A lawyer from president Donald Trumps office allegedly paid $130,000 dollars to a former adult-actress a month before the 2016 elections, for her to keep mum about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.&nbsp;

Michael Cohen, who has been with the Trump organisation for almost 10 years arranged the money for the actress, Stephanie Clifford aka Stormy Daniels, in October 2016.

As per reports, Trump and Clifford had the encounter in Lake Tahoe, California, in 2006, a year after he married his third wife, Melania.&nbsp;

Clifford was 27 at the time and had come to represent the adult film studio Wicked, which made her films. She also got a picture clicked with Trump which had surfaced the net.&nbsp;

However, Clifford has recently denied the allegations of any sexual relationship with Trump.&nbsp;

&quot;I recently became aware that certain news outlets are alleging that I had a sexual and/or romantic affair with Donald Trump many, many, many years ago. I am stating with complete clarity that this is absolutely false&quot;, she said. &quot;My involvement with Donald Trump was limited to a few public appearances and nothing more.&quot;

Clifford wrote in the letter that when she met Trump, he was &quot;gracious, professional and a complete gentleman to me and EVERYONE in my presence.&quot;

&quot;Rumours that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false&quot;, the letter further read. &quot;If indeed I did have a relationship with Donald Trump, trust me, you wouldn&#39;t be reading about it in the news, you would be reading about it in my book. But the fact of the matter is, these stories are not true.&quot;

Meanwhile, Cohen also denied the reports, saying, &quot;These rumours have circulated time and again since 2011&quot;. &quot;President Trump once again vehemently denies any such occurrence as has Ms Daniels&quot;.

Reports said that Clifford, a native of Louisiana, considered running against then-US Senator David Vitter in 2010 but decided against it.

Clifford, who has appeared in more than 150 adult films before&nbsp;she met Trump in 2006.

However, Stephanie Clifford has recently denied the allegations of any sexual relationship with Trump

A lawyer from president Donald Trumps office allegedly paid $130,000 dollars to a former adult-actress a month before the 2016 elections, for her to keep mum about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Michael Cohen, who has been with the Trump organisation for almost 10 years arranged the money for the actress, Stephanie Clifford aka Stormy Daniels, in October 2016. As per reports, Trump and Clifford had the encounter in Lake Tahoe, California, in 2006, a year after he married his third wife, Melania. Clifford was 27 at the time and had come to represent the adult film studio Wicked, which made her films. She also got a picture clicked with Trump which had surfaced the net. However, Clifford has recently denied the allegations of any sexual relationship with Trump. "I recently became aware that certain news outlets are alleging that I had a sexual and/or romantic affair with Donald Trump many, many, many years ago. I am stating with complete clarity that this is absolutely false", she said. "My involvement with Donald Trump was limited to a few public appearances and nothing more." Clifford wrote in the letter that when she met Trump, he was "gracious, professional and a complete gentleman to me and EVERYONE in my presence." "Rumours that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false", the letter further read. "If indeed I did have a relationship with Donald Trump, trust me, you wouldn't be reading about it in the news, you would be reading about it in my book. But the fact of the matter is, these stories are not true." Meanwhile, Cohen also denied the reports, saying, "These rumours have circulated time and again since 2011". "President Trump once again vehemently denies any such occurrence as has Ms Daniels". Reports said that Clifford, a native of Louisiana, considered running against then-US Senator David Vitter in 2010 but decided against it. Clifford, who has appeared in more than 150 adult films before she met Trump in 2006.

Trump's lawyer paid $130K to pornstar for silence over Trump encounter: Reports

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/54-african-countries-demand-trump-apology-over-shithole-remark-29377">54 African countries demand Trump apology over &#39;shithole&#39; remark</a>

A group of &quot;extremely appalled&quot; African countries demanded Friday that US President Donald Trump retract and apologise for his reported denunciation of immigration from &quot;shithole&quot; nations.

After an emergency session to weigh Trump&#39;s remarks, the group of African ambassadors to the United Nations said it was &quot;concerned at the continuing and growing trend from the US administration toward Africa and people of African descent to denigrate the continent and people of colour.&quot;&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-ambassador-to-panama-resigns-says-he-cannot-work-with-trump-anymore-29373">US ambassador to Panama resigns, says he cannot work with Trump anymore</a>

US Ambassador to Panama John Feeley has resigned, telling the State Department he no longer feels able to serve President Donald Trump.

&quot;As a junior foreign service officer, I signed an oath to serve faithfully the president and his administration in an apolitical fashion, even when I might not agree with certain policies,&quot; Feeley said, according to an excerpt of his resignation letter read to Reuters on Friday.

&quot;My instructors made clear that if I believed I could not do that, I would be honour bound to resign. That time has come.&quot;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/saudi-women-score-right-to-watch-mens-soccer-in-stadiums-29381">Saudi women score right to watch men&#39;s soccer in stadiums</a>

Women in black abayas and fluorescent orange vests stood at the gates at King Abdullah Stadium, welcoming people into the family section that, for the first time in Saudi Arabia, allowed women to attend a men&#39;s soccer match.

As the two teams al-Ahli and al-Batin faced each other in the city of Jeddah, women showed up to their first public sporting event in the Kingdom to support the sides with their spouses, children and friends.

The General Sports Authority announced in October that stadiums in Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh will be set up to accommodate families starting in 2018.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/exam-shows-trump-in-excellent-health-white-house-29376">Exam shows Trump in &#39;excellent health&#39;: White House</a>

Donald Trump&#39;s doctor says he is in excellent health, after the 71-year-old president underwent his first medical examination Friday since taking office, the White House said.

&quot;The president&#39;s physical exam today at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center went exceptionally well,&quot; the doctor, Ronny Jackson, was quoted as saying in a statement released by the White House.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/nepal-17-maoist-ministers-decide-to-quit-government-29378">Nepal: 17 Maoist ministers decide to quit government</a>

Seventeen Maoist ministers in Nepal resigned on Friday, saying it was time for the government to clear the way for a new one, reports said.

All Maoist ministers - 17 (10 cabinet and seven ministers of state) - were divested of their portfolios; they could enjoy some perks but would no longer have control over ministries and so would not be able to use them during elections. Nepali Congress and its allies would be the ones retaining control.

54 African countries demand Trump apology over 'shithole' remark A group of "extremely appalled" African countries demanded Friday that US President Donald Trump retract and apologise for his reported denunciation of immigration from "shithole" nations. After an emergency session to weigh Trump's remarks, the group of African ambassadors to the United Nations said it was "concerned at the continuing and growing trend from the US administration toward Africa and people of African descent to denigrate the continent and people of colour." US ambassador to Panama resigns, says he cannot work with Trump anymore US Ambassador to Panama John Feeley has resigned, telling the State Department he no longer feels able to serve President Donald Trump. "As a junior foreign service officer, I signed an oath to serve faithfully the president and his administration in an apolitical fashion, even when I might not agree with certain policies," Feeley said, according to an excerpt of his resignation letter read to Reuters on Friday. "My instructors made clear that if I believed I could not do that, I would be honour bound to resign. That time has come." Saudi women score right to watch men's soccer in stadiums Women in black abayas and fluorescent orange vests stood at the gates at King Abdullah Stadium, welcoming people into the family section that, for the first time in Saudi Arabia, allowed women to attend a men's soccer match. As the two teams al-Ahli and al-Batin faced each other in the city of Jeddah, women showed up to their first public sporting event in the Kingdom to support the sides with their spouses, children and friends. The General Sports Authority announced in October that stadiums in Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh will be set up to accommodate families starting in 2018. Exam shows Trump in 'excellent health': White House Donald Trump's doctor says he is in excellent health, after the 71-year-old president underwent his first medical examination Friday since taking office, the White House said. "The president's physical exam today at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center went exceptionally well," the doctor, Ronny Jackson, was quoted as saying in a statement released by the White House. Nepal: 17 Maoist ministers decide to quit government Seventeen Maoist ministers in Nepal resigned on Friday, saying it was time for the government to clear the way for a new one, reports said. All Maoist ministers - 17 (10 cabinet and seven ministers of state) - were divested of their portfolios; they could enjoy some perks but would no longer have control over ministries and so would not be able to use them during elections. Nepali Congress and its allies would be the ones retaining control.

WION news brief, January 13, 2018

Facing strong condemnation at home and abroad, US&nbsp;President Donald Trump on Friday denied using the word &quot;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/why-do-we-want-people-from-these-shithole-countries-trump-over-immigrants-from-africa-haiti-29278" target="_blank">shithole</a>&quot; to describe Haiti and African countries, but kept up criticism of a Senate immigration plan that he said would force the United States to admit people from countries that &quot;are doing badly.&quot;

Trump reportedly made the remarks at a White House meeting on immigration on Thursday. US&nbsp;Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who attended the gathering, told reporters on Friday that Trump used &quot;vile, vulgar&quot; language, including repeatedly using the word &quot;shithole&quot; when speaking about African countries.

The Republican president&#39;s comments were decried as racist by <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/54-african-countries-demand-trump-apology-over-shithole-remark-29377" target="_blank">African and Haitian politicians</a>, by the United Nations human rights office and by US&nbsp;lawmakers from both major parties.

Trump, who has been accused of racism over several issues since he took office a year ago, sought to walk back the comments on Friday, saying on Twitter, &quot;The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used.&quot;

Trump also denied saying &quot;anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country.&quot;

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said &ldquo;take them out.&rdquo; Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings - unfortunately, no trust!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/951813216291708928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
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According to two sources, at Thursday&#39;s meeting Trump questioned why the United States would want to accept immigrants from Haiti and African nations, referring to some as &quot;shithole countries.&quot;

While many Republican lawmakers stayed quiet on Trump&#39;s remarks, Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, called them &quot;unfortunate&quot; and &quot;unhelpful,&quot; noting in an interview on CNN that his family had emigrated to the United States from Ireland to help build the nation&#39;s railroads.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

At an event on Friday at the White House, Trump honoured the memory of Martin Luther King Jr, the civil-rights era activist who was slain in 1968. King&#39;s memory is marked with a national holiday, which falls this year on Monday.

Trump stood beside Isaac Newton Farris, King&#39;s nephew, while a group of about 20 African-American supporters and members of his administration were on hand in the Roosevelt Room, including Ben Carson, his Housing and Urban Development secretary. He ignored reporters who shouted questions about his remarks.

A group of Republican and Democratic senators has been working for months to craft legislation that would protect 700,000 young adults who were brought into the country illegally as children and later shielded from deportation under a program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.

In a series of tweets on Friday, Trump also suggested that momentum toward a deal on maintaining such protection had stalled. &quot;The so-called bipartisan DACA deal presented yesterday to myself and a group of Republican Senators and Congressmen was a big step backwards,&quot; he said.

The tentative deal also addresses border security, including a border wall, the diversity visa lottery and chain migration, in which US&nbsp;green-card holders can sponsor other family members for permanent residence in the country.

Among other objections, Trump said the plan did not provide proper funding for the proposed wall that he made a centre-piece of his election campaign. He added the country &quot;would be forced to take large numbers of people from high crime countries which are doing badly.&quot;

Haiti said it was shocked by Trump&#39;s reported remarks on Thursday and summoned the top US&nbsp;diplomat in the country, asking for an apology if the vulgar term had been used.

El Salvador&#39;s government sent the US&nbsp;a formal letter of protest that said the president had &quot;implicitly&quot; accepted the use of &quot;harsh terms detrimental to the dignity of El Salvador and other countries.&quot;

Botswana also said it had summoned the US&nbsp;ambassador to that country to &quot;express its displeasure&quot; and had asked him whether Botswana &quot;is regarded as a &#39;shithole&#39; country.&quot;

Trump&#39;s comments are extremely offensive to South Africa, said Jessie Duarte, a senior official with the ruling African National Congress. &quot;Ours is not a shithole country. Neither is Haiti or any other country in distress,&quot; she said.

In Geneva, UN&nbsp;human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said &quot;These are shocking and shameful comments from the president of the United States. There is no other word one can use but &#39;racist.&#39;&quot;

The reported language was the latest in a long string of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim comments by Trump that have been condemned as racist. He also blamed &quot;both sides&quot; after a white supremacist rally in August in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned violent and a woman protesting against the rally was killed.

Durbin said that despite Trump&#39;s rejection of the bipartisan deal he would introduce it as legislation next week and work on getting Democratic and Republican support for passage.

&ldquo;We have seven days and the clock is ticking. Our bipartisan group continues to build support for the only deal in town,&rdquo; Durbin said in a statement on Friday.

He was referring to January 19, when funds for operating federal agencies expires. Durbin and other lawmakers want the immigration measure to be attached to a must-do bill to fund the government beyond that date.

In recent days, a group of Republican and Democratic leaders from the House and Senate have met with the stated goal of crafting an alternative to the Senate bipartisan deal. But there was no indication that those four leaders were planning to meet over the long Martin Luther King Day federal holiday weekend or when they might produce legislation.

The Republican president's comments were decried as racist by African and Haitian politicians, by the United Nations human rights office and by US lawmakers from both major parties

Facing strong condemnation at home and abroad, US President Donald Trump on Friday denied using the word "shithole" to describe Haiti and African countries, but kept up criticism of a Senate immigration plan that he said would force the United States to admit people from countries that "are doing badly." Trump reportedly made the remarks at a White House meeting on immigration on Thursday. US Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who attended the gathering, told reporters on Friday that Trump used "vile, vulgar" language, including repeatedly using the word "shithole" when speaking about African countries. The Republican president's comments were decried as racist by African and Haitian politicians, by the United Nations human rights office and by US lawmakers from both major parties. Trump, who has been accused of racism over several issues since he took office a year ago, sought to walk back the comments on Friday, saying on Twitter, "The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used." Trump also denied saying "anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country." Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said “take them out.” Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings - unfortunately, no trust! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018 × According to two sources, at Thursday's meeting Trump questioned why the United States would want to accept immigrants from Haiti and African nations, referring to some as "shithole countries." While many Republican lawmakers stayed quiet on Trump's remarks, Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, called them "unfortunate" and "unhelpful," noting in an interview on CNN that his family had emigrated to the United States from Ireland to help build the nation's railroads. At an event on Friday at the White House, Trump honoured the memory of Martin Luther King Jr, the civil-rights era activist who was slain in 1968. King's memory is marked with a national holiday, which falls this year on Monday. Trump stood beside Isaac Newton Farris, King's nephew, while a group of about 20 African-American supporters and members of his administration were on hand in the Roosevelt Room, including Ben Carson, his Housing and Urban Development secretary. He ignored reporters who shouted questions about his remarks. A group of Republican and Democratic senators has been working for months to craft legislation that would protect 700,000 young adults who were brought into the country illegally as children and later shielded from deportation under a program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. In a series of tweets on Friday, Trump also suggested that momentum toward a deal on maintaining such protection had stalled. "The so-called bipartisan DACA deal presented yesterday to myself and a group of Republican Senators and Congressmen was a big step backwards," he said. The tentative deal also addresses border security, including a border wall, the diversity visa lottery and chain migration, in which US green-card holders can sponsor other family members for permanent residence in the country. Among other objections, Trump said the plan did not provide proper funding for the proposed wall that he made a centre-piece of his election campaign. He added the country "would be forced to take large numbers of people from high crime countries which are doing badly." Haiti said it was shocked by Trump's reported remarks on Thursday and summoned the top US diplomat in the country, asking for an apology if the vulgar term had been used. El Salvador's government sent the US a formal letter of protest that said the president had "implicitly" accepted the use of "harsh terms detrimental to the dignity of El Salvador and other countries." Botswana also said it had summoned the US ambassador to that country to "express its displeasure" and had asked him whether Botswana "is regarded as a 'shithole' country." Trump's comments are extremely offensive to South Africa, said Jessie Duarte, a senior official with the ruling African National Congress. "Ours is not a shithole country. Neither is Haiti or any other country in distress," she said. In Geneva, UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said "These are shocking and shameful comments from the president of the United States. There is no other word one can use but 'racist.'" The reported language was the latest in a long string of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim comments by Trump that have been condemned as racist. He also blamed "both sides" after a white supremacist rally in August in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned violent and a woman protesting against the rally was killed. Durbin said that despite Trump's rejection of the bipartisan deal he would introduce it as legislation next week and work on getting Democratic and Republican support for passage. “We have seven days and the clock is ticking. Our bipartisan group continues to build support for the only deal in town,” Durbin said in a statement on Friday. He was referring to January 19, when funds for operating federal agencies expires. Durbin and other lawmakers want the immigration measure to be attached to a must-do bill to fund the government beyond that date. In recent days, a group of Republican and Democratic leaders from the House and Senate have met with the stated goal of crafting an alternative to the Senate bipartisan deal. But there was no indication that those four leaders were planning to meet over the long Martin Luther King Day federal holiday weekend or when they might produce legislation.

Trump denies vulgar remarks about Haiti, African countries; condemnation mounts

US President Donald Trump announced Friday he would not reimpose nuclear sanctions on Iran, keeping a landmark 2015 deal alive for now.

The Republican leader grudgingly agreed to sign sanctions waivers, ensuring Washington will live up to its commitments for another 120 days, but he cautioned it would be &quot;for the last time.&quot;

During that four-month period, he wants Congress and America&#39;s main European allies to draw up a new deal -- without negotiating with Tehran -- to replace the &quot;disastrous flaws&quot; in the current agreement.

&quot;Despite my strong inclination, I have not yet withdrawn the United States from the Iran nuclear deal,&quot; Trump said in a statement.

&quot;Instead, I have outlined two possible paths forward: either fix the deal`s disastrous flaws, or the United States will withdraw.&quot;

The new deal -- which Trump envisions as being outlined in US law and involving Britain, France and Germany -- would impose tougher controls on Iran if sanctions relief is to continue.

In particular, it will not begin to expire after 10 years as parts of the existing deal do, but instead would impose permanent restrictions on not just Iran&#39;s nuclear plants but also its missile program.

&quot;These provisions must have no expiration date. My policy is to deny Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon -- not just for 10 years, but forever,&quot; Trump said.

&quot;If Iran does not comply with any of these provisions, American nuclear sanctions would automatically resume.&quot;

Trump is also urging Congress to reform US law so the president is no longer required to declare every 90 days whether he thinks Iran is in compliance, or to renew sanctions waivers every 120 or 180 days.

Iran&#39;s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, took to Twitter to describe Trump&#39;s decision and the announcement as &quot;desperate attempts to undermine a solid multilateral agreement.&quot;

The 2015 deal, he said, &quot;is not renegotiable. Rather than repeating tired rhetoric, US must bring itself into full compliance -- just like Iran.&quot;Trump&#39;s decision was announced alongside another package of new sanctions -- punishing not Iran&#39;s nuclear program, but its alleged abuse of human rights in a crackdown on recent street protests.

The most prominent new name on the Treasury sanctions blacklist, which forbids Americans from doing business with the targets, is the head of Iran&#39;s judiciary, Sadegh Amoli Larijani.

The US Treasury said Larijani, the brother of Iran&#39;s parliamentary speaker and former nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, is to blame for the torture and degrading treatment of prisoners.

Washington policy hawks hailed Trump&#39;s decision, which they said would concentrate minds in Europe, where leaders have urged the US president not to sabotage a deal they see as a landmark diplomatic success.

&quot;So Trump now has issued explicit May deadline to Congress and Europeans: Fix Iran nuke deal or no more sanctions waivers,&quot; wrote Mark Dubowitz, head of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.&nbsp;

&quot;Is he bluffing? I don`t think so. Busy four months ahead.&quot;

But supporters of the existing deal between Iran and six world powers, including the former officials in Barack Obama&#39;s administration who negotiated it, denounced Trump&#39;s plan.

Diplomacy Works, a pressure group set up by former secretary of state John Kerry to defend the deal, was scathing.

&quot;Today, we learned that the president`s plan includes bullying our allies into fundamentally altering the terms of a deal that they know is working for our mutual security and have publicly stated they have no interest in amending,&quot; it said.

The other signatories to the deal -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- and the European Union, which oversaw the talks, were watching carefully.

The British and German foreign ministries said they had taken note of the decision and would confer with France before deciding on a course of action.

&quot;The UK has a clear position on the Iran nuclear deal: we regard it as a crucial agreement that makes the world a safer place by neutralizing the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran,&quot; the British Foreign Office said.

The EU said it would hold internal consultations and was &quot;committed to the continued full and effective implementation&quot; of the deal.

America&#39;s allies see the accord as the best way to thwart Iran`s nuclear ambitions and a victory for multilateral diplomacy. Tehran categorically denies it is seeking to develop atomic weapons.

