The Trump administration has no qualms admitting immigrants who are skilled, employed and can speak English, a top official has said, while giving insight into what its merit-based system would look like.

Such individuals could be from any part of the world given that they fulfil the requirements, the official said.

If such a policy is developed and implemented, it could benefit individuals from countries like India, the majority of whom meet the criterion.

The Trump administration wants to reform the immigration system to serve the US&#39; national interest, the official said.

&quot;..And so, our position, is that a system that prioritises individuals based on their individual skills and merit will certainly produce better results than the system we have now,&quot; said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

&quot;We want to bring in individuals, wherever they may be from, who love this country, who love its people, who have skills, who have talent, who have -- who speak English, who are committed to supporting our values and our very way of life,&quot; said the official.

The official said some of the existing programmes for immigrants ignored such requirements which are important for individuals to succeed in the US.

&quot;So, what we have with the Diversity Lottery Program or through chain migration is that in these cases there are identified examples of individuals who were not selected to come to the US based on their love of this country, skills, merit, and individual attributes that will lead them to their success,&quot; the official said.

&quot;We would like to admit individuals from all backgrounds or any place in the world, based on their own individual merit and their likelihood of success, into the US,&quot; the official said.

The admission of any foreign national who goes on to commit a terrorism-related offense or who conspires to support terrorists is simply an unacceptable outcome for the US, no matter what, the official said.

&quot;Our goal is to eliminate terrorism in all of its forms, wherever it may emanate from,&quot; the official said.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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The Trump administration has no qualms admitting immigrants who are skilled, employed and can speak English, a top official has said while giving insight into what its merit-based system would look like

The Trump administration has no qualms admitting immigrants who are skilled, employed and can speak English, a top official has said, while giving insight into what its merit-based system would look like. Such individuals could be from any part of the world given that they fulfil the requirements, the official said. If such a policy is developed and implemented, it could benefit individuals from countries like India, the majority of whom meet the criterion. The Trump administration wants to reform the immigration system to serve the US' national interest, the official said. "..And so, our position, is that a system that prioritises individuals based on their individual skills and merit will certainly produce better results than the system we have now," said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "We want to bring in individuals, wherever they may be from, who love this country, who love its people, who have skills, who have talent, who have -- who speak English, who are committed to supporting our values and our very way of life," said the official. The official said some of the existing programmes for immigrants ignored such requirements which are important for individuals to succeed in the US. "So, what we have with the Diversity Lottery Program or through chain migration is that in these cases there are identified examples of individuals who were not selected to come to the US based on their love of this country, skills, merit, and individual attributes that will lead them to their success," the official said. "We would like to admit individuals from all backgrounds or any place in the world, based on their own individual merit and their likelihood of success, into the US," the official said. The admission of any foreign national who goes on to commit a terrorism-related offense or who conspires to support terrorists is simply an unacceptable outcome for the US, no matter what, the official said. "Our goal is to eliminate terrorism in all of its forms, wherever it may emanate from," the official said.

Trump's new merit-based immigrant policy to benefit individuals from India

Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has announced that she would skip President Donald Trump&#39;s State of the Union address, in protest against his policies and rhetoric against immigrants.

Jayapal, 52, joins more than half a dozen Democratic lawmakers, including the legendary Congressman John Lewis, who will give a miss to the January 30 event.

Other lawmakers who have announced to boycott the event include Frederica Wilson, Maxine Waters, and Earl Blumenauer.

&quot;I would not be attending the State of the Union this year. I join other distinguished members, including Rep. John Lewis, in refusing to dignify a president who has used the platform of the Oval Office to fan the flames of racism, sexism and hatred most recently with his vulgar condemnation of Haiti and other African countries,&quot; Jayapal said in a statement.

Jayapal said she disagrees with Trump&#39;s approach which is &quot;narrow and self-serving&quot;.

&quot;This president has consistently indicated that he has no interest in leading a unified country. He has gone out of his way to play to a small and shrinking base of voters by using language that diminishes and demeans vast swaths of people in our own country and around the world,&quot; Jayapal said.

&quot;His path is dangerous. His path is destructive. His path cannot be normalised. I will not normalise it. This is our own form of non-violent resistance,&quot; she said.

According to Jayapal, her constituents and people across the country are &quot;heartbroken, terrified and demoralized&quot;.

&quot;He does and says things that none of us, as parents, would condone for our children. He consistently uses language that is outright racist. He actively uses the highest office of the land to promote hatred as a political tool for his own benefit,&quot; said Jayapal.

&quot;As a brown immigrant female member of Congress, I feel the impact of these words personally, as well as collectively,&quot; she said.

