The head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission unveiled plans on Tuesday to scrap landmark 2015 rules intended to ensure a free and open internet, moving to give broadband service providers sweeping power over what content consumers can access.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican appointed by President Donald Trump in January, said the regulatory agency will vote at a December 14 meeting on his plan to rescind the so-called net neutrality rules championed by Democratic former President Barack Obama that treated internet service providers like public utilities.

Pai said the action would remove heavy-handed internet regulations. Critics said it would let internet service providers give preferential treatment to some sites and apps and allow them to favor their own digital content.

The Obama-era rules, aimed at giving consumers equal access to web content, barred broadband providers from blocking or slowing down access to content or charging consumers more for certain content.

The FCC action was a clear victory for big internet service providers such as AT&amp;T Inc, Comcast Corp, and Verizon Communications Inc, which favored a repeal.

Companies including Google parent Alphabet Inc, Facebook Inc, online shopping company Amazon and video streaming service Netflix Inc had urged Pai not to rescind the rules.

With three Republican and two Democratic commissioners, the FCC is all but certain to approve the repeal.

Trump, a Republican, expressed his opposition to net neutrality in 2014 before the regulations were even implemented, calling it a &ldquo;power grab&rdquo; by Obama.

Pai said his proposal would prevent state and local governments from creating their own net neutrality rules because internet service is &ldquo;inherently an interstate service.&rdquo; The preemption is most likely to handcuff Democratic-governed states and localities that could have considered their own plans to protect consumers&rsquo; equal access to internet content.

&ldquo;The FCC will no longer be in the business of micromanaging business models and preemptively prohibiting services and applications and products that could be pro-competitive,&rdquo; Pai said in an interview, adding that the Obama administration had sought to pick winners and losers.

&ldquo;We should simply set rules of the road that let companies of all kinds in every sector compete and let consumers decide who wins and loses,&rdquo; Pai added.

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, said Pai&rsquo;s proposal &ldquo;hands broadband providers the power to decide what voices to amplify, which sites we can visit, what connections we can make, and what communities we create. It throttles access, stalls opportunity, and censors content.&rdquo;

Tom Wheeler, who headed the FCC under Obama and advocated for the net neutrality rules, called the planned repeal &ldquo;a shameful sham and sellout. Even for this FCC and its leadership, this proposal raises hypocrisy to new heights.&rdquo;

AT&amp;T, Comcast, and Verizon have said that repealing the rules could lead to billions of dollars in additional broadband investment and eliminate the possibility that a future presidential administration could regulate internet pricing.

Comcast said no matter what the FCC decided it would &ldquo;not block, throttle or discriminate against lawful content.&rdquo; AT&amp;T said all major companies have publicly agreed to honor net neutrality and a company &ldquo;that is so foolish as to seek to engage in gatekeeping will be quickly and decisively called out.&rdquo;

HEAVY COSTS

Verizon said it believed the FCC &ldquo;will reinstate a framework that protects consumers&rsquo; access to the open internet, without forcing them to bear the heavy costs from unnecessary regulation.&rdquo;

The planned repeal represents the latest example of a legacy achievement of Obama being erased since Trump took office in January.

Trump has abandoned international trade deals, the landmark Paris climate accord and environmental protections, taken aim at the Iran nuclear accord and closer relations with Cuba, and sought repeal Obama&rsquo;s signature healthcare law.

The Internet Association, representing major technology firms including Alphabet and Facebook, said Pai&rsquo;s proposal &ldquo;represents the end of net neutrality as we know it and defies the will of millions of Americans.&rdquo;

Pai&rsquo;s proposal would require internet service providers to disclose whether they allow blocking or slowing down of consumer web access or permit so-called internet fast lanes to facilitate a practice called paid prioritization of charging for certain content. Such disclosure will make it easier for another agency, the Federal Trade Commission, to act against internet service providers that fail to disclose such conduct to consumers, Pai said.

A U.S. appeals court last year upheld the legality of the net neutrality regulations, which were challenged in a lawsuit led by telecommunications industry trade association US Telecom.

The group praised Pai&rsquo;s decision to remove &ldquo;antiquated, restrictive regulations&rdquo; to &ldquo;pave the way for broadband network investment, expansion and upgrades.&rdquo;

The FCC&rsquo;s repeal is certain to draw a legal challenge from advocates of net neutrality.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat, said he has been investigating for six months who provided significant numbers of fake public comments to the FCC in its review of net neutrality rules, corrupting the process.

Nancy Pelosi, the top U.S. House of Representatives Democrat, said the FCC move would hurt consumers and chill competition, saying the agency &ldquo;has launched an all-out assault on the entrepreneurship, innovation, and competition at the heart of the internet.&rdquo;

Pai said he had not shared his plans on the rollback with the White House in advance or been directed to undo net neutrality by White House officials.

Pai&rsquo;s proposal would give the FCC significantly less authority to oversee the web. The FCC granted initial approval to Pai&rsquo;s plan in May, but had left open many key questions including whether to retain any legal requirements limiting internet providers&rsquo; conduct.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the regulatory agency will vote at a December 14 meeting on his plan to rescind the so-called net neutrality rules, which intended to ensure a free and open internet to all and barred broadband providers from blocking access to content or charging consumers

The head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission unveiled plans on Tuesday to scrap landmark 2015 rules intended to ensure a free and open internet, moving to give broadband service providers sweeping power over what content consumers can access. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican appointed by President Donald Trump in January, said the regulatory agency will vote at a December 14 meeting on his plan to rescind the so-called net neutrality rules championed by Democratic former President Barack Obama that treated internet service providers like public utilities. Pai said the action would remove heavy-handed internet regulations. Critics said it would let internet service providers give preferential treatment to some sites and apps and allow them to favor their own digital content. The Obama-era rules, aimed at giving consumers equal access to web content, barred broadband providers from blocking or slowing down access to content or charging consumers more for certain content. The FCC action was a clear victory for big internet service providers such as AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp, and Verizon Communications Inc, which favored a repeal. Companies including Google parent Alphabet Inc, Facebook Inc, online shopping company Amazon and video streaming service Netflix Inc had urged Pai not to rescind the rules. With three Republican and two Democratic commissioners, the FCC is all but certain to approve the repeal. Trump, a Republican, expressed his opposition to net neutrality in 2014 before the regulations were even implemented, calling it a “power grab” by Obama. Pai said his proposal would prevent state and local governments from creating their own net neutrality rules because internet service is “inherently an interstate service.” The preemption is most likely to handcuff Democratic-governed states and localities that could have considered their own plans to protect consumers’ equal access to internet content. “The FCC will no longer be in the business of micromanaging business models and preemptively prohibiting services and applications and products that could be pro-competitive,” Pai said in an interview, adding that the Obama administration had sought to pick winners and losers. “We should simply set rules of the road that let companies of all kinds in every sector compete and let consumers decide who wins and loses,” Pai added. FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, said Pai’s proposal “hands broadband providers the power to decide what voices to amplify, which sites we can visit, what connections we can make, and what communities we create. It throttles access, stalls opportunity, and censors content.” Tom Wheeler, who headed the FCC under Obama and advocated for the net neutrality rules, called the planned repeal “a shameful sham and sellout. Even for this FCC and its leadership, this proposal raises hypocrisy to new heights.” AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon have said that repealing the rules could lead to billions of dollars in additional broadband investment and eliminate the possibility that a future presidential administration could regulate internet pricing. Comcast said no matter what the FCC decided it would “not block, throttle or discriminate against lawful content.” AT&T said all major companies have publicly agreed to honor net neutrality and a company “that is so foolish as to seek to engage in gatekeeping will be quickly and decisively called out.” HEAVY COSTS Verizon said it believed the FCC “will reinstate a framework that protects consumers’ access to the open internet, without forcing them to bear the heavy costs from unnecessary regulation.” The planned repeal represents the latest example of a legacy achievement of Obama being erased since Trump took office in January. Trump has abandoned international trade deals, the landmark Paris climate accord and environmental protections, taken aim at the Iran nuclear accord and closer relations with Cuba, and sought repeal Obama’s signature healthcare law. The Internet Association, representing major technology firms including Alphabet and Facebook, said Pai’s proposal “represents the end of net neutrality as we know it and defies the will of millions of Americans.” Pai’s proposal would require internet service providers to disclose whether they allow blocking or slowing down of consumer web access or permit so-called internet fast lanes to facilitate a practice called paid prioritization of charging for certain content. Such disclosure will make it easier for another agency, the Federal Trade Commission, to act against internet service providers that fail to disclose such conduct to consumers, Pai said. A U.S. appeals court last year upheld the legality of the net neutrality regulations, which were challenged in a lawsuit led by telecommunications industry trade association US Telecom. The group praised Pai’s decision to remove “antiquated, restrictive regulations” to “pave the way for broadband network investment, expansion and upgrades.” The FCC’s repeal is certain to draw a legal challenge from advocates of net neutrality. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat, said he has been investigating for six months who provided significant numbers of fake public comments to the FCC in its review of net neutrality rules, corrupting the process. Nancy Pelosi, the top U.S. House of Representatives Democrat, said the FCC move would hurt consumers and chill competition, saying the agency “has launched an all-out assault on the entrepreneurship, innovation, and competition at the heart of the internet.” Pai said he had not shared his plans on the rollback with the White House in advance or been directed to undo net neutrality by White House officials. Pai’s proposal would give the FCC significantly less authority to oversee the web. The FCC granted initial approval to Pai’s plan in May, but had left open many key questions including whether to retain any legal requirements limiting internet providers’ conduct.

US FCC chief plans to dump Obama-era 'net neutrality' policy

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump spoke on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two leaders stressed the importance of the UN-led peace process in resolving the Syrian civil war, the White House said in a statement.

In the more than hour-long phone call, Trump and Putin also agreed to explore ways to cooperate in the fight against militant groups such as Islamic State, the statement said.

In addition, the two leaders discussed how to achieve peace in Ukraine and the need to keep the pressure on North Korea to end its nuclear programme, it said.

In the more than hour-long phone call, Trump and Putin agreed to explore ways to cooperate in the fight against militant groups such as Islamic State

US President Donald Trump spoke on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two leaders stressed the importance of the UN-led peace process in resolving the Syrian civil war, the White House said in a statement. In the more than hour-long phone call, Trump and Putin also agreed to explore ways to cooperate in the fight against militant groups such as Islamic State, the statement said. In addition, the two leaders discussed how to achieve peace in Ukraine and the need to keep the pressure on North Korea to end its nuclear programme, it said.

Trump, Putin discuss support for UN peace process in Syria: White House

Donald Trump&rsquo;s Asia tour was his first overseas trip as the American president and also his longest. Also, it was the most anticipated as it happened at a time when Asia was passing through a politically volatile phase. In the context of belligerent war threats from North Korea, the intensification of geopolitical conflicts among dominant players and the ensuing power realignments, the visit was significant not only for Asian politics but for global peace and security.

While the jury is still out as to whether Trump succeeded in protecting America&rsquo;s politico-economic interests in the region and assuaging the concerns of &lsquo;allies&rsquo; like Japan and South Korea, the American President clearly signaled his intent to work towards initiating a &lsquo;new security order&rsquo; in Asia by strengthening Washington-Tokyo-New Delhi partnership as a counter to the developing Beijing-Pyongyang-Islamabad axis.

It was significant that Trump decided to combine his visits to Japan, South Korea and Vietnam with three major regional summits - the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the East Asia and ASEAN Summits-that involved all the major powers around the Indo-Pacific.

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<h5>Trump did not broach contentious issues like trade imbalances, human rights violations, and China&rsquo;s control over the South China Sea or its support to North Korea&rsquo;s nuclear program.</h5>
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During his tour, contrary to expectations, Trump did not broach contentious issues like trade imbalances, human rights violations, and China&rsquo;s control over the South China Sea or its support to North Korea&rsquo;s nuclear program. Also, he failed to extract tangible commitments from China to intensify pressure on North Korea. Again, what was most noteworthy that at no point, either in his speeches or comments, he made any reference to the American leadership in the region.

It was a major departure as all the previous presidents had tried to push the U.S. into the driver&rsquo;s seat as the guarantor of peace and stability in Asia. It might be construed as Trump&rsquo;s strategy to put &lsquo;America First&rsquo; in foreign policy that signifies a conscious attempt to disengage America from different global crises-gradually withdrawing from conflict zones-and focus primarily upon augmenting its own national power and security.

Trump&rsquo;s rather moderate and conciliatory approach was quite apparent during his China visit where he received a grand welcome and described Chinese President Xi Jinping as &lsquo;a very special man&rsquo;. During his visits to Japan and South Korea, where the focus of meetings was on containing North Korea, his tone was on the whole measured and resolute than expected. In South Korea, Trump talked about strengthening bilateral partnership belying Seoul&rsquo;s fears regarding any disruption in relations. There was a sense of relief that Trump made no further threats of unilateral strikes against North Korea and pointed towards the possibility of exploring diplomatic options to normalise the situation and establish peace.

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<h5>Praising India&rsquo;s role, the American President offered a &ldquo;renewed partnership with America&rdquo; to strengthen the cooperation, regionally and bilaterally, in the interest of Indo-Pacific.</h5>
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Amidst all these, Trump did outline his broad vision for Asia as he floated a new framework for the region-the &lsquo;Indo-Pacific&rsquo;, in his speech on November 10 at APEC Summit at Danang in Vietnam. The idea, centered around the notion of a &ldquo;free and open Indo-Pacific&rdquo;, is considered as Trump&rsquo;s alternative to Obama&rsquo;s &lsquo;Pivot to Asia&rsquo; strategy&rsquo;, at least in form, if not completely in substance. Praising India&rsquo;s role, the American President offered a &ldquo;renewed partnership with America&rdquo; to strengthen the cooperation, regionally and bilaterally, in the interest of Indo-Pacific.

For Donald Trump, the basis of this cooperation should be built on free and fair trading and commerce environment. What is important to note is that Trump&rsquo;s repeated referral to Indo-Pacific was not merely rhetorical in nature, but rather was part of a grand strategy to forge the strategic coalition between the U.S. India, Japan and Australia that could counter growing power and influence of China in Asia. In this context, one of the most important strategic takeaways from Trump&rsquo;s trip was the revival of the Quadrilateral Dialogue comprising the four countries, which met at the level of senior officials on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Manila almost after a decade.

The United States, of late, has enhanced its military operations both in the South China Sea and the&nbsp;Korean peninsula,&nbsp;emphasising freedom of navigations and resisting Chinese assertions. These issues were discussed throughout Trump&rsquo;s Asia trip and are likely to remain on top of his Asia agenda for some time.

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<h5>Trump&rsquo;s speech castigating Asian nations for &ldquo;chronic trade abuses&rdquo; and strident stand against Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) did not help in creating confidence among his partners.</h5>
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<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Trump?s speech castigating Asian nations for ?chronic trade abuses? and strident stand against Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) did not help in creating confidence among his partners." target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
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Still, doubt prevails over Trump&rsquo;s sincerity in pushing this strategy as the American President neither devised any concrete roadmap for its implementation nor suggested what exactly would be America&rsquo;s role in the proposed regional order. Also, Trump&rsquo;s speech castigating Asian nations for &ldquo;chronic trade abuses&rdquo; and strident stand against Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) did not help in creating confidence among his partners. It is believed that Trump&rsquo;s rigid stance on &lsquo;economic unilateralism&rsquo;, in the form of &lsquo;America First&rsquo;, would hamper its economy in long-term and also affect its standing in important multilateral forums.

Shunning America, the remaining eleven signatories of the TPP chose to carry forward the initiative and work towards mutually beneficial economic exchanges. The Danang Declaration reflected the mood as it referred to &ldquo;importance of non-discriminatory, reciprocal and mutually advantageous trade and investment frameworks&rdquo;.

Thus, there is more continuity than change in Trump administration&rsquo;s approach towards Asia. Rhetoric is replaced by realism as America braces for a new world order where the American supremacy as a dominant player is fading away rapidly. Trump, much to the dismay of his supporters, is treading a cautious path on contentious issues without attempting any radical shift. This is quite apparent as he tones down his diatribe and tries to introduce a credible and coherent policy on Asia that would bear his unique stamp and at the same time protect American interests.

It is really difficult to predict as to whether the Trump Administration would push for a new security order in Asia by promoting the framework of &lsquo;Indo-Pacific&rsquo; or would rather choose to strategically disengage itself from the regional quagmire engulfing the continent.

However, America&rsquo;s determination to counter China&rsquo;s growing assertions, both in economic and strategic spheres and the emergence of the &lsquo;Quad&rsquo; as a dominant block might usher in new power equilibrium in Asia, changing the contours of existing power relationships. Trump&rsquo;s Asia tour has signalled a new beginning or at least a step forward in that direction.

(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

America?s determination to counter China?s growing assertions is changing the contours of existing power relationships

Donald Trump’s Asia tour was his first overseas trip as the American president and also his longest. Also, it was the most anticipated as it happened at a time when Asia was passing through a politically volatile phase. In the context of belligerent war threats from North Korea, the intensification of geopolitical conflicts among dominant players and the ensuing power realignments, the visit was significant not only for Asian politics but for global peace and security. While the jury is still out as to whether Trump succeeded in protecting America’s politico-economic interests in the region and assuaging the concerns of ‘allies’ like Japan and South Korea, the American President clearly signaled his intent to work towards initiating a ‘new security order’ in Asia by strengthening Washington-Tokyo-New Delhi partnership as a counter to the developing Beijing-Pyongyang-Islamabad axis. It was significant that Trump decided to combine his visits to Japan, South Korea and Vietnam with three major regional summits - the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the East Asia and ASEAN Summits-that involved all the major powers around the Indo-Pacific. Trump did not broach contentious issues like trade imbalances, human rights violations, and China’s control over the South China Sea or its support to North Korea’s nuclear program. × During his tour, contrary to expectations, Trump did not broach contentious issues like trade imbalances, human rights violations, and China’s control over the South China Sea or its support to North Korea’s nuclear program. Also, he failed to extract tangible commitments from China to intensify pressure on North Korea. Again, what was most noteworthy that at no point, either in his speeches or comments, he made any reference to the American leadership in the region. It was a major departure as all the previous presidents had tried to push the U.S. into the driver’s seat as the guarantor of peace and stability in Asia. It might be construed as Trump’s strategy to put ‘America First’ in foreign policy that signifies a conscious attempt to disengage America from different global crises-gradually withdrawing from conflict zones-and focus primarily upon augmenting its own national power and security. Trump’s rather moderate and conciliatory approach was quite apparent during his China visit where he received a grand welcome and described Chinese President Xi Jinping as ‘a very special man’. During his visits to Japan and South Korea, where the focus of meetings was on containing North Korea, his tone was on the whole measured and resolute than expected. In South Korea, Trump talked about strengthening bilateral partnership belying Seoul’s fears regarding any disruption in relations. There was a sense of relief that Trump made no further threats of unilateral strikes against North Korea and pointed towards the possibility of exploring diplomatic options to normalise the situation and establish peace. Praising India’s role, the American President offered a “renewed partnership with America” to strengthen the cooperation, regionally and bilaterally, in the interest of Indo-Pacific. × Amidst all these, Trump did outline his broad vision for Asia as he floated a new framework for the region-the ‘Indo-Pacific’, in his speech on November 10 at APEC Summit at Danang in Vietnam. The idea, centered around the notion of a “free and open Indo-Pacific”, is considered as Trump’s alternative to Obama’s ‘Pivot to Asia’ strategy’, at least in form, if not completely in substance. Praising India’s role, the American President offered a “renewed partnership with America” to strengthen the cooperation, regionally and bilaterally, in the interest of Indo-Pacific. For Donald Trump, the basis of this cooperation should be built on free and fair trading and commerce environment. What is important to note is that Trump’s repeated referral to Indo-Pacific was not merely rhetorical in nature, but rather was part of a grand strategy to forge the strategic coalition between the U.S. India, Japan and Australia that could counter growing power and influence of China in Asia. In this context, one of the most important strategic takeaways from Trump’s trip was the revival of the Quadrilateral Dialogue comprising the four countries, which met at the level of senior officials on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Manila almost after a decade. The United States, of late, has enhanced its military operations both in the South China Sea and the Korean peninsula, emphasising freedom of navigations and resisting Chinese assertions. These issues were discussed throughout Trump’s Asia trip and are likely to remain on top of his Asia agenda for some time. Trump’s speech castigating Asian nations for “chronic trade abuses” and strident stand against Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) did not help in creating confidence among his partners. × Still, doubt prevails over Trump’s sincerity in pushing this strategy as the American President neither devised any concrete roadmap for its implementation nor suggested what exactly would be America’s role in the proposed regional order. Also, Trump’s speech castigating Asian nations for “chronic trade abuses” and strident stand against Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) did not help in creating confidence among his partners. It is believed that Trump’s rigid stance on ‘economic unilateralism’, in the form of ‘America First’, would hamper its economy in long-term and also affect its standing in important multilateral forums. Shunning America, the remaining eleven signatories of the TPP chose to carry forward the initiative and work towards mutually beneficial economic exchanges. The Danang Declaration reflected the mood as it referred to “importance of non-discriminatory, reciprocal and mutually advantageous trade and investment frameworks”. Thus, there is more continuity than change in Trump administration’s approach towards Asia. Rhetoric is replaced by realism as America braces for a new world order where the American supremacy as a dominant player is fading away rapidly. Trump, much to the dismay of his supporters, is treading a cautious path on contentious issues without attempting any radical shift. This is quite apparent as he tones down his diatribe and tries to introduce a credible and coherent policy on Asia that would bear his unique stamp and at the same time protect American interests. It is really difficult to predict as to whether the Trump Administration would push for a new security order in Asia by promoting the framework of ‘Indo-Pacific’ or would rather choose to strategically disengage itself from the regional quagmire engulfing the continent. However, America’s determination to counter China’s growing assertions, both in economic and strategic spheres and the emergence of the ‘Quad’ as a dominant block might usher in new power equilibrium in Asia, changing the contours of existing power relationships. Trump’s Asia tour has signalled a new beginning or at least a step forward in that direction. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Opinion: Does Trump's Asia Tour sidelines China?

