. >>> the gulf cooperation council has condemned the targets of four commercial ships near the united arab emirates. the saenld sabotage happened off the port city. two saudi tankers were reportedly among them. the u.s. has warned that iran could be targeting vessels in the area. >>> at least six people were attacked sunday, this when gunmen attacked a catholic church. state media report that a priest is among the dead and the church and other buildings were set on fire. the west african country has seen a spike in violence. >>> dow futures suggest that wall street is headed for a down day over trade war uneasiness. beijing is expected to retaliate against the latest hike in u.s. tariffs but president donald trump says the u.s. is right where we want to be with china. so for more perspective on this, simon baptist joins us now from singapore. he is the chief economist for the economist intelligence unit. great to have you with us. >> good to be here. >> so let's start with the big question everyone's asking, how will china likely retaliate against this hike in u.s. tariffs? >> we alre

cooperation council it's a paper organization now it never was for middle but now it's almost nothing because of this bitter fight within the ranks of its own members this is not a way to assure security in the gulf and it's not a way to present iran with a solid front from as it were the other side of the ocean. whether this could be a 1st step towards small is unclear but the immediate effect of cattles involvement here could result in a broader debate over relations with iran andrew simmons al-jazeera still ahead on al-jazeera as the syrian government intensifies his bombardment of gravel held towns homes at the u.n. for a cease fire plus. born in italy hailed as a hero but still waiting for citizenship points getting harder to become an italian .

cooperation council it's a paper organization now it never was for middle but now it's almost nothing because of this bitter fight within the ranks of its own members this is not a way to assure security in the gulf and it's not a way to present iran with a solid front from as it were the other side of the ocean whether this could be a 1st step towards repro small is unclear but the immediate effect of cattle is involvement here could result in a broader debate over relations with iran andrew simmons al-jazeera. dan have declared their 2 day strike a success all across it and stop working on tuesday and wednesday. campaign to try and force a transitional military council to hand power to civilians. in khartoum. out of their offices and onto the streets government and bank workers walked of the job for 2 days in a new bed to precious to dance military to hand over power to a civilian let's council and the opposition coalition is warning they'll go even further if the military doesn't meet their demands. the next step will be civil disobedience if the military council does not accept th