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HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah met the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Raytheon International, Dr Thomas Kennedy, and Vice-President of Business Development John D Harris. Discussions during the meeting dealt with the joint projects and ways of developing them. The meeting was attended by the Military Attache of Qatar to the US Brigadier General Yusuf Mohamed al-Kuwari. HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah met the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lockheed Martin Defence Equipment, in Washington, DC, yesterday. A number of projects of common interest were discussed during the meeting. The meeting was attended by the Military Attache of Qatar to the US Brigadier General Yusuf Mohamed al-Kuwari. HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah met US senators from New Jersey,  Rhode Island, West Virginia and Tennessee - Robert Menendez, Jack Reed, Shelley Moore Capito and Bob Corker, respectively, in Washington, DC, yesterday. The meetings discussed  means of enhancing  relations between Qatar and the US, the latest developments related to the Gulf and Syrian crises and the Palestinian issue.

Russia’s political and business leaders were quick to chalk up the recent summit with US President Donald Trump as a victory for Vladimir Putin. Now some fear Putin may have overplayed a winning hand and are bracing for a US sanctions backlash. The rouble fell 1.2 % last Tuesday after two US senators said in a statement they had begun working on new sanctions that would, among other things, take aim at Russian sovereign debt. It later recovered most of its losses. While the sanctions proposed by Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Bob Menendez were seen by most political risk analysts as unlikely in the near term, new curbs contemplated by other US lawmakers targeting the energy and metals sectors are more realistic, they say. “There was hope that dialogue would start after the talks between Putin and Trump. But the reaction inside the United States is blocking any dialogue,” said one billionaire included in January on a US Treasury list of people deemed too close to the Kremlin, some of whom were later hit with sanctions. “The threat of wider sanctions has grown,” the businessman told Reuters, declining to be named because of the subject’s sensitivity. Russian business people had hoped the Helsinki meeting, the first between the two presidents, would pave the way for a possible thaw in relations and delay, if not stop, the preparation of more sanctions which have followed thick and fast since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea. Instead, anger about what some US lawmakers saw as a too-deferential performance by Trump in Helsinki and his failure to publicly confront Putin over Moscow’s alleged meddling in US politics may have made things worse. In a country where state media portrays Putin as a seemingly infallible leader, even some of his supporters were fretting that he may have made an error by appearing to demonstrably take Trump’s side. In Helsinki, Putin said for the first time that he had wanted Trump to win the 2016 US presidential election and after the summit complained about political forces in the United States trying to undermine the meeting’s outcome. Sergei Markov, a longtime Putin supporter and former lawmaker for the ruling United Russia party, wrote on social media after the summit that the Russian president had outplayed Trump in Helsinki “by a big margin”, but added: “...In doing so he created a problem because he exposed his partner to fierce criticism in the United States.” Putin should have given Trump the chance to tell US media that he had extracted concessions from him in a “giveaway game”, staying focused on the longer-term goal of stabilising ties between Moscow and Washington, Markov said on his Facebook page. Instead, Putin appeared dominant while Trump was deemed by US critics as overly friendly to Russia and possibly even treasonous when he gave credence to Putin’s denials of meddling in the 2016 election despite US intelligence findings to the contrary. Many Republicans joined Democrats in criticising Trump’s performance. With an eye on US mid-term elections in November, a bipartisan group of senators is pushing the “DETER Act” legislation putting Putin on notice that his country would be hit with more US sanctions if Russia interferes in future polls. It was unclear how quickly that and other proposals could advance with US Congress’ summer recess looming. But the business and financial community in Russia is still worried. “The only outcome of this so far is that people are selling Russia,” said one state banker. “All liquid (Russian) securities are now hostage to geopolitics, which strongly depend on what goes on in the United States.”

HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani met Senator Richard Burr, Chairman of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Senator Mark Warner, Vice Chairman of the Committee, in Washington on Thursday. During the meeting, they discussed the strategic relations between the two friendly countries, and ways of boosting them, in addition to issues of mutual interest, especially in the field of enhancing co-operation in the fight against terrorism. The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister earlier met Senator Bob Crocker, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the US Senate and Vice Chairman Senator Bob Menendez. HE also met separately with a number of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives and representatives of various committees in the US Congress. During the meetings, the strategic relations between Qatar and the United States and ways of developing them were discussed, in addition to a number of issues of common concern. Members of the US Congress held a working lunch for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, during which they discussed bilateral ties. They also discussed a number of regional and international issues of common concern.

