US President Donald Trump's communications director resigns

The White House on Tuesday said communications director Mike Dubke has resigned, the first in what is expected to be a series of moves to shake up Donald Trump’s press team.

Dubke, 47, occupied the high-powered but low-profile, post for three crisis-filled months. “I can confirm that Dubke has resigned,” an official told AFP.

No date for his departure, which has been in the works for almost two weeks, has been announced.

For months rumors have echoed around the West Wing about Trump being poised to fire his public relations staff en masse.

Many come from the Republican Party establishment and have been uneasy allies with the president.

Trump has privately and publicly expressed fury over a litany of bad headlines, lashing out at reporters, alleged “fake news” headlines and staff.

The president’s failure to pass significant legislation, legal challenges to his executive orders and a rolling scandal over his inner circle’s ties with Russia have hobbled his young administration.

That has put the future of press secretary Sean Spicer and his staff into doubt.

Although the White House communications director is a much less recognizable figure than Spicer, they are usually major players — defining how the West Wing communicates and shaping the media agenda.

During Barack Obama’s administration top aide and confidant Dan Pfeiffer held the post.

AFP

Norht Korea scares U.S., others with new anti-aircraft system

North Korea tested a new anti-aircraft system that leader Kim Jong Un says will “completely spoil the enemy’s dream to command the air,” the state news agency reported Sunday, following weeks of ballistic missile tests.

The KCNA news agency said glitches detected in an earlier test have been “perfectly overcome,” paving the way for the weapon to be mass produced and deployed nationwide, according to SkyNews.

State media reported the new weapon system is designed to “detect and strike different targets flying from any location.”

The latest test was attended by Kim Jong Un, in addition to three men believed to be the top officials in the reclusive country’s missile program.

The three men were identified by Reuters as Ri Pyong Chol, a former top air force general; Kim Jong Sik, a veteran rocket scientist; and Jang Chang Ha, the head of the Academy of National Defense Science, a weapons development and procurement centre.

North Korean state media said the weapons system would stop hostile nations “boasting of air supremacy and weapon almighty.”

On Friday, officials said the Pentagon will try to shoot down an intercontinental-range missile for the first time in a test this week.

The goal is to more closely simulate a North Korean ICBM aimed at the U.S. homeland, officials said.

North Korea is now the focus of U.S. efforts because its leader has vowed to field a nuclear-armed missile capable of reaching American territory.

He has yet to test an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, but Pentagon officials believe he is speeding in that direction.

Marine Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said last week that “left unchecked,” Kim will eventually succeed.

The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency, which is responsible for developing and testing the system, has scheduled the intercept test for Tuesday.

An interceptor is to be launched from an underground silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and soar toward the target, which will be fired from a test range on Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific.

If all goes as planned, the “kill vehicle” will slam into the ICBM-like target’s mock warhead high over the Pacific Ocean.

The target will be a custom-made missile meant to simulate an ICBM, meaning it will fly faster than missiles used in previous intercept tests, according to Christopher Johnson, spokesman for the Missile Defense Agency.

The target is not a mock-up of an actual North Korean ICBM.

“We conduct increasingly complex test scenarios as the program matures and advances,” Johnson said Friday. “Testing against an ICBM-type threat is the next step in that process.”

Source: Fox News

US President Donald Trump satisfied with outcome of 1st overseas trip

NEWS UPDATE - U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed satisfaction at the results of his first overseas trip, the U.S. Department of State, has said.

Trump told service members at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, that they are the greatest force for peace and justice the world has ever seen, the U.S. Department of State, said.

Trump spoke to service members and their families at the end of his first overseas trip as president, and he detailed the trip to them, according to the Department.

“Our travels took us to some of the holiest sites in the three Abrahamic religions, and to gatherings of both America’s oldest and newest friends.

“We travelled the world to strengthen longstanding alliances, and to form a new partnership among nations devoted to the task of eradicating the terrorism that plagues our planet,” Trump said.

The President said he was more confident than ever that the will existed for nations to work together against the terrorists that launched recent attacks in Manchester, England, and in Egypt.

“Together, civilized nations will crush the terrorists, block their funding, strip them of their territory, and drive them out of this Earth,” Trump told the service members.