Jayapal is the only Indian-American lawmaker to have announced boycotting Trump&#39;s State of the Union Address, which is a customary annual address of the US President to a joint session of the Congress.

Other Indian American Congressmen are Dr Ami Bera, Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthi. Senator Kamala Harris from California is of mixed African and American heritage.

Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has announced that she would skip President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, in protest against his policies and rhetoric against immigrants

Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has announced that she would skip President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, in protest against his policies and rhetoric against immigrants. Jayapal, 52, joins more than half a dozen Democratic lawmakers, including the legendary Congressman John Lewis, who will give a miss to the January 30 event. Other lawmakers who have announced to boycott the event include Frederica Wilson, Maxine Waters, and Earl Blumenauer. "I would not be attending the State of the Union this year. I join other distinguished members, including Rep. John Lewis, in refusing to dignify a president who has used the platform of the Oval Office to fan the flames of racism, sexism and hatred most recently with his vulgar condemnation of Haiti and other African countries," Jayapal said in a statement. Jayapal said she disagrees with Trump's approach which is "narrow and self-serving". "This president has consistently indicated that he has no interest in leading a unified country. He has gone out of his way to play to a small and shrinking base of voters by using language that diminishes and demeans vast swaths of people in our own country and around the world," Jayapal said. "His path is dangerous. His path is destructive. His path cannot be normalised. I will not normalise it. This is our own form of non-violent resistance," she said. According to Jayapal, her constituents and people across the country are "heartbroken, terrified and demoralized". "He does and says things that none of us, as parents, would condone for our children. He consistently uses language that is outright racist. He actively uses the highest office of the land to promote hatred as a political tool for his own benefit," said Jayapal. "As a brown immigrant female member of Congress, I feel the impact of these words personally, as well as collectively," she said. Jayapal is the only Indian-American lawmaker to have announced boycotting Trump's State of the Union Address, which is a customary annual address of the US President to a joint session of the Congress. Other Indian American Congressmen are Dr Ami Bera, Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthi. Senator Kamala Harris from California is of mixed African and American heritage.

Indian-American Congresswoman to boycott Trump's State of the Union address

US President Donald Trump passed a test for signs of dementia and is in overall excellent health, but needs to shed weight by cutting calories, fats and carbohydrates and starting a daily exercise routine, the White House physician said on Tuesday.

Trump, who was coy about sharing medical information during his unconventional 2016 run for office, used his first presidential medical exam - conducted on Friday at Walter Reed National Medical Center - to try to put to rest lingering questions about his mental fitness for office.

Trump asked his physician, Dr Ronny Jackson, to add a cognitive screening test to the exam, and authorized him to release a battery of data from the tests.

Trump, 71, is known to enjoy high-fat foods like fried chicken, hamburgers and steak - and, while he plays golf, he does not have a daily exercise routine.

Jackson said Trump is going to try to lose 10 to 15 pounds (4.5 to 6.8 kg) by eating better and starting to exercise,

The Navy doctor exhausted reporters&#39; questions during an unusually lengthy hour-long session, at Trump&#39;s request, and said he did not withhold any information in the interests of privacy.

&quot;He said, &#39;I want you to get out there and I want you to talk to them and I want you to answer every single question they have,&#39;&quot; Jackson said of Trump.

Cognitive test

Trump&#39;s mental fitness for the job had come under intense scrutiny after a recently published, controversial book, &quot;Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,&quot; portrayed him as childlike and mercurial.

Past presidents are not known to have been tested for mental acuity while in office - including Ronald Reagan, who five years after leaving the White House in 1989 was diagnosed with Alzheimer&#39;s disease, an incurable, degenerative brain condition.

Jackson, who speaks with Trump a few times a day and travels with him, said he did not think the president needed cognitive testing based on medical guidelines - but added the 30-question Montreal Cognitive Assessment at Trump&#39;s request.

The test looks for signs of Alzheimer&#39;s or other forms of dementia. Sample questions include asking the patient to draw a clockface, putting in all of the numbers and setting the clock hands to a specific time. The test does not assess psychiatric fitness.

Trump scored 30 out of 30 on the test, Jackson said. &quot;The president is mentally very sharp, very intact,&quot; the doctor said.

Dr&nbsp;Ronald Petersen, an Alzheimer&rsquo;s expert at the prestigious Mayo Clinic, said he could not comment specifically on the president&#39;s cognitive health. However, he did say that, in theory, a perfect score on the Montreal test does not necessarily rule out cognitive decline. It is &quot;just one measure in a clinical judgement,&quot; he said in an email.

More enthused about diet than exercise

Trump is considered overweight and borderline obese at 6 feet 3 inches (1.9 meters) tall and 239 pounds (108 kg). His blood pressure was 122/74, within normal bounds, and his cholesterol was on the high side, Jackson said.