But Trump argues that Obama gave away too much to Iran in sanctions relief, without forcing the Islamic republic to end its ballistic missile program and support for militant groups.

While there may be some relief that Trump has yet to torpedo the hard-won accord, there were clear signs of frustration from European capitals in the runup to the decision.&nbsp;

French President Emmanuel Macron called Trump on Thursday and stressed France`s determination to see &quot;the strict application of the deal and the importance of all the signatories to respect it.&quot;

And Russia spoke out strongly in favor of the accord, calling it &quot;the result of a consensus among many parties.&quot;

UN inspectors have certified Iran`s compliance with the deal nine times, most recently in November.

The new deal -- which Trump envisions as being outlined in US law and involving Britain, France and Germany -- would impose tougher controls on Iran if sanctions relief is to continue

US President Donald Trump announced Friday he would not reimpose nuclear sanctions on Iran, keeping a landmark 2015 deal alive for now. The Republican leader grudgingly agreed to sign sanctions waivers, ensuring Washington will live up to its commitments for another 120 days, but he cautioned it would be "for the last time." During that four-month period, he wants Congress and America's main European allies to draw up a new deal -- without negotiating with Tehran -- to replace the "disastrous flaws" in the current agreement. "Despite my strong inclination, I have not yet withdrawn the United States from the Iran nuclear deal," Trump said in a statement. "Instead, I have outlined two possible paths forward: either fix the deal`s disastrous flaws, or the United States will withdraw." The new deal -- which Trump envisions as being outlined in US law and involving Britain, France and Germany -- would impose tougher controls on Iran if sanctions relief is to continue. In particular, it will not begin to expire after 10 years as parts of the existing deal do, but instead would impose permanent restrictions on not just Iran's nuclear plants but also its missile program. "These provisions must have no expiration date. My policy is to deny Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon -- not just for 10 years, but forever," Trump said. "If Iran does not comply with any of these provisions, American nuclear sanctions would automatically resume." Trump is also urging Congress to reform US law so the president is no longer required to declare every 90 days whether he thinks Iran is in compliance, or to renew sanctions waivers every 120 or 180 days. Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, took to Twitter to describe Trump's decision and the announcement as "desperate attempts to undermine a solid multilateral agreement." The 2015 deal, he said, "is not renegotiable. Rather than repeating tired rhetoric, US must bring itself into full compliance -- just like Iran."Trump's decision was announced alongside another package of new sanctions -- punishing not Iran's nuclear program, but its alleged abuse of human rights in a crackdown on recent street protests. The most prominent new name on the Treasury sanctions blacklist, which forbids Americans from doing business with the targets, is the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Amoli Larijani. The US Treasury said Larijani, the brother of Iran's parliamentary speaker and former nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, is to blame for the torture and degrading treatment of prisoners. Washington policy hawks hailed Trump's decision, which they said would concentrate minds in Europe, where leaders have urged the US president not to sabotage a deal they see as a landmark diplomatic success. "So Trump now has issued explicit May deadline to Congress and Europeans: Fix Iran nuke deal or no more sanctions waivers," wrote Mark Dubowitz, head of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "Is he bluffing? I don`t think so. Busy four months ahead." But supporters of the existing deal between Iran and six world powers, including the former officials in Barack Obama's administration who negotiated it, denounced Trump's plan. Diplomacy Works, a pressure group set up by former secretary of state John Kerry to defend the deal, was scathing. "Today, we learned that the president`s plan includes bullying our allies into fundamentally altering the terms of a deal that they know is working for our mutual security and have publicly stated they have no interest in amending," it said. The other signatories to the deal -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- and the European Union, which oversaw the talks, were watching carefully. The British and German foreign ministries said they had taken note of the decision and would confer with France before deciding on a course of action. "The UK has a clear position on the Iran nuclear deal: we regard it as a crucial agreement that makes the world a safer place by neutralizing the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran," the British Foreign Office said. The EU said it would hold internal consultations and was "committed to the continued full and effective implementation" of the deal. America's allies see the accord as the best way to thwart Iran`s nuclear ambitions and a victory for multilateral diplomacy. Tehran categorically denies it is seeking to develop atomic weapons. But Trump argues that Obama gave away too much to Iran in sanctions relief, without forcing the Islamic republic to end its ballistic missile program and support for militant groups. While there may be some relief that Trump has yet to torpedo the hard-won accord, there were clear signs of frustration from European capitals in the runup to the decision. French President Emmanuel Macron called Trump on Thursday and stressed France`s determination to see "the strict application of the deal and the importance of all the signatories to respect it." And Russia spoke out strongly in favor of the accord, calling it "the result of a consensus among many parties." UN inspectors have certified Iran`s compliance with the deal nine times, most recently in November.

Trump issues stay of execution for Iran nuclear deal

Donald Trump&#39;s doctor says he is in excellent &nbsp; health, after the 71-year-old president <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-to-get-first-presidential-physical-exam-amid-questions-on-health-fitness-29349">underwent his first medical examination</a> Friday since taking office, the White House said.

&quot;The president&#39;s physical exam today at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center went exceptionally well,&quot; the doctor, Ronny Jackson, was quoted as saying in a statement released by the White House.

&quot;The president is in excellent health,&quot; Jackson added after the exam was conducted near Washington. He is due to provide a public briefing Tuesday.

Trump, who has faced questions about his diet and his mental health, joked on the eve of his exam that the test had better go well -- for the sake of the stock market.

&quot;I think it&#39;s going to go very well,&quot; he said, adding that he would be &quot;surprised if it doesn&#39;t.&quot;

&quot;It (had) better go well, otherwise the stock market will not be happy,&quot; he quipped.

Past presidential examinations have included vitals such as height, weight, body mass index, resting heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation in the blood.

But they also included more detailed examinations of the heart, lungs, vision, cholesterol and blood glucose that could point to problems.

Amid questions about Trump&#39;s fitness for office, no psychiatric tests are planned, but previous examinations have included neurological examinations, including motor function tests.

They have also listed past medical history, past surgeries and current medications.

Donald Trump's doctor says he is in excellent health, after the 71-year-old president underwent his first medical examination Friday since taking office

Donald Trump's doctor says he is in excellent health, after the 71-year-old president underwent his first medical examination Friday since taking office, the White House said. "The president's physical exam today at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center went exceptionally well," the doctor, Ronny Jackson, was quoted as saying in a statement released by the White House. "The president is in excellent health," Jackson added after the exam was conducted near Washington. He is due to provide a public briefing Tuesday. Trump, who has faced questions about his diet and his mental health, joked on the eve of his exam that the test had better go well -- for the sake of the stock market. "I think it's going to go very well," he said, adding that he would be "surprised if it doesn't." "It (had) better go well, otherwise the stock market will not be happy," he quipped. Past presidential examinations have included vitals such as height, weight, body mass index, resting heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation in the blood. But they also included more detailed examinations of the heart, lungs, vision, cholesterol and blood glucose that could point to problems. Amid questions about Trump's fitness for office, no psychiatric tests are planned, but previous examinations have included neurological examinations, including motor function tests. They have also listed past medical history, past surgeries and current medications.

Exam shows Trump in 'excellent health': White House

United States president has officially cancelled his trip to the UK to inaugurate the new American embassy due to a &quot;bad deal&quot; by the Obama Administration in the past.&nbsp;

Trump said that he was disappointed with the &quot;Obama administration having sold&quot; the US embassy in the British capital.

Trump took to Twitter to clear the speculation as to why he won&#39;t be visiting London, saying: &quot;Reason I canceled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for &ldquo;peanuts,&rdquo; only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars. Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!&quot;

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Reason I canceled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for &ldquo;peanuts,&rdquo; only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars. Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/951679619341737986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
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A $1bn (&pound;740m) new US embassy, commissioned by predecessor Barrack Obama, was described as a &ldquo;bad deal&rdquo; by Trump.

However, the embassy website showed that the decision to move the location was taken months before Barack Obama took office in January 2009.

The United States had announced plans to move from its current embassy building in Mayfair in 2008 and said that the new building will open on January 16, all due to security reasons.&nbsp;

Speculations had been raised that Trump cancelled his trip amid concerns over<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-may-cancel-uk-visit-amid-fears-of-mass-protests-report-29282"> mass protests.&nbsp;</a>Ed Miliband suggested on Twitter the planned protests also dissuaded the president from coming.&nbsp;

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Nope it&rsquo;s because nobody wanted you to come. And you got the message. <a href="https://t.co/9xV7bFZQgL">https://t.co/9xV7bFZQgL</a>
&mdash; Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ed_Miliband/status/951704449118064641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The new embassy on the South Bank is a veritable fortress set back at least 100 feet (30 meters) from surrounding buildings - mostly newly-erected high-rise residential blocks - and incorporating living quarters for the U.S. Marines permanently stationed inside.

The $1 billion construction, overlooking the River Thames, was wholly funded by the sale of other properties in London.

A $1 billion (£740 million) new US embassy, commissioned by predecessor Barrack Obama, was described as a 'bad deal' by Trump

United States president has officially cancelled his trip to the UK to inaugurate the new American embassy due to a "bad deal" by the Obama Administration in the past. Trump said that he was disappointed with the "Obama administration having sold" the US embassy in the British capital. Trump took to Twitter to clear the speculation as to why he won't be visiting London, saying: "Reason I canceled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for “peanuts,” only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars. Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!" Reason I canceled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for “peanuts,” only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars. Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018 × A $1bn (£740m) new US embassy, commissioned by predecessor Barrack Obama, was described as a “bad deal” by Trump. However, the embassy website showed that the decision to move the location was taken months before Barack Obama took office in January 2009. The United States had announced plans to move from its current embassy building in Mayfair in 2008 and said that the new building will open on January 16, all due to security reasons. Speculations had been raised that Trump cancelled his trip amid concerns over mass protests. Ed Miliband suggested on Twitter the planned protests also dissuaded the president from coming. Nope it’s because nobody wanted you to come. And you got the message. https://t.co/9xV7bFZQgL — Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) January 12, 2018 × The new embassy on the South Bank is a veritable fortress set back at least 100 feet (30 meters) from surrounding buildings - mostly newly-erected high-rise residential blocks - and incorporating living quarters for the U.S. Marines permanently stationed inside. The $1 billion construction, overlooking the River Thames, was wholly funded by the sale of other properties in London.

Donald Trump cancels February visit to UK over 'bad' embassy deal

The US will continue to be a country of immigrants and that will not change, newly- appointed American envoy Kenneth Juster said today while asserting that the ongoing review of visas, including the H-1B category, was only for &quot;refinements&quot;.

Juster&#39;s comments came in the backdrop of reports that the Trump administration was considering tightening H-1B visa rules that could lead to deportation of about 750,000 Indians. The US government, however, has denied these reports.

&quot;We have 4 million Indian-Americans in the US. So we are country of immigrants and that&#39;s what helped drive our economy and growth and made us where we are and that&#39;s not going to change,&quot; he said while delivering his first policy speech since taking over as ambassador.

He added that the US is looking at how various categories of visas are working and whether they need refinements.

&quot;We take more immigrants than any other country in the world,&quot; he added.

Every year, the US grants 85,000 H-1B visas to highly skilled applicants, including roughly 70 per cent for Indians, seeking employment and educational opportunities.

According to the National Foundation for American Policy, more than half of privately-held companies worth USD 1 billion or more in the US had at least one immigrant founder, with many entering America on an H-1B visa, including the CEOs of both Microsoft and Google.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India remains engaged with the Trump administration as well as the Congress on the H-1B visa issue.

&quot;We have shared our concerns to the US side. We have told them that this is a mutually beneficial partnership which should be nurtured and supported,&quot; he said.

Kumar said India continued to closely monitor the developments relating to the issue, adding that alarmist projections on possible difficulties to Indian professionals have been laid to rest by the Department of Homeland Security in the US.

Juster's comments came in the backdrop of reports that the Trump administration was considering tightening H-1B visa rules that could lead to deportation of about 750,000 Indians

The US will continue to be a country of immigrants and that will not change, newly- appointed American envoy Kenneth Juster said today while asserting that the ongoing review of visas, including the H-1B category, was only for "refinements". Juster's comments came in the backdrop of reports that the Trump administration was considering tightening H-1B visa rules that could lead to deportation of about 750,000 Indians. The US government, however, has denied these reports. "We have 4 million Indian-Americans in the US. So we are country of immigrants and that's what helped drive our economy and growth and made us where we are and that's not going to change," he said while delivering his first policy speech since taking over as ambassador. He added that the US is looking at how various categories of visas are working and whether they need refinements. "We take more immigrants than any other country in the world," he added. Every year, the US grants 85,000 H-1B visas to highly skilled applicants, including roughly 70 per cent for Indians, seeking employment and educational opportunities. According to the National Foundation for American Policy, more than half of privately-held companies worth USD 1 billion or more in the US had at least one immigrant founder, with many entering America on an H-1B visa, including the CEOs of both Microsoft and Google. Meanwhile, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India remains engaged with the Trump administration as well as the Congress on the H-1B visa issue. "We have shared our concerns to the US side. We have told them that this is a mutually beneficial partnership which should be nurtured and supported," he said. Kumar said India continued to closely monitor the developments relating to the issue, adding that alarmist projections on possible difficulties to Indian professionals have been laid to rest by the Department of Homeland Security in the US.

US will continue to be a country of immigrants: Juster

Sunayana Dumala, the wife of slain Indian techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla, has been invited to attend US President Donald Trump&#39;s maiden State of the Union address, a media report has said.

Dumala&#39;s husband, Kuchibhotla, was shot dead in a hate crime by an American navy veteran at a bar in Olathe city last year.

Dumala, 32, fell out of status because her permission to reside in the US was tied to Kuchibhotla through marriage but she managed to regain her residency status.

She has been invited by Congressman Kevin Yoder to attend Trump&#39;s State of the Union address, an annual message presented by the US president to a joint session of the Congress.

The State of the Union address will be held on January 30.

&quot;She is a very powerful symbol of who the system is failing,&quot; Yoder was quoted as saying in the report.

&quot;One of the reasons I have become so passionate about this immigration issue is that we need to send a message to the Indian community and other immigrant groups that we are a loving country that is welcome to all,&quot; said Yoder who is a member of the Congressional caucus on India and Indian Americans.

Dumala said she now plans to travel to India to observe the first death anniversary of her husband.

She said she has been overwhelmed by the response from friends, families, neighbours and strangers.

&quot;That answer was quick... It came like, &#39;You do belong here&#39;,&quot; she said.

Dumala's husband, Kuchibhotla, was shot dead in a hate crime by an American navy veteran at a bar in Olathe city last year.

Sunayana Dumala, the wife of slain Indian techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla, has been invited to attend US President Donald Trump's maiden State of the Union address, a media report has said. Dumala's husband, Kuchibhotla, was shot dead in a hate crime by an American navy veteran at a bar in Olathe city last year. Dumala, 32, fell out of status because her permission to reside in the US was tied to Kuchibhotla through marriage but she managed to regain her residency status. She has been invited by Congressman Kevin Yoder to attend Trump's State of the Union address, an annual message presented by the US president to a joint session of the Congress. The State of the Union address will be held on January 30. "She is a very powerful symbol of who the system is failing," Yoder was quoted as saying in the report. "One of the reasons I have become so passionate about this immigration issue is that we need to send a message to the Indian community and other immigrant groups that we are a loving country that is welcome to all," said Yoder who is a member of the Congressional caucus on India and Indian Americans. Dumala said she now plans to travel to India to observe the first death anniversary of her husband. She said she has been overwhelmed by the response from friends, families, neighbours and strangers. "That answer was quick... It came like, 'You do belong here'," she said.

Kuchibhotla's widow invited to attend Trump's State of the Union address

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/as-iran-nuclear-deal-hangs-in-balance-president-macron-calls-trump-29279" target="_blank">As Iran nuclear deal hangs in balance, President Macron calls Trump</a>

As President Trump mulls over Iran nuclear deal, French President &nbsp;Macron said there should be &quot;strict application&quot; and &quot;importance of all signatories to respect it&quot;. Trump is expected to decide today on providing relief to Iran under the 215 nuclear deal which was signed by former President Obama along with other nations.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/vijay-mallyas-bail-extended-till-april-2-concerns-raised-over-reliability-of-evidence-29276" target="_blank">Vijay Mallya&#39;s bail extended till April 2, concerns raised over reliability of evidence</a>

The Westminster magistrates&#39; court in London on Thursday decided to extend liquor baron Vijay Mallya&#39;s bail till April 2 in association with his extradition case. The bail raised concerns over the reliability of evidence provided by India. Judge Emma Arbuthnot has extended Mallya&#39;s &pound;650,000 bail.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/why-do-we-want-people-from-these-shithole-countries-trump-over-immigrants-from-africa-haiti-29278" target="_blank">Lawmakers angry over Trump&#39;s expletive on immigrants</a>

President Donald Trump on Thursday questioned why the United States would want to have immigrants from Haiti and African nations, referring to some as &quot;shithole countries&quot;. &quot;Why do we want all these people from Africa here? They&#39;re shithole countries ... We should have more people from Norway&quot; he said. He further slammed the need for Haitians in the United States.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-all-set-to-launch-100th-satellite-today-29283" target="_blank">Countdown begins as ISRO gets set to launch 100th satellite today</a>

India is all set to launch its 100th satellite &#39;Cartosat-2 Series&#39; from Andhra Pradesh&#39;s Sriharikota today. The launch is set for 9:28am on Friday at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-may-cancel-uk-visit-amid-fears-of-mass-protests-report-29282" target="_blank">Trump may cancel UK visit amid fears of mass protests: Report</a>

President Trump may pull out of the visit to Britain next month amid concerns over mass protests when he arrives in London, British media reported. Last month, PM Theresa May&#39;s cabinet minister Sam Gyimah had said he would feel &nbsp;&ldquo;deeply uncomfortable&rdquo; if President Trump&#39;s visit went ahead after May clashed with Trump over US president&#39;s retweets of far-right anti-Muslim propaganda, Britain First.

As Iran nuclear deal hangs in balance, President Macron calls Trump As President Trump mulls over Iran nuclear deal, French President Macron said there should be "strict application" and "importance of all signatories to respect it". Trump is expected to decide today on providing relief to Iran under the 215 nuclear deal which was signed by former President Obama along with other nations. Vijay Mallya's bail extended till April 2, concerns raised over reliability of evidence The Westminster magistrates' court in London on Thursday decided to extend liquor baron Vijay Mallya's bail till April 2 in association with his extradition case. The bail raised concerns over the reliability of evidence provided by India. Judge Emma Arbuthnot has extended Mallya's £650,000 bail. Lawmakers angry over Trump's expletive on immigrants President Donald Trump on Thursday questioned why the United States would want to have immigrants from Haiti and African nations, referring to some as "shithole countries". "Why do we want all these people from Africa here? They're shithole countries ... We should have more people from Norway" he said. He further slammed the need for Haitians in the United States. Countdown begins as ISRO gets set to launch 100th satellite today India is all set to launch its 100th satellite 'Cartosat-2 Series' from Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota today. The launch is set for 9:28am on Friday at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. Trump may cancel UK visit amid fears of mass protests: Report President Trump may pull out of the visit to Britain next month amid concerns over mass protests when he arrives in London, British media reported. Last month, PM Theresa May's cabinet minister Sam Gyimah had said he would feel “deeply uncomfortable” if President Trump's visit went ahead after May clashed with Trump over US president's retweets of far-right anti-Muslim propaganda, Britain First.

WION Morning News Brief, January 12, 2017

President Donald Trump on Thursday questioned why the United States would want to have immigrants from Haiti and African nations, referring to some as &quot;shithole countries&quot;.

&quot;Why do we want all these people from Africa here? They&#39;re shithole countries ... We should have more people from Norway&quot; he said. He further slammed the need for&nbsp;Haitians in the United States.

Trump&#39;s comments, made in the White House, came as Democratic Senator Dick Durbin and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham informed the president on a newly drafted immigration bill under works by a bipartisan group of senators.

The lawmakers were discussing how certain immigration programs work, including one to give safe haven in the United States to people from countries suffering from natural disasters and similar issues.

Many Democrats and some Republican lawmakers took to Twitter and lashed out at Trump.&nbsp;

Senator&nbsp;David Gergen said called Trump a bull carrying &quot;around his own china shop&quot;.