&nbsp;A federal court judge in California on Monday blocked an executive order from President Donald Trump to deny some federal grants to so-called sanctuary cities, undermining the administration&#39;s crackdown on illegal immigration.

The judge, who blocked the order provisionally in April, issued a permanent injunction in the suit brought by the city and county of San Francisco and Santa Clara County, which said the order was unconstitutional.

&quot;The Counties have demonstrated that the Executive Order has caused and will cause them constitutional injuries by violating the separation of powers doctrine and depriving them of their Tenth and Fifth Amendment rights,&quot; U.S. District Judge William Orrick for the Northern District of California wrote in his order.

Trump issued the order in January, shortly after he was inaugurated, slashing funding to jurisdictions that refuse to comply with a statute that requires local governments to share information with U.S. immigration authorities.

As part of that policy, the Justice Department has sought to punish cities and other local jurisdictions that have joined a growing &quot;sanctuary&quot; movement aimed at shielding illegal immigrants from stepped-up deportation efforts.

&quot;The district court exceeded its authority today when it barred the president from instructing his cabinet members to enforce existing law,&quot; Department of Justice spokesman Devin O&rsquo;Malley said in a statement. &quot;The Justice Department will vindicate the president&rsquo;s lawful authority to direct the executive branch.&quot;

The department has already appealed the judge&#39;s prior ruling from April.

The Trump administration contends local authorities endanger public safety when they decline to hand over for deportation illegal immigrants arrested for crimes.

Dozens of local governments and cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, have joined the growing &quot;sanctuary&quot; movement.

Supporters of the sanctuary policy argue enlisting police cooperation in rounding up immigrants for removal undermines communities&#39; trust in local police, particularly among Latinos.

The Justice Department is concerned about localities&#39; compliance with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests to detain people up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release time so that immigration officials can pick them up.

Some cities say they will only honor such requests when accompanied by criminal warrants, and that compliance is voluntary and not required under the statute.

Chicago also sued the federal government in August over the threats of funding cuts by the Justice Department. A federal judge sided with the city in September and issued a preliminary injunction barring the U.S. government from denying the public-safety grants.

The judge issued a permanent injunction in the suit brought by the city and county of San Francisco and Santa Clara County

A federal court judge in California on Monday blocked an executive order from President Donald Trump to deny some federal grants to so-called sanctuary cities, undermining the administration's crackdown on illegal immigration. The judge, who blocked the order provisionally in April, issued a permanent injunction in the suit brought by the city and county of San Francisco and Santa Clara County, which said the order was unconstitutional. "The Counties have demonstrated that the Executive Order has caused and will cause them constitutional injuries by violating the separation of powers doctrine and depriving them of their Tenth and Fifth Amendment rights," U.S. District Judge William Orrick for the Northern District of California wrote in his order. Trump issued the order in January, shortly after he was inaugurated, slashing funding to jurisdictions that refuse to comply with a statute that requires local governments to share information with U.S. immigration authorities. As part of that policy, the Justice Department has sought to punish cities and other local jurisdictions that have joined a growing "sanctuary" movement aimed at shielding illegal immigrants from stepped-up deportation efforts. "The district court exceeded its authority today when it barred the president from instructing his cabinet members to enforce existing law," Department of Justice spokesman Devin O’Malley said in a statement. "The Justice Department will vindicate the president’s lawful authority to direct the executive branch." The department has already appealed the judge's prior ruling from April. The Trump administration contends local authorities endanger public safety when they decline to hand over for deportation illegal immigrants arrested for crimes. Dozens of local governments and cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, have joined the growing "sanctuary" movement. Supporters of the sanctuary policy argue enlisting police cooperation in rounding up immigrants for removal undermines communities' trust in local police, particularly among Latinos. The Justice Department is concerned about localities' compliance with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests to detain people up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release time so that immigration officials can pick them up. Some cities say they will only honor such requests when accompanied by criminal warrants, and that compliance is voluntary and not required under the statute. Chicago also sued the federal government in August over the threats of funding cuts by the Justice Department. A federal judge sided with the city in September and issued a preliminary injunction barring the U.S. government from denying the public-safety grants.

US judge in California blocks Trump's order on sanctuary cities

Around 59,000 Haitians, living under the Temporary Residency Permit, have been directed to leave the United States within 18 months, the Trump administration announced on Monday.&nbsp;

The decision was taken by the Homeland Security Department, after stating that the &#39;extraordinary conditions&#39; in Haiti have improved to a large extent, giving them until July 2019 to prepare their return, following the 2010 earthquake which leads severe damage in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, reported by The Washington Post.&nbsp;

The Haitian government officials had permitted the individuals to remain in the US due to the poor economic and political conditions and well as the widespread cholera epidemic. Moreover, damages caused by three hurricanes since 2016 exacerbate the difficulty of returning Haitians. 
&nbsp; 
However, Trump administration officials have stated that the permit was temporary and by no means a way for people to become long-term residents.&nbsp;

Last month, the United Nations closed a peacekeeping mission in Haiti which included over 10,000 troops. The new mission will consist of around 1,300 international officers and 350 civilians who will help reform the current conditions in the country, reports said.

The Homeland Security Department announced the decision 60 days before the current TPS expires. The agency, in May, had extended the program for just six months instead of eighteen and demanded Haitians to prepare to go home.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Haiti is not ready to take 58,000,&rdquo; said Marleine Bastien, a South Florida Haitian activist who had requested for at least an 18-month extension of TPS. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be tough for the families in the US&nbsp;and a disaster for Haiti. It is clear that they are making decisions on the basis of politics and not&nbsp;considering the facts. This is purely unacceptable.&rdquo; as reported by Miami Herald.

Bill Nelson, a Democrat, said that the decisions were&nbsp;&#39;unacceptable&#39; and pushed the administration to rethink the decision. While members of Congress from South Florida acted in alarm.&nbsp;

The temporary status covers around 435,000 people from nine countries who fled to the US, legally or otherwise, after being hit by powerful natural disasters.&nbsp;

Since taking office, Trump has directed to end the temporary permit program for Sudan and Nicaragua and has also claimed to take a decision on 86,000 Honduras, living in the country, until July 2018.

Days after the Haiti earthquake, former President Barack Obama had granted an eighteen-month protection status for the citizens of Haiti and renewed it everytime it expired.

A senior official on Monday said that 18 months is a long time to allow families with US-born children to make decisions about their future.

Around 59,000 Haitians, living under the Temporary Residency Permit, have been directed to leave the United States within 18 months, the Trump administration announced on Monday. The decision was taken by the Homeland Security Department, after stating that the 'extraordinary conditions' in Haiti have improved to a large extent, giving them until July 2019 to prepare their return, following the 2010 earthquake which leads severe damage in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, reported by The Washington Post. The Haitian government officials had permitted the individuals to remain in the US due to the poor economic and political conditions and well as the widespread cholera epidemic. Moreover, damages caused by three hurricanes since 2016 exacerbate the difficulty of returning Haitians. However, Trump administration officials have stated that the permit was temporary and by no means a way for people to become long-term residents. Last month, the United Nations closed a peacekeeping mission in Haiti which included over 10,000 troops. The new mission will consist of around 1,300 international officers and 350 civilians who will help reform the current conditions in the country, reports said. The Homeland Security Department announced the decision 60 days before the current TPS expires. The agency, in May, had extended the program for just six months instead of eighteen and demanded Haitians to prepare to go home. “Haiti is not ready to take 58,000,” said Marleine Bastien, a South Florida Haitian activist who had requested for at least an 18-month extension of TPS. “It’s going to be tough for the families in the US and a disaster for Haiti. It is clear that they are making decisions on the basis of politics and not considering the facts. This is purely unacceptable.” as reported by Miami Herald. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, said that the decisions were 'unacceptable' and pushed the administration to rethink the decision. While members of Congress from South Florida acted in alarm. The temporary status covers around 435,000 people from nine countries who fled to the US, legally or otherwise, after being hit by powerful natural disasters. Since taking office, Trump has directed to end the temporary permit program for Sudan and Nicaragua and has also claimed to take a decision on 86,000 Honduras, living in the country, until July 2018. Days after the Haiti earthquake, former President Barack Obama had granted an eighteen-month protection status for the citizens of Haiti and renewed it everytime it expired.

Haitians directed to leave US within 18 months

President Donald Trump on Monday declared North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism, returning Kim Jong-Un&#39;s nuclear-armed pariah regime to a short blacklist of targeted US foes. &nbsp;

&quot;Should have happened a long time ago. Should have happened years ago,&quot; Trump declared, announcing the designation at the start of a White House cabinet meeting.

North Korea is already under a wide array of United States and United Nations sanctions, and the terror designation will not have much immediate economic impact in itself.

But US officials see the designation -- lifted by then-president George W. Bush in 2008 -- as a way of ratcheting up the pressure on Pyongyang and especially on other states that may be failing to fully enforce the sanctions already in place.

&quot;In addition to threatening the world by nuclear devastation, North Korea repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism including assassinations on foreign soil,&quot; Trump said.

In February, Kim&#39;s potential rival and elder brother Kim Jong-Nam died after he was sprayed with a nerve agent in Kuala Lumpur airport, in an assassination blamed on Pyongyang.

&quot;As we take this action today, our thoughts turn to Otto Warmbier and others affected by North Korean oppression,&quot; Trump continued, underlining the legal case for the designation.

US student Warmbier did this year aged only 22 after he was repatriated from detention in North Korea already in a coma. US officials allege he was tortured in custody.

Trump warned that, in addition to the terror designation, Washington is preparing yet another round of sanctions to force Pyongyang to give up its nuclear missile program.

&quot;The Treasury Department will be announcing an additional sanction -- and a large one -- on North Korea,&quot; he said.

&quot;This will be going on over the next two weeks and it will be the highest level of sanctions,&quot; he warned.&nbsp;

&quot;The North Korean regime must be lawful and end its unlawful nuclear ballistic missile development and cease all support for international terrorism, which it is not doing.&quot;&nbsp;

The White House has declared it will not tolerate Kim&#39;s regime testing or deploying an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to US cities.

Experts believe Pyongyang is within months of such a threshold, having carried out six nuclear tests since 2006 and test-fired several types of missiles, including multi-stage rockets.

Kim&#39;s government insists it will defy international sanctions to develop a capability it believes is essential to defending itself from the threat of US and South Korean invasion.

Washington is also pressuring the North&#39;s key trade partner and traditional ally China to turn up the sanctions pressure and force Kim to come to the table to discuss his disarmament.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

'Should have happened a long time ago. Should have happened years ago,' Trump declared

President Donald Trump on Monday declared North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism, returning Kim Jong-Un's nuclear-armed pariah regime to a short blacklist of targeted US foes. "Should have happened a long time ago. Should have happened years ago," Trump declared, announcing the designation at the start of a White House cabinet meeting. North Korea is already under a wide array of United States and United Nations sanctions, and the terror designation will not have much immediate economic impact in itself. But US officials see the designation -- lifted by then-president George W. Bush in 2008 -- as a way of ratcheting up the pressure on Pyongyang and especially on other states that may be failing to fully enforce the sanctions already in place. "In addition to threatening the world by nuclear devastation, North Korea repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism including assassinations on foreign soil," Trump said. In February, Kim's potential rival and elder brother Kim Jong-Nam died after he was sprayed with a nerve agent in Kuala Lumpur airport, in an assassination blamed on Pyongyang. "As we take this action today, our thoughts turn to Otto Warmbier and others affected by North Korean oppression," Trump continued, underlining the legal case for the designation. US student Warmbier did this year aged only 22 after he was repatriated from detention in North Korea already in a coma. US officials allege he was tortured in custody. Trump warned that, in addition to the terror designation, Washington is preparing yet another round of sanctions to force Pyongyang to give up its nuclear missile program. "The Treasury Department will be announcing an additional sanction -- and a large one -- on North Korea," he said. "This will be going on over the next two weeks and it will be the highest level of sanctions," he warned. "The North Korean regime must be lawful and end its unlawful nuclear ballistic missile development and cease all support for international terrorism, which it is not doing." The White House has declared it will not tolerate Kim's regime testing or deploying an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to US cities. Experts believe Pyongyang is within months of such a threshold, having carried out six nuclear tests since 2006 and test-fired several types of missiles, including multi-stage rockets. Kim's government insists it will defy international sanctions to develop a capability it believes is essential to defending itself from the threat of US and South Korean invasion. Washington is also pressuring the North's key trade partner and traditional ally China to turn up the sanctions pressure and force Kim to come to the table to discuss his disarmament.

Trump declares North Korea state sponsor of terror

United States President Donald Trump on Saturday, while attacking his former Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton, has challenged her to run against him again in the 2020 US&nbsp;presidential election.

&quot;Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst (and biggest) loser of all time. She just can&#39;t stop, which is so good for the Republican Party. Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three years!&quot; Trump said in a tweet.

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Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst (and biggest) loser of all time. She just can&rsquo;t stop, which is so good for the Republican Party. Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three years!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/931877599034388480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Last month, the U.S. President had said that he hoped his &quot;crooked&quot; political arch-rival Hillary Clinton would run for the 2020 presidential elections.

In a morning tweet, the President said: &quot;I was recently asked if Crooked Hillary Clinton is going to run in 2020? My answer was, &#39;I hope so!&#39;.

&quot;After losing the Presidential bid last year, Clinton has remained out of public life and hinted at not contesting election again.

However, she has expressed that she would remain active in national politics, telling CBS in September that she believed &quot;our country&#39;s future is at stake&quot;.

Clinton has expressed that she would remain active in national politics, telling CBS in September that she believed 'our country's future is at stake'.

United States President Donald Trump on Saturday, while attacking his former Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton, has challenged her to run against him again in the 2020 US presidential election. "Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst (and biggest) loser of all time. She just can't stop, which is so good for the Republican Party. Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three years!" Trump said in a tweet. Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst (and biggest) loser of all time. She just can’t stop, which is so good for the Republican Party. Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three years! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2017 × Last month, the U.S. President had said that he hoped his "crooked" political arch-rival Hillary Clinton would run for the 2020 presidential elections. In a morning tweet, the President said: "I was recently asked if Crooked Hillary Clinton is going to run in 2020? My answer was, 'I hope so!'. "After losing the Presidential bid last year, Clinton has remained out of public life and hinted at not contesting election again. However, she has expressed that she would remain active in national politics, telling CBS in September that she believed "our country's future is at stake".

Trump invites 'loser' Hillary Clinton to run again in 2020

In the past week, Silicon Valley has faced renewed calls for greater regulation of social media platforms amid the growing scandal of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

Given rising awareness of the serious problems inherent within U.S. internet giants&rsquo; business models, it&rsquo;s an opportune time to discuss how best to regulate these companies.

I&rsquo;m a researcher who studies regulation on the internet. For my book, Chokepoints: Global Private Regulation on the Internet, I&rsquo;ve interviewed representatives from internet firms and their trade associations, along with policymakers in Canada and the U.S. in regards to what responsibility intermediaries should have for content on their platforms.

Internet intermediaries typically frame their opposition to legislation as protecting freedom of expression, but no right of speech is absolute. This debate is a battle over the control over information: What data should be collected and sold, what content should be permitted online, and who should decide?

Last week the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee grilled senior legal counsel for Facebook, Google and Twitter about their roles in Russian efforts to influence the U.S. election.

In a startling development, after months of denying and downplaying their responsibility, executives from each of the three companies grudgingly admitted that they had not yet determined the full extent of Russian activities on their platforms.

The executives&rsquo; testimony starkly reveals that the companies have few controls on the advertisements and so-called &ldquo;fake news&rdquo; that they accept on their platforms.

These candid admissions from the social media giants focus much-needed attention on the serious problems inherent in big intermediaries&rsquo; data-intensive business models.

Few safeguards, financial interest in status quo

As the U.S. election scandal shows, big social media platforms not only have few safeguards to prevent the deliberate manipulation of information, but they also have financial interests in maintaining the status quo. Unfettered flows of information and unconstrained advertising revenue are key to their business models. And this model is tremendously profitable.

Facebook&rsquo;s third-quarter profit was an astounding US$4.7 billion, the vast majority coming from advertisements relating to its 1.3 billion average daily users. Viral stories, whether factual or false, attract clicks and advertising revenue.

Given the seemingly intractable challenges of regulating social media platforms, what can be done? In the United States, three members of Congress have proposed a bipartisan response, the Honest Ads Act, that would require platforms to publish information about their advertisers and maintain a public archive of political advertisements.

This is a step in the right direction, and the Canadian government should consider similar measures in advance of the 2019 federal election. Facebook has already announced a program, the Canadian Election Integrity Initiative, to counter the spread of misinformation that focuses on media literacy and training.

Deliberate misinformation

While these projects appear useful, they likely will do little to address the underlying problem: The bad-faith spread of online misinformation. That&rsquo;s because the fundamental problem lies with Facebook&rsquo;s business model. Efforts to constrain the flow of information, especially information that generates advertising revenue, are contrary to their business model.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who initially dismissed claims of Russian interference as &ldquo;crazy&rdquo; just after the 2016 U.S. election, said on Nov. 1 that Facebook&rsquo;s new security features to counter so-called fake news will have a &ldquo;significant impact our profitability.&rdquo;

While the big platforms can afford to take a financial hit to restore their reputations and work to get rid of the worst offenders, they can&rsquo;t fully solve the problem without fundamentally changing how &mdash; and with whom &mdash; they do business.

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Facebook ads linked to a Russian effort to stir tensions on divisive social issues during the U.S. election campaign. (AP)
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In response to what has become a fundamental challenge to the survival of liberal democracy, Facebook, Twitter and Google have all committed to voluntarily implementing measures to address the spread of misinformation and targeting accounts that troll other users with often bigoted, racist content.

Google, for example, is creating a public database of election advertising content that appears on its services. These companies prefer self-regulation to legislation and they&rsquo;ve lobbied the U.S Federal Election Commission in the past to have online political advertising exempt from disclosure. It&rsquo;s only the political pressure from the Senate inquiry that is forcing these platforms into action.