But the physician said Trump&#39;s cardiac health was excellent, noting the president had undergone an exercise stress test, and said he consulted cardiologists about Trump&#39;s coronary calcium score.

Jackson credited the results to genetics. &quot;It&#39;s just the way God made him,&quot; he told reporters.

Jackson said he would increase Trump&#39;s daily dose of Crestor, a cholesterol-lowering drug, and bring in a nutritionist to work with White House chefs. The doctor said he would also design a daily exercise programme for Trump.

&quot;He&#39;s more enthusiastic about the diet part than the exercise part, but we&#39;re going to do both,&quot; Jackson said, adding that he might enlist first lady Melania Trump to help.

Ranit Mishori, an attending physician at Georgetown University-Providence Hospital in Washington, said Trump received more screening and diagnostic tests than are generally recommended for someone at his age and with his medical history.

With his reported eating habits and lack of exercise, it made sense for the White House to &quot;release all of this data to show that ... he is in good health,&quot; Mishori said.

Even without red flags from test results, Mishori said it was clear that Trump faces some risks.

&quot;He is a male and he is in his 70s and he is overweight, borderline obese, and he has high cholesterol. Those four factors alone put him at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease,&quot; she said.

Mishori disagreed with Jackson&#39;s assessment that Trump would be healthy for the rest of his term and possibly a second four-year term.

&quot;This was a bit of a snapshot in time,&quot; she said. &quot;I don&#39;t think this can be a definitive sign that he will be in this same state of health for the remainder of his term.&quot;

US President Donald Trump passed a test for signs of dementia and is in overall excellent health, but needs to shed weight by cutting calories, fats and carbohydrates and starting a daily exercise routine, the White House physician said

US President Donald Trump passed a test for signs of dementia and is in overall excellent health, but needs to shed weight by cutting calories, fats and carbohydrates and starting a daily exercise routine, the White House physician said on Tuesday. Trump, who was coy about sharing medical information during his unconventional 2016 run for office, used his first presidential medical exam - conducted on Friday at Walter Reed National Medical Center - to try to put to rest lingering questions about his mental fitness for office. Trump asked his physician, Dr Ronny Jackson, to add a cognitive screening test to the exam, and authorized him to release a battery of data from the tests. Trump, 71, is known to enjoy high-fat foods like fried chicken, hamburgers and steak - and, while he plays golf, he does not have a daily exercise routine. Jackson said Trump is going to try to lose 10 to 15 pounds (4.5 to 6.8 kg) by eating better and starting to exercise, The Navy doctor exhausted reporters' questions during an unusually lengthy hour-long session, at Trump's request, and said he did not withhold any information in the interests of privacy. "He said, 'I want you to get out there and I want you to talk to them and I want you to answer every single question they have,'" Jackson said of Trump. Cognitive test Trump's mental fitness for the job had come under intense scrutiny after a recently published, controversial book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," portrayed him as childlike and mercurial. Past presidents are not known to have been tested for mental acuity while in office - including Ronald Reagan, who five years after leaving the White House in 1989 was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, an incurable, degenerative brain condition. Jackson, who speaks with Trump a few times a day and travels with him, said he did not think the president needed cognitive testing based on medical guidelines - but added the 30-question Montreal Cognitive Assessment at Trump's request. The test looks for signs of Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. Sample questions include asking the patient to draw a clockface, putting in all of the numbers and setting the clock hands to a specific time. The test does not assess psychiatric fitness. Trump scored 30 out of 30 on the test, Jackson said. "The president is mentally very sharp, very intact," the doctor said. Dr Ronald Petersen, an Alzheimer’s expert at the prestigious Mayo Clinic, said he could not comment specifically on the president's cognitive health. However, he did say that, in theory, a perfect score on the Montreal test does not necessarily rule out cognitive decline. It is "just one measure in a clinical judgement," he said in an email. More enthused about diet than exercise Trump is considered overweight and borderline obese at 6 feet 3 inches (1.9 meters) tall and 239 pounds (108 kg). His blood pressure was 122/74, within normal bounds, and his cholesterol was on the high side, Jackson said. But the physician said Trump's cardiac health was excellent, noting the president had undergone an exercise stress test, and said he consulted cardiologists about Trump's coronary calcium score. Jackson credited the results to genetics. "It's just the way God made him," he told reporters. Jackson said he would increase Trump's daily dose of Crestor, a cholesterol-lowering drug, and bring in a nutritionist to work with White House chefs. The doctor said he would also design a daily exercise programme for Trump. "He's more enthusiastic about the diet part than the exercise part, but we're going to do both," Jackson said, adding that he might enlist first lady Melania Trump to help. Ranit Mishori, an attending physician at Georgetown University-Providence Hospital in Washington, said Trump received more screening and diagnostic tests than are generally recommended for someone at his age and with his medical history. With his reported eating habits and lack of exercise, it made sense for the White House to "release all of this data to show that ... he is in good health," Mishori said. Even without red flags from test results, Mishori said it was clear that Trump faces some risks. "He is a male and he is in his 70s and he is overweight, borderline obese, and he has high cholesterol. Those four factors alone put him at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease," she said. Mishori disagreed with Jackson's assessment that Trump would be healthy for the rest of his term and possibly a second four-year term. "This was a bit of a snapshot in time," she said. "I don't think this can be a definitive sign that he will be in this same state of health for the remainder of his term."