The US Supreme Court yesterday handed Donald Trump one of the biggest victories of his presidency, upholding his travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries and rejecting the argument that it represented unconstitutional religious discrimination. The 5-4 ruling, with the court’s five conservatives in the majority, ended a fierce fight in the courts over whether the policy amounted to an unlawful Muslim ban. Trump quickly claimed “profound vindication” after lower courts had blocked his travel ban announced in September, as well as two prior versions, in legal challenges brought by the state of Hawaii and others. The court held that the challengers had failed to show that the ban violates either US immigration law or the US Constitution’s First Amendment prohibition on the government favouring one religion over another. Trump, who has called the travel ban necessary to protect the country against attacks by Islamic militants, reacted on Twitter, writing: “Wow!” In a statement issued by the White House, Trump labelled the ruling “a tremendous victory for the American People and the Constitution” that upheld presidential authority on national security issues. “In this era of worldwide terrorism and extremist movements bent on harming innocent civilians, we must properly vet those coming into our country,” Trump said. Writing for the court, Chief Justice John Roberts said that Trump’s administration “has set forth a sufficient national security justification” to prevail. “We express no view on the soundness of the policy,” Roberts added. The ruling affirmed broad presidential discretion over who is allowed to enter the United States. It means that the current ban can remain in effect and that Trump could potentially add more countries. The current ban, announced in September, prohibits entry into the United States of most people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. The Supreme Court allowed it to go largely into effect in December while the legal challenge continued. Roberts said the actions taken by Trump to suspend entry of certain classes of people were “well within executive authority and could have been taken by any other president — the only question is evaluating the actions of this particular president in promulgating an otherwise valid proclamation.” The challengers have argued the policy was motivated by Trump’s enmity toward Muslims and urged courts to take into account his inflammatory comments during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump as a candidate called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” In a strident dissent that she read from in court, liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor said there were “stark parallels” with the court’s now discredited 1944 decision that upheld US internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Sotomayor described at length various statements Trump made on the campaign trail. “Taking all the evidence together, a reasonable observer would conclude that the proclamation was driven primarily by anti-Muslim animus,” Sotomayor added. As part of yesterday’s ruling, Roberts officially repudiated the 1944 internment ruling and he rejected the comparison, saying that the war-era practice was “objectively unlawful and outside the scope of presidential authority.” Roberts said it was “wholly inapt to liken that morally repugnant order to a facial neutral policy denying certain foreign nationals the privilege of admission.” The travel ban was one of Trump’s signature hardline immigration policies that have been a central part of his presidency and “America First” approach. Trump issued his first version just a week after taking office, though it was quickly halted by the courts. Chad initially was on the list of countries targeted by Trump that was announced in September, but he removed it on April 10. Iraq and Sudan were on earlier versions of the ban. Venezuela and North Korea also were targeted in the current policy. Those restrictions were not challenged in court. Civil rights groups and Democrats denounced the ruling. “The ruling will go down in history as one of the Supreme Court’s great failures,” said Omar Jadwat, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the ban. The court’s decision “swallows wholesale government lawyers’ flimsy national security excuse for the ban instead of taking seriously the president’s own explanation for his actions,” Jadwat added. “Not since key decisions on slavery, segregation in schools, and Japanese American incarceration have we seen a decision that so clearly fails to protect those most vulnerable to government-led discrimination,” added Farhana Khera, executive director of the group Muslim Advocates. “Despite today’s ruling, turning away those fleeing horrific violence and persecution or to discriminate against people based on nationality and religion continues to be as un-American as ever,” said Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Trump also has moved to rescind protections for young immigrants sometimes called Dreamers brought into the United States illegally as children, acted against states and cities that protect illegal immigrants, ended protected status for certain immigrants in the country for decades, intensified deportation efforts and pursued limits on legal immigration. Trump last week retreated on his administration’s practice of separating the children of immigrants from their parents when families were detained illegally entering the United States. The high court in June and December 2017 allowed two versions of the ban to take effect while court challenges ran their course but had not resolved the legal merits of the challenges until now. His lawyers said that only Trump’s actions since he became president in January 2017 should be relevant to the case. During the April 25 arguments before the justices, Solicitor General Noel Francisco said it was “crystal clear” that the travel restrictions were not a manifestation of Trump’s call for a Muslim ban.