Trump’s first stop on the trip was in Saudi Arabia, where he spoke at a summit of the leaders of more than 50 Muslim and Arab nations.

His second stop was in Israel and Palestine, where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The U.S. leader said he believes both Netanyahu and Abbas sincerely wanted peace in the troubled region.

The president then stopped in Rome and met with Pope Francis: “It was truly an honour to meet the Pope and to pray for peace on those hallowed grounds,” he said.

Trump then moved on to Brussels for a NATO summit, saying he got a commitment from allies to increase their defense spending, and the alliance itself committed to joining the coalition against terror.

Finally, he attended the G-7 Summit in Taormina, Italy. “I called for much greater security and cooperation on matters of both terrorism and immigration migration to protect our citizens,” he said.

“The president believes he has ‘paved the way for a new era of cooperation among the nations of the world to defeat the common enemy of terrorism and provide our children with a much more hopeful future’.”

“And American service members provide much of the security and strength that will be needed against the terrorists.

“I want you to know that you have a commander in chief who will never, ever forget,” he said.

“My pledge to you is that we will always protect those who protect us. You are protecting us, and we will always remember that, and we will always, always protect you,” Trump, who returned to Washington DC at 9 p.m. Saturday, said.

United States President Trump to create ‘war room’ in White House

Once President Trump wraps up an initial foreign trip that aides believe has gone very well, the Commander-in-Chief plans to strike quickly next week to beef up the White House staff with a “war room” aimed at taking the fight to the administration’s critics more aggressively, according to two advisers to the president.

The names of David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski, two trusted hands from the Trump campaign, are being bantied about as possible additions to the White House staff.

But the advisers to the president stress both men are currently focused on continuing to help the president from outside, and no final decisions have been made on whether the president will ask them to officially join the administration or simply defend the president more aggressively from the outside.

The advisers to the president describe a hands-on Trump who is prepared to go on offense after realising perhaps belatedly that he has to get far more serious about two critical matters, pushing back against leakers in the federal government and dealing with the political damage from the various Russia investigations led by Congressional committees and Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

“It’s all hands on deck,” said one of the advisers to the president who is involved in the planning.

The second adviser added bluntly, “there are going to be some changes” to the president’s existing staff.

However, both advisers were adamant about stressing that the continued speculation about a massive staff “shakeup” is overblown, and that there is nothing imminent in terms of potential changes for Press Secretary Sean Spicer and other top aides.

Instead, the president’s moves next week are more likely to be about addition than subtraction. “It is about bolstering and adding on to the staff,” noted one of the advisers.

The website Axios quoted one Trump ally as saying, “The White House is embracing the fight, which is going to last as long as Donald Trump is president. We’re getting street fighters ready to go.”

The president has already selected Mark Kasowitz, a tough New York lawyer, to lead his outside legal team to focus on the investigations.

One adviser to the President noted Kasowitz is “ready to rumble” with the President’s critics from outside the White House, so now the focus is who will be added to the West Wing to help Trump.

In the spotlight now are Bossie and Lewandowski, two people who have the trust of the president but did not join the administration in the early months.

Advisers now describe Bossie and Lewandowski as still wanting to help Trump from the outside, but both men would be honoured and hard-pressed to say no if the President asks them for more direct help when he returns from the foreign trip.

Lewandowski said on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Wednesday night that he has no plans to join the administration and only goes to the White House as a visitor.

But he still left the door open by saying he would be honoured if the president wants him to work in the White House.

“My loyalty is to the president and the agenda he ran on,” Lewandowski said, adding “if I can help the president do that, of course.”

Source: Fox News

Appeal Court Judge Rebukes President Trump

In a stinging rebuke to President Donald Trump, a U.S. Appeals Court refused on Thursday to reinstate his temporary travel ban on people from six Muslim-majority nations, delivering another blow to the White House in a legal battle likely headed to the Supreme Court.

The decision, written by Chief Judge Roger Gregory, described Trump’s executive order in forceful terms, saying it uses “vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination.”

In a 10-3 ruling, a majority of judges on the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals said that the challengers to the ban -who included refugee groups and individuals – were likely to succeed on their claim that Trump’s order violates the U.S. Constitution’s bar on favoring one religion over another.