Trump is fit for duty, but should hit the gym: White House doctor

The United States on Tuesday said it would withhold about half the initial aid it planned to give a UN agency that serves the Palestinians, two weeks after President Donald Trump questioned the value of such funding.

In announcing that it would provide $60 million to the UN Relief and Welfare Agency (UNRWA) while withholding a further $65 million, for now, the US State Department said the aid group needed to make unspecified reforms.

Palestine Liberation Organisation official Wasel Abu Youssef immediately criticised the move, casting it as the deliberate US&nbsp;effort to deny the Palestinians their rights and linking it to Trump&#39;s widely criticised December 6 decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel&#39;s capital.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was unaware of any cut in aid but he was &quot;very concerned&quot; about the possibility because it &quot;is an important factor of stability.&quot;

UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Kr&auml;henb&uuml;hl said in a statement that the reduced US contribution &quot;threatens one of the most successful and innovative human development endeavours in the Middle East.&quot;

The decision to keep back some money is likely to compound the difficulty of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and to further undermine Arabs&#39; faith that the United States can act as an impartial arbitrator.

The last talks collapsed in 2014, partly because of Israel&rsquo;s opposition to an attempted unity pact between the Fatah and Hamas Palestinian factions and to Israeli settlement building on occupied land that Palestinians seek for a state, among other factors.

&quot;UNRWA has proven time and again to be an agency that misuses the humanitarian aid of the international community and instead supports anti-Israel propaganda, perpetuates the plight of Palestinian refugees and encourages hate,&quot; said Danny Danon, Israel&#39;s ambassador to the United Nations.

Even if Washington provided the additional $65 million, the $125 million total would be well below the $355 million that a US official said it gave UNRWA in the 2017 fiscal year ended September 30.

While saying the decision would sustain schools and health services, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert echoed Trump in calling on other nations to provide more money because he believes the United States pays more than its share.

The State Department wrote a letter notifying UNRWA of the decision, spokeswoman Nauert said. She said that while UNRWA reforms were a condition of releasing more money, the aid decision was &quot;not aimed at punishing&quot; anyone.

In a Twitter post on January 2, Trump said that Washington gives the Palestinians &quot;HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect.&quot; Trump added that &quot;with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?&quot;

While US officials did not link the decision to Trump&#39;s tweet, they made a point often advanced by him, saying the United States had been UNRWA&rsquo;s single largest donor for decades.

Trump&#39;s aides initially debated whether to cut off all UNRWA aid, an unidentified US official said, but those opposed argued that could further destabilise the region.

In announcing that it would provide $60 million to the UN Relief and Welfare Agency (UNRWA) while withholding a further $65 million, for now, the US State Department said the aid group needed to make unspecified reforms.

The United States on Tuesday said it would withhold about half the initial aid it planned to give a UN agency that serves the Palestinians, two weeks after President Donald Trump questioned the value of such funding. In announcing that it would provide $60 million to the UN Relief and Welfare Agency (UNRWA) while withholding a further $65 million, for now, the US State Department said the aid group needed to make unspecified reforms. Palestine Liberation Organisation official Wasel Abu Youssef immediately criticised the move, casting it as the deliberate US effort to deny the Palestinians their rights and linking it to Trump's widely criticised December 6 decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was unaware of any cut in aid but he was "very concerned" about the possibility because it "is an important factor of stability." UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl said in a statement that the reduced US contribution "threatens one of the most successful and innovative human development endeavours in the Middle East." The decision to keep back some money is likely to compound the difficulty of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and to further undermine Arabs' faith that the United States can act as an impartial arbitrator. The last talks collapsed in 2014, partly because of Israel’s opposition to an attempted unity pact between the Fatah and Hamas Palestinian factions and to Israeli settlement building on occupied land that Palestinians seek for a state, among other factors. "UNRWA has proven time and again to be an agency that misuses the humanitarian aid of the international community and instead supports anti-Israel propaganda, perpetuates the plight of Palestinian refugees and encourages hate," said Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations. Even if Washington provided the additional $65 million, the $125 million total would be well below the $355 million that a US official said it gave UNRWA in the 2017 fiscal year ended September 30. While saying the decision would sustain schools and health services, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert echoed Trump in calling on other nations to provide more money because he believes the United States pays more than its share. The State Department wrote a letter notifying UNRWA of the decision, spokeswoman Nauert said. She said that while UNRWA reforms were a condition of releasing more money, the aid decision was "not aimed at punishing" anyone. In a Twitter post on January 2, Trump said that Washington gives the Palestinians "HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect." Trump added that "with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?" While US officials did not link the decision to Trump's tweet, they made a point often advanced by him, saying the United States had been UNRWA’s single largest donor for decades. Trump's aides initially debated whether to cut off all UNRWA aid, an unidentified US official said, but those opposed argued that could further destabilise the region.

