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Swiss National Bank raises rates in shock move, ready for more

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The building of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is pictured in Bern, Switzerland June 16, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

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  • SNB hikes rates for first time since 2007
  • Chairman says franc is no longer highly valued
  • Safe-haven franc surges after decision
  • Economists surprised by move, expect more hikes to come

BERN, June 16 (Reuters) – The Swiss National Bank raised its policy interest rate for the first time in 15 years in a surprise move on Thursday and said it was ready to hike further, joining other central banks in tightening monetary policy to fight resurgent inflation.

The central bank increased its policy rate to -0.25% from the -0.75% level it has deployed since 2015, sending the safe-haven franc sharply higher. Nearly all the economists polled by Reuters had expected the SNB to keep rates steady. L8N2Y31U7 read more

It was the first increase by the SNB since September 2007, and followed a 0.75 percentage point hike in borrowing costs by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday.

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Other central banks are also raising interest rates as they attempt to cool inflation driven higher by surging fuel and food prices that are straining budgets for households and businesses.

The Bank of England looks set to raise interest rates again on Thursday. read more

The European Central Bank signalled last week it would hike in July to check euro zone inflation that hit 8.1% last month. read more

SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan said rising Swiss inflation – which hit its highest level in nearly 14 years in May – meant the central bank may have to act again.

Even after Thursday’s 0.5 point rate rise, the SNB expects inflation in the first quarter of 2025 to reach 2.1%, outside its target for a rate of 0%-2%. In 2022 it expects a rate of 2.8%.

“Without today’s SNB policy rate increase, the inflation forecast would be significantly higher,” Jordan told a news conference.

“The new inflation forecast shows that further increases in the policy rate may be necessary in the foreseeable future,” he added, declining to indicate when or by how much the SNB could raise again.

“We are not in the business of very precise forward guidance, but … at the end of our forecast horizon inflation will again go over 2% so we have to see what measures are necessary,” Jordan said.

FRANC NO LONGER OVERVALUED

Analysts expect more hikes in the quarters ahead.

“Going forward, the monetary policy message is on the hawkish side,” said Gero Jung, an analyst at Mirabaud Asset Management. “For SNB economists, the Swiss franc is not over-valued anymore; second, inflation is expected to be above the limit that is associated with price stability in Switzerland.”

David Oxley at Capital Economics said it was likely the SNB will raise rates again, to zero or even into positive territory, before its next scheduled meeting in September.

Karsten Junius, an economist at J Safra Sarasin, expects the SNB to raise rates at its next four quarterly meetings by 25 basis points apiece, before pausing. “We would not rule out a 50bp hike at its next meeting in September either,” he said.

The SNB said Thursday’s rate increase was necessary to check rising prices in Switzerland, which had spread to goods and services previously unaffected by the impact of the war in Ukraine and supply chain bottlenecks linked to the pandemic.

Price rises were being passed on more quickly than before, Jordan said, and action was necessary to prevent inflation becoming entrenched. “It would be negligent not to take the inflationary development into account,” he said.

The recent depreciation in trade-weighted terms meant the Swiss franc was no longer highly valued on currency markets – long a concern for the SNB.

The bank said it was ready to intervene in markets to check excessive appreciation or weakening of the currency.

Switzerland’s labour union federation criticised the rate hike, saying the SNB was allowing the strong franc to rise further, putting jobs and wages at risk.

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Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Michael Shields and Catherine Evans

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World

Hong Kong university dismantles, removes Tiananmen statue

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HONG KONG, Dec 23 (Reuters) – A leading Hong Kong university has dismantled and removed a statue from its campus site that for more than two decades has commemorated pro-democracy protesters killed during China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.

The artwork, of anguished human torsos, is one of the few remaining public memorials in the former British colony to remember the bloody crackdown that is a taboo topic in mainland China, where it cannot be publicly commemorated.

Known as the “Pillar of Shame,” the statue was a key symbol of the wide-ranging freedoms promised to Hong Kong at its 1997 return to Chinese rule, which differentiated the global financial hub from the rest of China.

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The city has traditionally held the largest annual vigils in the world to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

The Council of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) said in an early Thursday statement it made the decision to remove the statue during a Wednesday meeting, “based on external legal advice and risk assessment for the best interest of the University”.