Internet companies, algorithms are black boxes

While these developments may seem like attempts by these major companies to be responsible, they amount to Google et al saying: &ldquo;Trust us to fix the problem we created.&rdquo;

However, while Google, Facebook and Twitter are all creating algorithms to, in the words of Zuckerberg, &ldquo;detect bad content and bad actors,&rdquo; these algorithms operate as so-called &ldquo;black boxes.&rdquo; This means that the criteria the algorithms use to make decisions are off-limits to public scrutiny.

Is &ldquo;trust us&rdquo; a good enough response, given the problem? With so much at stake, it may be time for a fundamental rethink of how these indispensable 21st-century companies are regulated and what they&rsquo;re allowed to do.

At the very minimum, governments and citizens should reconsider whether the lack of oversight into how these companies shape our speech rights is really in the public interest.

Social media platforms &ldquo;are an enabler of democracy,&rdquo; says Margrethe Vestager, the European Union&rsquo;s Commissioner for Competition, but we&rsquo;re seeing that &ldquo;they can also be used against our very basic beliefs in democracy.&rdquo;

It&rsquo;s time to start taking that threat to democracy seriously.

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" rel="nofollow" target="blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/regulate-social-media-platforms-before-its-too-late-86984" rel="nofollow" target="blank">original article</a>.

In a fight for the global flow of information, social media firms must be regulated. Their billions of dollars in revenue put their financial interests in conflict with truth and democracy

In the past week, Silicon Valley has faced renewed calls for greater regulation of social media platforms amid the growing scandal of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. Given rising awareness of the serious problems inherent within U.S. internet giants’ business models, it’s an opportune time to discuss how best to regulate these companies. I’m a researcher who studies regulation on the internet. For my book, Chokepoints: Global Private Regulation on the Internet, I’ve interviewed representatives from internet firms and their trade associations, along with policymakers in Canada and the U.S. in regards to what responsibility intermediaries should have for content on their platforms. Internet intermediaries typically frame their opposition to legislation as protecting freedom of expression, but no right of speech is absolute. This debate is a battle over the control over information: What data should be collected and sold, what content should be permitted online, and who should decide? Last week the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee grilled senior legal counsel for Facebook, Google and Twitter about their roles in Russian efforts to influence the U.S. election. In a startling development, after months of denying and downplaying their responsibility, executives from each of the three companies grudgingly admitted that they had not yet determined the full extent of Russian activities on their platforms. The executives’ testimony starkly reveals that the companies have few controls on the advertisements and so-called “fake news” that they accept on their platforms. These candid admissions from the social media giants focus much-needed attention on the serious problems inherent in big intermediaries’ data-intensive business models. Few safeguards, financial interest in status quo As the U.S. election scandal shows, big social media platforms not only have few safeguards to prevent the deliberate manipulation of information, but they also have financial interests in maintaining the status quo. Unfettered flows of information and unconstrained advertising revenue are key to their business models. And this model is tremendously profitable. Facebook’s third-quarter profit was an astounding US$4.7 billion, the vast majority coming from advertisements relating to its 1.3 billion average daily users. Viral stories, whether factual or false, attract clicks and advertising revenue. Given the seemingly intractable challenges of regulating social media platforms, what can be done? In the United States, three members of Congress have proposed a bipartisan response, the Honest Ads Act, that would require platforms to publish information about their advertisers and maintain a public archive of political advertisements. This is a step in the right direction, and the Canadian government should consider similar measures in advance of the 2019 federal election. Facebook has already announced a program, the Canadian Election Integrity Initiative, to counter the spread of misinformation that focuses on media literacy and training. Deliberate misinformation While these projects appear useful, they likely will do little to address the underlying problem: The bad-faith spread of online misinformation. That’s because the fundamental problem lies with Facebook’s business model. Efforts to constrain the flow of information, especially information that generates advertising revenue, are contrary to their business model. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who initially dismissed claims of Russian interference as “crazy” just after the 2016 U.S. election, said on Nov. 1 that Facebook’s new security features to counter so-called fake news will have a “significant impact our profitability.” While the big platforms can afford to take a financial hit to restore their reputations and work to get rid of the worst offenders, they can’t fully solve the problem without fundamentally changing how — and with whom — they do business. Facebook ads linked to a Russian effort to stir tensions on divisive social issues during the U.S. election campaign. (AP) × In response to what has become a fundamental challenge to the survival of liberal democracy, Facebook, Twitter and Google have all committed to voluntarily implementing measures to address the spread of misinformation and targeting accounts that troll other users with often bigoted, racist content. Google, for example, is creating a public database of election advertising content that appears on its services. These companies prefer self-regulation to legislation and they’ve lobbied the U.S Federal Election Commission in the past to have online political advertising exempt from disclosure. It’s only the political pressure from the Senate inquiry that is forcing these platforms into action. Internet companies, algorithms are black boxes While these developments may seem like attempts by these major companies to be responsible, they amount to Google et al saying: “Trust us to fix the problem we created.” However, while Google, Facebook and Twitter are all creating algorithms to, in the words of Zuckerberg, “detect bad content and bad actors,” these algorithms operate as so-called “black boxes.” This means that the criteria the algorithms use to make decisions are off-limits to public scrutiny. Is “trust us” a good enough response, given the problem? With so much at stake, it may be time for a fundamental rethink of how these indispensable 21st-century companies are regulated and what they’re allowed to do. At the very minimum, governments and citizens should reconsider whether the lack of oversight into how these companies shape our speech rights is really in the public interest. Social media platforms “are an enabler of democracy,” says Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s Commissioner for Competition, but we’re seeing that “they can also be used against our very basic beliefs in democracy.” It’s time to start taking that threat to democracy seriously. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Why social media needs to be regulated urgently

After days of relative silence about a series of sexual misconduct scandals roiling the United States,<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-stops-abruptly-to-drink-water-while-giving-a-speech-and-internet-cant-stop-having-a-laugh-24351"> President Donald Trump</a> weighed in&nbsp;Thursday, bashing a leading Democrat now under investigation.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-twitter-account-was-shut-down-by-employee-on-last-day-of-work-23424">Trump took to Twitter</a> to hit out at Senator Al Franken, who, it emerged earlier in the day, was photographed in 2006 groping a broadcaster&#39;s breasts while she was asleep.

&quot;The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 &amp; 6 while she sleeps? ...,&quot;&nbsp; Trump tweeted.

Sports broadcaster and former model Leeann Tweeden also accused Franken, a former comedian once tipped as a possible White House candidate, of kissing her without her consent.

Franken has apologized and said he does not remember that second incident in the same way, but he now faces a Senate ethics investigation that could see him fined, stripped of committee posts or even expelled.

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The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 &amp; 6 while she sleeps? .....
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/931357870024687616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Until now, the White House had tried to distance Trump from a rolling series of scandals that have reverberated from Hollywood to the halls of Congress.

As the storm of allegations has swirled, Trump -- who himself has faced more than a dozen allegations of sexual misconduct&nbsp; -- had largely avoided comment.

For days he refused to call on Republican senate hopeful Roy Moore to bow out of the race after being accused of sexual advances toward several teenagers.

But the US president appeared unwilling to pass up an opportunity to attack a Democrat who has been hyper-critical of his conduct as president.

&quot;And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women,&quot; Trump said in a second tweet.

Franken is also on the judiciary committee, which is among those looking into Russia&#39;s role in the 2016 election.

As president and as celebrity, Trump has&nbsp;frequently injected himself into developments to which he has little connection -- from the shooting of Harambe the gorilla to NFL anthem protests.&nbsp;

But this intervention may pose more political risk for the 71-year-old.

In response to his latest foray, Trump critics immediately zeroed in on allegations against the president and his infamous remarks in which he boasted about grabbing women by the genital.

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.And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape?
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/931360196554821632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&lsquo;A lot more insight&rsquo;&nbsp;

Earlier&nbsp;on Thursday, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/tax-overhaul-drama-moves-to-senate-as-house-approves-its-bill-24413">the White House</a> said Trump believes the allegations against Moore were &quot;very troubling and should be taken seriously.&quot;

Several women stepped forward to accuse the would-be senator Moore of decades-old impropriety, including a woman who said he initiated a sexual encounter when she was 14.

But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump&#39;s accusers should not be believed in the same way.&nbsp;

&quot;I think the president has certainly a lot more insight into what he personally did or didn&rsquo;t do, and he spoke out about that directly during the campaign,&quot; she said.&nbsp;

Moore, now 70, has also denied any wrongdoing and said he will contest the&nbsp;December 12&nbsp;poll.

The allegations against Moore are politically charged for the White House. They have heightened ideological splits in the Republican Party and could help decide who controls the Senate.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Republicans control 54 of 100 seats in the Senate, but if Democrats win in <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/12-injured-as-car-ploughs-into-alabama-mardi-gras-parade-12901">Alabama</a>, victories in tight races in Arizona and Nevada and an upset elsewhere would put them in charge.

Privately some Republicans admit the race may now be lost, with the Republican vote split between Moore&#39;s die-hard supporters and so called &quot;write-in&quot; candidates who are not on the ballot.

Trump took to Twitter to hit out at Senator Al Franken, who, it emerged earlier in the day, was photographed in 2006 groping a broadcaster's breasts while she was asleep

After days of relative silence about a series of sexual misconduct scandals roiling the United States, President Donald Trump weighed in Thursday, bashing a leading Democrat now under investigation. Trump took to Twitter to hit out at Senator Al Franken, who, it emerged earlier in the day, was photographed in 2006 groping a broadcaster's breasts while she was asleep. "The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? ...," Trump tweeted. Sports broadcaster and former model Leeann Tweeden also accused Franken, a former comedian once tipped as a possible White House candidate, of kissing her without her consent. Franken has apologized and said he does not remember that second incident in the same way, but he now faces a Senate ethics investigation that could see him fined, stripped of committee posts or even expelled. The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? ..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2017 × Until now, the White House had tried to distance Trump from a rolling series of scandals that have reverberated from Hollywood to the halls of Congress. As the storm of allegations has swirled, Trump -- who himself has faced more than a dozen allegations of sexual misconduct -- had largely avoided comment. For days he refused to call on Republican senate hopeful Roy Moore to bow out of the race after being accused of sexual advances toward several teenagers. But the US president appeared unwilling to pass up an opportunity to attack a Democrat who has been hyper-critical of his conduct as president. "And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women," Trump said in a second tweet. Franken is also on the judiciary committee, which is among those looking into Russia's role in the 2016 election. As president and as celebrity, Trump has frequently injected himself into developments to which he has little connection -- from the shooting of Harambe the gorilla to NFL anthem protests. But this intervention may pose more political risk for the 71-year-old. In response to his latest foray, Trump critics immediately zeroed in on allegations against the president and his infamous remarks in which he boasted about grabbing women by the genital. .And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2017 × ‘A lot more insight’ Earlier on Thursday, the White House said Trump believes the allegations against Moore were "very troubling and should be taken seriously." Several women stepped forward to accuse the would-be senator Moore of decades-old impropriety, including a woman who said he initiated a sexual encounter when she was 14. But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump's accusers should not be believed in the same way. "I think the president has certainly a lot more insight into what he personally did or didn’t do, and he spoke out about that directly during the campaign," she said. Moore, now 70, has also denied any wrongdoing and said he will contest the December 12 poll. The allegations against Moore are politically charged for the White House. They have heightened ideological splits in the Republican Party and could help decide who controls the Senate. Republicans control 54 of 100 seats in the Senate, but if Democrats win in Alabama, victories in tight races in Arizona and Nevada and an upset elsewhere would put them in charge. Privately some Republicans admit the race may now be lost, with the Republican vote split between Moore's die-hard supporters and so called "write-in" candidates who are not on the ballot.

Trump slams Democrat Al Franken accused of groping

Congressional Republicans took important steps on Thursday toward the biggest US&nbsp;tax-code overhaul since the 1980s, with the House of Representatives approving a broad package of tax cuts, and a Senate panel advancing its own version of the legislation sought by senior lawmakers and <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/modi-holds-bilateral-talks-with-trump-in-manila-24102">President Donald Trump</a>.

The House vote shifted the tax debate to the Senate, where a tax-writing panel finished debating and approved a bill late Thursday evening. That measure has already encountered resistance from some within the Republicans ranks. Full Senate action is expected after next week&rsquo;s Thanksgiving holiday.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-stops-abruptly-to-drink-water-while-giving-a-speech-and-internet-cant-stop-having-a-laugh-24351">Four Republican senators</a> - enough to derail the legislation - have been talking privately about opposing the bill because it would balloon the federal deficit, according to a Time magazine report.

Trump, who is still seeking his first major legislative win since taking office in January, went to the US&nbsp;Capitol just before the House vote to urge Republicans to pass the tax bill, which Democrats call a giveaway to the wealthy and businesses.

&ldquo;A simple, fair and competitive tax code will be rocket fuel for our economy, and it&rsquo;s within our reach. Now is the time to deliver,&rdquo; White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said after the largely party-line House vote of 227-205.

Congress has not thoroughly overhauled the sprawling US&nbsp;tax code since Republican Ronald Reagan was president. The House measure is not as comprehensive as Reagan&rsquo;s 1986 package, but it is more ambitious than anything since then.

The path forward for the tax plan in the Senate, where Republicans have a narrow majority, is fraught with obstacles about concerns over the deficit, healthcare and the distribution of tax benefits. Republicans can lose no more than two Senate votes if Democrats remain united in opposition.

Senate Republican tax-writers earlier this week made the risky decision of tying their plan to a repeal of the requirement for people to get healthcare insurance under former <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/hillary-clinton-takes-centre-stage-on-final-day-of-democratic-party-convention-3505">President Barack Obama</a>&rsquo;s Affordable Care Act. That exposed the tax initiative to the same political forces that wrecked Republicans&rsquo; anti-Obamacare push earlier in July.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-president-trump-suffers-setback-as-house-delays-vote-on-healthcare-bill-13725">The House bill</a>, estimated to increase the federal deficit by nearly $1.5 trillion over 10 years, would consolidate individual and family tax brackets to four from seven and reduce the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent.

It also would scale back or end some popular tax deductions, including one for state and local income taxes, while preserving a capped deduction for property tax payments.

Democrats have pointed to analyses showing millions of Americans could end up with a tax hike because of eliminated deductions. Repealing or shrinking some deductions is a way to offset the revenue lost from tax cuts.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a shameful piece of legislation, and the Republicans should know better,&rdquo; House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told lawmakers before the vote.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned Republicans that by increasing the deficit, the tax bill would imperil other important priorities such as military spending.

Thirteen House Republicans opposed the bill, all but one from <a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/indian-roots-american-soil-555">New York, New Jersey or California</a> - states with high taxes where residents would feel the pinch from eliminating the deduction for state and local income taxes.

&ldquo;This fight is not over. I look forward to continuing negotiations to improve this proposal for my constituents,&rdquo; said Republican Representative Lee Zeldin of New York, who voted against the bill.

Investors have cheered the prospect of a tax overhaul. US&nbsp;stocks rose and the dollar edged higher against a basket of major currencies on Thursday after the House vote.

Brian Battle, director of trading at Performance Trust Capital Partners in Chicago, said stocks&rsquo; strong gains on the day were helped by the House vote.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s helping stocks now and the bond market&rsquo;s turned around,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The tax plan isn&rsquo;t a foregone conclusion, but it passed the lowest hurdle in the House. The even higher hurdle is to have something pass in the Senate.&rdquo;

Republicans have long promised tax cuts and see enacting them as critical to their prospects of retaining power in Washington in the November 2018 congressional elections, particularly after failing to meet their promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.

But it will be a challenge in the 100-seat Senate, where Republicans have only a 52-48 majority.

Senators Jeff Flake and James Lankford are among the four Republicans considering opposing the plan, Time reported.

A Lankford spokesman said he was &ldquo;eager to work with colleagues to pass tax reform.&rdquo;

Flake, who often clashes with Trump and has announced he will not seek re-election next year, told Reuters on Thursday he was &ldquo;more worried about the fiscal problem&rdquo; than other issues.

Several other senators, including Ron Johnson and Susan Collins, who helped sink the Republican effort to repeal Obamacare, have expressed concerns.

Johnson announced his opposition because of what he said were unequal rates for small businesses and non-corporate enterprises known as &ldquo;pass-throughs,&rdquo; versus corporations. He is working with the White House to fix the issue, he told Reuters.

Congressional Republicans took important step towards the biggest US tax-code overhaul since the 1980s, with the House of Representatives approving a broad package of tax cuts, and a Senate panel advancing its own version of the legislation sought by senior lawmakers and President Donald

Congressional Republicans took important steps on Thursday toward the biggest US tax-code overhaul since the 1980s, with the House of Representatives approving a broad package of tax cuts, and a Senate panel advancing its own version of the legislation sought by senior lawmakers and President Donald Trump. The House vote shifted the tax debate to the Senate, where a tax-writing panel finished debating and approved a bill late Thursday evening. That measure has already encountered resistance from some within the Republicans ranks. Full Senate action is expected after next week’s Thanksgiving holiday. Four Republican senators - enough to derail the legislation - have been talking privately about opposing the bill because it would balloon the federal deficit, according to a Time magazine report. Trump, who is still seeking his first major legislative win since taking office in January, went to the US Capitol just before the House vote to urge Republicans to pass the tax bill, which Democrats call a giveaway to the wealthy and businesses. “A simple, fair and competitive tax code will be rocket fuel for our economy, and it’s within our reach. Now is the time to deliver,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said after the largely party-line House vote of 227-205. Congress has not thoroughly overhauled the sprawling US tax code since Republican Ronald Reagan was president. The House measure is not as comprehensive as Reagan’s 1986 package, but it is more ambitious than anything since then. The path forward for the tax plan in the Senate, where Republicans have a narrow majority, is fraught with obstacles about concerns over the deficit, healthcare and the distribution of tax benefits. Republicans can lose no more than two Senate votes if Democrats remain united in opposition. Senate Republican tax-writers earlier this week made the risky decision of tying their plan to a repeal of the requirement for people to get healthcare insurance under former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. That exposed the tax initiative to the same political forces that wrecked Republicans’ anti-Obamacare push earlier in July. The House bill, estimated to increase the federal deficit by nearly $1.5 trillion over 10 years, would consolidate individual and family tax brackets to four from seven and reduce the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent. It also would scale back or end some popular tax deductions, including one for state and local income taxes, while preserving a capped deduction for property tax payments. Democrats have pointed to analyses showing millions of Americans could end up with a tax hike because of eliminated deductions. Repealing or shrinking some deductions is a way to offset the revenue lost from tax cuts. “It’s a shameful piece of legislation, and the Republicans should know better,” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told lawmakers before the vote. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned Republicans that by increasing the deficit, the tax bill would imperil other important priorities such as military spending. Thirteen House Republicans opposed the bill, all but one from New York, New Jersey or California - states with high taxes where residents would feel the pinch from eliminating the deduction for state and local income taxes. “This fight is not over. I look forward to continuing negotiations to improve this proposal for my constituents,” said Republican Representative Lee Zeldin of New York, who voted against the bill. Investors have cheered the prospect of a tax overhaul. US stocks rose and the dollar edged higher against a basket of major currencies on Thursday after the House vote. Brian Battle, director of trading at Performance Trust Capital Partners in Chicago, said stocks’ strong gains on the day were helped by the House vote. “It’s helping stocks now and the bond market’s turned around,” he said. “The tax plan isn’t a foregone conclusion, but it passed the lowest hurdle in the House. The even higher hurdle is to have something pass in the Senate.” Republicans have long promised tax cuts and see enacting them as critical to their prospects of retaining power in Washington in the November 2018 congressional elections, particularly after failing to meet their promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. But it will be a challenge in the 100-seat Senate, where Republicans have only a 52-48 majority. Senators Jeff Flake and James Lankford are among the four Republicans considering opposing the plan, Time reported. A Lankford spokesman said he was “eager to work with colleagues to pass tax reform.” Flake, who often clashes with Trump and has announced he will not seek re-election next year, told Reuters on Thursday he was “more worried about the fiscal problem” than other issues. Several other senators, including Ron Johnson and Susan Collins, who helped sink the Republican effort to repeal Obamacare, have expressed concerns. Johnson announced his opposition because of what he said were unequal rates for small businesses and non-corporate enterprises known as “pass-throughs,” versus corporations. He is working with the White House to fix the issue, he told Reuters.

