TEHRAN: Iran&#39;s intelligence ministry has warned of attempts by foreign adversaries, including the United States and Israel, to target supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and destabilize the Islamic Republic.&nbsp;The country&#39;s ISNA news agency reported on Saturday that intelligence minister Esmail Khatib cautioned, &quot;the enemy seeks to target the supreme leader, sometimes with assassination attempts, sometimes with hostile attacks&quot;.&nbsp;While it was not immediately clear if the minister was referring to a specific incident, and Iranian officials often allege foreign plots, statements on threats against Khamenei&#39;s life had been rare prior to a 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June.&nbsp;&quot;Those who act in this direction, knowingly or unknowingly, are the infiltrating agents of the enemy,&quot; Khatib added, referring directly to Israel and the United States.&nbsp;During the conflict earlier this year, Israel targeted senior Iranian military officials, nuclear scientists, and sites as well as residential areas, with the US later joining with strikes on key nuclear facilities.&nbsp;Asked about reports during the war that US President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to kill the supreme leader out of concern it would escalate the Iran-Israel showdown, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was dismissive but said the move would &quot;end the conflict&quot;.&nbsp;At the time, Trump had also said that Iran&#39;s supreme leader was a &quot;very easy target&quot; and that &quot;we are not going to take him out, at least not for now.&quot;&nbsp;He later said in a post on Truth Social he had saved Iran&#39;s supreme leader from &quot;A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH&quot;.&nbsp;The 86-year-old Khamenei has been Iran&#39;s supreme leader since 1989 and has the final say on all state affairs.&nbsp;Earlier this month, Iran&#39;s President Masoud Pezeshkian said he was particularly concerned for Khamenei&#39;s life during the war and feared that the country&#39;s institutions &quot;would start fighting among each other.&quot;&nbsp;In July, Khamenei said Israel&#39;s attacks during the war were intended to weaken the Islamic Republic, sow &quot;unrest and bring people into the streets to overthrow the system&quot;.&nbsp;A ceasefire between Iran and Israel has been in place since June 24, but both Israel and the United States have threatened new strikes if Tehran revives its nuclear programme.

Asia

Iran’s intelligence minister warned that the US and Israel seek to target Supreme Leader Khamenei. Amid past war-related threats and alleged plots, officials voiced concerns over internal stability, while Israel and the US caution against Iran reviving its nuclear program.

Iran warns of attempts to target supreme leader Khamenei

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council will vote Monday on a resolution endorsing US President Donald Trump&#39;s Gaza peace plan, diplomats said.&nbsp; Last week, the Americans officially launched negotiations within the 15-member Security Council on a text that would follow up on a ceasefire in the two-year war between Israel and Hamas and endorse Trump&#39;s plan. A draft of the resolution seen Thursday by AFP &quot;welcomes the establishment of the Board of Peace,&quot; a transitional governing body for Gaza -- that Trump would theoretically chair -- with a mandate running until the end of 2027. It would authorize member states to form a &quot;temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF)&quot; that would work with Israel and Egypt and newly trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip. Unlike previous drafts, the latest mentions a possible future Palestinian state. The United States and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, called Friday for the UN Security Council to quickly adopt the resolution. &quot;The United States, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and T&uuml;rkiye express our joint support for the Security Council Resolution currently under consideration,&quot; the countries said in a joint statement, adding they were seeking the measure&#39;s &quot;swift adoption.&quot; Friday&#39;s joint statement comes as Russia circulated a competing draft resolution to Council members that does not authorize the creation of a board of peace or the immediate deployment of an international force in Gaza, according to the text seen Friday by AFP. The Russian version welcomes &quot;the initiative that led to the ceasefire&quot; but does not name Trump. It also only calls on the UN secretary-general to submit a report that addresses the possibilities of deploying an international stabilization force in war-ravaged Gaza. The United States has called the ceasefire &quot;fragile,&quot; and warned Friday of the risks of not adopting its draft. &quot;Any refusal to back this resolution is a vote either for the continued reign of Hamas terrorists or for the return to war with Israel, condemning the region and its people to perpetual conflict,&quot; the US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, wrote in The Washington Post. &quot;Every departure from this path, be it by those who wish to play political games or to relitigate the past, will come with a real human cost.&quot; While it seemed until now that Council members supported principles of the peace plan, diplomatic sources noted there were questions about the US text, particularly regarding the absence of a monitoring mechanism by the Council, the role of the&nbsp; Palestinian Authority, and details of the ISF&#39;s mandate. The Russian UN mission said in a statement that its alternative proposal differed by recognizing the principle of a &quot;two-State solution for the Israeli-Palestinian settlement.&quot; &quot;Unfortunately, these provisions were not given due regard in the US draft,&quot; it said.