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday handed Donald Trump one of the biggest victories of his presidency, upholding his travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries and rejecting the argument that it represented unconstitutional religious discrimination. The 5-4 ruling, with the conservative justices in the majority and the liberal justices dissenting, ended a fierce fight in the courts over whether the policy amounted to an unlawful Muslim ban, while also confirming broad presidential powers over immigration and national security policy. Trump quickly claimed "profound vindication" after lower courts had blocked his travel ban announced in September, as well as two prior versions, in legal challenges brought by the state of Hawaii and others. Trump has called the travel ban necessary to protect the United States against attacks by militants. The ruling, denounced by civil rights groups and Democrats as well as protesters outside the courthouse, empowered Trump at the time when he is embroiled in controversy over his approach toward illegal immigration along the US-Mexican border. Trump last week retreated on his administration's practice of separating the children of immigrants from their parents when families were detained illegally entering the United States. The court held that the challengers had failed to show that the travel ban violated either US immigration law or the US Constitution's First Amendment prohibition on the government favouring one religion over another. People protest against the travel ban outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC. In remarks at the White House, Trump hailed "a tremendous victory for the American people and for our Constitution." "We have to be tough, and we have to be safe, and we have to be secure. At a minimum, we have to make sure that we vet people coming into the country," the Republican president said, referring in a statement to "this era of worldwide terrorism and extremist movements bent on harming innocent civilians." The ban prohibits entry into the United States of most people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. The Supreme Court allowed it to go largely into effect in December while the legal challenge continued. Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, "Despite today's ruling, turning away those fleeing horrific violence and persecution or to discriminate against people based on nationality and religion continues to be as un-American as ever." Writing for the court, Chief Justice John Roberts said that Trump's administration "has set forth a sufficient national security justification" to prevail. "We express no view on the soundness of the policy," Roberts added. The ruling affirmed broad presidential discretion over who is allowed to enter the United States. Trump could potentially add more countries to the ban. Roberts said Trump's actions suspending entry of certain classes of people were "well within executive authority and could have been taken by any other president - the only question is evaluating the actions of this particular president in promulgating an otherwise valid proclamation." The challengers had argued that the policy was motivated by Trump's enmity toward Muslims and urged courts to take into account his inflammatory comments during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump as a candidate called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." 'Stark parallels' In a dissent she read in the courtroom, liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor cited "stark parallels" with the court's now-discredited 1944 decision that upheld US internment of Japanese-Americans during World War Two. Sotomayor also described various statements Trump made on the campaign trail. "Taking all the evidence together, a reasonable observer would conclude that the proclamation was driven primarily by anti-Muslim animus," Sotomayor added. In the ruling, Roberts officially repudiated the 1944 internment decision and rejected any comparison between the cases, saying that the war-era practice was "objectively unlawful and outside the scope of presidential authority." Roberts said it was "wholly inapt to liken that morally repugnant order to a facial neutral policy denying certain foreign nationals the privilege of admission." Chad initially was on the list of countries targeted by Trump that was announced in September, but he removed it on April 10. Iraq and Sudan were on earlier versions of the ban. Venezuela and North Korea also were targeted in the current policy. Those restrictions were not challenged in court. "The ruling will go down in history as one of the Supreme Court's great failures," said Omar Jadwat, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the ban. The travel ban was one of Trump's signature hardline immigration policies that have been a central part of his presidency and "America First" approach. Trump issued his first version just a week after taking office, though it was quickly halted by the courts. Trump also has moved to rescind protections for young immigrants sometimes called Dreamers brought into the United States illegally as children, acted against states and cities that protect illegal immigrants, ended protected status for certain immigrants in the country for decades, intensified deportation efforts and pursued limits on legal immigration. The ruling means that most people seeking to enter the United States from the affected countries will need to navigate an opaque waiver process. "If they are allowed to have this ban, what will they try next?" asked Mohamad Mashta, a Syrian who joined one of the lawsuits challenging the ban. Mashta is a permanent US resident working as an engineer in Ohio whose wife, also Syrian, was able to obtain a visa after the ban was initially blocked. With the policy in place, the number of people from the affected countries able to obtain visas has plummeted.