US withholds $65 million in Palestinian aid after Trump threat

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/one-un-vote-will-not-affect-ties-netanyahu-on-jerusalem-29519" target="_blank">One negative UN vote will not affect ties with India: Netanyahu on Jerusalem</a>

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on a six-day visit to India, said on Sunday that even though the Jewish state was &quot;disappointed&quot; by India&#39;s vote at the UN against Israel on Jerusalem, one negative vote will not affect ties between the two nations. &quot;Yes, naturally we were disappointed, but this visit is a testimony that our relationship is moving on so many fronts forward,&quot; Netanyahu said when asked to comment on India&#39;s vote at UN against the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel&#39;s capital.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/im-not-a-racist-i-am-the-least-racist-person-says-trump-29518" target="_blank">&#39;I&#39;m not a racist, I am the least racist person,&#39; says Trump</a>

After he allegedly called immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and nations in Africa belonging to &quot;shithole countries&quot;, US President Trump declared he is not a racist, adding that he is the &quot;least racist person&quot;. The US president was widely condemned for his reported remarks last week by lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum. The president, however, defended himself during a meeting with reporters in Washington declaring that he is the &quot;least racist&quot; person even as debate continued on his alleged vulgar remarks.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/bigg-boss-11-tv-star-shilpa-shinde-wins-the-show-29512" target="_blank">Bigg Boss 11: TV star Shilpa Shinde wins the show</a>

Shilpa Shinde was crowned the winner of reality TV series Bigg Boss 11, beating Hina Khan through live voting on Sunday night. A favourite from the beginning, Shilpa&#39;s win was predicted by several media houses as they conducted early polls for their viewers. The show that premiered on October 1 last year, had its finale on Sunday in Lonavala, with Shilpa and Hina competing for the winner&#39;s title. The other two finalists, inmates Vikas Gupta and Puneesh Sharma was evicted due to less number of votes polled for them.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/aziz-ansari-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-after-victim-shares-text-messages-29522" target="_blank">Aziz Ansari accused of sexual misconduct</a>

A New York-based photographer has accused Hollywood actor Aziz Ansari of sexual misconduct after they went on a date last year, reports said. The 23-year-old women claimed that it was a &quot;violating night and a painful one&quot; after the Master of None actor continuously pressured her into having sex. She further stated that the actor ignored her verbal and non-verbal hints and was in hurry all through dinner to get her someplace else.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/plane-skids-off-turkish-runway-on-black-sea-coast-passengers-unhurt-29505" target="_blank">Plane skids off Turkish runway on Black Sea coast, passengers unhurt</a>

A Pegasus Airlines plane skidded off the runway of a Turkish coastal airport and ended up halfway down a steep slope into the Black Sea, causing panic among passengers. The incident happened on Saturday night at Trabzon airport in north-east Turkey. No passengers or crew were hurt, Turkish media reported on Sunday.