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Message from President of the US to foreigners: If you aren&#39;t white, you aren&#39;t welcome. A stream of stunning... <a href="https://t.co/DtIoRoLEo7">https://t.co/DtIoRoLEo7</a>
&mdash; David Gergen (@David_Gergen) <a href="https://twitter.com/David_Gergen/status/951608149089357825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Lawyer David Leopold said that &quot;With his #Shithole countries slur Trump has confirmed what those of us who work in #immigration law &amp; policy have known since early last year; the Administration&#39;s draconian #immigration enforcement crackdown is a racist policy aimed at immigrants of color.&quot;

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With his <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Shithole?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Shithole</a> countries slur Trump has confirmed what those of us who work in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/immigration?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#immigration</a> law &amp; policy have known since early last year; the Administration&#39;s draconian <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/immigration?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#immigration</a> enforcement crackdown is a racist policy aimed at immigrants of color.
&mdash; David Leopold (@DavidLeopold) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidLeopold/status/951602973523791872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, a frequent Trump critic, also took to Twitter to express his thoughts.&nbsp;

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President Trump&rsquo;s remarks smack of blatant racism &ndash; odious and insidious racism masquerading poorly as immigration policy. He does not speak for me as an American.
&mdash; Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenBlumenthal/status/951602887829925888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Republican US&nbsp;Representative Mia Love, a daughter of Haitian immigrants, said the comments were &quot;unkind, divisive, elitist, and fly in the face of our nation`s values&quot; and called on Trump to apologise to the American people and to the countries he denigrated.

Another Republican Representative, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who was born in Cuba and whose south Florida district includes many Haitian immigrants, said: &quot;Language like that shouldn`t be heard in locker rooms and it shouldn`t be heard in the White House.&quot;

Trump had moved to end the status for immigrants from El Salvador, which could result in 200,000 Salvadorans legally in the United States being deported, and other countries.

The bipartisan Senate plan would attempt to maintain TPS in return for ending or changing a &quot;diversity&quot; lottery programme that has been aimed at allowing up to 50,000 people a year from countries with few emigres to the United States.&nbsp;

Asked about Trump&#39;s quips, White House spokesman Raj Shah said: &quot;Certain Washington politicians choose to fight for foreign countries, but President Trump will always fight for the American people.&quot;

&quot;Like other nations that have merit-based immigration, President Trump is fighting for permanent solutions that make our country stronger by welcoming those who can contribute to our society, grow our economy and assimilate into our great nation,&quot; Shah said.

Trump questioned why the United States should take in unskilled labourers from the countries under discussion and should instead welcome immigrants from nations that can offer skilled workers.

The source said Trump did not intend any slur.

&nbsp;

(With agency inputs)

Many Democrats and some Republican lawmakers took to Twitter and lashed out at Trump

President Donald Trump on Thursday questioned why the United States would want to have immigrants from Haiti and African nations, referring to some as "shithole countries". "Why do we want all these people from Africa here? They're shithole countries ... We should have more people from Norway" he said. He further slammed the need for Haitians in the United States. Trump's comments, made in the White House, came as Democratic Senator Dick Durbin and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham informed the president on a newly drafted immigration bill under works by a bipartisan group of senators. The lawmakers were discussing how certain immigration programs work, including one to give safe haven in the United States to people from countries suffering from natural disasters and similar issues. Many Democrats and some Republican lawmakers took to Twitter and lashed out at Trump. Senator David Gergen said called Trump a bull carrying "around his own china shop". Message from President of the US to foreigners: If you aren't white, you aren't welcome. A stream of stunning... https://t.co/DtIoRoLEo7 — David Gergen (@David_Gergen) January 12, 2018 × Lawyer David Leopold said that "With his #Shithole countries slur Trump has confirmed what those of us who work in #immigration law & policy have known since early last year; the Administration's draconian #immigration enforcement crackdown is a racist policy aimed at immigrants of color." With his #Shithole countries slur Trump has confirmed what those of us who work in #immigration law & policy have known since early last year; the Administration's draconian #immigration enforcement crackdown is a racist policy aimed at immigrants of color. — David Leopold (@DavidLeopold) January 11, 2018 × Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, a frequent Trump critic, also took to Twitter to express his thoughts. President Trump’s remarks smack of blatant racism – odious and insidious racism masquerading poorly as immigration policy. He does not speak for me as an American. — Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) January 11, 2018 × Republican US Representative Mia Love, a daughter of Haitian immigrants, said the comments were "unkind, divisive, elitist, and fly in the face of our nation`s values" and called on Trump to apologise to the American people and to the countries he denigrated. Another Republican Representative, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who was born in Cuba and whose south Florida district includes many Haitian immigrants, said: "Language like that shouldn`t be heard in locker rooms and it shouldn`t be heard in the White House." Trump had moved to end the status for immigrants from El Salvador, which could result in 200,000 Salvadorans legally in the United States being deported, and other countries. The bipartisan Senate plan would attempt to maintain TPS in return for ending or changing a "diversity" lottery programme that has been aimed at allowing up to 50,000 people a year from countries with few emigres to the United States. Asked about Trump's quips, White House spokesman Raj Shah said: "Certain Washington politicians choose to fight for foreign countries, but President Trump will always fight for the American people." "Like other nations that have merit-based immigration, President Trump is fighting for permanent solutions that make our country stronger by welcoming those who can contribute to our society, grow our economy and assimilate into our great nation," Shah said. Trump questioned why the United States should take in unskilled labourers from the countries under discussion and should instead welcome immigrants from nations that can offer skilled workers. The source said Trump did not intend any slur. (With agency inputs)

Lawmakers angry over Trump's expletive on immigrants

As President Trump mulls over<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/macron-warns-against-mid-east-meddling-at-lebanon-conference-26265"> Iran nuclear deal, French President </a>&nbsp;Macron said there should be &quot;strict application&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;importance of all signatories to respect it&quot;.

Trump is expected to decide today on providing relief to Iran under the 215 nuclear deal which was signed by former President Obama along with other nations.

Macron called Trump on Thursday to pitch for the deal stressing its importance even as Trump who has made a number of statements against Iran in recent months kept everyone guessing about his administration&#39;s next move.

&quot;The proper implementation of the agreement should be accompanied by a strengthened dialogue with Iran on its ballistic program and its regional policy, in order to guarantee better stability in the Middle East,&quot; the French president said during his phone call to Trump.

There are fears the US may scrap the nuclear deal which has been signed by the United States, UK, Russia, France, and China including Germany and the European Union.

Macron during his phone call to Trump stressed that the nuclear deal must be accompanied by another round of dialogue with Iran on its ballistic missile programme.

Trump and Macron are set to at the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month.

Macron called Trump on Thursday to pitch for the nuclear deal stressing its importance even as Trump mulled his next move

As President Trump mulls over Iran nuclear deal, French President Macron said there should be "strict application" and "importance of all signatories to respect it". Trump is expected to decide today on providing relief to Iran under the 215 nuclear deal which was signed by former President Obama along with other nations. Macron called Trump on Thursday to pitch for the deal stressing its importance even as Trump who has made a number of statements against Iran in recent months kept everyone guessing about his administration's next move. "The proper implementation of the agreement should be accompanied by a strengthened dialogue with Iran on its ballistic program and its regional policy, in order to guarantee better stability in the Middle East," the French president said during his phone call to Trump. There are fears the US may scrap the nuclear deal which has been signed by the United States, UK, Russia, France, and China including Germany and the European Union. Macron during his phone call to Trump stressed that the nuclear deal must be accompanied by another round of dialogue with Iran on its ballistic missile programme. Trump and Macron are set to at the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month.

As Iran nuclear deal hangs in balance, President Macron calls Trump

President Trump<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/theresa-may-says-trump-tweet-on-london-explosion-not-helpful-20269"> may pull out of the visit to Britain</a> next month amid concerns over mass protests when he arrives in London, British media reported.

Last month, PM Theresa May&#39;s cabinet minister Sam Gyimah had said he would feel &nbsp;&ldquo;deeply uncomfortable&rdquo; if President Trump&#39;s visit went ahead after May clashed with Trump over US president&#39;s retweets of far-right anti-Muslim propaganda, Britain First.

PM May had waded into the controversy, pointing out that Trump was &ldquo;wrong&rdquo; to have retweeted the post. President Trump had slammed May asserting that the British prime minister should &quot;not focus on me but on destructive radical Islamic terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom.&quot;

Several British ministers had opposed Trump&#39;s retweets openly as the trans-Atlantic spat had turned&nbsp;into a full-scale public debate.

However, after a phone call with Trump in December, Thresa May had said an invitation to come to Britain was &quot;extended and accepted by the President&quot;.

British media reports said no new dates have been offered for Trump&#39;s visit indicating the high-profile visit might be called off soon.

Trump&#39;s itinerary in Britain includes opening the new US embassy in London.

Thresa May had said an invitation to come to Britain was "extended and accepted by the President"

President Trump may pull out of the visit to Britain next month amid concerns over mass protests when he arrives in London, British media reported. Last month, PM Theresa May's cabinet minister Sam Gyimah had said he would feel “deeply uncomfortable” if President Trump's visit went ahead after May clashed with Trump over US president's retweets of far-right anti-Muslim propaganda, Britain First. PM May had waded into the controversy, pointing out that Trump was “wrong” to have retweeted the post. President Trump had slammed May asserting that the British prime minister should "not focus on me but on destructive radical Islamic terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom." Several British ministers had opposed Trump's retweets openly as the trans-Atlantic spat had turned into a full-scale public debate. However, after a phone call with Trump in December, Thresa May had said an invitation to come to Britain was "extended and accepted by the President". British media reports said no new dates have been offered for Trump's visit indicating the high-profile visit might be called off soon. Trump's itinerary in Britain includes opening the new US embassy in London.

Trump may cancel UK visit amid fears of mass protests: Report

United States president Donald Trump has said that he has a &quot;good relationship&quot; with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and is open to friendship.

&quot;I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong- Un,&quot; Trump told the media. &quot;I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

&quot;You&#39;ll see that a lot with me and then all of the sudden somebody&#39;s my best friend. I could give you 20 examples. You could give me 30. I&#39;m a very flexible person,&quot; Trump added.

However, there has been no information on whether the two leaders have had a word recently.&nbsp;

&quot;I don&#39;t want to comment on it. I&#39;m not saying I have or haven&#39;t. I just don&#39;t want to comment&quot;, adding that his attitude towards North Korea is intentional and part of a broader goal.

Washington and Pyongyang have long been having a standoff over North Korea&#39;s missile and nuclear programs which could destroy the United States.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trumps-madman-rhetoric-may-have-scared-north-korea-to-talks-analysts-29272" target="_blank">Donald Trump&#39;s &#39;madman&#39; rhetoric may have scared North Korea to talks: Analysts </a>

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday after the first intra-Korean talks in over two years that the United States was willing to speak to North Korea <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-on-possibility-of-north-korea-talks-says-who-knows-where-it-leads-29176" target="_blank">&quot;under the right circumstances</a>,&quot; although it was far from clear whether this would pay dividends.

Trump has previously stated that that North Korea was &quot;a responsible nuclear nation that loves peace&quot; and that &quot;the US cannot wage a war&quot; against it.

However, there has been no information on whether the two leaders have had a word recently

United States president Donald Trump has said that he has a "good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and is open to friendship. "I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong- Un," Trump told the media. "I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised," he said. "You'll see that a lot with me and then all of the sudden somebody's my best friend. I could give you 20 examples. You could give me 30. I'm a very flexible person," Trump added. However, there has been no information on whether the two leaders have had a word recently. "I don't want to comment on it. I'm not saying I have or haven't. I just don't want to comment", adding that his attitude towards North Korea is intentional and part of a broader goal. Washington and Pyongyang have long been having a standoff over North Korea's missile and nuclear programs which could destroy the United States. Also read: Donald Trump's 'madman' rhetoric may have scared North Korea to talks: Analysts US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday after the first intra-Korean talks in over two years that the United States was willing to speak to North Korea "under the right circumstances," although it was far from clear whether this would pay dividends. Trump has previously stated that that North Korea was "a responsible nuclear nation that loves peace" and that "the US cannot wage a war" against it.

Trump: 'I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong-Un'

US president Donald Trump once again termed the probe into the probable coordination between his administration and Russia the &quot;single greatest witch hunt&quot; on Wednesday.&nbsp;

Trump took to Twitter and wrote: &quot;The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, &amp; yet on and on it goes. Russia &amp; the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control!&quot;

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The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, &amp; yet on and on it goes. Russia &amp; the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/951109942685126656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The president has a number of times stated that the investigation led by FBI Director Robert Mueller a &quot;witch hunt,&quot; which began after his victory in 2016.&nbsp;

In another tweet, the President censured Senator Dianne Feinstein for &#39;illegally&#39; releasing dossier on Trump and Russia.

Senator Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday ignored the objections of her Republican colleagues on the Senate Intelligence Committee and released the full transcript of Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson&#39;s extensive congressional testimony about Christopher Steele&#39;s famous dossier on Donald Trump and Russia.

&quot;The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace. Must have tough Primary!&quot;

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The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace. Must have tough Primary!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/951106475254059008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Trump also said on Wednesday that it seemed &quot;unlikely&quot; he would need to meet with special counsel Robert Mueller about Mueller&#39;s investigation into the allegations.

Mueller has reportedly indicated to Trump&#39;s attorneys that his team would like to interview the president as part of the investigation. Trump has called the investigation a &quot;Democratic hoax.&quot;

Mueller&#39;s team has interviewed a number of Trump aides, including Trump&#39;s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and former chief of staff Reince Priebus.

So far, the investigation has resulted in the indictment of former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a guilty plea from former national security adviser Mike Flynn.

Meanwhile, Michael Cohen, one of President Donald Trump&#39;s personal lawyers, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the research firm Fusion GPS for producing the infamous Steele dossier that alleged the Trump campaign had ties to Russia.

Cohen also filed a lawsuit against BuzzFeed News for publishing the entire dossier in January 2017.

So far, the investigation has resulted in the indictment of former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a guilty plea from former national security adviser Mike Flynn

US president Donald Trump once again termed the probe into the probable coordination between his administration and Russia the "single greatest witch hunt" on Wednesday. Trump took to Twitter and wrote: "The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes. Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control!" The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes. Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 × The president has a number of times stated that the investigation led by FBI Director Robert Mueller a "witch hunt," which began after his victory in 2016. In another tweet, the President censured Senator Dianne Feinstein for 'illegally' releasing dossier on Trump and Russia. Senator Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday ignored the objections of her Republican colleagues on the Senate Intelligence Committee and released the full transcript of Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson's extensive congressional testimony about Christopher Steele's famous dossier on Donald Trump and Russia. "The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace. Must have tough Primary!" The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace. Must have tough Primary! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 × Trump also said on Wednesday that it seemed "unlikely" he would need to meet with special counsel Robert Mueller about Mueller's investigation into the allegations. Mueller has reportedly indicated to Trump's attorneys that his team would like to interview the president as part of the investigation. Trump has called the investigation a "Democratic hoax." Mueller's team has interviewed a number of Trump aides, including Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and former chief of staff Reince Priebus. So far, the investigation has resulted in the indictment of former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a guilty plea from former national security adviser Mike Flynn. Meanwhile, Michael Cohen, one of President Donald Trump's personal lawyers, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the research firm Fusion GPS for producing the infamous Steele dossier that alleged the Trump campaign had ties to Russia. Cohen also filed a lawsuit against BuzzFeed News for publishing the entire dossier in January 2017.

Trump calls Russia probe the 'greatest witch hunt', denies interview with Robert Mueller

Another deadline is looming and the world is again wondering: Will President Donald Trump tear up the deal Iran signed with world powers to curtail its nuclear program?&nbsp;

What is at stake and why is the issue back in the headlines?

On Friday, Trump is expected to announce that he continues to regard remaining in the Iran nuclear deal not to be in the interests of the United States.

He first announced this in October last year and under the US Iran Nuclear Agreement Act (INARA) of 2015 he is supposed to inform Congress every 90 days.

After he has made his decision -- or leaves his previous decision in place -- Congress may decide to re-impose some sanctions and modify INARA to end the 90-day cycle.&nbsp;

Does this mean new nuclear sanctions are imminent? Not necessarily.&nbsp;

The sanctions imposed on Iran to punish it for pursuing nuclear weapons were never lifted by the US Congress.

Instead, former president Barack Obama and so far Trump have temporarily cancelled them with a waiver in order to meet the US side of the bargain.

Starting this weekend and over the next week, the waivers on the most important packages of sanctions targeting Iran&#39;s oil and financial industries come up for renewal.

If Trump does not act to renew them, the sanctions &quot;snap back&quot; and Iranian businesses and foreign banks and traders who deal with them will once again be sanctioned.

Trump has made it clear that he is no fan of the Iran deal, and he has complained bitterly in the past when obliged to renew waivers on the sanctions packages.

But his most senior advisors, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, are said to be urging him to once again renew the waivers.

Washington&#39;s European allies, including deal signatories Britain, France and Germany are also desperately lobbying Trump to keep faith with the agreement.

On Wednesday, senior officials told AFP they &quot;expect&quot; Trump will grudgingly renew the waivers, but no-one in Washington is certain what the mercurial president will say.

Trump is also expected, however, to impose new sanctions on Iran targeting human right abuses and support for foreign extremist groups rather than nuclear back-sliding.

Would new sanctions or a return to old sanctions kill the deal and leave Iran free to resume a full, unmonitored nuclear drive?

Not necessarily. European powers, Russia and China have economic investments in Iran and have said they would remain in the deal if Iran does.

Iran may, therefore, continue to respect its side of the bargain and limit its nuclear activity to sites and practices that UN watchdog the IAEA deems consistent with the accord.

European banks and businesses would not, however, relish a return of US secondary sanctions excluding them from American markets if the deal with Iran.

This will allow Tehran to further drive a wedge between Washington and its traditional allies.

On Friday, Trump is expected to announce that he continues to regard remaining in the Iran nuclear deal not to be in the interests of the United States

Another deadline is looming and the world is again wondering: Will President Donald Trump tear up the deal Iran signed with world powers to curtail its nuclear program? What is at stake and why is the issue back in the headlines? On Friday, Trump is expected to announce that he continues to regard remaining in the Iran nuclear deal not to be in the interests of the United States. He first announced this in October last year and under the US Iran Nuclear Agreement Act (INARA) of 2015 he is supposed to inform Congress every 90 days. After he has made his decision -- or leaves his previous decision in place -- Congress may decide to re-impose some sanctions and modify INARA to end the 90-day cycle. Does this mean new nuclear sanctions are imminent? Not necessarily. The sanctions imposed on Iran to punish it for pursuing nuclear weapons were never lifted by the US Congress. Instead, former president Barack Obama and so far Trump have temporarily cancelled them with a waiver in order to meet the US side of the bargain. Starting this weekend and over the next week, the waivers on the most important packages of sanctions targeting Iran's oil and financial industries come up for renewal. If Trump does not act to renew them, the sanctions "snap back" and Iranian businesses and foreign banks and traders who deal with them will once again be sanctioned. Trump has made it clear that he is no fan of the Iran deal, and he has complained bitterly in the past when obliged to renew waivers on the sanctions packages. But his most senior advisors, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, are said to be urging him to once again renew the waivers. Washington's European allies, including deal signatories Britain, France and Germany are also desperately lobbying Trump to keep faith with the agreement. On Wednesday, senior officials told AFP they "expect" Trump will grudgingly renew the waivers, but no-one in Washington is certain what the mercurial president will say. Trump is also expected, however, to impose new sanctions on Iran targeting human right abuses and support for foreign extremist groups rather than nuclear back-sliding. Would new sanctions or a return to old sanctions kill the deal and leave Iran free to resume a full, unmonitored nuclear drive? Not necessarily. European powers, Russia and China have economic investments in Iran and have said they would remain in the deal if Iran does. Iran may, therefore, continue to respect its side of the bargain and limit its nuclear activity to sites and practices that UN watchdog the IAEA deems consistent with the accord. European banks and businesses would not, however, relish a return of US secondary sanctions excluding them from American markets if the deal with Iran. This will allow Tehran to further drive a wedge between Washington and its traditional allies.

