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The International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday Iran is complying with restrictions on its nuclear program in accord with the 2015 international agreement. The inspectors’ assessment is the first since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the pact.

The United Nations atomic watchdog said Tehran is staying within limits on the level to which it can enrich uranium, the size of its stock of enriched uranium and other strictures. But it chided Iran for limiting “complementary access” inspections.

The U.N. assessment came as the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Iran in an effort to force the Islamic Republic back to the bargaining table to negotiate new terms of the nuclear agreement, curb its ballistic missile tests, end its military advances in the Middle East.

The U.S. says in coming months, it will reimpose sanctions it and other countries dropped when Tehran agreed to restrain its nuclear program — measures that hobbled the Iranian economy. But the five other signatories to the Iran nuclear accord — Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia — all have said they continue to support the deal.

Thursday’s sanctions targeted nine individuals and companies for providing support to Iranian airlines that previously had been blacklisted.

The U.S. Treasury Department said Tehran-based Mahan Air was cited for playing a “critical role in exporting the Iranian regime’s malign influence,” saying it has “routinely” flown fighters and supplies to Syria in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In a statement, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, “Countries and companies around the world should take note of the risks associated with granting landing rights and providing aviation services to the airlines used by Iran to export terrorism throughout the region.”

“The deceptive practices these airlines employ to illegally obtain services and U.S. goods is yet another example of the duplicitous ways in which the Iranian regime has operated,” Mnuchin said.

The U.S. sanctions also targeted three other Iranian carriers, Caspian Air, Meraj Air, and Pouya Air, as well as Turkish nationals and entities for assisting the Iranian airlines.

The sanctions are aimed at preventing Iran from buying U.S.-export controlled components to sustain their air fleets.
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International investigators looking into the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014 have identified the Russian military brigade they believe owned the missile that was used to bring down the airliner. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
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Authorities in Spain say police are raiding several public and private offices across Catalonia in an operation against the alleged misappropriation of public development aid money.

Investigating magistrate Joaquin Aguirre in Barcelona ordered Thursday’s raid as part of a probe into at least 2 million euros (US$2.3 million) in development grants from the local government that were allegedly misused in an unspecified manner.

It said the investigation, which is also looking into possible abuse of power and fraud charges, has been going on for more than a year and remains sealed.

Private news agency Europa Press reported that 22 people had been arrested. Spanish police confirmed the raids but said the number of people arrested couldn’t be confirmed until the operation is closed.

 
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French and Rwandan leaders vowed to work together on key African security issues Wednesday, as they sought to move forward after bitter differences over Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.

Standing alongside his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, French President Emmanuel Macron said the two leaders had agreed to work “pragmatically” on issues of mutual concern, especially on African hot spots like the Sahel, Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic.

Referring to years of tension over the Rwandan genocide, Macron said it was not a question of underestimating the past, but rather assuming it and trying to overcome it.

He spoke at a joint news conference following talks between the two presidents, who also met with tech executives.The two leaders will attend a Paris tech forum Thursday that showcases African startups, among other talent.

French contribution hailed

Kagame, who was re-elected to a third term last year and is the current African Union president, said France has made a positive contribution in Africa.

“Your views have coincided with my views and the views of many in Africa that there is more need to work together in true partnership, as well as trying to encourage and empower Africans to play a very significant role in their affairs,” Kagame said to Macron.

Rwanda released a report last year accusing France of complicity in the genocide that killed 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus. France has previously admitted making mistakes but never apologized for its role.

Macron said he would not appoint a French ambassador to Rwanda for now, calling it too early. But he said France was working to declassify key archives of the genocide, and that French and Rwandan researchers would work together in documenting a collective memory of the killings.

Macron also threw his support behind the candidacy of Rwanda’s foreign minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, as the next head of the Paris-based International Francophonie Organization. While Kagame speaks English, Macron says about half of Rwandan citizens can speak French.
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President Donald Trump’s top health official said Wednesday that the U.S. and global partners will “take the steps necessary” to try to contain a new Ebola outbreak, asserting that the fight against infectious diseases is one of the administration’s top priorities for the World Health Organization, the U.N. agency taking the lead. 

Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar stopped short of predicting whether the outbreak in Congo that’s believed to have killed at least 27 people will be contained, but he praised WHO’s early response and vowed: “If it spreads, we will take further actions.”

Azar’s comments on Ebola came in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, which also touched on universal health care, U.S. prescription-drug prices, and the recent revelations of a $1.2 million payout by Swiss drugs giant Novartis last year to Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. 