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in the Argentine capital Friday to protest talks between the government and the IMF amid fresh public anger over a hike in utility prices. Even as demonstrators gathered on Plaza de Mayo to bring political heat to bear on President Mauricio Macri for vetoing curbs on electricity, gas and water costs on Thursday, his finance minister was announcing painful new measures designed to reassure the markets. Nicolas Dujovne announced $780mn worth of public spending cuts at a press conference at the government’s Casa Rosada palace. Among the targets of the cuts were technical assistance agreements with universities, labour agreements, and perks such as the use of state cars, travel and bonuses, the finance minister said. The march had begun on May 28 from across the South American country’s 23 provinces, culminating in the mass protest in Plaza de Mayo. Demonstrators carried banners declaring “Bread and Work” and “Out with the IMF.” “There should already be a general strike. They cannot distract us with the World Cup or with Messi,” said Pablo Moyano, one of the leaders of the main CGT union. The march was called by the Confederation of Workers of the Popular Economy (CTEP) which groups half a million people without registered employment. The leadership is close to the Catholic hierarchy and Pope Francis, a former archbishop of Buenos Aires. Its leader Juan Grabois said that given a widening gap between the middle class and the poor, “Argentina is unviable and the people will rebel.” Another leader, Daniel Menendez, said Macri’s decision this week to veto curbs on utility prices approved by Congress only gave added impetus to the protest. In tandem with other measures, the aim of the cuts announced by Dujovne is to reduce the fiscal deficit from 3.9% of GDP to 2.7% this year. Critics meanwhile point to a cost of living increase of almost 10% between January and April alone, and that a Central Bank survey that puts inflation expectations at 22%, well above its 15% target. Macri on Thursday used his veto to scrap a law placing curbs on utility prices, citing the need for fiscal discipline. The opposition-sponsored law, approved hours earlier by the Senate after heated debate, would have rolled back prices for public utilities to November levels, and linked future hikes to salary increases. It was the fifth time since Macri became president in December 2015 that he exercised his veto, a move that will likely deepen his unpopularity and which comes after a damaging currency run saw the Argentine peso lose 20% against the dollar and a decision to go to the IMF. Opinion polls say as many as 75% of Argentinians oppose any agreement with the IMF, which many link to painful memories of past economic and social crises, including a 2001 sovereign debt default blamed on the lender.

His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has met with a number of corporate executives, leaders and members of the US Congress and Senate. He discussed with them means to develop the strategic Qatari-American ties as well as other regional and international matters of mutual interest. The Emir met on Thursday afternoon with Mayor of Washington, DC Muriel Bowser. During a working lunch, the Emir and the Mayor exchanged views on ways to strengthen co-operation in various vital fields, including enhancing investment opportunities to achieve mutual interests between the two friendly countries.  The Emir also met on Thursday separately with with President and CEO of Occidental Petroleum Vicki Hollub and Chairman and CEO of Boeing Dennis Muilenburg. The meetings reviewed the relations of co-operation and means of enhancing them. Later, the Emir met West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and Senator Joe Manchin and their accompanying delegation. His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani meets Dennis Muilenburg, Chairman and CEO of Boeing in Washington, DC on Thursday. The meeting reviewed co-operation between Qatar and the United States. They also exchanged views on a number of issues of joint interest. During the meeting with Paul Ryan, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives at the US Congress in Washington, the two leaders reviewed bilateral co-operation and the ways to enhance it. They also discussed regional and international developments, particularly Qatar and the United States' counter-terrorism efforts and cutting off its finance. The Speaker of the House expressed his thanks to the Emir for Qatar's effort in that regard through Al Udeid Air Base. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and the Emir reviewed bilateral relations and the ways to advance them. They also discussed regional and international affairs, led by developments in the Middle East. The Emir met with Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Bob Corker, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez and a number of members of the committee. The meeting focused on the strategic Qatari-American ties, and the means to develop them in a way that advances the interests of the two countries and their peoples. They also exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues, particularly the developments of the GCC crisis and its implications on regional security. They also discussed the situation in Yemen and Syria. Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and the Emir reviewed ties between Qatar and the US, as well as the means to enhance them. The meeting also focused on a number of issues of joint interest. His Highness the Emir and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer during their meeting discussed ways to advance bilateral relations. They also reviewed regional and international developments, particularly those pertaining to the Middle East. The meeting of the Emir with a number of members of the US Senate Committee on Armed Services reviewed bilateral relations and the means to enhance them, particularly in military, defence and security fields. They exchanged views on the latest regional and international developments, particularly those related to countering terrorism and stopping its finance. The members praised the role Qatar plays in that regard through Al Udeid Air Base. All the meetings were attended by a number of members of the official delegation accompanying the Emir. The Emir is on a visit to the United States where he has met top American leaders including President Donald Trump. 

