Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday he would not request an extension to Brexit, hours after a law came into force demanding that he delay Britain’s departure from the European Union until 2020 unless he can strike a divorce deal. For the second time in a week, lawmakers then rejected Johnson’s request to try to break the deadlock through an early national election. With the future of Brexit mired in uncertainty, parliament was suspended until Oct. 14, sparking tense scenes in the House of Commons where opposition lawmakers held signs reading “silenced” and yelled “shame on you” at Johnson’s ruling Conservatives. Johnson appeared to have lost control of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union with the approval of the law, which obliges him to seek a delay unless he can strike a new deal at an EU summit next month.

The UN s nuclear watchdog confirmed Monday that Iran was installing advanced centrifuges as the troubled 2015 deal with world powers over Tehran s nuclear programme threatens to fall apart. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement that on September 7 it had "verified that the following centrifuges were either installed or being installed...: 22 IR-4, one IR-5, 30 IR-6 and three IR-6s". The IAEA s confirmation comes a day after Tehran hit out at European powers, saying they had left Iran little option but to scale back its commitments under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The IAEA added in its statement that the centrifuges had been installed at Iran s Natanz facility and said "all of the installed centrifuges had been prepared for testing with UF6 (uranium hexafluoride), although none of them were being tested with UF6 on 7 and 8 September 2019". "In addition, in a letter to the Agency dated 8 September, Iran informed the Agency that it would reinstall the piping at two R&D lines to accommodate a cascade of 164 IR-4 centrifuges and a cascade of 164 IR-2m centrifuges," the agency s statement said. Iran has said that notwithstanding its reduction of commitments under the JCPOA, it will continue to allow access to IAEA inspectors who monitor its nuclear programme. Wrong approach Iran has already broken the limits on uranium enrichment level and the overall stockpile of enriched uranium which were laid down in the JCPOA. On Sunday the IAEA s Acting Director General Cornel Feruta was in Tehran where he met senior Iranian officials. Later Monday Feruta will address the beginning of the quarterly meeting of the IAEA s Board of Governors. Also on Monday, China -- which along with France, Germany, Britain and Russia is also a signatory to the JCPOA -- called on the US to "give up its wrong approach such as unilateral sanctions and extreme pressure against Iran". The JCPOA has been under mounting pressure since the US withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and then re-introduced sanctions on Iran. "At the same time, all parties to the agreement should also commit themselves to the full and effective implementation" of the JCPOA, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing. "We hope that the relevant parties can meet at halfway and push for the easing of tensions around the Iranian nuclear issue," Hua said.