“The HKU Council has requested that the statue be put in storage, and that the University should continue to seek legal advice on any appropriate follow up action,” it said.

Late on Wednesday night, security guards placed yellow barricades around the eight-metre (26-foot) high, two-tonne copper sculpture.

Two Reuters journalists saw scores of workmen in yellow hard hats enter the statue site, which had been draped on all sides by white plastic sheeting and was being guarded by dozens of security personnel.

Loud noises from power tools and chains emanated from the closed off area for several hours before workmen were seen carrying out the top half of the statue and winching it up on a crane towards a waiting shipping container.

A truck later drove the container away early on Thursday. The site of the statue was covered in white plastic sheets and surrounded by yellow barricades. University staff later placed pots of Poinsettia flowers, a popular Christmas decoration in Hong Kong, around the barricades.

‘MEMORIES WRITTEN WITH BLOOD’

Several months ago, the university had sent a legal letter to the custodians of the statue, a group which organised the annual June 4 vigils and has since disbanded amid a national security investigation, asking for its removal.

A June 4 museum was raided by police during the investigation and shut, and its online version cannot be accessed in Hong Kong. read more

The eight-metre-high “Pillar of Shame” by Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot to pay tribute to the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing on June 4, 1989 is seen before it is set to be removed at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in Hong Kong, China October 12, 2021. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/Files

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Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot, who created the statue, said in a statement he was “totally shocked” and that he would “claim compensation for any damage” to his private property.

Galschiot, who values the statue at around $1.4 million, had offered to take it back to Denmark, but said his presence in Hong Kong was necessary for the complex operation to go well and asked for reassurances he would not be prosecuted. read more

HKU said in its statement that no party had ever obtained approval to display the statue on its campus and that it had the right to take “appropriate actions” any time. It also called the statue “fragile” and said it posed “potential safety issues.”

Tiananmen survivor Wang Dan, who now lives in the United States, condemned the removal in a Facebook post as “an attempt to wipe off history and memories written with blood.”

The campus was quiet early on Thursday, with students on holiday. Some students dropped by the campus overnight after hearing the news.

“The university is a coward to do this at midnight,” said 19-year-old student surnamed Chan. “I feel very disappointed as it’s a symbol of history.”

Another student surnamed Leung said he was “heart-broken” to see the statue “being cut into pieces”.

TIANANMEN ERASED

The removal of the statue is the latest step targeting people or organisations affiliated with the sensitive June 4, 1989, date and events to mark it.

Authorities have been clamping down in Hong Kong under a China-imposed national security law that human rights activists say is being used to suppress civil society, jail democracy campaigners and curb basic freedoms.

Authorities say the law has restored order and stability after massive street protests in 2019. They insist freedom of speech and other rights remain intact and that prosecutions are not political.

China has never provided a full account of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Officials gave a death toll of about 300, but rights groups and witnesses say thousands may have been killed.

“What the Communist Party wants is for all of us to just forget about this (Tiananmen). It’s very unfortunate,” John Burns, a political scientist at the university for over 40 years who had called for the statue to remain, told Reuters.

“They would like it globally to be forgotten.”

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Additional reporting by Sara Cheng, Alun John, Eduardo Baptista and Marius Zaharia; Writing by James Pomfret and Marius Zaharia; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and Michael Perry

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World

EU readies Belarus sanctions as migrants try to breach Polish border

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  • EU set to agree legal basis for new Belarus sanctions
  • Germany accuses Belarus leader of ‘cynical power play’
  • Belarus denies encouraging migrants to try to enter EU
  • Kremlin says EU trying to ‘strangle’ Belarus
  • Putin, Merkel speak by phone on border crisis

SUPRASL, Poland, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Migrants trapped in Belarus made multiple attempts to force their way into Poland overnight, Warsaw said on Wednesday, announcing that it had reinforced the border as the European Union prepares to impose sanctions on Belarus over the crisis.

The bloc’s 27 ambassadors are set to agree on Wednesday that the growing numbers of migrants flying to Belarus to reach the EU border amount to “hybrid warfare” by President Alexander Lukashenko – a legal basis for new sanctions.

“Mr. Lukashenko …unscrupulously exploits people seeking refuge as hostages for his cynical power play,” Germany’s acting Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Twitter.