Novartis, one of the world’s largest pharma companies, said Cohen was hired to advise on how the Trump administration might approach health care policy. Experts have pointed out that Novartis needs FDA approval for the sale of its drugs and that company officials have spoken approvingly of rolling back the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, a Trump campaign promise largely unfulfilled.

“I don’t and won’t comment on the particulars of any individual situation,” said Azar, a former executive with drugmaker Eli Lilly. 

“The president has talked about how extensively ‘pharma’ generally spends money on lobbying. And we have said: You really don’t need to spend that money on lobbying because the president and the secretary have been very transparent about where we are going with drug prices: We’re going to lower drug prices in the United States,” he said.

The response to the Ebola outbreak by WHO and its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has emerged as a major concern as ministers like Azar and his counterparts from other nations gather this week for the World Health Assembly in Geneva. The conclave lays out the agenda of the U.N. agency, which reaps hundreds of millions in U.S. funding each year.  

“I think it best not to make predictions when dealing with infectious disease,” Azar said cautiously, when asked if the outbreak will be contained. “We will take the steps necessary, we will act aggressively, forcefully, in partnership across the world community to do everything to contain it.” 

“I think that what we’re seeing is that we’re taking it very seriously from Day One,” he said. 

A day earlier, Azar told the Assembly the U.S. was committing an additional $7 million for the Ebola response, raising its total to $8 million. The WHO has launched a “strategic response plan” for itself and partner organizations that seeks nearly $26 million to battle the outbreak, a figure that’s expected to rise.

“We’re also grateful for other countries that have stepped up to the plate. And we hope others will do the same,” Azar added. 

Azar said the “first and foremost mission” that the U.S. and the world community look to the WHO for is its “central role around infectious disease and emergency preparedness and response.”

Azar also underscored a Trump administration grievance: that other developed countries are “free riding off U.S. investment and innovation” in medicines and health care. The White House says countries that regulate the price of drugs contribute to higher costs in the U.S. and keep their own costs artificially low.

Azar said he delivered that message to his peers in Geneva.

“It has been a thoughtful response,” he said, when asked about their reaction. “It has not been reflexive, it has been a sense of, ‘We’re in this together. We do need to work to support innovation.’”

But he said he was leaving the details to others.

“I’m not here to do trade negotiations. I have delivered the message and said our trade negotiators are coming: Be ready!” he said with a laugh. “I have said we have our own job: The president is going to bring down American drug costs. But they’ll have their job.”
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Britain’s newly-married Prince Harry has had a long love affair with the African continent. He spent his post-graduation year in Lesotho, launched a children’s charity there and fell in love with his bride-to-be in Botswana. Africa is also the couple’s rumored honeymoon destination. Royal watchers are betting he and Meghan Markle will celebrate their recent marriage in the southern African nation of Namibia, known for its sand dunes and pristine beaches.

That love for Africa shone through, observers said, at the wedding. Ululating guests gave the celebration an African flavor, while impassioned musical performances and a stirring homily from a prominent African-American theologian spoke to the difficult, painful — and jubilant — history of people of African descent around the world.

As the couple — now known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex — said their vows in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, millions of royal watchers across Africa watched raptly. They included Lesotho’s former foreign minister, while that nation’s crown prince had the unique distinction of being the only non-English royal invited to the wedding.

Former foreign minister Mamphono Khaketla said she was “glued” to her TV for the wedding. She met the prince four years ago when he visited Lesotho.

“He’s a very charming young boy,” she told VOA, with a laugh, adding, “He was at that point. He’s not very tied up, you know. Very humble and down to Earth, he was.”

‘I choose them both’

The Duchess of Sussex has shown her own fondness for Africa, remarking during a 2016 trip to Rwanda that, “My life shifts from refugee camps to red carpets. I choose them both because these worlds can, in fact, coexist.”

Khaketla said she hopes the couple will continue their charitable activities. In Lesotho, that work has made a big difference, she said.

“It has actually helped us put Lesotho on the map, on the world’s map,” she said. “Sometimes, governments, we try, but if you have somebody of that stature coming to your country and doing what he has done — it has helped to destigmatize HIV and AIDS, and you can see that some of the children he started working with are young adults.”

‘I thought it was great’

It’s not only their charity that has captivated viewers in Africa. Lungile Zakwe is executive director of IkamvaYouth, a nongovernmental organization that works with young and disadvantaged South Africans. She describes herself as a “proud African feminist.”