Fate of Iran deal again in Trump's hands

The two Koreas are eyeball-to-eyeball one day, engaged in a slanging match the other and jaw-jaw the next day. Over the last 65 years, only the actors have changed, not the script. North Korea (NK), meanwhile, has gone about merrily developing a range of WMD.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Last year, NK conducted its most powerful nuclear test ever, demonstrated its ability to even launch an ICBM, engaged in chilling rhetoric (duly matched for the first time by an American President), threatened destruction of the US and South Korea (ROK), shrugged off ever-tightening UNSC sanctions and contemptuously dismissed South Korean peace overtures.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

And then suddenly on 1st January, Kim Jong-un (KJU) offered to talk to Seoul and expressed willingness to send his athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics at PyeongChang, which is taking place between 9 to 25 February 2018. President Moon Jae-in, whose parents migrated from North Korea, has always been a votary of peace and reconciliation. He grabbed the offer with alacrity.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Restoration of North-South military hotline followed. USA and ROK quickly consented to postpone the annual joint military exercises, as demanded by Pyongyang. President Trump promptly credited his hardline policy for the thaw. Ministerial-level talks were held successfully at the &lsquo;Peace Village&rsquo; at DMZ on 9th January, with the sides agreeing to North Korean participation, resumption of a military dialogue to lower tensions and further talks on related issues.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

What led to these dramatic developments, all in a span of nine days? First and foremost, it was North&rsquo;s growing isolation. Increasing Chinese discomfiture with Kim Jong-un was the other reason.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

UNSC sanctions were steadily tightening. The cap on supply of oil and petroleum products, if implemented in right earnest (unlikely!), could potentially cause genuine hardship to the Kim regime. Its avenues of earning foreign exchange were getting choked. NK&rsquo;s missions abroad, which routinely engage in illicit activities to generate cash, were coming under a scanner.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Countries, including Kuwait, Mexico, Malaysia, Peru, Philippines, Spain and Thailand had begun downgrading or suspending diplomatic ties with Pyongyang. The US, Japan and ROK had begun singing from the same music sheet. That was the cue for NK to tactically shift gears.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Going by its play-book, NK extended the olive branch, to ease the mounting pressure, buy time, extract some freebies from ROK and try to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

For good reasons, Seoul has, historically, taken a softer approach towards Pyongyang, while the US has advocated a muscular one. Also, the optics; NK athletes are capable of winning a few medals, which will sit well with the home crowd. Media across the world will live-stream footage of smiling and smartly turned-out NK sportspersons, constituting good propaganda value. NK can rest assured that South Koreans will reserve their loudest cheers for the NK contingent.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The South Korean public, politicians, media and academia &ndash; hawks and doves in equal measure &ndash; will again fathom signs of thaw and hope. There would be renewed calls for resuming humanitarian assistance. The sides may even arrive at a secret understanding or two, which would only surface over time. It may be recalled that ROK President Kim Dae-jung&rsquo;s &lsquo;successful&rsquo; Sunshine Policy and summit with Kim Jong-il, was anchored on a secret &lsquo;gift&rsquo; of US$500 million to North Korea.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

And then NK will launch its next missile, conduct one more nuclear test, commit another provocation or simply get &lsquo;offended&rsquo; at ROK-US joint military exercises, abruptly shattering ROK&rsquo;s dream sequence.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

Going by its play-book, NK extended the olive branch, to ease the mounting pressure, buy time, extract some freebies from ROK and try to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington.

The two Koreas are eyeball-to-eyeball one day, engaged in a slanging match the other and jaw-jaw the next day. Over the last 65 years, only the actors have changed, not the script. North Korea (NK), meanwhile, has gone about merrily developing a range of WMD. Last year, NK conducted its most powerful nuclear test ever, demonstrated its ability to even launch an ICBM, engaged in chilling rhetoric (duly matched for the first time by an American President), threatened destruction of the US and South Korea (ROK), shrugged off ever-tightening UNSC sanctions and contemptuously dismissed South Korean peace overtures. And then suddenly on 1st January, Kim Jong-un (KJU) offered to talk to Seoul and expressed willingness to send his athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics at PyeongChang, which is taking place between 9 to 25 February 2018. President Moon Jae-in, whose parents migrated from North Korea, has always been a votary of peace and reconciliation. He grabbed the offer with alacrity. Restoration of North-South military hotline followed. USA and ROK quickly consented to postpone the annual joint military exercises, as demanded by Pyongyang. President Trump promptly credited his hardline policy for the thaw. Ministerial-level talks were held successfully at the ‘Peace Village’ at DMZ on 9th January, with the sides agreeing to North Korean participation, resumption of a military dialogue to lower tensions and further talks on related issues. What led to these dramatic developments, all in a span of nine days? First and foremost, it was North’s growing isolation. Increasing Chinese discomfiture with Kim Jong-un was the other reason. UNSC sanctions were steadily tightening. The cap on supply of oil and petroleum products, if implemented in right earnest (unlikely!), could potentially cause genuine hardship to the Kim regime. Its avenues of earning foreign exchange were getting choked. NK’s missions abroad, which routinely engage in illicit activities to generate cash, were coming under a scanner. Countries, including Kuwait, Mexico, Malaysia, Peru, Philippines, Spain and Thailand had begun downgrading or suspending diplomatic ties with Pyongyang. The US, Japan and ROK had begun singing from the same music sheet. That was the cue for NK to tactically shift gears. Going by its play-book, NK extended the olive branch, to ease the mounting pressure, buy time, extract some freebies from ROK and try to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington. For good reasons, Seoul has, historically, taken a softer approach towards Pyongyang, while the US has advocated a muscular one. Also, the optics; NK athletes are capable of winning a few medals, which will sit well with the home crowd. Media across the world will live-stream footage of smiling and smartly turned-out NK sportspersons, constituting good propaganda value. NK can rest assured that South Koreans will reserve their loudest cheers for the NK contingent. The South Korean public, politicians, media and academia – hawks and doves in equal measure – will again fathom signs of thaw and hope. There would be renewed calls for resuming humanitarian assistance. The sides may even arrive at a secret understanding or two, which would only surface over time. It may be recalled that ROK President Kim Dae-jung’s ‘successful’ Sunshine Policy and summit with Kim Jong-il, was anchored on a secret ‘gift’ of US$500 million to North Korea. And then NK will launch its next missile, conduct one more nuclear test, commit another provocation or simply get ‘offended’ at ROK-US joint military exercises, abruptly shattering ROK’s dream sequence. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

Opinion: North Korea is fooling all with promises of peace talks

David Litt served from 2011 to 2016 as the special assistant to President Obama. He played a crucial role in the Obama presidency as the senior presidential speechwriter. He was the youngest to do in US history. Known as the comic muse for the US President, David is also known as the &quot;Man Behind the President&#39;s Jokes&quot;.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION took this opportunity to speak to David Litt who reflected on myriad topics from the role of jokes in politics to Trump, from Obama&#39;s iconic speeches to Air Force One.

&nbsp;

WION:&nbsp; You were just 24 years old when you started at the White House. How did you get to the speechwriter for Barack Obama?

Litt: I was one of the college students in 2008 who was energised by Barack Obama Campaign and after I graduated I moved to Ohio and worked at the state level at the campaigns and then I moved to Washington having no plans of becoming a speech writer, but then one thing led to another and then I&nbsp; ended up getting a job at a firm writing speech for CEOs and other companies mostly private sector leaders.&nbsp;

Few years after that White House had the opening at the bottom of the ladder for a speechwriter to the senior staff. And they basically said- Hey if you want to apply for this job your references are pretty good, you are the only applicant. Why don&#39;t you come over to work at the White House and I was like- Yeah okay, that sounds pretty good. I can do that.

So I hope there was a little talent involved but I think it was to be at the right place at the right time. &nbsp;

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&#39;Man Behind the President&#39;s Jokes&#39; (WION)
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Let&#39;s go a little backward and try and get to know the &#39;Man Behind Presidents Words&#39; a little better.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: Where did you grow up? And how did it all started?&nbsp;

Litt: I grew up in New York City in Manhattan, and I was never incredibly politically active but my parents would talk about politics like the other people&#39;s parents talk about sports around at the dinner table, and I had never planned of being a political speechwriter but I did write a lot of comedy. So, I had done stand-up comedy when I was in High School, I edited a Humour Magazine when I was in college and that was the sort of entry that I had in writing. It turned out to be useful but I hadn&#39;t guessed that in advance. I never planned on being a writer professionally.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: What was your first President Obama moment?&nbsp;

Litt: First time I met President Obama was for a video where he was wishing America Happy Thanks Giving so it was not a big important video but for me, it was really important. I have never written anything like this. And we went to the taping to watch the President and right before the President started, the videographer she stopped and she turn(ed) to me and said- Mr. President, this is David and this is the first time that he has ever written for you.

President Obama turned to me and said: Well, how is it going for you, David?

And I have literally no idea of what I said. I literally blacked out. Like I don&#39;t remember what I told the President.

Later, I found out that it was (a) completely common occurrence. Like people would meet him and completely short circuit and not remember a word they said.

I guess it happened to the best of us something that we are not familiar.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: If I were to mention some of the most iconic speeches that Barack Obama made I would recall the speech on Race (relations) that he gave in 2008. Do you think he has more of a personal touch in his speeches, unlike other politicians?

Litt: I think the speech was very personal, I mean not exclusively. Many many speeches that President Obama gave was deeply personal.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: How has comedy been the tool of getting a political message out?

Litt: One of the things that I learned when I was in the White House and it becomes more true with time is that comedy is a great way of getting attention and it&#39;s harder to get peoples attention than ever before. You know with the Internet.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION:&nbsp; One interesting thing about President Obama was that he gave a lot of references about people in his speeches. You were meant to be talking to these people and getting the insights. What was that like?

Litt:&nbsp; One of my favourite part of the job was to talk to people who were not in Washington DC; who were going to be mentioned by the President but they often didn&#39;t know that. So, I would talk to them, hear their stories and then we will pick people who were really inspiring. You know people who were demonstrating resilience of which all Americans can be proud of.

&nbsp;

WION:&nbsp; You have mentioned about &quot;The Plane&quot; in your book. How cool is it to be the one on &quot;The Plane&quot;?

Litt: Air Force One is just pretty awesome. I mean there is getting around that. There are lots of perks of the White House that wouldn&#39;t be as amazing as you think but Air Force is actually amazing. It wasn&#39;t even about the perks it was about being on Air Force One. More than the White House, in certain ways, Air Force One is the symbol of America...It&#39;s just really special. I do fly coach now. So yeah, I do miss that part of my job.

&nbsp;

WION: What is the process of writing a comic speech for the President?&nbsp;

Litt: In someway jokes are not the highest stakes thing the President has got to do, in fact, it can be just opposite. But they (jokes) can be very difficult because in a joke every word needs to be exactly right. So we would get jokes from 12-13 people, we would give hundreds of ideas and cut that down to 40, and then work with the President to pick with him the one he likes the most.&nbsp;

President Obama in addition to being a funny guy in person is amazing in delivering a joke on stage. So he made us look good which you know was pretty nice.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: Tell us about two of the best memories while working for the White House?&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Litt:&nbsp;That&#39;s a difficult question because there are so many things.

One of the best memory that I have is the first day I walked through the gate. The feeling of saying, wait is it really me in here? It was impossible not to have that going through in my head.&nbsp;

The other moment was when President Obama gave one of his best speeches, most important speeches that I think, was when he spoke for the victims of Mass Shooting in Charlottesville... at the same day the Supreme Court ruled in favour of marriage equality, so gays and lesbians could get married nationwide, and also a day before (the) Supreme Court upheld the Healthcare law. All three of those things combined people from all over Washington. (They) started coming to the White House and White House was lit up in the colour of a rainbow. You see a little progress every time and you see that your country is a lot better place in the evening than it was in the morning. That is pretty amazing to be a part off.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: What were some of the challenges of writing speeches for one of the most powerful men on this planet?

Litt: People constantly criticising of what you write though they don&#39;t know that you are writing it. And also you have people who are always taking words out of context. I mean that is politics. And it is then when you have to constantly look over your shoulder while writing, which is hard.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: What was the thing that you loved most about working with President Obama?&nbsp;

Litt:&nbsp; What I loved working with President Obama was to be a chance to be a part of these moments. To play even the smallest role in somebody&#39;s kid getting a healthcare when they needed or somebody feeling that their story is becoming a part of the American story that they never thought it would be. Just to be one of many many people contributing to that was a very very good feeling.&nbsp; And I really do miss that.

&nbsp;

WION: What were your fear while writing for the President?

Litt: My biggest fear was making a mistake that would make my Boss Look bad. You know if he looked bad it will be a national news may be not just in the US, it could be international news. So the stakes were just so much higher. The job was similar but the consequences of the mistakes were not just the same.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION:&nbsp;What do you think will be the most difficult part to deal while writing for President Trump?

Litt: One of the things that I learnt was that the words are important but what is more imp is the ideas behind it. Most difficult part for me to write for Donald Trump would be the world of his ideas which I do not agree with as it is contrary to everything America stood for since the beginning of the US. And so the speechwriting thing would be difficult and I wouldn&#39;t be taking up the job is that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way he views the US.

&nbsp;

WION: In this age of social media where the Twitter rules, what is the relevance of a speech?

Litt:&nbsp; I think the speeches that the President gives will always matter. What might matter is the day to day speaking that the President would do. But I think in big moments like State of the Union or in times of Crisis, people want to hear from the President. People want to hear from there leaders. And I think that is still true even in a social media age. And people sill want this stability and the depth of understanding that you only can get through a speech; you can&#39;t really get through a tweet.

"Most difficult part for me to write for Donald Trump would be the world of his ideas, which I do not agree with, as it is contrary to everything America stood for since the beginning of the US", David Litt, senior presidential speechwriter of Barack Obama

David Litt served from 2011 to 2016 as the special assistant to President Obama. He played a crucial role in the Obama presidency as the senior presidential speechwriter. He was the youngest to do in US history. Known as the comic muse for the US President, David is also known as the "Man Behind the President's Jokes". WION took this opportunity to speak to David Litt who reflected on myriad topics from the role of jokes in politics to Trump, from Obama's iconic speeches to Air Force One. WION: You were just 24 years old when you started at the White House. How did you get to the speechwriter for Barack Obama? Litt: I was one of the college students in 2008 who was energised by Barack Obama Campaign and after I graduated I moved to Ohio and worked at the state level at the campaigns and then I moved to Washington having no plans of becoming a speech writer, but then one thing led to another and then I ended up getting a job at a firm writing speech for CEOs and other companies mostly private sector leaders. Few years after that White House had the opening at the bottom of the ladder for a speechwriter to the senior staff. And they basically said- Hey if you want to apply for this job your references are pretty good, you are the only applicant. Why don't you come over to work at the White House and I was like- Yeah okay, that sounds pretty good. I can do that. So I hope there was a little talent involved but I think it was to be at the right place at the right time. 'Man Behind the President's Jokes' (WION) × Let's go a little backward and try and get to know the 'Man Behind Presidents Words' a little better. WION: Where did you grow up? And how did it all started? Litt: I grew up in New York City in Manhattan, and I was never incredibly politically active but my parents would talk about politics like the other people's parents talk about sports around at the dinner table, and I had never planned of being a political speechwriter but I did write a lot of comedy. So, I had done stand-up comedy when I was in High School, I edited a Humour Magazine when I was in college and that was the sort of entry that I had in writing. It turned out to be useful but I hadn't guessed that in advance. I never planned on being a writer professionally. WION: What was your first President Obama moment? Litt: First time I met President Obama was for a video where he was wishing America Happy Thanks Giving so it was not a big important video but for me, it was really important. I have never written anything like this. And we went to the taping to watch the President and right before the President started, the videographer she stopped and she turn(ed) to me and said- Mr. President, this is David and this is the first time that he has ever written for you. President Obama turned to me and said: Well, how is it going for you, David? And I have literally no idea of what I said. I literally blacked out. Like I don't remember what I told the President. Later, I found out that it was (a) completely common occurrence. Like people would meet him and completely short circuit and not remember a word they said. I guess it happened to the best of us something that we are not familiar. WION: If I were to mention some of the most iconic speeches that Barack Obama made I would recall the speech on Race (relations) that he gave in 2008. Do you think he has more of a personal touch in his speeches, unlike other politicians? Litt: I think the speech was very personal, I mean not exclusively. Many many speeches that President Obama gave was deeply personal. WION: How has comedy been the tool of getting a political message out? Litt: One of the things that I learned when I was in the White House and it becomes more true with time is that comedy is a great way of getting attention and it's harder to get peoples attention than ever before. You know with the Internet. WION: One interesting thing about President Obama was that he gave a lot of references about people in his speeches. You were meant to be talking to these people and getting the insights. What was that like? Litt: One of my favourite part of the job was to talk to people who were not in Washington DC; who were going to be mentioned by the President but they often didn't know that. So, I would talk to them, hear their stories and then we will pick people who were really inspiring. You know people who were demonstrating resilience of which all Americans can be proud of. WION: You have mentioned about "The Plane" in your book. How cool is it to be the one on "The Plane"? Litt: Air Force One is just pretty awesome. I mean there is getting around that. There are lots of perks of the White House that wouldn't be as amazing as you think but Air Force is actually amazing. It wasn't even about the perks it was about being on Air Force One. More than the White House, in certain ways, Air Force One is the symbol of America...It's just really special. I do fly coach now. So yeah, I do miss that part of my job. WION: What is the process of writing a comic speech for the President? Litt: In someway jokes are not the highest stakes thing the President has got to do, in fact, it can be just opposite. But they (jokes) can be very difficult because in a joke every word needs to be exactly right. So we would get jokes from 12-13 people, we would give hundreds of ideas and cut that down to 40, and then work with the President to pick with him the one he likes the most. President Obama in addition to being a funny guy in person is amazing in delivering a joke on stage. So he made us look good which you know was pretty nice. WION: Tell us about two of the best memories while working for the White House? Litt: That's a difficult question because there are so many things. One of the best memory that I have is the first day I walked through the gate. The feeling of saying, wait is it really me in here? It was impossible not to have that going through in my head. The other moment was when President Obama gave one of his best speeches, most important speeches that I think, was when he spoke for the victims of Mass Shooting in Charlottesville... at the same day the Supreme Court ruled in favour of marriage equality, so gays and lesbians could get married nationwide, and also a day before (the) Supreme Court upheld the Healthcare law. All three of those things combined people from all over Washington. (They) started coming to the White House and White House was lit up in the colour of a rainbow. You see a little progress every time and you see that your country is a lot better place in the evening than it was in the morning. That is pretty amazing to be a part off. WION: What were some of the challenges of writing speeches for one of the most powerful men on this planet? Litt: People constantly criticising of what you write though they don't know that you are writing it. And also you have people who are always taking words out of context. I mean that is politics. And it is then when you have to constantly look over your shoulder while writing, which is hard. WION: What was the thing that you loved most about working with President Obama? Litt: What I loved working with President Obama was to be a chance to be a part of these moments. To play even the smallest role in somebody's kid getting a healthcare when they needed or somebody feeling that their story is becoming a part of the American story that they never thought it would be. Just to be one of many many people contributing to that was a very very good feeling. And I really do miss that. WION: What were your fear while writing for the President? Litt: My biggest fear was making a mistake that would make my Boss Look bad. You know if he looked bad it will be a national news may be not just in the US, it could be international news. So the stakes were just so much higher. The job was similar but the consequences of the mistakes were not just the same. WION: What do you think will be the most difficult part to deal while writing for President Trump? Litt: One of the things that I learnt was that the words are important but what is more imp is the ideas behind it. Most difficult part for me to write for Donald Trump would be the world of his ideas which I do not agree with as it is contrary to everything America stood for since the beginning of the US. And so the speechwriting thing would be difficult and I wouldn't be taking up the job is that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way he views the US. WION: In this age of social media where the Twitter rules, what is the relevance of a speech? Litt: I think the speeches that the President gives will always matter. What might matter is the day to day speaking that the President would do. But I think in big moments like State of the Union or in times of Crisis, people want to hear from the President. People want to hear from there leaders. And I think that is still true even in a social media age. And people sill want this stability and the depth of understanding that you only can get through a speech; you can't really get through a tweet.

Opinion: On Obama, Trump, Air Force One and Jokes

Former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon on Sunday sought to back away from incendiary remarks quoted in an explosive new book that has landed him in hot water with the president he helped elect.

Bannon has found himself in dire straits since excerpts of Paul Wolff`s &quot;Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House&quot; -- an explosive behind-the-scenes account that questions the president&#39;s fitness for office -- were first published on Wednesday.

He has been abandoned by financial patrons, condemned by erstwhile political allies and ridiculed by Trump himself over his reported comments in the book, which he has not denied making.

