Developments in Washington, D.C., over the weekend U.S.-Asia discussions in Singapore, President Donald Trump says the world needs to stop being “politically correct” in fighting terrorism, protests, for and against the president, demonstrate over the weekend, The New York Times says Trump will not prevent fired FBI Director James Comey from testifying to Congress this week, and former Fox News host Megyn Kelly interviews Russia President Vladimir Putin, who claims American hackers could have framed Russia in 2016 presidential election:

WATCH: Mattis at security forum

Mattis Offers Assurances of US ‘Enduring Commitment’ to Asia — U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis used a top regional security forum in Singapore this weekend to try and reassure Asia that the United States is not backing away from its enduring commitment to the region. How convinced Washington’s allies and partners in the region will be, remains to be seen, analysts say.

Mattis Says China’s Militarization of Man-Made Islands Unacceptable — Mattis applauded China’s efforts to work with the international community on North Korea at an annual security forum in Singapore Saturday. But when it came to the South China Sea, he called China’s ongoing militarization of man-made islands there and its disregard for international order, unacceptable.

Tillerson to Tackle Regional Challenges on First Trip to South Pacific — The United States is enlisting its Oceania allies to tackle growing threats from North Korea and counter increasing Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific region, U.S. officials and experts say. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis are departing for Australia for annual ministerial consultations on June 5, aimed at deepening cooperation on “bilateral, regional and global” issues.

US Security Policy in Spotlight at Annual Asia Defense Summit — Questions about the U.S. commitment to the Asian region will be a key focus as Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis attends the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore this weekend. The annual meeting has typically been an opportunity for countries in the region to voice frustrations and concerns about China. This year, however, Washington may be getting most of the attention, analysts said, after Trump’s announcement this week that the U.S. would exit the Paris climate change agreement.

Trump: World Needs to Stop Being ‘Politically Correct’ in Fighting Terrorism — Trump says the world needs to stop being “politically correct” in fighting terrorism and used the deadly London attack to renew his call for courts to authorize his ban on travel to the U.S. from six majority-Muslim countries. In a string of Twitter comments, the U.S. leader vowed support for Britain, criticized London’s mayor and took a tough stance on fighting terrorism.

‘Free Speech,’ ‘No Nazi’ Counter Rallies Fill Downtown Portland — One week after two men were killed defending two women from anti-Muslim slurs on public transit in Portland, Oregon, a “free speech” rally and counter protests filled the city center. Four separate rallies including two titled “Trump Free Speech” and “No Nazis on Our Streets” took place Sunday, all in the city’s center.

WATCH: Protesters support Trump

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Anti-Trump Protesters Gather Across US, Abroad — Protests were underway Saturday in more than 135 cities in the U.S. and around the world to demand an impartial investigation into any potential collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia to influence last year’s election in Trump’s favor. The “March for Truth” protests were organized by a national coalition of 17 activist groups, including the Women’s March and the Progressive Democrats of America.

WATCH: Protesters against Trump

NY Times: Trump Not Planning to Invoke Executive Privilege for Comey Testimony — Trump reportedly does not plan to invoke executive privilege in an attempt to prevent former FBI Director James Comey from disclosing potentially harmful information to Congress about statements Trump made about his embattled former national security director. The decision was reported by The New York Times, which attributed information about the decision to unnamed senior officials with the Trump administration.

WATCH: PM May: Enough is enough

Islamic State Claims London Terror Rampage — Islamic State (IS) is claiming responsibility for Saturday night’s deadly terror rampage in London, which killed seven people and wounded 48. IS made its claim of a “security detachment” carrying out the attack on its Amaaq news agency webpage. A van driver ran over pedestrians on the London Bridge. Three men jumped out of the van and stabbed people in a nearby market.

Bloomberg Leads Effort to Help US Stick to Paris Deal — Michael Bloomberg is on a mission to ensure the U.S., one of the world’s top polluters, upholds its commitments to the Paris climate pact, even if it is not formally a part of it. Trump recently announced the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris agreement on climate change, saying the deal was too costly and would cause U.S. businesses to lose 7 million jobs by 2025.

Pence Praises Trump as ‘More Concerned with Des Moines Than Denmark’ — U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday that it’s “great to have a president who is more concerned with Des Moines than Denmark,” after rolling up to a political fundraiser on a motorcycle. Pence was in Iowa Saturday at a fundraiser for Senator Joni Ernst dubbed “Roast and Ride,” a barbecue to honor U.S. veterans.