He described images from the Belarusian border, where people are stuck in freezing conditions with little food and shelter, as “horrific” but said the EU could not be blackmailed.

The EU accuses Belarus of encouraging the migrants – from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa – to try to illegally cross the frontier in revenge for earlier sanctions imposed on Minsk over human rights abuses.

Lukashenko has denied using the migrants as weapons and on Wednesday won a fresh show of support from his most powerful ally, Russia, which blamed the EU for the crisis and sent two strategic bombers to patrol Belarusian airspace.

“It is apparent that a humanitarian catastrophe is looming against the background of Europeans’ reluctance to demonstrate commitment to their European values,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging Moscow to put pressure on Belarus over the situation at the border, a German government spokesperson said. Putin’s office said he suggested to Merkel that EU members discuss the crisis directly with Minsk.

Thousands of people have converged on the border this week, where razor wire fences and Polish soldiers have repeatedly blocked their entry. Some of the migrants have used logs, spades and other implements to try to break through.

“It was not a calm night. Indeed, there were many attempts to breach the Polish border,” Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told broadcaster PR1.

Video from the border obtained by Reuters showed young children and babies among the people stuck there.

“There are lots of families here with babies between two or four months old. They have not eaten anything for the past three days,” the person who provided the video told Reuters, saying they were a migrant themselves and declining to be named.

REINFORCEMENTS

The Polish border guards service reported 599 illegal border crossing attempts on Tuesday, with 9 people detained and 48 sent back. Blaszczak said the force of Polish soldiers stationed at the border had been strengthened to 15,000 from 12,000.

After midnight, two groups of migrants were turned back. One that was around 200 people near the town of Bialowieza and another of around two dozen was turned back near Dubicze Cerkiewne, a spokeswoman told Reuters.

Neighbouring EU state Lithuania, which followed in Poland’s footsteps by imposing a state of emergency at its border on Tuesday, reported 281 migrants were turned back that day, the highest figure since August when such pushbacks began.

The EU accuses Lukashenko of using “gangster-style” tactics in the months-long border standoff, in which at least seven migrants have died. The new EU sanctions would target around 30 individuals and entities including the Belarusian foreign minister, three EU diplomats told Reuters. read more

Lukashenko’s government blames Europe and the United States for the plight of the people stranded at the border.

The crisis erupted after the EU, United States and Britain imposed sanctions on Belarus over its violent crackdown on mass street protests that were sparked by Lukashenko’s disputed election victory in 2020.

Lukashenko turned to traditional ally Russia for support and financing to ride out the protests. The migrant crisis has given Moscow an opportunity to double down on its support for Belarus, a country it regards a strategic buffer against NATO, and criticise the EU.

Peskov accused the EU of trying to “strangle” Belarus.

Poland denies accusations by humanitarian groups that it is violating the international right to asylum by hustling migrants back into Belarus instead of accepting their applications for protection. Warsaw says its actions are legal.

Some migrants have complained of being repeatedly pushed back and forth by Polish and Belarusian border guards, putting them at risk of exposure, lack of food and water.

“Yesterday we helped to secure and evacuate one group of immigrants,” said Michal Swiatkowski, 30, a member of the Polish Red Cross rescue group from Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski.

“There were 16 people, most of them were children. They did not require medical attention, although we donated warm clothes, blankets and some food,” he told Reuters.

Reporting by Alan Charlish in Suprasl, Poland, Andrius Sytas in Kapciamiestis, Lithuania, Joanna Plucinska, Anna Koper, Pawel Florkiewicz in Warsaw, Robin Emmott in Brussels, Kirsti Knolle in Berlin, Dmitry Antonov and Maria Kiselyova in Moscow and Matthias Williams in Kyiv; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by John Stonestreet and Philippa Fletcher

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World

Iran-backed militia staged drone attack on Iraqi PM – officials

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  • Iran-aligned militias dispute crushing election defeat
  • Attack may be warning not to marginalise them -officials
  • Power struggle with big vote winner Shi’ite cleric Sadr
  • Many Iraqis fear tensions risk broader civil conflict
  • Iran likely did not sanction attack, say sources

BAGHDAD, Nov 8 (Reuters) – A drone attack that targeted the Iraqi prime minister on Sunday was carried out by at least one Iran-backed militia, Iraqi security officials and militia sources said, weeks after pro-Iran groups were routed in elections they say were rigged.