Citing statements by Trump during his presidential election campaign calling for a “Muslim ban,” Gregory wrote that a reasonable observer would likely conclude that the order’s “primary purpose is to exclude persons from the United States on the basis of their religious beliefs.”

The appeals court was reviewing a March ruling by Maryland-based federal judge Theodore Chuang that blocked part of Trump’s March 6 executive order barring people from Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days while the government put in place stricter visa screening.

A similar ruling against Trump’s policy from a Hawaii-based federal judge is still in place and the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals court is reviewing that decision.

The Trump administration has argued that the temporary travel ban is a national security measure aimed at preventing Islamist militant attacks.

The March ban was Trump’s second effort to implement travel restrictions through an executive order. The first, issued on Jan. 27 just a week after the Republican president took office, led to chaos and protests at airports before it was blocked by courts.

The second order was intended to overcome the legal issues posed by the original ban, but it was blocked by judges before it could go into effect on March 16.

The case is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court, which would make the final decision.

Federal Appeal Court Upholds Decision Blocking Trump's Travel Ban

NEWS UPDATE - A federal appeals court dealt another blow to President Trump's revised travel ban targeting six Muslim-majority countries on Thursday, siding with groups that say the policy illegally targets Muslims.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that blocks the Republican's administration from temporarily suspending new visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. So, this latest ruling preserves the status quo.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit is the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban, which Mr. Trump's administration had hoped would avoid the legal problems that the first version encountered.

"Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation," the chief judge of the circuit, Roger L. Gregory wrote.

Trump will likely appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the venue the president's travel ban has long been expected to reach.

United States Navy provokes China in China Sea

NEWS UPDATE - A U.S. Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

It was the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Dewey traveled close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors.

The so-called freedom of navigation operation, which is sure to anger China, comes as Trump is seeking Beijing’s cooperation to rein in ally North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

Territorial waters are generally defined by U.N. convention as extending at most 12 nautical miles from a state’s coastline.

One U.S. official said it was the first operation near a land feature which was included in a ruling last year against China by an international arbitration court in The Hague. The court invalidated China’s claim to sovereignty over large swathes of the South China Sea.

The U.S. patrol, the first of its kind since October, marked the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters.

The United States has criticized China’s construction of the man-made islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and expressed concern they could be used to restrict free movement.

U.S. allies and partners in the region had grown anxious as the new administration held off on carrying out South China Sea operations during its first few months in office.

JUST IN: Trump-Russia probe shifts to Deutsche Bank

US POLITICS - Democrats on a U.S. of House of Representatives panel have asked Deutsche Bank to provide information on whether any accounts connected to President Donald Trump have ties to Russia, adding another dimension to probes into connections between Moscow and Trump.

Democrats on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee said on Wednesday they had sent a letter the previous day to Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer John Cryan seeking details of internal reviews to determine if Trump’s loans for his real estate business were backed by the Russian government.

The congressional inquiry also seeks information about a Russian “mirror trading” scheme that allowed $10 billion to flow out of Russia.

“Congress remains in the dark on whether loans Deutsche Bank made to President Trump were guaranteed by the Russian government, or were in any way connected to Russia,” the Democrats wrote. “It is critical that you provide this committee with the information necessary to assess the scope, findings and conclusions of your internal reviews.”

The Democrats requested the documents from the bank, but cannot compel it to hand over the information. The committee has the power to subpoena the documents, but that would require cooperation from committee Republicans who make up the majority of the panel because the party has control of the House. No Republicans signed on to the document request.

Citing media reports, the Democrats called for the bank to hand over any documents tied to internal reviews of Trump’s personal accounts at the bank. They also said the bank should state publicly that it had reviewed both the “mirror trading” scheme and Trump’s accounts.

Mirror trading involved buying stocks, for example, in Moscow in rubles, with related parties selling the same stocks shortly thereafter through a bank’s London branch.

They also called on the bank to name an independent auditor to verify the results of the reviews, which should be turned over to the committee “as soon as reasonably practicable.”

Renee Calabro, a spokeswoman for Deutsche, declined to comment.