WATCH: Many businesses critical of Trump climate action

US Cities, States, Businesses Back Climate Change Agreement — Trump said he represented “the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris” when he announced the U.S. withdrawal from the historic climate agreement signed in the French capital. But Bill Peduto, the mayor of Pittsburgh, said he was “personally offended” by Trump’s remarks. Peduto said Trump’s speechwriter used Pittsburgh as a stereotype of a “dirty old town that relies on big coal and big steel to survive.” He said Trump’s reference “completely ignores the sacrifices that we made over 30 years … to clean our air and clean our water.”

Putin: US Could Have Hacked Election, Blamed Russia — American hackers could have planted false evidence that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election, President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying by NBC News Saturday. U.S. intelligence officials have said Russia tried to interfere in the U.S. election by hacking the Democratic Party to sway the vote in favor of Trump, a charge the Kremlin has repeatedly denied.

German Right-wingers Urge Switch of Climate Change Policy — A conservative group in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party is urging a change of approach to climate change, arguing that the melting of sea ice could carry more opportunities than problems. Lawmaker Philipp Lengsfeld wrote on Twitter Sunday that the Berlin Circle group wants “massive course corrections in climate and energy policy.” Lengsfeld said its statement was originally published Tuesday — before President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, which Merkel criticized.

Trump ‘Believes Climate Is Changing,’ Haley Tells CNN — Trump “believes the climate is changing,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley says. “President Trump believes the climate is changing and he believes pollutants are part of the equation,” Haley said during an excerpt of a CNN interview released Saturday. The interview will be broadcast Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.

Facts Muddy Trump’s Claim That US is Cleanest Country — Trump said the United States “will continue to be the cleanest and most environmentally friendly country on Earth” as he announced a U.S. pullout from an international accord designed to curb climate change. But facts muddy that claim. Data show that the U.S. is among the dirtiest countries when it comes to heat-trapping carbon pollution. One nation that has cleaner air in nearly every way is Sweden.

White House Looks at Sanctions on Venezuela’s Oil Sector — The Trump administration is considering possible sanctions on Venezuela’s vital energy sector, including state oil company PDVSA, senior White House officials said, in what would be a major escalation of U.S. efforts to pressure the country’s embattled leftist government amid a crackdown on the opposition.

Perry Staying Busy, Gaining in Enthusiasm at Energy Department — Rick Perry twice ran for president and appeared as a contestant on TV’s Dancing with the Stars. But since becoming Trump’s energy secretary, Perry has kept a low profile and rarely has been seen publicly around Washington. He has toured Energy Department sites around the country, represented the Trump administration at a meeting in Italy and pledged to investigate a tunnel collapse at a radioactive waste storage site in Washington state.

WATCH: Silicon Valley Debates Future of H1B Employment-Based Visa
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Russian President Vladimir Putin insists he has never met with U.S. President Donald Trump and wondered if the American media has “lost its senses.”

Putin was interviewed last week by NBC’s Megyn Kelly. Parts of their talk were broadcast Sunday night.

When asked if he had anything damaging on Trump, Putin called it “another load of nonsense.”

The president said hundreds of American business executives come to Moscow every year and that he rarely sees any of them, including Trump, who was a business magnate before entering politics.

Putin also denied any contacts with fired national security advisor Michael Flynn.

There is a widely-seen photograph of Flynn and Putin sitting at the same banquet table in Moscow in 2015 when the retired Army general was a Trump advisor.

Putin was at the dinner to give a speech. He told Kelly he barely spoke to Flynn and was only told later who Flynn was.

Trump fired Flynn for failing to disclose that he had met with Russian officials.

The Russian president again denied Kremlin interference in the U.S. election by hacking Democratic Party emails.

He said hackers can be anywhere and can skillfully shift the blame to Russia.

Putin said it makes no sense for Russia to interfere, because he says no matter who is president, the Russians know what to expect from a U.S. leader.
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Diversification is a growing trend in some sectors of the agriculture industry. Some winemakers in the northwestern state of Oregon are branching out into marijuana as a new business venture. Faith Lapidus reports.
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Afghanistan’s Taliban has stormed a key northern district as the turmoil-hit nation reeled from last week’s deadly suicide bombings with demands growing for the national unity government to quit for failing to provide security.

Insurgents assaulted Imam Sahib early Sunday and are said to be moving closer to the district center after inflicting heavy casualties on government forces and overrunning surrounding villages, according to a Taliban spokesman.

But district governor Imamuddin Qureshi told VOA that Afghan forces are fiercely retaliating to push the Taliban back and military reinforcements have also arrived from the provincial capital of Kunduz to assist them. He confirmed the clashes killed at least six soldiers and 10 insurgents.

