The US has sent 400 additional troops to Syria to support an allied local force aiming to capture the so-called Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa.They include Marines, who arrived in the past few days. US special forces are already in Syria.Meanwhile, US-led coalition air strikes killed 20 civilians - including children - near the city, reports say.US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is to host talks with coalition members ahead of an expected assault on Raqqa.Foreign ministers and senior officials from 68 nations and international organisations had been invited to attend a two-day gathering in Washington beginning on 22 March, the state department said."Secretary Tillerson has been crystal clear that defeating Isis (IS) is the state department's top priority in the Middle East," acting state department spokesman Mark Toner said.Defence officials told the Washington Post that a Marine artillery unit had been deployed with large field guns that can fire 155mm shells about 32km (20 miles).A coalition spokesman, Col John Dorrian, told Reuters news agency they would help "expedite the defeat" of IS in Raqqa.Over the weekend, a separate force of elite US Army Rangers was also deployed near a town north-west of Raqqa in heavily-armoured vehicles.The move was an attempt to end clashes between units from the Kurdish-Arab alliance, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and Turkish-backed rebels.Why are Marines being sent now?IS can be defeated in this war only if its militants are forced to stand and fight as a conventional army, the BBC's Paul Danahar writes from Washington.Much of its senior military leadership is made up of former Iraqi army commanders from the Saddam Hussein era. Their instinct the last time they faced a defeat on the battlefield, during the US-led invasion in 2003, was to melt away.They re-emerged as the leaders of militants opposing the US occupation who then joined to form an umbrella grouping which became al-Qaeda in Iraq. After the start of the Syrian civil war this morphed into IS.What the US Marines will hope to do, working alongside US special forces, is create a net tight enough to kill or capture these men before they get away. That means co-ordinating the assault and making sure the anti-IS forces work together.They will hope to finally force the men that the US military has been fighting for more than a decade into a last stand.How many US troops are there in Syria?Under President Barack Obama, US special operations forces were deployed to recruit, train and advise the SDF's 30,000 Arab and Kurdish fighters. However, their numbers were limited to 503.The latest deployment of Marines is considered temporary, so it is not affected by the cap.What about the Rangers?Col Dorrian said the dozens of US Army Rangers who had arrived on the outskirts of Manbij, about 110km (68 miles) from Raqqa, were also there "for a temporary period".The Rangers were seeking to "create some assurance", Col Dorrian added, following clashes between Turkish-backed Arab rebels and local fighters from the Manbij Military Council, which was set up by the SDF when it captured the town.The Turkish government considers the Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG) militia, which dominates the SDF, a terrorist group because of its links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is banned in Turkey.Does this signal an escalation in US involvement?It is not yet clear but the deployment comes as President Donald Trump considers a new plan to defeat IS that was submitted by the Pentagon late last month.The Associated Press news agency reports that Mr Trump wants to give the Pentagon greater flexibility to make routine combat decisions in the fight against IS.Commanders on the ground were frustrated by what they considered micromanagement by the Obama administration, it adds.The US is also said to be preparing to send up to 1,000 troops to Kuwait to serve as a reserve force that can be deployed to fight IS in Syria and Iraq if necessary.How is the campaign to capture Raqqa going?Col Dorrian said the SDF's operation to encircle the city was going "very, very well" and might be completed in a few weeks. "Then the decision to move in can be made," he added.Earlier this week, the SDF cut the main supply route connecting Raqqa to IS-held territory to the south-east in Deir al-Zour province.The New York Times meanwhile cited US officials as saying there were an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 militants inside Raqqa.
BBC, March 09 2017
(SHANGHAI)—China on Thursday defended its handling of 38 trademarks it recently approved provisionally for President Donald Trump, saying it followed the law in processing the applications at a pace that some experts view as unusually quick.Democrats in Congress were critical of Trump after The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the potentially valuable trademarks had been granted, raising questions of conflict of interest and political favoritism. One senator said the issue "merits investigation."Trump has sometimes struggled to win trademarks from China; he secured one recently after a 10-year fight that turned his way only after he declared his candidacy for the presidency.China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a regular briefing with reporters that Chinese authorities handle all trademark applications "in accordance with the law and regulation." He declined to comment on speculation about political influence on Trump's trademark approvals.Critics fear foreign governments might gain leverage from Trump's global portfolio of brands.Democrats in Congress have been pushing Trump to sever financial ties with his global businesses to avoid potential violations of the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution, which bars federal officials from accepting anything of value from foreign governments unless approved by Congress.The monopoly right to a successful brand in a market like China can be worth huge sums. Former top ethics lawyers from the administrations of Barack Obama and George W. Bush say any special treatment from Beijing in awarding Trump intellectual property protection would violate the Constitution.Concerns about political influence are particularly sharp in China, where the courts and bureaucracy are designed to reflect the will of the ruling Communist Party, and foreign companies and the lawyers that work for them regularly ask embassy staff for help lobbying Chinese officials.Spring Chang, a founding partner at Chang Tsi & Partners, a Beijing law firm that has represented the Trump Organization, declined to comment specifically on Trump's trademarks. But she did say government relations are an important part of trademark strategy in China. She said she has worked with officials from both the U.S. and Canadian embassies to help her clients. The key, she said, is "you should communicate closely with the government to push your case."Drawing on public records from the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the AP compiled a detailed list of 49 trademarks Trump's lawyers applied for in 2016, even as he railed against China on the campaign trail. On Feb. 22, seven of those marks were rejected , though public records do not indicate why. China granted preliminary approval for 38 