most commonly cited group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, no longer poses much of a threat. One diplomatic source said that from Kigali's point of view, Kinshasa is not a reliable negotiating partner. "The collapse of the Sakima deal bothered them," they said of Rwandan officials. "Neither country trusts each other," said William Millman, an independent consultant on the tantalum-niobium industry who has visited mines in both countries. "So unless you've got somebody with a big club, like the United States, they're not going to honour agreements."
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US-backed aid group to start work in Gaza by end of May
By Michelle Nichols and Daphne Psaledakis UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S.-backed humanitarian organization said on Wednesday that it would launch operations in Gaza by the end of May and has asked Israel to allow aid to start flowing into the enclave now under existing procedures until it is set up. No humanitarian aid has been delivered to Gaza since March 2, and a global hunger monitor has warned that half a million people face starvation, a quarter of the enclave's population. Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, aid deliveries have been handled by international aid groups and U.N. organizations. The newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will instead distribute aid in Gaza from so-called secure distribution sites, but said Israel's current plan to only allow such a few sites in southern Gaza needed to be scaled up to include the north. "GHF emphasizes that a successful humanitarian response must eventually include the entire civilian population in Gaza," the foundation's executive director, Jake Wood, wrote in a letter to the Israeli government. "GHF respectfully requests that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) identify and deconflict sufficient locations in northern Gaza capable of hosting GHF operated secure distribution sites that can be made operational within thirty days," he wrote. He asked Israel to facilitate the flow of enough aid "using existing modalities" until GHF's distribution infrastructure is fully operational, saying this is essential to "alleviate the ongoing humanitarian pressure, as well as decrease the pressure on the distribution sites during our first days of operation."
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US says solution for Gaza aid is 'steps away' as aid groups raise alarm
By Simon Lewis, Daphne Psaledakis and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Thursday a solution to be able to deliver food aid to Gaza was "steps away" and an announcement was coming shortly, as the aid community expressed skepticism that the plan would bring relief to the enclave's conflict-ravaged population. Anticipation has built up about a new aid plan for Gaza, laid waste by 19 months of an Israeli military campaign against Hamas that has destroyed much of its infrastructure and displaced almost all of its 2.3 million population several times. European leaders and aid groups have criticized Israeli plans to take over distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza and use private companies to get food to families after two months in which the military has prevented supplies entering the Strip. Speaking at a regular briefing, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce gave few details about the new mechanism but referred to a "charitable foundation" that she said would be carrying out the plan. "I was hoping to introduce it today, but the foundation will be announcing this shortly," Bruce said. "While we don't have anything to announce in specifics in this regard today, and I will not speak on behalf of the foundation which will be doing the work, we welcome moves to quickly get urgent food aid into Gaza in a way ... that the food aid actually gets to those to whom it's intended." Israel has accused agencies including the United Nations of allowing large quantities of aid to fall into the hands of Hamas, which it accuses of seizing supplies intended for civilians and using them for its own forces. Among the options being considered by the United States based on a document seen by Reuters and circulated among the aid community, a recently-established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation would stand up four "Secure Distribution Sites", each built to serve 300,000 people. Pre-packaged rations, hygiene kits and medical supplies would move through tightly-controlled corridors while being monitored in order to prevent the diversion of the assistance, according to the document. On-site and perimeter security would be provided by experienced professionals, according to the document, to "deter interference from criminal networks or other armed groups who have historically sought to control or redirect humanitarian aid." It added that the Israeli Defense Forces will not be stationed at or near the sites. The aid community, which has frequently accused Israel of deliberately disregarding the complexity of aid distribution in Gaza, was skeptical. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the Israeli-proposed authorization mechanism for the distribution of food aid "appears practically unfeasible, incompatible with humanitarian principles and will create serious insecurity risks, all while failing to meet Israel's obligations under international law," according to a document shared with U.N. member states and seen by Reuters. 'NON-STARTER' A Geneva-based aid official said they were briefed by a U.S. team on a Gaza aid plan on Thursday, adding they were "not very impressed with the proposal." Ahmed Bayram, Norwegian Refugee Council's media adviser for the Middle East, said the Israeli plan raised more questions than it gave answers and risked aid becoming militarized. "What is clear is that Israel wants to take aid over... But it also sets a dangerous precedent, because probably for the first time in conflict history, or at least in recent conflict, we would have one of the parties involved in this conflict deciding where aid should go and how it should be distributed," Bayram said. Communities would have to move around aid hubs and the model puts civilians in danger, he said, essentially turning aid into coercion. "The whole thing is a non-starter for us." A United Nations Security Council diplomat said all 15 Security Council members were present at a briefing on Wednesday by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on the plan to deliver aid to Gaza held at the U.S. mission to the United Nations. "Everybody is content that the meeting took place and that someone working on the ground has (finally) briefed the rest of Council members," the diplomat said in an email. The diplomat said expectations remain high. "Members (especially the E10 group) will now give the U.S. a little time to make some progress otherwise they will step in, exert pressure and bring in a new product," the diplomat said, referring to the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council.