US President Donald Trump’s son dropped a planned speech on foreign affairs in the Indian capital yesterday after ethics experts said he should avoid wading into policy issues as a private citizen. Donald Trump Jr is on a tour of India to promote real estate projects in several cities but ethics watchdog groups in the US say there is a possible conflict of interest in pushing the Trump brand name while his father is in the White House. He was billed to make a speech on the topic “Reshaping the Indo-Pacific — The New Era of Co-operation” but hours before the conference began that was changed into a “fireside chat” where he spoke about his business and stayed clear of policy issues. “I am here on business, I am not representing anyone,” he said at the conference organised by the Economic Times and Yes Bank. He spoke before Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a keynote speech on preparing India for the future to a gathering of business leaders from India and overseas.  US senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote to the US ambassador to India this week to ask for guarantees that the embassy and the state department will not offer any support to Trump Jr. beyond helping the US Secret Service to provide him with security. Trump Jr said he had been coming to India for more than a decade to build business for The Trump Organisation and it had reached a take-off stage but there were self-imposed curbs following the election of his father as president. “I learnt about doing business here through the school of hard knocks, we have built partnerships here,” he said. This week he was wooing buyers to book luxury apartments in Trump Towers in Gurgaon on the outskirts of New Delhi as well as in Mumbai, attending champagne receptions. Trump’s partners in India are playing up the Trump brand. In the days leading up to Trump Jr’s visit, one of its development partners in Gurgaon began an advertising campaign in newspapers offering dinner and conversation with the president’s son.

Former champions Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal battled into the US Open last 32 on Thursday while the women’s draw lost the fifth seed from its top eight. Federer recorded his 80th career win in New York but he needed five sets for the second successive match before claiming a 6-1, 6-7 (3/7), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Mikhail Youzhny. It was his 17th win in 17th meetings with the grizzled Russian, who, at 35, is his junior by just one year. World number one Nadal, meanwhile, saw off Japan’s world 121 Taro Daniel 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 after being blown off court in the first set. Federer, 36, and the five-time champion at the US Open, next faces another 35-year-old, Feliciano Lopez of Spain, for a place in the last 16. His record against Lopez is just as solid — 12-0. “It was quite a lot of fun out there — I feel quite warmed up by now,” said Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Federer, who fired 63 winners and 68 unforced errors. Youzhny admitted he had cramped, which meant he could move left to right but not forward and back. “That was hard to watch,” said Federer. “But this was probably the best match we have played against each other.” Top seed Nadal, the 2010 and 2013 champion, was rocked by New York-born Daniel in the first set. But Daniel, who has never beaten a top-10 player, paid the price for his all-out assault as Nadal prevailed to book a third round date with Argentine lucky loser Leonardo Mayer. “All the matches are difficult but especially here as everyone wants to play their best and if you don’t play your best it will be very difficult,” said Nadal, who recovered from a set and break down. He saw room for improvement after converting six of 11 break points. “I didn’t play very well but I will work hard to find better feelings because I know I can do much better,” he said. Andrey Rublev became the second teenager to make the third round when he stunned Bulgarian seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. Rublev, just 19 and the world number 53, joins 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov of Canada in the last 32 at a Grand Slam event for the first time. However, 19-year-old Taylor Fritz of the United States was unable to join Rublev and Shapovalov in the next round when he lost 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem. Thiem saved 16 of 18 break points he faced in a stalwart defensive display. Also