One negative UN vote will not affect ties with India: Netanyahu on Jerusalem Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on a six-day visit to India, said on Sunday that even though the Jewish state was "disappointed" by India's vote at the UN against Israel on Jerusalem, one negative vote will not affect ties between the two nations. "Yes, naturally we were disappointed, but this visit is a testimony that our relationship is moving on so many fronts forward," Netanyahu said when asked to comment on India's vote at UN against the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. 'I'm not a racist, I am the least racist person,' says Trump After he allegedly called immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and nations in Africa belonging to "shithole countries", US President Trump declared he is not a racist, adding that he is the "least racist person". The US president was widely condemned for his reported remarks last week by lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum. The president, however, defended himself during a meeting with reporters in Washington declaring that he is the "least racist" person even as debate continued on his alleged vulgar remarks. Bigg Boss 11: TV star Shilpa Shinde wins the show Shilpa Shinde was crowned the winner of reality TV series Bigg Boss 11, beating Hina Khan through live voting on Sunday night. A favourite from the beginning, Shilpa's win was predicted by several media houses as they conducted early polls for their viewers. The show that premiered on October 1 last year, had its finale on Sunday in Lonavala, with Shilpa and Hina competing for the winner's title. The other two finalists, inmates Vikas Gupta and Puneesh Sharma was evicted due to less number of votes polled for them. Aziz Ansari accused of sexual misconduct A New York-based photographer has accused Hollywood actor Aziz Ansari of sexual misconduct after they went on a date last year, reports said. The 23-year-old women claimed that it was a "violating night and a painful one" after the Master of None actor continuously pressured her into having sex. She further stated that the actor ignored her verbal and non-verbal hints and was in hurry all through dinner to get her someplace else. Plane skids off Turkish runway on Black Sea coast, passengers unhurt A Pegasus Airlines plane skidded off the runway of a Turkish coastal airport and ended up halfway down a steep slope into the Black Sea, causing panic among passengers. The incident happened on Saturday night at Trabzon airport in north-east Turkey. No passengers or crew were hurt, Turkish media reported on Sunday.

WION morning news brief, January 15, 2018

United States president Donald Trump has said on Sunday that a scheme protecting immigrants brought to the US illegally as children is &quot;probably dead.&quot;

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the programme that protects certain illegal immigrants from being deported, is now being slammed by the Democrats, saying they don&#39;t&nbsp;want it.

&quot;DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don&#39;t really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military,&quot; Trump said on Twitter.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don&rsquo;t really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/952528011869478912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&quot;I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on Merit. No more Lotteries! America First,&quot; he further wrote on his Twitter handle.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AMERICA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AMERICA</a> FIRST
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/952530515894169601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The tweet comes as the Trump administration has resumed accepting DACA renewal requests as a result of a federal court order.

The Republicans and Democrats were already having clashes over funding the government after recent negotiations became tough as Democrats - whose votes are required to pass a government - urged immigration be included.&nbsp;

The fund expires on Friday night with no final deal in place.&nbsp;

The latest ruling comes at a time when Trump is advocating against the illegal migrants living in the US and is lobbying to build a border, along the US-Mexico border to stop its infiltration.

Trump had announced in September that he would repeal the programme, which allows certain immigrants who arrived in the US illegally as children, to stay and work without fear of being deported.

'DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don't really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military,' Trump said on Twitter.

United States president Donald Trump has said on Sunday that a scheme protecting immigrants brought to the US illegally as children is "probably dead." Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the programme that protects certain illegal immigrants from being deported, is now being slammed by the Democrats, saying they don't want it. "DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don't really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military," Trump said on Twitter. DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don’t really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018 × "I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on Merit. No more Lotteries! America First," he further wrote on his Twitter handle. I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! #AMERICA FIRST — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018 × The tweet comes as the Trump administration has resumed accepting DACA renewal requests as a result of a federal court order. The Republicans and Democrats were already having clashes over funding the government after recent negotiations became tough as Democrats - whose votes are required to pass a government - urged immigration be included. The fund expires on Friday night with no final deal in place. The latest ruling comes at a time when Trump is advocating against the illegal migrants living in the US and is lobbying to build a border, along the US-Mexico border to stop its infiltration. Trump had announced in September that he would repeal the programme, which allows certain immigrants who arrived in the US illegally as children, to stay and work without fear of being deported.

Programme protecting immigrant children 'probably dead': Trump

After he allegedly<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/54-african-countries-demand-trump-apology-over-shithole-remark-29377"> called immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador</a> and nations in Africa belonging to &quot;shithole countries&quot;, US President Trump declared he is not a racist, adding that he is the &quot;least racist person&quot;.

The US president was widely condemned for his reported remarks last week by lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum. The president, however, defended himself during a meeting with reporters in Washington declaring that he is the &quot;least racist&quot; person even as debate continued on his alleged vulgar remarks.

&quot;I&#39;m not a racist. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed, that I can tell you,&quot; the president said.

The alleged expletive came last Thursday during a meeting between Trump and legislators about immigration reform.

On the Dreamers programme, the President said: &quot;I don&#39;t think Democrats want to make a deal. The folks from DACA should know the Democrats are the ones that aren&#39;t going to make a deal.&quot;

Trump had earlier said he would discontinue the programme which shields deported children brought into the United States illegally by their parents.

US district judge William Alsup last week had blocked Trump&#39;s move at scrapping the project saying it must remain in place while litigation over Trump&#39;s decision continues to unfold.

