China should recognise that the Philippines is an independent and sovereign state whose actions and decisions are driven entirely by national interest and not at the direction of other countries, Manila's foreign ministry said on Monday.

Washington has declined to renew a sanctions waiver that allowed Iraq to buy electricity from neighbouring Iran, a spokesperson for the American embassy in Baghdad said on Sunday.

Iraq is moving urgently to mitigate the anticipated electricity deficit this summer after the US declined to renew a waiver that had allowed it to buy electricity from Iran, bypassing the sanctions. The US administration rescinded a waiver on Saturday as part of US President Donald Trump's “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran,

The United States has stopped allowing Iraq to buy electricity from Iran, making Iraq’s power problems even worse. This decision is part of the US government’s efforts to put pressure on Iran by cutting off its sources of money.