going through to the last 32 was 2009 champion Juan Martín Del Potro, the 24th seeded Argentine, who saw off Spanish qualifier Adrian Menendez-Maceiras 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3). Belgian ninth seed David Goffin beat Guido Pella of Argentina 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 in a marathon 4hr 12min match. A record was set when American Shelby Rogers and 25th-seeded Australian Daria Gavrilova played out the longest ever women’s singles match. Their 3hr 33min clash saw Rogers win 7-6 (8/6), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5). Their second-round tie went past the previous longest of the 3 hours and 23 minutes it took Johanna Konta to beat Garbine Muguruza in the second round two years ago. Russian eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 champion, saw her outside chances of taking the world number one ranking end when she lost to Japan’s Kurumi Nara 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Kuznetsova is the fifth of the top eight seeds to lose before the third round after Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki, defending champion Angelique Kerber and Johanna Konta also exited. World number one Karolina Pliskova, the 2016 runner-up, downed American qualifier Nicole Gibbs 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. She was joined in the third round by fourth seed Elina Svitolina, one of the pretenders to her top ranking, and French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. Ukraine’s Svitolina reached the last 32 for a third successive year by breezing past Russia’s Evgeniya Rodina 6-4, 6-4.

Ukraine’s fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina, fighting to become world number one, and Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem captured rain-interrupted matches yesterday to reach the second round of the US Open. Svitolina, seeking her sixth title of the year and first Grand Slam crown, held off 42nd-ranked Czech Katerina Siniakova 6-0, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 while Thiem finished off Australian Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 under sunny skies. There were 87 matches scheduled yesterday in the year’s final Grand Slam event after rain washed out most of Tuesday’s agenda, 11 of them halted first-round affairs. Former world number one Maria Sharapova, who in her Grand Slam return from a 15-month doping ban upset second-ranked Simona Halep, was set to face Hungary’s 59th-ranked Timea Babos in a later second-round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion, tested positive for blood booster meldonium in the 2016 Australian Open, her most recent Grand Slam appearance until this week.  She played only one hardcourt tuneup match due to a forearm injury but powered past one of seven contenders for the world number one ranking still in the field. Another of those is Svitolina, who dropped six of nine tie-breaker points when her match resumed, but survived a third set, breaking for a 4-2 edge and serving out for the victory.  Thiem, a semi-finalist at the past two French Opens, was working to adapt his skill on the Paris red clay to maximum impact on the New York hardcourts.  Canadian 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov, who faces French eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga later, can become the youngest man in the third round of a Grand Slam since Australia’s Bernard Tomic at the 2011 Australian Open and in the US Open since American Donald Young in 2007. Other later second-round matches include German fourth seed Alexander Zverev against Croatian Borna Coric and 2014 US Open winner Marin Cilic, the fifth seed from Croatia coming off a Wimbledon runner-up effort, against German Florian Mayer. Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, the third seed from Spain, can reach the US Open third round for the first time by beating China’s 92nd-ranked Duan Ying-Ying. And seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, this year’s Wimbledon and Australian Open runner-up, meets France’s Oceane Dodin. The US ninth seed is the oldest woman in the field at 37. Results  Women’s: Ana Bogdan (Romania) beat Taylor Townsend (U.S.) 6-4 4-6 6-3 Tatjana Maria (Germany) beat Ashley Kratzer (U.S.) 6-1 6-1 Evgeniya Rodina (Russia) beat Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) 7-6(2) 6-1 4-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) beat Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) 