Turkish and U.S. troops conducted their first joint ground patrol in northeastern Syria Sunday as part of a planned so-called ``safe zone that Ankara has been pressing for in the war-torn region. Turkey hopes the buffer zone, which it says should be at least 30 kilometers (19 miles) deep, will keep Syrian Kurdish fighters, considered a threat by Turkey but U.S. allies in the fight against the Islamic State group, away from its border. Associated Press journalists in the town of Tal Abyad saw about a dozen Turkish vehicles with the country s red flag standing along the border after crossing into Syria, and American vehicles about a mile away waiting. The two sides then came together in a joint patrol with American vehicles leading the convoy. At least one helicopter hovered overhead. The Turkish Defense Ministry confirmed the start of the joint patrols and said unmanned aerial vehicles were also being used. Turkey also says some Syrian refugees could be resettled in the zone. Details of the zone and how it would work are still being worked out in separate talks with Ankara and the Kurdish-led forces in Syria known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. Sunday s joint patrol is the first one taking place as part of the safe zone. Anadolu Agency said six Turkish armored vehicles crossed into Syria on Sunday from the border town of Akcakale, opposite from Syria s Tal Abyad, and joined U.S. vehicles for their first joint patrol of an area east of the Euphrates river. AP reporters in Tal Abyad said the patrol was headed to a Kurdish-controlled base apparently to inspect it and ensure that trenches and sand berms had been removed. U.S. troops had inspected the base on Saturday during patrols with the SDF during which some of the berms Turkey had complained about were removed. On Thursday, Turkey warned that it could ``open its gates and allow Syrian refugees in the country to move toward Western countries if a safe zone is not created and Turkey is left to shoulder the refugee burden alone. Turkey hosts 3.6 million refugees from Syria. Washington and the Kurdish-led forces say a ``security mechanism is taking shape to diffuse tensions in the area.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson looked for new ways Thursday to bring about a national election, after rebellious British lawmakers rejected his call to trigger a snap poll and moved to block his plan to leave the European Union next month without a divorce deal. Johnson s office said he will seek the public s support for his bid to hold a general election in coming weeks. Downing Street says Johnson plans to speak directly to the people Thursday, but details of a planned speech or rally were not immediately released. Johnson s failure on Wednesday to secure a quick ballot was the embattled leader s third Parliamentary defeat in two days. It was also evidence that scarcely six weeks after taking office with a vow to break Britain s Brexit deadlock _ which ensnared and eventually brought down his predecessor, Theresa May _ Johnson s plans to lead the U.K. out of the EU are in crisis. Events have spiraled out of his control. He leads a government with no majority in Parliament and an election that could change that fact may be beyond his reach. The latest setback for Johnson came Wednesday evening after he called for a national election on Oct. 15, saying it was the only way out of Britain s Brexit impasse after lawmakers moved to block his plan to leave the European Union next month without a divorce deal. But Parliament turned down his motion and the prime minister indicated he would try again, saying an election was the only way forward for the country and urging opposition lawmakers to ``reflect overnight and in the course of the next few days. Johnson s office reiterated Thursday that the prime minister will not seek another Brexit delay from Brussels that would take the United Kingdom s departure past the current Oct. 31 deadline. He says Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn s refusal to endorse an election is a ``cowardly insult to democracy. Johnson insists Britain must leave the bloc on the scheduled date of Oct. 31, with or without a divorce deal, but many lawmakers _ including several from Johnson s Conservative Party _ are determined to thwart him. Shortly before lawmakers rebuffed the call for a new election, the House of Commons approved an opposition bill designed to halt a no-deal Brexit. Johnson accused the opposition of trying to ``overturn the biggest democratic vote in our history, referring to the outcome of the 2016 referendum to leave the EU. His solution, a risky one, is an election that could shake up Parliament and produce a less obstructive crop of lawmakers. But opinion polls do not point to a certain majority for Johnson s Conservatives. Opposition parties, deeply mistrustful of the prime minister, refused to back a new election until the anti-no deal bill becomes law. ``Let the bill pass and have Royal Assent and then we can have a general election, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said. Johnson needed the support of two-thirds of the 650 lawmakers in the House of Commons to trigger an election _ a total of 434 _ but got just 298, with 56 voting no and the rest abstaining. The maneuvers are part of a head-on showdown between Johnson s Brexit-at-all-costs administration and a Parliament worried about the economic and social damage that could be wrought by a messy divorce. Opposition lawmakers, supported by rebels in Johnson s Conservative Party, warn that crashing out of the bloc without a divorce agreement would cause irreparable economic harm. Amid the parliamentary turmoil the upper chamber, the House of Lords, voted early Thursday to push through the no-deal bill so that it can pass into law before Parliament is suspended next week. The bill s supporters had feared its opponents in the Lords could try to stop it by filibustering. But in a session that lasted until 1.30 a.m. in London, peers agreed to return the bill to the Commons on Monday for any amendments before passing into law. ``There is very little time left, said Labour Party lawmaker Hilary Benn as he introduced the opposition bill. ``The purpose of the bill is very simple: to ensure that the United Kingdom does not leave the European Union on the 31st of October without an agreement. The bill would require the government to ask the EU to delay Brexit until Jan. 31, 2020, if it can t secure a deal with the bloc by late October. The lawmakers hope to pass the bill into law _ a process that can take months _ by the end of the week, because Johnson plans to suspend Parliament at some point next week until Oct. 14. Johnson became prime minister in July by promising to lead Britain out of the EU, breaking the impasse that has paralyzed the country s politics since voters decided in June 2016 to leave the bloc. But he is caught between the EU, which refuses to renegotiate the deal it stuck with May, and a majority of British lawmakers opposed to leaving without an agreement. Most economists say a no-deal Brexit would cause severe economic disruption and plunge the U.K. into recession. Johnson insisted Wednesday that talks with the EU on a revised deal were ``making substantial progress. But the bloc says the U.K. has not submitted any substantial new proposals. European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said ``there is nothing new from London. Johnson, who was a leader of the 2016 campaign to leave the EU, has long said that his enthusiasm and energy for Brexit will allow him to succeed in leaving the EU where May had failed, leading to her resignation. But he was humiliated Tuesday _ the first day of Parliament s autumn term _ by losing his first Commons vote as prime minister when lawmakers passed a motion 328-301 that enabled their push for a law stopping a no-deal Brexit. His government lost its working majority as one Conservative lawmaker defected to the opposition, and more than 20 Tory legislators sided with the opposition on the vote. Johnson responded with swift vengeance, expelling the rebels from the Conservatives in Parliament, leaving them as independent lawmakers. Among those bounced out were former International Development Secretary Rory Stewart; Kenneth Clarke, a former treasury chief and the longest-serving member of the House of Commons; and Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Johnson hero Winston Churchill. But the beleaguered U.K. leader got a boost Wednesday when a Scottish court refused to intervene in his decision to suspend Parliament, ruling it was a matter for lawmakers to decide, not the courts. The case was only the first of several challenges to Johnson s maneuver, however. Transparency campaigner Gina Miller, who won a ruling in the Supreme Court in 2017 that stopped the government from triggering the countdown to Brexit without a vote in Parliament, has another legal challenge in the works _ set to be heard Thursday. A human rights campaigner has sued in Northern Ireland, arguing that the historic Good Friday peace accord is in jeopardy because of Johnson s actions.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Wednesday announced the withdrawal of an extradition bill that triggered months of unrest and threw the Chinese-ruled city into its worst crisis in decades, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The announcement, in an internal meeting with pro- establishment lawmakers and Hong Kong delegates of China s National People s Congress, came just two days after Reuters revealed that Lam told business leaders last week she had caused "unforgivable havoc" by introducing the bill. If she had a choice she would apologise and resign, according to a leaked audio recording.. The protests against the bill in the former British colony began in March but snowballed in June and have since evolved into a push for greater democracy. The bill would have allowed extraditions to mainland China where courts are controlled by the Communist Party, It was not immediately clear if the bill s withdrawal would help end the unrest. The immediate reaction appeared sceptical and the real test will be how many people take to the streets. Many are furious at perceived police brutality and the number of arrests - 1,183 at the latest count - and want an independent inquiry. "This won t appease the protesters," said Boris Chen, 37 who works in financial services. "In any kind of time, people will find something they can get angry about." Pearl, 69, said the protests were no longer about the bill. "Some of those guys may change their minds, maybe, but just a minority," she said of the protesters. "Some of them just want to create trouble and they will continue to do so." "Too little, too late," said Joshua Wong, a leader of the 2014 pro-democracy protests which were the precursor to the current unrest, on his Facebook page. At the closed-door meeting of business leaders last week, Lam said she now had "very limited" room to resolve the crisis because the unrest had become a national security and sovereignty issue for China amid rising tensions with the United States. Lam s remarks are consistent with a Reuters report published on Friday that revealed how leaders in Beijing were effectively calling the shots on handling the crisis. The chief executive s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the bill s withdrawal. Nor did China s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. Hong Kong s benchmark Hang Seng Index jumped after the report of the bill s imminent withdrawal, trading up about 4%. The property index also jumped. The withdrawal was one of the protesters key demands. Lam has said before that the bill was "dead" but she did not withdraw it. The other demands are: the retraction of the word "riot" to describe rallies, the release of all arrested demonstrators, an independent inquiry into the police perceived brutality and the right for Hong Kong people to democratically choose their own leaders. Michael Tien, a member of Hong Kong’s legislature and a deputy to China’s national parliament, said the government should withdraw the bill and that he would support an inquiry commission. "If the government mentioned (a withdrawal) in June it would have stopped already," he told reporters, referring to the protests. CHINA S WARNINGS Hong Kong returned to China under a "one country, two systems" formula that allows it to keep freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, like the freedom to protest and an independent legal system, hence the anger at the extradition bill and perceived creeping influence by Beijing. The Chinese government rejected a recent proposal by Lam to defuse the conflict that included withdrawing the bill altogether, three people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Asked about that report, China s foreign ministry said the central government "supports, respects and understands" Lam s decision to suspend the bill. The Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid published by the Communist Party s official People s Daily, denounced it as "fake". China has regularly denounced the protests and warned about the impact on Hong Kong s economy China denies it is meddling in Hong Kong s affairs but warned again on Tuesday that it would not sit idly by if the unrest threatened Chinese security and sovereignty. It has also expressed concern about the damage to the city s economy, which is on the verge of a recession. Cathay Pacific Airways has been one of the biggest corporate casualties. China’s aviation regulator demanded it suspend staff from flying over its airspace if they were involved in, or supported, the demonstrations. The airline has laid off at least 20 including pilots and cabin crew. The airline on Wednesday announced the resignation of chairman John Slosar, following the departure of CEO Rupert Hogg last month. The unrest has shown no sign of easing. Riot police fired beanbag guns and used pepper spray - both anti-riot weapons - to clear demonstrators from outside the Mong Kok police station and in Prince Edward metro station, with one man taken out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his face, television footage showed. Videos showing the man being apprehended by the police in the station have been widely shared on social media with protest groups and activists saying it is evidence of the police brutality they say is widespread and needs to be investigated. The police, who have repeatedly denied using excessive force, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hong Kong police are due to hold a news conference at 4 p.m. (0800 GMT). Three men, aged between 21 and 42, were taken to Kwong Wa Hospital late on Tuesday, a hospital authority spokeswoman said. Two, including the man stretchered out of Prince Edward station, were in a stable condition and one had been discharged, she said.

