WASHINGTON — The United States and Japan are united in their efforts to clamp down on North Korea’s “growing threat,” as the regime ramps up its nuclear drive and other belligerent efforts, the White House said Sunday.

During a phone call, President Donald J. Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe “reaffirmed that the United States-Japan Alliance stands ready to defend (against) and respond to any threat or action taken by North Korea,” the White House said in a statement.

It added that the pair expressed “unity with respect to increasing pressure on the regime to change its dangerous path.”

During a separate phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the White House said it was Mr. Trump who “raised the growing threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.”

“Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.”

But the White House made no mention of possible discussions between Messrs. Trump and Xi over disputed islands in the South China Sea, even though the call took place just hours after a US warship sailed near an island in the waterway.

Beijing termed the incident a “serious political and military provocation.”

The destroyer, the USS Stethem, sailed less than 12 nautical miles from tiny Triton Island in the Paracel Islands archipelago, which is claimed by China as well as Taiwan and Vietnam, a US official told AFP.

On the call, Mr. Trump also “reiterated his determination to seek more balanced trade relations with America’s trading partners,” the White House said, a reference to the US administration’s aggressive stance on trade matters, especially as concerns China.

PINNING HOPES ON CHINA
The Trump administration has been growing increasingly exasperated with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s regime, which has staged a barrage of missile tests in recent months.

Mr. Trump had been pinning his hopes on China — North Korea’s main diplomatic ally — to bring pressure to bear on Pyongyang, but declared last week that their efforts had failed.

He has presented sanctions as the best way to proceed with the hermit state, opting for that approach over dialogue with the regime.

During talks with South Korean leader Moon Jae-In — who has pushed for a policy of engagement with Pyongyang — on Friday, Mr. Trump called for a “determined response” to the North. But the pair failed to map out a joint strategy on how to handle North Korean threats.

“The era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed, many years it has failed. Frankly, that patience is over,” Mr. Trump said.

There was also deep anger in the United States after Otto Warmbier, an American student who was detained in North Korea on a tourist trip around 18 months ago, was returned home in a coma earlier this month. He died several days later. — AFP

JAKARTA — Indonesia is hoping for additional inflows worth $10 billion from pension funds and other institutional investors over the next two years following Standard & Poor’s upgrade of its credit rating to investment grade, President Joko Widodo told Reuters.

The government will also ease foreign ownership restrictions on certain industry sectors in August, Mr. Widodo said in an interview at the presidential palace in Jakarta on Monday.

For the first time in almost 20 years, Indonesia is rated investment grade by all three major rating agencies after S&P on May 19 raised its outlook to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BB+’, matching the ratings already awarded by Fitch and Moody’s.

The upgrade was “very important” because it would encourage more capital inflows and reduce borrowing costs, said Mr. Widodo, a former Jakarta governor who was elected to lead Southeast Asia’s biggest economy in 2014.

“Now the pension funds look to Indonesia,” he said, adding that some of the money will go into the country’s stock and bond markets. “After that the companies here can take and invest to the real sector, to the infrastructure, to the factory.”

While growth in Indonesia’s gross domestic product has slowed from a peak of more than 6% several years ago to around 5% due to a commodity downturn, its vast domestic market is still seen as an engine of growth.

Foreign companies have complained that vested interests are blocking them from gaining more access to the country of 250 million people, at a time when neighbors such as Vietnam are actively courting investment dollars.

Mr. Widodo, who often points to his background as a former furniture exporter to show that he understands the language of business, said he is committed to keeping Indonesia’s economy open and competitive.

WARNING AGAINST PROTECTIONISM
Mr. Widodo’s government has introduced 15 economic stimulus packages since late 2015, including the easing of foreign ownership restrictions on dozens of business sectors such as tourism, transportation and movie theaters last year.

“We will revise again the negative list of investment in August in some sectors,” Mr. Widodo said, referring to the list of sectors that are partially or fully closed to foreigners.

He declined to say which sectors would be opened up.

Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said last month that the government was considering easing rules on airport operation services. Foreign ownership in that sector is currently capped at 49%.

Trade openness will be high on Mr. Widodo’s agenda when he travels to Hamburg, Germany, to meet other world leaders at the G20 summit later this week.

Mr. Widodo said he would have a bilateral meeting with US President Donald J. Trump, whose administration had put Indonesia on a list of 16 countries to be reviewed over trade surpluses with the world’s largest economy.

“On international trade, going back to trade protectionism can result in trade war, which we must avoid,” Mr. Widodo said. “Open economy is very important for us.” — Reuters

Jakarta Skyline — WIKIPEDIA

DOHA, QATAR — Qatar appeared defiant as Saudi Arabia and its allies Monday extended a deadline for Doha to accept a series of demands to lift a de facto blockade.

Their demands include Doha ending support for the Muslim Brotherhood, the closure of Al-Jazeera television, a downgrade of diplomatic ties with Iran and the shutdown of a Turkish military base in the emirate.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt gave Doha 10 days to comply with their 13 demands, with the ultimatum due to expire at the end of Sunday.