In the book, Bannon is quoted as saying a pre-election meeting involving son Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer was &quot;treasonous,&quot; and that prosecutors investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia would &quot;crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV.&quot;

In a statement to the Axios news website, Bannon, who was a senior Trump adviser until he was ousted in August, said: &quot;Donald Trump Jr. is both a patriot and a good man. He has been relentless in his advocacy for his father and the agenda that has helped turn our country around.&quot;

His criticism, Bannon said, was aimed at onetime Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, &quot;a seasoned campaign professional&quot; who &quot;should have known (the Russians) are duplicitous, cunning and not our friends.&quot; But in &quot;Fire and Fury,&quot; Bannon is quoted as saying that &quot;the top three guys in the campaign&quot; -- Manafort, Donald Jr. and Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner -- attended the meeting he described as &quot;treasonous.&quot;

The closest Bannon came to an actual apology was saying he regretted the timing of his response.

&quot;I regret that my delay in responding to the inaccurate reporting regarding Don Jr. has diverted attention from the president&#39;s historical accomplishments.&quot;

Trump on Sunday continued his daily assault on &quot;Fire and Fury&quot; and its author, tweeting that the book -- which paints him as disengaged, ill-informed and unstable, with signs of serious memory loss -- was a &quot;Fake Book, written by a totally discredited author.&quot;&nbsp;

A day earlier, seeking to refute Wolff&#39;s suggestion that he lacked stability, Trump called himself a &quot;very stable genius.&quot;

Senior Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller treated the book derisively while insisting that his boss was in fact &quot;a political genius,&quot; in an interview with CNN on Sunday.

Wolff, Miller said, &quot;is a garbage author of a garbage book.&quot; He assailed Bannon, reportedly a key source for the author, as &quot;vindictive&quot; and &quot;out of touch with reality.

&quot;Wolff defended his work on Sunday, telling NBC he &quot;absolutely did not&quot; violate any off-the-record agreements in his reporting but conceding, of the total three hours he said he spent with Trump, that the president &quot;probably did not think of them as interviews.&quot;

He also portrayed a high level of concern in the White House over whether Trump risks being removed from office as unfit, as is possible -- if difficult -- under the constitution&#39;s 25th Amendment.

Almost daily, he said, White House aides would say, &quot;We&#39;re not at a 25th Amendment level yet.&quot;

Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, rejected that notion, telling ABC that no one at the White House &quot;questions the stability of the president.&quot; She suggested that Wolff was someone who would &quot;lie for money and for power.&quot;

But Wolff insisted he did not enter the book project with an anti-Trump bias or agenda.

&quot;I would have been delighted to have written a contrarian account here: &#39;Donald Trump, this unexpected president, is actually going to succeed.&#39;&nbsp;Okay, that&#39;s not the story. He is not going to succeed. This is worse than everybody thought.&quot;

CIA director Mike Pompeo, appearing on Fox News Sunday, insisted that Wolff&#39;s portrayal of Trump was &quot;just pure fantasy.&quot; Far from being detached and unable to deal with complex policy issues, Pompeo said, &quot;The president is engaged, he understands the complexity, he asks really difficult questions of our team at the CIA.&quot;

He described Trump as an &quot;avid consumer&quot; of the agency&#39;s intelligence.

Pompeo added that Trump was &quot;completely fit,&quot; saying it was &quot;ludicrous&quot; to suggest otherwise.

But in a probable sign of White House sensitivities over the book, Miller lashed out in an unusually raw clash with his CNN interviewer, Jake Tapper.

Miller called Tapper &quot;condescending&quot; and &quot;snide,&quot; and accused CNN of engaging in &quot;negative anti-Trump hysterical coverage&quot; and &quot;spectacularly embarrassing false reporting.&quot;

The two men repeatedly spoke over each other before Tapper declared, &quot;I think I&#39;ve wasted enough of my viewers&#39;&nbsp;time. Thank you, Stephen,&quot; then turned away from Miller -- who was still talking -- to tersely announce the next guest.

Miller&#39;s combative performance on CNN got a thumbs up from his boss.

&quot;Jake Tapper of Fake News CNN just got destroyed in his interview with Stephen Miller of the Trump Administration. Watch the hatred and unfairness of this CNN flunky!&quot; Trump tweeted after the segment aired.

Bannon has found himself in dire straits since excerpts of Paul Wolff's 'Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House' were first published on Wednesday

Former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon on Sunday sought to back away from incendiary remarks quoted in an explosive new book that has landed him in hot water with the president he helped elect. Bannon has found himself in dire straits since excerpts of Paul Wolff`s "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" -- an explosive behind-the-scenes account that questions the president's fitness for office -- were first published on Wednesday. He has been abandoned by financial patrons, condemned by erstwhile political allies and ridiculed by Trump himself over his reported comments in the book, which he has not denied making. In the book, Bannon is quoted as saying a pre-election meeting involving son Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer was "treasonous," and that prosecutors investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia would "crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV." In a statement to the Axios news website, Bannon, who was a senior Trump adviser until he was ousted in August, said: "Donald Trump Jr. is both a patriot and a good man. He has been relentless in his advocacy for his father and the agenda that has helped turn our country around." His criticism, Bannon said, was aimed at onetime Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, "a seasoned campaign professional" who "should have known (the Russians) are duplicitous, cunning and not our friends." But in "Fire and Fury," Bannon is quoted as saying that "the top three guys in the campaign" -- Manafort, Donald Jr. and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner -- attended the meeting he described as "treasonous." The closest Bannon came to an actual apology was saying he regretted the timing of his response. "I regret that my delay in responding to the inaccurate reporting regarding Don Jr. has diverted attention from the president's historical accomplishments." Trump on Sunday continued his daily assault on "Fire and Fury" and its author, tweeting that the book -- which paints him as disengaged, ill-informed and unstable, with signs of serious memory loss -- was a "Fake Book, written by a totally discredited author." A day earlier, seeking to refute Wolff's suggestion that he lacked stability, Trump called himself a "very stable genius." Senior Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller treated the book derisively while insisting that his boss was in fact "a political genius," in an interview with CNN on Sunday. Wolff, Miller said, "is a garbage author of a garbage book." He assailed Bannon, reportedly a key source for the author, as "vindictive" and "out of touch with reality. "Wolff defended his work on Sunday, telling NBC he "absolutely did not" violate any off-the-record agreements in his reporting but conceding, of the total three hours he said he spent with Trump, that the president "probably did not think of them as interviews." He also portrayed a high level of concern in the White House over whether Trump risks being removed from office as unfit, as is possible -- if difficult -- under the constitution's 25th Amendment. Almost daily, he said, White House aides would say, "We're not at a 25th Amendment level yet." Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, rejected that notion, telling ABC that no one at the White House "questions the stability of the president." She suggested that Wolff was someone who would "lie for money and for power." But Wolff insisted he did not enter the book project with an anti-Trump bias or agenda. "I would have been delighted to have written a contrarian account here: 'Donald Trump, this unexpected president, is actually going to succeed.' Okay, that's not the story. He is not going to succeed. This is worse than everybody thought." CIA director Mike Pompeo, appearing on Fox News Sunday, insisted that Wolff's portrayal of Trump was "just pure fantasy." Far from being detached and unable to deal with complex policy issues, Pompeo said, "The president is engaged, he understands the complexity, he asks really difficult questions of our team at the CIA." He described Trump as an "avid consumer" of the agency's intelligence. Pompeo added that Trump was "completely fit," saying it was "ludicrous" to suggest otherwise. But in a probable sign of White House sensitivities over the book, Miller lashed out in an unusually raw clash with his CNN interviewer, Jake Tapper. Miller called Tapper "condescending" and "snide," and accused CNN of engaging in "negative anti-Trump hysterical coverage" and "spectacularly embarrassing false reporting." The two men repeatedly spoke over each other before Tapper declared, "I think I've wasted enough of my viewers' time. Thank you, Stephen," then turned away from Miller -- who was still talking -- to tersely announce the next guest. Miller's combative performance on CNN got a thumbs up from his boss. "Jake Tapper of Fake News CNN just got destroyed in his interview with Stephen Miller of the Trump Administration. Watch the hatred and unfairness of this CNN flunky!" Trump tweeted after the segment aired.

Bannon backs away from remarks that drew Trump's wrath

US President Donald Trump has postponed his &#39;fake news awards&#39; to next week (January 17), instead of today, citing high interest.

Trump tweeted last week awards would be given out on Monday, January 8 and &ldquo;cover Dishonesty &amp; Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media.&rdquo;

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I will be announcing THE MOST DISHONEST &amp; CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 o&rsquo;clock. Subjects will cover Dishonesty &amp; Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media. Stay tuned!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/948359545767841792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Trump has regularly slammed the coverage of his campaign and time in the White House.

&quot;The Fake News Awards, those going to the most corrupt &amp; biased of the Mainstream Media, will be presented to the losers on Wednesday, January 17th, rather than this coming Monday,&quot; Donald Trump tweeted.

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The Fake News Awards, those going to the most corrupt &amp; biased of the Mainstream Media, will be presented to the losers on Wednesday, January 17th, rather than this coming Monday. The interest in, and importance of, these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/950103659337134080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&quot;The interest in, and importance of, these awards are far greater than anyone could have anticipated!&quot; US president said.

On January 2, Trump had tweeted that he would announce the awards to the media houses for &quot;dishonesty and bad reporting&quot;.

&quot;We should have a contest as to which of the Networks, plus CNN and not including Fox, is the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted in its political coverage of your favourite President (me). They are all bad. Winner to receive the &#39;Fake news trophy,&quot; he tweeted on November 27.

As per the Trump Campaign list, the competition for &#39;King of Fake news&#39; is among three news organisations.

&quot;ABC News &#39;mistakenly&#39; reported that candidate Trump directed Michael Flynn to make contact with Russian officials before the election,&quot; it said.

&quot;CNN &#39;mistakenly&#39; reported that candidate Donald Trump and his son Donald J Trump, Jr had access to hacked documents from WikiLeaks,&quot; it wrote.

&quot;TIME &#39;mistakenly&#39; reported that President Trump removed a bust of Martin Luther King, Jr from the Oval Office,&quot; the Trump Campaign said, as it asked the participants to &quot;let the President know if there is another story you think should be crowned as the 2017 KING of Fake News&quot;.

Trump has reportedly often labelled media coverage critical of his administration as &ldquo;fake news,&rdquo; accusing leading US media of spreading &ldquo;fake news&rdquo; against him during the US presidential election campaign as well as after he became president.

Donald Trump has regularly slammed the coverage of his campaign and time in the White House.

US President Donald Trump has postponed his 'fake news awards' to next week (January 17), instead of today, citing high interest. Trump tweeted last week awards would be given out on Monday, January 8 and “cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media.” I will be announcing THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 o’clock. Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media. Stay tuned! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018 × Trump has regularly slammed the coverage of his campaign and time in the White House. "The Fake News Awards, those going to the most corrupt & biased of the Mainstream Media, will be presented to the losers on Wednesday, January 17th, rather than this coming Monday," Donald Trump tweeted. The Fake News Awards, those going to the most corrupt & biased of the Mainstream Media, will be presented to the losers on Wednesday, January 17th, rather than this coming Monday. The interest in, and importance of, these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018 × "The interest in, and importance of, these awards are far greater than anyone could have anticipated!" US president said. On January 2, Trump had tweeted that he would announce the awards to the media houses for "dishonesty and bad reporting". "We should have a contest as to which of the Networks, plus CNN and not including Fox, is the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted in its political coverage of your favourite President (me). They are all bad. Winner to receive the 'Fake news trophy," he tweeted on November 27. As per the Trump Campaign list, the competition for 'King of Fake news' is among three news organisations. "ABC News 'mistakenly' reported that candidate Trump directed Michael Flynn to make contact with Russian officials before the election," it said. "CNN 'mistakenly' reported that candidate Donald Trump and his son Donald J Trump, Jr had access to hacked documents from WikiLeaks," it wrote. "TIME 'mistakenly' reported that President Trump removed a bust of Martin Luther King, Jr from the Oval Office," the Trump Campaign said, as it asked the participants to "let the President know if there is another story you think should be crowned as the 2017 KING of Fake News". Trump has reportedly often labelled media coverage critical of his administration as “fake news,” accusing leading US media of spreading “fake news” against him during the US presidential election campaign as well as after he became president.

US president Donald Trump postpones 'fake news awards', to now be presented on January 17

Michael Wolff, the author of &quot;Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House&quot; who has been highly critical since the beginning of Trump&#39;s presidency, has said his that revelations will most likely bring an end to Trump&#39;s time in the White House.

Wolff further claimed that Trump is not the right person to be on such a massive platform and is not fit for the job.&nbsp;

&quot;I think one of the interesting effects of the book so far is a very clear emperor-has-no-clothes effect,&quot; Wolff said in an interview broadcast on Saturday.

&quot;The story that I have told seems to present this presidency in such a way that it says he can&rsquo;t do his job,&quot; Wolff said.

&quot;Suddenly everywhere people are going &#39;oh my God, it&rsquo;s true, he has no clothes&#39;. That&#39;s the background to the perception and the understanding that will finally end ... this presidency.&quot;

However, Trump has come out to bash all the alleged claims made in the book, saying that they <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-angry-as-book-fire-and-fury-release-ahead-of-schedule-28665">are all untrue</a>.&nbsp;

He further attacked the author in a Tweet posted on Saturday and called him a &quot;total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book.&quot;&nbsp;

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Michael Wolff is a total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book. He used Sloppy Steve Bannon, who cried when he got fired and begged for his job. Now Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad! <a href="https://t.co/mEeUhk5ZV9">https://t.co/mEeUhk5ZV9</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/949498795074736129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The Trump administration had earlier tried to block the book from being published but it was rushed into bookstores and onto e-book platforms four days ahead of schedule due to what its publisher called &quot;unprecedented demand&quot;.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/fire-and-fury-excerpts-from-tell-all-book-on-trump-28681">&#39;Fire and Fury&#39;: Excerpts from tell-all book on Trump</a>

The book quickly sold out in shops in the US capital, with some lining up at midnight to get their hands on the instant best-seller.&nbsp;

Trump further attacked the author in a Tweet posted on Saturday and called him a 'total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book'

Michael Wolff, the author of "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" who has been highly critical since the beginning of Trump's presidency, has said his that revelations will most likely bring an end to Trump's time in the White House. Wolff further claimed that Trump is not the right person to be on such a massive platform and is not fit for the job. "I think one of the interesting effects of the book so far is a very clear emperor-has-no-clothes effect," Wolff said in an interview broadcast on Saturday. "The story that I have told seems to present this presidency in such a way that it says he can’t do his job," Wolff said. "Suddenly everywhere people are going 'oh my God, it’s true, he has no clothes'. That's the background to the perception and the understanding that will finally end ... this presidency." However, Trump has come out to bash all the alleged claims made in the book, saying that they are all untrue. He further attacked the author in a Tweet posted on Saturday and called him a "total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book." Michael Wolff is a total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book. He used Sloppy Steve Bannon, who cried when he got fired and begged for his job. Now Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad! https://t.co/mEeUhk5ZV9 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 × The Trump administration had earlier tried to block the book from being published but it was rushed into bookstores and onto e-book platforms four days ahead of schedule due to what its publisher called "unprecedented demand". Also read: 'Fire and Fury': Excerpts from tell-all book on Trump The book quickly sold out in shops in the US capital, with some lining up at midnight to get their hands on the instant best-seller.

'Fire and Fury' author says his revelations will bring down Trump

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif today alleged that US President Donald Trump&#39;s recent remarks against his country showed that he was &quot;talking in the language of India&quot;.

Briefing the Parliamentary Committee on National Security about the tension between Pakistan and the US following Trump&#39;s remarks, Asif said the US is making Islamabad a scapegoat for its failure in Afghanistan.

Trump had accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but &quot;lies and deceit&quot; in return for USD 33 billion aid.

Sources privy to the discussion in the meeting said Asif told lawmakers, &quot;Trump was speaking in the language of India.&quot;

&quot;The statements from the US leaders are contrary to the facts,&quot; Asif said.

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who heads the body, told the media after the meeting that there should be &quot;balanced response&quot; to the statements from the US.

&quot;The country&#39;s dignity should be maintained while engaging with the US,&quot; he said.

He said the committee has decided to reconvene next week for a briefing by security agencies.

The closed-door meeting came on the heels of a high-level National Security Committee meet and the cabinet meeting earlier this week.

Defence Minister Khurram Dastagir was also present in the meeting.

Dastagir said when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary James Mattis visited Pakistan, they presented their stance in accordance with diplomatic norms and the talks were not threatening and insulting, Geo TV reported.

&quot;(But) this was present in Trump&#39;s tweet and before that when US Vice President Mike Pence made the &#39;put Pakistan on notice&#39; statement from Afghanistan,&quot; the defence minister said, referring to the threatening tone of the US leaders.

&quot;We need to have a holistic review of the entire situation. We are conducting a complete analysis and coolly formulating our response,&quot; he said, adding that there should not be any doubts when it comes to the defence of Pakistan.

&quot;The question is will America create a situation which will harm Pakistan...We are ready for this but still want to engage the US,&quot; he shared.

Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and NSA Lt Gen (retd) Nasser Janjua also briefed the participants.

Briefing the Parliamentary Committee on National Security about the tension between Pakistan and the US following Trump's remarks, Pakistan Foreign minister Asif said the US is making Islamabad a scapegoat for its failure in Afghanistan

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif today alleged that US President Donald Trump's recent remarks against his country showed that he was "talking in the language of India". Briefing the Parliamentary Committee on National Security about the tension between Pakistan and the US following Trump's remarks, Asif said the US is making Islamabad a scapegoat for its failure in Afghanistan. Trump had accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but "lies and deceit" in return for USD 33 billion aid. Sources privy to the discussion in the meeting said Asif told lawmakers, "Trump was speaking in the language of India." "The statements from the US leaders are contrary to the facts," Asif said. National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who heads the body, told the media after the meeting that there should be "balanced response" to the statements from the US. "The country's dignity should be maintained while engaging with the US," he said. He said the committee has decided to reconvene next week for a briefing by security agencies. The closed-door meeting came on the heels of a high-level National Security Committee meet and the cabinet meeting earlier this week. Defence Minister Khurram Dastagir was also present in the meeting. Dastagir said when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary James Mattis visited Pakistan, they presented their stance in accordance with diplomatic norms and the talks were not threatening and insulting, Geo TV reported. "(But) this was present in Trump's tweet and before that when US Vice President Mike Pence made the 'put Pakistan on notice' statement from Afghanistan," the defence minister said, referring to the threatening tone of the US leaders. "We need to have a holistic review of the entire situation. We are conducting a complete analysis and coolly formulating our response," he said, adding that there should not be any doubts when it comes to the defence of Pakistan. "The question is will America create a situation which will harm Pakistan...We are ready for this but still want to engage the US," he shared. Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and NSA Lt Gen (retd) Nasser Janjua also briefed the participants.

Trump 'talking in the language of India', Pakistan Foreign Minister

Following a disruptive start to 2018, President Donald Trump will huddle with top Republicans on a two-day retreat starting on Friday to lay out legislative priorities for the year and discuss a strategy for pivotal November congressional elections.

Days after explosive comments by Trump&#39;s former chief strategist Steve Bannon left the White House in a defensive crouch, the president will sit down at Camp David with party leaders including House of Representative Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Trump achieved the first major legislative win of his presidency in December with tax legislation long sought by his party and its supporters.

He is eager for more such victories and the White House has targeted infrastructure policy and a welfare overhaul as its top priorities. Immigration legislation, in particular, a plan to help people who were brought to the United States illegally as children, is also on the agenda.

How and when to execute those priorities must be decided. While Trump and McConnell want to work on infrastructure first, Ryan is more interested in tackling welfare.

A White House official said the timing of legislation would be discussed as well as the political priority of giving Republicans substantive issues to highlight ahead of November elections when the party will seek to maintain control of Congress.

All 435 members in the House and a third of the 100 members in the Senate will be up for re-election. A Democratic takeover of one or both chambers could help stifle Trump&#39;s agenda.

The meeting at the presidential retreat in Maryland, which will include Trump Cabinet officials, follows an uproar over the description in a new book of an inept Trump White House and Bannon&#39;s suggestion the president&#39;s son and son-in-law committed treason by meeting with a Russian official during the 2016 campaign.

Trump broke with Bannon on Wednesday, saying his former adviser had &quot;lost his mind,&quot; in a statement issued after comments attributed to Bannon in Michael Wolff&#39;s &quot;Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House&quot; were made public.

Aligning Priorities

The strategy session will provide an opportunity to switch topics after the furore over the book, which goes on sale on Friday.

&quot;The White House doesn&#39;t mind the optics after a few days of the president unloading on Bannon and making our views clear on the book, the president sits down and charts the course forward ... with the actual leaders of the Republican Party,&quot; a White House official said.