Lawmakers will decide on Tuesday whether to shunt Britain towards a snap election when they vote on the first stage of their plan to block Prime Minister Boris Johnson from pursuing a no-deal Brexit. Johnson implicitly warned lawmakers on Monday that he would seek an election if they tied his hands on Brexit, ruling out ever countenancing a further delay to Britain s departure from the European Union. That sets up a Brexit showdown between Johnson, who has promised to take Britain out of the EU on Oct. 31 with or without an agreement, and parliament, where a majority of lawmakers are opposed leaving without a deal. "The one thing that is holding us back, the handbrake on getting Brexit delivered and getting the country motoring forward, is the lingering sense in Brussels that maybe the shenanigans in parliament will lead to the delay or the cancellation of Brexit," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said. With 59 days to go, an alliance of opposition lawmakers and rebels in Johnson s Conservative Party will use parliament s first day back from its summer break to launch their attempt to block a no-deal exit. The group will put forward a vote on Tuesday on whether to seize control of the parliamentary agenda the following day to try to pass legislation that would force Johnson to seek a three-month delay to Britain s EU exit. Johnson raised the stakes, however, effectively turning it into a confidence vote by making it clear that if the government were defeated, it would hold a vote on Wednesday to approve an early election, most likely to be held on Oct. 14. An election would thrust Brexit onto an uncertain path with three main options: a Brexit-supporting government under Johnson, a Labour government led by socialist Jeremy Corbyn, or a hung parliament that could lead to another referendum. Against the dollar, the British currency fell 0.7% to a low of $1.1971, the lowest since a flash crash low of $1.1491 hit in October 2016. Brexit Chess Johnson warned parliament he would never accept a delay to Brexit. "I want everybody to know – there are no circumstances in which I will ask Brussels to delay. We are leaving on the 31st of October, no ifs or buts." While the British leader said he did not want a snap election, he raised the prospect of one, and a senior government source said lawmakers should be aware it would be a consequence of their decision to vote against the government on Tuesday. "I don t want an election. You don t want an election. Let s get on with the people s agenda," Johnson said at a hastily organised appearance outside Number 10 Downing Street. Johnson has cast rebels as EU "collaborators" who are undermining the government s negotiating hand by blunting his threat of a no-deal Brexit. Rebels say the government wants an election but is trying to blame lawmakers for triggering one. Brexit crunch The senior government source said any Conservatives who voted against the government would be expelled from the party. Media have reported about 20 Conservative lawmakers were prepared to rebel. Names on the legislation put forward include former finance minister Philip Hammond. In order to hold an election, the government would need the backing of two-thirds of lawmakers in the 650-seat House of Commons. While Labour s Corbyn has said he wants an election, some in his party are concerned about voting for one before a delay to Britain s EU exit has been secured. Corbyn will host a meeting of opposition parties on Tuesday morning to discuss their plans to block a no-deal, his spokesman said. Johnson, whose Conservatives have seen an opinion poll bounce since he took office, has a working majority of just one seat in the 650-seat lower house of parliament and some suspect it has always been his strategy to head to the polls. "The prime minister seems to be doing everything he can to bring about an election, while claiming it’s the last thing he wants," said a source close to the group of Conservative lawmakers opposed to a no-deal exit. An election could make a no-deal Brexit more likely, according to JPMorgan, as polling indicates Johnson could win. "The effect of these developments, in our view, is to push up the probability of a general election occurring next month, and thereby to make no-deal more likely as of end October," JPMorgan said in a note to clients.

Lebanon s Hezbollah movement and Israel traded cross-border fire on Sunday, in a spat that came after a week of heightened tensions between the two rivals. Are both sides heading towards a repeat of a deadly 2006 war or was the latest carefully weighted exchange a sign they will step back from all-out conflict? Analysts lean towards the latter but warn that Israel and Hezbollah don t hold all the cards. Border flare-up? Hezbollah on Sunday said it destroyed a military vehicle in northern Israel. Israel s army said it responded with around 100 artillery shells. Israeli officials refuted Hezbollah claims that it had killed and wounded those inside the military vehicle, saying there were no casualties. The episode came amid soaring tensions after Israel targeted Hezbollah with an air strike in Syria on August 24, which the Iran-backed group said killed two of its members. Hezbollah also accused Israel of conducting a separate drone attack hours later in its southern Beirut stronghold, an incident it described as the most serious attack on Lebanon since the 2006 conflict. Hezbollah said the unit behind Sunday s attack on northern Israel was named after its two militants killed in the Syria strike. "This is a clear message that this is a response to the attack in Syria... and not a response to the (Beirut) drone attack," said Hezbollah expert Amal Saad. "It was definitely a very calculated, contained and I would call it a responsible response," she told AFP. The response she said "takes care of not escalating the situation and safeguards Lebanon" from an all-out conflict. Hezbollah s number two Naim Qassem in an interview with Russia Today last week played down talk of a fresh war. "The atmosphere is an atmosphere of response to an aggression," he said. Incident closed? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after Sunday s attack that his government was mulling the next steps: "I have ordered that we be prepared for any scenario." Experts expect tensions to ease off, at least temporarily. Saad said Hezbollah may be planning a separate response to the Beirut drone attack "further down the line", saying it may be "low key". "I don t think it would be the kind of attack that would ignite a war by any means," she said. An official close to Hezbollah told AFP that the second part of the retaliation "will be aerial and confront Israeli drones". Analyst Karim Bitar said he would expect the tit-for-tat to end here if was up to Hezbollah and Israel. "There is no real interest among the two parties for a rapid escalation," he said. But a de-escalation is contingent on the state of affairs between Hezbollah and Israel s respective main allies, Tehran and Washington. "The Trump administration s policy of maximum pressure on Tehran not only aims to weaken the Iranian economy, but also aims to crush Iran s wings by weakening its regional partners in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon," Bitar said. Another element of concern is Israel s September 17 election, Bitar said. "The history of the last 20 years shows that election periods are sometimes conducive to flare-ups," he said. Balance of deterrence? In 2006, after the killing and abduction of Israeli soldiers by Shiite militant group Hezbollah, Israel launched a devastating offensive in Lebanon. The 33-day war killed 1,200 Lebanese -- mostly civilians -- and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. Israel has since carried out hundreds of strikes against Hezbollah targets in Syria, where the Iran-backed party has deployed thousands of fighters since 2013 to help the regime battle rebels and jihadists. Israel killed senior Hezbollah figures in separate attacks in 2015. In both cases, the Shiite goup responded with border attacks. Analysts and Hezbollah s number two Naim Qassem himself, speaking to the movement TV channel, said Sunday s attack was aimed at maintaining "a balance of deterrence". "Hezbollah firmly believes that any response is a move that is actually preventing war," Amal Saad said. Hezbollah, which has grown into Iran s most powerful regional proxy, wields huge influence in Lebanese politics and its military might is said to outstrip the state s. Israel s military capabilities, which include cutting-edge technology and a fleet of the world s most advanced fighter jets, are vastly superior. But reports that Hezbollah is acquiring precision-guided missiles with Iran s help are raising alarm across the boder.