The House panel request to Deutsche comes as Trump is mired in controversy over FBI and congressional probes into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential collusion between the Moscow and the Trump campaign. Moscow has denied the allegations, and Trump has denied any collusion

US President Trump to meet Pope and Italian leaders

US President Donald Trump is due to hold talks with Pope Francis and Italy's top leaders in Rome on the third leg of his first oversees trip.

Mr Trump and the pontiff have already clashed at a distance on issues including migration and climate change.

Mr Trump will also meet Italy's president and prime minister, before flying to Brussels for a Nato summit.

He earlier vowed to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace, as he ended the Middle East leg of his tour.

The US leader began his foreign trip with a two-day stop in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, urging Muslim countries to take the lead in combating radicalisation.

Mr Trump is expected to meet Pope Francis at 06:30 GMT, before holding talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.

It is hard to think of two more contrasting characters than Pope Francis and President Trump.

On one hand, the Jesuit who has made his mission the championing of the poor and dispossessed; on the other the property developer who has championed getting rich, and surrounded himself with billionaires in his cabinet.

And though this will be their first meeting they've already sparred. During the election the Pope on a visit to the Mexico-US border said that people who only think of building walls instead of bridges were not Christian.

Donald Trump described those comments as disgraceful, and accused the pontiff of being a pawn of the Mexican government.

But on Wednesday both men will be seeking to find common ground.

After his visit to Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites, and to Israel, this is the final leg of the tour of the world's three great religions.

President Trump's commitment to fighting extremism and intolerance will win approval from the Pope, as will his determination to bring peace to the Middle East.

And the president thinks there's another reason why they will get on. Back in 2013 he tweeted: "The new Pope is a humble man, very much like me."

This is Mr Trump's first visit to Europe since he took office in January.

Security has been stepped up across Rome, with the areas around the Vatican City, the Italian presidential palace and the American ambassador's residence, where Mr Trump is staying, temporarily closed to traffic.

Despite the heavy police presence, about 100 anti-Trump protesters held a rally in one of Rome's squares on Tuesday evening.

Later on Wednesday, Mr Trump will fly to Brussels, where significant protests are expected.

For the EU and for Nato, this visit is about damage limitation with the fervent hope of establishing some kind of transatlantic chemistry, the BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler says.

She adds that the tone in Brussels has gone from off-the-record sneering when the erratic and unpredictable Mr Trump first won the November elections, to outright concern now that the implications of his presidency have begun to sink in.

Trump will end his tour on the Italian island of Sicily at the G7 summit on Friday.

US President Trump to give speech on Islam in Saudi

President Donald Trump is expected to underline the need to confront extremism in Islam when he makes a speech in Saudi Arabia later on Sunday.

His address, to a summit of regional leaders, will come on the second day of his first presidential trip abroad.

It is expected he will attempt to strike a collaborative tone in attempts to bolster support for the US fight against Islamic State (IS) militants.

On Saturday, the US signed trade deals of $350bn (£270bn) with Saudi Arabia.

This included the largest arms deal ever made in US history, which Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said was aimed at countering the "malign" influence of Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional rival.

But the president's visit has been overshadowed by his political difficulties at home, namely the fallout over his sacking of FBI chief James Comey.

Mr Trump caused controversy during his campaign by calling for Muslims to be temporarily banned from entering the US over security concerns. Legislation aimed at restricting travel from several Muslim-majority countries remains tied up in the US courts.

According to a report by CNN, the same man who wrote the travel ban has written his speech about Islam.

Mr Trump has made a litany of controversial comments about Islam, including suggesting he would be open to creating a database of all the Muslims in the US, linking the religion with violence.

He has also criticised other politicians for not using the phrase "radical Islamic terrorism" - a phrase which, according to advisers quoted in the US media, will not feature in the speech.

To the relief of his hosts, day one of President Trump's Saudi visit passed off successfully.

Bedevilled by problems back home, in Riyadh he is among newfound friends. The Saudis have sealed their rejuvenated alliance with Washington by signing billions of dollars' worth of contracts with US firms, exactly the sort of domestic boost the president needs.

But today will be altogether more delicate territory.

At the Arab Islamic American Summit on Saturday, President Trump will talk of the need for a combined front against religious extremism and intolerant ideology.