The 48-hour extension was in response to a request by the Kuwaiti emir who is acting as mediator in the Gulf crisis.

Qatar said it would give its response to the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, on Monday.

The letter will be handed over by Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.

“The list of demands is made to be rejected,” Sheikh Mohammed said Saturday.

“Everyone is aware that these demands are meant to infringe the sovereignty of the state of Qatar,” he said at a news conference in Rome.

“The state of Qatar… is rejecting it as a principle,” he said, adding: “We are willing to engage in providing the proper conditions for further dialogue.”

Saudi Arabia and its allies announced on June 5 they were severing ties with their Gulf neighbor, sparking the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the region in decades.

They accused Doha of supporting extremism and of being too close to regional arch-rival Iran, which Qatar has strongly denied.

The crisis has raised concerns of growing instability in the region, home to some of the world’s largest energy producers and several key Western allies hosting US military facilities.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who on Monday starts a tour of several Arab states, called for a “serious dialogue” to end the crisis.

“We are worried that the distrust and the disunity could weaken all the parties concerned as well as the entire peninsula,” said Mr. Gabriel, who will visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.

Riyadh and its supporters have already severed air, sea and ground links with Qatar, cutting off vital routes for imports including food.

Qatari citizens were ordered to leave the countries and various steps were taken against Qatari companies and financial institutions.

It is unclear what further measures will be taken if Qatar fails to meet the demands, but the UAE ambassador to Russia Omar Ghobash warned last week that further sanctions could be imposed.

As well as expelling Doha from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Arab states could tell their economic partners they need to make a choice between doing business with them or with Qatar, he told Britain’s Guardian newspaper.

Qatar has long pursued a more independent foreign policy than many of its neighbors, who tend to follow the lead of regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia.

Doha has said it is ready for talks to end the crisis and Kuwait, which unlike most of its GCC neighbors has not cut ties, has taken the lead in mediation efforts.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has also called for compromise and hosted senior Gulf officials, but his efforts have been undermined by remarks from President Donald J. Trump apparently supporting Riyadh’s position. — AFP

BANGKOK — Tens of thousands of migrant workers, most of them from Myanmar, have fled from Thailand in fear after new labor regulations adopted by the military government, immigration officials said on Monday.

Industry groups said the exodus was already hitting some companies, which depend on migrants from Thailand’s poorer neighbors for manual labor for everything from construction to the multi-billion dollar seafood industry.

“The private sector is in shock,” said Tanit Sorat, vice-chairman of Employers’ Confederation of Thailand. “These are jobs that Thais will not do so if there is a labor shortage businesses cannot move forward.”

Thailand has more than three million migrant workers, the International Organization for Migration says, but rights groups put the figure higher.

Since taking power in a 2014 coup, Thailand’s ruling junta has had varying degrees of success in campaigns to regulate the foreign work force, spurred partly by media reports that unregulated workers faced exploitation by employers.

About 60,000 workers left between June 23 and June 28, and the number has risen since, an Immigration Bureau official said.

“They were of all nationalities, but the biggest group was from Myanmar,” Deputy Commissioner Pornchai Kuntee told Reuters. “They are probably very scared.”

Following news of the exodus, Thailand on Friday promised a 120-day delay in enforcing parts of the decree, including fines that can range up to 800,000 baht ($23,557) for employers who hire unregistered foreign workers without permits.

Geta Devi, 28, a worker from Myanmar based in Bangkok, said some of her friends panicked over the decree and headed home.

Thai government trucks have been taking workers to the Myanmar town of Myawaddy, 246 km (153 miles) east of Yangon, and opposite the Thai town of Mae Sot, a Myanmar official said. It was unclear if they were leaving Thailand voluntarily.

More than 16,000 people, including both legal and undocumented migrants had returned since June 29, said Aung Htay Win, a labour ministry official who is coordinating Myanmar’s response. Returning workers were being temporarily housed in government buildings.

“Most of them stay for one night or so, then they continue to their home towns,” he said,

Up to 500 migrant workers had returned to Cambodia since last week, authorities there said.

BUSINESS HIT
In Bangkok, an executive at a construction company said as many as 80% of workers had gone from some of its building sites.

Fishing groups also voiced concern, saying foreign workers were essential for nearly 30,000 boats.

“If foreign labour disappears, these boats will remain docked,” said Mongkol Sukjareonkhana, chairman of the Thailand Fishery Cooperative.

But Thai Union, the world’s biggest canned tuna company, told Reuters it expected no impact because all its migrant workers were legal.

Agribusiness giant Charoen Pokphand Foods also said none of its workers had gone home.

There was little change on Monday in the prices of their shares or those of Thailand’s three biggest listed building firms: CH Karnchang, Sino Thai Engineering and Italian Thai Development.

Mass movement leaves undocumented workers vulnerable, said Andy Hall, a migrant workers’ rights expert who has monitored migration in Thailand for more than a decade.

Despite a police threat of punishment for anyone trying to extort money from migrants or employers, “corrupt officials” would try to seek bribes, he told Reuters.

“Mass profit is to be made in a short time from the panic and commotion,” Mr. Hall said.