A Saudi-led military coalition said on Sunday it had launched air strikes on Houthi rebels military targets in southwest Yemen that Houthi-run media said had hit a prison, killing dozens of people. The Sunni Muslim coalition, which has been battling the Iran-aligned Houthi movement for more than four years in Yemen, said in a statement carried on Saudi state television that it destroyed a site storing drones and missiles in Dhamar. Residents told Reuters there had been six air strikes and that a complex in the city being used as a detention centre had been hit. The Houthi health ministry spokesman, in comments carried on the group s Al Masirah TV, said 60 bodies had been pulled from rubble at the prison and that the number could rise. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the number of casualties. "The explosions were strong and shook the city," one resident said. "Afterwards ambulance sirens could be heard until dawn." The alliance intervened in Yemen in March 2015 against the Houthis after they ousted the internationally recognised government from power in the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014. The movement, which holds most major population centres in the Arabian peninsula nation, has stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent months. The Saudi-led alliance has responded with strikes on Houthi targets. The coalition said it had taken measures to protect civilians in Dhamar and the assault complied with international law. Al Masirah quoted the head of the Houthis national committee for prisoner affairs, Abdul Qader al-Mortada, as saying the detention centre in Dhamar housed 170 prisoners. The United Nations is trying to ease tension in Yemen to prepare for political negotiations to end the war that has killed tens of thousands and pushed the long-impoverished country to the brink of famine. *This story was edited by Ahram Online

Fighting shook Aden again on Wednesday when government forces attacked the Yemeni city s eastern suburbs and fought artillery duels with southern separatists, residents said, deepening the rift between supposed allies in a Saudi-led coalition. Forces of the Saudi-backed government have recaptured most of the neighbouring towns they had previously lost to the separatists before moving towards the port city of Aden, they said. The government s information minister Moammar al-Eryani said on Twitter that government forces had taken Aden s airport from the separatists. The separatists and the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi are nominally united under the Saudi-led coalition in their battle against Yemen s Houthi movement. The Sunni Muslim coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement that ousted Hadi from power in the capital Sanaa in late 2014. His government relocated to Aden. Witnesses said clashes could be heard in Aden s al-Arech and Khor Maksar districts, as well as around Aden s airport, which has been under the control of the government forces since 2015. Government forces took control of Zinjibar, the capital of the neighbouring Abyan, earlier on Monday, after securing most of the oil producing province of Shabwa and its liquefied natural gas terminal in Balfaf.

On the face of it, Algeria s state-dominated economy has weathered six months of turmoil well, with flightloads of public sector workers heading abroad for holidays even as protesters who ousted the veteran president in April now target his allies. But business, and leisure, as usual for the North African country s army of state employees masks a growing economic drama behind the standoff between political, business, labour and military elites and those determined to force them out. The country s rich oil and gas resources are still flowing, but thousands of jobs are on the line and growth is stuttering in an economy where official data shows one in four of the under-30s, who form 70 percent of the population, is unemployed. The resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April was followed by the appointment of an interim president overseen by the military, and corruption investigations have been opened into some of those around the former leader. Putting tycoons close to Bouteflika behind bars was a key demand of the protests. But while investigations drag on, five big firms across sectors from sugar to cars are almost paralysed as their owners struggle to sign pay checks or orders to import materials because their bank accounts have been frozen. Malik, one of 15,000 employees of detained businessman Ali Haddad, said he had just been sacked as a reporter for Dzayer TV. "The managers told me there is no more money," he said, withholding his second name for fear of repercussions. Haddad denies wrongdoing and the interim government says it will find ways to safeguard jobs, but after three months without pay, hundreds of his workers have joined tens of thousands of demonstrators who gather weekly in the capital Algiers. Elections for a successor for Bouteflika have been postponed indefinitely, despite a dialogue between opposition parties and the non-party government managed by army chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah. To limit further dissent, the interim government has held back planned reforms, initiated towards the end of Bouteflika s 20-year rule, to wind down subsidies, open the economy to investment and create jobs outside bloated public services. An energy law to cut red tape is on hold and inside Algeria s sprawling state energy company Sonatrach, which is hoping to boost production by linking up with oil majors, there is growing concern. "Output is ongoing at Sonatrach, but everything else is completely frozen including talks with Exxon and Chevron," a Sonatrach source told Reuters, declining to be named due to the delicate political situation. Exxon declined to comment and Chevron was not immediately available. Any deal with a foreign firm is sensitive in Algeria and needs the support of a permanent president, not a caretaker: the source said it was not clear when the talks may restart. "No visibility for the short term as politics not economics is at the top of the agenda for now," the source said. The company spokesman was not immediately available for comment. The country is a key gas supplier and security partner to Europe in a volatile region: Islamist militants are on the rise in West Africa and to the east, in Libya, two rival governments are fighting for control. The government has given no growth forecast for this year, but Algiers University economics professor Abderrahmane Aya said the turmoil will cost this year s GDP one percentage point of growth, which reached 2.3% in 2018, and could get much worse. "No one can now imagine the magnitude of the economic problem," he said. No strategy? Bouteflika s fall came as authorities began trying to persuade citizens that a welfare state providing unproductive state jobs and guaranteeing cheap housing, petrol, food, drugs and free hospital treatment was no longer viable. Oil and gas provide 94% of export earnings and 60% of the budget, but earnings fell 6.3% to $17.65 billion in Jan-June with rising energy consumption eating into gas exports. Imports, averaging $50 billion a year, provide most of Algeria s needs, legacy of a reluctance to allow foreign investment due to its 1954-62 independence war with France and once strong ties with the Soviet Union. The trade deficit rose 12% in the first half of this year, customs data showed. "Everything seems to indicate that we are going through a long period of economic uncertainty," Abdelhak Lamiri, a former government economic adviser, wrote in the El Watan newspaper. "The government is not empowered to take strategic decisions." Houari Tigharsi, an economist and member of parliament s finance committee, said investors were apprehensive and non-energy domestic production capacity was down 50 percent. "If the crisis drags on, we will not only see a fall in growth but the economy will even face disaster," he said. Interim President Abdelkader Bensalah has resisted calls to quit from protesters who see him as symbol of the old regime. He says the only way out of the crisis is to hold elections "as soon as possible". Cars Algeria had vowed to develop the car industry, but reduced quotas of car spare parts imports for private vehicle assemblies after the bill rose by a fifth to $1.234 billion in the first four months of this year. Importers get money in foreign currencies from state banks. Foreign exchange reserves fell by $7.28 billion in the first four months to $72.6 billion. In 2014, when crude prices were at $100 a barrel, they were $178 billion. Industry Minister Djamila Tamazirt told reporters the quota reductions were "transitional measures to adjust the balance of payments" and correct incentives aimed at the automotive sector. Four private companies assembling cars are now cutting production, despite growing demand from the country s 43 million people which may drive up prices of second-hand cars. Family-owned firm Sovac, which runs an assembly plant with Germany s Volkswagen, has suspended orders for this year. Sovac head Mourad Eulmi is being investigated for graft, which he denies. Around 800 workers assembling vehicles under the Hyundai brand were given forced leave by their employer Tahkout Manufacturing in July due to lack of raw materials, according to state media. While sectors like food, home appliances and mobile phones have been opened up to private companies, the non-energy sector grew by just 4% last year, up from 2.2% the year before. Bureaucracy abounds and dominant state banks have little experience of commercial lending. "We will need bank financing to expand our investment," said Ziad Loucif, communication manager at Cuisinox, a private firm focused on kitchen equipment manufacturing, mainly for hotels. "We want the state to facilitate investment." Work on a 185-km (115-mile) railway line has stopped and some 200 employees were put on forced leave for a "lack of liquidity". The project belonged to detained Bouteflika ally Haddad. "The government is working to find legal solutions for these companies," Finance Minister Mohamed Loukal told state news agency APS. "I can assure you that production tools and jobs at these companies will be safeguarded."