Tax overhaul moves to Senate as US House approves bill

A key Congressional committee has voted to pass a legislation that proposes to increase the minimum salary of H-1B visa holders from $60,000 to $90,000 and imposes a number of restriction on the work visa popular among IT professionals from India.

The Protect and Grow American Jobs Act (HR 170) introduced by Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman Darrell Issa - was passed by the House Judiciary Committee during a markup hearing today morning.

The bill now heads to the full House for necessary action.

A similar version of the bill needs to be passed by the Senate before it can be sent to the White House for the US President Donald Trump to be signed into law.

Given the sharp differences that the Democratic and Republican lawmakers and the White House have on various aspects of immigration reform including H-1B, the Congressional passage of the bill and it&#39;s becoming a law as of now appears to be a tall order.

The bill prohibits H-1B dependent employers from replacing American workers with H-1B employees, there are no longer any exceptions.

It also lengthens the no-layoff policy for H-1B dependent employers and their client companies for as long an H-1B employee works at the company, which means they cannot layoff equivalent US workers.

For H-1B dependent employers to be exempted from the requirement that US workers be recruited first, the Protect and Grow American Jobs Act dramatically increases the salary requirements for H-1B workers.

&quot;They must pay the lower of $135,000which is indexed for inflation or the average wage for the occupation in the area of employment, but with a floor of $90,000,&quot; said a media release issued by the House Judiciary Committee.

NASSCOM president R Chandrashekhar in a statement said that HR 170, as adopted by House Judiciary Committee, would harm US businesses and impose an extraordinary amount of bureaucratic red tape on a programme that contributes greatly to US prosperity.

&quot;It also could disrupt the marketplace, threaten thousands of US jobs, and stifle US innovation by unfairly and arbitrarily targeting a handful of companies who used just 16 per cent of the new H-1B visas in FY 2016 while imposing no new requirements on the vast majority of companies that use the visas to do the same exact same things,&quot; Chandrashekhar said.

Defending the passage of the bill, Congressman Issa said lawmakers have a responsibility to ensure that H-1B is not abused by those misusing it to outsource jobs and undercut American workers.

&quot;Unfortunately, the loopholes left open in H-1B have allowed a small handful of companies to game the system and crowd out employers who need the limited slots available to bring in the best and brightest individuals from around the world,&quot; he said.

&quot;The Protect and Grow American Jobs Act is a common-sense update that will go a long way to protecting American workers while helping companies have better access to the talent they need to grow their businesses and create new jobs here in America,&quot; Issa said.

Congressman Bon Goodlatte, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the immigration programmes must put American workers and nation&#39;s interests first, and &quot;unfortunately&quot; that is not the case currently with the H-1B visa programme.

&nbsp; &quot;The Protect and Grow American Jobs Act makes much-needed reforms to the H-1B programme to curtail abuse of the system and protect American workers,&quot; he said.

NASSCOM strongly disagrees with the US lawmakers.

&quot;Unfortunately, this legislation is being driven by myths, not reality. US government data show very significant shortages of high skill talent around the country. The data show that the high skill visa programmes are not a major cause of US unemployment, and IT specialists working on temporary visas are not cheap labor,&quot; said Chandrashekhar.

According to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, across the US economy, approximately 20 million people per year lose their jobs due to reasons not linked to hiring H-1B employees.

Compared to that, the annual number of H-1Bs granted to the top 10 India-centric IT service companies in 2016 was only a tiny fraction of the US workforce, he said.

According to a study by the Pew Research Center, based on fiscal 2016 data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data, for eight of the top 10 India-centric IT companies, the average salary for workers on H-1B visas was higher than the median salary for US citizens in computer and mathematical jobs, Chandrashekhar argued.

&quot;Employers who use the H-1B programme are highly regulated and scrutinized already, and NASSCOM member companies abide by all applicable laws and regulations.

&quot;According to the US government, the rate of compliance problems is very low, and the overwhelming majority of problems occur at American companies with fewer than 50 employees,&quot; he said.

Chandrashekhar said NASSCOM continues to support efforts to root out any fraud or abuse in the H-1B system.

&quot;Quite simply, our members do not deserve to be treated differently from their American or European counterparts,&quot; he said.

Legislation also proposes some restrictions on the work visa

A key Congressional committee has voted to pass a legislation that proposes to increase the minimum salary of H-1B visa holders from $60,000 to $90,000 and imposes a number of restriction on the work visa popular among IT professionals from India. The Protect and Grow American Jobs Act (HR 170) introduced by Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman Darrell Issa - was passed by the House Judiciary Committee during a markup hearing today morning. The bill now heads to the full House for necessary action. A similar version of the bill needs to be passed by the Senate before it can be sent to the White House for the US President Donald Trump to be signed into law. Given the sharp differences that the Democratic and Republican lawmakers and the White House have on various aspects of immigration reform including H-1B, the Congressional passage of the bill and it's becoming a law as of now appears to be a tall order. The bill prohibits H-1B dependent employers from replacing American workers with H-1B employees, there are no longer any exceptions. It also lengthens the no-layoff policy for H-1B dependent employers and their client companies for as long an H-1B employee works at the company, which means they cannot layoff equivalent US workers. For H-1B dependent employers to be exempted from the requirement that US workers be recruited first, the Protect and Grow American Jobs Act dramatically increases the salary requirements for H-1B workers. "They must pay the lower of $135,000which is indexed for inflation or the average wage for the occupation in the area of employment, but with a floor of $90,000," said a media release issued by the House Judiciary Committee. NASSCOM president R Chandrashekhar in a statement said that HR 170, as adopted by House Judiciary Committee, would harm US businesses and impose an extraordinary amount of bureaucratic red tape on a programme that contributes greatly to US prosperity. "It also could disrupt the marketplace, threaten thousands of US jobs, and stifle US innovation by unfairly and arbitrarily targeting a handful of companies who used just 16 per cent of the new H-1B visas in FY 2016 while imposing no new requirements on the vast majority of companies that use the visas to do the same exact same things," Chandrashekhar said. Defending the passage of the bill, Congressman Issa said lawmakers have a responsibility to ensure that H-1B is not abused by those misusing it to outsource jobs and undercut American workers. "Unfortunately, the loopholes left open in H-1B have allowed a small handful of companies to game the system and crowd out employers who need the limited slots available to bring in the best and brightest individuals from around the world," he said. "The Protect and Grow American Jobs Act is a common-sense update that will go a long way to protecting American workers while helping companies have better access to the talent they need to grow their businesses and create new jobs here in America," Issa said. Congressman Bon Goodlatte, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the immigration programmes must put American workers and nation's interests first, and "unfortunately" that is not the case currently with the H-1B visa programme. "The Protect and Grow American Jobs Act makes much-needed reforms to the H-1B programme to curtail abuse of the system and protect American workers," he said. NASSCOM strongly disagrees with the US lawmakers. "Unfortunately, this legislation is being driven by myths, not reality. US government data show very significant shortages of high skill talent around the country. The data show that the high skill visa programmes are not a major cause of US unemployment, and IT specialists working on temporary visas are not cheap labor," said Chandrashekhar. According to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, across the US economy, approximately 20 million people per year lose their jobs due to reasons not linked to hiring H-1B employees. Compared to that, the annual number of H-1Bs granted to the top 10 India-centric IT service companies in 2016 was only a tiny fraction of the US workforce, he said. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, based on fiscal 2016 data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data, for eight of the top 10 India-centric IT companies, the average salary for workers on H-1B visas was higher than the median salary for US citizens in computer and mathematical jobs, Chandrashekhar argued. "Employers who use the H-1B programme are highly regulated and scrutinized already, and NASSCOM member companies abide by all applicable laws and regulations. "According to the US government, the rate of compliance problems is very low, and the overwhelming majority of problems occur at American companies with fewer than 50 employees," he said. Chandrashekhar said NASSCOM continues to support efforts to root out any fraud or abuse in the H-1B system. "Quite simply, our members do not deserve to be treated differently from their American or European counterparts," he said.

US panel votes to hike pay of H-1B visa holders

The US<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-tweets-about-the-wrong-mass-shooting-gets-trolled-24254"> President Donald Trump has a knack for making</a> it to news and this time he was seen awkwardly reaching for a water bottle during a televised speech Wednesday.&nbsp;

Trump was only a few minutes into his White House speech summarising his just-completed trip to Asia when he bent down to reach for water on a lower shelf of the&nbsp;podium. When he realised that there was no water bottle, he came up to announce: &quot;They don&#39;t have water. That&#39;s OK.&quot;

Soon an aide signalled that there was a bottle to Trump&#39;s right when he leaned to grab the bottle. He kept staring forward while he opened the cap and lifted the bottle to take a sip.&nbsp;

The internet would have forgiven him had Trump not hit at Marco Rubio, a Republican senator and his one-time rival for the White House for doing something similar in 2013.&nbsp;

Trump and several others had mocked Rubio for drinking water from a bottle as he delivered a&nbsp;speech rebutting Barack Obama&#39;s State of the Union address in 2013.&nbsp;

Trump took to Twitter to say:&nbsp;&quot;Next time Marco Rubio should drink his water from a glass as opposed to a bottle -- would have much less negative impact.&quot;

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Next time Marco Rubio should drink his water from a glass as opposed to a bottle&mdash;would have much less negative impact.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/301767471562629120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2013</a></blockquote>
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He took a dig at Rubio again last year when he imitated the senator on stage on a campaign trail in February&nbsp;last year and called him a &quot;choke artist&quot; over his water woes.

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Marco Rubio couldn&#39;t even respond properly to President Obama&#39;s State of the Union Speech without pouring sweat &amp; chugging water. He choked!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/663923439120596993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2015</a></blockquote>
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&quot;Help me, I need water. Help!&quot; Trump mocked, as he held up a bottle of water, took a swig, then casually threw it over his shoulder.

Tables have now turned for Rubio, who tweeted right after the video went viral: &quot;Similar, but needs work on his form. Has to be done in one single motion &amp; eyes should never leave the camera. But not bad for his 1st time.&quot;&nbsp;

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Similar,but needs work on his form.Has to be done in one single motion &amp; eyes should never leave the camera. But not bad for his 1st time <a href="https://t.co/s49JtyRo3S">https://t.co/s49JtyRo3S</a>
&mdash; Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/930902480623321088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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WATCH:&nbsp;

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Trump has a Marco Rubio moment as he reaches for water <a href="https://t.co/nsnrk8goEq">pic.twitter.com/nsnrk8goEq</a>
&mdash; PoliticsVideoChannel (@politvidchannel) <a href="https://twitter.com/politvidchannel/status/930903703996981248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

He had mocked Marco Rubio, a Republican senator and his one-time White House rival for grabbing a water bottle in a Union address in 2013

The US President Donald Trump has a knack for making it to news and this time he was seen awkwardly reaching for a water bottle during a televised speech Wednesday. Trump was only a few minutes into his White House speech summarising his just-completed trip to Asia when he bent down to reach for water on a lower shelf of the podium. When he realised that there was no water bottle, he came up to announce: "They don't have water. That's OK." Soon an aide signalled that there was a bottle to Trump's right when he leaned to grab the bottle. He kept staring forward while he opened the cap and lifted the bottle to take a sip. The internet would have forgiven him had Trump not hit at Marco Rubio, a Republican senator and his one-time rival for the White House for doing something similar in 2013. Trump and several others had mocked Rubio for drinking water from a bottle as he delivered a speech rebutting Barack Obama's State of the Union address in 2013. Trump took to Twitter to say: "Next time Marco Rubio should drink his water from a glass as opposed to a bottle -- would have much less negative impact." Next time Marco Rubio should drink his water from a glass as opposed to a bottle—would have much less negative impact. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2013 × He took a dig at Rubio again last year when he imitated the senator on stage on a campaign trail in February last year and called him a "choke artist" over his water woes. Marco Rubio couldn't even respond properly to President Obama's State of the Union Speech without pouring sweat & chugging water. He choked! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2015 × "Help me, I need water. Help!" Trump mocked, as he held up a bottle of water, took a swig, then casually threw it over his shoulder. Tables have now turned for Rubio, who tweeted right after the video went viral: "Similar, but needs work on his form. Has to be done in one single motion & eyes should never leave the camera. But not bad for his 1st time." Similar,but needs work on his form.Has to be done in one single motion & eyes should never leave the camera. But not bad for his 1st time https://t.co/s49JtyRo3S — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 15, 2017 × WATCH: Trump has a Marco Rubio moment as he reaches for water pic.twitter.com/nsnrk8goEq — PoliticsVideoChannel (@politvidchannel) November 15, 2017 ×

Trump stops abruptly to drink water while giving a speech, Internet goes berserk

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Trump had a meeting on November 13, 2017, on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asia Summit held in Manila. This was days after India attended a meeting with Japanese, Australians and the US (this grouping has been dubbed as the Quad). Off late, the US has also spoken about a greater role for India in the Indo-Pacific, first Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did so, and during his visit to Asia, the US President Trump has referred to the Asia-Pacific as the Indo-Pacific much to the chagrin of the Chinese.

The Indian prime minister&rsquo;s emphasis on the need for New Delhi-Washington ties moving beyond the bilateral context was a clear reference to a greater role for India in the Indo-Pacific and greater cooperation between New Delhi and Washington DC.

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<h5>The US President while highlighting India&rsquo;s democratic credentials and diversity, laid special emphasis on the stellar economic progress made by India.</h5>
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<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The US President while highlighting India?s democratic credentials and diversity, laid special emphasis on the stellar economic progress made by India." target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
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Indian Prime Minister said, &quot;The cooperation between India and US can rise beyond bilateral cooperation and both countries can work for the future of Asia and the world. We are moving ahead together on many issues,&quot; Modi told Trump in his opening remarks&rsquo; Modi also expressed gratitude to Trump for expressing optimism with regard to the India growth story and stated that India would live up to US expectations.

Trump had lavished praise on India while addressing a gathering of CEO&#39;s on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Vietnam. The US President while highlighting India&rsquo;s democratic credentials and diversity, laid special emphasis on the stellar economic progress made by India. Said Trump: &ldquo;Since India opened its economy, it has achieved astounding growth and a new world of opportunities for its expanding middle class&rsquo;.

While there is a clear synergy, a few questions need to be kept in mind. The US President is transactional and unpredictable. While New Delhi should be happy with the current administration&rsquo;s repeated calls for granting a larger role to India in the Indo-Pacific, New Delhi should not forget that Trump himself has given mixed signals with regard to the US role in the Indo-Pacific. Initially, the US President had backed a more isolationist role for the US, confusing its allies like Japan and South Korea. Only on the issue of North Korea, Trump has taken an unequivocally harsh stance. 
&nbsp; 
Secondly, while Trump may at times make belligerent statements against China. Beijing has read him very well and understood that business deals work as a sweetener for the US President. This was clearly evident from Trump&rsquo;s recent China visit where the Chinese apart from laying out a red carpet, also signed business deals to the tune of 250 billion USD (the sceptics believe that many of these are MOU&#39;s).

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<h5>While the Trump administration has made the right noises on Pakistan, New Delhi should not expect Washington to dump Islamabad or Rawalpindi.</h5>
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<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=While the Trump administration has made the right noises on Pakistan, New Delhi should not expect Washington to dump Islamabad or Rawalpindi." target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
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Post the meeting between&nbsp;Trump and Xi, the US President&rsquo;s tone totally changed. While Washington having good ties with Beijing is not bad news for India, Trump&#39;s flip-flops certainly send a clear message that New Delhi should not solely depend upon Trump for its Indo-Pacific strategy, and neither should it&#39;s China policy be an extension of Washington&#39;s. Given their economic clout, the Chinese are in a good position to outmanoeuvre Trump. 
&nbsp; 
Third, while the Trump administration has made the right noises on Pakistan, New Delhi should not expect Washington to dump Islamabad or Rawalpindi. Old hands in the state department will not let go so easily, and even on Afghanistan, Washington&rsquo;s policy will not echo India&rsquo;s though the synergies may increase. PM Modi&rsquo;s mention of India&rsquo;s recent decision to send a consignment of wheat to Afghanistan via Chabahar (Iran) sent an important message that just as Washington has its own priorities, so does New Delhi. 
&nbsp; 
What are India&rsquo;s options

While the scepticism with regard to being part of a US-led alliance is over the top, the Quad in itself is not an answer to India&rsquo;s strategic challenges &ndash; especially with the rise of China. India&rsquo;s most reliable partner is Japan and Australia, which of&nbsp;late has witnessed significant strains in the relationship, and should be given high top priority. 
&nbsp; 
Second, New Delhi should continue to explore synergies with China, but New Delhi should draw some red lines. China&rsquo;s approach of turning a blind eye towards the activities of Pakistani terror groups targeting India, especially its recent decision to block the UN ban on Azhar Masood should not go unnoticed. New Delhi should look at reducing economic dependence upon Chinese goods, and look at other alternatives. This can not happen overnight but should be an incremental process.

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<h5>While New Delhi needs to get out of embedded biases&nbsp;and suspicion of the US, it also needs to realise, that it will have to fight its own battles.</h5>
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Third, India has understood the importance of personalised diplomacy with Trump, and the importance he gives to business in bilateral relationships. This is useful, though not enough given the US President&#39;s flip-flops. Apart from this, a lot also depends upon the US President&#39;s domestic political capital. A vulnerable Trump could be even more isolationist and this does not help India&#39;s cause in any way. 
&nbsp; 
In conclusion, while New Delhi needs to get out of embedded biases&nbsp;and suspicion of the US, it also needs to realise, that it will have to fight its own battles. China&rsquo;s increasing leverage clearly shows that robust economic growth enhances diplomatic clout. Western democracies which pontificate about Human Rights and Democracy, have had to meekly surrender vis-&agrave;-vis Beijing on more than one occasion.