6-0 6-7(5) 6-3 Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) beat Francesca Schiavone (Italy) 0-6 6-4 6-2 Jennifer Brady (U.S.) beat Andrea Petkovic (Germany) 6-4 3-6 6-1 Monica Niculescu (Romania) beat 14-Kristina Mladenovic (France) 6-3 6-2 Nicole Gibbs (U.S.) beat Veronica Cepede Royg (Paraguay) 6-0 1-6 6-1 Men’s: Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) beat Blaz Kavcic (Slovenia) 6-3 5-7 6-4 6-3 Taro Daniel (Japan) beat Tommy Paul (U.S.) 6-1 4-6 4-6 6-2 6-2 7-Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) beat Vaclav Safranek (Czech Republic) 6-1 6-4 6-2 Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukraine) beat Jan-Lennard Struff (Germany) 3-6 6-3 6-2 1-6 6-3 30-Adrian Mannarino (France) beat Ricardas Berankis (Lithuania) 6-2 6-4 6-2 Guido Pella (Argentina) beat Steve Darcis (Belgium) 6-1 6-2 6-0 18-Gael Monfils (France) beat Jeremy Chardy (France) 7-6(6) 6-3 6-4 15-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat Ryan Harrison (U.S.) 6-4 6-2 7-6(4) Bjorn Fratangelo (U.S.) beat Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) 7-6(2) 6-4 3-6 7-6(4) Leonardo Mayer (Argentina) beat 26-Richard Gasquet (France) 3-6 6-2 6-4 6-2 Adrian Menendez (Spain) beat Patrick Kypson (U.S.) 6-4 7-6(9) 6-1 Donald Young (U.S.) beat Maximilian Marterer (Germany) 6-3 1-6 6-1 6-4 6-Dominic Thiem (Austria) beat Alex De Minaur (Australia) 6-4 6-1 6-1 Yuichi Sugita (Japan) beat Geoffrey Blancaneaux (France) 6-2 6-2 6-0

HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani attended the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran yesterday. The inauguration of the new president was attended by a number of heads of state and government representatives invited by Iran. On the sidelines of the visit, the minister reviewed  bilateral relations with Dr Ricardo Menendez, Vice-President of Venezuela for Planning and Knowledge. They also discussed ways to enhance co-operation, in particular in  the commercial, economic and investment fields, a statement issued  by the Ministry of Commerce said. 

Small Spanish lenders Liberbank and Unicaja have become the focus of investors’ concerns after the fall of Popular this week, casting renewed doubts over the strength of some Spanish banks. Liberbank lost close to half of its stock market value last week and its shares have fallen for 10 straight days. They are now trading at €0.582 euro each, down 29% yesterday and close to their all-time low of €0.526 in July last year. Meanwhile, the initial public offering of Unicaja, a regional lender in Andalusia, flagged for before the summer, is seen suffering from both the Popular fallout and the competition of the €7bn ($7.8bn) cash call Santander will soon carry out. Liberbank, which was formed in 2011 from the merger of three regional savings banks and controls around 2% of all Spanish deposits, has been seen as one of the weakest links of Spain’s banking sector for several years despite efforts to sell bad real estate assets and improve its liquidity position. The bank has a bad loan ratio of 13%, well above most of its peers, and two thirds of its €2.1bn debt matures by the end of the year with several repayments due in the next two months. Smaller banks in Spain, including Liberbank, saw their subordinated debt sell off on Thursday in the aftermath of the Banco Popular resolution, with cash prices dropping by multiple points. In a bid to draw a line under the current selloff, Liberbank chief executive officer Manuel Menendez and Member of the Board Victor Roza bought more than 100,000 euros worth of shares in the lender yesterday, according to official registries seen by Reuters on Friday. A spokesman for Liberbank said the lender was strong both in terms of liquidity and solvency and the recent selloff was only the result of short-selling from opportunist investors. Unicaja, which also manages around 2% of Spanish deposits, enjoys a slightly more relaxed situation. Its bad debt ratio is just below 10% and a deadline to repay €600mn of subordinated debt and meet legal requirements to list is still months away but banking insiders say pressure is mounting. “It has always been a complex IPO because the banks lack an equity story,” said a senior Spanish banker. “Most of its business is formed by residential mortgages, which turn very low margins. Either it lists at a very low price or they will suffer to get it done,” the banker also said, adding that he would expect the listing to be postponed. Unicaja declined to comment.