The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, says the Trump administration wants the removal of 'untrusted' Chinese apps from service in the country. Calling popular social media platforms TikTok and WeChat dangerous, Pompeo also raised concerns around data theft of intellectual property, including potential Covid-19 vaccines, through cloud-based services
Continue reading...Category Archives: Mike Pompeo
TikTok row: Microsoft pursues deal as Pompeo says Trump will take action soon
Microsoft confirms acquisition plans, hours after US secretary of state says Chinese software companies are feeding data directly to Communist party
Donald Trump will take action in coming days to tackle an array of national security risks presented by TikTok and other Chinese software companies, Mike Pompeo has said, as Microsoft revealed it was pursuing a deal after speaking to the US president.
Microsoft said late on Sunday that - after a conversation between Trump and its CEO, Satya Nadella – it would move quickly on acquisition talks with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, completing talks no later than 15 September. It pledged to ensure that all private data of American users was transferred to, and remained in, the US.
Continue reading...Democrats and Republicans take aim at Pompeo over US troop withdrawal from Germany
Secretary of state receives bipartisan grilling, and makes false claim to have fought along East German border as soldier in 1980s
The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw nearly 12,000 troops from Germany has come under bipartisan attack in the Senate, amid warnings it would disrupt US alliances.
Related: Barack Obama praises John Lewis as 'a man of pure joy and unbreakable perseverance' – live
Continue reading...US push for global alliance against China hampered by years of ‘America first’
Beijing is flexing its muscles on multiple fronts but Trump’s retreat from world leadership leaves it ill-placed to helm a fightback
The confrontation between the US and China is gathering pace with each passing week. In the past few days, the Chinese consulate in Houston has been shuttered amid allegations it was a spy hub, and the US mission in the south-western city of Chengdu was closed in retaliation, on similar grounds.
The FBI has started arresting Chinese researchers at US universities with suspected links to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), one of whom temporarily took refuge in the consulate in San Francisco, before surrendering.
Continue reading...Donald Trump’s assault on the WHO is deeply worrying for global health | Peter Beaumont
A diplomacy shaped around self-serving tittle-tattle now risks lives and undermines America’s standing in the world
The campaign by the Trump administration against the World Health Organization has often seemed faintly preposterous.
Over the months of the coronavirus pandemic its untruths and hyperbole have been dismissed by many as iterations of Trumpspeak, whose main purpose has been to distract from the US’s catastrophic response to Covid-19, which has claimed almost 140,000 lives and devastated the economy.
Continue reading...Mike Pompeo attacks WHO in private meeting during UK visit
US secretary of state said the World Health Organization was responsible for Britons who had died from Covid-19
The US secretary of state Mike Pompeo launched an extraordinary attack on the World Health Organization during a private meeting in the UK, accusing it of being in the pocket of China and responsible for “dead Britons” who passed away during the pandemic.
Pompeo told those present that he believed the WHO was “political not a science-based organisation” and accused its current director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of being too close to Beijing.
Continue reading...The Guardian view on rethinking China: right, but not because the US says so | Editorial
The UK’s suspension of the extradition treaty with Hong Kong reflects an international shift. But British and American interests are not identical
Mike Pompeo’s remark that Britain was making its own “sovereign choices” in dealing with China might have sounded better had he not concluded with a pat on the head: “We think – well done.”
The US secretary of state’s visit to London highlighted the complications of the government’s toughened stance. The hardening of attitudes towards China, seen throughout much of the west and elsewhere, has been driven primarily by Beijing’s increasing repression at home and forcefulness internationally. Much of the shift is a sensible recalibration. The government was right to extend the arms embargo on mainland China – which covers equipment potentially used for internal repression – to Hong Kong, and to suspend the extradition treaty with the region. Britain could hardly have done otherwise, given not only its historical responsibility, but also the extraordinary reach and draconian nature of the national security law.
Continue reading...Pompeo claims private property and religious freedom are ‘foremost’ human rights
US secretary of state seeks to refocus US human rights efforts as he launches report by government commission
Mike Pompeo has sought to redefine the US approach to human rights by giving preference to private property and religious freedom as the foremost “unalienable rights” laid down by America’s Founding Fathers.