India needs to develop business bilateral ties in order to fight its own battle.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Trump had a meeting on November 13, 2017, on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asia Summit held in Manila. This was days after India attended a meeting with Japanese, Australians and the US (this grouping has been dubbed as the Quad). Off late, the US has also spoken about a greater role for India in the Indo-Pacific, first Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did so, and during his visit to Asia, the US President Trump has referred to the Asia-Pacific as the Indo-Pacific much to the chagrin of the Chinese. The Indian prime minister’s emphasis on the need for New Delhi-Washington ties moving beyond the bilateral context was a clear reference to a greater role for India in the Indo-Pacific and greater cooperation between New Delhi and Washington DC. The US President while highlighting India’s democratic credentials and diversity, laid special emphasis on the stellar economic progress made by India. × Indian Prime Minister said, "The cooperation between India and US can rise beyond bilateral cooperation and both countries can work for the future of Asia and the world. We are moving ahead together on many issues," Modi told Trump in his opening remarks’ Modi also expressed gratitude to Trump for expressing optimism with regard to the India growth story and stated that India would live up to US expectations. Trump had lavished praise on India while addressing a gathering of CEO's on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Vietnam. The US President while highlighting India’s democratic credentials and diversity, laid special emphasis on the stellar economic progress made by India. Said Trump: “Since India opened its economy, it has achieved astounding growth and a new world of opportunities for its expanding middle class’. While there is a clear synergy, a few questions need to be kept in mind. The US President is transactional and unpredictable. While New Delhi should be happy with the current administration’s repeated calls for granting a larger role to India in the Indo-Pacific, New Delhi should not forget that Trump himself has given mixed signals with regard to the US role in the Indo-Pacific. Initially, the US President had backed a more isolationist role for the US, confusing its allies like Japan and South Korea. Only on the issue of North Korea, Trump has taken an unequivocally harsh stance. Secondly, while Trump may at times make belligerent statements against China. Beijing has read him very well and understood that business deals work as a sweetener for the US President. This was clearly evident from Trump’s recent China visit where the Chinese apart from laying out a red carpet, also signed business deals to the tune of 250 billion USD (the sceptics believe that many of these are MOU's). While the Trump administration has made the right noises on Pakistan, New Delhi should not expect Washington to dump Islamabad or Rawalpindi. × Post the meeting between Trump and Xi, the US President’s tone totally changed. While Washington having good ties with Beijing is not bad news for India, Trump's flip-flops certainly send a clear message that New Delhi should not solely depend upon Trump for its Indo-Pacific strategy, and neither should it's China policy be an extension of Washington's. Given their economic clout, the Chinese are in a good position to outmanoeuvre Trump. Third, while the Trump administration has made the right noises on Pakistan, New Delhi should not expect Washington to dump Islamabad or Rawalpindi. Old hands in the state department will not let go so easily, and even on Afghanistan, Washington’s policy will not echo India’s though the synergies may increase. PM Modi’s mention of India’s recent decision to send a consignment of wheat to Afghanistan via Chabahar (Iran) sent an important message that just as Washington has its own priorities, so does New Delhi. What are India’s options While the scepticism with regard to being part of a US-led alliance is over the top, the Quad in itself is not an answer to India’s strategic challenges – especially with the rise of China. India’s most reliable partner is Japan and Australia, which of late has witnessed significant strains in the relationship, and should be given high top priority. Second, New Delhi should continue to explore synergies with China, but New Delhi should draw some red lines. China’s approach of turning a blind eye towards the activities of Pakistani terror groups targeting India, especially its recent decision to block the UN ban on Azhar Masood should not go unnoticed. New Delhi should look at reducing economic dependence upon Chinese goods, and look at other alternatives. This can not happen overnight but should be an incremental process. While New Delhi needs to get out of embedded biases and suspicion of the US, it also needs to realise, that it will have to fight its own battles. × Third, India has understood the importance of personalised diplomacy with Trump, and the importance he gives to business in bilateral relationships. This is useful, though not enough given the US President's flip-flops. Apart from this, a lot also depends upon the US President's domestic political capital. A vulnerable Trump could be even more isolationist and this does not help India's cause in any way. In conclusion, while New Delhi needs to get out of embedded biases and suspicion of the US, it also needs to realise, that it will have to fight its own battles. China’s increasing leverage clearly shows that robust economic growth enhances diplomatic clout. Western democracies which pontificate about Human Rights and Democracy, have had to meekly surrender vis-à-vis Beijing on more than one occasion.

Trump unreliable; India needs robust economy to counter China

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/modi-holds-bilateral-talks-with-trump-in-manila-24102">US&nbsp;President Donald Trump</a> left the<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/opinion-did-trumps-charm-offensive-work-in-the-philippines-24160"> Philippines</a> on Tuesday without attending an annual East Asia Summit, due to delays in the schedule of the programme of meetings.

Trump told reporters on <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/afghan-air-force-to-get-58-black-hawk-helicopters-from-us-24044">Air Force One</a> that he delivered his prepared remarks during a lunch with the leaders instead.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would attend Tuesday&#39;s summit in his place, a senior <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-to-face-house-judiciary-panel-on-november-14-24132">White House</a> official said, adding the event was running too late.

The meetings in <a href="http://www.wionews.com/videos/india-asean-summit-world-leaders-arrive-at-manila-6657">Manila</a> were approximately 90 minutes behind schedule.

U.S. President Donald Trump left the Philippines on Tuesday without attending an annual East Asia Summit, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would attend Tuesday's summit in his place

US President Donald Trump left the Philippines on Tuesday without attending an annual East Asia Summit, due to delays in the schedule of the programme of meetings. Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he delivered his prepared remarks during a lunch with the leaders instead. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would attend Tuesday's summit in his place, a senior White House official said, adding the event was running too late. The meetings in Manila were approximately 90 minutes behind schedule.

Trump skips East Asia leaders summit, sends Tillerson

Close to 44,000 entrepreneurs will be seeking a spot in the 400 slots for participating in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) to be held this month, media reports said.&nbsp;

The summit will be addressed by Ivanka Trump, Donald Trumps daughter and advisor, in addition to some of the top CEO&#39;s and academics from around the world, according to reports.&nbsp;

The GES summit, organized by India in association with the US, will be launched and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 28 in its eighth edition.

Maximum importance will be given to four industries - healthcare and life sciences, digital economy and financial technology, energy and infrastructure, and media and entertainment, and with further address variety of topics including &#39;From Hollywood to Nollywood (Nigeria) to Bollywood&#39;, reports TOI.&nbsp;

Reports say that Ivanka Trump will head an exclusive US delegation which will throw light on the theme &#39;Women First, Prosperity for All&#39;, centering around providing support to women entrepreneurs and stimulate economic growth.&nbsp;

The summit will include speakers from 40 countries with participants from around 100 countries, and hold several workshops, talks, panel discussions, speeches and provide a great dais for networking.&nbsp;

Top leaders like as Amazon, as well as PayTM&#39;s Vijay Shekhar Sharma, OYO Rooms&#39; Ritesh Aggarwal and corporate leaders in innovation like Bosch, Siemens, Mercedes, and influencers such as Chatri Sityodtong, founder of One FC, and Michelin - star chef Vikas Khanna, will give talks at the summit, media reports say.

The summit will be addressed by Ivanka Trump, Donald Trumps daughter and advisor in addition to some of the top CEO's and academics from around the world.?

Close to 44,000 entrepreneurs will be seeking a spot in the 400 slots for participating in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) to be held this month, media reports said. The summit will be addressed by Ivanka Trump, Donald Trumps daughter and advisor, in addition to some of the top CEO's and academics from around the world, according to reports. The GES summit, organized by India in association with the US, will be launched and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 28 in its eighth edition. Maximum importance will be given to four industries - healthcare and life sciences, digital economy and financial technology, energy and infrastructure, and media and entertainment, and with further address variety of topics including 'From Hollywood to Nollywood (Nigeria) to Bollywood', reports TOI. Reports say that Ivanka Trump will head an exclusive US delegation which will throw light on the theme 'Women First, Prosperity for All', centering around providing support to women entrepreneurs and stimulate economic growth. The summit will include speakers from 40 countries with participants from around 100 countries, and hold several workshops, talks, panel discussions, speeches and provide a great dais for networking. Top leaders like as Amazon, as well as PayTM's Vijay Shekhar Sharma, OYO Rooms' Ritesh Aggarwal and corporate leaders in innovation like Bosch, Siemens, Mercedes, and influencers such as Chatri Sityodtong, founder of One FC, and Michelin - star chef Vikas Khanna, will give talks at the summit, media reports say.

44,000 entrepreneurs seek 400 slots in Global Entrepreneurship Summit

President Donald J. Trump is wrapping up a whirlwind tour of Asia, visiting five countries in 12 days. The trip revealed much about Trump&rsquo;s style of diplomacy &ndash; one that focuses more on his personal relationships with world leaders than diplomatic relations between countries.

Both democratic and authoritarian leaders have been wooed by Trump&rsquo;s charm offensive. He has highlighted his warm feelings toward China&rsquo;s President Xi Jinping and tweeted that he tries &ldquo;so hard to be [North Korean leader Kim Jong Un&rsquo;s] friend.&rdquo;

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Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me &quot;old,&quot; when I would NEVER call him &quot;short and fat?&quot; Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/929511061954297857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Trump&rsquo;s relationship with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, one of the first leaders welcomed to Trump Tower after the election, is &ldquo;extraordinary,&rdquo; according to the president.

This style of diplomacy certainly has its limitations, but could it actually improve the United States&rsquo; relationship with the Philippines &ndash; a key Southeast Asian ally?

Why we need our allies in Asia

On the campaign trail and in office, Trump has often criticised many of America&rsquo;s allies for taking advantage of Washington&rsquo;s generosity and not contributing more to their own national security. However, my research with Queen&rsquo;s University political scientist Stefanie von Hlatky demonstrates that even when allies fail to share as much of the military burden as the United States would hope, they still make meaningful contributions to our military efforts overseas.

Our alliance relationships in Asia are based on a series of mutual defense treaties negotiated in the aftermath of World War II. The U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense treaty signed in 1951 focuses on the countries&rsquo; shared history of resistance against Japan&rsquo;s &ldquo;imperialist aggression&rdquo; in the Pacific. It commits the two nations to mutual aid in defending against an external armed attack as part of a comprehensive system of regional security. Given the possibility of a future confrontation with China over the South China Sea, alliances with countries like the Philippines matter. After all, the Philippines provides access to regional bases and other logistical support.

New leaders, unexpected directions

Since the election of the populist Duterte in May 2016, the U.S.- Philippines alliance has been on rocky ground.

The Obama-Duterte relationship was full of tension stemming from the Obama administration&rsquo;s criticism of Duterte&rsquo;s violent war on drugs, which some claim has now led to approximately 13,000 deaths. Duterte showed no hesitation in calling out the United States for treating the Philippines like a colony, insulting Obama and musing that he might shift his foreign policy toward China and Russia and &ldquo;break up with America.&rdquo;

Trump&rsquo;s election and his overtures to Duterte have helped get the strained relationship back on the right track. The two men bonded over their countries&rsquo; mutual struggle with drugs. They claimed a shared understanding of the importance of protecting one&rsquo;s country. In fact, the administration signaled that Trump&rsquo;s heavily criticised invitation to Duterte to visit the White House was a sign of the &ldquo;very positive direction&rdquo; of the U.S.-Philippines relationship under his leadership.

It is, therefore, no surprise that the two leaders met privately during Trump&rsquo;s Asia visit. Topics on the table included terrorism &ndash; especially the Philippine military&rsquo;s recent success against militants linked to Islamic State in the southern region of Mindanao &ndash; trade and their respective anti-drug campaigns.

Can Trump revive the relationship?

The extent to which the topic of human rights came up in their conversation is unclear. Trump has already been criticised for failing to press harder on this issue. However, it is possible that Trump rightly understands that pushing Duterte on human rights would continue to move Duterte away from the West and toward China.

Trump&rsquo;s comments in China mingled criticism of China&rsquo;s trade practices with praise of President Xi. However, in the Philippines, Trump chose to forgo this more nuanced approach, leaving diplomatic opportunities on the table. In praising Duterte&rsquo;s handling of an Islamist insurgency, Trump could have pushed for an end to martial law in Mindanao. In highlighting how the United States helped in the battle against Islamist militants, Trump could have laid out how much more we can do to improve security and help to rebuild the city of Marawi, which was devastated by the Philippines&rsquo; bombing campaign.

Trump&rsquo;s style of diplomacy and his foreign policy agenda are a radical departure from his predecessor&rsquo;s. In the Philippines, this shift is largely welcome. Sixty-nine percent of Filipinos surveyed by Pew Research Center in late September of this year had confidence that Trump would do the right thing in world affairs.

On his first official visit to the country, Trump praised his treatment in the Philippines as &ldquo;red carpet like nobody, I think, has probably ever received.&rdquo; In turn, he was officially declared &ldquo;a friend of the Duterte administration.&rdquo;

Ultimately, a positive change in the direction of U.S.- Philippines relations may come down to whether Trump and Duterte&rsquo;s mutual admiration is enough to shift the Philippines&rsquo; foreign policy back toward the United States. Doing so will likely require avoiding discussion of human rights, leaving Filipinos to bear the costs.

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" rel="nofollow" target="blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/did-trumps-charm-offensive-work-in-the-philippines-87235" rel="nofollow" target="blank">original article</a>.

The Obama-Duterte relationship was full of tension but Trump?s election and his overtures to Duterte have helped to get the strained relationship back on the right track

President Donald J. Trump is wrapping up a whirlwind tour of Asia, visiting five countries in 12 days. The trip revealed much about Trump’s style of diplomacy – one that focuses more on his personal relationships with world leaders than diplomatic relations between countries. Both democratic and authoritarian leaders have been wooed by Trump’s charm offensive. He has highlighted his warm feelings toward China’s President Xi Jinping and tweeted that he tries “so hard to be [North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s] friend.” Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2017 × Trump’s relationship with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, one of the first leaders welcomed to Trump Tower after the election, is “extraordinary,” according to the president. This style of diplomacy certainly has its limitations, but could it actually improve the United States’ relationship with the Philippines – a key Southeast Asian ally? Why we need our allies in Asia On the campaign trail and in office, Trump has often criticised many of America’s allies for taking advantage of Washington’s generosity and not contributing more to their own national security. However, my research with Queen’s University political scientist Stefanie von Hlatky demonstrates that even when allies fail to share as much of the military burden as the United States would hope, they still make meaningful contributions to our military efforts overseas. Our alliance relationships in Asia are based on a series of mutual defense treaties negotiated in the aftermath of World War II. The U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense treaty signed in 1951 focuses on the countries’ shared history of resistance against Japan’s “imperialist aggression” in the Pacific. It commits the two nations to mutual aid in defending against an external armed attack as part of a comprehensive system of regional security. Given the possibility of a future confrontation with China over the South China Sea, alliances with countries like the Philippines matter. After all, the Philippines provides access to regional bases and other logistical support. New leaders, unexpected directions Since the election of the populist Duterte in May 2016, the U.S.- Philippines alliance has been on rocky ground. The Obama-Duterte relationship was full of tension stemming from the Obama administration’s criticism of Duterte’s violent war on drugs, which some claim has now led to approximately 13,000 deaths. Duterte showed no hesitation in calling out the United States for treating the Philippines like a colony, insulting Obama and musing that he might shift his foreign policy toward China and Russia and “break up with America.” Trump’s election and his overtures to Duterte have helped get the strained relationship back on the right track. The two men bonded over their countries’ mutual struggle with drugs. They claimed a shared understanding of the importance of protecting one’s country. In fact, the administration signaled that Trump’s heavily criticised invitation to Duterte to visit the White House was a sign of the “very positive direction” of the U.S.-Philippines relationship under his leadership. It is, therefore, no surprise that the two leaders met privately during Trump’s Asia visit. Topics on the table included terrorism – especially the Philippine military’s recent success against militants linked to Islamic State in the southern region of Mindanao – trade and their respective anti-drug campaigns. Can Trump revive the relationship? The extent to which the topic of human rights came up in their conversation is unclear. Trump has already been criticised for failing to press harder on this issue. However, it is possible that Trump rightly understands that pushing Duterte on human rights would continue to move Duterte away from the West and toward China. Trump’s comments in China mingled criticism of China’s trade practices with praise of President Xi. However, in the Philippines, Trump chose to forgo this more nuanced approach, leaving diplomatic opportunities on the table. In praising Duterte’s handling of an Islamist insurgency, Trump could have pushed for an end to martial law in Mindanao. In highlighting how the United States helped in the battle against Islamist militants, Trump could have laid out how much more we can do to improve security and help to rebuild the city of Marawi, which was devastated by the Philippines’ bombing campaign. Trump’s style of diplomacy and his foreign policy agenda are a radical departure from his predecessor’s. In the Philippines, this shift is largely welcome. Sixty-nine percent of Filipinos surveyed by Pew Research Center in late September of this year had confidence that Trump would do the right thing in world affairs. On his first official visit to the country, Trump praised his treatment in the Philippines as “red carpet like nobody, I think, has probably ever received.” In turn, he was officially declared “a friend of the Duterte administration.” Ultimately, a positive change in the direction of U.S.- Philippines relations may come down to whether Trump and Duterte’s mutual admiration is enough to shift the Philippines’ foreign policy back toward the United States. Doing so will likely require avoiding discussion of human rights, leaving Filipinos to bear the costs. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Did Trump's charm work in Duterte's Philippines?

Donald Trump Jr. on Monday shared screenshots of conversations he had with WikiLeaks during the 2016 US election campaign.&nbsp;

WikiLeaks, founded by Julian Assange has over the years released several thousand &quot;classified&quot; US government files revealing secret&nbsp;information.&nbsp;

Trump Jr. shared the messages via his Twitter hours after The Atlantic published a story disclosing the correspondence.

He shared the trail of messages&nbsp;with WikiLeaks&nbsp;that &quot;one of the congressional committees&quot; chose to &quot;selectively leak&quot;&nbsp;between him&nbsp;and WikiLeaks, Trump Jr. wrote.

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Here is the entire chain of messages with <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wikileaks</a> (with my whopping 3 responses) which one of the congressional committees has chosen to selectively leak. How ironic! 1/3 <a href="https://t.co/SiwTqWtykA">pic.twitter.com/SiwTqWtykA</a>
&mdash; Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/930228239494209536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
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2/3 <a href="https://t.co/b1B9PBGl5t">pic.twitter.com/b1B9PBGl5t</a>
&mdash; Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/930228342774816769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
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3/3 <a href="https://t.co/5FdeNrbg02">pic.twitter.com/5FdeNrbg02</a>
&mdash; Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/930228511343865858?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
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WikiLeaks is shown informing Trump Jr of a new anti-Trump website, urging his father to tweet about WikiLeaks&#39;s Clinton files and advising that, if he loses the election, Trump should challenge the result.

The group also asks Trump Jr to provide his father&#39;s tax returns because &quot;it will dramatically improve the perception of our impartiality&quot; while boosting the impact of its Clinton materials.

&quot;WikiLeaks made a sequence of increasingly daring requests, asking for Trump&rsquo;s tax returns, suggesting the Trump campaign on Election Day to reject the results of the election as rigged, and seeking that the president-elect tells Australia to appoint Julian Assange ambassador to the United States,&quot; The Atlantic reported.&nbsp;

&quot;Off the record, I don&rsquo;t know who that is, but I&rsquo;ll ask around,&quot; Trump Jr. responded on September 21, 2016, reported The Atlantic.&nbsp;

Trump Jr only replied to three early messages, thanking WikiLeaks for the information on the new website, making a slighting comment about Clinton, and, on October 3 last year, just before WikiLeaks published a trove of files on Clinton, asking &quot;What&#39;s behind this Wednesday leak I keep reading about?&quot;

On October 3, 2016, WikiLeaks wrote to Trump Jr. asking them to promote a story about Hillary Clinton saying, &quot;Can&#39;t we just drone (Julian Assange)?&quot;&nbsp;

&quot;Already did that earlier today,&quot; Trump Jr. responded. &quot;It&rsquo;s amazing what she can get away with.&quot;

In April, WikiLeaks suggested Trump Jr. hand over emails in regards to a meeting he had with a Russian lawyer that had become an important aspect of the federal investigation into a probable conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Trump Jr. did not reply to the message, but moments later gave information about the emails himself through his Twitter account.

In his own tweets, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claimed that these messages were done as a promotional activity.&nbsp;

&quot;WikiLeaks can be very effective at convincing even high-profile people that it is their interest to promote links to its publications,&quot; he said.

(with input from agencies) 
&nbsp;

Trump Jr. shared the messages via his Twitter feed hours after The Atlantic published a story disclosing the actuality of the correspondence.

