Politics & Policy

As the U.S. closes in on a deal to wind down its presence in Afghanistan, senior officials in Afghanistan, Europe and the U.S. say Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is declining to sign it. [node:read-more:link]

A U.S. judge is questioning the constitutionality of a federal database on people deemed to be “known or suspected” terrorists and who can be prevented from entering or travelling within the country.” Ruling on a suit by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, he agreed that the standard for inclusion in the database is too vague. [node:read-more:link]

Foreign Affairs Minister Freeland announced the appointment of business executive Dominic Barton to the role of Canada's newest Ambassador to China. A start date has not been specified. [node:read-more:link]

Dominic Barton, former global managing director of the McKinsey consultancy and head of the federal Economic Advisory Council, has been confirmed as Canada’s ambassador to China. His appointment comes at a time when the two countries remain locked in a feud over Canada’s detention of a top Huawei executive and China’s apparently retaliatory arrests of two Canadians.  [node:read-more:link]

The Afghanistan government is pressing for clarification of the draft peace accord struck by the U.S. and the Taliban. A spokesman for President Ashraf Ghan says the government wants to analyze the risks and potentially negative conseqences of a scaled-back U.S. military presence. [node:read-more:link]

Iran is dismissing as “totally ineffective” U.S. sanctions against its space agencies for their alleged role in developing ballistic missile capabilities. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif says “Americans are addicted to sanctions” as a way of dealing with adversaries. [node:read-more:link]

European powers have been given two more months to save a 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran but President Hassan Rouhani warns that he is preparing for further significant breaches of the agreement if the diplomatic initiative fails. France has offered nearly €14 billion in lines of credit if Iran become fully compliant with the deal. [node:read-more:link]

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has withdrawn contentious draft legislation which would have permitted extradition of Hong Kong residents to China. The bill sparked months of protests in the former British colony, raising fears of Chinese military intervention. [node:read-more:link]

The northern Iraq city of Kirkuk and the surrounding area has been the focus of conflict since the end of the Ottoman Empire a century ago, and tensions have increase since the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. A new policy paper from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute offers recommendations for interventions designed to facilitate local peacebuilding it says could have wider regional application. [node:read-more:link]

A pickup registered to a Canadian Army reservist who was discharged over alleged links to a white supremacy movement has been found in southern Manitoba but police say there is no evidence that Patrik Mathews, a former combat engineer, had crossed into the U.S. Mathews has been missing for more than a week. [node:read-more:link]