Pompeo, launching a draft report by a Commission on Unalienable Rights he established a year ago, also claimed that a proliferation of human rights asserted by different US and international institutions had the effect of diluting those rights he viewed as the most important.
Continue reading...US is ‘still knee deep in first wave’ of coronavirus, warns Fauci – live
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The tell-all book due out shortly from Mary Trump, the niece of the president, tells of a family divided by trauma.
The Trump family failed to block the book after court efforts failed to stop publisher Simon & Schuster printing and distributing it, even though a restraining order was ongoing against Mary Trump herself, the daughter of Donald Trump’s late oldest brother.
In response to the news that New York state has sanctioned Deutsche Bank, the bank put out a statement by a spokesperson.
We acknowledge our error in onboarding Epstein in 2013 and the weakness in our processes, and have learnt from our mistakes and shortcomings. Immediately following Epstein’s arrest, we contacted law enforcement and offered our full assistance with their investigation.
The Department of Financial Services factual findings on Danske Estonia and FBME, like our own internal investigation, identified various deficiencies in our oversight and monitoring of the banks that used our clearing services. There was no intentional effort by anyone within the bank to facilitate unlawful activity...while the settlement reflects our upmost [sic] cooperation and transparent engagement with our regulator, it also shows how important it is to continue investing in our controls and enhancing our anti-financial crime capabilities.
Just got the following statement from @DeutscheBank spokesman Dan Hunter ––> pic.twitter.com/NpmzXuujcb
Continue reading...US urges allies to maintain UN embargo on arms sales to Iran
Mike Pompeo opposes lifting embargo, which is due to end in October, citing risk to stability
A US attempt to destroy the Iran nuclear deal, reimpose sanctions and extend a UN embargo on arms sales to Iran risks a “generational setback for the cause of multilateralism and international law”, Iran’s foreign minister has told the UN security council.
Russia’s ambassador to the UN also said the latest US moves to isolate Tehran was like “putting its knee to the neck of the Iranian people”. Vassily Nebenzia described the policy as “a maximum suffocation policy” and said the US’s goal was to make Iran the scapegoat for an uncontrollable escalation in the Middle East.
Continue reading...Everyone loses from Netanyahu’s territorial ambitions
The land grab in the West Bank will damage the region, the international community and Israel itself
It was always about land. Arabs possessed it, Jews claimed it. Both believed they were in the right. Since the 1930s, when the flight from fascism in Europe trebled the Jewish population of Palestine to 33%, this elemental, foundational struggle has intensified inexorably – with Israelis gaining ground time after time. Now Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister and co-leader of a powerful 74% Jewish majority state, wants to finish the job.
Netanyahu’s plan is to annex large parts of the West Bank and the Jordan valley, but his starting date of 1 July may slip amid disagreements with the US and internally over its scope and pace. Last week, Jordan’s King Abdullah described annexation as “unacceptable” and threatened to slash diplomatic ties. Hamas militants in Gaza called the plan a “declaration of war”.
Continue reading...US restricts visas for Chinese officials over Hong Kong freedoms
Secretary of state Mike Pompeo says visa restrictions apply to ‘current and former’ communist party officials, but does not name them
The US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said Washington will impose visa restrictions on Chinese officials responsible for restricting freedoms in Hong Kong, but he did not name any of those targeted.
The move on Friday comes ahead of a three-day meeting of China’s parliament from Sunday, which is expected to enact new national security legislation for Hong Kong that has alarmed foreign governments and democracy activists.
Continue reading...US imposes sanctions on Syrian president’s wife under Caesar Act
Asma al-Assad among dozens targeted in campaign to deny regime revenue and support
The Syrian first lady, Asma al-Assad, has been named in the first round of new US sanctions that are certain to intensify pressure on the embattled regime and its backers as the country’s crippled economy continues to wither.
The law, known as the Caesar Act, came into effect on Wednesday, placing anyone who does business with 39 named individuals and regime entities in the cross hairs of the US Treasury. The sanctions are the toughest yet imposed on Bashar al-Assad and are set to be the centrepiece of a pressure campaign that also targets his government’s two major backers, Iran and Hezbollah.