Donald Trump Jr. on Monday shared screenshots of conversations he had with WikiLeaks during the 2016 US election campaign. WikiLeaks, founded by Julian Assange has over the years released several thousand "classified" US government files revealing secret information. Trump Jr. shared the messages via his Twitter hours after The Atlantic published a story disclosing the correspondence. He shared the trail of messages with WikiLeaks that "one of the congressional committees" chose to "selectively leak" between him and WikiLeaks, Trump Jr. wrote. Here is the entire chain of messages with @wikileaks (with my whopping 3 responses) which one of the congressional committees has chosen to selectively leak. How ironic! 1/3 pic.twitter.com/SiwTqWtykA — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 14, 2017 × 2/3 pic.twitter.com/b1B9PBGl5t — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 14, 2017 × 3/3 pic.twitter.com/5FdeNrbg02 — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 14, 2017 × WikiLeaks is shown informing Trump Jr of a new anti-Trump website, urging his father to tweet about WikiLeaks's Clinton files and advising that, if he loses the election, Trump should challenge the result. The group also asks Trump Jr to provide his father's tax returns because "it will dramatically improve the perception of our impartiality" while boosting the impact of its Clinton materials. "WikiLeaks made a sequence of increasingly daring requests, asking for Trump’s tax returns, suggesting the Trump campaign on Election Day to reject the results of the election as rigged, and seeking that the president-elect tells Australia to appoint Julian Assange ambassador to the United States," The Atlantic reported. "Off the record, I don’t know who that is, but I’ll ask around," Trump Jr. responded on September 21, 2016, reported The Atlantic. Trump Jr only replied to three early messages, thanking WikiLeaks for the information on the new website, making a slighting comment about Clinton, and, on October 3 last year, just before WikiLeaks published a trove of files on Clinton, asking "What's behind this Wednesday leak I keep reading about?" On October 3, 2016, WikiLeaks wrote to Trump Jr. asking them to promote a story about Hillary Clinton saying, "Can't we just drone (Julian Assange)?" "Already did that earlier today," Trump Jr. responded. "It’s amazing what she can get away with." In April, WikiLeaks suggested Trump Jr. hand over emails in regards to a meeting he had with a Russian lawyer that had become an important aspect of the federal investigation into a probable conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. Trump Jr. did not reply to the message, but moments later gave information about the emails himself through his Twitter account. In his own tweets, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claimed that these messages were done as a promotional activity. "WikiLeaks can be very effective at convincing even high-profile people that it is their interest to promote links to its publications," he said. (with input from agencies)

Trump Jr. reveals messages with WikiLeaks during US election campaign

Donald Trump declared on Monday that he had a &quot;great relationship&quot; with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, a self-proclaimed killer who is waging a drugs war that rights groups say involves mass murder, as the leaders joked with each other in Manila.

The US president is in the Philippines with leaders of 18 other nations for two days of summits, the final leg of a headline-grabbing Asian tour dominated by the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Allegations of Russian meddling in last year&#39;s US presidential elections have dogged the second half of his 12-day trip, which has taken him from Japan to South Korea, China and Vietnam.

Rights groups had called on Trump to end his Asian journey with a strong statement against Duterte&#39;s drugs war, which has seen police and suspected vigilantes kill thousands of people.

But in a series of encounters on Sunday and Monday, Trump and Duterte appeared to enjoy each others&#39; company, leading to warm praise from the US president during official talks at lunchtime.

&quot;We&#39;ve had a great relationship. This has been very successful,&quot; Trump told Duterte in brief opening remarks at their meeting.

Trump praised Duterte for his organisation of the summits, saying he handled them &quot;beautifully&quot;. &quot;I&#39;ve really enjoyed being here,&quot; he said.

As the reporters were being escorted out of the room, one asked if Trump would raise the issue of human rights, to which Duterte jokingly called the media &quot;spies&quot;. Both laughed but neither answered.

Duterte&#39;s spokesman later said repeatedly that Trump did not bring up any human rights concerns in the meeting, which lasted about 40 minutes.

He said the US leader nodded as he listened to Duterte speaking about his drugs war.

However, Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said human rights were raised, although &quot;briefly&quot;.

Duterte won elections last year after promising to eradicate illegal drugs with an unprecedented campaign that would see up to 100,000 people killed.

Since he took office, police have reported killing 3,967 people in the crackdown.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Another 2,290 people have been murdered in drug-related crimes, while thousands of other deaths remain unsolved, according to government data.

&nbsp;&#39;I already killed someone&#39;&nbsp;

Many Filipinos back Duterte, believing he is taking necessary measures to fight crime, but rights groups warn he may be orchestrating a crime against humanity.

Amnesty International accuses police of shooting dead defenceless people and paying assassins to murder addicts.

When pressured over allegations of extra-judicial killings carried out by police, Duterte insists he has never told them to break the law.

But rights groups say police are following Duterte&#39;s incitements to kill, including comments made last year when he said he would be &quot;happy to slaughter&quot; three million addicts.

He has also repeatedly boasted about killing people himself, most recently last week while in Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific economic summit.

&quot;At the age of 16, I already killed someone. A real person, a rumble, a stabbing. I was just 16 years old. It was just over a look,&quot; Duterte said.

Former US president Barack Obama was one of many prominent critics of Duterte&#39;s handling of the drugs war. The Philippine leader responded last year by calling him a &quot;son of a whore&quot;.

Ties between the Philippines and the United States, longtime allies bound by a mutual defence treaty, deteriorated sharply as Duterte turned towards China and Russia.

Duterte last year declared the Philippines&#39; &quot;separation&quot; from the United States.

But Trump told Duterte in a telephone call in April that he was doing a &quot;great job&quot;, which helped to begin a diplomatic thaw.

&quot;We are your ally. We are an important ally,&quot; Duterte said on Monday, appearing to confirm relations were back on track, although he has also continued to court China and Russia.

Some Filipinos were not happy though, with hundreds of people staging an anti-Trump rally near the conference venue which led riot police to use water cannon.

Champagne, love song&nbsp;

Duterte and Trump sat next to each other at a pre-summit banquet on Sunday, during which they smiled, chatted and clinked champagne glasses.

Duterte, 72, also sang a Filipino love song, saying light-heartedly that he did so on the orders of the US president.

Duterte is hosting the world leaders because the Philippines holds the rotating chair of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc.

The events on Monday and Tuesday in Manila are two separate ASEAN-hosted summits, which also include China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, India, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The rising threat of the Islamic State group across Southeast Asia, and further efforts to pressure North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to abandon his nuclear ambitions were top agenda items in Manila.

&quot;Terrorism and violent extremism endanger the peace, stability, and security of our region because these threats know no boundaries,&quot; Duterte said in an opening ceremony speech on Monday.

The rising threat of the Islamic State group across Southeast Asia, and further efforts to pressure North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to abandon his nuclear ambitions were top agenda items in Manila

Donald Trump declared on Monday that he had a "great relationship" with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, a self-proclaimed killer who is waging a drugs war that rights groups say involves mass murder, as the leaders joked with each other in Manila. The US president is in the Philippines with leaders of 18 other nations for two days of summits, the final leg of a headline-grabbing Asian tour dominated by the North Korean nuclear crisis. Allegations of Russian meddling in last year's US presidential elections have dogged the second half of his 12-day trip, which has taken him from Japan to South Korea, China and Vietnam. Rights groups had called on Trump to end his Asian journey with a strong statement against Duterte's drugs war, which has seen police and suspected vigilantes kill thousands of people. But in a series of encounters on Sunday and Monday, Trump and Duterte appeared to enjoy each others' company, leading to warm praise from the US president during official talks at lunchtime. "We've had a great relationship. This has been very successful," Trump told Duterte in brief opening remarks at their meeting. Trump praised Duterte for his organisation of the summits, saying he handled them "beautifully". "I've really enjoyed being here," he said. As the reporters were being escorted out of the room, one asked if Trump would raise the issue of human rights, to which Duterte jokingly called the media "spies". Both laughed but neither answered. Duterte's spokesman later said repeatedly that Trump did not bring up any human rights concerns in the meeting, which lasted about 40 minutes. He said the US leader nodded as he listened to Duterte speaking about his drugs war. However, Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said human rights were raised, although "briefly". Duterte won elections last year after promising to eradicate illegal drugs with an unprecedented campaign that would see up to 100,000 people killed. Since he took office, police have reported killing 3,967 people in the crackdown. Another 2,290 people have been murdered in drug-related crimes, while thousands of other deaths remain unsolved, according to government data. 'I already killed someone' Many Filipinos back Duterte, believing he is taking necessary measures to fight crime, but rights groups warn he may be orchestrating a crime against humanity. Amnesty International accuses police of shooting dead defenceless people and paying assassins to murder addicts. When pressured over allegations of extra-judicial killings carried out by police, Duterte insists he has never told them to break the law. But rights groups say police are following Duterte's incitements to kill, including comments made last year when he said he would be "happy to slaughter" three million addicts. He has also repeatedly boasted about killing people himself, most recently last week while in Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific economic summit. "At the age of 16, I already killed someone. A real person, a rumble, a stabbing. I was just 16 years old. It was just over a look," Duterte said. Former US president Barack Obama was one of many prominent critics of Duterte's handling of the drugs war. The Philippine leader responded last year by calling him a "son of a whore". Ties between the Philippines and the United States, longtime allies bound by a mutual defence treaty, deteriorated sharply as Duterte turned towards China and Russia. Duterte last year declared the Philippines' "separation" from the United States. But Trump told Duterte in a telephone call in April that he was doing a "great job", which helped to begin a diplomatic thaw. "We are your ally. We are an important ally," Duterte said on Monday, appearing to confirm relations were back on track, although he has also continued to court China and Russia. Some Filipinos were not happy though, with hundreds of people staging an anti-Trump rally near the conference venue which led riot police to use water cannon. Champagne, love song Duterte and Trump sat next to each other at a pre-summit banquet on Sunday, during which they smiled, chatted and clinked champagne glasses. Duterte, 72, also sang a Filipino love song, saying light-heartedly that he did so on the orders of the US president. Duterte is hosting the world leaders because the Philippines holds the rotating chair of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc. The events on Monday and Tuesday in Manila are two separate ASEAN-hosted summits, which also include China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, India, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The rising threat of the Islamic State group across Southeast Asia, and further efforts to pressure North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to abandon his nuclear ambitions were top agenda items in Manila. "Terrorism and violent extremism endanger the peace, stability, and security of our region because these threats know no boundaries," Duterte said in an opening ceremony speech on Monday.

Trump hails 'great relationship' with self-proclaimed killer Duterte

The relationship between India and the US goes beyond mutual interest and can be beneficial for Asia and the humanity at large, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today told President Donald Trump who described him as a &quot;friend&quot; who is &quot;doing a great job&quot;.

Modi&#39;s comments came ahead of his bilateral talks with Trump on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit here during which the two leaders discussed a range of key issues including defence and security.

&quot;The relations between India and the US are growing... and I also feel that the relationship between India and the US is not only of mutual interest. It goes beyond that. We are working together for the interest, for the future of Asia and for the humanity as a whole in the world,&quot; Modi said.

&nbsp;

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WATCH</a>: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets US President Donald Trump in Manila, holds bilateral talks <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Philippines?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Philippines</a> <a href="https://t.co/aW6dlkgfwe">pic.twitter.com/aW6dlkgfwe</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/929996864681754625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Modi also thanked Trump for praising India whenever he got an opportunity to speak about the country during his Asia tour.

&quot;...In the few days wherever president Trump has travelled and whenever the opportunity arose to talk about India, he has expressed very high opinion about India,&quot; Modi said.

&quot;I would like to assure you whatever the expectations are of the world, of the US from India, India has always made efforts to fulfil those expectations and we will continue to do so in the future too,&quot; Modi said.

Trump on his part described Modi as a friend and a great gentleman.

&quot;PM Narendra Modi is here we had met at the White House before. He has become a friend of ours. He&#39;s doing a great job. A lot of things were solved and we will continue to work together,&quot; Trump said.

&nbsp;

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He said Modi was doing a &quot;fantastic job by bringing lots of factions in India together that is what I hear and is a good news and lot of good reports are coming out of India.&quot;

The two leaders are understood to have discussed the security scenario in the region besides several other issues of mutual interests, including ways to further boost bilateral trade.

The move to set up the quadrilateral alliance comes in the backdrop of growing Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea. The US has been favouring a larger role for India in the strategically&nbsp;important Indo-Pacific region.

The use of the term &quot;Indo-Pacific&quot; by President Trump has led to speculation that it may have something to do with Washington preparing the ground for a revival of the so called quadrilateral strategic alliance between the US, Japan, Australia and India to counter China&#39;s rise.

Trump on Saturday praised India&#39;s &quot;astounding&quot; growth after it opened up its economy and also lauded Modi, saying he has been working successfully to bring the vast country and its people together. 
Speaking at a gathering of CEOs on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Vietnamese city of Danang, President Trump had cited India as one of the countries in the Indo-Pacific region making strides.

He praised India as a sovereign democracy with a population of over 1 billion as well as the largest democracy in the world.

&nbsp;

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Manila

The relationship between India and the US goes beyond mutual interest and can be beneficial for Asia and the humanity at large, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today told President Donald Trump who described him as a "friend" who is "doing a great job". Modi's comments came ahead of his bilateral talks with Trump on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit here during which the two leaders discussed a range of key issues including defence and security. "The relations between India and the US are growing... and I also feel that the relationship between India and the US is not only of mutual interest. It goes beyond that. We are working together for the interest, for the future of Asia and for the humanity as a whole in the world," Modi said. #WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets US President Donald Trump in Manila, holds bilateral talks #Philippines pic.twitter.com/aW6dlkgfwe — ANI (@ANI) November 13, 2017 × Modi also thanked Trump for praising India whenever he got an opportunity to speak about the country during his Asia tour. "...In the few days wherever president Trump has travelled and whenever the opportunity arose to talk about India, he has expressed very high opinion about India," Modi said. "I would like to assure you whatever the expectations are of the world, of the US from India, India has always made efforts to fulfil those expectations and we will continue to do so in the future too," Modi said. Trump on his part described Modi as a friend and a great gentleman. "PM Narendra Modi is here we had met at the White House before. He has become a friend of ours. He's doing a great job. A lot of things were solved and we will continue to work together," Trump said. More visuals of bilateral talks between PM Modi and US President Donald Trump, in Manila #Philippines pic.twitter.com/7S0nF4oGoK — ANI (@ANI) November 13, 2017 × He said Modi was doing a "fantastic job by bringing lots of factions in India together that is what I hear and is a good news and lot of good reports are coming out of India." The two leaders are understood to have discussed the security scenario in the region besides several other issues of mutual interests, including ways to further boost bilateral trade. The move to set up the quadrilateral alliance comes in the backdrop of growing Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea. The US has been favouring a larger role for India in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region. The use of the term "Indo-Pacific" by President Trump has led to speculation that it may have something to do with Washington preparing the ground for a revival of the so called quadrilateral strategic alliance between the US, Japan, Australia and India to counter China's rise. Trump on Saturday praised India's "astounding" growth after it opened up its economy and also lauded Modi, saying he has been working successfully to bring the vast country and its people together. Speaking at a gathering of CEOs on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Vietnamese city of Danang, President Trump had cited India as one of the countries in the Indo-Pacific region making strides. He praised India as a sovereign democracy with a population of over 1 billion as well as the largest democracy in the world.

WATCH: India-US relationship goes beyond mutual interest, says Modi in meeting with Trump

US President Donald Trump raised North Korea&#39;s missile tests during talks on Monday with the prime ministers of Japan and Australia.

He&nbsp;said, &quot;a lot&quot; of progress had been made in negotiations on trade.

On the sidelines of a <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/asean-summit-begins-in-manila-amid-tensions-in-north-korea-south-china-sea-issue-24062" target="_blank">summit of East and Southeast Asian leaders in Manila</a>, Trump met Japan&#39;s Shinzo Abe and Australia&#39;s Malcolm Turnbull and said discussions at the meeting would include tensions on the Korean Peninsula and trade.

In brief remarks prior to media being ushered out of the meeting, Turnbull said North Korea&#39;s &quot;recklessness&quot; needed to be stopped, while Abe said the most immediate challenge was to ensure regional peace and stability.

&nbsp;

On the sidelines of a summit of East and Southeast Asian leaders in Manila, Trump met Japan's Shinzo Abe and Australia's Malcolm Turnbull and said discussions at the meeting would include tensions on the Korean Peninsula and trade

US President Donald Trump raised North Korea's missile tests during talks on Monday with the prime ministers of Japan and Australia. He said, "a lot" of progress had been made in negotiations on trade. On the sidelines of a summit of East and Southeast Asian leaders in Manila, Trump met Japan's Shinzo Abe and Australia's Malcolm Turnbull and said discussions at the meeting would include tensions on the Korean Peninsula and trade. In brief remarks prior to media being ushered out of the meeting, Turnbull said North Korea's "recklessness" needed to be stopped, while Abe said the most immediate challenge was to ensure regional peace and stability.

ASEAN: Trump meets Japan, Australia leaders; discusses trade, North Korea threat

United States attorney general Jeff Sessions will testify before the House Judiciary Committee about issues facing the Justice Department on Nov. 14.

The Democrats will be questioning Sessions about his statements regarding contacts between President Donald Trump&#39;s 2016 election campaign and the Russian government.

The judiciary committee will have 17 democratic members.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating the Russia&#39;s role in the election. He indicated that foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos made Sessions aware of his Contacts with Russian Representatives.

&ldquo;When you appear before our Committee, we intend to ask you about these inconsistencies. We are providing you with notice in advance because we expect you to respond,&rdquo; ranking committee Democrat Rep. John Conyers and his colleagues wrote to Sessions, according to reports in Reuters.&nbsp;

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify before the House Judiciary Committee about issues facing the Justice Department on Nov. 14

United States attorney general Jeff Sessions will testify before the House Judiciary Committee about issues facing the Justice Department on Nov. 14. The Democrats will be questioning Sessions about his statements regarding contacts between President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign and the Russian government. The judiciary committee will have 17 democratic members. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating the Russia's role in the election. He indicated that foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos made Sessions aware of his Contacts with Russian Representatives. “When you appear before our Committee, we intend to ask you about these inconsistencies. We are providing you with notice in advance because we expect you to respond,” ranking committee Democrat Rep. John Conyers and his colleagues wrote to Sessions, according to reports in Reuters.

US attorney general Jeff Sessions to face House judiciary panel on November 14

World carbon emissions are set to rise 2 percent this year to a new record, scientists said on Monday, dashing hopes that global emissions had already peaked.

Carbon emissions had been roughly flat from 2014-16, but will increase this year mainly due to a rise in China after a two-year decline, the scientists said.

Their data, presented during negotiations among almost 200 nations in Germany about details of the 2015 Paris Agreement climate accord, are a setback to a global goal of curbing emissions to avert more downpours, heat waves, and rising sea levels.

&quot;The plateau of last year was not peak emissions after all,&quot; the Global Carbon Project, a group of 76 scientists in 15 countries, wrote of the findings.

Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industry, the bulk of man-made greenhouse gases, were on track to gain 2 percent in 2017 from 2016 levels to a record high of about 37 billion tonnes, it said.

&quot;Global CO2 emissions appear to be going up strongly once again ... This is very disappointing,&quot; said lead researcher Corinne Le Quere, director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia in Britain.

Glen Peters, another leader of the study at the CICERO Center for International Climate Research in Oslo, said China&#39;s emissions were set to rise 3.5 percent, driven by more coal demand amid stronger economic growth.

China, the top greenhouse gas emitter ahead of the United States, accounts for almost 30 percent of world emissions.

U.S. emissions were set to decline by 0.4 percent in 2017, a smaller fall than in recent years, also reflecting more burning of coal.

Coal&#39;s gains were linked to a rise in the price of natural gas that made coal more attractive in power plants, Peters told Reuters, rather than the effects of US&nbsp;President Donald Trump&#39;s pro-coal policies.

Trump plans to pull out of the Paris Agreement.

Worldwide &quot;we are probably in the level-to-upwards direction for emissions in the next years rather than level or downwards,&quot; Peters said, because of stronger global gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

Richard Black, director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit think-tank who was not involved in the study, said carbon emissions per unit of GDP were falling.

This year &quot;might well prove a small blip on an otherwise flattening emissions curve,&quot; he said.