It is a message some may find hard to accept from such a controversial figure as Donald Trump but for now, Saudi officials are giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Mr Trump's eight-day trip will also take in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Brussels, the Vatican, and Sicily.

U.S.: Firing FBI chief 'eased pressure' - Trump

US President Donald Trump told Russian officials that firing FBI director James Comey eased "great pressure" on him, US media report.

The New York Times, citing a document summarising last week's meeting, says he called Mr Comey a "real nut job".

Mr Comey had been running an inquiry into possible collusion between Russia and Donald Trump's election campaign.

The ex-FBI chief has agreed to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee about the investigation.

The latest report was published just as Mr Trump took off on a flight to the Middle East for the first leg of his first foreign tour as president.

"I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job," Mr. Trump said, according to the report.

"I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off."

The White House has not disputed the language used in the meeting at the Oval Office between Mr Trump, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak.

In another development, the Washington Post reported that a current White House official is a "significant person of interest" in the investigation into alleged links between the Trump campaign and Russia.

It quoted unnamed sources familiar with the investigation as saying it was someone "close to the president" but they would not identify them further. The White House has denied there was collusion between the campaign and any "foreign entity".

NEW YORK TRAGEDY: Times Square car crash driver Richard Rojas 'heard voices'

TIMES SQUARE CAR CRASH - A man who drove a car along three blocks of pavement in New York's Times Square, killing a woman and injuring 22 people, said he had "heard voices", according to law enforcement sources.

Richard Rojas, 26, a US navy veteran who was arrested twice previously for drunk driving, is now in custody.

He also said he expected to die, the sources told AP news agency.

According to Reuters, he said after being arrested: "You were supposed to shoot me! I wanted to kill them."

The woman who died was 18 years old. Her name was Alyssa Elsman and she had been visiting from Michigan with her family.

Her 13-year-old sister was also hit and injured.

The burgundy Honda sedan jumped the kerb at 45th Street and Broadway at 11:55 local time (15:55 GMT) and drove at high speed for three blocks before crashing into a pole.

It came to a standstill with smoke and flames escaping the bonnet.

READ MORE: PHOTOS: Times Square chaos as speeding car ploughs into crowds leaving girl, 18, dead and injuring 22 others

The incident evoked recent terrorist attacks by vehicle in London, Nice and Berlin but New York mayor Bill de Blasio said there was "no indication" it was an act of terrorism.

Police believe Mr Rojas was high on synthetic marijuana, known as K2, ABC News reports, citing law enforcement sources.

Initial tests reportedly came back negative for alcohol but positive for drugs.

Reports in US media say he has a history of arrests, including for some aggressive or violent incidents.

Donald Trump gives condition for N/Korea talk

U.S. President Donald Trump told South Korea’s presidential envoy that Washington was willing to try to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis through engagement, but under the right conditions, South Korea’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Trump has said “a major, major conflict” with North Korea is possible and all options are on the table but that he wanted to resolve the crisis diplomatically, possibly through the extended use of economic sanctions.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who took office on May 9, has campaigned on a more moderate approach towards the North but he has said it must change its attitude of insisting on arms development before dialogue can be possible.

Moon’s envoy to Washington, South Korean media mogul Hong Seok-hyun, said Trump spoke of being willing to use engagement to ensure peace, Hong said in comments carried by television on Thursday.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck in a regular media briefing said: “the fact that Trump said he will not have talks for the sake of talks reiterated our joint stance that we are open to dialogue but the right situation must be formed.”

Cho added that South Korea and the U.S. agreed during a visit to Seoul by Trump’s national security advisers on Monday to formulate a “bold and pragmatic” joint approach.

The North has vowed to develop a missile mounted with a nuclear warhead that can strike the mainland U.S., saying the programme is necessary to counter U.S. aggression.

The U.S., which has 28,500 troops in South Korea to guard against the North Korean threat, has called on China to do more to rein in its neighbor.

North Korea conducted its latest ballistic missile test on Sunday in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions, saying it was a test of its capability to carry a “large-size heavy nuclear warhead”.

A senior North Korean diplomat has said Pyongyang is also open to having talks with Washington under the right conditions.

Moon’s envoy to China, former prime minister Lee Hae-chan, left for Beijing on Thursday with a letter from Moon to deliver to China President Xi Jinping.