But the neighbouring Islamic Republic is unlikely to have sanctioned the attack as Tehran is keen to avoid a spiral of violence on its western border, the sources and independent analysts said.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi escaped unhurt when three drones carrying explosives were launched at his residence in Baghdad. Several of his bodyguards were injured.

The incident whipped up tensions in Iraq, where powerful Iran-backed paramilitaries are disputing the result of a general election last month that dealt them a crushing defeat at the polls and greatly reduced their strength in parliament.

Many Iraqis fear that tension among the main Shi’ite Muslim groups that dominate government and most state institutions, and also boast paramilitary branches, could spiral into broad civil conflict if further such incidents occur.

Baghdad’s streets were emptier and quieter than usual on Monday, and additional military and police checkpoints in the capital appeared intent on keeping a lid on tensions.

Iraqi officials and analysts said the attack was meant as a message from militias that they are willing to resort to violence if excluded from the formation of a government, or if their grip on large areas of the state apparatus is challenged.

“It was a clear message of, ‘We can create chaos in Iraq – we have the guns, we have the means’,” said Hamdi Malik, a specialist on Iraq’s Shi’ite Muslim militias at the Washington Institute.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Iran-backed militia groups did not immediately comment and the Iranian government did not respond to requests for comment.

Two regional officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said Tehran had knowledge about the attack before it was carried out, but that Iranian authorities had not ordered it.

Militia sources said the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards overseas Quds Force travelled to Iraq on Sunday after the attack to meet paramilitary leaders and urge them to avoid any further escalation of violence.

Two Iraqi security officials, speaking to Reuters on Monday on condition of anonymity,said the Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq groups carried out the attack in tandem.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi speaks during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (not pictured) at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany October 20, 2020. Stefanie Loos/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

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A militia source said that Kataib Hezbollah was involved and that he could not confirm the role of Asaib.

Neither group commented for the record.

INTRA-SHI’ITE TENSIONS

The main winner from the election, Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, is a rival of the Iran-backed groups who, unlike them, preaches Iraqi nationalism and opposes all foreign interference, including American and Iranian.

Malik said the drone strike indicated that the Iran-backed militias are positioning themselves in opposition to Sadr, who also boasts a militia – a scenario that would hurt Iran’s influence and therefore would likely be opposed by Tehran.

“I don’t think Iran wants a Shi’ite-Shi’ite civil war. It would weaken its position in Iraq and allow other groups to grow stronger,” he said.

Many Iran-aligned militias have watched Sadr’s political rise with concern, fearing he may strike a deal with Kadhimi and moderate Shi’ites allies, and even minority Sunni Muslims and Kurds, that would freeze them out of power.

The Iran-backed groups, which like patron Iran are Shi’ite, regard Kadhimi as both Sadr’s man and friendly towards Tehran’s arch-foe the United States.

Iran-backed militias have led cries of fraud in the Oct. 10 election but offered no evidence. Since then their supporters have staged weeks of protests near Iraqi government buildings.

MADE IN IRAN

One of the Iraqi security officials said the drones used were of the “quadcopter” type and that each was carrying one projectile containing high explosives capable of damaging buildings and armoured vehicles.

The official added that these were the same type of Iranian-made drones and explosives used in attacks this year on U.S. forces in Iraq, which Washington blames on Iran-aligned militias including Kataib Hezbollah.

The United States last month targeted Iran’s drone programme with new sanctions, saying Tehran’s elite Revolutionary Guards had deployed drones against U.S. forces, Washington’s regional allies and international shipping.

Reporting by Baghdad newsroom;
Editing by Mark Heinrich

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World

Poland fears ‘major incident’ as migrants from Belarus head for border

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KYIV, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Polish authorities accused Belarus of trying to spark a major confrontation on Monday and said they had mobilised additional soldiers as footage on social media showed hundreds of migrants walking towards the Polish border.

In one video, shared by the Belarusian blogging service NEXTA, migrants carrying rucksacks and wearing winter clothing were seen walking on the side of a highway.

Other videos showed large groups of migrants sitting by the road and being escorted by armed men dressed in khaki.