She has become a regular guest on South African radio shows because of something a little more personal. Her Prince Charming — whom she prefers to call her “life partner” — is white.

Until 1985, it was illegal for mixed race couples to marry in South Africa. Zakwe said she applauds the royal family for normalizing interracial relationships. Markle is the daughter of an African American mother and white father.

“People just try to understand, ‘How can two people from such different worlds come together and accept each other?’ And usually what comes up — and I’m sure it comes up for Meghan herself — is, How can you be pro-black and yet spend your life with somebody from another racial group?’ And for me, I find that it always makes me uncomfortable. I find it problematic, because of course you can be pro-black and still be in love with somebody from another racial group,” Zakwe said.

Hairstylist Lisa-May Hagemann said she felt the ceremony was the most inclusive royal wedding she has ever seen. The duchess honored several African nations in the Commonwealth, including South Africa, by having their flowers embroidered on her 5-meter veil.

“I loved the whole African theme that went with it — maybe not so much the pastor — I think he went a little bit overboard,” she said, referring to the lively, nearly 15-minute homily delivered by Bishop Michael Curry, presiding head of the U.S. Episcopal Church. “But definitely the choir that sang. I think it just brought a little bit of diversity to it. I didn’t think the queen was very happy with it, but yes, I thought it was great.”

‘It’s about damn time’

Zakwe, who is unmarried, said she was thrilled at the optics of the wedding.  

“I think as black people, people of color, this is our time,” she said. “And it’s always been our time. And it’s beautiful that there were ululations, there was a black priest, there were black people in the audience. That’s great, that’s fantastic, and it’s about damn time. But as I say, this has been happening to other normal people on the ground who fall in love, and it’s interesting this time around because this particular wedding, for obvious reasons, has more of a spotlight shone on it.”

Zakwe said something else clearly shone through the talented choir, the pomp, the diamonds and the guest list. What shone through, she said, was a powerful force — one that transcends race, language and borders: love.

 
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The United States on Tuesday gave American customers of Russia’s biggest van manufacturer GAZ more time to comply with sanctions, further backing away from its initially uncompromising stance on GAZ’s owner, Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska.

The United States slapped sanctions on Deripaska and his companies — including GAZ — and some other Russian tycoons in April, in response to Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections and what Washington called other “malign activities.”

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters previously that sanctions on GAZ could affect its contracts with German carmakers Volkswagen and Daimler, as well as with U.S. firm Cummins Inc.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday gave Americans until Oct. 23 instead of June 5 to wind down operations and contracts with GAZ and said it would consider lifting the sanctions if Deripaska ceded control of the company.

GAZ declined to comment. The company competes with firms including a joint venture between Ford Motor Co and its Russian partner Sollers.

The same extension was previously given and the same mechanism for potential lifting of sanctions was described by the United States for Deripaska’s main asset, the world’s second-biggest aluminum producer Rusal.

The move was preceded by a lobbying campaign from Europe as the sanctions against Rusal caused a turmoil in the aluminum market.

Deripaska has already said he agreed in principal to reduce his influence in another company which controls Rusal.
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Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg apologized to EU lawmakers on Tuesday, saying the company had not done enough to prevent misuse of the social network and that regulation is “important and inevitable.”

Meeting the leaders of the European Parliament, Zuckerberg stressed the importance of Europeans to Facebook and said he was sorry for not doing enough to prevent abuse of the platform.

“We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility. That was a mistake and I am sorry for it,” Zuckerberg said in his opening remarks.

In response to questions about whether Facebook ought to be broken up, Zuckerberg said the question was not whether there should be regulation but what kind of regulation there should be.

“Some sort of regulation is important and inevitable,” he said.

He declined to answer when leading lawmakers asked him again as the session concluded whether there was any cross use of data between Facebook and subsidiaries like WhatsApp or on whether he would give an undertaking to let users block targeting adverts.

Facebook has been embroiled in a data scandal after it emerged that the personal data of 87 million users were improperly accessed by a political consultancy.
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Japan, Russia and Turkey have warned the United States about potential retaliation for its tariffs on steel and aluminium, the World Trade Organization said on Tuesday, bringing the total U.S. tariff bill to around $3.5 billion annually.

The three countries detailed their compensation claims in notifications to the world trade body, following similar moves by the European Union, India and China. Each showed how much the disputed U.S. tariffs would add to the cost of steel and aluminium exports to the United States, based on 2017 trade.