Before leaving, Lee said a summit between Xi and Moon could happen as soon as July on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting in Germany.

A separate summit could also be held the following month, Lee said.

Moon has sent envoys to the United States, China, Japan and the European Union this week in what the government has called “pre-emptive diplomacy”.

Reuters

Turkish president’s bodyguards batter Washington DC protesters leaving them covered in blood while leader meets Trump at the White House

A BRAWL erupted outside the residence of Turkey’s ambassador to Washington following a White House visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan supporters and security guards clashed with Kurdish and Armenian protesters who accuse him of human rights abuses – leaving nine in hospital with one in a critical condition.

Two people were arrested as Erdogan and Trump attempted to improve relations between their countries.

The Turkish president stopped by the ambassador’s residence in the upscale Sheridan Circle neighbourhood, where protests prompted city officials to shut down nearby streets.

Yazidi Kurd demonstrator Lucy Usoyan told ABC: “All of the sudden they just ran towards us.
“Someone was beating me in the head non-stop, and I thought, ‘OK, I’m on the ground already, what is the purpose to beat me?'”
Washington police eventually sent reinforcements and restored order, but emergency services said nine people were taken to the hospital, one of them in critical condition.

Police managed to keep the rival groups apart at first, but they were eventually forced out of the way.

Erdogan’s security detail reportedly attacked protesters carrying the flag of the Kurdish PYD party.

The Turkish government believes the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units in Syria are simply the Syrian arm of the PKK, which has waged a deadly insurgency inside Turkey since 1984.

Since the 1980s, Kurdish movements have included both peaceful political activities for basic civil rights for Kurds in Turkey as well as armed rebellion and guerrilla warfare, including military attacks aimed mainly at Turkish military bases, demanding first a separate Kurdish state and later self-determination for the Kurds.

In April last year a huge car bomb killed at least 11 at a police station in Turkey – with scores more wounded.

The devastating explosion hit the south-eastern town of Cizre.

Videos from Tuesday’s protests showed people from both sides shouting and being punched – with each side accusing the other of being the aggressors.

Iran nuclear: Trump extends Obama's 'worst deal ever'

Iran has pledged to restrict its nuclear activities

Donald Trump's White House has renewed sanctions relief for Iran, despite the US president's past criticism.

The easing of sanctions is part of a crucial nuclear deal brokered in 2015 under then-President Barack Obama with five other world powers.

Mr Trump has described the landmark agreement as the "worst deal ever".

However, the US Treasury issued fresh sanctions against specific officials and a Chinese business with links to Iran's missile programme.

The move means that sanctions preventing any US companies selling to or dealing with Iran will remain suspended for the time being.

The president has openly criticised Iran and the nuclear deal in the past

In return, Iran has pledged to restrict its nuclear activities, reducing its uranium enrichment, plutonium production plans, and allowing inspectors access to facilities.

The new sanctions from the Treasury are much more specific in scope, targeting two senior Iranian defence officials and suppliers of missile equipment, in apparent retaliation for a recent missile test, and for Iran's support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

US citizens and entities are now banned from dealing with the officials and companies involved.

However, the White House stopped short of failing to renew the waivers on more widespread sanctions, which are not permanent and were due to expire this week.

This is the first time Mr Trump has been faced with the issue, after former Mr Obama renewed the agreement shortly before he left office.

Mr Trump has consistently warned Iran over its missile activity, and has criticised the terms of the deal made by Mr Obama - at one point claiming his "number one priority" if elected would be "to dismantle the disastrous deal".

But the other nations involved in the agreement - including China, Russia, and the UK - believe it is the best way to prevent Iran getting a nuclear weapon.

Since Mr Trump's inauguration, his administration has also continued to certify to Congress that Iran is upholding its part of the deal, which it must do every 90 days.

But in April, Mr Trump ordered a wider review of the nuclear deal, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Iran "remains a leading state sponsor of terror, through many platforms and methods".

Tehran, however, has always argued it has no nuclear weapon ambitions and is using nuclear technology for energy purposes.

BBC

Former FBI boss, Robert Mueller to lead Russia inquiry

A former FBI boss, Robert Mueller, has been named special counsel to oversee an inquiry into Russia's alleged interference in the US election.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said it was in the public interest to bring in an outsider.

