Trump tears into Iran, leaves nuclear deal hanging
WASHINGTON, Oct 14 ( AFP) - President Donald Trump reignited the decades-old US feud with Iran on Friday, vowing to confront the “fanatical regime” and throwing a landmark international nuclear agreement into doubt.
In a speech pocked with grievances dating to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Trump railed against the “Iranian dictatorship, its sponsorship of terrorism, and its continuing aggression in the Middle East and all around the world.” And he threatened to rip up the 2015 agreement curbing Iran's nuclear program, saying it had failed to address Iranian subversion in its region and its illegal missile program.
“It is under continuous review and our participation can be canceled by me, as president, at any time,” he warned.
And he later lashed out at countries that have stood by the agreement, appearing to accuse them of placing trade profits ahead of security.
Trump's bellicose message brought an instant rebuke from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who -- also leaning heavily on past injustices -declared the United States was “more than ever against the Iranian people.” But behind Trump's hardline rhetoric was a subtle but significant presidential climbdown.
He stopped short of nixing a deal negotiated with European allies, China and Russia to lift sanctions against Tehran in return for Iranian curbs on uranium enrichment. Instead he took a procedural step of “decertifying” the agreement, leaving its fate in the hands of the Republican- controlled Congress.
The US president said he supports efforts in Congress to work on new measures to address these threats without immediately torpedoing the broader deal.
“However, in the event we are not able to reach a solution working with Congress and our allies, then the agreement will be terminated,” Trump said, in a televised address from the Diplomatic Room of the White House.
European leaders slapped back that notion, saying the agreement was not America's alone. In a cautious but unmistakable rebuke, the leaders of Britain, France and Germany said the deal remained in “our shared national security interest.” “We encourage the US administration and Congress to consider the implications to the security of the US and its allies before taking any steps that might undermine” the deal.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which was awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize also denounced the move, saying it makes proliferation more likely.
Trump backed away from designating Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terror group, a move that would have triggered slew of sanctions and almost certain Iranian retribution.
MANILA, Oct 14 (AFP) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has warned he is prepared to establish a “revolutionary government” to fend off alleged efforts to oust him, fuelling fears of a looming dictatorship. He issued the warning on state television late Friday as he railed against the press, European lawmakers and other critics of his drug war that has left thousands dead and led rights groups to warn of a crime against humanity.
Duterte said he would resort to a revolutionary government, as opposed to martial law that would require congressional approval, if opponents tried to destabilise his rule. Duterte alleged the US Central Intelligence Agency was part of a plot to destabilise him.
Baghdad gives ultimatum on Kirkuk pullback: Kurds
SULAIMANIYAH, Oct 14 (AFP) - Baghdad has set a pre-dawn Sunday deadline for Kurdish forces to abandon positions in the disputed oil province of Kirkuk they took during the fightback against the Islamic State group, a senior Kurdish official said.
The reported ultimatum comes as thousands of Iraqi troops and allied militia are locked in an armed standoff with Kurdish peshmerga fighters near ethnically divided but historically Kurdish-majority Kirkuk.
Tensions have soared between the erstwhile allies in the war against IS since a Kurdish vote for independence last month, drawing urgent appeals for calm from the US-led coalition supporting the campaign.
Indian troops kill suspected top Kashmir militant
SRINAGAR, Oct 14 (AFP) - Government forces in Indian-administered Kashmir said they had killed a top commander from a Pakistan-based militant group after a fierce gunfight in the disputed region Saturday that sparked violent protests.
The gunfight is the latest in a string of deadly shootouts between Indian forces and suspected insurgents during an upsurge in violence in restive Kashmir, where local groups have for years demanded that the region be given independence or merged with Pakistan.
IMF, World Bank meetings in Washington
REUTERS - Finance ministers and central bankers from around the world are gathering in Washington this week for the fall meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The formal meetings began on Friday and continue through Sunday.
The IMF said on Tuesday in its World Economic Outlook that the current broad-based global economic upswing will likely be sustained this year and next, with gains in most of the world offsetting sluggish outcomes in the United States, Britain and India.
IMF, Spain warn on economic growth as Catalan crisis persists
MADRID, Oct 13 (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund and the Spanish government warned Friday the country's economic growth could be dealt a blow if Catalonia's drive to break away persists, just as the Catalan leader's separatist allies pressed him to go ahead with independence.
The central government has given Carles Puigdemont until next Thursday to abandon Catalonia's push for secession, failing which it may trigger unprecedented constitutional steps that could see Madrid take control of the semi-autonomous region. Puigdemont's separatist allies pressed him Friday to defy Madrid and declare independence. But with dozens of companies having already moved their legal headquarters from Catalonia, concerns are rising that growth in the region could take a hit.
Family freed from Taliban captivity arrive in Canada
OTTAWA, Oct14 (AFP) - Joshua Boyle, his American wife and three children arrived in Toronto Friday after being freed from captivity in Pakistan, the Canadian government announced. Boyle and his wife Caitlan Coleman were captured by the Taliban while hiking in Afghanistan in 2012, and then turned over to the affiliated militant Haqqani network in Pakistan. All three of their children were born in captivity. The family was freed by Pakistani forces acting on information received from the US intelligence services.