Iran will not talk to the United States until all sanctions imposed on Tehran are lifted, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday, a day after President Donald Trump said he would meet his Iranian counterpart to try to end a nuclear standoff. Trump said on Monday he would meet Iran s president under the right circumstances to end a confrontation that began when Washington pulled out of Tehran s 2015 nuclear deal with six powers and reimposed sanctions on the country. Trump also said talks were under way to see how countries could open credit lines to keep Iran s economy afloat. Rouhani said Iran was always ready to hold talks. "But first the U.S. should act by lifting all illegal, unjust and unfair sanctions imposed on Iran," he said in a speech broadcast live on state TV. Speaking at a G7 summit in the French resort of Biarritz, Trump ruled out lifting economic sanctions to compensate for losses suffered by Iran. "Washington has the key for positive change ... So take the first step ... Without this step, this lock will not be unlocked," Rouhani said. European parties to the deal have struggled to calm the deepening confrontation between Iran and the United States since Trump pulled Washington out last year. French President Emmanuel Macron has led efforts to defuse tensions and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif flew in to the Biarritz G7 meeting unexpectedly on Sunday for side talks with French officials. Since ditching the deal last year, Trump has pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” to try to force Iran into broader talks to restrict its ballistic missile program and end its support for proxy forces around the Middle East. "Iran does not seek tension with the world. We want security in the Middle East. We want better and friendly ties with other countries," said Rouhani. Scaling back commitments Iran, which has slowly been breaching the nuclear deal in retaliation for U.S. sanctions, has threatened further violations in early September unless it receives sanctions relief. "We will continue to scale back our commitments under the 2015 deal if our interests are not guaranteed," said Rouhani. The 2015 deal between Iran and six world powers, reached under former U.S. President Barack Obama, aimed to curb Iran’s disputed uranium enrichment program in exchange for the lifting of many international sanctions on Tehran. Iran has ruled out talks with Washington over its military capabilities, particularly its ballistic missile program that it says is defensive. It denies the missiles are capable of being tipped with nuclear warheads and says its nuclear program is peaceful. Rouhani said seeking nuclear bomb weapons was banned under a fatwa issued by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, referring to a religious decree issued in the early 2000s by Iran s top authority that bans the development or use of nuclear weapons. "We have never wanted nuclear weapons because of our supreme leader s fatwa," said Rouhani. Trump and Rouhani are both due to attend the United Nations General Assembly in September. However, any meeting between Trump and Rouhani would have to be approved by Iran’s utmost authority Khamenei, who has the last say on all state matters.

There were signs of a thaw in frosty trade-war tensions between China and the US on Monday as President Donald Trump said delegations would "very shortly" resume talks and Beijing s top negotiator called for "calm". The two sides have been embroiled in a bruising year-long dispute that has seen tariffs slapped on billions of dollars worth of goods in two-way trade, with the row escalating over the weekend. But just three days after the announcement of further mutual tariff hikes, Trump told reporters at the G7 summit in France s Biarritz he had taken two "very, very good" phone calls from Chinese officials. "China called last night... said let s get back to the table. So we ll be getting back to the table," he said on Monday, adding that "they want to make a deal". Trump s comments followed moves by China s most powerful trade negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, to take the edge off the soaring tensions. "We are willing to solve the problem through consultation and cooperation with a calm attitude," said Liu, according to a report by Chinese news outlet Caixin. "We firmly oppose the escalation of the trade war," he said, speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2019 Smart China Expo in the southwestern city of Chongqing. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin travelled to Shanghai in July for a round of trade talks, where discussions were described as "constructive" but ended with no announcements. Monday s detente came after Trump increased tariffs on more than half-a-trillion dollars worth of imports in a new round of punitive measures that are roiling global markets. The US announcement on Friday followed an earlier surprise notification from Beijing that it would introduce fresh tariffs on US goods worth $75 billion. Some of these measures are due to take effect on September 1, with the rest to follow over the coming months. Currency tumbles On Twitter, Trump also told American firms to start looking for an alternative to production in China -- though he and his top aides later downplayed the idea. Meanwhile Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he was not aware of the calls mentioned by Trump and angrily criticised the latest tariffs at a regular press briefing in Beijing. The US move "tramples on multilateral trade rules, damages the interests of China and the United States, threatens the security of the global industrial supply chain, drags down international trade and world economic growth", he said. US allies have pressured Trump at the ongoing G7 summit, saying the trade war is putting the world economy at risk. China s currency slid to its weakest point in more than 11 years on Monday amid the ongoing tensions and fears of a global downturn. The onshore yuan was around 7.1425 to the US dollar in late-morning Asian trading -- its weakest point since early 2008 -- and by the afternoon it had reached 7.1581. The yuan, or renminbi as it is also known, is not freely convertible and the Chinese government limits its movement against the dollar to a two percent range on either side of a figure that the central bank sets each day. The People s Bank of China has set that rate steadily weaker in recent weeks -- allowing the yuan to depreciate, making Chinese exports cheaper and offsetting some of the burden of US tariffs. US politicians have long accused China of keeping its currency artificially low to increase the competitiveness of its manufacturers. The yuan breached the key 7.0 threshold against the dollar earlier in August, just days after the US announced its plans to impose tariffs next month on Chinese imports.