The appointment has been widely praised by politicians from both sides.

Calls for a special prosecutor had mounted since President Donald Trump fired the most recent FBI director, James Comey, last week.

READ MORE: US President Trump accepts sharing information with Russia

The FBI and Congress are looking into potential links between Mr Trump's campaign team and Russia.

Just over an hour after the news of Mr Mueller's appointment emerged, President Trump predicted the investigation would confirm there had been no collusion.

"A thorough investigation will confirm what we already know - there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity," he said.

The top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said Mr Mueller was "exactly the right kind of individual for this job".
READ MORE: TRUMP’S FIRING OF JAMES COMEY IS AN ATTACK ON AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
And the House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz said he had "impeccable credentials".

In his statement announcing the move, Mr Rosenstein said: "The public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command."

US President Trump accepts sharing information with Russia

US President Donald Trump acknowledged Tuesday that he shared information with top Russian envoys at an Oval Office meeting last week, but argued that it was his “absolute right” to do so, despite an outcry about potentially leaking sensitive data.

His early morning tweet appeared to fly in the face of repeated White House denials of a Washington Post report on Monday.

The newspaper reported that Trump revealed highly classified information about the Islamic State terrorist group during his talks with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador to the US on May 10, citing current and former administration officials.

Trump called it his “absolute right” to provide the Russians with facts that could help in the fight against terrorism.

“As president, I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled WH [White House] meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining … to terrorism and airline flight safety,” Trump wrote.

Trump did not respond to repeated questions by reporters about whether he had shared classified information, but called the talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov “very, very successful.”

When asked by reporters about the controversy, Trump said the talks focused on cooperation in fighting terrorism, declaring “we’re gonna have a lot of great success over the next coming years.”

National Security Advisor HR McMaster maintained later Tuesday that Trump did not compromise any intelligence sources or methods and his discussions with Russian officials last week were “appropriate.”

McMaster would not discuss whether Trump revealed classified information or not, but said he is not concerned that Trump’s conversation would prompt the source to stop sharing intelligence.

“What he discussed was wholly appropriate to that conversation and is consistent with the sharing of information by the president with any partners with which he’s engaged,” McMaster told reporters.

The New York Times reported that Israel was the source of the intelligence, quoting a current and a former US official familiar with how the United States obtained the information. Neither is identified.

The White House would not say that Israel was the source, but spokesman Sean Spicer did stress the importance of the US-Israeli alliance during a news conference.

“We appreciate the strong relationship that we have with Israel with respect to intelligence sharing, and hopefully can continue to grow that bond,” Spicer said, pointing to remarks by Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer.

Dermer had told the Times that Israel had “full confidence in our intelligence-sharing relationship with the United States and looks forward to deepening that relationship ahead under President Trump.”

Trump is scheduled to visit Israel during his first trip abroad as president starting later this week.

Passing on sensitive information gathered by Israel to the Russians raises the possibility that the information could be passed to Iran, Russia’s close ally and Israel’s main threat in the Middle East.

Late Monday, the White House blasted the story as “false.” McMaster Tuesday said he stood by his statement that the “premise is false” because Trump had not had an “inappropriate” conversation.

The Russian Foreign Ministry called the story “fake.”

According to the Post, Trump discussed details with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and ambassador Sergei Kislyak of a suspected plot by Islamic State involving laptop computers to target aircraft.

The newspaper alleged that, by sharing the information with a US adversary, Trump had jeopardized a key intelligence source in the US-led fight against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.

Trump’s revelations to the Russians included the city within Islamic State-heldterritory where the unnamed US partner had gleaned the threat information. The Post said it was withholding the city and other details of the plot on the advice of US officials.

The partner that provided the now-exposed information in an intelligence-sharing arrangement had not agreed to the United States passing the information to Russia, it said.

The reports have prompted serious concerns among lawmakers and intelligence officials about the president’s handling of classified information.

Congressman Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump’s tweets suggested he had discussed something of concern and worried about whether allies can trust the US with intelligence.(dpa/NAN)

“We immediately have to go into damage mitigation mode,” he said.