Separately, authorities in southern Kandahar province confirmed two policemen shot dead six colleagues and wounded many others at a security installation early Sunday. The assailants, suspected Taliban infiltrators, were killed while trying to flee by Afghan troops.

The Taliban confirmed the assailants were its members who joined the police ranks just to carry out such an attack.

Intensified insurgent battlefield attacks come as demands for President Ashraf Ghani’s national unity government to quit continue to grow after terrorist attacks last week in Kabul.

A massive suicide truck bomb on Wednesday ripped through the highly-secure diplomatic sector of the capital, killing at least 90 people and wounding more than 450 others, including foreigners.

The deadliest terrorist strike in years outraged residents and they took to the streets demanding Ghani and his Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah resign.

An anti-government demonstration on Friday turned violent, prompting Afghan security forces to open fire on the crowd. One of several people killed in the clashes was about to be buried in a Kabul cemetery Saturday when three suicide bombers struck the crowd.

Abdullah and several ministers, who were also present at the funeral service, narrowly escaped the attack that killed at least eight people and wounded more than 100.

Nearly 700 casualties in the three back-to-back incidents in Kabul have made the last week the bloodiest for the Afghan capital in three decades. The Taliban said it had nothing to do with the attacks and blamed internal rivalries in the government.

Speaking after the attack on the funeral, Abdullah demanded thorough investigations into the bombing, which appears to have deepened his rifts with Ghani.

“Will soon announce our position towards terrorists within the system and on holding them to account at the national level,” said Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani on his official Twitter account after the bombing. Rabbani, who was also at the funeral, is a member of Abdullah’s Jamiat-e Islami political party.

Opposition politicians have also intensified their demands for Ghani and Abdullah to step down for failing to undertake promised reforms to security and other government institutions to rid them of corrupt elements.

“I have spoken with a broad spectrum of Afghanistan’s political leaders, highlighting the importance of unity. They agreed that working together is essential to stop the cycle of violence. Calm is now called for,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. He reiterated his call for seeking a negotiated settlement to the Afghan conflict.

“Meaningful steps must take place now to obtain an immediate, nationwide halt to violence. I encourage all parties to enter discussions toward that end,” said Tadamichi.

The United States also called for Afghan leaders to stay united under the challenging circumstances.

“The enemy seeks to manipulate the people’s anger and sadness to create division and sow instability,” a U.S. embassy statement quoted Special Charge d’Affaires Ambassador Hugo Llorens as saying.

Now is the time, to stand unified and announce to the enemies loud and clear that Afghans, along with their international partners, will not allow cowards to break the Afghan resolve to achieve a prosperous, stable, and peaceful nation, noted the American diplomat.

A presidential statement said Ghani chaired a meeting Sunday of his National Security Council to discuss security for the “Kabul Process” meeting scheduled for Tuesday where delegates will discuss how to bring an end to the increasingly deadly Afghan war.

The controversy-marred presidential election in 2014 prompted the United States to help mediate a deal between Ghani, an ethnic Pashtun, and Abdullah, an ethnic Tajik, to form the unity government.

But differences over a number of issues, including appointments to key posts in security and other government institutions, critics say, have hampered international-backed efforts to bring security and political stability to the conflict-shattered country.

The internal rifts coupled with rampant corrupt state institutions are blamed for the deterioration in national security and territorial insurgent gains on the battlefield.

 

 
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U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis used a top regional security forum in Singapore this weekend to try and reassure Asia that the United States is not backing away from

its enduring commitment to the region. How convinced Washington’s allies and partners in the region will be, remains to be seen, analysts say.

 

Mattis did not say much on the sidelines of the meetings, noting that he was largely at the Shangri-La Dialogue to listen. He met with regional allies and partners in between sessions at the forum, including holding a tri-lateral with Japan and South Korea. Early Sunday, he had a unique get-together with all 10 defense chiefs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Enduring commitment

 

In his speech, however, the Trump administration’s first real address to the region as a whole, he talked at length about the importance of rules-based international order and how every country, both big and small, should have a voice in shaping the international system.

 

He said the United States is a Pacific nation and that five states — including his home state of Washington — have shorelines along that big body of water.

 

Since Trump stepped into office, both Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have made several trips to the region, a point the secretary of defense says highlights Washington’s enduring commitment to the security and prosperity of the region.

 

“That enduring commitment is based on strategic interests, and on shared values of free people, free markets and a strong and vibrant economic partnership, a partnership open to all nations regardless of their size, their populations or the number of ships in their navies, or any other qualifier,” he said.