The DACA program which was authorised by former president Barack Obama has reportedly provided protection and right to work to nearly 800,000 young people.

Trump blamed Democrats for not being able to scrap the deal, saying: &quot;Democratic lawmakers don&#39;t want security at the border,&quot; adding, &quot;You got people pouring in. They don&#39;t want to stop drugs and they want to take money away from our military, which we cannot do.&quot;&nbsp;

United States president Donald Trump said that the scheme protecting immigrants brought to the US illegally as children is &quot;probably dead.&quot;

The fund expired on Friday night with no final deal in place.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The US president was widely condemned for his reported remarks last week by lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum

After he allegedly called immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and nations in Africa belonging to "shithole countries", US President Trump declared he is not a racist, adding that he is the "least racist person". The US president was widely condemned for his reported remarks last week by lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum. The president, however, defended himself during a meeting with reporters in Washington declaring that he is the "least racist" person even as debate continued on his alleged vulgar remarks. "I'm not a racist. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed, that I can tell you," the president said. The alleged expletive came last Thursday during a meeting between Trump and legislators about immigration reform. On the Dreamers programme, the President said: "I don't think Democrats want to make a deal. The folks from DACA should know the Democrats are the ones that aren't going to make a deal." Trump had earlier said he would discontinue the programme which shields deported children brought into the United States illegally by their parents. US district judge William Alsup last week had blocked Trump's move at scrapping the project saying it must remain in place while litigation over Trump's decision continues to unfold. The DACA program which was authorised by former president Barack Obama has reportedly provided protection and right to work to nearly 800,000 young people. Trump blamed Democrats for not being able to scrap the deal, saying: "Democratic lawmakers don't want security at the border," adding, "You got people pouring in. They don't want to stop drugs and they want to take money away from our military, which we cannot do." United States president Donald Trump said that the scheme protecting immigrants brought to the US illegally as children is "probably dead." The fund expired on Friday night with no final deal in place.

'I'm not a racist, I am the least racist person,' says Trump

The White House on Saturday denied and corrected a quote attributed to President Donald Trump that suggested he had a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

&quot;I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong-Un,&quot; Trump was quoted as telling The Wall Street Journal in an interview on Thursday.&nbsp;

But Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insisted that Trump said &quot;I&#39;d,&quot; not &quot;I&quot; as the newspaper reported.

Both The Wall Street Journal and the White House posted audio recordings of Trump&#39;s remarks on Twitter. These, while not completely clear, appeared to support Sanders&#39; account.

Sanders had earlier tweeted a written message disputing the newspaper&#39;s article.

&quot;President Trump said, I&#39;D probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un of North Korea. I&#39;D -- I&#39;D -- I&#39;D. NOT I!&quot; the message read, with &quot;I&#39;D&quot; in red ink, under a red banner reading &quot;FAKE NEWS.&quot;

Mockingly mimicking the newspaper&#39;s front page, it then reads &quot;THE WALL STREET JOURNAL -- FAKE NEWS IS AT IT AGAIN! -- FALSELY QUOTING PRESIDENT TRUMP.&quot;

Washington and Pyongyang are in a standoff over North Korea&#39;s missile and nuclear programs, which could be used to target the United States and its allies.

Trump has repeatedly insulted the North Korean leader, describing him as mad and a &quot;rocket man.&quot;

Asked if by The Wall Street Journal if he had spoken to Kim, Trump said: &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;

Trump suggested his variable position on individuals was part of a broader strategy.

But it was not clear how his remarks fitted with his self-described policy of &quot;maximum pressure&quot; on Pyongyang.

In the coming week the United States and Canada are to host a meeting in Vancouver on the nuclear standoff with North Korea, bringing together friendly powers from around the world.

Washington and Pyongyang are in a standoff over North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, which could be used to target the United States and its allies.

The White House on Saturday denied and corrected a quote attributed to President Donald Trump that suggested he had a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. "I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong-Un," Trump was quoted as telling The Wall Street Journal in an interview on Thursday. But Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insisted that Trump said "I'd," not "I" as the newspaper reported. Both The Wall Street Journal and the White House posted audio recordings of Trump's remarks on Twitter. These, while not completely clear, appeared to support Sanders' account. Sanders had earlier tweeted a written message disputing the newspaper's article. "President Trump said, I'D probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un of North Korea. I'D -- I'D -- I'D. NOT I!" the message read, with "I'D" in red ink, under a red banner reading "FAKE NEWS." Mockingly mimicking the newspaper's front page, it then reads "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL -- FAKE NEWS IS AT IT AGAIN! -- FALSELY QUOTING PRESIDENT TRUMP." Washington and Pyongyang are in a standoff over North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, which could be used to target the United States and its allies. Trump has repeatedly insulted the North Korean leader, describing him as mad and a "rocket man." Asked if by The Wall Street Journal if he had spoken to Kim, Trump said: "I don't want to comment on it. I'm not saying I have or haven't. I just don't want to comment." Trump suggested his variable position on individuals was part of a broader strategy. But it was not clear how his remarks fitted with his self-described policy of "maximum pressure" on Pyongyang. In the coming week the United States and Canada are to host a meeting in Vancouver on the nuclear standoff with North Korea, bringing together friendly powers from around the world.