Carbon emissions had been roughly flat from 2014-16, but will increase this year mainly due to a rise in China after a two-year decline, the scientists said

World carbon emissions are set to rise 2 percent this year to a new record, scientists said on Monday, dashing hopes that global emissions had already peaked. Carbon emissions had been roughly flat from 2014-16, but will increase this year mainly due to a rise in China after a two-year decline, the scientists said. Their data, presented during negotiations among almost 200 nations in Germany about details of the 2015 Paris Agreement climate accord, are a setback to a global goal of curbing emissions to avert more downpours, heat waves, and rising sea levels. "The plateau of last year was not peak emissions after all," the Global Carbon Project, a group of 76 scientists in 15 countries, wrote of the findings. Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industry, the bulk of man-made greenhouse gases, were on track to gain 2 percent in 2017 from 2016 levels to a record high of about 37 billion tonnes, it said. "Global CO2 emissions appear to be going up strongly once again ... This is very disappointing," said lead researcher Corinne Le Quere, director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia in Britain. Glen Peters, another leader of the study at the CICERO Center for International Climate Research in Oslo, said China's emissions were set to rise 3.5 percent, driven by more coal demand amid stronger economic growth. China, the top greenhouse gas emitter ahead of the United States, accounts for almost 30 percent of world emissions. U.S. emissions were set to decline by 0.4 percent in 2017, a smaller fall than in recent years, also reflecting more burning of coal. Coal's gains were linked to a rise in the price of natural gas that made coal more attractive in power plants, Peters told Reuters, rather than the effects of US President Donald Trump's pro-coal policies. Trump plans to pull out of the Paris Agreement. Worldwide "we are probably in the level-to-upwards direction for emissions in the next years rather than level or downwards," Peters said, because of stronger global gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Richard Black, director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit think-tank who was not involved in the study, said carbon emissions per unit of GDP were falling. This year "might well prove a small blip on an otherwise flattening emissions curve," he said.

World carbon emissions set to rise 2% this year, new record: Scientists

Vietnam and the United States signed a series of energy and aviation deals Sunday during a visit to Hanoi by US president Donald Trump, who railed against Washington&#39;s yawning trade deficit with the fast-growing nation.

Trump was in the communist capital at the tail-end of his swing through Asia where he has promoted his &quot;America First&quot; mantra on global trade -- prioritising &quot;fair&quot; bilateral deals over sprawling multilateral pacts.&nbsp;

Several agreements were signed during his state visit Sunday, including those covering the natural gas sector, transport and aviation.&nbsp;

National carrier Vietnam Airlines signed a deal worth $1.5 billion for engines and support services from US firm Pratt &amp; Whitney.

&quot;(The agreement) will further reinforce the important economic, trade and investment partnership between Vietnam and the United States,&quot; airline CEO Duong Tri Thanh said in a statement.&nbsp;

Low-budget Vietnamese carrier VietJet, best known for its bikini-clad flight attendants, also signed a deal for engines and maintenance services with Pratt &amp; Whitney worth $600 million.

Trump is seeking to boost exports of American goods and services as part of a campaign pledge. He won office with strong support from blue-collar US workers.

He has accused Vietnam and China, two key Asian manufacturing hubs, of stealing American jobs and blamed previous US administrations for allowing trade deficits to grow unchecked.

On Sunday Trump again complained about the United States&#39; gaping trade deficit with Vietnam, worth $32 billion in 2016.

&quot;We have to get rid of the trading imbalance, we can&#39;t have a trade imbalance,&quot; he said at the beginning of a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

&quot;We have to take care of American companies and we have to take care of American workers,&quot; he added, in comments likely to play well with his base back home.

American energy firms Alaska Gasline Development Corporation and AES Corporation also signed deals Sunday, along with US truck company Navistar, though no details were provided.&nbsp;

Vietnam has eagerly sought to drum up trade and investment with the United States since Trump came to power, especially after he withdrew from the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal from which Vietnam stood to gain enormously.&nbsp;

The US is a leading export market for Vietnam, whose booming manufacturing sector has largely driven dizzying economic growth in recent years.

US exports to Vietnam have soared in the past decade, increasing ninefold to more than $10 billion in 2016, according to the US Trade Representative. Vietnam&#39;s exports to the United States over the same period rose around fivefold.

(Also See: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-in-vietnam-offers-to-mediate-on-south-china-sea-dispute-24021">Trump in Vietnam offers to &#39;mediate&#39; in South China Sea dispute</a>)

Vietnam and the United States signed a series of energy and aviation deals Sunday during a visit to Hanoi by US president Donald Trump, who railed against Washington's yawning trade deficit with the fast-growing nation.

Vietnam and the United States signed a series of energy and aviation deals Sunday during a visit to Hanoi by US president Donald Trump, who railed against Washington's yawning trade deficit with the fast-growing nation. Trump was in the communist capital at the tail-end of his swing through Asia where he has promoted his "America First" mantra on global trade -- prioritising "fair" bilateral deals over sprawling multilateral pacts. Several agreements were signed during his state visit Sunday, including those covering the natural gas sector, transport and aviation. National carrier Vietnam Airlines signed a deal worth $1.5 billion for engines and support services from US firm Pratt & Whitney. "(The agreement) will further reinforce the important economic, trade and investment partnership between Vietnam and the United States," airline CEO Duong Tri Thanh said in a statement. Low-budget Vietnamese carrier VietJet, best known for its bikini-clad flight attendants, also signed a deal for engines and maintenance services with Pratt & Whitney worth $600 million. Trump is seeking to boost exports of American goods and services as part of a campaign pledge. He won office with strong support from blue-collar US workers. He has accused Vietnam and China, two key Asian manufacturing hubs, of stealing American jobs and blamed previous US administrations for allowing trade deficits to grow unchecked. On Sunday Trump again complained about the United States' gaping trade deficit with Vietnam, worth $32 billion in 2016. "We have to get rid of the trading imbalance, we can't have a trade imbalance," he said at the beginning of a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. "We have to take care of American companies and we have to take care of American workers," he added, in comments likely to play well with his base back home. American energy firms Alaska Gasline Development Corporation and AES Corporation also signed deals Sunday, along with US truck company Navistar, though no details were provided. Vietnam has eagerly sought to drum up trade and investment with the United States since Trump came to power, especially after he withdrew from the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal from which Vietnam stood to gain enormously. The US is a leading export market for Vietnam, whose booming manufacturing sector has largely driven dizzying economic growth in recent years. US exports to Vietnam have soared in the past decade, increasing ninefold to more than $10 billion in 2016, according to the US Trade Representative. Vietnam's exports to the United States over the same period rose around fivefold. (Also See: Trump in Vietnam offers to 'mediate' in South China Sea dispute)

Trump rails at Vietnam trade imbalance as deals signed in Hanoi

Donald Trump said Sunday he backed US intelligence agencies who concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election, but repeated his trust in the sincerity of Vladimir Putin&#39;s denials and slammed critics of his relationship with the Russian leader.

Key former Trump aides are under US investigation for possible collaboration with the Kremlin and the issue of whether Moscow interfered with last year&#39;s vote has overshadowed the tail end of the president&#39;s ongoing Asia tour.

Trump returned to the subject in an early morning Twitter storm, which also saw him take a sarcastic dig at North Korea&#39;s &quot;short and fat&quot; leader Kim Jong-Un.

Addressing a press conference in Hanoi, Trump was asked to clarify comments he had made on Air Force One the day before about Putin&#39;s insistence that Moscow had never tried to affect the outcome of the US vote.

&quot;I believe he feels he and Russia did not meddle in the election,&quot; Trump said.

&quot;As to whether or not I believe it or not, I&#39;m with our agencies. I believe in our... intelligence agencies,&quot; he added.

In May, US intelligence chiefs told Congress they agreed with their analysts&#39; conclusion that Russia had interfered in the election.

CIA director Mike Pompeo, who was appointed by Trump, said he still believed in that evaluation in a statement to CNN Saturday.&nbsp;

In his barrage of tweets earlier Sunday, Trump slammed &quot;haters and fools&quot; who questioned his efforts to improve ties with Russia.&nbsp;

&quot;There (sic) always playing politics - bad for our country. I want to solve North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, terrorism, and Russia can greatly help!&quot; he said.

Trump was in Hanoi for a brisk visit with Vietnam&#39;s top communist leaders to drum up trade deals and seek further support on containing North Korea&#39;s nuclear weapons ambitions, which have been a dominant theme on each leg of his Asia tour.

Citing descriptions by North Korean officials and state media of him as an &quot;old&quot; man, another Trump tweet suggested he was disappointed by what he took to be a personal attack from the North&#39;s young leader.

&quot;Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me &quot;old,&quot; when I would NEVER call him &quot;short and fat?&quot; Trump wrote.

&quot;Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen!&quot; he added.

Later at the press conference, he insisted he hadn&#39;t been joking about eventually befriending a man he denounced just last week as a &quot;twisted&quot; dictator.

&quot;It&#39;s certainly a possibility. If that did happen, it would be a good thing,&rdquo; he told reporters.

North Korea is extremely sensitive to any remarks that might appear disrespectful of the country&#39; ruling Kim dynasty, whose members are revered as near deities.

Since becoming president, Trump has engaged in an escalating war of words with Kim, trading personal insults and threats of military strikes and raising concerns about an outbreak of hostilities.

Over the past week, Trump has urged Asian leaders to take a united front against the threat posed by the isolated North, warning at APEC that the region &quot;must not be held hostage&quot;.

Late Saturday, Pyongyang hit back, calling his Asia trip &quot;a warmonger&#39;s visit for confrontation&quot; and saying it would only serve to accelerate Pyongyang&rsquo;s push for nuclear statehood.

In another tweet Sunday, Trump said Chinese leader Xi Jinping had agreed to toughen sanctions against North Korea, whose impoverished economy is hugely reliant on trade with its giant neighbour.

&quot;President Xi of China has stated that he is upping the sanctions against (North Korea). Said he wants them to denuclearise. Progress is being made,&quot; he wrote.

The US administration thinks China&#39;s economic leverage over North Korea is the key to strong-arming Pyongyang into halting its nuclear weapons and missile programmes.

Trump leaves Hanoi for the Philippines later Sunday, which will be last stop in his marathon tour through Asia.

Philippines and Vietnam are two countries that have sparred with Beijing on overlapping claims in the resource rich South China Sea.

Vietnam has sought military support from Washington on the dispute, and dealmaker Trump said Sunday he could help mediate the conflict.

&quot;If I can help mediate or arbitrate, please let me know... I am a very good mediator,&quot; Trump told Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang.&nbsp;

In the past, China has reacted angrily to any suggestion of US mediation, saying Washington has no role in the dispute.

Trump told reporters in Hanoi that he believes his intelligence agencies.

Donald Trump said Sunday he backed US intelligence agencies who concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election, but repeated his trust in the sincerity of Vladimir Putin's denials and slammed critics of his relationship with the Russian leader. Key former Trump aides are under US investigation for possible collaboration with the Kremlin and the issue of whether Moscow interfered with last year's vote has overshadowed the tail end of the president's ongoing Asia tour. Trump returned to the subject in an early morning Twitter storm, which also saw him take a sarcastic dig at North Korea's "short and fat" leader Kim Jong-Un. Addressing a press conference in Hanoi, Trump was asked to clarify comments he had made on Air Force One the day before about Putin's insistence that Moscow had never tried to affect the outcome of the US vote. "I believe he feels he and Russia did not meddle in the election," Trump said. "As to whether or not I believe it or not, I'm with our agencies. I believe in our... intelligence agencies," he added. In May, US intelligence chiefs told Congress they agreed with their analysts' conclusion that Russia had interfered in the election. CIA director Mike Pompeo, who was appointed by Trump, said he still believed in that evaluation in a statement to CNN Saturday. In his barrage of tweets earlier Sunday, Trump slammed "haters and fools" who questioned his efforts to improve ties with Russia. "There (sic) always playing politics - bad for our country. I want to solve North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, terrorism, and Russia can greatly help!" he said. Trump was in Hanoi for a brisk visit with Vietnam's top communist leaders to drum up trade deals and seek further support on containing North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions, which have been a dominant theme on each leg of his Asia tour. Citing descriptions by North Korean officials and state media of him as an "old" man, another Trump tweet suggested he was disappointed by what he took to be a personal attack from the North's young leader. "Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Trump wrote. "Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen!" he added. Later at the press conference, he insisted he hadn't been joking about eventually befriending a man he denounced just last week as a "twisted" dictator. "It's certainly a possibility. If that did happen, it would be a good thing,” he told reporters. North Korea is extremely sensitive to any remarks that might appear disrespectful of the country' ruling Kim dynasty, whose members are revered as near deities. Since becoming president, Trump has engaged in an escalating war of words with Kim, trading personal insults and threats of military strikes and raising concerns about an outbreak of hostilities. Over the past week, Trump has urged Asian leaders to take a united front against the threat posed by the isolated North, warning at APEC that the region "must not be held hostage". Late Saturday, Pyongyang hit back, calling his Asia trip "a warmonger's visit for confrontation" and saying it would only serve to accelerate Pyongyang’s push for nuclear statehood. In another tweet Sunday, Trump said Chinese leader Xi Jinping had agreed to toughen sanctions against North Korea, whose impoverished economy is hugely reliant on trade with its giant neighbour. "President Xi of China has stated that he is upping the sanctions against (North Korea). Said he wants them to denuclearise. Progress is being made," he wrote. The US administration thinks China's economic leverage over North Korea is the key to strong-arming Pyongyang into halting its nuclear weapons and missile programmes. Trump leaves Hanoi for the Philippines later Sunday, which will be last stop in his marathon tour through Asia. Philippines and Vietnam are two countries that have sparred with Beijing on overlapping claims in the resource rich South China Sea. Vietnam has sought military support from Washington on the dispute, and dealmaker Trump said Sunday he could help mediate the conflict. "If I can help mediate or arbitrate, please let me know... I am a very good mediator," Trump told Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang. In the past, China has reacted angrily to any suggestion of US mediation, saying Washington has no role in the dispute.

Trump backs US intelligence agencies on Russia election meddling

WION evening news brief, Nov 11, 2017

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/odd-even-called-for-now-delhi-transport-minister-23985">Delhi calls off odd-even car rationing scheme for now</a>

The Delhi transport minister Kailash Gehlot on Saturday afternoon said that odd-even car rationing scheme has been called off for the time being. The scheme, proposed by the Delhi government, was supposed to be rolled out on Monday.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/my-son-is-completely-innocent-and-is-being-tortured-by-cbi-father-of-accused-class-11th-student-23993">Pradyuman murder: My son is innocent and tortured by CBI, says father of accused</a>

The father of the class 11 student arrested in connection with the murder of Pradyuman on Saturday accused the CBI of torturing his son. However, the CBI denied the allegations. The Class 11 student, who has been sent to Faridabad observation home until the next hearing on 22nd November, said that his son was completely innocent and got nothing to do with the murder.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/north-korea-says-trump-begged-for-a-war-during-his-asia-trip-23983">Trump begged for a war during his Asia trip: North Korea</a>

North Korea said on Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump&#39;s first trip to Asia showed he was a &quot;destroyer&quot; and he had begged for war on the Korean peninsula. The North&#39;s state-run television KRT also said the Trump&#39;s current trip was &quot;nothing more than a war-dealer&#39;s business of taking money from its allies&#39; pockets&quot;, quoting a statement released by its foreign ministry.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pok-is-part-of-pakistan-farooq-abdullah-23989">&#39;Pok is part of Pakistan&#39;: Farooq Abdullah</a>

Opposition National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday claimed that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) belongs to Pakistan and &quot;this won&#39;t change&quot; no matter how many wars India and Pakistan fight against each other. Talk of an independent Kashmir was &quot;wrong&quot; as the Valley is landlocked and surrounded by three nuclear powers -- China, Pakistan and India.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/cong-says-credit-for-gst-rate-cuts-goes-to-rahul-gandhi-23995">Cong says credit for GST rate cuts goes to Rahul Gandhi</a>

The Congress today claimed credit for the the GST Council&#39;s decision to cut tax rates on 178 items of daily use, saying the government was forced to do so due to the pressure mounted by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and the &quot;huge response&quot; his campaign had been receiving in poll-bound Gujarat.

 
&nbsp;

The Delhi transport minister Kailash Gehlot on Saturday afternoon said that odd-even car rationing scheme has been called off for the time being. The scheme, proposed by the Delhi government, was supposed to be rolled out on Monday.

WION evening news brief, Nov 11, 2017 Delhi calls off odd-even car rationing scheme for now The Delhi transport minister Kailash Gehlot on Saturday afternoon said that odd-even car rationing scheme has been called off for the time being. The scheme, proposed by the Delhi government, was supposed to be rolled out on Monday. Pradyuman murder: My son is innocent and tortured by CBI, says father of accused The father of the class 11 student arrested in connection with the murder of Pradyuman on Saturday accused the CBI of torturing his son. However, the CBI denied the allegations. The Class 11 student, who has been sent to Faridabad observation home until the next hearing on 22nd November, said that his son was completely innocent and got nothing to do with the murder. Trump begged for a war during his Asia trip: North Korea North Korea said on Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump's first trip to Asia showed he was a "destroyer" and he had begged for war on the Korean peninsula. The North's state-run television KRT also said the Trump's current trip was "nothing more than a war-dealer's business of taking money from its allies' pockets", quoting a statement released by its foreign ministry. 'Pok is part of Pakistan': Farooq Abdullah Opposition National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday claimed that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) belongs to Pakistan and "this won't change" no matter how many wars India and Pakistan fight against each other. Talk of an independent Kashmir was "wrong" as the Valley is landlocked and surrounded by three nuclear powers -- China, Pakistan and India. Cong says credit for GST rate cuts goes to Rahul Gandhi The Congress today claimed credit for the the GST Council's decision to cut tax rates on 178 items of daily use, saying the government was forced to do so due to the pressure mounted by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and the "huge response" his campaign had been receiving in poll-bound Gujarat.

WION evening news digest

North Korea said on Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump&#39;s first trip to Asia showed he was a &quot;destroyer&quot; and he had begged for war on the Korean peninsula.

The North&#39;s state-run television KRT also said the Trump&#39;s current trip was &quot;nothing more than a war-dealer&#39;s business of taking money from its allies&#39; pockets&quot;, quoting a statement released by its foreign ministry.

The outburst came as Trump nears the tail end of his sweep through Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines that has seen him rail against the North`s nuclear ambitions and deliver his &quot;America First&quot; vision of global trade.

Trump has urged the region to take a united front against the threat posed by isolated North Korea, which has sparked global alarm with its nuclear and missile tests in recent months.

On Friday he warned world leaders gathered in the Vietnamese resort city of Danang that the Asia-Pacific region &quot;must not be held hostage to a dictator`s twisted fantasies&quot;.

Tensions over the North`s weapons programme have surged in recent months, as Pyongyang carried out a sixth nuclear test -- by far its largest to date -- and test fired dozens of missiles, some capable of reaching the US mainland.

 
In a speech to the South Korean parliament on Wednesday, Trump warned Pyongyang not to underestimate the United States, while offering leader Kim Jong-Un a better future if he gives up his nuclear ambitions.

Trump has also prodded Chinese President Xi Jinping to pile pressure on North Korea.&nbsp;

&quot;I`d like to have him ratchet it up, and I think he`s doing that,&quot; Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Hanoi Saturday following a regional trade meeting in the coastal city of Danang.&nbsp;

Though China has backed UN sanctions, Washington would like to see Beijing clamp down on unauthorised trade along the North Korean border.

(Agencies)

The North Korean spokesman said nothing would deter Pyongyang from pursuing its nuclear weapons programme.

North Korea said on Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump's first trip to Asia showed he was a "destroyer" and he had begged for war on the Korean peninsula. The North's state-run television KRT also said the Trump's current trip was "nothing more than a war-dealer's business of taking money from its allies' pockets", quoting a statement released by its foreign ministry. The outburst came as Trump nears the tail end of his sweep through Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines that has seen him rail against the North`s nuclear ambitions and deliver his "America First" vision of global trade. Trump has urged the region to take a united front against the threat posed by isolated North Korea, which has sparked global alarm with its nuclear and missile tests in recent months. On Friday he warned world leaders gathered in the Vietnamese resort city of Danang that the Asia-Pacific region "must not be held hostage to a dictator`s twisted fantasies". Tensions over the North`s weapons programme have surged in recent months, as Pyongyang carried out a sixth nuclear test -- by far its largest to date -- and test fired dozens of missiles, some capable of reaching the US mainland. In a speech to the South Korean parliament on Wednesday, Trump warned Pyongyang not to underestimate the United States, while offering leader Kim Jong-Un a better future if he gives up his nuclear ambitions. Trump has also prodded Chinese President Xi Jinping to pile pressure on North Korea. "I`d like to have him ratchet it up, and I think he`s doing that," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Hanoi Saturday following a regional trade meeting in the coastal city of Danang. Though China has backed UN sanctions, Washington would like to see Beijing clamp down on unauthorised trade along the North Korean border. (Agencies)

Trump begged for a war during his Asia trip: North Korea

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/philippines-duterte-says-he-killed-someone-at-age-16-23894">facing international criticism for his bloody war on drugs,</a> said his country was willing to host a &ldquo;world summit&rdquo; to tackle how nations can protect human rights.

