Arab League rejects Trump Mideast plan, calls it ‘unfair’
CAIRO — The Arab League rejected as “unfair” a Middle East plan unveiled by President Donald Trump and called for noncooperation with the U.S. administration, as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatened to cut all ties with the Israelis and the United States.
In a final statement on Saturday following an emergency meeting in Cairo, the Arab League Council said the U.S.-Israeli plan “does not meet the minimum rights and expectations of the Palestinian people.”
It asserted that the peace process should be based on the two-state solution in line with international resolutions and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
It warned Israel against implementing the deal by force and ignoring international resolutions, calling on the international community to resist any measures taken by the Israeli government on the ground.
It said it will turn to the Security Council and the U.N. General Assembly to oppose any plan that is unfair to the Palestinian people’s rights.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Abbas threatened to cut all ties with the Israelis and the United States in response to what Mr. Trump has dubbed the “Deal of the Century.”
Nigeria seeks to escape U.S. immigration ban
DAKAR, Senegal — President Donald Trump’s addition of four African countries to his administration’s travel ban could fuel discrimination and stifle business, leaders warned Saturday as people across the continent reeled at the news.
Most citizens of Nigeria — Africa’s most populous nation and biggest economy — and Eritrea would be blocked from coming to live and work in the United States under the measure, which takes effect Feb. 22, while Tanzania and Sudan would be barred from the competitive U.S. visa lottery.
The White House called the new restrictions “the height of common sense” in a statement Friday, adding that foreign countries must “satisfy basic security conditions” before their citizens could move to the United States.
Most citizens from Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan would also be banned under the new measure.
India’s once-flourishing economy is struggling
NEW DELHI — Faced with faltering economic growth, India’s government unveiled measures on Saturday aimed at getting millions of Indians to spend and spurring companies to invest.
The task at hand is urgent: India was the world’s fastest-growing major economy as recently as last year but has since ceded that spot to China. The news has worsened in recent months, with economic output in the current fiscal year expanding at the slowest pace in more than a decade.
The government on Saturday presented its annual budget, a much-anticipated exercise that serves as a manifesto for economic policy. It announced moves to cut certain taxes, encourage investment and reduce its stakes in major publiclyowned companies.
But investors looking for bold steps to power India back to faster growth were left disappointed: The country’s benchmark stock index slid more than 2% Saturday.