marks on Feb. 27 and Mar. 6. Four applications are pending.Matthew Dresden, a China intellectual property attorney at Harris Bricken in Seattle, said the rejections suggested that the trademark office hadn't done Trump any special favors. "Some did not go through, that suggests it's just business as usual," he said.Dan Plane, a director at Simone IP Services, a Hong Kong intellectual property consultancy, said it would be difficult to draw firm conclusions without in-depth research. However, he said the efficiency of China's trademark office in handling Trump's caseload suggested favor for a man whose decisions could have a powerful impact on China."For this many marks to all sail through to preliminary approval this quickly, with nary an issue in sight—that is unheard of to me, and I have been doing this for 16 years," he said. "I wish my clients' applications would be dealt with half as expeditiously and graciously."If no one objects, the new marks will be officially registered after 90 days, bringing the number of Trump's trademarks in China to 115. Nearly all are in the president's own name; a few are registered to a Delaware company called DTTM Operations LLC.The new marks could lay the groundwork for an expanded range of branded businesses, including financial, insurance and real estate services, golf clubs, educational institutions, restaurants and bars. A number of the trademarks granted, including those for "social escort" and "body guard" services, appeared to relate specifically to hotels. Other international hotel companies whose documents were reviewed by AP sought similar trademarks.It's unclear whether any of these Trump-brand businesses will materialize in China. Many companies here register trademarks just to prevent others from using their name inappropriately. Trump has also said he will refrain from new foreign deals while in office.Trump began to file trademark applications in China in late 2005, an effort that accelerated in 2008 as Trump's lawyers fought for control of Chinese variations of his name, public records show. Years of ambition in China, however, have yet to yield a single marquee development. And despite all the recent activity, Trump still doesn't have a firm hold on his brand in China. More than 225 Trump-related marks are held or sought by others in China, for an array of things including Trump toilets, condoms, pacemakers and even a "Trump International Hotel."Trump Organization chief legal officer Alan Garten said the latest registrations were a continuation of efforts that long predate Trump's presidential run. "Any suggestion to the contrary demonstrates a complete disregard of the facts as well as a lack of understanding of international trademark law," he said in an email.But a growing number of Democrats disagree.After AP reported Wednesday about the sweep of new approvals, Senators Debbie Stabenow and Ben Cardin called a press conference to lambaste President Trump for his growing Chinese entanglements. Also citing AP's report, Senator Richard Blumenthal said on the Senate floor that Trump's intellectual property in China "merits investigation.""This President's conflicts of interest are creeping into every corner of the world," he said in an email to the AP. "The consequence is that he has done nothing to counter Chinese currency manipulation, trade rules violations, military buildup, and other aggressive Chinese actions. Standing up for a great America means putting our nation before personal profit."Democrats have written to Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urging scrutiny of Trump's intellectual property interests in China."It's time for Republicans in Congress to join our efforts to hold President Trump accountable," Senator Dianne Feinstein said in a statement Wednesday. "The Constitution demands it and the American people deserve it."Time, March 09 2017
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(CNN)Washington state will ask a federal judge Thursday to block President Donald Trump's new travel ban, joining Hawaii as the second state to challenge the executive order.Bob Ferguson, Washington state's attorney general, said that despite the significant changes to the President's previous executive order, the new travel ban still suffers from legal flaws."The revised executive order does narrow" its impact, but "there is still harm," Ferguson said in a news conference on Thursday. "This is effectively a Muslim ban."Attorneys general from Massachusetts, New York and Oregon confirmed they are planning to join the lawsuit. Minnesota is already part of the challenge to Trump's actions.US District Court Judge James Robart issued a nationwide temporary restraining order blocking implementation of the original travel ban on February 3.Trump signed a new executive order Monday banning foreign nationals from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for 90 days and banning all refugees for 120 days, but excluded green card holders and those with existing valid visas from the order.The original ban included Iraq, but the new order does not. Ferguson said that change doesn't pass muster.Rather than a seven nation ban, it's is only "now a six nation ban," he said. "The language is virtually identical."The legal arguments against the original order still hold, Ferguson believes."There are still constitutional problems with core provisions" of the new executive order, Ferguson said. "It cannot be a game of whack-a-mole."According to Ferguson, Robart's current temporary restraining order halting the original travel ban should block implementation of the new executive order as well."This is not a new lawsuit -- we're saying that underlying injunction is still under effect on core provisions (of the executive order)," Ferguson said.The state will continue to make the case the ban discriminates against Muslims based off of Trump's statements during the campaign and Rudy Giuliani comments about a legal Muslim ban, he added.The state of Hawaii this week also challenged Trump's new travel ban. A federal judge agreed to hear arguments on Wednesday -- one day before it is slated to go into effect on March 16.White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Thursday the executive order was consistent with federal law."We're going to go forward on this," Spicer said. "We feel very confident with how that was crafted and the input that was given."The Justice Department filed a notice with Robart on Monday, saying the administration believes the new executive order "falls outside of the scope" of Robart's earlier ruling that blocked the original ban. The administration cited the substantial changes to the executive order, arguing that it "clarifies and narrows the scope of Executive action regarding immigration, extinguishes the need for emergent consideration, and eliminates the potential constitutional concerns identified by the Ninth Circuit."Announcing the new executive order Monday, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions argued that the ban was necessary because "we cannot compromise our nation's security by allowing visitors entry when their own governments are unable or unwilling to provide the information we need to vet them responsibly, or when those governments actively support terrorism."CNN, March 09 2017
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