“Belarus wants to cause a major incident, preferably with shots fired and casualties: according to media reports, they are preparing a major provocation near Kuznica Bialostocka, that there will be an attempt at a mass border crossing,” Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk told Polish public radio.

The European Union has accused Belarus of encouraging migrants from the Middle East and Africa to cross into EU countries via Belarus, as a form of hybrid warfare in revenge for Western sanctions on Minsk over human rights abuses.

Neighbouring EU member Lithuania announced it was moving additional troops to the border to prepare for a possible surge in migrant crossings. Its government may follow in Poland’s footsteps by declaring a state of emergency.

Poland has stationed more than 12,000 troops at the border, the defence minister said, while sharing aerial footage of migrants clustered on the Belarusian side. Latvia, which shares a border with Belarus, called the situation “alarming”.

Exiled Belarusian leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged a strong response from the EU and United Nations.

“Belarus’ regime escalates the border crisis – migrants are pushed to EU border by armed men,” she tweeted. “The migrant smuggling, violence & ill-treatment must stop.”

MIGRANT CRISIS

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s government has repeatedly denied manufacturing a migrant crisis, blaming the West for the crossings and treatment of migrants.

The Belarusian state border committee confirmed that many refugees were moving towards the Polish border, and said Warsaw was taking an “inhumane attitude”.

The EU, the United States and Britain imposed sanctions on Belarus after Lukashenko unleashed a violent crackdown on mass protests following a disputed election last year.

Lukashenko has defied opposition calls to resign, buttressed by money and diplomatic support from traditional ally Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday defended Minsk’s handling of the migrant issue, saying Belarus was taking all necessary measures to act legally.

Charities say migrants face gruelling conditions trying to cross the border from Belarus in freezing weather with a lack of food and medical attention.

Polish authorities said seven migrants have been found dead on Poland’s side of the border, with reports of more deaths in Belarus.

Humanitarian groups accuse Poland’s ruling nationalists of violating the international right to asylum by pushing migrants back into Belarus instead of accepting their applications for protection. Poland says its actions are legal.

Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Facebook that “the Polish border is not just a line on a map. The border is sacred – Polish blood has been spilled for it!”.

Reporting by Matthias Williams in Kyiv, Joanna Plucinska and Pawel Florkiewicz in Warsaw; Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv and Dmitry Antonov in Moscow; writing by Matthias Williams, editing by Ed Osmond

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World

Japan has zero daily COVID-19 deaths for first time in 15 months – media

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People walk at a crossing in Shibuya shopping area, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan August 7, 2021. REUTERS/Androniki Christodoulou

TOKYO, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Japan recorded no daily deaths from COVID-19 for the first time in more than a year on Sunday, local media said.

Prior to Sunday, there had not been a day without a COVID-19 death since Aug. 2, 2020, according to a tally by national broadcaster NHK.

COVID-19 cases and deaths have fallen dramatically throughout Japan as vaccinations have increased to cover more than 70% of the population.

New daily infections peaked at more than 25,000 during an August wave driven by the infectious Delta variant. The country has had more than 18,000 deaths from the disease during the course of the pandemic.

To gird against a possible rebound this winter, the government plans to start booster vaccine shots next month and is working to secure pill-based treatments for milder cases to reduce hospitalisations.

Shigeru Omi, the nation’s top health adviser, on Monday sketched out a new scale for measuring the seriousness of coronavirus infections and a tool for predicting the hospital beds that may be needed in a new wave.

“We’ve learned over the past two years that we need to take strong, fast and intensive measures,” Omi told reporters.

Reporting by Rocky Swift; editing by Richard Pullin and Giles Elgood

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US

China builds mockups of U.S. Navy ships in area used for missile target practice

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BEIJING, Nov 8 (Reuters) – China’s military has built mockups in the shape of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and other U.S. warships, possibly as training targets, in the desert of Xinjiang, satellite images by Maxar showed on Sunday.

These mockups reflect China’s efforts to build up anti-carrier capabilities, specifically against the U.S. Navy, as tensions remain high with Washington over Taiwan and the South China Sea.

The satellite images showed a full-scale outline of a U.S. carrier and at least two Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers had been built at what appears to be a new target range complex in the Taklamakan Desert.