Two Israeli drones crashed in a Hezbollah stronghold in the Lebanese capital overnight without the militants firing on them, a spokesman for the group said Sunday, saying the first fell on the roof of a building housing Hezbollah s media office while the second landed in a plot behind it. The drones crashed amid heightened tensions between neighboring Israel and Iran, which backs Hezbollah, and shortly after Israeli warplanes attacked targets near the Syrian capital, Damascus. Israeli aircraft buzzed over Beirut on Sunday, hours after the drones crashed, raising fears of a wider conflict. Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif said a small, unmanned reconnaissance drone fell on a building housing Hezbollah s media office in the Moawwad neighborhood in Dahyeh, the group s stronghold in southern Beirut. He said a second drone, which appeared to have been sent by Israel to search for the first one less than 45 minutes later, exploded in the air and crashed in an empty plot nearby, causing damage to nearby buildings. He said the second drone was likely armed judging by the damage it caused. Residents said they heard a loud blast that triggered a nighttime fire. ``We did not shoot down or explode any of the drones, Afif told The Associated Press. He said Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will give the official and ``appropriate response in a previously-scheduled televised appearance later Sunday. There was no immediate Israeli comment on Hezbollah s remarks. AP journalists on the scene Sunday said the 11-floor building that houses Hezbollah s media office as well as nearby buildings suffered minor damage and broken glass. On the second floor, where the group has its offices, shattered glass littered the floors and some of the desks were overturned. A portrait of Nasrallah was on a desk littered with glass. A Lebanese army statement said an Israeli drone came down while the other exploded in the sky over Beirut, causing material damage. Israeli warplanes regularly violate Lebanese airspace and have struck inside neighboring Syria from Lebanon on several occasions, angering Hezbollah and Lebanese officials, who have complained to the United Nations. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri described the crash of the two drones as a violation and ``aggression against Lebanese sovereignty. He said the developments overnight constitute a threat to regional stability and an attempt to push the situation toward more escalation. Late Saturday, Israeli warplanes struck targets near the Syrian capital in what the Israeli military said was a successful effort to thwart an imminent Iranian drone strike on Israel. The late-night airstrike, which triggered Syrian anti-aircraft fire, appeared to be one of the most intense attacks by Israeli forces in several years. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitoring group, reported that two Hezbollah members and an Iranian militiaman were killed in that attack. But an Iranian general said the Israeli strikes in Syria did not cause any damage or casualties among Iranian forces there. The semi-official ILNA news agency quoted Gen. Mohsen Rezaei on Sunday as calling the Israeli claims a ``lie. Rezaei, a senior commander in Iran s Revolutionary Guard, said ``the defenders of Syria and Iraq will soon give an answer to recent attacks by Israel and the United States. In recent days, U.S. officials have said that Israeli strikes have hit Iranian targets in Iraq, in what would be a significant expansion of Israel s campaign targeting Iranian military entrenchment in the region. Iran supports Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as an array of government-allied militias in Syria and Iraq. Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks in recent years targeting Hezbollah and other Iranian targets in Syria. Israel views Iran as its greatest threat and has said it will not tolerate a permanent Iranian presence in Syria or the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah. Iran and Hezbollah are key military allies of Syrian President Bashar Assad in that country s eight-year-old civil war. Hezbollah and Israel fought a monthlong war in 2006. The volatile border between the two countries, which remain technically in a state of war, has been mostly calm since.

High school students have thronged a square in downtown Hong Kong to rally for political reforms as residents gird for further anti-government protests. Hundreds of teenagers, wearing black and holding umbrellas in the oppressive heat, turned out Thursday afternoon for the event, one of many demonstrations organized by different groups over the coming weeks. Hong Kong has been gripped for more than two months by at times violent protests led by young people demanding the withdrawal of a China extradition bill and full democracy. On Friday, the movement s supporters plan to form human chains across the Chinese city, inspired by a similar event 30 years ago in the Baltic states when hundreds of thousands of Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians joined together to mourn the loss of independence to Soviet rule.