Donald Trump asked FBI's Comey to drop Flynn inquiry - reports

President Donald Trump asked FBI chief James Comey to drop an inquiry into links between his ex-national security adviser and Russia, US media report.

"I hope you can let this go," Mr Trump reportedly told Mr Comey after a White House meeting in February, according to a memo written by the ex-FBI director.

The memo was written immediately after the meeting, a day after Michael Flynn resigned, according to media reports.

The White House has denied the allegation in a statement.

Media captionA wild week for Trump in Washington

"The president has never asked Mr Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn," it said.

Mr Flynn was forced out in February after he misled the vice-president about his conversations with Russia's ambassador before Mr Trump took office.

The latest Russian twist, first reported by the New York Times, comes a week after Mr Trump fired Mr Comey over his handling of the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while at the state department.

Mr Comey's dismissal sent shockwaves through Washington, with critics accusing the president of trying to thwart the FBI investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the US election and any Moscow ties to Trump associates.

Mr Comey reportedly wrote a memo following a meeting with the president on 14 February that revealed Mr Trump had asked him to close an investigation into Mr Flynn's actions.

He reportedly shared the memo with top FBI associates.

"I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go," the president told Mr Comey, according to the memo. "He is a good guy."

Mr Comey did not respond to his request, according to the memo, but replied: "I agree he is a good guy."

In response to the report, a White House official pointed out that acting FBI director Andrew McCabe had testified last week that there had been "no effort to impede our investigation to date". READ MORE

University of Lincoln student walking home alone 'dragged to ground and kicked in face' in street attack

A University of Lincoln student has been left with a broken jaw after being dragged to the ground by two men in a street attack.

Ben Sherriff, 20, left the student night 'Quack' at The Engine Shed and was just outside the train tracks on Brayford Wharf East when he said he was approached by two men and attacked.

He said: "I'd just come out of the Student Union and turned left towards the train track.

"I was pulled down to the ground and hit. I put my hands out to try and cover myself."

Mr Sherriff said he was then kicked in the face while on the floor.

The incident is believed to have gone on for a few more minutes.

He said: "I laid there for a bit before coughing up blood.

READ MORE: University of Texas stabbing leaves one dead and three injured as knifeman ‘rampaged through campus’

"My t-shirt was ripped completely in half, my shoes were torn, and my jeans were ripped as well. The only thing I can remember afterwards was that there was a group of people around me."

After being escorted back to the Student Union, Mr Sherriff was taken to hospital.

An X-ray revealed he has been left with a broken jaw.

Witnesses have said the attackers - both thought to be males - were not wearing coats, with one man believed to be short with a beard, and the other, tall with a slender physique wearing a royal top.

One eye witness has claimed they heard the name "Elliott" shouted during the attack.

An online Facebook appeal offering £100 for identification, upon conviction of the alleged attackers, has been launched by Mr Sherriff and his friends.

Following the incident, he has finished his second year early to be with his family and says he no longer feels safe in Lincoln.

He said: "I feel very anxious now, like I need someone to be with me at all times in case it happens again.
READ MORE: Teenager sets 43-year-old lover’s house ablaze over sex and alcohol argument

And he has issued advice to students following the attack.

He said: "If you can take anything from this, it's to not walk home alone.

"I didn't think it was that much of an issue, but obviously it is. Make sure you are with someone."

Lincolnshire Police has confirmed officers are investigating an incident of GBH on a man in his 20s on Wednesday. May 10 between 2.45am and 3.15am.

A spokesperson said: "The offender was thought to be a white man, 6ft and wearing a blue jumper."

Anyone has any information regarding the incident, they should ring 101 quoting incident number 39 of May 10.

US, Russia Looking Into Clues Suggesting North Korea Is Behind Global Cyber Attack

Software companies in the US and Russia have said the North Korea-linked Lazarus Group may be behind a global cyber attack.

Symantec Corp and Kaspersky Lab said yesterday they were looking into clues that may connect the global "ransomware" attack known as WannaCry with programs previously attributed to East Asian country.

The two companies said some code in an earlier version of the WannaCry ransomware - which has encrypted data on hundreds of thousands of computers since Friday and demanded users pay money to regain control of their machines - had also appeared in programmes used by the Lazarus Group.

The North Korean mission to the United Nations was not immediately available for comment.