Middle East

Draft of the resolution "welcomes the establishment of the Board of Peace," AFP reports

UN Security Council to vote Monday on Trump Gaza plan

Washington: The United States will consider obesity or having children with special needs as reasons to reject immigrant visas, in the latest salvo by President Donald Trump to turn away foreigners. In a cable sent earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio asks US embassies to factor in conditions including obesity when issuing long-term visas, on the grounds that being obese can &quot;require expensive, long-term care.&quot; It also asks embassies to assess if any dependents have &quot;disabilities, chronic medical conditions, or other special needs and require care&quot; to the extent that the visa applicant could not work. The memo was first reported by KFF Health News. Its contents were confirmed to AFP by a person who saw it. The United States is already one of the most obese countries in the world, tied to factors including diet and lack of exercise. Around 40 percent of the US population is obese, with rates on average higher in states that voted for Trump. The new guidance will apply for people seeking to immigrate to the United States and not foreigners on routine short-term visits. The United States has long looked at whether a person would become a &quot;public charge&quot;&mdash;relying on government funds&mdash;before admitting immigrants, including when Americans seek to bring in marriage partners. But Trump has been especially zealous in finding reasons to refuse entry as he carries out a sweeping crackdown against migration, one of his signature campaign promises. &quot;It&#39;s no secret the Trump administration is putting the interests of the American people first,&quot; State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. &quot;This includes enforcing policies that ensure our immigration system is not a burden on the American taxpayer.&quot; The Trump administration has funded a surge of immigration enforcement in a bid to deport undocumented migrants en masse, even when they have not committed crimes other than immigration violations. Rubio has also sought to cancel visas for people who are seen as going against US foreign policy, including for statements on Israel.

Americas

The United States will consider obesity or having children with special needs as reasons to reject immigrant visas

US to factor obesity, special-needs children in refusing visas

NEW YORK: JPMorgan Chase will directly invest up to $10 billion in US companies with crucial ties to national security. The investment plan revealed Monday will focus on four areas: supply chain and advanced manufacturing in critical minerals, pharmaceutical precursors and robotics; defense and aerospace; energy independence, with investments in battery storage and grid resilience; and strategic technologies, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and quantum computing. The investment is part of the bank&#39;s Security and Resiliency Initiative, a $1.5 trillion, 10-year plan to facilitate, finance, and invest in industries critical to national security. &ldquo;It has become painfully clear that the United States has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products, and manufacturing &ndash; all of which are essential for our national security,&rdquo; Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement. &ldquo;Our security is predicated on the strength and resiliency of America&rsquo;s economy. America needs more speed and investment.&rdquo; This summer, JPMorgan helped put together a deal under which the Defense Department agreed to invest $400 million in US rare earth company MP Materials. The bank is also providing financing for MP Materials&rsquo; second magnet-producing factory in the US. The nation&#39;s largest bank plans to finance approximately $1 trillion over the next decade in support of clients in these industries. JPMorgan Chase is looking to increase this amount by up to $500 billion, or a 50% increase, with additional resources and capital. &ldquo;America needs more speed and investment,&rdquo; Dimon said. &quot;It also needs to remove obstacles that stand in the way: excessive regulations, bureaucratic delay, partisan gridlock, and an education system not aligned to the skills we need.&rdquo; JPMorgan says that it serves 34,000 mid-sized companies and more than 90% of the Fortune 500. It plans to hire more bankers, investment professionals, and other experts to help address its investment plan. It will also establish an external advisory council comprising leaders from both the public and private sectors to guide the long-term strategy.

FILE - The logo for JPMorgan Chase & Co. appears above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Aug. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Business

Banking

The investment is part of the bank's Security and Resiliency Initiative to facilitate, finance, and invest in industries critical to national security.