The leader of southern Yemeni separatists has arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks aimed at ending a standoff in Aden port between the separatists and Yemen s Saudi-backed government, who had been nominal allies under a Sunni Muslim military coalition. Saudi Arabia, the coalition leader, called for a summit after the separatists on Aug. 10 took over Aden, interim seat of the government, in a move that fractured the alliance. The ousted Yemeni government and coalition partner the United Arab Emirates traded blame over the crisis late on Tuesday. It was not clear if a delayed meeting involving both Yemeni sides would go ahead after the separatists extended their grip on the south on Tuesday by seizing government military camps in nearby Abyan. The separatist fighters are part of the Saudi-led alliance that intervened in Yemen in March 2015 against the Houthis, who ousted President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi from power in the capital Sanaa in late 2014. His government rebased to Aden. However, the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) has a rival agenda to Hadi s government, which has refused to participate in any talks unless the southern forces reverse what it calls a coup. HADI GOVERNMENT, UAE TRADE ACCUSATIONS The standoff has complicated efforts to end the ruinous war and has exposed differences between regional allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which in June scaled down its presence in Yemen while still backing thousands of southern separatist fighters. STC chief Aidaroos al-Zubaidi arrived in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah late on Tuesday for the talks, the STC said. Hadi s government asked Abu Dhabi, which has called for dialogue, to stop funding and arming separatist forces. "If it were not for the full support provided by the United Arab Emirates ... this rebellion would not have happened. This scheme of fragmentation continues and is escalating despite calls for de-escalation led by Saudi Arabia," said a government letter to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday. The UAE responded by reaffirming its commitment to the coalition and criticising the "weak performance" and "ineffectiveness" of Hadi s government and its inability to engage in constructive dialogue with other Yemeni parties. "It is not appropriate for the Yemeni government to hang its political and administrative failure on the UAE," Abu Dhabi s deputy permanent U.N. representative said in New York. His remarks were carried on state news agency WAM on Wednesday. The STC said it would hold Aden until elements of the Islamist Islah, which the UAE regards as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, and northerners are removed from power positions in the south. It also wants a say in Yemen s future. Yemeni sources have said the delayed summit could discuss reshuffling Hadi s government to include the STC, which seeks self-rule in the south and blames Islah, a key Hadi ally, of being complicit in a Houthi assault on southern forces earlier this month. The Islah party denies the charge. The Houthis point to Aden as proof that Hadi is unfit to rule. The group, which holds Sanaa and most big urban centres, has recently stepped up attacks on Saudi cities. The conflict, which has killed tens of thousands and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine, is widely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Sudan s ousted president Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Monday arrived amid heavy security at the courthouse in the capital Khartoum where he is facing corruption charges, a Reuters witness said. Bashir is charged with illicit possession of foreign currency and accepting gifts in an unofficial manner, prosecutor Alaa al-Din Abdallah said in June. His trial will be a test of how serious authorities are about trying to erase the legacy of his autocratic 30-year rule, marked by widespread violence, economic collapse and the secession of South Sudan. Bashir was also charged in May with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters, and prosecutors also want him questioned over suspected money laundering and terrorism financing. On Saturday, Sudan s ruling military council, which took over after Bashir was ousted in April, signed a power-sharing agreement with the main opposition coalition, paving the way for a transitional government and eventual elections. It sets up a sovereign council as the highest authority in the country, but largely delegates executive powers to the cabinet of ministers. Transitional ruled delayed The sovereign council was due to be sworn in on Monday. But the spokesman for the Transitional Military Council, Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi, said the formation of the new ruling body would be delayed by 48 hours on the request of the opposition coalition. That coalition - the Forces of Freedom and Change - had chosen Aisha Mousa, Siddig Tower, Mohamed Elfaki Suleiman, Hassan Sheikh Idris and Taha Othman Ishaq as its representatives on the council, a coalition source said on Sunday. But the Sudanese Professionals Association, the main protest organiser and one of the most prominent coalition members, said on Monday that Ishaq had declined to take up his post. According to the power-sharing deal, the opposition coalition is allowed to choose five members and the military another five, with the two sides jointly choosing a civilian as an eleventh member. On Saturday Kabbashi told Sky News Arabia that military council head Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, his deputy General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and Lieutenant General Yasser Al-Atta will serve as three of the five military members. The military council has yet to announce the other two members, but Kabbashi said on Monday that the eleventh member had been agreed by both sides. Stability in Sudan, which has been grappling with an economic crisis, is seen as crucial for a volatile region struggling with conflict and insurgencies from the Horn of Africa to Egypt and Libya.

Sudan s ousted president Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Monday arrived amid heavy security at the courthouse in the capital Khartoum where he is facing corruption charges, a Reuters witness said. Bashir is charged with illicit possession of foreign currency and accepting gifts in an unofficial manner, prosecutor Alaa al-Din Abdallah said in June. His trial will be a test of how serious authorities are about trying to erase the legacy of his autocratic 30-year rule, marked by widespread violence, economic collapse and the secession of South Sudan. Bashir was also charged in May with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters, and prosecutors also want him questioned over suspected money laundering and terrorism financing. On Saturday, Sudan s ruling military council, which took over after Bashir was ousted in April, signed a power-sharing agreement with the main opposition coalition, paving the way for a transitional government and eventual elections. It sets up a sovereign council as the highest authority in the country, but largely delegates executive powers to the cabinet of ministers. Transitional ruled delayed The sovereign council was due to be sworn in on Monday. But the spokesman for the Transitional Military Council, Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi, said the formation of the new ruling body would be delayed by 48 hours on the request of the opposition coalition. That coalition - the Forces of Freedom and Change - had chosen Aisha Mousa, Siddig Tower, Mohamed Elfaki Suleiman, Hassan Sheikh Idris and Taha Othman Ishaq as its representatives on the council, a coalition source said on Sunday. But the Sudanese Professionals Association, the main protest organiser and one of the most prominent coalition members, said on Monday that Ishaq had declined to take up his post. According to the power-sharing deal, the opposition coalition is allowed to choose five members and the military another five, with the two sides jointly choosing a civilian as an eleventh member. On Saturday Kabbashi told Sky News Arabia that military council head Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, his deputy General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and Lieutenant General Yasser Al-Atta will serve as three of the five military members. The military council has yet to announce the other two members, but Kabbashi said on Monday that the eleventh member had been agreed by both sides. Stability in Sudan, which has been grappling with an economic crisis, is seen as crucial for a volatile region struggling with conflict and insurgencies from the Horn of Africa to Egypt and Libya.

Israel said it opened fire on armed Palestinians on Gaza s border overnight and Hamas s health ministry reported three dead Sunday, the latest in a series of incidents along the tense barrier. Israel s tank and helicopter fire came after Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired three rockets at Israel late Saturday, the army said, the second such attack in 24 hours. Two rockets were intercepted by Israel s air defence systems, it said, without specifying what happened to the third. Police reported no casualties in Israel, but said a rocket fragment fell on a house in the southern Israeli town of Sderot. Israeli medics said they had treated six people, including two with minor injuries sustained while running to bomb shelters and four others with panic attacks. Hours later, Israel s army said "troops spotted a number of armed suspects adjacent to the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip". It added that an "attack helicopter and a tank fired towards them". The health ministry in the Palestinian enclave run by Islamist movement Hamas reported three dead and said another Palestinian was hospitalised following the incident north of Beit Lahia. It identified those killed as Mahmoud al-Walayda, 24, Mohammed Abu Namus, 27, and Mohammed Samir al-Taramsi, 26. A series of incidents along the Gaza border have tested a fragile truce between Hamas and Israel in recent days. On Friday night, a rocket was fired from Gaza into Israel and was intercepted by missile defence systems. Israel said in response it carried out strikes on two Hamas "underground targets" in the northern and central Gaza Strip, without providing further details. A Gaza security source reported three Israeli strikes on a Hamas observation post, an unidentified target near Gaza City and one that hit open ground in the central part of the enclave. No casualties were reported. - Netanyahu under pressure - The rocket fire and retaliation came after a series of other incidents along the Gaza border since the start of the month. A week ago, a Palestinian shot at Israeli soldiers along the frontier and was killed when troops returned fire, the army and Hamas s health ministry said. A day before that, Israel s army said its troops shot dead four heavily armed Palestinians on the border, adding one had managed to cross and throw a grenade at soldiers. Earlier on August 1, a Palestinian seeking to avenge his brother s death by Israeli fire entered Israel from Gaza and opened fire on soldiers, the army said. Three Israeli soldiers were wounded and the Palestinian was killed, the army said. Regular protests and clashes erupted along the border of the blockaded Gaza Strip in March 2018. At least 305 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza or the border area since then, the majority during demonstrations and clashes. Seven Israelis have also been killed in Gaza-related violence over the same period. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is widely seen as wanting to avoid an escalation in the Gaza Strip before September 17 elections, but he also faces heavy political pressure to respond firmly. Israel launched three miltiary offensives on Gaza since 2008. *This story was edited by Ahram Online.