 

He also pledged that the United States would continue to expand its ability to work with others to secure a peaceful, prosperous and free Asia, one with respect for all nations upholding international law.

 

“We recognize no nation is an island isolated from the others, we stand with our allies and the international community to address pressing security challenges, and do so together,” he said.

 

Lingering questions

 

Kurt Campbell, former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs said Mattis’s speech did a very good job in describing continuity in the United States position toward the region.

 

“If it was his speech on its own, I think I would be reassured. I think the larger challenge though, it comes in a larger context,” Campbell said.

 

The speech was strong and reassuring, Campbell said, but it came just after the president pulled out of the Paris climate change accord. Last week at NATO President Trump chose not to affirm Article 5 of the NATO charter – which states that an attack on one is an attack on all.

 

A first for any president, Campbell adds.

 

Shortly after that, speaking on the campaign trail, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “the times in which we could rely fully on others — they are somewhat over.”

 

President Donald Trump’s policy moves, be it the Paris agreement or his earlier departure from the Asian regional economic trade bloc — the Trans Pacific Partnership — have raised questions about the road ahead both in Europe and Asia.

 

Some wonder if Trump’s “America First” policy moves are a sign Washington is abdicating its global leadership role. Others have noted the space it has created for China to assert its expanding economic and diplomatic clout.

 

Campbell said that what was clear from the defense secretary’s speech was that there is an undeniable gap between the strong traditional approaches of Secretary Mattis, Tillerson, others and the president.

 

“We don’t have an answer yet about where we are going on TPP, we don’t have an answer yet on trade, we don’t have an answer yet for our support for institutions,” Campbell said. “The region is patient, they have given the United States the benefit of the doubt, but that won’t last very much longer.”

Power of the purse

 

Some, however, are not as worried, noting that the president has only been in office for several months and that the frequent visits his officials have made to the region highlight a continued commitment to the region.

 

In addition to Mattis and his delegation, U.S. lawmakers also attended the security forum, including bi-partisan delegations from the Senate and the House Armed Services Committee. The house delegation was led by Republican Mac Thornberry, who said that much like Mattis they were there to convey their commitment to the region.

 

Thornberry recently introduced legislation in the House that if approved, would authorize $2.1 billion in spending for the Asia Pacific for capacity building, military training and munitions.

 

“Congress is a co-equal branch and so I think you’re going to see a continued effort on behalf of Congress to engage, our presence here is an example of that, we also have power of the purse,” said Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy. “Where you make investments also demonstrates your commitment.”

 

Thornberry’s legislation is for one year. In the Senate, John McCain has introduced multi-year funding stream for the Asia Pacific region.

 
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The Trump administration is considering possible sanctions on Venezuela’s vital energy sector, including state oil company PDVSA, senior White House officials said, in what would be a major escalation of U.S. efforts to pressure the country’s embattled leftist government amid a crackdown on the opposition.

The idea of striking at the core of Venezuela’s economy, which relies on oil for about 95 percent of export revenues, has been discussed at high levels of the administration as part of a wide-ranging review of U.S. options, but officials said it remains under debate and action is not imminent.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the United States could hit PDVSA as part of a “sectoral” sanctions package that would take aim at the OPEC nation’s entire energy industry for the first time.

 

Complicating factors

But they made clear the administration is moving cautiously, mindful that if such an unprecedented step is taken it could deepen the country’s economic and social crisis, in which millions suffer food shortages and soaring inflation. Two months of anti-government unrest has left more than 60 people dead.

Another complicating factor would be the potential impact on oil shipments to the United States. Venezuela is the third largest oil supplier for the U.S. after Canada and Saudi Arabia. It accounted for 8 percent of U.S. oil imports in March, according to U.S. government figures.

“It’s being considered,” one of the officials told Reuters, saying aides to President Donald Trump have been tasked to have a recommendation on oil sector sanctions ready if needed. “I don’t think we’re at a point to make a decision on it. But all options are on the table. We want to see the bad actors held to account.”

The U.S. deliberations on new sanctions come against the backdrop of the worst protests faced yet by socialist President Nicolas Maduro, who critics accuse of human rights abuses in a clampdown on the opposition.

Since Trump took office in January, he has stepped up targeted sanctions on Venezuela, including on the vice president, the chief judge and seven other Supreme Court justices. He has pressed the Organization of American States to do more to help resolve the crisis.

While Trump has taken a more active approach to Venezuela than his predecessor Barack Obama, he has so far stopped short of drastic economic moves that could hurt the Venezuelan people and give Maduro ammunition to accuse Washington of meddling.