Russia said the U.S. tariffs, which President Donald Trump imposed in March, would add duties of $538 million to its annual steel and aluminium exports. Japan put the sum at $440 million. Turkey added a further $267 million.

China, the 28-nation EU and India have put their claims at $612 million, $1.6 billion and $165 million respectively.

They all reject the U.S. view that the import tariffs – 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium — are justified by U.S. national security concerns and are therefore exempt from the WTO rules.

They say the U.S. tariffs have all the hallmarks of “safeguards”, a trade restriction that can be legitimately used to protect a struggling industry from an unforeseen surge in imports.

A country using safeguards must compensate other WTO members who stand to lose out from the restriction on their trade, normally by rebalancing their trading relationship with a net increase in imports of other goods.

But the United States denies its tariffs are safeguards and has offered no compensation, prompting the retaliatory action.

The compensation would normally take years, but because the U.S. steel and aluminium sectors were not facing an absolute increase in imports, the WTO rules permitted retaliation in just 30 days’ time, they said.

Japan said it was free to impose at least $264 million of its retaliation after 30 days, suggesting that the rest might be delayed, since some of the U.S. products covered by the tariffs were subject to an absolute increase in imports from Japan.

Neither Russia nor Japan specified how they might retaliate against U.S. exports, but Turkey listed 22 U.S. goods that it was planning to target, ranging from nuts, rice and tobacco to cars and steel products.
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A German court on Tuesday rejected a request from prosecutors to take former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont back into custody pending a decision on whether he can be extradited to Spain.

Puigdemont was detained by German police March 25 after crossing the border from Denmark. Spain had issued a European arrest warrant and sought his extradition on charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds — charges that stem from an unauthorized referendum last year on Catalonia’s independence from Spain.

He was released April 6 after a German court said it appeared he can’t be extradited for rebellion, the more serious of the two charges. But prosecutors in the northern town of Schleswig argued that new information provided by Spanish authorities suggests that would be possible.

They cited videos showing violence against Spanish police and said in a statement that “the disturbances were on such a scale that prosecutors believe that he should also be extradited over the accusation of rebellion.” The prosecutors argued that the charge is comparable to two offenses under German law — treason and breaching the peace.

They said that Puigdemont would pose a flight risk and called for him to be taken back into custody. The state court in Schleswig disagreed and rejected the request.

Puigdemont remains free with certain conditions, including reporting to police once a week.

The separatist politician has been living in Berlin, frequently receiving political allies from Catalonia including his newly elected successor as regional president, Quim Torra.

The Schleswig court said it is “still open” when a final decision will be made on whether Puigdemont can be extradited. It said that the prosecutors have yet to submit a formal application to examine whether an extradition is possible.

 
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European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said Tuesday that the EU still has no idea whether U.S. President Donald Trump will slap tariffs on the bloc’s steel and aluminum exports next week.

“We have no clarity yet,” Malmstrom told reporters in Brussels as EU ministers gathered for talks on trade. She noted that she and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross speak several times a week.

In March, Trump imposed tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on imported aluminum, but granted the 28 EU countries an exemption until June 1. He also temporarily exempted big steel producers Canada and Mexico, provided they agree to renegotiate a North American trade deal to his satisfaction.

“I don’t think they will be prolonged, the exemptions, so there will be some sort of decision and we have to prepare for different scenarios,” Malmstrom said.

Convinced that the U.S. move breaks World Trade Organization rules, the EU has drawn up a list of “rebalancing” duties worth some 2.8 billion euros ($3.4 billion) to impose on U.S. products if it is not permanently exempt. It has vowed not to negotiate under threat.

The EU, the world’s biggest trading bloc, rejects Trump’s argument that the tariffs are needed to protect national security. Most EU countries are U.S. partners in NATO.

“We think that they are not legitimate, and they go against the WTO,” Malmstrom said.

Should the tariffs be dropped, the EU stands ready to deepen trans-Atlantic energy cooperation, notably on liquefied natural gas, improve reciprocal market access for industrial products and work together to reform WTO rules.

“Time is running out,” German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier warned. “Whether we succeed in preventing punitive tariffs from taking effect on June 1 is a completely open question – but we should leave nothing untried to prevent that, and we should work for an agreement.”

“We want to avoid a trade war,” he said, adding that it’s important “to avoid mutual increases in tariffs, because that would lead to citizens and consumers paying the price, and we want to rule that out.”
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