Last month, the United States kept Thailand on a trafficking watch list, saying it fell short of the minimum standards to end human trafficking. Thailand defended its anti-trafficking efforts, urging US officials to visit and assess them. — Reuters

This Sept. 1, 2016 photo shows workers unloading goods from trucks behind Hua Lampong train station in Bangkok. — AFP

PARIS, FRANCE — Emmanuel Macron’s penchant for using regal symbols to give his presidency a touch of majesty will be on display on Monday when France’s new leader addresses both houses of parliament in the splendor of Versailles.

Mr. Macron will use the speech, which has been billed as a novel, US-style state of the nation address, to set out his vision for a French “renaissance”.

But the message risks being overshadowed by the unease over the growing concentration of power in the presidency, with his speech to a rare sitting of the National Assembly and Senate seen as proof of his “monarchical” drift.

The address in the former seat of kings by the self-styled revolutionary comes a day before premier Edouard Philippe delivers the government’s traditional policy statement to the newly-elected 577-seat National Assembly.

The press and opposition have accused 39-year-old Mr. Macron of pulling the rug from under his premier’s feet, to assert his dominance, and slammed his refusal to take questions after his remarks.

A media darling during his campaign, Mr. Macron has kept the press at arm’s length since his election, keen to avoid the excessive exposure that turned voters off his predecessors Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy at the risk of appearing aloof.

He used the Louvre museum — a former royal palace — as the backdrop for his victory party in May and hosted Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for talks in Versailles.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the rebellious leader of the leftist France Unbowed, accused “Macron the pharaoh” of crossing a line in his “monarchical” approach to the presidency and declared his party would boycott the speech, as did the Communist Party and two members of the small centrist UDI party.

“The hyper president,” Le Parisien wrote on its front page Sunday, above Mr. Macron’s official photograph, showing him standing at his desk.

“He decides everything, monopolises the stage, controls the communications,” the paper wrote.

EFFICIENCY OVER DEBATE
Presidential addresses to both houses of parliament are rare events in France, used mainly in times of crises.

Messrs. Sarkozy and Hollande each gave one — during the euro zone crisis for Mr. Sarkozy and after the November 2015 attacks in Paris for Mr. Hollande.

Mr. Philippe attempted to downplay the controversy over the timing of Mr. Macron’s address, coming a day ahead of his, insisting there was no overlap.

“The president of the Republic … will set the course on Monday. It is then up to ourselves, as members of the government to achieve it,” he said.

Mr. Macron’s speech comes days after the government unveiled a bill that would allow it to fast-track labour reforms through parliament — where Macron’s Republic on the Move party has a resounding majority — using decrees.

Some opposition parties have accused him of neutering parliament.

“When you do not share power you may be more efficient but you are also perhaps a little less democratic,” Christian Jacob, the parliamentary leader of the main opposition Republicans, said.

Pascal Perrineau, political scientist at Sciences Po university’s Cevipof research unit told AFP the president’s control over the office of prime minister, the government, the ruling party and assembly was “characteristic of Macronist politics.”

After promising in his campaign manifesto “Revolution” to maintain a balance of power between the presidency and parliament, Macron had created a relationship of “subjugation”, Mr. Perrineau added.

‘SCHIZOPHRENIC MIX’
A relative newcomer to politics who won election on a tide of disaffection with mainstream politics, Mr. Macron has enjoyed a honeymoon with voters, drawing particular praise for standing up to US President Donald J. Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

But a Kantar Sofres-Onepoint poll published Thursday showed his approval ratings already starting to dip, falling three points in a month to 54%.

More alarmingly for a president hoping to dispel the gloom that has shrouded France for years, a No Com/Ifop poll Sunday showed only 44% of the French felt optimistic about the country’s future, down eight points from May.

“We’re seeing a strange, almost schizophrenic mix, of goodwill and distrust (towards Macron),” No Com co-founder Pierre Giacometti told Le Journal du Dimanche weekly, adding: “The French already want results.”

On Monday, Mr. Macron is expected to defend his bid to liberalize the labor market as necessary to bring down unemployment, currently running at 9.4%. His aides told the JDD he would also set out his vision for France’s place in Europe.

A day later Philippe will sketch out the details of their planned reforms, including areas where savings can be made to try to tame France’s excessive deficit. — AFP

WASHINGTON — US President Donald J. Trump plans to speak with German, French and Italian officials later on Monday, he said ahead of the summit of the Group of 20 leading economies in Hamburg later this week.

Mr. Trump, who announced the talks on Twitter but gave no details, is scheduled to attend the two-day G20 summit that starts on Friday and will hold separate meeting with various leaders, including host German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

He is also expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

The gathering will take place just over a month after a G7 summit in Sicily exposed deep divisions between Mr. Trump and other western countries on a range of issues, including climate change, trade and migration.

In remarks last week, Ms. Merkel raised the prospect of an open clash with Mr. Trump at the Hamburg summit, although some Trump administration officials have played down the discord.

While in Hamburg, Mr. Trump is expected to demand G20 action on steel to reduce excess capacity and other distortions in the global steel market, a White House official said last week. — Reuters