White House pushes back over Trump North Korea quote

On Friday, US President Donald Trump announced that the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-issues-stay-of-execution-for-iran-nuclear-deal-29380">Trump administration would not issue any more nuclear sanctions on Iran</a>.

However, he did call for stringent measures to keep the agreement alive. He also waived off nuclear-related sanctions on Iran -- a requirement to keep the deal alive.&nbsp;

Iran, however, rejected any modification to its nuclear deal.&nbsp;

Iran &quot;will not accept any amendments in this agreement, be it now or in the future, and it will not allow any other issues to be linked to the JCPOA,&quot; the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Trump asked the European partners to work with the United States in order to &quot;fix the deal&#39;s disastrous flaws,&quot; in the absence of which the United States will withdraw from the deal, Trump threatened.

Trump demanded restrictions on Iran&#39;s missile programme and called for permanent control on Iran&#39;s nuclear plants.

Iran, on the other hand, clarified that the deal remains renegotiated.

&quot;JCPOA is not renegotiable: rather than repeating tired rhetoric, US must bring itself into full compliance -- just like Iran,&quot; Iran&#39;s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted immediately after Trump&#39;s speech.&nbsp;

Iran&#39;s foreign ministry condemned fresh sanctions imposed by the US on 14 individuals,&nbsp; including judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, over human rights issues.&nbsp;

The ministry also criticised US sanctions on Iran&#39;s missile programme and described restrictions on Larijani to have &quot;crossed all red lines of conduct in the international community.&quot;

The official statement from Iran&#39;s foreign ministry stated that &quot;the government of the United States will bear responsibility for all the consequences of this hostile move&quot;.

Iran argued that the continued US sanctions on non-nuclear areas such as human rights and missile testing have effectively barred Iran from gaining many of the financial benefits expected from the deal.

Zarif condemned Trump&#39;s aggressive stance on the deal and Iran describing the White House to also have violated the commitment to &quot;refrain from any policy specifically intended to directly and adversely affect the normalisation of trade and economic relations with Iran&quot; in the accord.

JCPOA is the nuclear deal&#39;s technical name.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Iran 'will not accept any amendments to this agreement, be it now or in the future,' Iran's foreign ministry noted.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump announced that the Trump administration would not issue any more nuclear sanctions on Iran. However, he did call for stringent measures to keep the agreement alive. He also waived off nuclear-related sanctions on Iran -- a requirement to keep the deal alive. Iran, however, rejected any modification to its nuclear deal. Iran "will not accept any amendments in this agreement, be it now or in the future, and it will not allow any other issues to be linked to the JCPOA," the foreign ministry said in a statement. Trump asked the European partners to work with the United States in order to "fix the deal's disastrous flaws," in the absence of which the United States will withdraw from the deal, Trump threatened. Trump demanded restrictions on Iran's missile programme and called for permanent control on Iran's nuclear plants. Iran, on the other hand, clarified that the deal remains renegotiated. "JCPOA is not renegotiable: rather than repeating tired rhetoric, US must bring itself into full compliance -- just like Iran," Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted immediately after Trump's speech. Iran's foreign ministry condemned fresh sanctions imposed by the US on 14 individuals, including judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, over human rights issues. The ministry also criticised US sanctions on Iran's missile programme and described restrictions on Larijani to have "crossed all red lines of conduct in the international community." The official statement from Iran's foreign ministry stated that "the government of the United States will bear responsibility for all the consequences of this hostile move". Iran argued that the continued US sanctions on non-nuclear areas such as human rights and missile testing have effectively barred Iran from gaining many of the financial benefits expected from the deal. Zarif condemned Trump's aggressive stance on the deal and Iran describing the White House to also have violated the commitment to "refrain from any policy specifically intended to directly and adversely affect the normalisation of trade and economic relations with Iran" in the accord. JCPOA is the nuclear deal's technical name. (With inputs from agencies)

Iran nuclear deal: While Trump calls for stringent measures, Iran rejects any change to deal

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

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