Chinese paramilitary forces conducted exercises across the border from Hong Kong on Thursday, raising fears that Beijing may be preparing to act against mass demonstrations in the Asian financial hub it has described as "near terrorism". Hundreds of members of the People s Armed Police could be seen at a Shenzhen sports stadium where parking lots were filled by more than 100 dark-painted paramilitary vehicles, prompting U.S. concerns they could be used to break up protests across the border in Hong Kong. China reiterated on Wednesday that Hong Kong s protests were "near terrorism" as more street clashes followed ugly and chaotic scenes at the airport two days ago, when protesters set upon two men they suspected of being government sympathisers. Seventeen people were arrested on Wednesday, bringing the total number detained since June to 748, police told a news conference, adding that police stations have been surrounded and attacked 76 times during the crisis. Police tactics are toughening after 10 weeks of increasingly violent confrontations between police and protesters have plunged Hong Kong into its worst crisis since it reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997. The protests represent one of the biggest populist challenges for Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012 and show no immediate signs of abating. U.S. President Donald Trump tied a U.S.-China trade deal to Beijing resolving the unrest "humanely", and suggested he was willing to meet Xi to discuss the crisis. "I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi (Jinping) wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it. Personal meeting?" Trump said on Twitter. The U.S. State Department said it was deeply concerned over reports that Chinese police forces were gathering near the border with Hong Kong and urged the city s government to respect freedom of speech. The department also issued a travel advisory urging U.S. citizens to exercise caution when visiting Hong Kong. China has frequently warned against what it regards as outside interference in an internal issue. Other foreign governments have urged calm. France called on Hong Kong officials to renew talks with protesters, while Canada said China should handle the protests with tact. The latest protests have far exceeded the scope of those during the pro-democracy "Occupy" movement that brought parts of the city to a standstill over three months in 2014. A leader of those protests, law professor Benny Tai, was granted bail on Thursday after being jailed for two months for public nuisance offences relating to the 2014 demonstrations. Tai said he was very touched by the sacrifices people had made to defend the city s core values. "The golden era of Hong Kong is yet to come, and I believe the time is not too far away," said Tai, whose appeal remains pending. RECESSION FEARS Hong Kong s airport resumed normal operations on Thursday after activists forced the cancellation of nearly 1,000 flights this week, the airport authority said, but security remained tight. Protesters expressed remorse after a peaceful sit-in turned violent this week in one of the world s busiest airports. It was not yet clear whether the clashes had eroded the broad support the movement has so far attracted in Hong Kong and despite adding to the city s faltering economy. The protests could push Hong Kong into a recession, research firm Capital Economics said, and risked "an even worse outcome if a further escalation triggers capital flight". Hong Kong s property market, one of the world s most expensive, would be hit hard in that scenario, it added. Financial Secretary Paul Chan unveiled a series of measures worth HK$19.1 billion ($2.44 billion) on Thursday to tackle economic headwinds, but he said it was not related to political pressure from the protests. Business and citizens groups have posting full-page newspaper advertisements that denounce the violence and back Hong Kong s government. The Chinese Securities Association of Hong Kong said the city s reputation would be seriously damaged if the unrest did not stop soon. The head of Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment , Lui Che-woo, urged talks to restore harmony. The protests have affected the neighbouring Chinese territory of Macau, with some visitors avoiding the world s biggest gambling hub amid transport disruptions and safety concerns. Protests were planned across several districts of Hong Kong from Thursday, including a teachers rally, and one organised by animal lovers upset that their pets were being tear-gassed. The Civil Human Rights Front, which organised million-strong marches in June, set another protest for Sunday. The protesters have five demands, including the complete withdrawal of a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be sent for trial in mainland Chinese courts. Opposition to the extradition bill has developed into wider concerns about the erosion of freedoms guaranteed under the "one country, two systems" formula put in place after Hong Kong s return to Chinese rule in 1997. The protesters also want authorities to stop referring to their actions as "rioting", charges against detainees dropped, a resumption of political reforms and an independent inquiry into police actions during the unrest. ($1 = 7.8401 Hong Kong dollars).

Syrian government forces on Wednesday closed in on a rebel-held town in Idlib that was bombed with sarin in 2017, sources on both sides said, building on their Russian-backed gains since the collapse of a ceasefire this month. The advance towards Khan Sheikhoun threatens to encircle the last remaining pocket of rebel-held territory in neighbouring Hama province, including the towns of Morek, Kafr Zeita and Latamneh. Russian-backed Syrian government forces seized new positions from rebels to the west of the town of Khan Sheihkoun, rebel sources and state media said. A rebel commander said the town, in opposition hands since 2014, was in "great danger". Government forces were now 4 km (2.5 miles) from Khan Sheikhoun, Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said. The sarin gas attack on Khan Sheikhoun in 2017 killed dozens of people and prompted President Donald Trump to order a missile strike against the Syrian air base from where the United States said the attack had been launched. An investigation conducted by the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said the Syrian government was responsible for releasing sarin on the town on April 4, 2017. Damascus denies using such weapons. The northwestern Idlib region is part of the last major stronghold of the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad. The rebels that control it include the powerful jihadist group Tahrir al-Sham and Turkey-backed factions. Assad s side had struggled to make any gains in the area in an offensive that got under way in late April. But since the collapse of a brief ceasefire this month, it has managed to take several significant positions, including the town of al-Habeet on Saturday. The humanitarian adviser to the U.N. Special Envoy for Syria said the new surge in violence in the northwest threatened the lives of millions after more than 500 civilians were killed since late April.