Trump spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Thursday that Wolff&#39;s book was a &quot;complete fantasy&quot; filled with tabloid gossip. She called for the conservative outlet Breitbart News to consider parting ways with Bannon, who leads the group and had pledged to campaign for anti-establishment Republican candidates in the 2018 elections.

Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn said the weekend meeting would help lawmakers and administration officials get on the same page about their priorities.

&quot;This administration came into office perhaps not really knowing for sure that they would win the election and was a little bit behind the curve in terms of preparing. Now I think they&rsquo;ve recognized that that sort of coordination is really important in order to get things done,&quot; he said.

&quot;So I look forward to having those conversations and making sure that the president&rsquo;s priorities and our priorities are aligned.&rdquo;

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Following a disruptive start to 2018, President Donald Trump will huddle with top Republicans on a two-day retreat starting on Friday to lay out legislative priorities for the year and discuss a strategy for pivotal November congressional elections

Following a disruptive start to 2018, President Donald Trump will huddle with top Republicans on a two-day retreat starting on Friday to lay out legislative priorities for the year and discuss a strategy for pivotal November congressional elections. Days after explosive comments by Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon left the White House in a defensive crouch, the president will sit down at Camp David with party leaders including House of Representative Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Trump achieved the first major legislative win of his presidency in December with tax legislation long sought by his party and its supporters. He is eager for more such victories and the White House has targeted infrastructure policy and a welfare overhaul as its top priorities. Immigration legislation, in particular, a plan to help people who were brought to the United States illegally as children, is also on the agenda. How and when to execute those priorities must be decided. While Trump and McConnell want to work on infrastructure first, Ryan is more interested in tackling welfare. A White House official said the timing of legislation would be discussed as well as the political priority of giving Republicans substantive issues to highlight ahead of November elections when the party will seek to maintain control of Congress. All 435 members in the House and a third of the 100 members in the Senate will be up for re-election. A Democratic takeover of one or both chambers could help stifle Trump's agenda. The meeting at the presidential retreat in Maryland, which will include Trump Cabinet officials, follows an uproar over the description in a new book of an inept Trump White House and Bannon's suggestion the president's son and son-in-law committed treason by meeting with a Russian official during the 2016 campaign. Trump broke with Bannon on Wednesday, saying his former adviser had "lost his mind," in a statement issued after comments attributed to Bannon in Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" were made public. Aligning Priorities The strategy session will provide an opportunity to switch topics after the furore over the book, which goes on sale on Friday. "The White House doesn't mind the optics after a few days of the president unloading on Bannon and making our views clear on the book, the president sits down and charts the course forward ... with the actual leaders of the Republican Party," a White House official said. Trump spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Thursday that Wolff's book was a "complete fantasy" filled with tabloid gossip. She called for the conservative outlet Breitbart News to consider parting ways with Bannon, who leads the group and had pledged to campaign for anti-establishment Republican candidates in the 2018 elections. Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn said the weekend meeting would help lawmakers and administration officials get on the same page about their priorities. "This administration came into office perhaps not really knowing for sure that they would win the election and was a little bit behind the curve in terms of preparing. Now I think they’ve recognized that that sort of coordination is really important in order to get things done," he said. "So I look forward to having those conversations and making sure that the president’s priorities and our priorities are aligned.”

Fresh from Bannon feud, Trump meets Republicans to strategise for 2018

Did Steve Bannon jump or was he pushed? Bannon&rsquo;s opponents spoke of a firing, while his allies &ndash; and Bannon himself &ndash; said he had planned to resign for weeks. Turns out both sides were right. But that is only the start of a tale in which the final chapters are not yet written.

Within hours of leaving his post, Bannon was back as executive chairman of Breitbart. Staff at the right-wing publication, including senior editor Joel Pollak, had already declared &ldquo;#WAR&rdquo; on the White House as soon as their boss&rsquo;s departure was announced.

A Bannon friend said: &ldquo;Steve&rsquo;s unchained. Fully unchained.&rdquo; Another said: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s now a Democrat White House&rdquo;.

At a staff meeting, Bannon refined the blunt declarations. The line that Trump himself would not be attacked was repackaged as a &ldquo;war for Trump&rdquo;. That war would be against Trump&rsquo;s enemies &ndash; but not the counter-protesters at Charlottesville or even the &ldquo;fake media&rdquo;. The war would be waged on those considered the president&rsquo;s foes within the White House.

Breitbart has already lined up its first target: national security adviser H R McMaster. The hard right had been set against McMaster since the spring, when he pushed Bannon off a key committee of the National Security Council. Then, with leverage from the appointment of Kelly as chief of staff, McMaster removed four of Bannon&rsquo;s allies from the council. This tussle led Bannon&rsquo;s camp to counter-attack on social media, calling for &ldquo;McMasterOut&rdquo;.

On the Sunday immediately following Bannon&rsquo;s departure from the White House, Breitbart led with an article: &ldquo;HR McMaster Endorsed Book That Advocates Quran-Kissing Apology Ceremonies.&rdquo; The next day the site was blaming McMaster for Trump&rsquo;s response to the deaths of ten sailors aboard the USS John McCain in a collision near Singapore. According to the article, McMaster failed to brief the president properly, which is why the commander in chief initially reacted to the news by saying &ldquo;that&rsquo;s too bad&rdquo;.

Bannon and his allies had been whipping up an electronic and social media campaign against McMaster for some time. They tried to rally opposition to a review of Afghanistan policy, with Bannon pushing for a privatisation of the US intervention.

The prelude to the war came after Charlottesville when Bannon supported Trump in his message that both sides were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville &mdash; thereby tacitly supporting the white supremacists, even while other advisers warned him against such statements.

Kelly hit back. His allies spread stories that Trump disliked Bannon&rsquo;s leaking, especially about White House in-fighting, and the books and articles portraying the chief strategist as the power in the executive. Bannon also helped design his own demise &ndash; unwittingly or deliberately &ndash; by committing &ldquo;suicide by journalist&rdquo;. Piqued by a story in The American Prospect about North Korea, he called up the journalist to complain about the government&rsquo;s approach &ndash; which he blamed on generals like McMaster. The enemy, he said, was China in an economic war. He also boasted about his influence, claiming he could have people fired in the government.

The article was quickly presented to Trump. On Friday morning, in a staff meeting, the president said his right-hand ideologue would be leaving that day.

The beginning of the end

The Bannon-Breitbart campaign to vanquish McMaster, and then maybe National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, and then maybe Kelly, and then maybe even Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump will get the publicity accorded to a dramatic story.

Framed as a valiant fight against the &ldquo;deep state&rdquo;, it will have its vocal partners. We&rsquo;ll hear from alt-right polemicist Mike Cernovich, who accused McMaster of manipulating intelligence reports to Trump. We&rsquo;ll also get insight from &ldquo;Pizzagate&rdquo; agitator Jack Posobiec, InfoWars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones (&ldquo;McMaster&rsquo;s sold out&rdquo;), and even ex-KKK grand wizard David Duke.

It is unlikely to succeed. The retired generals in the White House have succeeded in containing the machinery around Trump, even if the president cannot be restrained on Twitter. They will have the power of executive agencies behind them. Most of the media will have no desire to aid and abet Bannon. Posobiec may appeal to the wonders of social media and InfoWars but, as Charlottesville showed, the alt-right is discovering that it may not even have a secure position on that battleground.

Still, the campaign will be a most unwelcome flank attack as Trump finds himself surrounded on all sides: the Russia investigation, the failure to pass a single major piece of legislation since January, the questions over ethics and conflicts of interests, the looming deadline for adoption of the federal government&rsquo;s budget, and the white supremacy spectre.

Once upon a time &ndash; even last week &ndash; the mantra &ldquo;Trump still has his base&rdquo; was being invoked to minimise the threat to the president. Now even that base is fragmenting.

For the occupant of the White House, it is now Total #WAR.

&nbsp;

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/with-bannon-back-at-breitbart-what-will-war-mean-for-the-white-house-82787" rel="nofollow" target="blank">original article</a>.

&nbsp;

Bannon and his allies had been whipping up an electronic and social media campaign for a long time now.

Did Steve Bannon jump or was he pushed? Bannon’s opponents spoke of a firing, while his allies – and Bannon himself – said he had planned to resign for weeks. Turns out both sides were right. But that is only the start of a tale in which the final chapters are not yet written. Within hours of leaving his post, Bannon was back as executive chairman of Breitbart. Staff at the right-wing publication, including senior editor Joel Pollak, had already declared “#WAR” on the White House as soon as their boss’s departure was announced. A Bannon friend said: “Steve’s unchained. Fully unchained.” Another said: “It’s now a Democrat White House”. At a staff meeting, Bannon refined the blunt declarations. The line that Trump himself would not be attacked was repackaged as a “war for Trump”. That war would be against Trump’s enemies – but not the counter-protesters at Charlottesville or even the “fake media”. The war would be waged on those considered the president’s foes within the White House. Breitbart has already lined up its first target: national security adviser H R McMaster. The hard right had been set against McMaster since the spring, when he pushed Bannon off a key committee of the National Security Council. Then, with leverage from the appointment of Kelly as chief of staff, McMaster removed four of Bannon’s allies from the council. This tussle led Bannon’s camp to counter-attack on social media, calling for “McMasterOut”. On the Sunday immediately following Bannon’s departure from the White House, Breitbart led with an article: “HR McMaster Endorsed Book That Advocates Quran-Kissing Apology Ceremonies.” The next day the site was blaming McMaster for Trump’s response to the deaths of ten sailors aboard the USS John McCain in a collision near Singapore. According to the article, McMaster failed to brief the president properly, which is why the commander in chief initially reacted to the news by saying “that’s too bad”. Bannon and his allies had been whipping up an electronic and social media campaign against McMaster for some time. They tried to rally opposition to a review of Afghanistan policy, with Bannon pushing for a privatisation of the US intervention. The prelude to the war came after Charlottesville when Bannon supported Trump in his message that both sides were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville — thereby tacitly supporting the white supremacists, even while other advisers warned him against such statements. Kelly hit back. His allies spread stories that Trump disliked Bannon’s leaking, especially about White House in-fighting, and the books and articles portraying the chief strategist as the power in the executive. Bannon also helped design his own demise – unwittingly or deliberately – by committing “suicide by journalist”. Piqued by a story in The American Prospect about North Korea, he called up the journalist to complain about the government’s approach – which he blamed on generals like McMaster. The enemy, he said, was China in an economic war. He also boasted about his influence, claiming he could have people fired in the government. The article was quickly presented to Trump. On Friday morning, in a staff meeting, the president said his right-hand ideologue would be leaving that day. The beginning of the end The Bannon-Breitbart campaign to vanquish McMaster, and then maybe National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, and then maybe Kelly, and then maybe even Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump will get the publicity accorded to a dramatic story. Framed as a valiant fight against the “deep state”, it will have its vocal partners. We’ll hear from alt-right polemicist Mike Cernovich, who accused McMaster of manipulating intelligence reports to Trump. We’ll also get insight from “Pizzagate” agitator Jack Posobiec, InfoWars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones (“McMaster’s sold out”), and even ex-KKK grand wizard David Duke. It is unlikely to succeed. The retired generals in the White House have succeeded in containing the machinery around Trump, even if the president cannot be restrained on Twitter. They will have the power of executive agencies behind them. Most of the media will have no desire to aid and abet Bannon. Posobiec may appeal to the wonders of social media and InfoWars but, as Charlottesville showed, the alt-right is discovering that it may not even have a secure position on that battleground. Still, the campaign will be a most unwelcome flank attack as Trump finds himself surrounded on all sides: the Russia investigation, the failure to pass a single major piece of legislation since January, the questions over ethics and conflicts of interests, the looming deadline for adoption of the federal government’s budget, and the white supremacy spectre. Once upon a time – even last week – the mantra “Trump still has his base” was being invoked to minimise the threat to the president. Now even that base is fragmenting. For the occupant of the White House, it is now Total #WAR. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Opinion:  For Trump, it is now Total #WAR from Bannon

It had to happen one day. Pakistan&rsquo;s predicament reminds one of the famous statement of Abraham Lincoln: &ldquo;You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.&rdquo;

And it took 15 years for a US President to realise that his country was being taken for a royal ride by none other than its strategic ally in the name of the so-called fight against terrorism.

&#39;&#39;The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies &amp; deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!,&#39;&#39; President Donald Trump tweeted, rattling Pakistan on the New Year day.&nbsp;

The tweet sent shivers down the spine of Pakistan&rsquo;s civilian and military leadership as they huddled to grasp its impact. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was forced to advance a meeting of the National Security Committee by a day which was attended by top cabinet ministers and military chiefs. In all likelihood, the National Security Committee met at the instance of the army chief as army generals had met separately before the all-powerful meeting. At the end of the three-hour-long meeting, the committee came out with a terse statement shying away from commenting on Trump&rsquo;s tweet. The statement released by the prime minister&rsquo;s office expressed &ldquo;deep disappointment&rdquo; at comments made by US officials over the past few months.

&ldquo;Recent statements and articulation by the American leadership were completely incomprehensible as they contradicted facts manifestly, struck with great insensitivity at the trust between two nations built over generations, and negated the decades of sacrifices made by the Pakistani nation,&rdquo; it said.

Earlier, Pakistan foreign office summoned U.S. ambassador David Hale and sought his explanation behind Trump&rsquo;s angry tweet.

Pakistan has been on the boil since the storm caused by Trump tweet battered the country. Anti-Trump protests have engulfed almost the entire Pakistan with several political religious groups taking out rallies. Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan too joined the issue by saying that Pakistan lost 70,000 lives and $100,000 billion due to the US war on terror. Khan, who once tormented the best of the batsmen in the world during his playing days, seems pretty weak on mathematics as the figure of monetary loss quoted by him is beyond the realms of possibility.

The US put the screws on Pakistan by announcing the next day of Trump tweet that it would continue to withhold military aid worth $255 million to its former strategic ally. The statement from the National Security Council spokesman was equally lethal. &quot;The President has made clear that the United States expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists and militants on its soil, and that Pakistan&#39;s actions in support of the South Asia strategy will ultimately determine the trajectory of our relationship, including future security assistance.&quot;

It appears that the Trump tweet storm is unlikely to die down soon and more is in the offing for Pakistan. The statements from US officials are self-explanatory.&nbsp; Following up on Trump&rsquo;s tweet, the White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders accused Pakistan of playing a &ldquo;double game&rdquo; on fighting terrorism and said: &ldquo;They can do more to stop terrorism and we want them to do that.&rdquo; Earlier, the U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said at the United Nations that &ldquo;They work with us at times, and they also harbor the terrorists that attack our troops in Afghanistan.&rdquo; At the State Department on Tuesday, spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Pakistan knew what it needed to do, including taking action against the Haqqani network and other militants. Pakistan needs to &ldquo;earn, essentially, the money that we have provided in the past in foreign military assistance,&rdquo; she said.

The writing on the wall was clear since Trump assumed the presidency of the United States in January last. Even before becoming the president, Trump had been dropping enough hints, but Pakistan failed to read the messages which were not only explosive by explicit as well. The rhetoric was soon replaced with stern warnings after Trump assumed power. But Pakistan continued to live in a fool&rsquo;s paradise that the US could not bypass it as long as its forces remained engaged in Afghanistan.&nbsp;

Afghanistan is proving to be a political liability for the US. If it stays longer, it faces strong backlash back home and if it withdraws, the country will fall to the Taliban.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s a classical case of entering a blind alley but not knowing how to come out of it. Whatever may be its political designs, the US has been sucked badly into a country where exit routes are not easy and not too many. Already the US has lost 2,300 of its men. And it has cost the US more than 110 billion dollars since its forces first landed in Afghanistan in October 2001. The US has been fuming over Pakistan&rsquo;s alleged support for Haqqani network militants, who are allied with the Afghan Taliban. Afghanistan has time and again resented the presence of Afghan Taliban fighters in Pakistan who carry out deadly attacks in the war-torn country and return to the safe sanctuaries there. Whatever may be the political compulsions in the past, the new administration has realized that the Afghanistan war can&rsquo;t be won as long as Pakistan continues with its support to the Taliban and Haqqani groups.

In fact, the US patience had started thinning since it found that the most-wanted terrorist and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was being provided a safe sanctuary by Pakistan in the garrison town of Abbottabad. Pakistan should have smelt a rat when the US special commandos smoked out Laden in 2011 in an operation kept secret from the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif government.&nbsp; To add insult to injury, the then-Taliban leader Mullah Mansour was killed by a U.S. drone strike inside Pakistan five years later. No self-respecting nation can allow its territory to be breached in a manner as the US did. But Pakistan was forced to digest this humiliation, not once, but twice. But the lure of dollars far outweighed the heap of ignominy.

It remains to be seen whether the Trump tweet will bully Pakistan into changing its policy and withdraw support to the militant groups. Otherwise, as things stand today, the honeymoon between the US and Pakistan seems all over and it is a matter of time when the divorce will be formalised.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

It remains to be seen whether the Trump tweet will bully Pakistan into changing its policy and withdraw support to the militant groups. Otherwise, divorce is imminent.

It had to happen one day. Pakistan’s predicament reminds one of the famous statement of Abraham Lincoln: “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” And it took 15 years for a US President to realise that his country was being taken for a royal ride by none other than its strategic ally in the name of the so-called fight against terrorism. ''The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!,'' President Donald Trump tweeted, rattling Pakistan on the New Year day. The tweet sent shivers down the spine of Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership as they huddled to grasp its impact. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was forced to advance a meeting of the National Security Committee by a day which was attended by top cabinet ministers and military chiefs. In all likelihood, the National Security Committee met at the instance of the army chief as army generals had met separately before the all-powerful meeting. At the end of the three-hour-long meeting, the committee came out with a terse statement shying away from commenting on Trump’s tweet. The statement released by the prime minister’s office expressed “deep disappointment” at comments made by US officials over the past few months. “Recent statements and articulation by the American leadership were completely incomprehensible as they contradicted facts manifestly, struck with great insensitivity at the trust between two nations built over generations, and negated the decades of sacrifices made by the Pakistani nation,” it said. Earlier, Pakistan foreign office summoned U.S. ambassador David Hale and sought his explanation behind Trump’s angry tweet. Pakistan has been on the boil since the storm caused by Trump tweet battered the country. Anti-Trump protests have engulfed almost the entire Pakistan with several political religious groups taking out rallies. Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan too joined the issue by saying that Pakistan lost 70,000 lives and $100,000 billion due to the US war on terror. Khan, who once tormented the best of the batsmen in the world during his playing days, seems pretty weak on mathematics as the figure of monetary loss quoted by him is beyond the realms of possibility. The US put the screws on Pakistan by announcing the next day of Trump tweet that it would continue to withhold military aid worth $255 million to its former strategic ally. The statement from the National Security Council spokesman was equally lethal. "The President has made clear that the United States expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists and militants on its soil, and that Pakistan's actions in support of the South Asia strategy will ultimately determine the trajectory of our relationship, including future security assistance." It appears that the Trump tweet storm is unlikely to die down soon and more is in the offing for Pakistan. The statements from US officials are self-explanatory. Following up on Trump’s tweet, the White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders accused Pakistan of playing a “double game” on fighting terrorism and said: “They can do more to stop terrorism and we want them to do that.” Earlier, the U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said at the United Nations that “They work with us at times, and they also harbor the terrorists that attack our troops in Afghanistan.” At the State Department on Tuesday, spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Pakistan knew what it needed to do, including taking action against the Haqqani network and other militants. Pakistan needs to “earn, essentially, the money that we have provided in the past in foreign military assistance,” she said. The writing on the wall was clear since Trump assumed the presidency of the United States in January last. Even before becoming the president, Trump had been dropping enough hints, but Pakistan failed to read the messages which were not only explosive by explicit as well. The rhetoric was soon replaced with stern warnings after Trump assumed power. But Pakistan continued to live in a fool’s paradise that the US could not bypass it as long as its forces remained engaged in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is proving to be a political liability for the US. If it stays longer, it faces strong backlash back home and if it withdraws, the country will fall to the Taliban. It’s a classical case of entering a blind alley but not knowing how to come out of it. Whatever may be its political designs, the US has been sucked badly into a country where exit routes are not easy and not too many. Already the US has lost 2,300 of its men. And it has cost the US more than 110 billion dollars since its forces first landed in Afghanistan in October 2001. The US has been fuming over Pakistan’s alleged support for Haqqani network militants, who are allied with the Afghan Taliban. Afghanistan has time and again resented the presence of Afghan Taliban fighters in Pakistan who carry out deadly attacks in the war-torn country and return to the safe sanctuaries there. Whatever may be the political compulsions in the past, the new administration has realized that the Afghanistan war can’t be won as long as Pakistan continues with its support to the Taliban and Haqqani groups. In fact, the US patience had started thinning since it found that the most-wanted terrorist and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was being provided a safe sanctuary by Pakistan in the garrison town of Abbottabad. Pakistan should have smelt a rat when the US special commandos smoked out Laden in 2011 in an operation kept secret from the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif government. To add insult to injury, the then-Taliban leader Mullah Mansour was killed by a U.S. drone strike inside Pakistan five years later. No self-respecting nation can allow its territory to be breached in a manner as the US did. But Pakistan was forced to digest this humiliation, not once, but twice. But the lure of dollars far outweighed the heap of ignominy. It remains to be seen whether the Trump tweet will bully Pakistan into changing its policy and withdraw support to the militant groups. Otherwise, as things stand today, the honeymoon between the US and Pakistan seems all over and it is a matter of time when the divorce will be formalised. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

Opinion: Is the honeymoon between Pakistan and the US coming to an end?