The two administration officials said the United States is also prepared to impose further sanctions on senior officials it accuses of corruption, drug trafficking ties and involvement in what critics see as a campaign of political repression aimed at consolidating Maduro’s rule.

Oil sanctions big step

But broad measures against the country’s vital oil sector, for which the United States is the biggest customer, would significantly ratchet up Washington’s response. The United States has imposed sectoral sanctions against Russia’s energy, banking and defense industries over Moscow’s involvement in Ukraine’s separatist conflict.

The officials declined to specify the mechanisms under consideration and said the timing of any decision would depend heavily on developments on the ground in Venezuela.

Possibilities could include a blanket ban on Venezuelan oil imports and preventing PDVSA from trading and doing business in the United States, which would have a severe impact on PDVSA’s U.S. refining subsidiary Citgo.

A more modest approach, however, could be to bar PDVSA only from bidding on U.S. government contracts, as the Obama administration did in 2011 to punish the company for doing business with Iran. Those limited sanctions were rolled back after the 2015 international nuclear deal with Tehran.

The Venezuelan government and PDVSA did not respond to requests for comment.

U.S. officials recognize, however, that oil sanctions on Venezuela could exacerbate the suffering of the Venezuelan people without any guarantee of success against Maduro, who accuses Washington and Venezuelan opposition of fomenting an attempted coup.

Given the potential for regional spillover, any decision on oil sanctions would require consultation with Venezuela’s neighbors, the officials said.

“The concern we have is that it will be a very serious escalation,” one official said. “We’d have to be prepared to deal with the humanitarian consequences of essentially collapsing the government.”
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Chef Majed cracks eggs into a mixer and blends mayonnaise when we meet in Washington. He tosses fresh greens in a food processor, and he seasons the mix. It’s part of a thick, yellow sauce he’ll use to coat chunks of chicken skewered for kabobs, just like his mom used to make.

“The kitchen plays a big role for every family in Syria,” he tells me. “My mother is an excellent cook. I used to help her and learn from her. … I haven’t seen her in five years. I wish I can see her and taste her cooking, because I consider her the greatest.”

Majed, who asked VOA not to use his last name, began his journey to America when his parents urged him to leave Syria amid constant war.

Watch: Aspiring Chefs Thrive at Washington Restaurant Incubator

First stop, Jordan

He found refuge in Jordan where he stayed for three years. But social media reminded him of why he fled.

“My hometown was subject to shelling and strikes. We weren’t able to see or go back to our house. I … started to see my city and my home in pictures on Facebook and on the internet. I saw pictures of my home in ruins. … It hurts me to think about it now.”

Meanwhile, he struggled to find a job.

“The Jordanian police prohibited me from working, and there was no help from the government. I was living in a house, and I had to pay rent.”

When he ultimately found work, he found new challenges.

“I had to keep it a secret. In a secret place. In any moment I could have been taken away by the police, deported back to Syria or taken to a camp.”

Love and marriage

But as in many great stories, love happened, and Majed got married.

“I wasn’t able to prove my marriage for eight months in the Jordanian court,” he says with a smile. “It was problematic yet comical at the same time. My wife was pregnant and about to give birth at any moment, and we weren’t married by law. And in our countries this is a very big problem.”

But then his phone rang, and his life was again about to change. He and his fledgling family, he now had two daughters, were going to the U.S. as refugees.

“I was so happy,” he says.

Foodhini

Chef Majed now cooks for an online restaurant called Foodhini that works with immigrant and refugee chefs who prepare traditional dishes from the lands they fled.

Owner Noobstaa Philip Vang is a refugee from Laos who came to the U.S. with his parents after the Vietnam War.

“I … was just really missing some of my mom’s home cooking and wished I could just go to auntie or grandma in the neighborhood and just buy some of their food,” he says.

And so, Foodhini was born. It’s one of 70 food businesses growing at Union Kitchen in what’s called a “food incubator,” where fledgling businesses without the means for a brick-and-mortar operation rent space in a professional kitchen.

And while the kitchen, the country and the language are new, Majed’s cooking transports him back to the old life that he knew.

“Any dish I make reminds me of Syria. Reminds me of my country, my family, my mother. Every dish is a reminder.”

Seemingly worlds away from the ravages of war back home, Majed now optimistically looks toward the future.

“Like any father I have a dream for my girls that they have a bright future. I have worked to give them a generous life so that they wouldn’t be in need of anything … whether it be schools, university, or anything. When they told me I would be coming to America, I dreamed like anybody else that I would live with my wife and kids a bountiful life. And God willing, life will be good and I will be able to provide.”
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