JPMorgan to invest up to $10 billion in US companies with ties to national security

BEIJING: Residents of China&#39;s capital city expressed indifference and defiance Saturday when asked by AFP about the latest threat by US President Donald Trump to impose blistering new tariffs on the country. On Friday, Trump announced suddenly that the United States would slap additional 100 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports from November 1 &quot;or sooner&quot;, also calling into question an upcoming meeting with President Xi Jinping. Chinese authorities have yet to publicly respond to the threat, which Trump said was in retaliation for Beijing&#39;s new export control measures in the strategic rare-earth sector. The ministries of foreign affairs and commerce did not comment when asked about it by AFP on Saturday. &quot;I felt nothing when I first saw the news,&quot; said Liu Ming, a 48-year-old employee in a software company, outside a large Beijing shopping mall. &quot;Trump always has these childlike or capricious policies,&quot; said Liu. &quot;China isn&#39;t afraid of any US sanctions or policies aimed at limiting us. We have the confidence and ability to do better ourselves.&quot; Great commotionLike others interviewed by AFP on the streets of Beijing on Saturday, Liu sees Trump as fickle. &quot;From the perspective of a Chinese person, he is a bit unreliable,&quot; he said. &quot;He always goes from this policy to that policy, causing great commotion in the world. &quot;It is not stable.&quot; Irene Wang, an insurance worker in her thirties, echoed the sentiment. &quot;He says one thing today, but maybe after a nap he&#39;ll change his mind again,&quot; joked Wang. &quot;At his age (79), he should be a little more composed!&quot; She believes the sky-high tariffs Trump is threatening could backfire. &quot;For Americans, it could have an impact,&quot; she said, as tariffs on Chinese products could drive up prices in the United States. As for the potential impact on people living in China, Wang acknowledged she couldn&#39;t completely ignore the news. &quot;Honestly, it isn&#39;t the first time, so we will have to wait and see how things play out.&quot; Hoping for &#39;normalSome residents of the Chinese capital told AFP they expected only a moderate impact on their country&#39;s economy if the trade war with Washington escalates again. &quot;The import-export sector, especially those businesses, will inevitably be affected to some extent,&quot; said Jesicca Yu, 40. But &quot;for ordinary people in China, in the immediate future, I don&#39;t think much will change in their daily lives,&quot; she said. Yu also bemoaned the tense relationship between Beijing and Washington. &quot;The more peaceful things are, the more economic development can take place,&quot; she said. &quot;We hope things go back to normal.&quot; Lisa Liu, a colleague of Yu who is in her thirties, said she saw one good thing in Trump&#39;s unpredictable approach to governing. &quot;He gives us a lot to talk about at the dinner table,&quot; she said.

China

Residents of China's capital city expressed indifference and defiance Saturday when asked by AFP about the latest threat by US President Donald Trump to impose blistering new tariffs on the country