Continue reading...Only three out of 53 countries say US has handled coronavirus better than China
Survey reveals deep global dissatisfaction with US leadership under Donald Trump
China has beaten the US in the battle for world opinion over the handling of coronavirus, according to new polling, with only three countries out of 53 believing the US has dealt with the pandemic better than its superpower rival.
The survey comes ahead of a major conference on the future of democracy this week, due to be addressed by the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state John Kerry and the Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong. The conference is likely to be a rallying point for pro-democracy activists as China and the US enter an ever more explicit ideological contest.
Continue reading...US may take in Hongkongers ahead of China security laws, Pompeo suggests
Secretary of state says he is considering immigration option similar to move announced last week by UK
The US is considering letting people who no longer “feel comfortable” in Hong Kong move to the US, secretary of state Mike Pompeo has suggested.
The comments, made in a conversation with the American Enterprise Institute on Friday, come amid worsening relations between the two countries over China’s moves to impose national security laws on the semi-autonomous region.
Continue reading...‘We will simply disconnect’: Mike Pompeo and the Australian TV appearance that caused a diplomatic storm
A comment by the US secretary of state about Victoria’s belt and road project has ricocheted through Parliament House and the US embassy
When US secretary of state Mike Pompeo popped up on Australian television over the weekend it was not to be interviewed by the national broadcaster or indeed one of the main TV channels.
Instead he chose to appear on a fringe show with a relatively tiny audience hosted by a self-styled “outsider” who loves Donald Trump’s tweets almost as much as he loves railing against “the left”.
Continue reading...Mike Pompeo attacks China and says ‘we stand with Australia’ – video
The US secretary of state criticises China's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, while backing Australia's push for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19. In a media address, Mike Pompeo attacks the Chinese Communist party, declaring it 'ideologically and politically hostile to free nations'. His comments come after China slapped 80% tariffs on Australian barley exports and continue similar rhetoric from the Trump administration that is increasingly critical of Beijing
Continue reading...Watchdog was investigating Pompeo for arms deal and staff misuse before firing
State department inspector general Steve Linick was reportedly close to finishing his report before his dismissal on Friday
The government watchdog who was fired last week had been investigating the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, for sidestepping Congress to approve arms sales to the Gulf and using staffers for personal errands, according to congressional sources.
Donald Trump declared his intention to fire the state department inspector general, Steve Linick, in a letter sent to the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, late on Friday night. The White House said the decision was taken at Pompeo’s advice.
Continue reading...Coronavirus US live: Pence says White House looking to wind down taskforce as death toll passes 70,000
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Republican senator Lamar Alexander said that Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and House speaker Nancy Pelosi should accept Trump’s offer to make rapid coronavirus testing available to lawmakers.
“From a public health point of view, this is not mostly about protecting members of Congress. It is about protecting the people members might infect. Bringing 100 or 535 members from across the country to Washington, D.C.—a coronavirus hotspot—and then sending them home each weekend creates a highly efficient virus spreading machine,” Alexander said in a new statement.
My statement on COVID-19 testing for members of Congress.https://t.co/x3tjhVJsWo pic.twitter.com/ywRMZYye1c
Trump’s press secretary has responded to the vice president’s comments that the White House is looking to wind down the coronavirus task force in the coming weeks.
Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the White House would still be “involving medical experts” in decisions related to the coronavirus response.
Reporting on the task force is being misconstrued to suggest the White House is no longer involving medical experts. This is totally false.
President @realDonaldTrump will continue his data-driven approach towards safely re-opening.
Mike Pompeo: ‘enormous evidence’ coronavirus came from Chinese lab
- Secretary of state does not provide any evidence to back claim
- Trump aide unclear on whether claim is virus was manmade
- Coronavirus US: latest news
- Coronavirus outbreak: full coverage
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, claimed on Sunday there is “enormous evidence” the coronavirus outbreak originated in a Chinese laboratory – but did not provide any of the alleged evidence.
Related: Pandemic brings Trump's war on science to the boil – but who will win?
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