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/iran-accuses-donald-trump-of-interfering-in-internal-affairs-28508" target="_blank">Donald Trump</a> did not want to be the president of the US and First Lady Melania was in tears not of joy on knowing about his surprising electoral victory last year, according to a new book by an American journalist.

The book &quot;Fire and Fury: Inside the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-28391" target="_blank">Trump White House</a>&quot; written by Michael Wolff, claims that the ultimate goal of Trump was never to win.

&quot;His ultimate goal, after all, had never been to win. I can be the most famous man in the world,&quot; he had told his aide Sam Nunberg at the outset of the race.

&quot;His longtime friend Roger Ailes, the former head of Fox News, liked to say that if you want a career in television, first run for president,&quot; according to the excerpts of the book.

Shortly after Trump&#39;s inauguration, Wolff said, he was able to take up &quot;something like a semi-permanent seat on a couch in the West Wing&quot; an idea encouraged by the president himself. Because no one was in a position to either officially approve or formally deny such access, Wolff became &quot;more a constant interloper than an invited guest.&quot;

&quot;There were no ground rules placed on his access, and he was required to make no promises about how he would report on what he witnessed,&quot; the book said.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has however denied this after excerpts from the book were published by New York Magazine with the title &quot;Donald Trump Did Not Want to be President.&quot;

&quot;There was one brief conversation that had nothing to do, originally, with the book. It was, I think, around five to seven minutes in total since the President has taken office. And that&#39;s the only interaction that he&#39;s had,&quot; she said.

According to Wolff, after entering the White House, Trump, while proposing the most radical departure from governing and policy norms in several generations, had few specific ideas about how to turn his themes and vitriol into policy.

&quot;And making suggestions to him was deeply complicated. Here, arguably, was the central issue of the Trump presidency, informing every aspect of Trumpian policy and leadership: He didn&#39;t process information in any conventional sense. He didn&#39;t read. He didn&#39;t really even skim. Some believed that for all practical purposes he was no more than semi-literate. He trusted his own expertise&nbsp;no matter how paltry or irrelevant&nbsp;more than anyone else&#39;s,&quot; the author claimed.

&quot;Shortly after 8 PM on election night, when the unexpected trend&nbsp;Trump might actually win seemed confirmed, Don Jr. told a friend that his father, or DJT, as he calls him, looked as if he had seen a ghost. Melania was in tears&nbsp;and not of joy,&quot; the book said.

&quot;There was, in the space of little more than an hour, in Steve Bannon&#39;s not unamused observation, a befuddled Trump morphing into a disbelieving Trump and then into a horrified Trump. But still to come was the final transformation: Suddenly, Donald Trump became a man who believed that he deserved to be, and was wholly capable of being, the president of the United States,&quot; according to the book.

Wolf claims that from the moment of victory, the Trump administration became a looking-glass presidency: Every inverse assumption about how to assemble and run a White House was enacted and compounded, many times over.

&quot;The decisions that Trump and his top advisers made in those first few months&nbsp;from the slapdash transition to the disarray in the West Wing set the stage for the chaos and dysfunction that have persisted throughout his first year in office,&quot; Wolf said in his book.

&quot;This was a real-life version of Mel Brooks&nbsp;The Producers, where the mistaken outcome trusted by everyone in Trump&#39;s inner circle that they would lose the election wound up exposing them for who they really were,&quot; Wolff said.

According to New York Magazine, Wolff, who chronicles the administration from the Election Day to this past October, conducted conversations and interviews over a period of 18 months with the president, most members of his senior staff, and many people to whom they in turn spoke.

&quot;Nothing contributed to the chaos and dysfunction of the White House as much as Trump&#39;s own behavior. The big deal of being president was just not apparent to him,&quot; Wolff said.

&quot;Most victorious candidates, arriving in the White House from ordinary political life, could not help but be reminded of their transformed circumstances by their sudden elevation to a mansion with palaces like servants and security, a plane at constant readiness, and downstairs a retinue of courtiers and advisers. But this wasn&#39;t that different from Trump&#39;s former life in Trump Tower, which was actually more commodious and to his taste than the White House,&quot; said the author.

The White House has ridiculed the contents of the book, which will hit the stores next week, and described it as a fiction.

&quot;This book is filled with false and misleading accounts from individuals who have no access or influence with the White House,&quot; Sanders said.

&quot;Participating in a book that can only be described as trashy tabloid fiction exposes their sad desperate attempts at relevancy,&quot; she said.

The White House has described the book as &quot;trashy tabloid fiction.&quot;

&quot;The author did not get any access from the White House for this book. He never actually sat down with the President, just to be very clear,&quot; Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference.

&quot;I know that the book has a lot of things, so far of what we&#39;ve seen, that is completely untrue. You have many people that have quotes that are sourced to them that are now coming out publicly and saying that those things are not true,&quot; she said in response to a question.

The book also says that US President Donald Trump was sympathetic to the issues of Silicon Valley including H-1B visa issue.

This appears to be contrary to the tough stand he has taken on H-1B visa now. After a meeting with a delegation of Silicon Valley leaders at the Trump Towers on December 14, 2016.

Trump then as president-elect is quoted as saying that the tech industry needs help as there are too much of a regulation.

&quot;Take this H-1B visa issue. They really need these H-1B visas,&quot; Trump is quoted as telling Rupert Murdoch over phone after the meeting, according to the book.

&quot;The president-elect enjoyed being courted. On December 14, a high-level delegation from Silicon Valley came to Trump Tower to meet him. Later that afternoon, according to a source privy to details of the conversation, Trump called Rupert Murdoch, who asked him how the meeting had gone,&quot; Wolff writes in the book.

&quot;Oh, great, just great,&quot; said Trump. &quot;These guys really need my help. Obama was not very favorable to them, too much regulation. This is really an opportunity for me to help them,&quot; the book said.

&quot;Donald,&quot; said Murdoch, &quot;for eight years these guys had Obama in their pocket. They practically ran the administration. They don&#39;t need your help. Take this H-1B visa issue. They really need these H-1B visas,&quot; Trump said, according to the book.

&quot;Murdoch suggested that taking a liberal approach to H-1B visas, which open America&#39;s doors to select immigrants, might be hard to square with his promises to build a wall and close the borders. But Trump seemed unconcerned, assuring Murdoch, &quot;We&#39;ll figure it out,&quot; Wolff writes.

&quot;What a fucking idiot,&quot; said Murdoch, shrugging, as he got off the phone, the author claims.

The sympathetic view of Trump towards H-1B visa appears contrary to his public views on this popular work visa. Even during his election days, he had called for his strict review and described it as eating away with American jobs.

After becoming the president, Trump has ordered for review of H-1B visas. His administration has come out with strict policies on issuing H-1B visas, the book said.

The book 'Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House' written by Michael Wolff, claims that the ultimate goal of Trump was never to win

Donald Trump did not want to be the president of the US and First Lady Melania was in tears not of joy on knowing about his surprising electoral victory last year, according to a new book by an American journalist. The book "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" written by Michael Wolff, claims that the ultimate goal of Trump was never to win. "His ultimate goal, after all, had never been to win. I can be the most famous man in the world," he had told his aide Sam Nunberg at the outset of the race. "His longtime friend Roger Ailes, the former head of Fox News, liked to say that if you want a career in television, first run for president," according to the excerpts of the book. Shortly after Trump's inauguration, Wolff said, he was able to take up "something like a semi-permanent seat on a couch in the West Wing" an idea encouraged by the president himself. Because no one was in a position to either officially approve or formally deny such access, Wolff became "more a constant interloper than an invited guest." "There were no ground rules placed on his access, and he was required to make no promises about how he would report on what he witnessed," the book said. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has however denied this after excerpts from the book were published by New York Magazine with the title "Donald Trump Did Not Want to be President." "There was one brief conversation that had nothing to do, originally, with the book. It was, I think, around five to seven minutes in total since the President has taken office. And that's the only interaction that he's had," she said. According to Wolff, after entering the White House, Trump, while proposing the most radical departure from governing and policy norms in several generations, had few specific ideas about how to turn his themes and vitriol into policy. "And making suggestions to him was deeply complicated. Here, arguably, was the central issue of the Trump presidency, informing every aspect of Trumpian policy and leadership: He didn't process information in any conventional sense. He didn't read. He didn't really even skim. Some believed that for all practical purposes he was no more than semi-literate. He trusted his own expertise no matter how paltry or irrelevant more than anyone else's," the author claimed. "Shortly after 8 PM on election night, when the unexpected trend Trump might actually win seemed confirmed, Don Jr. told a friend that his father, or DJT, as he calls him, looked as if he had seen a ghost. Melania was in tears and not of joy," the book said. "There was, in the space of little more than an hour, in Steve Bannon's not unamused observation, a befuddled Trump morphing into a disbelieving Trump and then into a horrified Trump. But still to come was the final transformation: Suddenly, Donald Trump became a man who believed that he deserved to be, and was wholly capable of being, the president of the United States," according to the book. Wolf claims that from the moment of victory, the Trump administration became a looking-glass presidency: Every inverse assumption about how to assemble and run a White House was enacted and compounded, many times over. "The decisions that Trump and his top advisers made in those first few months from the slapdash transition to the disarray in the West Wing set the stage for the chaos and dysfunction that have persisted throughout his first year in office," Wolf said in his book. "This was a real-life version of Mel Brooks The Producers, where the mistaken outcome trusted by everyone in Trump's inner circle that they would lose the election wound up exposing them for who they really were," Wolff said. According to New York Magazine, Wolff, who chronicles the administration from the Election Day to this past October, conducted conversations and interviews over a period of 18 months with the president, most members of his senior staff, and many people to whom they in turn spoke. "Nothing contributed to the chaos and dysfunction of the White House as much as Trump's own behavior. The big deal of being president was just not apparent to him," Wolff said. "Most victorious candidates, arriving in the White House from ordinary political life, could not help but be reminded of their transformed circumstances by their sudden elevation to a mansion with palaces like servants and security, a plane at constant readiness, and downstairs a retinue of courtiers and advisers. But this wasn't that different from Trump's former life in Trump Tower, which was actually more commodious and to his taste than the White House," said the author. The White House has ridiculed the contents of the book, which will hit the stores next week, and described it as a fiction. "This book is filled with false and misleading accounts from individuals who have no access or influence with the White House," Sanders said. "Participating in a book that can only be described as trashy tabloid fiction exposes their sad desperate attempts at relevancy," she said. The White House has described the book as "trashy tabloid fiction." "The author did not get any access from the White House for this book. He never actually sat down with the President, just to be very clear," Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference. "I know that the book has a lot of things, so far of what we've seen, that is completely untrue. You have many people that have quotes that are sourced to them that are now coming out publicly and saying that those things are not true," she said in response to a question. The book also says that US President Donald Trump was sympathetic to the issues of Silicon Valley including H-1B visa issue. This appears to be contrary to the tough stand he has taken on H-1B visa now. After a meeting with a delegation of Silicon Valley leaders at the Trump Towers on December 14, 2016. Trump then as president-elect is quoted as saying that the tech industry needs help as there are too much of a regulation. "Take this H-1B visa issue. They really need these H-1B visas," Trump is quoted as telling Rupert Murdoch over phone after the meeting, according to the book. "The president-elect enjoyed being courted. On December 14, a high-level delegation from Silicon Valley came to Trump Tower to meet him. Later that afternoon, according to a source privy to details of the conversation, Trump called Rupert Murdoch, who asked him how the meeting had gone," Wolff writes in the book. "Oh, great, just great," said Trump. "These guys really need my help. Obama was not very favorable to them, too much regulation. This is really an opportunity for me to help them," the book said. "Donald," said Murdoch, "for eight years these guys had Obama in their pocket. They practically ran the administration. They don't need your help. Take this H-1B visa issue. They really need these H-1B visas," Trump said, according to the book. "Murdoch suggested that taking a liberal approach to H-1B visas, which open America's doors to select immigrants, might be hard to square with his promises to build a wall and close the borders. But Trump seemed unconcerned, assuring Murdoch, "We'll figure it out," Wolff writes. "What a fucking idiot," said Murdoch, shrugging, as he got off the phone, the author claims. The sympathetic view of Trump towards H-1B visa appears contrary to his public views on this popular work visa. Even during his election days, he had called for his strict review and described it as eating away with American jobs. After becoming the president, Trump has ordered for review of H-1B visas. His administration has come out with strict policies on issuing H-1B visas, the book said.

Trump did not want to be US president: Book

An attorney for President Donald Trump sought Thursday to halt publication of an upcoming <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-did-not-want-to-be-us-president-book-28531" target="_blank">bombshell book about his White House</a>, claiming it was &quot;libelous.&quot;

The cease and desist letter to author Michael Wolff and publisher Henry Holt and Co. claimed the book contained &quot;numerous false and/or baseless statements&quot; about Trump.

The book, &quot;Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House&quot; is scheduled to be published on January 9, but excerpts appeared in several media outlets on Wednesday, prompting an angry reaction from the White House.

A copy of the letter from Trump&#39;s attorney Charles Harder to Wolff and the publisher was obtained by AFP.

An attorney for President Donald Trump sought Thursday to halt publication of an upcoming bombshell book about his White House, claiming it was 'libelous'

An attorney for President Donald Trump sought Thursday to halt publication of an upcoming bombshell book about his White House, claiming it was "libelous." The cease and desist letter to author Michael Wolff and publisher Henry Holt and Co. claimed the book contained "numerous false and/or baseless statements" about Trump. The book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" is scheduled to be published on January 9, but excerpts appeared in several media outlets on Wednesday, prompting an angry reaction from the White House. A copy of the letter from Trump's attorney Charles Harder to Wolff and the publisher was obtained by AFP.

Trump lawyer seeks to halt publication of 'libelous' book

Just hours after Pakistan&#39;s <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-shifting-blame-for-own-mistakes-maleeha-lodhi-28422">ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha</a> Lodhi slammed the US, interior minister Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan had made the biggest sacrifices in the war against terror.

On Tuesday, Pakistan foreign minister <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/pakistan-needs-to-do-more-to-fight-terrorism-white-house-28379">had hit out against Trump administration</a> challenging it to conduct an independent audit to find out whether the US had spent $33 billion after Trump accused Pakistan of taking the money over a 15-year period.

American officials have kept the pressure on Pakistan with the White House asserting that Pakistan needs to do more on terrorism. At the UN, Nikki Haley, the US ambassador said Pakistan has been engaging in a &quot;double game&quot;.

Pakistan prepared to go all out against the recent spate of accusation by the Trump administration with top Pakistani officials slamming the US administration over a range of terror-related issues.

&quot;The US president&#39;s recent remarks are akin to belittling our sacrifices. We are a dignified nation and no one has the right to attack our dignity,&quot; Ahsan Iqbal said.

&quot;I want to remind the US that these thorns are your inventions,&quot; the interior minister added.

&quot;As soon as the war against the Soviets ended, you withdrew and went home without thinking what your radicalizing of Afghanistan to create an anti-Soviet narrative would lead to. The seeds of the extremist views you used to win that war weren&#39;t going to suddenly start producing computer chips: they were going to breed terrorism and extremism,&quot; the minister said, adding that Pakistan was still &quot;paying&quot; for the seeds the US planted in the region.&nbsp;

On the Afghan refugee crisis, Pakistan&#39;s interior minister said the US hasn&#39;t allowed Syrian refugees into its territory but his country had allowed over three million into its country.

&quot;We have battled forces that are headquartered in Afghanistan. We have sacrificed our troops in Operation Raddul Fasad to rid this region of this menace,&quot; he said.

&quot;If President Trump and company want peace in Afghanistan, they should see it from their own perspective and not India&#39;s,&quot; he added.

American officials have kept the pressure on Pakistan with the White House asserting that Pakistan needs to do more on terrorism.

Just hours after Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi slammed the US, interior minister Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan had made the biggest sacrifices in the war against terror. On Tuesday, Pakistan foreign minister had hit out against Trump administration challenging it to conduct an independent audit to find out whether the US had spent $33 billion after Trump accused Pakistan of taking the money over a 15-year period. American officials have kept the pressure on Pakistan with the White House asserting that Pakistan needs to do more on terrorism. At the UN, Nikki Haley, the US ambassador said Pakistan has been engaging in a "double game". Pakistan prepared to go all out against the recent spate of accusation by the Trump administration with top Pakistani officials slamming the US administration over a range of terror-related issues. "The US president's recent remarks are akin to belittling our sacrifices. We are a dignified nation and no one has the right to attack our dignity," Ahsan Iqbal said. "I want to remind the US that these thorns are your inventions," the interior minister added. "As soon as the war against the Soviets ended, you withdrew and went home without thinking what your radicalizing of Afghanistan to create an anti-Soviet narrative would lead to. The seeds of the extremist views you used to win that war weren't going to suddenly start producing computer chips: they were going to breed terrorism and extremism," the minister said, adding that Pakistan was still "paying" for the seeds the US planted in the region. On the Afghan refugee crisis, Pakistan's interior minister said the US hasn't allowed Syrian refugees into its territory but his country had allowed over three million into its country. "We have battled forces that are headquartered in Afghanistan. We have sacrificed our troops in Operation Raddul Fasad to rid this region of this menace," he said. "If President Trump and company want peace in Afghanistan, they should see it from their own perspective and not India's," he added.

Pakistan has made biggest sacrifices in war on terror: Interior minister Ahsan Iqbal

A day after Pakistan foreign<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/pakistan-needs-to-do-more-to-fight-terrorism-white-house-28379"> minister Khawaja Asif challenged</a> the US administration, Pakistan&#39;s ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi went a step further saying &quot;Islamabad could review its cooperation if it is not appreciated&quot;.

&nbsp;Asif in a tweet on Tuesday had said <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/pakistan-has-played-a-double-game-with-us-for-years-nikki-haley-28383">the US administration can hire a firm</a> at Pakistan&#39;s expense to audit the money spent on fighting America&#39;s war on terror.&nbsp;

President Trump in a tweet on New Years Day had said the US has &quot;foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars&quot; in aid over the last 15 years, and Pakistan had given the US &quot;nothing but lies &amp; deceit.&quot;&nbsp;

US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley upped the pressure on Pakistan declaring that Pakistan was playing a &quot;double game&quot;.&nbsp;

Maleeha Lodhi hit back at Haley saying the US was &quot;shifting the blame for own mistakes and failures onto others&quot;.

&quot;We have contributed and sacrificed the most in fighting international terrorism and carried out the largest counter-terrorism operation anywhere in the world,&quot; Lodhi said.&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s tweet against Pakistan created a firestorm in the country with several leaders including Prime Minister Abbasi condemning the statement by the US president.

Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan said: &quot;We lost 70,000 lives in America&#39;s war, Trump&#39;s recent statement should serve as an example for all of us. Regardless of whatever aid a country offers, we should not go to war for it.&quot;

Prime Minister Abassi chaired a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) on Tuesday and expressed &quot;deep disappointment&quot; at the allegations levelled against Pakistan by US President Donald Trump.

US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley upped the pressure on Pakistan declaring that Pakistan was playing a "double game".?