'China isn't afraid': Beijingers shrug off Trump tariff threat

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Friday that he&rsquo;s placing an additional 100% tax on Chinese imports starting on November 1 or sooner, potentially escalating tariff rates close to levels that in April fanned fears of a global recession.&nbsp;The president said on his social media site that he is imposing these new tariffs because of export controls placed on rare earth elements by China. The new tariffs built on an earlier post Friday on Truth Social in which Trump said that &ldquo;there seems to be no reason&rdquo; to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea.&nbsp;Trump said that &ldquo;starting November 1st, 2025 (or sooner, depending on any further actions or changes taken by China), the United States of America will impose a Tariff of 100% on China, over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying.&rdquo;&nbsp;The announcement came after financial markets closed on Friday and risked throwing the global economy into turmoil. Not only could the global trade war instigated by Trump be rekindled, but import taxes being heaped on top of the 30% already being levied on Chinese goods could, by the administration&#39;s past statements, cause trade to break down between the US and China in ways that could cause growth worldwide to slump.&nbsp;While Trump&#39;s wording was definitive, he is also famously known for backing down from threats. Some investors began engaging in what The Financial Times called the &ldquo;TACO&rdquo; trade, which stands for &ldquo;Trump Always Chickens Out.&rdquo;&nbsp;The prospect of tariffs this large could compound the president&#39;s own political worries inside the US, potentially pushing up inflation at a moment when the job market appears fragile and the drags from a government shutdown are starting to compound into layoffs of federal workers.&nbsp;The president also said that the US government would respond to China by putting its own export controls &ldquo;on any and all critical software&rdquo; from American firms.&nbsp;The United States and China have been jostling for advantage in trade talks, after the import taxes announced earlier this year triggered a trade war between the world&#39;s two largest economies. Both nations agreed to ratchet down tariffs after negotiations in Switzerland and the United Kingdom, yet tensions remain as China has continued to restrict America&#39;s access to the difficult-to-mine rare earths needed for a wide array of US technologies.&nbsp;Trump did not formally cancel the meeting with Xi, so much as indicating that it might not happen as part of a trip at the end of the month in Asia. The trip was scheduled to include a stop in Malaysia, which is hosting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit; a stop in Japan; and a visit to South Korea, where he was slated to meet with Xi ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.&nbsp;&ldquo;I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,&rdquo; Trump posted.&nbsp;Trump&rsquo;s threat shattered a monthslong calm on Wall Street, and the S&amp;P 500 tumbled 2.7% on worries about the rising tensions between the world&rsquo;s largest economies. It was the market&#39;s worst day since April when the president last bandied about import taxes this high. Still, the stock market closed before the president spelled out the terms of his threat.&nbsp;China&#39;s new restrictionsOn Thursday, the Chinese government restricted access to the rare earths ahead of the scheduled Trump-Xi meeting. Beijing would require foreign companies to get special approval for shipping the metallic elements abroad. It also announced permitting requirements on exports of technologies used in the mining, smelting and recycling of rare earths, adding that any export requests for products used in military goods would be rejected.&nbsp;Trump said that China is &ldquo;becoming very hostile&rdquo; and that it&#39;s holding the world &ldquo;captive&rdquo; by restricting access to the metals and magnets used in electronics, computer chips, lasers, jet engines and other technologies.&nbsp;The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.&nbsp;Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, said Beijing reacted to US sanctions of Chinese companies this week and the upcoming port fees targeting China-related vessels but said there&rsquo;s room for de-escalation to keep the leaders&#39; meeting alive. &ldquo;It is a disproportional reaction,&rdquo; Sun said. &ldquo;Beijing feels that de-escalation will have to be mutual as well. There is room for maneuver, especially on the implementation.&rdquo;&nbsp;The US president said the move on rare earths was &ldquo;especially inappropriate&rdquo; given the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza so that the remaining hostages from Hamas&#39; October 7, 2023, attack can be released. He raised the possibility without evidence that China was trying to steal the moment from him for his role in the ceasefire, saying on social media, &ldquo;I wonder if that timing was coincidental?&rdquo;&nbsp;There is already a backlog of export license applications from Beijing&rsquo;s previous round of export controls on rare earth elements, and the latest announcements &ldquo;add further complexity to the global supply chain of rare earth elements,&rdquo; the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in a statement.&nbsp;Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, said China signaled it is open to negotiations, but it also holds leverage because to dominates the market for rare earths with 70% of the mining and 93% of the production of permanent magnets made from them that are crucial to high-tech products and the military.&nbsp;&ldquo;These restrictions undermine our ability to develop our industrial base at a time when we need to. And then second, it&rsquo;s a powerful negotiating tool,&rdquo; she said. And these restrictions can hurt efforts to strengthen the US military in the midst of global tensions because rare earths are needed.&nbsp;Trump&#39;s trade warThe outbreak of a tariff-fueled trade war between the US and China initially caused the world economy to shudder over the possibility of global commerce collapsing. Trump imposed tariffs totaling 145% on Chinese goods, with China responding with import taxes of 125% on American products.&nbsp;The taxes were so high as to effectively be a blockade on trade between the countries. That led to negotiations that reduced the tariff charged by the US government to 30% and the rate imposed by China to 10% so that further talks could take place. The relief those lower rates provided could now disappear with the new import taxes Trump threatened, likely raising the stakes not only of whether Trump and Xi meet but also of how any disputes are resolved.&nbsp;Differences continue over America&#39;s access to rare earths from China, US restrictions on China&#39;s ability to import advanced computer chips, sales of American-grown soybeans and a series of tit-for-tat port fees being levied by both countries starting on Tuesday.&nbsp;Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon said &ldquo;China has not been a fair-trade partner for years,&rdquo; but the Trump administration should have anticipated China&rsquo;s restrictions on rare earths and refusal to buy American soybeans in response to the tariffs.&nbsp;How analysts see moves by US and ChinaWendy Cutler, senior vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, said Trump&rsquo;s post shows the fragility of the d&eacute;tente between the two countries and it&rsquo;s unclear whether the two sides are willing to de-escalate to save the bilateral meeting.&nbsp;Cole McFaul, a research fellow at Georgetown University&#39;s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, said that Trump appeared in his post to be readying for talks on the possibility that China had overplayed its hand. By contrast, China sees itself as having come out ahead when the two countries have engaged in talks.&nbsp;&ldquo;From Beijing&rsquo;s point of view, they&rsquo;re in a moment where they&rsquo;re feeling a lot of confidence about their ability to handle the Trump administration,&rdquo; McFaul said. &ldquo;Their impression is they&rsquo;ve come to the negotiating table and extracted key concessions.&rdquo;&nbsp;Craig Singleton, senior director of the China program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank, said Trump&#39;s post could &ldquo;mark the beginning of the end of the tariff truce&rdquo; that had lowered the tax rates charged by both countries.&nbsp;It&#39;s still unclear how Trump intends to follow through on his threats and how China plans to respond.&nbsp;&ldquo;But the risk is clear: Mutually assured disruption between the two sides is no longer a metaphor,&rdquo; Singleton said. &ldquo;Both sides are reaching for their economic weapons at the same time, and neither seems willing to back down.&rdquo;

