Trump won’t open new embassy in London
PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE LONDON: United States President Donald Trump yesterday said he will not attend the opening of the new US embassy here, a move welcomed by critics in Britain who planned mass protests.
He tweeted that he was abandoning the trip, initially scheduled for next month, because he did not like the location and price tag of the new building.
“Reason I cancelled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for ‘peanuts’, only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 TOKYO: A stricken Iranian oil tanker, which drifted into Japan’s exclusive economic zone this week, was still in the area yesterday afternoon and still on fire, Japan’s Coast Guard said.
The Sanchi tanker was 286km northwest of Sokkozaki on the island of Amami Oshima, drifting southwest at a speed of 2.2kph, the Coast Guard said.
The ship has been ablaze for almost a week since it collided billion dollars,” Trump wrote.
“Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon — NO!”
Trump was also offered a state visit to Britain, and Prime Minister Theresa May’s office yesterday said nothing had changed, although no date had been set.
There was strong opposition to the invitation over Trump’s travel ban on Muslim-majority countries, and then over his re-tweet of far-right group Britain First.
“This is somebody who has promoted hatred and propaganda from a far-right organisation in this country,” said opposition Labour lawmaker Chuka Umunna, with another vessel on Saturday night in the East China Sea.
Sanchi, owned by Iran’s top oil shipping operator National Iranian Tanker Co, was carrying almost one million barrels of condensate, an ultra-light, highly flammable crude oil, to South Korea. It collided with the freighter CF Crystal that was carrying grain from the United States about 184km off China’s coast near Shanghai. saying Trump’s decision not to come was “very welcome”.
But leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, who visited Trump following his election, said the decision was “disappointing”.
The decision to move the embassy from its prestigious location in Mayfair, central London, was taken by the administration of former Republican president George W. Bush in October 2008.
The new 12-storey, cube-shaped building, due to open to the public on Tuesday, was built in a nondescript area south of the River Thames, which is now subject to a major regeneration project. AFP
About 14 rescue vessels are attempting to put out the fire and searching for missing crew members, CCTV reported.
Sanchi had a crew of 32 sailors during the collision. The body of a mariner suspected to be from the ship was recovered on Monday and sent to Shanghai for identification. The rest of the crew, including 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, remains missing. Reuters