A day after Pakistan foreign minister Khawaja Asif challenged the US administration, Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi went a step further saying "Islamabad could review its cooperation if it is not appreciated". Asif in a tweet on Tuesday had said the US administration can hire a firm at Pakistan's expense to audit the money spent on fighting America's war on terror. President Trump in a tweet on New Years Day had said the US has "foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars" in aid over the last 15 years, and Pakistan had given the US "nothing but lies & deceit." US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley upped the pressure on Pakistan declaring that Pakistan was playing a "double game". Maleeha Lodhi hit back at Haley saying the US was "shifting the blame for own mistakes and failures onto others". "We have contributed and sacrificed the most in fighting international terrorism and carried out the largest counter-terrorism operation anywhere in the world," Lodhi said. Trump's tweet against Pakistan created a firestorm in the country with several leaders including Prime Minister Abbasi condemning the statement by the US president. Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan said: "We lost 70,000 lives in America's war, Trump's recent statement should serve as an example for all of us. Regardless of whatever aid a country offers, we should not go to war for it." Prime Minister Abassi chaired a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) on Tuesday and expressed "deep disappointment" at the allegations levelled against Pakistan by US President Donald Trump.

US shifting blame for own mistakes: Maleeha Lodhi

The USA is the Promised Land for the Indian and Chinese, very much like Israel is for the Jews.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Bright minds of India, particularly, the engineers and scientists soon after completing their college education head for the Promised Land. The US is the destination, destiny, the desire. The country is looked upon as the key to all earthly pleasures.

&nbsp;

But all that aspiration and the dreams woven around it stands jeopardised as the Trump administration plans to change H1-B visa rules. If implemented, 5 lakh techies working in the US may have to head back home.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Trump administration is working to prevent an extension of the H1B visa beyond the initial six years period. This means that the indefinite extension on the H1B visa that all applicants to the Green Card previously used to get now will not be available. Consequently, on the completion of the 6 years of H1B visa period, one has to return to one&#39;s homeland. Though no one is still sure as to how the technicality of the entire procedure will work, the reality could well be something similar to self-deportation.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

For an Indian, the average waiting period for the Green Card is about 10 years. If I am giving up my life and profession in the US and coming to back to start fresh in India, why will I take the trouble to go back to the US and start from the scratch?

&nbsp;

The Trump administration is here surely washing its hands off of all the legal immigrants aspiring to be American citizens. The Promised Land stands bereft of all promises if the bills get passed. &nbsp;

&nbsp;

H1-B visa has been at the pivot of controversy through Trump&#39;s presidential campaign, accentuating, particularly, after his ascension to the White House. Trump had been insisting to make immigration in the US a thoroughly merit-based system. He wanted to stop illegal immigration and, as his rhetorics revealed, he was not receptive to the idea of family-based immigration either.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

But the crucial point I raised in one of my earlier article which stands even more relevant now with the current pronouncement is how is Trump administration going to reconcile its &quot;Buy American, Hire American&quot; policy with a merit-based immigration strategy.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Allow me to explain. If Trump decided to follow an entirely merit-based immigration system, the administration will have to allow in individuals with highest professional degrees. Their skill being the primary criterion of entry, such people will obviously dominate the job market. Apart from doing away with threats these qualified professional foreign force will pose to US citizens, the Trump administration is forcing corporations to match up with the salaries they are expected to pay to US citizens who come equally qualified for the jobs but were not succeeding because of the low pay scale at which Indian and Chinese usually agreed to work.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The low pay-scale at which Indians agreed to work in the US-based tech companies had earned them the pejorative epithet of &quot;tech coolies&quot;, that is, manual tech labourer or the blue-collar engineers of the tech world. Many have opined that the steps proposed by the Trump administration will force tech companies to pay a more equitable wage that will improve the prospect of American citizens.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

But the fallacy of the situation is that the Trump administration is committing is to make salary the basis for judging merit. The High Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act, introduced by Congressperson Zoe Lofgren of California, would raise H-1B holders&#39; minimum salaries to the US $130,000. Doing this would mean, losing out a significant number of talents in the field that are crucial but not well-paid. For instance, the average salary of a fire protection and fuel engineer is $130,000 and $123,000 respectively. Whereas a computer engineer on an average earns $121,245&nbsp; and healthcare facility engineer gets $120,027.

&nbsp;

Clearly, fixing such wage ceiling, along with the proposed H1B Bill, is surely go against India&#39;s interest. This is something which India&#39;s Finance minister Arun Jaitley raised with the US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross in the past.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Interestingly, while the Trump administration and the President himself have shown much keenness in forging a strong bond with India in its fight against terrorism, it is holding no bar to upset its new ally in an economically sensitive issue. It is yet to be seen how the Modi government which has been nothing short of friendly to Trump, a much-hated figure elsewhere, deals with these challenging circumstances.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The Trump administration is here surely washing its hands off of all the legal immigrants, meritorious or not, aspiring to be American citizens.

The USA is the Promised Land for the Indian and Chinese, very much like Israel is for the Jews. Bright minds of India, particularly, the engineers and scientists soon after completing their college education head for the Promised Land. The US is the destination, destiny, the desire. The country is looked upon as the key to all earthly pleasures. But all that aspiration and the dreams woven around it stands jeopardised as the Trump administration plans to change H1-B visa rules. If implemented, 5 lakh techies working in the US may have to head back home. Trump administration is working to prevent an extension of the H1B visa beyond the initial six years period. This means that the indefinite extension on the H1B visa that all applicants to the Green Card previously used to get now will not be available. Consequently, on the completion of the 6 years of H1B visa period, one has to return to one's homeland. Though no one is still sure as to how the technicality of the entire procedure will work, the reality could well be something similar to self-deportation. For an Indian, the average waiting period for the Green Card is about 10 years. If I am giving up my life and profession in the US and coming to back to start fresh in India, why will I take the trouble to go back to the US and start from the scratch? The Trump administration is here surely washing its hands off of all the legal immigrants aspiring to be American citizens. The Promised Land stands bereft of all promises if the bills get passed. H1-B visa has been at the pivot of controversy through Trump's presidential campaign, accentuating, particularly, after his ascension to the White House. Trump had been insisting to make immigration in the US a thoroughly merit-based system. He wanted to stop illegal immigration and, as his rhetorics revealed, he was not receptive to the idea of family-based immigration either. But the crucial point I raised in one of my earlier article which stands even more relevant now with the current pronouncement is how is Trump administration going to reconcile its "Buy American, Hire American" policy with a merit-based immigration strategy. Allow me to explain. If Trump decided to follow an entirely merit-based immigration system, the administration will have to allow in individuals with highest professional degrees. Their skill being the primary criterion of entry, such people will obviously dominate the job market. Apart from doing away with threats these qualified professional foreign force will pose to US citizens, the Trump administration is forcing corporations to match up with the salaries they are expected to pay to US citizens who come equally qualified for the jobs but were not succeeding because of the low pay scale at which Indian and Chinese usually agreed to work. The low pay-scale at which Indians agreed to work in the US-based tech companies had earned them the pejorative epithet of "tech coolies", that is, manual tech labourer or the blue-collar engineers of the tech world. Many have opined that the steps proposed by the Trump administration will force tech companies to pay a more equitable wage that will improve the prospect of American citizens. But the fallacy of the situation is that the Trump administration is committing is to make salary the basis for judging merit. The High Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act, introduced by Congressperson Zoe Lofgren of California, would raise H-1B holders' minimum salaries to the US $130,000. Doing this would mean, losing out a significant number of talents in the field that are crucial but not well-paid. For instance, the average salary of a fire protection and fuel engineer is $130,000 and $123,000 respectively. Whereas a computer engineer on an average earns $121,245 and healthcare facility engineer gets $120,027. Clearly, fixing such wage ceiling, along with the proposed H1B Bill, is surely go against India's interest. This is something which India's Finance minister Arun Jaitley raised with the US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross in the past. Interestingly, while the Trump administration and the President himself have shown much keenness in forging a strong bond with India in its fight against terrorism, it is holding no bar to upset its new ally in an economically sensitive issue. It is yet to be seen how the Modi government which has been nothing short of friendly to Trump, a much-hated figure elsewhere, deals with these challenging circumstances. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

Opinion: New H1B rules may put the 'Promised Land' out of bounds for Indians

As <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-blocks-usd-255-million-military-aid-to-pakistan-28291">the US suspended $255 million military</a> aid to Pakistan, the country witnessed large-scale protests over Trump&#39;s tweet accusing the PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi-led government of &quot;lies and deceit&quot;.

The &nbsp;Difa-e-Pakistan Council, a political-religious group held a protest rally in Karachi as Pakistan continued to attack President Trump&#39;s New Year tweet in which he said that the United States has &quot;foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars&quot;&nbsp;in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but &quot;lies &amp; deceit&quot;.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Difa-e-Pakistan Council which also includes Hafiz Saeed&#39;s Jamaat-ud Dawa protests against US president Donald Trump in Pakistan&#39;s Karachi <a href="https://t.co/BDCFyNWgIA">pic.twitter.com/BDCFyNWgIA</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/948124425336922112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan waded into the Trump debate searing the country saying that Pakistan had encountered a loss of $100,000 billion due to the US war on terror.

&quot;I was against fighting America&#39;s war for dollars and had spoken out against it,&quot; chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said.

&quot;We lost 70,000 lives in America&#39;s war, Trump&#39;s recent statement should serve as an example for all of us. Regardless of whatever aid a country offers, we should not go to war for it,&quot; he told reporters.

On Monday night, Pakistan summoned US Ambassador David Hale to lodge a protest against Trump&#39;s statement on Pakistan, reports said.

Pakistan&#39;s foreign minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif had said earlier that his country would shortly respond to President Trump&#39;s tweet.

 
<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ATHhkf97lGk" width="560"></iframe> 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Pakistan summoned US Ambassador David Hale to lodge a protest against Trump's statement on Pakistan, reports said.

As the US suspended $255 million military aid to Pakistan, the country witnessed large-scale protests over Trump's tweet accusing the PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi-led government of "lies and deceit". The Difa-e-Pakistan Council, a political-religious group held a protest rally in Karachi as Pakistan continued to attack President Trump's New Year tweet in which he said that the United States has "foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars" in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but "lies & deceit". Difa-e-Pakistan Council which also includes Hafiz Saeed's Jamaat-ud Dawa protests against US president Donald Trump in Pakistan's Karachi pic.twitter.com/BDCFyNWgIA — ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2018 × Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan waded into the Trump debate searing the country saying that Pakistan had encountered a loss of $100,000 billion due to the US war on terror. "I was against fighting America's war for dollars and had spoken out against it," chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said. "We lost 70,000 lives in America's war, Trump's recent statement should serve as an example for all of us. Regardless of whatever aid a country offers, we should not go to war for it," he told reporters. On Monday night, Pakistan summoned US Ambassador David Hale to lodge a protest against Trump's statement on Pakistan, reports said. Pakistan's foreign minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif had said earlier that his country would shortly respond to President Trump's tweet.

Pakistan lost 70,000 lives in America's war on terror: Imran Khan

The international terrorist Hafiz Saeed has been repeatedly thumbing his nose at the Pakistani establishment as well as at the United States, but Islamabad remains obdurate in not taking any action against him and several other terrorists. On several occasions, the US expressed its displeasure and concern, and nudged Pakistan to arrest and charge Saeed for his crimes. But Pakistan has always looked the other way around. What is that which is preventing Pakistan from booking Saeed at the expense of its fragile ties with the US?&nbsp;

&nbsp;

There can be only two plausible reasons. Either Pakistan is impotent and afraid of the might of Saeed or it is a well-thought-out plan of action to get even with its now estranged ally. Saeed, who carries a $10 million American bounty on his head for terror activities, is a U.N. and United States designated terrorist. Moreover, India has blamed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief for the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;Pakistan has been at the receiving end ever since the Donald Trump administration took over in January last year. President Trump has been particularly hard on Pakistan since he was on his campaign trail. There is no doubt that there has been a tectonic shift in American policy of late as the US desperation grows because of Pakistan&rsquo;s failure to rein in militants ensconced in its backyard.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The ties between Pakistan and the US had started straining during the Barack Obama administration.&nbsp; It all began with the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US special forces in May 2011 on Pakistani soil in an operation kept secret from the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif government. The US, which had launched a massive manhunt for Laden, mastermind of the deadly September 11 attacks, was shocked that he was being provided a safe sanctuary by Pakistan whom it considered a strategic ally in its fight against terrorism. Even though, the US chose to maintain a fa&ccedil;ade of relationship with Pakistan because of its interests in Afghanistan.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;But all that seems to be over now! &quot;We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism when I&rsquo;m president. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with India in sharing intelligence and keeping our people safe mutually,&quot; Trump had said during electioneering. And true to his words, one can notice a paradigm shift in the new US dispensation as far as the battle against Islamic militants is concerned. From here onwards, one can expect a no-nonsense US policy on terrorism which should be a major cause of worry for Pakistan, which continues to host several militant groups hostile to both India and the US.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Unlike his predecessors, there is an increasing likelihood of Trump seeking to reshape the decades-old policy towards Pakistan by linking US aid to its commitment against terrorism. Today the US administration has announced withholding $255 million in aid to Pakistan.&nbsp; Though a pittance, the message is loud and clear that the US is dissatisfied with the obstinacy shown by Pakistan in not taking substantive action against terrorist networks that continue to flourish there with the full support of the administration.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;Pakistan has been the recipient of more than $33 billion in aid since 2002. And it has done precious little to rein in militants. The US frustration seems to have reached the point of no return as President Trump in his August address said:&nbsp; &quot;We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting.&quot;&nbsp; Since then he has dispatched his top diplomatic and military advisors to Pakistan -- Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis &ndash; who read out the riot act to senior officials of Pakistan. But thus far, Pakistan does not seem to have been rattled by such warnings.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;On the contrary, not only did it free Saeed from the so-called &ldquo;house arrest&rdquo; with the lame excuse that the Lahore court did not merit his detention, it went on to justify his release. To rub salt into the wound, its foreign office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said that Islamabad was committed to the implementation of United Nations Security Council 1267 sanctions regime on terrorists and had taken several steps in this regard.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;If that was not enough, Pakistan allowed Saeed to open the first office of his political group Milli Muslim League (MML) in Lahore. Saeed has also declared his political ambitions by announcing that his organisation JuD would contest the 2018 general elections under the banner of the MML. Ironically, according to Pakistani government records, the MML is the offshoot of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and JuD. In fact, Saeed was showered with flower petals as he openly toured several areas in full public glare.

&nbsp;

Can it happen in any civilised country that a UN-designated terrorist is allowed to roam free? But anything can happen in a rogue country like Pakistan which even allows a terrorist group to launch its political party and let it contest the elections. The MML-backed candidate had secured the fourth position with 6,000 votes, double than that of Pakistan People&rsquo;s Party (PPP) and Jamaat- i-Islami combined in a by-election in Lahore&#39;s NA-120 constituency last September. The seat had fallen vacant when the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had to resign, following his disqualification by Pakistan&#39;s Supreme Court.

&nbsp;

It is hard to digest that Saeed would have been allowed to open the office of MML without the consent of the government of the day and that too when the US had expressed its strong concerns and said in a statement that it hopes Pakistan &quot;does the right thing&quot; in not allowing that to happen and added that it &quot;want(s) to make...clear so that everybody knows&quot;, that the US has put a bounty of $10 million on Saeed, the founder of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).&nbsp; It is an open secret that Saeed has the full backing of Pakistani army which has been at loggerheads with the government.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;The question then arises whether Saeed has the tacit support of the Pakistani establishment or it is too afraid to take action against him as he is being backed by the army. Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa came in full support of the Mumbai terror attack mastermind when he appeared before a parliament forum last month and said that Saeed, like every other Pakistani, had the right to raise the Kashmir issue. It is a known fact that the army enjoys far greater power than the elected government in Pakistan and no government can afford to go against the wishes of the army. Whatever may be Pakistan&rsquo;s reason to prop up Saeed, but one thing is certain. Pakistan is in for a rude shock in the coming months.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Either Pakistan is impotent and afraid of the might of Saeed or it is a well-thought-out plan of action to get even with its now estranged ally, the US.

The international terrorist Hafiz Saeed has been repeatedly thumbing his nose at the Pakistani establishment as well as at the United States, but Islamabad remains obdurate in not taking any action against him and several other terrorists. On several occasions, the US expressed its displeasure and concern, and nudged Pakistan to arrest and charge Saeed for his crimes. But Pakistan has always looked the other way around. What is that which is preventing Pakistan from booking Saeed at the expense of its fragile ties with the US? There can be only two plausible reasons. Either Pakistan is impotent and afraid of the might of Saeed or it is a well-thought-out plan of action to get even with its now estranged ally. Saeed, who carries a $10 million American bounty on his head for terror activities, is a U.N. and United States designated terrorist. Moreover, India has blamed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief for the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans. Pakistan has been at the receiving end ever since the Donald Trump administration took over in January last year. President Trump has been particularly hard on Pakistan since he was on his campaign trail. There is no doubt that there has been a tectonic shift in American policy of late as the US desperation grows because of Pakistan’s failure to rein in militants ensconced in its backyard. The ties between Pakistan and the US had started straining during the Barack Obama administration. It all began with the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US special forces in May 2011 on Pakistani soil in an operation kept secret from the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif government. The US, which had launched a massive manhunt for Laden, mastermind of the deadly September 11 attacks, was shocked that he was being provided a safe sanctuary by Pakistan whom it considered a strategic ally in its fight against terrorism. Even though, the US chose to maintain a façade of relationship with Pakistan because of its interests in Afghanistan. But all that seems to be over now! "We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism when I’m president. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with India in sharing intelligence and keeping our people safe mutually," Trump had said during electioneering. And true to his words, one can notice a paradigm shift in the new US dispensation as far as the battle against Islamic militants is concerned. From here onwards, one can expect a no-nonsense US policy on terrorism which should be a major cause of worry for Pakistan, which continues to host several militant groups hostile to both India and the US. Unlike his predecessors, there is an increasing likelihood of Trump seeking to reshape the decades-old policy towards Pakistan by linking US aid to its commitment against terrorism. Today the US administration has announced withholding $255 million in aid to Pakistan. Though a pittance, the message is loud and clear that the US is dissatisfied with the obstinacy shown by Pakistan in not taking substantive action against terrorist networks that continue to flourish there with the full support of the administration. Pakistan has been the recipient of more than $33 billion in aid since 2002. And it has done precious little to rein in militants. The US frustration seems to have reached the point of no return as President Trump in his August address said: "We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting." Since then he has dispatched his top diplomatic and military advisors to Pakistan -- Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis – who read out the riot act to senior officials of Pakistan. But thus far, Pakistan does not seem to have been rattled by such warnings. On the contrary, not only did it free Saeed from the so-called “house arrest” with the lame excuse that the Lahore court did not merit his detention, it went on to justify his release. To rub salt into the wound, its foreign office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said that Islamabad was committed to the implementation of United Nations Security Council 1267 sanctions regime on terrorists and had taken several steps in this regard. If that was not enough, Pakistan allowed Saeed to open the first office of his political group Milli Muslim League (MML) in Lahore. Saeed has also declared his political ambitions by announcing that his organisation JuD would contest the 2018 general elections under the banner of the MML. Ironically, according to Pakistani government records, the MML is the offshoot of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and JuD. In fact, Saeed was showered with flower petals as he openly toured several areas in full public glare. Can it happen in any civilised country that a UN-designated terrorist is allowed to roam free? But anything can happen in a rogue country like Pakistan which even allows a terrorist group to launch its political party and let it contest the elections. The MML-backed candidate had secured the fourth position with 6,000 votes, double than that of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Jamaat- i-Islami combined in a by-election in Lahore's NA-120 constituency last September. The seat had fallen vacant when the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had to resign, following his disqualification by Pakistan's Supreme Court. It is hard to digest that Saeed would have been allowed to open the office of MML without the consent of the government of the day and that too when the US had expressed its strong concerns and said in a statement that it hopes Pakistan "does the right thing" in not allowing that to happen and added that it "want(s) to make...clear so that everybody knows", that the US has put a bounty of $10 million on Saeed, the founder of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). It is an open secret that Saeed has the full backing of Pakistani army which has been at loggerheads with the government. The question then arises whether Saeed has the tacit support of the Pakistani establishment or it is too afraid to take action against him as he is being backed by the army. Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa came in full support of the Mumbai terror attack mastermind when he appeared before a parliament forum last month and said that Saeed, like every other Pakistani, had the right to raise the Kashmir issue. It is a known fact that the army enjoys far greater power than the elected government in Pakistan and no government can afford to go against the wishes of the army. Whatever may be Pakistan’s reason to prop up Saeed, but one thing is certain. Pakistan is in for a rude shock in the coming months. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: US blocks aid but Pakistan still backs Hafiz Saeed. Why?

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