The firebrand leader, who spoke in a news conference late on Thursday while in Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, said the summit should focus on human rights violations not just in the Philippines but globally.

Some western countries and human rights groups have strongly criticised Duterte&rsquo;s anti-narcotics campaign that has killed more than 3,900 suspected drug users and peddlers, in what the police called self-defence after armed suspects resisted arrest.

Critics dispute that and say executions are taking place with zero accountability, allegations the police reject.

&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s have a summit of how we can protect human rights for all human race,&rdquo; Duterte said shortly after meeting with the Filipino community in Vietnam, where he also renewed his attacks against United Nations human rights expert Agnes Callamard.

&ldquo;What makes the death of people in the Philippines more important than the rest of the children in the world that were massacred and killed,&rdquo; he asked. He said all victims of human rights violations are welcome to attend the summit and air their grievances.

Duterte reiterated his threat to slap Callamard if she investigates him for the rising death toll in his war on drugs and would ask her why she has made no comments on the victims of bombings and violence in the Middle East.

&ldquo;What have you been doing all the time? Why are you so fascinated with drugs?&rdquo; Duterte said. Duterte also threatened to ban two American lawmakers from coming to Manila after they criticised U.S. President Donald Trump for inviting him to visit the United States.

&ldquo;If you do not like me, I do not like you. We&rsquo;re even,&rdquo; he said without naming the lawmakers. Democratic Rep. James McGovern and Republican Rep. Randy Hultgren had called on Trump to highlight the human rights situation in the Philippines in his upcoming visit to Manila.

&nbsp;

He said all victims of human rights violations are welcome to attend the summit and air their grievances.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is facing international criticism for his bloody war on drugs, said his country was willing to host a “world summit” to tackle how nations can protect human rights. The firebrand leader, who spoke in a news conference late on Thursday while in Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, said the summit should focus on human rights violations not just in the Philippines but globally. Some western countries and human rights groups have strongly criticised Duterte’s anti-narcotics campaign that has killed more than 3,900 suspected drug users and peddlers, in what the police called self-defence after armed suspects resisted arrest. Critics dispute that and say executions are taking place with zero accountability, allegations the police reject. “Let’s have a summit of how we can protect human rights for all human race,” Duterte said shortly after meeting with the Filipino community in Vietnam, where he also renewed his attacks against United Nations human rights expert Agnes Callamard. “What makes the death of people in the Philippines more important than the rest of the children in the world that were massacred and killed,” he asked. He said all victims of human rights violations are welcome to attend the summit and air their grievances. Duterte reiterated his threat to slap Callamard if she investigates him for the rising death toll in his war on drugs and would ask her why she has made no comments on the victims of bombings and violence in the Middle East. “What have you been doing all the time? Why are you so fascinated with drugs?” Duterte said. Duterte also threatened to ban two American lawmakers from coming to Manila after they criticised U.S. President Donald Trump for inviting him to visit the United States. “If you do not like me, I do not like you. We’re even,” he said without naming the lawmakers. Democratic Rep. James McGovern and Republican Rep. Randy Hultgren had called on Trump to highlight the human rights situation in the Philippines in his upcoming visit to Manila.

Willing to host world summit on human rights: Duterte

US President Donald Trump will not hold a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a regional summit in Vietnam, the White House said Friday after the two countries sent mixed messages about the encounter.

Relations between Moscow and Washington have plummeted as a US probe has accused Trump&#39;s former campaign aides of secretly meeting Kremlin-connected officials -a charge Moscow denies.

Both leaders are attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in the city of Danang and there had been conflicting indications as to whether a face-to-face was on the cards.

&quot;Regarding a Putin meeting, there was never a meeting confirmed, and there will not be one that takes place due to scheduling conflicts on both sides,&quot; press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters just before Air Force One touched down in the Vietnamese beach resort city.

However, Moscow on Friday was holding out for a potential meeting between the two leaders, who will be in Vietnam for the next two days.

&quot;There is no clarity yet,&quot; Putin&#39;s spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies, adding that officials were &quot;continuing&quot; attempts to agree on a meeting.

Both Moscow and Trump had previously suggested that talks were likely to take place.

On Sunday the US president said &quot;it&#39;s expected we&#39;ll meet with Putin&quot; to discuss North Korea&#39;s nuclear ambitions.

Four days later Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told Russian news agencies that the two would hold a meeting in Vietnam with the time and place still to be determined.

But hours later US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said no decision had been made on talks, which would be the first between the two men since they met at the G20 summit in Germany in July.

Trump&#39;s relationship with Moscow has haunted the first year of his administration.

His former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and an associate are under house arrest on charges including conspiracy to launder money, linked to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into allegations that the campaign colluded with Russia.

Russia has denied allegations of interfering in the US election last year that brought Trump to power.

Relations between Moscow and Washington have plummeted as a US probe has accused Trump's former campaign aides of secretly meeting Kremlin-connected officials -a charge Moscow denies

US President Donald Trump will not hold a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a regional summit in Vietnam, the White House said Friday after the two countries sent mixed messages about the encounter. Relations between Moscow and Washington have plummeted as a US probe has accused Trump's former campaign aides of secretly meeting Kremlin-connected officials -a charge Moscow denies. Both leaders are attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in the city of Danang and there had been conflicting indications as to whether a face-to-face was on the cards. "Regarding a Putin meeting, there was never a meeting confirmed, and there will not be one that takes place due to scheduling conflicts on both sides," press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters just before Air Force One touched down in the Vietnamese beach resort city. However, Moscow on Friday was holding out for a potential meeting between the two leaders, who will be in Vietnam for the next two days. "There is no clarity yet," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies, adding that officials were "continuing" attempts to agree on a meeting. Both Moscow and Trump had previously suggested that talks were likely to take place. On Sunday the US president said "it's expected we'll meet with Putin" to discuss North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Four days later Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told Russian news agencies that the two would hold a meeting in Vietnam with the time and place still to be determined. But hours later US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said no decision had been made on talks, which would be the first between the two men since they met at the G20 summit in Germany in July. Trump's relationship with Moscow has haunted the first year of his administration. His former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and an associate are under house arrest on charges including conspiracy to launder money, linked to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into allegations that the campaign colluded with Russia. Russia has denied allegations of interfering in the US election last year that brought Trump to power.

Trump will not meet with Putin in Vietnam: White House

US President Donald Trump on Friday said the Asia-Pacific region was being held hostage by the &quot;twisted fantasies&quot; of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, as he called on countries to stand united against Pyongyang.

Trump has embarked on a tour of Asia this week trying to rally regional support for curbing North Korea&#39;s nuclear weapons programme, warning that time is running out over the crisis.

&quot;The future of this region and its beautiful people must not be held hostage to a dictator&#39;s twisted fantasies of violent conquest and nuclear blackmail,&quot; he said during a speech in Vietnam to the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. The region, he added, must &quot;stand united in declaring that every single step the North Korean regime takes toward more weapons is a step it takes into greater and greater danger&quot;.

The US administration thinks China&#39;s economic leverage over North Korea is the key to strong-arming Pyongyang into halting its nuclear weapons and missile programmes.

On Thursday, Trump was in Beijing meeting President Xi Jinping, where he called on China to &quot;act fast&quot; over North Korea.&nbsp;&quot;China can fix this problem easily and quickly, and I am calling on China and your great president to hopefully work on it very hard,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

Washington has also worked in recent months to convince allies across Asia to oppose Pyongyang, an issue that will remain prominent during his two day trip to Vietnam, which is currently hosting a major regional summit. Alongside Trump, the leaders of Japan, Russia, China and South Korea are also attending the APEC summit.

'The future of this region and its beautiful people must not be held hostage to a dictator's twisted fantasies of violent conquest and nuclear blackmail,' he said

US President Donald Trump on Friday said the Asia-Pacific region was being held hostage by the "twisted fantasies" of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, as he called on countries to stand united against Pyongyang. Trump has embarked on a tour of Asia this week trying to rally regional support for curbing North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, warning that time is running out over the crisis. "The future of this region and its beautiful people must not be held hostage to a dictator's twisted fantasies of violent conquest and nuclear blackmail," he said during a speech in Vietnam to the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. The region, he added, must "stand united in declaring that every single step the North Korean regime takes toward more weapons is a step it takes into greater and greater danger". The US administration thinks China's economic leverage over North Korea is the key to strong-arming Pyongyang into halting its nuclear weapons and missile programmes. On Thursday, Trump was in Beijing meeting President Xi Jinping, where he called on China to "act fast" over North Korea. "China can fix this problem easily and quickly, and I am calling on China and your great president to hopefully work on it very hard," he said. Washington has also worked in recent months to convince allies across Asia to oppose Pyongyang, an issue that will remain prominent during his two day trip to Vietnam, which is currently hosting a major regional summit. Alongside Trump, the leaders of Japan, Russia, China and South Korea are also attending the APEC summit.

Trump says Asia held hostage by North Korea's 'twisted fantasies'

US President Donald Trump praised Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a &quot;highly respected and powerful representative of his people&quot; on Friday as he wrapped up his first state visit to Beijing.

Trump showered his host with accolades during two days of meetings during which the US leader sought to convince Xi to do more to reduce a trade deficit with China and rein in nuclear-armed North Korea.

&quot;My meetings with President Xi Jinping were very productive on both trade and the subject of North Korea,&quot; the US leader wrote on Twitter before flying to Vietnam for an Asia-Pacific summit.

&quot;He is a highly respected and powerful representative of his people. It was great being with him and Madame Peng Liyuan!&quot; he said, referring to Xi&#39;s wife.

Trump has repeatedly congratulated Xi for his reappointment as head of the Communist Party at a congress last month where he consolidated power -- raising eyebrows over the admiration of a non-democratic process.

US and Chinese firms signed more than $250 billion in business deals during Trump&#39;s visit, though analysts say many were nonbinding agreements that could take years to show any results and would do little to reduce the US-China trade imbalance.

Trump, who has softened his past criticism of China, again lambasted past US administrations for allowing the $350 billion trade deficit to balloon over the years.

&quot;I don&#39;t blame China, I blame the incompetence of past Admins for allowing China to take advantage of the US on trade leading up to a point where the US is losing $100&#39;s of billions,&quot; he wrote as he again circumvented China&#39;s Twitter ban.

&quot;How can you blame China for taking advantage of people that had no clue? I would&#39;ve done same!&quot;

China was the showpiece of Trump&#39;s five-nation tour of Asia, which ends on Monday.

During their talks on Thursday, Trump thanked Xi for his backing of United Nations sanctions on Pyongyang and China&#39;s own restrictions on banking for North Koreans.

While Xi said China was committed to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, he did not announce any new steps to squeeze the reclusive regime.

&#39;Very special man&#39;

Xi and Trump have struck up a friendship since their first meeting at the former real estate tycoon&#39;s Mar-a-Lago resort in April.

Xi treated Trump to a lavish &quot;state visit-plus&quot; that included a private tour of the Forbidden City, a military honour guard and a banquet.

The US leader called his host a &quot;very special man&quot; and showed him a video of his granddaughter singing ballads in Mandarin. The two men will be in the same room again at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in the Vietnamese resort of Danang.

First Lady Melania Trump did not join the president for the rest of his Asian tour, staying in Beijing on Friday to continue the US charm offensive. She will see pandas and visit the Great Wall.

&quot;Melania is staying behind to see the zoo, and of course, the Great WALL of China before going to Alaska to greet our AMAZING troops,&quot; Trump tweeted.

Trump, who wants to build his own massive wall along the US-Mexico border to stem illegal immigration, did not visit the Great Wall -- a usual stop for US presidents.

Chinese state-run media hailed the positive tone of the state visit, though the China Daily said in an editorial that &quot;the differences that had been pestering bilateral ties have not instantly disappeared&quot;.

Trump praised the Chinese president as a 'highly respected and powerful representative of his people'

US President Donald Trump praised Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a "highly respected and powerful representative of his people" on Friday as he wrapped up his first state visit to Beijing. Trump showered his host with accolades during two days of meetings during which the US leader sought to convince Xi to do more to reduce a trade deficit with China and rein in nuclear-armed North Korea. "My meetings with President Xi Jinping were very productive on both trade and the subject of North Korea," the US leader wrote on Twitter before flying to Vietnam for an Asia-Pacific summit. "He is a highly respected and powerful representative of his people. It was great being with him and Madame Peng Liyuan!" he said, referring to Xi's wife. Trump has repeatedly congratulated Xi for his reappointment as head of the Communist Party at a congress last month where he consolidated power -- raising eyebrows over the admiration of a non-democratic process. US and Chinese firms signed more than $250 billion in business deals during Trump's visit, though analysts say many were nonbinding agreements that could take years to show any results and would do little to reduce the US-China trade imbalance. Trump, who has softened his past criticism of China, again lambasted past US administrations for allowing the $350 billion trade deficit to balloon over the years. "I don't blame China, I blame the incompetence of past Admins for allowing China to take advantage of the US on trade leading up to a point where the US is losing $100's of billions," he wrote as he again circumvented China's Twitter ban. "How can you blame China for taking advantage of people that had no clue? I would've done same!" China was the showpiece of Trump's five-nation tour of Asia, which ends on Monday. During their talks on Thursday, Trump thanked Xi for his backing of United Nations sanctions on Pyongyang and China's own restrictions on banking for North Koreans. While Xi said China was committed to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, he did not announce any new steps to squeeze the reclusive regime. 'Very special man' Xi and Trump have struck up a friendship since their first meeting at the former real estate tycoon's Mar-a-Lago resort in April. Xi treated Trump to a lavish "state visit-plus" that included a private tour of the Forbidden City, a military honour guard and a banquet. The US leader called his host a "very special man" and showed him a video of his granddaughter singing ballads in Mandarin. The two men will be in the same room again at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in the Vietnamese resort of Danang. First Lady Melania Trump did not join the president for the rest of his Asian tour, staying in Beijing on Friday to continue the US charm offensive. She will see pandas and visit the Great Wall. "Melania is staying behind to see the zoo, and of course, the Great WALL of China before going to Alaska to greet our AMAZING troops," Trump tweeted. Trump, who wants to build his own massive wall along the US-Mexico border to stem illegal immigration, did not visit the Great Wall -- a usual stop for US presidents. Chinese state-run media hailed the positive tone of the state visit, though the China Daily said in an editorial that "the differences that had been pestering bilateral ties have not instantly disappeared".

Trump praises China's 'highly respected' Xi, wraps up visit

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/ryan-student-murder-gurgaon-police-planted-knife-on-conductor-says-report-23867" target="_blank">Ryan student murder: Gurgaon Police planted knife on conductor, says report</a>

In a sensational twist in the killing of the class II student of Ryan International School, Pradyuman Thakur, the CBI has claimed that the Gurgaon Police framed the school bus conductor and planted a knife on him, declaring the case as solved within hours.&nbsp;Sources told the TOI that the police resorted to framing the bus conductor, Ashok Kumar, since it was under tremendous pressure to solve the case. The Times of India reported that the CBI had established in its two-month-long investigation that the knife belonged to the main accused in the case, a 16-year-old Class XI student of the same school. A CBI officer told TOI that the knife was purchased by the juvenile from a local shop, brought inside the school and was the only knife which was recovered. He added that the accused student on Thursday guided the investigating agency to the shop from where he had purchased the knife.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/actress-portia-de-rossi-accuses-steven-seagal-of-sexual-harassment-23862" target="_blank">Actor Steven Seagal, comedian Louis CK accused of sexual misconduct</a>

US action movie actor Steven Seagal and comedian Louis CK were the latest stars in the crosshairs of mounting sexual misconduct allegations on Thursday, following the downfall of Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey.&nbsp;Portia de Rossi, the &quot;Arrested Development&quot; actress and wife of chat queen Ellen DeGeneres, accused the former martial arts expert and blues musician over an undated audition for a Seagal movie in his office. &quot;He told me how important it was to have chemistry off-screen as he sat me down and unzipped his leather pants,&quot; the Australian-born actress tweeted late Wednesday.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/delhi-government-set-to-enforce-odd-even-scheme-for-private-vehicles-next-week-report-23820" target="_blank">Odd-even to be in place from Nov 13-17 with same exemptions: Delhi Transport minister</a>

Delhi Transport minister&nbsp;Kailash Gehlot announced that the odd-even number scheme for private vehicles will be implemented from November 13-17 in the national capital. &quot;Request people and all agencies to cooperate. Exemptions will be the&nbsp;same as&nbsp;last time,&quot; the minister said.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-praises-chinas-highly-respected-xi-23869" target="_blank">Trump praises China&#39;s &#39;highly respected&#39; Xi</a>

US President Donald Trump praised Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a &quot;highly respected and powerful representative of his people&quot; on Friday as he wrapped up his first state visit to Beijing.Trump showered his host with accolades during two days of meetings during which the US leader sought to convince Xi to do more to reduce a trade deficit with China and rein in nuclear-armed North Korea.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/after-court-win-chris-gayle-says-hes-willing-to-sell-his-side-of-story-for-300000-23870" target="_blank">After winning defamation case, Chris Gayle says he&#39;s willing to sell his side of story for $300,000</a>

After winning his court case against Australia&#39;s Fairfax Media group, Chris Gayle has said he is willing to sell his side of the story -- for a starting price of $300,000.&nbsp;The cricketer had accused the media group, publishers of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, of defamation after it published a series of stories alleging the cricketer had exposed himself to a massage therapist and had indecently propositioned her.&nbsp;

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Ryan student murder: Gurgaon Police planted knife on conductor, says report In a sensational twist in the killing of the class II student of Ryan International School, Pradyuman Thakur, the CBI has claimed that the Gurgaon Police framed the school bus conductor and planted a knife on him, declaring the case as solved within hours. Sources told the TOI that the police resorted to framing the bus conductor, Ashok Kumar, since it was under tremendous pressure to solve the case. The Times of India reported that the CBI had established in its two-month-long investigation that the knife belonged to the main accused in the case, a 16-year-old Class XI student of the same school. A CBI officer told TOI that the knife was purchased by the juvenile from a local shop, brought inside the school and was the only knife which was recovered. He added that the accused student on Thursday guided the investigating agency to the shop from where he had purchased the knife. Actor Steven Seagal, comedian Louis CK accused of sexual misconduct US action movie actor Steven Seagal and comedian Louis CK were the latest stars in the crosshairs of mounting sexual misconduct allegations on Thursday, following the downfall of Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey. Portia de Rossi, the "Arrested Development" actress and wife of chat queen Ellen DeGeneres, accused the former martial arts expert and blues musician over an undated audition for a Seagal movie in his office. "He told me how important it was to have chemistry off-screen as he sat me down and unzipped his leather pants," the Australian-born actress tweeted late Wednesday. Odd-even to be in place from Nov 13-17 with same exemptions: Delhi Transport minister Delhi Transport minister Kailash Gehlot announced that the odd-even number scheme for private vehicles will be implemented from November 13-17 in the national capital. "Request people and all agencies to cooperate. Exemptions will be the same as last time," the minister said. Trump praises China's 'highly respected' Xi US President Donald Trump praised Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a "highly respected and powerful representative of his people" on Friday as he wrapped up his first state visit to Beijing.Trump showered his host with accolades during two days of meetings during which the US leader sought to convince Xi to do more to reduce a trade deficit with China and rein in nuclear-armed North Korea. After winning defamation case, Chris Gayle says he's willing to sell his side of story for $300,000 After winning his court case against Australia's Fairfax Media group, Chris Gayle has said he is willing to sell his side of the story -- for a starting price of $300,000. The cricketer had accused the media group, publishers of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, of defamation after it published a series of stories alleging the cricketer had exposed himself to a massage therapist and had indecently propositioned her.

WION Morning news brief, November 10 2017: 5 stories

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