Trump has not formally cancel the meeting with Xi; trip was scheduled to include a stop in Malaysia.



Trump threatens tech export limits, new 100% tariff on Chinese imports starting Nov. 1 or sooner

Washington: A deadly blast rocked a US explosives factory Friday, sending emergency responders rushing to the site and prompting official warnings for the public to avoid the area as multiple people were reported missing. &quot;We can confirm there has been an explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems in the Bucksnort area,&quot; located in Hickman County, Tennessee, the local sheriff&#39;s office wrote on Facebook. &quot;Emergency services are currently on the scene working to address the situation. &quot;Please avoid the area to allow emergency responders to do their work. If you are in the area, stay clear and follow the instructions from local authorities.&quot; The mayor&#39;s office in Hickman County told AFP that it could not immediately confirm any fatalities or the cause of the explosion. But Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis reported &quot;some&quot; fatalities and added that several people were missing in the blast, according to US media. &quot;We do have several people at this time that&#39;s unaccounted for,&quot; NBC News quoted Davis as saying. &quot;We are trying to be mindful of families and that situation. We do have some folks. We can confirm that we do have some that are deceased.&quot; Accurate Energetic Systems, an explosives manufacturer founded in 1980, did not immediately respond to AFP&#39;s request for comment.

A deadly blast rocked a US explosives factory Friday, sending emergency responders rushing to the site and prompting official warnings for the public to avoid the area

Deadly blast rocks Tennessee explosives plant: US media

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: United States Charg&eacute; d&rsquo;Affaires Natalie Baker on Thursday noted growing momentum in Pakistan&ndash;US relations and highlighted American companies&rsquo; strong interest in investing in Pakistan&rsquo;s energy and critical minerals sectors, the Pakistani foreign office said.&nbsp;During a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Baker reaffirmed Washington&rsquo;s commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in trade and investment.&nbsp;The deputy prime minister emphasized that ties between Islamabad and Washington were improving, citing recent high-level engagements in New York and Washington, D.C.&nbsp;Dar also reiterated Pakistan&rsquo;s continued efforts to promote peace and stability in the Middle East and the wider region.&nbsp;Baker conveyed that US investors are increasingly exploring opportunities in Pakistan&rsquo;s energy, minerals, and information technology sectors, the statement added.&nbsp;Relations between Pakistan and the United States have seen renewed warmth over the past year, bolstered by diplomatic exchanges and prospective investment in Pakistan&rsquo;s &ldquo;untapped&rdquo; mineral resources, which include some of the world&rsquo;s largest copper and gold deposits.&nbsp;In September, Pakistan and the US signed two memorandums of understanding at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and senior American officials.

Foreign Affairs

US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker and Deputy PM Ishaq Dar discussed expanding Pakistan–US cooperation, with Washington showing keen interest in investments across Pakistan’s energy, minerals, and IT sectors amid improving bilateral ties and recent high-level engagements.