The images also showed a 6-meter-wide rail system with a ship-sized target mounted on it, which experts say could be used to simulate a moving vessel.

The complex has been used for ballistic missile testing, the U.S. Naval Institute reported, quoting geospatial intelligence company All Source Analysis.

For a graphic, click here

China’s anti-ship missile programs are overseen by the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF). China’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the Pentagon’s latest annual report on China’s military, the PLARF conducted its first confirmed live-fire launch into the South China Sea in July 2020, firing six DF-21 anti-ship ballistic missiles into the waters north of the Spratly Islands, where China has territorial disputes with Taiwan and four Southeast Asian countries.

The tests at sea may have shown China “they are still far from creating an accurate ASBM,” said Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. “I don’t think the desert targets are going to be the final stage. It’s meant for further refinement.”

An anti-ship ballistic missile test in the desert would not reflect the realistic conditions of a marine environment, which could affect sensors and targeting, but would allow China to carry out the tests more securely, Koh said.

“The best way to test it and keep it out of the prying eyes of the U.S. military and intelligence assets is to do it inland,” he said.

Neighbouring countries, concerned about the missiles hitting other ships around the target, might also object to China’s testing at sea, he added.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in July this year that the United States will defend the Philippines if it comes under attack in the South China Sea and warned China to cease its “provocative behaviour”.

Reporting by Yew Lun Tian. Editing by Gerry Doyle

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World

Moroccan king ignores Algeria accusation in speech

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Morocco’s King Mohammed VI arrives for a lunch at the Elysee Palace as part of the One Planet Summit in Paris, France, December 12, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

RABAT, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Morocco’s King Mohammed gave a speech about Western Sahara on Saturday but made no mention of an Algerian accusation that Morocco targeted Algerian civilians in an incident last week that the United Nations said took place in the disputed territory.

Algeria’s accusation has raised fears of further escalation between the North African rivals after Algeria cut off diplomatic relations, stopped supplying gas to Morocco and blocked Algerian airspace to Moroccan flights.

Ties between the countries have been fractious for years, but have deteriorated since last year after the Algeria-backed Polisario Front said it was resuming its armed struggle for the independence of Western Sahara, a territory Morocco sees as its own.

King Mohammed’s silence on the dispute with Algeria in his annual speech on Western Sahara is in line with Morocco’s practice since soon after Algeria broke off ties in August in ignoring all statements coming from Algiers.

However, Algeria’s accusation on Wednesday that Morocco had killed three civilians driving in the Sahara on Monday has sharply raised the stakes.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune vowed in a statement that the death of the three men “would not go unpunished”.

Morocco has not formally responded to the accusation.

The U.N. peacekeeping force in Western Sahara, MINURSO, visited the site of the incident in territory outside Moroccan control and found two badly damaged Algerian-plated trucks, a U.N. spokesperson said on Friday. The spokesperson said MINURSO was looking into the incident.

Last year the United States recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara as part of a deal that also included Rabat bolstering ties with Israel.

Morocco has been more assertive since then in pushing European countries to follow suit. However, they have not done so and in September a European Union court said some European trade deals with Morocco were invalid because they included products originating in Western Sahara territory.

King Mohammed said on Saturday that Morocco would not agree “any economic or commercial step that excludes the Moroccan Sahara”.

Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi, writing by Angus McDowall
Editing by Alistair Bell

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US

U.S. orders non-emergency government employees in Ethiopia to leave

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Traffic police are seen on duty at the Lafto neighbourhood in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, November 5, 2021. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

NAIROBI, Nov 6 (Reuters) – The United States has ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees in Ethiopia to leave because of armed conflict and civil unrest, its embassy in Addis Ababa said on Saturday.

Denmark and Italy also asked their citizens in Ethiopia to leave while commercial flights were still available, as rebellious Tigrayan forces and their allies have advanced towards the capital Addis Ababa.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government, which has been embroiled in a year-long war against Tigrayan forces, has promised to keep fighting despite calls for a ceasefire from African nations, Western states and the U.N. Security Council.

“Incidents of civil unrest and ethnic violence are occurring without warning. The situation may escalate further and may cause supply chain shortages, communications blackouts, and travel disruptions,” the U.S. Embassy said on its website.

Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu and Abiy’s spokesperson Billene Seyoum did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment.

Municipal authorities in the capital ordered residents who own firearms to register their weapons this week, to bolster defences in case the city is attacked. Addis Ababa has registered more than 10,000 weapons, Yonas Zewde, a spokesperson for the city administration, told state broadcaster EBC on Saturday.

Abiy’s government declared a national state of emergency on Tuesday, saying it was locked in an “existential war” with forces from the northern Tigray region and their allies.

Getu Argaw, police commissioner for the capital, told EBC it was “only a dream” for the TPLF to think it could capture the city. He said police had confiscated weapons and uniforms from people in the capital.

Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) spokesperson Getachew Reda accused Abiy of using the state of emergency to arrest “thousands of Tigrayans and Oromos”.

The government spokesperson and the federal police spokesperson Jeylan Abdi did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on Getachew’s remarks but police have denied that arrests in the capital are ethnically motivated.

“We are only arresting those who are directly or indirectly supporting the illegal terrorist group,” police spokesperson Fasika Fante said on Thursday, a reference to the TPLF. “This includes moral, financial and propaganda support.”

The TPLF unveiled an alliance with other factions on Friday aiming to remove Abiy from power, saying this would be done by force if needed.

The government condemned the move, saying Abiy had a mandate to rule based on a landslide election win in June. It urged international partners to help protect Ethiopia’s democracy.

The conflict in the north of Ethiopia started a year ago when forces loyal to the TPLF seized military bases in the Tigray region. In response, Abiy sent troops, who initially drove the TPLF out of the regional capital but have faced a sharp reversal since June this year.

Reuters has not been able to confirm independently the extent of the TPLF advance. The TPLF and their allies told Reuters this week they were now in the town of Kemise in Amhara state, 325 km (200 miles) from the capital. The government accuses the group of exaggerating its territorial gains.

The conflict has killed thousands of people, forced more than 2 million more from their homes and left 400,000 people in Tigray facing famine.

Social media companies Facebook and Twitter have taken action to limit what they call violations of their policies by Ethiopian accounts, including removing a post by Abiy’s official Facebook account.

Twitter said on Saturday it had temporarily disabled the Trends section of its service in Ethiopia, which showcases the most tweeted subjects, because of threats of physical harm.

“Inciting violence or dehumanizing people is against our rules … Given the imminent threat of physical harm, we’ve also temporarily disabled Trends in Ethiopia,” the company said.

Reporting by Addis Ababa Newsroom
Writing by Duncan Miriri
Editing by Peter Graff and Edmund Blair

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World

Delhi trapped under blanket of toxic air two days after festival

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NEW DELHI, Nov 6 (Reuters) – India’s capital was blanketed by toxic air on Saturday as pollution levels remained dangerously high for a second day after revellers defied a fireworks ban during a major Hindu festival and farmers in nearby states burnt stubble.

New Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 456 on a scale of 500, indicating “severe” pollution conditions that can affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing diseases.

The AQI measures the concentration of poisonous particulate matter PM2.5, which can cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases such as lung cancer, in a cubic metre of air.

On social media, some residents complained about the hazardous conditions in Delhi, which has the worst air quality of all world capitals, with an annual spike often early in the winter.

Residential buildings are seen shrouded in smog in Noida, India, November 5, 2021. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

“The pollution in Delhi makes it very difficult to live in this city. Or at least live here for too long,” resident Pratyush Singh said on Twitter. “We’re breathing smoke everyday. Media will talk about it. Leaders will say they are fixing it. It’ll go away and come back next year.”

Toxic air kills more than a million people annually in India and takes an economic toll on the country’s populous northern states and the capital city of 20 million people.

The current pollution levels in Delhi were the result of fireworks on the night of the Hindu festival of Diwali on Thursday and from stubble burning in the surrounding farm belt, according to the federal Ministry of Earth Sciences’ SAFAR monitoring system.

Farmers in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana set alight the stubble left after harvesting at this time of the year to prepare their fields for the next crop.

The situation is expected to improve in Delhi from late Sunday onwards, but the AQI will remain in the “very poor” category, which can trigger respiratory illness on prolonged exposure, SAFAR said in a statement on its website.

Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by William Mallard

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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