US firms eye Pakistan’s energy, mineral sectors: American diplomat

LONDON: European stocks and gold prices rose, while Wall Street futures fell on Wednesday as the US government shut down after lawmakers failed to reach a funding deal.&nbsp;The prospect of services in the United States being closed pushed gold to another record high of over $3,895.&nbsp;In Asia, Tokyo&#39;s stock market sank, while Hong Kong and Shanghai were closed for holidays.&nbsp;Pharmaceutical shares lifted European markets after Pfizer was granted a reprieve from President Donald Trump&#39;s tariffs by agreeing to lower drug prices in the United States.&nbsp;Trump also announced plans to unveil a website that will allow consumers to purchase certain medications directly from manufacturers at discounted rates.&nbsp;While details remain scarce, shares in British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca rose by more than six percent, and GSK was up almost three percent in London.&nbsp;The dollar remained under pressure due to concerns caused by the US government&#39;s partial shutdown, which began on Wednesday.&nbsp;Democrats and Republicans failed to break a budget impasse, with talks hinging on health care funding.&nbsp;&quot;Historically, shutdowns have been bad for the US dollar, bad for US equities, and bad for bonds too,&quot; said Emma Wall, chief investment strategist at Hargreaves Lansdown.&nbsp;&quot;Should the shutdown remain unresolved it is likely to drive money outside of the US to markets with more certainty,&quot; she added.&nbsp;While most shutdowns end after a short period, investors were concerned that it could prevent the release on Friday of the key non-farm payrolls report, a crucial guide for the Fed in its rate decisions.&nbsp;The closure will result in the halt of non-essential operations, leaving hundreds of thousands of civil servants temporarily unpaid, and potentially disrupting many social safety net benefit payments.&nbsp;Trump threatened to punish Democrats during any stoppage by targeting progressive priorities and forcing mass public sector job cuts.&nbsp;&quot;Shutdowns have delivered bouts of volatility, but the precedent has been that weakness tends to be short-lived,&quot; noted Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.&nbsp;Futures on all three main indexes in New York were in the red.&nbsp;India&#39;s rupee also made small inroads as the country&#39;s central bank decided against cutting interest rates, despite inflation remaining low; however, the unit continued to hover around record lows against the US dollar.&nbsp;The South Asian currency has been hit by concerns over stalled trade talks with the Trump administration, which will not soften the painful tariffs. At the same time, Washington&#39;s strict immigration measures have added to worries.&nbsp;The two sides remain in talks despite sharp disagreements over agricultural trade and New Delhi&#39;s purchases of Russian oil.&nbsp;In company news, Australian mining titan BHP fell 2.5 percent following reports that China had told steelmakers to temporarily stop buying seagoing, dollar-denominated cargoes from the firm, as part of a pricing dispute.&nbsp;

European stocks and gold rose as Wall Street futures fell after a US government shutdown. Pharma shares gained on a tariff reprieve, while the dollar weakened, Tokyo stocks slid, and investors feared economic disruption, as well as a delayed US jobs data release.

European stocks rise, Wall Street futures drop as US shutdown begins

SOUTHPORT: A mass shooting that shattered the evening tranquility of a seaside town in North Carolina was a &ldquo;highly premeditated&rdquo; attack that left three people dead and five injured, police said Sunday. The suspect accused of carrying out the attack at a waterfront bar was in custody. Nigel Edge, 40, of Oak Island, is accused of opening fire Saturday night from a boat into a crowd at the American Fish Company in Southport, a historic port town about 30 miles south of Wilmington, Police Chief Todd Coring said. At a press conference Sunday, Coring said the location was &ldquo;targeted,&rdquo; but did not elaborate. Authorities said Edge piloted a small boat close to shore, where bars and restaurants line the waterfront, stopped briefly and fired before speeding away. About half an hour later, a US Coast Guard crew spotted a person matching the suspect&rsquo;s description pulling a boat from the water at a public ramp on Oak Island. The person was detained and turned over to Southport police, officials said. Edge is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon. He could face additional charges, Coring said. The weapon used was an assault rifle, though Coring did not specify the type. &ldquo;We understand this suspect identifies as a combat veteran. He self-identifies. Injured in the line of duty is what he&rsquo;s saying. He suffers from PTSD,&rdquo; Coring said, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder. Edge is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, District Attorney Jon David said. He is being held without bond. Among the five people hospitalized with injuries, at least one &ldquo;is now clinging for their life,&rdquo; David said. Some of the victims were vacationers from out of town. Oak Island Police Chief Charlie Morris said the suspect was known to police as someone &ldquo;who frequently hung out on our pier&rdquo; and had filed lawsuits against the town and police department in recent years. He did not elaborate. David said Edge had &ldquo;minor contacts&rdquo; with police in the past, &quot;but nothing significant in his past which would give us any indication that he was capable of such horror.&rdquo; It was not immediately known whether Edge has an attorney. No attorney was listed on court documents, and a call to Legal Aid in Brunswick County went unanswered Sunday. Investigators from multiple agencies, including the State Bureau of Investigation and the Coast Guard, remained on the water and at the scene on Sunday, collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses. Officials did not release the names of the victims.

Police officers on the scene in front of the American Fish Company following a fatal shooting that occurred here the night before

A mass shooting that shattered the evening tranquility of a seaside town in North Carolina was a 'highly premeditated' attack that left three people dead and five injured, police said Sunday. The suspect accused of carrying out the attack at a waterfront bar was in custody.

Articles tagged with "United States"